“He is protected.” They explained without elaboration. The Zironist grabbed Ellia by her shoulders and hoisted her to her feet. The creature dried her tears with a long, scaly finger. “We have seen you fight since you were a young girl. Fight to quench your thirst, fight to fill your stomach, fight to survive. We have seen you change from a scared, delicate woman, into a strong leader. We have confidence that you can accomplish this task.”

Ellia sniffled, wiping her tears away at their kind words. “You really think so? If… if you would like me to accomplish this task, then you will ask the other tribes to stand by while I bring the Last Man to you, correct?”

The Zironists were silent, pondering her words. Eventually, they said, “Long have we wished to put to rest the rivalry between the tribes… but we can only promise Paradise and a few male children for one tribe, and we know it would only create more division and fighting if we told the other tribes to stand down. Rest assured, however, that we will not tell any other tribes that we have offered this gift to you. Therefore, you will have the element of surprise.”

Ellia nodded sadly, knowing their words to be true. There was no way the other tribes would step down and allow her to seize paradise and male children for her tribe only. “Isn’t there… anything you can do for the other tribes?”

“No. You are our chosen people.” The Zironists said firmly. “Now, we must be going. Please offer us a sacrifice. We will be waiting for you outdoors.” The Zironists began making their way out of her room.

Ellia frowned. She had no idea who would be willing to be a sacrifice on such short notice.

She left her room and she gathered her tribe together in the mess hall and asked, “Who is willing to live in our memories forever? To be commemorated eternally and be known as a necessary, holy sacrifice?”

Nikodemus was in the room, looking at his feet with an exhausted, downright miserable expression. Ellia wondered what he must be thinking about, but in another moment, her gaze swept the faces of the women in the room.

Lily stepped forward. “I’ll do it.”

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Nikodemus looked her way, and Ellia could see the devastation written on Nikodemus’ face as she did so. He normally looked very boyish—with bright eyes and round cheeks—but now, he looked incredibly sallow in the face, his crow's feet were pronounced, and there deep, deep circles under his bright eyes. Ellia knew that he must be thinking that Lily was probably his daughter, too.

Normally, Ellia would have agreed to sacrificing the girl—she wasn’t a great fighter, and had no great talents—but… Nikodemus looked so upset, that she couldn’t help but say, “Not you, Lily. You’re too young—you have too much potential.”

Some of the women whispered to each other about this odd decision, and Ellia could feel herself sweating because of it.

All of them knew that Lily was most likely Nikodemus’ daughter—they were probably whispering about what a soft heart Ellia had. Luckily, the whispering stopped when a different woman stepped forward. Grace was an old woman who cooked and cleaned, and didn’t leave the fortress often; when she stepped forward, Ellia felt an aching in her heart. Although Grace wasn’t the most useful person when it came to hunting or foraging, she was incredibly productive when it came to the inner workings of the fortress, and was very motherly and wise. Ellia didn’t want to let her go.

“Any other volunteers?” Ellia asked, biting back tears.

No one stepped forward. Ellia swallowed. Grace muscled her way through the crowd and held Ellia’s hands. She gave her a bright smile, her face turning up in cheerful wrinkles—wrinkles that showed that Grace had a strong history of smiling in every line. “It’s okay, Ellia. I’ve had my time on this earth. I’m ready to be freed from this earthly flesh and make my way to Paradise.”

Ellia nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. She hugged the older woman and murmured, “Thank you for your impeccable service to this tribe.”

Grace nodded. “Thank you for being an excellent leader.” Grace turned to face the rest of the crowd, gracing them with her bright smile, too.

Many of the women were weeping. Everyone loved Grace. All at once they said, “Goodbye, Grace.”

Grace nodded at them. “Thank you all for being such a wonderful tribe. I’m sure I’ll see you all in paradise.”

Ellia led Grace from the Mess Hall, then, and through the fortress. Ellia had gone dead quiet. Ellia loved the Zironist religion, but having to sacrifice her people was never easy. This one in particular was hitting her hard. She felt like telling Grace to go hide so she wouldn’t have to sacrifice her. In fact, she kept thinking of dozens of ways to keep Grace alive.

Moreover, she found herself thinking about just how unfair it was that the Zironists required her to sacrifice members of her tribe—thoughts she knew were dangerous to think. Not only that, but they were unappreciative, too, considering all of the things the Zironists provided for the tribes.