= Katara and Jemusu =
- Infirmary -
12:30 PM
"What...What on Earth is that?" Katara asked Jemusu, as she looked on in horror at this...Spirit? Creature? Whatever it was, it looked...maybe human? No...this looked...wrong to be a human.
Jemusu kept his gaze on the thing, not answering Katara as he tried to process what he was seeing.
This...'creature', they decided to call it, was just...well, again, it was still a pair of legs, but it didn't have another pair of legs on top of its body. In fact, there were no arms on this thing. It was just a long...appendage of flesh. A very slimy flesh appendage with...very womanly legs, as well as having bare feet.
Actually...the whole body of this thing looked like it somewhat resembled a woman. The creature's 'hips' were well-defined, a little wide, as the 'chest' area looked like it had...small breasts jutting out of it.
Speaking of jutting out, on the sides of this...monster, were what looked like...arms that were trying to come out of its skin...from theinside. It looked...disturbing…
Lastly, it also has a head and a face...at least, it looked like what could be a face. There weren't any facial features on the head, it just had...a mouth. A mouth with no teeth.
All in all, this slimy and fleshy...abomination just looked...disgusting...
It(She?) staggered over to them, its feet dragging on the floor, making the sound that they heard earlier. It then made a revolting noise coming out of its mouth...
OOOOOAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHH!
It shuffled and staggered closer to them, the 'arms' by its side struggling to somehow get out of its skin. It seemed to have sensed them...
Jemusu and Katara backed further away from the creature as they looked on and wondered if they should even attack the thing or just wait for it to pass them.
Soon, however, the creature started to rear its body back a bit...
Both feeling on edge, Jemusu got his ax arm ready, while Katara got the metal pipe in her right hand ready as well, holding onto the candle holder that she was carrying in her fingers.
"Jemusu?" Katara said worriedly.
"Stand back, Katara," Jemusu warned her, his tone urgent, "I think it's about to-"
Then, before he could finish his statement, the monster lunged its body forward with its hips and basically...spewed out green mistyvomitat them from its mouth.
"-Watch out!" Jemusu pushed back Katara with his ax arm as he also backed away from the vomit trajectory. When he did, out of instinct, he extinguished the flame in his other hand, letting Katara be the one holding the light in the shrouding darkness of the hallway.
"AAH!" Katara screamed as the monster began its attack. Once she was pushed away, she readied her metal pipe when Jemusu's light went out. "Jemusu!?"
SCRATCH-TAP, SCRATCH-TAP, SCRATCH-TAP!
"Hold on, Katara! Stay close to me!" Jemusu exclaimed as he bent a flame in his left hand again to illuminate the hall, as well as show where the monster was.
The creature made another guttural moan, as it still staggered towards them. Jemusu looked down on the floor to see the bile on the wooden floor...and it sizzled like boiling water on a frying pan.
That...doesn't look too good...
Katara also hears and sees the vomit on the floor sizzling in front of them.
Boiling bile?
As the monster stepped on the burning vomit, it staggered some more in an attempt to attack its prey.
Jemusu watched its movements in the light of the flame in his hand as well as Katara's candle and began preparing to attack it with either firebending or the ax in his right hand. Katara readied the metal pipe in her hands, her eyes focusing on the monster.
Once the creature was about to rear its body again, that was when Jemusu fired a stream of flames, punching his left hand to shoot a fire blast at the thing.
FWOOOSH!
The fire hit the monster's body, its moans turning into unnatural screams as the flames ate at its flesh.
ROOOOOAAAAAUUUGGGGHHH!
The screaming was disturbing to both man and girl. It flailed around, trying to fan the burning embers off its form.
Katara looked on at the creature as it was burning and flailing around, her eyes wide in horror as she stared at the monster in a sick form of morbid fascination as it began to wring around in different directions...and it kept going, its wringing body now becoming more frantic until it looked like...it was moving around in an impossible rapid motion, flinging the flames off of it.
Jemusu also looked on in horror and fascination as it burned. However, the set-aflame monster kept doing its rapid motions, letting it fan the fire off of it as if it was throwing it off its body. Moving its upper body at such an amazing speed, the flames soon went out...fanning them out of existence.
The monster, looking mildly burnt, moaned out, the sound indicating that it was still in pain. Although, if its face could express any emotion, it would grimace in anger at the one who set it aflame.
They both looked at the creature in shock as it continued towards them, its shuffling steps more determined and faster than before.
Jemusu was about to shoot another fire blast at it, but it was advancing closer to him, the ugly and grotesque features now defined in the candlelight that Katara was holding behind him.
He has to do something now.
So as it got close enough in arm's reach, with his ax arm raised, Jemusu brought down the blade onto the left shoulder of the creature.
SHWUNK!
The blade of the ax sunk into the creature's flesh, blood seeping out of the wound, as its moans turned into low guttural pained screams again.
Jemusu roughly got the ax out its shoulder and prepared to swing at it again, this time at its left ribs.
PHUNK!
OOOOOOUUUUAAAAOOOOUUUGGGHHH!
The monster roared at the man's face in absolute pain. Jemusu then used his foot to push on the creature's chest and pull on the ax's handle, getting the blade out of its ribs.
Blood came pouring out of the other wound, while the ax wound on its shoulder was spilling out of it. The left side of this thing was now drenched in blood, and it staggered even slower as it tried to get closer to Jemusu.
"Oh come on, just go down already!" Jemusu growled.
Katara decided to enter the fight, but not before telling Jemusu, "Here, hold this!" as she gave him the candle holder, which he instantly grabbed in his fingers, a little confused. But upon seeing that Katara grabbed the metal pipe with both hands like a club, he sees that she's going to strike the monster.
Raising her metal pipe up above her head, she whacked the abomination down on its head.
WHAAAM!
The hit verberated onto its skull hard, but the monster was still standing.
But Katara took another swing, a horizontal right at the thing's face.
WHAAAM!
It still stood, but its legs were getting weak from blood loss and multiple concussions. Katara didn't let it have enough time to recover as she swung to her left at its face.
UUUUOOOGH-OOOUUUGGGH-OOOOGH-UUUUGGGGHHH!
The wails of pain were disturbing to Katara, but she tuned it all out, the adrenaline coming through her. She then raised the pipe above her head again and sturk down in the creature's skull again.
WHAAAAM!
UUUUUGHHHH!
And then, it collapsed in front of her.
...A puddle of blood came from under the monster...
The blood reached through her shoes, and upon realizing what she had done, she backed away in shock.
"Oh…Oh, Spirits..." Katara's eyes widened, stunned at how the blood looked like...human blood.
"K-...Katara?" Jemusu called out to her, seeing the look of shock on her face.
"...Did...what was..." She then slowly turned her head to Jemusu, the metal pipe shaking in her hands. Her face expressed...a slight ounce of fear and regret. "...Did I just...killed some-...someone...?"
Jemusu just looked at her, unable to answer her question as his eyes expressed pity to her.
