Yautjas were drawn to violence, blood, and death. It was in their very nature to hunt, and to kill. Kain'n was no different in that respect. His fingers were stained black from climbing around the filthy city. He scoured the buildings with a single-minded hunger, but he would not kill just any ooman. He had to find strong, suitable prey.
Over the rot in the sewers, he picked up the scent of fresh blood in the night air and followed it. Even cloaked, he still stuck to the alleyways and side roads of the concrete jungle. When he hit dead ends, he scaled the sides of brick buildings with ease and jumped across the gaps between them. Where the scent was strongest, he crouched on the edge of a roof, and glanced down.
He spotted two oomans, both male. One was bulkier with light-colored skin, while the other had a darker skin tone. They were loading a leather sofa into a truck with a camper. By the scent in the air, he knew immediately that there was a body hidden under the cushions. He knew very little about ooman culture though. They could have been carrying the ooman equivalent of a casket. He needed to follow the males, and learn more about them before he marked them as a target.
He was only a few stories up. When they closed the back and got into the vehicle, Kain'n jumped down from the building, landing on the sidewalk in a crouch. The trucks engine rumbled to life and he quickly ran and leapt onto the back of it. Cloaked, and in the dark, no ooman was going to spot him unless he wanted them to.
He stayed attached to the back of the truck as it headed to the outskirts of the city. They parked beside a white Fiat in an otherwise empty lot. The parking area was off to the side and fairly hidden from the road. The two males opened the back of the truck, and hauled out a body wrapped in thick black plastic bags and duct tape. Kain'n followed close behind them, eyeing the gun in one of the male's back pocket. The advanced technology of his bio mask instantly recognized it as a weapon.
They unlatched a rusted chain-link gate and headed around to the back of the building. It was a small, unlabeled factory. What was left of the paint was a sun-faded green. Cracked concrete lined the bottom of the structure, which was covered in layers of graffiti. They headed towards the small door near the truck loading dock.
A few black dreds slid off his shoulder as he turned his head, listening to the footsteps approaching around the corner. His bio mask rapidly changed settings, so that he could see through the building. The ooman approaching was a female, and armed as well. His body bristled at the thought, however, she could not be his prey. A spot on the left side of her lower back lit up in red. She had a health defect. Honor would prevent him from taking the skulls of weak prey, and calling them a trophy.
The two males were obviously carrying a dead body, and Kain'n assumed they were trespassing. When the female spotted them, weapons would be drawn, and blood would be shed. Kain'n was eager to watch, and see what would happen. He had no qualms about letting them kill each-other.
The dock was elevated so that the big trucks could pull right up to the building and unload. There was a concrete ramp that led up to the door. The ramp started near the corner of the building, where Samantha was slowly approaching. She could hear their shoes crunching on the gravel as they headed towards the ramp.
She whipped around the corner, gun drawn, "Stay where you are, this is the police!"
One of the men dropped the body to reach for his weapon, and its skull hit the pavement with a thud. The other man sprung his hands up into the air and went stiff as a board, dropping the dead body completely to the ground. They took aim, but neither of them fired. The male suddenly lifted his finger off the trigger, and placed his gun back in his pocket with an exhale.
"Don't mess with me, girl! I could have shot you!"
Samantha put her gun away and came strutting towards them, "No, no you wouldn't have. You're a bad shot Jack."
The other man spoke up, "Meaning it would have ricochet on somethin' and he would have shot me!" He poked at his chest, adding emphasis.
A huge grin spread to her face, "Sorry, T. I wasn't expecting company. Now come on, before anyone sees that thing."
She led them inside, and around the machinery, to the boiling cistern of lye. Traditionally, wood chips were mixed in with the highly caustic liquid to turn it into a pulp that's used to make cigarette paper. Once the pulp was gathered, a black sludge was left at the bottom as a waste product. It would drain into the pipes and be burned. The process only took about three hours.
As they lifted the body into the cistern, Samantha put her hands on her hips, "Who's in the bag? I don't remember Lyle putting a hit on anyone recently."
"The less you know Sweetheart, the better."
"Don't call me that, Jack. Now who is it?"
The body sank into the thick, bubbling liquid, "Some thug. A rival. Found him on our block again."
"Jack!" She groaned, "I warned you not to do that! They're gonna start targeting us. Even when we aren't the ones taking out their guys, they think it's us...Plus, you're more likely to get caught trying to get rid of the body. You touch more, leave more evidence. People could see you with the body."
