CHAPTER 21
There were seven of them. One of her. It was not a fair situation. Still - none of them had her agility or strength.
'Kanu threw the man she had knocked unconscious to the side, not caring about what would happen to him after that. If he died, he died.
One of the men who had been quick enough had aimed his gun at her, but he hadn't been quite fast enough to pull the trigger before her spear came to contact with the barrel of the gun. The human watched in utter horror as the weapon was flown through the air and it landed in the water. He could not do anything anymore.
'Kanu brought the spear down again, hitting him harshly in the head. The man was just lucky that his mask did not crack.
"'Kanu! What are you doing?"
'Kanu spared a glance to her right and let out a breath of relief upon seeing Lo'ak racing toward her. He was alive and fine.
"Watch it!" She replied as one of the men aimed at him. 'Kanu ran forward and fell to her side, sliding right into the man and sending him skidding into the water, "Get a weapon!" She yelled as she crouched behind a machine. By now it was raining bullets.
Lo'ak held his hands above his head as he ran to take cover behind the same machine as her, "It will blow!" he called over the sound of bullets, placing a hand on her head to keep her down. He was right - the machine would explode at any given moment.
Instead of the fear and panic that he had expected, 'Kanu stepped forward and sat in the ground, placing her feet on the cool metal. She could feel it shake as it took the bullets that rained upon them. When Lo'ak remained in his crouched position, doing nothing but looking around in panic, 'Kanu nudged him, motioning for him to do what she did.
"Oh," Lo'ak simply said before doing the same as her. He sat down and placed his feet identically to hers. Gritting their teeth, together they pushed the machine toward the sky people shooting at them. Due to the slope caused by the sinking ship, they did not have to do much before the machine started moving on its own accord, sliding across the deck toward the people.
'Kanu hadn't wanted to be the one bringing death upon these people - but as she watched the machine explode in flames while crashing down upon the humans - she realized that it was precisely what she had done. She was a murderer. She had smiled at the thought of killing them.
Silence followed the explosion.
Now that there was no danger in sight, Lo'ak timidly stepped in front of her. 'Kanu was vaguely aware of his hands placed upon her upper forearms and him shaking her. All she could think of were the seven lives she had taken that night. It wasn't until he swept a few wild strands of her hair and tucked them behind her ear that his face came back into her focus.
"'Kanu," he spoke softly. She had no idea how many times he had already repeated her name, "I need you to get off this ship."
'Kanu raised her brows, as if in shock, "Are they dead?" She pointed a hand toward the flames but kept her eyes on his.
Lo'ak glanced back at where she was pointing, "Yes - yes they are dead," he told her and lifted his other hand to cup her cheek, "But listen - they would have killed us. They shot at you."
'Kanu just shook her head in disbelief. She should not feel bad.
"They shot at me," Lo'ak continued. He said this as if knowing that this would make her think straight again. As if he knew she cared for him so dearly.
"You're right," 'Kanu finally said quietly after a moment of silence.
Lo'ak nodded, glad that she was not dwelling on the matter anymore. He brought her in for a hug, turning his head to the side so that he could bury his face in the crook of her neck. Amidst this chaos, he was taking time to hug her. 'Kanu thought he was ridiculous for doing so but it did not stop her from returning his embrace.
They had not been able to stand like that for long at all when 'Kanu detected movement out of the corner of her eye. Immediately she pushed Lo'ak, making him stagger back and look at her with hurt in his eyes. He had not noticed the same as her - he thought his hug had been rejected. 'Kanu did not spare him a second glance before leaping across the deck, bringing her spear slashing down upon one of the men that had survived.
As Lo'ak watched her, it all seemed to happen in slow motion.
The man screaming. His gun firing before dropping onto the deck with a clatter. The spear entering his body. The splatter of blood that was created when 'Kanu pulled her weapon back from the man's throat.
When 'Kanu stood back and watched the man fall forward she did not even look sad. She did not look regretful or anything of the sort. She only stood there, her eyes wide and crazy.
Lo'ak took careful steps toward her. Her ears twitched as she heard him approach before her head turned toward him. A softer expression replaced her previously furious one as she saw him.
'Kanu kicked the man away from her foot and adjusted her grip on the spear. She looked down as she spoke, "He was going to shoot you."
"Yes, he was," Lo'ak agreed, taking her hand in his and making her look at him. When she said nothing, he repeated himself, "Get off this ship. Please."
"Come with me," 'Kanu pulled him with her toward the water.
Lo'ak did not move his feet, "I can't."
"Yes, you can," she disagreed, "Lo'ak. Come with me," she pleaded, pulling his hand desperately.
Lo'ak pried her fingers off his hand, "Go."
'Kanu let her hands hang by her sides limply as she watched him with furrowed brows. Her eyes searched his for any sign of giving up. She chuckled unhumorously when she could tell that he would not be changing his mind. "Please," she begged in a mere whisper. She knew he would refuse - but she would always try.
Lo'ak could not respond. He was suddenly distracted by her. He was too distracted by her to listen to her. It was ironic.
The way the orange light from the flames highlighted her features left him breathless. His eyes trailed down and he was suddenly aware of the blood that had splattered across her face. He felt as though he was in a dream like state when he brought his hand up to wipe the blood off her lips. His eyes followed the movement of his thumb as it grazed across the soft skin of her lower lip. Then he let his hand remain there - resting against her cheek.
"Lo'ak," 'Kanu whispered, attempting to get him to focus on her words once more.
Then it happened.
Lo'ak was not sure what kind of confidence took over him when he suddenly leaned in. His other hand found it's way to the back of her neck, holding her steady as he kissed her softly.
The moment that their lips met, 'Kanu's eyes had fluttered shut. She forgot that they were in the midst of the battle and that this was one of the worst possible moment to share a first kiss. Her spear clattered to the floor as she reciprocated. One of her hands drifted to hold his hand that rested against her cheek as the other rose to his neck.
The kiss was sweet and loving - but it could not go on forever. 'Kanu had to be the first to pull away when she realized that Lo'ak would not.
When she met his eyes she saw her expression of wonder reflected on his face. Lo'ak's mouth remained just the slightest bit open. As if he was amazed.
'Kanu would have laughed and teased him about it, but the seriousness of the situation came crashing down on her. Her peaceful expression was once again overpowered by the panic.
"Let's go," she turned around, holding his hand.
Lo'ak shook his head slowly, sorry that he could not comply, "No." 'Kanu let out a desperate sound - almost like a whine. "You go ahead," He said, "Keep Neteyam safe."
"Tsireya is with him."
"Please," he begged.
'Kanu felt desperation take over once more, but she nodded reluctantly. It was probably better. That way at least he would need to worry about her safety while trying to save his family. Her though - she would worry for him.
"Thank you," he squeezed her hands gently before letting go, running down the deck.
'Kanu sighed and turned around, tears in her eyes as she made her way slowly down to the water. Some objects that had come loose from the sinking ship floated peacefully on the surface of the water. 'Kanu paid them no mind as she waded deeper into the water. She gave the fire around her no attention as she felt her feet lift up from the surface and she started swimming out.
Nothing caught her attention until she saw more fire. Fire rapidly spreading along the surface of the water headed right toward her. 'Kanu could not waste a second to wonder how it happened. She gasped before turning around and swimming right back onto the deck.
The fire surrounded her when she made it back. There was fire and the ship was sinking.
She was trapped and there was nowhere to go but up.
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A/n:
These authors notes are getting annoying, ik-
I'm cringing so bad like EW- I have never written a romance scene in my LIFE so please give me tips so I can get better :)
I'll apologize for Neteyam again- sorry.