Ali hadn't taken more than two steps when the alien and Scorpios began shrieking. Ali's head shot up and spun out of the way just in time to avoid a five bladed razor disk slicing through the air. It ended up grazing her shirt and tearing it, but didn't leave her with any physical damage. At first, Cathie thought it was the Elder, but the Yautja that uncloaked itself was just a regular hunter. Cathie didn't have a chance to feel relief as the Yautja pulled out two more disks, extending them to their full extent.
"Ali, look out!" Cathie cried.
Ali ducked as the Yautja released the disks toward her. The first one flew by, missing her, but the second flew closer and caught Ali in the shoulder. She went down, but bounced back up quickly, ignoring the blood running down her arm and burning her shirt sleeve away. The Yautja had pulled out a spear from a holster on his back, but paused, most likely catching sight of the mark on Ali's cheek, and took a step back.
"I guess this mark really does work," Ali commented as the Yautja turned and disappeared.
"That," Cathie said, her eyes on something behind Ali, "But it could also be because the Elder is right behind you."
Ali spun around and, sure enough, saw the Elder stood before them, towering over them. It started advancing slowly. The alien growled and pounced with a hiss. The Elder drew a spear, extended it, and drove it into the alien's chest without skipping a beat.
"No!" Ali screamed as the alien fell limp at the Elder's feet, dead, and Scorpios disappearing into the trees.
"Ali, no," Cathie said, but she was too late.
Ali threw herself at the Elder who did nothing as she slammed into it, sending the two of them rolling off, struggling and kicking.
"We have to help her," Rick said.
"Yeah, okay," Cathie said, but she was having trouble seeing.
The dizziness had hit without warning and she was struggling to hold herself up. She didn't realize it had been this long and panic was starting to rise in her chest, what was she going to do?
"Cathie?" Rick asked, his voice sounded muffled, "Are you alright?"
Cathie took several deep breaths and the dizziness started to clear. "Fine," she lied.
"Alright, then let's go."
Ali and the Elder had rolled quiet some distance so Rick and Cathie had to run to catch up. When they finally did reach them, Ali had managed to throw the Elder off of her and was currently brandishing her knife. Somehow she had managed to avoid receiving any injuries, but Cathie couldn't help wondering how long that would last. She moved forward without thinking to stand by Ali's side. The Elder paused as Rick joined the group, looking from face to face as if surprised that there were so many standing up against it.
"You realize we're going to have to kill him if we want to survive," Ali said.
Cathie and Rick nodded their heads, but Cathie was starting to have trouble again. The dizziness had come back and her legs started to shake. She had no idea if she was strong enough to fight, but she certainly wasn't going to let Ali know.
The Elder growled as both pairs of wristblades extended down past his fists. Next thing Cathie knew, Rick and Ali were running toward the Elder. They moved together, acting like they had planned their moves out ahead of time. At one point, Rick swung down low to scoop up a discarded disk and sent it flying at the Elder. The Elder, naturally, ducked but it had only been a distraction and had given Ali enough time to cut through the Elder's lower, unprotected midsection, nipping the flesh and drawing forth a line of bright green blood. The Elder growled in anger, but the wound wasn't deep enough to cause too much damage.
Without waiting for the Elder to make the next move, Rick and Ali, again without speaking, came at the Elder again. This time, Ali provided the distraction by rolling underneath the Elder to get it to turn around. That was when Rick made his move, grabbing onto the Elder's cloak and starting to pull on it. The elaborate chain that held the cloak in place was drawn back and the Elder began choking. Its hands flew up to try and relieve some of the pressure, but that left it unable to protect itself. Ali took advantage and, flying through the air, managed to impale the knife deep into the Elder's shoulder.
The Elder fell to his knees as bright green blood flowed freely from his shoulder. He let out a series of angry clicks and lifted his arm slowly, a small device on his wrist making a clicking noise. Next thing Cathie knew, Ali was being hurled backwards, screaming and slamming into a tree.
"Ali?" Cathie cried, forcing herself over to Ali's side.
Ali was struggling within the confines of a slowly restricting metal net. Cathie pulled desperately at the netting, but she only succeeded in scrapping her hands.
"What is this thing made out of?" Cathie cried.
"Help Rick!" Ali demanded, her voice strained as the net twisted tighter.
Cathie turned her attention away from Ali, who continued to struggle, and surveyed what was happening with Rick. The Elder was standing, but he was in obvious pain, and was trying to reach Rick, who was still holding on to the cloak and trying to avoid the Elder's sharp blades. Something moved along the tree directly behind the struggling figures, but it was only Scorpios. At that instant, Cathie realized the overall plan and she rushed forward to help Rick hold the Elder steady.
The Elder saw her coming and turned to face her which prevented her from reaching Rick. Unfortunately, Rick was caught off-guard by the sudden shift and ended up stumbling into the Elder's path. The Elder took advantage of that and slashed down with its wristblades. Rick screamed as the blades cut deep into his shoulder and his grip started to loosen. The Elder tried to rip his cloak free, but Rick managed to reclaim his grip and the cloak started to tear. As soon as part of the Elder's back became visible Scorpios launched off the tree and landed on the Elder's back, her stinger stabbing him again and again.
Rick let go as the Elder went down and grabbed another discarded disk. This time, instead of throwing it at the Elder, he used its growing paralysis to his advantage and ran up to stand directly in front of the Elder. With a ferocious cry, Rick swung the disk around and slashed at the Elder's throat. Bright green blood splattered across the ground as the Elder fell down, face forward, where more blood seeped across the ground in a florescent puddle.
"Is it dead?" Cathie asked, stepping closer.
"I think so," Rick replied, "That strike went pretty deep."
Rick suddenly groaned, the adrenaline probably finally dissipating, and fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Cathie asked. Since her gaze was still on the dead Elder, she only heard Rick fall, but she suddenly stiffened as a coppery smell filled her nostrils.
Cathie turned slowly to face Rick. He was kneeling on the ground, his hand clutching at his shoulder, which was currently gushing blood. Cathie's eyes widened as some of Rick's blood spilled onto the ground. Her breathing quickened and her hand quivered. The light of the moon floating above reflected off the blood, making it glisten. Cathie shakily looked up at Rick who was staring at her in terror and she knew the reason why. She'd only seen herself like this once before, but when she had lost control back then, she had her father standing by her side; there was no one here to stop her now.
"Cathie? What's going on?" Rick asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Cathie tried to resist, but she couldn't help herself. She growled and threw herself forward, her hands clamping down on Rick's arms. He cried out and tried to throw her off, but she was much stronger than him and held him still. Her lips parted and she felt the strange sensation of her fangs as they protruded over of her gums and past her teeth. Rick screamed when he caught sight of her fangs, but she didn't give him time to struggle before she sank them deep into his throat.
His blood was hot and savory as it gushed past Cathie's lips and down her throat. She moaned happily and bit down harder, eager to get more blood, vaguely aware of Rick's cry of pain. It had been so long since her last meal and she couldn't pull herself away, even when she knew she'd gone too far and Rick started to grow weak beneath her. Suddenly, in the middle of her meal, pain flared up in the back of her head, at her hair line and she cried out, releasing Rick. The moment her fangs pulled free of his neck, Cathie was flung backwards and collided with a tree. She got up slowly, groaning in pain, to see that her attacker was Ali.
"So," Ali said darkly. She stood protectively in front of Rick and was staring at Cathie with just as much hate as she shows when looking at the Yautja. "I guess I know what you are now. You're a vampire."