Annabelle raises a hand. “Axes up!”
I roll my shoulders one last time, plant my feet, and get into position.
“Three . . . two . . . one . . .Go!”
I swing hard, the first strike biting deep into the wood with a satisfying THWACK. The force reverberates up my arms, but I don’t stop to feel it—I keep going, correcting my angle, swinging again.
Beside me, Kyle is a machine. His axe hits in rapid succession, each swing throwing up wood chips, the log splitting in slow, deliberate destruction.
But I’m faster.
Perspiration forms on my forehead as I push through, bringing the blade down again and again. My ribs ache from the impact, but the adrenaline overrides it.
The crowd is goingwild. Every time my axe hits, theyfeelit. Each crack of splintering wood fuels their cheers.
Sweat beads between my pec muscles. I don’t stop. I can’t. The adrenaline is pumping, my muscles are screaming, and I’ve got an entire crowd losing their damn minds every time my blade makes contact with the wood.
The energy iselectric.
The cheers. The heat. The sweat dripping down my back.
I swing again—Thwack, Thwack—the log splintering beneath my blade. The crowd eats this shit up, an unyielding wave of hoots, whistles, and screaming.
Ishouldbe focused on winning. On chopping more wood than Kyle.
But then I hear a voice from the stands ... loud. Clear.
“Take it off, Bennett!”
Take it off, take it off, take it off ...
It’s not a horrible idea. Give the ladies what they want!
I step back, gripping my axe with one hand, and with the other—
Grip the front of my flannel and rip it open.
Buttons go flying.
The crowdloses their collective minds.
Well. Maybe the dudes don’t, but the moms sure do.
“He’s possessed by the lumberjack gods, folks—look at him go!” the announcer shouts. “He may indeed be the winner—at least in the hearts of the fans here today.”
Kyle wipes sweat from his brow with his sleeve, glancing over at me, disgusted. “I can’t compete with this!”
I grin, whacking away. “Damn right!”
But then—
Crack!
His log splits.
Mine? Still standing.
Shit.
