Half of the women abducted with Elza were claimed on the first day. Kallig, the leader of the brutes, granted each claim after a dramatic pause. His men seemed to have a good sense of their place in the social order and none made a selection before his betters were done. The division of spoils was handled in a solemn fashion by the brutes. The women all wept quietly in acceptance of their fate except for one who chose to struggle. That one was held down while her new man claimed her before everyone. The others were too numb to resist.
Hess watched the proceedings from a distance, scowling his disapproval. Kallig shouted for Hess to leave several times, but the other men pretended not to notice their witness. Elza already had a good feel for the group dynamic of this tribe, but Hess did not fit into the system. The tribe was ruled by fear and intimidation. The strongest and fiercest men commanded great respect. The weaker men endured the abuse of their betters. The women born into the tribe presented a meek face to the men but had a parallel power structure among themselves. The only person who didn't fit was Hess.
She didn't understand why Kallig constantly berated Hess, nor why Hess ignored the insults and commands. Kallig would not tolerate disobedience from someone he could kill. Affection obviously did not exist between Hess and him, so fear must hold his hand. But if Hess was superior in battle, why did he restrain himself? Did his status as an outsider mean that the other men would not follow him? Or did he object to the brutality of the others? If so, then why did he stay?
The puzzle of Hess was a welcome distraction from speculating on her fate. When the selections were done that first night, the un-chosen women slept fitfully on the bare earth while their relatives and friends were taken into the tents of the men. Elza noted the condition of her unwanted companions that night: gray hair, rotted teeth, unsightly blemishes, and sickly frames. Despite her apparent youth and health, in terms of attractiveness men grouped Elza with the old and disabled. She liked to think it made her more objective, but tonight she worried that the rejection of the men would come to cause her greater pain in the morning.
All of the women knew their future was grim. Being taken tonight would be bad, but being taken tomorrow would be worse. They had no future in this tribe of brutality but to suffer. If Elza could not slip away soon, the men would discover that her wounds vanished in moments. Given their sadistic streak, that could lead to a rather long torture session.
Elza spotted a sentry the moment she sat up. His outline turned towards her movement. She lay back on the ground. They were waiting for someone to attempt an escape. Throughout the night, she periodically checked to see if the sentries were awake. They always were. Morning dawned without her sleeping a single moment.
The camp came awake slowly, first children bringing the embers of the previous night's fires back to life, then women grinding acorns into meal for bread cooked on hot stones. The men ate smoked meat and bread before separating into hunting parties and guards. The unwanted women huddled together as the camp went about its normal activities. They remained unmolested unless they tried to move beyond the circle of earth where they had been left.
When Hess approached at midmorning, the women were grateful to receive a visitor. The guards averted their eyes when Hess passed. One of the old women asked what would happen to them. Hess knelt in their center. "Do you have a skill? You may be able to save yourself if you can tan hides or braid rope or mix medicines." Hess's normally firm gaze darted to the scenery as he spoke, and Elza knew his words were lies.
The women began to throw out useful skills they knew. Hess deliberated on each offering before agreeing it would be nice to have someone in their tribe who could weave fish traps and knap flint and work clay. The mood rose as the women latched onto the hope Hess provided them.
Elza pondered the question Hess had posed the previous day. Why did no one besides Hess care about the condition of the women? It was the question of a child too young to understand that concepts such as fairness and justice were a fiction created by doting parents. People always did what provided them the most benefit in their circumstances. They raised children with affection to ensure care in their old age. They cooperated to maximize food and safety for all. They fought strangers to preserve their own lives. In some tribes, like this one, they brutalized one another to avoid being the victim.
But Hess did not fit into this tribe. He violated the natural order and survived. She waited until his gaze crossed hers and spoke. "Do you have an answer to your own question? Why is it that no one else cares what happens to us?"
"I've been thinking about you, woman. What is your name?"
Her cheeks burned as she answered. "Elza."
"You don't fit in with your people, Elza. You are smart. You notice things." His eyes darted to the other women. "Don't you think things are better now than before? Imagine if every person tried to make the world better. Life does not have to be the way it is."
Elza noted the firmness of his voice contrasted with his hunched posture. There was some conflict within him. "You didn't answer the question."
"I guess I didn't. This probably won't mean anything to you, but the answer to my question is that He made this world wrong." Hess placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly. "I'm sorry, but the only help I can give is false hope. You would make a fascinating study under better conditions."
After he departed, one of the women spoke to her. "I think he may choose you as his woman." Another nodded. "This is a good time for a man to like you, Elza. He can protect you from the others."
She tried to support their delusions with a hopeful smile. They didn't know how to watch people. Hess didn't see a woman. He saw a subject to study, the same as when she looked at people. Elza had never expected to see it from one of them. What caused such a thing to develop in a man? If she survived, maybe she would have a chance to ask him. Of course, her observations would be contaminated once she survived her execution.
One of the guards came over to them. "What did Hess say? Is he going to kill Kallig with his powers?"
A woman hastily responded that Hess only wanted to know if they had useful skills for the tribe. The guard pondered that. "No one knows what Hess will do. The men are frightened."
Elza frowned. "What powers does Hess have?" This was something she had never encountered before.
"Hess is older than my father's father and cannot be hurt by weapons. They say he knows your thoughts just by looking at you."
Elza stood slowly and faced the direction Hess had gone. He sat on a rock nearby, looking in her direction. His last words echoed in her ears. You would make a fascinating study under better conditions. Everything turned surreal as she realized something completely unexpected. Other Observers existed – she was looking right at one.