AVATAR AND BEYOND
Chapter One – THE MYSTERIOUS DISEASE
A NA'VI MALE swings one-armed on a tree branch, does a full rotation and somersaults upwards into the sky. He landed perfectly feet first on the ledge-like platform near the base of the branch. It's Jake, wearing the ornate necklace for an Olo'eyktan, his eyes then fixed on the 80 meter high tree at some distance away. He feels the branch vibrating beneath his feet.
Jake: (without looking) This is it, this is our new home!
The petite figure of Neytiri appears and follows Jake's gaze.
Neytiri: (clutches his hand) Yes it will be.
Moments like this, there are little to be said between the two.
ON THE PLAINS, where the Omaticaya settled after the "Great Battle", on this day, there is a semblance of their former life. Hunting, fishing, cooking, everyone is doing whatever chores they have in the past.
A couple of Na'vi kids giggle as they run and disappear into the woods. The metallic clank and hydraulic sounds of the Amp suit combine as it chases the kids. The elder Na'vi turns around to see what its all about and smiles.
Norm: I'm coming!
Norm now mans an Amp suit with relative ease – he can be forceful and yet be gentle at the same time. The People have grown fond of him with his help to bring order to the chaos and especially the kids. Well, Norm is kind of like a kid at heart too.
One of kids slows down to a halt and began to cough incessantly. He cups his hand over his mouth and becomes wide-eyed in horror at what he saw – blood.
The incident marks the start of the epidemic that plagued the Omaticaya people.
JAKE AND NEYTIRI have now reached the top of the core trunk of the new Hometree. He sits on a corner with a serious look in his face. The events that transpired within the past month come back to him, flooding his mind with a wave of emotions.
FLASHBACK. The day after the fateful day, all are busy mourning and burying their dead. Mo'at and the People have relented to having the dead people buried underneath for health reasons. The ground zero that was Hometree are now lined up with plots with crosses.
JAKE SIGHS as he remembers that another ISV Venture Star will come in two years. The RDA surely will back. But he is more concerned on the more pressing problems at the moment. Norm and Max have been invaluable to him.
Neytiri is watching him.
Neytiri: What's troubling you? The Skypeople… they coming back?
Jake: (smiles wryly, gently caresses her face… and then he sees blood coming out from one of her nostrils.)
AT THE LAB, Max and Norm are testing the blood samples.
Norm: Every one of the people is affected except Jake. His having human DNA can be the reason.
Max: We have yet to see the results but I think Jake's blood have antibodies to fight this mysterious disease. And that's another thing, the disease; we don't know what's causing it.
Norm: The People are dying. And even if we know the antibody, Jake's blood won't produce us sufficient cure for all the people.
AT THE TREE OF SOULS, Jake kneels down praying to Eywa, his queue attached to 3 vines from the tree. He saw visions of a sea creature and a tree with white flowers.
Jake: Did you see that?
Neytiri, her queue also linked to the vine, nods.
Neytiri: It is dugong, the sea friend, you must ride it to get to the Ilang-Ilang tree. That tree is only found in the underwater caves.
Jake: Du-gong?
Neytiri: A sea creature that swims like no other and like ikrans, you will choose your own dugong and he will choose you.
Jake: (Talk about déjà vu) How will I know if he chooses me?
Neytiri: He will play with you.
Jake: Hahahahaha you gotta be kidding me.
Neytiri: You'll see. We must go to the Southern seas and meet the dugong riders and seek their help. They know the way to the underground caves.
Jake: Stay here, you are not well.
End of Chapter One.