Disclaimer: I do not own, and never ever will.
Author's note: Guess what boys and girls? We're down to the second to the last chapter! I can finish this up and actually be able to focus on some of my other stories… Yay! I love this story though, I'll be sad to see it go. Killing off all these characters is giving me such a power rush.
Movie time: 1:19:20 – 1:35:04
"…Verdict's in," Johns snarled as he slammed the flare against his thigh, causing it to light up and burn a strong eerie green light that reminded Harry strongly of the Killing Curse. "The light moves forward."
Wizards were very superstitious from what he had seen, including the fear of death omens; if Harry had ever truly seen a death omen, he was sure this was one of them. Harry had returned to the group and was quickly besieged by Jack and Ali, he suppose it was reasonable that they chose to flock to his side. Out of everyone there he seemed to be the main one truly concerned with the children's survival… to everyone else – perhaps with the exception of Imam - the children were a second thought after their own lives.
Harry watched as Johns slipped away from the group, his arrogant walk seemed to reflect a poor attempt at being nonchalant in Harry's eyes. It was easy to see that the drug-addict Merc was up to something. He tried to listen in on their conversation, but with the distance between them as well as the quiet mumblings of the group, it proved impossible.
"You know," Johns smirked as he came up to Riddick's side, holding the flare in the hand farthest from the ex-con. "Not all of us are gonna make it."
"…Just realized that?" Riddick held his hand up in front of the flare, blocking it from his light sensitive eyes, not even looking at the man as he continued walking forward.
"Eight of us left... If we could make it through the canyon and lose just one of us it'd be quite a feat huh?"
"Not if I'm the one." Riddick resisted the temptation to roll his eyes, clearly able to hear the growing confidence in Johns' voice. The man was sure he was baiting Riddick into doing exactly what he wanted him to do.
"Well, what if you're one of seven?" They heard the call of a close by beast, and the familiar flap of wings in the shadows.
"I'm listening."
"When battlefield doctors decide who lives and who dies its called triage," Johns spoke quietly, leaning towards Riddick as he listened to the concerned mumblings of everyone behind him.
"You kept calling it murder when I did it."
"Either way, I figure it's something you can grab onto." Johns gave a quiet chuckle, lightly kicking at a piece of bone on the sand. "And think of it this way; by killing one of them off you increase your chances of survival. The sooner we're off this rock, the sooner you can take Harry away and go have your 'Happily Ever After' on some distance planet. Not needing to worry about when the next bounty hunter will be coming after your head. After all, you died on this planet, remember?"
"What are they doing up there?" Jack whispered as she strained to hear what Johns and Riddick were saying.
"Perhaps, they are trying to figure out a way through," Imam spoke up after a long moment, and it was easy to see that even he had doubts about what he was saying.
Harry fought the temptation to tell them to shut up, straining harder to hear what they were saying and catching a few words like 'rope', 'sled', 'bait'. None of those words alone meant anything, but together they were anything but comforting.
"Imam, slow down," Fry whispered as she grabbed the holy man's sleeve. "Let's have just a little more space between us and them."
"…We drag the body 40-50 feet behind us," Johns ducked under a large curved bone, looking out ahead of him once more; confident that his sway over Riddick was firm enough that the shiv-happy murderer would go through with such an easy kill.
"Nice embellishment," Riddick gave a toothy grin.
"Well, I don't want to feed 'em. I just want to keep them off our scent."
"So, which one caught your eye?" Riddick glanced back at the others, mainly to make sure that Harry was alright before looking forward.
"Hey, don't look. Christ, what the hell is wrong with you?" Johns murmured, walking a few more paces before he looked to Riddick out of the corner of his eye. His anger grew when he saw that Riddick was barely paying any attention to him, choosing instead to walk just a step or two ahead of him. "Alright, enough of this shit. You do the girl, and I'll keep the others off your back."
Riddick stopped in his spot and slowly turned around, keeping his eyes on Johns who gave another confident smile and tipped his head mockingly.
