Seasons

Jones was frowning as he spoke into the small black reciever.

"She did what?"

The shorter man sitting beside him raised a brow, Jones shaking his head.

"I leave for a few hours and you let her feed him?" there was silence for a moment before his fist thumped against the car seat. "Don't hand me excuses God-damnit! You're security! Just because he talks to her doesn't give her any authority. She's just some dumb woman whose Uncle owns billion dollar industries... Her role in this is rapidly coming to a close. Now watch her and don't let her leave the room... Think you can handle that?" With that he shut the device off, flipping it shut.

Gary watched him with a certain amount of caution. His friend had never liked to indulge in his temper, but everyone knew it was there waiting... lurking behind the soft eyes and the calm low words; words uttered from a mouth that was almost always smirking with some sick amount of amusement.

The shorter man brought his hand up to his hair, sifting through the gradually thinning locks and sighing.

This had to be worth it. The way Jones was exercising precautions about this thing.. it just had to be worth it.

_______


Night was just beginning to fall when K'tch suddenly awoke. He was surprised to see the small female sitting beside him, watching him.

He sat up slowly, wondering what she was thinking.

She leaned closer, speaking suddenly.

"You're going to kill everyone... aren't you..." she whispered, arms around herself, expression indifferent.

He was silent.

Why the hell was she asking him that. He would kill whoever armed stood in his way. If that was everyone, so be it. His eyes narrowed as he sensed her worry.

Why was she looking at him like that. Did she really need an answer? Either way he wasn't going to back down on his personal hunt. He lifted a mandible. He owed her, but not a straight answer. Ugh... why was he even bothering.

"May..be..." his deep voice was quiet.

She sighed.

"K'tch... please..." she put a hand up to her head in frustration for a moment, rubbing her sore temples before focussing on him. She leaned a little closer, vioce soft. "I'll... help you break out so you can get the hell off this planet.. I want nothing to do with you afterward. But just please don't kill anyone else... Please? Not everyone wanted to do this to you."

He grunted. The hunt wasn't something to be bargained. Still... she had done enough to help for him to consider bending his will.. a least a bit.

He made a strange gurgling noise, a soft growl she assumed as his gaze fell before returning greet hers. His next choice of words came as a surprise to himself as well as the woman.

He nodded slowly. "Only...Jones...is mine."

Her eyes widened, ears refusing to believe what they'd heard.

"What?" she whispered quickly, turning to him fully.

He nodded once more.

"Just Jones..."

She swallowed, emotions uneasy. It wasn't rocket-science to conclude why the man was on his hit list. He had been the worst, the most taunting, the most cruel to him... torturing and starving him. She'd be tempted to kill someone who took it upon themselves to torture and starve her.

Still... he was trying to be reasonable.

Trying.

She raised a brow. "You promise not to kill anyone else?"

He nodded once more and she bit her bottom lip.

"Why?" she chanced to inquire.

Just to get that strange look off her face.

She who had chosen to aid him. Why not show her his appreciation by sparing a few idiots. That's all. Nothing more. Why else would he make an exception. She wasn't special. She'd just been useful.

"Well?" she inquired. "Why?"

He looked over at the eager woman once more, gaze piercing. He turned his face away from her quickly. He couldn't find the words to describe the exact meaning of his decision.
...and therefore, was silent.

__________


The look on Gary's face upon beholding the long-skulled creature's remains was priceless.

The other man almost wished he'd had a camera.

Gary circled the tank, thick rough fingers sliding carefully over the glass. It was real.

Hell, it was all real. He had all of five minutes to convince his conscious that it wasn't a dream before the flash of the light above took his attention. He looked suddenly to the man who was leaning against the wall.

Something was wrong.

Jones said nothing as he immediately pulled his gun from the holster and cocked it, back against the wall. His heart was beating fiercely as he recognized the alarm.

His thoughts immediately went to K'tch. There was no way he was going to let him escape.

Not with his secrets and not with Sharon. He looked up to his friend, eyes narrowed.

"That's your cue to evacuate. Now... Make sure everyone's leaving on your way out. I'll catch up with you down at the precinct."

"What are you gonna do?" he frowned.

