Chapter 1: Collision
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Going for a run early in the morning had become routine for her, when she had finally decided it was time to recover. Working out had always been an outlet for her anyway, ever since high school and especially during her time in the military. It was early October, almost five weeks had gone by since she and Mako had broken up. Slowly but surely, she was beginning to feel more like herself than she had felt in years.
The sun had not yet risen over the horizon, though the sky anticipated its arrival in the east and the stars began to dim as the inky hues faded to blue. Birds began to sing, and through her window Korra heard them as she threw her hair into a ponytail and tied her running shoes. She whistled as she shuffled down the stairs, and Naga's great white head bounded over to meet her.
"You ready to run girl?" the dog jumped up and placed her front paws on Korra's chest and licked her face in response. Korra smiled and kissed her best friend. "Awesome, let's go."
The trail they took was one of Korra's favorites. It was just outside of her neighborhood, she and Naga jogged towards the thicket of trees to where the trail began, in a great grassy meadow. When they reached it, she stopped, and as the sun entertained the idea of rising, she stretched her legs in the early golden light. October was her favorite month, the air was so cool, almost cold, not quite, but almost. The sound of birds singing still remained, though many had begun to gather as the prospect of cold weather became more and more apparent.
Korra raised her arms over her heads, breathed deeply, then looked down at her dog. "Let's go girl." And the two bounded off down the trail. The trail snaked around the meadow and ran steady for a little bit, then it began to slope as it met the tree line, and into the forest they ran. It was a little darker beneath the cover of the trees, though some spots of sunlight made their way through the leaves. The slope continued for almost a mile, then it leveled where the sounds of the rushing river could be heard. The riverbed had been dry in some parts for some time, but the rains had returned towards the end of August and now it flowed. Korra followed the trail along the river for about ten miles until she reached her spot. She had stumbled upon this place by accident, one day when she had run a little beyond here and turned back, she had tripped on a rock and fallen through the brush and landed here, painfully collecting an assortment of bruises and cuts on her arms, legs and stomach. When she had recovered, she found she was in a small glade where some water from the river had run off and flowed into a pool completely encompassed by the cover of the trees. Korra and Naga climbed onto the big flat rock at the top of the small waterfall.
"Phew!" Korra breathed. She put her hands on her head and caught her breath, then stretched again, and lied down on her back. Naga made her way down the rocks so she could reach the pool, and soon Korra heard the splash of her dog jumping into the water. For a moment, she contemplated joining her, but as her body temperature lowered she decided it was cool enough outside. So she resigned to lying there, her eyes drifted shut and the sounds of the forest sent sent her into a state of deep meditation.
It was Naga's low growl and soft bark that she heard first. She opened her eyes. "What is it girl?" She sat up, and the low rumble of an engine penetrated the peace of the forest. It drew closer quickly, and as she listened, Korra thought it sounded like a dirt bike… maybe two or three of them. She climbed up just enough that she could see the trail, and sure enough, a couple minutes later, three riders on dirt bikes zoomed past her, completely oblivious to her presence. When they were gone, Korra returned to her rock and sat down, Naga settled down beside her, and with her hand on her dog's head, Korra meditated about twenty minutes longer, before getting up to for the run back home.
She could see the grooves in the dirt where the dirt bikes had been, and after five minutes of running, she heard them coming back. The trail had begun to slop downwards but as she turned just to glance back to see if she could glimpse them, she lost her balance and tripped over her own legs. It was all she could do to yell before she face planted in the dirt. "FUCK!" she yelled, and on scraped knees and hands, she tried to get up, but she didn't move fast enough. The first dirt bike was over the hill, and the rider, surprised to see her was able to swerve just in time to miss her. A second later the second driver soared right over her head, but if Korra hadn't ducked, they would have caught her right in the face. The third biker was right behind the second one, and they clearly did not see Korra ahead of them until the very last minute. They had been trying to jump but saw they hadn't gotten enough momentum and would definitely hit her right on. So the rider with all their strength, leaped off the bike and thrust it away, and it crashed into the trees while they slammed right into Korra and the two of them fell head over heels all the way down to the bottom of the hill. Korra felt like she hit ever sharp rock on the trail, and when she stopped falling, her head crashed into, with finality, the hardest rock God ever placed on this earth, causing her ears to ring and her eyes to smart.
