Ehma opened her eyes. The light from the window hurt her eyesa little. She laid there for a while, staring at the ceiling. She panned to her right shoulder. A bandage covered where her arm should be. She didn't have the strength to cry. She couldn't scream. She just laid devastated on the hospital bed.
A door opened from across the room. Migs walks in and to his surprise, sees an awakened Ehma.
"Ehma!" He ran to her and embraced her. Tears flowing, he apologised to her.
"I'm so sorry…y-your arm. I'm so sorry y…it…it should've been me." He cried.
He fell to his knee and planted his face into the mattress.
"I-I thought I lost you."
The sky was a nice blue again. Soft clouds hung modestly while the wind blew a warm but humid breeze across the town. The burned wrecks of houses and buildings still remained. Lots of people were assessing the damage, repairing and cleaning up the mess that happened.
"Hey Migs. How long was I out for?" Asked Ehma
"You were gone for two nights straight." Replied Migs.
Ehma took a step forward but almost collapsed if not for Migs catching her.
"Hey hey. Easy now. You're still really hurt." Migs said worryingly.
He put Ehma's left arm around his shoulders and they walked slowly to the workshop. While they hobbled down the dusty roads, they saw people crawling through charred buildings and carrying bodies covered in sheets. So many have died from that attack. Even now, they still find the dead amongst the rubble. In some places, people were setting up sandbags and assembling artillery. There was a looming dread that this was only the beginning.
They finally got to the workshop where the rest of the crew were. By some miracle, the Stoat was almost completely unharmed from the bombings aside from a few scratches from debris and shrapnel. Seeing the Stoat in one piece restored a little hope in Ehma, though the feeling of loss and immeasurable vulnerability kept biting into her. Tears finally welled up as she fell to her knees, holding her cheeks. She cried and sobbed while the crew looked with a shared sadness.
"Those people," she cried, "they won't stop coming after us. Everywhere we go… someone gets hurt. Not just us but… the people who are so nice to us."
She sat on the floor, trying to regain her composure. Stifling through her breaths and tears.
"In truth, I don't believe you lot were entirely at fault. Maybe at all," commented Bailey as jumps down from some scaffolding near the Stoat.
"There was a meeting only a month ago. Some people who called themselves 'The First Hand.' Our town elders said that they demanded the ownership of the island. Threatening that refusal would result in brimstone. Oz Town's a massive exporter of minerals and metal. Usually ends up at Dog Town and Port Loba for manufacturing and fabricating. There, they usually sell off to the Great Cat City and some parts of the outskirts of Keilah Londrus. I'd say that Oz Town distributes about over half of the southern continent's mining material. If the First Hand wanted metal, Oz Town would've been perfect."
Bailey takes a swig of the last beer in his mini barely functioning fridge. He looks over to Ehma who was clutching her right shoulder.
"I hear Keilah Londrus has medical advancements that could help her." Bailey commented to John.
John took a second to think about it. He thought about the journey to Keilah and worried about the resistance that the current church would have if they were to go.
"It's a complicated answer. But yes, there is treatment for injuries like this. However…I'm not certain if they will welcome us in. Especially with the current laws at the moment." Answered John.
He looked back at Ehma who was now reduced to a silent girl being embraced in the arms of Migs. He let out a sigh.
"But for my friends, I won't hesitate to try."
After another hour, Bailey came back with good news.
"The turrets finished casting, I'll get the modules in and plop it on the Stoat by tomorrow."
"What will you do with the workshop? We could help repair it." Stammered Suki.
"She'll be alright. Us Ozzies are tough as nails. You lot should get outta here and get to Keilah."