Chapter 7

Just a second before she was consumed with panic, Miria recognised who it was that lain above her. Her heart was beating so hard and fast that she thought her chest was going to explode, and she was still trying to regain her breath after the tackling blow had winded her. But her fear quickly gave way to anger as the hunter removed his hand from her mouth. She gulped in the air as she tried to catch her breath, and her brow furrowed as she shoved the creature off of her.

'You!' She ground out furiously, her voice only a fraction above a whisper. The hunter merely groaned as he lay on his back on the ground, seemingly disorientated from the fall himself. Miria paced back and forth on the spot, waiting for the hunter to get to his feet. Why had he felt the need to chase her down like that? She had been scared beyond wits end, and there had been no need for it as far as she could tell. She clenched and unclenched her fists. She had an overwhelming urge to kick the creature where he lay. But she knew better than to let her anger consume her completely. As angry as she was, this being before her was far more deadly and dangerous than she was.

She groaned and scuffed her feet into the damp soil as the hunter finally found his feet. She glared at him sharply as he removed his bio helmet, shaking dead leaves and dirt from it and his face. When his gaze finally met hers, his voice erupted in something that resembled laughter. He's laughing at me now? Mirias anger renewed as the hunter leaned forward on his knees, apparently enjoying the situation, along with provoking her.

'Fuck you!' She snapped angrily, and stormed off back in the direction in which they had fallen.

She wasn't sure how long they had been trudging up the hill. It wasn't overly steep, but her previous exertion of energy had left her feeling rather drained. The Hunter followed not too far behind her, and she was surprised he made no effort to take the lead in the trek back to the cave. She now felt humiliation for the fact that he had used her as such a means of amusement. For more than a few moments Miria was quite certain of and had accepted her death. She was more petrified than she had been in her entire life. She resented the hunter for playing with her so.

Miria swung over a fallen tree trunk, her heavy limbs dragging along the decaying object as she clambered over it. She paused suddenly as she went to brush the splinters from her torso. Studying first her shirt, and then the fallen tree, she waited for the Predator to draw nearer. He too paused when he reached the obstacle, eyeing her for only a moment before jumping over the log in an easy leap.

'Wait!' Miria called as the predator continued on up the hill. He paused with his back to her, and she cautiously approached him. The tree trunk had been covered in a bright green liquid, which was now also spread across her own hands and clothing. She realised now he had been badly injured when he had cried out in pain mid tumble. Studying his back, she could tell he still had large pieces of splinter stuck beneath his skin, though it was now hard to tel with the amount of blood that was seeping though. It had struck him right between the shoulder blades, and she was immediately thankful that it had been him who had come into contact with the log. If she had attained a blow like that, she would have likely not survived. His mandibles clicked together and he voiced a soft trill as she lifted some of his blood soaked hair to get a better look at his wound. He was far too tall for her to get a decent look, and him being on the higher side of the slope didn't make it any easier for her.

Before Miria could do any more the hunter abruptly pulled away, and continued onwards up the hill. After her most recent discovery Miria didn't feel quite so angry at him anymore. She had perhaps been closer to death than she thought. It was simply sheer luck what kept her breathing now.

It had been such a long walk back to the cave that Miria had at times thought they had strayed off the path and passed it. She was in disbelief at how far and how fast she had travelled whilst the predator had been in hot pursuit. The afternoon sun had dipped below the mountains in the distance, and the afternoon was pleasantly cooler than it had been for a while. Inside the cave, she would describe the temperature as being almost cold. But in her exhausted state she didn't care. What now? She pondered, plonking down heavily on the opposite side of the cave to the hunter. He needed his wounds cleaned out and tended to. Leaving the debris in there would surely only mean bad things further down the track.

'You need those splinters picked out of your back. You know that right?' Miria wasn't sure what prompted her to speak out loud, but she was startled when the hunter held up his medkit and nodded to it in response to her question. It took a moment for this to register in Mirias fatigued mind, but she jumped to her feet when it finally dawned on her.

'Wait!' she took a deep breath as she approached the crouching hunter 'You understand me? You know what I'm saying?' She was returned with a shrug from the hunter, and he met her eyes for only a moment. But it was enough to confirm that he did indeed understand what she was saying. She was dumbfounded for a moment, before realising that it didn't make all that much of a difference anyway.

'Well, we need to sort out that nasty gash on your back' She pointed timidly as the hunter glared at her, and it didn't take her long to discover he didn't like being told what he had to do. His gruff bark was short and sharp, he appeared in a somewhat snappy mood. She couldn't blame him really, he must have been in a substantial amount of pain. His wound was no scratch, and it had continuously dripped of his fluorescent green blood.

