Child.

The door to the admin block had already been bashed in a while ago, so getting inside wasn't too much of an issue for Mu'kala. He stepped over another Khalistheya corpse, this one having most of its chest shot away and stepped inside, banging his head on the ceiling.
As he made his way through the warzone of cubicles and offices, blown out wall and failed barricades, he started to feel an undeniable feeling of dread. He remembered that Jake's wife was in the process of visiting the Khalistheya. Right now, any number of things could have happened to them. Most of them would not be good.
He crept past a cubicle that had partially collapsed when a Khalistheya man had fallen on it. He could see that the body in question had had one of its arms shot off, lots of bullet holes all over him, and most of his entrails smearing behind him. He noticed that most of the blood indicated he had first started getting killed several metres away before finally collapsing on the ground. Either the humans were being uncharacteristically wasteful, or the Khalistheya man had somehow simply ignored the gunshots up until that point. Mu'kala was slightly amazed that this man had simply ignored his wounds. A little scared too.
He shivered as he stepped over a bloody corpse. The silence was getting to him.
He heard a rustling on the floor above him.
He stopped breathing. Something small, but possibly dangerous was up there. He moved to the stairwell.

The sounds continued as he crept up the stairwell. He had just entered into another cubicle farm, when he yet again, banged his head on the ceiling. He cursed, rubbing his head.
Why can't these humans ever build bigger buildings?
The noise stopped dead. Whatever was making the noise must have heard the na'vis cursing.
Mu'kala stood perfectly silent. Around him, the cube farm hadn't really changed. Mu'kala guessed that the noise must have come from one of the adjoining rooms.
He looked past the first door. All it had was empty cardboard boxes. Mu'kala double checked to make sure that no one was hiding under them. He looked past the second door. All that contained was just some booths with those weird basins of water. He still couldn't figure out what exactly they did. Finally, he looked past the third door. It appeared to be yet another storeroom, except it had lockers and shelves as opposed to more of those boxes.
Mu'kala stood very quietly in the doorway. Something about this room was different.
There. He could hear something inside one of the lockers.
It was quiet breathing.

Mu'kala got his knife out and crept up to the locker. He wasn't sure what he was going to find. Probably something on the lines of house cat.
As his fingers curled around the handle, he gripped his knife carefully.
He swiftly opened the door. A frightened cry came out as he did so.
There in the corner of the locker, a small child sat. Unlike the rest of the colonists, she didn't wear an exo-suit on account of her being a minor. Instead of a uniform or anything like that she wore small canvas pants and an orange t-shirt. Her blonde hair was gathered in two pigtails on the bottom of her head, while her face was covered in freckles.
She sat in the corner of the locker, frightened of the giant blue man standing over her.
"Are… Are you okay?" Mu'kala asked slowly.

"Uh, yeah, I am." The child said in a quickened, chirpy tone. "Are you one of the good na'vi?"
"Um… yeah?"
"Oh good." She said relieved. "Because one of those nice militiamen put me in here, and told me to keep real quiet and not to open the door to anyone, unless they were good humans or na'vi, otherwise a monster would eat me. I'm not sure what's going on, do you know what's going on? Because I don't."
Mu'kala did his best to quickly translate that slurry of English inside his head. At least he got the last bit. "Erm… no?"
"Oh, then do I stay in here, or do I come with you? Because it's really cramped in here and I want to go outside. This place is too quiet."
Mu'kala paused for a while. "Do you know if there's anybody else here?"
"Don't know, there was a big ruckus outside a long while ago, and when I asked what it was, the militiaman told me to hide in here. There was a lot of shouting and yelling and shoving and shooting, but after a while it's just been quiet for ages. I was about to open the door outside, but I heard someone, so I ran back in here. It was probably a monster, do you think it was a monster?"
"Um, that was probably me."
"Oh sorry, I thought you were a monster, I'm sorry."
"Uh, that's okay…."
"Can I come with you? I don't know what to do. I want to see mom again. Do you know where she is?"
Mu'kala looked at the child in front of him.
What really got to him was just how tiny she was. She must have been twelve or something, but she was barely as big as a na'vi baby. He could probably carry her in a pack. It also boggled him as to how much energy there was within her. She could probably tear apart a na'vi feast at the rate she went. Mu'kala guessed that she must not have seen any of the violence that was outside. Just as well.
There was also another thing about her that got to Mu'kala.
He certainly wasn't just going to leave her here.

