Avatar: The Guardian

Chapter 4: Nightmare Pincers

Kiri and Spider fled blindly through the thick fog to escape the horrible hissing. The surface was slick and covered with vines, which nearly caused them to stumble a few times, but they kept going. The machine was no longer visible, but the sound of rapid gunfire and a loud crash could be heard in the distance a few moments later. After that loud crash, the marsh was silent again, and the two ran into a hole in one of the trees.

"What the hell is going on?" Spider panted rapidly, fogging his mask.

Kiri clung to her injured arm and murmured breathlessly, "I have no idea."

Spider cast a downward gaze at her arm. "How are you holding out?"

"I'll live," Kiri groaned. "Are we safe?"

"Hold on," Spider said before peeking around the corner. "I don't see anything."

"What should we do now?" Kiri inquired, obviously distressed about everything. "My parents are going to kill me."

"Woah- relax, we'll get out of here. Just let me think," Spider said, placing his hand reassuringly on her shoulder and peering outside once more. The fog was beginning to lift slightly, and he was able to make out the path along the stream they had taken when following the machine's tracks. "I know where we are."

Kiri exhaled with relief and sat down to collect her breath. She was covered in scratches from falling and crusted muck, in addition to the handprint bruise on her arm.

It was then that, all of a sudden, an unsettling beeping sound came from Spider's exopack. They both froze in panic as they knew what they meant—his oxygen supply was getting dangerously low.

"Fuck," Spider exclaimed before checking his gauge.

Kiri stood up and didn't want to ask the question. "How much is left?"

"Not enough to make it back home," Spider hissed, slamming his fist into the tree. "I'm sorry, Kiri. I messed up today."

Kiri frowned and couldn't stop herself from giving him a one-armed embrace. "It's not your fault, it's mine."

Spider sighed, knowing that complaining about the situation wouldn't get them out of it. "We'll talk later. Let's get out of here."

Kiri stepped back and nodded. "You said you know where we are?"

"Yeah," Spider said, thumbing out towards the river. "We're about halfway to the helicopter."

Kiri had an idea instantly. "Couldn't you get a new rebreather mask from the helicopter?"

Spider perked up in surprise. "Oh, yeah, there was still an emergency mask in the cockpit," he said confidently, "I'm glad you've got the brains here."

Kiri couldn't help but smile at the praise.

Spider took one more look outside to make sure it was safe. Through the fog, he could make out more of the spider frogs swimming in one of the pools nearby. He did not see the machine or whatever that thing was from earlier. "Let's go-" he said before stepping outside.

Kiri followed him out, cautiously scanning each direction. She was nervous and expected the machine to materialize out of nowhere.

They both moved in the direction of the stream and began to follow it. The murmur of the stream helped hide their footsteps as they crouched low in the thick, lush grass. There was less sunlight streaming down from above them as the sun sank lower in the sky indicating a few hours until night time.

After a bit of walking, the crashed helicopter was visible in the distance, with the sunshine reflecting off the cockpit.

Spider whispered assuredly, "I see it."