A/N – Well, you guys wanted action. This chapter is dedicated to Moelike and her family! :D Moelike herself came up with the drowning/CPR thing in chapter 10, and her family helped me a great deal with this one. (Thanks guys!) I don't own Avatar!
"Looks like we need to go shopping."
My voice, followed by the closure of a cabinet door, echoed throughout the house. I turned to the kitchen doorway where Katara was standing. She nodded her agreement.
"When should we go?" she asked.
"Whenever they're ready," I replied, referring to Toph and Sokka. They had just woken up and were lying on the couches like they just ran a marathon. Katara giggled at the sight.
"Come on, guys," she said, walking into the living room and shaking them a bit. "We need to go food shopping."
Sokka shot up. "We're out of food?!"
"Quiet, Snoozles," Toph muttered through the pillow lying on her face. "It's too early to be annoying."
Sokka rolled his eyes and began walking down the hall. "Be ready in a few minutes!" he called over his shoulder. I nodded, then turned to Toph.
"You getting up soon?" I asked her. She groaned and took the pillow off of her head, mumbling something about Sokka and no sleep. I watched her waddle back to her room, then resorted to watching TV until they came out again.
"Okay, milk, eggs, yogurt…good," I muttered.
Wow. I'm talking to a shopping list.
I grabbed the items from the refrigerated shelves and placed them in the cart. The gang looked around from their spots near me, under orders not to stray too far. They were still getting used to public places.
"I think we're done, guys," I said. They followed me to the register where I paid and put the bags back in the shopping cart, then helped me load the bags into the minivan.
"Sokka, can you put this back for me please?" I asked, gesturing at the cart. He nodded and ran it over to the group of others. "Thanks."
Riding home was the usual. The same old chatter. The gang helped me bring everything inside, then got ready to train. But I noticed something.
"Hey, Aang, did you happen to see my wallet on the counter?" I asked. He blinked thoughtfully and walked over.
"Didn't you take it with us?" he asked.
"No, I just took some money out to pay, but I'm positive I left the wallet right here," I answered, patting the counter. He shrugged.
"Maybe you put it somewhere else and forgot or something."
"Maybe. I'll go check."
But it wasn't anywhere. There was also a few hundred dollars missing from my parents' emergency fund, and some of my mom's necklaces. Thank God she took all the real diamond ones with her.
"Uhh…this might sound crazy, but I think we were robbed," I said, joining the gang back in the kitchen.
"What?" Katara gasped. "What did they take?"
"Not much. Just some money and fake jewelry. But next time we go out, let's be careful. Crime activity here isn't big but it's not worth the risk."
The gang nodded and proceeded out the back door.
"No! You were supposed block the attack, not run away!"
"Sorry, Zuko."
Aang's mistaken use of Airbending was pointed out bluntly by his Firebending master. He took his stance again and breathed with his eyes closed. It's amazing how much concentration this took. These were really patient kids. Well…most of the time.
"Okay, I'm ready. Let's try again." Aang was a greatly talented person, but for some reason today he seemed distracted and lost.
"Forget it," Zuko muttered, his voice almost cracked with frustration. "We can pick this up tomorrow or something." Aang frowned but nodded and bowed to Zuko, who did the same. Then Katara stepped in for some Waterbending practice.
Zuko sighed lazily as he took a seat next to me on the boulder.
"What's up with him lately?" he asked me. "He's losing focus."
I shrugged. "He's the Avatar. There must be lots of stuff on his mind." Zuko sighed again.
"Well whatever it is, he'd better get over it soon. He has to defeat the Firelord no matter what."
I nodded and returned my attention to the training arena. Waterbending was so much different from Firebending. For one thing, it was much more defensive than offensive. And it was used for healing, too, not just fighting. But all the elements were graceful. They each had their own unique blesses and curses that needed the skill of a master and the audacity to be themselves to survive.
Eventually, the training session ended and we returned to the house to sleep. I retired to my bed early, falling into the comforting darkness of a dreamless slumber.
Screaming. Angry, rushed, then surprised. Accusatory. Angry again. Fearful. A loud crash, then a thump. Silence.
I laid in my bed, too confused to get up. But something swelled within me. Curiosity? Fear? Audacity? I'm not sure. But I left the safe haven of my sheets and pillows to investigate.
Two men and a heap on the floor. It was still dark, but I could tell exactly who was there, tied up in ropes.
"What're you doing?" I asked breathlessly. Suddenly there was a sickening crack on my skull, and searing pain in my cranium.
The already dark room crumbled to black.
