Cathie breathing was already starting to quicken as she looked left then right. She was starting to feel a deep panic rising up in her chest. The last thing Ali had told her before they were dragged off by the Yautja guards was to meet at the large weeping willow-like tree along the river, but how could Cathie be sure that the one she had come across was the right one? It had only been two hours since the Hunt had begun and she was starting to feel the beginning stages of panic. Screams, human and non, filled the air all around her as the Yautja got their fill of hunting. Cathie had managed to reach the tree without much incident, but had yet to come across any sign of Rick or Ali.
A sharp cry came from nearby, but this sounded more like a call than a cry of pain. Her head whipped around just as something dark and fast shot past her. She ducked behind the tree as the creature was followed closely by a Yautja hunter. The Yautja caught up to the creature, which began hollering in fear, and slashed down with its blades. Dull yellow blood splattered the ground as the creature's head rolled away from its body. Cathie covered her mouth to hide her gasp and squeezed her eyes shut. She waited in anticipation for the Yautja to notice her hiding and finish her off like the now headless creature, but the Yautja moved away after a short pause.
Cathie sighed and crawled out of her hiding place, relieved that she had narrowly escaped a possibly gruesome death, but froze when the same cry from before sounded louder. So it hadn't been the dead creature nearby after all, Cathie thought, but that meant that there was still something out there! The cry came a third time, this time, directly behind Cathie. Her heart racing, she turned slowly and came head on with an all too familiar face. The last time she had seen one of these creatures had been on Earth, when it had dragged her attacker into the shadows and killed him. This time, however, she was able to see more than just a few shiny teeth; she could see the creature's entire smooth head that curved back, the lack of eyes, the bony and black body, and a tail that ended in a wicked looking barb.
"An alien!" Cathie whispered. She recalled Ali saying something about these creatures being her family, but this was the first time Cathie actually saw what one looked like.
The alien hissed, baring its fangs at Cathie, its tail twitching in anticipation. Cathie took two steps back and the alien followed her. The more Cathie backed up the more she realized the alien was stalking her on purpose, enjoying itself. Just when Cathie couldn't take the cat-and-mouse game any longer the alien pounced with a shriek. Cathie screamed just as something dropped from above. The alien stopped in its tracks, hissing in confusion. It was becoming such a reoccurrence that Cathie didn't have to even think who it was in front of her, she just knew. The alien hissed in aggravation at the thing that came between it and its prey, but that didn't last long as it seemed to get a closer look at who was standing before it.
"You keep saving my life," Cathie noted dryly.
"Stop making it so easy, then," Ali answered as she raised her hand, palm up, toward the alien. The alien sniffed her curiously before bumping up against her hand.
"Where's Rick?"
"Don't know, we'll just have to find him along the way," Ali said.
"I'm right here," Rick said, coming into view.
"Rick!" Cathie exclaimed happily until she saw Rick clutching his shoulder. "What happened?"
"Oh nothing too serious," Rick said, "I think it just got dislocated."
Ali marched up to Rick's side and grasped his arm with both hands, pushing hard. Rick gave a shout and tried to pull away, but Ali was quicker and, with a sickening pop, pushed his arm back into place.
"Ow!" Rick cried, but then added, "Thanks." It was then that Rick noticed the alien off to the side. He paled at the sight. "What—what's that doing here?"
"Apparently getting to know Cathie," Ali answered.
"It's not coming with us, is it?" Cathie asked apprehensively.
"Yes," Ali said with a gleeful smile, as if the thought of mentally torturing Cathie appeased her. "Yes, he is."
It was then that Scorpios finally made her appearance, crawling around Ali's back to her shoulder. She looked up at the alien and he stared back. Finally, Scorpios cooed and jumped from Ali's shoulder to the alien's back, settling in comfortably between its dorsal spines.
"Um, well," Rick said, "It's good to see you back to normal, Ali."
"I was never not normal, I just chose to ignore the two of you while I thought of a plan."
"And what plan have you come up with?" Cathie was tired of arguing with Ali and felt it was just easier to let her have her way.
"Rick leads the way to the ships while I try to lure Na'sval into a trap."
However, that was too much for Cathie. "I will not risk my life so that you can get revenge on Na'sval!"
Ali rolled her eyes. "Relax, my revenge is actually productive to our survival."
"And how's that?" Rick asked.
"You may know enough to fly the ship, but do you know where you're going?"
Cathie and Rick exchanged glances, that was something they'd never considered, how were they going to find Earth?
"But Na'sval already said he was done helping you," Cathie said.
"He's not going to have a choice. Why else do you think I tested Scorpios out on that woman? I wanted to ensure her poison wouldn't kill her victim."
Cathie blinked, Ali really had been working on a plan. "Alright," she said, "We'll do it your way."
Ali grinned. "Rick, lead the way."
