Veiled Horizons

Chapter Twenty-Three: Ron

“What weapon are you going to choose, Ron?” Eva asked. They had been sitting beside the river for a long time, watching the others choose each weapons and training.

Ron looked down at his hands, imagining himself holding each weapons. But none seemed perfect for him.

“I...” Ron began, “I Honestly don't know” he said, looking back at Eva.

But Eva gave a warm smile, patting his back. “I'm sure you'll figure it out” she said, comforting him.

Ron glanced at the others. His eyes moving from Scarlett, who was making arrows,  Adlyn, who was just gripping something firmly and looking at it, in his curled hand, to Bellamy, who wrapped a cloth around a tree, and his knuckles then started punching the tree where the cloth was tied. It was like he made a makeshift punching bag.

His muscles flexed from the dimly lit rays of the evening sun. He looked raged, his eyes glowed like fire as he punched the tree harder. Eventually bleeding from his already wounded knuckle. For which, he got a smack from Sia and settled on a rock nearby.

Moving his eyes not far from them, he saw Ash. He was... Sleeping?  Ron had to blink twice and rub his eyes to make sure what he saw was right. While everyone else were working hard, he was sleeping. At least he looked like it. Leaning back to a tree, eyes closed, with a calm demeanor, sat Ash.

'What's with this guy...'  Ron wondered, before shifting his gaze from him.

Ron's eyes finally landed on the sight of his best friend, Zane, training to shoot gun, with Anderson, supervised by Ed. Ron decided to give gun a chance and got up from his place beside Eva.

“I'll go try shooting a gun” Ron said, brushing the dirt off the back of his pants, “I must try my best not to be helpless, maybe gun is the thing for me”

Eva smiled, supporting his decision. She decided to stay where she was and signaled Ron to go on.

Ron walked over to Ed. He stood beside Zane, who looked concentrated on the target before him— A steel can. He shot and it hit the can. Zane jumped in excitement, saying it was his first time hitting the target. For which, in response, Ed shook his head dismissively, exhaling sharply and wiping the sweat off his face using his hand. Then he looked at Ron.

“Hey, um... I wanted you to teach me how to shoot a gun” Ron scratched the back of his head.

Ed inhaled sharply, then nodded. He gave a pistol to Ron.

“There are only few more loads left for training. Use each bullet carefully” Ed advised.

Ron nodded, unsure what to say. Ed's words put a lot of pressure on him, as he didn't feel choosing a weapon was so difficult. Ron aimed at the can before him. His hands sturdy and unsettled. Ed adjusted his posture and set him right.

Ron felt a slight sense of confidence wash over him as he placed a finger on the trigger, slowly pressing it. And bang. He shot.

A can fell down. His brows flattened. Ed took the can and examined it. He brought it to Ron and saw a mark that showed the bullet piercing it from the side.

Ron felt victorious but unsatisfied. He believed it was out of pure luck. Ron continued shooting. Some hitting the target while some didn't. He could feel Ed's narrowed eyes on him. Zane and Anderson stood on either side,  shooting in sync with Ron.

After twenty minutes or so, Ed signaled them to stop. Then he walked over to stand at the centre of the group. The land had a shade of grass where he stood. He told everyone to stop what they were doing and listen to him.

“You're all working really hard, I can see that. But weapons and training can only get you so far. We need a proper plan if we're going to get them” Ed announced.

The group started sitting on the ground, most of them sweaty. Which made Ron realise how sweaty he was. As he earnestly listened to Ed's words, he could feel drops of sweat run down his temple and the side of his cheek, feeling wet and ticklish. Then he felt a warm sensation, which made him startle. Then he gave in to the soft touch when he found it was Eva. She held a cloth to his face and wiped the sweat away.

Ron found himself smiling at Eva, who smiled back at him. Ron sat with his legs crossed under him, while Eva did the same and sat beside him on the ground. The rest of the group sat before them, looking up at Ed, who stood at the front looking at all of them.

“So, First we'll split. One group lead by me, will go directly to the monitoring room, while the other group distract the security men who would be guarding the place. Then by the time they come back, we'll get the files and both group will meet at the shore where your ship crashed.” Ed said, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Ron noticed the others murmering and nodding on Ed's words. He felt the plan would be great if executed well. He didn't understand which group he would be in. The one entering into their main base or the one distracting and keeping away from it?

“I'll choose who should be in each group. For that, I'd need to see each of your skills.” Ed's smirk never left his lips, “I believe in each one of you. Don't let your potential go to waste” he shifted his gaze through each one of them.

Ron looked down, reflecting on Ed's words. Trying to find out how he will fit into the plan, and what his skill was.

He could find that most of the others had a skill which set them apart. Just glancing around he saw how each of them will be useful.

Bellamy was the arm of the group. His muscular physique itself was proof of it.

‘He will be chosen for the first group probably’, Ron thought as a possibility.

Sia could use knife well. But Ron couldn't figure out which group she would be chosen for.

‘Scarlett's great in archery’, Ron assumed. Seeing how she was making arrows and had a bow. She could do well in distracting the enemies.

Then his gaze shifted towards Adlyn ‘Adlyn has... Well, he has a determined mind. Maybe that'll do’, Ron thought, looking at something sharp and shiny on Adlyn's hand. He tried to figure out what it was, but failed as Adlyn inserted it to the back of his pants.

In Adlyn's case, he would probably demand to be in the first team, which would help him get his revenge. Ron quickly averted his eyes when Adlyn glanced at him.

Then Ron shifted his eyes to look at Asher, who sat at the back. Ron had to look over his shoulder, his pupils moving to the corner of his eyes to get a good look at what Ash's reaction was to Ed's plan. But Ron didn't find it surprising that Ash didn't seem interested. The guy always looked pretty ignorant.

Anderson and Zane seemed to be learning to shoot much better than Ron. Which made him think they would be more useful in the plan than himself.

He didn't count Eva. Not because she wasn't useful, but in truth, Ron didn't want her to be in the plan. Unlike Sia, Eva didn't have any fighting skill to protect herself. He wanted her to wait somewhere safe while he and the others execute the plan.

Analysing each member, Ron felt useless. He scratched his head, thinking, as if searching for an empty slot in the plan where he could get in. He felt like a spare piece of an already completed puzzle— existing, but with no place to fit.