Chapter 4: Nightmare Pincers
Kiri and Spider fled blindly through the thick fog to escape the horrible hissing. The surface was slick and covered with vines, which nearly caused them to stumble a few times, but they kept going. The machine was no longer visible, but the sound of rapid gunfire and a loud crash could be heard in the distance a few moments later. After that loud crash, the marsh was silent again, and the two ran into a hole in one of the trees.
"What the hell is going on?" Spider panted rapidly, fogging his mask.
Kiri clung to her injured arm and murmured breathlessly, "I have no idea."
Spider cast a downward gaze at her arm. "How are you holding out?"
"I'll live," Kiri groaned. "Are we safe?"
"Hold on," Spider said before peeking around the corner. "I don't see anything."
"What should we do now?" Kiri inquired, obviously distressed about everything. "My parents are going to kill me."
"Woah- relax, we'll get out of here. Just let me think," Spider said, placing his hand reassuringly on her shoulder and peering outside once more. The fog was beginning to lift slightly, and he was able to make out the path along the stream they had taken when following the machine's tracks. "I know where we are."
Kiri exhaled with relief and sat down to collect her breath. She was covered in scratches from falling and crusted muck, in addition to the handprint bruise on her arm.
It was then that, all of a sudden, an unsettling beeping sound came from Spider's exopack. They both froze in panic as they knew what they meant—his oxygen supply was getting dangerously low.
"Fuck," Spider exclaimed before checking his gauge.
Kiri stood up and didn't want to ask the question. "How much is left?"
"Not enough to make it back home," Spider hissed, slamming his fist into the tree. "I'm sorry, Kiri. I messed up today."
Kiri frowned and couldn't stop herself from giving him a one-armed embrace. "It's not your fault, it's mine."
Spider sighed, knowing that complaining about the situation wouldn't get them out of it. "We'll talk later. Let's get out of here."
Kiri stepped back and nodded. "You said you know where we are?"
"Yeah," Spider said, thumbing out towards the river. "We're about halfway to the helicopter."
Kiri had an idea instantly. "Couldn't you get a new rebreather mask from the helicopter?"
Spider perked up in surprise. "Oh, yeah, there was still an emergency mask in the cockpit," he said confidently, "I'm glad you've got the brains here."
Kiri couldn't help but smile at the praise.
Spider took one more look outside to make sure it was safe. Through the fog, he could make out more of the spider frogs swimming in one of the pools nearby. He did not see the machine or whatever that thing was from earlier. "Let's go-" he said before stepping outside.
Kiri followed him out, cautiously scanning each direction. She was nervous and expected the machine to materialize out of nowhere.
They both moved in the direction of the stream and began to follow it. The murmur of the stream helped hide their footsteps as they crouched low in the thick, lush grass. There was less sunlight streaming down from above them as the sun sank lower in the sky indicating a few hours until night time.
After a bit of walking, the crashed helicopter was visible in the distance, with the sunshine reflecting off the cockpit.
Spider whispered assuredly, "I see it."
Kiri breathed out a relieved sigh. They would solve at least one of their issues.
They ducked for cover behind a sizable tree when they suddenly heard noises coming from behind them and watched as two Yeriks galloped by, splashing water before jumping over the stream. Another set of hoofsteps lagged behind the pair, clumsy and uneven and accompanied by labored breathing. It was bleeding profusely from two holes on its flank and collapsed near the stream, not far from both of them.
Being aware that whatever had attacked the Yerik wouldn't be far behind, they both kept completely silent and started to slowly circle the tree away from it. It was excruciating to hear Yerik scream and struggle to crawl away. They suddenly held their breath as they felt the ground tremble in front of the predator, who was slithering behind the tree and making that horrible clicking sound in the air. Whatever it was, it seemed to have a lot of legs based on the way it sounded and vibrated the ground. The Yerik brayed out a final scream before an audible scrunch silenced the poor beast.
Spider and Kiri exchanged terrified glances as they put their backs against the tree. They were so close to the predator that they were able to hear and feel its breathing, like soft air pulsing through tubes. It sounded like the creature was moving the Yerik around as if to check if it was dead before they heard what sounded like incisors jabbing into its body.
After a moment to find the courage, Spider peered around the corner. He couldn't see the creature's head, but he could tell the body was long. Very long. Its body was flat and no broader than a direhorse, but it was easily as long as a banshee with its wings outstretched. Its legs were many and innumerable, with several for each segment of its body.
