Chapter 4
SOKKA looked at the other two as the ship moved along the restless sea that gloomy morning.
Sokka: So, what should we even be doing?
Ty Lee: I don't know Sokka, you're the captain of the whatever-we're-doing club! What do you think we should be doing?
Sokka: It's hard to tell… I mean, it's nice for us to just sit and talk about something random… any ideas?
Toph: I don't know, Sokka, maybe you should be making the ideas while Ty Lee and I tell you how bad of ideas they are!
Sokka: Oh really, Toph, I don't see you coming up with an idea!
Toph: Really? I think I just did!
Ty Lee: (Chuckling) You're right! That's a great idea!
Sokka: Hmph!
Toph: Oh man up, Sokka, you can sob about it all you want once you're in your little cozy room at night thinking about all the different ways that I come up to annoy you with every day! So just add that to the list!
Sokka: Who says I do that? Maybe you do that every night, Toph! And who would it be about… mom? Dad?
Toph: Nice try, Sokka, but I can sense your nervousness! I bet you really do sit in bed at night sobbing your way through the night wondering why in the world I talk to you like you're some frightened field mouse.
Sokka: (Throwing his hands up in the air) WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?? UGH!
Sokka stood up and stormed over to the other side of the room, looking back out at the horizon of where the boat was going. And he continued to see what all eight of them had seen all that morning: clouds and a restless sea. Sokka turned back to the other two.
Sokka: When do you think these clouds will finally let up?
Toph: Bad idea for a conversation, Sokka. Nice try, but choose another topic that we can ALL (pointing to her eyes) relate to.
Ty Lee: (Laughing) Haha, Sokka, it's ok! I'll come over there and talk to you.
Ty Lee got up and walked over to Sokka.
Sokka: So anyway, when do you think this will let up? I mean, it's been terrible so far today…
Ty Lee: Wow… the waves look ferocious right now…
Sokka: Oh my god…
For the sight was something to be seen. The water was practically white; the waves had become 2 feet taller; water was splashing over the sides of the boat. Down on the deck, the others were getting hammered with hard waves and the spray of ocean water. Sokka immediately ran down the tower and out to the others.
Sokka: (In a loud voice) Hey guys, you need to come back into the ship! Get the chairs inside, and then come up to the top of the tower!
Katara: OK! WE'LL DO OUR BEST!
Sokka ran back upstairs, out of breath.
Toph: I thought the best warrior in the entire world was supposed to be in better shape… are stairs too rough for you?
Sokka: Shut up, Toph, now's not the time. Since you CAN'T SEE, I'm going to tell you why: there are BAD WAVES out there, and the ship is being HAMMERED with water, so we're trying to HANG ON for DEAR LIFE!!
Toph: Geez, you don't have to be so rude!
Sokka: UGH! I give UP!
Ty Lee: Relax, Sokka, she's just kidding!
Toph: Uh, not really! Nah, I mean it all.
Sokka: Was that supposed to have any ounce of sarcasm in it?
Toph: Nope, to your demise! Go ahead, Sokka, storm off like you always do to the other side of the room, thinking about what a terrible witch I am and how I always think about torturing you. So just go on now, I'm not listening to whatever you rant about!
Sokka popped up, throwing his hands up in the air (again) with a look of frustration lining the wrinkles on his forehead.
Ty Lee: (Frustrated) Sokka!
Ty Lee walked over to him, looking him straight in the eye.
Ty Lee: (Kindly) Come on, Sokka, don't let her get you down.
Sokka: Like that's a simple task…
Ty Lee: Sokka, don't say that. She's just joking… you know she is! She just won't admit it…
Sokka: Yeah right. I'm sure she hates me…
Ty Lee: Actually… I think she… sort of… likes you…
Sokka: Why—
But as soon as he was going to respond, a humongous wave crashed aboard the deck, sending water over the boat and knocking the ship back and forth; this time, with more ferocity, to the point of having to sit down and holding on for dear life…
Sokka had a worried look on his face as the boat slowly stopped rocking—
Sokka: … Whoa…
Ty Lee: THAT was bad…
Toph: It sure was! And mother nature has proven you wrong on that one, Sokka!
Sokka: Hmph…
Katara and the others came slowly crawling up the stairs and up onto the main floor. She collapsed and lay on the floor. The others did the same. They were breathing heavily: their eyes were humongously wide.
Sokka: What happened to you guys? You look terrible!
Katara: No, really Sokka.
Toph: (Sarcastically) Nah, I think you guys look great!
Mai: Ha ha, so funny.
Sokka: Well—
The boat was forced sideways once again by another humongous wave—Sokka was forced forwards from the force of the movement—and everyone else grabbed something sturdy as the boat went farther and farther sideways. And Sokka, who had been caught off guard on the ground, began to slide to one side of the room—the others looked on in awe as he frantically searched for something to hold on to.
Finally, the boat began to balance itself out as the wave receded back into the ruthless ocean. That one had been too close: the boat had gone far too over. Sokka was wide-eyed. The only one who seemed unaffected was Toph.
Sokka: We need to get off this ocean…
Toph: Oh come on, don't be a baby!
