Chapter XIII

"So," began Walker, looking out the passenger window of Tyler's truck, "Would you like me to tell you what we've found so far?"

Tyler raised his eyebrow and took a look at his new ally, "What have you found by looking at a few tracks?"

"You'd be surprised," Walker responded.

"What do you mean?" asked May Peterson from the back of the cab.

"There are more than just tracks. Joe," Walker started, "Do you remember seeing anything out of the ordinary when you went to Lady Greyhound Road?"

"How do you…" Tyler questioned, but soon stopped himself because he knew he didn't need to be surprised. He stopped to think for a moment, keeping his eyes on Highway 15, which lied before him. "Come to think of it," he started with a sudden realization, "I remember there being an odd green liquid in the brush. It glowed. I figured it was just a burst open glow-stick."

"A glow-stick? That's not what it was, my friend," laughed Walker.

He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Are either of you at all familiar with microbiology?" he asked May and James Larry, who was next to May.

"Umm, a little," she replied.

"Yeah," added Larry.

"Well," Walker smiled, "Take a look at this." He handed them the paper.

She unfolded it and took a long look and Tyler then noticed her eyes open wide in the rear-view mirror. "Oh my god…is this blood?"

"That's what we concluded," Walker began.

"But, it's structure, the way it's laid out," Larry said, "There're so many white blood cells…and the structure, of these hemoglobin. No, these aren't even hemoglobin… is… this Phosphorous-based?"

"That's also what we concluded," smiled Walker.

"What does that mean?" asked Tyler.

"It means that this is a very strange creature," replied Walker. "The high amount of white blood cells means it's very resilient to disease. And the fact that there was so much of the blood means it was bigger than some insect. Nothing on Earth, certain not in Kansas, has phosphorus based blood and is this big."

"Is this the same thing that's making the weird foot prints and breaking branches?" Tyler asked.

"Probably. It may have underestimated the strength of the branches because of the dryness as of late," responded Walker. We think it's trying to stay off the ground as much as possible."

"Less foot prints," stated Larry.

"Exactly. It's smart."

"What about that blue flash that Mary Cooper saw the night Blake's tractor exploded?" asked May. "Joe, you said that it apparently came from the trees."

"Some kind of, I don't know…an energy weapon? Like in Star Trek?" asked Tyler

"Most likely. We have no idea how it works, but it's likely very powerful."

"I'll say, it blew apart a John Deere like a firecracker," joked Larry.

Tyler just shook his head as he looked onto the road ahead.

"So, we're dealing with a large creature, with phosphorus based blood, and has advanced technology?" asked May

"Right," said Walker. He paused and looked out at the dark clouds brewing to the west. "Looks like we're going to have a storm tonight."

Tyler nodded, "Forecaster says it's going to be a helluva storm."

"I concur," added Walker

*  *  *

They drove about the countryside, listening to the police scanner and also keeping an eye out for any strange activity.

Before they started their patrol, however, they had loaded up on some weapons that had been in Tyler's home. A twelve-gauge shotgun, a standard, police issue Beretta, and a .22 caliber rifle with a scope. Tyler noticed the rifle and the shotgun in the rear view mirror, sitting behind the back passenger's seat. The Beretta was in the holster that Tyler had picked up. He fingered it lightly with his finger, openly realizing he was breaking a traffic law, but couldn't help it. He was very much hoping he wouldn't have to use the thing.

Suddenly, Walker's cell phone began ringing. He quickly picked it out of his pocket and answered with a very blunt, "What?"

He listened for a few seconds and suddenly, his eyes widened.

"What is it?" May inquired from behind.

"Quiet," Walker told her sternly.

He listened intently for a few minutes, jotting down a few words on a notepad he had pulled out with a fancy looking pen.

He hung up the phone and said, "Head for the junction between Highway 15 and West Cherokee road."

"Alright," said Tyler without question. "What's going on?"

Walker smiled slyly.

*  *  *

Following the directions Walker gave him, Tyler pulled into a field right in front of a large area of trees. He noticed one of Walker's vans was there, but empty.

Walker pointed into the woods and began walking forward. Suddenly, a man in what looked like a radioactivity blocking suit, came out into the clearing to talk to Walker.

"We have our proof, sir," he said, taking off the his mask and revealing himself to be the same scientist with giant, thick glasses that Tyler had booted off of private property earlier in the month.

Walker clapped his hands together triumphantly. "Let's take a look. Any hazards we should know about?"

"No sir," said the scientist, "Perfectly safe for humans, though the air may feel a little heavy for you."

Walker looked back at the three Kansans, "Then let us explore the unknown."

Larry laughed, "Where only a few men have gone before."

Tyler chuckled, and was glad to know that someone was keeping a jesting feeling despite the knowledge that they were about to go onto an alien spacecraft.

They entered a small clearing where all the trees had been blown away and a large, sleek object sat in the middle with an odd resemblance to a beetle. It was separated in two, conjoined shells that made the odd ship. It was a greenish-gray in color and had things jutting from the side that looked as though they were thrusters. A door was open on the side and a ramp was extended down onto the ground.

"Holy mother of God…how is it that the military didn't already find this?" asked Tyler as they entered the outskirts of the woods.

"Not sure," Walker started, "But their loss is our gain."

"I suppose so," said Tyler.

"I wouldn't be surprised if our activities here are noticed soon… And with the killing spree," said Walker.

Suddenly, a call came into the scanner, which Tyler had taken with him. Another murder victim was found in town, head missing and all. The National Guard was being called in and all of town was under house arrest.
            "Well," Walker chuckled, "It may be sooner than we thought. Helicopters will likely be searching the area for anyone not in their homes."

"What're we going to do about this thing?" Tyler asked, pointing at the alien spacecraft before him.

"Well, we are pretty sure that the Predators have some kind of radar blocking device. It's basically stealth," Walker started, "If we can somehow conceal it from visual sight, we may yet keep it out of the military's hands."

"What do you plan to do about this thing's owner?" asked May, fingering the cold metal sides of the ship.

"Hopefully, he will realize we've found his ship and he will come to us," smiled Walker.

He then walked forward into the craft, and the rest followed.

Tyler noticed a very Frank Lloyd Wright-like architecture in the ship. He found it oddly like a cave. A gentle mist hung about the floor, only reaching up to around his waist. He immediately noticed a heavy feeling in the air, much as the scientist has warned. He took deeper breaths to compensate

Walker noticed Tyler's breathing, "It's the nitrogen. I'm going to guess that there's about four percent more of it in here than in our atmosphere."

Tyler nodded and then noticed a small alcove to his left. In it was several bizarre looking skulls. One was human-like, but with sharp teeth and large ridges on the forehead. Near that skull were several human skulls and spines; Tyler was sure of whom they were. "Could somebody get these? They don't deserve to be displayed as trophies."

*  *  *

The Yautja approached his ship, having made haste to get there after the alarm klaxons went off in his helmet, alerting him to intruders on his ship. Several of the Pyode Amedha were outside and he knew several more were inside. He knew he would hunt well that night