Spider could see it breathing through openings on the sides of the segments, indicated by the way the fog rolled away from air puffs. Spider felt like his heart was already beating past its capacity, just barely registering the sight of the thing, and he turned to face Kiri, who was also just as terrified. She took a quick glance, and only saw that the creature had two long antennae, and pulsing glowing patterns barely visible against the enveloping fog. She struggled to keep her tail still, as if the slightest movement could alert their whereabouts.
They stayed behind the tree, praying the creature would finish its meal before moving on. It was a voracious eater, and the crunching sounds even made it sound like it was devouring the bones. They remained there for minutes, which felt like hours, until Spider's exopack suddenly beeped again.
Spider panicked and tried to turn off the alarm, but it kept going for several more seconds. The creature suddenly stopped eating, and they heard clicking noises picking up tempo. Two long antennae, the left one missing half of its segment, appeared before the creature's head as it started moving around the tree.
Now that the fog was thinning, what they saw utterly terrified them. The creature's head possessed numerous pincer-like mandibles, more soulless eyes than they could count, and blood-dripping obsidian fangs. The mandibles rubbed against each other, making clicking noises, growing increasingly agitated.
Kiri shrieked in fear as she saw its terrible face for the first time, and she knew exactly what it was. She could barely speak the words "Alta'maha", which in Na'vi meant "nightmare pincers" or, more directly, "hell centipede" in English.
The Alta'maha rose quickly like a periscope, spreading its deadly, poisonous mandibles, and its huge, whip-like antennae moved in all directions. The wide, infinite maw of teeth beneath the mandibles spewed foul-smelling blood.
"Run!" Spider shouted out and pulled Kiri away. They just made it around the tree before the Alta'maha lunged forward and almost caught them. Out in plain sight were the remains of its partially consumed dinner.
They hurried towards where the fog gathered in the denser parts of the woods. As dozens of legs propelled the massive beast toward them, they could feel the earth quiver. In a split second, they saw a second cave-like entrance in one of the trees and quickly ran inside.
After a moment of pure, deathly silence, they could hear the Alta'maha breathing just outside with its menacing clicking sounds. They could see the luminous ends of its antennae moving outside the entrance, as if it were attempting to scent them out.
Kiri and Spider backed up and tried to crawl through to the other side, but the tree roots blocked the exit. That's when Kiri noticed something: the neural network of the tree, which was a dangling mass of incandescent roots hanging from the ceiling. She had an idea and grabbed her braid with her one good arm.
The Alta'maha's antennae were now moving into the opening, nearly whipping Kiri as the monster began to squeeze inside. In an attempt to delay the creature, Spider grabbed rocks and threw them at the creature.
Kiri forced down her panic and managed to complete the bond with the tree. Like being in another body, she instantly felt its roots, branches, and leaves. Rigid, deep, and old.
The broad Alta'maha's head slid in about halfway, stretching its mandibles in eager anticipation as those endless eyes locked on its prey. Just as it was going to launch its attack, the tree roots suddenly surged up from the ground outside, wrapped tightly around its neck, and dragged its head out of the opening. The beast ripped the roots out of the earth as it battled against the grasp.
Spider was taken back, and when he looked at Kiri, he saw her extending her palm out and concentrating. Pulling her hand back, the roots behind them moved apart, giving them a way out.
"We must leave now!" Kiri shouted as she concentrated on wrapping as many roots as she could around the monster before removing her queue.
Without hesitation, they dashed out the back exit and watched as the beast tore away enormous tree roots in an attempt to free itself. As they sprinted past the body of the deceased Yerik, they made their way towards the crashed helicopter, getting further away from the sounds of the struggling Alta'maha. Upon reaching the tree, they both collapsed out of exhaustion to collect their breath.
"A-a-are you okay?" Kiri asked her friend, panting, as she pushed herself up with her one good arm. The smell of jet fuel from the helicopter almost made her gag again.
Spider once again rose up when his low oxygen tone beeped. Adrenaline and deep breathing were causing him to use oxygen quicker than usual. "Yeah," he grumbled as he resisted the temptation to smash the exopack.
Kiri cautiously looked behind her for any signs of that nightmarish predator but saw nothing. "We need to replace your oxygen and leave," she said urgently. There were some noises behind her, so she turned quickly and saw Spider already climbing up the tree toward the helicopter.
Spider would have made a joke at the obvious statement, but he was not in the mood to do so. What little energy he had left was being drained by climbing that tree, and he found it difficult to keep moving at even half his normal rate. Yet he knew that if he stopped moving, he would die from asphyxiation or in the clutches of that monster. Leaving Kiri alone was the last thing he wanted to do.
