The night sky was tinged a sickly red.
Aang smelled it even before he turned: damp smoke, burning wood, evaporated sea salt.
He was sitting on Appa's saddle, with Katara and Sokka at his sides as the bison crossed the skies, already far from the island.
But when Aang looked back…
He froze.
Kyoshi Island was burning.
A massive column of smoke rose as if trying to swallow the stars.
Aang pressed his fingers against the edge of the saddle.
—"No… no, no, no!" his voice cracked. "We have to go back! They could be hurt! Suki…!"
Katara grabbed his wrist before he could order Appa to turn around.
—"Aang, wait," she said, her voice tense. "You can't go back! It's the Fire Nation! They're looking for you!"
—"But those people have no way to defend themselves against fire! We do!" Aang shouted, his eyes filling with tears.
Sokka, still pale from the adrenaline of the attack, spoke harshly.
—"Aang! We can't fight a whole battalion! You're the Avatar, they need you alive! If they capture you, it's all over!"
Aang felt his chest close.
He looked at the fire over and over, as if by doing so he could put it out.
—"I… I caused this…" he whispered, almost voiceless.
Katara squeezed his hand tighter.
—"Aang… you didn't light that fire."
But Aang wasn't listening.
Every spark seemed like a scream.
Every gust a memory.
And Suki… Suki was there.
Appa growled, restless. He felt the group's anguish.
Aang hid his face in his hands, breathing with difficulty.
For the first time since they met him…
he looked like a terrified child.
—"I promise…" he murmured, trembling. "…that someday I'll come back. That I'll help those people. But now…"
He forced himself to look forward, tears rolling down his cheeks.
—"I have to live. Because if I don't… no one will be able to save anyone."
Appa flew toward the horizon, leaving behind the bloody glow of the fire.
And Kyoshi Island was lost in the distance.