Chapter Forty One
My head spun and I couldn't breathe. I could feel panic building in my stomach like bile as my every sense screamed for me to run. But I fought back; I stayed in my position and forced myself to take a breath, and slowly my thoughts come into focus.
My relationship with God was tenuous at best; I could still become angry and resentful when I thought about our past. Even so, I had long ago come to realize that He did all things for a reason and for the good of man, whether we knew it or not. God could and did shape the world any way He saw fit.
Now that I saw this vile symbol of their evil, the puzzle of how these people had come to live here was solved. This was not some advanced group of people, the most intelligent of the tribe, a people who had discovered a way to cross the great river. No, this was a group that God had taken far away, purposefully separating them from all the rest with a wide river and an almost impassable grassland.
How could a people fall to this grotesque level of inhumanity?
There were undoubtedly evil people in my city. Mankind was given free will and we daily make choices to do right or wrong. Every day a person has to control how they will speak, think, and act. Sometimes we make choices that are good, some choices we make go against God’s will, and sometimes people choose great evil over good. I knew this well from my own history. But the vast majority of the people in my city chose to do good most of the time, either because they wanted to or because they felt required to by the society we had developed with its rules and social mores.
Apparently that was not true here. Their society, even viewed from behind a tree, seemed to run very differently. I needed to watch this tribe, really watch them this time, and make a decision about what to do with them. Depending upon what I saw, instead of trying to coerce or force a tribe of essentially good people to join my city, I might end up trying to rescue some good people from an evil situation. Or, just leaving the whole filthy lot here and forgetting that this tribe and this side of the great river even existed!
I already knew there was no way I could bring this entire tribe to my city. Even if I wanted to, and given what I had seen I knew I didn’t, if God had separated them from us, who was I to bring them back?
I spent the short time remaining until sunrise pondering my options. I needed to spend at least one full day observing this village to see how the people acted and treated each other. I had to try to identify if there were any people in this village that were essentially good; people that deserved to leave and would want to leave if given the chance. My heart went out to the women and children here, as I suspected they were powerless in this place.
While I didn't yet know how I would do it, I was resolved that if I saw people that needed rescue I would somehow find a way to take them away from this depravity.
As the sky lightened and the night turned to day I saw there was more than just the one head; the village was surrounded by human heads stuck on poles. I could see seven from where I lay, and while most were bare bone, at least one skull besides the one facing me was fresh. Before the tribe woke I backed deeper into the forest, finding a safer and more comfortable spot to observe the village. I was very glad to be farther away from that rotting display of inhumanity.
I spent the entire day hidden on a knoll in the shadows of the forest, watching the activities in the village below me. The women rose early in the morning to gather wood and then went to the fire to prepare food. Most, but not all of the women were quiet and very subdued. They kept their heads down, and to my eyes they moved fearfully. Their children stayed close beside them; they also were quiet and seemed much too serious for little ones.
These men rose much later than the men of my tribe, well after daybreak, and immediately went to the fire to eat the potatoes the women had roasted. Over the course of the day I watched as hunters and gatherers left and returned, as children played and ran through the village, and the daily chores were performed. Patterns began to emerge, and it became obvious to me that there were two distinct types of people in the village.
The vast majority of the men appeared to be loud, cruel, and very aggressive. On a number of occasions I saw men shout or take a swing at a woman or child, occasionally landing a blow or a kick. I did notice a few men that seemed quieter and more stable, so perhaps not every man in the village was a villain. Several of the women and even some of the children were noticeably mean, treating the rest of the women and children very badly.
The quieter women and their children did the majority of the work, with the more aggressive women directing them, obviously with the men’s approval. While a number of the men did go hunting, they did little else that I could see. It appeared that the men that did not hunt were supposed to be guarding the village, though in general they sat by the fire and talked crudely, occasionally shouting at women or children that ventured too near. Even their hunters must have been lazy, as they came back with only two deer to feed the village that night.
I counted only seventy people in the entire village, making it the smallest of the four tribes. I could not know if they had killed each other off or some had left the village, but I was confident the population was smaller than when I visited the first time. There were about twenty five men with approximately the same number of women, and the remaining twenty or so people were children. The distribution of the population was very odd, with such a low number of children in proportion to the adults, but I was glad there were fewer children in the village to suffer.