Katara was starting to breathe faster, hyperventilating, "What…W-Whatwasthisthing? W-Was it...I mean...i-is it-I mean, was it...a-a person?"
Deciding comforting her was the best option, Jemusu told her, "I-I don't think so. L-Listen, you...you did all that you could-"
Then, out of the corner of their eyes, the supposed dead creature was...vibrating rapidly on the floor.
"AAH!" Katara backed away from the still barely clinging-to-life monster, surprised that it was still moving.
Jemusu, also surprised, looked at the thing in horror, but soon, it was replaced with frustration and annoyance. "Damn it, just die already!"
Apparently, it didn't hear him, as it was struggling to get up using the movements and its legs, albeit sluggishly. Jemusu gave Katara the candle holder and prepared the ax in his hands.
"Stay...down!" Jemusu was about to raise the ax above his head to deliver the finishing blow, when...
Jemusu…
He stopped.
His eyes widened in shock.
"Wh-...What?"
Jemusu...
The monster...got its whole body up...to 'look' at Jemusu…
...Toreallylookat him. With eyes...her eyes.
...Jemusu...why?
"Jemusu?" Katara asked in concern, wondering why he paused as she felt anxious seeing the monster getting up.
...Do you hate me?
"N-No! I-...I-..." Jemusu then felt it. The feeling of...absolute...grief. Guilt was forming in his stomach, the regret making his arms feel weak...he shook his head and gritted his teeth as he shut his eyes to cancel out what he was seeing, "S-Stop. Stop! Stop it! Just stop it!" Jemusu then brought the ax blade down on the monster's skull.
FHUNK!
...The creature, with the ax blade embedded into its forehead, fell limp. Opening his eyes, Jemusu saw the dead thing's head was leaning on the blade. He gasped, seeing that the monster...
...wasn't her anymore...
Now finally registering, he then pulled the ax out of its skull with both of his hands, letting it fall down on the floor. The thing plopped there, now finally a dead and bleeding corpse.
Jemusu breathed hard, trying to regain his bearings as he finally calmed down, seeing that the monster wasn't moving anymore.
"Jemusu?" said the voice of Katara next to him.
Turning his head quickly at Katara, he sees the concerned expression on her face in her candlelight.
"Are...Are you okay?" she asked him warily.
"...Y-Yeah..." Jemusu said, but even he sounded unsure. Shaking his head, he glanced down at the dead corpse and made some sort of...expression that indicated that he was...ashamed?
Katara could see the reaction Jemusu made as he glanced down at the dead creature's body. Upon looking down at this thing, she could only grimace as the puddle of blood grew even more underneath it. At first, she felt disgusted as she gazed at the mutilated…whatever it was, but then remembered their conversation a while back, and now…
She looked back at the man, pity on her face, "Jemusu, you-"
"Katara, I-I don't know what I saw, but...that...that woman..." Jemusu paused as he also grimaced, trying to get rid of something out of his head.
The waterbender blinked, "Wait...what you saw? You saw a woman?"
Jemusu turned his head to Katara, and saw that she looked confused.
"...You...didn't see the face?" he asked warily.
"Um, well, yes I did, but...it didn't have any eyes and a nose and…ugh, it was gross," Katara shivered, "But...the body did look like a woman's, so...is that what you meant?"
"..." Jemusu just looked at her...also confused, until he asked, "Did...you see the face before I'd...killed it?"
Katara looked at him, puzzled. "Uh...I...think so?"
"...Then...did you see a...a-a woman's face?"
"Uh...no..."
...They were silent for a moment...
...The dead body still laid there...
"...L-...Let's get going," Jemusu said as he lit up a flame in his hand and gradually started to walk forward, going around the dead body.
Katara stood there even more confused as she held the candle holder in her hand. Looking down at the body on the floor one more time, it stayed still as she sees that the blood had stopped pooling out from under it.
...What did Jemusu actually see?
Deciding to not dwell on that right now as he was walking ahead of her, Katara then sprinted to him, being careful not to step on the blood from this corpse.
...Well, at least I didn't kill it...
Instantly feeling bad upon thinking that, she shook her head to clear any thoughts as she followed Jemusu.
She really didn't want to kill...at least not violently...she hated to experience extreme violence like what Jemusu displayed. Not because of some pure reason, but mostly because...she hated to see blood come out of the victim...
Ever since Hama taught her bloodbending, she was really hesitant on using it. Really, thinking about the possibility of using it one day down the line actually chilled her. She didn't want to think about it, but...she dreaded that sooner or later she has to use it.
And whatever these creatures are, whether they be spirits or something else entirely...these things wouldn't go down without some sort of fight.
As for Jemusu, if he actually was a part of this prison breakout, then he must have been in prison for a reason...although, she felt like she was judging him a little too much. He seems like a nice guy...and he was ooking out for her, saving her that one time, and just recently protecting her...
Either way, she feels like he can trust him...for now.
However, what did he see when he looked at that monster?
Once they reached the large sliding door of the operations room(which the sign said 'Operations Room' next to the door), Jemusu and Katara approached it with caution.
Jemusu took a deep breath and sighed, while Katara dreaded what lies behind the door. The former reached the door handle and slid it open.
Inside the operations room, there were several opened and closed tall curtain-covered areas where the doctors would operate on their patients, the covers surrounding those areas where the medical beds are set.
It really smelled like medical herbs, alcohol, and pure...sanitation in this room.
The smell wrinkled Katara's nose, as well as Jemusu's.
"Ugh...it...it smells like it's in use," Katara commented as she looked around the room with a cringe.
"Eyuck...yeah," Jemusu then looked around the room as well, "Well, we need to find this object, I guess...just where is the question."
"Hm..." she glanced at some of the tall sheeted and curtained-covered areas of the room, "Maybe it's in one of these...surgery areas?"
"Maybe..." Jemusu glanced at the 'rooms' for a moment. Walking up a little bit more (with Katara following him) until he reached the end of the larger area, he sees that there were four surgery areas on the left and four on the right, which made eight surgery 'rooms'.
There were four of them closed off, the upper left one and the third one down on the left side, while the right side, the second one was closed off as well as the very bottom one.
And at the end of the room, there was...a door-shaped painted mural.
Once Katara caught up to him, she saw the mural as well.
Her eyes widened at what was displayed.
It wasn't anything horrible, it was actually...comforting...a lot more comforting in a place like this.
It was a mural painting of...a mother and her baby.
The mother's skin was like the Fire Nation and was wearing a red flowing outfit. The baby was in her arms, and it was tanned skinned, the child being cradled by the mother in a loving and motherly way...
"What...do you think this means?" Katara asked Jemusu as she stared at the mural. For some reason...this reminds her of...
Mother...
With Jemusu, the mural reminded him of a different person...
"...I...I don't know, but...maybe this was here because this room was used as a delivery room as well? For...you know, expecting mothers?" Jemusu speculated as he looked on at the painting, his lips turning into an unknown frown.
"Huh...yeah..." Katara looked at the mural a little bit more.
