Eywa's Marines

Chapter 35

"What's happening?" I ask one of the villagers as I enter their crowd.

"Tulkun have been hunted down" the kind, informative woman told me. I stepped forward more, wanting to summon a Skimwing too but it was too risky, I'm not properly controlling this body and I could wake up whenever. I looked around the crowd to try and find any of my friends or family.

"Kiri?" I ask, calling out, studying all the faces I see.
"Lo'ak?"
"Tuk?!"

I couldn't find anyone.

"Ao'nung?" I called out next.

"Ao'nung's with his father" one of the men told me from behind. I swiveled round and faced him.

"What about the Sully kids?" I ask.

"I don't know" he shrugs. My shoulders deflate a little, I turn back around, looking amongst the ocean, on my tip toes trying to see past everyone.

"I saw the little Sully boy take off that way" I hear.

I snap my head around, ears pricking up to detect who said it. My eyes land on an older woman about my height.

"Was he with anyone?" I asked urgently.

"The Chief's daughter-" she says.

"Thank you!" I say and give her a respect sign. I go to turn around towards the seafront. All of a sudden my whole body feels an insane wave of chills followed by my blood turning cold and feeling weak. My vision becomes fuzzy and I fall to my knees. The lady from before rushes to my aid, I notice some feet stepping back around me.

"You're not well dear" she tells me as she supports me.

"I'm fine, I just-"

My vision fades and I'm brought out of my avatar body before I could say anything else.

I wake up to Spider shaking me awake, his face coming into my picture slowly.

"Wake up, come on!"

I shake my head awake and focus my eyes on him.

"Spider now isn't the ti-"

"Y/n we've gotta go now!" He yells. His words make me more focussed and now he has all of my attention.

"What do you mean? What's happening now?" I ask. He pulls me up and out the door. He takes me down the corridoor in a hurry, him partially running.
"What's happening?" I ask again.

He turns a corner and takes me into the room where the link bed is, he shuts the door as fast and quietly he can behind him.

"Spider?" I ask, more worried now. He turns and faces me.

"They're gone hunting, I'm gonna join them soon. Quaritch's orders to keep you here." He blurts out.

"What? Where?" I ask.

"They've killed a few Tulkun, there tracking one right now. You NEED to find your avatar, I saw you use it to escape the other day so I erased the camera footage of it before the marines could find out it was you. I don't know how you did it but you did. Please use this and find Jake, find Kiri." He tells me.

"I'll be out my room" I stated.

"Yes but they've just checked on you, you've got a few hours to use your avatar" he says.

"Alright I'm in" I say. He nods then throws open the link bed and begins tapping on the small digital screen besides it. I hop in and throw myself down coffin style. He then leans over my view.

"See you on the other side" he says.

"Alright"

*Bang...* The roof then shuts and I feel the immense conscious transfer happen. The bright colours flashing through my brain and a second later I'm in my avatar again. Full control this time without it feeling like a dream. My reality coming back to claim this body like it's my own.

I open my eyes and rush to my feet stumbling all over.

"Careful!" I hear. I turn my head to see the older woman from before sitting by my side. I glance around, I'm in an unfamiliar hut. I run out the exit and find my bearings, eyes scanning the landscape.

"You should be resting, you're sick!" She says, now standing behind me.

"I'm okay now, I promise!" I say then take off bouncing all down the footpaths, her jogging after me.

"You shouldn't be out!" She keeps advising. I pass some people who were in the crowd before. One of them try to intervene.

"Lady you should rest-" a man says.

"I'm fine!" I yell as I grow distance between us.

I whistle and an Ilu shows itself by the sea. I slow down to think about this for a moment. Should I be doing this? I asked myself. No, but we're going to.

I hop on the Ilu and immediately dive underwater, traveling towards where the woman told me he left, I'm assuming it was Lo'ak.

I was worried that he would somehow get messed up in the mess with the Tulkun's. I know he's been sneaking off to talk with Payakan, the Tulkun who's supposedly an outcast. I was beginning to hate myself for keeping quiet and letting him.

I didn't even know why I was ignoring my own advice myself about traveling. I just had a very strong urge that I had to find him, I couldn't quite understand why but Spider's warning seemed pretty solid. I just hope I don't get woken up.

I swim for a little longer at full speed. It wasn't even that long before I see a crowd of people around a huge rock, presumably a Tulkun. I approach as fast as the Ilu will swim.

.........

The people notice me approach in the distance. One of them begins waving to me. As I get closer their faces reveal themselves, it was Tsireya, Lo'ak, Neteyam, Kiri and Tuk. I don't believe it.

I hop off the Ilu once I'm close enough, looking at the Tulkun that they were all surrounding, a large spear tracker lodged under its fin.

"What happened?!" I asked frantically.

"Payakan got hit!" Lo'ak says urgently, trying to pull the spear out.

"Alright calm down let's all try and get it out" Neteyam says. Tsireya was in a heap and Tuk was whining.

I swim up to Payakan and hold onto the orange tracker. I wrap my arms around it and place my feet on him, ready to pull. I turn my head to see his eyes.

"Can I pull it out?" I ask first.

"Yes" he replied.

"It's gonna hurt, alright?" I warn him.

"Do what you have to" he replies in his deep song like voice.

"Okay, one" I begin. Turning my head to Lo'ak and Neteyam as they nod and grab on behind me whilst Kiri and Tuk swim up to besides us, grabbing it themselves.

"Two". Our grips tighten.

"Three!"

"RRRGH!" Lo'ak growls as he puts all his strength into this. We all struggle and pull as hard as we could for a solid twenty seconds. It was no use, it was lodged in tight. We all let go and profusely breathe.

"Come on we can do this!" Lo'ak yells determined to save his soul brother. Hearing his voice saying those words brought me back to how I felt with Pheobe in her last moments. I could feel the agony he felt and the urgency to do something, I couldn't let him lose Payakan.

"Alright come on lads!" I yell then hold the vibrant orange spear that even blinded me to look at. My cousins and Tsireya begin to pull on the spear, Lo'ak gets up on Payakan's fin to push with his legs.

We all struggle, whimpers and whines from all of us. When we let go to recharge our energy, that's when I look up past Payakan and past Lo'ak's head.

"Howhhh... Shit..." I dreaded.