Hunter: Getting the Weapons

We ran down the corridor, following Jake closely. As we ran I said to Jake, "Jake…I sorry."

"For what?" he breathed.

"Not believe you." I apologized.

He shook his head, "I couldn't blame you."

I didn't say anymore. At last we rounded a corner and Jake halted before a steel, air lock door. Retracting a card from his vest he swiped it through the reader and the door hissed open to reveal a white sterile room full of glass tubes and machines of all complexities not to mention over a dozen very startled scientists all manning a station! Somehow the Predators knew they weren't armed and didn't attack as they had done in the cell chamber.

Fire Blood rumbled eagerly, "Let's splatter them."

Hunter hissed, "They're worthless kills Fire Blood. Besides we need our weapons and they know where they are—you can kill them afterwards if you have to. Give them a warning Little Fighter. Tell them if they value their worthless lives then relinquish our weapons immediately. If they don't move immediately they are all dead."

Nodding I strode in the lab with Jake and my friends behind me. I gave the men all hard glares and shouted loudly, "Oomans! Move to wall or die! You all die! Move NOW!"

I'd never seen men move so fast. Scrambling like mad beasts the scientists knocked over glass beakers and tipped over various other items in their desperate race to do as I bid. A snicker passed my lips. Cowards. The men stood next to the opposite wall, eyes wide and scared. I could tell they weren't like the soldiers; they were the thinkers not the fighters. Of course that didn't make them any less dangerous. The mind could unlock horrors beyond comprehension. But Predators didn't kill thinkers, they killed warriors. The only reason they'd kill these would be because of their thievery and prying.

And Fire Blood, more than Garv or Hunter, didn't take too kindly to anyone who stole his weapons. The massive Predator slit his eyes harshly, swaggering over to the line of scientists with heavy oppressive foot steps. I almost thought the men would piss themselves the way they were shaking. Of course I didn't look that close—they might have. His lower mandibles spread broadly in an aggressive rumble. Every one of the men cringed. From the glint in his two toned eyes I could tell the giant was enjoying their terror. In many ways Fire Blood's size made him kind of a bully— he knew he was intimidating so he exploited it at every opportunity.

He eyed them a second and selected one, clamping a hand around the victim's throat and holding him up like he weighed nothing.

Fire Blood looked at me, "Ask him where our masks are."

"Where are masks?" I translated holding a hand to my face for emphasis.

The man grasped Fire Blood's thick wrist with both hands to try to stop the pressure but it was like trying to break a lead block.

Trembling and choking he gasped, "Th…there…behind…that panel."

I tapped the Predator and he turned abruptly. "Your masks are behind that metal panel."

His gaze fixed on the panel and I could swear he smirked at it. Tossing the man aside like a wad of paper he stalked over to the panel and pulled, making his muscles stand out even more than they did normally. With a mighty roar he yanked and in a flurry of sparks and a terrible groan of metal the plate tore out of the wall like it was a sheet of tin foil! Grunting he cast the crumpled panel aside and found the masks in a glass case. He tapped the glass and it shattered allowing him to grab his Celtic style mask and its power pack. Eagerly he put the metal mask to his face and rigged the technicalities. Hunter and Garv did the same until they were all masked.

I faced the men directly again and pushed one to the ground dominantly with my foot, "Where are weapons?"

He licked his lips nervously, "Wh…which ones?"

I grabbed the front of his jumpsuit and pulled him close, "ALL."

Soon every weapon was recovered from various points of the room, mine included. As I clasped my daggers to my hips I noticed a figure crawling on the ground away from the group toward one of the far doors. With a leap, I hurdled a metal table and dropped down on his back, smashing him flat to the floor. A pained groan ushered from the figure. I knew immediately who it was: Dr. Allan.

I hissed and flipped the man over, placing a dagger to his neck, "Dr Allan." I punctuated his name by running the flat of the blade over his jugular in an almost teasing sort of way.

"What have you got Little Fighter?" Hunter called as he strode over.