Motherhood...I always wanted to know what it's like to be a Mom...but...
I want to go to the next step in our relationship.
…Katara frowned at that.
...Does he even realize what that entails? And...what if I don't want to? I mean...is it because we're too young, or...I mean, I think that's mostly it, but...do I even want to? With him?
"Hey, uh, Katara?" Jemusu spoke up to break Katara's inner thoughts.
"Oh, uh, yeah?" she asked him.
"I'm, um, thinking of maybe looking around this whole area for this item that we're supposed to be finding...and using, apparently." Jemusu rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "Maybe you can help me find it around here?"
"Oh, uh, sure," Katara agreed with a nod. She turned her head to the second row of the infirmary beds and to the second closed-off one to her right. "I'll, uh, check over there."
"Alright then," Jemusu nodded.
And soon, they began their search, with Jemusu going to the first closed-off area to his left.
When he reached the first closed-off infirmary bed, he pushed open the curtains back to see...
...Nothing...wait...
On the bare bed, there was...a metal ring...
It was golden and small, small enough to go through a woman's finger...
Curious as to what a ring could be doing here, Jemusu went forward to the object. Placing his ax down on the bed, he picked up the ring with his right hand and observed it with the flame that was on his left hand.
"Hmm..." He looked inside the ring to see if there were any initials or anything engraved in and on it. So far, there wasn't anything of the such. It was just an ordinary ring...but it also looked familiar. "...A wedding ring."
A wedding ring...Jemusu stared at it, feeling somewhat...nostalgic...and despondent.
Meanwhile, Katara went to the second closed-off infirmary bed and pulled over the curtains back to see...
...Absolutely nothing.
"Hm..." Katara used her candlelight to see if there was anything she missed in the area, but so far...nothing.
Okay...I guess I'll check curtain number three. Katara thought as she left the area and went to the bottom left curtain.
When she opened the curtains, she found...
...A doll on the infirmary bed...
Blinking at the peculiar and out-of-place object, she went into the closed-off area. Getting closer to the bed and the object, she picked up the doll and observed it.
It looked like...something that the Southern Water Tribe would make.
...And that confused her.
It looked like a rag doll made of straw, with a purple-colored cloth draped onto it. The eyes were just small charcoal dots, while there was a red stitched-lined smile on the face of it. The hair that was used for the doll was just burnt straw, which made the 'hair' turn into a darker color, a contrast to the brown 'skinned' doll. The hair was also designed into a ponytail braid, making it look like Katara's hairstyle when she was fourteen...
It actually almost looked like her...
But the most confusing thing for Katara, was that...she felt like she had this before...
...Where did I...?
Then she remembered.
Wait...I used to have this...w-when I was little...
"Katara?"
Jemusu's voice startled her, letting her say, "Sorry! I'm coming out."
Once she got out of the curtained area, she saw that Jemusu was carrying the ax in his right hand and had his flame still on his left. However, she sees that he didn't have anything in his hands which indicates that he found something.
When she saw this, Katara told Jemusu, "Well, I found this doll..."
"Huh...well, I also found something," Jemusu told her.
"You did?" Katara raised a brow, "What is it?"
"It's a ring. I put it on my finger for safekeeping...I mean, just in case," Jemusu said a little sheepishly, "I mean, who knows? It could be what the object we're looking for is...I-um, I guess," He then looked at the doll, "Uh...so, just a doll, huh?"
"Yeah. I checked the other curtained bed over there, and I came out with nothing. However, with this one here, I found...well, just this..." Katara looked down at the doll and frowned, "...I feel like we're being mocked here."
Jemusu frowned as well, agreeing with the waterbender. "Yeah...I feel that too." He lifted his ax arm and hand as he glanced at the ring on his ring finger. "...Well, maybe we need to look at that map again. Maybe it was pointing at a specific place that we needed to find this thing we should get first."
"Well, it looked like it was pointing here, I think," Katara told him, "At the left lower part of the room."
Jemusu blinked, "But...I thought it was pointing to where I last was. The left upper part of this room."
"Huh?" Katara raised a brow, "But...it pointed down here."
"...Um...but...I saw it point upward..."
...
...
"...Yeah, we need to check that map again," Katara said after the confused pause.
"Y-Yeah, I-I think we, um, I think we should," Jemusu said as he sheepishly scratched his head with the finger of his hand that was holding the ax.
And so they exited the room, with the ring on Jemusu's finger, and the doll now being carried around by Katara, inserting it around her belt to keep it in place.
She doesn't know why, but Katara wanted to bring the doll with her. She felt...at ease when she was carrying the doll...
The same goes for Jemusu with the ring on his finger...
After passing the corpse that Jemusu killed(which still looked disturbing) they found the map again on the wall.
...However, everything looked...different on it...
Eyes widened as they looked at the map.
They discovered...the map has been drawn again.
"...Um...was all this here before?" Katara asked Jemusu.
"I...don't think so," Jemusu stated.
The map showed the diagrams of the first, second, and third floors still, but the first and third floors were circled. And next to these circles were...Katara and Jemusu's names.
On the first floor that was circled, Katara's name was next to it, while there was a circle around the doctor's office that was numbered '1' and another larger room that was circled '2'. There was also a message for her in between the numbers below and above them, saying 'Keep the little one safe'.
On the third floor, Jemusu's name was circled next to it as well, and a circle was on a room on the third floor, at the end of the hallway. That circle was in a patient room that was labeled '312', and the words next to it said, 'Go here'.
Upon looking at the map, they both could only come to the conclusion that each of them was supposed to be at these separate destinations.
"...Huh...um..." Katara uttered, a little bothered by how this map changed while they were gone. The message on her part of the map was also a little…unnerving…
Did this map mean…She looked down at the looped doll around her belt to her right.
"...I...guess we have to follow where all of this leads?" Katara asked Jemusu uneasily.
"I, uh...guess so," Jemusu said, also bothered by the map changing on them. "Um...I...guess we have to split up then?"
Katara turned her head to Jemusu, confused by that statement...as well as not liking the sound of that decision. "R-Really?"
Seeing that Katara was uneasy about it, Jemusu gave her some kind of comfort as he said, "I-I mean...well, I don't think they're any monsters here in this floor. I think we...well, I don't...particularly know if we...uh, killed...um…" shaking his head, "Look, Katara, I can see you're a pretty good fighter. You swung that pipe pretty well. And...well, if you ever do see any more of these things we'd encountered, I think you can handle them. But...just in case you're in a tight spot, you can run away from them. They seem to be pretty slow, so...uh, yeah...e-either way, this map told us to go to these locations, so...well, just don't be afraid, okay Katara? If you ever need any help, then you can try to find me on the third floor..." he finished explaining the plan to Katara in an uncertain way, scratching his right cheek with his fingers holding the ax.
"Well...I mean, yeah, I can handle myself, but..." Katara just paused for a second and took a deep breath, "O-...Okay...I mean, I just...I don't want to face any, like...horrors in here or anything...whatever these horrors actually are."
