Animorphs: Hunting Game
6: Endgame
On the road to the mountains
Dutch and the Animorphs raced toward the mountains in Dutch's jeep. Tobias was overhead scouting for the Predator. Ax was in human form, as he couldn't have fitted inside otherwise. Even then, it was very cramped. No one was enjoying the ride, least of all Dutch.
"I wish this damn road wasn't so bumpy," He snorted as another jolt of pain went through him from his injured thigh.
"You sure we need to drive in this thing, Dutch?" Marco complained. "Why don't we just fly after him?"
"In case you'd forgotten, Einstein, I can't morph. I couldn't keep up with you. Anyway, we'll need all our strength when we get there. He may be injured but he can still fight us and kill us. Good enough for you?" Dutch snapped back.
"Let's try and keep our minds on what's ahead, ok?" Jake was fully in leader mode now.
They were just starting to climb into the mountains when Tobias reported in. Sorry guys, I've lost him.
"Shit! That's all we needed!" Dutch cursed.
"The road ends soon. We'll have to go on foot," Jake put in.
"Let me guess: you've been here before, right?" Dutch asked.
Jake nodded; he still remembered the destruction of the Yeerk truck ship as if it had happened yesterday.
Tobias was waiting for them at the end of the road. I just don't get it. I saw him running across a field one minute and the next he was gone!
"Maybe his camouflage is still working," Dutch sighed in despair.
I'll go ahead again. Tobias said and flew off into the sky. After only thirty seconds, however, he was back. Guys! You have got to see this!
They hurried on and were met with the sight of a large crater in the field ahead.
"Think he went down there?" Dutch asked.
It's the only way he could have lost me, Tobias concluded.
We must be extremely cautious from now on, Ax put in, now back in his usual form. His vehicle is probably in that crater.
"His ship's down there?" Marco asked.
"Makes sense. I don't know anything else that can make a hole that big," Dutch said.
Rachel was fired up. "All right! I'm gonna enjoy stomping this thing!"
"Easy!" Dutch warned. "Don't get overconfident. I don't want to lose you the way I lost the others!" The tone of his voice sent a cold chill through them all.
"We'll be careful, Dutch. Trust us," Cassie said.
"You sure you guys want me along?" Ryan asked. "I'm still not that good at this, I only have two morphs and saving Marco was just a fluke."
"You can back out anytime Ryan, no one would blame you," Jake said.
"Except you'd miss all the fun!" Rachel smiled at Ryan.
"You'll do fine, Ryan. I feel safer with you at my back," Marco sounded more serious than he usually did.
Ryan sighed. "Ok, I'm in."
Ax moved closer to him. I'll help you. If I can adapt to be human, you can adapt to be Andalite.
"Ok, let's morph," Jake said.
One minute later a wolf, a bear, a tiger, a gorilla, a hawk and two Andalites advanced on the crater with Dutch leading them. Dutch looked at his new friends in amazement. They were all only kids, but there was no doubt in Dutch's mind that they were Special Forces material. Pity they weren't there twelve years ago, he thought sadly. His mind jerked back to the present as he approached the crater's edge. Traces of green blood were scattered around it.
This is a trap, isn't it? Jake asked him. Even his tiger instincts were sensing that.
"Yeah, he wants us to go in. But we've got no choice; we have to finish this. I'm going in first."
Dutch looked in. The crater had only a slight slope going down, almost as if it were designed for easy access. Everyone had no trouble walking downwards, even in morph. They saw the pod as they reached the bottom. It was only a few feet away, dark gold in colour and had an open door leading into a glowing gold-orange corridor.
"Stay sharp, this is it!" Dutch said almost eagerly.
They stepped inside and started walking along the eerie glowing corridor.
So this is what a Predator ship is like, huh? Nice. Marco quipped.
The corridor ended in what looked like a large control room. There was a panel of controls and switches at the far end. An impressive array of spears, wrist-blades, daggers and swords were hung across one wall. Unseen by any of the others, Dutch took a pair of wrist-blades and slipped them onto his right wrist. Might need these later, he thought to himself. He then looked over to the other wall and gaped in shock.
The whole wall was a large trophy cabinet. It was lined with hundreds of skulls. There were certainly human skulls there. The Animorphs and Ax recognised Hork-Bajir and Taxxon skulls. To Ax's horror, there were several Andalite skulls there also.
Done well, hasn't he? Ryan said in disgust.
"Yeah, but where the hell is he?" Dutch said, looking around the room again. As he did so, he suddenly noticed a flashing red light on the control panel. What the hell? That wasn't on a minute ago! "Jake, the panel!"
Jake saw the flashing light and ran toward it with Dutch behind him. As they got halfway across the room, however, a greenish transparent force field came down behind Dutch and Jake, isolating them from the others. Rachel and Marco were considering trying to break through the field but Ax warned them off.
Do not touch that field! It is probably lethal on contact!
"Maybe I can turn it off here. Stay there and stay sharp!" Dutch called back. He was disgusted with himself. The flashing light on the panel wasn't a bomb timer as he'd feared; it was just a remote radio signal. It was just a simple lure to split them up and make them easier to kill. But if that was the case then he should be….OH SHIT!
