My throat burned from this scorching heat and I was caked in sweat. I found some shade and took my jacket off, leaning back against a hard rock wall whilst gasping for air.

I unzipped my pack and almost cried with relief when I found my bottle of water which I had not known I had grabbed to take with me. Okay, so maybe there was a god. I unscrewed the cap and took a little water, saving my precious hoard for later and for Jack.

I swished the water around my mouth as I then slowly swallowed, allowing the water to lubricate my throat and I groaned softly, leaning back with my eyes closed as I put my water away and zipped up my back, breathing deeply.

The others were a little way off, I could only just make out them talking but no distinct words came to mind. Before I could even think about moving, I sensed someone watching me and moving closer, which instantly put me on high alert. I paused before spinning around and lashing out with my foot through the ribcage of the skeleton.

My foot connected with Riddick's gut, slamming him backwards but he snagged my ankle and tugged on it, making me cry out as I was forced forwards and he locked it in place, threatening to break it so I growled and slipped through the ribs, gripping onto one for support as I flicked up my other foot and kicked him in the face, freeing myself. "What do you want you jackass?" I demanded, taking a threatening stance but he said nothing, merely went for me.

I ducked and aimed a punch at him, which I landed on his jaw but pain shot up my hand, making me flinch and yelp but I quickly backed up, staring as Riddick drew his strange looking knife then pressed it to my throat, an arm locking against my chest to pin me down like an iron bar.

Without a word I inhaled deeply, relaxing against him before nodding my head. "Go ahead. It's not like I have anything to live for." He arched an eyebrow at me slightly.

"You're not afraid?"

"No." I answered simply, looking into the dark goggles that he wore. "I'm not afraid of death."

"What about pain?" He questioned, pressing harder into my neck and chest until I couldn't breathe. I watched him carefully, only twitching from time to time as I tried to breathe a little deeper so that I could speak.

"Nothing can hurt me now." Riddick said nothing so I studied his face, which was now so close to mine that I could see every bead of sweat and pore. His nose was straight and rather aquiline, sitting prominently on his face along with a strong jaw, smooth wide lips and altogether, I'll admit that he was damn good looking. Too bad he's a wanted man.

Slowly he leaned forwards, almost touching his face to mine as he tilted his head to the side, nose brushing against my cheek as he then inhaled, smoothly and leisurely taking his time as he moved his nose lower towards the corner of my mouth where a bead of water sat innocently. This was what he breathed in, the scent of water and without warning, his tongue darted out and licked it away, making me gasp and shove at him but his weapon remained firmly against my neck.

"You have water." He told me matter of factly and I smirked.

"What you going to do about it?" I parried. "If you're going to kill me then please, be my guest, just don't stand there like a lemon thinking about it." He gave a low throaty chuckle and the rich sound actually made me smile briefly but only slightly.

"You've got some spirit. I like that." He rested his cheek against mine to whisper in my ear, his hard goggles touching the side of my head as his hot breath brushed into my hair. "Why don't you just come with me? Leave them all behind, only the strongest will survive this planet." I paused, wondering what he could mean by that. I looked at him quizzically before pursing my lips.

"Your reputation does not make me entirely trusting of you." I said to him then frowned. "Why would you want me to go with you? Won't I just be a burden? A liability?" Pausing slightly to read his blank expression I then laughed. "Unless you just want someone to screw over as many times as you please before leaving them to die on some god forsaken planet like this one. Is that is, Riddick? You want some ass?" He smirked slightly.

"I wouldn't exactly say no." Growling sharply I made my move. I flung my arms across the arm holding the blade to my neck to remove it then slid from his grasp, punching him in the ribs then used all my speed and strength to grab his arms and fling him over my head, throwing him off balance before I gripped his knife hand and pressed it to his own neck, snarling.

"Well, I'll let you kill me, but I'll be damned if I'll let you rape me." I went to press the blade into his neck to kill him but his strength won out and he flipped me over, rising up easily and gripping my waist with his knees, crossing his legs over mine to pin them down as he then struggled with my arms.

