THE OTHER AIRBENDER (Book 1)

(X) Earth

"Come on boy, we've got a long way to go. Faster!" Aang commands Appa, clearly feeling the pressure.

"This is by far, either the bravest or stupidest trip we've ever made," I say with a sigh.

"Aang. We've got trouble!" Katara says, and I glance down only to spot a Fire Nation ship hot on our trail. I already recognize who's ship it is.

"Zuko."

"Yeah! And he's gaining, fast!" Sokka cries out frantically.

Suddenly, I watch as a fireball is catapulted in the air directly towards us, and my eyes widen. "FIREBALL COMING RIGHT AT US!"

"I'm on it!" Aang says, pulling the reins and barely dodging the projectile.

"We have to get out of Zuko's range, before he shoots another hot stinker at us!" Katara states.

"Can't you make Appa go any faster?" Sokka pleads.

"Yeah. But there's just one little problem..." Aang responds, and when I glance down, sure enough, I see the little problem right in front of us. Lined up in an orderly fashion, there's numerous Fire Nation ships surrounding the island, acting as some kind of barrier.

"A blockade," I gulp loudly. I really don't see how we can get past this one. "They must've known we were coming."

"If we fly north, we can go around the Fire Nation ships and avoid the blockade! It's the only way," Aang says.

"There's no time!" I know Katara's right about this, but even I know that the stakes are too high.

"This is exactly why I didn't want you to come! It's too dangerous!"

"Do you seriously believe we would ever let you go through something like this on your own?" I snap back at him. I take a deep breath before jumping over to Appa's head and snatching the reins from Aang. "Grab onto something!"

I then yank at the reins hard, propelling Appa directly against the blockade. The three of them let out a scream, as a sea of fireballs is launched directly towards us. I barely manage to get Appa through it, dodging all the important hits, and Katara and Sokka put out any fire that may have caught on to Appa's fur. He grunts for a moment, and I feel bad for him, but I am well aware that we're still in danger.

"Sorry, buddy. You doing alright?" I ask the bison, and he grunts in response. I take that as forgiveness.

Another fireball hits us out of nowhere, and I almost don't make it, but I barely manage to yank Appa into another direction abruptly, making Sokka fall out of the saddle and free-fall into the ocean below us.

"Sokka!" Aang yells.

I quickly get Appa to descend right below him, and Katara is able to catch him just in time. We descend so fast, however, that Appa's paws almost hit the water and we head directly toward the blockade's ships. I widen my eyes as a large fireball is sent straight towards us, but before I can even react, Aang jumps ahead and uses his airbending to completely destroy it before it hits us. We finally fly right past the ships and get out of their shooting range, and I finally catch my breath, handing the reins back to Aang.

"I can't believe we made it," I sigh heavily. The adrenaline still has my heart pounding a thousand beats per minute.

"WE'RE ALIVE!" Aang celebrates excitedly.

"We got into the Fire Nation," Sokka says meekly. "Great."

"Nice bison-riding, Alya," Katara notes with a smile. "You're starting to become quite the airbender."