Predator: Survivor

Chapter 9

The tension between the humans was increasing.

From his position high in the trees, he stood unnoticed by the two human men below. They were talking about the same thing they talked about last night after the girl ate his provided kill over the fire.

"I can't believe she got that fucking monster to hunt for her," the one called Shane growled.

The moment the scent of the cooked meat had made its way to their camp, he had watched the one called Shane grow mad with envy.

"I know," the bigger, dumber man moaned. "I'm tired of eating fruit and those damn dehydrated packs. Why couldn't he have brought us something too?"

The hunter couldn't help but tilt his head to the side at the comment. Do these men have no honor? Were all humans as inadequate as these?

Shane muttered something under his breath he could not determine as he continued to pick his way through the undergrowth of the forest. "All I know is that I'm not going to last much longer with that bitch. Taking our guns, whining about how many goddamn rations to eat, and getting fed fresh meat while we starve! No fuck that."

As expected the dumber one nodded and followed the other human further into the jungle.

They were most likely checking on the rudimentary traps they had fashioned earlier that morning. He had watched from the shadows as they set up various animal traps along the jungle floor. None of them would work, of course. The traps were for the Leporidae and Canidae species not found in this climate. Their disappointment would no doubt incite their anger further towards the strange girl.

Turning around, he took the trees silently back to the beach. The thick maze of canopy was easy to maneuver through, allowing him to follow the growing sound of humming until he found his target. With the top of her jumpsuit peeled down revealing a small black sleeveless shirt the dark haired girl walked along the beach's edge going farther than she had on any other day.

He wacthed her from the jungle's shadows as she eventually made it to the point that interested him the most.

The girl's humming stopped and she stared off across the short expanse of ocean towards the bigger island across the way. For minutes, she stared at it just as he had everyday since coming to this side of the island. There was no comparison to the islands. Even from this vantage point in the trees, one could see the greater size of the other. This island was rockier and the jungle life limited to small creatures whereas the other was a vast tropical landscape filled with the unknown.

Everything in his senses told him there was something dangerous on the other island. It called to the basest part of his nature like a persistant prodding.

Looking down at the woman, he noted her stiff posture and the tilt of her head and he thought about her transformation of anger back on the pod ship when they were plunging into the sea. Did she feel the same sense of danger emanating from that island as he did?

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"Ok, first thing I will do when I get back to the pod is really sit and figure out the system permissions," she explained.

Izara reached for a small cluster of green bananas while keeping an eye on the pink and blue little lizard sitting on a nearby rock. It eyed her as she collected fruit and added it to her makeshift pouch she turned the top half of her jumpsuit into. The creature probably thought she was a misshapen pregnant lady.

Izara laughed and looked at the creature's glossy black eyes. "You've probably never seen a human before, have you? That's the real reason you're so fascinated with me." She paused and considered for a moment and smiled even bigger before giving him a suspicious look. "Or are you trying to figure out a way to eat me?"