Hello! I hope you like this chapter!
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Chapter 8 – Yellow Eyes
Hera awoke to a pounding headache and pain coursing through her body. Her ankle felt as if it was set ablaze in a smoky fire.
She took a deep breath, her eyes still closed; the idea of her ankle actually being on fire did not seem too far off. Smoke filled her nostrils, and her body reacted. Coughing, she sat up, her eyes adjusting to the night.
She was lying on a patch of soft moss, leaving imprints on her hands. She tried to remember what had happened. The fog in her mind faded as it all came crashing back.
"Good luck!" she shouted as her team began jumping off and onto the planet below. Hera kept the Phantom steady to the best of her ability. She heard commotion between Kanan and Ezra, but what else was new? They were always clashing heads, and neither seemed to know why. Hera sighed, knowing she would have a talk with Kanan later.
She closed the hatch and the wind that had flooded the ship subsided. Hera changed her directory for the journey out of the atmosphere, her thoughts going back to the team's Jedi and Jedi-in-training.
She knew Kanan very well, and the reason he was upset with Ezra. He just wanted to keep him out of harm's way, which was very hard for a teenager who claimed that it always found him. And even though Kanan did not like to admit it, he cared for the teen. And she could not blame him.
Ezra, with his charming attitude and eyes that were filled with hope, was hard not to like. He was a little rough around the edges, but then again, they all were. Everyone's life changed for the worse when the Empire showed up, but it was hard to see that it had affected the kid too. He was so young and still is, making it harder for him to control his emotions.
Hera refocused herself to flying the ship. She was exiting the atmosphere when the alarms began to blare, the noise startling her. She shifted in her seat, her eyes darting to the flashing scanner. Multiple fighters were approaching.
Fast.
But before she had time to react, the phantom jostled as it was hit from behind. Hera was thrown forward, but her grip on the steering kept her from cracking her skull open. She leaned back, maneuvering the ship back into the atmosphere of the lush planet. Eyes darting back to the scanner, the fighters still coming towards her. They moved faster than normal TIE's, their shots more accurate and their turns sharper.
Hera knew something was off, but pushed it off for later. If there was a later.
When another shot hit the Phantom, she lost control of the steering. Unable to control her ship, she strapped herself tighter in her seat and held tight.
Soon enough the ship began to spin. Hera held on for dear life, her stomach churning as the ship spun downwards. When it reached the dense forest, it rammed sideways into the thick trunk of a large tree. The metal bent and her beloved Phantom snapped in half. She remembered hearing the loud crunch of metal, the heat of the fire. And then, nothing.
"Hera?" Responding to her name, Hera tilted her head towards the sound of her voice. There sat Kanan, his ponytail loose and rugged, his clothes splotched with ash. "How are you feeling?" His voice was filled with worry, but seeing her sit up, his eyes hinted at hope.
"Like I was in a ship crash, kidnapped, and almost blown to pieces," she answered; frustrated at the situation they were in. Hera saw a flash of amusement on Kanan's face.
"I see your personality made it out unscathed," he replied. Hera just raised her eyebrows, as if saying, you know it. It was not long before Kanan broke away from her gaze, looking back up at the sky. "We have to keep moving."
Hera followed his gaze, tilting her head up as her head tails swung against her back. Instead of seeing a night sky filled with stars, it was only black. She connected the dots.
"Smoke," she said, and Kanan nodded.
"It seems our escape plan is backfiring on us."
"What else is new?" Kanan smiled, but it soon fell as he spoke again.
"It won't be long before the whole jungle is burned to a crisp." Hera knew he was right, but kept silent. She was aware that this would cause a lot of damage if it was not put out, and she doubted the Empire would try and save the planet. In fact, they might use it to their advantage; using to draw them all out.
"Kanan, the only thing we can do right now is to find the rest of our crew," Hera said. She knew Kanan would take on the blame for this, despite it not being his fault at all. But she also knew that telling him it was not his fault would not help him. Instead, she needed to help him focus his energy on what he could do. "Can you use the force to find them?"
Kanan suddenly found a great interest in his hands. They toiled in his lap, but after a few moments, he spoke up.
"I… I can't," he whispered. His eyes meet Hera's, and he spoke again. "There's…something else out there blocking me. It's…" Hera saw him flinch, and reached out to rest her hand on his knee. Kanan looked at her hand before speaking again. "I should have told him."
"Told who?"
"Ezra. He sensed it too and..." Kanan was struggling to get the words out of his mouth. "They're hungry."
"Who's hungry?" She asked, trying to decipher Kanan's nervous words.
"The Vornskr," Kanan stated. "They're beasts that use the force to hunt." Kanan looked into Hera's eyes, and for once, she only saw fear. "And their favorite snacks are Jedi."
Ezra opened his eyes and his body reacted. Coughing up water, he grabbed onto the dirt ground, and was confused. The last thing he remembered was the rush of the current, and a giant wave…
His lungs calmed and his throat continued to burn, but he let out a sigh of relief. He was lying on his stomach, the water brushing up against his feet before pulling back into the river. He pushed himself into a sitting position and was unable to hold back a hiss of pain.
His eyes looked at his left wrist, but quickly darted away. He gagged, trying to hold down his stomach. His wrist was bent at an odd angle, twisting at an angle that was impossible if the joint was still connected. The skin was purple from the restriction of blood flow. And the pain was unimaginable.
It coursed through him as black spots threatened his vision. Ezra grabbed his left arm, pulling his left wrist into his stomach. His grip was strong, the pain causing him to shake. Every little movement caused the fire in his wrist to explode. He breathed through clenched teeth, and slowly stood.
When he was on his feet, the smell of smoke filled his lungs. The night sky brought out the bright light of the fire. He turned around to face the river, and there on the other side, was the source of the smoke.
Ezra knew a thing or two about fire. On Lothal, with its vast fields and strong wind, fires were not uncommon. It would spread quickly and over miles of land, but it would be put out by farmers or, in recent years, the Empire. They could not risk anything happening to the plant, which supplied them with the resources they needed.
But this was a little different.
With the added trees, the burning fire shot miles up into the sky, tree branches cracking and falling into the river. The heat warmed his body, his clothes drying from his plunge into the river. Flecks of leaves fell, still aflame as the wind carried them down. Ezra stared, awestruck in fear at the bright wall of flames. It was a beautiful, yet a terrifying sight to behold.
He would have stared at the burning trees forever if it was not for the low growl that he heard. He whipped around, and came face to face with two bright yellow eyes.
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R & R
~ Kavella ~
