CHAPTER 49

With no better plan and certainly no time to argue, Neteyam, Erìhe, and Lo'ak began climbing the wall toward the ceiling.

The only things to hold onto were pipes and bits of metal jutting out, each one cold and slippery beneath their fingers. The climb wasn't easy, but they told themselves it couldn't be worse than the trees back home. This should have been second nature.

So why was Erìhe struggling so much?

Every pull seemed harder than the last. Her arms burned, her grip kept slipping, and the sight of Neteyam and Lo'ak already near the top made her chest sink. By the time she reached the halfway point, both boys were already upside down, suspended from the ceiling pipes. Waiting for her.

"Hurry up, bro," Lo'ak hissed, as the two halted in their movements, giving her a moment to catch up.

Whereas Lo'ak seemed impatient and mildly annoyed, Erìhe noticed that Neteyam only watched her with a quiet worry, his braids hanging past his shoulders as he leaned over to see her. Erìhe tried mustering a smile for him but found herself unable to manage it.

"Yeah, I'm right with you," she called instead, breathless. Then to herself with a small frown: "Just a bit winded." She forced herself to manage the last stretch until her hands closed around the thick red pipes.

She hugged the metal close and leaned her head back to give Lo'ak a small nod to show she was ready. The boys wasted no time and started moving again, crawling across the ceiling with ease. Erìhe followed, her arms and legs aching, every muscle in her body begging her to stop. She refused to look down, afraid of what she might see — afraid of how weak she already felt.

The alarms blared in bursts, rattling through the steel walls. Boots and voices echoed below them, harsh and hurried. The pipes shuddered faintly under their weight as they crept forward.

They had barely gone a few minutes when soldiers burst into the hall beneath them. The heavy steps of a partial exo-suit thumping against the floor. "Move, move! Evacuating!" the pilot bellowed, urging his men on.

The three paused their movements and waited with baited breaths as the soldiers passed quickly, their noise fading until the corridor was still again.

Neteyam led them toward a section of the ceiling where it got higher, yellow platforms attached high on the wall. Testing the surface, he climbed onto one and then waved the others over. Lo'ak joined him in seconds, then both boys turned to watch Erìhe make her way across.

"Why are you so slow?" Lo'ak asked, frowning, by now clearly agitated by her sluggish pace.

Erìhe huffed at him, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as she stretched out her hand for help. Neteyam stepped past his brother on the platform to pull her up with ease.

"I don't know," she muttered once fully perched on the yellow platform. She expected Lo'ak to tease her, or at least shoot her another snarky comment, but he instead said nothing — his eyes now gone wide.

"I think I do," he whispered, large eyes glued to her legs.

Before she could ask what he could have possibly meant, or look down herself — Neteyam was already searching her frantically. Hands sliding over her arms and sides, turning her every which way until he found what he had been looking for. His fingers pressed against her thigh and came away red.

Erìhe looked down upon herself and gasped. Her left leg was soaked, the dark stain spreading fast. As soon as she saw it, the pain she had been holding at bay came crashing in, sharp and relentless.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Lo'ak murmured, brows pinched tight from worry and guilt. He huddled closer, looking at her from over his brother's shoulder.

Neteyam closed both hands around her upper thigh firmly. Erìhe watched with mild horror as his hands turned red from her blood. "How didn't we notice?" he muttered, jaw tight. He held on tight, lessening the bleeding, his eyes darting between her face and the injury. The bullet had passed through cleanly, missing her artery — still bad, but not the worst it could have been.

Erìhe bit down hard, steadying herself. She'd been shot before, on missions back in the forest. Then, the bullets had merely grazed her. She knew in this instant the only thing to do was keep moving. "It's fine," she managed through gritted teeth. "We just need to get Spider and go."

