Chapter Text
“Go go go!” Lo’ak barely heard his brother’s commands over the bullets pinging on the wall they were sheltering behind. He took one last glance at Neteyam before racing to the moon pool and diving in, Spider right next to him.
It wasn’t obvious at first. The mixture of adrenaline and salt water must’ve halted the pain that comes with being shot. He always thought it would be the most painful thing in the world to be shot. I mean, a chunk of metal driven straight into your flesh? He’d shiver at the thought of it.
Swimming with his left arm and clutching his side with his right, he managed to resurface, now in a state of panic and struggling not to choke on the churning sea water around him. A splash behind him let him know Neteyam had made it safely back into the water. He looked ahead to see Tsireya arrive on her Ilu, beckoning for them to get on. “Come on bro!” Neteyam and Spider hurriedly swam to the Ilu. “Wait!” Lo’ak struggled to choke out the words through the sea water. The pain has worsened significantly, the terrible feeling of blood rapidly flowing from the bullet wound into the water extremely apparent.
All on the Ilu now, they looked towards Lo’ak, confusion written all over their faces. “I’m-“ He was cut off as more water rushed into his mouth. “What are you doing bro? Come on!” Neteyam looked at him, still oblivious to the the blood staining the water around Lo’ak. Taking the deepest breath he could, he managed to finally choke out 2 words. “I’m shot!” Neteyam, Spider and Tsireya’s faces quickly changed from confusion to horror. “Shit!”
Neteyam slid off the Ilu and hastily swam to Lo’ak, still struggling to stay afloat. As he reached Lo’ak he felt Neteyam grab his left arm and start to pull him towards the Ilu. Lo’ak cried out in pain, the action of having his arm pulled up stretching the flesh pierced by the bullet. Exhausted and weak from blood loss, he had no choice but to let his brother support his body weight as he frantically paddled through the churning water.
Fighting unconsciousness, he lifted his head to see Tsireya bring her Ilu closer to them. All of a sudden he was being hauled onto it, supported by Neteyam’s back and Spider’s arms behind him. His ears flicked back as he heard Spider mutter, “Holy shit,” as his back was exposed to him. He barely noticed the water pushing against his legs as they raced through the water. Immediately after they began the race to wherever, he heard Tsireya call out, “They have Kiri and Tuk!” Despite the nauseating feeling of blood loss pulsing through Lo’ak’s body, a pang of worry struck him. “We can’t go back now,” he heard Neteyam reply. All Lo’ak could do was hold on to his brothers waist and pray to Eywa that his sisters would be safe.