Nina sat down in the shallows of the river, where everything below her waist was submerged underneath the water. She didn't know for how long she had slept the night before, but she felt better rested than she had been for the past few days. Currently, she was scrubbing herself free of the grime she had collected on her person over the course of this little adventure, only in her underwear as the rest of her clothing air dried on the bank.

She wondered when she would finally get picked off. She had gotten extremely lucky yesterday, but still, the Predator could've just run her through or choked her to death as soon as he had her out of the rocks. Better yet, he could've just shot her while she was cornered. So why didn't he? Maybe this is really like a game to him, like a cat playing with its food, she thought and frowned.

Instead of mud, the ground around the river was solid stone, which was heated up because of the relentless sun. Nina was glad she was able to cool off for even just a little while. Earlier in the day, she must've drunken at least half a gallon of water. Her canteen lay empty with the rest of her belongings, needing to be refilled again. She took out the hair tie and slipped it onto her wrist, then dipped her head down and scratched the dried blood and gunk out of it.

She began pulling away the bandages off of her hand, preparing for what she might see. When it was removed, she discovered the cut was deeper than she had thought and it was beginning to get infected. She walked back to shore and yanked out her medkit, placing more ointment and disinfectant on the cut. When it started to sting, Nina blew on it faintly, then wrapped it back up.

Sain'ja watched her, covered behind a bunch of large leaves and intertwining vines on a branch. She was getting better already, clearly much stronger than the day before. Although, would it still be ok to fight the female with her hand like that? It did seem pretty bad.

For a moment, Nina sat there, cradling her hand. That's when her sixth sense went off, warning her to be vigilant, and that she wasn't alone. She could almost feel another being's presence, watching her. She put the medkit back up and took out some preserved meat strips, nibbling on them as she looked around.

He saw the female looking around. He examined his surroundings as well, but saw nothing. What was she looking for? He hadn't made any sound or movement. Was it possible for her to still know he was there? If so, the human apparently couldn't tell exactly where.

Nina backed up against a nearby tree, where she had the parachute material sprawled out on the ground to make as a thin mat to sleep on. Might as well get this over with, she thought, picking up her machete and using the trunk to help stand herself up. She already knew after this morning that if she stood up too fast, she would feel dizzy and unwell. "I know you're here," she called out, not believing it, but wanting this nightmare to come to an end. "So just come out. I'm ready."

There was no answer. Sain'ja looked at her with mild surprise. She does know I'm here, he thought, amazed. None of his prey had ever found him while he was cloaked before until it was too late.

"Just, come out, please?" she asked quietly. She didn't know what she was expecting, but certainly not dead silence. There still was no answer. Was she losing her mind to trauma? "I'll fight you. I'll play your game. But come out."

He walked a bit further into her view, but very quietly. Was she insane? Challenging a Yautja in her state? It meant death, if not worse for people like her.

Her hands began to shake as she gripped the machete tighter. Her eyes burned from the tears she was fighting back. "QUIT HIDING!" Nina yelled angrily, loud enough to alert the entire jungle of her existence.

Well, she is- literally- asking for it, he thought, questioning whether the female was valiant or just plain stupid. Sain'ja jumped down, landing bent-legged with a loud thud on top of the stone. He uncloaked so she would now he was there. When she saw him, her eyes widened, but she quickly shook it off. He was about a foot taller than her and much more muscular. Pushing herself off of the trunk, she got into a fighting stance, gripping her machete with her good hand.

Sain'ja took off his armor and his weapons, noting how she was just in the bare of her clothes. In the end he just had his loincloth, helmet, and mesh net clothing on. I'll go easy on her, he decided sadly. He had been hoping for a good battle. The only reason he bothered keeping on the helmet was to understand her language and so he wouldn't frighten her away. He knew how most other species saw his kind.

Nina watched him, a little bit embarrassed at this. She remembered Dutch telling her the Predator he fought did almost the exact same thing, but it was still felt awkward. Looking at her own clothing, she blushed slightly, now remembering she was only in her undergarments.

That blush caught his attention and Sain'ja snickered, but didn't even bother to remind her that he had seen more than that skinning some of her kind. She snarled at him, which only caused him to laugh a bit more before readying himself again. He clenched his fists as both pairs of wristblades shot out, then relaxed them again.

Nina watched him, examining his weapons and preparing for the worst. Well dad, I guess I'll be seeing you sooner than you and Dutch had expected, she thought, as if she could still speak to him. She breathed in and charged forward, swinging her machete at the Predator's chest.

Sain'ja blocked her attack easily by bringing his arm upward and pushing her back. She stumbled a little before righting herself. He drove his wristblades toward her chest. Nina stuck the machete in between the blades and flipped her own wrist, pushing the blades away from her and locking theirs together.

He wondered how long she would hold out. The female had already needed to grasp the hilt with her injured hand so she wouldn't lose her grip on the weapon. He saw her cringe her teeth as she did so, and knew she was still pretty weak. Why did she waste her time pressing on? She had to mainly be running on pure determination.

Sain'ja moved closer to her as the two tried to unlock their blades, each attempting to gain the upper hand. He kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying back into the river. Nina yelped with pain as her bare back scraped against the stone, gashing new wounds, tearing skin, and causing her to bleed. The bacteria in the water stung her as it came in contact with the torn flesh. She had let go of her machete.