Lo'ak looked uneasy, but he nodded at her, turning back to the task at hand. He moved to the edge of the platform to watch for movement below. Neteyam stayed with her until the sound of more boots forced him to pull back. He gave her knee a squeeze, leaving a bloody handprint on her leg, then joined his brother. Erìhe looked down to where his hand had been and swallowed her nausea, forcing focus back into her limbs.

"It's Spider," Lo'ak whispered, looking back at Erìhe. She followed his gaze, wilfully ignoring the throbbing pain in her leg and the sensation of thick, hot liquid trickling down her thigh.

Below, a group of soldiers were guiding Spider down the corridor toward the evacuation area. She noted how they kept close hands on their weapons.

They watched as one of the lead soldiers hesitated, his steps slowing, eyes focused on the ground where they couldn't see.

The three teenagers froze, slowly turning to shoot each other quizzical looks, mouthing about what he could have seen.

Then, the soldier looked up.

In a second, the three had realised what had happened. The blood dripping steadily from Erìhe's wound was falling down to the floor below them — giving away their position.

Every soldier's head snapped skywards. But none had time to raise their weapons.

Neteyam dropped from the platform in a flash, landing lightly among them. His knife struck once, then again. One soldier collapsed without so much as a squeak. Another slammed against the wall.

Panic broke out, shots rang out, confusion exploding amongst the soldiers.

Lo'ak and Erìhe were already in the air, landing seconds behind Neteyam. Erìhe hit the floor hard, pain shooting up her leg. Yet, she ducked and drove the butt of her gun into the mask of a soldier, cracking it with sharp impact. Lo'ak moved beside her, striking fast.

Neteyam grabbed another by the vest and hurled him over the railing into the water below.

Then Spider was there, efficiently ripping the mask from a soldier and watching him struggle. Within moments, the fight was over.

Erìhe straightened as much as her leg allowed, breathing hard. She let her gun slip from her hands, relief coming for only a second before gunfire went off again. Turning sharply on her heels, she was just in time to see a soldier fall — Lo'ak's gun smoking in his hands. Shells scattered across the floor, the sound harsh against the silence that followed. Her eyes landed on the soldier, who had seemingly reached for his gun only for Lo'ak to notice and make quick work of him.

For a moment, Neteyam and Erìhe watched him with mild surprise etched across their features, but it was spider who was first to recover. "Bro, come on!" Spider snapped, urging them on.

"Let's go," Neteyam said firmly to them both, taking Erìhe's hand into his own and pulling her along. She clenched her jaw and matched his pace despite the pain.

Together they vaulted another railing, dropping to the lower floor. They regrouped quickly, eyes scanning each other for fresh injuries.

Spider gave a quick thanks for the save, then froze when his eyes caught on Erìhe's leg. He was about to speak, to ask what happened, but his words cut short as Lo'ak stiffened, staring past him. They all turned to follow his gaze.

Two RDA avatars stepped from the shadows, weapons raised to aim.

"Go!" Spider shouted, breaking into a run just as they opened fire. Erìhe was quick to follow him as they ducked the bullets.

Lo'ak raised his gun to return the fire, but was prevented by Neteyam pushing him forwards. "No! Go, go, go!"

Gunfire burst behind them, sparks showering the walls.

They ducked around a corner, pressing into its cover as bullets chewed into the metal. "Give me that!" Neteyam grabbed Lo'ak's gun and fired back in short bursts, forcing the soldiers down. "Go!" he yelled, and Spider pointed them toward a pool deck.

Looking back at Neteyam, desperation clawed at her throat, but Erìhe had no choice but to follow Spider and Lo'ak as the latter took hold of her wrist and pulled her after himself.

The three vaulted the railing and jumped, diving headfirst into the water below. The water swallowed them, cold and heavy. Erìhe's leg screamed as she kicked, until Lo'ak's grip steadied her and dragged her along. They swam hard, lungs burning, until the gunfire above faded into nothing but a muffled silence.

