The Amulet of Power by Raymond Arroyo

Author:Raymond Arroyo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2019-02-19T00:00:00+00:00

While he changed, Will could hear Caleb and his pals talking about him on the other side of the lockers. Much of it was hard to make out. Caleb angrily vented to his teammates in a harsh whisper about that “little runt Will.” He called one of the boys “chicken” and then said something like “he might be able to take one of us down, but he can’t take us all down.” By the time Caleb mentioned “pounding him to teach him a lesson,” Will had heard enough.

He wanted out of there as quickly as possible, so he ran out the side locker room exit without even telling Andrew goodbye. He could handle these guys individually on the field, but maybe Caleb had a point. Will wasn’t sure how he would hold up against a squad of these big guys. He definitely wasn’t looking for a fight. He just wanted to get home in one piece.

It was getting dark and the cool fall breeze moved with him as he walked along Main Street. He made it as far as Perilous Falls Elementary when he heard the sound of running feet behind him. In the lamplight he saw Caleb, Harlan, Boyd, and Todd racing his way.

He crossed Falls Road and ran into the shadowy cover of the Perilous Falls Elementary School playground. He had played there since he was a kid and knew it like his own backyard. Will ran up a slide and sheltered inside a playhouse at the top. He crouched there, quietly watching the guys on the street through a rounded opening.

Caleb motioned to the boys at his side, pointing toward the playground. They checked around the school building, among the stacked planks near a half-constructed fence, and then they surveyed the yard before moving near the play set.

“Where did he go?” Caleb asked his posse.

“Dunno,” Harlan said, looking back at the street.

“Will! You here, Will?” Caleb shouted. “You scared now? We just want to talk, big man. Just want to get to know our new teammate a little better.”

Two of the boys sniggered at that.

Will didn’t move a muscle.

“Fan out, guys,” Caleb whispered, huddling with his crew. “You go there. You check along the fence. I’ll look over here. First one who sees him, holler. Then we pound him.” The three boys nodded and spread out. Caleb walked around the play set, thinking Will might be hiding in the rear.

Will’s nose started to itch. He snatched a look out of the plastic portal on the playhouse. Caleb stood nearby. The other three boys were out in the yard. Waiting was not an option. Better to face them one at a time than as a pack. Will jumped down from the play set right behind Caleb.

“You plan on doing to me what you did to Renny Bertolf?” Will asked, assuming a fighting posture.

“I never touched that kid. Hey, guys, he’s over here,” Caleb yelled. Without waiting for his friends, Caleb lunged at Will with everything he had.

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