A/N: Sorry its been so long since my last update by the fic I'm writing with CosmicGirl22 is kind of time consuming. You should check it out… possibly review?
Thanks for your reviews! I'll now be accepting anonymous reviews as well, thanks to a tip. And now here's the chapter.
Every survivor from the crashed trooped through the desert, the three suns beating down on the violently. Cassidy's tail was till bandaged and throbbed from the pain but she managed to ignore it. She was walking ahead of everyone else, Johns on her heels. Everyone else followed the merc in uniform, Riddick taking the rear.
"You know," said Cassidy as she strolled along. "I don't know how it makes sense for the murderer to be in the back while the failed experiment has to have a gun on her as all times."
"I want to keep my eyes on you," Johns replied coldly.
Keep your eyes on my ass is more like it, she thought. All day she had caught Johns' roving eyes on her body and it wasn't the most comfortable feeling. Mercs weren't known for their kindness towards anything with breasts.
Relief washed over Cassidy when they finally reached the old settlement. The group huddled around the skiff. Riddick stood outside of the circle and Cassidy was quick to join him. Somehow she felt safe near the convict. Perhaps it was because Johns wouldn't try anything if Riddick were around.
"Did you happen to notice anything about the way Johns was acting." Cassidy's voice was hardly above a whisper.
Riddick turned his goggled eyes to her. "You mean did I happen to notice his eyes bulging out of his head at the sight of your ass?" Cassidy nodded. "Don't worry about it," he said forcefully. The finality in his words made Cassidy drop the subject completely.
"So what do you think happened here?" Cassidy's eyes skimmed over the old buildings. Nothing looked like it had been touched in years. "It looks like they all just vanished. Their stuff is still in generally where it should be."
Riddick nodded and stepped away from her, heading towards the ship. Cassidy watched as he moved to step up the ramp but Johns stopped him. Her ears pricked up and she listened to what was said.
"Whoa," Johns said quietly. "Why don't you go find some stuff we can patch this up with."
Before leaving Riddick turned his goggled eyes to Johns. The merc would have been dead in a heart beat if looks could kill. Wordlessly the convict turned and left Johns whose icy gaze turned to Cassidy.
For a long moment they stared at each other. Cassidy's eyes were full of hatred as were Johns' but the merc's eyes showed something else too. It could be lust?
Cassidy quickly turned and walked off in a random direction. Anywhere she went would be better than standing near Johns. He disgusted her and another minute with him would cause her to lose her lunch.
It didn't take long for Cassidy to learn every inch of the town, except for the coring room which was locked from the inside. She sighed and dropped down into the shade, closing her eyes and letting the sounds fill her ears.
There was the sound of clanking from Shazza's tools on a sandcat. Imam, two of his boys and Paris were tinkering with the water machine, while his other son played with Jack. Carolyn and Johns were talking in the skiff and Riddick was roaming around.
Cassidy stretched out in the cool sand in the shadow of the building. From where she lay she could see the skiff. Riddick sat beside it, shaving his head with some grease and a shiv. Cassidy smiled, knowing he wasn't supposed to have blades.
She stood up and was about to go talk to him when Johns emerged from inside the skiff. He was trembling as he walked down the ramp and leaned against the side of the small ship. Cassidy cringed at the sound of Johns heaving.
"Its not a good sign," Riddick said as he continued to shave. "Shaking like that in this heat."
Johns looked up and tried his best to keep his tough-guy act. "I thought I said no shivs."
Riddick looked to his blade. "This? This is just a personal grooming appliance."
Johns shook his head and walked away, entering a nearby building. Cassidy then approached Riddick. She sat down next to him in the shade of the skiff and looked out to the desert.
"Is Johns a…" she trailed off, not knowing how to put what she wanted to in words.
"A drug addict?" Riddick looked to Cassidy who nodded. "Its pain killers. He had a little run in with a convict he couldn't quite handle. Now he has a shard of metal rubbing against his spine."
"You missed the sweet spot," Cassidy asked turning her yellow eyes to him.
