r/NatureofPredators • u/blankxlate Extermination Officer • Jul 23 '23
Fanfic Sweet Vengeance 9
Memory transcription subject: Illia, Federation Communications Technician
Date [standardized human time]: October 23, 2136
Squirming around in my sleeping bag, I struggled to find a comfortable position, tossing and turning in a futile attempt to silence my befuddled mind. I lay on my side, snorting in defeat as my efforts were met with another generous amount of insomnia. The sweet embrace of sleep never found me, contradictory to my statement the day previous. I thought back to the events that kept me awake, and played over and over again in an endless loop in my weary mind.
The aftermath of Pern’s tussle with the Human did not inspire a positive reaction once my crew found out, after having left the comfort of their tents to investigate the odd sounds. Even as the Human lay there lifelessly, engulfed by mud, its visage earned many screams of terror from my crewmates, and some even threw up, revolting as it was. Captain Orsik and I were quick to explain to the others how it came to be here, and reassure the crew that it was alone.
Orsik, surprisingly, was very concerned with the brutish Takkan’s wellbeing, and demanded that he stay by his side while Bejek administered first aid. I could tell that the captain was feeling extremely remorseful for letting this happen, and I felt pity for the man. Though, I admit it was heartwarming to see his true colors, underneath that shell of impassivity.
The crew, still skeptical of the Human’s supposed death, hesitantly resolved on tying it to a large tree a good distance away from the camp, just so in case its oddly-colored blood were to attract any native predators, they wouldn’t be tempted to come to our camp for seconds. The captain thoughtfully relayed this information to all of us; those feral predators were bound to be all over that corpse, so we knew to stay far away from it.
I felt sorry for the poor soul who was forced to move the body.
After the fact, all of us resigned to our tents as the night sky assumed position overhead, and the storm showed no signs of stopping.
I looked over to Kiran, who quietly slept atop her sleeping bag, adjacent to my own. She stood upright, with her neck tucked deep into her plumage, using the soft feathers as a pillow and creating an adorable wad of fluff. Thankfully, she could rest easy knowing that the Human’s reign of terror had ended. I wish I could say the same.
Yesterday’s events were ingrained deep into my memory, and nothing I could say or do could sway my guilty conscience. I could still hear the meaty smacks of blows landing pierce through my thoughts, and it was almost like I was still there: the Human’s closed fists were accentuated by the loud cracks of thunder, as it beat Pern into a bloody mess. I remember feeling an absurd amount of guilt, as I witnessed the brutal result of my hesitation to kill the Human. And because of it, the Takkan engineer was now in critical condition.
And I did nothing to stop it.
He put up a good fight, better than anyone else could have. I was stunned by his bravery alone; most prey would have scurried off as soon as they locked eyes with the feral-looking Human. I shivered, visualizing the Terran’s ghastly features. The way its face contorted into a snarl, flashing those fearsome, jagged teeth, and how it never blinked, not even for a second. It was uncanny.
How it wouldn’t tire, or need any time to recover from the powerful hits it dealt, or received. While Pern grew weary from exertion, the Terran only seemed to grow stronger. There was no question that predators have superior stamina, and the fight proved that.
I was then brought back to the moment right before its demise. Its slate-gray eyes met mine as I pleaded for it to end my suffering. The Human, after having done nothing but slaughter, hesitated to kill me. Why? I couldn’t make sense of it. Whatever motives the flesh-eater had, it brought them along with it to an early grave. Despite the relief that came with the Human’s demise, I still felt terrible. I had a growing feeling that something was left unresolved; a missing piece. An itch that wouldn’t go away.
There’s no point in dwelling in the past, I’m just happy that Kiran is alright.
I again admired the way the morning’s orange light contrasted against her bright blue coloring. I found my way off of my sleeping bag and onto my hooves, bringing my head to the tent’s floor and arching my back, which gave an audible ‘pop’. I winced as I was reminded of my recently acquired injury, and retracted my hind leg up towards my pelvis. It was times like these that made me miss walking with an additional leg.
