Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Predators, Aliens, nor Aliens vs Predators. I also do not own Prison Planet Barbarian (I'm including the characters from this book, but I'm unable to create a crossover)

Rated M for gore, violence, language, adult content, and some interspecies sexual content

Enjoy


Val had retreated into her thoughts. No one else recognized the jungle. They were all different. Zero connections. So why us? That question replayed in her mind over and over. She couldn't put her finger on it. Why? If this was the work of her father's partner, she would be in some abandoned warehouse. Strung up to be tortured. Why? If she was somehow mistaken as a real cop, wouldn't she be sitting in a jail cell? Not thrown into an unknown jungle. Why?

"You ain't a cop."

Cuchillo's voice nearly makes her jump. It took her a moment to realize he had spoken in Spanish. She huffed and responded, glad that no one else seemed to understand. "That a problem?"

"No," he said then studied her for a moment. "Why dress like one?"

"My dad...he was being transported," she confessed. "I was going to get him out."

He gave her a look of mild admiration. "You had a plan?"

She gestured to her clothes. "A good plan."

Cuchillo grunted again, turning to shoot a wad of spit at nothing in particular. He eased his grip on his guns, feeling his fingers cramping. "¿Quién es tu papá?"

She had been dreading that question. Everyone asks that fucking question. Though, she supposed it shouldn't matter. Stuck in a jungle with a bunch of strangers from far and wide, even her infamous father couldn't be that well known. At least, she hoped. She opened her mouth to answer. Before she got the chance, Mombasa shouted. Loud enough to catch everyone's attention. He pointed off to the distance. "Look."

Half a football field away, a man in a gray suit stood at the edge of the grass, staring at something blocked by the trees. Stans marched over first, head bobbing in annoyance. "Goddamn. Who the hell is this...guy?"

Val followed behind Cuchillo but had to step around him when he stopped abruptly. She looked up at the old man and saw he was staring just like the stranger in a gray suit. She followed their gazes and mirrored their frowns. Settled in a ring of wet dirt was a fierce-looking totem, unlike anything she had ever seen. Perfectly angled into a sharp point. Unnatural, and as tall as a house. The metal was decorated with swirly designs carved all over it. And surrounding its thick base...were skulls.

Skulls upon skulls upon skulls. She had never seen so many gathered together. Some looked worn out. Brittle. Others were covered in dirt and dust. And she was pretty sure not all the skulls were human. Her heart thumped in her chest. "Who would do this?"

"Whoever they are...they take trophies," Mombasa said, barely able to keep his eyes on the skulls. "In my culture, the warrior with the greatest trophies commands the most respect."

Anryss carefully approached the totem. He raised his ax and experimentally banged it on the thing. Made of metal-based on the sound it made. Val walked over to the red tribesman's side and gestured to the strange object. "Do you know what this is?"

"Wves kldeckn nyx?" he said with raised eyebrows. With a shrug, he tapped the totem again.

"Guess he doesn't," Luke grumbled.

Nikolai wiped the sweat from his eyes. "It's a test. To see how we do under pressure."

"If this were a test, you'd all be military," Isabelle pointed out. "Total strangers. Live rounds. This is something else."

Cuchillo snuck a glance at Val. "Maybe it's ransom," he suggested. "Back in Tijuana, we kidnap you. Put you in an oil drum. Ransom not paid? We light you on fire."

At that, Edwin stepped away from the cartel enforcer. Stans touched the sharp edge of the totem then promptly withdrew his hand. "I hear these stories about these experiments run on cons. They stick drugs in your food and they sit back and watch what happens."

"It's not drugs," Edwin said. Everyone's gaze turned to him. "If it was a psychotropic compound, we'd be feeling the residual side effects. Loss of motor skills, blurry vision..."

"What do you think it is, doc?" Luke asked.

"Maybe a behavioral experiment? But there'd be a point."

"What if we are dead?" Mombasa asked despairingly.

The man in the gray suit finally tore his gaze away from the totem, processing Mombasa's question. Stans swallowed a nervous lump in his throat. "I was supposed to be executed in two days."

"And I was in combat," Nikolai added.

Mombasa nodded. "So was I."

