Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter seven of "Gone in the Dark." The next chapter will have some action. Nekx will be introduced as well. Stay tuned for chapter eight.
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Chapter 7: Getting Through
A mother viperwolf lay near a bush in a less dense area of the rainforest five minutes later. She was watching two of her pups play. Another was curled up next to her asleep. These viperwolves were slightly less than half the size of the mainland ones. They were light blue with splotches of dark blue here and there. White spots decorated their stomachs. The tips of their noses contained indentions in them.
The first pup swiped its paw at the second, missing when it moved off to the side. It was pounced on by the other. The third pup let out a long yawn and snuggled closer to its mother. She looked over at it and licked it on top of its head. She turned back to the other pups. She rubbed her face with her front paw three times.
The pups wrestled around, yelping playfully. They broke apart and encircled, neither one taking its eyes off the other. The first pup jumped at the second, only to collide with the ground when it ducked down. It turned around to face its sibling with an annoyed growl. The other pup stood tall and proud, its tongue hanging out. Their mother barked to them, causing the third pup to wake up.
Both pups ran to their mother and nuzzled her affectionately. The viperwolf licked each of them behind their ears. The third pup stood up to stretch its back. It shook the sleep from its body and approached its mother. It got a lick on the nose and a nuzzle on the cheek from her. Its siblings jumped on it, and they started to play around. The viperwolf watched them run away.
The pups skidded to a halt at the sound of approaching footsteps. Their mother barked three times, and they ran off into the undergrowth. Just then, Jake, Neytiri, and Kuai came out from behind a tree. They looked around at a steady pace. The wind began to pick up a little bit. It went through everyone's hair, causing it to go back somewhat. They heard chittering and looked up to see three prolemurises leaping across vines above them.
The prolemurises looked down at the trio for a second before continuing on their way. They were a little over half the size of the mainland ones. They were dark green above and light green below. White stripes could be seen along their sides starting from their necks and ending just below the middles of their backs. The tips of their ears had black on them.
Jake, Neytiri, and Kuai spotted two more prolemurises climbing onto a branch. The prolemurises pulled away bark, revealing ants. They picked up three each and popped them into their mouths. They proceeded to chew. Jake, Neytiri, and Kuai came to a clearing. They could see the sun was more than halfway covered by one of Polyphemus's moons. They shifted their attention to the path in front of them.
"It won't be much longer before the sky darkens completely," Jake whispered and swallowed hard.
"That will make it easier for our enemies to ambush us and the others," Neytiri mumbled, hints of fear lining her voice.
"The People say an eclipse is often a sign of danger," Kuai said, her body shaking a tiny bit.
"I remember watching Disney's Fantasia when I was a little boy. The 'Rite of Spring' section featured an eclipse right after the dinosaurs went extinct. As the moon moved over the sun, the ground started shaking violently. It wiped away the dinosaur bones. Then a storm brought horrible winds that caused water to come in. Everything was flooded. Once the eclipse was complete, Earth was shown to be mostly covered by water," Jake explained.
"I remember when you showed me a CD player at Hell's Gate, Jake. You put in a burned CD that contained 'The Rite of Spring.' You turned it on. The music was amazing. Some parts were very intense," Neytiri added.
Kuai groaned in a soft manner. "Hearing you two talk about the past is helping me keep my mind off our enemies and the pain I am feeling from my wounds."
"That is good," Jake whispered in gentleness. "Those intense parts could be found during Tyrannosaurus versus Stegosaurus, the dinosaur extinction, and the earthquake in Fantasia. Fantasia is the name of a magical land in The Neverending Story."
"You mean that movie where Fantasia was destroyed by an entity known as The Nothing?" Kuai asked.
"That's right. My father once told me every child who read 'The Neverending Story' gave the Childlike Empress a new name after he or she completed the journey to save Fantasia. If I had been a reader, I would have called her Moana. That is the Polynesian word for ocean," Jake admitted.
"That is a beautiful name," Kuai commented in a soft way.
Neytiri nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is."
Jake twitched his ears. "The oceans are so full of life here. They are pristine and clean. Earth's oceans are nearly devoid of life. They are dirty and polluted. Paul Watson once said humans would die if the oceans did. He did a lot of shitty stuff in the name of animal protection, but those words were very true. Humanity hasn't become extinct yet, but it will happen."
"Extinction does not happen overnight," Kuai responded, sighing heavily. "It gradually happens. It can be centuries before it comes."
Jake, Neytiri, and Kuai halted themselves when two viperwolves ran out in front of them. The duo went to a nearby tree. They went into a hole in the trunk. They turned around to poke their heads out. The trio shook their heads in disbelief.
