The next chapter is posted! Enjoy! :)
Kayla sighed in relief when Than-guan told her we could finally stop.
They were currently right in front of a very large waterfall. And if it weren't for the situation she was currently in, she would've been admiring the nice view in front of her.
"C'mon let's go." He told her.
Then she watched as he went into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall and started heading over to it.
"What are you doing? Just where are you going?" She asked, confused.
He paused and turned around slightly.
"There is a small cave behind the waterfall, we will use that for cover. So, what are you waiting for? Let's go." Than-guan repeated.
Was he kidding right now? The waterfall looked rather turbulent. She'd probably get knocked down trying to go through it into this cave he claims is behind it.
But at the same time, she really didn't feel comfortable being out here in the open either.
So, Kayla carefully made her way down the large slippery rocks into the pool. It must have looked amusing to the hunter. The waterline came up to the upper part of his chest as he waded through it with the body still over his shoulder and head in hand.
While the young woman had to swim through the water to reach him.
The water was quite choppy due to being stirred up by the waterfall. She was a good swimmer. But she was also tired too. So, it took her a little more time to reach him.
He waited off to the side by an area where the falling water wasn't coming down as hard or heavy.
When Kayla met him there, he pushed through the falling water. It was still quite deep here, so she decided to take a deep breath, and go under the water.
She kicked her legs and threw out her arms, as she went as far in as she could to clear the waterfall.
Then she broke the surface with a deep inhale. And looked around. It was quite dark in here. The moonlight was hardly able to break all the way through the thick wall of water.
Kayla could still make out Than-guan's large form a few feet in front of her. She watched as the water became shallow and he stepped up onto the rocky, solid ground.
The water in here was a bit calmer than out there as she treaded over. Once her feet could touch the bottom, she waded through it the rest of the way and stepped onto the cave floor.
She found a large dry mossy patch and sat down.
Than-guan dropped the body off of his shoulder onto the ground with a thud and tossed the severed head down next to it. Before taking a seat across from her.
He then pulled out this weird looking instrument and grabbed the body by one of the ankles and pulled it over.
The hunter then shifted his gaze to her.
"You may want to turn around. You don't want to watch this." He warned her.
She arched a brow, "Why? What are you going to do?"
"Ever skin a deer carcass?" He implied.
It took Kayla a moment to realize what he meant and then her eyes widened and she gave him a disgusted look.
"Dude, what the fuck? Are you serious!? Why in the hell would you want to do that?" She blurted out.
"We are a race of hunters. It's what we do. We do it to prey and we do it with bad bloods." Than-guan said.
"Ok, prey animals I get. But one of your own kind, that's pretty sick." She stated.
"It's no less than they deserve for the dishonorable path they chosen to take. As I said, you may turn around while I do this. It shouldn't take too long." He replied.
Then before Kayal could debate, he started up the instrument, and started to press it into the flesh.
Kayla's eyes widen and she quickly turned around and stared at the wall of water twenty feet in front of them.
'For a highly intelligent race with advance technology, they sure as hell are barbaric.' She thought.
She tried to ignore the sound of flesh peeling off the body. The sound mixed in with the echoing sound of falling water as it bounced off the cave walls.
"Did you come here to hunt when you happened to run into these assholes?" Kayla inquired.
"Somewhat." Was all he said.
He was technically hunting for the bad blood that framed him and stole his honor. But Than-guan was unsure if he felt like explaining this to the ooman female.
It was unfortunate circumstances regarding his ship that brought him here. Despite it being cloaked and a good distance from the bad blood camp, he still hopes none of the bad bloods will come across it.
The presence of a ship here will let them know they aren't alone out here and that there is another yautja out and about.
And the longer that they remained ignorant to his presence, the better. He will eventually show himself to them. But he wanted to use the element of surprise to do so.
It's not that he was afraid or outnumbered, but stealth, and remaining out of sight, was part of being an effective hunter.
"Will I...ever be going back home?" He heard her ask, with great hesitation.
He didn't want to lie to her. In circumstances like this, it may not be a good idea to send her back to Earth. Because if she talked, then oomans would be aware to the Yautja's presence on Earth.
Personally, he would rather send the poor woman home. But by doing so, would be taking a great risk. Even if she promised not to talk, there was still no guarantee.
There was a lot of talk among many hunters. That most oomans were devious and could not be trusted. That they were conniving liars and cowards. Then there were their issues with greed and power.