"Yeah? Well, I wasn't," Luke spat. "Last thing I remember, I was closing down my job site in Topeka."

"Maybe you got crushed by blocks of concrete," Cuchillo said. "And now you're in hell with us."

Royce slammed his magazine back into his rifle as he stood. "Last I checked, you didn't need a parachute to get there." He cut across the ring of dirt, continuing west. "It doesn't matter what happened or why. We're here. Only question is: how do we get out?"

"So where are you going?" Val asked.

Without even looking at her, he answered with, "higher ground."

"We need to stick together," Isabelle shouted, almost sounding a little panicked.

Royce stopped for a moment, turning to give her a frustrated frown. "Then you should follow me."

~o0o~

Jutari was impressed. The humans had enough sense to keep moving. Never stopping too long. He had watched as they surveyed the strange totem. He certainly didn't recognize it. The thing was made by hands, not nature. It was too perfect. Too angular and sharp. It was only when the humans were out of earshot did he climb down from the canopy to inspect the thing for himself. His footsteps barely made a sound amongst the leaves. He approached the totem, gingerly touching it. Warm, clean metal. Stepping closer, he crouched down to examine the skulls. Many of them were small. Most likely human, based on their shape.

One of the skulls caught his eye. He reached for it, hooking his fingers around the jaw then gently tugging it free. He held it up. The skull wasn't different from the humans. It was bigger. Strong teeth with fierce fangs. Openings in the front for the nose and eyes. And above the eye sockets, right where the hairline would be, gleaming dark horns protruded. Curling up and around the side of the head. Exactly like Jutari's own. He checked the tips of the horns. No metal. Either stolen or this belonged to someone killed long ago.

Holding the skull that belonged to his own kind brought about a strange primal feeling. It wasn't fear. Perhaps anger...a deep, deep-seated rage. The Kes Empire was one of the powerhouses of the known universe. They had crushed their enemies time and time again. They were a strong species. Powerful. Jutari respectfully set the skull down, smoothing away the grime. Sighing deeply, he stood up straight and gave the totem one last hateful glare before climbing back into the trees to follow the humans once more.

~o0o~

"Hey," Val called out. Royce ignored her, continuing his relentless march across the rocks. "Yo!" she called louder. "We need to rest."

"So rest."

Val threw her hands up, deciding to leave Royce to Isabelle. The others had spread out over the light gray rocks. Stans sprawled himself out, closing his eyes. Anryss knelt in front of a small collection of water. He seemed to be contemplating on whether to drink but decided against it. Nikolai was kind enough to share his canteen. Val placed her hands on her hips as she glanced over at Hanzo - the newest member of their group. He was missing 2 fingers and hadn't said a word beyond his name. Though, she assumed his story was the same as everyone else's.

She tugged on her vest. Itching to take it off, but she knew better. Safety over comfort. She looked over to where Royce and Isabelle were huddled over another collection of water. She walked over, being noisy so as to not startle them. She peered over their heads, seeing a little rod of iron resting in a leaf. A compass? Nice. But the compass wasn't working. In fact, it was spinning. Continuously. Royce only sighed. "Well, between that and the sun."

"What about the sun?" Isabelle asked.

He looked over at Val, nodding with his chin. "What's the time?"

Val blinked in surprise. She had forgotten she was even wearing a watch. "Uh...five-thirty-six. PM."

Royce grunted. "Sun isn't even at the highest point, and we've been walking for hours."

Val considered that perhaps her watch was wrong since she had no idea how much time had actually passed between the prison transport and waking up in the fucking sky. But the watch was cheap and analog. The only helpful feature it had was a tiny little window to indicate whether it was AM or PM. Isabelle shifted to sit cross-legged as she tapped Royce's arm. "What do you think is really going on?"

Royce was quiet. He eyed Val for a moment then looked over at Nikolai. "Spetsnaz. Alpha group." He pointed to Cuchillo. "Cartel enforcer. Los Zetas, most likely."

Then he pointed to where Mombasa was praying. "RUF. It's a death squad from Sierra Leone." Then to Hanzo. "Yakuza." Then Stans. "FBI's most wanted. Mass murderer if he's scheduled for execution." Then Anryss. "A tribal warrior."