Putting up as much as a fight as I could for the first few seconds I then went limp, knowing it was useless. I lay there, panting for breath as he loomed over me, a stormy expression on his face as I closed my eyes. "We're wasting energy with this, so I'm not going to bother fighting anymore. There's…there's no point." Sighing softly I gripped his dagger and began to move it to my neck. "Just do me a favour, kill me first before you do whatever the hell you like with my body."

He snatched his hand away then lifted his dagger up high, preparing to bury it into my chest, no doubt, so I exhaled slowly and closed my eyes to await death. When I heard the sharp hiss of the knife being planted into the sand beside me I blinked then turned my head to look at it but Riddick had already grabbed my wrists and pinned them down either side of my head.

"I like my women warm and alive." He murmured in a sinfully husky voice that admittedly sent shivers down my spine. "I like to hear the sounds they make, feel them squirm beneath me." His lips came dangerously close to my ear and I began to struggle, growling but he merely chuckled. "Keep away from Johns. He looks at you like you're a meal."

"Oh and you don't?" In answer he chuckled then reached up, sliding his goggles from his face and instantly I was captivated by his eyes, which were gleaming like a thin layer of pearl had been put over them. They were enticing, in fact they were actually smiling down at me as was his mouth, slightly and rather passively but a smile all the same.

"Lucky for you I like to play with my food before I eat it." He said then reared back after claiming his knife again, leaving me to lay on the ground so I sat up slightly, watching him carefully. Only then did I remember that I had a knife in my boot. Damn it!

Riddick pulled the goggles over his eyes just as Johns and Carolyn called out my name. "Evangeline! Where are you? Are you dead?" How uplifting. Riddick looked at me sharply, melting back into the shadows and preparing to run but I said nothing, merely got to my feet and dusted myself off.

"See you around Riddick." I murmured then turned to leave but his voice caused me to pause.

"Evangeline." The slow rumble of his voice as he pronounced my name made me turn my head back slightly to look at him out of the corner of my eye. "I like that." He flashed me a grin then disappeared completely from sight.

"Damn her, Riddick has probably finished her off. Shame, she was hot." Johns was saying just as I walked out.

"I think everyone is hot, Johns, now watch your mouth." I ordered, walking past. "There's no water here. I'm going back to check on the others." Seeing as I desperately needed more shade and Jack was probably gasping for a drink, I would need to hurry. As I trod through the sand I wondered about the other three boys. Should I share with them too? They were only children after all, it wasn't exactly fair but if someone found out about the water then everyone would be demanding a portion and I just did not have enough.

Damn my conscience! Alright, I'll give the other kids a little water when they get back. Only a little mind. When Jack saw me approaching he waved so I waved back, desperate to get into the shade and take off this jacket. "Angel!" Jack called and I smiled before laughing.

"I'm hardly an angel, kid. You sure you don't want to reconsider the nickname?" He grinned at me so I followed him inside then tore off my jacket, groaning slightly before pulling Jack to the side. "Here, I have water." His eyes widened but I hushed him quickly. "But do not tell the others. I don't have enough for everyone and to be honest, they can all go screw themselves as far as I'm concerned. You and me are going to get of this damn planet together, okay?" He nodded his head then took a careful gulp of water before handing it back to me.

"Why are you helping me? You'd have more if you were on your own and not choosing to let me tag along with you." I paused for thought before shrugging.

"I used to have a family, kid, and I always loved them. I…I can't be alone. I have to have someone to care about." I grinned then ruffled his hair. "And you're just too damn adorable. I like you kid, you're strong and brave, so I'll watch your back if you watch mine and we'll be alright." Jack nodded his head then slowly put his arms around me, hugging me tightly and I did the same.

"Kira." He whispered and I blinked at him in surprise. "My real name is Kira. I'm a girl." Laughing I grinned further.

"Point proven. Come on, I want to check out the cryo chambers, let's see if I can't hook us up with some air conditioning." Jack followed me towards the back of the ship where I then began to look over the chambers, following the connections before sighing. "Well, they're salvageable at least. Jack, can you run and grab me a wrench, a hammer, a blow torch and some small pliers please?" I asked and he nodded his head.

"No problem. Be right back." I smiled at him-no her- as she darted off before beginning to strip back the chambers of the fans, the gas tanks and tubes until I had a healthy pile of material which I began to assemble. Jack came running back with the items I had requested and I smiled.

