Chapter 7: Reckoning

The shrieks of the undead reverberated around the pitch-black room. Drowning out Hakumi's cries. She was surrounded. No escape. All around her she heard the creak-crack of mangled bones and the ravenous chomping of teeth. The stench of death was overwhelming. Choking the life out of her. She closed her eyes and for a moment time seemed to stop. The bloodcurdling cries faded away and she was alone. She exhaled. Her senses adjusting to the darkness. The moment passed and she opened her eyes, only now she saw everything clearly.

She'd spent most of her life in the North Pole so she was well used to darkness. And surviving. From the corner of her vision, Hakumi spotted the creature as it lunged at her. She tumbled backwards into a puddle and felt the cold fetid water soak her legs. That sudden jolt of cold snapped her out of her terrified stupor and her survival instincts took over

The creature lunged again its sharp fangs chomping at her throat. But this time Hakumi wipped her arms forward and a tendril of water impaled the creature through its skull, stopping it dead in its tracks. The other creatures snarled and with a deafening shriek they all charged at her. Her body was trembling but her mind was strangely focused. Her fear replaced by a singular drive—to live.

Hakumi whipped her arms to the left and the water tendrils swept the aside the first wave. She whipped to the right and the second wave was battered away as well. Then with a deep breath she exhaled and thrust her arms forward simultaneously, sending a dozen ice shards flying. They found their marks.

The agonized screams of the undead rang out in the chamber. Dark blood oozed out of the mangled corpses, splattering loudly on the metallic floor. The creatures that were still alive staggered backwards. Clutching at the gaping wounds in their body, trying to remove the frozen shards locking their bodies in place. Others just croaked feebly as whatever held them together broke apart and they slumped into a pathetic heap on the floor.

Hakumi was stunned, she had never used her bending to kill.

They're already dead, she told herself, and there was no other way. She took another deep breath and let loose another blast of ice shards. Further cries erupted throughout the room. Shambling corpses slumping to the ground. Groans interspersed with the sounds of bones breaking, flesh tearing, and body parts thumping onto the metallic floor.

With a huge gap in the undead horde, Hakumi at last caught sight of the door. It was only a few steps to her left. She inhaled sharply and prepared to bend once more. This time, however, a burst of flames came scorching right at her face, evaporating the water before it had a chance to freeze, and scorching her outstretched arm and right leg.

Hakumi fell backwards into the puddle, crying out in pain. The cold water doing little to ease the burning. Her momentary rush of courage evaporated and she was helpless once more. The undead who staggered towards her with excitement. Their rotten faces made even more horrid by their fresh wounds. Protruding bones, gushing blood, and mottled flesh all melted together into a symphony of gore.

"Please." Hakumi whimpered, clutching her wounded arm. Tears gushing out. "Please…please." Her voice shuddered.

The creatures ignored her please. Closing the gap. Their decaying mouths chomping in anticipation. Salivating with anticipation at the feast they would enjoy.

One of the creatures pushed ahead and lunged at her, falling just short but managing to grab a hold of her leg. She desperately kicked at it as it lashed out, jaws chomping empty air. The others rushed forward to join in. And she shrieked in terror. Through the darkness, Hakumi saw a flash of light and felt a scorching heat fly past her face. Then all around her the cries of the undead rang out—cries of pain. Then she felt something grab hold of her sleeve and pull.

"Get…up…" A voice croaked out.

She turned her head to see Daris, his face half hidden by the shadows.

"Up..now!" He hissed, pulling her to her feet and shoving her towards the door. "Go. Go!"

She stumbled towards the door. Two more creatures lunged at her, but another blast sent them reeling. Hakumi grabbed hold of the watertight lever with her good hand and pressed down. At first the door didn't budge, but she pressed down again with all her remaining strength and it at last gave way. Hakumi ran out into the corridor—into the light. And only then did she look back behind her.

"Captain?" She shouted. Through the darkness she saw him staring back at her, his face deathly white, skin decomposing, though his eyes were no longer dead. Instead, they seemed strangely warm—at peace. For the first time ever, she saw a hint of a smile on lips. And he nodded his head forward.

