It was half past eleven, and Katie Richardson strode down the hall to Joanne's door. She angrily thumped on it as hard as she could, as Charlotte and Alex caught up with her.

"JOANNE ARE YOU IN THERE? JOANNE?"

"Katie, leave her alone, she wouldn't just ditch us for no reason…" Alex began, trying to placate his enraged friend.

"My arse she wouldn't! She's not our friend anymore Alex! She's too busy brooding about whatever's been getting at her for the last load of months! She doesn't care about anything anymore except her stupid grades and bloody Matt!"

"Katie…"

"IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE DOING IN THERE JOANNE? YOU'RE PRECIOUS BOYFRIEND? FOR GODS SAKE WHOEVER HEARD OF A GAL GIVE UP HER FRIENDS OVER SOME GUY!"

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Came a voice from down the corridor, approaching them. It was Matt.

"Ok Matt, maybe YOU can get her to come out of there, or at least reply! I've been talking to her for like EVER and she's totally been ignoring me." Katie said, giving up on the door banging and offering the position to him.

"Yeah, I know, and so does everyone in a 10 meter radius of here. Call that talking? You're gonna break her door down doing stuff like that." Matt said, slightly annoyed at the fuming brunette, and he lightly tapped at the door, "Joanne? You in there? Hey what's wrong? Why haven't you been replying to me?"

Matt pulled away from the door, a worried look on his face, "I've been texting her for the last two hours, but haven't got one reply."

"Wow," said Katie, "you guys have a fight or something? She never misses replying to texts, well to you at least…" a slightly accusative tone crept into Katie's last few words but her heart wasn't in it, Joanne always kept in contact with Matt, and if she was shutting him out then something really must be wrong with her.

"Yeah, haven't heard anything from her, so I came down here to see if she was ok and found you guys..."

"She was meant to meet us at 10 to go out," Charlotte said, "and she didn't show so we went without her."

"Yeah and then Katie had a few drinks and decided a screaming match would be the best way to see why she didn't come" Alex finished, glaring a little at Katie, who obviously didn't give a damm.

"Well she's the one who stood us up, what is she too good for us now? HEY JOANNE! IS THAT IT? WE'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU ANYMORE?"

"Maybe we should try and call her," said Charlotte, looking at Matt, clearly anxious about her friend. Matt pulled out his mobile and tried. The sound of Joanne's ring tone came through the door.

"Well her phone's in there…" Alex said, stating the obvious.

"No shit Sherlock." Katie retorted, her anger at Joanne and the beginnings of concern making her snappy.

As Katie and Alex started to bicker Charlotte came up to Matt. He was clearly thinking about Joanne and what she was doing that required shutting everyone out, not really noticing the verbal conflict behind him. Charlotte started to say that she was sure everything was fine when Matt tried the doorknob of the room, to see if it was locked.

"Joanne?" He said as he realised it was open; she never left her door unlocked unless she was in. Behind him Katie and Alex had shut up, watching Matt and waiting for Joanne to reply. There was none, so Matt opened the door.

The room was dark, but they could still see things by the light that came in from the window. The curtains were not drawn and light from the moon and outdoor lighting was all that illuminated the place. Matt wandered in, still softly calling Joanne's name, but when it was obvious she wasn't here he motioned the others to enter. Alex flipped the light switch and they all winced, covering their eyes at the sudden light. As they got used to it they looked at each other, all thinking the same thing. Where the hell was she?

"Don't worry guys," Charlotte began once more, "she's got to be somewhere. Maybe she just wanted some time alone…"

Alex wasn't listening. Matt might be her boyfriend but that didn't stop him from being just as worried about this whole God damm situation. He looked around the room, but there was nothing. Everything was here except Joanne…

"Guys," he said, swallowing nervously, "what's that?"

They all turned as one to look at where Alex was pointing, to a dark stain on the floor by Joanne's desk.

While the seriousness of Joanne's absence was beginning to dawn upon her friends, Joanne slept. She had a large cut on the side of her head, which was no longer bleeding and had become a clotted tangle of blood and hair. Dried trickles of blood ran across her forhead, and there was a tiny mark on her neck, as if a needle had been removed from there. Her lips parted slightly before her eyelids twitched, signalling that her mind was trying to make its way back in control. As she slowly approached consciousness she felt how powerful the drug in her was and somehow knew she couldn't fight it for long. Something in her mind rankled at that, and she tried harder to open her eyes, somehow everything would be ok if she just opened her eyes…
What had happened to her? She couldn't think, details and thoughts slipped from her grasp as if they were coated in oil, and she struggled weakly against the drug that held her like this…

Light.

