Ch. 6 –
Dillon was calling to her… But she wouldn't go to him. Couldn't! She could see the blood and gore that covered his body, even in the dim light. He reached out to her, the look in his glazed-over eyes pleading. She tried to run away, but it was if her feet were a part of the ground beneath her… She was frozen. Paralyzed…
"Ngh…" Kryssi tossed and turned on the dirt-stained mattress, her hands clenching into fists upon the twisted sheets…
She was being chased, but she didn't know who it was. All she could see was a dark figure in the shadows of the trees… And the glint of blood-stained metal. But this time she could run and she did, the heels of her worn combat boots digging into the dirt and propelling her forward, bound by bound, away from whoever was chasing her. Unfortunately she didn't get far before a large, calloused hand caught her by the arm and yanked the teen to a stop. She stumbled and struggled in the tight grasp, letting out a scream of terror…
"GAH!" The brunette shot up into a sitting position with a strangled yelp, panting heavily as sweat dripped down her face. She blinked rapidly to clear her dream-hazed vision, and then let out a small gasp.
She was underground. She could easily tell by the drafty, musty air that surrounded her and filled her laboring lungs. The room she was in was cluttered with junk and knick-knacks that she overlooked quickly. Meager light seeped into the space from large air vents that were blocked off with thick chicken wire, and the teen could tell that it was very late at night or probably close to morning. The walls around her were packed dirt, held up by wooden support beams. She guessed that this place must have once been a mine, but she also knew that whoever had brought her here was no miner. Then she attempted to rise, swinging her legs over the edge of the lumpy mattress and struggling to her feet, but she was immediately stopped by a thick manacle attached to her left wrist. Thick chains jangled softly as Kryssi tried to wiggle the rusted restraint off of her, but to no avail. They remained strong and held her fast to a large rung attached to the wall above the makeshift bed.
As the teen was distracted with freeing herself, she didn't even notice the soft footsteps that were slowly growing louder with each passing second. But soon enough she did hear, her head whipping around to find the source of the ominous sound. The steps were slow; measured. Kryssi shrank back against the wall beside her, hugging her arms to her chest as the person belonging to the footfalls came closer to her…
The Predator had already hidden Dillon's body and he had taken the brunette, Kryssi, away from the others. But for some strange, unknown reason he was anxious for the girl to wake up. He needed to know that she was okay. And yet no matter how many times he returned to her, she still lay unmoving… This was starting to get frustrating.
His big shoulders slumped slightly as he traversed the winding tunnels of the underground mine shafts he called home. Not that anything felt like home to him anymore. He hadn't felt like a place was his true home for quite some time now. This place was just where he stayed. Where he slept and ate and thought… And planned. A base of operations, to say the least; but not his home. He didn't think that he would ever have a home again…
Still lost in thought, he didn't even notice that the teen was wide awake and watching as he rounded the corner into her line of sight. But at her soft intake of breath his sharp gaze shot to her, his hand unconsciously clenching on the hilt of his recently-cleaned machete.
But he didn't want to frighten her. He forced himself to relax, to let his hand fall back to his side as their gazes met. He noted how her deep green eyes so easily conveyed her emotion, and how she tried so hard to put on a brave façade. But still he saw the fear in her. Even she couldn't hide how her own body betrayed her. How it quaked slightly and how the blood drained from beneath her tanned, dirt-smeared skin…
"Who are you?"
Her question, spoken in a soft, quavering voice, pulled the Predator from his thoughts once again and he blinked slowly, focusing on her. But he couldn't speak to answer her question, so he just stood there silently.
But then Kryssi remembered… The story that Dillon had shared with her and her friends right before they had reached the camp…