"Thanks kid." I said, taking the blowtorch then turned it up, waiting until the flame was blue before beginning to seal two parts together.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked curiously, watching from a safe distance as I began to hammer, rewire and torch my hunk of metal before hooking up the tanks and the tubes.

"Seeing if I can't get some air flowing. Help me with these will you?" I lifted up one of the fans then reattached it to a part of the system I was making, holding it up until it was hooked securely onto the wall and when I hooked up the wires and attached it to the air con I had made, I crossed my fingers. "Let's hope this works." I muttered and Jack inched closer as I plugged it in.

Air whooshed through the tubes and out of the grill, forming a cold blast of air which cloaked around Jack, making him shiver. "You did it!" She grinned, lifting her arms and spinning around to get as much cold air as she could.

"Ha! I did it bitches! And they said I sucked at tech class." I smirked with satisfaction then yelled for the others. "Hey you lot! Come over here and cool off will you?" Several people came running but when I saw Shazza covered in blood I stopped and stared. "What happened?"

"There was another survivor but Zeke thought it was Riddick, so he shot him. His blood got all over me." She explained then groaned, practically crawling towards the air con I had hooked up with just a few tweaks and things. "How did you do this?"

"Oh you know, a little tinker here and there, a few bangs and boom, homemade air con." I winked at Jack who grinned.

"Well, as I said, you can survive without the necessities as long as you have a few luxuries." I cocked an eyebrow disbelievingly at Paris, the Earth merchant.

"Whoever told you that was probably drunk or just a complete idiot." I announced then walked back to the head of the ship to help take watch, though I don't know what for, seeing as Riddick would be crazy to come back here.

However when I saw several shapes moving closer, I picked up an abandoned pair of binoculars to look out towards the ocean of sand. "Are they back?" Jack asked, coming to my side and gripping onto my belt as he counted the figures. "Is that…is that Riddick?"

"Yup." I answered, watching him being forced to walk, hands bound with his goggles taken from him so that he flinched away from the sun, completely blind so he stumbled a few times and almost fell but he kept his stride.

The three boys were running ahead, waving their arms at us and shouting in their own language so I couldn't understand a word they were saying, but they were smiling so I could only assume they had found more water. Thank god, now I didn't have to share! Wow, I'm totally a bitch aren't I? Oh well, deal with it.

I helped the boys get back up, grabbing their hands and easily lifting them since they were all skinny and hardly weighed a thing. "Jack, take them to cool down before they faint from this heat." I said to her softly, touching her cheek as I saw the littler one begin to sway on his feet. "Then all of you get some rest." Jack nodded his head then showed the other three the way as I turned and faced the last four adults.

Iman struggled to climb up, his fingers never finding the right grips so I slid down, cupped my hands together then offered him a leg up, helping him the first few feet before he managed to scramble up himself. "Anyone else?" I offered with a slight drawl and Riddick narrowed his eyes, squinting to try and see me so I smirked. "I'm guessing this is the infamous cutthroat Riddick." I paused then arched an eyebrow. "I pictured you to be…bigger, somehow." It was obvious sarcasm and mockery, seeing as Riddick was easily over six foot two with broad shoulders and large muscles but hey, I get lippy when I'm hot, tired and bothered so I didn't even care that he shot me a growl.

I gave Carolyn a boost then let Johns scramble up on his own, going last as he followed Riddick then forced him to be chained up by his hands like a dog. In some ways I guess he was. They told me that he was more animal than human, to which I had replied. "He looks human enough to me, what he's like on the inside though I couldn't care less about." Everyone congratulated me on the air con and basked in it, though I was strict and forced them to turn it off for intervals of time to save the gas.

Whilst they were all busy, I slipped away to see Riddick, carrying a fan that I had knocked together just a few moments prior. I gripped it in my hand, slowly approaching the murderer as his head remained in the shadows. He made no movement to suggest that he knew I was there so I jumped slightly when he spoke. "Come to stare at the animal again?" I winced slightly, knowing that he had been referring to how I had stared at him when I had first seen him in the cryo chamber.

