Chapter twelve:

Old Mill Bed and Breakfast
Lex's Room
Gunnison, Colorado
October 6, 2008

Skl're entered the room he had shared with his female and his eyes scanned it for the items he needed. Lex had mentioned a bag and he recalled her having it when she came into the room, but not when she had left the bathroom. Heading to the door he walked into the adjacent room and found the bag she wanted, lying next to the sink. He retrieved the bag, finding it surprisingly heavy. Nothing he couldn't handle but heavier than he expected his female to manage on her own. Testing the weight, he shrugged it on over his shoulder before exiting the smaller room.

Once back into the main room he checked it thoroughly and found his bio-mask where he had left it earlier. Skl're crossed the room to the tall dresser and collected his missing equipment. He replaced the mask over his face and reconnected the hoses in the back. Breathing in deep, he let out a long weary sigh as the air filters in his mask activated and began pumping the correct oxygen/nitrogen ratio he was used to from home.

Skl're stood there for a long moment, allowing himself time to adjust to it in the silence of the room. He hadn't realized just how weary he had been feeling without having his mask on for so long, until now. He had to reacclimate himself to breathing normal instead of the small shallow breaths he had been doing before.

"Mei'hswei," Ci'tde greeted as he appeared in front of the doorway.

Straightening from his momentary lapse in weakness, Skl're turned his head to acknowledge his brother in return. "Mei'hswei."

Behind him, Ci'tde was eyeing the kiande amedha Skl're had killed to protect his female. Half the body was hanging through the hole that the acidic blood had created. He would normally take the time to collect a trophy from the honorably kill, but at the moment he just wanted to return to his female and keep a close eye on her.

Skl're finished attaching the last of his equipment onto his person and turned to leave only to find his brother blocking the way out. He regarded Ci'tde, noticing the lack of gear and weapons on him. Skl're huffed beneath his breath and shook his head.

"Your musk is tainted," he scoffed at his younger brother and shook his head in slight disgust. "You reek of ooman Ci'tde, did you learn nothing from these past four season?"

Ci'tde bristled at the comment, the spines along his forehead stiffening as he felt his temper being provoked. Then he caught his brother's scent again as a breeze blew in through the broken window behind the other Yautja.

"Mei'hswei your scent wreaks worse of ooman than mine," he taunted, feeling quite smug. "You speak of honor and how crazy I am for seeking a female ooman. Yet you mate with one yourself?" Here he huffed out a cold laugh, the sound harsh and degrading. "You are no better than I Mei'hswei."

Skl're clenched his fists at his side, a low sounding growl coming from deep within his chest as he was reminded of what he had done with the female just hours prior. Turning his head away from his brother, he eyed the bed off to the side, trying to understand why he had allowed it to happen in the first place. Even with the carnal need to mate the female pressing down on him, he should have been able to fight it. It was unheard of, a Yautja mating with an ooman, a taboo act amongst their clan. He had heard of other clans mating with ooman pets that they had taken in as a quick pauk, something to sate the need while traveling through space, for a lone Yautja.

His sire joked how primitive it was to mate with prey, especially with the fine female's that came to their ship each mating season. Skl're had always followed a strict code of honor, following the guidelines laid out before him, never straying from the path set there by his sire.

How did he steer so completely off course?

Ci'tde watched as his brother fought with his own temper, trying to remain calm when the rest of his body was humming with hostility. Ci'tde didn't want to fight with him though. He was the only brother he had left that he was close to and he didn't want to create a rift between them.

"Mei'hswei, you act as if I spewed into your cup of c'nlip," Ci'tde teased him, choking down the anger with humor.

If Skl're noticed the strain in his voice, he did not let on to the fact, but instead looked up sharply, his eyes narrowing on the taller Yautja. Before he could react to the comment however, Warkha appeared at the window, stepping into the room, with the agility of a raging yaut hound.

The way the older Yautja carried himself, told the younger warriors just how upset their comrade was as he assessed the situation. His shoulders were squared, his chest puffed out and his hands clenched into tight fists. His steps fell heavy against the floor, bordering on stomping as he stalked across the room to stand between the two brothers.

"Pathetic," the older Yautja growled looking at Ci'tde. As his head swiveled to eye the eldest of the two brothers, he sneered his contempt at their behavior. "Blooded Warriors pauk-de oomans in the middle of a kv'var?"

