The Sons of Liberty

by James Tow

Apocalypse soldiers?” I asked Gabriel. The people in hearing range stiffened up and examined the workers behind the tables.

  “I don’t think so,” Gabriel said, and they all relaxed. “They’re probably the people who reside here in Austin, and, I’m guessing, they were hired by The Army of Apocalypse. And if they’re in league with the Apocalypse, then I wouldn’t feel so bad taking them out either.” The man in front of us turned, laughing.

  “I second that,” he said.

  We were next in line, and the man in front of us was almost finished. I heard him giving the man behind the table his name, along with the names of his crew, and it dawned on me. I turned to Gabriel, “What are we supposed to tell him our names are?” I whispered in his ear. His eyes widened. He didn’t know either.

  “Isn’t there some kind of death waiver we should sign?” The old man in front of us asked. The workers just laughed, and the man walked away from the table—we stepped forward.

  The worker behind the table started explaining ‘The Games’ set-up and how it’ll work.

  “You need at least seven members to a team, and you may have as many back-up members as you want. The more the better—in case your team suffers severe loss. The preliminary round will be held tomorrow in the city. Your team will compete in five mini-games—the preliminary round—where you collect points depending on how well you preform.” He slid us a pamphlet of the list of mini-games that will be held. “There’s the list of mini-games. The top sixteen teams will advance from the preliminaries. If you’re fortunate to advance from the preliminaries, we will then precede to explain the main rounds to each team. Now, I need your team name, your leader’s name, and the names of the members of your team that will compete.”

  I froze. Gabriel and I didn’t know what to tell him. I started to step forward, but Alyse stepped up. “Our leader is Chris Roy. Our team name is, uh, the Omega Unit,” Gabriel and I hung our heads. Can’t say anything though, I didn’t know what to tell him. “I’m Alyse,” she told the man and he continued writing. She pointed at me, “This is…Patton Churchill,” she said with a smile. The worker looked at me, waiting for me to speak, and in the worst British accent ever I said, “Hiya mate.” Alyse scrunched her face in an attempt to stifle a laugh. She then pointed to Gabriel and said, “This is…José.”

  “José?” asked the worker. Gabriel looked as if he had violent stomach pains.

  “Good, thank you very much,” he said in an Indian accent. Unable to hold it in—Alyse and I both laughed.

  “She said ‘José,’ not ‘Abu,’” I told Gabriel—still laughing. The worker was trying to listen in, but I didn’t care—he still seemed clueless. Alyse just took his pencil and paper—jotting down the names of our crew.

  “The scores will be totaled and announced tomorrow night at 9 o’clock in the northern most tent in the north quadrant of the area. It’s the largest tent.”

  Walking back to the campsite, Alyse pulled out a radio from her pocket and held it to her face.

  “You guys find a tent?” she asked.

  Chris came through the other line, “Yeah, we are putting it up now. Should be done by the time you come back.”

  “Good idea to bring the radio,” I said to her.

  “Those are the only kind I have,” she said.

  Gabriel trailed several feet behind us, examining the pamphlet the worker gave us.

  “Anything interesting?” I asked him.

  “This preliminary round sounds like a joke,” he started saying. “There are about fifty different mini-games we can partake in, but they sound ridiculous.”

  Alyse and I slowed down to read the pamphlet in his hands.

  “Brick toss?” Alyse said. She read the description under ‘brick toss’ aloud. “Try to break as many windows with one brick. Wow.”

  “Look at its difficulty rating though—four out of five stars,” Gabriel said pointing at the star rating next to the title. “The higher the difficulty the more points you can earn,” he added. Immediately, I started looking for the highest rated games.

  “I can do these three,” I started and pointed to each, “Punch-out, High School Exam, and shooter’s obstacle course.”

  “One member can only do one,” Alyse said looking at the rules section on the pamphlet. “I’ll do High School Exam,” she added.

  “Funny that that’s five stars,” I added.

  “You’re a better boxer than I am, so you can do Punch-out. I’ll do the obstacle course,” Gabriel said.

  “Sweet. Can’t wait to break somebody’s nose,” I agreed.

  “I found one for Chris,” Gabriel said. I looked to see where he was pointing.

  “Strong Man?”