It was an evil place that I watched, a place where the strong took pleasure in dominating and abusing the weak. I was ashamed that I had not noticed this on my first visit. I had been so focused on my ambition and my personal goals that I did not see the evil that was now so obvious in front of me.
By the time night fell, I had come up with a plan of rescue. Even with my group numbering only twelve against their twenty five, armed with our bows and throwing spears I had no doubt we could easily kill every man with no danger to ourselves. Still, as evil as most of these men obviously were, I did not have the right to slaughter them unless they made it necessary.
As much as I wanted to punish them, I knew it was not my place to be their judge. I needed to help the weak while leaving the rest to make their own choices for right or wrong as they saw fit. I did not see this as weakness on my part, but as a way to allow them to control their lives and their tribe’s future. Perhaps they could change.
When the tribe went to rest for the night I quickly returned to my men to tell them what I had found. The men were visibly relieved to see me. They were getting anxious about what to do if I did not return, and this caused me to smile for the first time in over a day. The possibility of not coming back had never occurred to me.
I bluntly told them about the state of the village. They were shocked and saddened by what I said, but relieved when they heard we would be rescuing anyone that wanted to flee from the tribe's evil. They were agreeable to the plan I laid out before them, and though they understood some of us might die, they knew it was the best way to help the innocents escape.
I had arrived late in the night and was physically and emotionally exhausted. As soon as I finished relating all I had seen and I had told them of the rescue plan, I laid down to a much needed rest. Unfortunately my sleep was troubled and my dreams fretful. I awoke early feeling little more rested than when I lay down.
The day was spent in waiting, since we would not leave for the village until late that afternoon. We couldn't run the risk of being seen, so we would travel through the night, arriving at their village before dawn. Since it took little time to check bow strings and prepare for what lie before us, it was a long and tedious day spent in small talk, napping, and idle chatter.
Late that afternoon we stowed away our packs, hoping to return for them soon to begin our homeward journey. As the sun began its descent in the sky we started towards the village, traveling silently through the lengthening shadows.
I had warned
my men of the stench, but luckily the wind was not blowing towards us when we arrived well before sunrise. The men silently went to their prearranged positions and stationed themselves in the shadows of the tree cover, out of sight from the village. They were arranged in a semi-circle behind me and within easy bowshot of the village.
I waited until the tribe had gotten into their morning activities; the women and children were up, and a few men had risen and gone to the fire to eat. The guards by this point had eaten and returned to their stations, where the ones I could see watched in a relatively attentive manner.
I stepped out of the trees and walked slowly towards the village. Though I had a full quiver of arrows and a bow slung on my back, available for use at a moment’s notice, I approached the village with my hands empty and held high in the air.
Before the first guard even noticed me and raised the alarm, I shouted loudly in the old language to get everyone’s attention.
“Hello! I come in peace! I come in peace!”
I was impressed with the speed at which the villagers reacted. The women and children immediately ran for the cover of the huts, while all the men that were already up for the day ran towards me with their weapons in hand. I stopped walking and remained midway between the forest and the village. This would afford my men the easiest shots with their bows.
I kept my hands raised and continued to shout, “I mean no harm! I come in peace!”
If these words meant anything to them they did not show it, as every man came towards me at top speed, spears raised threateningly. A blood-curding roar rose from their throats, wordless and raw. It was a call for battle, and it was clear they had no intention of stopping to talk. Hopefully half asleep, the remainder of the men streamed out from their huts, joining in the race towards me.
When I started towards the village I did not know if they would try to capture me or kill me immediately, but they were obviously out for blood. They came quickly, and several men threw their spears as they approached. They were not close enough to do me any harm and I could easily have dodged them if necessary, but I did not move and continued to shout out my words of peace. Most of the spears harmlessly fell short, but one spear was well thrown and veered off only at the last moment, falling at my side.
I waited until the attackers were close, probably too close, before I dropped my right hand just slightly. At my signal there was a rush of arrows flying through the sky, as my men shot several in quick succession. There were about ten men in the first group running towards me, and the mass of arrows fell directly in front of them, covering the ground between us. The blood-driven roar died in their throats.
The front runners came to an immediate halt, but the men in the rear were slower to react and crashed into their backs. They began to mill about in confusion and stared open-mouthed at the arrows in front of them. Even though they had never before seen arrows, there was no question that these were dangerous weapons that were now half buried in the ground. Weapons that even these simple men understood could just as easily been sent into their bodies.