"I came to hook this up for you." I explained then slammed the fan onto a beam of metal, the magnet kicking in as it came into contact so I fiddled with the wires, ignoring Riddick as I knew he watched me. I frowned slightly, unsure why it wasn't working so I took the screwdriver from my mouth and inserted it into the pod, fiddling with a screw to tighten it then rearranged the wires once more, swapping a few in places then turned to the old battery I had scavenged, giving it a sharp kick and the fan guttered into life, turning rhythmically so I sighed and wiped the sweat from my brow.

"Hmm…that's nice." Riddick murmured, leaning back slightly to absorb the cool air that now beat down on him. Glancing to my pack, I stiffened slightly, thinking deeply before exhaling. I was probably going to regret this later.

I unzipped my backpack then drew out the large bottle of water, unscrewing the cap then offered it out to Riddick. "I'm a little tied up." He spoke smoothly, the edge of his tone laced with a growl which almost sounded like a purr. I inched closer. "Not afraid are you?"

"Cautious." I corrected. "I'm not an idiot. I know you could still kill me even with your hands tied up like that." He chuckled then inclined his head.

"True. Come closer." I did, taking a bolder step before leaning forwards slightly and offering the rim to him but he did not take it. "More." I shot him a look but relented, taking another step so that I easily pressed the bottle to his lips and tipped it up for him. He drank the water in silence, his gleaming eyes resting on me and I struggled not to look away from them. "Now you." Riddick stated quietly as I then pulled the bottle away, deciding that he had had his fair share.

"I'm not thirsty." I took the cap and began to twist it back on when Riddick suddenly stood and loomed closer.

"Drink." I glared up at him, not backing away.

"The kids need it more than I do."

"They found water. Now drink." His commanding tone almost made me tremble but I fought against it, hiding my pang of fear with more anger.

"They don't know if it is safe yet." For a moment he said nothing but reached his head down, letting his lips brush against my ear as I just stood there, unable to move. I didn't want to pull away because that would give him the indication that I was afraid, so I just stood my ground.

"You're going to faint unless you take off that jacket and drink something." I arched an eyebrow then looked at him.

"I bet you'd love to see that happen." I quipped then turned around, walking away. Though I wanted to, I did not look back over my shoulder, merely listened as Riddick sat back down but I knew that he was watching me with interest. Damn, perhaps I should have taken a leaf out of Jack's book and dressed as a man.

When I was out of sight only then did I take my water and drink a deep gulp, whimpering slightly and I wished I could pour it all over myself to just get rid of all this damn sweat. I stumbled back to the others then sat down as we gathered by the air con, one of the boys flicking it on and off whilst I fiddled with some wires and transmitter chips for the radio signal I was working on but after a while I needed a break, so I moved to the edge of the open mouthed ship and sighed.

Opening my bag I drew out the emergency pack, sitting on the ship edge with my legs dangling over the side as I searched through what was there. A blanket, some basic medicine, pain killers and antibiotics, dried food, bandages, a couple of flares, a torch and batteries. Sweet.

"Hey Angel, you okay?" I nodded my head to Jack who spied the emergency pack but said nothing. "We're not going to abandon them, are we?"

"No, we'll live longer if we stick together." I paused before shrugging. "For now anyway." Looking around I then frowned, only just realising that someone was missing. I scanned over their faces, seeing that Shazza was particularly tense and angered so I whispered to Jack. "What happened?"

"Zeke's gone missing. He's nowhere in sight." Jack answered back in an equally quiet voice. "He disappeared when he was digging a hold to bury the dead and no one's seen him for a while now. They all think it was Riddick." I noted how she had said 'they' and not 'we'.

"You don't think it was?" She shook her head.

"No blood on his weapon. Besides, where did he dump the body?"

"I don't know. This desert is pretty big and I don't think we're out of danger yet. There's something out there, probably something that wouldn't mind killing us." Yawning slightly I shifted back, rolled up my jacket then lay down in the shade near the air con where I could get a gentle but not freezing cold breeze to get some rest.

Jack curled up next to me and I smiled to her, reaching out and brushing my fingers against her cheek as she looked at me with slight fear. "Hey, we're going to be okay. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I'll do everything I can to protect you, little one." I whispered to her softly, reaching out and lacing my fingers through hers. "We stick together now, cause all I got is you and all you got is me. That okay?"

"Yeah. It sounds great." She smiled then closed her eyes as I did the same, finally succumbing to sleep.