"This is a survival. We will only use our swiss knife, focusing on our melee attacks. It would be a one versus one battle. The person who dies loses. If you win, we can share the land and you can have our things and go," Ray said and Veon folded his arms in front of his chest.
"And if you win," he asked and Ray smirked at him.
"The land is still ours, of course, and you have to go back to where you came from. And one more... I want to have whatever resources you guys have," he said and everyone was already irritated to hear these conditions.
"Take it or leave it," Ray said finally and he chuckled evilly a bit, intimidating everyone.
Veon took a deep breath, then released it. "I accept to the terms and conditions. Just stay true to what you said," Veon said and the people in Veon's group suddenly got surprised.
'He really accepted the challenge!'
"What's the name of your group," Ray asked and Veon answered.
"Army of True Salvation."
Ray approached Veon and they shook hands on their agreement to the challenge's terms and conditions.
"Tomorrow, 7AM sharp, in this location. Your group versus Weapons of Massive Destruction," Ray said and Veon nodded.
Their group started leaving and Veon started walking away.
Sheloah followed him as she was surprised by the sudden turn of events. A lot of parents also disagreed to the challenge, but there's nothing they could do. The two groups could start a mini war against themselves if they back out halfway.
"Veon, wait!"
Sheloah walked fast despite her body aching in pain. Veon was walking through what seemed to be fields and beside it was a river.
"Hey, Veon!" Sheloah finally caught up to him and she held his hand, making him stop.
"What," he said rather coldly and Sheloah looked at him with sad eyes.
"Are you really going to do it? The challenge?" Veon nodded at him.
"We don't have a choice. He won't change the rules. For sure, he wants to get what we have. Those buses... those weapons... what we worked hard for. He will take this as his advantage," he added and his hands turned into fists and Sheloah released his hand.
"That desperate guy..." She commented. "We could escape silently in the middle of the night," Sheloah suggested and Veon looked at her sharply.
"You think it will work? Don't be stupid, Sheloah. They might be watching the whole area. Once we betray these conditions, they might attack," Veon said and Sheloah nodded sadly.
"I'm sorry," she said and Veon sighed.
"I'll just do my best tomorrow," Veon said and Sheloah looked at him with worry.
"What if you lose," she asked and it got Veon's attention. "What if... you die? I don't want that to happen," she added when she remembered the conditions of the challenge.
"That won't happen," Veon just said, assuring Sheloah not to worry but he knew she was still worried about him.
Veon started walking away as he decided to end the conversation. Sheloah watched his back as her heart started aching when she thought of the possibilities of tomorrow's death match.
Despite her aching body, Sheloah had the energy and strength to run after Veon. She caught up to him and she hugged him tightly, her head resting on Veon's back. He was suddenly taken aback by her embrace.
"Wait..."
Sheloah's heart started beating fast at this point. Veon didn't move. He was waiting for Sheloah to speak. It took them a minute to stay in this position before Sheloah released him from her embrace.
"I..."
She wasn't too sure of what to say. She struggled to look at him as her face started turning red. Her eyes clumsily met his and Veon suddenly felt embarrassed by Sheloah's shy movements. He never saw her like this before.
Sheloah's hands turned into fists as she now looked at Veon completely with determined eyes. It was like she was possessed by her motivation to speak her thoughts and feelings out loud.
"I have to tell you something," she finally said and Veon nodded at her once, signalling for her to speak and that he was willing to listen.
She will finally tell Veon of her feelings towards him.