I sat crouched upon a branch once again on the same path where we had attacked the convoy. It was our fifth day acting as security. Rain was pouring down and I was sent ahead to scout the act as a sentry and to report back if I saw anything. I knew it, Boss knew, so did everyone else except Omik.

It was pointless. Nobody was coming. It was just his paranoia that was ceasing us from doing anything productive. Instead, I get the honor of standing in the rain, looking at an empty dirt road. The leaves above me at least stopped a majority of the fall, but it was still miserable. As much as I loved the rain, sitting in it for hours didn't strike an appeal in me.

I reposition myself so that my feet were no longer dangling over and my back was against the tree trunk. I was tired. I had been here for 5 hours. All of which were while being drenched. I close my eyes and try to imagine a better situation and soon fall asleep. My eyes open. The rain had stopped. It was now humid with a cold breeze coming through every once and a while. The sun is setting. My shift is over.

I dangle my legs off of the branch and scoot off. My feet touch the ground and I'm fine. I was on a lower branch this time. Only around 10 feet above the ground.

I walk the trail on the way back. I'm soaked in water and judging by the clouds, more rain is expected to come.

I walk for around an hour when the rain continues. With the loudness of the rain, I hardly hear the tanks behind me before it's too late. I look behind and see the tanks making a turn to where I am. I quickly run into the forest and go prone behind the hill with the road.

The tanks continue and roll by me slowly. I hold my breath waiting for them to pass. In my view, all I can see are the treads when they pass. They're going to the village. I realize I need to warn the village and scoot backwards until I'm far enough in the forest. I get up and sprint in the direction of the village.

When I reach the village, the tanks can already be heard. It's too late for an advanced warning. The other 3 are already outside, looking towards the road.

"Where the hell where you?!" whisper-yells Boss. "You were supposed to come back an hour ago"

"I fell asleep" I say plain and simply. Now's not time for excuses or jokes. There's a bigger problem at hand.

"Shit." He says. "Get the villagers in their homes and hide. We can convince them we're gone."

Dave and Tom go, I stay. "They'll see the ship".

"We can at least try."

"It's pointless. We should set up an ambush. Catch them from behind when they pass."

"It's my orders, Luke." He began going in the opposite direction to help until he said again "Hide and Stay in Cover. Don't do anything stupid."

I nodded my head even though he already turned back and found a young couple who were obviously scared. I redirected them to a house near the center of the town. I told them to move the stone table in the house in front of the door after I left. I left and promptly heard the table go up against the door. Even though I was most likely half their age, they trusted us. Maybe they could have been deceived by my age due to my height. I was tall for my age.

When the streets were empty, the tanks were practically here. I heard a voice from behind me yelling at me to hide. I ran to where the trail entered the village and entered an abandoned house. Inside, the house went lower than the ground. There were windows at ground level. I went onto my belly at a safe distance from the window but close enough to see outside. There was no glass. It was basically an opening.

First, I see the red and black boots march in front of me, then the treads of the tanks. There were only 2. Then followed by more soldiers. I keep count. In total, there were 8 soldiers minus the tank crew, and 2 tanks. When they pass, I'm about to crawl out when more soldiers appeared. They saw me. I crawl back, but it was too late. I hear the door knob being twisted.

I grab a knife tucked between my pants and shirt. I stand behind where the door would swing open.

It opened. I stand still, behind the door, unnoticed. He looks around, is about to leave and closes the door. He sees me and I lunge forward. I stab him in his shoulder where it wouldn't kill him, but injure him. I slide him in front of the closed door to try to block it. I also hold the door shut as they try to break it down and more join. The, the soldiers disappear. I stand back as one tries to crawl through the opening. I send a kick at his head. He tries to get out, but hits his head on the top of the opening and I kick him again, knocking him out.

Now, the entire group is on top of me, breathing down my neck. I place myself against the door again.

Then I hear the tank. I hear it move, stop then move again. It's going to ram through the building. I dive to the side, just as the wall comes down and the tank comes through. It backs up again, making an opening for the soldiers to enter. I try to get up, but my leg is caught under rubble. One soldier tries to grab me, but I use my knife, still clenched in my hand to stab him in the shoulder.

Another approaches me and grabs the knife out of my hand as another comes up and punches me in the face. My mask is still covering my face. One tries to pull it down, but I hit him in the head with my own before it can. I hurts me more than it hurts him.

I feel my free leg being grabbed. I'm surrounded. One last one holds a knife and is about to stab me until the tip of a spear penetrates his chest. Him first and 2 more follow. I fall to the ground, released by my dead captives. I crawl backwards until I realize that it was the others.

In the time I've been with them, we've never killed before. I don't know about before, but this was the first time.

It doesn't bother me. I've witnessed death before. I've witnessed murder before. This was nothing.

I can't tell who, but what looks like Dave offers me a hand. I take it and stand. They're all wearing their masks.

Immediately, the soldiers recover from their shock and attack. There are 4 left plus the tanks.

The crew in the tank shoots a fireball out of the cockpit that nearly hits us. I make a decision. Never before in my life have I killed another human being. I always viewed it as something that one could never be redeemed from. That is what I was taught in my previous life, at least. That Raava viewed murder as the ultimate spiritual crime. That to separate one's spirit from the body gifted to them was a sign of hatred to the spirits.

I either let my friends possibly die, or give up my past and any chance of redemption, assuming their bullshit has validity. My decision is made when I grab a soldier in front of me and stab him in the back of his chest, through the heart, killing him. I don't care.

A soldier next to him turns around and sees me with a look of shock on his face over the death of his comrade. A pang of conscience grabs at me, but I push it away. Now isn't the time for second thoughts. I don't care. He stabs at me with his spear, but misses. I grab the spear, pull it towards me along with him and stab him in the chest. I don't care.

The other 2 have already been dealt with. Both tanks are on the others. I grab the spear of the dead soldier, but catch a look at his dead face, fear being his last expression before death. I want to drop it, but I can't. I have to help my friends. I don't care.

I crawl onto the top of the tank and open the lid. Both soldiers wear face-covering helmets. It makes it easier on me when I kill both from above with the spear. I don't care.

I look back to them just as one opens the lid and the other 2 pull the 2 tank operators out, throw them to the ground and stab them in the head. It's over, and I stumbled back until I feel a wall and collapse.

I feel like I need air. I pull down my mask and can't breathe. My breaths are coming out short and incomplete. All of them gather around me and pull down their masks, all of them saying that it's over, that it's okay.

I extend my hands in front of me to show that I need space.

They back up and see to the rest of the village. I rested my forehead on the palm of my hand and looked in front of me. I killed 4 people today. Even though they belong to the faction that murdered everyone I knew, I still couldn't get over the fact that I had killed four people today.

I looked in front of me and saw the dead bodies lying in front of me. Is this what war is? Has war become this brutal, much more the world?

I wanted to tell myself that this was a war where this was unavoidable, but I still felt as much of a killer as the Fire Nation, but then I remembered. The Air Nomads always taught about peace and avoiding conflict. I remembered back to the night where we were attacked. People on both sides being killed. Air Nomads fighting. Maybe it was plain out hypocrisy or maybe they meant something else.

I wanted to believe so, but still. The fact that I had ended 4 people's lives set off something in me. I wasn't disgusted by war, but I hated death, but has life become this way while I was gone.

I sat against a still intact wall of the house I hid in. I heard one of the Fire Nation soldiers waking up. The one I knocked out.

Today, I killed 4 people. Now, I just killed 5.