Striker: 10 years later
10 years later in the Midwest USA…
Karin stared out the window of her small suburban home, viewing the front lawn and the night sky for no particular reason. Absently she placed a dirty pan from the evening meal into the sink of sudsy water and began to scrub it vigorously.
It had been nearly 7 years since she'd completed her military service. Shortly after her service, her former Commander Mike proposed to her, which she readily accepted after many years of getting to know him. Together they had a little baby girl whom they named Sadie. Sadie looked very much like both her parents but both knew she'd look like Karin when she grew up.
Karin turned from the window and smiled at her green-eyed one and a half-year old. At present Sadie was munching on a few stray Cheerios on her high chair platform while her father watched her to make sure she didn't choke or otherwise. Smiling proudly at his little daughter, Mike nudged a few more Cheerios near her chubby fist, which she promptly scooped up and popped into her mouth. Munching away, Sadie slapped her hands on her tray, making the Cheerios there bounce. She giggled, spitting a little as she did.
Laughing at her daughter's antics Karin said, "You sure do like to play with you're food don'tcha Sadie?"
The green-eyed toddler glanced over at her mother saying, "Dada! Ma…Chee Os!"
Mike grinned, "Yes! Cheerios are good aren't they?"
"Chee Os!" Sadie crowed.
At that moment, the phone rang. Drying her hands promptly, Karin leaned over and snatched up the phone from its base, but oddly, the phone didn't stop ringing. Looking at the phone Karin squinted her eyes in confusion.
Standing up quickly, Mike said, "It's the other phone."
The 'other' phone was the phone Karin's father, the General, used to get in touch with them from wherever he was. It was on a private satellite channel that was invisible and untraceable…very secretive. It hardly EVER rang at all but it wasn't a phone call to ignore. Quickly, Mike dashed into the den to find the hidden phone. Sadie craned her little head around the backrest of her high chair trying to see where her daddy had gone.
"Dada go." she said in her little voice.
"Yes…dada go." Karin smiled, though inside she was concerned. Her father typically called through the regular phone line just to keep in touch, but that was only if he was off duty. He only gave them that other phone for emergencies.
In the den Karin could hear her husband's voice change to the more serious military tone that she was so accustomed to him using.
"Yes Sir? What has happened?...Yeah…yes she's here…but Sir!...Yes…all right. Karin!" he called.
Following his voice Karin met him at the kitchen door and said, "Watch Sadie." Deftly she took the phone and listened.
"Hello? Dad?"
"Karin. Haven't talked to you in awhile dear." He started cordially.
"Yes…yes it has been awhile. Dad why are you using this line? What's happened?"
A heavy sigh hissed in the earpiece, "Karin your country needs you."
Her back straightened, "Dad! I've been out of the service for seven years! Mike and I both have! What's happened? Is there a war?"
"No…not a war. We need your help specifically." He informed.
Karin grimaced in confusion again, "I don't understand. Why me?"
"Karin listen…I know you took the oath along with the rest of your platoon about keeping…HIM …a secret and never to speak of HIM again…but now we need your help with HIM."
The former medic's eyes widened. He meant Striker. It…it had been so long. The only place the little alien resided was in her memory, never to be mentioned again to anyone. Now…it all surfaced again. Frankly, Karin suspected Striker had died long ago…
"What about HIM?" she asked not saying his name aloud.
Her father sighed again, "I cannot say too much now but we need your help. He seemed to have a fondness for you back then…and he sometimes asks about you. I believe you're the only one who can help with HIM."
Karin gasped lightly, "He's alive then."
"Very alive." The General confirmed.
Deep down Karin felt humbled that Striker still asked about her. But…from her father's tone it didn't sound as if Striker was doing so well.
"Well…what's wrong? What's happened to him?" she asked concern filling he voice.
"Oh nothing has happened to HIM…I'll be able to tell you more when you get here."
Karin blinked, "Get there? Dad! I can't leave here! I have a job…responsibilities!"
"You ALSO have a responsibility to this country and our military. PLEASE Karin. We need your help!"
"I can't just up and leave my family without a good reason!" Karin stated sharply.
A long pause came until at last her father said, "You may bring them along too. Sadie and Mike can stay in my quarters while you aide us."
"Is…is that possible?" Karin inquired.
"I'm the man in charge up here. I can make all the arrangements, I just need your word that what you do, see, and everything about this will remain TOP secret and NEVER be repeated to anyone." Her father's voice leaned to authoritative.
Karin sighed, "May I discuss this with my husband first?"
"Very well…I will call back in an hour and you can give me your decision then. But remember Karin…we NEED your help."
Once her father hung up Karin's mind whirled and jerked to keep up with the huge decision she'd just received. Striker was alive…and for some reason the faction that held him all these years needed her help. But what KIND of help? Was he sick? Surely, they wouldn't need her for such a thing. She was only a former field medic and there were surely more qualified medics out there. Was he lonely or unresponsive to them and they needed her to help him in that way since he had a special bond with her so long ago? That could be it. Honestly, Karin hadn't the foggiest idea. But did she really want to do this and drag her family along with her? Would this be dangerous? Should she go or not?