He looked to Isabelle. "You're IDF. And Campbell? Says he works construction, but I don't but it. And then...him." He nodded to Edwin who was cleaning his glasses. "All heavy hitters, combat-trained...violent. He doesn't belong."

"And a rookie cop does?" Isabelle asked.

Val hummed, debating on whether or not to come clean. Royce gave her a knowing look, but it didn't help. Isabelle looked back and forth between them, clueless. Val sighed in defeat, scratching at her sweaty scalp. "No, I'm...not a cop."

"What?"

She shrugged and tapped the badge on her chest. "This isn't mine. I stole it."

Isabelle got to her feet, holding her rifle tighter as she faced Val. She moved so suddenly that a few of the others took notice. "You lied?" she asked, baffled and hurt. "Why?"

"Because you had a rifle pointed at my face when we first met. What'd you expect me to do?"

"That doesn't explain why you're pretending to be a cop?" Isabelle looked to Royce, but he didn't seem all that bothered by Val's confession.

"You ain't a cop?" Stans piped up.

Isabelle ignored him. "So who are you then?"

Val snorted at the seriousness in the sniper's tone. It had only been a few hours and one would think they were life-long friends with how hurt she sounded. "Look, my name is Val Santos. I work for the Monroe crime family."

Both Royce and Cuchillo nodded to themselves, recognizing the name. "I, uh...I'm an enforcer," Val continued. "Bodyguard for Daniel Monroe."

"Wasn't that the mafia boss that got caught last year?" Luke asked.

Val nodded. "He was being transported to Huntsville. There was a plan and I posed as one of the chaperoning officers."

"And...what? You were gonna break him out?" Edwin asked, utterly bewildered. "You're just a kid."

Val frowned at the look he was giving her. Luke and Isabelle were giving her the same ones. She partially understood why. They had thought her to be an honest person. Legit. Though, the betrayal they displayed confused her. She wasn't the only criminal present. And she did not appreciate being judged. "Why does it even matter?" She glanced between all of them. Then at Royce. "Look, I'm being honest now because I'm trying to figure out why we're all here. There seems to be a very obvious common denominator. We're all killers in some capacity."

Luke recoiled and raised a finger threateningly. "Whoa, whoa - hey! I've only ever killed one person in my life and it was self-defense."

"I'm just a doctor," Edwin added. "Not even a surgeon. I've never...how would I...?"

"Ain't no way you're some big boss' bodyguard," Stans said, sauntering up to Val. His arms swung wildly at his sides. "Doc's right. You're just a kid. This ain't Kill Bill."

"Fuck you."

"Bet your kill count ain't even that high."

"Why does that matter?"

"Shut up!" Royce snapped. His voice echoed over the rocks, even the chirping insects obey. He readied his rifle and stood. "What she is - what she's done doesn't matter. What any of us have done doesn't fucking matter. We were all chosen either way." He leaned his weapon on his shoulder. "I'm going to find out who dropped us here. You can either follow me or find your own fucking way out."

~o0o~

The group moved in tense silence. Val had considered removing the badge off her chest, pocketing it. Fuck all of them. She wasn't going to let their judgment bother her. And it seemed no one besides Isabelle, Stans, Edwin, and Luke really had a problem. Anryss was clueless, of course. He hadn't understood the quarrel on the rocks and simply offered Val unknown words that sounded like encouragement. Val chose not to dwell on it either. They were moving through a particularly dense thicket. Royce was hacking away at the tall ferns, clearing their path. They walked in single file at a slower pace and Val was silently grateful for that. Her feet were still killing her.

Royce stopped when he reached the end of the thicket. His eyes fell on a large metal cage covered in a parachute. He gestured for everyone to stop and get down. They all dropped into a crouch. Val drew her gun for what felt like the hundredth time. Royce stepped off to the side and signaled for Hanzo and Luke to approach. The Yakuza drew his Beretta while Luke wielded his machete.

The two men went to either side of the cage. Hanzo had his pistol ready as Luke gently reached for the edge of the chute draped over the cage opening. Everyone else stood with their weapons aimed. Luke's fingers curled around the edge and then he yanked it open.

But the cage was empty.