"The only time I've ever missed." Riddick's remark earned a half smile from the escaped science experiment. He stood up and put his blade away as he said, "I'm going to go have a little chat with our captain. Wait here."
Cassidy nodded and obediently stayed where she was. From inside the skiff she could hear their voices but not what they said. It kind of made her jealous to think of Riddick alone with Carolyn. She shook her head violently. Don't even go there Cass. He's trouble and you know it.
The voices stopped and Riddick stepped out of the skiff. As he walked by he motioned for Cassidy to follow. Getting to her feet, she lingered just long enough to hear Carolyn storm off in the direction Johns went in.
For a while Cassidy and Riddick only walked around the town, Riddick ahead slightly. They stopped no and then while the muscular man examined something. Cassidy was being to think of him as Sherlock Holmes, only from the other end of the penal system.
"Why am I following you," she finally asked as Riddick crouched down to examine a pair of broken glasses.
His eyes never left the grit covered spectacles. "You can wander off but stick close." Riddick omitted the fact that he didn't trust Johns to be alone with Cassidy. The way the merc's eyes had been wandering lately suggested he might try something.
Cassidy shrugged and walked away. There was really nothing to do in the town and she had already seen everything it had to offer, which wasn't much. She wandered over to a little building and decided to go in.
The moment she entered the dark interior of the small building, she was regretting it. A red plastic box sat on a table and held enough morphine to numb a small army. Her owlish eyes, pupils large, turned to the man who sat against the wall.
Johns was staring at her with bleary eyes, his head lolling slightly. Cassidy's eyes reflected the light, giving them that shine that only nocturnal eyes can get.
"You know," Johns slurred ever so slightly as he stood up. "You're beautiful, even if you are a bitch."
Cassidy glared at him. She was about to retort but thought better of it. Instead she turned to leave but Johns grabbed her arm. He gave her a hard pull and Cassidy hit the wall.
Johns had her pinned and was now moving his face closer to hers. "Let me go," she breathed, trying to pull away from him. He ignore her request and began to smell her hair, his breath skimming over Cassidy's skin and giving her chills of disgust.
"I like feisty women." He pressed his body against hers. "And you're as feisty as they come."
Cassidy looked Johns in the eye, giving him a menacing glare. "Keep touching me and you'll see just how feisty I can get," she growled at him.
A smile played across Johns' lips. "Was that a threat, Foxy? If it was you only made me want you more."
Her eyes narrowed. Cassidy spat in Johns' face. Taken by surprise, he pulled back slightly. Johns glared at her and in a flash his hand was raised. Cassidy closed her eyes and braced herself for the moment his hand would collide with her face. It was as if she had been tossed back into her childhood to a time when her mother died and she was left wither father. When she would feel his heavy hand come down on her face on a daily basis. The moment of impact never came.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to hit women," a deep voice rumbled. Cassidy opened her eyes to see Riddick holding Johns' arm which was inches from her face. "I think you've caused enough damage, Johns."
The merc glared at the taller man. For a moment Cassidy thought he'd break Riddick's grip and hit her anyway but it seemed like Johns knew better. Her pulled his hand from Riddick before collecting his stuff and leaving.
The moment Johns was out the door, Cassidy lost her composure. She dropped to the floor and buried her face in her hands. Her yellow eyes didn't allow her to cry but Cassidy's body heaved with dry sobs.
Two strong arms wrapped around her and she was aware of someone crouching next to her on floor. Riddick pulled her close, his muscular arms encircling her. Cassidy rested her head on his broad chest. It felt so good, so right, and so safe to be in Riddick's arms. She almost laughed at the thought of feeling safe in the arms of a killer.
Riddick took in deep breaths of Cassidy's feminine and animalistic scent. His large hand ran through her hair. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek, but she didn't cringe like she had with Johns.
Cassidy tilted her head back and her sad, yellow eyes peered into Riddick's silver ones. Their faces were dangerously close, their noses almost touching. For a long time they just sat there, looking at each other. Neither of them said a word, they didn't have to. Cassidy knew Johns wouldn't get the chance to try anything again, Riddick wouldn't let him.