Note: I'm glad you liked seeing more of Harry and your concern for who will live and who will not. As I said, and I'm sure you noticed, the plotline is vastly different from the Pitch Black movie. However, some people still have to die. Enjoy!
Warning: Character Death
Chapter Ten: Setting Out/Death in the Settlement
Alex smirked as Harry continued to ignore both Logan and Riddick for 'inanely fighting in front of his children' and set both children with a small satchel, from who knows where, with food and one of his old toys. When Riddick asked one of the children, Jack, where the satchels came from the reply was that 'Mama Harry made them' and that was that. The amusement that shone in Riddick's eyes made Alex consider toning down Logan's hostility, but the entertainment value was too great. Both children held boxes packed with dried provisions, water, blankets, and a few tools. Soon Harry came behind them carrying the med kit, his own satchel, and a box of scrap materials. Watching as Riddick snatched Harry around his waist, only to be elbowed hard in the ribs; Alex shook his head at the similarity between his own mate and the convict. Deciding to help Harry and the children, Alex asked Harry what he could take and Harry motioned to a box containing the more dangerous tools. Logan grumbled as he stalked around the ship trying to keep out of Harry's warpath; he wondered why the fates decided to complicate matters to this extent. Zeke and Shazza, who had finally given Johns his gun back, were putting the final additions on some sleds they made from destroyed parts of the ship near the entrance. Carolyn was standing near the fuel cell wall still obsessing over the skiff and her goal of converting the fuel cells to work in the skiff. Rolling his eyes at the woman's stubbornness, Logan continued stalking around the wreckage only to come upon Johns sorting his shotgun shells. Deciding he did not like the confinement of being inside the mainly intact hull/hallways or deciding he did not like the company, Logan left to stand in the sunlight of the two suns. In the distance, Imam and his boys were praying over the hole perhaps trying to keep the evil beings away. On top of the hull sat the collector, Paris something, sitting in a lawn chair, shaded by a misting umbrella and drinking alcohol; Logan snorted at the thought of the man relaxing while everyone else worked their asses off preparing to trek across the desert.
"Comfy up there?" Zeke called up to Paris mockingly as he limped out next to Logan. Logan and Zeke shared a glance as Paris began to prattle on about the luxuries in life helping him deal with the dangerous surroundings. Harry saved the man from being targeted by a thrown object by calling everyone to gather by the sleds. Everyone came over to see the boxes set on one sled while the other was piled with blankets.
"Why do we have two sleds if the stuff fits on one?" Johns asks in a long-suffering tone.
"Because we have two young children and an injured man that cannot walk as far as you say the settlement is, does that answer your question," Harry says in a tight voice that betrays his short patience at the moment.
"What the hell is your problem, your acting like I do at my time of month," Carolyn says nastily, taking out her displeasure for Logan out on Harry. The silence that enveloped the group was palpable as Harry turned to Carolyn from where he had started arranging the children on the sled. Carolyn gulped as she saw the fury in Harry's eyes as he stalked toward her. Completely stunned by the, to her, unreasonable reaction she was not prepared by the hard punch that sent her slamming to the ground. Glaring down at the woman, Harry kicked sand at her before turning and gently helping the children settle into the sled. Alex laughed quietly at the shocked woman setting off a cascade of amusement in the survivors that knew how accurate that comment might be. Zeke climbed into the shed behind the two children, giving a small smile when they snuggled into him.
"Dad, I want you pulling the sled with Zeke and the children. Riddick, you are pulling the supply sled and everyone else should be between the two sleds," Harry commanded, to the amusement of most and disgruntlement of Carolyn and Johns. As everyone got into position, the angry grumblings of Carolyn and Johns were ended by a stern glare from Logan, Alex, and Riddick. The trek was started in silence, although frightened looks were given to the spires that could be seen in multiple locations on the journey. The children played with toys when bored; Ali had a truck that he moved back and forth and Jack had a ratty-old bear that she moved around in an imaginary dance. Zeke mainly slept, which caused Shazza to shake her head in loving annoyance.
"How long have you been married?" Alex asked Shazza from where he was walking a couple feet beside her. Surprise flitted over Shazza's face for a second from the unexpected question before a serene smile spread on her lips.
"Me and Zeke tied the knot five years ago, but we been together since I was sixteen. He rescued me from life on the farm married to an abusive farm hand that convinced my pa he would make a good husband. What about you?" Shazza asked in return, showing true curiosity.
"Logan and I have been together for a few years; we actually met through Harry," Alex says frowning a bit as he remembered exactly how they met through Harry. Answering Shazza seemed to help calm her nerves as she smiled a bit before falling silent again. Finally, the group reached the bone yard and those that had not been on the first expedition gasped at the sheer size of the bones. Harry separated from the group a bit, touching the bones and exploring the skulls. However, soon they passed the bone yard and were traversing the dunes again.
Carolyn sighed in contentment when she saw the settlement after walking through the chasm of the two cliffs. She had been getting annoyed by the snappishness of Harry, since, as far as she knew, he had no reason to be so disagreeable. The children were not making her feel any less irritated with their loud playing and uncaring attitudes of the labors of those around them. Perhaps she was just being spiteful, but she swore that the others mistrusted her and Johns for no other reason than the manipulation of the mysterious family. Glaring at Logan again, Carolyn huffed from her spot in the back of the group near Paris. Upon reaching the settlement, Carolyn immediately took the cell and separated from the group to head for the skiff. Meanwhile, Logan showed Alex the atmospheric water retrieval advice where Alex immediately set to work with help from Imam and his boys. Harry decided to explore the buildings, Jack and Ali following obediently. Riddick stalked off to explore the settlement on his own.
"Mama Harry, what is this?" Ali asked shyly, pointing to a solar powered solar system model.
