Chapter Twelve.
* Riddick's POV *
Elisha is hot on my tail as we exit the cell to stand at the railing to watch the bottom yellow stained floor of the guard station as it lights up and flashes like fireworks combined with the sounds of firing weapons. Elisha's face matches my stiffness as we wonder silently what is currently happening between the guards and the Merc's, well, she wonders, I on the other hand, knows.
A rope descends from the removal panel, the thick rope rattles before shaking violently following the masculine yell for help being released from a falling heavily muscled male. Grey smoke erupts from the man's hands as he grips on to prevent plummeting to floor of the Pit, the smell of burning flesh from his palms wafts its way up our noses making Elisha's face crinkle up like she has just sucked on a lemon but the smell sets off a familiar alarm inside my head, then bubbling up in my chest developing into anger.
Sweat, leather and stale cigarettes: Toombs. His large muscular upper arms tighten and flex as he holds his body weight up a mile off the ground, he was perfect level with me from the second floor balcony just up from Elisha's cell. Luckily Toombs doesn't notice me which is a blessing and before Elisha can question my sudden movement, I sprint off to my right leaving her motionless.
Once perfectly level with Toombs handing in the air, I rest my arms against the edges of the large dip in the wall like a sling shot before catapulting myself forward reaching the barrier with a powerful force in seconds, I leap half a meter or so before the bars, pushing off with my feet travelling towards the hung Merc on the rope.
My fingers wrapped idly around Toombs bullet and stab proof waistcoat that protected most of his vital organs. I then secured my grip on his clothing with both hands before chuckling darkly as he strained beneath the added body weight.
"You really shoulda took the money Toombs." I chuckle with a gruff in his ear before using him as a step-ladder to reach the rope above him and climbing upward towards the now suspiciously quiet guard station.
When I reach the circular docking hole in the centre of the guard station for prisoners, I remove my goggles allowing them to hang around my neck so I can properly see the damage. Bodies of Mercenaries and guards lay discarded and disrespected amongst various sizes and weight of rubble and glass from the guard station walls and windows. Sparkles are released from chunky cable wires and smashed computers and electrical tables – one which I find still active and operational minus a few faint flickers in the screen images.
The image displayed across the screen is of a Necromonger tracker ship. Ah shit, a voice in my head hisses as I find the button connected to the opening and closing of a cell like door used to release and call back Hell Hounds after feeding time before I notice the female body of the Mercenary situated on Toombs team the day they half rescued me from Helion Prime and the Necromonger's.
She lays up on the uneven rock wall by the bay doors that lead to the sled. Red blood seeps from her ears, nose and awkward cuts on her body, her chest rises and falls in uneven patterns suggesting she is struggling for breath but breathing non-the-less. I place down the electric tablet and crouch down to study her carefully. She opens her eyes, realises it's me and then asks if I am going to kill her, which is childish because if I wanted to, I would have done it while her eyes were closed, so she would have never of saw it coming, isn't that the way we all want to go, painless and silent.
I get up silently and journey over to the bay doors, I tap the large dust covered red button but the bay doors to not open. Various footsteps from inmates echo through the room of the guard station. The head of a TV sits beside the females body, I roll it over to study the image of the wrecked and broken sled along with the broken track. I sigh heavily before tapping the button labelled '2' to switch the camera from one to two to watch the prison guards scurry like rats away from heat through the tunnels.
"Merc's and come guards here but this can't be all of them." a male inmate with a unique accent says quietly to himself before picking up a weapon from one of the dead guards possession.
"Check the stands in the back, and be careful." the thick voice of The Guv instructed.
I stepped back into the guard station, "Don't bother," I tell them, "The guards ain't there, they figured out the Necro's are coming for me and Elisha, the palm was to clear the bank, ghost the Merc's and break wide for the tunnels but someone got a lucky shot with this rocket-launcher –" I kicked the heavy metal gun at my feet, "– and took out the sled, guards took off on foot but rigged the doors so no-one could follow."
I pause allowing the slightly startled inmates to slowly take in what I have said. "They will take the one ship in the hanger and leave everyone else to die." I finish off.
The inmates scattered inside the guard station wasted no time and all equiped themselved with Mercenaries and guard weapons.
Toombs grunted and groaned as he slowly reaches the docking circle, clawing at the edges to lift himself into the safety of the guard station only to stand in a semi-circle of irritated inmates, all armed. The male with the heavy accent voice held a Mercenaries single firing pistol to the back of his head steadily as Toombs composes himself which mostly involved tucking in his tattered green top and wiping the sweat that gathered between his busy eyebrows. He was pissed of course, biggest pay day of his life is currently standing free in front of him telling him, the Merc, how the events he wasn't even present for happened which lead Toombs to openly question.
"How come you know all this shit?" he asks, "You weren't even here."
I turned my face to the side, the florescences of my eyes glimmered against the uneven sparks of light, "Because it was my plan."
"What should we go with him?" the accented voiced male holding the pistol steadily asked.
A dark chuckle echoed quietly from behind me and the inmates, we all turned to glimpse at the laughter, a coated female, short and dark haired with florescent purple eyes. "Hell Hound cage." Elisha suggested. The inmates all smiled with vengeance leaking from every pore and revenge in their eyes.
In the corridor next to the bay doors, a steamy room was built with large metal cross-bar cages contained three Hell Hounds, two bigger ones and a small, slightly younger hounds who didn't appear overly aggressive at first until we located Toombs into the cage next to him.
The small creature leap to life, snapping and snarling through the gaps in the cage almost catching Toombs elbows if he wasn't careful. The inmates used the removable cage walls to move the second largest Hell Hound into the cage on the other side of Toombs, this creature's head was just small enough to fit its muzzle through the gap getting several good snaps in.
Elisha chained the doors shut securely to ensure that Toombs will not be able to escape and the Hell Hounds are not able to escape either, however there was a underlying possibility that having Toombs next door the hounds will eventually chew their way through to Toombs but he wasn't any of ours problem to begin with so he wasn't going to become one now.
We bolt and lock the door to the Hell Hound room shut before entering back into the guard station.
"How did you know that was a good idea?" I whisper to Elisha loud enough for her to hear me but low enough for non of the inmates to hear.
"Its a punishment for those of us who get into trouble. I've been in there a fair few times for fighting." she reveals with a shrug showing it doesn't truly bother her.
Me, Elisha and the inmates, all unknown of my plan, pile into the safe space of the guard station, I flick several switches before pushing the two control handles up, releasing the holders and starting the machine to take us up to the surface of Planet Crematoria.