I saw the young man clasp another guy's arm, then head our way. The whole time, the entire team was still marching forward. Leaves rustled under our feet, hiding the roots and branches that would trip us at the worst times, but Jeshiah waded through them to join us.
"Tobias was attacked by a dog!" Timon told him.
"He said he killed one with his bare hands last time," Jeshiah said, acting like he wasn't surprised. "But those guys?" He pointed back the way he'd just come. "They said only five died yesterday. If they do the same as they did last time, Gideon's squad will hang back, letting us handle the Dragons and wild men, then hold the rally point."
"You mean they won't fight," I clarified for them.
"No, that's..." But Jeshiah let his words trail off. "Why wouldn't they fight?"
"Because," I said, "fighting Dragons is a good way to die. Fighting wild men is a good way to end up attacked by a dog."
"And dead men don't get promoted to elder," Elijah said just a little too calmly.
"Yeah, and Gideon?" Timon asked. "How did he convince Saunders to pick him?"
"Saunders isn't all there anymore," Uriah said.
"They are still our elders," I reminded these boys.
"God did not ask us to die for lies," Elijah said.
"What lies?" Uriah asked, picking up on that.
But this was my chance to feel these guys out. They were talking, and while Gideon kept hissing and gesturing for people to be quiet, my squad wasn't the only one talking. Everyone was, and Uriah had just given me the opening I needed.
"I'm more worried about the new tasks we're getting," I said.
"Which tasks?" Uriah asked, right on cue.
"The women." And I grunted, twisting my head to show I hadn't decided my opinion yet.
"You mean the ones who are possessed?" Jeshiah asked.
"Are they?" Elijah wanted to know. "I mean, it's clear something happened, but I haven't heard about it."
"With the meat that was left for us, the women have decided they deserve equal portions again." And I rocked my head. "Mr. Becker punished a wife or widow for being served the same as a man would be. She didn't ask for it. She was given it, and he split her chin open. The women around her were upset."
"Women get upset for just about anything," Elijah countered.
"But they refused to back down this time," I explained. "They are starving. Many are pregnant, growing a child without the necessary food, so they demanded to eat the share they've earned."
"Earned?" Uriah scoffed. "What do women do?"
"Grow children," I repeated. "They cook for us. They clean for us. They heal us and care for us. Then, while handling all of that, they also create children, and it is taxing on their bodies. I am not looking forward to the changes my wife will have from it."
"Changes?" Jeshiah asked. "How do they change?"
"They sag," Elijah said. "Their breasts fall down, their bellies grow scars, and they are no longer the beautiful things we were attracted to."
"Which is why," Timon said, "I don't want a wife."
"We all must have a wife," I told them. "The Righteous need their children. Without the next generation, God will lose this war."
"God is already losing the war," Timon shot back.
"No." And I stopped, turning to face him. "That is a line we do not cross. That? That will get you shot so such blasphemy will not spread in the compound."
"I was being trite," Timon tried to explain. "Just making light of things, Tobias."
