Avatar: The Guardian

Chapter 6: Preparations

Kiri slept peacefully late into the night until she was awakened by a noise inside her tent. She grumbled, sat up on her cot, and peered around the dimly lit tent for the source of the noise. Tuk was fast asleep on the cot opposite to her.

Kiri did not recall Tuk entering the tent, but this was likely due to the fact that she slept like a rock. After thinking she was hearing things, she lay down on her cot and closed her eyes until a radio-like humming startled her up seconds later. Sitting up again, she noticed the noise was coming from one of the clay pots where she had hidden the portable radio before going to the infirmary.

Kiri panicked because she had forgotten about her deal with the machine, and her heart started racing. She carefully lifted the lid with a nervous hand while watching Tuk slumber. Again, the radio droned.

"Respond," the machine's ominous voice said through the radio.

As Tuk turned over in her sleep and looked at Kiri, she hurriedly closed the lid. "What's that noise?" she asked groggingly.

"Uhh," Kiri had to think quickly, "it's nothing. Just some broken human thingy dad gave me."

"All right," Tuk replied, getting up and stretching with a yawn. "How's your arm?"

Kiri examined her cast. "Fine," she responded, half-focused on how to retrieve the radio without alerting Tuk, "it'll recover in a few weeks."

"I saw you leave today," Tuk said. "Grandma wasn't happy."

Kiri sighed. "We'll talk about that tomorrow. Go back to sleep, okay?"

Tuk yawned and closed her eyes. "Okay, good night."

Kiri then reached into the pot and switched off the radio before taking it out. "I'll be right back," she said as she walked out of the tent.

The cavern was even darker inside than it was outside, with only a few torches and human lights providing any lighting. Kiri saw two soldiers standing at the cave opening with torches in the distance and assumed there were more around. According to Jake's rules, no one was allowed out after midnight without authorization.

Kiri saw an area nearby with numerous RDA boxes stacked up and took a quick glance to see if the coast was clear before sneaking there. She squirmed into a hiding place, sat down, and took a long breath before pushing the button.

"Hello?" Kiri asked nervously, uncertain if she was using it right. "Can you hear me?"

"Signal clear," the machine responded on the other end, "Are you ready for my instructions?"

Kiri sat up just enough to see if anyone was nearby. "I am. So, what exactly do you need?" She whispered as she saw a few guards walking in the opposite direction, away from her.

The machine then started speaking out a list of parts, but before Kiri could catch any of it, she was startled when somebody spoke to her.

"Who are you talking to, Kiri?" Tuk inquired as she rubbed her eyes, standing a few steps away from Kiri, who seemed surprised that she had come up on her so quietly.

"Shh!" Kiri murmured, signaling for Tuk to come to her before anybody spotted her.

And then the machine concluded its instructions, which Kiri had entirely missed.

"What's an a-a-ctuator?" Tuk struggled to enunciate the word she heard before sitting next to Kiri.

"It's human technology," Kiri said, quickly checking if anyone heard them, "it's a device for moving things."