"You can call me just mama if you wish, it wouldn't bother me. That is a solar system model that apparently is solar powered as you can see the planets moving on their own. Hmm, see this is the planet we crashed on, surrounded by three suns," Harry points out after approaching the model.
"Why is the year off?" Jack asks after looking at the year counter. Harry looks at the counter as well and sees that it is off, almost as if it has not seen sun in 22 years. Giving a noncommittal grunt, Harry tells Jack it must be due to the closed windows, although he does not believe that. Leaving the room, Harry and the children go to see if Alex and the others need anything. Coming upon Zeke and Shazza who have found a solar transport vehicle they decide to stay with them and help. Riddick, who came to his own conclusion about what happened to these people, started looking for Harry and the children. 'Something about this place sets me on edge' Riddick thought to himself as he found a covered building. The cowardly treasure dealer came from the side of the building, startling badly upon seeing him. Stuttering out some explanations, the man quickly scampered back around the side of the building. Looking up, Riddick saw the sign declaring the building as the 'Coring Room' before he shrugged and continued his search for Harry. Paris heaved a sigh in relief as he watched Riddick walk away from where he was looking around the corner of the building. Shifting his attention when he felt safe again, Paris continued to try to find a way in the building, after all if the people were miners than there might be riches kept in this room. Scampering around the building, Paris found a small hole that was unfortunately too small for him to move through; however, this did not stop him. Borrowing a hammer from the toolbox, Paris enlarged the hole and quickly climbed through.
Carolyn sat in the captain's chair looking at the monitors that displayed the skiffs operating systems. She gave a smug smile when the displays showed full operational capability on the altered fuel cell. Flipping some switches, she checked the needed fuel requirements for full life-support and launch power. 'Five cells' Carolyn thought in surprise; that was more than she expected to be needed. Running a simulation, she watched the computed progression of the operation systems as time passed with five people, the maximum that the skiff would be able to carry. A scowl crossed her face as she realized that Logan was right, the fuel efficiency was severely depleted; only two months maximum would the life-support be operational. Considering the possible scenarios, the chances did not look good for them surviving to be picked up. Turning off the power and stepping out of the skiff, Carolyn jumped in surprise when Johns stepped out from beside her. "What's the prognosis?"
"The skiff is operational on the converted fuel cell, but it is highly inefficient," Carolyn grumbles in response, annoyed that Logan was correct.
"So, what are our chances if we leave using the skiff? Can it take us all or are some going to need to be left behind?" Johns asked casually, as if he was not debating the abandonment of adults and children alike. Carolyn looked over at him critically, wondering if she should tell him the truth or not. He did not seem to care about the well-being of the others at all, but Carolyn chided herself internally on her suspicion.
"At maximum, the skiff can only take five people. Besides that, the life-support system will only last for two months before it starts to give out. Overall, it does not look good. That bastard was right without knowing how far we are from the shipping lane, it's a suicide mission," Carolyn stated, grumbling the last bit reluctantly. A deep chuckle caught their attention and the duo looked to their right to see Riddick there shaving his head. Not far from them was Logan gathering tools from the sled, but neither man could have heard them as they were talking quietly, at least that is what they told themselves. Shouts of happiness alerted them to the success of the group fixing the water retrieval device. Walking over to the group, Carolyn watched as they turned on the spigot and water began to trickle out. "If Shazza and Zeke have finished fixing the transporter we can take this back to the ship, it's not connected to anything, so we can move it," Alex stated with a smile.
"If we're going to be moving anything, it's going to be the five cells we need to get the skiff off the ground," Carolyn ordered. Alex gave a heavy sigh of exasperation before he walked away to where he knew Shazza and Zeke were working on the solar car. Arriving at the solar car, Alex asked Shazza about the weight requirements and then proposed transporting the water-giving machinery back to the ship. Jumping at the suggestion, Harry and Shazza decide that moving the device onto the car after they have refilled their canteens would be the best choice. After refilling the canteens, Riddick and Logan are convinced to move the heavy machinery onto the solar car by a tearfully upset Harry. Watching as Shazza, Alex and Zeke disappear over the sand dunes; the others decide to gather in one of the side rooms to wait. Johns appeared from somewhere, looking entirely too relaxed for it not to be drug induced. Logan wrinkled his nose a bit as if he smelled something unpleasant, but that was not as impressive as his glare aimed at Riddick, who was sitting close to a hunched over Harry. However, their tense wait was interrupted by a horrifying scream.
Paris stood up once he slipped through the hole he made in the wall. The inside of the building was dusty and filled with boxes; Paris gulped as he looked around at the shadows. He went to one of the nearby crates and used the hammer to break it open. Rummaging around inside the box, he frowned in disappointment when all he found were miscellaneous items for machinery. Box after box opened did not reveal any precious stones or rare materials, just empty containers, machine pieces, and dirt samples. 'Damn, maybe they weren't miner' Paris thought angrily. It was as he was going to leave that he heard the clicking sound described by Zeke, Alex, and Harry. Looking around he could not see where the sounds could be coming from until a fluttering from above him caught his attention. Raising his head, he gasped as he caught sight of the possibly sleeping creatures. Unfortunately, as the terrified man turned to get back to the hole, he tripped over a nearby box. Not only did he fall to the ground, but also the miscellaneous items in the box scattered rousing the creatures. Angry clicking filled the room as Paris ran for the hole. Before he could reach the hole, Paris had to fall back as the creatures flew in front of him. Frantic and looking for a place to hide or escape, Paris headed for a nearby cabinet. Putting a hand to his heart, Paris thought himself safe until he heard the clicking next to him. A scream was ripped from Paris' mouth as the creatures began to rip him apart.