Author's Note: I really have to stop this. Writing. It's too addictive. (no, j/k, for the two and a half people who actually read my stories, lol). I MUST work on my Halo fic, and this chapter contains a precursor to what may become a sequel to this fic. When you see it, it's painfully obvious. Have fun.
Prey to a Hunter
Chapter 14:
Hunt's End
(Jack)
I followed Cliff quickly, sprinting down the misty corridors of this surrealistic hallway. It looked like something out of a little shop of horrors. The corridor was painted in an orange glow that seemed to come from the walls themselves, and the floor was covered in mist. It was certainly very hot inside this ship.
"Whew…is it hot in here, or what?" Karen commented. I nodded earnestly.
By now, Cliff's footsteps had receeded into the bowels of the ship. Karen and I stopped, panting, and turned to each other.
"Damn…Cliff's fast" I gasped. Karen nodded.
"How far does this ship go?" she asked rhetorically.
"I think we're headed down, deep into the ground" I replied. Karen stood up, nodded, and held her rifle up high. We trudged even deeper into the ship.
After another minute or two, the corner rounded, and Zack caught up to us. We all nodded at each other, and rounded the corner.
(Mary's POV)
Ann silently stared forwards, not moving. We were sitting back at the Library together, in front of one of the many large bookshelves dominating the room. She hadn't moved from that one position for a long time, now. The wounded marines, Stacker, Takatura, and now Shiro, were positioned on small mattresses on the ground. My father, Basil, sat in a chair over them, his jaw set and his face expressionless. My mother, Anna, twiddled her thumbs in a worried manner next to him.
Ann had made many attempts to befriend me over the course of our younger life together. I was the shy, nerdy girl who lived in the Library. Ann was the smart, funny, tomboy who served drinks at the Inn. Anyone with a brain and a pair of eyes could guess how I felt next to her. Not that I felt any different next to the other girls. Karen was adored by all males in the town, even the traveling merchant, Won. Popuri was always to morale-booster, with her happy attitude and positive outlook on life, if you discounted her naiveté. And Elli was always the nicest of us all, always putting herself last to help other people.
"You ok?" I asked, stepping over to put my arm around Ann. She nodded, and leaned on me, still staring blankly forward.
"Aren't you worried?" she asked me. I looked at her quizzically.
"About Grey? About what it would be like if he died?" she asked. I pondered that question for a second, and answered.
"Of course I am! It's just that, if he dies, it will be for a good cause. He's gone out there to protect us. Me. This town, and everybody in it. So if he dies, it won't be so sad"
Ann looked at me, directly in the eyes. She was on the verge of tears, poor girl.
"How can you say that?" she asked me, in a broken tone. I looked her back in the eyes, a bold move that I did not think myself capable of before.
"Pull yourself together, Ann. This isn't helping" I confidently said, projecting more confidence than I personally had.
Ann looked at me.
"Did you sleep with him?" she asked. I almost laughed.
"We've been married for a little while, Ann" I cryptically told her, trying not to blush. Ann grinned at me.
"C'mon, you can tell me…"
I could feel the heat rising from my cheeks. I mumbled something unintelligible to her, and Ann smiled.
"You see? Since Jack and I have children, it makes this entire situation harder and harder for me to bear. You and Grey, I guess you haven't…gotten really intimate yet, so…" I tuned Ann's ramblings out as I considered what she had said. What Ann was saying was that since Grey hadn't really "bedded" me, for lack of polite terms, that I wasn't as paranoid and worrisome as she was!
What was this girl thinking?
"Ann, what are you saying?" I asked her. Ann sighed at me.
"Jack and I have had children together. And if he dies, the children won't get to know their father…I don't think I could take it if he died!" Ann wailed. I reached my arm around to Ann to comfort her, and silently stared out the window. Dread was like a lead weight in my gut, because I didn't know if Grey and the others were dead, or alive.