I laughed lightly and stood over the doctor, placing a foot on his clavicle. "Look Hunter! Our mighty captor." I said sarcastically.

"HIM?! That waste of flesh is the one responsible?!" Garv snorted in disbelief.

"Oh yes, the fearless Dr. Allan—the mastermind behind the capture of three Predators." I continued.

Breathing hard the doctor spotted Jake and grit his teeth hatefully, "You! You traitor!"

Jake shouldered his rifle, "Who's the traitor Dr. Allan? What were you going to do with the technology you stole from these guys? I'm sure it was Nobel Peace Prize material."

The doctor spit contemptuously at Jake and I dug my heel into his rib cage, "What would you like to do with him Hunter?"

Fire Blood flicked out one of his throwing disks and then retracted its blades again, "I say we cut him up real slow and eat him."

My eyes got wide at Fire Blood, "You're not serious!"

Jake got a funny look, "What?"

"Fire Blood say cut Ooman up and eat." I stated in revulsion.

Jake's eyes and Dr. Allan's bugged, "They do that?"

I shrugged. Honestly I'd seen them eat worse things, but I didn't know they would…

Garv noticed Jake's horrified expression and gave him a meaningful glare, running a claw over the tip of his wrist blades to scare him.

Hunter snorted, "He's shitting you Little Fighter…only Bad Bloods do that because they're not right in the head."

I gave Fire Blood a dirty look and he clicked in deep laughter, "You are a big bastard!"

"And you're a little Tetch'Na." he replied.

"Enough!" Hunter growled. "We don't have time for this foolishness." Without a word he seized up Dr. Allan and slammed him hard into the wall so that I could hear some ribs breaking. Holding him in place Hunter glanced at Garv and pointed at a metal stool, "Give me that."

With a flick of his wrist Garv tossed the stool and Hunter caught it by a metal leg. Forcefully he bashed the stool on the floor, breaking the leg off in his hand. Dr. Allan screamed in sheer agony when Hunter reared back and rammed the blunt metal shaft straight through where his clavicle joined his shoulder and into the wall behind! I cringed. That had to be SO painful. Releasing the scientist, Hunter let the man's own weight tug painfully as he dangled there, impaled by the stool leg. Sweat poured down his agonized red face as he clawed desperately at the pole. He spoke to the man in Predator language and I stepped forward and translated though I doubt he could hear straight through that excruciating pain.

"Hunter says you dishonor weapon with weak blood. You want weapons? You will get." I wasn't exactly sure what that last part meant until I noticed Hunter opening the bulky device on his wrist. He'd never told me what that was for and I just assumed it was their camouflage.

"What is that Hunter?"

He looked at me and showed me the crystalline surface, "This is what he was after. This is one of our most destructive weapons. It can destroy miles of terrain, but we only use them if we don't want anything to survive. You Oomans call it a 'bomb'."

"And you're going to use it?" I asked.

He nodded, "If they have any records of us or our weapons then they must all be destroyed if the Hunt is to continue on this world in the future." He paused, tapping buttons and looked at me, "Ask the Ooman how long it will take us to get out of here."

"Jake…how long it take to get out?"

He thought a moment, "A little more than five minutes if we don't run into any opposition…but I'll bet millions that we will. Why?"

I related the information to Hunter and he thought a moment, punching in the sequence. "I'm giving us ample time to get out before this goes off."

The crystalline surface filled with various red rods that beeped as they disappeared. The bomb was ticking. Fire Blood and Garv were already making their way to an exit while Hunter placed the device before Dr. Allan.

I gave the other men a challenging stare, "No help Dr. Allen. You die, you help."

Narrowing my eyes I glared at Dr. Allan before turning to follow my clan and Jake. How much time we had I didn't know, but we had to get out quickly.

With weapons back in our possession we ran down the vast expanse of corridors as a unit: three Predators and two Oomans. It was fast running and peeking around corners to make certain another ambush didn't await us, but we had to get out quick before Hunter's bomb went off or we were dead.

