Chapter 3
No sooner had she crashed into the side of the container, that she regretted her boldness. She didn't even consider the fact that she wouldn't be able to see in the darkness of night. She now felt very foolish, standing out in the soaking rain, self-confidence lost as the fear crept back in. Fear. One of the strongest survival instincts. People feared things because they were generally dangerous. And that fear was what kept them at a safe distance. But not Miria. She had to let her curiosity win over. She began to tremble, and after a moment, she realised she was sobbing quietly too. As her tears began to mingle with the rain on her face, she lost hope once again.
Her dark brown hair was matted to her head, clinging to her face and shoulders uncomfortably. Her faded jeans were grubby and now muddy, as well as torn at both knees. She was cold and shivering, but all these minor discomforts were a spit in the ocean when compared with her fear and anxiety. She wasn't sure how long she had been standing there, her back pressed hard into the container wall in a meek effort to try and escape some of storms assault. She had almost closed out the realities of her current situation, slipping into the dark void of despair and helplessness. But a rough grip on her forearm jerked her back to the present.
She could not see, but she knew. His grip was tight, and his large hand encircled her small arm easily. Miria opened her mouth to scream, but panic rendered her mute. She choked on her sobs, and blinked repeatedly, trying to gain some sort of focus on the figure in the dark. But it was useless. Above the rain, she heard the low grumble emanating from the creatures chest. He made a sharp tug on her arm, and for a moment she thought she was about to have her limb ripped right off. But she realized after her moment of confusion that she was only being pulled into the container. Her bare feet slipped in the mud, but the firm grip on her arm kept her from falling.
Inside the container, the noise of the rain on the steel was almost deafening. She was relieved as the hunter released her arm once they had entered the shelter, and she rubbed her arm where he had gripped her tightly. She strained to listen for the creatures movements, and determined he had moved to the very back of the container. A loud shuffle told her that he had lowered himself back to the floor, a little awkwardly also she thought. Perhaps he was still recovering and regaining his former strength?
She could not bring herself to budge from where she was cowering just inside the doorway of the container. She partly blamed her inability to see as a reason for being frozen stiff. But largely it was the fact that somewhere before her, encapsulated by the cover of darkness, was a cold blooded killing machine, who hunted her kind for mere sport. Yes, she may have aided him in his recovery, but she knew not if the creature even realized she had helped. Or if this would even make a difference in the way she would now be treated.
She heard a further scuffling sound, and was surprised when a dull, red flashing light illuminated the far end of the container with a soft glow. It wasn't much light, but it was enough for her to make out the basic shapes and outlines before her. She watched wide eyed as the hunter sat the blinking device down beside him where he sat. He was indeed slumped back against the crates, and was watching her as keenly as she eyed him. She knew these beings saw in infrared. So why did he suddenly provide the light source? Perhaps the gadget was for some other purpose?
His low trilling noise made her jump, and she swallowed hard, trying to force down the choking lump in her throat. But the creature made no further movements that would appear threatening. In fact, he appeared rather dismal still, in his somewhat incapacitated state. She jumped as he suddenly made a gesture of sorts with his hands. And she wondered if he was trying to communicate with her. When he repeated the same movement, she realised it was indeed his intent. But the gestures were very foreign to her, and the creature merely grunted, and let his hands fall back to his sides when he realised Miria failed to understand his meaning. She watched as his eyes fell closed, and he let his head fall backwards as he rested. His left hand came up to his chest, and he poked gingerly at his wound. Another growl told her that these injuries still caused him pain, and she guessed that moving him earlier that afternoon may have had some part in that.
Eventually, she let herself sink to the floor of the container, and hugged her knees to her chest. She couldn't bring herself to take her eyes off the predator that was only a handful of paces away from her. He seemed to be resting now. But it didn't ease her discomfort any. He may not have hurt her yet, but she knew he was still recovering. She began to question however, what in the hell had drawn her to help him in the first place? She had the oddest feeling that it could very well be her downfall, and the means of her end. But she also knew that it may have been the only chance of her survival. And she clung to the primitive instincts of survival, as apposed to those that would allow her to give up on herself.
She wasn't sure at what point she had drifted off. She only remembered watching the hunter, and being unable to draw her gaze away. But fatigue had eventually forced Miria to succumb to the oblivion that was slumber. When she woke suddenly, she was almost relieved to see that the hunter was still in the exact same place he had also fallen. However, he was now wide awake and sitting upright as he tended to his wounds. She watched as he ripped the human gauze dressings from his thigh, where she had assumed him to have been shot. Dawn and the light it bought with it pleased her somewhat, and made her slightly more comfortable. The rain had also stopped while she had slept, and the various odd little noises the hunter made had her well intrigued. It seemed like he was chittering away to himself for a moment, until his gaze lifted, and he looked at her right in the eyes. She knew then, she had been foolish to think he wasn't aware of her intrusive gaze. She realized the noises he was making were an acknowledgement of sorts.
Un-phased by his audience, the hunter continued to tend his wounds. She watched curiously now as he applied his alien treatments. He didn't appear to be disgruntled by her own poor efforts at treating him, and looked up at her every so often, his mandibles twitching away as if trying to tell her something.
She realised though that she may be completely misinterpreting these actions. She was only assuming this creature was somewhat relatable to her own human species. She tried to push that thought from her mind. It comforted herself somewhat to allow her mind the think they possibly held some similarities between the species.
The morning grew brighter as the sun rose higher, and Miria could only watch with fascination as the hunter continued to fiddle with his armor after he finished tending his wounds. Her body grew stiff and sore however, and she was still damp from being caught in the deluge this night past. She needed to move, to stretch, to eat, but she was afraid to move. She coughed involuntarily as her throat grew parched. As she feared, her actions caught the hunters' attention. His head cocked to the side as he eyed her curiously, and she wondered if now was the time to take her leave. Would he allow her to move? He had made no inclination that she was a prisoner as such. But neither had she attempted to evade him.
She sighed, and knew there was only one way to test these theories. She rubbed er hands to her sore eyes, and jumped as a hard object thumped her in the shins.
'Ouch!' She cried, as she looked around for what had hit her. She was surprised to see the hunter had tossed a canteen of water at her. She looked up and met his piercing amber eyes. He returned a bark like noise, combined with a hand gesture of sorts, before continuing with his damaged armor. She grabbed the canteen and hastily unscrewed the lid. Sniffing the contents as a precaution, she determined it was safe, and took a much needed swig. She was somewhat thankful that the creature seemed to be aware of her needs, and took the opportunity to further test her many unanswered questions.