Predator: Huntress - Alpha

Chapter 21

Shades of green rushed past her. Dark fern leaves whipped past mixing with the verdant greens of creeping vines and hanging limbs. One moment she had been reaching for the hunter and the next she found the world upside down and spinning as he grabbed her and threw her with a roar into the lush underbrush. The ground met her back hard, but her suit absorbed the impact. A warning light flashed on her HUD, automatically targeting the massive airborne figure launching towards her, ready to land next to her to end this fight.

Justice grinned. She wasn't ready to end this just yet.

She was up just before Jarak landed with a heavy thud. Ignoring his roar, she diverted the power in her suit and kicked him, landing square in his chest. She caught a glimpse of surprise in his deep inset eyes as the force of the assault sent him reeling back. Her assumption was correct. The giant brawler-class yautja shirked defensive strategies, used to simply taking blows, knowing most would have no real effect on him. Well, he was wrong today, she thought excitedly as she ran with the aid of her repulsors at her back allowing her to close the distance between them with blinding speed.

Just as Jarak began to regain his balance she was there, swiping her metal claws at the massive yautja. Justice felt her fingers skim across the hard planes of his chest lightly scoring the skin before catching on the tribal pauldron.

Within her helmet she smiled. She would be taking one more pauldron as her--

The screen in her helmet lit up red as a pressure around her neck appeared. Gathering himself far faster than expected Jarak caught her around the neck and snarled at her. The beast ignored the electrical pulse her suit emitted as a defensive tactic. A message blared at the forefront of her HUD as she felt her back slam into the base of thick tree. It wanted to increase the voltage--she denied it.

Holding her nearly off the ground, Jarak leaned forward giving off a rumbling growl as he stared at her helmet.

"You will submit, mate," Jarak warned and Justice closed her eyes at the shuddering warmth of his voice that washed over her.

She had missed him so much. Every day of his absence felt like someone slowly stripping away a part of her soul.

"And if I didn't want to end this battle so soon?" her voice taunted as she grabbed the wrist of the hand restraining her.

A glimmer of gentleness glinted through his eyes and she watched the readouts on her display tell her the pressure around her neck decreased slightly. "I have no desire to hurt you," he spoke.

"Nor I, you," she tossed back tartly, but she knew the fight within her was dissipating. Images of Bor leading out her mammoths returned to her and her heart swelled. He had taken Rakkah's ship and Bor, only to fight through insurmountable odds just to get her things that meant the most to her.

Lowering her guard, her hand dropped away from his wrist and she sent out the appropriate permissions in her suit.

A bright blue seam of light trailed down the front of her silver armor and reflected onto Jarak's tough hide. She watched as his beady pupils contracted before dilating. Letting her go, to stand on her own feet, he looked down at her suit with predatory wonder. The thick black claws of his hand clacked against her suit before following the seam's path. Carefully he found the seperated groove just beneath her chin and pulled until her helmet came off with a gasp of pressurized air. Letting the helmet piece fall from his hand, Jarak ignored it as it took flight back through the jungle, back to its original mooring.

Face to face now they stared at one another. Her pulse pounded as she noticed the tiny scars scattered amongst his shoulders and chest. Blood once bright green was dark and crusted along their scoring tracks. These were not scars made by her. As his hands tracked the helpful blue seam again and pulled away a part of her chest plating, she ran her hand over a deeper scar at his flank.