Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter twenty-three of "Gone in the Dark." This chapter features the return of Max and Mo'at. I felt it was time to bring them back after they had not appear for a while. I have added some details about events that occurred in Avatar: The High Ground. The comic series was meant to be Avatar: The Way of Water, but James Cameron discarded the script because he felt it did not work with what he wanted. He decided to adapt it as a prequel to the sequel. It has information about Lo'ak's Iknimaya, the McCosker family's adoption of Spider, and Neytiri's attitude toward Spider. Stay tuned for chapter twenty-four.
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Chapter 23: Keeping Watch/On the Pier
Max stared at the heart monitor in the marui Keye'txon was staying in. He made a small adjustment to the IV bag. He shifted his attention to him, seeing his chest rise and fall with every breath. He slipped his hands inside his pockets before pressing his lips together. Ronal and Mo'at stood near him. The trio listened to the steady beeps.
"It's good Keye'txon is sleeping peacefully now," Max said solemnly.
"It sure is," Ronal agreed. "I have seen infected wounds up close many times. His was the worst I have ever seen in my life."
"I have seen wounds even more infected than that," Mo'at said, shaking her head and emitting a heavy sigh. "Sepsis set in almost all of them. Several patients died from septic shock."
"I am sure the wounds went untreated for quite some time," Ronal commented, glancing at the former tsahik.
"Oh, they did," Mo'at admitted and went over to the table. She picked up a penicillin-filled bottle. "This medicine was a miracle for the People. It has saved so many lives."
Max glanced at her along with Ronal. "Unfortunately, some people are allergic to penicillin. We have to use other types of antibiotics to counteract infections. They fight sepsis just as well as it does."
"We cannot assume something won't work unless we try it. We were not sure if Lauchi would develop a bad reaction to the penicillin, but we were willing to do anything to save her. We tried it. It worked," Ronal pointed out matter-of-factly.
"Whenever an infected wound has a red line extending from it, that means lymphangitis has set in. Cellulitis can result from this. That can lead to sepsis," Max said seriously.
"That is why it is important to act quickly," Ronal commented.
"I know," Mo'at said, putting the bottle down. She glanced at her friends and clasped her hands together. "It was not easy for me to leave the Omaticaya, but I wanted to join my family out here. I did not care if I was not adapted to the environment. My family was more important than anything else."
Ronal formed a small smile on her face. "You've done well in adapting to this environment. You were quite surprised when I showed you the Spirit Tree. You said it reminded you of the Tree of Souls."
Mo'at nodded in agreement. "It is nice to have a familiar aspect of home, even if that area does not look quite the same."
Just then, Nekx walked into the marui. Max, Mo'at, and Ronal looked toward him. He cleared his throat before rubbing it.
"Hi there," Nekx greeted in a soft voice.
"What brings you here, Nekx?" Max asked in much curiosity.
"I wanted to see how Keye'txon is doing," Nekx responded, his ears swiveling three times.
"He is doing as well as he can," Max said, crossing his arms. He observed the warrior coming to the tsahik's side. "We are confident he will not have a bad reaction to the penicillin."
"It is good to be confident," Nekx whispered with a slow nod. "An important rule on the battlefield is you never become overconfident. The enemy can take advantage of that and use it against you."
"All warriors know that rule well," Mo'at commented. "By the way, has your bandage been changed recently?"
"No," Nekx replied while shaking his head.
"Come over to the cot, and sit down. I will change it for you," Mo'at said as she grabbed a bandage and a bowl of ointment.
"Okay," Nekx murmured. "Thank you."
Nekx headed over to the second cot and seated himself. He folded his hands and laid them in his lap. Mo'at came over to him and sat down beside him. She laid the bowl and bandage down. She untied his and proceeded to unwrap it. He pressed his lips together as Ronal turned around. Max joined the tsahik's side.
"Max, how long have you been a scientist?" Nekx wondered.
"I've been a scientist for more than thirty years. I was one of the original members of Grace's team. I acted as a mentor to her in more ways than one, though I was her subordinate," Max explained.
"Have you ever thought of having your own dreamwalker body?" Nekx commented.
"Not at all," Max admitted with a shake of his head. "I am more interested in keeping tabs on the other avatar drivers, especially the new ones. I was scared Jake would hurt himself when he attempted to move around because he was not used to his avatar body."
"Who is monitoring the avatar drivers at your camp while you are here assisting with medical care?" Nekx whispered.
"His name is Jerry Coleman. He was an RDA soldier who decided to deflect to the Na'vi," Mo'at responded in a gentle voice. "Max contacts him when he has to go back to High Camp for more medical supplies."