Ci'tde bristled at the comment, his anger flaring back up instantly. His fists clenched at his sides and he looked ready to charge the Arbitrator, but a resounding bark from his brother kept him from attacking the larger and more skilled Yautja. Which more than likely saved his life, because with the way Warkha held himself; he was obviously itching for a fight and would stain the earthen floor with Ci'tde's mutilated corpse after he was done with him.

"What is our society coming to, allowing a pair of s'yuitde pups, to be blooded," Warkha continued to vent at them, his head wiping back and forth as he addressed the both of them. The long appendages that reached to the middle of his back, snapped at the air and the trinkets that decorated them clinked together harshly with each move of his head.

Skl're growled at the insult, feeling his blood boiling in his veins as his mild temper was being tested to the point that he could see nothing but red as he stared at the taller Yautja. He was usually always calm, never letting things ever get to him. It was something he had learned from an early age, thanks to growing up with his two younger siblings. He had been forced to build quite a bit of patience in him, something not normal for a Yautja of his age. Patience usually came from years and years of experience.

Skl're doubted Ci'tde would ever understand the concept of patience.

"They have names," Ci'tde spoke up finally and his tone of voice sounded cold and deadly as he refused to speak in their native language but spoke in ooman instead. It was a clear indication of his obtuse nature and an act of clear defiance in front of their better.

Skl're stared at his brother, appalled by his audacity. The gall his brother was showing to a respected and high ranking Yautja that stood in their presence told of either great courage or great stupidity. Warkha could take on the pair of them and kill them both in a matter of moments if they tempted his rage enough. The Arbitrator was well known for slaying Yautjas for less.

"What was that pup," Warkha said slowly, his head turning to regard Ci'tde, coldly.

"The females," Ci'tde responded without any hesitation, either he didn't notice the warning tone in the older Yautja's voice or he was ignoring it. Skl're couldn't tell what surprised him more, the way his brother defended the oomans or the fact that he was very calm as he did so. There was not agitation in his voice, no signs of his short temper having been piqued.

Warkha cocked his head to the side, eying the Yautja that stood before him with clenched fists, not cowering or backing down as the spines along his forehead bristled. "You blooded the female," he said out loud, suddenly understanding. He had been appalled and disgusted by the two blooded Yautja's behavior from the moment they had arrived. Ci'tde had appeared enamored by the female Elli, something Warkha had tried to ignore, until he had seen the way he had hovered over her when she had been injured. Then smelling the mating musk had sent him off in a rage, disgusting him enough to seek the two males out and set them straight. Then to find them arguing about the females.

Pathetic.

"Her name is Elli and she earned her blooded status when she killed a kiande amedha during my Chiva," Ci'tde continued to defend the female.

Warkha would have laughed at the notion of a female ooman taking on a full grown kiande amedha. That is, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. He thought back to the drone she had killed down in the sewers. She had done so without screaming and crying like most female oomans were prone to do. She didn't even whine about the smell or cold like he had expected her to do. Instead she had made small talk with him, asking him for his name as she willingly followed him into the sewers and straight into danger. S'yuitde, he mused to himself. He was surrounded by it, it seemed.

"Elli helped defeat a Queen Kiande amedha," Ci'tde added with a lift of his chin, the pride he held towards the female clear in his stance. His mandibles widened into a grin as he recalled the battle. His little female charging the Queen with little fear.

"You lie," Warkha snarled, dragged from his thoughts as he tried to grasp onto the words the younger Yautja had just told him. "Insolent pup I should kill you where you stand-"

"H'ko," Skl're spoke up then, going to his brother's defense before he could watch the Arbitrator kill him in a fit of rage. "It is true. During our Chiva, the queen escaped its birthing chamber and reached the surface. To keep it from creating havoc, even in such a desolate location, the four of us took care of it."

Warkha pulled himself short, having a hard time believing four, well really two inexperienced warriors and two ooman females managed to kill a Queen. It was a rather difficult feat with a group of experienced Yautja's to take on a single Queen. How is that even possible?

"Elli even has an honorable scar from battle," Ci'tde piped up proudly from the doorway, his hand going up to touch the identical shoulder that Elaina's scar was at. He stepped further into the room, no longer blocking the exit as he added in a confident tone, "She is a worthy female."

Skl're again looked to his brother trying to understand his blatant loyalty to the female. It had to be more than the hormones, for his brother to stand toe to toe against an Arbitrator, like the way he was doing now. He was willing to take on an opponent bigger and way more skilled in the art of combat and battle strategy than him over a female ooman. The whole situation was strange to Skl're.

