We Dream of Hope

Journey Begins

“How is she?” Maat had waited all night for any sign of improvement from her friend. Nadia didn’t stir once and looked so peaceful.

“As well as can be expected honestly.” Odion hoped that she would have at least made some noise by now. He had watched her all night just wishing for anything to show that she would be better. He didn’t want to rush her progression, but at the same time, he knew they needed to continue to move. The sun was rising and they didn’t make nearly as much ground as he would have liked. 

Maat had the same concern wash over her, normally she would have been more considerate and allow this to run its course, with everything happening now they really needed to continue, “Would you be able to carry her? We really need to get going if we want to get down the mountain.” Maat calculated they had about an hour or two before other demons started to swarm. That light Nadia displayed was more than just power. Ma’at knew it was an open call to the world letting them know the angels weren’t dead. It was only a matter of time before they ran into another beast ready to say they were the one to take out an angel. 

“She really needs to sleep.” It pained him to no end, he knew she was right, but at the same time, he didn’t want to risk harming Nadia. He was still new to his two feet and he didn’t want to compound the issue by taking away his arms. He had traveled behind them so far and the two didn’t notice how much difficulty he was having with just maintaining his balance. His arms helped him more than they knew with keeping his footing. He had seen Nadia just hours before using her arms, and he was thankful to her for giving him that bit of aid. 

“You don’t think I know that?” Maat sneered, she was friends with Nadia far before this half breed, and all of a sudden he wanted to start saying what was best for her?

“Just give her a little more time. She’ll wake up soon.”

Maat had just about enough of this he was starting to overstep his bounds, Nadia was her friend first. Maat knew he had lived mostly on his own and was used to just going his own way, but now, with the three of them, they needed to be more diplomatic. 

“I get you want to leave. I just think she needs more time. She hasn’t had much sleep and the break takes a lot out of someone.”

“What are you her new pet?” It was aggressive and a bit louder said than Maat would have liked. Luckily there was a stir from Nadia before Odion had a chance to answer. “Di!” She interjected, though took note of the hateful glare tossed her way. 

Nadia smiled her head was clear and she felt like a whole new person. She was surrounded by feelings that she never really knew she could feel and still be okay. She was scared of what was going to happen next and it was exhilarating. She was ready to rush into this new chapter of her life. She was ready to tackle what came next. 

“Are you going to be okay?” Maat leaned down and tried to push her way closer to replace Odion.

Nadia became all too aware of the crowd and her smile faded, “Are you guys alright?” 

They both laughed and then turned to each other before tossing a mean look. They retreated giving her more space though the rivalry was still alive between them. Maat rushed to offer her hand which Nadia took and Odion backed off.

“We need to start moving.” Odion seemed annoyed but they knew he was right. They already took a risk staying put for this long. 

Maat rolled her eyes, she really did agree with him, but she didn’t want to. He was really starting to get on her nerves and everything he did or said she just despised. “You’re right, how about Nadia and I get a head start so you can bring up the rear as you so professionally demonstrated last night.”

Odion sneered, “Wolf packs the weakest go first, so that’s probably where you feel the most comfortable.”

“Wow…” Nadia interrupted but they didn’t seem to notice.

“Clearly wolf-like is where you are most comfortable. Maybe we could move faster if you knew how to walk.”

“Forgive me for not being a prisoner by choice.”

“Forgiven as long as you forgive me for sticking around to make sure Nadia was okay.”

“Okay guys, I think you all made your point.” Again Nadia tried to interrupt but they were face to face continuing their bickering. Finally, after another few rounds, Nadia stepped between them. Her arms though still tired tried their hardest to push the two muscled warriors to make some impact. It affected Odion more than Maat. He fell over and looked back a little stunned at what happened. Before they could continue the argument Nadia continued, “Now both of you need to shut up and get moving. I don’t care where anyone walks but I’m heading that way. If no one follows me then so be it.”

