JOURNAL
Notes
Log Entry 007
USER005: I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I owe him my life, a debt he considers repaid (as if I ever could). Never mind that right now. It's just that ...So'lek doesn't really understand.
You see, Teylan doesn't mind, and Ri'nela? She's always caught between him (Teylan, I mean) and Nor. But with Nor, there's this intelligent look in his eyes, like he knows more than he lets on. Like he's capable of reading my mind. It's scary.
Unlike Nor, I lack the courage to meet the Na'vi Warrior's eyes. But Nor, he does. Of course, he does. Because Nor is strong, fierce, and unafraid.
The Na'vi Warrior speaks and I ask myself, 'What things have we to leave behind?'. It's Nor's scoff though, that makes my thoughts obvious, I now realize.
Really, is it all that surprising? Everything we use is owned by RDA. It's all "TAP property". Our clothes. Our shoes. Our hair-ties, even. When it comes to style, Mercer is always more generous with scissors. This flimsy tablet's actively in use only because he green-lights it. Because it's Human. Man-made technology. Crazy, that this thing survived the past sixteen years somehow, sleeping, just like me.
Sixteen years.
SIXTEEN.
It just can't be real. It can't have been that long. Everything feels the same. I feel the same because we're still in class and sirens are ringing in my head. I see Mercer walking out of the door. In a few minutes Alma will barge in and promise us that everything will be fine. But will it? I'm not so sure.
"You're just going to sleep for a little while. It won't be long, okay?" She tries to put me at ease, but then her tone changes. "You made it."
I... wait, what?
I press my hands against the glass but all I feel instead are Alma's on mine. I feel the pressure of her warmth. I feel her worry. She sounds sad and happy at the same time, somehow. I didn't think it possible.
"I thought I lost you." She breathes. "All of you."
My throat's suddenly dry. "What?"
"You've been asleep for a while. A long, long while."
My eyes dart in her direction. What's a long while, I want to ask. I never get a chance to. Neither does Alma, to elaborate.
Still blurry, still out of focus, my vision is met with a sight I couldn't predict in my wildest dreams.
A Na'vi Warrior. It must be.
"I See you."
In this small room I barely recognize, this stranger takes up all the space.
"Must you prod at them like this?" He barks. His voice is deep, with an edge to it. Like sharp cold stone. His eyes are colder. "If they can walk, they can walk."
Alma is still squeezing my hands. Suddenly, I'm embarrassed for some reason.
Then, he says it. "The rest we have to leave."
And I'm left asking myself, 'What things have we to leave behind?'
Struggling to put the pieces together, I barely register a scoff. I ...don't understand. Nothing seems to make sense. Not yet. Eventually I will muster the courage to replay the Audio Log. But right now? Mercer and Harding is all I can think of. Them, and... my friends.
I turn to Alma and speak up. I have to. "But the RDA left. Didn't they? And you left us here."
It's the Na'vi Warrior who replies, overwhelming in his calm vocal depth. "The Sky People have returned, Sarentu."
I should be worried about the Humans, but all I can focus on is this unexpected, uh ...pet-name? "Sarentu… No one had ever called me that."
He takes a step in my direction. His arms spread, with confidence and strength.
"That is your clan. And a mighty one at that." He says. "We thought you were lost to this world, but this dreamwalker thought to lock you up in a box instead."
Hold on, a… dreamwalker? How is this possible? My eyes dart to Alma but instead she rushes to appease my confusion with a soft look.
"I'll explain when we get back. But for now, take it easy. Your body is still waking up."
I hesitate. I don't know how to phrase my next question. The most important one. "Did we… Did everyone make it?"
A soothing voice chips-in. "I'm here." Ri'nela. "We're safe."
We?
I look around the room hastily only to find myself faced with a set of determined, patient eyes. The figure saunters in my direction and I take in a breath. My lungs are filled with... relief.
...Nor. It's Nor.
"We're all getting out." He promises. Our eyes meet. "Together."
I believe him.