"Everything okay in here," Elaina called as she entered the room cautiously. She hesitated in entering, her eyes going from one Yautja to the next. The tension in the room was thick and she could feel it press in on her as she stood there trying to assess the situation.

Lex was standing next to her, looking nervous. Her eyes darting from one Yautja to the next. "They look like they're about to brawl, maybe we should come back later," Lex hissed beneath her breath.

Warkha studied the small female in a new light as he took in the knowledge of what the younger warrior had told him. And sure enough as he looked her over he spotted the scar on her shoulder Ci'tde had indicated had been made by the Queen kiande amedha. A wound he recognized from countless Yautja's and other creatures that had suffered at the hands of the kiande amedha's tail. Hers was indeed larger than the usual hole made by the average size drone. She showed no signs of the wound having bothered her as she carted around the weapon or with the weight of her bag bearing down on her shoulders.

Elaina glanced over at Warkha to find his masked eyes drilling a hole into her and she pulled herself upright, her spine straightening as she held his intense stare. She wanted to ask what was going on here, but felt she had no place in putting in her two sense on something that was clearing between the three males.

"What," she asked with trepidation, her voice wavering some.

Warkha stared at her for a solid minute longer before shaking himself and looking away. Now he turned himself towards the broken window looking out into the darkness, pensively.

"We will discuss this later Ci'tde," Warkha said after a long moment of silence passed and he had come to a decision. "Female," he spoke up and turned his head to regard her, now addressing the smaller female who was looking between him and Ci'tde.

Warkha felt his spines bristle as he wondered how much the female might actually understand of their language. Not that there was a law stating it was forbidden for oomans to know it, but it was something that was greatly frowned upon to share information about themselves to the weaker species. The main reasoning being they wanted to keep their existence as nonexistent as possible, the less ooman's knew about them the better.

Catching the female's gaze when she looked back at him he nodded his head in acknowledgement to let her know he was actually speaking to her.

"Yea," she responded with a lift of the brow over her right eye, but they were interrupted by a commotion coming from out in the hallway.

"What in God's creation," came a voice from over Elaina's shoulders.

The group froze at the unfamiliar voice and slowly as one, they all turned to look. There was an elderly man standing out in the hallway, staring at the alien's remains. Elaina recognized him as one of the owners. He and his wife had checked them in when they first arrived at the bed and breakfast the other day. They seemed like a nice old couple to her. His wife had told them they had been running the motel for thirty years without any complications.

The man reached out as if to touch the creature and Elaina leapt forward with a shout, racing from the room and grabbed the man by the arm. The old man startled, pulling back away from the creature as he looked at Elaina in surprise.

"Miss-" he stumbled over her name trying to recall it as his hand gripped the front of his night shirt. "Miss Weyland-," he tried again after he cleared his throat, only to pause a second time when his eyes caught on something over her shoulder. "My god-"

Elaina stiffened, her eyes widening as she watched the horror that twisted the man's face into an expression of terror. "Wait-" she began, trying to calm him down before he gave himself a heart attack.

There was a whistling sound and Elaina barely turned her head as a throwing disc flew passed her and slammed into the old man throwing him from her grip and into the wall. She stared in horror, her mouth opening in shock as his body twitched spastically from where it hung there in front of her like a macabre wall decoration. Elaina watched as the man's body slumped, the muscle spasms receding to the point that they were almost nonexistent in its final deaththrows. Slowly her eyes moved to the weapon that pinned him against the wall by his chest and the familiar throwing disc reminded her of the alien Ci'tde had killed in the pyramid, the one that had tried to drag her off.

"You- you killed him," Elaina whispered and she turned her head to look back into the room. "Why?"

Lex watched as the younger woman shuddered, her body trembling as her face went white as a sheet. Lex crossed the room, entering the hallway and grabbed Elaina by the shoulders before she collapsed. Her friend looked ready to faint as she stood there with weak knees, her weight suddenly leaning heavily against Lex like she was the only thing holding her up.

Lex swallowed thickly, finding her mouth and throat parched when she caught sight of the tears in her friend's eyes. Elaina was staring at the old man's body, unable to tear her eyes away.

Elaina couldn't stop replaying the image of the man being thrown into the wall by the weapon from her mind. Over and over again it played, even when her eyes began to sting from the burn of her tears and her face grew hot as she started to cry. Through her silent tears, she lifted her head to look up at the three tall hulking figures standing in the room.

She had forgotten how dangerous they were.