The sound of buzzing insects filled the air as the fog crept over the marsh ominously once more. Several spider frogs rose to the surface of the water, their white antennae searching about to determine if the coast was clear.
Kiri hid herself under the tree's roots and anxiously kept an eye out for the monster. Her gaze swept the horizon and the helicopter wreckage, stopping when something caught her eye amongst the crashed debris. There was a red case with the word "EMERGENCY" written on it. After checking if the coast was clear, she swiftly recovered it and returned to her hiding location.
Spider had made it to the branch that was holding the helicopter, but he was so physically fatigued that he had to pause to collect his breath.
Kiri unzipped the bag with her good hand to find a portable radio, medical supplies, flares, and rope inside. The most important thing to her was medical supplies, so she began constructing a homemade sling while keeping an eye out. Her heart was still pounding, and she tried to calm herself with deep breaths. After a few minutes, she had assembled her sling and put her injured arm in it. She was also interested in the radio, but she had no idea how to even contact Jake, but maybe Spider did..
Spider groaned as he struggled to stand. One of the emergency oxygen exopacks was visible in the cockpit, and he began the precarious balancing effort of walking the narrow branch to get closer to it. The door didn't work from his memory, so he had to crawl around the front and reach inside through the broken cockpit, which jolted the aircraft and started making it slide forward. He had just managed to grab the mask and escape as the helicopter broke free from the branch and fell on the one underneath it, sending even more debris to the ground.
Kiri became alarmed and moved further under the tree when she felt it quake and heard the noises outside. If she hadn't been under the tree, the helicopter parts would have surely fallen on her. After the noises stopped she looked outside and asked loudly. "Spider, are you okay?!"
Spider was going to ask her the same, so he felt relieved. "Yeah! I got the oxygen!" he shouted while he went about the process of swapping tanks. There was an audible, more friendly beep when he managed to replace the tank, which was the best thing he heard all day.
Yet that sense of euphoria would soon be shattered. As Spider looked out into the distance, he saw the vegetation and fog being pushed aside as the huge beast, drawn by the noise, approached. Its dozens of legs moved in unison as its two antennae whipped through the air. Immediately, his heart sank. "Kiri, it's coming!" he screamed out.
The Alta'maha stopped in its tracks and lifted its front section above the vegetation and scouted above the fogline before looking up towards Spider who foolishly gave himself away. Its two front mandibles clicked together before the monster descended to the ground and began crawling in a lightning pace towards the tree.
Kiri tried to hide beneath the tree roots as best she could and tried to find its neural link like the other tree had, but she couldn't find it. As it got closer, she felt the ground vibrate and heard it click and breathe, which scared her to death. From her position, she saw through the roots that it paused in front of the tree and started stabbing at the roots with its mandibles, testing to see whether it would be attacked again. It did this for a few seconds before the monster's head was hit by a loud metal bang.
"Up here, ugly!" Spider shouted from his perch after he threw his nearly empty oxygen pack at it. After a few more loud clicks, the Alta'maha reared its ugly head and started climbing up the side of the tree, and each of its legs worked like an ice pick to hold up its huge weight. It moved almost as fast up the tree as it did over the land.
Kiri watched helplessly as she caught glimpses of the beast's underbelly as it climbed the tree. After failing to locate the neural queue in her panic, she had another idea. She grabbed one of the flares and peered out the exit at one of the pools of aviation fuel.
The creature's weight shook the tall tree, and as it passed the helicopter, it sprang free and smashed down with a loud metallic sound. Despite this, the Alta'maha kept moving due to its insatiable appetite. Spider had only seconds before that horrific maw of teeth would be on top of him, so he made a leap of faith and leaped for one of the vines.
Kiri had just about gotten the flare ready to go when the aircraft slammed onto the ground. It sent a violent cloud of dust and debris in her direction, knocking her back and tossing the flare out of her hand.
Spider dropped some distance before grabbing the vine, which burned his hands due to the violent friction. Screaming out loud from the agony, he looked up to see the monster stop on the tree. He was out of its reach, but what he saw next shocked him even more: it used its lower body sections to anchor itself against the tree while its upper body went upside down and reached out towards him.
These terrible, venomous pincers and teeth were almost on Spider, and he looked down. He had to let himself go; he had no choice. Falling, the last thing he recalled was how warm the sunlight felt through the canopy before everything went black.