For a brief second, Erìhe felt the urge to turn back — to break the surface of the moon pool and make sure Neteyam was right behind them. The thought barely formed before it was chased away by the sound of a final splash behind her — Neteyam.

Relief surged through her in an instance. Knowing he was with them, Erìhe could focus all her strength into a powerful kick upward. She propelled herself through the dense, shifting water, toward the surface.

The only sounds to be heard in the water was the gentle, eerie hush of water gliding past them and the steady, metallic hiss of Spider's oxygen mask.

When Erìhe finally broke through the surface, sunlight struck her eyes and the weight in her chest lifted the tiniest bit. Spider and Lo'ak were already above, exchanging high-fives and laughing breathlessly as they congratulated each other on their brilliant escape.

"That was insane, cuz!" Lo'ak shouted, grinning from ear to ear.

A smile cracked across Erìhe's face, wide and full of relief. Her limbs still trembled, left leg burning from excretion, but the tension in her chest started to loosen. She paddled toward them slowly, frantic heart rate beginning to settle, the rush of their escape finally catching up with her.

Then, behind her, the water erupted again.

Erìhe turned just in time to see Neteyam surface — barely. He broke through with a choked gasp, sputtering, his body sluggish and disoriented. His arms moved like they were weighted down, his head bobbing just barely above the water.

The smile vanished from her face in an instant when she realised something to be wrong.

Panic exploded in her chest as she swam to him frantically. His hand reached out and clamped heavily onto her shoulder — not out of relief or greeting, but to anchor himself to her just to stay above water. Nevermind the fact that she was struggling herself.

"Neteyam?" she choked out, grabbing his bicep, trying to keep them both afloat.

He coughed violently, inhaling in sharp, wet gasps.

Tsireya appeared beside the group on her ilu, but Erìhe barely registered her presence as she focused on Neteyam and keeping them both afloat.

"Did you get hit?" Erìhe asked him, voice taut with worry. She pulled Neteyam closer, her arm sliding around his torso to hold him closer. "Did you?" she repeated, now desperate.

Neteyam opened his mouth to respond, but the words didn't come. He could only nod.

Erìhe's eyes dropped then — scanning the water. A fresh wave of nausea hit her when she saw a sickening cloud of crimson bloomed beneath them, curling through the clear blue like ink.

Up ahead, Lo'ak was somehow still unaware of the situation, waving at them. "Come on, bro!" he called, treading water toward the ilu.

At his voice, Neteyam's head turned in his brother's direction. "You skxawng," he rasped. "I'm shot."

The celebration died in an instant. Lo'ak's expression blanked, eyes darting from Neteyam's barely-conscious form, to the blood-streaked water, then to Erìhe, who clutched his brother like she could physically hold him together.

"Shit," Lo'ak cursed, swimming hard toward them. He hooked an arm under Neteyam's and hauled him up, taking weight from Erìhe's aching limbs.

Neteyam slipped as Erìhe's leg faltered under the strain. She slipped beneath the surface with Neteyam, the cold swallowing them both momentarily.

"Give me a hand!" Lo'ak shouted, and Spider was there in an instant, grabbing Neteyam from the other side. Together, the boys wrestled him above the surface again.

"Keep him up!"

Erìhe resurfaced moments later, gasping for air, her lungs on fire. The tears she hadn't noticed were building now spilled freely, mixing with the saltwater on her cheeks. Her arms burned and her body screamed from exhaustion.

Between the four of them, they got Neteyam onto the ilu's back. He was shaking, pulling himself up by sheer force of will, jaw clenched in agony. Erìhe followed immediately, climbing up behind him, her hands already reaching for him. She pulled him back into her chest, supporting his weight as he slumped.

Spider climbed on behind her, gripping tight. Tsireya held the ilu's saddle and Lo'ak slid into place at the front. He connected to the que, and the creature surged forward, cutting fast through the water toward land.

Not even the sound of rushing waves could drown out Neteyam's breathing — sharp, shallow, and erratic. Every breath tore out of him like it cost too much to take.