Katara: He's right, Toph! It's getting way too wild out here.
Ty Lee: And we need to get off before one of us gets hurt!
Mai: (Rolling her eyes) Will you all stop being a bunch of babies? It's just an ocean… it's not like it's going to kill us.
Suki: Will you guys stop debating it and just direct us towards land already? If we need to get to land, then GET US THERE! Then we can go along on our merry ways, and whoever wants to argue nonstop can still do so! JUST GET US TO A SAFE PLACE!
Sokka: She's right… we need to stop arguing all the time. Let's just get to land, and then we can think about our next move. I'll try to direct us. Zuko, what's the closest land to here?
Zuko: Unfortunately, the closest place to us right now is Ember Island, still a couple of hours away… there's nothing we can do.
Sokka: There has to be something close to where we are!
Zuko: No, there isn't… we took the route in the center of the ocean to get there the fastest… I have to make a mental note NOT to take the most direct route next time…
Sokka: Ugh… what to do now?
Zuko: We'll just have to brave out the ride until we reach Ember Island. Then we can get our stuff and go up to the royal estate.
Sokka: Then I think we should get the stuff from downstairs and bring it up here… the area below the deck might be flooded from waves rolling onto the boat by the time we get there.
Zuko: That sounds like a good idea. Guys, help me get the stuff. Sokka, stay up here and direct the boat: make sure the boat doesn't get hit on the side while we're down there!
Sokka: I'll try my best!
Zuko: Good. We can't afford to get bumped around down there!
The seven of them ran down the stairs. Sokka, looking after them, then directed his attention back to the raging sea. His eyes widened—there was a 15-foot wave crashing toward them!
Sokka: Oh no…
He frantically turned the boat to face the wave; then, facing the stairs, he shouted:
Sokka: GUYS, HOLD ON!
Panicking, he ran behind a wall, bracing himself for the impact. He felt the boat lurch backward and upward; and then, with the sound of breaking glass and a gale-force wind, the water came crashing into the tower room, ruthless and unforgiving. He held on for dear life…
-Calypso-
The people of Magana Island shivered inside the basement of the wine store. They huddled together; they sat holding each other, shaking: wondering when the suffering would end; wondering if they were going to make it; wondering if others made it to safety.
As the storm continued on, they heard sounds of crashing; of ruthless wind; of the pitter-patter of rain on boards; and of the drips leaking down into the basement where they were.
Drip, Drip, Drip.
The sound went through their heads like a ringing; each time reminding them of their impending end.
Drip, Drip, Drip.
They clung to each other.
Drip, Drip, Drip.
They cowered in fear.
Drip, Drip, Drip.
They closed their eyes.
… And for a moment, the dripping stopped. They looked up to the ceiling; obviously unaware that they couldn't see anything, being extremely dark.
And then, they could hear a small rumbling sound; and as the seconds went on, it got louder and louder. And suddenly, the door on the ceiling, above the ladder, burst open. And water came flooding in; it poured on the closest people, and it flowed over to the others. Frantically, the people shot up and tried to rush over to the ladder; they stepped on one another, trying to get to and climb the ladder. But the ferocity of the ruthless water grew stronger; the people lost their grip and were thrown down to the ground like little sausages.
The people tried harder and harder to grab hold of the rungs of the ladder extending down to the floor. But the water came down harder and harder, hitting people square on their heads; it was like fighting a waterfall. The people were falling down; their escape attempts were futile. But the people weren't giving up; they were still trying to get up; they weren't learning. The water would still beat them. And as it continued to come through, the water on the basement floor accumulated. It got higher; up to their ankles; and then their knees; and then their legs; and then their belly. But they continued.
Finally, the last person tried and failed; the others had finally given up. They knew their situation was futile.
They weren't going to escape.
The people shivered from the cold water surrounding them. More and more they kept together with other people, embracing them, trying to keep warm… in their last moments…
They thought about what life would be like after… they knew it would come soon. And they began to fear it; they panicked. Some frantically tried again to escape, every time being pushed down back into the 4-foot pool that had been created. Each time they tried to go on the ladder, they were choked with water; and as they came back down, they were pushed back into the air; breathing it in with a saddened sense. For they were all guinea pigs in an ocean; they were trapped where they were.
And as they were doing this, the room became more filled; every second, the water level rose a bit; and as time went on, they were forced to swim to keep afloat. And as more time passed, their heads began to touch the ceiling.
They knew: their time was over. In their last minute of life, their lives flashed before their lives. They saw all their wrongs; all their rights. And they saw what they regretted doing; all of the bad things that they wished they hadn't done to others. They saw all their good deeds; what they had done to help the people of their community.
Finally, they took their last breath. The water rose to touch the ceiling. And the people thought their last thoughts; they touched their last touches.
And they let their very last breath go.
-Calypso-
Ok, that's the end. I hope you all are enjoying the story so far: and I hope you're liking the details on the typhoon.
Now PLEASE, PLEASE review! I need them. I CAN'T STRESS IT ENOUGH! Please just take 5 seconds to type some suggestion up: it will help me A LOT!
Anyway, again, hope you're enjoying, and have a good day!
Calypso