Page 53 of All He Sees
He pressed his foot harder on the gas, sending the golf cart hurtling forward, toward the tree line. Once they reached the trees, Chad halted the cart.
"Well, lads," he said, "should we continue this on foot?"
"Absolutely," Samuel said, slinking out of the cart. "That little thing can't be too far."
The three boys smiled at each other, holding up their guns. Chad felt like a king with this machine gun on him, like he could take over the world. He looked into the forest before him. It would be easy to conquer, and with his friends by his side, he could do anything.
The three stepped into the woods, in pursuit of the girl, who was running for her life.
Chad smiled thinking about how pathetic she was, running around barefooted. She'd survived through the night, and that was impressive.
But she wouldn't survive today.
The real question was: who would be the one to get her?
He looked at his friends and they all grinned, then continued forward.
They could all have her.
They could all be a king.
Chad pushed forward, but so did the others.
Who would get to her first?
"She's gotta be here!" Samuel exclaimed, putting a hand on Chad's shoulder.
"Easy, tiger," Chad said, smiling. "We'll find her."
He pointed his gun in the air, ready to shoot. He aimed at a branch and fired, watching as the branch fell to the ground. That was how easy it was to conquer the world.
He started his feet moving and quickly got up to speed, running through the trees. His laughter rang out behind him, along with his friends as they all chased through the woods.
He was going to get her. He was going to be a king.
"She's mine, boys!" Chad exclaimed, picking up speed.
"Not on my watch!" Samuel yelled, running faster and faster.
Then there was Marcus: "No way, boys! I want her!"
They kept running, jumping over logs, and dodging past trees. She was here somewhere. One of them would get her.
Maybe all of them would.
"Come on," Chad said, laughing. "She's gotta be here!"
The woods were getting darker, the sunlight blocked out by more and more trees. The girl was obviously trying to lose them, and she'd done a good job of it so far. But she was no match for the boys. This was their third time doing this. Sure, there had been some mistakes in the past, but this sport was starting to feel like second nature now.
Something caught Chad's eye, and for a second he stopped. He looked down at his feet. He had stepped on something. He crouched down, looking at the ground.
Something was sticking out of the dirt, some kind of elastic.
A hair elastic.
He smiled, holding it tight, and looked forward.
They had a trail.