Knowing about yautja and their tech would certainly gain them a lot of knowledgeable incite and power.
Still, if she can't return home, then what can he do with her? Most of all, what would the Arbitrators think if they caught him with an ooman female?
He already had enough on his plate with being framed. And finding her with him will probably make matters worse. They'll probably accuse him of kidnapping the young woman and doing God knows what else with her.
But Than-guan couldn't leave her on this world to die either.
The hunter growled in irritation.
'Paya, why did things have to become so much more complicated for me?' He thought.
Kayla heard the growl, and it sent a small shiver down her spine. Usually, when she heard the others growl, it was out of anger. But she didn't understand why Than-guan would be angry at the moment.
"You, ok? You sound angry." She said.
'No, nothing is ok about any of this!' His mind screamed in frustration.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just...a lot on my mind." He replied.
"Yeah, right there with you. Never thought when I woke up this morning, I'd end up being kidnapped by the Universe's biggest galactic assholes and brought here. Yet here I am." She stated.
He couldn't help but chuckle a little at her remark. Than-guan couldn't help but agree that bad bloods were the biggest galactic assholes out there.
"That's an understatement for them. And in some ways, giving them too much credit." He said.
"Ok, insecure little shits with inferiority complex issues and overcompensate for their small pricks. Is that better?" She smartly replied.
Than-guan couldn't help it. He started laughing at her smart retort.
Kayla listened as his rolling baritone laughter bounced off the cave walls. It wasn't anything like the devious cackles she heard from her captors.
His laughter was smooth and carefree and didn't sound sinister at all.
"Got to hand it to you, human. You're a funny one." He said, once his laughter died down.
She shrugs, "I'll take that as a compliment. Only if you drop the 'human' and actually use my name instead."
Than-guan grins, "Fair enough...Kayla."
When he said her name, it sent a small shiver down her spine. Not in a creepy way but more or less, was a pleasant feeling.
"That's better. But you still never answered my question. Will I be able to get back home?" She asks again.
The hunter's smile slowly drops and was replaced with a look of uncertainty.
"I honestly don't know. Wish I could give you a definite answer, but I can't. Right now, I think the important thing to do first and foremost is to survive.
And the only way for that to happen is I need to kill the rest of the group of bad bloods that brought you here. Because as long as they are alive, we are not safe." Than-guan informed her.
"But...but that's suicide. They're crazy! And no offense, but there is one of you and three of them! And I doubt I'd be able to help you. I barely got out of that attack earlier before you saved me." She exclaimed, not liking his idea.
"I understand that you're afraid. I'm not asking you to put yourself in danger. But while we are here with them, it will happen. That's why it's best I look for them before they come looking for us.
There maybe three of them. But I've been in fights where I was outnumbered before, and still came out on top. I'm a very seasoned and skilled hunter and fighter. And not so easy to take down. I know, because many others have tried.
It's because of my impressive skills, my status was about to move up from Blooded to Elite soon. And most could only ever imagine working hard to get to that high status. And it's not easy." He said.
It was true too, before this whole mess went down and he was framed, the high Elders were talking to him about elevating his position to Elite. They were impressed by his skills and determination. And the fact that he brought down numerous deadly prey when most couldn't. Not without being maimed, mutilated, or dying in the process at least.
Now, unless he can find the bad blood responsible and bring him to justice, it will never happen. And he will spend the rest of his life trying to track down the culprit or die trying.
'I know you're out here somewhere you cowardly bastard. And I will find you. No matter how long it takes.' Than-guan thought.
While at the same time, Kayla couldn't help but think her life is over. And that there was no way she was getting off this world alive. It pained her too to know that her family will never know what happened to her or where she went.
No doubt, they were most likely besides themselves with worry right now.
"I still don't understand, why they chose me. I mean I wouldn't wish this on anyone. But still, I don't know why it had to be me. It's just so...wrong and unfair." She said, barely above a whisper.
"No one can begin to understand a bad blood's actions. And that is why they have been known to be very unpredictable. It's part of what makes them dangerous. Whether they targeted you by random or just happened to be convenient, we'll never know. The important thing is, you're still alive, and at the moment, safe." He assured her.
"Yeah, at the moment. And that's what scares me. Still could be dead whether it be minutes, hours, days, or months from now. The scariest thing is not knowing." Kayla replied.
"Thinking about it constantly won't help either. I know it's hard, but you got to push this fear aside. Because the fear and panic will get you killed. And you need to remain focused and alert." Than-guan told her.
