Well, I'm back! I was going to write and upload this chapter yesterday, but I was in way too bad shape to do it then. But now that's behind me and I'm back in business!

Glad the action in the last chapter was well received. There's more of the same here, as our newest character comes into play. Enjoy!

Yautja, Predator and all related characters are © 20th Century Fox.

As you may have guessed, the title of the chapter "A midsummer night's massacre" is from the Predator: Concrete Jungle game. This chapter title is also from the game.

SINK THE SHIPMENT

"Kill 'em!"

Rebecca backed toward the crates behind her. All she could do was wait for the inevitable…

Suddenly, the creature- or whatever it was- near her grabbed something and threw it toward the gangsters. One of them fired and hit the object in mid-air.

The object exploded in a white flash of light. Rebecca gasped as her vision was filled with light and a deafening noise.

She suddenly felt something grab her by the wait, and had the sensation of leaping up into the air, followed by the feel of hitting the ground.

After a few seconds, she looked up to see her saviour leaning on the side of crate, bleeding and breathing heavily. She looked round to see that they were on the other side of the crates.

"Wh…How…"

The creature looked up at her. Now that she got a good look at it, she could see that it was actually human.

"What are you doing here?" It grunted, taking what looked like a pair of daggers from its belt.

"I was…I mean…what…what was…"

"Just a stun bomb," The figure answered, "Gave us a chance to get out of there."

"But…how did you do…al of that?"

The figure paused for a moment. "I was well-trained."

He suddenly jabbed the two dagger-like objects into his wound. Screaming with pain, he eventually pulled them out. To her amazement, Rebecca saw that the wound had completely healed.

"But…why did they try to…"

"Kill us?"

"Yeah."

"They wanted me dead because those weren't the first of their men I killed. And they wanted you dead because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"But who…what are you?"

"Never mind. Just go home. Forget all about this. And don't tell anyone about what happened here. If you do, they're likely to be killed."

A third voice suddenly interrupted them.

"There they are! Kill 'em!"

The young man spun round, whipping out the speargun and firing a single spear. It hit a can of fuel next to the gangsters, causing it to explode in a ball of flame.

As two other gang members charged forward, Drake hurled the disc through the air again. It cut through the support holding a large crate, causing it to drop onto them.

After a few seconds, he turned to Rebecca again.

"I told you to leave."

"Why?"

"Why? What do you mean, 'why'? You almost got killed, and I can't keep this up if I have to keep stopping them from killing you!"

The figure turned away and suddenly leapt up over the crates, onto a crane, and onto the deck of the ship.

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The gang leader and some of his lieutenants were in the ship's holds.

"Shit, man…that's half the shipment! And half our boys! What the hell did this…"

"Relax. We got something else to throw at our little buddy."

One of them men pulled away a tarp. Underneath it was a mechanical suit, 12 feet tall, with a massive machine gun for one arm and a missile launcher for the other. One the front was a space for the controller.

"Exosuit. Nice…that bastard won't know what hit him…"

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Drake sheathed his spear and looked down at the two dead guards.

No more distractions, He thought, Time to put a stop to these guys.

He leapt down into the hold, onto the top of a stack of crates. Not too far from him, he saw about four gang members in front of him.

The four gangsters suddenly looked up, just as Drake leapt down toward them, extending his spear. The thugs scattered, but as they did, Drake threw the disc through the air, cutting through two of them. Firing the speargun, he caught the others as they fled.

Now, where's the leader?

A sudden light filled the room from behind him. Drake leapt up, barely dodging a burst of gunfire.

With the sound of whirring machinery, the massive Exosuit emerged from the shadows, brandishing its weapons at Drake.

The gang leader smirked from inside the cockpit, glaring at Drake as the machine gun raised up to fire again.

"Time to die, freak!"

Yeah, this chapter could have been a little longer. And, to be honest, I've already got the next chapter mostly thought up. Thing is, I love writing cliffhangers. So be sure to check back soon to see Drake take on the mechanical might of a 12-foot-tall Exosuit!

Be strong- 6 chapters to go 'till the Xenomorphs!