ABOUT TWENTY YOUNG KIDS glowered at Joel, narrowing their eyes and jutting out their jaws. Joel crouched to their height. Forty big eyes burned back at him. They could have been bandit children, raised on robbery. But his guess was they were captives.

“You can run that way,” He pointed to the village. “Join our friends, fight with us. You’ll be given good homes afterward. And,” he beckoned them nearer. His voice low, he told them confidentially, “We’re going to win.”

One keen-eyed, black haired boy stepped forward and put his hands on his hips. “What if we don’t go with you?”

“Well,” Joel said sadly, “Then either we’d have to kill you all,” the boy’s eyes were hard and firm, “Or we could let you all go.” All the children’s eyes widened. Joel made a sad face. He exaggerated it for them as he told them, “But we would need to cut off all of your hands and feet. So you wouldn’t turn and fight against us.”

He looked in the boy’s face. The boy smiled. He knew Joel was kidding.

~~

Hacker and Joel set two of the archery machines on fire. They dragged one of the two remaining. The children hauled the other one and carried the buckets of arrows.

Carter commed, “I guess our brilliant shooting killed all their archers.”

“Not quite,” Joel told him, but he was in full flow.

“Mostly my great shooting, I expect.”

“There weren’t any archers, Carter.”

“What?”

“They were machines. We’re bringing two of them back, you’ll see them.” Then, “Is everybody okay there?”

“I’m fine. Naturally.”

“Naturally.” Joel waited but Carter didn’t go on. Joel prompted him. “The others, Ben and Molson?” Hacker was listening in but he didn’t say anything.

Carter said, “Oh, I think they’re all fine. Molson stepped in front of a burning arrow. Looked like it only stuck in his coat and grazed him. When he pulled it out he had to put out the fire on his coat, but he looked okay.”

“You’re all heart, Carter.”

“It’s a game, right?” Is it, Carter? Joel thought, Where’s Angelo? “Anyway,” Carter was still talking. About himself, of course. “I’m going to win. Everybody knows that.”

~~

The villagers repaired the wall and roof panels they’d used as shields. With help from the recruited, Joel and the others set the archery machines behind the line of shields. Joel noticed Kika making a particular effort to show the tousle-haired, black eyed boy that she knew more than him. And he seemed to give as good as he got.

Hacker selected the strongest of the villagers and taught them to draw the bowstrings and let off the volleys of arrows. Joel said, “We’ll lower the aim. The next wave of attack will be horsemen.” Joel pointed to the sun, which was down almost to the horizon. “That’s the direction they’ll come.”

Carter laughed, “Is that your magic strategy skill at work?

“No, Carter,” Joel’s patience was brittle. “That’s my magic ‘listening and remembering what the villagers said,’ skill. Didn’t you hear them?”

“I take what comes in a game as it comes.” Carter said, “Always expect a new threat. Always be ready for the unexpected. That way I’m never taken by surprise.”

“Were you born an ass,” Molson asked him, “Or did you have to study and practice?”

Molson didn’t flinch as Carter strode up to him. Quickly Joel said, “There are swordsmen coming after the horsemen. We need all the skills and strength we’ve got.”

Carter scowled. Joel told him, “Kick the living shit out of each other after we finish the contest, okay? For now, we’re all in this together.”

Sulkily, Molson said, “We might do better without this dickhead.”

“We won’t.” Joel’s voice sounded firm and authoritative. If anybody heard the catch in his throat, there was no way to tell. He hoped he didn’t need to do too much more of this. Keeping discipline on these raging alphas wasn’t something he’d rank in his skill set.

About all of what he knew was not to think about what would happen if they challenged him.

A private message from Hacker said, I’ll step in if you need it. Joel appreciated it. Not as much as he would have appreciated actual help, but the promise was maybe better than nothing.

A noise like thunder on the ground came from the hills. Silhouettes of men on huge horses hammered clouds of dust. They pounded out of the sun in flapping coats. Joel couldn’t count them through the dust and the dazzling haze.

Carter, Molson, Ben, and Hacker jumped back behind the archery machines. Carter raised a three-bolt crossbow. There wasn’t time to light the arrows. Hacker aimed the machines and the first two salvos flew. Joel crouched by a machine with his two blades out and ready.