Throughout all this I had continued to shout at the top of my lungs, “I come in peace, I mean you no harm. I come in peace!”
I now stopped calling out and I waited, still with my hands up and empty, as the men continued to mill around. They talked animatedly among themselves, often looking towards the forest, trying to see where the arrows had come from. Their blood-lust was gone, and they were unsure of what to do next.
As they talked more of the villages’ men joined the group. I believed every man in the village was now gathered before me, and a quick count tallied twenty seven. I noticed few older men, which given the violent nature of this tribe did not surprise me.
These people spoke a crude version of the common language which was a little harder for me to understand. I couldn’t hear much of what was said at first, but the talk quickly grew back into fierce shouting and gesturing, with men pointing at both me and the arrows. All this while I continued to calmly wait, hands held high.
Finally, one of the men turned to me and shouted out, “If you are here in peace, why do you try to kill us?” As he said this he pointed at the arrows directly in front of him.
I smiled to myself at the irony of his statement. I also pointed at the arrows, and replied, “If I wanted to kill you they would be in you and not the ground. I had to make you stop. I want to talk with you.”
Their eyes searched the forest as they tried to locate my hidden companions. The one that seemed to be the leader shouted again, “So talk. Why are you here? What do you want? All outsiders are our enemies!”
“That is not true,” I said. “I am not your enemy, unless you make me your enemy by trying to kill me. My name is Cain and I have traveled from far away to come to your village.”
The same man spoke again. He was one of the largest in the group; clothed in a filthy deer skin and carrying a long, stout spear. Though he seemed reasonably intelligent, he had a nasty look in his eye and I didn’t like his tone of voice.
“Answer my questions. Why are you here? What do you want from us?”
Answering these questions would be tricky. The wrong answer could send these men forward in anger, forcing us to kill most or all of them. Even though I knew most of them were evil, I still didn't want to kill them if I didn’t have to. “I will answer your questions, but first I must know if you see the mark I bear. Do you see the mark of God which shows you may not harm me?”
After a pause, there was a broken murmur of assent from the group of men facing me. They shifted their spears and looked at the ground, obviously uncomfortable that I had spoken of the mark.
The leader nodded and said grudgingly, “Yes, we can see something upon you. This mark shows that we should not kill you. I do not know how it does this, but now that I see it I cannot throw my spear at you.”
“Good. You understand that you cannot harm me. Now, know this. In the forest behind me are many men. At my word they can put one of these small spears through your eye. Before any of you could ever reach me, you would all be dead.”
“I do not want to kill you. We did not come here to do battle with you. But if you come forward to attack, or if you try to return to the village before I give you leave; if you do anything but listen to me until I give you release, you will die. Do you understand me?”
While most of the men nodded and resentfully mumbled their assent, obviously hating that they must do this, I noticed two men off to the side talking under their breath. Suddenly, with vicious war cries they raced towards me at top speed, spears up and ready. The rest of the men stayed where they were, but as one they roared their approval of the men’s actions.
All this time I had held my hands aloft and open in a sign of peace. I let the attackers take a handful of steps towards me, and then with a calmness I did not really feel, I dropped one hand.
There was a hum in the air, and faster than the eye could see arrows flew from the forest. Both men dropped instantly dead, each pierced by four arrows. In a gruesome touch each man had an arrow protruding from one eye, although the three arrows sunk deep in their chests had done more damage.
It happened in the blink of an eye, and since all the men were watching me they had no idea where the arrows had come from. The crowd's roar died as if cut off by a knife. The silence was so complete I heard a bird call deep in the forest.
I coolly lifted my hand so that once again both were up in the sign of peace. “As I said, we do not want to hurt you, but if you do anything except stand there and listen to me you will die. Do you all understand me? If there are any more of you that want to attack, do it now so we can kill you and get it over with.”
Not a word came from the men. A few shook their heads, but most just stood motionless facing me, shocked by what they had seen. By this time all the women and children had come out of the huts and slowly moved to the edge of the village behind these men. They were out of harm’s way, but they could see me clearly. I raised my
voice, since these were the people I needed to hear my words.
“My name is Cain. I have come from a land far away, far across the grassland and the great river. I am leader over a large village which is filled with the people from all the tribes on the other side of the river. We live in peace. We are strong and healthy, and we have an abundance of food. We are happy with our lives.”
