Behind the Flames .:H2OVanoss:.

.:Chapter 21:.

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          The violently churning waters lapped angrily at the gorge's steep walls. The group raced over the rest of the mountain in pursuit of the smugglers, then down the other side without rest. They came across a large river that continued down the mountain and into the distant ocean, as well as a small group of Fire Nation soldiers, whom they easily wiped out.
          "This is the last one." Marcel proudly dragged the body of a soldier and rolled it into the river. The dead man drifted away, trailing a small stream of blood from his chest.
          "Good. There should be a small boat or two on the shore over there." Luke pointed up the river and into the trees.
          "Hold on- don't you think the water's too crazy to sail in? The waves are getting bigger-" Jon stepped back as a wave churned high in the air, crashing down on the ridge they stood on.
          Craig adjusted his glasses. "It's definitely a lot crazier than when we were on it a couple days ago, that's for sure."
          "It'll be fine. I've sailed through worse." Tyler grinned challengingly at the waters, then began running alongside it to reach the boats. Everyone followed after, and sure enough, the cliffside dipped down into a bank, where two wooden boats bounced on the waves, barely holding their place by the thin ropes tied to a solitary tree.
          "This whole area used to be a muddy beach, but now it's completely under water." Craig pointed at the overflowing rapids.
          "It'll be fine, just get in! We don't have much time!" Lui raced towards the closest boat, grabbed the rope it was tethered too and pulled it to the shore.
          "This one looks plenty big enough to hold all of us, too." Brian grunted as he ran over and helped Lui pull it in.
          Arlan hesitated. "And you guys are sure that they took the bison downstream, to the ocean?"
          "Yes, because this river leaves the island on a simple current that takes you straight to the eastern islands of the Fire Nation, but they have navy ships docked secretly at the shore so we need to be careful. If they set sail and make it to the mainland of the Fire Nation, we may not be able to get your bison back."
          He placed a hand on Arlan's shoulder when he shivered out of fear. "Don't worry, it takes about four days by ship to get to the islands. And for all we know, the bison may be held on those ships until the Fleet Admiral is ready to leave."
          Arlan nodded slowly, then turned and leapt into the boat next to Lui and Tyler. The three of them took the front bench, with Tyler standing tall and gripping the upward-curved bow. Brian and Brock sat closely on the bench behind them. Craig, Marcel, and David squished together side by side behind them, then finally, Jonathan and Evan scooted to the side to make room for Luke when he was ready to jump in.
          The new fire bender lit his finger on fire and burnt the rope, setting the boat free, then pushed it back to get it moving in the water. Once the river caught ahold of the wooden frame, it was yanked into the current and almost tossed over. Luke was dragged with it, barely clinging to the boat as it took off.
          "Hang on, Luke!" Jonathan and Evan simultaneously reached for him. He took Evan's strong hand reluctantly while Jonathan used an oncoming wave to lift him up and out of danger.
          "Look out!!" Marcel hollered, and all of a sudden, the boat slammed into a large boulder protruding the surface of the water. The boat creaked and bounced its way back into the deeper water.
          "FUCK!!" Luke screamed. Evan jumped and yanked him into the boat with Jonathan's help. Luke clutched his leg as it leaked scarlet blood through his fingers. A long and deep gash throbbed with excruciating pain from his heel to his upper calf.
          "David, Luke is hurt!!" Jonathan bent down to Luke and shielded his head from the splintery wood. David heard his name get called and stood up, but couldn't move any further when a gurgling growl and snapping teeth came from downstream.
          Jonathan immediately regretted looking ahead. A serpent- no, the same serpent from the shrine, with its disturbing sideways mouth and slithering tongues, greedily demolished the body of a fire nation soldier. It chomped down on the armored carcass and flung limbs and blood into the water, dying the river red and emitting a foul odor.
          "Tyler!! What do we do!?" Brock shielded his eyes from the water as it sprayed over the boat.
