Her stubbornness drove him mad in more ways than one. He continued, “Ellia, when we set out, the Zironists immediately sent out a message to every single tribe that we were leaving. Everyone knows we are on the move, and it’s only a matter of time before they find us. Do you really think we’ll survive? They don’t care who take me to them so long as it’s somebody.”

“We will speak no more of this, Nikodemus. Get back in line.” Ellia replied firmly. Nikodemus felt like protesting, but his eyes narrowed and he obeyed. He breathed in a heavy sigh and his mind became dominated by the memory of the day they set out, and Zironist voices rang out across the desert, amplified by some sort of alien technology.

“All tribes. We report to all tribes. A tribe that had the Last Man has began making their way to the Zironist Church. This is your chance to retrieve him. Let it be known that whoever brings the Last Man to us first will be promised salvation and Paradise, while the rest will be left to burn in the desert.” The message was short, direct, and impassionate, just like the Zironists, and it had turned Nikodemus’ blood cold.

Despite the fact that they had announced this, Ellia marched forward, unafraid. She had given her women a speech that filled them with confidence, and told them that the Zironists had not revealed her tribe’s name, only that they were on the move. Additionally, she reminded them that they were as safe inside the fortress as they were outside, due to constant attacks from the past from other tribes, and it was only a matter of time before other tribes found out that she had the Last Man. Lastly, she won them over by reminding them that Nikodemus was getting older, and that he had not given them any male children to date, and there was no reason for them to expect that he ever would.

That last sentence left a bloody scar across his pride. He had one use, and he couldn’t fulfill it. Bitterly, he looked out upon the sandy landscape, wanting, more than anything, to go hide out in the desert again, despite the fact that he knew he couldn’t last. At this point not lasting long was starting to sound appealing, if he could just get away from these women who only wanted to kill each other and made a mockery of what human beings were supposed to be.

He stood there for so long that, eventually, Hilargi caught up with him. She shook his arm worriedly. “Are you okay, Nikodemus? You looked zoned out there for a second…”

Nikodemus rose his chin toward the sky, puffing out a sigh and letting his anger go. He turned to Hilargi and said, “I’m okay. I’m just trying to find the strength to keep believing in mankind when it’s all so… ugly. She’s a brilliant woman, but she just can’t see past the end of her nose. She’s been indoctrinated.”

Hilargi nodded as she and Nikodemus began moving forward again. “Well, you know, a lot of tribes had a Zironist Shaman when men were still around. I wouldn’t be surprised if hers was one of them. Humans were required to attend Zironist church from a young and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was, indeed, heavily indoctrinated.”

Nikodemus felt like crying. He didn’t know how to save the woman he loved from this cult. It was as hard to break her free from it as it was for him to provide the world with a male son, he supposed. They all had their flaws, big and small. All he could say to Hilargi was, “I actually didn’t know that about tribes… the ranch I grew up on had no such Shaman. So she’s probably been like this since she was just a girl…” knowing this about her made him more compassionate towards her, even though he was still furiously angry at her.

“Probably. Not her biggest fan, but I think it pays to be able to understand other people sometimes.” Hilargi said, holding her parasol over Nikodemus’ head to shield him from the bright sunlight.

Nikodemus favored Hilargi with a wan smile. “You still don’t like her, huh? Even though you know she’s only tough on you cause she likes you?”

Hilargi sighed, wiping the sweat from her brow with her lips pursed. “I don’t appreciate ‘tough love’ since it’s the only love I get from her. That woman has never given me a truly kind word in her life. Besides, when she sent out her scouts to go looking for the scientist my mother was looking for, she barely let them search before making us all set out, and then she refused to send them back out after they couldn’t find something once. Doesn’t she know that finding him could end this crisis and save humanity?” Hilargi vented, grinding her teeth.