Suddenly we rounded a corner and came face to face with a hail of gunfire! Pressing our backs to the wall we moved out of the bullets' paths. A splash of green blood hit the wall and Fire Blood growled deeply, a hole gaping in his abs. However, he seemed more pissed than hurt. Flipping out his throwing disk he roared, throwing the whirling saw of death down the hall! Only the men in a kneeling position were able to avoid the lethal weapon. I turned away just as the sickening splatter of blood and guts splashed to the floor and the hideous crack of bone signaled the men's gruesome decapitation.

In the same instant Hunter and Garv came in low to avoid the returning disk and set upon the stunned men with their slashing wrist blades. Displaying feats of untethered strength and ferocity Hunter grabbed two men by their legs, one in each hand and swung them as hard as he could in either direction. Like a pair of melons the men's heads were smashed to pulp against the walls with brutal force! Garv skewered a man and snapped another's neck with his free hand. In a few bloody seconds every man who'd tried to halt our procession lay dead in growing pools of their own fluids.

Casual as you please, Fire Blood flicked his caught weapon and the crimson soaked blades whipped back into the center before he holstered it again.

"That was easy," he growled.

"Don't get cocky. There are probably more of them elsewhere." Hunter warned seriously.

Again, we ran down the corridor, Jake being hesitant about treading on the mutilated corpses ahead of us. My friends didn't care in the slightest.

Jake pointed ahead as we rounded another corner, "The exit is there! It leads to the perimeter of the facility. There's a chain-link fence about 15 feet high around it…but I don't think your friends will have any trouble taking that out. There are also guard towers with machine guns all around the perimeter of the fence. We'll be running through a frickin' hail of bullets."

I relayed this information to Hunter as we ran and he clicked sharply, "Our camouflage is inoperative. Whatever the Flatheads hit us with damaged them. We'll be in plain sight and on the ground."

"What are we going to do then? How much time do we have?" I asked with nervous tension.

Hunter glanced about, "Not much. Ask the Ooman if there is any other way out."

I asked Jake and he said, "There's one on the roof but there's no way down from there."

Quickly I translated for Hunter and he grunted, "We will go up."

"Hunter says we go to roof." I insisted.

Jake looked at the Predators and motioned with his head, running as fast as he could down the hall. I admit to being in good shape but my heart was about to burst as it hammered my ribcage. The running didn't seem to affect my friends. They could run all day and still have plenty of energy to fight; their energy and power was almost limitless. After dozens of doors and hallways, we finally burst through a door and found ourselves outside on the roof of the facility. It was at least three stories tall and very large indeed. I could see the fence Jake mentioned surrounding the perimeter as well as several watchtowers at the corners and at the midpoints. Below I could also hear the sounds of machines and shouts of many men. They were waiting for us.

All of us ducked behind various points on the roof that would shield us from the view of the watchtowers until we could come up with a strategy. I was next to Hunter behind a roof vent and oddly enough, Jake was standing next to Garv. They gave each other a quick uncomfortable look. Hunter glanced around. He was thinking…planning our approach of escape and/or attack.

Finally, he chattered to Fire Blood and Garv, "The ship is in that direction." He pointed, "We will take out all the Flatheads in the towers on that side. Once we've done that we can jump to that tower and then over the fence and into the trees. Don't stop once you've done that don't stop for anything—just run."

I translated for Jake and he glanced at the towers, "They can jump that far?" I nodded. "WE can't jump that far. How are we supposed to make that jump?"

I turned to Hunter, "Jake and I can't jump that far Hunter."

Garv glanced at Jake a moment and then to me, "I can carry you Little Fighter."

My eyes narrowed slightly, "And Jake?"

He snorted. Fire Blood rattled with disdain, "Fine…I'll carry his worthless carcass."

"Thank you Fire Blood." I thanked him.

