A New Beginning, A New Life

[judilee11]

I like your story!  I just stumbled upon it this evening, and had to read it straight through.  I hope that you plan to post chapter 5 soon. Irayo, Eywa ngahu. Judilee

[Duma Vadamee {Aungia Tsawkeyä}]

we are all waiting

[Tìkawng Txe’lan]

yeah dont worry everyone. things have calmed down now since i graduated and school is done. ill be workin on chapter 5 and hopefully have it done this weekend.

[archaic]

Look forward to it.

[P.A.'li makto]

Go ahead, ma tsmukan!

[Tìkawng Txe’lan]

okay everyone. i apologize for the lateness again. things are still kinda rough here, what with the heat and everything else i got going on but not to worry. i havent forgotten about the story. heres chapter 5. ill probably start chapter 6 this weekend, and ill try to knock it out in two weeks. so just bear with me plz. 

Spoiler

Chapter 5-The Beginning

It was still early in the day. According to my watch, it was noon. I walked out of the giant tree, and sat at the base of one of its roots. I leaned up against the root and looked out into the forest. The forest was even amazing during the day. And yet, I couldn't fully enjoy it. Zulieka soon stood next to me. I looked up at this tall female warrior, who was nearly twice my size.

"Hello Zulieka. Care to join me?" I asked, offering her a seat next to me.

"Of course, Tim. Thank you," she said, sitting down next to me.

I closed my eyes and listened intently to the sounds of the forest: the wind blowing, the sounds of animals in the distance and in nearby trees. I completely lost myself for a minute. I was so gone, I tried to take in the smell of the forest, but couldn't. I came back to reality, and remembered the mask I was wearing over my face. All I could smell was the air being blown in and my own flesh. I put my hands over the mask, just wanting to tear it off. But I knew I couldn't. Zulieka saw I was worried about something.

"Is there something wrong Tim?" she asked with concern

"Yeah, I'm okay, I guess. I just....." I started, "I wish I could take in everything the forest has to offer, you know?"

"No, I don't understand," she said, sounding confused.

"You see this mask over my face? It helps me breathe the air here. But, it also keeps everything else out. Almost everything the forest has to offer is kept out."

"Don't worry, Tim. You will enjoy the forest and more in time."

"I don't know whether to believe you."

"You should believe me. This 'Avatar program' my father spoke of will allow you to."

"You know what it is?"

"Yes, Father told me of it once. The Sky People, before they left, used these creatures called Avatars to study the forest. They look like us, but they also look like the human they are made for."

"So what happened then?"

"A man known as Suully made the Sky People angry. The Sky People attacked the old Hometree, and burned it to the ground. But my father, Turok Makto, led all the clans against the Sky People, and we drove them off, never to return."

"Wait, I thought your father's name was Jake, not Turok Makto."

"I will explain everything more in time, Tim. Do not worry."

"And what happened to this Suully character?"

"He is dead."

"Wow. Sounds like some Heavy duty stuff."

"Indeed."

"Yeah, but you and your dad are right. I need to take it easy."

"Exactly. Everything will happen in time."

We talked for a bit more after that. She was curious about Earth, what I did there, and what it was like living there. Zulieka is very bright. I can see why Jake allowed her to become my teacher. I guess she also wanted to learn more about me. So, it was like we would be teaching each other.

Several hours passed by since I arrived at the tree. Zulieka was nice enough to give me a tour of this massive tree she called home. She tried to show me a lot, knowing that I wouldn't be able to get to certain places. We walked down the spiral that led to the ground floor. There, we were met by Jake and Neytiri.

"Tim, Zulieka, we were just looking for you," Jake said when he saw us.

"What is it, Father?"

"It's getting late. I think you should escort Tim back to Hell's Gate, so he can begin work in the morning."

"Yes, Father," she answered back, "Come, Tim."

"Okay," I answered back, "It was nice meeting you, Jake. You too, Neytiri."

"It was nice meeting you too, Tim," Jake said back.

I looked at Neytiri, as if she was going to say something. But she didn't. She just nodded her head, with a somewhat dirty look on her face. The two of us started to walk back toward the RDA compound, it was nearly sunset.

"So, what's the deal with your mother? It seems like she doesn't trust me," I said to Zulieka, once we were far away enough from the tree.

"Mother had been through a lot while the Sky People were here. She lost a lot during the attack of Hometree and the battle afterward."

"Battle?"

"Yes, the Battle of the Tree of Souls. The Sky People attempted to destroy our most sacred place. Mother and Father fought to protect it. My father led the other clans as Toruk Makto to victory. But, there was also heavy loss."

"Wow, I can see why she doesn't trust me."

"Yes. Mother lost her father, Eytukan, her home, many friends, and even her own ikran."

"Eeekran?"

"It is a hunter's partner. Bonded for life."

"So it's some sort of animal?"

"Exactly. I will show you mine when your Avatar is finished."

"Ok, I look forward to it."

