They took another few days to so they could rest and recover before they started accessing their remaining supplies and weapons. If they were really going to launch a full-force attack on these aliens, then they needed to be well-armed and full functional. Isabelle suggested that they spend a few days observing the Predators to get to know their habits and hunting styles before formulating an attack plan. Surprisingly, Royce agreed without comment.
They had set themselves up high in a tree and had dawned Noland's pilfered cloaking suits. It took them several days to figure the suits out but in the end, they were able to go stealth just like the Predators. They had sat waiting for hours before Royce broke the silence.
"What's the longest you ever waited for a target?" He asked careful not to raise his voice any higher than a whisper.
Isabelle smiled at his comment. She had bet herself that even though he was a seasoned soldier, he would be like most people, uncomfortable with prolonged periods of silence and stillness. It took a special kind of temperament to be a sniper. A combination of extreme patience, methodical calculation and precise timing. It seemed that Royce had the latter two qualities but was lacking in the first.
Royce shifted his eyes to look in her direction when he heard no reply. "What?" He questioned softly.
She was just about to signal to him to stop talking when she sensed movement from below. It sounded like it was 50 yards directly to the north of them. She went ramrod still and scanned the horizon.
Royce did the same. His body completely alert.
Isabelle spotted movement first. She was used to identifying minute movement. It looked like a gentle breeze that flowed through the jungle growth but she knew from experience that gentle breezes didn't just make one bush move. She hoped that Royce had spotted it too so she wouldn't have to play catchup with him.
They both watched as the bush parted and the jungle stilled. No birds called out and a deafening quiet descended around them. A second later, the air shifted and a fully-armored predator stood in the space parted by the bush. It did a sweep of its surroundings before reaching for a crude whistle tucked away in its armor. A high-pitched screech came out of it and almost immediately the distant sound of paws hitting jungle floor started getting louder and louder. Three minutes later, four hulking, disgusting dog-like creatures came bounding up to the predator.
Isabelle flashed back to the first day she was here when one of those beasts attacked her as she was trying to help the doctor. To think she was trying to help the psychotic bastard made her slightly ill. She watched as the predator retrieved a piece of rag no larger than a paperback and held it out for each beast to sniff. After the last beast had taken a sniff, it made a sweeping motion with his arms and the beasts turned and bolted at high speed one after another south of their position.
The predator watched as the beasts disappeared in the undergrowth and reactivated it's cloaking device. The bushes shifted as it made its way through the maze of plants and vines heading in the direction of the beasts. They waited a good 10 minutes before either one of them dared to move and de-cloak their camouflages.
Royce was the first to de-cloak. "Those are some nasty-looking dogs." He ran his right hand through his sweat-drenched head briefly.
Isabelle continued staring in the direction the predator had went. "I think those 'dogs' hunt by acoustics," she said as she de-cloaked as well.
He looked at her. "What makes you say that? It looked like they were scent-tracking."
"Yes, scent-tracking but did you notice that the hunter only called out once with his 'whistle' but the beasts where able to pinpoint his location from more than a klick away? It must be something like sonar in bats," she reasoned.
"That would make those things capable of what ... a five-minute mile. Damn, that's fast," Royce swore.
"We don't stand a chance against those dogs without these cloaking devices," Isabelle noted looking at the device strap crudely to her forearm. "Not even the hunter noticed us."
Royce grunted.
Isabelle looked at him. He was such an enigma. One moment predictable and the other moment almost mercurial. She shook her head.
"We need to establish a permanent base," she said as she started to lower herself down the tree.
"I thought I saw a cave an hour or so back," Royce said from above as he followed her down.
"The one with the waterfall in front?"
"Yeah, that one," he said.
"If its deep enough, it'll hide our heat signatures. We'll need torches though," Isabelle thought out loud.
"Let's get to it then," Royce said impatiently.
A hour and a half later and equipped with rudimentary stick torches, they arrived at the waterfall cave. They used the clothes from the bodies they encountered on the way as the fuel for the torches. Isabelle thought about all the bodies littered on the planet and shuddered in disgust.
They waited outside the cave hidden in the undergrowth to ensure that none of the hunters were inside. After what seemed like forever, Royce gave the all clear signal and they moved towards the opening. The gushing water was loud so they had to use hand signals to communicate.
It took Royce less than five minutes to create a spark from his magnesium flint. Lightening his torch and then hers, they carefully made their way on the ledge that hugged the car entrance careful to keep their torches as dry as possible. They had stuffed the extra dry fabric into tight wads to keep them dry.
Once past the falling water, Isabelle followed Royce as he made his way deeper into the cave. From the start, she could tell that this wasn't an ordinary cave like they had on Earth. The walls were smooth and the air wasn't damp like she thought it would be. In fact, the deeper they travelled, the warmer it got. The sound of the water faded into silence. Before they knew it, their clothes were dry. A small draft followed them.
"I'm no expert but I'm thinking this is some kind of volcanic cave," Royce said breaking the silence.
"Is that why it's so warm?" Isabelle said. "It must be 80 degrees in here."
"There's a light up ahead," he said in a surprised tone.
"A light?" She said as she followed him forward.
They stood there staring at a beautiful pool of calm water. It was a cool blue and it looked liked it was illuminated from underneath. Isabelle knelt down and touched the water.
"It's warm," she said in amazement.
Royce gave a small smirk. "Shelter and water. Now all we need is food and this can be home sweet home."
Isabelle looked up at him and nodded. "Maybe we'll live to fight another day after all."
Over the next few days, they made countless trips from Noland's hideout in the abandoned drill rig to their new home taking only the essentials they thought they would need. As they each carved out a personal space in the cave, Royce made the area between them a sort of "living room" complete with a coffee table made out of a crate door and a crude fire pit that he built out of rocks. His sleeping area was a few feet from the pit while Isabelle's sleeping area was behind an outcropping of rocks. He had insisted that she take the semi-private area as her sleeping quarters saying that he preferred an open area.
They managed to kill a small furry animal with spikes. Royce cleaned the creature and Isabelle roasted it over the fire pit. They were deep enough in the cave not to worry about sound and smell. Royce thought it tasted like chicken while Isabelle thought it tasted like wild boar.
Throwing the remnants of his dinner into the fire pit, Royce poked at the embers with a stick. He was lost in his thoughts or he would have noticed her staring at him for the past few minutes.
"We need to learn how to use their weapons. It's the only way to kill them." Isabelle said as she watched the flames flicker on his face.
Royce looked up almost startled at her comment. "Uh, yeah." He collected his thoughts. "First, we need to get one," he said with a sad smile.
"So, we start tomorrow. Head over to their base camp and see what the situation looks like now since the last time we were there." She paused. She didn't know him that well but she knew him well enough to tell that there was something he wasn't telling her. She could peg a liar ten miles away. "What aren't you telling me?"