Erìhe held him tighter.

She'd never seen him like this. Not when he'd flown fifty feet backwards right into a pile of rocks in an explosion. Not even when he'd fallen from his ikran during a hunt and limped home with his body covered in bruises.

Neteyam's hand trembled as it reached for hers. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist, guiding her hand down from his shoulder to the left side of his waist. At first, she didn't understand — but then she registered the feeling of thick, hot blood pouring steadily through her fingers.

Her heart stuttered and her body seized. Tears blurred her vision, and a sob scratched at her throat. She pressed down hard on the wound, eliciting a sharp gasp from him.

"Sorry," she whispered, though she knew it didn't help. "It's okay."

Neteyam didn't respond, but leaned his head back, resting it against her shoulder as he took in shuddering breaths. Erìhe pressed her lips to his temple, then to his shoulder, her tears soaking into his skin.

She barely registered the ride back to shore. Everything blurred together — the rush of the water, the ilu below her, and Tsireya's urgent voice explaining that the sky people had taken Kiri and Tuk. Her mind was a haze, focused on the dim outline of the sinking mothership behind them and the weight of the boy they carried.

Eclipse had fallen by the time they neared the rocks jutting from the water. Night washed everything in deep shadow, disturbed only by the flickering light of a fire burning on the wreck. The flames stretched long shadows across the water, just enough light to show her the figure racing along the rocks to meet them. Jake.

"Dad!" Lo'ak called, his voice cracking. He lifted a hand toward his father, bringing it back down to hold on tight to his brothers arm, "Dad, help! It's Neteyam!"

"Hurry!" Tsireya urged, slipping off the ilu along with the others. They waded into the shallows, Neteyam's weight shared by the four as they carried him toward the rocks.

"Here! Take him!" Lo'ak gasped as they all lifted Neteyam off the ilu.

Jake reached them in a rush, his face taut with fear. "Oh, no—" his voice broke as Spider gripped his hand as Jake hauled him and a spluttering Neteyam out of the water. Tsireya and Erìhe lifted his legs as Jake, together with Lo'ak and spider lifted Neteyam onto the rocks.

The world felt muffled to Erìhe, as though she were underwater even now. Lo'ak was speaking, Spider too, and Jake's voice cut between theirs, but the words washed over her without meaning. All she could do was stumble after them, water streaming down her limbs and her steps uneven but hurried. The pain in her leg was long forgotten, swallowed by something heavier.

Neteyam was laid on the rocks, coughing, his face tight with pain and eyes screwed tightly shut. Erìhe dropped to her knees beside him so quickly the sharp stone bit into her skin, but she hardly noticed. A sob escaped her as she watched Jake roll Neteyam to his side, Spider holding up a flashlight for him to see.

She too leaned forward to take a look. An exit wound.

Erìhe clung to the detail like a lifeline. If the bullet had passed through, then at least it hadn't lodged deeper inside, tearing its energy apart within him.

Her fragile calm shattered when Neteyam's breathing spiralled into sharp gasps. His chest heaved too fast, his hands twitching against the stone. He was slipping into terror.

"Put pressure!" Jake commanded, grabbing for their hands — Lo'ak's first, then Erìhe's — and pressed them down firmly against the wound. Warm blood surged beneath her palms and she bit back a cry, nodding desperately as if it could make her hands strong enough to hold him there.

"Dad, I—" Neteyam gasped, his voice catching with the effort of breathing. His words faltered, and Erìhe's chest tightened with the suspicion of what he could have been trying to say. She couldnt let herself hear his goodbyes. Instead focusing her eyes on the wound beneath her palms, pressing down harder.

"It's okay, I'm here." Jake told him, voice soft.

The heavy beat of wings broke through the moment, followed by the pounding of footsteps on stone. Neytiri dropped to her knees beside Lo'ak, her face stricken with horror as she reached for her son, desperate to see Neteyam's face.