Here I paused, letting my statements sink into the heads of all who listened. After a moment I continued, “We came here to ask you to join our tribe. This would have been an offer made in peace, because we want all people to live with us and share in our abundance.”
There were a few cautious smiles among the men gathered before me, until I went on, “But I have watched you and I see that you are a vile and evil people. Your actions fill me with disgust and your tribe will not join with mine!”
At this the men stirred and grumbled amongst themselves, while I also saw a negative reaction among the women and children that stood listening at the edge of the village.
“Silence!” I shouted. “This is a fact. You are a vile people that murders and does evil. Do you deny this?”
I pointed to a head that sat atop a stake just off to my right. Once again there was silence from all gathered before me.
“I have watched how you men abuse the women and children, how you take advantage of them and beat them. While I do not condemn you men to death, I do not want you around my people. You are foul and tainted, and you would destroy my tribe from within. I will not allow any men to return with me.”
Here I looked past the men to the women and children standing by the village. “But the women and children I will allow in my village. You may join my tribe. This is an offer freely given, and the decision to leave this village is yours to make. If you are good at heart and want only to live in peace, I give you the chance to leave this place and the people that surround you. You may come to my village and be part of my tribe. There you will work with us and live with us. There you will have a home.”
I let these words sink in for a moment, and then I said, “I give you my word; any who join me will not be harmed. You will be able to have a good life, safe and secure. But I warn you! Do not come with me if you carry the love of darkness and evil in your heart. That is not allowed in my tribe and you will be expelled. Come with me only if you truly want a new life of peace, free of the abuse you have suffered at the hands of the evil men and women in this tribe.”
“And be warned!” I said, glaring intensely at the men before me. “Any that try to deny or hold back those that choose to leave will die where you stand.”
Once again I looked to the crowd at the edge of the village, and I called out to them, “Come to me now if you want to leave this place.”
For a moment nothing happened, and then abruptly a number of people began sprinting. Of the approximately twenty five women and twenty children, at least half of the group was surging towards me in a mass. They ran silently but at top speed, mothers pulling along or carrying young children as the older children ran behind, desperately trying to keep up.
A shout rose from the mouths of several men as they reacted without thought, starting towards the women and children; wanting to stop them.
I shouted at those men, “Let them be!”
My words were accompanied by a flurry of arrows which landed around the entire group of men. They stopped, but their heads went back and forth from me to the runners, their eyes filled with rage and frustration as some were forced to watch their families leaving them.
The women and children reached me quickly, even though they passed wide of where the men stood, angry but powerless to stop them. Most ran on when I motioned for them to continue past me into the forest, but three women stopped directly in front of me, falling at my feet.
They were in tears, and they cried to me earnestly, “Please, please! Please let our men come with us! They are good men, not like the others in this village. Please let them come!”
I looked up at the gathered men. “The men of these women,” I ordered, “come before me.”
Three men dropped their spears and quickly left the group before anyone could try to stop them. As they approached I recognized them as the men I had noticed when I watched the village. They were the men that did not abuse the women and children; the men that had struck me as being out of place in this tribe. I was not surprised that their wives wanted them to come.
When the men reached me they stood before me, their heads up. I stared into their eyes, and liked the way they returned my look. I saw no evil there; no hate or rage, only fear that they would lose their families.
I said, “The love of your wives has saved you, you may come with us.”
Relief flooded their eyes as their wives jumped to their feet, putting their arms around their husbands and holding them tightly, not wanting to let go in case I should change my mind.
Everything had happened very quickly up to this point, but it was now beginning to sink in. As the women and children disappeared into the forest, many of the men realized that they were really going to lose their families. They were beginning to stir unhappily, as if coming out of a dream. Dark looks gathered on their faces and I knew I could not control them much longer, even with the threat of force.
I had thought this might happen, which was why I had been acting with such haste. Sending the couples in front of me towards the forest, I addressed the crowd of men, as well as the women and children that had stayed behind.
I shouted in my most threatening voice, “Understand this! Man, woman or child, if any of you follows us, we will kill you on sight. I never want to see anyone from this tribe again, nor will I return to your village.”
Continuing on in a slightly gentler tone, I added, “Try to do good, and it will go better for you.”
With this I turned my back on them and walked into the forest, where I disappeared from their view.