Ch 7 Death Valley
Wash looked at the desert, and knew the chances of survival were slim. He had some water with him, but that wouldn't last long. And while he had the advanced armor that regulated his temperature, everyone else didn't have that luxury. If there was one thing project freelancer taught him, is that there is always a solution.
"We better move. We're the only ones who know about the eclipse." Katara said.
"You think if we dig the owl out, he'll give us a ride?" Sokka asked.
"You want to stay here, be my guest." Wash said.
"No, no; walking in the desert and roasting alive is fine by me." Sokka said.
"Jesus Christ." Wash muttered. It was like being with two Private Caboose's at the same time.
…
"Sarge, what happened?" Simmons asked.
"Are we still on a roller coaster?" Caboose asked.
"No, you dumbass. We were on the large ship that was supposed to take us home. But it fucked up on us." Tucker said.
"And stealing that stealth corvette didn't help at all. We crashed on some unknown planet, and the FTL is down. Griff, your fault." Sarge said.
"Up yours, old man." Griff said.
"Me las he arreglado para encontrar la ubicación del transpondedor Agente de Washington 's. Parece que está en la parte oriental del continente en que estamos." Lopez said.
"Thanks for reminding me, Lopez. I do need to wash my armor." Donut said.
"¿Por qué insiste en traducir para mí? Usted no sabe ningún puto español!" Lopze shouted.
"Quit wasting time. Lopez. Our FTL is down. We need to know where we are, and if Agent Washington is still alive." Sarge said.
"Alguien, me mata. Ahora mismo." Lopez said.
Simmons accessed one of the few computers that was still working. Sending a signal, he searched for Agent Washington, and quickly found the freelancer's IFF signal.
"Hey, Sarge. I found him." Simmons said.
"Great. Where is he?" Sarge asked.
"Seems to be walking in the eastern part of the country. We should be able to reach him on foot." Simmons said.
"You mean walk?" Griff asked.
"Griff, all of our vehicles are destroyed, and the Pelicans maybe the only way off the planet. We need to avoid using them unless we're in the direst of situations." Simmons said.
"Yeah. Like right now. We don't know what is out there. It could be some creature that'll kill us." Griff said.
"Some creature that'll kill you? We're walking. Simmons, Lopez. Check out the armory, see what we have." Sarge said.
"Yes, sir." Simmons said.
"Voy a volar a mi mismo con una Granada. Y voy a tomar la Dona conmigo." Lopez said.
…
The group walked for an hour. At the moment, everyone except the agent was doing bad. Dehydration was slowly a threat. Even Washington needed water despite his training. Sokka stopped walking and used the lemur's wings for shade.
Toph walked into Sokka, prompting Sokka to call her out.
"Can't you watch where you're…" Sokka said.
"No." Toph said.
"Come on guys. We have to stick together." Katara said.
"If I sweat any more, I don't think sticking together will be any problem." Sokka said.
Toph shoved Sokka aside.
"Can I have some water?" Katara asked.
"Okay. But we have to conserve it." Katara warned.
"I got some water." Wash said, opening his sack and grabbing a canteen.
"One sip." He said, first handing the canteen to Toph, then Ursa and everyone else.
Ursa observed Washington for a moment. Despite his quick and lethal combat skills, she sensed some gentleness from him. For a moment, she felt a moment of close kinship with the unknown soldier. It seemed that during some part of his life, something terrible happened to him and he was now learning how to trust again. She was in a similar boat with him.
Putting the canteen away, he grabbed his sniper rifle and looked at the sun, trying to figure out their position using time and their shadows.
"Guys, look." Sokka said, pointing to a plant.
"Cactus plant?" Wash asked.
"Oh, god no." Ursa said, knowing the dreaded cactus juice. It was more strong and potent than any alcohol known to man.
Sokka cut a piece of the plant away and started to drink the water, Momo joining him.
"Sokka, you need to quit drinking that, right now." Ursa warned.
"There's water trapped in these." Sokka said, cutting away another portion and drinking the water inside.
"I don't know." Katara said, backing away.
"Suit yourself. It's thirst quenching." Sokka said.
Sokka's eyes then dialated, and Wash knew why Ursa was bemoaning Sokka's fate. It was a hallucinogen of some sort. Sokka quickly shook his head and fell down over himself. He began to speak in a tone that suggested they film it.
"Drink cactus juice. It'll quench ya. Nothing's quenchier. It's the quenchiest!" Sokka finished, with a big grin on his face.
Ursa then burst out laughing like a mandman.
"Ursa?" Wash asked, wondering if she was okay.
"I'm fine. I'm fine." Ursa said, trying to contain her laugher. It didn't work.
"You've had enough." Wash said, taking the next bowl and dumping the drink on the ground.
"Who lit Toph on fire?" Sokka saked.
Wash face-palmed himself. Something was wrong with that kid.
"Can I have some?" Toph asked.
"No." Ursa firmly said.
"We need to find Aang." Katara said, walking forward while dragging Toph behind her.
"How did we get out here in the middle of the ocean?" Sokka asked.