"What? It's not too big of a job for you is it?"
"…I'm just wondering if we need a bigger piece of bait."
"Like who?" Johns asked, his steady grin slowly fading as he met Riddick's eyes for a long moment. He barely had time to blink before Riddick was ripping the flare from his hold and slipping around him to grab one of his guns from its holster.
Riddick fired his first shot just inches from Johns' head, fighting for control of the gun as two more shots burst out during their struggle. He could hear Fry telling everyone to run, knowing that Harry would most likely go with them, even if just to keep an eye on things. He focused back on the fight however when Johns started landing punches, hitting him enough to knock the gun loose and dislocate his shoulder. Riddick slammed his fist into Johns' nose, hearing a satisfying crack before the man fell away to nearly impale himself on weather worn bones. Just as he forced the limb back into position, he noticed that Johns was up and moving towards him again.
"You know," Johns spoke as they circled around one another, listening to the sounds of the beasts in the shadows that moved in a similar fashion. "I plan on killing you right here and now. We'll use your carcass to keep those things off our tail, and the moment we're off this planet… I'm going to take Harry and fuck him. Pound that tight little ass of his right into the floor over and over again until he's screaming my name."
"Two rules," Riddick intoned after a slowly drawing his shiv from its holster, watching as Johns pulled a knife from his vest. He quickly darted forward, turning the shiv at the right angle so it ripped the knife from Johns' hands before swinging again and slamming Johns into the ground. "Number one: Stay in the light."
Johns quickly crawled forward, managing to grab the fallen gun and flipped around to slam the gun into the back of Riddick's knees to knock the taller man down to the ground before attempting to beat the man across the face repeatedly; when he saw his attempts were blocked, he grabbed for Riddick's fallen shiv only to be grabbed about the wrist as Riddick attempted to force him away.
"Number two: Don't fuck with what is mine." Riddick whispered before flipping them about, causing Johns to fall to his knees while Riddick came at him from behind and the moment Johns tried to get up to run away Riddick slashed the shiv down the Merc's back, enjoying the cry of pain that escaped him.
"Should have never taken the chains off Johns!" Riddick called as he watched the light of the flare start to dim. "You were one brave fuck before. Really bad ass," he egged Johns on as the man scrambled to load his gun, just as the man forced himself into standing position Riddick disappeared into the shadows. "Told you, you should have ghosted me."
Carefully, Riddick moved from rock to rock, moving across the sand and making his way back towards camp. He could hear the creatures as they came up on Johns, as well as the unfired shell that fell from his gun just before the sound of ripping flesh and a dying groan escaped the blond man's lips. Riddick turned back only for a moment, just in time to catch sight of one of the large creatures cleaving Johns' skull in two with one easy bite.
Harry had chosen to follow the group as they ran away from Riddick and Johns, knowing it best to stay in the light, as well as stay out of the way of the two fighters. The choice to go back was an odd one in his mind, it would have been just as easy to circle around the bright green flare of light (as well as the fighters standing in it) and work their way onwards, but that was his opinion – which did not matter much when a group of people are in a fight or flight scenario.
He was not too sure about how far they had run blindly through the desert before Fry felt it safe to look back at where they had left the two fighters, but the distance was worth it when he heard the woman scream as Riddick came up behind her.
"Back to the ship huh? Just going to huddle together until the lights burn out… until you can't see what's eating you. That the plan?" Riddick mocked with an easy-looking grin.
"Where's Johns?" Imam demanded, trying to stand up confidently to the ex-con but not fully able to hide his fear.
"Which half?"
"…We're going to lose everybody out here," a choked sob escaped Jack's lips. "We should have stayed at the ship."
"He died fast. If we have any choice about it, that's the way we should all go," Riddick came up slowly behind the teen girl, unsure of how to properly comfort the child; he knew though that his kitten seemed to be fond of the children, he could at least give it a chance. "Don't you cry for Johns… don't you dare."