Jemusu frowned at that and nodded, "I know you mean…" he looked behind him a moment, mostly remembering the monster that he axed in the head. "...But I know you can do it. I mean, I'm scared too, and I faced these things head-on. I know you can overwhelm some of them, even without your waterbending."
Katara couldn't help but smile at that. "Thanks...you're a pretty good fighter yourself."
Chuckling at that, Jemusu said, "You know, I'll gladly take that. Honestly, I'm not much of a fighter...I don't even know any advanced firebending moves. I just, shoot fire out of my fists."
"Oh…well, what di-...I-I mean, what do you do?" Katara corrected herself hastily. She was going to say 'did', but didn't want to let Jemusu know that she assumed he didn't even have a job...because he was spending his life in prison.
Whether Jemusu didn't notice the almost slip-up or not, she was relieved that he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he answered, "I...well, I basically work at a factory. A wielding factory."
"Oh, okay," Katara nodded with another smile.
"Heh, yeah...but again, thanks for the compliment..." he glanced at the map, staring at it for a moment, and said, "Well...I think we should head on over to where we're going."
Katara's lips turned down into a thoughtful frown, "Yeah..."
...They were quiet...
"...Just…be safe, okay Katara?" Jemusu told her.
"Yeah, I will. You, um...be safe too, alright Jemusu?" Katara advised him.
"Right," Jemusu nodded.
"Mm-hm," Katara nodded as well.
And they departed away from each other, Katara following the directions on the map on the first floor, while Jemusu went to the stairs to go up the third floor.
- Katara -
Katara walked down the hall with what little light she had in her candle, the doll inside her tunic shirt. Holding onto the metal pipe in her right hand, she tightened her grip on it as she looked around for anything, a door to the doctor's office or maybe even something lurking in the dark, just so it wouldn't get the jump on her...
Calm down, Katara. You're not here to find and beat any monster to oblivion.
Taking a deep breath, she continued on to find the doctor's office.
Upon turning around a corner of a hall, she kept walking until…
OOOAAAAAAUUUGH...
Katara's eyes widened in surprise, and instantly she felt dread.
Oh...shit…
She tighten her grip on the metal pipe even more as she listened to the same damned dragging footsteps she and Jemusu heard...
…Then, there was movement, as well as a shine as the thing came into the illuminating light of her candle.
It was the same monster as before, shining in its slime in the light and all. The one Jemusu axed to the head. But that means...
A-Another one?
Katara's heart stopped for a second. She's alone, she doesn't have any water to bend, and all she has is a metal pipe and maybe some scissors to probably stab the thing with.
It was coming closer...
Quickly shaking the feeling of fear off, she glared at the thing, "Okay...I can take this thing on...just...watch out for the vomit...ew..." Katara grimaced as she remembered that was what the thing basically did.
The monster, which Katara decided to eloquently call a "Vomit Bag"(Sokka would be proud), came closer with each dragging step. The disgusting thing made a guttural moan, indicating that it somehow sensed Katara was near.
"Come on...come on...do your thing," Katara muttered to it. She was waiting for when it'll throw up, which will be the time she'll attack it after it does so.
The creature looked as if it accepted her challenge, as the monster reared back, its body ready to project acid-filled vomit on her.
Katara backed away a bit.
The Vomit Bag then shot a misty and blobbish green substance forward, the distance from it almost barely out of range of where Katara is. The misty part of the vomit was close to Katara, and she was glad that she backed away to escape its range.
Once the thing did its attack, Katara went in for the hit.
She rushed at the Vomit Bag, while the thing stood there moaning, probably trying to ready up another attack.
Lifting her right arm up, she swung the metal pipe in her hand horizontally across the creature's head.
WHACK!
"UUUGGHH!" moaned the monster after the hit.
Katara didn't pause or stop her onslaught as she swung the pipe again at the thing's head.
WHACK!
"RRAAAUUUUGGGHH!"
She kept whacking the monster repeatedly upside the head.
WHACK!
"OOOOUUGHH!"
WHACK!
"UUUUGHHHH!"
WHACK!
"IIIIUUUGHH!"
WHACK!
"ROOOOOOUUUUUGHHH…!"
WHACK!
The monster dropped to the ground on its back after the seventh hit to the head.
Panting heavily as the adrenaline was wearing down, Katara stared at the Vomit Bag as it lay there unconscious.
"Huff, huff, huff," Katara gulped some air and mentally calmed her nerves a bit.
But before she could do that...something unexpected happened with the monster.
The Vomit Bag then, almost impossibly...started to crawl. But it looked like it was sliding even as it did crawl. It must be from the slime that was secreting from its flesh that made it slide like that...but what really surprised Katara, was that it was crawl-sliding so fast, that it seemed unnatural. And it was doing so on its back!
If that's not all, it started to make screeching noises as it slid across the floor!
"EEERK, EEERK! EEERK, EEERK!"
All in all, it was obvious that the monster wasn't unconscious.
The Vomit Bag went slithering on its back as it went forward into the darkness...
Katara stood there frozen in shock, her heart stopped for a moment as it now started to pound fast when she saw that thing slither away like that.
...She could hear the screeching still in the darkness...
Then, the Vomit Bag came back towards Katara in the same fast-slithering fashion!
"EEERK, EEERK!"
"AAAH!" Katara screamed as soon as the monster was close to her left foot. She lifted her foot up to avoid being tripped by the Vomit Bag, but the thing circled around her, making it lose her balance. Soon, she fell over and landed on the floor on her rear and soon her back with a thud.
When landing on the floor, her left hand let go of the candle and its holder, letting the candle come off as it rolled away from her, her source of light leaving her until it hit the side of the wall further away.
Now seeing nothing but darkness, panic set in for Katara. She turned over and got on her knees and hands as she got up and rushed over to her source of light that she needed to use to navigate the halls.
As soon as she got close to the candle, however...
"EEERK, EEERK!"
She was tripped over again by the Vomit Bag as it slithered past under her, her foot caught on its body, making her land on her knees and hands this time. She turned around on her back quickly to see in what light it showed...
That the monster was about to get back up! Slowly, but surely it struggled to get up on its back as it was close to where Katara was.
Upon realizing she still had the metal pipe in her hand, she got up quickly and used her hands to grip the object, getting ready to start swinging on the thing. And swinging at it she did.
She swung at it downward its shoulder.
WHAM!
"UUURRGGHH!"
She landed a hit on one of its protruding arms.
WHAM!
"OOOOOUUUGGGGHH!"
Katara then swung at the monster's other protruding arm.
WHAM!
"AAAARRRUUUUGHH!"
And then, Katara reared the metal pipe like a baseball bat, and swung the pipe at the Vomit Bag's head, hard.
WHAAAAM!
The monster went out like a light as it fell on the floor...
Katara stood there, huffing from more adrenaline as she stared down at the thing…
...It still laid there, motionless...
...But Katara wasn't gonna take any more chances.