"Look, uh, what's your name?" He began.
"Lauryl. What's your name?"
"Oh, Mu'kala. Listen, it's not safe here. I can take you to safe place."
"I don't know, mom told me not to trust strangers, and I don't know you, so-"
"I'll carry you on my back?" Mu'kala interrupted hopefully.
"Oh, goody!" she squealed. "A piggyback ride! I love piggyback rides, do you love piggyback rides?"
"I… used to…" he said uncomfortably.
"Oh, you must be too big for them, that's why. Can you help me up on your back?"
"Sure." Mu'kala stooped down to allow Lauryl to clamber on. Due to the almost comical size differences, Lauryl eventually settled for hooking her legs in the rawhide straps that helped to support Mu'kala's gear and she held on to his lower neck for support.
"Gawk, don't hold so hard!" he protested
"Sorry. Can we go now?"
"Right, yes we can. But before we go out…" he said getting a strip of fabric out. "I need to blind fold you for now…"

"Are you guys okay?" the militiaman at the perimeter called out.
"We're both fine, I think…" the na'vi said walking over with Emile in tow.
"What's wrong with this guy?"
"I think it's just shock… not sure what scared him though…"
The survivors near the river were starting to get back into gear. Already a couple of stragglers had managed to make their way over. Some of them were na'vi who knew where to go; others were humans who followed the lights.

As they went to sit down, the humans and na'vi alike heard something rustling in the bushes. Guns and bows were instantly raised at the source.
"Don't shoot!" a human voice shouted in some nervousness. A human mechanic stepped out of the greenery with his hands raised. "I'm just a mechanic… Don't shoot!" He still wore his standard issue exo-suit and overalls, except this time he was caked in mud and scratched all over. He was beaten down, tired and weary.
The guards lowered their weapons. One of them helped the man get over. "I thought we managed to get all the colonists out alive. Who are you?"
"Yeah, well… I was kind of hiding in a closet when the order to leave came." He brushed some dirt off. "Gage Hudson. I work the machines back there."
"You made your way over here by yourself?"
"Pretty much." The mechanic looked back. "I didn't see anybody else…"
"Well, you're not the only guy who made it back here in one piece." A militia woman replied. "Stragglers from the convoy and the compound have made it back here."
One of the na'vi tribesman, Shee'kana, tapped the mechanics shoulder. "Did you see anything at all strange?"
Gage looked a little uncomfortable. "I did see some of those crazy na'vi with torches in the distance." He replied. "But I don't think they saw me."
"Where did you say they were?" a militiaman questioned.
Gage told them that they were roughly in the direction of the mountains.

"Just as I thought." Shee'kana muttered.
One of the militiamen, who understood na'vi, asked him what she meant.
"All of the guys we've been picking up said that there was Khalistheya in the direction of the mountains right?"
"Right?"
"That's not right. The Khalistheya don't live in the mountains, they live in the swamps."
"So?"
"So that's where they are, and I'm betting that's where any of the prisoners are."
The others around her, did a double take.
"What the hell makes you think they take prisoners?"
"Well, we certainly haven't found those bodies from the convoy yet haven't we?" she smiled. "I'd bet they're still out there."
Before anybody could respond, a furious argument began back where the other survivors were.
"What do you mean 'we didn't know she was around'?" a human woman roared. "WHERE IS SHE?"

"So, it's not usually this dark out here is it? Because all of the videos that I see of this place tell me that it's supposed to be really bright in the forest at night, from all of the glowing and the bioluminescence. I learned that word at school. It's a cool word, I think it's a cool word, do you think it's a cool word? Oh well, I heard that there's an animal out here that actually hunts by shooting it's head at prey. Wouldn't that kill it? I heard that there was this other animal that could run as fast as a car, do you think that's true? It could be true; I think it might be true. I once saw mountain banshee circle the colony…"
Eywa's Mercy… Mu'kala fumed. Doesn't this child know how to shut up at some point!"
When they had managed to get out of the compound, Mu'kala agreed to take off the blindfold. They then proceeded to make their way to the canoes where Mu'kala was willing to bet the others were waiting. Guided by the moonlight, he hoped that they didn't leave already.
Despite the fact that the dark woods scared the hell out of Mu'kala, the human child didn't seem to care. For a start, she continued to constantly chatter about pretty much everything. Non-stop.
"Do you have any kids at your Hometree? I'd like to meet them, I wonder what games they play, do they slide off the tree like a giant slidy thingy? How do they climb up something that's so big? Is there a playground? They don't have a playground back at the colony. They say there's not enough space for something like that. I wish there was a playground." She turned around as they passed a tree. "Oh look!"

