A/N: Yea, I know, I've been gone for so long. Let me explain though.

1.)I am now in Grade 11, which means that the workload is a lot worse then last year, and marks count and such.

2.)I'm in Army Cadets, which means that 2 days a week are completely taken up by that, no counting the extra stuff I have to do for that.

3.)I have a job, which means my Friday nights are gone as well as my Saturdays.

See? I have every little time for this story, but don't worry, I will continue it. It will just take a little while. However, I will try to get at least two more chapters up during holidays and such. Okay? Alright. Enjoy this chapter (It's a bit boring, but I just wanted to get it up so you guys know that I didn't forget about you.)

Once again, sorry for any spelling and grammer mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Black. And I defiantly do not own Riddick. If I did, I would never leave my room. :Wink:.

Chapter 14

"Strength is no more than how well you hide your pain."

-Unknown

Walking out into the scorching heat was almost a welcome relief to Erin. Shit, it felt like a breath of cold air brushing against her overly heated skin. Riddick sure knows how to get a chick all hot and bothered, Erin thought while fanning herself a bit.

Looking around her and shading her eyes from the sun, Erin spotted Reena standing a little ways off talking to someone. She squinted her eyes a bit more, and almost groaned out loud when she saw who it was. Goddamn Paris. He's such a fucking pedophile. I swear he's like my dads age…or older, Erin thought shaking her head in shame. Sighing, Erin started walking towards them. When she got closer, she could tell how tense Reena was and started walking faster. Reaching them, she shoved herself in between them.

"Hiya Paris!" Erin said, slapping him on the shoulder a bit harder then what would be considered friendly. "What ya up to, you crazy old man?"

Paris took a step back, rubbing his shoulder, "Absolutely nothing. Me and the lovely Reena here were just having a nice little chat."

"That's just peachy. Anyways, lets go to the meeting, shall we?" Erin asked.

Without waiting for a reply, Erin grabbed Paris' forearm and started dragging him towards the house where she could see Imam entering.

"I do say! Get your dirty little mitts off me this instance!" Paris cried out, trying to pull his arm away from her.

Erin held fast and pulled him down so that he was walking very slouched over, "Listen here you moronic bastard, if you try anything with my friend, I will personally castrate you and shove it down you damn throat. Do you understand me? Or do you need a demonstration?" She asked, yet again tapping the blade of her knife on his thigh.

Paris stuttered and shook his head in the positive.

"Peachy" Said Erin in an overly cheerful voice.

She pulled the knife away and gave him a little smack on the ass. Why? She wasn't really sure, but oh well. Paris took off at a slow jog, one hand covering his ass, looking over his shoulder occasionally to stare in disbelief at her. Erin could see the menace in his eyes though. She would have to keep her guard up now. Oh well.

Erin let all thoughts go and started skipping happily back to where Reena was slowly walking. Reena stared at her.

"What was that about?" Reena asked, looking at her suspiously.

"What was what about?"

"You and Paris?"

"Oh, me and Paris are best buds, didn't you know?" Erin asked sarcastically.

"Oh…Okay there Erin. If you don't want to tell me, then you don't have to."

"Don't worry about it. You really don't wanna know."

"Okay. Anyways, you look a bit flushed Erin…you feeling fine?" Reena asked, seemingly concerned.

"Oh, I'm more then fine, that's for sure." Erin grinned.

"Shit. What have you done now?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"Bullshit."

"You ever notice how strange that word is? I mean… I don't normally like talking about shit. And in all seriousness, I've never even seen bull shit. I've seen horse shit, cow shit, dog shit, cat shit, but never bull shit. And you know what else is strange? The fact that dogs and cats hate each other. I mean…they could get so much more done if they were just-"

"Erin, enough. God, I know that almost all talk about animals is a sag way into your 'Penguin Army' theory. Which, by the way, is just plain strange." Reena shook her head.

"Fine, fine. All I have to say is that if you hook them up with some weapons of mass destruction, we could take over the world! And honestly, who doesn't want penguins to rule the world? They're cute, they're dangerous, and they have such grace while blowing people to smiverines! It's a win-win situation is all I'm saying."

Reena just looked at her.

"Moving on. What's with your stalker?" Erin asked, pointing a thumb behind them.

Reena frowned and looked behind her to find one of the Islam boys ducking into a doorway.

"What the hell? How long has he been following me?" Reena asked, kind of freaked out.

"How am I supposed to know? Oh well. Lets just get this damn meeting over with." Erin said.

She pushed the door open and walked into the house where the meeting was being held. Moving further in, she was suddenly bumped in the shoulder. Looking up she found herself watching Johns walking into the room and taking a cup of water. When he turned around, he gave her the once-over, stopping at her breasts, which were more visible because she was only wearing a tank top now. Erin could feel her eyes narrowing, and her temper rising. However, before she could say anything, which would probably result in a fight, Reena dragged her over to a corner where there were two chairs. Reena took the seat next to Imam and they started talking happily.

"Okay, lets get this started, shall we?" Johns said.

"Riddick isn't here yet though!" Jack pointed out.

Just at that moment, in strolled Riddick. Erin could still see water droplets rolling down his skin. She almost started drooling. He had obviously just got out of the shower. Sexy bastard. He's probably doing this on purpose, thought Erin. Shaking her head, Erin tuned back into the meeting.

"-Anyone seen the young one? Ali?" Imam asked, looking slightly panicked.

"Has anyone checked the coring room?"

Erin's eyebrows rose. She had forgotten about this. Shit. Reena is going to kill me, she thought. Everyone was running out of the room, but Erin walked at a slow pace. She already knew what was going to happen. It was sad and all that, but it was what was suppose to happen.

Riddick looked back at her. His eyes were intense, even behind the lenses. She could feel them studying her. He was probably wondering why she wasn't running with the rest. All she could do was shrug. He turned back around and caught up with the others.

Erin stood a little ways off of the coring room and watched through the open doors as Ali's body was found, and as the group started looking around. Reena, who had probably seen the body since she seemed to stay close to Imam now suddenly looked back at her. Her eyes were watery, and she looked like she was in a lot of pain. Erin almost winced at that look. Reena knew that Erin had known this was going to happen. Erin could have stopped it, but she didn't. Reena turned away her head, in shame, in disgust, Erin didn't know, and didn't really want to know. She could only think that she had done the right thing.

Self-preservation at it greatest, right? Riddick was staring at her again. Erin finally felt all her emotions rise up, and she glared back at him in defiance. He continued to look at her, but then finally looked at Shazza who was talking to him.

Erin had no choice but to let everything play out. Reena was relaying on her to get them home. The first step to getting home was to stay alive. To survive. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. There was nothing she could do. Erin steeled herself, preparing for what she knew was going to come next.

It was only going to get hard from now on.

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