Avatar: The Guardian

Chapter 9: The Aftermath

Author note: I use { } to separate Na'vi and English when it's appropriate for the scene.

Polyphemus was visible high in the sky, with its whirling cyan and white clouds dancing amongst the stars as darkness had descended over the valley. The roar of helicopter engines and the sounds of human soldiers and machines were now a distant memory. A thick layer of smoldering smoke lingered over the marsh, concealing most of the swamp's bioluminescent cyan and purple. The occasional lament of an unseen creature filled the air as nocturnal creatures arose from their hidden lairs.

Now that Txoum could walk, albeit slowly, he and Kiri both crept their way through the swamp's dense foliage until they were within sight of the camp. What was once a thriving village of laughter and community had been reduced to a heap of charred debris, and there were still dozens of little flames burning. The smoke was so thick that they couldn't see into the heart of the area.

"{Do you smell that?}" Txoum whispered to Kiri after the wind carried the scent in their direction.

"{Yes,}" Kiri replied, wrinkling her nostrils in response to the potent odor. It smelled like burned flesh. She started to feel her adrenaline fade away, allowing her mind to slip into reliving each moment of the battle from start to finish.

Txoum nudged Kiri when he noticed her staring off. "{Are you okay?}"

Kiri snapped out of her trance and gave a small nod. She began looking over the camp from their concealment, searching for any survivors or dangers. "{I don't see anything, do you?}" she whispered to Txoum.

Txoum observed the area with a keen hunter's eye. "{I do not, but neither do I see the bodies of our kin.}"

Once Txoum said that, Kiri quickly realized that there were no Na'vi bodies lying on the ground. The RDA always recovered their own dead, but they frequently left the Na'vi dead behind as a warning. That alone was unusual.

"{I'll go see if it's safe,}" Txoum said, holding his side and wincing before rising slowly with a bow in hand. Despite Kiri's best effort, the makeshift bandage she made was only a temporary solution.

"{Be careful,}" Kiri said with a frown. "{Don't move too fast or you'll open your wound again.}"

"{I'll try n-}" Txoum was interrupted by audible hydraulic moans and not-so-subtle footfalls approaching from behind that caught Kiri's attention as well. They both looked back and watched as Ghost approached, its red optics shining through the smoky haze. Despite the frequency of their encounters, the machine's visage always unnerved Kiri, and she gulped.

Txoum positioned himself between Ghost and Kiri just as the machines halted in front of them. Even though the pair had been hiding from the RDA in the marsh for hours, Ghost kept a distance and only asked Kiri to change its battery banks.

"{Do you need something?}" Txoum asked, his hand resting on the hilt of his obsidian dagger, unsure if the machine could even understand.

Kiri looked between them, unsure if she should translate.

Instead of responding, Ghost stared ahead towards the camp and moved its head methodically from right to left. Its movement was eerily unnatural, so Txoum moved towards it, holding his bow at the ready, while Kiri merely observed, unsure of what Ghost was doing. "The area is clear of hostiles," Ghost reported before they moved past Txoum and started heading towards the camp.

Txoum watched the machine descend downhill before helping Kiri stand up with her uninjured arm. "{What did it say?}"

"{It said there are no sky people in the camp,}" Kiri said, hoping that is what it meant, just as Ghost vanished into the dense cloud of smoke that persisted at the camp's perimeter.