All as one the Predators rose and aiming their plasma cannons with excellent sights, they let loose a barrage of high-powered energy straight into their targets! Erupting with blue fireballs the men they targeted fell dead at their posts or tumbled over the edge of the tower, dead and limp as wet leaves. With a quick motion, Garv slung me on his back and took a leaping charge at the tower. Clenching his thick neck tightly I tried not to scream as we flew though the openness of the air toward the tower. I knew he'd make it but still I had an inborn trepidation for such risky acts. Spreading his thick arms wide, Garv's snagged one of the metal beams of the tower and swung his body around it. He planted his feet on the side of the bar and held on with his hands, digging in his claws for good measure. A heavy breath escaped me. We made it. I thought I might choke him with my desperate grip but it would take way more strength than I possessed to do such a thing to Garv. A huge [THUNK! sounded next to us as Fire Blood caught his own bar on the tower and Jake was in the same position I was.

I turned to see if Hunter was coming, but before I could Garv's steely muscles hardened beneath me as he leaped from the bar and made a jump to another bar. Just as we did that, a bullet ricocheted off the metal just above Garv's masked face. He whipped his head in that direction with a snarl or surprise. Below us on the ground surrounding the facility were dozens of armed soldiers and several vehicles mounted with rapid firing weapons.

"GO GARV!" I shouted urgently.

Without hesitation, my friend leaped over to another beam, just barely dodging bullets as they pitted the metal around us! My heart was up in my throat as we recklessly repelled off the metal beam closest to the jungle and over the fence into the thick jungle below. Garv was tense as stone when he crashed heavily through the canopy of the trees. Branches mercilessly scratched my legs and back as we fell. Suddenly I lost my hold on Garv and desperately clawed open air for something...anything…to stop my fall. My hands roughly gripped an outstretched branch and the force made me feel as if my arms would rip from their sockets. But my hold was futile. I slipped and fell, desperately trying to prepare for a crash landing. I screamed and suddenly felt powerful arms encircle my body and catch me. Opening my eyes tentatively, I looked into the glassy eyes of Garv's mask. He'd caught me and we'd survived the fall. I must have been trembling because he purred softly and held me close to his chest as he cradled me like a child. For a moment I never felt safer.

Suddenly the sound of relentless gunfire returned me to the reality of the situation. It was nearby, but not directed at Garv and I. The thick canopy was impenetrable other than the hole we'd created crashing through. Neither of us could view what was happening. Where were Fire Blood, Hunter, and Jake?

All at once, a huge raining crash of branches came down as Fire Blood busted through the canopy and landed on the ground. Jake dropped from his back, shaking his head.

"Holy…shit," his voice was ragged.

"Where's Hunter?" I asked immediately when Garv put me down.

Then a sound—THE sound that would haunt my nightmares forever exploded in my ears. A huge booming crack of thunderous cannon fire shattered the silence and at the exact same time I heard Hunter's blood curdling death shriek!

Every vein in my body solidified into shocking cold ice. I could feel my innards turn to ooze as the horrible sound stabbed through the jungle like a blade. My mouth dropped open unchecked and my throat tightened to near strangulation. I couldn't see him but I heard his body fall through the trees somewhere nearby and heard the hollow heavy sound of it striking the ground.

I horrid strangled scream ripped my chest in two, "HUNTER!"

Losing control of my emotions and body, I fell to my knees and threw my head back. I screamed. I screamed so loud and with such grief that I thought my voice would bleed. Hunter—my rescuer—my father figure—my leader was dead. Memories of him flashed before my eyes. The details of his mask, the day he gave me my first weapon, his patient teaching of new Predator words, and everything. My soul had been torn asunder. My heart had been cleaved to pieces. My body went numb.

Before I knew it Garv got me to my feet and pulled me after him, urging me to run. I ran, though I don't remember doing it. The bomb—Hunter—we had to get away before it went off—Hunter—we had to run—Hunter—we must get back to the ship—Hunter.

We ran until suddenly the air thrummed with a great pulsing. Light blazed through any crevice available in the canopy of above. Then a huge blast of sound and I felt a force throw me off my feet. The bomb Hunter had left in the facility had finally ticked down and unleashed its awesome power.