"I see," Nekx said and rubbed his nose. "Do you miss being in the forest, Mo'at?"
"I do sometimes," Mo'at admitted. "I learned a long time ago that home wasn't the place you lived in. It was where the heart was meant to be. My heart belonged with my family. I needed to be with them."
"Oh," Nekx said.
"Ronal told me about the deaths of your mate and son," Mo'at said as she finished the unwrapping. She laid the bandage aside and gave him a sympathetic look. "I am really sorry."
"Thank you," Nekx said in a grateful voice. "I ran into Lo'ak while he was on his way to the beach earlier. We talked a little bit. He mentioned his parents lost twins to premature birth. I am sorry. I had no idea that happened."
"Thank you. Neytiri went into labor of all a sudden. She delivered the twins without much trouble, but they never stood a chance. I warned her that she may never be able to get pregnant again. She was devastated by this revelation, but she accepted it," Mo'at explained.
"It is not easy to accept bad news," Nekx answered and rubbed his throat.
Mo'at picked up the bowl and proceeded to apply the ointment. She couldn't help but smile. Ronal put her hands behind her back. Max mimicked her movements with his. Nekx crossed his left ankle over his right one.
"Your wound is looking pretty well," Mo'at said softly.
"That is good," Nekx whispered, his voice showing relief. "I am sure the stitches will be taken out in a few days."
Mo'at licked her lips. "They should be. I heard you offered to help change a Metkayina's bandages. That was nice of you."
"I might as well make myself useful around here. After all, you guys need all the help you can get," Nekx pointed out honestly.
"Of course," Max replied in much warmth.
"Max, I was wondering. Do you ever get a crick in your neck from looking up at us so much?" Nekx asked curiously.
"I have gotten a sore neck plenty of times, but it is necessary to look up in order to talk to a Na'vi. With medical care, it doesn't apply as much," Max admitted.
Ronal blinked twice. "No, it does not."
"There is more to medical care than just applying medicine, doing surgery, giving stitches, and wrapping bandages," Mo'at said, laying the bowl aside. She grabbed the bandage and proceeded to wrap it around the wound. "It is also about showing the patient kindness."
"Sometimes, I wonder what might have been if Reva and Rami had never died. I would have been would have been preparing him to tame a tsurak. I would have been pushing him a bit. My father was like that when he was training me," Nekx explained.
Max bit his lip. "Pushing hard in training can motivate a person, but it can burn them out if they are taught resting is a sin."
Nekx nodded in agreement. "All of us have limits on what we can do. There is still always room for improvement."
Mo'at finished wrapping the bandage and tied a knot in it. She proceeded to talk about Neteyam's birth.
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Tuktiery slept on her side on the floor in the Sully marui. She was covered by a blanket from the chest down. She had her head laying on a pillow. She grabbed the hem of the blanket and pulled it up to her shoulder. She let out a long yawn. She smacked her lips while pulling it closer to her. Her tail moved a tiny bit, and she sighed in much content.
Spider watched the young girl from the doorway. He was leaned against the side with his shoulder and head on it. He had his arms crossed. He tapped his foot three times. He walked out to the pier, where Kiri was sitting with her feet in the water. He came to her side and seated himself. He put his feet in the water. He moved his legs back and forth.
"How is Tuk?" she asked.
"She is still sleeping like a baby," he replied. "I don't think she will be waking up for a while."
"She didn't do much today, but she was still tired. Wars tend to wear people out, even when they aren't active," Kiri said, kicking up water.
"I remember Lo'ak's joke about putting an air mattress on the ground for Dad to fall on and be asleep the second he was there during the guerilla campaign. It was pretty funny," Spider said, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle a snicker.
"It sure was," Kiri agreed. "It is because of him we learned Quaritch and his recom squad were hunting us. Sometimes, it is good to break rules."
"The law that cannot be broken can surely be bent. We learned that from the Archmage in Gargoyles. Dad saw that cartoon when he was a kid. He said it helped him pass his test on Macbeth in history class," Spider pointed out. "Shakespeare's Macbeth painted him as a tyrant. The real Macbeth was actually a good man who ruled his kingdom with dignity and justice."
"Human history is so fascinating. There are many horrible moments in it, but there are also many wonderful moments in it," Kiri commented, her tail twitching.
"Dad had us watch videos of the 1991 Andover, Kansas tornado at Hell's Gate when we were younger. We were astounded at how famous it was. It was the most recorded F5 tornado recorded up to that point. It is most well known for hitting the McConnell Airforce Base while it was on its way to Andover," Spider said.