Jones moistened his lips in anticipation. "I'm gonna go catch the bastard."

Gary nodded, a bit shaken. If somethin' inhuman was on the loose down here, he sure as hell didn't wanna stick around to run into it. Robbers, rapists and murderers were something he could handle.

Hell, at least they were human...

Heart rate increasing, he headed for the door.
There were no words to describe the utter panic in her heart and in her mind. Sharon was positively dumbstruck by how quick the predator was in his ministrations.

The walkie-talkie lay shattered on the floor, the man crumpled beside it unconscious. ...Alive, but unconscious.

She took a deep breath, looking up at the creature standing beside her as he picked the man up, glancing back at the device he'd thrown into the far corner. It was still beeping in slow intervals and he chuckled at the thought. He'd never been the hunter eager to set quick explosives.

He needed his time...

Sharon was standing beside him in shock, thoughts racing.

K'tch really was serious. He was blowing this place to bits.

The first wave of warnings was spoken over the loud speaker, orders for all personnel to evacuate.

Then the droning alarm sounded. K'tch accessed the 3-dimensional map from the device on his arm... studying it for all of 5 seconds before darting off in another direction, Sharon hurrying to keep up with him.

The entire facility was deserted by the time they arrived at the main door. K'tch stepped aside, waiting for the woman. She glanced at him, understanding his silent request before sliding her pass-card through the security. She sighed in relief when the automatic door parted, hurrying toward the exit.

They were almost there, the exit open and only yards from them. She almost allowed herself to calm when a loud shot rang out.

Time seemed to stand still as her eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat.

Her vision momentarily darkened and she lost her balance, falling to her knees, cradling the wound in her right arm. K'tch's gaze darted over to the man responsible.

He immediately dropped the guard he was holding, accessing his utilities quick. Finally allowed to exercise his greatest pleasure, K'tch wasted no time in activating the camoflauge, Sharon trembling in the corner.

He would take care of this.

It was now Jones's turn to sweat as he made a mad dash for cover, reaching for his gun as he ducked behind a lab table.

He didn't get to indulge in the comfort of the weapon for long as it was knocked out of his grasp and he fell to his knees, clutching his broken hand. His eyes were wide as he scrambled to his feet, turning around to face the predator.

K'tch growled in warning, uncloaking his form just to see his reaction. He spread his arms wide, arching his back and bending his knees as he crept toward him, ready to do some serious irreversible damage.

Oh... he was going to get it. K'tch had no gun and neither did Jones.

That meant closer combat. Something he never lost.

Excellent.

Jones grabbed the shattered remains of a nearby beam that had been damaged during a construction project and swung with all of his might. K'tch stepped up to grasp it with his right hand, holding it firm. He applied pressure just to watch the man struggle to meet it but it was no use. K'tch knew that he was stronger than this man.

After pushing the beam completely out of the way single-handedly, K'tch brought his other hand up, fist connecting with the man's jaw roughly.

Jones was thrown back by the force of the blow, eyes wide in shock as he struggled to put some distance between them.

Sharon shut her eyes tight, refusing to witness what she knew was going to happen.

K'tch stepped up to his weakened prey, towering over the man. Let's see how he liked a little torture. He slashed forward with his dark claws, slicing a thin but painful streak across his torso. The man grunted, clutching at the bleeding skin as he scrambled to get away. K'tch was faster but chose to walk slowly, tauntingly until the agent was backed into a corner. Jones used the only weapon he had left, his hands. He balled his right hand into a fist and swung with all of the strength he could muster, landing a blow on the creature's face.

K'tch chuckled, pausing for a moment.

That was it?
This Jones wasn't a very powerful human without his guns or other humans to protect him. He found himself disappointed and he reached forward, hand going about his neck as he lifted him to get a better look, the man's eyes wide with shock. He wasn't so special after all.
That was an insult in and of itself.

Regardless, he had captured him, tortured him..and therefore his head would be most welcome in his collection. He released him, watching him collapse to the floor coughing, straining to get some feeling back into his throat and air into his lungs.

Pity. K'tch extended his wrist blades before he knelt before him once more, pointed tips pressing slowly into the soft flesh of his chest. He laughed a decidedly sinister laugh as Jones struggled.

