Wow, chapter 10 already…seems like I started this story just yesterday, and now we're into the double-digits! And what better way to celebrate than with a half-Yautja taking on a 12-foot-tall Exosuit?

Well, enjoy the chapter!

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

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

The machine gun opened fire, a hail of bullets rushing through the air to meet Drake. The young warrior immediately leapt up, bounding off the side of the crates as the bullets sliced through the air.

He gritted from the pain as one of the bullets cut through the flesh on his arm. Immediately leaping down, Drake prepared to strike, but the Missile Launcher suddenly aimed up and a missile rocketed out, straight toward him. He nimbly rolled in the air, narrowly avoiding the missile.

However, as the machine gun was on the bottom of an arm that ended in a claw, the claw shot out and grabbed Drake round the neck, immediately tightening as the Machine Gun whirred to life.

The cyber-enhanced grip was even stronger than Drake was. He tried to pull himself free as the gun prepared to fire. Only one chance…

Drake quickly brought his legs up, striking the front of the machine's cockpit.

"What the…" The pilot gasped, unwittingly loosening the claw.

Drake leapt into the air, dodging most of the bullets even as one cut through his leg. Grunting due to the sharp pain, he vaulted over the robot and extended his spear.

Suddenly, the claw shot up again, striking Drake in the front. He was immediately sent flying back into the side of a crate as the Exosuit fired off another missile. Drake instantly leapt up as the missile exploded against the crate.

"Hold still, you bastard!"

The machine gun fired again as Drake ran across the top of the crates. Drake leapt down, extending his wristblades to strike, but the claw grabbed him again, slamming him into the side of a crate. Drake dropped to the ground as the Exosuit's machine gun fired again.

Drake rolled along the ground, cutting through the air with the spear and cutting into the side of the Exosuit. However, the claw swung round and struck him again, knocking him across the room.

Oh yeah, Drake thought, It's a machine. Never fought an Exosuit before…have to keep an eye on that claw, or…

The claw struck Drake again, knocking him into the air, but he managed to somersault and land on his feet.

Yeah…or that'll happen.

He leapt forward again, this time firing his Speargun. However, the claw shot up again, deflecting the spear, just as its other arm fired a missile. As Drake hit the ground, he leapt to the side just as the missile hit a crate right behind him and exploded. The blast sent Drake flying across the floor as the Speargun fell from his hand, skidding across the floor.

Before the gun could fire again, Drake hurled the Smart Disc through the air. It sliced right through the claw, and it fell to the floor with a large clang.

"You bastard!"

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Rebecca had made it down into the holds- probably because this…whatever it was…had already taken care of the guards. And by 'taken care of,' she meant 'killed.'

She was suddenly distracted by the sound of a large explosion and a lot of gunfire. Between two crates, she caught a glimpse of the creature dodging a hail of missiles and bullets as the Exosuit's pilot laughed.

Finally, the bullets found their mark, one of them cutting into the creature's side. The creature gasped from the pain and narrowly dodged an incoming missile.

As Rebecca watched, it dawned on her that her saviour probably needed more than a little help against that machine.

Then she saw what looked like a strange weapon lying not too far from her.

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Finally, one of the missiles hit their target. Drake was blown back, straight through a crate, hitting the floor hard. There was a lot of blood coming from his back and sides.

Looking down, he saw he still had a Medicomp left- unfortunately, as the gunfire started again, it dawned on him that his assailant probably didn't plan on giving him a chance to use it. He leapt to the side, avoiding the bullets as the Exosuit stomped after him as its pilot shouted at him.

"Hold still and die already!"

Drake tried to jump away, but the pain in his arm, leg, back and sides stopped him. He was wounded too badly…he fell to one knee as the Exosuit prepared to fire another missile.

Suddenly, a small spear shot through the air, hitting the wires behind the missile launcher. Several others followed, cutting through the wire.

"What the…it won't fire!"

Drake looked up in surprise, to see an all-too-familiar girl with long, light-brown hair holding his Speargun.

