The nightmares were still there, lurking in the shadows of her mind, but no matter how disturbing they were, she’d seen the images many times before and now a part of her was immune to the horror. This upset her as much as the visions, as she felt as if a piece of her humanity was being eroded. The others didn’t see it. They thought she was someone to be admired and Alyssa did nothing to change their minds. In this place, no matter how thin the reed of hope that someone clung to, she would never take that away from them. Most often it was all they had. Last night, though, she’d felt so proud to stand beside her people. As usual Zannah, as well as Balfruss and Tammy, had fought with great skill, but for once her people had done more than the usual poking and prodding. She’d seen them lose hope, but then they’d dug deep and rallied again. Perhaps it was because they were starting to fully understand the odds stacked against them. Perhaps they’d found their inner strength and had decided it was time to fight back.
