Extreme Laser Tag
by SoundzofSilence
My breathing came in harsh gasps as I ran through the dimly lit, black corridors. My back ached and my thighs stung from stayed hunched over in a crouch so long, but it couldn't be helped. I had to stay low. My sweaty hands gripped the gun tightly, almost comfortingly, although it was really tempting to ditch it. The gun was the reason I was being shot at, the reason why I was being hunted.
Ducking down just around a corner, I covered my mouth with my gloved hand to muffle my heavy breathing. I was so out of shape it wasn't even funny. Literally.
Here I was trapped in a tricked out multi-story building dedicated to extreme laser tag with a Predator.
The very same Predator from the species in the movie series—the expert alien hunter race who thrived off of hunting other beings and using their skulls and spines as trophies. And I, a human being, was trapped in the same building with this seven-foot-tall professional.
Normally, a Predator wouldn't go after a female such as myself; it went against their honor code. However, being a female didn't count for shit if I was a threat and/or armed—which I was. What made this situation even worse was that, minus the mask, I had Predator equipment—the body mesh netting, the armor, the medikit, the smart discs, the dagger, and the shoulder cannon-converted-to-a-hand-gun. This made me fair game—as evidenced by the shot the Predator had fired at me.
My panting calmed down to quiet gasps and I strained my ears, trying to pick up on Predator's footsteps. If Predator decided to go invisible, perhaps his footsteps would give him away. Or so I hoped. Instead I heard a very distinct hissing unnervingly close to my left ear. I sucked in my breath sharply as my thoughts revved into high speed as panic kicked in.
Predator didn't hiss like that.
But Alien did.
My head snapped to the left and I got a very close up view into Alien's open mouth as well as the smaller, second mouth within.
"Shit!" my mouth blurted out as my legs pushed.
But I was balanced on the balls of my feet which took me off balance. Instead of shooting to my feet, I fell back on my ass as Alien's second mouth extended out. As my back hit the floor, I watched wide-eyed as the little open mouth stopped in the air, fully extended, where my head would have been.
The little mouth retracted into Alien's larger mouth as quickly as it had shot out and, undeterred by its failure, the cat-like reptilian creature adjusted its position. Its upper lip quivered as it hissed, liquid dripping from its upper lip, its teeth glowing in the dark.
A shrill, unintentional scream burst out of my mouth when Alien thrust its head forward opening its large mouth again. I threw myself backward in an attempt to stay out of the second mouth's way as it came shooting out again. My right arm acted on its own out of pure reflex. It lifted itself with incredible speed, moving as if to bat away Alien's head. The Predator gun in my right hand slammed against Alien's head, catching the edge of its sharp glowing teeth. The unexpected blow knocked its head to the side, and its second mouth bit the air to the left side of my head.
Alien suddenly leapt backwards, retracting its killer tongue again, and it stayed poised there—crouching, hissing, its scorpion-like tail twitching. In the darkness of the dimly lit laser tag building, I could hardly see its outline from where it lurked. My only clues to its location were its hissing, the dim fluorescent light reflecting off its deep blue exoskeleton, and its white teeth which were glowing in the dark, courtesy of the black lights.
Clumsily, I scrambled back, using my hands and heels to push myself away from Alien. My back hit a wall sooner than I liked and I sat there, shaking from adrenaline and fear. My wide eyes never left Alien.
This was worse than being trapped in a building with Predator. At least Predator had standards when it came to killing; Alien, on the other hand, had no qualms about killing any humanoid with a pulse, regardless of whether it was a male, female, child, armed or unarmed.
Hearing a blast, I jumped as Alien's head swiveled to the right. It let out a shrill cry as it leapt back, avoiding an electric-blue Rasengan-like ball of energy. The ground cracked and exploded where the burst hit. Alien scrambled away as another burst from Predator's shoulder canon followed up the first.
With Alien fleeing the scene, I knew I was dead meat as soon as Predator showed up.
Without Alien to shoot at, I was the next closest target and the Predator shoulder-cannon-converted-to-a-gun was still in my right hand. If I didn't let go of the gun, Predator would blow my head off with his cannon; if I did let go of the gun, Alien would blow my brains out with the kiss of death.
Frantically scooting along the edge of the wall, I watched as Predator slowed from a run to a stop just beyond the corner. His back faced me, and his attention was still focused on the fleeing Alien. His yellowish skin glowed in the black lighting, his mesh net armor and black dreadlocks blending in with the darkness. Predator let out a furious roar, obviously angry its quarry had escaped.
Shit.
Something metallic on my body or the gun in my hand made a scraping sound, and Predator spun around quickly with a hiss, startled. His legs were spread shoulder-length apart and his arms had shot out in anticipation of scratching, punching, or grabbing onto an attacker. His attention was on me.
Shitshitshit!
Three circular dots, organized in a triangle, on his mask lit up and I knew his laser was on me.
I froze like a deer, completely at his mercy—which his race was not known for.
The floor gave out from under me and another yelp tore from my mouth as I fell, back-first and limbs last into a chute.
The writing prompt was: "I'm stuck in a building with this person" and, having watched Alien Versus Predator One and Two consecutively within a two week period, the movies influenced me. It seemed like an interesting idea to have Predator trapped in a building with me (and I'm not a guy), playing laser tag with real guns. Alien was thrown in there for fun.