Then the explosion, and the shockwave, hit the town. A small gust of wind pushed past the Library, blowing plants askew.
"What the hell was that?" my dad yelled, jumping up in alarm. I silently closed by eyes and prayed.
(Zack)
Jack and Karen were in front of me, staring in awe at the chamber beyond. I stepped forward, in front of them, and was amazed, no, stupefied, by what I saw.
The room we were in contained many doors and side passages. The entire room was orange hued, either from the walls themselves or the lighting of the room, which seemed to be absent.
But the most amazing thing about the room was the sheer amount of things that adorned it.
Hundreds of skulls dominated the walls. Many different weapons, dating from what looked like prehistoric times to the modern era were stacked on what looked like shelves, ranging from brutish cudgels to rifles and carbines, similar to what we wielded now.
The skulls were huge, and many. I recognized many human skulls among the more oddly shaped ones. Many appeared ancient, and the differing shape of the human skulls showed that these hunters had been to Earth since the evolution of man.
And strapped to the walls, hanging by their wrists and ankles, were…
"Oh my god! Rick!" Karen screamed, rushing over to the kid, strapped to the wall. Rick groaned once, and looked at Karen with a mixture of anger and distrust.
"You can't fool me, you bastard! I've already seen Karen here forty-two times! Get away from me! I'm not letting you touch me again!" he screamed, gnashing his teeth and trying his best to strike Karen. Karen gasped, taken aback by Rick's show of anger.
"Rick…it's me, Karen. Your wife. Don't you know me?" she asked, sounding hurt. Rick snarled at her, and laughed, a manical, forced, laugh.
"Do you really think this trick will work on me, you dirty bastard? Get me out of these chains and then I'll set you straight!" Rick yelled, dementedly. Manna, to my surprise, was actually quiet, and sad looking. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked pale.
"Hold on, Rick. I'll get you down" Karen soothingly told her husband. He spat at her.
"Don't touch me!" he yelled warningly. Karen walked up to him and slapped him.
"RICK! Wake up! It's really me, Karen! Your wife!" she practically screamed. Rick seemed to calm himself for a moment, still glaring distrustfully at Karen.
As soon as he was freed of his bonds, Rick immediately punched Karen in the face. Hard. She flew backwards, the carbine clattering to the floor. Jack immediately stepped in front of her, and slapped Rick with the butt of his weapon. Rick sprawled to the ground.
"Rick! Snap out of it! The hunter can't hurt you anymore! You're safe!"
Rick glared at him.
"What do you know, Jack? You've come here before, and laughed at me! Taunted me, laughed at me, and just looked down on me! You, and Kai, and Karen, and the rest! My own sister betrayed me by coming here! It's been a nightmare for the last few weeks! Get out! Leave me alone!" he yelled, gaining volume, until I finally decided to intervene, and smashed the butt of my carbine onto the base of his skull.
Karen rushed over to Rick as soon as he fell. Stroking his face, she muttered,
"What did it do to you?"
Jack was already freeing Manna from her bonds. She fell to the ground, limply. Jack grunted and I hoisted her onto my shoulders.
"All we need to do now is find Cliff and Mira"
Jack looked at both of us. I instantly knew what he was thinking.
"You two take Rick and Manna back to the surface. Head back to town. If I don't make it back, try and get everyone off the island. I think everyone will fit on your boat, Zack. Then, do what you can and contact the army. If they have to firebomb the entire island, so be it, but this thing cannot be allowed to live" Jack said grimly, sliding the action of his shotgun back and forth.
I paused for a second, and slid the half-empty clip from my rifle. Slamming a new one home, I handed the full weapon to Jack.
"Take this. It's at least better than your shotgun" I said, taking Jack's shotgun. He smiled at me.
"Thanks for everything, Zack. And, if I don't make it back, tell Ann I'm sorry" he said.
