6 Chapter 6 – Elza – Iteration 1 (1/2)

I'm not the only one. I'm not the only one. I'm not the only one. The mantra ran through Elza's mind on a constant loop. She stared at Hess, unable to order her chaotic thoughts. For seven hundred years, she had observed creation under the assumption that she was the only agent of the Creator. Suddenly, she wasn't alone. It made her a hell of a lot less important.

Another thought came to her. How many are there? Just the two of us? Ten? A hundred? There was no way to answer that question. Elza didn't understand why this knowledge had been withheld from her. At the moment of creation, Elza knew her purpose, understood the memories implanted in her mind were fabrications, and recalled the knowledge that one day the sky would open so she could leave existence to make her report. There had been no indication that other Observers walked the Earth.

”Look at her. She likes the idea of having a man.”

The whispers of the women bothered her. ”I don't care for Hess,” she said. The women chuckled and went about their gossip. Elza scowled at their levity. Hess had done this to them, exchanged their terror for hope. He should not have interfered. His actions were inexcusable. The Creator was greater than all of creation. How could an Observer ever justify placing some tiny bit of creation above the Creator?

Elza felt a fire grow in her chest. She had endured beatings and humiliations in service to the Creator, while this man set himself up to live in comfort and indiscriminately altered events to his fancy. He didn't even switch tribes to avoid revealing his unnatural lifespan. Hess leveraged his nature into personal power.

She opened her mouth to tell the women that Hess had lied to them, then hesitated. Harsh words would not return them to a state of ignorance. One interference would not cancel out another – they were already contaminated. Anything she said would only inflict distress upon the women for no cause.

They do not deserve my anger. He does. Elza folded her arms and glared at Hess, willing him to come speak with her again. She intended to make him regret his interference. That he tainted his own observations was bad, but compromising her work was unforgivable. Elza was about to have the worst experience of her life and it would be useless to the Creator because this man had contaminated the entire tribe.

Noon came and went. The brutes, their women, and Hess ate smoked meat, figs, and pine nuts. The captive women had nothing to eat but dandelions they picked from the same ground that they relieved themselves on. Elza ignored the hunger pangs. Her body was prone to fatigue, but she could ignore that infirmity when necessary. What she could not ignore was the fact that these men were going to brutalize and violate her in front of that man. Elza ground her teeth until her jaw sent stabs of pain all the way to her temple. Because he was an Observer for the Creator, she couldn't even bring herself to request he not watch.

Glaring at the impassive Observer did no good. Elza finally plopped her rear to the ground. The good spirit of the other women had departed. They could fool themselves for only so long. That their captors denied them food and water and shade proved a lack of regard. These women were accustomed to hardship, but their resilience did not include trusting the brutes who had murdered their men and their children. Elza wasn't sure just when the change of mood had happened. She had been too busy trying to bring Hess back.

”You are a very odd woman, Elza.”

She spun at his voice. He had waited until her attention was elsewhere to sneak up on her. ”You are participating,” she said.

Hess raised one brow on his handsome face. Why is one such as him given an attractive form and made a man while I must be ugly and endure the touch of brutes? Her best glare brought only an amused smile in response.

”I have nothing to do with what the men of this tribe do. You can blame me if it makes you feel better, but I am not involved.”

”You are participating.” She emphasized the word.

Hess narrowed his eyes. ”What are you saying?”

”The Creator did not send you here to bed beautiful women and tease Kallig.”

The man sucked in one cheek as he pondered her words, but gave no other clues to his mental state. Finally, he spoke softly. ”How many of us are there?”

”It doesn't matter. You are violating the Divine Command. This entire tribe is contaminated because of you. My observations are ruined.” She spoke firmly, but kept her volume low to avoid a spectacle.