Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar! I'm just in love with it.
As the Scorpion gunship slowly began its ascent from hell's gate, my thumbs drummed excitedly in my lap.
"Pandora is nothing like Earth Jessy, nothing like anything you've ever experienced." Helen had told my in her all knowing voice, only days before. True, I'd never been to Earth. I hadn't even been past Hells Gate, the only thing separating the RDA base from the wild jungles of Pandora. But from what I'd been taught, I knew Earth and Pandora were nothing alike. One was barren, abused and greenless the other a youthful bright planet devoted to life.
At the moment, Helen was sitting strapped at my side, telling something to the pilot in the cockpit through the transmitter around her neck. I'd known Helen since birth. She was my trainer, my nurse, basically my guardian; Well, my assigned guardian. Helen had been working for the RDA, long before I was born...created. She didn't work for the money though. No, Helen was in it because of her passion for science. Helen had been the one to teach me what I was, what I would become and most of all, my purpose.
As a child it didn't take long for me to see that I looked nothing like the humans around me. I was blue and long with twitchy ears and a tale with a mind of its own. I most definetly wasn't human; something else entirely.
"Your DNA comes from the Na'vi." Helen I told me once when I was younger. I didn't know what DNA even was then, but I soon caught on; I was man-made. But why?
"You won't need to worry about that until you're older." She'd said. The answer was simple. They wanted me as a negotiator, a peace keeper. Someone who could negotiate between the Natives and RDA. RDA was in the process of trying to conform the Na'vi. Make them speak English, act like us, and dress like us. They wanted to make the savage Na'vi civilized. What better way to do that then to show one of their own kind, civilized as a human. The relatioship between the Na'vi and humans were currently unfriendly. I was meant to change that.
My attention was broken from my thoughts when we passed over Hell Gates and into the vibrant jungles of Pandora. My mouth dropped open.
I'd never seen any thing like this before! It was so.. green and full of life! I resisted to the urge to lunge out of my seat and swan dive into it's green arms. I'd been raised within Hell's Gates, kept away from the forest and the rest of the Na'vi. I'd in fact never seen another Na'vi in my entire life. What was below was just..magnificent.
"It's beautiful," I murmured.
"Yes, it is," Helen agreed, equally captured by the scenery below. I hadn't thought she'd heard me over the gunship's engines. Her voice sounded slightly muffled from under her exopack mask. Unlike her, I didn't need a breathing mask. Yet another thing that made me so different from the humans I'd been raised around.
"Could we land somewhere? Just real quick?" I asked eagerly, looking down at the vibrant jungle below with awe.
In the cockpit in front of me, Ray barked out a laugh. Even from behind his exopack mask his voice sounded beautiful.
I'd been in love with Ray since I was ten, when I was first introduced to him. Or was it that I was in love with the idea of Ray? He was everything I wasn't. What wasn't to love about him? He had curly dark hair with a dimple when he smiled. . Everyone around the sector loved Ray. He was very charasmatic man with a great sense of humor. His charming ways were irresistible. I knew that not everyone around the sector found me... charming. Perhaps annoying. The biggest most obvious difference between Ray and I was the simple fact that he was human and I was not. I didn't even have a remote chance of being with Ray. Hell, I was the same height as him by time I was 11. And now I towered over him. Of course I knew he didn't have the same feelings as I did.
Ray was a marine. Pandora was nothing new to him. He'd probably known his way around Pandora better then a Native. When Ray had heard of the RDA's new project, the Avatar project, he and many other marines flocked to Pandora. The Avatar program was still in the process of being created though so for now he had to be one of the normal foot soldiers on base.
Helen chuckled also. "You're nowhere near ready to set foot in a Pandoran jungle," Helen said.
I frowned but I'd expected this answer. Since the age of seven I'd been taught of the unsafety of Pandora. Pandora was beautfil yet dangerous. I wasn't ready to face that.
"Give it a month," Ray said to me from the cockpit. A month. What difference would a month make.
"Goodness child! You re not even strapped in!" Helen exclaimed, just now noticing my disregard for safety.
I shrugged it off as I continued to gaze, awed at the scenery below. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a small flash of blue below. I leaned closer for a better look. Was that a Na'vi? An actual Na'vi in the flesh!
"I think I just saw a Native!" I cried, squinting my eyes.
"Pandora is full of them."
Just then another flash of blue crossed my vision but then suddenly a large shadow cast over the scorpion. I glanced around bewildered. Helen's eyes mirrored mine. Then suddenly there was a loud whooshing sound. It sounded like wings.
"Oh shit!" I heard Ray shout from the cockpit as the chopper rattled.
"What? What's out there?" I asked, bewildered.
"Jessy, buckle yourself in!" Ray yelled back, strain evident in his voice.
"But-"
"Now!" He called sharply. At that moment there was a loud banging at the back of the gunship, causing us all to lurch forward. I was propelled into the back of Ray's seat. 'Maybe it is good idea to strap up,' I thought as my head came into contact with the back of the seat. When I shook off the pain in my head and opened my eyes I gasped, seeing the hugest, ugliest flying beast I'd ever seen through the side window. It's entire body was covered in a leathery, angry red-orange skin. A Great Leonopteryx! No way!
I lurched back into my seat and my hands fumbled for my belt, while my mouth hung open in horror.
Just as I was about to click in the belt, the gunship was attacked again, forcing it to rocket towards the side. This time it sent me flying out of my chair. I scrambled on the floor for a moment before slipping over the edge of the open side doors. Luckily my hand caught onto the rail at the bottom of the gunship. I peered down below me as I hung precariously from the rail.