"Hey, no body-no crime."
"Have it your way." She started to walk off, "Let yourselves out. I still have paperwork and other manager shit to finish up here."
Kain'n clung to the side of the building, peering into one of the clerestory windows. When the two men came out, he jumped down. The female wouldn't be a suitable trophy with her health defect, so he would continue to follow the two males. She was involved in whatever they were doing though. Just in case, he placed a small tracking device under her vehicle.
After getting rid of the couch in the back, the one named "T." dropped off his passenger. Kain'n's bio mask was already spying inside. The dwelling had many different floors and rooms. Most of the oomans were dormant this late at night, but he could hear music coming from one section of the building.
Once he pinpointed which room it was, his bio mask highlighted all the weapons. Kain'n's heart sped up with excitement. He quickly slapped a tracker on the roof of the truck and jumped down as it pulled away. He followed close behind the ooman named Jack, curious if he'd head to the correct room or not. He did.
As soon as he went to close the door, Kain'n placed his palm on it. The male struggled to make it budge, "What the hell? The door is stuck!"
Kain'n disengaged his cloaking device then, revealing the bulk of his muscles, his black reptilian skin, and an expressionless metal mask. The ooman's eyes went wide, and he staggered back several feet. The rest of the oomans were sitting around a short table, frozen in place. They were more shocked then afraid. Kain'n could remedy that.
He threw his arms out to the sides and let out a bellowing roar that shook the thin walls of the apartment. Jack immediately grabbed his gun then and started shooting. The female back at the factory had been right-he was a bad shot. Even at close range, most of the bullets landed on the wall behind Kain'n. The few that did hit him, went in his arm and shoulder-not a debilitating area.
When the clip was empty, Jacks hands were shaking with equal amounts of adrenaline and fear. Kain'n glanced down at his bullet wounds, which were slowly oozing green blood. He rolled his shoulders, showing no pain. Then his orange eyes flickered to the ooman named Jack. It was Kain'n's turn now.
Kain'n delivered one punch, but it was enough. Jack's nose caved into his skull and his head snapped back. He collapsed to the ground with a loud thunk, dead. Every ooman in the room suddenly moved at once, jumping from the couch and grabbing the nearest weapon. Kain'n extracted the ornate combi-stick from his back and charged.
In a frenzy, he tried to kill them as past as possible. He jabbed the sharp metal end of the spear into the belly of one ooman, twisting until blood spewed out of its mouth. He whirled around and used his combi-stick to smack the gun out of another oomans hand. Then, he used the pole of the weapon to pin the ooman to the wall by its neck. He quickly added more pressure, snapping the oomans fragile neck in an instant.
He let out out a low, predatory growl when he felt a hot sting on the back of his thigh. He whipped around and stalked towards the ooman that was shooting at him. Bullets hit the metal armor of his chest and then his mask, but he didn't even slow. He swept the ooman off his feet with the combi-stick, and then jabbed the spear tip through his head, and partway into the floor as well. There was one ooman left, a female.
She cowered in the corner of the living room, her eyes moving between him and the open door, but she didn't bolt. She was too afraid. Since she'd seen him, that left very few choices. Kain'n didn't want to have to take her with him-she seemed like a pathetic and weak excuse for a female. Since she was unarmed, he kicked a gun across the room, trying to prompt her to take it.
She didn't so much as budge. Kain'n surged forward with an impatient growl and grabbed her by the neck, hauling her into the air to frighten her. He'd made a mistake in thinking she was unarmed though. There was something in her fist. It was long and slender like a needle but with blue plastic fetching at the end. She viciously stabbed it into his neck, wounding him in a more vulnerable area then any of the males had managed.
He let out a howl of pain and threw her across the small room. She hit the opposite wall, hard enough to break the drywall. His bio mask indicated that she was dead, so he collapsed the bloodied comi-stick and secured it on his back. She'd dropped the dart. His bio mask quickly scanned it, and cataloged it as a weapon for future reference.
He looked down at all the bodies strewn across the room, reveling in all the blood. None of them have given him much of a challenge though. The females actions had taken him by surprise, but he wanted more. He wouldn't take any of their skulls as a trophy. Instead, their deaths would serve as tribute to the goddess Paya.
After his little killing spree, he tracked down the truck the two males had used to dispose of the body. It was parked beside a small house in a quiet neighborhood, just outside of the city. Kain'n wanted a real hunt this time, something that took skill and concentration. He wouldn't just charge into the house with weapons drawn.
