Spence’s eyes snapped open, and he experienced instant panic. His heart raced as his eyes frantically searched the darkness around him. The fire had mostly burned out, with only a few yellow flames flickering over the pile of red coals. The sky was already beginning to lighten. He glanced behind him and saw that Morgan and Caleb still slept. He peered across the fire but could just see the same black lump he’d seen before. He couldn’t believe he had fallen asleep, sitting straight up. It must have been for a while, too, judging by the fire.

Once his heart slowed, he realized how cold it was without the heat from the blazing fire. He had to revive it before he woke Caleb. He slowly stood, giving his aching legs and back time to stretch and adjust to the movement, and walked to the right side of the fire to the stack of wood. Holding the staff in his right hand for support, he leaned over to grab a few medium-size sticks with his left hand. When he straightened up, he dropped the wood. He would have screamed except for the hand clamped over his mouth.

Trey stood towering in front of him, his left hand on the staff above Spence’s and his right hand pressed over Spence’s mouth. He leaned forward, his sour, hot breath bathing Spence’s face. “Don’t move a muscle, or I’ll twist your head off right here,” he whispered. His eyes darted past Spence to confirm the others still slept. He returned his gaze to Spence. Darkness mostly hid Trey’s face, with the light from the coals barely illuminating the right side.

Spence couldn’t stop his legs from shaking, and his heart tried to pound out of his chest. He was fully awake now, and his mind worked feverishly to formulate an escape plan. He could try pulling away and yelling for Caleb, but Trey was too strong for him to wrench the staff out of his hand. He couldn’t let Trey have it. He knew Trey was a bully and often mistreated him throughout school, but he never thought he would seriously hurt or kill him. But now, Spence wasn’t so sure. He wondered if he could knee him in the groin and then jerk the staff away. But if he missed, or Trey blocked or dodged it….

“We got along much better when we were on Earth, and you didn’t have this magic stick. You were safe and sound in your little chair. It doesn’t seem fair for the weakest one to have the most power. Do you think?”

Now, he knew what Trey wanted. If Trey had his staff, none of them could stop him. Spence didn’t doubt he’d use it on Caleb and Morgan if he had to. Spence swung his left hand around and grabbed the staff below his right hand. He shook his head.

“Spence, be sensible. You were fine at home without this stick. You’ll be fine here. I’m not going to use it on you. I’ll make sure to keep you alive. I can’t make the same promise for your two buddies, but I’ve got your back.”

Spence had never heard Trey attempt to be nice to him, and he might have even been telling the truth. But Spence still couldn’t voluntarily relinquish his only power. Plus, he couldn’t do that to Caleb and Morgan. He shook his head again.

Trey stepped back and stretched to his full height. “I’m going to let go of your mouth. If you yell or scream, you’ll be dead before your little friends can save you. We both know you can’t shoot your lightning bolt without hitting the staff on the ground. And I’m not going to let you do that.”

Trey pulled his hand off Spence’s face and placed it on the staff below Spence’s hands. He gave the staff an experimental tug, nearly pulling Spence into him. Spence knew he was no match for Trey’s strength. He wondered how fast Caleb could help him if he yelled. But it would only take Trey a second to activate the staff. He might not have seen the panel open before, but it wouldn’t be hard to detect it beneath his hands. Locating the buttons wouldn’t be a problem, either. Caleb wouldn’t stand a chance. Spence pulled back on the staff, barely swaying his larger foe.

Trey suddenly jerked hard on the staff. As Spence went stumbling forward, Trey’s knee met his stomach. The breath rushed from Spence’s lungs in a painful gasp. His hands released the staff, and he crumpled to the ground. He clutched at his stomach and gasped for air as he somehow managed to raise his head to watch Trey complete his victory.

Trey’s mouth opened briefly in triumph as he stared at the staff and began to speak. Then suddenly, the crystal orb flared brightly. The staff hummed loudly and emanated a crackling sound. Trey yelled, and his hands and arms began shaking violently. His triumph crumbled into fear and pain. Somehow, he managed to throw the staff down in front of Spence and then toppled backward, landing heavily on the ground. He stared wide-eyed at his burned hands and shook uncontrollably while uttering a string of profanities.

Spence heard Caleb and Morgan rushing out of the shelter. The still lit head of the staff brightly illuminated the entire depression. They both held their weapons and stared back and forth between the gasping Spence and the sobbing Trey. Spence reached out and grabbed his staff. He was nervous for a moment that it might shock or burn him too. But as soon as he wrapped his hands around it, the orb’s light extinguished, and the staff returned to normal.

“What the hell happened?” Caleb asked, holding his sword pointed toward Trey.

Caleb’s tone surprised Spence. He carefully formulated his words, knowing he couldn’t reveal the entire truth. “Um, the fire was dying out, so I came over here to get some wood. When I stood back up, Trey was there, trying to steal my staff. He managed to jerk it away, and then it lit up and began shocking and burning him.”

Caleb glared down at Trey. Trey was now sitting, still staring at his hands. “Why did you try to take his staff, Trey?”

“I don’t have to answer to you,” Trey said, unsteadily climbing to his feet.

“No, Trey, you don’t. And you just made our decision extremely easy. We’re going to complete this quest and go home. You can do whatever the hell you feel like doing, but not with us. We’re done. Good luck.” Caleb turned to Spence and Morgan. “Let’s pack. It will be light enough to walk by the time we leave.”

“I’ll do whatever I want to. If I want to come with you, I will,” Trey said defiantly.

“No, you won’t. If you follow, you’d better stay out of sight. You know you can’t take us all on, and Morgan and Spence can kill you from fifty yards away. Don’t mess with us, Trey.” Caleb walked under the tarp and didn’t look back.

Spence was excited. He wasn’t sure why the staff had shocked Trey, but now he knew no one else could use it, and his tormentor was gone. He glanced at him, but Trey only spat, turned, and walked to his blanket. Spence joined Morgan and Caleb in packing the tarps and ropes. Occasionally, he snuck a peek across the fire at Trey. The sky was light enough to see Trey was also packing.