Disclaimer: I do not own the Predator franchise.
Thank you to all who have read this little tale!
Shadows on the Wall
In the hall of his enemy, Tugrik could feel his rage slowly burning its way through his mind. He asked the accompanying servant about Thekkur's whereabouts, but he received a flurry of hand signals instead; signs he could not understand. It was then that he noticed the badly healed scar on the slave's throat, in the area of the vocal chords, chords that were probably long gone by now; I'ilkoun-de must like his slaves silent and obedient.
Tugrik headed for the main entrance, ignoring the frantic slave who followed closely behind him. As he neared the doors, the slave tried once again to lead him away. Tugrik raised his arm to backhand the servant, but he lowered his arm when he noticed the eta gesturing towards the corridor that led to the dining hall. Marching shadows appeared along the sides, no doubt preceding the arrival of I'ilkoun-de and his overseers. Quickly opening the main door, the slave ushered Tugrik outside and pointed to the slaves' quarters. Hurrying across the empty grounds, Tugrik glanced back to check on the eta. He could see the yautja scrambling towards the foundry.
Having escaped unnoticed from the main hall, Tugrik was in a quandary. He had not been aware of the danger I'ilkoun-de posed, so he was unprepared; his weapons were still in his room. Now, when he needed them the most, he was weaponless. He made it to the slaves' quarters, staying in the shadows as he sidled towards the entrance. Luckily, there were no overseers guarding the entrance. Inside, the vestibule was empty of guards and servants. A lone torch illuminated the room and the shadows leaped, hiding the dirt and grime that covered the pale earthen walls. Tugrik crept to the door that led to the slaves' cells. Looking through the small barred window, he spied an open cell not too far down the corridor. Cautiously opening the door, he checked once more for any hidden dangers. Afterwards, he made his way silently down the passage. Tugrik heard sibilant whispers and clicks of a conversation between two individuals as he neared. When he arrived at the doorway, only Thekkur greeted him. His brother stared at him for a moment, and then he gestured for Tugrik to come in.
Shadows danced in the room and the air was close and very warm. There was a hint of musk in the air, female musk, or the ghost of a scent. Tugrik sat down, ready to speak to his brother. He had so many questions to ask and so many things to say to him. He looked around instead and noticed something on a wooden table in one corner. It was his mask, ki'cti-pa, and spear! Even the computer unit with the self-destruct was there, but he remembered leaving it behind on his ship. He looked wonderingly at his brother.
Thekkur shook his head, "You will have to thank the slaves. They told me you would need these soon. I'ilkoun-de does not know you are here, but one should never underestimate him, especially now. Most of the slaves are silent and will not reveal your location; they may fear him, but they respect and follow only one." The slaves, silent witnesses to I'ilkoun-de's terror; how long have they been enslaved? They hid in the shadows, watching their master and waiting, hoping I'ilkoun-de would ignore them. Though he found it unsettling to not hear the clicks and see the slight play of tusks over his mutilated features, Tugrik could make sense of his brother's slightly garbled words.
"There was a female I spoke to earlier. Is she the one the slaves respect and follow?" asked Tugrik.
"Ghir'es'un's clan was once the stakeholders of this planet," said Thekkur. "It was before the arrival of I'ilkoun-de." There was a grim set to Thekkur's features as he recited Ghir'es'un's tale. "She is the lone captive, the last descendant of a clan now gone. The males of her clan, the unfortunate ones that were here, all died at the hands of I'ilkoun-de; he had cunningly challenged them one after the other over a span of time. When there were no more males to challenge, I'ilkoun-de began his assault. His overseers overwhelmed and executed the older females and their children, especially the ones old enough to resist. They did not spare any of the female children. The very young and the very old were enslaved. Ghir'es'un was the only one left of the female line. I'ilkoun-de never revealed the reasons he spared her. He left her alone, I think, as an example of the power he has over everything. She tried to fight him once, but his overseers were too many and I'ilkoun-de has the strength of madness and of something else."
"He will be punished by Paya for his crimes," softly murmured Tugrik as he realized the enormity of I'ilkoun-de's crimes. Looking at his brother, he was struck by how old and defeated he looked as he stood in the flickering light. Thekkur was a shadow of his former self. There was nothing left of the young hunter he remembered. Whatever prison I'ilkoun-de made for his brother, it had completely obliterated what was left of hope. Taking up his spearand a small knife from his belt, Tugrik handed both to Thekkur.
"At least we will fight our enemy together," said Tugrik as he hefted his ki'cti-pa.
"We will have to face the overseers before I'ilkoun-de, and even then we may not be able to overcome them," Thekkur said as he looked at the knife that was given to him.
"Will Ghir'es'un be able to help us?" asked Tugrik. He wondered about the other voice he heard in the room and the trace of a familiar scent. How Ghir'es'un left the room without Tugrik noticing was something he wanted to ask his brother. "Before I arrived, I thought I heard more than one voice in this room."
