dream walker | AVATAR [1]

sixteen

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Jake, Grace, Norm and Kit all sat in a common holding cell. Like they were criminals. Which they technically were now, having so called betrayed their own race.

They sat, staring in silence. Too wired to sleep, too emotionally drained to move.

Jake was hunched over in his wheelchair, directly in the middle of everyone, lost in his own thoughts. 'I was a warrior who dreamed he could bring peace. Sooner or later, though, you always have to wake up.' Kit sat with her knees to her chest next to Grace who was in a similar position, Norm on the other bench on the other side, sprawled out and looking like he just woke up.

The harsh white light hurt the zoologist's eyes, unnatural in every way. Everything seemed unnatural now that she had experience Pandora. Nothing would ever account to what she'd experienced. Not after today. She hoped Rocky was okay, that he'd gotten out of Hometree fast enough. She was mostly sure he had, that damn dinosaur was too stubborn to die.

There was also the matter of Jake, who seemed to be completely zoned out and had been since they'd delinked. Kit didn't know how to help him. She'd tried talking to him, but his responses were short and self-depreciating. The woman knew that he blamed himself, but it was none of their faults.

No. She blamed Quaritch and his trigger happy men. And Parker, for authorising all this in the first place. Jake needed to stop blaming himself long enough to realise they could still fight, but it seemed he was all tuckered out. How could they fight when their leader wouldn't rise to the challenge?

And there was the fact that Kit just wanted to reassure him she was with him. Forever. It didn't matter what body they were in or where, the zoologist intended to stand by her promise.

Grace was the first one to speak in hours, "they never wanted us to succeed." It was hard for her to accept. She'd spent most of her career studying the life of Pandora, and not it just seemed like a cover so Parker and his goons could get away with whatever they wanted.

Kit knew how she felt. She would never think that coming to Pandora was a mistake, but her whole purpose had just been a cover for a malicious scheme to rid the planet of the natives in the human quest for unobtanium. Kit didn't believe in the Christian God, but knew one thing; greed was definitely one of the greatest of woes.

At the desk outside, the lone guard looked up as Trudy approached, pushing a stainless steel trolley. "What's going on, brother? Long time no see." She was friendly in her tone, catching everyone's attention as she waltzed in. Quaritch had said no visitors allowed, probably scared that the science freaks would try something.

It's a good thing Trudy was shit at science.

The trooper responded with a good-natured greeting. Happy to see the pretty pilot when he was bored brainless on guard duty. To most soldiers, the science department was a complete joke anyway, last thing he'd wanted was to be stuck on watch duty whilst everyone else prepped machines and was running drills.