Nightfall

Eighteen

A cry broke through the icy air, drawing Katara back to reality. She saw a feeble hand sticking out of the snow, the fingertips blue. "Sokka!" she shouted. Her feet dug through the hard snow as she raced toward her brother. "I got you, Sokka!"

She threw her arms out, and the snow flew to the side. In its place lay a shivering Sokka. He had a blue tint around his skin. He was still alive, though. His blue eyes almost blended in with his skin, but she knew they were open because they were flicking around. Katara slid the parka off her body and wrapped it around her brother. "I don't think I can carry you," she whispered, her mind racing. 

"I can walk just fine," Sokka said, his teeth chattering. She reached out and pulled him out of the tiny sinkhole. He hunched over, so she rested her hand on his back. "I don't think I can walk, Katara. My leg is killing me. I think I twisted my ankle or something."

"This isn't good," Katara muttered. "I obviously can't carry you because you're so heavy -"

"This is not the time to tell me about my weight," Sokka hissed. "It's all muscle, though."

"I thought this wasn't the time to talk about that." Sokka glared at her, so she sighed. She glanced around at the barren landscape. There was nothing here that could help them, and they needed to get to a different part of the arena. Even though there weren't any people over here, they would die because of the cold. "Give me a second, Sokka. I'll make something to get you down there."

Katara focused on the snow beneath and closed her eyes. Waving her hands in the air, she thought about what she wanted to make. She heard a gasp, so she quickly opened her eyes. An ice sled was sitting on the ground next to Sokka. 

"Got on," Katara said to him. "This is how we will get you down there."

"What about you?" he asked. She helped him onto the ice sled. "It only fits me."

"I'm a waterbender, remember?" Katara gave him a grin. "I can skate down the mountain."

"Right."

Katara wrapped the parka tighter around his shoulders. He shivered into the warm fabric. She hoped that he would get better once they got out of the snowy mountains. Katara sucked in a breath and shoved the sled forward. With the help of her waterbending, she sent it sliding farther and farther down the mountain. His yells echoed around her, so she took off running. With a jump, she created ice skates on her shoes. Frigid wind coursed through her dark hair, sending it flying behind her. For some reason, a sense of glee ran through her veins. This was what she was made to do.

Her eyes scanned the ground below them, and she nearly fell off her skates. There was a group of people standing near the cornucopia. One of the people pointed at them while the rest stood stoically. Katara looked at Sokka to find him flying right toward the group. She winced when he slammed right into them, knocking all of them down. She was glad that he knocked them over, but now he was a sitting duck. She had to get to him.

Katara angled her body and slid to a stop in front of Sokka. With the help of her arms, she sprayed water from the river and snow onto the group descending on Sokka. Zuko, the weird guy from the ball, growled and all the snow and ice melted off his body. His sister, Azula, stood next to him, along with Ty Lee, Lu Ten, and another girl who had a bored look on her face. Lu Ten wouldn't meet her eyes as she positioned herself in front of Sokka. 

"Look who we got here," Zuko said, cocking his head to the side. "Easy targets."

Before the group could do anything, Katara summoned ice shards and shot them straight toward their faces. While they dodged the ice shards, she unfurled a water whip and lassoed it around their bodies. 

"Get up," she hissed to Sokka. "We have to go! Now!"

If she was freezing earlier, she wasn't now. It was warm here on the ground, but it got even hotter when a blast of fire raced above her head. She ducked and grabbed Sokka by the arm, dragging him toward the forest. 

Someone latched onto her arm, and she whirled around. Zuko stood there, a snarl across his face. Fire burned across his hand as he threw it toward her. She dodged the fire and lashed out with her hand. Her fist punched him point blank on the nose. He yelped in pain and grabbed his nose. Red liquid bled through his fingers, almost matching the color of the scar across his eye.

Katara didn't take anymore time to focus on him. She took off running again toward Sokka who was hobbling into the forest. Her hand throbbed, and she held it to her chest. When she punched Zuko, she heard a crack. She assumed it was his nose, but her knuckles were quickly swelling up and bruising. 

"Katara, I can't go on anymore," Sokka said. His voice was tight with pain. "My ankle is absolutely killing me."

"We can't stop yet. I don't want us to get followed or found."

They ducked behind trees. Sokka lurched forward as he tripped over a root on the ground. She caught him before he fell and sighed. "Fine, we'll stop here," she said.

She glanced around. The tree they were near had a large branch hanging down, covering them from view. That was good enough for her. She collapsed onto the ground and let out a small sigh. 

"Katara, I'm hungry," Sokka whispered. "Can you please go find food?"

"That is how this all started," she hissed. "No. I'm not getting food. You can survive for a little bit without food."

The two of them fell silent. Katara sucked in a deep breath, scrubbing her good hand over her face. Gran-Gran and Kya's words echoed in her mind, soothing her beating heart. She could still see them in her mind's eye, looking exactly like she remembered them. Katara had to win this for them, no matter what.