Survival

Chapter 7

It took two days to reach their destination. As they crept over the ridge they were greeted by a massive mound...a hive. Before they had reached the hive they had encountered the bugs here and there, each time having Nina test her skills against the formidable beasts. She succeeded but it was no easy task, Wahkan had marked her forehead with the symbol of his clan with one of her kills it encouraged her to do her very best with such an honor by her mentor. She was now blooded.

It was quiet, eerie at the entrance of the hive. The time had come, instead of fear she felt adrenaline, excitement. Slowly they entered into the dark, she adjusted her bio-vision to the proper heat signature just as she had been taught. The smell was putrid, stinging her nostrils, it was hard to control herself not to gag. She followed close behind him scanning the walls and roof, nothing so far. Stealthy they roamed until Wahkan threw his hand up and stopped. Ahead laid a lair of eggs he had warned her about. Their movements would trigger the large pods, so he led them down a different corridor. The hair stood up on the back of her neck, slowly she looked upwards, grabbing her bow quickly she shot, down came the bug nearly landing on herself and Wahkan. It screamed and squirmed on the ground before she silenced it with a hard slice to the head. Growling Wahkan turned his head down the corridor, pounding and screeching could be heard. The hoard had been alarmed.

The hall filled with the beasts from top to bottom. Nina shot as many as she could with her bow while both plasma cannons sounded off at whatever squirming target they locked onto. Many fell but more came. The first bug reached Wahkan, jumping towards him but he caught the monster by the throat. It clawed and flailed desperately, it's inner jaw snapped wildly at the Yautja warrior. Wahkan stabbed the beast over and over again spilling its entrails throwing its dead form to the side. He released his scimitar's and rushed into the hoard, Nina followed. The Yautja cut through the advancing creatures as effectively as cannon blasts , a dozen enemy fell in the first wave, slashed apart. One had managed to tear through Wahkan's Armor, stabbing the beast through the head with his wrist blade Wahkan discarded his armor, continuing his battle.

A bug dropped onto Nina so hard it knocked her to the ground. Quickly she shoved her spear across the creatures mouth enabling it to launch its jaws to her head. She fought desperately to free herself from it fearing now that this time she'd loose. The bug was launched from her, freeing her. Wahkan had grabbed it by the tail and flung it into the mass of attacking bodies. She sprung back to her feet in time to impale another attacker. They seemed to dance through the mass of Serpents as Wahkan called them. Nina was quick, nimble and agile in her fighting skills, using her knife and spear thankful for the armor and its protection of some of the acidic blood spatter.
Wahkan was something else altogether. It was as if he used gravity as his own plaything, jumping through the air to meet bugs mid-leap, slashing them apart and using the momentum of their impact to change direction, dropping gracefully to the ground and attacking again. There were no wasted movements. If the bugs were nature's perfect killing machines, then the Yautja were their perfect counterparts.
They fought for what felt like an eternity, until Nina speared the last bug from the wave, tossing it to the side. She looked up at Wahkan, glowing blood seeped from gashes that seemed to unfaze him. No armor but his mask, sword and wrist blade, he was the beast in which nightmares were made of, and she admired him. Together they caught their breath before continuing... they had won the battle but the winning the war was to remain to be seen. Finally they pushed forward down in the darkness, a new battle was about to begin.

Photo credit to artist Mist O