She went a little closer to the creature, and as soon as she was above the monster, she lifted her right leg and kicked it.
...It was still laying on the floor, unmoving...
"..." The waterbender sighed in relief, "Okay..."
Let's…hope this thing will stay unconscious...for a long time...and here's hoping I didn't really…
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and backed away from the Vomit Bag, turning around to get her candle(that was still miraculously lit), and then the candleholder where she dropped a little way forward. After putting the candle on the holder, she continued on down the hall, carrying the candleholder in her left hand while carrying the metal pipe in her right hand.
That was...kind of stressful...Katara thought as she still walked forward to where her destination might be...
And soon, she found it.
Katara read the sign, "Doctor's Office,".
Alright then...
Placing her metal pipe on the floor, she reached for the door handle with her free right hand and opened the door easily. Picking up the pipe again, she went inside the office.
Upon entering the doctor's office, she sees that it's a little cluttered. Scrolls and papers, as well as dust, were scattered across a desk in the back and on counters, looking like this office hasn't been used in ages.
Her nose scrunched up at the amount of dust in the room.
Eeyuck...well, okay then...I'm here. So...what do I need to look for?
Katara closed the door behind her, just in case any monsters would come in. She then went over to the desk and browsed around the scrolls and papers that were strewn all over it. Placing her candleholder on the desk, and placing the pipe against the desk, she picked up one dusty scroll and opened it to read the contents inside through the light of the candle.
[Patient 01: Shubiru]
Gender: Female
Age: 26
Status: Deceased
Cause: Heart Attack
Diagnosis: A simple heart attack. However, when I checked her insides, there was what appeared to be unspecified pollen in her system, mostly through her lungs. It could have caused her heart to somehow hasten quickly and erratically...maybe. I don't really know. Patient 01 is known as a botanist and is my daughter-in-law, collecting herbs to apply to her food for healthier living. She even has a small garden outside her home. In my time knowing her, she has taken some herbal medicine in the past for stress relief. I will further update it.
"Hm..." Katara put the scroll down and picked up another one that was laying on the desk beside the recent scroll. Opening it, she read its contents.
[Patient 02: Hari]
Gender: Male
Age: 26
Status: Deceased
Diagnosis: Natural Causes(?)
Cause: Unknown...yet, there was the same pollen from Patient 01's lungs inside Patient 02's lungs. Patient 02 was also being given a herbal diet that my daughter-in-law, Patient 01, was taking. Again in Patient 01's log, she was a botanist and studied the floral life on this island. She would often purify certain plants of toxins, so it would be unlike her to have made an error. It could've been an overdose of some kind...but the odd thing is, the way Patient 02 expired, it seemed...too quick. Will have to research and update further on this.
Katara looked at the written log in curiosity.
Interesting...
She placed the scroll on the desk, and when she did, she saw a small little book that was under it. Curious, she picked it up and opened it, reading what was inside. Turning the pages, she realized that it was an old journal of some kind...
There was an entry in this journal that dated back around twenty-eight years ago…
Interested, Katara continued to read...
This is definitely a tragedy for both Hari and Daria. Even more so for the latter. And she was so happy that she was going to be a mother. Alas, Fate and Time were cruel...or maybe the Spirits that walked on this island were. This island always held secrets...secrets that are always linked to the people who once lived here.
Ever since Daria's father died of that mysterious illness, she became the youngest Shrine Priestess in the town - in thiswhole islandeven - at the age of eighteen. Daria was always a good girl, following in her father's footsteps. She copied every ritual her father told her to do...almost to a certain perfect degree...yet, it seemed like these Spirits were just punishing her. And it feels like it's only herat this point in time...
Whenever she took up the mantle, she was very devoted to the calling. It would seem she was doing a rather good job of keeping the peace around here with the Spirits. No disasters, no plagues, and no incidents ever came from happening. Everything was...good...a lot better than what the old days were. Very few people only had a good time in Silent Hills on Sairento Hiruzu. Ironic, since the only times the town ever felt like a resort town was when the island wasn't crowded...quiet, and tranquil without any tourists...
Quite ironic, indeed.
Either way, she always seemed to have blessed the island every day. I would feel like it would take a toll on her, how she would just...do the same thing every day to keep the Spirits of the island at bay. Again, she's very devoted...very dedicated . It's really admirable...
Yet, sooner or later, she wanted some companionship down the line...and Hari gave that to her. It really did seem like she was truly happy when they got married last year…
"Hari? That was who I read on that report..." Katara kept reading.
It's actually funny. I wed them. Me, a doctor, marrying them, pronouncing them man and wife, while my son, Maikera, was the best man for Hari, Shubiru being the maid-of-honor for Daria...
"Shubiru..." The waterbender muttered to herself, remembering the name from before. She continued reading...
And then it was a role reversal in my son's wedding with Shubiru...Hari became the best man, Daria became the maid-of-honor, and again, I was the one that wedded them...
...We are truly the only ones left…
I miss you, old friend. I wish life wasn't so unpredictable and hard...maybe you would have seen and wed your own daughter off to Hari. The man that you also called a son...who was now my adoptive son...
Hari's father...he also died of illness...as well as my wife.
Perhaps that was part of Fate's planning...to bring Hari and Daria together, and to also make my boy, Maikera and Hari become like brothers...
But still...it seems like these Spirits like to play sick jokes on us every once in a while...
Daria...simply put, around the third month of Winter, she had a miscarriage.
It was a girl...
She was probably going to name that girl something beautiful...
The poor woman...it really devastated her...and so did Hari...
Why could these Spirits, or whoever is doing this, feel the need to torture us? Especially Daria? Let her have peace every once in a while! What more do they want?
I get the feeling these Spirits are trying to test us...trying to test Daria…
It's quite odd, though. We know these Spirits are here, but...we haven't seen them anywhere...it's almost like a knowing...a knowing that they are here...
Or... it could be here...we don't even know if there could be multiple Spirits here or not...
Multiple Spirits, or...a singular Spirit? And they haven't seen them? Just what kinds of Spirits reside here? Katara thought in wonder. While she did feel for this woman to have such an unfortunate thing happen to her, she was very intrigued by this development.
Wanting to know more so they can know what they're up against, she went to the next page to read a different journal entry. It talked more about Daria's depression and how Hari was doing his best to help, as well as the writer of the journal expressing sympathy for her. She skipped all of that, seeing that this was just filler, and not wanting to feel depressed herself after reading it.
After that, though, she was at the next journal entry...and this one was a little...interesting...
It's been one month and a half going into the second month of Spring since the miscarriage. It started around morning time, around the eighth hour. Daria wasn't there when Hari woke up, and he advised me of this. We went looking for her around the town, possibly around thirty to forty minutes. But then, we saw her, as she was trying to look for us. And she looked...ecstatic. Elated. Happy, even.
While I'm relieved Daria isn't depressed anymore, I find it a little odd that she would react in such a way from what I've seen from her recently after the miscarriage.
But it was then...she said something peculiar...