"It's okay." Lo'ak insisted weakly, trying to reassure his brother.

Erìhe wiped her tears on her shoulder, desperately trying to clear her blurry vision. She forced her eyes away from Neteyam, settling them instead on Tsireya, who crouched just behind her. The girl had already been watching her, as if hoping to catch her eye.

There was a question in Tsireya's eyes, and without voicing it, Erìhe nodded. "Get the Tsahik," she whispered, voice scratchy.

Tsireya nodded urgently, getting to her feet in an instant and running off towards the water without a word. She called for her ilu, plunging into the dark water a moment later, vanishing from sight.

"I want to go home." Neteyam whispered. His eyes flickered between his parents, but he searched for something else. Erìhe was no longer within reach. Where had she gone? He could have sworn she had been right beside him only moments ago. Why couldn't he see her now?

"I know, I know." Jake's voice broke, jaw tight as he leaned closer. "It's okay, we're going home — we're going home, it's okay."

Neteyam seemed to drift, his breath uneven. His gaze turned distant, but he could see her again. Erìhe, crouched low beside him, just where he thought she had been. She pressed harder on his wound, hands slippery with blood — refusing to believe she was losing him. She swore she could still feel life beneath her palms. Faint, but there.

Suddenly, his body went still. Eyelids fluttering once, and shutting. The silence that followed was defeating: no longer was he gasping for breath or trembling. Just laying impossibly still.

The air thickened around them. Lo'ak's grip faltered, his hands slipping from his brothers side, from under Erìhe's hands. She wouldn't move. Her palms remained pressed against his side, arms shaking and heart thundering in her chest.

"Neteyam." Neytiri whispered, voice broken. When he didn't even twitch in response, her whisper gave way to a shattering scream: "No! No, no, no, no. Neteyam!"

Erìhe had to squeeze her eyes shut, as though the action might do anything to block out the sounds and change the reality before her.

One of her hands slipped and crawled upward, shaking, until it rested flat over his chest. She forced herself to hold still, to hear and to know for sure. Everything blurred around her — Neytiri's grief, Jake's voice, Lo'ak's breaths.

Tsireya's voice rang out, reaching Erìhe through her clouded thoughts. "My mother — she.. I got her.." her words faded into a gasp as her eyes fell on Neteyam.

Ronal followed Tsireya out of the water, pushing past her daughter in a hurry. "Move!" She commanded sharply, brushing Spider aside and making room for herself. Erìhe was jostled out of the way too, falling hard onto her side as her hand slipped from the wound.

Jake pulled Neytiri back, holding her against his chest as she thrashed against his hold.

The rest of them could only stand frozen, their breaths caught in their throats, watching as the Tsahik knelt beside Neteyam. Her hands moved with precision as she rolled him carefully to his side, revealing the exit wound. Her expression remained unreadable, sharp eyes taking in the injury.

No one dared to speak or even breathe too loud — lest they disturb her meticulous process.

Erìhe sat where she had fallen, knees scraped and blood drying on her hands, chest tight with dread. Neytiri's quiet cries echoed over the rocks, Lo'ak's silence was frightening, and Jake's hands trembled with barely contained fear where they were circled around his mate.

All eyes clung to Ronal, watching every movement she made. Her hands moved with certainty, her face hard and unreadable. To others she seemed unshakable, but Erìhe couldn't help but feel as if Neteyam's life balanced in every press of her fingers.

The silence stretched thin, almost unbearable. Jake stared off into the distance, a frown settling over his features. His eyes tearing away from the burning mothership ahead, he spoke, voice low and sharp:

"Where are your sisters?"

₊˚.༄

-
A/n:

So I decided to rewrite the last couple of chapters because I hate how they turned out.
Expect some major and minor changes to the story 🤭 after this chapter is where the changes will start coming in!! Also I locked the fuck in at school in English and I think you can see the improvement in my writing?? idk prolly cant