Author's Note: This was an extremely hard chapter to write, and I'm hoping I didn't go over the top with Ann's dream sequence (I probably did. Grr…), but I still felt I had to include it to add some tension to the story, and to give the Predator a new ability. The predator's ability is the only reason for the sequence, and I feel that the sequence is a little too harsh, yet necessary for plot tension and the like. And Panzer IV, since my link to a site that shows my advanced Thompson didn't work, the weapon I was referring to was the M41A Pulse Rifle from the movie "Aliens". And I had intended chapter Seven (One Down) to be next, but then I cooked up an idea about a Predator that could...well, the story tells all. One Down is next, yay! Warning: cursing ahead.

Prey to a Hunter

Chapter VI

Telepathy

Incident+191 Hours. Fall 18th, Year 5

Private Jenkins cursed as he depressed the firing lever of his M56ATS "Smartgun" and spat bullets at an odd shimmer in the air. The massive slugs, about the size of Jenkins' finger, blasted apart the doorframe and window. The bullets didn't even phase the creature, though, which promptly carried it's prey, the winery owner's wife, out of the window. She kicked and screamed, making Jenkins relent on his assault. What if he hit her by mistake?

Private Stacker showed up next to Jenkins, firing his M41A Pulse Rifle in short, controlled bursts at the creature. The thing hesitated, like it was going to strike, and backed off, leaping into the trees. By this time, the rest of the Marines had arrived, looking around for signs of battle. Jenkins saw that the odd marine, the one with eyes that could see in the dark, wasn't present. Jenkins had served with her once before; on a covert op in the middle of a jungle somewhere in Brazil, checking out a scenario similar to this one. Villagers had gone missing, their skinned remains hung from branches and some missing their skulls and spines.

And one night, a thing, similar to this one, had shown up. And that night, she had spoken to it. Somehow forcing it to back off, she had spoken in some kind of odd alien tongue, forcing the creature to retreat. When he asked her about it, she didn't know what he was talking about. Jenkins had shrugged it off.

Jenkins cursed as the creature disappeared from the cannon's tracking range. Tearing off the sensitive equipment in anger, Jenkins fired a short burst of cannon fire into the trees, shredding the treetops.

"What was that thing, Jenkins?" Stacker asked, a look of skepticism on his young face. Only Jenkins and the other marine had seen that thing; Jenkins had a nagging suspicion that the mysterious marine and this…predator, of sorts, were intertwined, intricately somehow, in ways he couldn't see. That government agent, the sergeant calling him "Smith", probably had a role in this entire thing as well.

"I don't know, to tell the truth. But whatever the hell it is, it's way tougher that we are; do you know anything that can survive the wrath of this?" Jenkins queried, patting the Smartgun's smoking barrel. The weapon lay inert and silent.

"Go to the clinic. See if the couple, Jack and Ann, are alright. Escort them home, if need be. Then report back to the Inn. Move it, soldier!" Jenkins ordered. Stacker obeyed, slamming a new clip into his rifle and marching into the darkness. Like it would make any difference at all; that creature had the ability to soak up bullets like water. So what would a small rifle do to a creature that seemed invincible?

-

Ann walked out of the examination room as I sat on the edge of my seat, literally gripping the edge.

"Well? What is it?" I asked in anxiety. Elli staggered out of the examination room after Ann. She looked exhausted; dark bags had formed under her eyes, and Tim didn't look any better. He looked like the effort of staring at me was difficult, and every word he spoke seemed pained.

"It's too late to tell, really. We've taken some urine and blood samples, and they'll be ready in the morning. Just come back tomorrow, Jack" Tim mumbled before falling over, already asleep. Elli supported Tim as he fell; with an apologetic look in her face, she ushered us out into the darkness. Private Stacker sprinted up to us, his face livid.

"Jack! Do you require…an escort?" he asked uncertainly. I mulled the thought over for a split second, and nodded.

"Yeah, marine. Let's go. Did you hit whatever you were firing at?" I asked, knowing full well what they had been shooting at. Stacker shook his head.

"Nothing. Three Marines with these," he began, showing off his exotic-looking weapon, "and an auto-tracking mobile fire base couldn't take whatever the hell that thing was down. I'm not sure how much help I'll be" Stacker sighed in defeat.

"You'll do fine. You can stay the night at our house, if you like" I offered. Stacker smiled and shook his head, responding,

"I couldn't do that"

I shrugged and wrapped Ann's arm around my shoulders to support her. She looked exhausted, barely keeping herself awake. She would quietly moan something every now and then, before shutting her eyes again and falling back asleep. I was relieved when our farm drew into view.