There was a knowing look in Thekkur's eyes as he spoke. "Ghir'es'un speaks to me often and when I was imprisoned here, she had the etas help me in recovering from the wounds I received from I'ilkoun-de during our battle.
"She is free to wander the complex and knows the secret passages, but I do not know if she will be able to help us. She escaped and I do not know where she could be. I'ilkoun-de had placed her under guard shortly after speaking with you. He was going to question her about you; he will be furious when he finds her gone."
"We can use these passages, perhaps make it to my ship so we could arm ourselves better," stated Tugrik.
"I'ilkoun-de would have all the approaches watched by now and your ship carefully guarded," replied Thekkur.
"Surely he doesn't have that many overseers. I have only seen several at one time, where could the rest be?" said Tugrik.
"Some of the slaves are not as loyal and they fear I'ilkoun-de more than Ghir'es'un. They will be watching. As for the overseers, you were right about the number of them I'ilkoun-de has at his command. I made sure of that; he never told you truthfully the number of his overseers I have killed..." Thekkur stopped and cocked his head to the side, listening intently to some distant sound.
"What is it?" asked Tugrik, as he looked around, trying to catch whatever sound it was that occupied his brother's attention.
"I hear the roar of a furious master. Quick, we must hurry!" Thekkur rushed to a shadowy corner of his cell and pushed on a slightly protruding rock. With a sigh, a hidden door slid open and the stale, earthy air of soil and buried rocks wafted from the doorway. Thekkur took down a torch and lit the entry.
Tugrik paused and stared down at the steps dug into the compact dirt; they spiraled steeply down to an inky blackness. 'Has it come down to this; fleeing into the bowels of the planet, away from our enemy?' thought Tugrik. He started to climb down while his brother closed the hidden door behind them. The two did not speak as they made their way down the spiral steps. The dim light of their torch guttered in the weak breeze that blew from the depths, bringing with it the cloyingly sweet smell of decay and a slightly familiar metallic tang that grew stronger as they made their way deeper into the darkness. Soon, they heard a low throbbing sound all around them, and the walls of the stairwell changed from hard packed dirt to a highly lustrous black stone flecked with opalescent granules that gleamed in the torchlight.
Running his hand along the surface of the wall, Tugrik felt the consistent pattern of carvings. It was a large bas-relief. Carved in a winding spiral that lined the walls, it told an ancient, but forgotten story; it must have been a tale known only to Ghir'es'un's ill-fated clan. He ran a talon along the winding curves of one relief, and as his eyes adjusted to the flickering light and shadows that shifted on the stone surface, the image of a rampaging kainde amedha queen emerged. A writhing warrior was pinned beneath her colossal form. The forsaken figure was lost amidst the shredding claws and crystalline fangs of the maddened hive mother. It was a realistic, albeit grotesque scene. The ancient artisan must have been an eyewitness to the hunt.
The passage of countless years obliterated some parts of the relief, but certain intricately carved sections still harbored menace. Waves of hard meat eternally seethed while waiting for approaching hunters, and plain, but highly polished panels gave the illusion of black doorways filled with the lurking unknown. Tugrik refrained from touching these panels, which slightly annoyed him, but there was the lingering thought that if he were to place his hand on the shiny surface, it would immediately disappear in the darkness and his whole body would follow.
There was a sudden growling shout high above the fleeing brothers and light blossomed at the top of the stairs as I'ilkoun-de's overseers entered. A thrown torch tumbled down the center of the shaft, falling past Thekkur and Tugrik. Roars echoed, filling the stairwell with the sounds of challenge and fury. Luckily for the escaping pair, they did not have far to go, and as they heard the sounds of pursuit at the top of the staircase, the stairs ended and level ground met their feet as their torch lit a path for them. The breeze grew stronger as they ran through the large passage. The throbbing sound grew louder. They could now feel it, vibrating deep within their bodies. The passage gradually lightened and grew wider. The light became brighter and suddenly they were there; they had made it to the cavern that housed the main generator. The smell of decay was stronger here. Tugrik now saw the source of the stench. The great lights that hung from the roof of the cavern also illuminated a graveyard. Here and there were the decomposing bodies of countless yautja. Some looked to be very old, while others were still fresh.
"What is this?" asked Tugrik as he grimaced with disgust at the bodies sprawled all over the cavern floor. They looked like sacrifices to some dark god that resided in the generator.
"They are the remains of Ghir'es'un's clan and the etas that have died recently. I'ilkoun-de ordered the slaves to carry the dead to this place, leaving them to rot. They now feed the grave worms," answered Thekkur.
Looking down on the fresh carcasses, Tugrik noticed something. "Some of them have pieces of their flesh missing from their bodies, as if they were gnawed off by something larger and there are sections here that looked carved from the bone."
"So it is true then," Thekkur whispered enigmatically. He then looked at Tugrik with haunted eyes.
A harsh clattering sound from the stairwell reminded the two that they were still in danger. They rushed off in the direction of the cavern where the breeze steadily grew stronger and fresher, yet untainted by the scent of dead flesh.