"I imagine the families were scared out of their wits when the tornado tore through the base. It entered as an F3. It left as an F5. That shows how tornadoes can intensify in a matter of moments," Kiri murmured, hints of fear showing in her voice.
"Tornadoes are not very common on Pandora, but they do occur. Mom said the plains are often hit by them. The clans know to avoid areas where they are most frequent," Spider said, drawing a circle in midair with his finger.
"Cyclones occasionally whip up tornadoes. Tonowari and Ronal recall seeing a waterspout during a rather weak cyclone that hit the village when they were children. It was far out to sea, but that did not mean it wasn't dangerous," Kiri explained in a low but firm voice.
"Tornadoes have the most violent winds in the universe," Spider mumbled, his body shaking somewhat. "No other storm has winds that go up to three hundred miles per hour. The strongest tornado was the 1999 Moore tornado. Its winds reached three hundred and one miles per hour. Some sources say they went as high as three hundred and eighteen miles per hour."
"That wind could rip the skin right off your bones," Kiri said, her breathing turning to shudders. "The most dangerous part of tornadoes is not even the wind. It is the debris hitting you from all directions."
Spider and Kiri focused on the sky. They could see three comets shooting through it. They spotted a familiar-looking star. He pointed his finger at it, his face showing much awe.
"Earth is right there, Kiri," he whispered.
"I see it," she said and sighed heavily. "I can't imagine living on a world where you can't breathe the air easily or without plants and animals to observe and interact with."
"Dad said he told Eywa there was no green on Earth anymore. That meant very few unspoiled wildernesses still existed. Humanity killed their mother. They aim to do the same here," Spider mumbled, his voice showing much sadness.
"It absolutely sucks," Kiri grumbled in anger.
He huffed while touching the back of his neck. "Totally. We are doing everything we can to keep humanity at bay."
"We're not just fighting humans. We are fighting Na'vi too. It is possible some clans could ally themselves with humans if they can get something out of it," Kiri said fearfully.
"Like the Ash People," Spider commented, swallowing hard.
"Exactly," Kiri responded and shuddered in a loud way. "Their aggression would be beneficial to humanity's cause."
"They are experts at raiding villages. They could definitely help get the recoms food and medical supplies since the latter have to behave like Na'vi now," Spider pointed out.
She tensed a bit. "I pray they never come here."
Kiri looked down at the water, as did Spider. They could see fish swimming around her feet. They were amazed at how brightly the fish glowed compared to the rest of the surrounding area.
"It's pretty cool how animals and plants gravitate toward you, Kiri," Spider said, a small smile forming on his face.
"Dad called me an odd one of a child when I tamed Tahni by asking her to be my friend instead of using an ikran catcher," Kiri murmured. "Unfortunately, she was shot dead by soldiers after you freed Lo'ak, Tuk, and me when Nash took us hostage and imprisoned us in Hell's Gate. Mom and Dad were trying to stop the RDA from returning to Pandora. You busted us out of our confinement."
"I was never close to Nash, Mary, or Oliver McCosker. They treated me well while I was growing up, but I preferred to spend time with your family. I learned that Nash did follow me after I escaped while I was at Bridgehead, but the RDA captured him and took him into custody. The same happened to Mary. General Ardmore decided to have them executed instead of granting them amnesty for surrendering. I was forced to reveal the news to Oliver when we went to visit Grandma after Neteyam died. He was devastated over his parents' deaths. He had waited so long to learn of their fates," Spider mumbled with a frown. "I felt bad for him."
"A child should never have to suffer the loss of its parents," Kiri said, a tear falling down her cheek. "We learned from Grandma that parents should never outlive their children. Unfortunately, life does not always play out that way."
Spider sniffled. "Like in Neteyam's case."
"Exactly. Lo'ak blamed himself for his death for a short while. Everyone reassured him it was not his fault. He may have convinced Neteyam to rescue you, but he had no idea his brother would get shot. Even if Neteyam had not agreed to it, there is always a chance he could have still been fatally injured," Kiri explained.
"Life can come at you so fast that you do not have time to blink," Spider said, holding up his hand. He closed it and opened it twice while imitating the sound of an explosion. "We must always expect the unexpected."
"That's right," Kiri agreed. "Anyway, I hope Mom and Dad come back soon. It is getting late."
"If they fall asleep out in the forest, it is best to leave them alone. They need time by themselves," Spider said truthfully.
"You're right," Kiri replied with a nod. "That's not something that happens often these days."
Spider touched her shoulder. "They'll be fine. They can take care of themselves."
Kiri nodded in agreement. She and Spider observed a banshee flying past Polyphemus. They listened to its squawks.