Predator: Survivor

Chapter 28

Her ears wouldn't stop ringing.

Izara lifted her hand to rub her ear but stopped midway. Her hands and arms were covered in greyish-black slime. Under her nails, she could feel the chunks of flesh that tore off from the creature when she fought her way out of its grasp. Lowering her hands, she looked up just as the pod door opened revealing the inside. Behind her she could feel Bor's body heat as he crowded behind her, gently herding her inside. Once inside he practically marched her towards the bathroom.

"You will wash," he commanded.

Even through the shock, Izara wanted to smile at the terse demand. She must look awful. Memories of plunging into the cold seawater while that tentacle tried to squeeze the life out of her drained the moment of levity back out of her letting the shock sink back in.

Nodding she stepped into the bathroom allowing the door to automatically close behind her. She ignored the mirror as she undressed, letting the ruined clothes fall to the floor. Tiredly she stepped into the shower and closed her eyes to the hot spray.

As if waiting around the corner, visions of her clawing and struggling under the water came back. Izara opened her eyes and braced a hand against the metal shower wall. It was as if the thoughts were ensconced in a scream. Her head pounded each time she remembered herself in that terrifying moment. Pushing the thoughts back, Izara hurried and washed herself. Grabbing a towel from the hidden compartment by the door, she paused, looking down at her dirty clothes. She forgot to bring in a change of clothes. She had been so dazed and ready to follow the yautja's lead she forgot about grabbing something to change into.

Wrapping the towel around herself, she hesitantly reached out and pressed the door's sensor. With a whoosh, the door opened revealing a familiar chest.

Izara gasped. Standing inches from the door stood Bor holding a small folded pile of laundry in his hand. How long had he been standing there? Blinking, Izara looked up to his unreadable face and back down to the clothes in his hand.

Silently he pushed the clothes into her hands.

"Thank you," she whispered, plucking the last remaining piece, her bra, from around his thick claws.

Moving past him to the bed, she didn't bother looking at him to see if he was looking before she let the towel drop. She knew he wouldn't. The thought comforted her. Bor was far too honorable to take cheap peeks. Dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top, Izara turned to find Bor at the medical station grabbing the scanner off its charging base.

She walked over to him. "I don't think I need to be examined or-"

Bor turned to look at her and she noticed that he had removed some of his armor wearing only the skirt piece and nothing else. Even his greaves were gone.

"Sit." He pointed a claw to the metal stool.

If she wasn't so mentally spent she would have commented on the sudden influx of commands. Instead, she sat as ordered.

Immediately he pointed the scanner at her, its blue beam running over her making the hairs on her arms stand up. A chime sounded from the pod ceiling.

Grabbing the datapad Bor silently read her report before handing it to her.

"One dislocated rib and lots of bruising," she read aloud. Lifting her shirt she noted the round bruises dotting her body. They were from the suction cups, she realized. Izara shuddered at the thought.

Bor reached for her, his big hand gently grazing her skin. "It is healing."

Izara could hardly focus on his words but instead the feel of his rough fingers gently gliding over the discolored skin. For some reason, the unexpected touch seemed to immediately drain her. An irrational part of her just wanted to throw herself against him and cling to his big frame and possibly cry. The need to be held was suddenly overwhelming.

Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded.

"Come," Bor said, holding out his hand.

She had no clue what he intended but she did not hesitate in obeying. With her hand in his, she followed him as he led her out of the pod and into the night. As they walked silently through the well-worn jungle path a small curious part of her mind wondered if the creature's dead body was still slumped there in the waves on the dark beach. Izara didn't turn to look. She didn't want to remind herself of what happened in the water.

They walked for a few more minutes guided only by the purple glow of the moon until finally they stepped out into the clearing around the secret hot spring.

Izara sighed at the prospect of getting in the water. Her body still echoed with pain from being held in the vice grip of a monster.

Removing his skirt armor until he was dressed in that oh-so-familiar scrap of leather Bor stepped into the milky blue water first and turned to her with an expectant look. For a second, Izara considered taking off the thin shorts and tank top leaving her in her underwear but she shrugged off the notion. Why waste the energy? She could just toss the scraps into the recycler and reprint the clothes again. Exhausted she followed the hunter into the glowing water and let out a pitiful sound as the warm water lapped at her skin.

"Holy stars, I needed this," she moaned as she sank down onto the underwater ledge.

Next to her, Bor let out a grunting noise of approval.

For a few minutes, time simply passed in comfortable silence. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back onto the soft grass behind her. Despite her resistance, her thoughts returned to the attack. Her heart rate increased and she sat up with a frown and looked at Bor. He was staring back at her, waiting.

Her shoulder slumped. Not bothering to ask for permission, Izara leaned to her right until her head rested against Bor's thick arm.

"I th-think something happened when I was snatched," she said staring down at the loose material of her tank top billowing in the warm water.

"Tell me."

"I think I lost myself a little. I-I heard things...I m-mean no, I didn't hear things," she corrected, sitting up straighter as she tried to explain. "It was as If my ears went numb or something. Have you ever had that feeling? When all sounds just go mute and all you can hear is a ringing in your ears?"

Bor nodded.

"That's what happened. It was as if I was passing out or something. I was trying to hold my breath in that cold water. I couldn't see anything," she recounted in a small voice. She had been so scared. The only thing she could think of was that monster dragging her down to the bottom of the ocean and tearing her limbs off. "Every now and then when it would bring me back up I could hear your roars. I knew you were fighting it but..."

Fear like nothing she had ever felt before closed around her throat silencing her words.

Bor's hand lifted from the hot milky water and he held it out steady. Silently, Izara placed her hand in his and watched as his clawed fingers laced with hers. Joined together she felt the reassurance of his solid strength feed into her like an IV and the fear dissipated.

Izara continued. "I was scared out of my mind. Scared it would take me away and kill me. Scared it would grab you or that you would try to follow it into the ocean. Just terrified beyond words and that's...that's when I blacked out," she admitted, recalling that panicked moment when everything inside of her just seemed to shut down. From that point, her memories were a haze of red and incomplete just snatches of time here and there. "I remember my hands going through its skin. Where it had been tough and rubbery before it was easy. My hands seemed to go right through its flesh, ripping it apart. I don't remember much of that. I just know that when I had come around I was in the water, free from its grip and trying to get back to you." She recalled how she had seen Bor pull the heavy spineless creature from the water and onto the land. His whole body had been taut. Every muscle in his big body had strained at the task but he had done it. He had saved her.

Turning in her seat she looked up at him directly, her hand still laced with his under the water. "Thank you for saving me."

"I do not require your gratitude," he said roughly.

She winced at the unexpected words. Confused, she tried to look away so he wouldn't see the hurt in her eyes but Bor reached for her chin capturing it between his fingers. Gently his blunt claws scraped against her soft cheeks as he tilted her head back to look at him fully.

He stared at her, his bright red eyes unblinking, and said. "You are mine. I will always save you."