The difference between this man's torture and his own was simply that Jones wouldn't be walking away from it.

Sharon kept her eyes shut tight, wishing it was over as she tried to apply pressure to the gaping wound in her left arm.

Jones eyes widened further as the blades pressed slowly into his chest. He could feel every inch of their length ripping through skin and muscle, blood pouring from the wound. His breath was caught in his throat for a brief moment of shock, until K'tch pressed further, feeling the blade scrape against the hard sternum.

Feeling a great amount of pleasure, K'tch leaned forward till he was just inches from the man's face, mandibles opening. The deep voice was flat and eerie.

"Diiiieee..." he purred.

He didnt know if it was purely instinct or circumstance when he felt the pulsating of the man's heart against the point that caused the human to cry out. Either way, he wanted the man's vocal submission and terror. Pressing further, he was only too happy to hear it.

Jones screamed long and loud as the blades slowly pushed toward his heart. Within seconds he was dead, Sharon lying on her side, shocked at the pain in her arm.

K'tch breathed a sigh of exhultation, withdrawing the bloody weapon before grabbing the dead man by his dark hair and cutting the head from the body. He didn't have time to polish it up now. He only had about 2 minutes to get his ass outta there before the bomb went off. Keeping this in mind, he roughly attached it to a contraption on his back

The exit was just ahead. He forgot about the guard, unphased by the fact that he would be unable to keep his bargain and spare anyone else.

Instead he ran over to Sharon, kneeling and examining her new wound. Her eyes rolled weakly. He clicked in annoyance. Why did she have to go and get herself shot. He looked back in the direction they had come, remembering his bomb.

Fuck...

He couldn't just let her die here. They were supposed to go their separate ways after he'd blown the lab. It really didn't look like that would be happening he noted as he scooped the faint teary-eyed woman up quickly, racing out of the exit with her.
Sharon blinked through tears, unable to focus on anything in the darkness of the woods that greeted her. Her life was officially ruined. She'd be on America's Most Wanted for the rest of her days for aiding an extraterrestrial killer.

A murderer...

She swallowed. She needed to get it together and fast. She would be no use to anyone, let alone herself just shaking and sobbing in her pain-induced delirium in his arms. She sniffed, face still contorted in grief as she leaned into the creature's chest. Jones had shot her. That damn fool had shot her. There was little more she could do than curse his name in her weakend state. She'd lost a lot of blood already.

K'tch momentarily glanced down at the small creature in his arms, her eyes gradually falling shut. He almost stopped, but he could feel her heart beating... she had a pulse.

He knew she hadn't wanted him to kill that man in the beginning. Perhaps she'd changed her mind after he had hurt her.

It didn't really matter. He'd just made his point that no one would ever be allowed to torture him and live to spread the word.

A warning device beeped. Just one minute left before the bomb he'd left back at the labs went off.

Was he going to make it out of this?

He grunted, where the hell where they? He'd given his small party a signal to meet him following his coordinates. Breaking out was something he could do on his own. Getting far enough away from the explosion was something he knew he'd need a hand with.

He had all of ten seconds to wonder before stopping dead when he sensed a presence. Before him, a form peeled itself out of the familiar camoflauge. He wouldn't have nearly run into him had he been sporting his mask. But that couldn't be helped.

Relief washed over him as he recognized the smaller warrior. He stepped aside, their hunting ship opening and casting an eerie blue light through the woods beyond.

He didn't ask questions or bother to explain, merely rushed toward it and past the other hunter, Sharon unconscious in his grasp. A hand on his shoulder and a dark growl momentarily halted him. He turned around and snapped at the masked warrior.

It didn't matter if they were only expecting him and no new company. He really didn't have time to explain.

Jerking out of the younger warrior's grasp he rushed inside, the other predator following suit.

He reminded himself of the creature in his arms. Too bad, she was just going to have to tag along until it was safe to return her to her planet. He hadn't told her to get hurt and it wasn't his fault by any means.

He strapped himself in quickly with the the small woman. He would need the protection at least until they were in the upper atmosphere.

Within seconds the small ship was in the air, heading toward the unknown... the lab below bursting into flames.