By the time they made it back to the bone graveyard, Imam had decided they needed to take a small break, the children were exhausted and it would do no good to push themselves beyond their breaking points at the moment. Harry had managed to slip away when he noticed Imam moving among the others and encouraging them to pray. It wasn't that he did not believe in God, or whatever you called that big omniscient being in the sky, hell he was pretty positive the Wizarding World considered Merlin to be their god; Harry took his name in vain often enough, so maybe he did believe.
He knew people needed hope however, and if they found hope by praying to someone or something that may or may not reply… that was their business. Harry would create his own hope in his actions and in his very thoughts. He watched Riddick from a sheltered pocket of bone, guarded from four sides by the solid material and his front was guarded by a small bit of flickering light. Did Riddick believe in a God? If he did it was pretty hard to imagine, considering what a cynic he was. Riddick was a man of action, but one who managed to keep a clear head and think things through, even when others didn't even realize it.
Watching Riddick examine the bones of the large beasts, studying his prey as he tried to figure out its weakness… it stirred a hunger that Harry was surprised to learn he truly held. Harry knew lust, he knew love and caring, but to know those things together? It was a humbling experience that left Harry wanting for more.
"You know… you think far too loudly," Riddick smirked as he managed to creep up on Harry without him noticing, trapping the smaller man between two well muscled arms.
"Are you trying to tell me that you're a mind-reader now?" Harry's smile held a taste of a smirk as he looked up into those gleaming quicksilver eyes.
"I don't need to be a mind-reader to know what you're thinking, Kitten." Riddick caught Harry's chin in his large hand, tilting it back a little as he let his lips trace over the smooth pale skin, giving a light bite before giving a pleased rumble at Harry's whine of pleasure.
Harry had no idea what it was about Riddick that was driving him to become so addicted; he was pretty sure a large number of his female friends would call him sexist, and yet that same mouth would probably have a bit of drool in the corner if they saw the man sweaty and in a muscle-tank like Harry had seen him in since they met. Perhaps it was those hands, the way they moved over his body in a way that seemed to map over familiar terrain… or maybe his voice, that deep baritone that still sent shivers down Harry's spine. Or, the most likely choice of them all, perhaps Harry felt a kinship with the man, and an understanding.
He felt those large yet elegant fingers slip under the edge of his shirt, skimming upwards along flesh that held the sparse scarring he received throughout his life and during the war. They followed the paths led by the healed tissue, slowly working their way up his sides and towards the top of his chest until…
"Harry!"
"Riddick!"
"We need to get a move on!"
Harry groaned and glared at Riddick as the man gave a chuckle and backed away from him, giving Harry just enough space to squeeze out from his hiding hole.
"I don't know why the fuck you're laughing. The universe always does this to me."
"I'm a patient man where it counts, Kitten; I'll make it up to you."
Harry shuddered as they came to the mouth of the canyon, he could not help to do so as he heard the angry snarls of those creatures echo through the ravine. Their demands for food, territory, mating… ew. It was so thunderous and shrill at the same time, he could feel it in his bones. Yet, he was going to still take part in this suicide attempt with the others.
Along with the anger, Harry could feel the fear and dread that seemed to bleed off those around him. He had known for years that you shouldn't show predators your fear, but these creatures were the things of nightmares. And Harry knew that even the bravest warriors could be completely defenseless when confronting those.
"…Only see one way, that way." Riddick pointed straight through the narrow ravine. "It's the only way off this rock. Just keep the girl between you."
"What about the cells?" Imam asked, watching as Riddick moved behind them to where the cells were waiting. They all watched as Riddick adjusted his light harness, grabbing up the rope they were using to drag the power-cells.
"I'll take those." Riddick slipped the ropes about his shoulders, gripping them between his fingers as he worked at settling the heavy load.
"I can take at least one," Harry started to offer but was quickly silenced as Riddick shook his head.