“Nadia.” Maat quietly tried to interrupt but her friend was in a rush. 

“I’m not going to spend the entire day listening to his stupidity! I swear if you two don’t find a way to get along then I will find a way to make it without you.”

“Right Nadia we understand but-” 

“Don’t interrupt me let me finish! You both have had enough time to prove your dominance, and I will be gosh darn damned if I don’t get to make my peace!” She looked at them before continuing and they were letting her continue though they both were holding back a smile. Still, Nadia couldn’t pay attention to that. She had things to say and she was going to stay wrapped up in these emotions, “Now Maat you are my best friend. I value you and everything you have done just to make sure that we are safe. Odion, thank you for saving my life on many occasions. You are both important to me and I want you both to be around and I want you both to continue to help me. You cannot do that while fighting. So please.” She got more calm and sincere, “Please can you both stop and get along so we can go? I am tired of this stupid mountain and I want to get off it before I go insane.”

Odion spoke up first, “We will, I promise, get off this mountain, but that isn't the way to go.”

Maat laughed, “I’ll lead, we’re going to my town anyway.”

“Your town?” Nadia never gave it much thought but after hearing how she really came to be at the camp she was more interested in her friend’s past than she had been before. “So you remember what happened?” 

“Of course I do.I just never told anyone because first I wasn’t allowed, and second honestly who would have believed me?”

The trio set off but Nadia was burdened by questions. She didn’t want to pry but at the same time she just found out that she hardly knew her best friend. 

“Nadia wants to know what happened to you.” Odion called out she shot him a deadly look. 

Maat rolled her eyes. “If she really wants to know she’d tell me herself. I know she’s too nice to say it to you, but I don’t give two shits about your feelings. So let me make this clear. If you don’t stop listening to her thoughts or at least saying them out loud then I will cut your tongue out and feed it to a cat.” 

Nadia was surprisingly thankful for that exposition. She was getting tired of the little trick that Odion could play and he didn’t seem to carry enough normal decency skills to be able to guess when it was best to use his talent and when it was just completely unwelcomed. 

“Honestly, I have no problem telling you now. If you really want to know.” 

“Of course I want to know Maat, you’re my best friend.”

Maat smiled, though thinking of what happened when she was little did bring up some hurtful memories. Still, she was strong and her past made her prepared for what would be her future. “My parents were descendants of the Medjay. They were an elite force that was gifted with strength to fight and be the best out on the battlefield. Their kind were pretty much the foot soldiers that had the highest kill counts of the demons.

 My parents were skilled, my mother was a deadly warrior and my father was the best medical expert around. They were part of a military from another land but were captured by the demons during the last end of the war. They kept them alive to offer as a trade but were never really supposed to live long. Once the war ended the demons pretty much had free reign to do with the prisoners as they saw fit. Because of what they were they were deemed more valuable. See some demons like to collect people. Pretty much like where we were living. It’s not a pretty thing to witness. The general gist of it was the rarer the type of person the more money they could fetch. Being Medjay they were the rarest, the last of the ancient race who were made to counteract demons.

My mother was strong. She held a sword like it was a part of her. When I was with her she taught me to how to handle a weapon. She wanted me prepared for when I could escape. She didn’t know that she was pregnant with me when she was caught. They forced her to keep me and then afterward she had to raise me in a small cell. It was like that until they deemed me old enough to sell. The day the market opened my mother tried to help me. She tried to not get attached to me, but she couldn’t help wanting to make sure I was a warrior. All she ever wanted was to see me not have to go through the auction. She had fashioned a small wooden knife that she was going to use to take down as many demons as she could. When they came for me she fought, I tried to help, but I was still so young. 