Wash only clenched his fists in annoyance. This was pushing his him. He was not a babysitter, and working with the red and blues, was not a qualification.
The sound of a sonic boom got their attention, followed by a quick storm of flying sand.
"What is that?" Katara asked, turning around.
"What is what?" Toph asked.
Wash turned around, and saw a giant mushroom cloud. For a second, he wondered if a nuclear bomb was detonated, then realized that if that was the case, he and everyone else would be dead at that very second.
"It's a giant mushroom. Maybe it's friendly!" Sokka shouted, still under the effects.
"Still having an acid trip." Wash said.
"Acid trip?" Ursa asked.
"There's a drug named LSD. It's also called acid. And this (hitches thumb towards Sokka) is the result. Always." Wash said.
"That makes sense." Ursa said.
After another hour, the group rested as night came and took another drink of water. Wash was impressed. Other than Sokka's acid trip, the group managed to keep moving. He had respect for those who rose to the occasion. Looking up, he saw Aang return with the same sour face he had.
"I'm sorry, Aang." Katara said.
Katara reached to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but Aang pulled away.
"What's the difference? We won't survive without Appa. We all know it." Aang said.
"We can if we stick together. Toph, any ideas?" Ursa asked.
"As far as I can feel, we're in a giant sand pudding. I got nothing." Toph said.
"Sokka?" Katara asked.
"Why don't we ask the circle birds?" Sokka asked, pointing upward to four buzzard wasps above them.
Wash quickly aimed his DMR and pulled the trigger four times. Four dead buzzard wasps fell to the earth, and Wash approached them with his knife in hand.
"Dinner." He said, as he proceeded to cut them up.
With the four birds cut into equal portions, the group ate.
"Eat every little bit. Might be the only bit of food we have until we leave the desert." Wash said.
"Thanks, Wash." Ursa said.
"Thanks the guys who made this." Wash said, holding his DMR.
"Well, I thank them." Ursa replied.
"And they are welcome." Wash playfully said.
"Everyone, get up. We're leaving this desert." Ursa said, commanding the group as if they were here children.
Ursa took point, with Wash slight behind her to the left. Everyone else followed in a line.
"How are you holding up?" Wash asked.
"Not too good." Ursa admitted.
Looking over his shoulder, he saw the fatigue everyone else was in. They needed to rest, and soon.
"I think we should stop for the night." Ursa said.
The kids gladly collapsed on the ground, relishing the rest.
"Any more water?" Toph asked.
"I have some left." Katara said, opening her pouch and brought the water out via bending. And Momo leaped right thru the water, collapsing it to the ground.
"Momo! You killed us all!" Sokka shrieked.
"No he didn't." Katara said.
"Oh right. Bending." Sokka said.
"And I still have one canteen." Wash said.
"Sokka, let me see the things you got from the library."
Sokka backed away before rambling.
"I didn't steal anything. Who told you that?" Sokka asked, before rounding up on the lemur. "It was you. You ratted me out!"
"Sokka, I was there." Katara pointed out.
"You have a plan?" Wash asked.
"Yeah. Use the star charts to build a map out of here." Katara said.
"Good plan. Who takes first watch?" Wash asked, earning a quizzical look from Katara.
"In the military, when soldiers sleep in an open field, one will stay up to prevent any threats from attacking themselves." Wash explained.
"I guess I'm taking first watch. And we're traveling by night." Katara said.
"Okay. Wake us up when we move." Wash said.
"It doesn't matter. None of those will tell us where Appa is." Aang dejectedly said.
Wash rolled his eyes in disgust. They could be dead by the morning, and Aang was still complaining about Appa. Well shit happens, and you just had to deal with it.
"No. But we can find out which way Ba Sing Se is. We'll use the stars to guide us. That way we can travel at night, when it's cool and rest during the day." Katara said.
Katara looked at her friends, and saw that they were in no condition to walk.
"Get some rest." She said.
Wash quickly snapped awake when Katara gently nudged his armor. He was a light sleeper.
"We're moving."
Sokka got up with an idiotic smile on his face, and Toph smacked her lips together.
"Yesterday my mouth tasted like mud. Now it tastes like sand. Never thought I'd miss the taste of mud." She said.
"And you can also get some water out of mud." Wash put in.
Katara went to Aang and barely touched him when he spoke.
"I'm awake. I couldn't sleep." He said.
Katara and Aang looked up, and Aang's mood suddenly brightened.
"Appa!" He shouted.
Wash looked up, and saw a cloud.
"It's just a cloud." Katara said, when she realized something.
"Fly up there and bend water into this pouch." She said.
Aang gave Katara an angry look and flew up towards the cloud. After three passes, he landed back and gave the pouch to Katara.
"Wow. Nothing in here."
Aang then blew up.
"I was a desert could. I did everything I could. What's anyone else doing? What are you doing?" Aang shouted, pointing his staff at Katara.
"We're trying to stay alive. You? You just left us in the desert to roast and die. You need to get your shit together right now." Wash said.
