The Doctor stared at the weapons and a feeling of fear came over him. Not for himself but for Samantha. He should have just turned the TARDIS around when he had the chance. They never should've come here.
"Any idea what those are?" Miller asked peering down at the guns.
"Nope", Sebastian answered. He glanced at Samantha.
"Well, I hate to state the obvious but they're guns", the brunette replied "rather advanced too".
"Maybe we can use them", Maxwell said. He reached in to grab one when Samantha smacked his hands.
"Have you never seen Indiana Jones? Rule One: never pick up the shiny idol aka the guns without checking that there isn't some sort of booby trap", Samantha said.
"You really think these are rigged with a booby trap?" Maxwell asked with a fair bit of sarcasm.
"I think you'd be an idiot not to consider it", Samantha countered, matching his tone.
"Sam, could I have a word?" the Doctor asked.
"Yeah, sure", Samantha replied. She straightened up and followed the Doctor over to a corner where they wouldn't be overheard "What's up?"
"I know who those guns belong to", the Doctor said.
"That's good but why do we need to be over here for you to tell me that?" Samantha asked.
"Because the owners of those guns are not from Earth", the Doctor said.
Samantha's eyes widened at that "So who or what are the owners?" she asked lowering her voice.
"They're called Yautja, a very highly skilled, deadly race. Some planets call them Predators", the Doctor explained.
"Predators", Samantha repeated "if their guns are here then they're the ones those glyphs spoke of in the sacrificial chamber. So what's their prey? Is it us or are they after something else and we're just an added bonus?"
"I'm afraid it's the latter", the Doctor said seriously "and the 'prey' their hunting is just as dangerous. Which is why we need to get out of here as fast as we can".
"Think that's gonna be easier said than done", Samantha told him "the mere mention of 'alien' will have them asking 20 million questions that we honestly don't have time for".
Thankfully Lex had decided to take charge of the situation for them. "We've been out long enough for today", she stated "We're going to set up base camp tonight at the whaling station and we'll get back at it first thing tomorrow morning".
"You can go back to base camp Ms. Woods. We're staying here", Maxwell said.
"No. You wanted to leave without proper prep and we did. You wanted to be the first here, we are. You've claimed the find. It's yours. Now we move as a team and we're done for today", Lex said firmly. Gwen couldn't help but smile at how her friend was taking charge. She'd always been pretty good at that.
Maxwell glanced at his boss who nodded in agreement. "You heard her", he said.
"What do you want to do with these, Mr Weyland?" Maxwell asked nodding to the guns.
"Take them. We'll run further tests on the surface", Weyland answered. Connors and Verheiden manage to take out two of the three guns before Sebastian realised what they were doing.
"No...don't touch them!" he exclaimed. Maxwell just looked at him for a moment before taking the final gun out. Suddenly the sarcophagus slid shut with a bang.
"Are you really that thick?" Samantha demanded storming right up to Maxwell "I told you not to take the guns out! Who the hell knows what you've kind of trap you've just triggered!"
As if the pyramid knew she just said that, the door they'd come through started to slide shut. Everyone made a break for it but they were too slow. The second the door shut, a set of steps on the platform moved to reveal a passageway. Samantha looked at Maxwell with this expression on her face that told the Doctor she was about to either punch the guy or throttle him. Not wanting her to do either as it was hardly the time, he grabbed hold of her.
"Doctor, let me go", Samantha demanded, wriggling in his arms.
"Not, until you calm down", the Doctor said. When she didn't continued to try and get out of his grip, he added "you can punch him after we get to safety".
Samantha stopped struggling and glanced at him "Promise?" she asked.
"Promise", the Doctor said. He slowly released his hold on Samantha just in case she had any bright ideas to go for the man the second he let her go. When he was satisfied that wasn't the case, he stepped away from her slightly.
Gwen walked up to Maxwell and smacked him upside the head. "Are ya stupid or something!? When we say don't touch, it means don't touch", she said crossly, her Irish accent becoming more pronounced in her anger.
"Maybe you should-" Samantha started when they all suddenly heard terrified screams above them along with several gun shots.
"What the hell is going on up there?" Gwen asked looking up, worried about the team they'd left behind. Sebastian and Maxwell both got on the radio and tried to get hold of Thomas and Rousseau. But to no avail.
"Is there anything you didn't tell me about this place?" Lex asked Weyland.
"That's it. Your guess is as good as mine", Weyland answered.
"Well, whatever it is, we're sure as hell not prepared for it", Samantha stated. Ward had trained her to be prepared for anything but she hadn't exactly anticipated this situation.
"She's right", Lex agreed "So we're going to round up the rest of the team and get to the surface. Let's move". She started towards the steps when Maxwell and the other 'muscle' dropped their cases to reveal something that had more firepower than a handgun. "What are you doing?" Lex asked.
