The Mantis Corruption - Book Three - 22. Chapter 22 - Tchama

“Good morning, everyone!” Dottie Marbles called out to the crowd of gathered volunteers. “Thank you so much to all the returning workers, and to the new people who are here today,” she added, looking over at the four young women, “welcome.”

Dozi, Ilya, Tchama, and Sumi were standing together. Harakin stayed at the mystic’s house with him during the day so he could give her wound fresh treatments every few hours.

“Today,” Dottie Marbles continued, “we’ll be whitewashing the side of a building at the edge of Gate Town. It’s already been scrubbed, but it needs to be prepped for a fresh mural.”

“What happened to the wall?” whispered Sumi.

“When the Messiahs attacked a few months ago,” Ilya replied quietly behind her hand, as Dotty Marbles continued giving instructions, “they set fire to a lot of buildings. Some of them burned down completely, others became structurally unsound. During the battle itself, lots of Shifts used their energies against the Messiahs, and some of that caused more damage. I don’t know exactly what happened to the building, but we should be grateful for today’s work; whitewashing is pretty easy. Today looks like it’ll be a breeze,” she finished with a smile.

“Please, be aware, everyone,” Dottie Marbles warned, as she began to lead the group toward their destination, “the structure adjacent to the one we’ll be working on is severely damaged, and we do not have the means to repair it. Eventually, it is going to collapse,” she stated definitively. “It’s marked with warning signs, but I just wanted to remind you all to keep clear of it. Almost there, everyone!”

A moment later, they arrived. Equipment was already waiting for them, and the volunteers worked under Dottie Marbles’ directions. The progess was slow and tedious, but there was a jovial atmosphere. People sang songs and children played in the street.

Tchama initially sulked off to the side, doubting that she would be any help with only one arm, but her new enhancement allowed her to join a couple of very muscular volunteers. She spent the morning with them, removing a huge pile of fallen masonry away from the wall where the mural was going to go. Tchama’s display of strength drew the attention of quite a few amused children.

They marveled as she gripped giant chunks of broken concrete in her single hand and lifted them like they were no more than pebbles. The kids cackled and jeered at the burly men, who needed to work together to lift individual blocks of stone that were not nearly as big as what Tchama could lift by herself.

One little girl was particularly taken and unabashedly stared at Tchama with a look of awe on her face.

In the middle of the day, a group of men showed up with a large pot of stew to feed the volunteers, and everyone was very grateful to them.

Tchama found a seat in the shade, and the enamored little girl came and sat beside her. She did not speak to Tchama; she simply gawked in adoration.

The work continued through the afternoon and into the evening, and as the sun started to set over the jagged inland mountains, Dottie Marbles called out to the helpers.

“Gather ’round, everyone!”

There was a moment of hubbub as the tired crew huddled near her.

Once Tchama was standing still, the little girl turned up again. She leaned against Tchama’s recently-injured side, and Tchama looked down at her. The child reached up and stroked the sash that was pinned over the healed remnant of her shoulder. The scarf she selected that morning was green with a gold ivy pattern, although it was a bit dirty from the day’s work.

Dotty Marbles continued. “I just want to take a moment to thank all of you before we head home for the evening. What we’re doing here is important. Our repairs of Gate Town over the past few months have bolstered the residents, and it’s made a statement to any would-be enemies that we take care of our own.” She looked tired, but she was beaming at her helpers. “You are good people, one and all. Thank you again to the UHBS and everyone else who joined us. You’re more than welcome to come back tomorrow if you’re free, but what you’ve all done, even just today, has already changed people’s lives. Thank you, again. So, if there’s nothing else?” Dotty Marbles looked at the other leaders in attendance. “No?” she confirmed. “Very well, thank you, everyone. Have a restful…”

A horrible snap overhead interrupted her.

“Look out!” someone screamed.

The nearby building with caution signs around it creaked, and a chunk of the concrete wall dislodged from an upper story. It came hurdling toward the street, as people dove in different directions.

The little girl beside Tchama was frozen, with her eyes locked on the falling stone, but Tchama wrapped her single arm around the child and hunched over her. People cried out, as the old piece of Oselian construction smashed into Tchama’s back and shoulders.

Dust and rubble distorted everyone’s view for a moment, but when it settled, Tchama was still standing, and the girl was unharmed.

A woman wailed in joy. She ran over and grabbed the child.

“Thank you! Thank you,” she cried, squeezing the girl and looking up at Tchama with tears in her eyes. “You saved my daughter!”

Tchama felt dazed, not from being hit by the wall, but by her own thoughts.

“I need to go, Dot,” she said quietly to Dotty Marbles, who rushed over to check on her.

“That can’t have hurt you, not now that you’re like Peggy.” She knew how Tchama felt about her newly empowered, albeit one-armed body, and she repeated the mother. “You saved that little girl.”

The woman was clutching her child tight and both of them were sobbing.

“I just need to go,” Tchama repeated.

“Okay, honey,” conceded Dotty Marbles. “We’re all getting ready to leave, too. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Dot, I’m okay, just a little…” she did not finish her thought.

Dotty Marbles looked concerned. “I’m glad you’re still with us, and that mother is very happy that you just happened to be who you are.”

Tchama nodded, turned, and headed down an alley of Gate Town. She wandered aimlessly for a while, until something from the day before drifted into her mind. She turned onto a street that led to the border of Shifton, and she began looking for the sign. Tchama did not remember exactly where it was, but she had passed the storefront on several occasions in recent months, and she knew its general location. Sure enough, a few minutes later, she found it✪