She said she had a dream...a dream of her unborn baby, who is now a child, heading over to the town's museum.
The museum...The Sairento Hiruzu Historical Society. It houses the town's and island's records, which trace back to its humble beginnings...but that place has been closed down and locked up after the town's parting seventy years ago. No one has ever set foot in that building ever since.
Either way, Daria continued saying that her daughter was waiting there for her.
And...she also said she had entered the museum...
But...that's impossible. The doors to the museum were made of the hardest of metals, so she wouldn't have burned and melted them down...and the doors were locked as well...
But she insisted she did. And said that the lock was...unlocked, that it was open for her to enter.
...This really bothered me. As well as Hari.
We asked her how she got inside. And Daria answered...that she and Hari's child unlocked the doors.
There were many questions to be had.
She said she couldn't believe it herself when she checked the museum, but the lock was, in fact, on the ground when she arrived. She also said she woke up around the seventh hour and went over to the facility after having that dream. That means she was there for possibly an hour and a half...
She went on saying that she...found her daughter there...and talked to her…
This was...quite bizarre.
She didn't seem to be making it up, but Hari was concerned...and so was I, honestly.
Daria told us that her daughter had told her that she should live on and prosper, doing her deeds of tending to the Spirits here, and telling her that she is in a better place...a place where the unborn reside when they die prematurely.
She said it was called paradise. Just...Paradise.
Whatever happened at the museum, she took it to heart. She looked...at peace with it all...
Her daughter also told her that she would lead a special way for the world and that the island was just the beginning point. And that was all her daughter said, before fading back into this Paradise...
She didn't know what this message could mean, or what this beginning point could really lead to, but she became even more devoted now than ever to taking care of the island.
We went to the museum to see if it held any water, as they would say in the Water Tribe...
And...what we found...was surprising...
The lock was on the ground...which means...it really was opened...
But the most disturbing part was...I had the key with me the whole time...
It's almost...frightening.
Granted, she's no longer in despair, but...what happened?
Could this have been Spirit World-related?
Either way, I locked up the doors to the museum again...
It goes beyond my understanding...
And the entry ends there.
"Whoa...that's...disturbing..." Katara muttered as she finished.
Yet, she couldn't help but be curious...curious as to what else this person, this doctor, whoever he was, had written down in this journal...
Also, I do like to think unborn children who die prematurely have another life somewhere...
She flipped through the next page and entry in the journal. This entry was set in another month and a half into the third month of Spring, which was a month after Daria's vision.
Daria is pregnant with Hari's child again!
She said it was a blessing from the Spirits...they actually blessed her...
I was...thrilled, for sure, and Hari was as well.
However...while it was a blessing from the Spirits, she soon was thanking...a different Spirit...
She said it was a Spirit that she heard from her daughter while she was in the museum. A great Spirit...the one that let her reside in Paradise along with the other unborn children that met a short life.
She called this Spirit...God...
Her daughter called the Spirit God, but...I never heard of a Spirit like that before...
Either way, she was thanking this Spirit...almost like the other Spirits here on this island didn't exist...
Yet, she continued to bless the island...
But lately...she's been giving thanks to this...God Spirit.
While I am happy she's in wonderful…well, spirits, per se, I can't help but feel like...something is a little amiss here...
It ends there.
"God...?" Katara squinted her eyes in curiosity.
That's an odd name for a Spirit...
She went to the next entry which was on the opposite page. This one dated a month has passed.
Oh, this is wonderful news! I've learned that my daughter-in-law is pregnant with Maikera! I'm going to be a grandfather! Oh, this is such a great occasion!
I must be patient. I just hope the day will come sooner to see my grandchild!
Hari and Daria were also happy as well! ...Although, Daria was thanking this God Spirit for the news...
I still yet to know what this Spirit named God looks like...
Katara smiled slightly at the entries she read so far. Although, this God Spirit was getting more and more frequent in the journal...
Wanting to know more, she flipped through another page to see that...there were two entries in the journal on each page...both of them going forward around nine to ten months after the last entry.
Katara blinked at that transition.
…Well, that's strange. I wonder why this person kept track of these events like this?
She continued reading...
Daria had a successful birth! It's a boy! He was born in the second month of Winter! She named him Vucen...oh, this is such a wonderful occasion! Next would be my grandchild! Maikera and Shubiru's child! We're going to have little ones walking around!
Oh, this is such a good day indeed for Daria and Hari! I am so happy for them! Especially Daria! She has a child now...a child that will always be with her...
And then it ends there, transitioning to the next entry on the next page. It was the next month after that entry.
My grandchild was born a month right after Vucen's birth! And it's a girl! Oh, how wondrous! I'm so happy for Maikera and Shubiru! They named her Kura!
Hari and Daria celebrated as well! ...But...Daria celebrated...a little too enthusiastically.
I don't find that too strange, but...she kept thanking the God Spirit again...almost like Kura washerchild.
I think Hari is also starting to notice a little recently that she's giving thanks to this Spirit called God as well...
But either way, I have a granddaughter! She looked so beautiful...just like her mother. Her father, my boy ...I can surely bet he's proud.
Well, at least this Daria had a child...and whoever wrote this has a grandchild...
However, she thought about the death reports of Hari and Shubiru...
...I wonder what...happened?
She continued to read the journal as she flipped the page...and yet, there was another time skip that spanned two years.
Wow...maybe the person writing this didn't go to this journal that much? Or...maybe he just wants to write down the more important thoughts...?
Either way, she kept reading. It was dated in the third month of Spring...
This is...really peculiar to me...
Why do I feel like...something is wrong here?
I'm really glad that Daria is pregnant again with another child, and she's seven months into being pregnant...but...
She keeps referring to this God Spirit...and she cleanses the island in this Spirit's name...
I know there are multiple Spirits out in the world that people respect, but she treats this God Spirit like...it's Agni himself...like it's the Water Tribe's Higher Spirit, like it's the Earth Kingdom's and Air Nomad's Higher Spirits...
In fact, when I asked her why she keeps on praising this Spirit, she replied, "If my late daughter can live on in harmony while God is taking care of her, then I give thanks to God's Splendor always".
...Something isn't right here...I can feel it in my bones...
...Katara was almost getting a little disturbed at this point.
Who is this God...? From what I'm reading, it sounds like something along the line of Tui and La...
She continued reading the next journal entry on the opposite page. This was dated around the second month of Summer...
Daria's second child was born. Another wonderful occasion. They named him Waten.
Yet...as my tone depicts in this journal, I just feel...wary...
I don't know why, but...Daria seems...a lot different lately.
Hari had thought so as well...
She thanked the God Spirit again when Waten was born. That seems to be normal now...
But before she could walk around again, she told Hari and me to gather Maikera and Shubiru in her and Hari's household.
We were confused as to why, but we did as we were told.
Once we were all gathered, it was just the adults and me. The children were asleep at Maikera and Shubiru's home and it was the middle of the night.
She said she had a vision...a vision of how one of them must leave the island to see the state of the world.
