horizons | jake sully

O N E

"Layla, or as the Na'vi call her L'aiola, Olden is a high value Avatar. She holds a high amount of information on the Na'vi and their ways," Colonel Quaritch said as pictures a woman flashed across the screen. A few men sat around the screen and listened closely. Grace Augustine stood in the back of the room with her arms crossed tightly against her chest.

"How are we supposed to find her?" a man asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Great question," Quaritch said with a smirk. Grace rolled her eyes and left the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

"She lives with the Na'vi. We pretend to be one of them and get them to trust us, we get direct access to her. You take her and you bring her to me."

The group was dismissed except for one.

"Jake Sully," Quaritch sneered. A man in a wheelchair stayed back and stared at the man. "Can I count on you to get the job done? Those dipshits won't get anything done."

"Yes sir."

The Link room was busy today. Grace sat and watched as a new recruit named Norm completed his first link. Her eyes caught Jake entering the room and she gave him a long stare before waving him over.

"You'll be in this one," she said, leaving Norm and patting an empty link chamber. Jake nodded and wheeled himself over. "Lay flat, don't move."

He immediately lifted his head up.

Grace huffed and pressed down on his forehead.

"Down."

He got comfortable and looked at her.

"Whenever you're ready."

He gave her a slight nod and she shut the chamber. She then climbed into her own chamber and transferred into her own Avatar.

Jake woke up and the sounds of voices were muffled. His vision was blurry and the lights were bright on his face. He slowly blinked and came to his senses.

"How do you feel? Take it slow," a scientist said while hovering over him. Jake sat up quickly and looked down at his feet. A smile spread onto his face and he began wiggling his toes.

He looked at his hands and the size was incredible. He swung his legs over the edge of the table and placed his feet on the floor.

"Hey, slow, you're not ready to-"

Ignoring their warnings, he stood up. His balance was off and an odd sensation was coursing through his veins. He looked down and his eyes caught sight of the tail. He took a wobbly step as the humans in the room tried to stop him. He just pushed through them and shoved the metal door open. The air was nice. Almost soft. He took a deep breath and took off running.

Other Avatars watched him as he happily raced through the field of plants. A laugh left his mouth and the feeling of the ground beneath his feet was euphoric.

"What the hell are you doing? You're not supposed to be running yet," an Avatar woman said.

"Grace?"

"Who else did you expect?" she said, placing her hands on her hips. "Come on, I'll give you a tour of the facility. But after you get some normal clothes," she smiled.

She took him to change into some real clothes and then showed him the full facility. He was in awe. So much was happening here that so many people had no idea about. After a few hours, they were taken to the camp where the Avatars stay while the drivers return to their human bodies. That was the weirdest adjustment. Being huge, then normal sized again.

The rest of the night was filled with research and small naps. Norm and Jake were educated some on the principals of the forest and how the Na'vi live. They read up on animals and examined the looks. Then, they were asleep for the night.

The next morning was another link day. Grace was taking Norm, Jake, one of Quaritch's other guys to the forest to get first hand experiences.

The helicopter landed and Grace shoved the guys out before telling the pilot to go stay here.

"I only need one idiot with a gun, I don't need a second one," Grace said to the man. He huffed and sat down on the edge of the helicopter while the three went on their way.

The forest was thick and sounds surrounded the group. Grace watched as the two men lost themselves in the beauty of the forest. It was almost like two toddlers looking at Christmas lights. They were in utter shock. Their eyes were big and their heads turned toward every single noise.

"Keep your heads up. The last thing I need is one of you being ripped to shreds by an animal," Grace said. Norm looked at her but his joking expression shifted into fear when he realized she was completely serious.

The ground began to shake slightly and, as if on cue, an animal appeared. Jake raised his gun and Grace grabbed his arm.

"Do not. It's just gonna piss him off," she said.

"It's already pissed off," Jake responded.

"It's territorial. The armor on it is too thick, trust me. Just hold your ground. If you run it will charge."

He stood still and lowered his gun to his side. Grace sighed and it was eerily quiet. The animal began to charge. Norm lunged forward but Grace caught him in the waist. Jake yelled loudly at it and tried to maintain his ground.

After a few seconds, the animal retreated, but not because of Jake. He grinned and held a smug look on his face.

"That's right!" he yelled, holding his arms out.

A split second later, a second animal came barreling out of the trees. The group stopped and all of their heartbeats stopped. The nerves were high.

"Thanator," Norm said loudly.

Before any of them could run, Grace spotted a Na'vi woman on the back of it. She was thrown off and rolled toward Jake. She pushed herself up and hissed, grabbing her braid from behind her back.

"L'aiola?"