"My job. Yours is over", Maxwell slammed a magazine into his weapon and does a 'lock and load' manoeuvre without taking his eyes off of Lex. The black woman didn't flinch which impressed Samantha.
"My job is over when everyone is back on the boat safely and that gun doesn't change anything", Lex said calmly before she walked off towards the steps. Gwen followed closely after her in case Maxwell tried anything. She didn't think he would, what with everyone else present but she couldn't take the chance with her friend's safety.
Lex glanced at her digital compass from the entrance of the newly opened passage. "This bearing should take us back to the entrance. We make it to the surface and we regroup at the Whaling station", she said.
"What about Thomas and Rousseau?" Sebastian asked.
"We'll find them on the way out", Lex answered and with that she entered the passage. Gwen followed her, as did the Doctor and Samantha.
"Stone ... Verheiden ... Cover our backs", Maxwell ordered before he too entered the passage.
"The heat bloom that your satellite detected makes more sense now", Miller remarked to Weyland.
"What do you mean?" the older man asked.
"A building this sophisticated would require a major energy source", Miller said "That's what the satellite detected, the power plant for this Pyramid firing up... preparing".
"Preparing for what?" Weyland questioned. Before Miller could answer him, Lex called them both.
~chamber of the gods~
The new passageway opened out into another decorated corridor, with glyphs and drawings carved into the walls. The corridor is lined with large statues. "Those the Yautja?" Samantha asked the Doctor quietly.
"Yep", he replied.
"Predator is an apt name for them", she remarked. They did look rather fearsome.
"Recognize what's on their shoulders?" Lex asked Sebastian as they looked at one of the statues.
"Yeah", he replied and walked over to the wall to get a closer look at the glyphs carved on it.
"We worshipped these things?" Maxwell questioned, eyeing the statues.
"I think so…" Sebastian glanced at Samantha "Sammy, could you have a look at this?" he asked.
"Sure", Samantha walked over and looked over the bit Sebastian was studying.
"This does say we worshipped them, right?"
Samantha nodded "Yeah, you're right. It does", she confirmed "and those guns you so stupidly took from the sarcophagus…" she shot Maxwell a look but he just ignored it "belong to them".
Lex glanced at her compass again "lets keep moving, only another 200 yards to the entrance", she reported. They continued on.
"Sam, what's wrong?" the Doctor asked seeing her frown.
"I don't know… I've just got this feeling… that we're not alone", Samantha told him. The Doctor put an arm around her and glanced at their surroundings warily. Samantha wasn't the only one to get this feeling, Gwen was getting a similar one.
Her father had always told her that she should trust these feelings as it could mean the difference between life and death. Her eye's flickered from statue to statue, seeking out anything that confirmed there was someone else besides the group present.
Suddenly there was a loud clatter making them all jump and spin around. "Take cover!" Maxwell ordered. The Doctor pulled Samantha to an alcove in the wall. Gwen did the same for Lex, who'd grabbed Weyland on the way. Sebastian and Miller took cover as well.
Samantha grabbed the Doctor's arm as a spear whistles through the air, impaling Bass in the chest. The force was enough to pin his body against the wall. Maxwell, Connors, Verheiden and Gwen opened fire on the Predator. The Doctor held his companion close to protect her from bits of stone and dust that was flying everywhere due to the gunfire.
Samantha moved her head away from his chest when the shooting stopped. Then the walls and floor started to shift. "Its moving again!" she exclaimed. The Doctor grabbed her hand and they ran. As did everyone else.
Without warning the floor beneath Samantha and the Doctor moved, making them fall into the small space below. The stone floor, now the ceiling to the pair, slid shut effectively trapping them. "You, ok?" the Time Lord asked the brunette who nodded.
"Think so", Samantha replied. She looked up at the ceiling "how are we gonna get out of this one?"
In response, the Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver. He flashed it at the ceiling. "No, good", he said "whatever made the walls and floor move, I can't key into it".
"Ok, plan B", Samantha said walking over to one of the walls.
"Plan B?" the Doctor asked raising an eyebrow.
"Looking for something that'll open one of the walls or reveal a hidden door", Samantha answered feeling along the smooth surface.
"You really think there's going to be a secret switch or a certain spot you have to hit so we can get out of here?" the Doctor asked sceptically.
Samantha turned to him "I don't know Doctor. I'm trying to think outside the box, no pun intended. Besides its better than sitting on our backsides twiddling our thumbs", she said and continued to look for her 'secret switch'. The Doctor sighed and started to help her. Even though it was a crazy idea, she was right about it being something better to do than waiting around. And he for one was not so good at the waiting bit.