Running from the past

Passing days

The next day, I was told to pack up my gear because Norm, Trudy, Grace, Jake and I were leaving. I packed up my things and hid my tanto in my bag.

"So, where are we going?" I asked.

"We're getting out of Dodge," said Grace. "I'm not about to let Quaritch and Selfridge micro-manage this thing. There's a mobile link up at Site Twenty-Six that we can work out of, way up in the mountains."

Norm was grinning like a kid a Christmas. "The Hallelujah Mountains?" he asked.

"That's right," said Grace.

"Yes!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Jake asked, confused.

"The legendary Floating Mountains of Pandora?" said Norm, in a patronizing tone. "Heard of them?"

Jake and I both shook our heads.

"Leave her alone, Norm!" Trudy barked. "Aki's got enough on her plate already with trying to please the Omaticaya and making sure Jake doesnt do anything stupid. So, I suggest you quit picking on her just because your ego's been wounded or so help me, I'll break your nose."

Norm flinched and I shot Trudy a grateful look. She smiled and nodded. At least I had another friend here who liked me.

"Hey, Akira are you feeling ok?" Jake asked in a low tone. I gave him a slight nod, he smiled putting a hand on mine. "I know how it feels like loosing your twin, so if anything bothers you just come to me ok kid? Well be each others substitutes. We're family now kid." Surprise went through me as I stared at the crippled man. No ones ever said something like that me, or ever been helpful and worried about. Only Haruka.

We flew over some amazing sights. It was so fantastic, yet not a lot about this place seemed to surprise me anymore.

"We're getting close," said Grace.

"Yeah, look at my instruments," said Trudy, as the computer started frizzing out.

"We're in the Flux Vortex," said Grace. "We're going to have to VFR from here on."

"What's VFR?" asked Norm.

"It means you're going have to see where you're going," Jake explained.

"You can't see anything," he protested, as we came into a huge cloudbank.

"Exactly, and ain't that a kick in the pants?" said Trudy.

Up ahead, we got out of the cloudbank and then we saw the majestic Hallelujah Mountains. Norm looked stunned and I had to admit, they were breathtaking. Floating mountains, some big and others small, and others whose waterfalls seemed to vanish at the bottom.

We reached a remote research station which was two shacks and a few clusters of instruments perched on an outcrop near the Hallelujah Mountains. The shacks were airlift modules the size of buses made out of steel.

Trudy's flyer landed and then we all got out with our Exomasks on and then got ourselves into one of the shacks. Grace got the lights and equipment up and running. Inside were four bunks, supplies, some Link beds, and some workstations. It wasn't too bad, I'll admit, not the worst that I've had to stay at.

I smiled to myself when I saw the photos taped to the fridge door with Jake right behind me. It was Grace at her school with the Na'vi kids. They were so adorable. Then I realized that Grace was just missing her students. Grace didn't miss a beat. She knew Jake was talking to the Colonel, she knew I wouldn't like her if she was mean to my new family. But we had what she needed, a way back into the Clan, so she's playing nice. Or maybe she was genuinely starting to like me and Jake.