Sain'ja leaned against the wall by the gates for the others. Word had already gotten out quickly that a Bad-Blood, a Yautja that would commit dishonorable acts during the hunt or hunt his own, had tried to assassinate one of the Elders. And had met with a fitting death because of such disgrace. He hoped that none had also tried to attack his friends as well.
Although most clans lived on the Yautja homeworld, Yautja Prime, some did own territory on other planets. Many centuries ago, the Jungle Hunter Clan had left and made their lives here. Unfortunately, so did the Super Predator Clan, or so they dubbed themselves. Whatever had caused it, most in that clan had a different, more mutated appearance, compared to all other Yautja, but they also were bigger and capable of great strength. Seeing themselves as better than the rest of their kind, the Super Predator Clan had strayed from the ways of the Honor Code, becoming nothing but a terroristic group. Their clans had had a long standing blood feud with each other since. The thought of one of those worms being able to slip past onto the Jungle Hunter Clan's grounds made Sain'ja's blood boil.
He was glad when he looked up during his thoughts to see his comrades- Adahy, Fox, and Makya- enter the settlement, safe and having each killed at least one of their prey. He also felt a sense of pride at the fact that he was still ahead of them all, if only by one more, in the number of kills made. He approached them and shook Makya's shoulder in greeting.
"Nice to see you've all made it back. There's been some trouble. A Bad-Blood was spotted and killed and in the Temple of the Fallen," Sain'ja informed them.
Each bristled some with anger. "How dare they come onto our land and trod on sacred grounds!" Fox replied, "For that, death is a merciful fate for one of those bugs."
"I'll explain the rest of the story later. So, how did your own hunts go? I see you've all killed something," he said as the four continued walking further into the settlement.
Not much of a conversationalist to begin with, Makya shrugged and nodded, his way of saying things where pretty good.
Fox spoke up again, "I managed to kill one of the oldest male Oomans. Almost got the other female too, but she committed suicide before I could."
Sain'ja looked at Adahy and smirked, "I figured you'd be the first to kill off an Ooman. Concentrating on River Ghosts alone then?"
Adahy replied, smirking back, "Hey, you would be the one that would've needed to catch up if you had been in my position. I found two of the males, but one was so spastic there's no chance he'd live on his own."
"Where are your trophies from the hunt, Sain'ja? You did manage to pick off that one female you were so interested in, right?"
Before he could come up with a way to explain everything, the Elder walked towards them. "Sain'ja, I'm glad I've found you," he nodded to the other three, "If you'll excuse us, I need to speak with him for a minute." They bowed and headed off to join some of the other Youngbloods that had come back from different hunts.
The Elder waited until they were out of earshot before speaking again, "You were right to be concerned about the female's past. I showed her some of his trophies and she recognized one of them instantly."
"And?" Sain'ja asked, forgetting protocol and eager for an answer.
"She is the offspring of one of your father's kills. On his last hunt before his death," he said, allowing time for Sain'ja to take this in before continuing, "That would explain her knowledge of our fighting styles and weaponry. Whoever it was that survived that hunt must've told and prepared her." Before, they had assumed when Sain'ja's father had activated the self-destruct sequence on his wrist gauntlet- a typical thing whenever they were beaten or shamed during the hunt- that he had taken the last of his quarry down with him. There had been no bodies found when they came to collect whatever remained for proper burial, only some of his trophies. However, now it seemed that was clearly not the case.
Sain'ja stood there, dumbfounded.
"The Gods have many ways of playing strange tricks on us, but not without reason. Both of your father's may have entered the Final Rest, but for whatever purpose, whether to continue his hunt or befriend her, you two have met." The Elder began walking away and Sain'ja's friends returned by his side. Then he turned back around, smirking. "And one more thing," he called out, "Someone's a little upset with you for taking what doesn't belong to you." He left, grinning to himself.
"Who's he talking about?" Adahy asked.
Sain'ja figured he might as well let them know what was going on. Maybe they could even help him figure out what to do. He led them back to his home.
Sure enough, when he entered the building, the female looked up, scowling at him and wanting her father's dog tag back. Other than that, she didn't seem at all scared or concerned. Maybe the Elder felt it best not to tell her of their connection. However, when his friend's came in, her eyes widened a little. He saw her muscles tense up as she looked at them, feeling trapped.
"What's she doing here? Alive?" Fox asked, pointing at her accusingly.
Corin had been sitting down with Chase, trying to get him to keep moving, when they heard a rustling noise from not far off. He gripped his gun tightly, switching the safety off. Slowly, with his heart thumping in his chest, he moved forward. If it was one of those Predators again, he didn't know how he would react. The last time they met one of those things, he was certain it would be his last. It should have been.
Out of the brush came a human hand, reaching for some tree limb or vine to grab on to. "What?" Corin asked to the wind. Rushing over, he grabbed the hand and pulled it forward. Out came Jacob, dragging an injured Nick across one shoulder. Nick's thigh had several bite marks and dried blood all over it. His once curly hair was a mess and it looked like a bird had nested in it.
"Guys! Thank God, you're alive! We're not alone!" he yelled, laughing nervously. He might've hugged them out of pure joy, but figured it wouldn't be the thing a man would do in times like this. "Have you seen any of the others?"
"No," Jacob said, shaking his head and panting, "You?"
