.: Chapter 10: Three Weeks After :.
"Jet, you've got to do something," Smellerbee urged. I didn't remember when she'd started talking to me again, but she was the only one who still did. "We're all hungry. You're not organizing anything, and you're not fighting anything. Some of the younger ones ran off yesterday, and no one's seen them again. That's everybody we've got."
"Who's left?" I asked, though we both knew that I didn't really care.
"Pipsqueak, The Duke, Longshot, me and Sneers. Although," she added as an afterthought, "Sneers is starting to get pretty restless, too. He wants to know why we're not fighting the Fire Nation anymore. I think he wants to get out of here."
"Tell him he can go," I mumbled, rolling over in my hammock.
"What?"
"He can go. If he wants action and an exciting life, he shouldn't be hanging around here."
"Are you sure?"
"Whatever."
"Jet, come out here quick!" It had been almost six weeks since Katara left. Since my plan failed. Since I had proven myself worthless. Slowly, one by one, my Freedom Fighters had left. They'd gone to do some actual fighting. At first they'd waited, and hoped, and even bet on when I would return. I knew the truth: I would never return. I didn't have the heart for it anymore.
I sat up in my hammock with a groan. Smellerbee and I had patched things up, but I knew Longshot would never forgive me. She was the only reason he hung around anymore. I didn't really care; who stayed and who left didn't affect me the way it once would have. Failures didn't need supporters to stand around and watch them mess up.
"Jet!" Smellerbee called again. I could tell by the anxiety in her voice that something was wrong. Maybe Sneers finally left. He's been itching to travel for days. No sooner had I thought that then I smelled what was scaring her: burning wood. I leapt out of my hammock and pushed through my doorway. Smells was standing there, her hand pointing directly towards the rising sun.
Smoke twirled lazily through the air, winding its way into the clouds.
"They're burning the forest," I hissed, shutting my eyes to the sight. Thanks again, Sokka.
"What're we going to do, Jet? We can't possibly get back to the river in time – it's too dry and we'd never make it back with enough water to do anything."
"We're going to leave," I announced.
"What?" Smellerbee cried. "But this is… and I…"
I looked at her with patient understanding. "I know it's your home, Smells, but we can always make a new home. You said it yourself: we'd never make it back with enough water to do anything."
"Alright," she sighed. Tears glistened in her eyes but never left them. "I'll go tell everyone." Smellerbee turned to walk away, but I flung out my arm and blocked her path.
"No. I'll do it." She smiled, and I put my hand to my lips. Long, short, long… the signal for danger. The Freedom Fighters were slow to respond, perhaps because I hadn't called them like that in a very long time. But they all came: The Duke, Pipsqueak, Sneers, and even Longshot, although he glowered at me the entire time and stuck close to Smellerbee. The entire group looked worse for the wear—they were all much skinnier than I remembered. I wasn't sure if The Duke was getting enough to drink, either.
"Hey," I began awkwardly.
"What's going on, Jet?" The Duke asked. He gave me a reassuring smile and I nodded. They still believed in me.
Of course they do. They're the ones who stayed.
"The Fire Nation's burning down our forest. Apparently they got sick of trying to find us. We have to leave."
"Should we get anything, Jet?" Pipsqueak rumbled.
"If you have something that's important to you, get it. But we don't have a lot of time." The group looked at each other but did not move.
"We've got everything important right here," Smellerbee smiled.
"Then let's go." We grabbed ropes and moved quickly towards the ground. Once I heard everyone land I took off running, away from the smoke. The wind in my hair was something I hadn't felt in a while, and the sun seemed to make everything brighter. Maybe, in the end, it was the rush of adrenaline, knowing that my life depended on my speed. Either way, I could feel the warmth creeping back. I could feel my old self, my old life, my old instincts, slowly regaining control. It felt good to be back.
Even in my newly energized state, it was impossible to outrun the smoke. The Freedom Fighters caught it first, and I heard them coughing. Then I heard the roaring of flames, and the smoke wrapped itself around me. My eyes started watering but I pressed on, coughing and hacking through the woods. The air became supercharged with heat until it was almost impossible to bear. The memories gnawed at the edges of my consciousness, threatening to pull me under again, pull me back to another time when flames consumed everything I'd known and…
No. I'm going to get them out. The Fire Nation took my parents. They're not getting my friends, and they're certainly not getting me.
Then we were outside of the forest and picking up even more speed, the six of us sprinting through the grass. After a few hills separated us from our home, we turned as one to watch. The flames were eating through the tops of the trees, licking hungrily to the sky. Even from this distance, ashes breezed through the air and landed on my clothes. Maybe that one is the tree house, I sighed mildly. Shouldn't I be more upset about this?
But that place hasn't been home to me for a long time. Not since she left.
"Jet!" Smellerbee gasped. "Where's Sneers?"
"Sneers…" I muttered, glancing at the group assembled before me. Silently, I started counting: One, two, three, four, five, me… and Sneers makes seven. But only six of us stood on top of the hill. "Where's Sneers?" The question ate away at me like fire burning through paper, destroying my ballooning happiness. I'd lost Sneers. The Fire Nation had gotten one of my friends. I'd failed again.
"I'll go find him, Jet," Pipsqueak volunteered.
"I'll go, too," The Duke added, leaping onto Pipsqueak's shoulders. "We can't just leave him in there!"
"The Duke, Sneers was the best scout we've ever had. He knew the woods as well as I did," I reassured him insincerely, helping him off Pipsqueak's shoulders. "He probably made it out another way." I hoped the words weren't as hollow as I imagined they were. I knew it was too late to go back for Sneers now.
And no one ever made it.
"Well then, where are we going to go?" Smellerbee asked quietly. I think she understood what had probably happened to Sneers.
"I think that we should go find Katara's dad. Didn't she say he was fighting in the war?" The Duke questioned me. I turned my head away from him, towards the ground.
"I don't know," I answered.
"Well, I know what The Duke is talking about," Pipsqueak rumbled. "And I think he's right."
"I understand if that's what you guys want to do," I acknowledged, "but I just can't. It… I can't face him."
"Then we'll come with you, Jet," The Duke announced, his voice strong. "It's okay; we can fight the Fire Nation with you, too."
"No, if you want to see some actual fighting, you should probably go to find Hakoda." My voice was quiet, but I knew they could all hear me. "You too, Pipsqueak. Take care of The Duke, okay? Go see the world for a while."
"But Jet, I—"
"Don't worry about it, The Duke. I'll be expecting a full report when you get back." I held out my hand and he took it with a smile, but I could sense the sadness behind it.
"See you around, Jet." Then the shouts came, and we scattered. Smellerbee and Longshot followed me west, over the hills and towards the wilderness. We ran and ran until we couldn't hear the Fire Nation anymore. I slowed down to a walk. Smellerbee lingered at my right side, and Longshot stayed next to her.
"What did you mean when you said we wouldn't be fighting the Fire Nation, Jet?" Smells whispered.
"I think that part of my life is over for now. I already feel better the further away I get from those woods. Maybe someday we'll fight again, but I want to go someplace new."
"We're refugees," Smellerbee reminded me. "How about Ba Sing Se?"
A/N: Thanks to Jackie for reviewing! :) The week's been crazy in recovery mode, but I have come out in one piece!