A brothers sacrifice

Chapter 3

Palu found himself being dragged along by Tuk and Kiri to go with Lo'ak and Spider. He was originally supposed to scout with his parents, but they were still upset with him over the incident, so Neteyam took his place. Palu was now on babysitting duty, and although he was a bit disappointed that he couldn't go on the mission with his parents, he put on a smile for his younger siblings.

As they ran across the wide branches that intertwined into a bridge, Kiri cheered for Spider, calling him "monkey boy." Palu hung back at the end of the group, keeping an eye on Tuk and ready to catch someone if they fell. He had no idea where they were going, but he didn't mind being dragged along. Lo'ak led the way, while Spider and Kiri followed closely behind, with Tuk getting distracted along the way but remaining happy nonetheless.

"Guys, wait up!" Tuk cried trying to catch up.

"Come on, Tuk, we're falling behind!" Palu laughed as he jogged behind her, letting her to stay in front. However, Tuk suddenly stopped in her tracks, seeing a flower. Palu smiled as he watched her hold her hand over the plant, observing as it seemed to reach for her touch.

"Tuk keep up!" Lo'ak yelled.

"Come on Tuk." Palu said.

"Okay, okay." Tuk huffed grabbing her brothers hand and started following after them again.

"Bro, why'd you bring her anyways?" Spider asked Lo'ak which received a glare from the eldest.

"She's such a crybaby." Lo'ak threw his hands up in a dramatic matter. "I'm telling! You're not supposed to go to the battlefield! I'll tell mom if you don't let me come!" He mimics Tuk.

"Bro you used to cry to mom when I didn't take you with me," Palu teased, earning a laugh from Kiri, a tongue sticking out from Tuk directed at Lo'ak, and a roll of the eyes from the latter.

Palu finally had realized where they were headed. "Wait... we're going to the battlefield?!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.

Lo'ak's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered that he had not told his brother about where they were going. Meanwhile, Palu looked to Kiri, only to see her avoiding eye contact.

"No, we can't go there. We're already in trouble with dad. If he finds out, he'll actually skin us alive. We need to go back," Palu said sternly.

"Come on, Palu, please? We'll be back before the eclipse. He won't find out," Lo'ak pleaded, but Ateyo remained unconvinced.

Realizing that he might not be able to convince his older brother, Lo'ak turned to Tuk for help, knowing that she was less likely to say no.

"Please?" Tuk begged, gripping onto his pinky finger.

After a few minutes of silence, Palu let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, but we need to be back before the eclipse. And if anything happens, we call it in. Understood?" he said sternly, turning his gaze to Lo'ak for confirmation.

"Yes, understood!" Lo'ak responded, grinning from ear to ear.

Lo'ak turned and started running, not giving him a chance to change his mind.

They stop when they saw a rusted helicopter in a tree. Lo'ak and Spider quickly climbed up to check it.

"Are there any dead bodies up there?" Tuk asked hugging her oldest brothers arm.

Palu turned and watched Kiri walk off, "Kiri, stay close please." He called after his sister.

He watched her nod her head before he turned back to Tuk. Palu always found the battlefield cool. The last bits of the humans were like relics, they were pieces of the past that he didn't think he'd ever get to see.