"Well, I'll be heading back, now. I'll see you tomorrow" Stacker smiled as he turned to go. I shouted as his retreating back,

"Be careful"

"I always am" he retorted smoothly, holding his rifle at head height and stepping into the brush. I hoped the young marine would make it home in one piece without running into that monster in the woods. The screams from before had come from the winery, and it sounded distinctively female…did the thing get Manna too? What about Duke? Were both of them dead now, prey to a hunter? An invisible hunter with impressive technology infinitely more powerful than ours, this damn thing was killing us off one by one. I opened the door and set Ann down on the bed.

"Don't go" she quietly whimpered in her sleep. I traced the outline of her face with my fingertips; she looked so cute when she was asleep like this. I remembered the flustered, dreamy look on her face when I had proposed to her on that day, which seemed like yesterday. Her face had flushed with joy and her squeals I could still recall with clarity. And then we had Charlie, who was thankfully asleep at the moment, silent in his crib. Revan was curled up in front of the dark, cold fireplace, and Malak was on my side of the bed. Shooing him off, I pulled Ann's traditional blue suspenders off of her, blushing slightly as the fabric came off. It wasn't that Ann would mind, exactly the opposite. Even though I had been married for about a year, I still couldn't get over some of the awkwardness of our relationship.

Making sure the shotgun at my bedside was loaded, I pulled my shirt off and hopped into bed. The only sound to pierce the silence of the night was the sound of chirping crickets and the rustling of leaves outside of my window.

Ann was standing in the Inn, right next to her husband, Jack. He was holding the Blue Feather, used to propose to potential wives.

"Ann, I love you more than anything. Will you marry me?"

Ann knew that she was dreaming, somehow. But this was a happy dream; how couldn't it be? Here she was, one year previously, reliving the moment when Jack proposed to her in the Inn.

The scene shifted. Ann was in the Inn again, but something was very wrong.

Ann was backed up against the wall, cornered, trapped, like the mouse that had been chased and finally caught by the hungry cat. Cliff stood before her, a menacing gleam in his eye that replaced the normal energetic, yet shy, demeanor that the man usually showed around Ann and Jack.

"You bitch! Choosing farmer-brown over there over me! You'll regret your decision, now that you know who I am!" Cliff yelled.

"You…you're not Cliff! Cliff would never say these things to me! What did you do to Cliff?" Ann screamed, slamming her fist into the side of "Cliff's" face. Cliff grunted and stumbled backwards, eventually tripping over his fallen weapon.

The image of Cliff melted to reveal a woman with short blond hair pulled back into a bun. The clothes she wore were reminiscent of those worn by Ann when she was a child; simple, comfortable clothes. Without even having seen this woman before, Ann knew that this was her mother. Her face was contorted in rage.

"You whore, you choose this bastard over better stock! You don't even know if his "parents" didn't just pick him up out of some dumpster! He could have lived in a cardboard box before you came here! And you go and marry him, and now you bear his children!" her mother screamed angrily.

"Mommy…" Ann began to cry. She hadn't cried in a very long time, since she was little. Ann had never known her mother at all, she having died when Ann was still young. Her mother snarled in rage and tore at her own face. Ann screamed in horror as her mother's flesh was torn from her face, revealing her father underneath. His face was nowhere close to kind, and Ann wanted to just die when she heard his words.

"I'm ashamed of you, Ann. Your mother, if she were here, would never have let you do something as stupid as this. You are a disgrace! Get out of my house! Never come back here again! Maybe your husband will love you, because I sure as hell don't!" he yelled, his face melting grotesquely. Ann's soul shriveled up and died when she saw who was next.

It was Jack. His lip curled into a sneer and his eyes displayed contempt as he slapped Ann across the face. Ann curled into a ball and whimpered. Jack would never do this to her. He had told her himself that he loved her more than anything. He was ready to do anything for her. And she had given everything to him. She had moved into his house, borne his children…so why was he doing this?

Jack's face dropped like a mask to reveal an emotionless mask staring at her. Yellow eyes flashed for an instant, and the thing grabbed Ann by the throat, squeezing like a large snake. Ann's gurgled apologies and cries for help fell on deaf ears as the thing pulled off it's mask, to reveal…

"NO!" Ann yelled, sitting upright in bed. Jack snorted in his sleep and rolled over to face Ann. His eyes were closed, and he looked more relaxed than he did during the day. Ann couldn't help but think how cute he looked, asleep like that. Silently brushing a hair off of his face, she sat up in bed. Jack had taken her suspenders off, but that didn't really matter. Opening the door, Ann decided to go for a quick walk. It wouldn't be long, and Ann would have time to get some air and think about that odd, disturbing dream and whatever may have caused it.

