The Participants by Brian Blose

God,
Zack, I am so afraid. She smashed my fucking hand with a hammer.
Please, Zack, please . . . I don’t know what I’m asking. Just, it’s
the baby. I don’t want the baby to die.”
    Erik’s voice returned. “I can do a lot worse
than a hammer, Hess. I can cut her unborn child out of her and
slice the thing into pieces while she watches. By the standard of
these creatures, I'm pretty deranged, Hess. This woman would die a
death more horrifying than you can imagine. Mutilation means
something to a mortal that it never could to us. We see a mangled
limb and wait for the thing to fix itself, but they see a piece of
themselves irreversibly destroyed. You can’t imagine how easy it is
to terrorize them.”
    There was silence on the line as Zack
thought. Finally, Erik spoke again. “How about a compromise?”
    “ You want to catch me. I
don’t want caught. Not much room for compromise.”
    “We’ve just got to be a little creative,
Hess. Stop treating things all binary-like. Instead of caught and
not-caught, let’s deal in degrees of risk. I’m willing to release
Lacey to you in a time and location you choose. You can make it as
public or as remote as your soft heart desires. The only
stipulation is that you show alone.”
    Zack sighed. “Deal. We’ll meet at the
parking lot of buffalo plaza.”
    “Less than a mile from a police station.
Well played, Hess. Just make sure you show alone. The professionals
haven’t been playing these games for nearly as long as I have. How
long will it take you to get there from the . . . Tarentum
Hyatt?”
    Caller ID. He grabbed the room key. “I’ll be there at ten.”
The moment he slammed the phone home, Zack was running through the
door. They are always two steps ahead of
me.

Chapter 16 – Elza / Iteration 1
    She watched Hess haggle with an elderly man. They
spoke a different way in this region and Elza could understand only
one word in four. Hess didn’t seem to have any trouble
communicating with the locals, which he often claimed proved him
better traveled than her.
    The elderly man pointed at
her and Elza felt her cheeks heat. Her body had grown stronger
during the three months they traveled at the maddening pace Hess
set for them. Hess shook his head no . When they weren't hiking at a
reckless pace, they were either procuring food or sleeping like the
dead. While hiking, she thought they carried too many supplies.
While making camp, she thought they carried far too few. Though the
lifestyle was far from comfortable, she could not deny it had done
her body some good. Hess looked back at her and mouthed this one offered a whole tent for you.
    Elza pointedly ignored the rest of the
negotiations. In the distance, there were tall mountains with white
rock caps Hess claimed were snow. They had walked for the remainder
of the spring season and through the entire summer. The two of them
had settled into a daily routine almost devoid of words. There
seemed no point to speaking when they could understand each other's
intentions so well through observation and words added only
arguments.
    As Hess returned, she saw the small smile on
his face and decided they would argue that day. “I've discovered
that the secret to selling a woman,” he announced, “is telling
people she can't talk. That's the third offer.”
    “You don't own me,” Elza said.
    “I'm pretty sure I do. I traded Dalana for
you.” His eyes sparkled in the daylight. Elza looked away. She had
dreamed of him saving her again the previous night. She wished that
had been where the dream ended.
    “We're both Observers. That means we're
equal.”
    “Men own women in this world. Probably
because the Creator is a man.”
    He could tell I planned to
pick a fight and beat me to it. Elza
glared at Hess. “Have I ever mentioned that I don't like
you?”
    “Regularly, but it doesn't bother me.”
    “Then I'll find something else to say.”
    “You know, if you were one of them, you
would be the most interesting