99 BOTTLES OF C'NTLIP ON THE WALL...

CHAPTER 9

The meat of the beast was dry, but flavorful; a resemblance of buffalo jerky perhaps. Neither of them complained though. It was Sarah's first meal in 3 days and the predator was sick of the travel rations. It was a long awaited banquet for them both. Sarah actually favored it over the cafeteria food at her school.

'School…' Sarah couldn't get the thought out of her head. They never talked about it, but she wondered how much of the carnage at the institute was his doing. All those faces seemed so distant now; so unimportant. She missed her friends, yes, but she had not allowed herself to grieve for them.

Sarah eyed the predator curiously over the roasted beast on the table. She leaned her head to the side, remarking with a smile. "Not bad." She sets the naked bone down upon the table. They had no plates, which was a custom she was not used to. She wasn't actually sure if they didn't use plates, or if the 'big guy' was just ill equipped to host a guest.

The predator nodded as he continued to gnaw at the bone in his hand. He had avoided her since they had returned from the hunt. He found her obnoxious and verbose, and he wanted nothing to do with her… 'conversations.' He found her childish, and her ambitions misguided. But still, he held a soft spot for her, though he would never admit it.

She pushed away from the table and slowly rose to her feet. Sarah's eyes moved over him for a moment. "I would like to further my training. I want to learn to hunt." She spoke in almost a half whisper. It wasn't so much that she wanted to hunt, as she wanted to know how to defend herself, should he decide he no longer needed her. What she really wanted was to get off this god damned spacecraft and back to human society. She wanted Kyle.

The predator shook his head, stretching his lower mandibles. "No… Not yet." He replied. He turned to face her, and gave her a stern look. Training would come, but she would have to be patient. "For now, you will clean this trophy. Let me know when you are done." And with that, he rose and headed to the control room.

She frowned to herself, and sighed exasperatedly. She would buy her time. Enough time to gain his trust, then she would make her escape. There had to be some way to get him close to a human planet or facility. She had to get out. She grabbed her spear in frustration and headed to her room. She would learn with or without him.

Sarah spun the spear around in her hand as she side stepped into her room. A thrust, and another thrust; the repetitive motions of training. She had excellent hand-eye coordination naturally, which was a help. A background as a gymnast all through school was another great help. She would learn. She was determined.

Sarah leapt onto the bedding and back flipped back to where she was before. She used the end of the spear to steady herself as she regained her balance. It had been a couple years since she had worked out, but she was already beginning to feel more in shape from her exercises. Never the less, there was a hard journey ahead of her still.

The hunter stood just around the corner, listening to the sounds of her training. She was determined, yes, but had no warrior soul. It was against his better judgment, but he would train her. She had passion, and that was commendable. He turned on his heel and headed to his trophy room. It was time to ponder the road ahead. Important events were in the making.

Sarah's hand began to crap and she dropped the spear. The high pitched song of the vibrating metal rang through the ship as it landed on the cold metal floor. She grabbed her hand, massaging it slightly. Her entire body began to ache. 'What is going on?' she wondered to herself.

The hunter returned, peering in through the doorway. Sarah glanced at him, and shook away the pain as if all were well. She leaned down and retrieved her spear, laying it on the bedding. Perhaps it was just the exhaustion of hours of practice. Hell, she went from lounging around all day for two years to taking on a 6 hour practice every day. Repercussions were to be expected. She couldn't help but feel there was more at work here.

Perhaps it was the lack of food, or water, or any other nutrients for that matter. It could be the stale air she was breathing through the mask. Or maybe it was the fact that all of her friends were slaughtered by a strange creature and she was captured and taken aboard an alien vessel. No. She wouldn't admit it, but she knew it was the poison from the thorn bush.

The hunter moved in through the doorway, taking her by the hand. She looked up at him curiously. 'What now?' she thought. 'It wasn't enough to strip me down nearly naked, mangle my handgun, and use me for bait? What more humiliation do I have in store?'

"Follow me." He said simply. He lead her to the control room, and sat her down in one of the chairs. "I am heading back to my clan. You will not be easily accepted." He turned to look at her. "I must teach you our traditions, or you will be killed for insolence."

Sarah bit her lip and held back her sarcasm. 'Great, he's the softy of the bunch.' She thought. Her eyes moved over the control board, studying it for a moment. Things were definitely taking a turn for the worse. Not only were they moving away from human territory, but she would be surrounded by more of his kind.

Sarah thought back to the other predator from the installation. She was a minnow in a pool full of sharks. Suddenly she began to feel sick in the pit of her stomach; helplessness. This feeling was become very frequent in her lately. Her eyes moved back to him. "Then I will gladly learn." She spoke softly.

He nodded, taking a seat next to her. His hand rested on some sort of lever, he pulled it back and pressed a couple of buttons. The ship jolted and began to change course. Sarah watched him intently. Perhaps learning the ways of the ship would be useful. She allowed herself to sink back into the chair, quietly watching him work the controls of the ship.

The hunter looked over to her silently, glad for this quiet time between them. He turned the ship left, heading past a nearby asteroid chain. He then accelerated the ship and locked in his heading. The computer beeped back its confirmation of the autopilot and the controls receded into the main board.

Sarah smiled half heartedly to him as she rose from the chair. She made her way back to her room, where she would continue training. Hopefully she had a few days before they would encounter the rest of his clan. Perhaps if she survived this meeting, she could convince him to go find Kyle.