Go.

With tears in her eyes, she pushed the door shut. In the fading light, she saw the remaining creatures fall upon Daris. And tear him apart.

Rui stepped out of the room quietly. He scanned the darkness for any sign of movement before lighting a small flame and proceeding into the corridor. The right side of his tunic was singed and part of his right upper leg was bandaged tightly, but his wounds were minor overall. He'd live. Unlike the Sergeant. He shook his head in distaste.

Damn fool, he thought. But he'd left Rui no other choice. Silent Wave was too important to be jeopardized by a dumb grunt's sensibilities. Especially not now. Not when he was so close.

The files he'd uncovered revealed so much about the project. Rui was no scientist, but even so he could grasp what they'd been doing here. It was part genius and part madness—in a way all great inventions were. Rui patted the inner lining of his jacket where had stashed the files and smiled. If he could get these back to the Fire Nation, back to Fire Nation Intelligence division, then their top minds could surely reverse engineer the process. There was just one last component needed. One thing that would ensure his rise to greatness. But it was located on the opposite end of the station. And then…then he would still be stuck on this remote outpost with no way out.

Rui grimaced. As always, even when things seemed to be going his way some obstacle would inevitably present itself. It had been that way ever since he began joined the Fire Nation intelligence. He'd been top of his class at the Academy and he rose quickly through the ranks. But one failed mission, through no fault of his own, and his entire career was obliterated. He'd been stripped of his rank and forced to take a lowly position as a fat ambassador's lackey. Tending to his every whim while scouring tidbits of rumors like a common kitchen maid.

He spat in disgust. Well, soon his disgrace would be over. Silent Wave would be his ticket to redemption…and more. A prize like that would guarantee him a post of his choosing. He would be a hero and more importantly, the Fire Nation would have the greatest weapon in the wars to come.

Rui adjusted the bandage on his arm and walked quietly way through the corridor, glancing around carefully. Silence hung heavy in the air. Rui could feel the familiar tension. They were out there. He was sure of it. The steady scent of decay wafted through the corridor. Growing thicker the further he went. His mind screamed Danger and he knew he had to get out. He had to run or he'd end up like the others.

Rui pushed those warnings aside. He had to press on. Rui wrenched open a watertight door and winced when it made a loud audible creek. He quickly extinguished his flame and slunk out of sight behind it. Holding his breath and listening intently for any sign of movement. His heart pounded in his ears, but he forced himself to focus.

Nothing. Rui let out a quick sigh of relief. He began to stand up, when suddenly he heard it.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The corridor around him began to tremble violently. Dust and debris trickled down from the ceilings. The vibrations grew steadily stronger—and closer. Rui squinted into the darkness and felt his heart leap into his throat when he saw it.

There, at the far end of the corridor, making its way towards him was a creature of monstrous size. By his estimate, the thing was more than twice his height. And equally wide.

As it drew closer, Rui began to make it out more clearly, It wasn't human—or perhaps it had once had been. The thing was a twisted abomination. Its right arm gigantic and clawed. Its skin, if it could even be called that, was covered in scales and protruding bits of bone. And the stench…the stench of decay it brought with it was unbearable.

Rui covered his mouth, practically gagging. He knew that he could not hope to fight against it. And just as that realization dawned on him, he heard a chorus of familiar cries. Only they were coming from behind. The walls seemed to come alive. Twisting and writhing as scores of creatures, like maggots, began to burst through the cracks and seams.

There was no time to think. He pulled the door shut and ran as fast as he could.

Toph struggled to her feet. Her body was badly bruised and she was still in shock. Earthbenders these things were Earthbenders. But how?

Dozens of creatures jumped from the ceiling, joining the growing horde of their compatriots below. The screeches of the undead filled the room. Their menacing gaze fixated on their prey. Soon, soon the flesh would be theirs.

"Toph." Sokka helped her up, "Are you ok? What was that?"