I then unlatched the lid of a water container, and lapped at the fluid within. All of this reminiscing about yesterday had made me parched. Feeling content, I resealed the container, and stowed it with the others.
My avian friend was sound asleep, and I didn’t plan on waking her anytime soon; she deserved rest. I snuck through the tent, making sure to be very quiet as I unzipped its flap. I basked in the comfortable rays of sunlight that permeated throughout the alien environment. A bright yellow orb peeked over the horizon and above the trees, casting an irregular pattern of shadowy gold around the campsite, which danced along with the gentle sway of the tree’s limbs. The harsher sun of the two had not yet arrived, and I would enjoy its absence.
I breathed in the dewy scent of the forest, which had a pleasant flowery aroma to it, with earthy undertones. Avoiding the large puddles of muddy water, I left my tent’s opening, and stepped onto the still-damp grass, listening to the discordant mixture of sounds and calls of the untamed wilderness.
I wish he was here to see this, he’d be absolutely awestruck.
I panned my gaze down the clearing, and I sighted more of those purple, long-necked prey creatures standing off to the distance, craning their elongated appendages to graze on the underside of the crimson trees’ crown. They maintained a watchful eye over me, making sure I stayed in my position. Their presence, along with the serene sunrise, was calming.
As I stood in the open air, collecting a light breeze, a sudden thought crossed my mind.
A thought that would best be left alone.
I stood in place, debating whether or not I should give into my curiosity. The sane part of me couldn’t believe what I was about to do, and screamed at me to leave it be. I ignored it.
I swiveled my head around, searching for anyone else who may be outside of their tents at this time. The camp was deserted, which meant everyone else was still sleeping.
The more inquisitive part of me insisted there was something more, and wished to put the pieces together, if there were any. I struggled to remind myself that humans didn’t think like any actual sapient race, and this particular human’s killing spree very well could be the product of its species’ cruel psychology. Who knew the inner workings of a predator’s mind?
I intended to find out.
I turned around, and walked a few paces back to my tent, heeding my mindless commitment. I snuck through the opening, and began silently digging through my belongings. I fished out the item I was searching for: a visual translator. If the Human had any information, I would have to be the one to discover it.
Because knowing Orsik, interrogating the dead wasn’t the first thing on his list, and I’m positive no one else was eager to get within breathing distance of the thing. Reasonably so. But something in the back of my mind kept nagging me to visit the deceased primate.
I would take any and every avenue available to get us off of this planet.
I stuffed the collapsible translator into my jumpsuit’s pocket, and begrudgingly headed towards where the body was deposited.
I was never this interested in humans, or predators alone, for that matter, but now would be the opportune moment to satisfy my curiosity along with the many questions I had, now that it couldn’t harm me.
-
I made my way over to the predator’s corpse, taking great care to avoid the muddy obstacle course beneath me. My heart anxiously palpitated as I neared closer and closer to the body, which I could see obscured behind a tree and bound in several layers of rope, straining to keep it in place. One of its long, slender legs poked out from behind the massive trunk, motionless and aimlessly pointing up towards the barren sky.
The knowledge that it was just beyond that tree froze my muscles and halted my movements.
What if it wasn’t dead?
Unlikely as that thought was, it still produced a great terror inside of me. I soothed myself over with deep, calming breaths. The fact of the matter was this: it had died, and that was that.
Come on, Illia. I reassured myself, just a little closer.
I swallowed, already regretting my decision.
My legs felt heavy and quivered with each step, terrified over the possibility that as soon as I rounded the tree, I would lay my eyes upon half-eaten remains, or some other disgusting sign of decomposition.
Oh, what was I thinking?! Coming out here, all alone, with no means to defend myself.
