Chapter 70: The Slaying of the Sand Shark
It seemed to happen in slow motion. Katara watched as Zuko was dragged underground by the sand shark's panicked struggles.
The last she saw was him twisting his sword, intent on killing the creature, and then his boots disappeared beneath the sand.
"ZUKO!" she screamed.
Even Sokka seemed sobered by what he'd seen. He frowned at her and patted her head like she was a polar dog.
Toph grunted. "Not today, Sparky."
Katara watched as the girl dug her feet into the sand and then thrust both hands forward as if she was trying to grab hold of something.
The Earthbender spat, "Come on!"
She twisted her wrists and began dragging her hands slowly up. Katara felt the sand rumbling under her feet, and she saw it shaking and shift.
She prayed to every Spirit she could think of that Zuko was alive, that he'd be okay.
Zuko couldn't see anything. His eyes were squeezed tight shut. The only thing he could hear was the agonised screams of the sand shark.
He'd lost his staff to the creature's gaping maw, so he forced his hand down, grabbed hold of his dagger and drew it. He then began stabbing it in and out of any bit of the sand shark that he could find.
He was pretty sure that his own screams were drowned out by the sand shark's roars.
Toph ripped her hands up and the sand parted.
The sand shark was pushed up.
Katara took a hesitant step forward. Was it dead? She thought.
She said, "Zuko?"
They both heard a very human sounding groan from the other side of the sand shark.
They rushed around, Katara having to pull Sokka by his wrist to get him to comply.
Zuko was laid on his back, breathing heavily, drenched in blood with sand sticking to him.
From this angle, the sand shark was very clearly deceased. It looked like it had been hacked at.
Katara hurried closer, letting go of her brother. She drew out the last of her bending water, intending to see if the Firebender needed healing.
He held up a weak hand. He gasped, "I-I'm g-good. Don't—Don't waste… the water."
He let the hand drop.
Katara frowned but put the water away. Zuko did not look 'good'. She knelt down beside him and reached for the back of his head, praying that there wasn't any blood there; the front of body was covered in it, from head to toe.
Thankfully it felt dry and she did her best to help him sit up.
Toph hurried closer and Katara realised that the girl was going to tackle the Firebender back down.
Immediately she snapped, "Toph, stop!"
Surprisingly, the Earthbender froze in place. Katara said, "Zuko's covered in blood. Like, seriously covered. You don't want it on you, not in this heat."
Zuko nodded vaguely. He said softly, "She's right."
Toph huffed. "Fine. I'll get you back later."
Zuko managed to raise his eyebrow at the girl. "Get-get me… back?"
The girl glared at him. "That was really, really stupid, Sparky. Like, monumentally stupid."
Zuko shrugged and seemed to regret it. Katara frowned at that. He said, "Didn't… see… many options… It would've… killed us."
Katara shook her head at him. "Even so, Toph's right. That was stupid. You're lucky it didn't kill you."
He lifted his hand again, weakly, and waved her off. "I'm fine." He rasped.
His voice sounded raw; thinking about it, Katara was certain that the Firebender's voice hadn't really recovered from when the Sandbender buried him… when? Spirits, she thought, was it really less that twelve hours ago? It felt like days.
Zuko cleared his throat, which sounded painful. He said, "We should… keep walking, right?"
He looked like he was trying to force himself to his feet. Katara held her out, halting him.
She said, "Where's your staff?"
Zuko looked over at the sand shark. "Last time I saw it… it was in its mouth."
She frowned at him. "Thought you liked that staff?"
He nodded mournfully. "I did. Needed to… wedge its mouth though."
She turned to Toph. "I don't suppose you could him with Earthbending?"
Toph sighed. The girl shook her head. "Katara… I've got nothing left. Everything I have, I'm using to see."
Katara nodded. Looking at her, Katara could see that Toph was exhausted, drained. She could also see that admitting that weakness had cost the young Earthbender something.
She said, "It's okay. It's—It's been a long day."
"The longest." Zuko croaked.
"Should we just rest here?" Katara asked. "We're all tired."
Zuko shook his head. "Not here. There are… other predators… They'll be… drawn to the body."
She screwed her nose up at the thought. "Okay. We should go, then. Are you sure you're okay after… well, everything?"
He nodded. In the privacy of her mind, Katara was fairly certain Zuko would say the same thing if his arm was inside the sand shark's stomach.
She stood up and offered him her hand. "Come on, then."
He took her hand and heaved himself to his feet with a drawn out grimace of pain.
He glanced over her shoulder and a small, thin smile broke out on his face.
Katara turned around.
She'd been vaguely aware that it had been a while she'd heard her brother's delirious voice. That was because he was currently asleep. On his feet. With his eyes wide open.
It was both hilarious and kind of unsettling.
She sighed and went over to him. She placed her hand on his bicep, shaking him slightly.
"Sokka. Wake up." She said gently.
Her brother's mouth dropped open and he issued a snore.
She frowned. Toph said, "I got this, Katara."
The young girl stood directly in front of Sokka and yelled, "WAKE UP!"
Her brother startled back into consciousness, going so far as to fall over.
He groaned in pain, and looked all around. His fell on them, all staring at him.
A goofy smile took over his features. He dreamily said, "I love you, guys."
Zuko shook his head. He said, "Let's… keep walking."