"They're earthbenders." Toph muttered and Sokka's eyes widened, he turned back and realized the tattered green color of their robes.

"Earthbenders, here? How in the—"

"Look out!" Toph raised her arms just in time to deflect a shard of metal. She saw the large block hurtling just behind it and stopped it in mid-air. With a single punch she split it into a dozen smaller rocks and hurtled them individually into the horde of undead.

A few of them hit their marks, obliterating the corpses, but the others were bent aside by the earthbenders. And they renewed their assault, sending metal shards and rods at them. Toph bended the remaining concrete around her and formed a large shield, deflecting their attack.

"This isn't good." Toph said, her breathing labored, "You got any ideas smart guy?"

Sokka looked around them for some way to escape. But there was nothing. The door they came through was now swarming with creatures, the ceiling too, and there appeared to be no other doorways. No other way in or out.

"I think we're goanna have to fight them off."

Toph scoffed, "Some genius you are."

A fresh barrage of metal came hurtling at them from both sides. Toph crossed her arms and pulled them apart, splitting the concrete into two shields and stopping the attack. At the same time, Sokka unholstered his boomerang and in the dim light of his lantern he spotted a target. He pulled back his arm and let it fly. The boomerang looped through the air and just as one of the earthbenders raised his arms to attack it sliced through his neck from behind, cleaving his head off.

A wave of creatures charged at Toph, while she was busy with the earthbenders. Sokka saw the attack and charged them before they could close in. He cut down two of them with his sword. Then, catching his boomerang as it rebounded, he hurtled it into their midst, cutting off one of their heads and two of their arms. From there, he decapitated them with ease, before falling back.

By now the horded of creatures had them surrounded. There were close to fifty of them, with more pouring in by the minute. There wasn't any space left for them to move. Sokka's limbs were beginning to feel heavy. The exhaustion of nonstop running and fighting was finally taking its toll. Toph was even worse off, still bleeding from her wounds, and only was barely managing to hold off the earthbenders. It was over. Sokka knew it. But he couldn't let it end like this. He couldn't let her die. Not again. He had to do something. He had to try.

Sokka dropped his sword and Toph turned to him in shock.

"What are you doing?"

Sokka stepped forward, towards the machine. The creatures snarled and shrieked and dashed towards him.

"Sokka, stop." Toph grabbed his hand to pull him back, but he pushed her away.

"Yue!" He shouted. "I know you're here. Show yourself!"

The undead began to lunge, but suddenly stopped in their tracks. Everything fell silent, except for the humming of the engine.

"Yue." Sokka looked around. The rotting faces of the undead staring back him. He walked forward and the horde gave way, opening up a lane to the machine that he stepped through. Toph ran to catch up, but the horde closed up again, cutting her off.

Sokka felt his heart pounding in his chest as he walked. He could feel the undead eyes on him. Eager to tear into him at any moment. Their unusual stillness only added to his terror. He knew this was the end.

Sokka reached the engine and took a deep breath. "Yue?" He said, almost whispering.

The humming of the engine steadily grew louder. All the pipes and valves were pulsating with energy and the whole station began to shake. A rumbling sound came from inside the machine and as Sokka raised his head to look for the source an arm burst out from the metal and grabbed him by the throat.

A skeletal aberration emerged from the machine, its body mangled beyond all recognition except for the voice. That voice that haunted Sokka's nightmares. The voice he knew all too well.

"You." It croaked. "You failed me, Sokka. You failed me!"

"Y-yue." He struggled. "I'm…sorry. I…"

"Sokka!" Toph cried out and bent up a metal rod, but the earthbenders were quicker. And in an instant, they had her pinned to the ground with slabs of metal around her arms, legs, and torso.

"You…" The corpse's face snarled. "You betrayed me. You betrayed our love. You said you'd always be by my side. You said you'd never leave me!"

"Yue I didn't…" Sokka gasped for air. "Please." But the corpse ignored his cries.

"I'll never let you go. Never. Never. Never!"