"What, what?" Mu'kala turned, expecting to find something horrible.
"The Cat's Ear!" she said pointing at some cats ear shaped fungus on the walls. "It turned when we passed! It really does follow you around!" Sure enough, the fungus, was turning to face them as they moved. It did that to anything that passed.
Mu'kala sighed. "Yes Lauryl, it does that, let's get moving."
"This forest is actually kind of cool in the dark. I like the dark. So many places to hide, hide and seek would be awesome. And-"
Mu'kala actually stopped for a second after hearing the dark bit. "Wait, you actually like darkness?"
"Ooh yes!" she continued. "I love playing hide and seek in the dark. I used to play hide and seek whenever the power went away back home. Everything is so much cooler in the dark. Do you think that sometimes?"
Mu'kala was quite frankly stunned. He couldn't possibly see how someone could possibly like something as unnatural as darkness….
"Whoa, what was that?" she asked.
Mu'kala heard the sound as well. He hunkered down. "Stay quiet."
"Why do you-"
"I said stay quiet!" he hissed.

When Lauryl had managed to get off of his back, they managed to see what was making the rustling.
A na'vi was running through the trees. He looked like one of the hunters that went along the trip to investigate the convoy. He was bruised and battered and his strappings were torn and tattered. Most of all, he was quite visibly terrified.
Mu'kala was just about to call him over, when an arrow slammed into the runner's leg. The man screamed and tripped up, his face smacking into the ground.
Lauryl gasped. She was about to say something, when Mu'kala clasped a hand over her face, taking care not to choke her. "Not a word."

The runner tried to get back up again. His faced was caked in mud, and Mu'kala could pick out the tears of fear and panic in his eye. The runner tried to frantically limp on, but he was more or less reduced to crawling for his life.
That was when the shooters appeared. The Khalistheya hunter was accompanied by a friend. They looked more or less the same; war paint, war gear and faces streaked in blood. They were both carrying bows. One of them had a torch, the flames casting cruel shadows across the forest.
The na'vi hunter kept crawling away in horror. "Please!" he cried, voice breaking in terror. "I'm a na'vi like you! I wouldn't harm you!"
"You won't." one of the hunters answered.
The hunter smashed his foot onto the runner's head. The force made Mu'kala wince. The runner lay slumped on the ground.
"He still alive?" the other hunter more or less snarled.
"Yeah." The stomper smirked. He started to hold the man up. "C'mon, let's drag him to the others."
The other hunter began to get the runner's legs.
Mu'kala braced himself. He certainly wasn't going to let them get away with this. He started to get up. "Stay here." He whispered.
"No!" she whispered. "There's another one!"
Mu'kala looked back.
Shit
Sure enough, there was a third Khalistheya hunter. He was standing a little out of the way of the others, spears in hand. He was scanning the surroundings. Especially the area Mu'kala and Lauryl were hiding in.
How did I miss him?
The hunter must have heard something. He was certainly looking pretty hard.
But he didn't see them. He shrugged and walked back to the others, satisfied with what he saw.

As the light from the hunters torch faded away, Mu'kala turned to Lauryl.
"How did you see him?" he asked.
The child shrugged. "He was hiding. And I'm good at playing hide and seek."
And you can probably see better in the dark. Mu'kala figured. If she hadn't said anything….
"Come on." Mu'kala said, getting on his knees. "Let's get moving."

They continued to walk through the forest. Lauryl had noticeably become quieter. That actually crept Mu'kala a little.
"Are you okay little one?" he asked.
Lauryl was quiet for a few seconds before asking "Were those bad na'vi back there?"
"Yes, yes they were." He said reassuringly.
"Why did they do that to that poor na'vi?"
"I don't know." He answered. "I really don't know."
"They looked angry."
"I guess."
"Why do you think they were angry?"
"I don't know, okay?"
There was a little bit of silence as they progressed on.
"You do know, don't you?" the girl asked.
Mu'kala sighed. "They've never agreed with us. They've kind of always been that way, but I've never figured they'd be like this." He looked around. "Something must be wrong with them…. They can't be this bad."
"Maybe they are."
"What do you know?"
"Back home, dad used to help fight all sorts of bad guys." She replied. "He once told me that the worst darkness isn't what you can see."
Mu'kala frowned. "Then where did he say it is?"
"He said the worst darkness is found in people's hearts."
As Mu'kala did his best to try to figure out what she meant, Lauryl suddenly tapped his shoulder.
"Look! Lights!"