"Jack, don't talk that way!" Karen yelled, hoisting Rick onto her back. Jack smiled at her and rushed into the ship. Looking after him, I secured Manna in place and headed back towards the surface.
(Jack)
Going past the hunter's trophy room, I sprinted down a side passage and into a small room.
Cliff was staring at the room, spellbound.
"What the hell are these things, Jack?" he asked. I took a good look at the room, and rubbed my eyes to make sure my vision was correct.
Three, large tubes covered the wall. Inside the tubes were three, massive, black bugs. Sharp fangs, great white teeth, and a razor blade for a tail made these deadly creatures impressive to look at.
"I'm not sure. But I know Mira didn't come this way. Let's go" I said, grabbing Cliff by the arm and leaving the room. Those creatures…I never wanted to see anything like that again in my life. They were horrifying, to say the least.
The sounds of clashing metal and grunts of exertion suddenly filled the hall. Cliff and I looked at each other and double timed it down the hall.
(Mira)
The hunter was fast, to be sure. But I was faster.
I made it to the sampling room before he did. I didn't have time, unfortunately, to find the vials needed to stop this hybrid human/Predator creation. The hunter was already on top of me.
The hunter's honorable wristblades were already extended, and we proceeded to duel. The clang of metal striking metal resonated through the chamber as we slashed, fought, and parried the other's attacks. Sweat dripped down my face, and I wondered how much longer I could keep the duel up.
"Hey! Get away from her!" came a voice from the back of the room. The second of distraction it took me to look up and see who had called was all the hunter needed. A searing pain filled my arm as the hunter's blades seared through the muscle and bone, pinning me to the wall. The hunter's staff fell to the ground as I screamed in agony.
"I know this hurts" the hunter mocked. I growled in agony and punched the hunter with my free hand. It roared, and reared back to stab me in the face.
Until Jack and Cliff opened fire, causing the hunter to stagger. This was the only distraction I needed. Elongating my hand, I reared it back, and stabbed it into the hunter's chest. It failed to pierce the hunter's skin, as I intended, but I could tell it still hurt. The creature roared in pain, staggering backwards. I dove for the stick, crouching, and thrust the sharp end of the weapon through the hunter's neck as I stood. The creature gurgled, green blood frothing from its mouth, before falling to the ground.
I yanked the spear free of the hunter's throat. Wiping the green blood on its chest, I stood to leave, until I felt a familiar presence, nagging in the back of my head…
Before you go…
What? Can't you just STAY dead?
Do not allow the rest of my clan to see my research. Leave no traces behind.
Mira looked back at the dying warrior. It coughed at her, gesturing around the room. Mira picked up the spear and went to work. In thirty seconds, the deed was done. Smashed vials, destroyed computers, and broken equipment littered the floor.
The hunter looked at Mira balefully, before flipping open it's wrist-computer and tapping it several times with its wristblades.
(Jack)
As the hunter finished tapping it's wrist, it threw it's head back…and laughed. A low, ominous beeping sound emanated from the wrist-computer. The noise sounded like a…
"RUN!" Mira yelled, grabbing both me and Cliff by the arms and dragging us out of the room. We sprinted out of the ship, the hunter's cackle following us even when we reached the entrance of the ship. The sinister beeping noise intensified for a second, before becoming completely quiet.
Mira paused for a moment.
"What is it?" I asked.
Mira looked around for a moment, searching for something.
"They're here…but how? They stopped his…oh, no…"
Mira's grip on the Predator weapon tightened as a crackling noise split the air between us. I could smell ozone as the first Predator un-cloaked in front of me. Then another. And another one. Six more Predators revealed themselves in front of us, weapons bared. And none of them looked very happy to see us.
Cliff's face drained of all color. I chuckled nervously, and regripped Zack's carbine.
"Who's next?" I asked, knowing that might be the last thing I ever said. The lead Predator roared, and raised his weapon into the air, cackling and gurgling in anticipation of its cornered prey.