Legend of Mace by Daniel J. Williams Read Free Book Online Page A

want for your people? From what I’ve seen, you all live this brutal, empty existence. If all you want to do is kill, then you’re nothing but savages.”
    Woody understood that Roger was a minister, so his response didn’t completely surprise him. A part of him, though, was instantly offended. After the deaths of Hot Dog and Alexie, he never acted rashly. Staring at Roger for a few long moments, Woody took his time to formulate a response. “We’ve done what we needed to do to survive. It’s not fair for you to come in here and judge us. You have no idea what we’ve been through.”
    “True enough,” Roger replied, feeling hopeful that they could have a meaningful conversation. “But don’t you want a camp that is more of a home than a prison? Where people aren’t so scared they’ll sneak out in the middle of the night to avoid getting murdered?”
    Woody grew more defensive. “They were told they would be escorted out if they didn’t want to stay, and this is no prison. Everyone feels safe here.”
    “They didn’t believe you, and neither did I.”  There was a brief silence between them. “I don’t condone what they did, but I understand why they did it. I’m not so sure that by us staying here we won’t end up dead, whether we do something wrong or not. That’s the kind of place you’ve created.”
    “We take care of our own,” Woody said, getting louder. “Your lives are the least of our worries. We do what we have to, to survive.”
    Roger knew he had pushed far enough. “But don’t you want more?” he said quietly.
    “There is nothing more.”
    “There is peace. You choose war. You choose to live in fear.”
    “We don’t fear anything,” Woody stated boldly.
    “Actually, you fear everything. You kill most people before you’ve even given them a chance. My guess is you’ve lived this way for so long you don’t even know the difference.”
    For the first time in a long while, Woody felt confused. He was momentarily speechless as he reflected on Roger's words. After Hot Dog and Alexi perished, he'd simply wanted to give up. Feeling crushed by the weight of his foolishness and bravado in Kansas, he literally lost the will to live for awhile. It was Mace, once again, that pulled him to safety once they'd found a new home.
    Refusing to allow Woody to simply fade from life, Mace used the skills he'd learned as a big brother to reach him and help him regain his inner strength.  Mace knew he couldn't fail another child: He couldn't lose another child. Saving Woody might somehow ease the guilt of Jason's death. After all these years, Jason's death still haunted him.
    Their bond changed as Mace's condition worsened. With Jade taking care of Jason and another child on the way, Mace began grooming Woody to take over the camp, making security top priority. As Mace's personality turned darker, so did Woody's, and he emulated his role model, learning techniques that would keep them safe at all costs.
      As Mace and Lisa patrolled more and spent more time outside of camp, Mace and Woody's roles started reversing.  The camp's safety and security inside the walls became Woody's responsibility, and it gave him his sense of purpose. The more involved he got, the greater his ability and influence. It became his own form of redemption. It was all he ever contemplated.
    Returning to the present, Woody stared inquisitively at Roger, recognizing Roger's interpretation as correct. Everything we do is based on fear, he realized.
But what other choice do we have?  
"Stay here," he suddenly said. “I’ll send somebody back for you.” He wanted to think things through on his own.
    As soon as the door closed behind him, Kelly said, “We need to figure out how to murder the munchkins. They’re not the cute, whimsical types.”
    Peeking out the curtains, Roger said quietly, “Too soon to tell. They’re young. They might come around.”
    “Yeah, and we may end up being Mohawk food.”
    As Woody led the