An Extract from ' A Callous Land' by Susan Williams.

Tyak looked at the woman. She was lying on her back now. Although Yamyung had cleaned her up, her face was still covered in red welts and her long brown hair was stuck to her cheek where Yamyung hadn’t managed to get all the blood off. She had pale skin, even paler than any normal white woman, if that was possible, and there was a blue tinge to her lips.

When he thought on the matter some more, he realised, that she didn’t look as though she was alive, so he got up and walked over to her. He leaned into her face and when content with the fact that he could feel her breath on his cheek, he walked back to the corner of the tepee. She stirred as he did so, and he called out for the hag.

‘What is it?’ she grumbled, as she struggled through the slit in the tepee, with a bucket of water in one hand and some kindling in the other.

‘Is she going to die?’

‘I hope so. Then the problem will no longer be ours,’ she grunted.

Three days passed and still the white woman looked as if she would die any minute, and as the days wore on, he wished she would, because he was becoming strangely attracted to her. He often woke in the night when he heard her cry out and sometimes, she screamed so loudly, that he had to put his hand over her mouth to silence her. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he would have to tell the tribe. But he wasn’t prepared to let them know just yet. If a brave was to claim her for his own, she would be too weak to satisfy him and would be cast out.

The days turned into weeks and then suddenly, January was upon them. The village was more than prepared for the winter, so all looked well. Except the white woman’s recovery was slow. She had managed to eat a few pieces of meat and some goat’s milk, but her body was thin and Tyak knew, that if she didn’t get any stronger, he would have to put her out of her misery. There was no room in the tribe for weaklings.

January came and went and then February met them full in the face with a blizzard. So bad, that nobody was able to set foot out of the village for a full week. It was during this time that the white woman started to recover. Now and then she would peer out from underneath the blanket and look at him. He had never seen such a look. Her face was still pale, and her eyes looked at him with a hatred he had never experienced before. Now and again she went to say something but thought better of it. He however, made no attempt to communicate with her. He wished now that he had not brought her home.

The other braves and the elders in the village were starting to ask questions. He was usually so hospitable, yet over the last few months, the young braves especially, wondered why they were no longer welcome in his tepee.

Yamyung, one of the biggest and loudest gossips in the village, had told him about the whispers and Tyak knew that it was time for the woman to go, and decided that next week he was going to take her to Fort Benedict and leave her outside for them to find. She was no use here. She was leaching their resources and giving nothing in return.

However, the blizzard lasted longer than expected and caused havoc in the village, and Tyak couldn’t leave the village because there was too much to do.  Meanwhile, the white woman was beginning to sit up for her meals and the colour was starting to return to her face, but she still had that cold, haunting look in her eyes that made him turn away from her whenever she looked at him. She looked like a wounded animal. Her soul was lost.

Finally, after much protesting on Yamyung’s part, he finally mustered up the courage to tell the elders about her and after a long night of talks, fueled by several bottles of whisky, Tyak was considered her savior and could keep her if he wanted. But he didn’t want her. He didn’t want the responsibility of her, and he told the elders so. It was then that they decided that he should take her to the fort under the white flag and leave her outside the gate.

‘Eat this and then you come,’ Tyak said to the white woman as she struggled to sit up. The tone in his voice told her that he meant business.

Isabella ate the bread and meat he had given her and then the old woman threw a blanket over her and led her out of the tepee, followed closely by another brave.

As she walked through the snow, her whole body still hurt from the rape she had endured, and in between her legs she could feel a pain so intense that she almost fainted. She screamed and fell to the floor and Tyak roughly picked her up, and as she lay in his arms, she looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to kill her.

Tyak sensed what she was feeling and was seriously tempted to put her out of her misery, but something about her made him put those thoughts to the back of his mind. Today, he was taking her back to her own kind, and then he could forget about her, for she was stirring strange feelings inside of him, feelings he’d only ever had for his first wife, and he didn’t want that. No! She was going back to her own kind.

But just as they neared the edge of the village, he stopped. The little drops of snow had now turned into a blizzard and the snow was coming down so thick that he couldn’t see in front of him. He had to go back, for he knew, the woman would never survive the journey. He would think about what he would do with her later, but right now, he had to send for the medicine woman, for the white woman’s wounds were not healing as they should.

Tyak went in search of the medicine woman while Yamyung washed the woman’s wounds and tried to make her comfortable. There were still large weeping welts all over her body and she had no idea where to start. Between her legs were the worst sores she’d ever seen and although the white woman must have been in agony, she said nothing and for the first time, Yamyung respected the woman’s courage. Thankfully, she was now able to eat, so there was some hope for her.