Behind the Flames .:H2OVanoss:.

.:Chapter 22:.

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          "JON!!" David and Evan raced to the edge of the river, scanning it over again and again for any sign of their friends. For many long moments there was no movement beneath the rolling waves.
          "Oh no, Luke!" Craig ran up to them, alongside the three earth benders. Arlan, Lui, and Marcel were not too far behind.
          "What do we do?! We can't leave them in there with it!" Brock shivered and shook the icy water from his sleeves.
          "I'm going in!" David took a step forward, but Tyler's deadly grip on his arm forced him to a halt.
          "Look there!" He pointed downstream a little ways, where a pool of blood was steadily growing. A large cluster of air bubbles popped in the waves, and a shadow slowly grew larger under the surface, until eventually something destroyed the surface of the water in a violent splash.

          Jonathan choked on the gallons of water being shoved down his throat, but before the serpent could tear Luke in half, Jonathan swooped in and shot large spikes of ice into its mouth. It cried with fury and thrashed around wildly. That's when Jon grabbed Luke's limp figure and pulled it to the surface.
          They burst out into the open but didn't have time to stop. The serpent was already back on their heels, hissing and slamming into the gorge walls, causing snow and stones to roll heavily into the water. Luke coughed violently and groaned in pain as the blood continued to spray out of his leg, making the serpent go absolutely berserk.
          "Are you guys ok?!" David leapt into the river and skated up to them, as the rest of the crew ran alongside the bank.
"No, Luke needs healing right now, or he's gonna lose too much blood!" Jon ground his teeth and looked back. The serpent kept its bulging eyes fixed upon Luke's leg.
Then that's when Jonathan heard it; low, familiar whispers blowing into his ears and a strong tug in his gut. His eyes followed the direction of the whispers into the thick forest above them. In between two quickly passing trees, he saw a scarlet red outline of a woman, dressed in old water tribe tunics with long braided hair, and looking to be in her early twenties. Her eyes bore the color of shadows that leaked black ink.
As soon as another tree flew by, she was striking a different pose. Her arm was outstretched as if she were bending something. This repeated several times, each time she was in another position, and, for some reason, each move glued itself into his mind and wouldn't leave, playing out in a slow and choppy animation.
"We have to figure out a way to get to shore without it getting too close!" David shouted and dodged a thrashing tongue.
Jonathan continuously stared into the trees, then at the trail of watery blood behind them. Then, with the moves replaying in his mind, he understood what he had to do. "David, Luke won't survive if you don't heal him right now! I'll distract it! Take Luke!" He tried to pass the fire bender over, but David refused.
"No way! I'm not letting you fight it alone-"
"David there's no time!!" The serpent lashed out again, slapping the water hard in front of them. "David, you have to trust me! I know what to do! Take Luke now!!"
"There has to be another way-!"
"David!"
The serpent was closing in fast, and unfortunately for them, the walls of the bank rose higher as they continued downstream.
"I..!" David couldn't find it in him to persuade him any longer. This was their last chance. "..Ok, fine!" They skated close enough to pass Luke off in between the serpent's vicious attacks. As Jonathan slipped Luke into David's grasp, the fire bender opened his eye, just in time to watch Jon turn away and face the serpent.
It's eyes were still focused on the red liquid soaking Luke's leg, and hardly noticed Jonathan skating close to it. The serpent veered to the side, following David as he began lifting them up to reach the high bank. It's jaws would have snapped closed on both of their bodies if the miracle that happened next had ended up failing.
Jonathan started copying the red spirit's dance when he felt a cold, ghostly touch on his arm and forhead. It began forcing into his body a new power that he'd never known was possible. He trembled and gasped, his vision went colorblind, and then into many shades of red. As the entire river started to look like blood the feminine voice whispered above the rest; "I'm transferring my burden unto you. You have one chance, Bloodbender."