Wondering why she suggested this, her husband Hari asked her, to which she answered, "Because we must see that our children will live a sinless future.".
She continued by saying that they needed to see if we could venture around the world, to see if anything was inhabitable for us and their children.
I...have to say, I was very intrigued when she said all of this...
Although, Hari, Maikera, Shubiru, and I were wondering if this vision was really what she...well, envisioned.
Daria never lied before and was always a serious person, so she couldn't have made this up...but, no one, not even me, has ever gone off the island. We're basically isolated as is. We're also trying to keep this island alive as best as we can...
But she said it was for their children and for their own sakes...
It was then, though, that Daria appointed Maikera to do the task.
Shubiru wanted to know why, and Daria told her and everyone else that while she would cleanse the island, Shubiru was the only person to provide grain and food because of her gardening background, while Hari would take care of the kids. I couldn't go because I was too old. She chose my son Maikera to go because he was quite fit and could take notes of anything that stood out to him. I do think he was a good choice as well, as he got his note-taking skills from me...hm.
But still, it seems...almost too trivial? I can understand what she means, though. We don't really want to live on the island for the rest of our lives...but we're going to extra lengths in doing so.
Then, Daria mentioned her unborn daughter back at the museum.
Of course, this was the first time Maikera and Shubiru ever heard of this...they were surprised, of course.
Either way, she told all of us that Maikera's departure on the island could be the 'beginning point' her daughter was telling her about...
I remembered when Daria said that...and only Daria...
She told my son that he needs to leave around the middle of the third month of Summer...and it's coming up as we speak.
Everything just...feels like it's moving too fast...
I don't really know what to make of all this...
But Daria...she said something else that was quite...disturbing.
She said, "It was all God's will."...
God's will?
...I actually am starting to wonder what is happening to Daria. She seems to be losing some type of grip on reality...
She's talking as if...
I mean, so far, things on this island have been rather...quiet...
The Spirits don't seem to be doing anything...and she has been cleansing the island every day...
But...it feels like...there should be some activity from some of them... anything ...
It just feels like...they're not here…
Or...were there any Spirits even here...at all?
...I...I'm wondering what exactly is happening right now...what is happening on this island?
...And the entry ends there.
Katara looked on at the entry in inquiry.
A few questions ran through her mind...
They're isolated? Wow...they were on this island their whole lives? And...God's will? Just what is this Spirit? And also...what was this person saying that there were no Spirits on the island after all?
All of this cryptic thinking made her feel a shiver down her spine. She suddenly felt cold...
"Well...this just got intriguing..." Katara muttered to herself.
Just what is happening on this island?
She didn't know if she wanted to read more...but for the life of her, her morbid curiosity made her want to...
Whether she did or not, she flipped to the next page and read the next entry. It was in the middle of the third month of Summer...
I bid my son Maikera farewell...it's strange to see your son whom you've known throughout your whole life go off into the unknown...
Shubiru bid him farewell, and Kura gave him a big hug. Hari also bid him farewell, as well as Vucen and Daria.
He drifted off into an air balloon...
I don't know when I'll see him again.
Katara then read the entry on the opposite page. This was around the second month of Autumn.
Shubiru is pregnant again! Heh...it seems my boy Maikera couldn't control himself. He gave her something for her to remember him by...little Kura will be a sister now.
Raising an eyebrow at this info(not that it was bad info), she turned the page over again to read another entry...this one being around next year in the second month of Spring...which...would be when Shubiru's baby is born, if she counted the months right. Every child created in the womb would take nine months…
She continued reading.
This...is odd...
Any day now, Shubiru should have had her child by now...but...it looked like it was still forming in her womb…
I have to ask her about that…
"...What?" Katara softly says to herself. There was another entry below the one she read.
She said she was fine...that the baby was fine...she looked worried…and I don't blame her. It was nine months now, she has to have the baby by now...
Katara went to the next page...and it was the first month of Summer.
Now I'm worried.
She hasn't conceived her child yet...
I asked her if she needed anything for me to help her with, but she insisted everything was fine...although, she looked like she was in a state of disarray.
She's probably panicking inside...I went to Daria and Hari about it, but...both of their responses were odd.
Daria sounded like it was natural for Shubiru to have a late delivery...
While Hari...just told me to not worry about it...
I can't let my daughter-in-law suffer through this. I have to know what's going on. I'm the doctor, I need to help people.
"..." Katara is starting to get a bad feeling about this.
She read the entry below the other one.
It was the second month of Summer that year.
I can't understand...why won't Shubiru let me help her? I can see why she would get on the defensive, but this is dire. The baby hasn't come out yet...but she keeps reassuring me that everything is fine...
This is puzzling...what is making the baby not come out?
I have to respect her wishes though…but one more month, and if she doesn't have the baby, then I need to do something.
...Katara turned the page...
It was the third month of Summer...
Oh, thank the Spirits! The baby finally came out! It's a girl!
Katara let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.
Shubiru named her Risa...she looks so beautiful. Once again, just like her mother...Maikera has two beautiful daughters...
...Yet...for some reason...little Risa...looks different…
While she has her mother's looks...she...doesn't really look like her father that much...
"What? What does he mean by that?" Katara asked herself.
Seeing that the opposite page was blank, she turned to the next page...
...The whole two pages were filled with one entry.
...And this entry was still dated during the third month of Summer...
I can't believe it…
Shibiru's dead.
She's...gone.
...
...And so is Hari.
He's gone...
They're both gone…
What has happened?
...I have to do an autopsy on them.
It stopped abruptly there and continued on the same day.
I looked into their systems and there seemed to be some strange pollen inside of them...what could it mean? I have yet to study the pollen in their lungs, but it appears to be foreign to the plant life here...
Goodness...if only Shubiru was still alive, she could probably identify this substance. I'm just a medical doctor, plant life isn't my forte...
But it makes me wonder...is this the work of the Spirits on this island? Have they come back from which they came?
I just don't know...but all I know is...the kids are without one of their parents...
Poor little Kura...and Risa...they lost their mother...
And poor Vucen and Waten...they lost their-
...Father...
…Wait.
...I...just had a thought...
...Could-
...
...
...The entry just...ends there.
Katara looked on at the journal in confusion. She turned a page...and nothing was written on it.
She turned another page...nothing was written on it.
Getting a little bothered by this, she turned another page to see it was blank as well.
Another page.
Blank.
Another page.
Blank.
Another page.
Blank.
Another page.
Blank.
Another page.
Blank.
Another page-
...There was a message on it.
...LOOK BEHIND YOU...
The waterbender gasped and froze.
...She...didn't want to...
...However...
…She heard sounds...from behind...
...Haaaac-ugh-og-ugh-haaaac-ooo-uuugh-oooogh-haaaack!
...It sounded like...choking...choking on something...but what?
Either way...Katara froze...she froze in fear...not wanting to turn around...
She dropped the journal onto the desk.
The choking was getting even more violent sounding.
Huuuuuck-uuuuuuck-aaaauggghh!
