Wow…31 reviews already…and there's some good news: The Xenomorphs could be showing up a bit sooner than I thought. Don't bet on it, though. Anyway, I'm going to try and develop the characters a bit in this chapter. As you've probably guessed from the end of the last chapter, Drake's got a serious problem on his hands…
Yautja, Predator and all related characters and trademarks are © 20th Century Fox.
SECRET REVEALED
"So…" Rebecca continued, "Have we met before?"
"Don't think so," Drake answered, trying his best not to look like he was panicking.
C'jit...what am I going to do?
"Well, I'm sure I've heard that voice somewhere before…I think not long ago…"
"Well, I don't think we have met. Unless it was a really long time ago and I've forgotten…"
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure…"
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Eventually the class bell rang for the end of school and the students made their way outside.
Damn it, Drake thought, What if she figures it out?
"Hey Drake," Max asked, "What's up? You look nervous."
"No, I'm fine," Drake, answered, trying to get out of school- and avoid Rebecca- as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, he felt someone tap his shoulder.
"Hey Drake," Rebecca asked, "Can I talk to you?"
Drake shuddered for a moment.
Oh Crud…"Uh…Sure…"
"Get in there, Drake!" Adam laughed, slapping him on the back. Drake gritted his teeth in frustration and followed Rebecca round the back of the Bike Racks.
Finally, they stopped and Rebecca turned around.
"I thought I remembered you," Rebecca said, "You're that guy!"
"What?" Drake asked, feigning ignorance.
"From the docks last night! That crazy jackass guy! The…hunter…or whoever…it was you!"
C'JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"Um…what the hell are you talking about…"
"Don't play innocent, I know it was you. And just to be sure…"
She quickly pulled up Drake's sleeve and saw a cut on his arm.
"So how'd you get that cut? It's the exact same place you got shot last night!"
Drake considered the possibilities for a moment. He could just shut her up by killing her (which, considering how annoyingly persistent she was, he was highly tempted to do), but that would be dishonourable. He could continue to pretend not to know what she was talking about, but she clearly knew the truth anyway. He could just run for it, but she'd be here again tomorrow. Lastly- and this seemed the only possibility- he could just fess up and accept that she knew.
"OK," He sighed, "It's true."
"I knew it! Man, what are the odds…"
"Look," Drake pleaded, "For the love of God, you cannot tell anyone about this!"
"Are you kidding? This is…this is just…"
"You don't understand…no-one can now about us…"
"Us? There's more than one of you…or…whatever…"
Pauk…I am so stupid…"Look, there's a reason no-one knows about this! It has to be a secret! Come on…I'm begging you! You can't tell anyone!"
"How can I not tell someone? I mean…all those things you did…those people you killed…"
"They were thieves. Gangsters. Murderers."
Rebecca bit her tongue. She had to admit, he had a point.
"Look…my people…we're not like…humans. Our ways are different. And different things are not the type of thing that humans are in the habit of accepting. If people found out about us…it would be disastrous. For us, and for humans."
"But…this isn't the kind of thing you find out every day. I mean, the kinds of things you did…no-one can take a missile to the back and survive it."
"Rebecca, listen to me," Drake said sternly, "There are two worlds that depend on you keeping this a secret. No-one can know."
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Scarface had just switched off the communicator and looked up, when Drake dashed into the room.
"Drake? What…"
"Scarface, you have to help me! I've…She…I'M SCREWED!"
"Drake, what happened…"
"She showed up and she knows and I had to talk to her about the whole thing and I blabbed and…"
"Drake!"
Drake finally stopped.
"Now," Scarface instructed, "Explain to me, slowly and clearly: What the C'jit are you trying to say?"
Drake took a deep breath and started:
"That girl I met last night showed up and she's at my school and she's in a bunch of the same classes as me but she recognised my voice and then she figured it out because of my injuries and now she knows who I am, so I had to talk to her about the whole thing because she's really annoying, and I was out of options so I basically had to tell her I wasn't human but I didn't tell her about the Yautja or that we come from another galaxy or anything I just told her we weren't like humans but I have a feeling she won't keep this secret and now she can seriously blackmail me because she knows who I am and WHAT THE PAUK AM I GOING TO DO?"
Scarface stood silent for a moment, before speaking.
"Well…that's…quite…bad…and…we…should…probably…speak to the Elders about this…"
"Yeah," Drake agreed, "That would be a good idea."
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Before long, Scarface had used the ship's communicator to contact the Elders and Drake had told them about the situation.
"This is…most…troubling…" The Elder muttered, "But you say she does not necessarily know about the Yautja."
"No. I just said I was of a people that weren't humans. I never told her what species, or even what planet we're from."
"In that case, we should be thankful that this situation is not as disastrous as it could have been. But still, there must be something we can do in this situation."
"Well, I can't just kill her," Drake answered, "I don't know where to start on how dishonourable that would be."
"Indeed. But we must take some kind of action. Drake, since, frankly, this situation is your fault, you must keep an eye on this girl and make sure that she tells no one what she has learned of you. If she does tell anyone, we will have no choice but to take this matter to the Council of Ancients. And if that happens, they will more than likely get the Arbitrators involved."
Drake gulped. "I'll keep an eye on her."
"Very well. Make sure this situation does not get worse."
The screen flickered off.
"C'jit, what a day…" Drake sighed, "Now what?"
"I'm not sure," Scarface answered, "We've never had a situation like this before."
"Well, I'm heading out. I need to clear my head."
"OK, but be quick. We have some training to do."
"Tonight?"
"Yes. You need to practice."
"For what?"
Scarface sighed. "I'll tell you soon enough."
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Drake normally found that hunting was just the thing to clear his head. Tonight, however, his mind couldn't escape from the situation he'd gotten himself into.
It's funny… He thought, Last night I took on a 12-foot-tall Exosuit and won. I can fight six men to a standstill. I can jump 20 feet in one go. I can get hit by a car and get right back up. I can tear through a concrete wall. And now, one girl figures out who I am and there's nothing I can do about it. I almost wish it were some kind of gangster or robot…hell, I'd even take a Xenomorph over this! At least I'd have some idea how to deal with one of them! But this…you don't beat this by hitting it. It's not that simple…
Well, that cat's out of the bag now! Can Drake possibly resolve this situation? And believe me, his situation is going to get worse before it gets better!
Also, how do you like the inclusion of some Yautja curses in the dialogue? Oh, and just so that no non-pred fans get confused:
Elders-head of the Yautja clan.
Ancients-Yautja government.
Arbitrators-Yautja police/Military.