A cloud of dust and rocks obscured Kiri's view, and she coughed and struggled to figure out where she was. She had somehow made her way outside and was standing close to the downed helicopter in a state of confusion. The flare she was carrying was at her feet, and she snatched it up, and it was there when her heart sank: Spider was lying unconscious in front of her.
"Spider!" Kiri hurried to his side and looked through the mask. He was breathing but not moving, so she started shaking him. "Spider, wake up! Spider!" she shrieked, fighting back tears. However, she was powerless to help when she heard and looked up to see the Alta'maha climbing down the tree. Its legs tore through the bark as it descended in a feral frenzy for its two meals.
Kiri tried to pick him up with both her hands, but she couldn't because of the terrible pain, so she started dragging him back by one hand while holding the flare in her other hand. She only got him clear of the helicopter before that beast was already down and approaching her. There wasn't even enough time to pop the flare, and she screamed in horror as it quickly reared itself in front of her and spread its mandibles for a strike she couldn't avoid.
At that very moment, loud gunfire erupted in the marsh, which was so close and painful that Kiri instinctively covered her ears, dropping the flare again. As the bullets hit the side of its head, bloody chunks flew toward Kiri, making the Alta'maha howl in pain. After the first barrage, more gunfire hit the side of its head, making it cry out again. It instinctively lowered its head toward the threat with its thick, upper-bone armor before retreating into the fog.
After the Alta'maha retreated, Kiri lowered her palms from her ringing ears and looked towards the source of the noise. There, standing some distance from her, was a pair of glowing red eyes, and she knew instantly that it was the machine. The machine had its sights set on the Alta'maha and fired another volley of thunderous gunfire from the machine gun in its right arm, but the Alta'maha quickly hid behind a tree. Kiri ducked from the bursts of wood splintering off a tree trunk from the attack.
"Viscon interrupted. Amending sightline on target," intoned the machine before it started walking with thunderous footsteps. It walked past Kiri as if she were not even there while heading towards the crashed helicopter. The Alta'maha hid behind the nearby tree and clicked loudly as it did so, only taking brief glances as it awaited the perfect opportunity.
Kiri did not know who the machine was talking to, but she could hear groans from Spider. Kneeling down, she gave his face a few slaps. "Monkey boy! Are you awake?"
Spider simply groaned as he faded in and out of consciousness. It was clear he was in a lot of pain, though. Kiri quickly stood up and started dragging him while the machine and monster were distracted.
The machine's footsteps crushed everything beneath them as it stomped through the debris field. It circled the crashed helicopter, lifted its right arm, and unleashed another barrage of shots at the Alta'maha. Expecting the onslaught, the Alta'maha dropped its head so the bullets hit the bony plate shielding it and surged forward to ram the machine. With a resounding thud, the machine was sent flying backward near Kiri.
Kiri was taken back by the shock of the blow, which would have killed even the strongest Na'vi. To her surprise, the unfazed machine stood back up and started firing more shots. The Alta'maha climbed over the downed helicopter and accelerated toward the machine. Several of the machines' shots struck unprotected parts of its head, but the Alta'maha pushed on in an aggressive frenzy.
The Alta'maha howled like a feral beast as one of its eyes was shot, but it managed to grip its mandibles around the machine's arm and start thrashing its arm side-to-side. The machine tried firing more shots, but it couldn't hit the Alta'maha from how it was held.
Kiri, stuck in the middle of the fight, was nearly crushed by the Alta'maha and had just managed to pull Spider to safety. There, in front of her, she saw another opportunity. Laying in the dirt was the flare she dropped.
The Alta'maha slammed the machine into the tree with an audible thud, and the force of its violent thrashing caused loud metal groans from its arm, as if it were about to be ripped off its socket.
Kiri snatched the flare and lit it immediately. The Alta'maha's huge bulk was partially draped over the helicopter, and she sprinted in its direction. The machine tried shooting, but all of its bullets hit the tree instead.
When Kiri found a puddle of jet fuel, she quickly threw the flare in, and an enormous column of flames that burst into the sky nearly burned her. The Alta'maha let out a deafening roar, released the machine, and pushed off the chopper as the flames badly burned its underbody. It thrashed its body around, trying to extinguish the flames. While still on fire, it turned towards Kiri and let out a snarl.
Kiri started backing away from the monster when the machine abruptly moved up the Alta'maha, placed its right arm over one of its eyes, and fired six shots point blank. The fierce, flaming, thrashing beast stopped moving and lay still on the ground as the flames of the burning fuel lit up the area.