...Katara went over to her candle to gingerly pick it up with her fingers...her eyes widened in dread...
The choking became erratic now.
Haaackaac-kaaaack-haaaack-kack-kack-kack-kack-huuuacccckk!
"...P-Please...whoever you are...j-just leave me alone…" Katara told the choking sounds behind her in a frightened but stern tone.
Haaaaaaack...uck…uck...uck...uff...
...
...
...
...Katara took a shuddering deep breath...and with all her courage, turned around slowly to see ifanyonewas behind her.
Once she fully turned...
...
...No one was there...
...Katara let out a deep sigh of relief.
Once she turned her face forward...
...She looked down and saw that the journal on the desk was open again...
...And somethingelsewas written on the pages of it.
Her eyes widened and a soft gasp emerged from her mouth.
It said...
GOD IS REAL...BUT GOD ISN'T HERE.
Katara froze once more...
"Look behind you."said a clear male voice...behindher.
Katara gasped once more and jumped in shock, her heart stopped.
"I said...look...behindyou."
...Katara then looked at the metal pipe that was resting against the desk on her left...
...Her candleholder hand was shaking...
...She quickly reached for the metal pipe with her left hand. She turned around, getting ready to swing the pipe horizontally at whoever was going to attack her.
She froze in mid-swing.
...There...There was no there.
...Katara had enough of this room.
Before she could take a step, though-
"Don't let it consume you."said a whisper to her ear.
"AAH!" And with that, Katara sped out through the doctor's office. She went to the door and tried to open the door hastily while still holding the metal pipe. Once she successfully opened it, she exited and ran out of the office, never once lookingback.
She ran through the hallway of the infirmary...until she came up to an open doorframe that lead to a room at the end of the hallway.
Not caring why it was open, she went inside the room. Turning around, she used her pipe hand to close the door, not really knowing why she would. It just made her feel safe...
Taking deep breaths, Katara regained her bearings and gave out one more relieved sigh. She turned around again to see what kind of room she was in.
...It was a nursery for newborns.
There were brown wooden cradles lined up in the room for the newborn babies to be in...
Upon looking at the cradles, she was instantly reminded of the doll she had strapped on her belt.
Glancing down at the doll wrapped around her waist, it was still intact.
She doesn't know why, but she feels like this doll is important...
Keep the little one safe.
...Maybe this is the second room I'm supposed to go in...
Katara walked through the nursery, passing by cradles as she began to find whatever she needed to find around here...
I think in that doctor's office I was supposed to find that journal...I think...so...what could this room tell me? What am I finding?
As she passed a cradle...
...She found three cradles that were...oddly color-coded.
Katara blinked.
She stood in front of them, observing them…
One was...an orange-painted cradle...with blue sheets in it. The other was a blue-painted cradle with blue sheets in it...and the last one was a red cradle with blue sheets inside the cradle...
...Looking down at the doll that was wrapped by her waist, she began to piece the puzzle together...
Placing the pipe against a cradle, Katara got the doll unwrapped around her belt and looked at it closely...
It was a straw doll...and it was wearing a purple dress outfit...
She began to think...
Would the purple dress...be a clue?
She glanced at the colored cradles...and looked at the blue sheets...
Katara thought about colors more than often. When she looked up at the night sky back at home, she would see the aurora lights from where she sat in her spot near her village. They always change when they morph around, and she always wondered what makes them do that...
She looked at the doll again and what it was wearing...
…Purple...
She looked at the blue cradle.
…Well, if blue mixes with blue, then...it's just a darker shade of blue...I think...so that wouldn't look right for this doll…
She turned her attention to the orange cradle.
And…orange is too light...and blue is too dark...purple is more of an intense color...
She then finally looked over at the red cradle...
…Red...blue...mix it together and...the shade of the color would be…
…Katara went over to the red cradle.
Upon looking at it, she glanced at the doll, and back at the cradle.
...She placed the doll on the red cradle with blue sheets...
...
...
...HEH-HAH-HEE-HAH-HEE!
Katara jumped in surprise and gasped at the loud...baby's giggle?
...
...
...Nothing happened.
The waterbender stood there...waiting for something to happen…
...Not wanting to take any chances, Katara reached for her pipe and got ready to attack.
Walking back to the door she entered in, she passed the other cradles...
Until-
PLUNK!
Ding-dingle-ding...
Katara once again jumped at the sound.
...Nothing happened...
...Shaking off the uneasy feeling she was getting, she trudged forward, passing more cradles...
...Until she found something on the floor.
First off, it was a knocked-over cradle...but next to it a foot away...
...Was a key.
Blinking at that, Katara cautiously went up to the object. She placed her candle near the key, knelt down to it, and picked it up.
"...Okay then..." Katara muttered, "Could...this key help me and Jemusu out of here?"
Then-
...AAAAAAUUUUUGHHH...
Eyes widened in alarm, Katara shot back up, her pipe ready to strike something and the key still being in her hand.
...AAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGHHH!
...It sounded like yelling...
...Katara pocketed the key, knelt down again to get her candle, and walked over carefully away from the cradles, making her way to the door...
...
...Then...
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
"AAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGHHH!"
Katara gasped as the yelling grew louder near the door that was being pounded on.
"AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!"
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM-BAM!
Whoever was pounding the door, sounded like they wanted in, what with this person yelling out in agony.
Normally, Katara would help people who are in trouble...but Katara wasn't going to do that until she knows who it is.
"H-Hello?" Katara stuttered.
If there's one thing that Katara learned here...is that anything could happen.
"AAAAAAUUUUUUAAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHH!"
The yell sounded like a woman...she was in pain...was she?
Katara, not wanting to risk it, readied her metal pipe as she glared at the door.
"Come on...just open it..."
"AAAAUUUUGGGHH!"
"Come on, open it...it's not locked, so you should open it..."
"AAAAAUUUUUGHHHH!"
"Open it...come on!"
"AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGUUUUUGGGGHHHH!"
"Just come in, alright!?" Katara yelled back.
"AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHH..."
…Silence...
…Then, the door opened.
And Katara's eyes widened.
They widened in dread...and in horror.
Her mouth went agape as she saw this...this...
As she stared at it, thethingshuffled over to her...
"AAAAAAAUGHHH..."
All Katara could do is look at it...
...and scream.
End of Chapter 13
And...that's it for now! Don't worry, Katara will be fine! ...I mean, I don't know if she will be fine mentally, but...either way, she's all good! No worries! XP
But yeah, next chapter will be of Jemusu and back at Katara! I want to focus on Katara's segment for now, and then, we will go back to Toph and Meira's segment! Then, Aang, then maybe Sokka and Suki, or Zuko! ...Or maybe Iroh...huh. I got a lot of characters here...but I can take it! XD
Tell me what you all think of this chapter! I hope it's good! I love to hear what you think! :) Leave me a fave, follow, and a review! :D
Thank you all for reading and until next time, keep on rocking everybody! ^_^
-TSP