"You're the only one besides me that can truly sense these things properly. You're the best choice to be leading this rag-tag troupe of monkeys through this gauntlet. Now…move." Riddick slid his hands up, pulling down his goggles over his eyes.
"Are you sure you can keep up?" Fry asked hastily as they all crowded together around Jack, Harry in the front as ordered and holding Imam's light.
"MOVE!!" Riddick yelled at the top of his lungs, lunging forward with a burst of speed that seemed inhuman with 231 pounds of metal being dragged along behind him.
It's amazing how sometimes when you're in such a serious situation you could think of the most pointless things; like how all of them seemed to move as a pack, keeping their formation while keeping pace and protecting their younglings. What a fucked up time to realize what a fucked up family they seemed to be making.
'Food… light! ... Pain! ... Hungerblood!'
"Get low! A swarm is coming!" Harry barely had time to yell that between panting breaths before thousands of those miniature monsters came flying through the canyon. They turned and danced like a living tornado, one that most likely had a higher kill ratio then a simple act of nature.
"Do not look up!" Riddick yelled up to them just as Harry felt a thick wet glob of something fall into his hair and drip down the side of his face. He lifted his hand up to touch the fluid and pulled away to examine the liquid as he ran. It was blood, most likely the blood of those creatures.
"They're killing each other!" Fry's horror filled voice seemed to be only a whimper in the din of dying creatures. She barely had time to think further on the situation before Riddick shoved her forward, nearly pushing her into the others as they ran the maze and dodged falling monsters at the same time.
Harry skidded to a stop before the large pile of bones that had fallen behind them when they ran to the crash site earlier. His mind was on autopilot as he dove at the heavy pieces of dead material and quickly started shoving them away to clear a path. The others must have frozen at the sight of another hurdle, for Riddick was yelling and shoving his way to the front to help Harry in pulling the blockade away before the others began to even move.
Riddick made it through the opening first, followed quickly by Jack and Ali. Fry came next and was followed by Imam who stopped to wave his (now) oldest apprentice through. Harry jerked upwards as he heard the teen start to scream and glanced back to see one of the dying monsters had its claws around the young man's ankle. Suleimam kicked and screamed until his fallen lantern burst into flames and blinded the monster, causing it to release his now heavily bleeding leg. Imam pulled his student into the shelter of the bones and picked the boy in his arms as though he were a child while Fry quickly wrapped a frayed piece of cloth around his ankle in an attempt to muffle the now familiar scent of freshly spilled blood.
Harry stayed with the younger children as he had done before; keeping a hold of the two so they did not interfere with their attempts to help, or put themselves in even more danger than they already were.
"Riddick! Wait!" Jack called out to Riddick who kept moving along and tugging the large cells onwards. The man did not even glance back as one of them caught on a large rock, only jerking it sharply until it came free and moved onwards. She had managed to work her way out of Harry's hold, running forward only to hear the sound of flapping wings and dove quickly under one of the pieces of bone.
The winged creature landed on top of Jack's shelter, slamming its hard skull into the bone over and over like an ax in an attempt to get at the tasty morsel below. The girl screamed and did her best to hold her shield in place as Harry pushed Ali behind him. Holding his palms upwards he started muttering the incantation for the bluebell flames, not stopping as Fry ran forward to try and help her. However his concentration on first-year spell, albeit a difficult one, was shot when Riddick dove at the creature with nothing but his bare hands.
Riddick's shiv came out of nowhere, slicing through the creature's soft underbelly like butter again, and again… and again. His strikes were like lightning and did not ever hit in the same place twice, they just came over and over again until the beast fell. Harry watched and shuddered as Riddick grabbed the beast by the skull and broke its neck in one fell swoop.
"…Did not know who he was fuckin' with." Riddick growled and looked to the others for only a moment, his eyes remaining on Harry the longest before he picked up the cells and was off again, this time with all of them running along behind them.