The odd band hurried off, following the river, while the sounds of screaming and death surrounded them. Cathie grew more and more apprehensive, unable to shake the feeling that something horrible would happen if she remained with Ali, especially with her being marked by an Elder. Shuddering, Cathie tried to force those thoughts from her head, she knew she was better off with Ali than on her own, even if it did mean her secret coming out into the open.
"Scared?" Rick asked.
Cathie glanced up to find that Rick had moved back from the lead to walk alongside her. She hadn't realized she had fallen this far behind. Ali was now in the lead with the alien and Scorpios at her side.
"I'm not sure," Cathie admitted, although she made sure Ali was out of earshot, "This is a whole new experience for me. I don't know really know what to expect."
"Don't worry," Rick said, "I think Ali knows enough about what she's doing that we should be okay."
"How have you survived so long?" Cathie asked in amazement, "I just can't see myself lasting even one of these hunts."
"It's usually all about trying to avoid the Yautja instead of actually trying to engage them."
"He's here," Ali said suddenly.
Rick and Cathie looked up to find Ali standing alone, the alien and Scorpios had vanished.
"Who? Na'sval or the Elder?" Rick asked.
"Only Na'sval, as far as I can tell," Ali answered, "Wait here."
"No!" Cathie cried, "We're in this together."
Ali sent a glare back, but didn't retort back so Cathie took that as acceptance and she hurried to catch up to Ali. She saw Na'sval standing with his back toward them a short distance away. He seemed to be searching for something and Cathie had her money on who it was.
"What's the plan?" she asked, but Ali ignored her.
"Na'sval!" she cried instead.
Na'sval turned around, but seemed shocked when he saw Ali, as if he didn't want to find her. "You should run!"
"No, there's something I want to ask you," Ali said.
"I'm not helping you," Na'sval said, "I've already lost everything to you!"
Ali smirked. "Do you really have everything now?"
Na'sval didn't answer and Ali took his silence as a no. With an unseen cue, Scorpios pounced from out of nowhere and landed on Na'sval's back, right between his shoulder blades. Scorpios' pincers clinked as she stabbed her barb into Na'sval's back twice. Na'sval growled in pain and fell to his knees before falling on his back, Scorpios scooting out of the way just in time. Ali stalked slowly up to his side and crouched down. Moving slow, she set to work on getting the mask free, pulling the straps connected to the mask and then lifting the mask from Na'sval's face. She smiled down at her captive and Cathie caught a glimpse of that same glint in her eyes that night by the fire.
"Tell me how to get to Earth," Ali said in a deadly quiet voice. Na'sval didn't answer. "My friend here," Ali continued, the alien stepping forward, "will kill you if you don't help us. And it won't be fast either, he will make it slow and torturous."
Na'sval hesitated and his face scrunched up, as if dealing with an inner struggle, finally he began speaking harshly in a thick language. Rick leaned in closer to listen in as Na'sval continued rambling.
"Did you get all that?" Ali looked up at Rick when Na'sval had finally stopped
Rick paused as he committed everything Na'sval had said to memory. "Yeah, I think so. He gave me coordinates and instructions on how to program the ship's autopilot."
"Good," Ali said and she started to rise.
Na'sval's hand shot forward and latched on to Ali's arm. She looked down in surprise as he yanked her closer to him. The alien hissed and started moving forward, but Ali signaled him to wait.
"We can recover from the zabin's sting quickly," Na'sval offered as way of explanation.
"I can see that," Ali replied.
Na'sval clicked his mandibles and jerked Ali closer so that her ear was right by his mouth. Cathie struggled to hear what Na'sval was saying, but he was speaking softly and fast. Ali's eyes narrowed as she listened until Na'sval finally released her. She straightened up and stared down at Na'sval for several seconds before drawing the knife that she somehow managed to hide from the prison guards. She looked from the knife to Na'sval, lost deep in thought, before raising the knife high and plunging it down into Na'sval's chest. Na'sval howled in pain but his cry was cut off when Ali twisted the knife sharply, ending his life.
"What the hell was that?" Cathie demanded.
Ali pulled the knife free and stood up, returning the blade to the holster. "I gave him his final request."
"Of course," Rick said, "That makes sense."
"How does any of this make sense? Who would actually want someone to kill them?"
"Na'sval lost everything when he helped me and even though his mistake was corrected things never went back to normal for him. He couldn't take it anymore," Ali explained, "He wanted me to kill him so that he could gain his honor back."
"And how does this give him back his honor?"
"Yautja are all about hunting. Their whole life revolves around it which is why they collect trophies to show everyone else how many times they've hunted. But the most important honor is being killed in battle. It's a way of showing their strength and inability to give up," Rick said.
Cathie just shook her head in disbelief.
"Let's go," Ali said.
She didn't cast another look at Na'sval's body, but Cathie noticed the slump in her shoulders and the droop of her head. Even if Ali did hate Na'sval and swore to kill him, she had been through enough with him to feel saddened over his passing. It was just another sign that there was a shred of humanity in Ali after all.