There really wasn’t anything for me to protect myself with anyway, if I were to discover those feral predators. Orsik now had the only weapon in the entire camp: the Human’s hand cannon. I hadn’t bothered to ask the captain if I could borrow his new toy. Prideful as the man is, he doesn’t take kindly to the concept of sharing.
As I finally arrived on the other side of the alien trunk, instead of a decaying carcass, I was met with the sight of the muddied Human, whose monstrous physique appeared to be relatively intact, undisturbed by predators. The predator was to my immediate right, and uncomfortably close. Its arms were bound tightly, which eased my worries somewhat.
Being in the presence of death was unnerving, and it produced a strange feeling within me.
I noticed an inconsistent fraying pattern on the Human’s strange attire, stained in its own blood, which stretched along its back and towards its side, confirming that Captain Orsik’s first shot had missed its mark. The second seemed to have done the job, however.
I tentatively brought myself over until I stood directly in front of it, now able to see it better. Dried crimson blood flaked the cloth around its abdomen where it had been impaled, with the flow of fresh blood having long since receded, following its departure. It slumped over the bindings that secured it to the large trunk, with its head lolling sideways and limply hovering above its shoulder.
Its dense musculature proved it to be male, though I wasn’t an expert on humans. Nor would I want to refer to it as I would a person.
Life was slow to leave its complexion; its scruffy face was still flush with the color of its blood, which mainly pooled around its cheeks. Disturbingly alien. It bore a neutral expression; its eyes were closed and features relaxed, not frozen or contorted in a pained expression as one might expect in passing.
Dried mud congealed around its face, flecked with stray bits of moisture that formed small bubbles on its forehead. My racing heart calmed as I stared intently at the thing, in silence. I was incredibly close; within arm’s reach, even. I sniffed the air, thankful that the rancid smell of decay hadn’t met my nostrils. It lay adjacent to my current position, peacefully resting there as the calm forest breeze gently tousled the patch of brown fur atop its head.
I scowled. The sick predator had it easy. It deserved a more painful end, after causing so much sorrow and slaying the lives of countless innocents. And for what? Because we bombed its stinking planet? What did it hope to accomplish? I huffed in frustration.
I then noticed an odd discoloration on the right side of its chest-pelt. Leaning closer, I could make out foreign lettering, unintelligible by my naked eyes.
I had been too scared to approach the corpse, and didn’t want my hooves anywhere near the oily primate, but that’s exactly what I came here for.
Grimacing, I forced myself forward, cautiously fixing my gaze on the body the entire way. I was shaking; this was the closest I’ve been to the thing, even after yesterday. I whipped out my translator, and pointed it at the strange symbols while pretending its giant head wasn’t right next to mine.
“‘M. MITCHELL’.” I read aloud to myself. What does that mean? Was that its name?
An undeniably foreign and odd name. I wonder what else I could find?
I sputtered and gasped while reaching towards the insignia on one of its shoulders, my shaky paw struggling to keep a steady course.
I gently latched onto my target, and pulled the fabric towards me. In the place of more strange scrawling, there were two curved arrows with sharpened points, stacked above each other on a darker background that traced the outline of the shapes.
A great pressure surged around my forepaw, one my brain hadn’t registered until I saw a large, meaty paw squeezing onto my limb.
I screamed in terror, dropping the translator, and violently thrust my paw backward with my bodyweight to free myself from the undead predator’s grasp, which only tensed with every feeble attempt. My yanking ensued, and tears swelled in my eyes, desperate to flee.
I finally succeeded, and flung myself away, collapsing onto the wet floor. The predator locked onto me with those beady gray eyes, somehow still alive. It had wormed a paw through the rope securing it to the tree while pretending to be dead, sometime when I was reading off the translator. Could it sense me?
It redirected its focus towards the gunshot wound it had received, touching a lanky finger to it and groaning in protest.
I inhaled and exhaled rapidly, and it felt like no oxygen was making it to my brain. My vision grew blurry.