Mu'kala could see the glowing through the trees. There was the lively flickering of flaming torches, but there was also the constant, sterile glow of the humans. For once, Mu'kala was glad to see those as well.
That's when they heard the voices.
"Let me go you bastards!" a woman's voice shouted "We've got to find her!"
"Ma'am we can't do that, it's too dangerous."
"I'm not worried about me! But my fucking daughter is out there! I need to find her!"
"She's probably hiding in the buildings somewhere…"
"You don't know that! You let me through right now, or I swear to god, I'll smash you'll face into a tree."
Mu'kala looked pass the trees. There space up ahead was guarded by a bunch of human militia and na'vi hunters. They had set up lights across the space in front of them so they could better keep watch. The most visible aspect however, was the blonde colonist woman arguing with the militia. She wore the uniform of the miners, minus the reflective vest and jacket. Her hair had been let down, coming up to shoulder length, and her face was red in rage.
"Ms Halverson, I know it looks bad, but there's still a good chance she's still-"
Lauryl beamed. "That's mom!" she waved her hands up. "Mom! Mom, I'm over here."
The humans and the na'vi turned "What the fuck-" one of them began.
"Lauryl!" the woman stared. "Lauryl!"
The humans raised their guns and flashlights at the pair. They were somewhat shocked to see a scarred na'vi hunter giving a human child a piggyback, while recoiling from the sudden glare.
The started to get off Mu'kala's back. "Mom, it's me!"
"Lauryl!" the mother cried.
The resulting scene played like anyone would expect it to. Lauryl rushed to her mother's arms while the rest looked on. The mother started to cry tears of joy. A couple of humans silently expected someone to play tear-jerking music.

As Mu'kala walked up, Lauryl started to revert back to her normal talkative self. "Mom, this nice na'vi man helped here! I know that you told me not to trust strangers, but there was no one else, and he gave me a piggyback ride here! It was really cool, and I got to see the forest too, which could have gone better, because it was night, and it was dark and stuff, but I got to see some cool stuff, and I even saw the cats ear move with me! And-"
"I know Lauryl. I know." The mother sniffed. She turned and looked up to Mu'kala. "I don't know if you can understand me-"
"I can understand you." He interjected.
"Right… Well, I still don't know how to say this… but thank you." She managed to wipe the tears away. "I wasn't sure that she'd be okay…"
"She is now. That's what matters." Mu'kala answered.

As Mu'kala watched the mother and child walk back to the others, a human militiaman walked up to him.
"I don't know how you found her, but god bless you man." He said in a heavy voice. "I'm not sure what Old Hellboy would do if something happened to her…"
"Old Hellboy?" Mu'kala queried. "Isn't that the name of your chieftain?"
"What? Oh uh, yes, not officially, but yes…"
"Why would he be worried?"
"Well, he's her father of course." he shrugged. "And her mother, Victoria, worked the mines. Lauryl was there to visit her mom or something."
"What, I've rescued the heir to the tribe or something?"
"Well, no. We're not royalty." The militiaman shrugged. (Mu'kala didn't know what royalty meant, but he guessed it had something to do with heirs or something) "But I don't know what the two of them would do without her."
Mu'kala took a heavy breath. "They're not the only ones who wouldn't know what to do if there family was gone."
"Mu'kala!" a voice spoke out. He turned. His Chieftain was walking up to meet him.
"It's nice to see that you're still with us Mu'kala." Jake said. "And I just heard what you did."
"It was nothing."
"Hey, don't sell yourself short-"
"Chieftain listen..." Mu'kala interrupted. "There are other survivors out there."
Jake stopped looking congratulatory and took on his serious disposition again. "What, are they okay?"
"No. The Khalistheya have them."
"Are you sure?"
"I saw two of them take Breka away." He answered. "They shot his leg with an arrow, but they took him in alive. They must have done the same with the others."
Shee'kana looked back triumphantly. "See! What did I tell you?"
"Shee'kana shut it, where did you say they were taking him?"
"In the direction of the mountains." He answered. "That's where the others must be."

Alex opened his eyes up. He didn't feel that bad, all things considered.
"Huh…" he muttered. "Wonder where the psychos went…"
He started to pick himself up off the ground. He did so with care, he was still feeling dizzy. He nearly fell on his face at one point. At least the headache was gone.
When he finally got back to his feet, he took a look around. The full moon was gone completely, and the glow still wasn't back. That didn't seem to be a problem. The place was still reasonably well lit.
In sepia and black and white.
Ah great…. Alex thought. I'm here again aren't I?