Blood and Water | Neteyam

Passing Ships in the Night ∼ 39

At each step Tcelia took, the force of it jolting pain up through her body and into her head, nausea filled her and threatened to knock her out. She was adamant on ignoring it though, knowing that if she acknowledged it, it would slow her down and lead to her sure death.

She was shooting through the large cafeteria, water splashing everywhere as she hurried through. She could feel Neteyam hot on her heels as he yelled at her to get to the door on the other side of the room. She skidded to a stop just in front of it, looking around her desperately. To her right, there was a long hallway, leading to Eywa knows what. It could be a way out, but it could also be a dead end, but that was the case for the path behind the door as well.

Neteyam had already pulled the door open with great difficulty due to the water pushing against it, and Tcelia quickly slipped through it. He followed her immediately, shutting the door and tightening the handle. Still, water fussed out from the bottom of the door and from a tunnel to her left, water flooded down the hallway, forcing them to run straight without any sense of where they were going. Everything in Tcelia's body screamed at her that they were running the wrong way. It made sense that the direction that the water was coming from would be the way out. But there was no way that they could fight their way through the current. She was exhausted and in pain, her wrists screaming with agony every time she pushed herself off the walls to move forward.

Suddenly Tcelia and Neteyam were thrown to the side as the floor tilted, smashing up against the wall and momentarily blinding Tcelia with another rush of nausea as cool water crashed over her, filling her mouth with the taste of saltwater. Her open wounds stung as the saltwater collided with them, causing Tcelia to cringe at the pain. Neteyam was by her side in an instant, hauling her up by the upper arm, "Keep going!" he shouted desperately, pulling her along.

Tcelia stumbled forward, her head spinning as she tried to regain her bearings. They were running on what had previously been the wall and Tcelia realized with a sense of panic that the whole ship was flipping upside down. Both Neteyam and Tcelia lowered themselves, placing a steadying hand to the ground, so that they could slide down from the wall and collide gently with what had been the ceiling not a minute ago as the ship finished rotating, the sound of creaking metal filling the air as well as the water that kept rushing steadily, filling the corridor dangerously fast.

They ran, taking right and left turns, not stopping to think as they threw themselves down the different, dark corridors, Tcelia trying to ignore the horrible feeling that was welling up inside her – that they were only making it worse, that there was no escape, that they were running in circles, getting nowhere, and that their efforts were in vain. The walls seemed to close in on her as the water overlapped her thighs, reaching her waist, slowing her down immensely.

As they turned another corner, Tcelia's heart sank as she saw a solid metal door blocking their path. Neteyam tried the handle, but it was locked tight.

"No, no, this isn't happening," Tcelia's mind raced as she searched for another way out, but all she could see was the rising water and the closed door in front of them. It was all too much for her to bear as she watched Neteyam pulling in vain at the locked door, the water rising steadily now already at her chest. Not knowing what to do, she approached Neteyam's side, trying to help him pull open the door, bracing herself as the pain from her wrists once again jolted through her. Suddenly, the whole ship lurched again, throwing Tcelia off balance, only managing to stay on her feet by holding on tightly to the handle. She cursed as she realized that it probably had been the ship hitting the ocean floor. She forced herself not to think about how deep beneath the water's surface they were.

As the water level rose, they were both lifted off their feet. Neteyam swore under his breath as he let go of the handle and swam out of Tcelia's view. Anger and frustration filled Tcelia's mind as she heaved in a breath and dove under the water, still stubbornly trying to pull the door open. Dizziness filled her almost instantly due to the lack of air, and she was forced to return to the surface almost immediately. This didn't stop her from diving down again seconds after, frustratingly trying to get the door to budge, cursing at the door in both Na'vi and in English in her mind.