Immediately they see George, all the soldiers in our troop. All forty-nine, except me and 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.
All 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 it before coming here, didn't we? It's what we signed up for! We knew we'd die but still.. before we die.." he drags the table where we're hiding and offers both me and Jeriq his two hands.