"OWWWWWW!" she gasped angrily. "WHAT THE FFFFFF-FUCK!"
The rider was fairly well armored up and wearing a helmet and so she knew they weren't as bad off as her. They were flat on their stomach and slowly trying to pull their self up into sitting.
"Why the HELL are you guys riding so hard on a fucking running trail?!" she yelled. "You could've fucking killed me- FUCK that hurt!"
The rider was panting, and struggling with their helmet. "I'm sorry-," Korra heard behind the face protector. "We were- fuck-," it was a woman's voice, and she was getting irritated with her helmet. She pulled off her gloves tossed them aggressively aside and tried again, and as it came off, she said, "We didn't know anyone would be out here this early." Long, shiny, black hair spilled like a waterfall over heaving shoulders. Clear green eyes filled with concern landed on her face and the woman quickly crawled over to her, grimacing a little at a bruise somewhere on her armored body. "Are you alright? I am so sorry!"
"I'm fine," Korra growled, though no matter how she moved, she couldn't help but grimace in pain and it showed on her angry face.
"No you're not- you're bleeding- oh God!" Cool, soft hands took a hold of her face. "Look at me, follow my finger, you may have a concussion."
"I don't have a fucking-," Two things happened next. The woman's companions arrived, having realized she was no longer following behind them, and Naga bounded out the trees and knocked the woman to the ground, bearing her teeth in her face.
"Get off of her!" One of the riders yelled. She removed her helmet and Korra saw she was perhaps slightly younger than the rider on the ground. She had short black hair, tan skin, and green eyes which flashed as she jumped off her bike and ran towards her trapped friend. She stopped when Naga snapped her jaws and growled at her. "Good dog," She said with her hands up. Naga showed her her teeth. She did not dare take another step forward. "Hey, call off your dog!" she ordered to Korra.
Korra growled in return but decided it would be best if Naga did not snap the woman's head off. "Naga!" she said shortly. Her dog returned to her and began to tenderly lick her face.
"Asami are you okay?"
"I'm fine." The woman named Asami said. The second rider helped her up and their friend on the last bike removed her helmet and walked over to them, a stoic expression on her face. "We need to get you to a hospital." Asami knelt down beside Korra, ignoring Naga's threatening growl.
"I told you I'm fine," but then the ringing sound returned to her ears and she rubbed her ear with the palm of her hand. "Fine," she repeated, and hit her ear harder when it didn't go away.
"Hey, hey can you hear me? Look at me! Opal do you have your phone with you?"
"No I left it in the truck."
"Zhu Li? Did you?"
"Already on it."
"Hey, hey!" The ringing in Korra's ears was getting worse and she could barely comprehend what was going on. She was getting dizzy, but she continued to try and stand while simultaneously smacking the woman's hand away.
"I'm fine, let me just…" she faltered, black dots invaded her vision. "I could walk it off!"
"Hey! Stay with me!"
"I was…" she was slipping. "This is nothing… I was in the war… let me… just… walk." The last thing she heard was Naga's wine, the last thing she knew, her head was resting in the woman called Asami's lap, and soft, pleading lips was the last thing she saw, before she fell into darkness.
…
The first thing she knew when she returned, was the smell. It was a smell she had grown to hate when she had been overseas. The smell of antiseptic. Of latex… and Lysol. For a full minute, she couldn't remember anything past the military, and her mind convinced her that she was still in the service, still at war, and Mako was lying in the cot next to her, groaning in pain. She remembered the mine… the dust, the ringing in her ears… the blood. She tried to move. It hurt. She tried to open her eyes. That hurt too, but less. The first thing she saw, bright fluorescent light. It hurt her head. She closed her eyes again. This hurt too much. She slipped back into darkness, hoping Mako was okay.