"Animals just can't stop running out in front of us," Jake grumbled, anger lining his voice.
"I have no doubt many animals are trying to find places to hide once the eclipse is complete," Neytiri said as she, her mate, and her friend resumed walking.
"Pandora has eclipses almost every day. Earth has them once in a while," Jake commented truthfully.
"When a world has three moons in its sky at any time of the day, it is almost impossible not to have an eclipse," Kuai pointed out.
"I like how a ring of fire seems to appear when an eclipse occurs," Jake said in amazement. He cleared his throat "It is almost as if the sun lit the outer part of the moon on fire. It looks really beautiful."
"It sure does," Kuai agreed.
"Mm-hmm," Neytiri added. "Of course, a moon cannot be lit on fire by a sun."
"No, it can't," Jake commented with a nod. "Solar flares can knock out radio communication, but they cannot set anything on fire."
"The Great Forest Fire destroyed much of the eastern part of Omaticaya territory many generations ago," Neytiri said, sniffling. "The area was mired in months of drought along with much of the rainforest in neighboring territories. A lightning bolt struck a tree. It caught on fire and fell down. It spread quickly due to strong wind. Piru and Sula were forced to evacuate the clan from Old Hometree because it was coming their way. They went to the Tree of Souls for safety. Luckily, the wind shifted and stopped the spread. The fire came within less than a mile of Old Hometree. Rain fell not long after. It put the fire out."
"Destruction brings sadness, but it also brings new life," Kuai said, blinking three times.
"Life returned to that area of the forest slowly after Piru and Sula took the Omaticaya back to Old Hometree," Neytiri whispered and pressed her lips together. "They were happy their home had not been touched by even a tiny ember."
"If the undergrowth is extremely dry and the wind strong, a small forest fire can become massive in a short amount of time," Jake muttered fearfully. "I hope a forest fire never strikes our old home in our lifetime, Neytiri."
"I don't either, Jake, but you never know what could happen. We must always expect the unexpected," Neytiri said, her voice showing much seriousness.
"So true," Jake replied and cleared his throat. "So true."
Jake, Neytiri, and Kuai turned toward the sky. They could see the sun was now more than halfway covered by the moon. They listened to the sound of birds chirping and viperwolves growling. Just then, static came over the mics. Jake touched his throat, as did Neytiri.
"Jake, Neytiri, can you hear me?" the first woman called.
"This is Jake," Jake said, coming to a stop along with Neytiri and Kuai. He ran his tongue all over the inside of his mouth twice. "Have you found any other members of the hunting party?"
"Unfortunately, we have not found anyone at all," the second woman admitted and sighed in relief. "We will continue to search. What about you? Did you find anyone?"
"We found Kuai alive, but she was attacked and injured by Nekx," Neytiri responded while touching her throat. She let out a soft shudder. "Jona was killed by one of his comrades."
"Neytiri and I are heading to the beach with her. Be careful as you continue your search," Jake warned sternly.
"Yes, sir," the first woman said.
"Will do," the second woman added. "Over and out."
Jake took his hand off his throat as his mic crackled with static. He scratched the back of his neck before placing his hand on his gun. Static came over his and Neytiri's mics again. He touched his throat, as Neytiri with hers.
"Jake, Neytiri, are you there?" the first man shouted.
"This is Neytiri here," Neytiri responded and suppressed a yawn. She emitted a sharp exhale. "Did you find anyone?"
"We hate to tell you this, but we have not found anyone on this island," the second man said. "We will not stop the search."
"Have you found anyone?" the third man asked in a hopeful voice. "Please, say you have."
"We did find someone," Jake admitted, looking at Kuai. "It is Kuai. She is alive and was injured by Nekx. One of his comrades killed Jona. We are on our way to the beach."
"Be careful on your search," Neytiri added in sternness.
"Yes, ma'am," the first man responded.
"You bet we will," the second man added and snorted.
"Oh, yes," the third man agreed with a chuckle. "Over and out."
Jake and Neytiri removed their hands from their throats as static crackled over their mics. They and Kuai looked at each other. Kuai lowered her ears, a tear falling down her cheek.
"I hope the rest of my hunting party are okay," Kuai said uncertainly.
"It is quite possible your friends were injured and taken to Kia for medical treatment," Neytiri suggested.
Kuai swallowed hard. "Either that or—"
Jake shook his head. "We can't worry about the possibility they could be dead. We need to get you off this island."
Jake, Neytiri, and Kuai proceeded to walk once more. Their ears twitched as their tails swung up and down. Three hexapedes ran behind them, but they did not see them.