Immediately they see George, all the soldiers in our troop — all forty-nine, except me, Jeriq, and the passed out Lanin — stand up.
They stump their feet on the ground.
The ground shakes again, and I hold Jeriq steady under the table.
As the soldiers salute, "Captain!" They all cry out in unison.
"My men!" George yells. "It's that time again!" He steps inside the tent slowly, his cape fluttering behind his back. "That time when we have to challenge ourselves! To prove to the world that we still have something left in us to give before we die! Do not fret!" He walks in; toward where I and Jeriq are hiding. "Do not cower!" He drops a spear on the ground next to Jeriq.
Where'd he get that from?
Jeriq wastes no time and grabs the spear.
"We all knew this before we came here, didn't we? It's what we signed up for! We all knew we'd die. But still.. before we die.." he drags the table where we're hiding, throws it by the side, and offers both me and Jeriq his two hands.