The group walked silently through the desert until Toph tripped and landed on her face. Everyone, sans Sokka and Momo, looked at Katara, while the other two looked at the sky.
"I am sick of not feeling where I'm going! And who's the idiot that left a boat in the middle of the desert?" Toph angrily asked.
"A boat?" Katara asked.
"Trust me. I felt plenty of vibrations to feel it." Toph said.
Aang approached Katara and raised his staff. She moved out of the way and let Aang blow the dirt away, revealing a sand sailor.
"It's one of the sand gliders the sand benders use!" Katara exclaimed. "It's got a compass. We're going to make it."
"Sounds better than our previous option." Wash said.
With everyone onboard, they followed the compass's direction which was fixed to one position.
"The needle on this compass doesn't seem to be pointing north to my charts." Katara said, holding a map over the compass.
"Must be a strong magnetic pull close to us. We're too far away from the north pole." Wash said.
Over the horizon, a large rock like structure was coming into view.
"That's our magnetic pull. That rock" Wash said.
"A rock?! Lets go." Toph excitingly said.
"Maybe we can find some water there." Katara said.
"Maybe we can find some sand benders." Aang coldly said.
Dawn came, and the group arrived at the rock mountain. Toph fell on her back and made a rock angel. After she finished, they moved to investigate the cave system.
"I think my head is clearing up from the cactus juice. And look!" Sokka said, when he noticed something gooey hanging from the wall.
"This should be interesting." Ursa said, a smug grin on her face.
And interesting it was, as Sokka began to spit out the substance.
"Taste like rotten penguin meat!" Sokka said.
"And how would you know what rotten penguin meat taste like?" Ursa asked.
"Good point." Wash said.
"You've been hallucinating on cactus juice this whole time. And you just decide to eat something off the wall?" Katara asked.
"I happen to have a natural curiosity." Sokka said.
"More like brain-dead curiosity." Wash deadpanned.
"Guys, I don't think this is a natural cave." Toph said.
"Yeah. Look at the shape." Aang added.
Wash unslung his DMR, and gave an order no-one refused.
"Get out now!" He shouted.
A thick buzzing noise was heard, reminding Wash of the large insect like aliens the covenant used, called 'buggers' by UNSC forces.
The first buzzard wasp showed up and had its head blown off by a single shot. More wasps showed up, and Wash continued to kill them.
Running outside, Wash saw Sokka swing his machete at thin air.
"Sokka, nothing's there." Katara said.
"I guess my head isn't as cleared as I thought." He said.
"No kidding. Head down the mountain." Wash said.
"Momo!" Aang shouted, as a buzzard wasp grabbed the lemur and took off. Aang opened his glider and chased after both animals.
"Ursa, take this." Wash said, handing her his DMR, and pulling out his pistol.
The buzzard wasps continued to close in, and the group continued to fight them. Dozens of angry buzzard wasps closed in on the hapless group, when a series of dust tornadoes rose up and drove away the wasps.
Running down the mountain, a group of sandbenders was waiting for them. Aang landed between both groups, and was ready for a fight.
"What are you doing in our land with another sand sailor? From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami tribe." The leader said.
"We found the sailor in the desert. We're traveling with the avatar. Our bison was stolen and we need to get to Ba Sing Se."
A young man to the leader's right stepped forward and spoke in an aggressive tone.
"You accuse our people of theft, while you ride in on a stolen sand sailor?" he asked.
"Quiet Ghasiun, they didn't accuse us of anything. If what they said is true, we must provide hospitality." The leader reprimanded.
"Sorry, father." Ghaisun said.
"That voice. I remember it. He's the one who stole Appa." Toph said.
"You sure?" Ursa asked.
"I never forget a voice." Toph said.
Not surprisingly, Toph's confirmations set Aang off.
"You stole Appa! Where is he?!" Aang shouted.
"They're lying! They're the thieves!" Ghasiun said.
Aang slammed his staff on the ground sending a razor sharp blade of earth that destroyed another sailor.
"Where's my bison? Tell me where he is now!" Aang demanded.
To make his point, Aang destroys another sailor.
"What did you do?" the leader asks his son.
"It wasn't me." The son claimed.
"You said to muzzle him." Toph said.
"You muzzled Appa?" Aang asked, his anger tipping.
Eyes and tattoes glowing, he destroyed the last sailor and threatened the son.
"Tell me where Appa is!"
"I traded him to some merchants. He's probably in Ba Sing Se right now. They were going to sell him there."
Dropping his staff, Aang lifted up in a ball of air. Wash looked upwards, and wondered what would happen next.
"Just run!" Sokka shouted, taking Toph and running away.
Wash heeded his advice, and ran with everyone else. Looking back, he saw Katara approach Aang at risk to herself.
"My god. Katara! Run!" Wash shouted.
Katara didn't run, but grabbed Aang's hand. The Avatar's outraged expression met her face of sympathy and exhaustion. Lowering himself to the ground, Katara embraced Aang until he left the avatar state and collapsed in her arms.
"What the fuck was that?!" Wash asked.
"It's a long story." Sokka said.
"Start talking." Wash curtly said.