Oh my God! I think I crapped my pants!
The gunship was passing over a large water formation that looked almost like a water fall. At that moment, my small hand-held gun slipped out of my holster and went tumbling down into the water below. I hoped I wouldn't have the same fate.
I heard Helen screaming something inside the gunship. As I tried to pull myself up I could feel the air around me being stirred from the beast's flapping wings, as it slammed into the scorpion again.
The recoil forced me to lose my grip and I went free falling down into the deep tundra below. I screamed as the air rushed past me until suddenly I slammed into a tree bark then another and another until my bottom made contact with the hard ground.
"Ooof!" I cried. My butt felt completely numb. I took a second to catch my ragged breath. As I tried to stand up the numbness quickly dissipated and was replaced with a splitting pain. I winced. Not only was there pain in my butt but pain was radiating from my right ankle and I knew it had to be twisted. I wasn't at all used to this much pain. I listened over head for the gunship as I heard the engine slowly begin to fade away. They were leaving!
I wasn't sure what I should do. Should I wait here and hope they find me? Or should I try to follow them? Or should I go back and look for my gun?
They were still probably being attcked by that brainless flying beast thing. I hoped they were okay!
Suddenly I noticed my surroundings. If I thought seeing Pandora from the copter was beautiful then this was downright awe inspiring. Never in my life had I seen so many colors in one setting. Purple, orange green! They were all here. The plants and the flora were practically bouncing with life. Back on the Base all plant life was routinely cut away. In the distance I could hear animals chirping and cooing. And a little bit of growling.
I swallowed. Maybe going back in search of my gun was the best idea. I couldn't possibly ward off any of the potentially dangerous animals without it. I would be a sitting duck. Digging into the pocket of the gray wind suit I was wearing, I pulled out the small device that maybe was my only chance of surviving. I held onto the small red button as I spoke into the communicator.
"Ray, this is Jessy do you read?" No reply.
"I repeat do you read?" I chewed my lip nervously. Looks like I was out of options. " I hope your okay Ray, I'm heading towards the waterfall we passed."
Still no reply. Shit. Could this get any worse? Giving up on the stupid communicator, I began my trek in what I hoped was the direction I'd dropped my gun. It was extremely unlikely I would find it. With the luck I was having today, it would probably be at the very bottom of that waterfall I'd seen.
As I hacked my way through the thick jungle I tried to recall everything I'd been taught about the wild life on Pandora. From what I learned, the worse time to be out in this jungle would be at night. That was when all of Pandora's nastiest little creatures came out. I hoped I wouldn't be here long enough to see the sun go down. When we'd left Hell's Gate it had been around 4:30. Lord knew what time it was now.
I continually swatted away pesky bugs that were attracted to my sweat. After about ten minutes my long black hair was sticking to my face and my ankle was constantly radiating pain.
Steadily as I continued to trek through the thick foliage I began to hear the sounds of running water. The waterfall! I must have been close.
I picked up my pace. The closer I got the louder the waterfall was. Finally I got to the point where the sound of the waterfall was all I heard and I could feel the mist from the water sticking to my sweaty skin. I pushed past one last group of bushes and I was greeted with the sight of the water form I'd seen earlier. Wasting no time, I began the search for my gun. I'd been searching for about an hour and the sun was beginning to set, when I noticed a glint of silver up at the very top of the water fall, where the water was coming from. Hoping that the silver glint was my gun, I began to ascend and climb to the top of the falls, slipping and scuffing my knees every now and then. By the time I reached the top of the ledge, my ankle was aching and I could feel a steady throb in my tail bone. I'd never worked so much in my life! I needed to work out more when I got back home. If I got back home!
I scanned the rushing water from the bank and finally noticed a glint of silver. I climbed closer for a better look and immediately groaned.
The gun sat perched on a large jutting rock, smack dab in the center of the waterfall. Great. Ju great. Water sliced past the rock dangerously. I took into account the few other rocks that were also protruding from the rushing water. Maybe if I could hop from rock to rock, I could get close enough to reach the gun.
I decided this was the best plan of action as I rolled up my sleeves and the cuffs of my pants and removed my white sneakers. Taking in a sharp breath I lunged forward to the nearest rock. I landed effortlessly. The rocks were less slippery then they looked. I tried jumping for the next rock while the adrenaline was still pumping in my blood. This one took a bit more effort but I made it. I could feel sweat soaking through the back of my windsuit. I hopped again to the next rock which was a bit closer then the last. Finally I was at the last rock. The distance between this rock and the rock holding my gun was greater than all the other rocks I had jumped so far. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
When I opened my eyes again I gasped when my eyes collided with pair of golden almond shaped eyes that glowed from inside the jungle on the other side of the waterfall. I had no clue what kind of animal I was staring at but I wasted no time finding out as I lunged in a rushed panic towards the last rock that held my gun.
With horror I realized that I hadn't jumped far enough as I started falling into the water only three fourths of the way to the rock. I fell into the chilly water and was pushed over the edge of the falls. For a moment I was free falling as I fell down the falls until I slammed into the water at the bottom. The currents pounded and pushed me in different directions. As a Na'vi, I was a natural born swimmer but I didn't stand a chance against the currents.
I struggled to reach the surface but the water pushed me down. Just as I thought I would pass out from lack of oxygen, my head connected with something hard and solid, and I was knocked unconscious.
A/N: Please leave me a review and let me know what yall think.