          Tyler stepped back when the serpent caught sight of them. It froze and watched as they got closer, smelling the air curiously. The waves grew calmer as the serpent remained frozen.
          "Nobody move. I have a plan, but we have to be very quick."
          Everyone remained completely still, holding their breaths to calm their panic. The boat got uncomfortably close, to the point where Tyler whispered, "Brock, Brian, come to my side."
          Keeping eye contact with the serpent, as slowly as they could, they stepped to the front of the boat as soon as Lui and Arlan stepped back. The other two earth benders did not need to say anything to be able to understand what Tyler was planning.
          What felt like many minutes later, the boat bounced off the serpent's slimy scales, and the creature shifted to watch them, with blood oozing from its slimy tongues. Unfortunately, as soon as it caught a whiff of the fresh blood on Luke's leg, its dilated pupils thinned like a snake's and it hissed murderously.
          "NOW!!" All three earth benders concurrently slid their right feet back and thrusted their left arm in an uppercut motion. The stones beneath the serpent broke through the surface and threw the snake off balance. It tumbled down into the water as the waves carried their boat further away. "David, Jonathan! Get us the hell out of here!" Tyler commanded and grabbed tightly to the bow once again.
          "Right!" The brothers joined in the middle of the tiny ship and fluently pushed and pulled at the waters. With one final tug, a large wave lifted the back of the boat and shoved them forward. Everyone cheered victoriously with the chilly wind in their faces.
          "Hopefully we can outrun it! It's not going to give up on us that easily!" Evan shouted, and sure enough, the serpent was back and closing in fast.
          "We need more speed, you two! Push it!!" Brian ordered and the brothers nodded.
          They swung their arms in a dance for their lives, but the serpent was still gaining, no matter how strong David and Jonathan managed to pull the water. "We can't get any more speed with water alone! The serpent can swim faster than the water is pushing us!" David chattered.
          "Then we'll give you a boost!" Lui and Arlan leapt back to stand with the water benders. They locked their feet in place behind a wooden bench, swung their arms forward and clapped together a gust of wind that propelled behind them in a large cyclone. Everyone had to grab the side of the boat to keep themselves from flying out of it.
          With the wind moving them even faster, the serpent fell behind, and eventually, out of sight around the bend. "Bye bye, ya oversized death worm!" Brian laughed with a wave. Brock rolled his eyes and smiled, and a few others laughed, but Tyler kept his eyes strained behind them.
          "Do you think we lost it?" Jonathan asked after a couple minutes of hydroplaning around the rapids.
          "Either way, let's not stop to find out!" Craig waved his hands nervously.
          Meanwhile, Tyler was scouting ahead, while also making sure the serpent didn't attack from behind. He gripped the frame and leaned over the edge to get a look at the depth of the water. Then he saw it- murky scales only inches beneath the boat.
          "GRAB ON TO SOMETHI-!!" The beast rammed into the ship and shattered the wood into hundreds of splinters and fragments. Along with everyone else, Jonathan was sent flying into the rapids and submerged in icy cold water. He felt his back slam hard into the side of a rock, and for a moment he struggled to move or breath.
          When he opened his eyes, he found the light of the sun, and whirlpooled the water around him, lifting his body to the surface. He breached the water with a gasp and choked on the fresh water. He lifted himself higher in his vortex, calling out for anyone near.
          "Jon!" David immediately appeared next to him, and having the exact same strategy. He pointed downstream to where their friends struggled in the unforgiving river. "Get everyone on the shore and out of the way!"
          Jon nodded, diving in synchronized with David to begin his search. He first came across Brian, clinging to a small piece of driftwood and desperately calling out names. "Brian! Over here!" Jonathan called. Brian turned his head, immediately reaching out to take his hand as Jon skated by. He gripped his arm like his life depended on it, and allowed Jonathan to drag him onto the shore.
          "Get somewhere safe, and help anyone I bring onto land!" Jonathan didn't wait for an answer from him. Jonathan took off again, sighting Brock not that far off.