How could she forget it so easily, when just by looking at them was a reminder? But just now staring at the three imposing Yautja's geared up as if ready for war and armed with countless weapons; she was crudely reminded of that fact. They stood at their full height, their masks hiding away their faces and making them appear cold hearted and emotionless.

How could she forget? Terminator had told her to run. She hadn't run very far or very fast. She hadn't listened to him at all.

"Elli," Lex called to her, trying to gain her attention.

Slowly, Elaina dragged her eyes from the Yautja's to look up at her friend.

Lex tried not to see the old man from the corner of her eyes. She tried not to think about how sweet and kind he had been when he told them about the Bed and Breakfast, or about how he and his wife had built the motel from the foundation up on a pot of land he inherited from his family. She tried not to think about the man's wife, hoping beyond hope that she was safe and sound. They were here to save these people and Warkha had dispatched the old man as if he was nothing.

Blinking, Elaina focused her attention on Lex who was looking down at her with a firm expression on her face.

Lex noticed when Elaina finally seemed drag herself from the tormented thoughts that made her look so lost and scared. It bothered her deeply to see her friend like this and it only seemed to give her anger more fuel to throw on the fire. She could feel the temper from before flaring up, wanting to rear its ugly head and go off on the Yautjas, who had done this to them. She wanted to lay into them like she had done with Skl're, but her more rational side only sneered. Look where that had gotten you, it seemed to taunt her.

"Elli, why don't you go get your jacket before we take off okay," Lex offered her friend a way out. She rejoiced over the fact at how calm her voice had sounded. If anyone noticed the underlining tremble in her tone, no one commented on it.

Elaina stared at Lex for a good long minute as if she didn't understand the request. Part her didn't, because Lex knew she didn't have a jacket because Lex had offered to loan her one of hers. However, the look in her friend's eyes, kept her from mentioning this.

"Oh- okay," she whispered, her voice coming out hoarse as if she had been screaming at the top of her lungs.

Slowly, Elaina turned from her friend and refusing to look at the bodies or the Yautjas, she started walking back to her room. Her shoes dragged across the carpet as she walked, hardly having the energy to pick her feet up. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt three sets of eyes following her as she walked out of sight of the three Predators.

Elaina entered the room her and Ci'tde had shared earlier, completely at a loss as to what she was doing there and why Lex had asked her to go. She looked around the room, her body shivering in the cold night air that blew in from the broken window. Despite the chill, her body felt hot all over like she was a furnace, the necklace around her neck felt like a brand, searing her skin till all she wanted to do was claw it off of her body and scream.

Lex waited until Elaina had disappeared from sight before she turned her eyes back on the three males.

"Why," she echoed Elaina's question from before, trying her hardest to not look at the old man again. She was trying to keep her composure together, when really all she wanted to do was fall to her knees and scream into the palm of her hand. It wasn't fair the old man had been killed, when he hadn't even done anything to deserve it. Where was the honor in this kill?

Warkha started forward then passing the two brothers to stand in front of Lex, who flinched at his close proximity. Despite her fear of his nearness, she craned her head back and stared up into his mask. She would be damned to let him see her shed a tear and she did her best to try and hold back the sob that burned at the back of her throat that was threatening to tear its way out.

"Can be no evidence of our existence on your world," He said gravely, his eyes bearing down on her.

Lex felt her heart skip a beat, her eyes widening a fraction as she seemed to understand the hidden meaning behind his words. No evidence. The words echoed in her head like a drum, beating through her skull over and over again as a deadly reminder.

Warkha moved passed her and taking a blue vile from his belt popped open the lid. He inspected the old man, feeling no regret or guilt at having killed him. There had been no honor in the kill, but he had done what was necessary to keep his kind's existence hidden. Reaching for the throwing disc he had used on the ooman, he plucked it from the man's chest and watched the remains drop to the floor below. Tipping the vile, he poured the substance over the two bodies and upon contact they began to smoke and sizzle, the blue liquid eating away at what it touched.

Lex watched horrified as the bodies melted away. The strange liquid Warkha had poured onto them seemed more corrosive than any acidic substance she had ever heard of. In a matter of seconds there was nothing but a thick tar like substance left behind along with the hole in the hallway flooring from the alien's blood. Her eyes flitted back up to the capsule wondering just what the hell that stuff was. Would he use that on her and Elaina once they had helped fulfil their purpose and there was no need to keep them around any longer? Would she be nothing but a puddle of black tar? A black smear on the earthen floor?

