“Front Royal,” Nick said. “I’ve heard of them—I heard a guy mention them just this morning. He said Front Royal is gonna jerk your jocks up over your heads this year.”

They all stared at Nick while he took another bite of his pizza.

“Who told you that?” the boy demanded.

“Like I said—I’m from out of town.” Nick pointed to the ’09 on the boy’s jacket sleeve. “Senior year coming up—any college prospects?”

The boy shrugged. “I’ve had some calls.”

“Think you’re big enough?”

“You bet I’m big enough—strong enough too.”

“College football is a whole new ball game,” Nick said. “Size is important but what really matters is toughness—courage—guts.”

“I’ve got plenty of that.” The boy glanced around the group for confirmation, and his friends dutifully nodded. “We’re gonna destroy Front Royal this season, and you can tell that guy I said so. Better yet, you tell him to come say that to my face, and I’ll straighten him out personally.”

Nick did his best to look impressed. He turned to the rest of the group. “So what’s it like living in a town the size of Endor?”

“Boring,” they groaned in unison.

“You must know everybody in a town this size.”

“Everybody.”

“What about the kid who sold me this pizza?”

“That’s Donny,” one of them said. “He’s a dork.”

“What about the old guy who runs the Skyline Motel—the one with the hair sticking out of his ears?”

“Mr. Denardo,” someone said. “He’s got artificial knees—both of ’em.”

Nick let a beat pass before he asked, “What about the witch?”

No one answered.

Nick looked around the group. “C’mon—somebody here must know the witch.”

There was a pause. “We know about her,” someone said quietly.

“You mean nobody’s actually met her? Nobody’s talked to her?”

They shook their heads in astonishment. “Nobody talks to the witch. She lives up on the mountain, and she never comes down.”

“Never? What does she do for food?”

“She eats dogs.”

“She eats dogs?”

“It’s true,” one of the girls said. “My friend Keisha saw her—at the animal shelter over in Cedarville. She was opening all the cages and feeling all the puppies—she was looking for the fattest ones to take back with her.”

“What does the witch look like?”