The Yautja warrior chuckled as he ceased telepathic communication with the sleeping human's mate. Telepathy was easier than humans made it out to be; it usually came quickly to experienced Yautja scouts and warriors. But, this power of telepathy was restricted to humans with humans with open minds, humans like George Washington or Ronald Regan. Normal humans had invisible barriers around their minds because humans were undisciplined animals without focus or intent. Only when they let down these barriers, during sleep, for example, could warriors probe their minds. The Yautja had merely taken a series of memories from the human's mind and twisted them to suit his purpose of striking fear into the human's heart. Inspiring fear in humans by preying on their greatest weaknesses was one of the best things to do to make humans afraid. And frightened humans always fought their best against Yautja warriors when the time came. The human had sensed the warrior in her mind, and had sensed his intent. The Yautja activated his cloaking device…

Ann gasped as a new wave of sickness overwhelmed her. What was happening? It was like when she was pregnant with Charlie all over again…but that wasn't possible, was it? Then again, there was that one time…Ann blushed at the memory of the things she and Jack had done and said to each other during the passion of the night.

But why did I dream something like that? And what was that thing at the end of my dream? Was it that thing that Jack was talking about? Ann wondered.

A low gurgling noise passed over Ann's head. Turning, Ann dashed for the house…

The Yautja, satisfied with it's manipulation of the human's mind, was pleased that the human was tense and afraid. The Yautja deactivated it's cloaking device and sprang at it from the shadows. The human fled, running as fast as it's legs would take it, which wasn't nearly fast enough to outrun an eager Yautja, who was hot on the human's heels and tackling her to the ground before she had run three paces. The Yautja smiled at the human's horror as he prepared to strike…

Ann suddenly recognized this thing as the masked demon from her dream. Had this thing given her that evil dream? Her family and friends would never say those things to her, and Ann had only had a dream like that once before…fifteen years before, to be exact. That dream had gone like the one Ann had just had. The boy, angrily, had attacked and was at the verge of killing Ann when he turned into a hulking, massive creature with an impassive, apathetic mask covering its face. Ann had never told anyone about that horrible dream, but if this was the cause of the nightmares…Ann wondered what else the creature, poised above her, had besides telepathy in the way of abilities. The creature pulled its arm back in a strike…

The Yautja suddenly felt a surge of feedback into his mind. The human had invaded his mind, unconsciously, by remembering something that had happened many, many years before. The warrior gurgled and relaxed it's arm as the image of a young girl cowering before a young boy surfaced in it's mind. The Yautja chuckled; he remembered this, vaguely, in the back of his mind. Many, many human units ago, this warrior had come here to hunt. Killing human young was considered unsporting by fellow hunters, but the warrior, at the time a neophyte in training, did not pass up the chance to torment a naïve human child as it slept. Preying on the human's fear had been easy then, and the Yautja realized why doing so again had been so simple; this human's mind had been invaded once before, leaving it open for another attack. The human's current mate was the same one from that time, as well. The Yautja understood the concept of bonding for life, as it was practiced on several of the hunting colonies in which he frequented, but yet, never expected the humans to bond at such an early age.

And the Yautja could swear another human was there. He could hear the beating of two human hearts very close by, but he only had one human in front of him…unless…

The warrior pushed a button on the side of it's helmet, switching to an infared tunneling view of the human. The Yautja's suspicions were confirmed when he saw the second life form, inside of the human. It's heartbeat registered inside of the Yautja's helmet, and it instantly relinquished it's grip on the human's throat. The human jerked once, and lay still in the dirt. Killing a human with young was a horrible thing to do, even for dishonorable warriors. The Yautja were ruthless in their hunts, but they drew the line at killing human females bearing young. The Yautja re-activated it's cloaking device and retreated into the woods once more.

Ann kept perfectly still, thinking that the thing that had almost killed her would be back to finish the job. The trees were silent, and everything was still. Ann didn't doubt that the creature had some sort of telepathic power, and had preyed on her worst fear, rejection, to lure her outside to be killed. The damn creature was sadistic in using Ann's darkest thoughts to try and isolate her from Jack.

Ann thought she had buried these horrible images of rejection forever after she married Jack. Apparently, not deep enough, since that mind-raping monster had taken them out and looked at them like old, forgotten photographs.

Shaking uncontrollably, Ann stumbled back into the house, tripping over one of the dogs, who yelped loudly, making Jack jump. He snatched his shotgun from the bedside table and shakily held it in his good arm. The barrel wavered and pointed in many different directions, but Jack's eyes registered horror and confusion when he saw Ann standing in the doorway.

"Ann! What happened?" he inquired sharply.

"I had a…dream. I went outside to clear my head, that's all" Ann replied. She figured she could tell Jack in the morning that his invisible hunter had paid Trayus a visit.

"Oh, ok. You scared me! Let's not go on anymore walks in the future; that thing might still be out there" Jack admonished. Ann rolled her eyes and replied with a smirk,

"Yes, master"

Jack frowned slightly, then smiled. Ann sat down on the edge of the bed and stuck her tongue out at Jack, who laughed and swatted at her. Ann dodged playfully out of reach before sliding back into bed. The couple slept soundly for the rest of the night, their sleep undisturbed by telepathic monsters.