Avatar: shackled earth

The forest was unnervingly quiet, the kind of quiet that made every footstep sound deafening. The refugees moved as one, a fragile collective bound by desperation. Hana,her hand resting protectively over her swollen belly,walked close to Taro, who leaned heavily on a makeshift cane. Jin clung to her side,his stuffed turtle-duck tucked tightly under his arm.

Ariya scanned the surrounding darkness,her hand twitching near the small dagger Ryoma had given her. "I don't like this,"she muttered.

Tomo,walking a few paces ahead,turned with a forced grin. "Relax. It's just trees and shadows. Nothing scary about -"

The sharp snap of a twig cut him off. His grin faltered.

Torches ignited in the darkness ahead,casting a flickering orange glow over armored figures. Fire Nation soldiers.

"Stay back,"Ryoma ordered, drawing his blade. His voice was calm, but the tension in his body was palpable.

The Fire Nation officer at the front sneered. "Refugees." His tone was almost casual, as though he were commenting on livestock. "No need to take prisoners. Kill them all."

The words barely hung in the air before chaos erupted.

Ryoma charged, meeting the soldiers head-on. His blade found its mark,cutting through the first man's neck in a spray of crimson. But more soldiers poured from the trees, their numbers overwhelming.

Tomo turned to the refugees, his voice cracking. "Stay together! Don't-"

A fireball roared past him, slamming into a tree. Splinters exploded outward,and the refugees screamed.

"We fight!" Ariya yelled, her voice wavering with fear but defiant. She pulled her dagger and stood her ground beside Hana and Jin, unwilling to show any sign of weakness.

Taro tried to rally the others,his voice rising above the chaos."Form a circle!Protect the children!" But the soldiers were relentless. The refugees' cries filled the air, drowned out by the clashing of steel and fire.

Ryoma fought valiantly, his blade flashing in the firelight. He cut down one soldier after another, but a firebender struck him from behind. The blast sent him hurtling into a tree,his body crumpling with a sickening thud.

"Ryoma!" Mei screamed, clutching Haru's arm in a panic, her fear evident as she looked toward the fallen warrior.

The soldiers surged forward,their blades cutting through the group.Mei and Haru tried to fight back, but they were no match for the Fire Nation's brutality. A soldier's spear impaled Haru through the chest, pinning him to the ground. Mei fell next, her throat slashed open as she reached for him in a desperate attempt to save him.

"No!" Tomo roared. He pushed forward,summoning a gust of wind that sent a soldier sprawling. For a moment,he created an opening."Run! Head for the trees!"

But no one moved. Their legs refused to carry them forward.

Hana held Jin close, shielding him with her body. "We can't outrun them," she whispered through trembling lips, her tears streaming down her face. Her voice cracked with the reality of their hopelessness.

Taro tried to pull her to her feet, his voice trembling. "We have to try!"

Another fireball exploded nearby, the force knocking Hana and Jin to the ground. Hana struggled to rise, but a soldier grabbed her by the hair, dragging her away. She screamed, her fingers clawing at the dirt as her body was forced along the ground.

Tomo lunged toward her, his heart pounding."Let her go!" He sent another gust of wind at the soldier, but the man held firm, slamming Hana to the ground.

Jin stood frozen,clutching his stuffed turtle-duck. His wide, tear-filled eyes locked onto Hana as the soldier raised his blade.

"No!" Ariya sprinted forward, tackling the soldier. Her dagger plunged into his side,but he threw her off easily, his armored gauntlet slamming into her face.

Hana crawled toward Jin,her voice trembling. "Run, Jin. Please, run."

The soldier struck her again, his blade flashing downward. Blood sprayed across the clearing as her body went limp. She didn't move.

Jin screamed—a raw, animalistic sound that cut through the air, leaving Tomo frozen in horror, his mind racing. They were losing. There was no way to save everyone. He turned to Ariya, who was struggling to her feet. "We have to get out of here!"

Ariya shook her head, tears streaking her face."We can't leave them!"

The remaining refugees were being slaughtered. Taro fell to a firebender's blast,his body consumed in flames. Another refugee, kneeling in prayer, was cut down with a single brutal swing.

Jin stood amidst the carnage, his small frame trembling. Blood splattered his face,his turtle-duck dangling limply from his hand.

Tomo reached for him."Jin,come on!We can still-"

A soldier's cruel, indifferent eyes locked onto Jin, whose small frame was trembling in the face of the unspeakable.

He grabbed the boy.

Tomo charged, desperation flooding his every muscle. "Let him go!" His voice was a snarled demand, but his words fell on deaf ears. The soldier didn't hesitate. His blade came down, slicing through Jin's small body.

Tomo's scream was deafening, filled with a primal fury and grief so deep it threatened to consume him. He charged at the soldier, slamming him into a tree with a violent gust of wind. The man crumpled, but it didn't matter. Jin was gone.

Ariya pulled at Tomo's arm, her voice shaking. "Tomo, we have to move!" Her plea was quiet, but urgent.

He stumbled back, his legs like lead beneath him. The bloodied turtle-duck lay in the dirt, a haunting reminder of what they'd lost.

Tomo's mind screamed for him to act, but his body didn't listen. The world was slipping from his grasp. Jin—gone. Hana—gone.

As they fled into the forest, the screams of the dying refugees followed them, echoing in the night. The sounds were seared into their minds, even as the trees swallowed them whole.

When they finally stopped, the first light of dawn revealed the blood on their clothes, their hands, their faces. It was a mark of their failure.

Tomo sank to his knees, his body trembling as the weight of it all settled in. "They're all gone," he whispered, his voice hollow. "We couldn't save them."

Ariya knelt beside him, her voice barely audible."We tried."

But the weight of their failure crushed them both, the haunting screams of the refugees echoing endlessly in their minds.

Tomo's breath hitched, and then it came—a deep, guttural scream that tore its way out of his chest, raw and unrestrained. He slammed his fists into the dirt, again and again, the impact sending shockwaves up his arms. He didn't care about the blood welling from his knuckles, didn't care about the pain.

"They slaughtered them!" he roared, his voice breaking with fury and despair. "Every single one of them! Hana, Jin, all of them—just gone!"

His breathing was ragged now, tears streaming unchecked down his face. His vision blurred with rage, memories of Jin's small, bloodied body flashing behind his eyes.

Ariya reached out to him but hesitated, her hand hovering uncertainly.

Tomo's voice dropped, trembling with a venomous intensity she'd never heard from him before. "I'll make them pay," he snarled, his teeth clenched so hard it felt like his jaw might break. "Every last one of them. They think they know what it means to be brutal?" His bloodied fists shook as he stared at the ground, his voice seething with hatred. "I'll show them.