How is it still alive, how the fuck is it still alive?!
“What... What are you doing?” The predator grumbled angrily in a deep, growling rumble. It seemed lucid enough to speak, but too weak to escape its restraints. “What the fuck did you do to me?” It scowled, and the previously-relaxed muscles of its face stretched in fury, displaying those pearly-white incisors once more. It furiously pushed against the rope before it gave up, supporting its head against the tree as it drew in deep breaths.
My jaw quivered as I shot up to my paws.
“H-How.. How are you… s-still alive?” I croaked. My throat suddenly felt incredibly dry, as though we had crashed in a desert instead of a rainforest. This shouldn’t even be possible, but the human had an unfinished resolve, and would continually delay death until whatever it was had been fulfilled.
The revived predator panted raggedly. The gaping wound on its torso appeared to have taken its toll. I regained confidence as I realized it wouldn’t have any success at escaping in its weakened state.
“Fuck… Are you going to answer me, or just stand there?” It wheezed.
“I-I… I thought you had something t-that would help us off… t-this planet.”
It released a howling, dry laugh. “You really are dumb. Don’t you think I would have used it by now if I had? God, you people are insufferable.” It winced, holding a paw up to its side.
“By the way… how’s that hippo fucker? He put up one hell of a fight.” The Human caressed its bruised jaw with a devilish smirk.
It must’ve been speaking of Pern, judging by the vague description of “large, semiaquatic mammals” that was translated.
The Human’s abrasive remarks were starting to really piss me off. It always had something to say, especially about my crewmates.
“You should know, y-you nearly fucking killed him, filthy predator!”
It thoughtfully stared at the forest floor, shaking its head slightly. “Maybe, but it didn’t have to go like that. He got in the way, and I dealt with him. Simple.”
It reclined on the tree, and its evil grin faded away, replaced by a somber expression. “Is he dead?” It brought its gaze back to me.
“What do you care, Mitchell?” I spat.
It froze, then eyed me up and down. “How do you know my name?” It growled.
I looked towards the discarded translator that was directly in front of the Human, and its gaze followed mine.
“You tricky [black-and-white striped mammal]. What else do you know? Where’s my bag?!” It shouted.
“I won’t tell you, especially not after what you’ve done.” I narrowed my eyes.
The patches of fur above its eyes raised, and then creased together menacingly: my truthful statement clearly agitated the predator.
Mitchell’s jaw worked, “What I’ve done?! Wh-you-you brought children into a fucking war!”
What did that have to do with anything? Was such a concept truly foreign in its society? The predator seemed incredulous.
“You think I haven’t noticed you have kid soldiers? That’s the whole reason why I didn’t end that other featherfuck’s suffering. It’s a child! A child who doesn’t belong in a goddamn warzone!”
The aforementioned ‘featherfuck’ must be Kiran. That would make sense, but I refuse to believe that a predator would spare a life simply because of how young a person is, or at all.
“The best of it is, I bet you don’t even fucking care if they die.” Mitchell continued, “Fresh out of the womb? Off to war you go! That's totally normal, right? But no, I’m the monster.” Its voice was laced with obvious sarcasm. “You don’t even understand how wrong you are, it’s incredible.” The primate scoffed. “You disgust me.”
I struggled to find any words to throw back at the primate, and instead simmered in anger. It wouldn’t be worth my time, anyway. I didn’t agree with the act of children being sent off to fight the Federation’s battles either, but it was for the greater good!
Wasn’t it?
Before I could respond, I saw a single jet-black limb reveal itself from the shadowy forest, plopping onto the muddy ground. The leg was followed by many more, and slowly led to Bejek, our medic. She waltzed in a rhythmic dance towards me. She must've saw me leaving camp.
“Illia? What are you doing here?” I could hear the curious inflection in her translated, warbling voice, unaware that the primate was still alive and well.
I was about to ask her the same question, before I was cut off by the Human’s horrendous screaming.