Hanzo knelt down as he looked over the mess inside the cage. Large beetles scurried out of some fleshy...leavings and disappeared into the grass. A strange metallic stink permeated from inside. Strong enough that several of them rubbed their noses. Anryss moved around Val and Edwin, sniffing as he approached. He looked down at the ground then crouched. He gestured to Royce, grabbing his attention before pointing out several divets in the dirt. A repeated pattern of what looked like footprints. "Ejen vefh ssethri anvfoj," the red man said. He rubbed his nose and made a face of disgust. "Kjwaf dciwk senck."

"We don't speak native, asshole," Stans grumbled.

"Don't need to speak his language to know his meaning," Royce countered. He crouched on the other side. "He recognizes these tracks. And the smell."

"So something was dropped here?" Isabelle asked. "Same as us?"

Mombasa shook his head, frowning. "Not the same as us."

"Oh, shit."

Stans' voice pulled their attention to him. His eyes were fixed on the area above their heads. Val and the others followed his gaze. Several dozen feet in the air, numerous empty cages hung from the trees. Their chutes twisted up in the branches. Royce promptly stood up. "Let's move."

Isabelle and Val exchanged glances. The others seemed reluctant to follow. Most of them kept their fearful gazes on the cages above. Val inhaled sharply and holstered her gun. She gave Isabelle and Hanzo knowing looks and marched after Royce. She heard footsteps following after her. The grass gave way to a more open game trail. A path of flattened, dead leaves leading into the unknown. Cuchillo eventually marched ahead of Isabelle, unhindered by any extra weight. Royce stopped to stand off the side, nodding for Cuchillo to take the lead. Val caught his gaze, a silent question passing between them. Anything to worry about?

No, his gaze told her.

With a nod, she continued on behind Isabelle. A strange chirping noise pulled Val's attention to the canopy. The trees were more spread out here, barely holding any branches right at the top with leaves that did little to block the sun. They swayed in a wind that she could not feel. And she'd give anything for a nice, cool breeze. Val curled her fingers into her shirt to grab her vest, pulling it away from her body to give her lungs a chance to expand. Her ribs ached as she inhaled deeply. She barely noticed Isabelle stepping around a large rock. Val decided to go the opposite way around it. A snap of a twig pierced the jungle silence. Val turned to her right just as her vision went blue and something slammed into her.

All the air was knocked out of her lungs. She nearly passed out as thick arms wrapped around her body. Val vaguely heard the others shouting. Their voices faint as if they were far away. The world spun and her back hit something hard. Somehow she was able to take a large breath. Her vision cleared and her eyes focused on the big black ones staring down at her. He held himself up, caging her in with his large body. And he was blue. Val screamed.

The creature jumped off her. Val scurried away, feeling someone-someone human-grab onto her, pulling her away from the blue stranger. Isabelle knelt down beside her, her large rifle aimed at the creature's head. "You okay? Are you hurt?"

Val shook her head. Her entire body shivered in a mixture of surprise and fear. "I'm fine."

Everyone else had their weapons aimed, some were yelling. The blue humanoid remained on his knees. He had his hands raised, eyeing everyone warily. Val got up, her hand resting on her pistol. She swallowed. The creature was large and muscular. His face had ridges running along where his eyebrows would be and down his nose. Two wicked horns grew out from his hairline, curving up and over his head. Val's gaze shifted down to the weapon strapped to his hip, some sort of large pistol, but the creature made no move for it.

"The fuck is that thing?" Stan shouted. He stayed behind Mombasa, peeking around the man's shoulder.

Royce glanced at Val, his gaze studying her, checking for any injuries. But her eyes were glued to the creature. His own gaze hard, silently begging for understanding. The emotion on his inhuman face confused her. "Do we, do we kill it?" Luke asked. His hands gripping his machete tight. "It's dangerous."

"No," the creature said, startling the humans. "I mean no harm."

Val stepped back on instinct. He speaks English?! There was obvious intelligence in his eyes. His clothes, his weapon...'Creature' was a poor description of him. He wasn't an animal. Not even a monster in her eyes. A small voice began to whisper in the back of her mind. She snuck a glance at Anryss. That small voice whispered what she feared the blue male and Anryss really was, but the big part of her dared not to say it. Impossible...