Four days later in a secret facility…
Karin held Sadie to her chest as they walked down a long corridor with military escorts on both sides of them. It took some persuading but her husband Mike finally agreed to trip. Of course, they never knew exactly where they had been taken or even how far they'd traveled due to the very secret nature of the facility. In any case, they were in and about to meet with Karin's father General Sherman Heingrid.
After traversing many bare hallways, they finally spotted the General coming toward them arms opened in a friendly greeting.
"Karin, Mike, and my little granddaughter Sadie!" he called.
He reached out and shook Mike's hand heartily, "Good to see you son! I trust you're trip was relatively comfortable?"
Mike's mustache turned up when he smiled lightly, "As good as any trip Sir."
Turning to Karin the General smiled kindly and bent at his waist to get eye to eye with Sadie. His normally gruff voice changed to something more gentle and doting, "Hello Sadie…my my! You're getting to be a big girl! You remember grandpa from Christmas?"
The little girl blinked at him and squeezed his largish nose in a curious hand. "Paw pa." she said.
"Yes! Paw pa!" he smiled, letting her feel his nose.
Karin smiled at her father. Though he rarely saw Sadie, she seemed to take an instant liking to her grandfather during the times they had at Christmas and other stray visits. It also helped that Sadie was a very smart little girl and readily recognized people.
Reaching out the General took his granddaughter in his arms and began walking down the corridor. "Let's show you and your folks to your quarters. Paw pa has some special toys in there for you."
Following him while under escort Karin and Mike traversed the hall closely. After a few moments, they arrived at a spacious living area with a large bedroom for all three of them. As promised, a box of toys lay in front of the sofa.
"Toys!" Sadie crowed, wanting to be let down.
Consenting the General put her down and the little girl toddled over to the box to investigate its contents.
Watching her for a moment the General smiled at her excitement until Karin faced him. The smile diminished slightly into a more serious look.
"I suppose you want your questions answered?" he said in a low tone.
Karin nodded, "Yes. Tell me everything." She looked to Mike for a moment but he read her thoughts.
"I'll watch Sadie while you are briefed."
Dipping her head in thanks Karin followed her father. For a moment, they said nothing.
"Why am I here Dad?" Karin asked.
He sighed as he walked, "We need your help with Striker."
"Why? Why me? What's wrong with him?" Karin demanded.
"He's…becoming difficult to communicate with and therefore he is harder to control. About four months ago, he stopped responding to verbal communications with humans. I haven't heard him speak for a long time." The General explained.
Karin seemed bewildered, "Striker can talk now?"
"Oh yes. He learned our language very fast when he was a young one. Everyday I'd go to visit him and talk with him. However, as I said…he has stopped. He talks very rarely to me now." Her father nodded as he spoke.
"And you think he'll talk to me?" Karin surmised.
"That's what we hope. You seemed to make quite an impression on him all those years ago."
Karin's green eyes filled with suspicion though. "Come on Dad. I know better than that! Something else has happened other than the silent treatment."
General Heingrid stopped, smirking a bit, "Never could fool you could I?"
She shook her head.
"You're right. It's not just the lack of speaking. At first Striker was a very curious little guy, eager to learn, but as he's gotten older things have gotten…dangerous." He stated with great regret in his voice.
"Dangerous?"
He nodded deeply, "To date…he's killed eight of our people and injured dozens more. Some so injured they'll never be the same again."
Karin gasped, "But…why? What have you DONE to him to make him that way?"
The General straightened, hardening his steely eyes, "Before you accuse me of abuse I want to confirm that I never did anything to harm him. He was aggressive to begin with; it's just coming out more potently than before. We anticipated that from what you told us and from what we've observed. The problem is we can't control him and my superiors say if he can't be controlled then he must be terminated. YOU are his last hope."
"They'd kill him simply because they can't control him? Control him in what way?" Karin almost shouted with mortification.
The General pulled her to the side and changed the conversation's turn, "Would you like to see him?"
Karin wanted her question answered but she also wanted to see Striker. It had been ten years since she'd viewed him last and Karin wondered how much he'd changed. She just bet he'd grown. He was probably as tall as she was by now and who knows what else had changed. However, the revelation of his brutal killings made Karin suspect that this wouldn't be the same little alien she'd seen ten years ago.
In no time, father and daughter entered through a technological door and then another until they came face to face with a plate of clear Plexiglas framed in steel beams. Karin gaped in awe at the jungle terrain behind the barrier.
"He lives in there?" Karin asked.
"Yes. He's never lacked for space to run and this jungle habitat is what he likes."