'Focused and alert. With three large alien psychos hunting you. Easier said than done, big guy.' She sarcastically thought.
"I don't even have a weapon to protect myself with." She muttered under her breath.
"If we ever find ourselves surrounded, I'll lend you one." He said.
Kayla was surprised he even heard her. Must have some pretty damn good hearing.
"I doubt I'd know how to use your strange arsenal of weapons." She stated.
"The combi stick, and short sword aren't that hard to utilize and don't look that much different from human spears and swords. You shouldn't have a problem trying to use them." Than-guan replied.
Perhaps, but still, she never used a weapon before. Even when she was taking Jui-Jitsu, she only learned grappling and some basic hand to hand combat. But never were weapons involved.
'Well, I guess there is a first time for everything. And people have been known to pull off some incredible shit when their lives are on the line.' She thought.
"If you say so." Kayla said.
Than-guan didn't respond to that though. He was just about finished skinning the body.
"Hey, Midnight? Just...what do you plan on doing with that body after your done skinning it? You're...not going to eat it are you?" She asks.
He almost choked on his own saliva.
"Paya, no! We maybe many things. But we're not cannibals." He blurted out.
"Then what are you going to do with it?" She repeated.
"What we usually do, is hang them from a tree. Was going to do that with it a few miles from here. And most likely place the head on a stick as a warning." He told her.
Kayla wrinkled her nose in disgust. But hey, he was the 'hunter' here. And while she was tempted to run away from him after they left the camp, she still knew she was better off and safer with him.
"I don't have to come with you for that do I? I was hoping to get some rest while here. After all, I wasn't kidding when I said, I was tired." She said.
"You can stay here and rest, while I take the body and head out. I'll be back shortly." He informed her.
Than-guan then stood up and collected the body, throwing it over his shoulder. He went to grab the head and paused; his gaze shifted to the ooman female.
He just had a fleeting thought. And while he didn't really like the idea, it was the right thing to do. The hunter wasn't expecting anyone to find her here.
As far as he knew, he was the only one that knew of this cave. The wall of water in front of it disturbed their heat signatures for those who may try to look in from the outside.
And if by some crazy chance, he ran into them and didn't make it back, he didn't want her to be completely defenseless.
Kayla heard a sharp metallic sound of metal grinding against metal.
She saw something long, thin, and metallic out of the corner of her eye hanging suspended midair next to her where she still sat. The young woman shifted her gaze and jumped a little when she saw what looked like a sword being held out to her.
Her eyes traveled up the hand clutching it and followed a dark, muscled arm up to his mask. He nodded and gestured for her to take it.
Kayla took it with some hesitation. and brought it down to her side by her crisscrossed legs.
"I don't expect anyone to find this hiding place. But if they do, at least you have a weapon to defend yourself with." He told her.
She nodded, "Thank you. And...try not to take too long out there."
"Why? You missing me already?" He teased.
Kayla snorted, "Sure, can't you tell? I'm barely holding back tears right now."
"Admit it, you know you'll miss me while I'm gone." He continued to tease her.
"You always joke like this when you know you can possibly die out there?" She says.
"Yep." Than-guan said.
The way he said it, Kayla was finding it a little hard not to let out a small chuckle. She had to look away from his face so he wouldn't see her smiling.
"Ok smart ass, get that thing out of here. It's starting to stink. And try not to get yourself killed in the meantime." Kayla stated.
"So, using the body fluids as a cologne is a no go then?" He joked.
"NO!" She blurted out loudly, her voice echoing off the walls.
This just made Than-guan laugh.
"Was kidding. It does smell pretty vile. I'll take it out now. Try not to mind the pile of filleted skin a few feet behind you. I'll throw it in the water when I get back." He said.
"Unless you want to do me a big favor and toss the skin over the edge into the water yourself." He jokingly added.
"Forget it! I'm not touching that steaming pile of gore! That's your job!" She quipped.
His chest continued to rumble as he laughed. Then he grabbed the head behind him and jumped into the water.
Kayla barely had time to look away from the skinned body on his shoulder as he waded through the water with it and the head in his other hand.
Once he was gone beyond the wall of falling water and was out of sight, she laid down on the soft moss.
She pulled the sword up next to her and kept her hand clutched around the handle. And closed her eyes. The falling water created a kind of white noise that gradually put her to sleep.
Until Next Time ;)