…
The first thing she knew when she returned once again, was that smell. Only now, it was less aggressive. She smelled sheets that had been power washed, and she felt them pulled up over her hips. She tried to move, and felt her hand make tentative contact with her forehead. Her whole entire body was sore. "Fuck…" she mumbled. She knew she was in a hospital. She tried to open her eyes. Slowly, a soft fluorescent light greeted her. She closed her eyes again, and swallowed, realizing she was thirsty. Her throat felt as if it was on fire. For a full minute, her memories floated around outside of her, and could barely remember her own name. Then, one by one, they returned, slowly at first, and then like a torrential wave they crashed back, and she remembered what had happened. "Ughh…" she groaned. She went on runs in the morning because it helped her relax. Not because she wanted to get plowed over by three psycho biker chicks and end up in the hospital reminiscent of her time spent across the ocean in a warzone.
Slowly, she pulled herself up. How did I get here? She wondered. And where the hell was her dog? A soft growl distracted her from her thoughts about her dog, and the pains of hunger caused her to wonder how long she had been out and when were they going to decide it was time to feed her.
As if on cue, the door to her hospital room opened. "Oh good, you're awake." Korra looked up and slowly recognized one of the women from the trail. What was her name? The woman was carrying a tray with a glass of water, a grilled cheese, and a fruit cup on it. She set it down in Korra's lap then stood back and pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. "Just as I thought." She continued to check Korra's pulse, and forehead. "Any dizziness?"
Korra frowned. "No."
"Good." She said. Her manner was peculiar. Stoic, very stoic, but not necessarily mean or condescending. "Here." She handed Korra the glass of water and she downed it thankfully.
"Where's my dog?" She asked, handing the glass back to the woman and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She picked up the grilled cheese and started wolfing it down.
"They couldn't get to you without shooting her with a tranquilizer. She's at the pound."
"WHAT?!"
"They know she's yours. Stay calm, you don't want to aggravate that." Korra was about to ask what, but a sharp pain in the back of her head alerted her to what it was.
"Ugh…" her fingers found the bandages over the cut and she pressed it gingerly. "Are you a doctor?"
"No. I'm a scientist. I am also a licensed nurse. Asami asked me to take care of you until you were ready to go."
"Asami, the one that ran me over." She practically inhaled the fruit cup then moved the tray onto the night stand.
"She did not run you over. You'd have been out for more than just a day if that had happened."
"I want my dog." Korra tossed the sheets aside and swung her legs over the side of the bed, though she regretted it almost instantly. "Ughhhh," she moaned again, her hand going to her head.
"It'd be in your best interest to rest for at least another day before you do that."
"I'm fine, I've gone through worse."
The woman shrugged indifferently. "You did mention you were in the war."
Korra grimaced. She hated talking about that and was annoyed with herself for spilling about it. She stood, more slowly this time. "I'm fine. I need my dog."
"I really don't recommend you leaving right now."
"You gonna stop me?"
She shrugged again. "Legally I can't."
"Well then."
…
The hospital she had been taken to was about a thirty minute walk from her house. Once outside, Korra spotted the bus stop close to the entrance and contemplated waiting for it before she decided that stretching her sore limbs would be better for her recovery.
"Hey!" There was a far off yell in the parking lot, and Korra ignored it at first, not expecting it to be aimed at her. A moment later, she heard it again followed by a-, "You're up! I'm so glad! How are you feeling?"
The voice was right behind her and she turned and recognized the woman who had crashed into her. Immediately, Korra's face furrowed into a scowl. "I could sue you." She said angrily.
"I took care of all your hospital bills," the woman said quickly. "And your dog is safe, and being treated very well, I personally made sure of it. I can take you to pick her up if you want."
"No thank you." Korra muttered and turned away again.
"Look, I'm sorry," the woman ran to fall in stride with her. "Please." She stood in front of her so couldn't go any further. Korra seethed for a moment, and refused to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry. I am really, really sorry. We shouldn't have been biking on that trail. It was dangerous, and reckless, and I am so very lucky that you weren't hurt more than you were." Out of the corner of her eye, Korra saw the woman heave a sigh. "Please. Let me make it up to you. At least let me take you to pick up your dog."
Korra shuffled her feet and reluctantly met those imploring eyes. "What, did you come here on a fucking Harley?"
Those lips turned up into a smile. "No, I came here in a fucking crossover." She started towards the parking lot. Korra rolled her eyes, but followed her, suddenly too tired to successfully convince herself that more exercise was really what she needed. The woman turned to her. "I'm Asami by the way. What's your name?"
"Korra."
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