68 Land of the Dead

"Veon, I'm sorry!"

Sheloah did not know what else to say. She didn't know how to appease him. She knew Veon was really angry at her this time and she found it scary.

Veon let out a deep sigh and glared at Sheloah. "You're so hard headed," he said and Sheloah let out a guilty smile. His look softened as he started playing with Sheloah's hair as if she were a child.

"If I tell you not to do it, then don't do it again. But knowing you, I know you'd do it again no matter how many times we've scolded you," he said and Sheloah squinted her eyes at him as she stopped him from playing with her hair.

"Are you worried about me?" Sheloah smiled after she said this jokingly. She knew Veon wouldn't answer her, but was taken aback when he did.

"Yes."

Sheloah coughed when she heard his answer. She suddenly stood up and made up an excuse to get away from him at the moment.

"I'm going to eat now."

She started walking but was stopped in her tracks when she remembered about her plans with Geof later in the evening.

"Oh, right. I'll be having a training with Geof later in their training grounds," she said and Veon looked at her suspiciously.

"I knew you're up to something again," he said and Sheloah rolled her eyes at him.

"You're not my boyfriend," she said and Veon's eyes suddenly avoided hers.

"I-I don't need to be your boyfriend for me to worry about you," he said in defense and Sheloah laughed at him.

"I'm just teasing you, Veon. I know you don't have intentions," she said, feeling a bit sad deep down. She was hiding her disappointment in her laugh.

"Anyway…" She was changing the subject. "I will be really training with Geof later. Just letting you know," she added and Veon nodded at her.

"Okay. In one condition. You have to bring Tyler with you," he said and she got curious.

"Why would I bring Tyler with me," she asked and Veon rubbed both of his palms together.

"Even though Army of True Salvation is getting along well with Weapons of Massive Destruction, I want someone in our group to be with you. Do you really think most of them have softened up already," he reasoned and Sheloah nodded, understanding him.

'He has a point.'

"Just bring Tyler with you later. I don't trust the opposing group just yet. We're still under their territory," Veon said and she nodded once more.

"Got it."

She made way towards the kitchen to get her food. She then returned to her family's hotel room and ate. She also got the opportunity to tell her family about her plans in the evening. At first, her uncle and mother did not allow her but when she told them that Tyler would be with her, they allowed her at the last minute.

***

Geof, Tyler, and Sheloah met each other at the hotel's garden and they started walking towards the bridge for their training.

From all those people Sheloah knew, only Geof and Tyler would know of her usage of the weapon, katana. She was excited with the thought that other people will be surprised once they saw her with a new weapon.

Tyler tapped Sheloah's shoulder. "Did you bring your pistol? Just in case anything gets risky," he asked and Sheloah showed him her gun. Tyler nodded in agreement as they continued walking.

"I have brought extra bullets as well. If you need some, just talk to me," Geof said and the both of them nodded. "We won't stay long at the bridge, okay? This place can get really challenging especially beyond the bridge," he added and the other two got curious.

"What's the place beyond the bridge," Sheloah asked and Geof stretched both of his arms, warming himself up.

"The land of the dead," he answered and the three of them stopped in front of the car crash on the bridge.

Tyler and Geof left their bags at one side and they got bullets from it for them to load their guns. They started climbing on some cars but as they went in further, Sheloah stopped Geof as she could not get something out of her mind.

"I'm just curious but what do you mean by 'land of the dead'," she asked and Geof sighed.

"The cemetery," he answered briefly and they continued climbing up more cars. When they reached the ground, the three of them sat down for a moment to take a look on the location's situation.

They were hiding from the zombies and there are quite a number of them.

Sheloah looked at Geof. "We can't train in the cemetery," she asked and the boy looked at the girl seriously.

"There's something weird about the cemetery," he trailed off as he checked his gun one more time if it was properly loaded. "When we went there, two of my comrades died and I was the only one who was alive. I just prioritized my escape," Geof added and Tyler and Sheloah suddenly got interested in his story.

"What happened in the cemetery," Tyler asked then they waited for his answer.

Geof looked depressed as he recalled the memory. It seemed that something bad had happened during their visit at the cemetery.

"It was the first day of the zombie apocalypse that time and we were looking for resources. It was during the evening when the horrible event happened."

He started telling his story to the other two people he was with.