Chapter 2

Two days had now passed since the hunter had arrived in his wounded state. The blue gel she had finished applying to his wounds had dried and flaked off, and she was relieved to see that the gash had at least sealed up and seemed to be healing. After much contemplation she had tried to wash the remaining wounds as best she could, and dressed them with the human medical supplies left in the shipping container. They hadn't sealed over as well as the one in his torso, but they at least stopped bleeding. She hoped that wasn't because the predator had no more life source left to bleed! But he continued to breath, his heart continued to beat. And Miria remained hopeful.

On the third evening, dark and viscous storms clouds rolled over the forest canopy. The atmosphere it created was intense, and she could sense the whole forest on edge, anticipating a sudden deluge at any moment. Miria worried about the hunter being left out in the open. She scolded herself many times over for feeling anything but disgust for this being with such inhumane practices. But try as she may, she couldn't help it. Her gentle nature and nurturing instincts always managed to creep their way to the top of the turmoil roiling away inside her.

She bustled around the clearing, trying to figure out the best and easiest way to move the creature into a somewhat suitably sheltered position. She concluded that the closest cover was the shipping container. Her next dilemma was how she would actually move the hunter to it. Where he currently lay he was still a good five paces or so from it. She circled his limp form. He would have easily been four times her size, and a dead weight in his comatose state to boot.

Rubbing her hands together in a nervous manor, she took a deep breath. As carefully as she could, she rolled him from his side onto his back. A slight grunt emanated from the creatures mouth as she did so, but she put it down to the movement pushing air out of his lungs. Taking another deep breath, and bracing herself, she tried to wedge her hands underneath his armpits. Miria grunted loudly as she was barely able to lift his body enough to circle her hands underneath. She sighed, and relaxed. There was no way she would be able to move him like this. Putting all her weight into a backwards lean, she tried to remove her hands. They came free in a sudden motion, causing her to loose balance and fall backwards onto her backside.

Brushing her hands on her torn jeans, she stood up again. There had to be something in the container that would help her, she was sure of it. The thick cloud cover made it harder to see in here though, and she blinked repeatedly, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. Another box of jerky and dried fruits, that wouldn't help her. The fact that the crates were unlabelled made searching a chore. A tremendous crack of thunder made her jump, and after a moments pause while the rumblings subsided, she began her search once again with a renewed frenzy.

An eerie silence fell upon the jungle as she found a suitable tool. Miria knew then she had to hurry. Grabbing the tarpaulin, she darted outside to where the hunter lay. Hurriedly, she unfolded it beside him, cursing repeatedly as a rising wind made her task more difficult. Using the hunters discarded armor to weigh down the corners, she straightened it out as best she could. Scurrying to his other side, she kneeled down beside him. A blinding flash preceded the next clap of thunder, and with it came the first large droplets of rain. Gritting her teeth, she put all her strength into rolling the huge lump of a hunter onto the tarp.

It took three attempts, and her end result was sloppy, but she had no time for precision as the rain drops began to fall with a faster pace. Face down, the predator was at least on the sheet of plastic, and taking two corners, she leaned right into it as she began to drag. A few moments of expended effort passed before she could get any movement from the unconscious form on the makeshift drag. She almost lost her footing as she began to move backwards, and the ground was becoming sodden as the clouds burst above her.

"Come on!" she cried out, as she lost grip on the now slippery tarp as the deluge began. Scrambling to grab adequate handfuls, she wrapped the plastic around her fists. Her thighs and biceps burned as she put all her strength into moving the creature. Inch by agonizing inch they crept, thoroughly saturated by the time she slumped to the floor of the container, breathing heavily. The hunters face down head lay across her shins where she had fallen, and she kicked and struggled, trying to free her aching limbs from the excessive weight.

Miria leaned back against a supply create, trying to catch her breath as she pushed wet locks of hair from her face. She was saturated through, and she suddenly felt like her efforts had been worthless. But as the sheets of rain pelted down outside, she was forced the rethink that last thought. Spent, she let her eyelids fall shut for a moment, listening as the violent storm assaulted the jungle around her.

Even with closed eyes, Miria still noted the brightest lightning flashes, and was able to brace herself for the tremendous cracks of thunder. Her breathing was now almost back to normal, but she still remained slumped in the same position against the crate. She was enjoying the drumming of the rain on the top of the steel container. Letting the sound sooth her aching body in an oddly therapeutic manner. Her moment of calm did not last long however, as she was jerked back to the real world by a soft trill that sounded way to close for comfort.

As her own eyes shot open, she glared into a perfectly amber and glistening set, staring straight at her. Mirias body tensed immediately, and she was so afraid she couldn't draw breath. The creature was propped up on his forearm. His lower mandibles clicked together as another unearthly noise emanated from within its chest. She could only watch, frozen with fear, as remaining droplets clung to the quills on each side of its face. But its eyes! They held her captivated, and though it was likely only for moments, it felt like a lifetime.

Miria did the only thing she could bring herself to do. The only scenario she could bring her mind to conjure. And as the next flash of lightning lit up the storage container, she shot out of her sitting position, and headlong into the battering rain.

Miria was crouched now at the bottom of her hollowed tree. The rain was blowing billows of moisture inside, and she was still drenched to her core. The damp and slippery tree trunk had prevented her from being able to climb it. Although she supposed that being higher up would put her at more risk of being struck by lightning. Death by lightning, she supposed, may not be so bad as having her spinal column torn from her body, she considered. Just the thought of those bright yellow eyes chilled her more than her current damp predicament, and she shivered involuntarily.

Some hours had passed since she had fled the container, and the dim afternoon light had given way to the pitch black cover of night. The rain had eased slightly, and whilst the downpour was still a continuous fall, the initial power of the storm had long subsided. Miria was petrified. Too many unanswered questions were rattling her mind, and she couldn't get her head straight for the life of her. Was the hunter recovered enough to do her harm? Would he want to do her harm? Did he know she had tried to help him? Hell, he may have fallen back into unconsciousness for all she knew. Perhaps moving him had reopened old wounds? There was only one way she would know all this for sure. And if he was recovered, there was nowhere she could run to on this planet where they wouldn't find her. She considered herself extremely lucky the initial hunters had been too preoccupied with the human offerings to even notice her.

She gulped, her heart still fluttering unsteadily with nerves. The more she thought about it, the more she realised her discomfort stemmed from these unanswered questions. But even if she mustered the nerve to check for herself, she couldn't see more than two feet in front of her. Far off lightning bolts illuminated the surrounds for moments only. It wasn't enough to be able to make her way back to the container. Or was it?

She considered how well she knew the path she had made that led to and from the supply drop. She clenched her eyes shut in an effort to recall various landmarks, and the general direction. She knew that from the position she was sitting in, she was already facing towards the path. She counted during the next few lightning bolts, careful calculating how much light she would have during each one, and roughly how far she would be able to get.

Miria stood then, deciding that she had two choices on this planet. Sit around, waiting to die, not having done anything to prevent it. Or die here knowing she gave it everything she had. She could face her fears, and even if she didn't emerge victorious or successful, at least she had tried to do something more than merely exist.

She braced herself, ready to run. In a last minute decision, she kicked of her waterlogged boots, and stripped the socks from her feet. She didn't think the ground would be too rough to tread upon after the rain, but as it was, her wet boots had felt like leaden weights. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she tried fervently not to think about what potentially lay waiting for her at the other end of the obstacle course. Miria focused instead on the immediate task in front of her. And with the next bolt of lightning, she shot herself out into the drenching rain.