The two horsemen leading the charge fell. Wide-eyed, panic stricken, the first rider’s horse rolled over him. The crunch of his bones seemed louder than the thud of the horse hitting the ground. In the tingle through the soles of his feet, Joel felt the thunder of the approaching horsemen. The other fallen bandit jumped to his feet. He swung a spiked ball on a long chain. It spun above his head as he yelled. He ran straight at Joel.

A wave of riders stormed into the second hail of arrows. Three waved long, thin, glinting curved blades. Two pulled arrows back on long bows. Carter shot off his crossbow. Two of his bolts pierced the arm and the leg of a mounted archer. He rode on to Hacker and Ben, who pulled him down and finished him with their blades.

Carter dropped the crossbow and lifted a sword.

The horseless rider with the ball and chain swung at Joel. Joel dodged him and turned to strike back. As he did, though, something he felt against his leg made him think of the hooded figure in the games room. He missed his strike and rolled to dodge the swinging ball. Dust and earth flew. The ball thumped into the ground beside his head.

The bandit was pulling the ball back out of the ground. Joel thrust his dagger straight up. Under the protective leather flaps, his blade cut deep and high into the man’s abdomen. Joel rolled again to avoid the spill.

The second wave was on them. The children fled. They ran for the protection of the buildings. Carter brought two horsemen down. Ben, Hacker, and Molson stopped another three. Two more circled back and galloped at Hacker and Molson.

Two riders had gotten through. They chased after the children. Joel jumped on one of the free horses and pursued. From just behind he jumped on the nearest rider. He cut the man’s neck and took his long sword. The other was reaching down to scoop up the running black-eyed boy. He shoved Kika away ahead of him.

Joel stood on the back of the dead horseman to jump, ninja style, onto the other bandit. He impaled him through the center of his back. Kika dragged the boy and pulled him as she ran shrieking.

Joel and the dead rider fell. The rider landed face down in the dirt. Joel pulled the long sword from his back. He looked to see that the children were okay, then Joel ran back to join the others. All four men were in the fray of a fight with about six bandits. All of them swung heavy weapons.

The raiders all wore tough protective clothes. Some even had metal plates as armor.

Joel rushed at the backs of the two nearest raiders. They both wore armor over their backs and over their chests, and chain mail flaps over their asses and thighs. He slipped a long sword between the breastplate and the back piece of one. A rib stopped the sword. Joel pushed. The thin blade cut part way through the rib. It drove in another foot and a half.

The warrior dropped his sword. His arms and legs twitched convulsively as he fell.

The other bandit turned. Joel’s sword was still jammed part way on the dead fighter’s rib. He tugged and jerked on it, trying to yank it out.

He whipped his other sword up to the angry bandit’s throat. The attacker grinned. Chain mail protected his neck. The sword sprang free from his dead colleague and up.

The man’s grin froze. Joel’s sword had cleaved through whatever protection he wore over his groin. Again, the blade had cut into bone and was jammed. Joel pulled it up as hard as he could.

It moved only slowly, and barely a few inches, but the man’s eyebrows arched and his mouth drooped open as his eyes rolled. They glazed over as he fell back.

One of two raiders attacking Hacker turned back to Joel. He pulled back a long spear. Joel swung his free sword at the side of the man’s neck. A curving red arc spurted out as he fell sideways.

Hacker flicked a tight-lipped smile to Joel. His eyes stayed on his own fight as he drove a sword through the chest of his other assailant.

Together they helped Carter deal with his three samurai, for which he looked more annoyed than grateful. Ben and Molson were right then dispatching fighters of their own.

There was quiet. A last single ray of the setting sun flashed over the mountain as dramatic pink and gray strata patterned the sunset sky.

Looking around, seeing the devastation, but knowing that all five of them had made it through, Joel laughed.

Maybe from exhaustion, maybe from the tension, they all started to laugh. The two old men of the village came out from hiding. Both of the thinn, wrinkled elders waved their hands and they laughed too.

“You have saved us,” one said.

“Defeated all of our enemies,” the other grinned so wide he almost couldn’t keep his eyes open. “You killed the golden horseman!”

“And our treasure is safe.” The old man clapped his hands. Then the expression fell from his face.

The other man’s long wisps of white hair blew in the wind as he made a little jump and elbowed his friend in the ribs. Quickly he said, “The golden horseman. Did you really beat the golden horseman?”

Carter said, “Of course we did.”