chapter thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-Three
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Your ears were ringing, your head throbbing as Ìweii’s hands wrapped around your arm, yanking you into a stand. Disoriented, you turned, breathing heavily as Ìweii jumped into the water. Your eyes fell on a crying Taweäng, blood on his hands and a cut on his eye. You pulled his hands back, bike riding in your throat as you took in the sight. His tail was swishing, his ears pinned back as you placed his hands back over his eye. He would lose it, you knew. But he had no other injuries.
Yitì wasn’t moving, Claire and Yates both next to him. You stumbled over, your head swirling and your hearing fuzzy, like everything was underwater.
Yitì was gone by the time you got there. The shrapnel in his chest had pierced his lung, and the blood on his lips proved it had been a slow death. Yates’ hands were covered in blood, her eyes haunted. She looked so tiny among the Na’vi, her human body pale and small.
You fell to your knees beside him, tears flooding your eyes. “No,” you breathed. “Yitì?”
You shook him, feeling a little desperate. You screamed, the cry leaving you unintentionally as you found yourself rocking back, sobbing.
Claire’s hands were everywhere, finally finding your face. “Hana,” she was saying, eyes a little wild. “He’s gone—Hana, he’s gone. You need to keep it together.”
Your heart was shattering. Yitì had wormed his way into your life and carved a place for himself in it. Your thoughts turned to Ìweii, and you felt a little more breathless. You didn’t know if she would recover from this.
“Hana,” said Yates, her exopack made her voice sound weird, like she was talking through a voice modulator. A clicking sound came when she spoke, raising a certain alarm in your chest as you realized it was damaged. “It’s Felix.”
Your heart plummeted. Ìweii emerged, Ava in her arms. You stumbled forward, asking her breathlessly, “Where is Felix?”
Ìweii’s eyes were wet. Ava answered, “His Avatar is dead. We need to get to get to the links.”
“Let’s go,” you slurred, words heavy on your tongue. Ìweii shot forward, stopping you from collapsing.
“Hana!” she yelled, a little desperate. “We must get you to Awa’altu.”
Yates exhaled heavily, looking around at the area in horror. “We need to go,” she said. “Right now.”
Ìweii didn’t argue, using her free hand to grab at Taweäng. Your stomach rolled, and you found yourself vomiting on yourself.
“Fuck,” said Yates. “She needs a doctor. Now.”
She reached forward, and Ìweii hissed, her voice broken, “No touch!”
Yates reeled back, shouting in Na’vi, “We need to leave Ìweii. Right now. You can’t carry both of them. Let us help you.”
Ìweii hissed in frustration. “Follow only!”
She let Taweäng go, bringing her hand to her comm and calling desperately, “Hana is hurt, please help us—Yitì is dead. Please!”
Tonowari’s voice cut through the speaker in your ear, breaking the tension like a knife. “Where?” he demanded.
Ìweii relayed your location, her voice borderline hysterical as she cried, “They are coming! Hurry!”
She was half dragging you then, the world swirling around you in a haze of noise and color. Your head lulled to the side, and inanely, all you could think about was the unfinished basket you had in Tsonu’e’s marui.
There was a roaring sound, and you couldn’t tell where it was coming from. You turned sluggishly. Your ears flicked as you tried to pinpoint the source. You realized, placidly, that Ìweii’s pace had quickened, her eyes widening as she glanced behind her.
You felt a surge of panic as you realized that something was chasing you. Your eyes darted around, trying to see through the blur of the landscape. It was hard to focus, and everything seemed to blend together in a chaotic mess.
Your head throbbed, and you stumbled slightly. Ìweii hesitated briefly before letting you fall, turning to crouch over you, hissing. Her face contorted in a sneer, and she brandished her knife protectively. You tried to sit up, your skull pounding. The Sky People were shouting something, but you were too out of it to fully process.
You lost consciousness, briefly.
You regained awareness, arms and legs bound as you laid beside a snarling Ìweii. A gun was shoved in her face, forcing her to the group. The Sky People were shouting at her, but you were unable to think let alone process their words. You were flipped on your back, staring out at the sky. Your eyes felt unfocused and heavy, and as the cool metal of the gun pressed against your forehead, you found it difficult to focus on anything beyond the shade of blue that was the sky.
Ìweii was screaming, thrashing in a desperate attempt to escape. On some level, distant, nearly out of reach—you were vividly aware of how much danger you were both in. Blood rolled down the side of your face, cradling your face.
Despite the chaos and confusion, you felt a sense of calm wash over you. You closed your eyes, trying to ground yourself and focus on your breathing. It was difficult with the pounding in your head and the tightness of the bindings on your limbs.
But you knew you had to stay conscious, had to stay aware of what was happening. You forced your eyes open, squinting against the bright sunlight. You saw Ìweii, still struggling, her voice raw from screaming. You saw the Sky People, their weapons trained on her, their faces twisted in anger and fear.
They were looking at something, out in the water. You shifted as best as you could, rolling on your stomach. You choked down the urge to vomit, feeling woozy and disoriented. Before they’d taken you both hostage, you and Ìweii had been running—and she’d contacted Tonowari.
Very quickly, Ìweii shot up—ripping the mask off the man pointing a gun at her. In a swift motion, she had untied herself and taken his gun. In that same instant, another figure appeared on the ship, assisting her with taking out the rest of the humans. You blinked, blearily, struggling for keep your eyes open.
Ìweii dropped beside you, unbinding your hands and feet. She made you sit up, frantically patting your cheek.
“Hana,” she said, your head lulling to the side. She glanced worriedly over, and distantly, you recognized Tonowari. You reached for him blindly, and sighed a little as his hands clasped with yours.
A worried look crossed his face, and he shifted so he was supporting your upper body. You leaned your head against him.
“Tonowari,” you managed, voice weak. He took you in his arms, his face pale as he ran his fingers over the wound on your head.
“Ma Hana,” he said, cradling your body. You blinked up at him, feeling delirious.
“Papa Smurf,” you garbled, nearly unintelligible. Tonowari looked terrified for you, you realized somewhere in the haze.
You blacked out again.