After several seconds of silence, the machine spoke. "Primary target eliminated."
Kiri had to agree when it stopped breathing. Her eyes were quickly drawn to Spider, who was still unconscious but safe for the moment off to the side. Hearing some mechanical footsteps, she looked back and gulped. For the first time since they met again, she made eye contact with the machine, and the only thing separating them was the head of the beast.
Kiri could see that it's right arm was pulled almost out of its socket, and she assumed its missing lower left arm was from its previous scuffle with the beast. She didn't know what to say but found herself asking. "Are you... hurt?"
The machine stared at her. "Damage condition is rated at delta seven," it stated while walking around the still-burning deceased monster and stopping close to her. "Why did you assist me in combat?"
Kiri backed up in hesitation, unsure of its intentions, and made sure to keep her distance. "I wasn't helping you," she growled while checking on Spider briefly again. "I was saving my friend."
The machine stopped moving toward her and now stared at Spider. "What purpose does that serve?"
"It's because he's my friend," Kiri snapped back, putting herself between them. "This isn't about him. Why are you here?"
"The primary threat had to be contained and terminated," the machine said.
Kiri tugged on her sling subconsciously. "Now are you going to leave?"
The machine analyzed her for a few seconds. "I require your assistance."
That statement left Kiri perplexed. "For- what?"
"Repair and maintenance are required," the machine said, with sparks coming out of its upper right arm socket as it moved its right arm slightly.
"Do I look like a mechanic?" Kiri said bluntly while checking on Spider again. She was just hoping the machine would leave already so they could escape.
"I require location assistance to your Avatar facility or nearest repair station," the machine stated, "and you will bring me there."
"I'm not an Avatar, and I will not bring you to my family's home," Kiri grunted with a whip of her tail. "Don't you have your own map?"
"My navigation system is compromised," the machine responded before taking several unnerving steps forward towards her. They were so close she could smell the black powder and see the smoke from its arm machine gun, just like in her nightmare.
Kiri gulped and took a half-step back. "I can't just bring you there. You'll get attacked."
"I am prepared for hostile encounters."
Kiri shivered and looked away. "And I am not," she murmured, knowing full well what it was capable of despite its injuries. However, she knew that she wouldn't be alive if the machine hadn't intervened. It was a strange wave of emotions, as she felt gratitude and fear at the same time.
Kiri sighed while backing up towards Spider. "Why can't we just bring you what you need here instead?"
"Negative, this location is a threat level alpha," the machine said as it looked at Alta'maha's dead body once more. Still soaring into the sky, the flames from the burning fuel were visible.
Kiri got down on one knee next to Spider, who was unconscious but still breathing. "My friend is hurt, and I can't carry him," she stated with annoyance, as it was entirely the machine's fault her arm was in a sling. "If you carry him, I will show you a spot where I can meet you later to bring parts, but you can't follow me the rest of the way. Okay?"
The machine simply stared at her once more. "I calculate a high probability of deception."
Kiri rested her hand on Spider's chest. "{Ewya, please watch over my friend}", she mouthed under her breath in Na'vi before looking at the machine. "I am not human; our people honor our word."
"You are not, but the male is," the machine responded.
"He is my friend; he won't say anything about this if I tell him," Kiri said, looking up at the machine.
"Terminating him would resolve any unexpected issues," the machine said, raising its sparking arm as if to shoot him.
Kiri shielded her friend protectively. "If you kill us, my parents will find our bodies and hunt you until there's nothing left of you," she snarled defiantly as she pointed towards the fire that was lighting up the sky. "They could already be on their way now. So make your choice: kill us and get nothing, or let me help you."
The machine looked back at the fire, which reflected off of its silvery face, before looking back at her. "What assurance do I have of your assistance?"
Kiri rose up and took her mother's pendant off her neck, holding it out to the machine. "If you have data on my people, then you know that if I offer a memento and my word, then I must keep my promise."
The machine looked at the pendant. "Data inconclusive," it stated, "All relevant data on the Na'vi I possess is combat-related."
"Had I wanted to kill you, I would have allowed the hell centipede to finish you," Kiri said, still holding out the pendant with her hand. "And you would have killed us already."
"I have no use for that object," the machine said, and then paused. "But I calculate slightly lower odds of deception."
The rejection offended Kiri, but she felt like she had at least made some progress. "So you will carry my friend, tell me what you need, and I will bring it to you?"
The machine simply stared at her once more. "Affirmative."