'Fine. Forgive me for wanting to help' Miria mumbled, and turned to head back to her side of the cave. But no sooner had she turned and a large hand clamped down over her shoulder. She turned to face the predator again. His mandibles clicked together quietly, and his low chittering was nothing like his earlier threatening growls. He held up the med kit, then nodded towards the cave entrance. Miria sighed, and smiled weakly at the hunter before following him out of the cave.

She had made him sit on a large rock so that she could easily reach the wound in his back. From his med kit she had taken tweezers and a scalpel like instrument. She tried to calm her racing heart as she prepared herself to delve into his gory wound. Despite the fact that this wound didn't seem as life threatening as the first time she had treated him, this seemed by far the worse task of the two incidents.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed his hair aside and studied his back. She couldn't see much now for the amount of blood, and she quickly realised she would need to clean the area before she was able to do anything with it.

'Water. We need to be closer to the water so I can clean all the blood away. I cant see the splinters to remove them' Miria stood before the hunter now, and he watched her face carefully as she spoke. She was surprised when her words seemed to register with him, and he grumbled as he stood. She quickly grabbed up te medical kit and instruments and followed the hunter down to the little lagoon.

The light of the afternoon was fast fading by the time she had finally set to work treating the hunters back. The splinters were quite easy to pull out once she could see them, and as she removed them precariously, the predator was preparing some of the same gooey blue gel she had used to smear over his wounds when she first treated him. When she was done with the splinters she was handed to small dish of goo, and she braced herself for the response it would illicit from the hunter. When she smeared the first spoonful on he growled loudly and she watched as every muscle in his body seem to tighten and tense. The second spoonful found him with a little less control. His howl disturbed nearby creatures that were trying to settle down for the evening. Miria tried to work quickly so it was over and done with. Truth be told, despite the fact that she was doing this in his aide, it still terrified her to see him enraged so.

The hunter seemed relieved as she sat the empty pan in front of him. His shoulders still heaved with his laboured breathing and he was hunched over and leaning on his knees. Miria gave him space and went to the water's edge to wash her hands. She took the opportunity to removed her boots, and stepped into ankle deep water. It was so warm as the flowing stream caressed her ankles, and she sighed with the simple pleasure of it. Examining her pants she decided that something had to be done. Her jeans no longer resembled what they should have, and now appeared as mere rags, ripped and torn and being held to her form by mere threads. Her earlier dash through the jungle had done them no good at all, and taking the knife from its pouch at her side, she set to purpose.

Once both pant legs had been trimmed to mid-thigh, she was surprised at how much less cumbersome they felt. Tossing the fabric scraps to the rocks on the shore, she sheathed the knife after deciding not much could be done about the despicable state of her T-shirt. She was just about to bend and continue her bath of sorts when she felt the large hand in the middle of her back. Before she could turn to question him, the hunter had given her a hard shove. Miria splashed around in waist deep water trying to right herself, and as she coughed up lungful's of water she glared at the hunter, who once again had provoked her for the purpose of his own amusement. Her scowls seemed to only amuse him further, and after much staring on her part his barking laughter eased and he responded with another careless shrug.

The water was luxuriously warm, and Miria was suddenly glad for the hunters actions. She submerged herself again, allowing the steady flow of the water pull the grime from her body and clothes. When she resurfaced, her eyes met with the hunters. It was her turn to laugh at his wide eyed expression as he appeared to be in slight disbelief that she had turned his mockery back upon him. Miria boldly splashed some water in his direction, and his low growl warned her to be wary. She shrugged, nonplussed by his sombre mood. The warmth and exquisite sensation of the water restored her energy and renewed her faith in living again.

She had been floundering around carelessly for no more than a few minutes when the hunter caught her attention again. The light of day was waning, and she guessed he was ready to head back up to the cave. She didn't think she needed to be guarded like a child, but the hunter had sat silently and patiently while she enjoyed the late afternoon dip. She sighed as he approached the waters edge and she prepared herself to leave the luxury of the water. She was taken by complete surprise when the hunter removed his gauntlets and remaining armor, and then proceeded to wade further into the depths. Once the water lapped at his thighs he sat, leaning forward to wash his face.

Miria didn't realise she was staring until she was awoken from her trance with a gruff bark, then a splash in her direction. She spun to face the other direction, instantly feeling an odd discomfort at his proximity. It was a long moment before she turned back to face him, and she found him doing the same as she had been only moments earlier. He was simply taking a moment and enjoying the sweet caress of the water.