Knox and William turned to check. William pushed up his sleeves and nodded.
I looked at Owen and then at the twenty-foot-high tower. If the lever at the bottom was struck hard enough, a puck would shoot up the tower and ring the bell.
The group started to cross the distance to the game. “Wait,” I called. “How about a wager?”
Knox crossed his arms. “What’d you have in mind?”
I glanced at William. His biceps were bigger than one of my legs. “Twenty bucks if either of you win. Twenty bucks if we win.”
William cracked his knuckles. He spit on the ground and grinned.
Knox dug into the back of his jeans and pulled out a wad of bills. “How about a hundred?”
I stared at the crisp green cash. I didn’t have twenty bucks let alone a hundred. Adam was big, but William was thicker with a neck like a pit bull. Then again, Adam was Adam.
I stuck out my hand. “Deal.” We shook on it.
I tore off two more tickets and handed them to the operator after Knox and William had done the same. An intricate dragon rippled off the carny’s forearm as he handed the mallet over to Knox. Fire and smoke breathed down the back of the man’s hands and down to his knuckles.
“Batter up,” said the carny.
Paisley whistled at Knox, and he made a show of flexing his muscles. “Watch and learn, ladies.” He bowed and swung the mallet onto his shoulder. Then, with both hands cupped around the end of the handle, he took a giant lunge forward and brought the mallet head down on the lever with a springboard crash.
The puck traveled just over halfway up the tower, a trail of blue lights following in its wake.
He stuck out his lower lip. “That’s harder than it looks.”
He tipped the handle over to William. In William’s strong grip, the mallet looked much thinner and lighter. When he swung it into position, it appeared to be no heavier than a household hammer. I bit my lip. When it came to brute strength, William must have Adam beat. I shifted my weight, my stomach clenching and unclenching.
He twisted his grip, then, like a warrior bringing down an ax, he wielded the mallet straight over his head and slammed it onto the lever. The puck shot up. It kept going, past the blue lights, past the red, one foot from the top, the lights turned yellow. The momentum petered out, and the puck fell back down to earth.
William ran his tongue along his teeth. “Not too shabby.” He strutted. “Not too shabby at all. You’re up, Smith.”
“Adam.” I grabbed him by both arms. “Just swing that hammer thing as hard as you can, okay? You’ve got this.” I held my breath. All I could do now was bet on my horse.
“Will it help me remember things?” he said.
I held out a flat hand and wobbled it from side to side. “Eh. Probably not. But it’d make me awfully happy.” My eyes twitched in the direction of Knox and his I know something you don’t know grin.
He hiked the mallet up. “Okay then,” he said flatly. “I’ll do it.” He walked over and, casually, without stopping, thwacked the lever. He dropped the mallet in the dirt right away and walked over to me.
I slapped my hand over my eyes, and just as I was getting ready to mutter a curse word under my breath, there was a brassy clang up above and then the “Test Your Strength” booth erupted into loud sirens that flashed pink and yellow lights.
“Adam! You did it!” Cassidy squealed. She turned to Paisley and stuck out her tongue and then spanked her backside, teasing. “Told you.”
I jumped up and down. Knox and William reluctantly fished for their wallets and handed me fifty dollars each.
I snapped the bills between my fingers. “Thanks, boys.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Knox said. But he reached out to shake Adam’s hand. “Come sit with us tomorrow, Smith,” William said as the group began trickling away.
Cassidy grabbed my arm and squeezed it. I could smell the faint hint of alcohol and Slurpee on her breath. “You too, Tor.”
I skipped over to Adam and Owen. “A contribution to the Tor needs a new phone fund,” I said, stuffing it into my front pocket. “Now let’s take a victory lap.” I felt lucky, glowing. A sudden rush of energy pulsed through me.
“You guys take your lap of victory,” Owen said. “I’ve got to find a bathroom. I’ll meet you back at the car.”
I offered my arm to Adam. “Five minutes,” I said, and then Adam and I went back into the maze of rides and fairground stalls.
We’d been walking only a short distance when I spotted a familiar ride. “Oh! I loved this one as a kid.”
“The Old Mill,” Adam read the western-themed sign. “What is it?”