"No. It's just me and Chase. How'd you manage to make it this far?"
"I don't know, after we got away from those beasts we moved for a couple of hours until Nick couldn't make it anymore. That night, there was something, something watching us. We think it was one of the hunters, but it didn't attack, just observed."
"Same thing with us only the one we met dragged me up in a tree then left after looking at Chase for a second. What's his condition?"
"Those things got him pretty bad. He was bleeding heavily, but it's clotted up now. No blood poisoning thankfully, but he's weak. He can't go on long without needing to rest." At that moment, Nick moaned.
Corin and Jacob pulled him over and set him beside Chase. They then got a meal going and ate, trying to figure out a new strategy and how to heal their friends. Taking guesses on who had died or who might still be alive.
Nina sat around the fire pit in Sain'ja's home with the other Youngbloods, her leg outstretched. It felt numb due to moments ago, she had been taken to some kind of medical facility the Predators had here, where a vial of some vigorous, blue muck had been injected into her leg. They had used gestures to at least allow her to guess what they were trying to say. It would speed up the process of her bones mending back together so she would be able to walk by tomorrow.
Her hand and other wounds had been healed. And they looked as good as new if not in better condition than before. The bandages were removed from her that day as well, but now she currently wore some kind of earpiece. It allowed her to be able to tell what the Predators were saying. There were only two other humans who had been accepted by the clan- both were men who were much older than her- so a few of these had been made so they would be able to communicate freely.
A cauldron hung above the fire, keeping warm a stew of some kind that the five shared. Sain'ja had explained to the others earlier about why the female was with him. Thankfully, they understood, but it was very awkward being in the same place as her. She just didn't fit in. They called her by the name Sain'ja had given her, and at first she didn't know what they were talking about. However she caught on fast, even if she wasn't sure if it was an insult or not.
Feeling she had a right to know on the status of the ones she had come to their world with, Sain'ja questioned the others on how their hunts went and which ones of their prey they had killed. Nina listened intently as they described the dead, but refused to show any emotion. At least the ones that had died she hadn't known as well, or cared for as much as Mike, but it still was hurtful to know they were gone and that she was just sitting there with their killers.
As Makya explained Jarred's death, she spun her spoon around in her food, searching her heart. She had despised Jarred more than anyone else back home, maybe even more than the Predators, but did he really deserve a death like that? It seemed wrong and horrible, even for someone like him.
Makya saw her doing this and fell extra silent after telling his story. He admitted to himself that he felt guilty about how the male had died. If a kill wasn't quick and painless, then it seemed purely inhumane. Seeing that it might have disturbed this female as well, he knew this wasn't something he could just turn around and forget about the next day.
"Hey, at least you didn't just leave him there to suffer. You did right," Adahy said, trying to cheer his friend up a bit. He knew how strongly Makya felt about making a swift kill- although he didn't know why since they were just game- and knew it must be hurting him to feel that he caused the male's pain.
Makya just shrugged. Nina looked at him curiously. Was it possible for him to actually feel a little upset about killing one of her kind? It seemed highly unlikely, but his posture seemed to give off that emotion.
"Well, to be honest he was a real pain most of the time. I can't exactly say I'll miss the guy," she added helpfully. She smiled a little, masking whatever sadness she did have over Jarred's death.
All four Youngbloods stared at her, shocked. She was actually fine with it? They would've thought if she spoke at all during this conversation, it would be to ridicule them on being evil and heartless monsters, which they would've ignored anyway.
"What? Just giving my opinion."
Now recalling whenever Dto-Raija had tackled the male, trying to nearly rip him apart just as one of their hounds would've, Makya began laughing. The others looked at him before soon joining in. Fox gently cuffed her shoulder, "Congrats; you actually got him to make some kind of vocal response. That's more then we got out of him the first time we met him. Actually, it's more than we normally get from him now."
Sain'ja watched her as he laughed. Maybe there was hope for her yet. Dto-Raija certainly had changed the dreary, lifeless mood of things, and to think only by saying one sentence. At least he and his friends felt a little more comfortable talking around her now.
Once Jacob, Nick, Chase, and Corin had finished eating, they had tried to patch up Nick the best they could and started moving again. At least Chase, due to the extra company, seemed to have calmed down slightly. He was actually able to walk without shaking.
The Predators had seemed to have gone, at least for now, because they heard and saw nothing. There were no feelings of being watched. Still, they wanted to get out of that spot as fast as they could.
They had been walking for hours when they spotted a large fence, similar to the one they had been near whenever they were released into the jungle at the start. This one, however, didn't have the large cages by it. There was barbed wire that looped around the top, but it wasn't electrified, even though by the looks of things it should have been. It was also rusted with age.
They walked around it for a while, looking for some type of way to get in. Maybe this was the end of the preserve. Maybe the other side led to safety. If they got past and the Predators thought they were still on the hunting grounds, they could hide again and live on their own, without needing to worry about being hunted. Besides, it was the only plan they had.
When they couldn't find an entrance, they dug out a hole underneath the fence and climbed through, setting brush and fallen leaves around the gap to cover it. Everyone made it out fine. As soon as they got through, a warm feeling of relief and success coursed through them. No more hunters. They had survived.
However, what new threats awaited them outside the Jungle Hunter Clans borders?