Hope

Chapter Three: The Mission

We were back in the wagon rolling on the road. It was so much like yesterday that I found myself growing bored. It was apparently too early in the morning for anyone to start a conversation with anyone else. Zack wasn't much for talking in the first place and Jing kept dozing off. Tasha just sat on top of a crate and stared off into the distance like Zack had done yesterday and Rebecca was stretched out on the floor looking very bored and tired at the same time.

However, later in the morning, we all had a drink of water and afterwards felt more like talking. Zack still didn't say much, but Jing was more awake and Rebecca appeared slightly less bored.

"So, what do you think of our merry little band?" Rebecca asked.

"It's fun," I said absently, thinking of my tribe. "I wish I were home, though. As much as it was hard sometimes."

Rebecca had a wistful look on her face. "I wish I could go home, too. But I never knew home. I've been running all my life, be it from my past, my magic, or the soldiers." She shuddered.

"I wonder what Zack's past is," I mused, looking at him. Again, he seemed to hear me, shaking his head a little as if warning me off.

"Well, it must be pretty horrific if he's going to clam up like that all the time," Rebecca muttered. "Seriously, has he ever trusted anyone in his life?"

"Maybe he's never had anyone he could trust in his life," Jing suggested. "Maybe we should try being nice to him and maybe he will trust us enough to let us know something of his past."

"Sometimes the past is more dangerous than you realize." It was Tasha's voice, breaking the silence of agreement. "My past has caught up to me many times, enough to make me wary of who I tell my story to. I know of children who have parents that were evil. Their children were so ashamed of them that some even changed their names to get rid of that legacy. Perhaps Zack has that kind of past and we should respect his choice."

"Or maybe he's hiding something more dangerous than that," Rebecca muttered. "Something that puts us in danger."

"The worst thing has already happened to some of us," Jing whispered to Rebecca. "It's only luck that something worse didn't happen to you. You don't know the full story of what happened to Tasha that night. And believe me, you don't want to."

Rebecca shuddered. "I can guess. And I think my imagination's enough. Okay, I suppose that as long as his secret doesn't get us killed, I'll be fine with it." She shot a glare at Zack, which he ignored.

It was then that I had a thought. "What would happen if a bunch of soldiers stop us?" I asked.

Tasha shrugged. "Well, we look like refugees. And there's enough of us that they won't bother us. At least, as long as we don't make any trouble. We haven't been stopped for weeks now, not since before we picked up Zack. Maybe he's a good luck charm for all his strangeness."

Zack was also silent at this, but I could see in his eyes what he thought of being a good luck charm. I wasn't entirely sure I agreed with him, but since I didn't know what he was hiding, he could be right.

Stan, I found, was very fond of singing. I didn't care much for most of the songs that I heard my tribe-mates sing sometimes, but Stan's songs were decent enough, I supposed.

"A pretty maid once came to me

She said to me 'If you would come with me

I could help you and you could set me free'

I said to the maid

'I'll be with you once I write this song

And it can be ours once you're free