Dreaded Waters [A Predator Story]

Alternate Chapter 2: Aftermath

"<YOU. LET. THEM. LIIIIIVE!?>"
The roar from Flint's outburst nearly shook the cave around them enough to send bits of stalactites crumbling down from the roof.
"<How about roaring a bit louder, 'boss'?>" Hu'Kuo sarcastically quipped, dusting off some limestone from his pauldron. "<I'm not in the mood to die from a cave in.>"
Flint responded with a powerful kick to a cluster of stalagmites, sending a few skulls the Yautjas had mounted on rolling across the gravel.
"<ARRRG! Do you have any idea what you've done, Hu'Kuo!? Those divers are probably on their way to alert the insurgents of our location. Our base is soon to be compromised along with our mission!>"
This made Hu'Kuo rapidly click his mandibles in amusement. Flint, as paranoid as he was about humans discovering their location, wasn't in the mood to yuck it up.
"<Good gods, you're hysterical!>" Hu'Kuo chuckled whilst picking up one of the skulls on the ground and turning to a more serious tone. "<You honestly think you're post is compromised? Get a fucking grip on yourself. Those three don't strike me as the kind of humans who'll alert the savages you've skinned alive.>"
Flint growls and grunts with frustration.
"<And how do you know, smartass?>"
"<Because I've been watching them from the moment they set off my perimeter sensors outside! They're explorers, like me when I'm not on the hunt...>"
This makes Flint cross his arms in question. Judging by Hu'Kuo's voice and the way he was holding the skull in his hands, Flint could tell he has taken a shine to the divers -- or perhaps one of them.
"<Oh ho ho! You fancy these lesser creatures now? Or is it you the female leader I almost squeezed the life out of? >" Flint taunted.
Hu'Kuo snarled and grabbed Flint by the throat and slammed him hard against the cavern wall, making the interior shake more than Flint's roar!
"<AAAARGH!! What!? Did I strike a nerve?>" Flint proceeds to taunt. "<I wonder what your mate back on Yautja Prime will think of this?>"
Hu'Kuo roars furiously into Flint's visage before tossing him to the gravel floor. Huffing and growling with each second, Hu'Kuo removes his Bio-Mask. Revealing his monstrous grimace and flaring all four mandibles, Hu'Kuo berated Flint for nearly violating the Honor Code.
"<You dare threaten me? After that stunt you just pulled!? I have half a mind to take this...>"
Hu'Kuo effortlessly crushes the skull in his hand and reveals the surveillance device that was implanted inside the dome. Flint's eyes spread out along with his mandibles in a mixture of both shock and fear. If Hu'Kuo gets the footage to the Elders back on their home planet, then Flint's reputation, status, and rank get expunged leading to his exile on a game preserve planet to be hunted like the humans he indiscriminately thought of as worthy prey.
"<Wait!! Wait, let me make you a deal, Hu'Kuo.>" Flint proposed, showing his flaccid side now that Hu'Kuo has proof of his needless savagery. "<I, uh, I want to know if those humans for a fact don't pose a threat to us. Observe their movements and if they look like they're not gonna alert the insurgents, then you don't show what you have on that device. Are we in an agreement?>"
For Hu'Kuo, this was absolutely satisfying to see his high-and-mighty employer beg for his reputation. At the same time, Hu'Kuo felt some remorse for the divers nearly losing their lives - particularly Kim who was injured in the encounter. Thinking this over for a bit, Hu'Kuo decided to take up Flint's offer.
"<Very well then. I accept.>" Hu'Kuo agrees, putting his Bio-Mask back on and then activating his shoulder-mounted Plasmacaster with the laser sight aimed at Flint's chest. "<But if I see you or Saxon interfere with my reconnaissance, then I test out my latest upgrade: one where I control the trajectory of the blast!>"

A great distance away from the Mayan pyramid, a rental Jeep was pulled over to the side of the road. The rain had stopped and the afternoon sun was setting. Inside the jeep were the three American divers who just barely escaped the limestone caverns where the Yautja base camp was stationed. Donny and Tamara had just finished stitching up Kim's wound in the backseat of their vehicle and now the latter was resting on the former's lap after screaming painfully from the searing sensation of having alcohol applied to disinfect her side.
"Nnnngh...Ohhh... God that hurts." groaned Kim, clutching Donny's hand tight. "Hey...babe...h-how do I look now?"
They had to partially remove Kim's wetsuit so First-Aid could be properly administered. Donny held Kim's hand firmly to his chest before I leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. The two shared a brief moment of silence before Tamara suggests they should find a clinic.
"Tam, I like that idea. But what are we gonna tell the doctors?" Kim asked, sitting up with Donny sustaining her back. "That we were attacked by humanoid underground creatures with... tentacle dreads and spears?"
"We'll make something up!" Tamara insisted.
"And if that's not enough?" Donny interjected, firmly clutching Kim's shoulders. "Even if we told the truth, I'm not spending the rest of my life in a Belizean psych ward. None of us are!"
The three were in a bind.
Kim has her side slashed and her neck and clavicle bruised with strangulation marks. Even though she's patched up, Kim is still visibly shaken from her near-death experience. Right now, their only focus is to put much distance between themselves and the dangerous Predators they've encountered.
Donny then opts to get out of dodge by taking refuge at the Inn they're residing for their stay in Belize.
"You sure about this?" Tamara asks, wary of this decision.
"Yes, I'm sure. There we can treat Kim's injury better, recover, and decide what to do next. I'm not exactly sure if we can count on the local doctors here, plus my Spanish is 'Muy malvada'."
Placing a hand on his wrist in support, Kim nods.
"I have to agree with Donny." Kim nodded with a groan. "We head back to the Inn. I really need a shower and to get out of this wetsuit before my wound gets infected by something in the water."
With a heavy sigh, Tamara agrees. But only for Kim's sake.
Getting back in the driver's seat, Donny restarts the Jeep and drives onto the road in the direction of their lodgings. As he drove, Tamara took charge of Kim by having her rest her head on her shoulder. Then, Kim concentrated on regaining oxygen back in her lungs through slow and deep intakes of air during the ride to the Inn.