He kicked it away so it was out of her reach and came forward. He lifted Nina up by her throat, and she gasped for air. Sain'ja pulled her closer to his face, her feet dangling above the ground. He was about to stab her in the gut to finally end this, when she kicked him in his privates.

He dropped her, caught off guard. Why that little insect! He growled in his head, That was a dirty trick! A dishonorable, bad-blooded, dirty tactic!

For a second, Nina allowed time to get air back into her crying lungs. Seeing he was still busy with his…situation, she dove for her machete and picked it back up. Sain'ja turned back toward her, now angered. She took off to the jungle, reaching down to grab her pack as she went, with him trailing not far behind.

Nina kept running, knowing he wasn't far behind. She didn't think he would allow her a quick death now. She had to figure something out, and fast. So she decided to use nature to her advantage. She charged even more away from the Predator, saw a springy branch, shoved it as she ran, and let it fly back into place.

Smack!

It had the exact effect that she wanted, slinging back and hitting the oncoming Youngblood, who couldn't stop himself in time before it hit him. Maybe the female wasn't so weak after all. She was clever enough to make it this far. His chest stung from the strike, almost as if he'd been whipped. It delayed him, but he continued running after her.

Nina kept going. Her legs ached and she felt her body was ready to give up on her, but she needed to keep moving until she could find some place safe to hide. She heard a whisping sound and all of a sudden she flew into the air upside down, leaving her machete once more out of reach. She had stepped right in a trap that seemed a few months old-probably made by another human who had been hunted earlier- and must have been at least three meters high above the ground. Despite its condition, the rope held together.

Sain'ja smirked as he saw her dangling above him by one foot, gripping the rope with her hands and trying to pull herself free. He figured he might as well help her, and cut the rope closest to him, causing her to fall. Nina landed and the two heard an awful cracking sound. The impact shattered a few bones in her right leg.

Nina winced as she reached out to touch her leg, now knowing she couldn't go anywhere. She closed her eyes and turned her face away. Sain'ja had stepped forward, his wristblades inches from her heart, when he noticed it. She still had her father's dog tag around her neck. Nina had never once taken it off since she got here. Intrigued by the strange piece of jewelry and by the fact that someone her age was wearing one- he had seen full grown human corpses from their armies wearing the same things- he took a closer look, yanking it front her neck.

Feeling the cold metal leave her skin, Nina looked up to see the young Predator standing directly in front of her, holding her dog tag in his hand. She glared at him, not wanting him to be touching the one item that still connected her to her past. She never even had let the other cadets touch it, or even see it. It was something for her life only now. "Give that back!" she demanded, feeling defensive.

Sain'ja only glanced at her. She had no bargaining power to demand anything at the moment. He resumed examining the tag. Shocked, he dropped the thing as if it would give him the plague then backed away. Right into another trap.

He fell into a deep pit that had been covered with fallen leaves, vines, and sticks tied together with old rope. At a time, there once had been wooden spikes at the bottom, but over time they too had worn away and rotted, becoming far less deadly than they had originally been. The few the still remained struck his calf, cutting it. Sain'ja hit the back of his head and dazed in and out of consciousness for a bit.

Nina, half dragged-half crawled herself over to the pit, now once again holding her machete and wearing her necklace, gripping it protectively. With a lot of effort, she climbed herself down. The Predator was still alive. She drew her blade up, ready to end his life as he would've done hers, and found that she couldn't do it.

She fought with herself. Her father would have done it. Any of the other cadets would have done it. Dutch would have done it if the Predator he fought hadn't blown himself up, and what if this one tried the same trick? She wouldn't be able to get away in time. So, why couldn't she? Wasn't she just as strong as her father had been emotionally?

She looked at the Predators wounds and saw why she couldn't; it was because it wasn't right. He was hurt, and she was hurt earlier, he would've killed her, if- Nina remembered all the help and supposedly "dumb luck" she had gotten before all of this. With this sickening realization, she dropped her machete.

Without really knowing it, Nina began digging into her pack, taking out her medkit. Gently she placed her pack underneath his head for support, praying he wouldn't snap out of it. She got to work on healing his calf, rubbing ointment and disinfectant on it, blowing on the wound softly so it wouldn't sting, just as she would her own. Next, she began bandaging it up.

Sain'ja wondered what was going on. He could hear just fine, but his vision sometimes dotted with little black spots from almost passing out. That's when he felt the human's small hands on his skin. She was careful though. What was she doing to him? He felt a sharp sting on his wound, but a cool air almost right afterwards. He felt the bandage being wrapped around his leg.

Nina carefully removed the pack from him again once she checked to make sure he hadn't hit himself too hard in the head, and then limped over to the wall of the pit, reaching up to grab a hanging vine.

She wasn't even able to attempt climbing up as she felt the Predator grab her top and flip her over to face him, pinning her to the wall. He tilted his head over to the side after looking both her and himself over. He wants to know why.

She searched her heart for an answer. Why did she do it? She could've just very well left him there. It wasn't a serious or fatal wound and even if then his friends could've found and helped him.

"Maybe I'm a bit more than what you give me credit for; more than just game," was all she could say.

Sain'ja thought about her answer. Nina guessed it hadn't been the one he wanted, because her world went black.