Chapter 12

13.2K 455 20

by musiclover1561

by musiclover1561

Neytiri's sister

Hakguk's pov

I exited my link and right away my tummy grumbled. I look over and see Grace heating up two burritos. "Hungry I see?" She asks me in a teasing way. I roll my eyes playfully and exit my link, "yes I am." I walk over to the counter near the bunks and sit down tiredly. "Is Jake still in there?" I ask.

Grace puts a glass of juice and a burrito in front of me. "Yeah he is...I swear that boy is in there too much. He is getting too skinny." I take a bite of my burrito and sigh at the bland taste. Well it's just bland to me because I'm so used to eating Pandorian food. "Is he now?" I take a gulp of my orange juice and she nods with a cigarette in her mouth.

I sigh sadly at that damn habit of hers, she is getting to old to be smoking. There is a beep signaling someone exiting their link. "You are still loosing weight." Grace comments as she places a burrito in front of him. "Eat." I look over and see him looking at the burrito with such distaste.

"I made a kill today...we ate it...at least I know where the meal came from." I roll my eyes at his childish behavior and continue to eat my burrito. This could use a side of kimchi or hot sauce. Something spicy to wake up my pallet. I get up and grab the hot sauce from the cabinet near by.

"Other body....you need to take care of this one." I pour some hot sauce in my burrito and bite into it. "Yeah yeah." He waves her away dismissively. "Jake I'm serious." I look over and cringe. "Yeah dude you look like shit." Grace nods her head. "He is right. You do, you are burning too much." Jake looks at Grace and snatches the cigarette out of her mouth and puts it out.

"Get rid of this shit then you can lecture me all you want." I smile a bit then I continue to eat my abnormally huge burrito. "I'm telling you, as your boss and someone who might even consider being a friend someday, to take some down time." I walk over with my burrito and sit next to him. He looks at me and smiles then he suddenly remembers something.

"Not tomorrow...tomorrow Hakguk and I leave for Iknimaya." Damn I actually wanted to take a break tomorrow. Grace walks over to the coffee maker and makes herself a cup of coffee. "Right you are going to ride a banshee...or die trying." I choke on my burrito at the mention of death so Norm has to walk over and hit my back repeatedly. Jake ignores my choking and nods. "That's right Grace. That's what we've been working for."

Once I hack up the burrito I take a swig of my orange juice and they still ignore the fact I almost died here instead of out there.

"And this is your check up from the neck up, Marine. You're getting in way too deep.Trust me, I learned the hard way."

Bastards didn't care if I almost fucking died right here. I flip off Jake but he once again ignores me.

"What happened at the school?" Grace walks over and sits next to me. She lays her head on my shoulder and starts to explain what happened.

"Neytiri's sister -- Sylwanin -- stopped coming to school. She was angry about the clear-cutting." I could feel Grace tense but I just keep listening. " One day, she and a couple of other young hunters came running in, all painted up --they'd set a bulldozer on fire -- I guess they thought I could protect them." I gulp a bit imagining what happened next. But what worried me was how calm Grace seemed.

"The troopers pursued them to the school." She takes a deep breath and gulps. "They killed Sylwanin in the doorway.Right in front of Neytiri. Then shot the others." Her voice was beginning to crack a bit so I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "I got most of the kids out before they shot me." I gasp a bit and I can see her eyes beginning to water but she hides it.

"Jesus." Jake mutters under his breath. Grace nods "yeah."

"A scientist stays objective -- we can not be ruled by emotion. But I poured ten years of my life into that school. They called me sa'atenuk. Mother." She looks at Jake with a sad look. "That kind of pain reaches back through the link." She gets up and walks over to her coffee cup. She walks over to the table and sits down. "It's a job. Learn what you can -- but don't get attached." I think back to Tsu'tey and then I bow my head.

Grace is right...

"It's not our world, Jake. And we can't stop what's coming."

I excuse myself and put on my exo pack, Grace nods and looks away but I see tears beginning to spill. I walk outside and look around at the world around me. I make my way to the tree I comforted Norm at and I slid down. I look up at the sky and try not to cry. I got attached....I got attached to this world...to the plants...the animals....the culture..the people...and...Tsu'tey.

I'm a scientist it's my job to learn and report...no strings attached but that's exactly what I did not do. I tied my heart strings everywhere I walked since that first day the thantor chased us. I can't let my emotions get the best of me anymore and I won't. I don't want to go through the pain Grace went through. I don't want to have Tsu'tey with me then have him killed.

I look down at my lap and cry. I cry and cry and cry,why? Because I love this planet....and I think...I think I love Tsu'tey

Am I In love with him?