Torn Apart (pt. 1)

Chapter 5

          

                               Katara bolted upright, a high-pitched yell escaping her lips. Terrified, she clutched hr hand to her chest, gasping for breath.As cool air filled her lungs, she closed her eyes, thinking of anything positive, anything that would calm her down.Keeping her eyes closed,  she took her shaking hand from her chest and lowered it to her side. She pressed it against her side and sighed with relief. There was no blood, no pain, nothing. It had all been just a crazy nightmare.  

                           She relaxed a little and brought her hands to her eyes, rubbing them gently. She had been having all types of weird dreams lately. Some were heart-breaking, some were gut-wrenching, and some were just plain weird (like the one where Sokka jumped into a huge tub of cactus juice and came out with momo's wings and appa's legs) but they all ended with her waking up screaming. Finally opening her eyes, she looked down at her body. There was no blood, no missing body parts, but what really got her was what she was wearing. She was in.....a hospital gown? Had that dream really been a dream? Or was it real? katara slowy pulled up the gown, looking for a scar or cut but findind nothing. Confused, she slowly rose out of the hospital bed, and headed for the door. As she stepped out of the lonely room and walked into the empty hallway, she heard a small, faint voice.

                    "Katara...." it said. Katara stopped and turned around, but no one was there. She began to walk again, a little quicker. Then she heard it again, a little louder then before.

                   "Katara....answer me," it said, a hint of fear in the tone of the voice. Katara turned around yet again, but no one stood behind her. Before she turned back around, she felt a slight pressure on her left shoulder, as if someone had pushed her. She jerked her head to the left, ready to fight somebody, but once again, she found herself to be alone.

                  "Katara, answer me.....please......" the voice said, much louder and urgent than before. Fear creepling on her like a ghost, she began to run.

                "Katara, please....i..i need you....." it moaned, almost yelling at her. As katara ran and listened to the voice more carefully, it sounded like a woman's voice. She sounded scared, even terrified. But, the question was, who, or WHAT, was she so scared of? Katara was not about to stick around to find out. She gritted her teeth and continued down the endless hallway.

              "Katara...stop running, i..i need you.....PLEASE...." it yelled at her, scaring more and more. Tears of fear were streaming down her fade and she was having trouble breathing. The hallway seemed like was never ending.

             "Katara, stop running from me! Just listen, please....KATARA!!!" the voice screamed, no longer sounding small and fragile, and strong and extremely threatening.

            "Leave me alone!!!" Katara shouted, choking back sobs. She was sprinting harder than ever had in her life. Her feet were aching, her leg muscles were burning, and she was panting violently. But she refused to stop. If she were to stop running, even for a split second, who knows what could happen to her? Tears were stinging in her eyes so much she could barely see, so she didn't see what was in front of her. Whatever it was, her right foot hit it hard, and she fell down, harshly landing on the cold unforgiving floor. Her vision went blurry and her head started to spin. For a moment, she couldn't see anything,  couldn't hear anything, or even feel anything. It was as if her whole body shut  down, and she went numb.

Then, slowly but surely, her body started to work again. As her senses started to work again, she heard small, faint footsteps, getting louder as they approached her. She sat up and rubbed the spot on her head that had hit the ground.

        "Katara," said someone. Her eyes went wide and she froze. It was the voice, but it was different than before. It sounded....familiar. So compelety, utterly familiar it made her heart break. She knew who it was.

       Slowly, she turned her head to face the person. And there, standing there looking down at her.......was Kya, her mother.