Karin scanned the ferns, trees, and vines for some kind of indication of Striker's presence. She couldn't see anything except vegetation. "So…where is he?"
The General shrugged, "That habitat is like a football stadium, you never can tell where he is. More than likely he knows someone is watching from here."
All at once, a klaxon blared for an instant then a hissing sounded.
"What is that?" Karin asked worried.
"Oh…seems it's dinner time." General Heingrid stated nonchalantly.
At that same moment, the low of a cow sounded and seconds later, a Black Angus walked right in front of the clear barrier glancing about.
"A cow? What is this… Jurassic Park?" Karin almost laughed.
The General smirked at the familiar reference, "Not quite…but he likes them."
"Wait…a WHOLE cow?"
He nodded.
Then, the black steer lifted its head a bit, nostrils flaring slightly. It either heard something or smelled something. Either way, it was spooked. Karin and Sherman watched the trees but could see nothing. The silence reigned until the low of a cow sounded in the trees.
Karin pulled her head back, "There's two cows in there?"
A small smile formed on the General's craggy face, "Nope. Just this one."
"Then what…?"
Curiosity perked by the familiar noise of its kind the steer blinked and mooed back. An exact mimic responded in turn. Slowly the black steer tromped toward the sound, which proved to be a fatal error.
Suddenly without warning, a horrendous bellowing roar that was most definitely not bovine or human rang out through the habitat! In the blink of an eye, a rather large two-legged form dropped down from a tree above and landed directly atop the steer's back! Bellowing in panic, the bovine threw its head, the whites of its terrified eyes rolling. Karin put a hand to her chest, startled by the jump but was unable to rip her gaze away from the scene. Obviously, it was Striker but he was not as Karin remembered him. She still couldn't get a clear look at his face.
The Black Angus kicked its legs wildly, trying to rid itself of the attacker astride its back, but Striker was unshakable. Shrieking, Striker leaped from the steer's back and encircled his brawny, green speckled arms about its thick neck in a chokehold. Tongue lolling the bovine reared up, using all its strength to escape. Much to Karin's utter shock and astonishment Striker snarled, grabbed the beast's nose, and twisted its neck around until it fell to the ground to save its neck. Without pause, the Predator planted a firm foot just under the steer's jawbone and reared both his arms back. With a powerful thrust, he plunged his clawed hands straight through the torso of the bovine, tearing skin, snapping ribs, and ripping muscle. Arms up to his elbows in the steer, Striker's hunched form breathed in remarkably calm breaths as his doomed prey thrashed. Eyes nearly bulging from its skull the black steer gurgled blood in its throat as the alien hunter tore its heart and part of a collapsed lung from its body! Striker rose from his dying victim, holding the grisly quivering heart in his clawed fist. Since his back was turned to the observatory the two onlookers couldn't see his front, nor did he look at them. Voraciously he brought the fresh heart to his face and tore at it with sharp teeth and mandibles. After consuming that he lowered his thick arms, oozing with sticky blood, grabbed the dead steer by the back leg in one hand, and drug the five hundred pound plus carcass into the vegetation away from observing eyes.
Karin was dumbfounded, horrified, and practically nauseous. The redheaded medic couldn't believe that. It was Striker alright, the skin pattern, while darker, was distinctly his. But he was HUGE! Though he didn't come very close, Karin could see he was MUCH bigger than she first assumed he'd be. He had to be taller than her father was and much broader. How in ten years had he gotten so big? When she last saw him he wasn't more than 4 feet tall! He must've gone through an insanely fast growth spurt to achieve such a towering stature. Sadly, she didn't get to see his face or much else of him.
"I'm sorry I didn't warn you. He gets rather excited when fed like this. When he was little we could give him chunks of beef or pork and he was fine. Then he got bigger and bigger and he started demanding fresher sustenance. So for the last six years we've been giving him live prey to hunt. Keeps him happy." The General explained casually. Apparently, he witnessed this quite often.
Karin shook her head, "He's…he's gotten so big! How tall is he now?"
"Pushing seven feet right now and he weighs a little over 250lbs. He's been growing lethally ever since his fourth year here. Then there's his strength…"
"I saw that…he dropped that steer like…like it was a dog or something." She concurred in awe.
The General sighed, "We knew he would be…we just weren't ready for it. Though we haven't tested him lately due to safety reasons, we guess he's seven times stronger than the strongest human. Perhaps more. I've seen him bend solid metal bars like pipe cleaners."
Karin expelled an impressed gush of air, "I…I just can't believe it."
"Along with all that…he's got a VERY aggressive nature. You probably could tell. He enjoys killing more than anything."
At this point Karin was having second thoughts about this reunion and her obvious look caught her father's attention.
"We'll have you try to communicate to him through here, not in there. I used to go in there to talk to him all the time but frankly I don't trust him after…well…I just don't trust him."
Karin was about to ask what he meant but he waved a hand, "He's eating now. You can come back later. Come...I'll show you around."