"What the fuck is going on, man?" Stans blurted, nearly shrieking.

"Calm down," Royce ordered.

"Hey, fuck you, man! We're trapped in a jungle and there's a fucking, giant blue demon-thing that tried to eat the fake cop!"

Said blue devil wrinkled his nose. "I was not."

Nikolai muttered a prayer to himself, and Cuchillo did the same. Edwin crept up behind Isabelle and Val, peeking over their heads. Val looked over at him, silently asking what the blue creature was but Edwin shook his head. Royce signaled for everyone to lower their weapons. They obeyed but kept themselves at the ready, fingers hovering near the triggers of their respective weapons. The blue stranger kept his hands raised, shoulders still tense. Royce eyed him up and down. "What the fuck are you?"

"Mesakkah," he said. "My name is Jutari."

"Mesakkah? What is that?"

He blinked. "The name of my species."

Val exchanged glances with Isabelle and Edwin, their fears confirmed. Jutari noticed this; several of the men had placed their fingers on their guns' trigger. "I swear, I'm no threat."

"You attacked me," Val countered. The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "Why?"

His gaze flicked to hers; his dark eyes entrapping her. Slowly, he pointed to the ground behind her. "You nearly stepped into a trap. It would've snapped your tiny leg."

She glanced back at the rock she had stepped around. Sure enough, there was a trap beside it. Its wicked arms posed together. Val glanced down at her leg, noticing a rip at the hem of her pants. "You speak English," Edwin said. "How do you know our language?"

Jutari tapped a spot behind his ear. "Translator implant."

Anryss pushed his way forward. "Wvese ohpss Kes? Wvese ohpss?"

"Wves jeksef," he answered which caused Anryss to frown in confusion.

"Hey!" Stans snapped. "These assholes know each other! They're the ones who dropped us here!"

"Cállate, pendejo!" Cuchillo snapped.

"Okay, enough!" Val said, her voice silencing the men instantly. She turned her frown back to Jutari, swallowing her emotions. "Why did you bring all of us here? Why us?"

He shook his head, his bluish-black hair glinting in the slivers of sunlight. "I didn't bring any of you here. I don't even know why I'm here." Val gave him a look to elaborate and he inhaled sharply. "I'm what you call a mercenary. I was hired to kill some noble on Ouzos III. I was on my way to his manor when this bright light appeared. Then I woke up...here."

"So you've been, what? Following us?" Royce asked.

The alien shrugged. "I've never been to Earth. Never even seen the planet's layout. Following you was my best option."

"So we are on Earth?" Edwin asked, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Again, Jutari shrugged. "I don't recognize this jungle." Sensing a bit of relaxation, he lowered his hands and stood up. "Considering the legal status of Earth and the sector it resides in...I assumed that is where we are."

Now at his full height, the humans stepped back instinctively. Jutari was a foot taller than the human men and based on his physique, stronger, too. His tail flicked behind him like an agitated cat. Val pushed away her fear, taking a deep breath. "What do you mean by 'legal status' of Earth?"

"The Intergalactic Committee decreed Sol III and its neighboring systems D-class," he said. "Off-limits."

"Intergalactic Committee," Luke echoed in disbelief. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

"Why?" Royce asked Jutari.

"Because humans are sentient but not space-faring," he explained. "History has taught us that it's best to let civilizations advance on their own. Once Earth has the technology, the committee will change the rating and offer membership."

Val glanced at Anryss once more, recalling how easily he melded into their little group. She thought over Jutari's behavior. His knowledge of English, or at least, his technology had it stored. "You've seen humans before," she concluded. "Even though this is your first time here."

He nodded nonchalantly. "I have seen human females plenty during my travels. This is my first time seeing human males."

"Okay, if Earth is off-limits and we can't travel through space, how've you seen...," her voice trailed off as realization hit her.

"The are others," Mombasa said, gaining everyone's attention. He took a few steps towards the front. "Others that take humans and-!"

Mombasa suddenly dropped, his foot caught on something heavy as he face-planted the dirt. Stans snickered. "Looking good there, boss."

Jutari snapped his head to the right, hearing something snap. His gaze turned upwards and his eyes widened. "Run!"


End of Chapter 2