"You again?" He exclaimed before taking his chance.

He thrust up the spear. It cut through glass, flesh and bone as it stabbed into the pilot's chest.

The machine gun stopped whirring and the Exosuit collapsed to the floor. Drake stood up wearily, quickly jabbing his wound with a Medicomp. It managed to heal it about half of the way, but that missile had done a lot of damage.

He'd gotten careless. He'd almost gotten killed. In fact, he'd probably have been dead if not for that girl. Speaking of which…

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, you're welcome!" The girl answered sarcastically before throwing him his Speargun.

"Welcome for what?"

"Hey, I just saved your ass!"

"I could have beaten that thing."

"It didn't look that way to me!"

Drake sighed. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Who the hell goes round skinning people alive and fighting 12-foot-tall Exosuits?"

Drake sighed again. She may be irritatingly persistent, but she had helped him- and risked her life doing it.

"I suppose I owe you that much," He answered. "Look…I'm here to…hunt…those guys."

"Hunt? You hunt people?"

"Only the dangerous ones."

"But…what are you?"

"Human."

"Yeah right. You took down an Exosuit, killed three armed goons without breaking a sweat, jumped 20 feet and took a missile to the back. No-one human can do that stuff."

"Ok, so I'm…half-human."

"And what's the other half?"

"Never mind. All you need to know was that I was here to hunt those guys down, and now this whole thing's done with."

Drake turned away. He was about to jump up onto a stack of crates, when…

"Will you at least tell me your name?"

Drake sighed and turned round. "Drake."

The girl half-smiled. "I'm Rebecca."

Drake jumped up onto the deck and watched as the cops arrived to survey the scene. He suddenly jumped back down.

"Come on. The Police are here. We'd better not be seen."

He put his hand on her arm and switched on a small device. Rebecca shocked as they both disappeared.

"What the…"

"It's the Stealth. It's always weird first time. Just keep your arm where it is, and move as little as possible. We should be able to make it out of here OK."

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"C'jit…Drake, what were you fighting?"

"An Exosuit." Drake answered. "Big one."

Scarface looked surprised. "And you beat it?"

"Yes."

"By yourself?"

"Actually, I had some help. Not sure where she came from, though."

"She?"

"Just some girl."

"Did she see you?"

"Uh…yes…"

"You told her something, didn't you?"

Damn it…how did he always know?

"She helped me fight the Exosuit. I owed her that much."

"How much did you tell her?"

"Just that I was there to hunt down those gangsters. I told her nothing about the Yautja."

"Good. What was she doing there?"

"She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just like…"

Drake stopped. Even after Eleven years, the memory was still painful.

"I see." Scarface answered. "Well, I did all I can for that wound. But you're still going to have a black eye. Get some rest; you have school tomorrow."

As Drake walked to his room, he paused to think just why he told that girl…Rebecca, if he remembered correctly…just as much as he did. After all, he had no interest in her- though she was attractive…very attractive, actually…

Clearing the thoughts out of his head, Drake laid down on his bed.

Oh well. That would be the last he'd see of her.

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"Whoa," Adam gasped, seeing the black eye on Drake's face, "Drake, what happened to you?"

"Got in a fight," Drake shrugged.

"Again? Dude, you've only been here three days!"

"Attention class," Mrs. Payne, their English teacher, called, "We have another new student in the class. This is Rebecca."

Drake looked up in shock as the same attractive, brown-haired girl entered the room.

"Rebecca, you'll be over there in the back, next to Drake."

Rebecca calmly walked through the class and sat next to Drake as the lesson resumed.

"Hi," She greeted him.

"Hi." Drake answered.

Rebecca paused for a moment.

"Your voice sounds familiar…"

Drake's eyes shot open in horror.

Oh, C'jit…
Well, what do you think? Nice twist, huh? Man, this could seriously mess up Drake's life…and it makes an excellent cliffhanger! Man, that was a hell of a chapter to write! I think it took about an hour to complete...hope you find it worthwhile!

BTW- What do you all think of the character of Rebecca?