Dutch whirled around but it was too late. A massive punch sent him flying across the room into the wall. Jake was kicked and sent flying the same way. The others could only watch helplessly through the force field as the Predator fired a blue bolt from his shoulder gun at Dutch. He missed Dutch but scored a direct hit on his shotgun, fusing it and rendering it useless. The Predator stood back and allowed his prey to regain their feet. Dutch suddenly felt an awful sense of déjà vu about this even though he had a tiger beside him this time. Most of his nightmares of the last twelve years were of that final fight in the swamp. A fight that he sensed he would have to repeat now.
The Predator could not have been more pleased with the turn of events. His lure had worked perfectly, separating two of his prey from the rest. Killing them would drive the others into a fit of rage and they would lose their focus, making them easier kills. He glanced at the control panel that was still transmitting the signal. Good, everything is in place, now to make the kill. To the shock of his prey, he then detached his shoulder gun from its mount and tossed it away to one side. He did the same for his spear and net launcher too, leaving him with his fists and wrist-blades only. He then reached for his mask. This would be the greatest fight of his life…
Dutch was the only one not surprised by the Predator's actions. After all, he'd seen this before in the jungle. He was making a final challenge to them. He knew what was coming next and wasn't disappointed. The Predator reached up and undid two clasps on the side of his mask. Dutch suddenly noticed that the mask was not plain like the first one had had. This one had a thunderbolt insignia etched into it. Looking at the trophy cabinet, it didn't take much to guess what that stood for. The Predator then ripped off his mask to reveal the same hideous face that had haunted Dutch for years. A broad hard forehead, no nose to speak of, dark penetrating eyes and an enormous mouth surrounded by four tusks. Whilst everyone else gaped at the sight, Dutch merely grinned.
"You're one ugly motherfu.."
The Predator roared and smashed Dutch in the face before he could finish. Jake leapt and slashed the Predator with his claws, opening a large gash across his chest. This time, however, the Predator just seemed impervious to pain as he ripped into Jake's side with his wrist-blades. Dutch leapt up and punched the Predator hard in the jaw but it didn't even faze him. All Dutch got for his efforts were two slashes across his chest. The Predator then turned and cut Jake again. Both of them collapsed, panting and bleeding. The others were screaming through the force field.
Get up, Jake!
Kill that freak!
God, Let me in there and I'll stomp that thing!
The Predator was chuckling as he looked down on his victims. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. He raised his wrist-blades to kill Dutch first… and Dutch suddenly drew his wrist-blades and plunged them into the Predator's undefended chest. The Predator screeched in pain as Dutch continued to push the blades in deeper. Jake got up, leapt on the Predator and copied Dutch's action with his claws. Caught by surprise with this double attack, the Predator could do nothing but scream as they ripped his front open. It collapsed to the floor screaming in pain all the while. The force field flickered and vanished as it fell, allowing the others inside. Jake demorphed to heal his wounds as the others rushed to their side.
"I'm ok," Jake said. "Dutch, are you all right."
"Just about," Dutch replied clutching at his bleeding wounds. "I'm gonna finish this!" He got up and looked at the Predator. It was still alive but its chest was a bloody ruin and its breathing was uneven. It was no longer a threat. The others demorphed as Dutch stood over the Predator. Its wrist terminal was broken. No nuclear blast this time, Dutch thought with satisfaction. This time he would get the pleasure of killing it.
He was just about to ram his blades through the thing's throat when he noticed three red triangles on his chest. The Animorphs and Ax suddenly found that they were 'painted' with red triangles also. They looked up to see twenty more Predators with various coloured and shaped masks. All wore thunderbolt insignias like the first and all were aiming their shoulder guns at them.
Dutch could scarcely believe it. Then it struck him. "The signal…OH SHIT! How could I have been so stupid?"
He had no time to contemplate his mistake. The Predators grabbed them roughly and herded them out of the pod. No one even considered fighting, not against twenty Predators. The injured Predator was taken out too. One Predator stayed and punched in a coded sequence into the control panel. He then left to join his comrades.
Outside the pod
A huge ship was parked outside when the Animorphs and their captors emerged. Five more Predators were waiting outside its ramp. These all wore shiny golden armour and one had sharp spikes protruding from his forearm and shoulder plates. He also held a massive scimitar-like sword. He was plainly their leader. He scrutinised the Animorphs, Dutch and the injured Predator, who could barely stand, carefully. He then walked to his injured comrade and offered him the sword.
The injured Predator knew what this meant. He had sent the signal to his brothers so they could bear witness to his victory over his Andalite and human prey. Instead all they had witnessed was his defeat. His utter defeat. He took the sword from the leader of his tribe. He knew what he had to do…
The Predators holding the Animorphs and Dutch suddenly released them and stood in a tight circle around them. Any attempt to escape would be futile. The Predator that had hunted them was now walking towards them holding the sword over his head ready to strike.
Dutch managed to speak. "Sorry guys, it's been nice knowing you."
"We go through all that for this? It isn't fair!" Cassie wailed.
