Chapter Two: The Serpent
Winding its way through the inky black the serpentine monster came for him, its jaws open to expose long, needle like teeth and a thick tongue. Its eyes glowed with an unearthly light, two golden orbs that seemed to illuminate its large draconian face. Terror gripped Jee, smothered him, froze his limbs in place. It came onward, speed picking up, winding around the dead bodies that sprawled like marionettes from slackened strings in its wake.
It came, jaws reaching out to seize him, rip him apart and swallow him up. It came to make a meal out of him. But Jee was ready. His knife in hand Jee pulled himself downward, allowing his own weight to carry him from the serpent's path. Free hand lashing out he caught the creature around the neck, his hand slipping into the fold of its gills, digging into the soft flesh beneath the hard scales.
If sound could carry in the black he might have heard the creature scream as his fingers dug deep into the soft spot. But he heard nothing. He did however feel its long, powerful tail come around. It knocked him in the chest, smashing precious air from his lungs in great bubbling mouthfuls. It was a death sentence as much as those fangs were. Already his head began to burn from the loss of oxygen, water filling his mouth though luckily not his throat.
He didn't give up his grip however, even as the monster tried to coil around him. Kicking desperately he clutched at its back, hand digging into the gills in the side of its neck, inky black blood streaming out as his powerful fingers ripped its soft grey flesh. Pulling up along the slick, long tendril of a body he smashed at its scales with his knife. It was an impotent gesture, the steel bounced harmlessly off its plates. It didn't matter, with the damage he had done to the monster's gills it would die soon as well. Mutual destruction, both would drown regardless of the others actions.
But the serpent was still intent on killing Jee, and Jee was ever the firebender. They wrestled a moment longer, man against monster, twisting and thrashing in the black. Jee's grip came loose in all the thrashing and he took a blow around the head from the beast's tail, knocking the wits out of him. It came on as if it had victory, jaws opening wide. Grabbing the upper jaw with his free hand, cutting his fingers on the jagged teeth, and placing his right foot on its lower jaw, the fangs tearing into his boot, Jee twisted in a most complex and painful way. Planting his knife in the flesh just beneath the monster's jaw Jee kicked away, the jaw snapping closed behind him. Gripping the hilt he used it as an anchor, swirling around as he dragged the blade down the soft part that lay just beneath the creature's maw. Black blood came issuing forth, blinding him as he sawed at the creature's neck. It billowed out from the monster's mouth as its jaws slackened, the blood darkening an already dark sea.
Dead, but then so was Jee, or as good as. There was no hope of reaching the surface, though after such strange combat he had no notion of which way the surface was. So he stopped and floated in the dark, surrounded by the twisted body of the serpent, scales glistening so prettily, his red blood mingling with the creature's black. Opening his mouth he let the sea water in, filling his lungs. If he was to die he was glad it would be like this. He was glad it was at sea, a good death, a death befitting both a soldier and a sailor.
Head burning his vision began to dim. Death was coming for him now. He fancied a moment that he could see it, a big black shape larger than any he had seen come drifting towards him from the great depths. The size of an island almost.
It was hard to think now but in those confused dying thoughts he felt a wonder fill him as that black shape came closer. Light shone off it a moment and it shone a brilliant bronze like the buckle on his belt, like the gold of his armour. A great bronze figure, so magnificent. He closed his eyes as it embraced him.
"Sleep now Jee," Its voice was like raw power, filling him with ecstasy, "Rest, while you are still able,"
Birds. The sound of birds. It was a familiar one to him, sea birds cawing shrilly in the predawn. He had awoken to that sound nearly every day of his life. From the sound of these birds they were most likely fighting over a tasty bit of meat. It only occurred to him after a dim moment that he might be that meet. Opening his eyes slowly the first thing to greet him was a rush of pain. His eyes burned against the harsh light of day, his chest burned as if it had been bent inward, crushing the organs within. His hand throbbed. Generally speaking every part of him was awash with pain.
It felt good.
Good and very confusing. As his eyes adjusted to the light he tried to sit up. It hurt, moving even an inch hurt, but he managed to pull his body upright enough to get a glance at his surroundings. Dark, gritty rocks, the ebb and flow of waves. He looked to be on an island, one of the more miserable and lonely ones that could be found all across the north. The sun hammered down from overhead, telling him well and truly that winter was at an end. Good, he never was one for the cold anyway.
