CHAPTER 3
The Capture
Toa lifted the five hundred pound trapezoid shaped block and moved it into position. He loved to build. His family had always been builders. It was good work for a Gumbot. Toa had big strong muscles and good hands, just like his pa. His pa had a reputation for being the best builder in the Gumbot village. That reputation got them the temple job.
The Flae had a particular design for their temples. They were always three hundred feet high pyramid shaped and made solely of rose quartz. The Flae fabricated the materials, usually precut to the specific size and shape required. The Flae were perfectly capable of building their own temples by levitation, but with all their responsibilities, time wasn't available. They paid well and treated all mutants with dignity.
Toa was large for a Gumbot he stood fifteen feet tall, had short dark orange hair and weighed approximately seven hundred and fifty pounds. Gumbots generally averaged between ten and thirteen feet tall and usually weighed five hundred to six hundred and fifty.
Toa picked up a block with his bottom four hands and spread crystalline mortar on the top with his other two hands. He reached up and wiped the sweat from his dark burnt orange face. As he looked up the large black pupils with the gold halo around them shrunk with the influx of light from the hot desert sun. Toa picked up another block and placed it skillfully in its place. The sound of the Flae food cart coming caught his attention. "Good, Toa hungry," he thought as he laid his trowel aside. He walked over to the cart and ordered his meal. "Dablas," he said as he held up five fingers. "Daccar of gartet." The Flae smiled and created a tray with five small chickens and a large glass of vegetable juice. "Thank," he said as he bowed in reverence to her power. She smiled again and turned to the next Gumbot in line.
Toa sat down in the shade of the wall and began to eat his midday meal. The food the Flae provided was always perfect. He finished then pulled a gicumsin root from his pocket.
"Hey, Toa," his male parent called as he walked up to him.
"Hey, Ja," Toa greeted his father. "Want root?" Toa said offering him a smoke.
Ja took the root, lit it up from the fire stick the Flae always provided, sat down and said, "Thank. We get job done, do we?" he gestured toward the wall.
"Yeah, we good," Toa answered.