I would not worry too much. Ax said. Oddly enough, he seemed quite calm.
The Predator staggered toward them with the sword raised. Then, to the amazement of everyone except Ax, he impaled himself on the sword. He crashed to the ground dead. The Predator leader calmly walked to the body, pulled out the sword, wiped it and then tossed it to Dutch. He then bowed to the group and went into his ship; followed by his troops. They recovered the body of their comrade as they went. The ship lifted off, sped away into the sky and then beyond into space.
Everyone was speechless for about a minute. Marco was the first to speak. "Did we just win?" he asked in disbelief.
Dutch looked down at the sword. It was incredibly light despite its size. "Did you know that was going to happen?" he asked Ax.
I suspected it. Ax replied. Cowardly executions are not in their nature. Those other Predators were meant to be witnesses to our defeat in battle. Instead they witnessed the defeat of their warrior. Failure is never tolerated in their society so he had to kill himself.
"And this is our trophy, right?" Dutch asked, wielding the blade.
Ax simply nodded.
"Can we go home now?" Ryan asked weakly. "I don't know about you but I think I'm going to sleep for a week!"
Jake smiled. "It's over."
His sentiment was punctuated by a large explosion from the crater. The pod had been destroyed.
Three days later: Cassie's barn
Jake was sitting alone in the barn when Dutch walked in.
"All alone today, Jake?" he asked.
"Rachel dragged Cassie out shopping, Ax is teaching Ryan how to tail fight, Tobias is with them too and Marco's with his dad." Jake replied. "You're not sticking around, are you?"
Dutch shook his head. "If those things ever show up again, I'll be there. But I don't think I can join you full time."
"Won't you stay, Dutch?" Jake pleaded. "I hate this war and having to be this great leader all the time!"
"We have a saying in the army, Jake. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'. You're doing fine. From what you've told me you've done better than anyone could have expected. You don't need me. I'm over ten years past my prime. You could see it in the fight. I'm slower than I used to be and I made stupid mistakes. I almost got us killed back there. You'll do just fine without me, especially with that new kid. He makes up for David doesn't he?"
Jake gave him an amazed look.
"Ax told me about him since no one else would," Dutch smiled. "Every leader makes mistakes. I've seen a lot worse than you. Say goodbye to the others for me, will you?" He turned to go. "You know, I could almost pity the Yeerks. They're going to regret the day they crossed you!" He chuckled to himself as he walked away.
Jake smiled. "See you around, Dutch."
Jake watched him walk away and was about to leave himself when he abruptly found himself floating in greenish-blue light. He was no longer in the barn.
HELLO, JAKE.
Jake groaned. "The Ellimist, right? Can't you ever stop interfering in our lives?"
NOT WHEN MY OPPONENT DOES FIRST.
"Your opponent?" Jake asked, puzzled.
YES. HE PLAYS AN EVIL GAME. HE RESENTS MY HELPING YOU. HE WAS LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR SENDING YOUR LAST ENEMY HERE.
"The Predator, right?" Jake said. Then it dawned on him. "It was you that brought Ryan and Dutch into this, wasn't it?"
RYAN WAS FATE'S DOING. I DID GIVE A HELPING HAND WITH DUTCH. YOU DID NEED EACH OTHER, AFTER ALL.
"You faked that news broadcast to his house about the school attack, didn't you? I thought that was real convenient at the time."
YES.
"Why bring him in at all? All right, he saved us at the school. But what did he get out of it?"
REDEMPTION. TOGETHER YOU WERE ABLE TO SAVE YOUR FRIENDS. DUTCH WAS UNABLE TO SAVE HIS BEFORE. IT WAS SOMETHING HE NEEDED TO DO.
"Will we ever face one of those things again?"
EVEN I DON'T KNOW THAT. THE PREDATORS ARE AN UNPREDICTABLE RACE.
"And what about this 'opponent' of yours?"
PRAY THAT YOU NEVER HAVE TO FACE HIM, JAKE. HE IS WORSE THAN THE PREDATORS COULD EVER BE. BUT I DO NOT BELIEVE HE WILL TRY SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN, DO YOU?
Jake thought he heard the Ellimist chuckling when he suddenly found himself back in the barn. He ran out to find the others, this was something he had to tell them about.
The Ellimist watched him as he went. He smiled.
A NICE TRY, CRAYAK. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME.
A week later: Visser 3's Blade Ship
Once again, Visser 3 stood in his private quarters assessing the situation. Visser 3 knew that it had gone from bad to worse. He knew that the Andalite filth were still alive. The Predator had failed. The heat wave in their area of the planet had not ended but the killings had. That meant the Predator was dead or had simply left. It didn't matter either way. What did matter was that the Predator had slaughtered many Controllers, it had set back the efforts of the Sharing by weeks, if not months, until the public fear died down again and worst of all the Andalites were still active. They had just raided the new Sharing HQ and had set a fire in its basement, destroying it utterly. Reports said that there had been two Andalites at the scene and five others in morph, which meant they were getting bolder. Visser 3 seethed with rage. Whatever it took, he would get them someday….
THE END…..FOR NOW