The birds he had heard fighting were some distance from him. They were squabbling over the carcass of the serpent, jabbing back and forth at one another with their beaks. The serpent lay sprawled across the sand looking very small. It wasn't as large as Jee had thought, twisted up as it was it barely spanned the length of three men let alone a full ship. The hilt of his dagger, his father's dagger, jutted out from its throat. It was good to see it there.
Standing slowly he felt the world rock around him. It was as if the entire world were a ship in unsteady waters, the ground seemed to be continually shifting beneath his feet like the deck of a fishing boat. Still it didn't bother him much. He'd been working a ship since he was a boy, he'd been born with sea legs.
Still he took it slow, walking cautiously towards the monster's corpse. His approach sent the seagulls flying, giving loud protest as he reached down and pried his dagger from the soft flesh. It was stained with thick black blood and he had to wipe it clean upon his trouser leg before sheathing it. He was glad to have been carrying it. Most other firebenders never bothered with weapons.
Looking about at his surroundings he saw a copse of trees up upon the high bank. Shade would be welcome, as would fresh water. As he staggered up the pebbled beach with his chest plate half-hanging off, his entire body burning with pain and soaking wet, he found that he was chuckling softly. If you say one thing about Jee and one thing only, say he's a survivor.
Most people didn't have the stomach to eat bird, save for chicken and turkey, but Jee had no objections. Seagull and chicken were much the same in some respects, though right now he'd have preferred a nicely toasted rat, you ate what you could on campaign, and thanked the spirits it wasn't boot leather.
No expert chef the seagull was burned to a crisp on the outside, but the meat on the inside was filling if a little stringy. With a small spring of fresh, cool water nearby for him to drink from he felt like he had a banquet fit for the Fire Lord.
Not half a day had passed since he had washed up on the shore of this little island and he was already doing well for himself. The copse of trees covered the entire centre of the island providing more than enough shade from the overhead sun and more than enough fuel to keep a good sized fire going. The battered old chest plate he wore served as a good frying pan to set the bird meat upon and he sat close to it, warming up as best he could. Strips of his trousers had been used to bandage his cut up hand and foot, and though he felt as if a couple of his ribs were fractured if not broken the warm fire did much to ease that pain.
With nothing to do but sit, eat and wait for some kind of rescue Jee found he had a lot of time to reflect on things. Things he'd much rather not think on. Things like the circumstances of his arrival on that grim little stretch of gravel and rock. He did his best to keep it out of his mind, to think on other things, but when there wasn't much else to do besides navel gazing it seemed quite impossible.
He should be dead, dead alongside the rest of the crew. He'd seen most of them floating down there, like peculiar fish drifting in an alien sea. He'd considered them friends, sailed with them for who knew how long. Then they'd been killed like nothing, like ants being stamped out by that furious monster. It had come on so sudden, struck down in a monstrous display of raw power. He'd only caught a glimpse of that thing before they were submerged.
It occurred to him that he was starting to shake and not from the cold. He'd fought many a battle in his day, on land and sea, but he'd never seen such a careless obliteration of so many lives before. The fire was no comfort now as the faces of his dead comrades came flashing through his mind. It was a long list, stretching back his entire career. Twenty years he'd served in the navy, man and boy. He'd gone from a seaman all the way up to lieutenant, with no help along the way save natural ability. How many men could claim as much, especially those of as low birth as him?
Not many, none that lived to tell of it at least. Lived to tell of it. He shouldn't be alive. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't? Maybe he'd died down there in the black, and this was the corner of the afterlife he'd found himself in?
He drew his father's knife and pressed the hilt against his forehead. Stop being stupid Jee all your doing is scaring yourself, he thought ruefully. Dead is dead, he'd know it if he were. He certainly didn't feel dead. Hurt too much to be the afterlife, or at least the afterlife according to the Fire Sages.
He looked up at the sky. Nothing for it but to try and survive, he thought. Afterlife or not, he had no intention of taking chances. With that in mind he lay his head down on the softest tree root he could find. He was tired, and as his uncle had always tried to tell him there was no better healer than a good night's rest.
