Worlds Apart: Volume I

The During: Sinking Ship

Ney'ite pulled against the cuffs that kept her chained to the railings. Ney'ite's ears twitched towards any tiniest sound. Her eyes kept darting left and right. The recom avatars had walked out of her sight. They were no doubt waiting for someone to try and rescue them. Ney'ite wanted nothing more than for her parents to jump out of the water and take her and Kiri away from this mess. But, she knew that it would only mean bad things for her parents. Ney'ite didn't want them to endanger themselves. Ney'ite's ears twitched to the left. Her eyes widened as she heard some familiar footsteps.

"Come on," Tuk said to Tsireya as they went up to Kiri.

"Tsireya, Tuk, get out of here," Ney'ite said through her teeth. Tsireya went under the railings and tried to work on Kiri's cuffs.

"Cut here," Tuk said. "Come on."

"Get out of here," Ney'ite yelled as she heard the recom avatars swarm in. She did her best to kick Tsireya into the water. She watched as Tsireya fell into the water. She looked over just in time to see Tuk being cuffed to the railing next to Kiri.

"I have her," one of the avatars said.

"Why am I tied up again," Tuk whined as she pulled against her cuffs.

"Let them go," Ney'ite hissed at them.

"I don't think I will," Quaritch glared at her.

"My parents will kill you," Ney'ite spit at him.

"They can try," Quaritch said.

Ney'ite watched her sisters as she continued to pull against the cuffs. Ney'ite could see the eclipse was coming. She hoped that her parents got here before it went dark. The three sisters' attention was pulled when they heard gunshots. Ney'ite felt an uneasy feeling rise up her stomach into her throat. Ney'ite pulled harder against the cuffs. She needed to get her sisters out of here. The gunshots continued for a few moments. Then, they were gone.

As the gunshots stopped, Ney'ite felt a sharp pain that seemed to stretch from her back to her chest. Ney'ite wanted to place a hand on her chest and try to stop the pain.

"Ney'ite, what's wrong?" Kiri whispered.

"I don't know," Ney'ite panted. She leaned against the railing and tried to steady herself.

The pain was burning and wasn't going away. Ney'ite's world had become tunneled. All she could focus on was the cold feeling of the metal she was holding onto. She knew that her sisters were calling her name, but she couldn't hear them. Her blood was pounding in her ears. The pain was burning hotter and brighter. Ney'ite could feel sweat bead on her forehead.

"I got one of the Sully boys, Sir."

That one sentence broke Ney'ite's haze. She looked at the avatars in disbelief before looking back at her sisters. They looked confused and scared.

Ney'ite wanted to say something to her sisters. She wanted to say that it wasn't true, but all she could focus on was the pain in her chest. Then, the fire was gone. Instead, it was as if the coldest water had been poured over her heart. The electric cold was spreading from Ney'ite's chest to the rest of her body.

"Can you confirm he's dead?" Quaritch asked.

"He will be soon," the avatar smiled. "I don't smile."

"Liar," Ney'ite hissed. She pulled against her restraints with a new ferocity. She could feel the cuffs tear up the skin along her wrist.

"My men aren't liars," Quaritch said. "One of your brothers is dead."

"Shut up," Ney'ite screamed at him. "You're wrong!" She looked at her sisters. They were both on the verge of tears. Ney'ite couldn't let them think she had accepted this, but she didn't know what else to say.