I Am Not the Last Airbender {ON HOLD}

Chapter Twenty-Four

            I woke up in the arms of the cool morning air.  Looking around, Macco was nowhere in sight…neither was Jaacob!  Where had they gone?  Had Jaacob escaped?  Had he hurt Macco?  I jumped up, Mum’s quilt falling to the forest floor.  I spun around madly, recklessly. 

Where was he?  Where was he?

“Macco!” I called out, desperation seeping in between the cracks.  Looking around, I found footprints in the soft ground and began following them, each indent like a lifeline.

Macco.  Macco.

My breathing began to heighten as the panic set in.  What was wrong with me?  In the last few weeks, I’d gone through more than one stressful situation and had hardly lost my cool.  I guess it was the unbearable, heart-wrenching thought of losing my best…my only friend in the world.  Sure I had people I liked back south, but a true friend sticks with you no matter what you do, or where you go.  A friend has your back, a friend hugs you when you’re down—no questions asked.  A friend loves you unconditionally.  I hope Macco knows that I’d do anything for him.  When we’ve fought side by side, run next to each other, I’m fighting for him, running to save him, not me.  I got him in this mess. I’d vowed to myself to get him out and get him home when this was all over.  I have to.  There’s no way I’m going to break a promise, even if it was a silent one.

Then, I heard murmurs.  And then words.

“—the ducts.  I’ve been there.  I promise, it’s the only way.”  That was Jaacob, most definitely.

“She won’t like it if she finds out it’s your idea.  She’ll think it’s a trap.”  It was Macco, oh praise the sun and moon and ocean spirits!  Praise them all, it was him.  I was about to take a step forward and reveal myself if it weren’t for what Jaacob said next,

“I don’t think we should bring her.”

“What?” Macco exclaimed in surprise.  “Why ever not?”

“They’ll recognize her.”

“Who will?”

“The Fire Army.”

“Why in the four nations would the Fire Army be in Ba Sing Se?  Fire Lord Zuko would never have his troops occupying Earth Nation territory.”

“They aren’t his troops.”

“What?  Then whose are they?”

“I can’t tell you, not now anyways.”

“What happened to trusting me?  How can I trust you if you’re hiding things from me?”

“I-I’m sorry, but I can’t.  If for some reason they capture you and you know, they’ll kill you—no second interview.”

Macco was silent for a moment.

“Okay, I’ll trust you for now.  But if you give me a reason not to, don’t think I’ll give you another chance.”

“Yes, yes, I totally understand.”

“Now, what were you saying before?  That the Army will recognize her?”

“They have her poster everywhere…just her, not you.  She’s famous.  The Avatar’s daughter on the run.  That’s part of the reason why we have to go through the ducts: even the Earth Nation will know her face.”

“I don’t see why we can’t take her, though.”

“It’s too dangerous for her.  And I’m not sure how the…uh, others will react.”

“Who?”

“No one.”

Macco paused.  Then he said, “This is her quest, her journey, her mission.  We can’t take that away from her.  She’s managed to keep me alive this far as well as herself.  She can handle danger.  I believe in her.”

It was now that I chose to interrupt, before Jaacob could dissuade him.

“Macco!” I cried, bursting forth through the trees.  I allowed a frantic edge to creep through my voice, “I didn’t know where you were!  I thought you were gone!  Oh—” I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tightly.  After several seconds, I turned to look at Jaacob.  “What is he doing here?  Why is he untied?”  I jumped free of Macco and summoned some water from my canteen and held the swirling orb as if to throw it towards Jaacob, who was now holding his arms up in surrender.

“Uh…oh, I’m sorry,” Macco stammered.  “I just needed a little help carrying some firewood and I didn’t want to wake you.”  He bent down to pick up a couple of twigs at his feet.  Looking uncomfortable, caught in his lie, he mumbled, “Kindling.”  I was tempted to make things tough for him, but I decided to let it slide for the moment.

“Oh,” I forced my shoulders down.  “Okay, that’s alright.”  I smiled.  “Can we go back now, though?  I don’t think we actually need any firewood right now though, because we should start heading towards Ba Sing Se.  We’re getting closer; don’t want to waste any time on…kindling.”  I turned my back and smiled to myself, beginning to walk back towards camp.  I was glad that Macco had stuck up for me, but there was no telling when he’d decide to play hero and try and remove me from a potentially dangerous situation.  And Jaacob was unpredictable.  Even if Macco seemed to trust him, I certainly didn’t.  He’d tried to kill us both once, and I wasn’t just about to forget that.