To hell with that, Lex argued venomously. Lifting her head, she hardly noticed the tear that escaped her eye and left a heated trail down her cheek. At her sides her hands tightened in tight fists and her nails bit into the palm of her hands hard enough to leave crescent moon indents.

Warkha cocked his head to the side at the expression on the female's face. After seeing her body temperature fluctuate sporadically over the last several moments, he had found himself curious over the strange phenomenon and had switched to the normal vision spectrum to see her better in the hallway light. There was a defiant look on her face, a harshness set deep within her eyes that glittered beneath the lighting. He could see there was liquid that had spilled from her eyes like they had sprung a leak and he wondered what had brought them on.

"I'll go help Elli," Lex said stiffly and moved passed him without waiting for him to respond. It was in her best interest to not let her temper loose on the much larger Yautja. She could still feel where Skl're had grabbed her by the neck and held her pinned to the wall. There was no way she would take a chance like that with this one. She needed to stay calm for now. Needed to think about Elaina's safety and nothing more.

Warkha growled after the female, his spines stiffening as his annoyance flared. Ooman females could be so annoying with their wide range of emotions. He didn't bother to stop the female for that reason, figuring she needed time to get over what was upsetting her.

Lex entered the motel room, nearly running straight into Elaina who had hardly moved much further into the room than through the doorway. When she grabbed the younger woman's hand however, Elaina jolted from whatever turmoil her thoughts had fallen into to look at Lex slightly startled to see her there.

"Let's go," Lex said quickly and started pulling her to the window.

Elaina blinked. "Wait," she said thickly. "What-What about the guys?"

Lex narrowed her eyes as she reached the round wooden table and let Elaina go. Planting her palms down on the table surface she heaved herself up and onto the table with a soft grunt. Taking action kept her from lashing out. Standing, she turned and knelt down to help Elaina up. "And what- wait from them to exterminate us next?"

Elaina stared at Lex surprised. Exterminate us? What does she mean by that, she had to wonder. Hesitantly, she placed her hand in Lex's firm grip and let the other woman heave her up onto the table next to her.

"Where are we going?" She asked her instead as they carefully maneuvered their way out the window and out into the dark backyard of the bed and breakfast.

"We are going to put as much distance between us and them as we can," Lex said as she looked around them, even going so far to look back into the room to make sure the guys hadn't followed them.

Taking Elaina's hand in hers once more, she helped lead the way across the lawn to reach the front of the motel. Elaina's car was where they had parked it last, but since neither of them had thought about grabbing the car keys, they would have to walk back to town.

"You know they'll come looking for us once they realize we ran," Elaina said seriously. She tugged her hand free from Lex's grip to cross her arms over her chest. She wished more than ever she had a jacket to wear as the night air was cold against her bare arms.

"I know," Lex said grimly, turning to glance over her shoulder. "Let's just hope they decide the alien invasion is more important." Lex gripped the spear in front of her in both hand now, feeling its solid weight. She wasn't surprised when it extended to its full length, as she had seen Elaina do the same to the weapon many times in the past. She led the way down the road, her ears straining to pick up the faintest noise and her eyes struggling to see out into the darkness that lay before them.

Behind her Elaina glanced over her shoulder at the fading lights of the motel as it drew further and further away from them. Guilt had her looking back. Yes Warkha just might exterminate them if they posed a threat to his kind's existence. But Ci'tde? Could he?

Doubt clouded her thoughts as she turned to look ahead of them. Unconsciously she gripped the necklace he had given her.

Would he?

AN: Sorry for such a long wait everyone. I want to thank you all for the lovely reviews. They truly keep me going. My only excuse for such a late update is I've had some tragedy strike close to home and I have had no inspiration to write anything. A huge thanks goes to a good friend of mine who got me into writing out roleplays and I feel my inspiration returning slowly. Thanks to his push, I have gotten back into writing but its very slow. I cannot promise that the next update will be any faster, but I will do my best to keep you all from having to wait so long.

I do apologies that this chapter is not beta read, I figured you all have waited long enough.

Thank you for your patience.

Yautja words:

Mei'hswei- Brother

Ooman- slang for human

Kv'var- Hunt

Kiande amedha- hard meat/aliens

Chiva- trial

H'ko- no

Please let me know what you all think of this chapter. Was it what you were expecting and what do you think of Lex finally finding that backbone of hers, just when she might need it most. Warkha just might have his hands full with the two females. Especially in the next chapter he will.

Inky out