It was blinding, searing and caused her head to pulse with pain. Her eyes clamped shut again out of reflex and she tried to get her arms to move but they wouldn't… she couldn't make them… eyes fluttered open again, but she couldn't see, it was too bright! She could feel the drug begin to take over again, pulling her down, away from all sensations when the light was dimmed. Joanne forced her eyes open, knowing she didn't have much time before she was out again and found herself looking straight at another person. She gasped, he was inches from her face, slack jawed, eyes blurry and unseeing. She though he was dead but then she saw him breathing and somehow registered he was, like her, drugged. An arm that didn't belong to him was limp across his chest, Joanne stared at it. Where there more people like them? She tried to sit up but the effort proved too much for her and her head lolled to face upward. As the drug's numbing fingers took over once more Joanne saw what had blocked the over-head light by standing over her, to watch her struggle. She recognised what it was and before she fell unconscious she managed to speak,

"Oh fuck…"

Then she was beyond feeling, seeing, any of her senses and even the throbbing of her head. Her eyes closed and her breathing resumed at a calm, steady pace.

D'ran watched the female loose her battle with the sedative and resume sleeping. As if a human could beat a drug designed by the Yautja. He looked at the long rows of unconscious humans; all collected and dumped on the floor, sedated until everything was ready. He clicked in anticipation; nothing like this had been done before, a chance for glory and honor that no others possessed…

The female stirred once more, and D'ran watched to see if she'd wake up again, scanning her vitals for any abnormalities, but there was nothing, and she remained asleep.

He wondered why Cth'ctchi had told him to watch her particularly, to him all humans where the same, but he wasn't about to disobey orders this close to the hunt. He looked over the girl, how could she have caused Cth'ctchi's fall from grace? Humans could be resourceful, that he'd admit, and he bore a long scar on his mid section for underestimating one once, but…

D'ran shook his head. He couldn't understand how this tiny creature had evaded a warrior Yautja in his prime.

He strode over to a display panel on the wall of the chamber and tapped several keys smartly. The display brought up symbols that detailed the progress of the preparations. D'ran grunted in satisfaction and then cast his gaze over his sleeping charges. Even babysitting humans was worth what would take place in the next few days. As he sat back down again, four Predators came into the room. D'ran didn't know three of them, but he could see they where new recruits. The ship's ranks had filled out a bit over the past month as the annual adutlhood trials took place. In a ship of outcasts looking for a way to regain their honour, the young failures of this year trails didn't feel so rejected and dishonoured here, even if some of the 'elders' looked at them with disdain. D'ran was one of them, he'd managed the trails no problem and that, in his and his society's eyes, made him better than these poor excuses for Predators. The one he did know, and respect, was Rea'gul, older and more experienced in combat than he was and one of the few worthy of esteem on this craft.

"We need some of the soft meat; the queen has begun to lay." Rea'gul said.

"Take whatever you need." D'ran replied, instantly deferring to a superior's orders. Rea'gul motioned for the younger ones to begin carrying humans away. They worked in silence while Rea'gul and D'ran spoke quietly to each other about the progress of the preparations in general and the Queen in particular.

"Is it a good Queen?" D'ran asked

"We will know when the first creatures are fully formed, that is why we need these." He looked at D'ran, "For tests to make sure we have the best for the hunt"

D'ran nodded. One of the young Predators picked Joanne up and began carrying her away when Rea'gul stopped him.

"Not that one, to die from a hard meat's emergence would be too simpler a death for her. Woe betide any who take her life if not by Cth'ctchi's orders, for she is his mouse to play with when the hunt comes."

The young Predator nodded and replaced Joanne in the line of unconscious humans, taking the male next to her instead. After about 15 humans where removed the four did not return for more, leaving D'ran to continue his silent vigil over the sleeping humans.

Joanne slept on, unknowing of how close she had just come to death.

Hope you guys like, any thoughts or corrections (I really don't know that much about Predators except what AVP depicted) send them to me : )