"Welcome to day two of the Games everyone!" the anchor announced cheerily. "Today the remaining four competitors will be paired together again and made to compete. On my right, the screen will appear and display the two teams again for your reference."

Shyra's and Tuhin's faces appeared next to each other on the widescreen again alongside the other team. The second challenge's details scrolled through the screen and saddled to a stop below the competitors. The anchor squinted at the words and read them for everyone's benefit.

"Today's challenge depends on planning and coordination, plus a huge amount of individual skill of each competitor. The field will be turned into a mock battlefield, and both teams will be given flags they need to protect from various hurdles and attacking forces. There's no need to seize the other team's flag or anything," he said, correctly guessing the doubt in everyone's minds. "The teams will be occupied enough in protecting their flag, so getting the other team's flag is completely unnecessary."

The screen changed to an enormous timer that was held for an hour.

"There will be one hour to defend the flags. If they get stolen from their position or get ripped beyond recognition, then that team is out of the Games."

The audience drew a collective breath and gasped as the Arena rose and fell in perfect coordination, creating a rough terrain marred by lumps of sand and cairns of rocks stacked randomly.

Two tiny hills appeared on either side of the Arena, and atop them, two flags fluttered in the breeze. Both of them were bright red in color, Shyra observed. Something that would make it an obvious target for whatever was going to attack them.

"Competitors, choose either side of the Arena and prepare to guard your flag."

Shyra and Tuhin looked at each other and, in unison, ran toward the left side of the field. Taking their cue, the other team grabbed the right side and took up vigil there.

They stopped at the base of the hill and put their heads together for a quick strategy meeting.

"So your strengths are sword fighting and the spear, right?" Shyra asked, having had this discussion with him the previous day. Tuhin nodded and pulled out his spear from the holder on his back, spinning it around for emphasis.

Shyra sighed at him and counted their attributes on her fingers. "So I can do archery extremely well, plus I'm good with a sword as well."

"Princess," Tuhin interrupted, trying to point over her shoulder, but Shyra was distracted enough by the spear to tolerate his disturbances. She shushed him and started listing their common strengths and weaknesses.

"Both of us know martial arts and have learned monster fighting, in case they launch monsters at us. I think they mentioned a few other weapons distributed through the Arena. I've trained with most of the weapons known to humankind. What about you? It really depends on..."

"Can you run, Princess?" Tuhin asked, looking over her shoulder.

"What?" she asked, getting seriously annoyed with him now. She was considering asking for a more serious partner when she heard it too. A distant rumble on the horizon. It sounded like a stampede of people was running toward them.

She spun around immediately, drawing her sword and slicing through the air on impulse. Everything happened too fast, but she could see enough to make out that she had slain a wild Naand, whose head and body had been severed by her blade. It trembled for a moment before collapsing at her feet.

She let out a small cry of shock and scrambled up the hill, followed closely by Tuhin. She now understood what he'd been trying to warn her against, but he seemed to be in too much of a shock to gloat over it and annoy her with I-told-you-so.

They ran through the dry expanse of the hill and stood back to back with Tuhin. Below them, a terrifying scene was playing out.

The field was overrun by Naands. Shyra remembered reading about them in her books, but in those stories, they had been kind and intelligent creatures. They'd descended from animals called bulls, and their evolutions had caused them to grow to huge proportions, with everything from their horns to humps to legs becoming bigger to adapt to the new environment.

To her surprise, though, these Naands seemed vicious and quite unlike the ones she'd read about. They were snorting and kicking up billows of dust by pawing at the ground. Some of them tried to climb up the hill to reach the competitors, but luckily, they seemed to be unable to scale the high terrain.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she scanned the Arena to figure out a way to deal with the beasts. "Do you see any openings in the Arena that we can use to get rid of these animals?" she asked Tuhin. He squinted around the Arena in response, prompting Shyra to do the same.

"Where did they even come from?" she mumbled, putting her hand over her forehead. Tuhin tilted his head and stared at the edge of the Arena, from where the beasts were spilling in. The door closed as soon as a Naand slipped through until another monster banged at the doors and opened it.

"I have an idea," Shyra whispered, following Tuhin's gaze and tapping her chin. "We can send them back the way they came in. Which means, we need to utilize those doors and shoo them out of the Arena."

"But how is that possible? Didn't those doors open for less than an amsha?"

"They did..." Shyra replied with a mischievous smile, "But that doesn't mean they're going to remain like that for long."

"Uh oh," Tuhin said with a groan. "I don't like that look. Whenever anyone gives that look, I'm made to do dangerous, life-threatening tasks."

Shyra grinned, picked up his spear, and brandished it in the air. "Now let me ask you your question again. Can you run, Tuhin?"

Kshanas later, Tuhin found himself running across the Arena with his spears in his hands, cursing softly at his fate. Behind him, he could hear Shyra clamber down the hill and yell at the Naands, who took their own sweet time to respond to her. Once they took notice of her, though, they stormed to her with wild eyes and ragged breaths.

Tuhin's heart rate picked up and he sprinted across the field, skidding to a stop right before the doors. He shuffled to the side and hid beside one of the doors, waiting for the right moment to strike.

A loud yammering sounded beyond the door, and he tensed in anticipation. Tuhin raised his spear at an angle and the light caught Shyra's eye, alerting her as well. The yapping grew louder and louder until the great doors creaked open and another Naand bounded through them.

Tuhin struck at once, ramming both his spears into openings on the side of the doors and locking them into place. The doors strained against the spears and Tuhin feared that his spears would break, but after a little rasp, they held the doors firmly open.

"Shyra!" he called, waving both hands above his head. Shyra glanced at him in the midst of fighting off a Naand and, seeing that the doors were open, bounded toward them. The furious Naand gave chase immediately, whisking through the lumpy terrain at a terrifying speed.

The strange entourage sped towards the open doors with Shyra in the lead. She counted down the seconds with her fingers, and at the last possible moment, jumped to the side. The Naands, unable to control their speed, raced past her and ran through the doors. By the time they realized what had happened, Tuhin had extracted his spears and rammed the doors shut. The Naands head-butted the doors furiously, but the doors remained firmly glued in place.

Behind Tuhin and Shyra, a loud cheer rose from the crowd and embraced them in a warm smother. They turned around and bowed to the audience, soaking in all the praise.

"Fifteen minutes are up," Tuhin said, glancing at the timer as they sprinted back to their flag. "What do you think our next challenge will be?"

"Well, whatever it is, I just hope that we survive it."