Eywa's Marines

Chapter 23

The spear fired when I wasn't ready. Ao'nung had pressed the trigger and the spear shot through the water and into a fish's body. It flipped around then began to swim off in difficulty.

I snapped myself out of being startled and began to swim after the fish as fast as I could. I grabbed it before it could make a dash for it, it wriggled around in my grip as I struggled to keep a hold of it, I could see Ao'nung laughing at me in the background by his safe place. I faced the fish against a rock quickly and knee'd it's head against it, cracking its skull and killing it. Blood escaping instantly.

I was pretty upset about having to kill it that I looked at it in disgust, mostly at my actions. I hadn't realised that I was staring at it, Ao'nung's hand rested on my arm. I looked up to him and handed the fish towards him. He looked down at it as he let go of me. I placed it in his hands by pushing it to his stomach and swam past him. He looked confused for a second then turned around to face me with a smile on his face. He began to follow after me.

I feel him tug my shoulder back a little and I stop to face him. He tries to give me back the fish but I shake my head and swim towards the arrow from my previous shot that was embedded into some seaweed. I began to pull it out with an audience.

I take it and begin to swim to the surface. I break through and breathe in. Ao'nung surfacing half a second later.

"Here take it" he says. I spin around to him, both of us treading water. My head was barely above the water as I had to keep it raised to stay up, he however had his shoulders shown and was breathing with ease.

"No it's fine, you got it" I say.

"It's yours" he says.

"I don't wanna eat it, I feel awful for killing it" I admit. He looked at me like I was crazy. Then he laughed.

"You're joking aren't you" he asked.

"I'm not, I feel bad" I say.

"You know you gotta kill animals to survive, right?" He asks like I'm a toddler.

"I can live off fruit" I tell him.

"You might've had a lot of fruit in the forest but here we rely on seafood" he says, laughing.

"Yeah good point, I might go back" I give him a grin. His smile fades. We stay there for a moment. My eyes then drift besides his head.

"..."

I could feel my face muscles letting go. I looked back to him and raised my hand to land on his shoulder and I pull him down under the water surface. My eyes drift to behind him again. In the corner of my eye I saw him smile and his hand reached up to my shoulder too, mirroring my actions. I look at him again then begin to move to the side towards the rocks for shelter.

We both hold onto the rocks. He looked a little confused as to what I was doing. I pointed to behind him and he turned to look. The shadow coming closer above the surface of the sea. The sound of thunder vibrated throughout the water and the shadow approached us. It was huge. Strong currents began to errupt in the sea. We both clung onto the rocks, Ao'nung certainly didn't know what was happening.

It was a huge RDA aircraft, a whole base in itself. The wildlife around us began to freak out and swim everywhere in confusion. Large fish smacked into us as they scurried around with the shaking water.

A fish went smashing into my face and knocked me back. My nose stinging. I covered my face as I floated stunned.

I felt my same hand get pulled upwards and I was taken behind some rocks. The aircraft passed and the water currents settled down, the sealife was far gone now. Ao'nung looked at my face as we stayed there, feeling my nose with his fingers.