As the first cold drops of rain started to fall on Harry's exposed arms, Suleimam fell to the ground. The poor boy unable to keep up with the hard pace set by those uninjured. Imam dove to pick up his apprentice once more, ready to carry him this time but came to realize it was pointless as a few drops of rain turned into a downpour.
Riddick's disparaging laughter rang out through the high walled chasm as he turned to look at back to the others, the blue blood on his face being washed away by the unrelenting rain.
"So where the hell is your god now?" The man's grin was positively feral as he looked back at the group, watching as they started to lose what little hope they had managed to hold onto so far.
They moved to the walls, trying to duck under any possible overhang available to them in an attempt to protect their few remaining sources of light. Jack and Fry scrambled to get one of the lanterns relit, even though they knew it was in vain. Ali and Imam attempted to rewrap Suleimam's leg while Riddick and Harry looked about them in an attempt to figure out what to do next.
"Riddick! Are we close?" Fry yelled out from where she sat, still desperately attempting to light the lantern. "Just tell me that the settlement is right there!"
"We can't make it," Riddick spoke quietly, staring out into the distance ahead of them. Harry had barely begun to read into that one simple statement before he heard the strangled cries behind him. None of them had any time to respond before one of the creatures wrapped its long tail around the boy's neck and dragged him up the canyon wall to his death.
Imam screamed and called after his apprentice, begging in his native tongue for the boy he loved like a son to return to his arms, while Ali huddled in Harry's, his face frozen in terror as his friend was lost.
They managed to pull themselves together to start moving forward again, Ali having gone to his teacher's side in an attempt to calm the distraught man. Harry felt as though they were all running blind, the torrent of rain and the pain of loss gripping their senses like a vice.
It was Riddick who managed to find the cave, a simple nitch in the wall of the canyon that could fit a couple people inside once you squeezed through the narrow opening. He ordered everyone inside, only stopping Harry before he sealed the majority of the group within. Harry stared at the rock while his mind raced, trying to figure out why they left themselves outside before Riddick grabbed his arm and pushed him forward before picking up the ropes once again.
"We're coming back for them, right?" Harry called as he crawled up the muddy hill, reaching back to pull along a struggling Riddick behind him.
"Keep moving. We need to hurry."
The remaining leg of the journey to the Prospector's site was probably only the length of a Muggle football field, but the distance seemed to take days before Harry and Riddick made it to the escape skiff. The hatch was still down as they left it, and completely dark inside as well as devoid of all life.
"Take a seat," Riddick lightly pushed Harry into one of the small red chairs that were attached to the walls. The man quickly got to work starting up the three cells and hooking them up to the ship. "We don't have time to teach you how to do this now, so I'll show you later."
It took only a few moments for Riddick to get the ship lit up with the bright lights of running machinery. Harry watched as the man moved around the ship and activated a few minor things before he spoke up again.
"We're pretty well set to go now right? The ship will be fine until we get back, those creatures won't be able to get in here with the lights on." Harry started to rise from his seat only to be pushed down again by Riddick as the man leaned over him. "Riddick…?"
"I told you," Riddick spoke quietly, meeting Harry's eyes as his hand slid up to rest at the back of the younger man's neck. Harry did not even have the time to gasp before the ex-con's expert fingers pressed against the pressure points of his neck, causing Harry's body to fall limp. "You and I are the only ones who matter, Kitten."
Riddick carefully slid Harry's arms into the harness, securing his unconscious body properly so he wouldn't be injured during takeoff. He knew when his young lover woke again, he would be furious with the feeling of betrayal.
He stood up from his spot and moved to the back of the small ship, standing at the edge of the platform before reaching up and turning the control knob from "open" to "close". He glanced back at the closing hatch for only a moment, before pulling off his light harness and slamming it against the hard metal that made the inner walls of the small craft. He did not intend to go back.
Author's note: Who feels evil? I feel evil.
I swore to myself that I would resist knocking Harry out at the end of a chapter again...but this had to be done. Sorry kiddies.
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