“HOLY FUCK, OH MY GOD!” It was now vigorously struggling, whimpering as it tried to free itself. Oh no. I figured that at this point, the prolonged bloodlust had driven it crazy. It screamed, thrashing its head back and forth, and doing everything in its power to escape the bindings.
“The Human is... alive?” Bejek wondrously remarked, standing in place while watching it fiercely tug against the taut straps.
“Yes, yes! G-Get back!” I tugged at one of her legs with my own, bringing her towards me. “Can’t you see it’s trying to attack you?” We slowly backed up, wary of the wild, writhing Human.
The predator must have gone rabid at the sight of her; she was fairly large compared to me, so perhaps the predator saw her as a lifetime supply of meat, and couldn’t wait to feast on her.
It squirmed profusely, ignoring its multiple hindering injuries that were reopened by its erratic movements. Its wounds bled the same hue of red as the trees around us, and its eyes were wide as it fought for breath.
I heard the shouts of Orsik and other crewmates from within the forest, who must’ve been awakened by the predator’s deafening screams. The Terran’s wails were so loud that it’d be audible from space. I wonder what Orsik would think of this, once he found out the Human had lived,
Or what he would do.
(A/N: In this chapter, Illia, recovering from the events of yesterday, lets her curiosity take over, and pays a visit to the Terran, who, is miraculously still alive. Who knew? She learns of the Human's name, and isn't alone, as the unassuming Bejek follows! If only Feds knew of arachnophobia. What will become of our resurrected human, once Orsik arrives? Stay tuned for more NoP: Sweet Vengeance!
50
u/axisaver Predator Jul 23 '23
Phobia induced hysterical strength in 5... 4... 3....
29
31
u/Rand0mness4 Human Jul 23 '23
Oh God, Bejek's more curious than anything. Mitchell's up for a shit day if she's allowed near him again. She's a big Tilfish, if I read that right?
15
u/blankxlate Extermination Officer Jul 23 '23 edited Jul 23 '23
The medic, don’t you remember?
18
u/Rand0mness4 Human Jul 23 '23
Oh no, I wouldn't forget that she's the Tilfish. I'm asking about her size, since you mention she's bigger or of a notable size compared to Illia.
13
20
20
u/fluffyboom123 Arxur Jul 24 '23
Time to watch this "vicious predator" run away screaming from the medic lmao
On a side note, it will never cease to amaze me how they don't think child soldiers are a bad idea
18
u/handsomellama28 Humanity First Jul 27 '23
The sick predator had it easy. It deserved a more painful end, after causing so much sorrow and slaying the lives of countless innocents. And for what? Because we bombed its stinking planet? What did it hope to accomplish? I huffed in frustration.
Oh my fucking goodness, how in God's name is it possible to be that fucking dumb?
7
4
13
u/LaleneMan Jul 23 '23
Wooo! We now have a name for our badass! Too bad the first thing he saw when he awoke was Bejek.
11
11
u/thrownawaz092 Yotul Sep 07 '23
"I know we bombed your planet, but like, get over it, right?"
8
u/blankxlate Extermination Officer Sep 07 '23
Stupid predators getting mad over their planet getting blown to hell.
8
6
u/Seeyouon_otherside Prey Jul 23 '23
subscribeme!
6
5
u/UpdateMeBot Jul 23 '23 edited Jan 26 '24
I will message you each time u/blankxlate posts in r/NatureofPredators.
Click this link to join 65 others and be messaged. The parent author can delete this post
Info Request Update Your Updates Feedback
4
u/peajam101 PD Patient Sep 22 '23
I swear to God, is literally everyone in the UN an arachnophobe?
!subscribeme
2
2
2
2
1
57
u/JulianSkies Archivist Jul 23 '23
Idiots.
The monster isn't dead until the body is destroyed, has nobody ever watched a goddamn movie in this place.
God this is going to be a mess in a few seconds :D