Know what? Do yourself a favour- pick up a DVD of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". That movie is just so damn funny…it gets better every time I see it! An utterly hilarious classic.I've just watched it and I can barely write for laughing!

Ah…the first chapter I've written since school started again. And already I'm up to my elbows in work. But I'm damned if I'm going to let that stop me from finishing this story!

Oh well. Enjoy the chapter. Including this, there's about two or three chapters left before Drake heads back home, so, therefore, the trial is now nearing an end. But believe me, there's plenty more left of this story. Action, romance and adventure are all on the way. And now, I'm going to stop yammering.

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

TRAPPED IN THE LABYRINTH

The swarm of Xenomorphs descended like a torrent of black lightening toward the six young Yautja.

"Bring it on, freaks!" Tu'Thaka yelled, charging up his Plasmacaster.

"Are you nuts?" Lua'kia shouted as the beasts leapt at them.

"Going down!" Dachande interrupted, firing a bolt from his plasmacaster into the ground. The rock gave way beneath them in an instant, even as the Xenomorphs poured through after them.

Tu'Thaka took out a firebomb and threw it up. The device exploded in mid-air, the Xenomorphs falling back and screeching in rage and sudden fear.

"Run!" Drake yelled over their furious screeching. The six warriors immediately turned and ran through the corridor, even as they heard the rock breaking behind them.

After a few seconds, they wound up at a junction with a tunnel leading left, and one leading right.

"Which way?" Hura'Ki asked as the Xenomorphs shot down the tunnel toward him.

"This way!" Deadstreak yelled, gesturing to the left

"What?" Dachande objected as he fired at the monsters, "We don't know what's in there!"

"Could it be any worse than what's in here?" Drake interrupted as the six of them fled for their lives down the corridor.

Suddenly, the rock on the floor in front of them smashed open, as a monstrous, hideous, snarling face burst up followed by a massive, muscular body and a gigantic crest on the back of the head.

"The Queen!" Lua'Ki shouted, "Now what?"

Drake suddenly leapt forward, lashing out with his spear even as the Queen swatted him into a wall. The Queen charged toward him, at which point Drake leapt up, allowing the Queen to run headfirst into the cave wall.

"This way!" He yelled, as he aimed his Plasmacaster up at the ceiling.

The other five immediately leapt up over the Queen, even as she got up. Drake backed away slightly and fired, causing a torrent of rock to rain down into the tunnel, the thunderous sound of the collapse drowning out the furious screeches of the Xenomorphs.

Finally, the deafening noise stopped, and the cloud of dust and debris parted to reveal a huge, thick barrier of rock.

"Nice one," Tu'Thaka sighed as he leaned against the wall. "So…what's the plan?"

"No idea," Drake shrugged, "Anyone got anything?"

"Nope," Dachande answered, "What're our assets? Weapons?"

"Almost completely empty."

"Location?"

"Hundreds of feet underground, surrounded by alien bug-monsters."

"Well, the assets conversation went by in a flash," Deadstreak shrugged.

"Right," Hura'Ki sighed, "One: We've got to get out of here. Two: We can't get out of here. Did I miss anything?"

"I say we get the hell out of here," Drake announced, "We've all killed at least one of those bastards. We've all passed the trial. There's nothing to stay here for."

"What about those things?" Dachande asked, "What if they get to the surface? This planet's inhabited."

"OK…" Drake thought as he glanced around, "I've got a plan."

He removed his wristband.

"A plasma-nuke," He announced, "Just about powerful enough to send these caves up in smoke."

"Wait a minute," Lua'Ki interrupted, "Those things are only for emergencies."

"You don't think this counts as an emergency?" Drake snapped. "We just need to get out of here before the plasma-nuke blows."

"I saw a computer map of the cave before we got here," Tu'Thaka said, "There's a tunnel not far from here that leads to a large chamber. From there, there's a quick route to the surface."

"OK, then," Drake answered as he started pushing buttons on the wristband. "I'll set the plasma-nuke for 12 minutes. That should give us enough time."

"Yeah," Dachande answered, "I don't mean to put a downer on your plan or anything, but there's about 18 of those Xenomorphs between us and where we're going. And we can't even get past that rock."

"There's another way," Tu'Thaka announced, "Just follow me."

"Let's do it, then," Drake said as he pressed the last button. He threw the device to the floor as it started bleeping.

"Everybody: Run like hell!"

The six Yautja sped down the tunnel, Tu'Thaka leading the way.

It seemed like an eternity before they finally reached the tunnel where, at the end, they could see sunlight.

"There it is!" Hura'Ki cheered, "We made it!"

Suddenly, something tore its way up from the ground behind them. The hordes of Xenomorphs snarled angrily as they prepared to attack.

"Run!"

The six of them sped toward the exit as the deafening sound of a plasma-nuclear explosion sounded behind them. The rock gave way to the unfathomable force as an enormous blue sphere of blinding Plasma extended, consuming everything behind the warriors as they leapt out of the cave. The Xenomorphs howled in fury as the energy burned away their acidic flesh.

Her flesh burning as her acid blood sprayed out, the Queen ran forward in rage as the rock above and below collapsed…

Finally, within the enormous sphere, the awesome power of a nuclear explosion was unleashed…

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Drake coughed as the cloud of dust and disintegrated rock drifted around him and the others.

"Everyone OK?" He said groggily, slowly getting to his feet as the other five warriors got up.

"Think so," Dachande grunted, "Everyone's alive at least…wait…Lua'Ki!"

"She's OK!" Hura'Ki reported, "Just knocked out."

"At least we all made it," Drake sighed as the rock behind him suddenly quaked.

In a shower of charred rock, the Xenomorph Queen suddenly burst up from the rock, screeching in fury.

Drake turned round and, in shock and horror, yelled:

"Oh, Give us a frickin' Break!"

Dum Dum Dummmmm… Yet another cliffhanger!

Next Chapter: Drake takes on the savage Xenomorph Queen!

(And after the trial's over, which isn't long, I will be taking it easier on the cliffhangers.)