City of the Dead

Chapter 12

The stars covered the night sky, and the moonlight was serene and calming, that I had not noticed that our group was drawing near the small village. A small speckle of light far in the distance draws near as we inch closer to the village. It's probably been at least a couple of hours since I left my group in Hamunaptra. These past few hours gave me some time to contemplate my decision to leave. There could have been some things that I wish I could have changed, especially towards Isaac, but what's done is done, I'm past the point of no return.

As we arrived at the village, there was an uproar of music and laughter. There is still life despite how late at night it probably was. There was some sort of celebration occurring in the village as children were playing with toys and there was live music playing. The two medjai warriors guided me through the village and made our way to a watering hole, where they halted and dismounted off their horses. I did the same and grabbed my horse's lead to make its way to the water. The two men gestured for me to follow them, "This way Ms. Cambell."

I followed them to a small tent and as I entered, it was a quaint living space, there was a small lamp and bedding on the floor that looked rather comfortable. I turned to the two men and expressed my gratitude to them, "Thank you, I appreciate you men doing this. I don't know how to thank you and your leader enough."

"Do not thank us, Ms. Cambell," said one of the warriors. I gave a faint smile, but that smile quickly turned into a face of concern and my mind was trying to revert back into my deep thoughts. I tried not to return to that state of silence, because I knew that if I get to that point, I would never be able to come out of it until morning. Laughter erupted from outside the tent, as I placed my belongings next to the bedding. The laughter of children just outside, reminded me of my younger days, playing outside during a holiday of some sort. The sound of children definitely helped my mind be at ease, as I was curious to what they were celebrating. "What are they celebrating?" I had asked the two warriors, who I assumed were still in the tent with me.

"It's Ramadan." said a voice that I knew too well. I turned to see him, the man in black from earlier today. I didn't even notice him entering the tent, he took off his face covering as he said something in Arabic as the two men stepped out of the tent. I had not expect him to be here, yet I feel as though, he never left my side. "I didn't expect you to be here" I said.

He started to look around the tent, as if inspecting the living conditions were sub par to his standards. "I had to make sure you had made it here safe and to return this to you." He replied as he held up the New Kingdom of Egypt book in front of me. I was shocked to see the book that he took last night, was returned back to me. "My book, I thought I was never going to get this back." I had said."It was only fair that I brought this back to you, it's not in my nature to steal things that don't belong to me," he replied. He handed me the book and his fingers grazed the palm of my hand, sending shivers down my body. I tried to ignore my bodies reaction to that and expressed my gratitude to him. "You didn't have to do that, but I greatly appreciate it. I'm sorry you went out of your way to accommodate me, but I assure you I plan on returning the favor."

He laughed at my comment and said, "If more people were like you, maybe we would be helping out travelers more." I paused at his comment, as I suspect they don't get many travelers who probably don't have good intentions. "Why is that?" I had asked.

"Not many people have a good moral compass when it comes to empathy or doing what's right. But you Ms. Cambell are different." The man took a step closer towards me and I hesitated on taking a step back. He was towering over me, I looked up to meet his eyes as he continued, "You could have attacked me in that tent last night, but instead you used your advantage to protect someone who couldn't protect themselves. Why is that?" I looked at him with such bewilderment as I did not know why I did what I did.