  “Competitors max out in bench press, squats, and power cleans. Whoever has the highest combined total of the three wins,” Gabriel explained. He continued to read each of our chosen games, “Alyse, your exam is based on an advanced high school level. Covering subjects: math, science, history, and English.”

  “Easy-peasy,” Alyse said.

  “Paul, you have to score high on a punching machine—whatever that is—and you’ll fight the other three finalists in a tournament styled bracket. If you make it, that is.”

  “Please,” I said. Then I asked him, “What’s in the obstacle course?”

  “First round is the pistol round. Using a handgun, run through the building and shoot out as many obstacles in the fastest time. Second round is assault rifles—same thing but with assault rifles. And third is the sniper round—taking place on Congress Avenue,” he said reading off the pamphlet.

  “Sounds like fun,” I said.

  “Congress Avenue is huge,” Alyse said in disbelief.

  “That’s why it should be fun,” Gabriel said. She rolled her eyes.

  We made it back to the campsite, and I was excited to see the tent was standing upright. “Pretty good, huh?” Chris said as we approached.

  “Nice. Looks sturdy,” Gabriel complimented and walked inside.

  Alyse and I walked up to Chris. “Where’s my bag?” she asked him. “Everything is inside,” he told her. “It’s next to Paul’s stuff,” he added. She walked into the tent, shooting Chris a smile. He looked at me and nudged me with his elbow, “Did you like that one?” he said snickering.

  “Oh yeah,” I told him and we walked through into the tent.

  It’s was just like a plain room with four walls, only grass replaced the carpet. Everybody was scattered throughout the room—chattering with each other. Gabriel laid down in the back right corner with his hands behind his head, deep in thought. Next to him was Alyse, searching through a duffle bag. I walked over to her—watching my step, hoping I don’t step on anybody’s hands.

  “What you looking for?” I asked her.

  “My phone. I need to call my parents,” she said quickly.

  Going through her last pocket, she pulled out a small silver phone and left the tent—dialing as she walked. I moved her stuff, and sat down next to Gabriel.

  “Well, we have four people for four games…who’s going to do the fifth?” I asked Gabriel. He didn’t answer. When I looked down at him, he had sorrow lingering in his eyes—staring at the ceiling. When I followed his gaze, I noticed he was staring at a white handkerchief that the crew tied to the tent’s pole—probably for extra reinforcement. He was lost.

  I stood up and grabbed the pamphlet that lay between us. “Alright guys!” I yell and do a double-clapper. That was kind of lame. Everybody stopped what they were doing and averted their attention to me. I hate this kind of attention. Reminds me of the presentations I had to give back in school.

  Alyse walked back through the tent, disappointed.

  “Couldn’t reach them?” I asked and she nodded. Thankfully, she stood by my side as I continued. “There’s a preliminary round, that starts tomorrow,” I told them. I took a glance at the pamphlet, “There will be at least fifty games that we can partake, but only five of our members can do five games. We’ve de
cided to do the most difficult so we can rack up more points.”

  “Who is doing what?” Chris asked.

  “Gabriel is doing an obstacle course, Alyse is taking a written exam, and I’m going to do some boxing jig. And we picked one out for you Chris,” I told him and tossed the pamphlet his way. “Strong Man,” I told him. A smile appeared on his face, and he curled his arms over his head—showing everyone his flexed arms.

  “Two-time Weightlifting State Champion, baby,” he informed.

  “Glad you like it,” I said smiling. “All we need is one more person for one more game. You guys can decide who will participate in what event.” I started walking with Alyse to our spot in the tent.

  “What time are these starting?” Chris asked. I was about to respond until I realized I didn’t know.

  “10 o’clock,” Alyse said. Then the crew started discussing with each other in a hushed manner.

  “How’d you know what time…? It doesn’t say in the pamphlet, and I don’t remember the guy telling us…?” I asked her.

  “I heard some people talking about it outside,” she said while going through her duffle bag.

  She pulled out a blanket and set it between Gabriel and Keith—the silent one amongst the group. She laid down, about three feet from Keith, and I took my place between her and Gabriel. I put my hand behind my head, and Alyse wrapped her body against mine.

  “I’m sure your parents are fine,” I reassured her.

  “Yeah, I would just like to hear their voices,” she said.

  “I don’t blame you.” What I would give to see