First, Kain'n got a glimpse inside the house. A window on ground level proved to be a bedroom. The curtains did nothing to hinder his view with the aid of his bio mask. It was the same thin, dark-skinned male he'd seen earlier. He was in bed, with his arms around a female ooman. Kain'n's chest rumbled with anticipation-the male had a mate to protect.
Gina sat up suddenly, listening to something tapping on the window, "Terrance, get up!"
She started to shake him, "Ok. I'm up. I'm up. What is it?"
The tapping on the window turned to a horrid scratching sound. There wasn't a tree anywhere near the house. Terrance slipped out of bed in nothing but his blue boxers and went to the window. When he peeled back the curtains though, nothing was there.
He crawled back under the covers, "It was probably just a squirrel trying to get in, go back to sleep honey."
Before he could shut his eyes, a different noise began. Both him and his wife slowly lifted their heads to the ceiling. It was a slow, eerie creaking from above them-but it was a recognizable noise. It sounded as if someone was walking on the roof.
He reached behind the headboard of the bed and pulled out a revolver, "Stay right here."
Gina put her hands on her hips, "Where did you get that?"
Terrance threw his robe over his shoulders, and walked from the room, acting like he hadn't heard the question.
She shuffled after him, "Hey, I'm talking to you! Where did you get that gun? That had better be legal or I'm gonna whoop your ass Terrance!"
"Babe, it's not mine. I was just keeping it here a while for a friend. Go back in the bedroom."
Terrance hid the gun in the pocket of his robe and walked out into the street. From farther away, he could see the full view of the roof. Nothing was up there that he could see, but he walked around the back to make sure. Gina stepped outside to watch his back.
The female had left the door open, making it easy for Kain'n to slip past her while he was cloaked, and get inside. There was a picture on the wall of the couple with their mouths touching. Kain'n yanked it off the wall and dropped it to the floor. The glass shattered. The ooman female whirled around to look inside the house. He could smell her fear already.
Her voice was shaky, "Terrance! Someone's in the house!" Gina didn't wait for him though. She ran inside and went straight for the nursery.
Terrance came inside, heart pounding. He saw the broken picture frame but not his wife, "Gina?"
His wife didn't answer. Instead, an airy clicking noise erupted. Terrance held the gun with both hands and spun around the living room, looking for an intruder. When he didn't see anything, he marched towards the hallway to check his daughters room first. A thunderous growl hit his ears, sounding so close it must have been right behind him.
As soon as he turned around, something struck him in the back. He stumbled forward, almost tripping. When he looked back, he could see an odd shimmer in the air. The growl he'd heard had come from right in front of him, not behind him. Some invisible form blocked the hallway that led to the nursery. Terrance didn't hesitate to shoot at it.
It jumped out of the way, and Terrance struggled to follow the transparent, humanoid shape around the living room. He must have got in one shot. Florescent green blood dripped onto his carpet from an invisible being. The gunshots had woke his daughter though. He could hear her wailing from the nursery room now.
His hand tightened on the handle of the gun, "What the hell are you?"
Kain'n listened to the pups crying, considering his next move. He could have killed the male several times already. He was not the challenge Kain'n was seeking, and the ooman had a pup. Since the male hadn't technically seen Kain'n, the rules were void. He slowly backed away, growling low in his throat, then swept himself out the door.
Terrance quickly dead bolted the front door, and ran to the nursery. As soon as he swung the door, a metal baseball bat came at his head. He barely ducked in time. His wife had been prepared in case Terrance failed to deter the intruder.
"Shit, babe I'm sorry!" She tossed away the bat and started kissing his lips.
Kain'n climbed a nearby tree to watch the house, but it was uneventful. Cars with red and blue lights on top came and eventually left. After the sun rose, the male left in his truck and Kain'n rode on the back of it as before. He hesitated to follow when the ooman entered a series of strange rotating doors that led inside a towering metal building. The amount of oomans inside made him uneasy as well, but he squeezed into the space and diligently followed the ooman.
Kain'n hoped to see the male kill another ooman, or that he'd lead him to other badblood oomans and possible prey. Instead, the male sat at a desk for hours on end. Kain'n grew bored and restless. He decided to go see what the female ooman he'd seen at the factory was up to. Maybe she'd lead him to the perfect prey.