They took me and afterward overpowered my mother. When they took me outside I finally saw my father. He was supposed to be just as much of a warrior as she was, but what I saw was a shadow of a man. His legs had been removed to make sure he couldn’t escape. I guess he had tried too many times. They dragged him out beside me and my mother. That wasn’t even the worse part.” She stopped talking for a while almost growing angry before calming back down to finish her story. “The worst part. When we were brought outside I met a young demon. His horns had just started to come in but they were yellow and ugly yellow that just made me disgusted. His skin was red, completely stained, like the color of red that carried in the sunset sky. His eyes were completely dark brown almost black there was not white. I just can never forget the look on his face. He was scared. There was this creature behind him. It had its hand on the boy’s shoulder. He seemed human, but it was sinister. He towered over everyone but they all seemed to give him respect. He was dressed in a suit and looked like he never saw any hardship in his life. As he stood over my family the boy judged us. He didn’t want to sell us, he seemed to be trying to talk the large man out of it. After some time of it went to begging. The boy started to cry and that’s when things turned ugly. The large man, stepped forward and plunged his hand through my father pulling his heart out. He turned back to the boy and screamed at him. I don’t remember what he said. I was too busy watching my father’s body convulse on the ground spilling blood all over the ground. Some got on my shoes, but I was too afraid to move. My mother whispered something to me and started to cry. That’s when the tall man shed his stupid disguise. He changed his appearance. He looked like what I always thought the angels would have looked like. He still looked very much like a demon. He had bright blue skin, he was covered in scars and his wings were colorful. They were bright and cheerful colors that I never would have thought could belong to such a hateful creature. In one swift movement, his hand held my mother’s neck, and with the other hand, he shoved my father’s heart down her throat. 

Afterward, the boy was sent away and the demon wiped his hands clean on my mother’s clothes. I was carried up a set of stairs to a stage. There I heard what I was worth. They told the crowd full of demons, some trying to appear more human than others, that I was a specialty. I was the last of my kind, newly endangered and there was no chance of having another purebred Medjay. I was bought by that thing and then he made up this story to make it seem like I stumbled in during a storm. It was a hard thing to see and even harder to suppress.” She snapped back to the present, her eyes seemed to cloud and she cleared her throat. 

“Maat, I had no idea,” Nadia tried to feel her friend’s pain. She knew that she could never fully understand what happened and she could never even begin to feel the same hurt, but she was sympathetic. Everything she went through and as her best friend she never knew. “I’m sorry.” Tears started to stream down her face and she jumped on Maat embracing her. “You never told me what happened! I’m just so sorry.”

Maat hugged her back, but really felt it was unnecessary, “Di, it happened a long time ago. Trust me. I’m fine. Everything that happened it brought me to you which let’s be honest you needed me.” 

“That’s not true. You had to see all that and be raised in that and that all happened to you and…” She kept trying to talk but her tears overflowed her voice. 

“Can you calm down Nadia? Really, everything is fine.” Maat didn’t want this to continue. It was awkward and she was starting to believe she shared too much. “You know Odion never shared his past with you. Maybe you should ask him.”

Odion laughed, “I was a wolf so I did wolf things. Your’s was way more entertaining.”

Maat glared at him then wrestled her way free of Nadia. “Look. I’m not saying it was no big deal, I’m just saying that I’m done focusing on it. I had my chance to focus when I was little. For now, I continue to fight and now that we are free from that monster I get to go back to that town and free the people down there.” 

“Wait, that’s the same town Odion and I saw? The one where we’re going?” Nadia wiped her face

“That was the plan. I mean we are heading into demon territory, so we have to be careful, but it’s really the only place that I know of. Demons don’t like to make huge towns here, so it’s not a coincidence that it’s the same place.”

Odion interjected, “Apparently, though it’s not entirely the same, the town has gone through some changes. There’s a girl down there that we need to meet. She’s apparently going to help us. Nadia and I heard it.”

Nodding, Nadia recalled the loud broadcast that split her head wide open. She wanted to meet this powerful mind talker, but she was unsure at this moment if she wanted to meet her to talk to her or to scold her for giving her the biggest headache she ever felt.