I held my head up and leaned against the wall to calm my aching brain. The longer I was awake, the clearer my vision became. I looked at my hands, at my feet and my body, and ran my fingers through my hair. No blood. Good.
The remains of the shattered vase that was once crashed upon my skull lay everywhere along the hallway. Delirious, I slapped myself. It was not a dream. Then I remembered.
"Katara!" I called. "Katara!"
"What's wrong?!" Aang whispered fiercely, appearing from his bedroom.
I was breathing heavily. "The guys who robbed the house came back last night. I guess Katara heard them first, so she went out while they were trying to get more stuff. They knocked her out and tied her up. I heard the crash and came out, but they hit me on the head with that vase." I pointed frantically to the shards on the ground. "Next thing I knew I was waking up in the hall."
"Where's Katara?"
"They took her, I think. I don't know where. It was so late at night." And it was still early, then. About one o'clock in the morning. It was raining heavily.
"Look!" Aang ran into the kitchen. A note was posted on the refrigerator.
Ooh, refrigerator magnets. How frightening.
He ripped it off the door and handed it to me.
"We know you're swimming in cash. Bring fifty-grand to the old abandoned shack deep in the woods behind Messina's Gas Station and you can have the girl," I read out loud. Aang's face tightened and the determination shone brightly in his youthful eyes.
"We have to go, Natalie," he said. Without hesitation, I nodded.
"Let's let the others sleep. We can tell them what happened when we get back."
The car door slammed silently, all noise being drowned out by the pounding rain. Aang and I walked wordlessly behind Messina's Gas Station and stood at the beginning of the forest. I exchanged a glance with him, then took a breath and cautiously entered the wood. He followed closely.
Umbrellas would have been no use. We were already drenched, and the trees blocked out most of the rain. But still, we rushed.
I had no idea what we were getting into. I don't think Aang did, either. These criminals could have been--and probably were--dangerous. But we had to do this. He had to, for Katara.
Finally I caught sight of a building in the distance. It was much larger than I had imagined. It might've even been bigger than the gas station it was hidden behind. All windows were boarded up except for two on the right side, and the door was nothing more than a few strips of wood.
I could see lots of boxes through holes in the walls. Then one especially large that jogged a memory…
No way, a coffin?!
I shook my head and looked over at Aang. The fear in his eyes contradicted the steady expression on his face. I was scared too. For him, for me, for Katara, for him and Katara together and what might happen to us all.
I stopped before the abandoned shack.
"Should we make a plan?"
"Well, you brought the money, right?" Aang asked. I nodded. "Then we'll just give it to them and hope they let us have Katara."
"But what if they don't? What if they….what if they hurt her?" I didn't want to bring up the possibility that she might very well be dead.
"Then I'll have to fight them."
The young Avatar stepped forward and opened the door carefully. I sighed and swallowed my fear…or at least tried to.
We tiptoed inside.
"Hello?" he called bravely. "Anybody here?"
"Shh, listen," I whispered to Aang. I heard voices from the other side of the building. There was also an uncomfortable echo of rain as it fell through the holes in the ceiling and hit the floor messily.
"You that rich Kelson girl?" a man asked, stepping toward us. I nodded, my eyes narrowed. "Lucas! Get in here!"
Another man appeared from the shadows and crossed his arms over his chest. "You bring that hundred-grand?"
"Hundred?" I asked. Lucas nodded impatiently.
"It was all in the note, sweetheart. Andrew wrote it himself." The criminal's partner remained still.
"The note only asked for fifty," I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the money. "So that's all I brought."
Andrew's lip curled, and his heavy New York accent put an urban tinge on his words.
"Listen here, dawling," he said, stepping up close to me. I stood unmoving, but saw Aang's muscles tense when Andrew got in my face. "You give us a hundred thousand dollas or you ain't makin' it outta dis place."
"If we knew you wanted more cash we would have brought some, but we didn't and fifty is already a lot so couldn't you just take it and let us leave with our friend?" My optimism obviously wasn't working, judging by the men's laughter. I looked over at Aang, willing him to see how defeated I felt. I nodded for him to do something and he turned back to Andrew and Lucas.
"Take the money and let us go, or else," the boy threatened. More laughter.
"Or else what?" Lucas asked.
"I'll attack."
Andrew walked up to Aang and pushed his chest, shoving him back a little. "Gimme a break, kid. You're like, ten."
Suddenly, Aang Airbended out a gust of wind, throwing Andrew to the ground. He placed his foot on the man's chest, looked down at him, and said,
"Actually, I'm twelve."