She gave me a warming look as I said that. As we walked she would point out things in the forest, most of them she told me would have to wait until my Avatar is finished. It wasn't long before we were back at the compound. We walked up to the iron gates, and pushed one of the gates. I walked onto the familiar concrete ground. I walked about three feet before looking back. Zulieka was still standing at the gate. I walked back to see what was wrong.

"You okay, Zulieka?" I asked worriedly.

"This place, it has been a place of such hardship for my people. We were told never to enter," she answered back.

"I'm sure it's okay. You're father knew you would have to come here anyway."

"Yes, but---" she started.

"It's okay. Nothing will hurt you here. Trust me," I said, holding a hand out to her.

Zulieka took a deep breath, and reached out to grab my hand, hers about two times the size. We walked slowly into the compound, knowing she was very nervous. After a few feet, I saw a glistening on the concrete. I walked over to it, and recognized it as my Bowie knife I had dropped when I was here last. I let go of Zulieka's hand, ran over to my forgotten weapon, and picked it up. I looked back at Zulieka, who was nervously rubbing her upper arm. I put my knife back into my pack, and walked over to Zulieka.

"Don't be so nervous, Zuleika," I said trying to calm her down, "Like I said, nothing will hurt you."

She nodded nervously back at me. As she did that, she clung to my right arm, like a child would to their parents when scared. She held onto me the whole way to the building. She looked at the dilapidated air ships, and, although she didn't want me to see, I saw a few tears run down her face.

"Zulieka," I said, "I know what you're thinking about. Now, I don't know what entirely what happened back then, but I promise you: it won't happen again."

She looked at me, wiping the tears from her face. She just nodded, and gave a small smile. We continued down the pavement to that familiar outer airlock door. I opened the iron door and walked in, but as I did so, Zulieka released her grip on my arm. I looked back at her standing there.

"Everything okay, Zulieka?" I asked her.

"I'm sorry, but I was only instructed to escort you here. I must return home for now. I will return tomorrow."

"You sure? I could find a place for you to---" I started

"No. I must go," she said bluntly.

"Ok then. I'll see you tomorrow."

I watched her quickly run back to the iron gates, and into the forest. She must really not like being here. I turned to face the airlock door. I checked to see if the power was still running. Sure enough, it was. I opened the door, walked into the small airlock, closed the door behind me, and pressed the button on the wall. The toxic air of the planet was filtered out of the airlock, and I was able to enter the inside. I removed my mask, which had now been on my face for a good 24 hours. I could feel the red mark it left around my face throb. I checked my watch: 2157. I figured I might as well have something to eat. So, I went into the lab, sat down at one of the desks, and took out some food from my pack that I'd kept from the crash. I opened the packaging, and started eating. The taste of the food was harsh.

"You know, if NASA could build a shuttle that could get me here, you'd think they could make this food better," I said aloud to myself.

I reached over the desk to get more food, but slipped and hit a nearby keyboard. The screen of a computer turned on next to me, and started playing some kind of video. It seemed to be a kind of video journal. The man on-screen had short hair, and appeared to be sitting. At one of the corners of the screen, it said, "VIDEO LOG: J. SULLY." I watched as the man talked about being recruited by the Avatar program, that he had to take his brother's place. The video ended, and brought me to a library of videos of this individual.

"Hmm, I'll have to watch these later," I said.

I finished what was left of the food, and left the lab. I walked down the long corridor to try to find the sleeping quarters. I walked down a different hallway this time, and came across an office. I walked into it, and on the desk was some kind of display of a floating rock. I went to touch it, and I pushed the rock out of it suspension, and the rock fell to the ground. I picked it up, and placed it back where it was. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a name plate that read, "P. SELFRIDGE."

"He was here, too?" I said aloud.

I couldn't believe Selfridge was here. Now I was really curious as to why RDA was here in the first place. I looked around the small, but spacious office for a place I could sleep, but found nothing but an office chair.

"Better than nothing," I thought.

So, I sat down in the chair, put my feet up on the desk, and drifted off to sleep.

*   *   *

It was daytime. I found myself walking through the growth of Pandora. I was walking slowly toward a downed tree, almost like I was looking for something. Well, needless to say, I did. Just behind the tree was a group of 3 natives and a herd of hammer headed creatures. Only these natives looked different. They were dressed in what appeared to be military clothing. The herd back off when they saw me coming over the tree. I was wondering why such huge creatures would back off at the sight of a human they could destroy in two seconds. Then, one of the natives, who looked kind of familiar, looked back at me with a look of both confusion and horror as I let out a huge roar. Then it got really weird, when the native held up a gun. As I started running after him, I heard a noise go off.

*   *   *

[Tsamsiyu92]

Nice chapter, you're at least mastering the first person without getting cheesy....like me.

Your story looks great so far, keep it up

[Tìkawng Txe’lan]

and id just like to say, the story will only get better. look for some returns (next chapter  ) some big reveals, and maybe even a death or two. im still thinking about that. but who knows.