I had so much trouble trying to get this to work, every time i touched it for some reason the entire thing would squish into one giant paragraph. crud. stupid thing. oh well, here's the next chapter, and thanks for the patience. I had no choice but to bold the first word of the character view changes, it wouldn't let me DO anything else. grr
Chapter 4
The Huntress marveled at her prey's cat-like movements and hard determination, despite his being practically blind and bleeding. Normally, her prey would be on the ground weeping, not on their feet and ready for battle. She was glad of her decision to let him prove himself, to give him a chance.
So far he was doing just fine.
Seeing him so protective of his companions swayed her. She would let him live, as long as he left the area. But she also knew the strength of this man, he would take , but she was glad to be the one to convince him and wanted to have a little fun doing it.
She circled him, he circled her, and both kept their eyes carefully focused on the other. His sudden grin unnerved the Huntress, a predatory glare she wasn't used to.
He's enjoying this as much as I am she realized just as he leapt at her, catching her off guard. His massive form rammed her off her feet before she could react, knocking her back into the mud. She felt the cold metal carve a line through her belly and the warmth of her blood as it gushed out.
They landed in a jumbled heap on the soft ground, Riddick kneeling above her and bearing down, struggling for dominance. Her blade slipped and it squirted out of her hand, leaving her weaponless.
Infuriated, the Huntress struck out with her left fist and hit him in the throat. A wet grunt and he weakened enough for the Huntress to take advantage, using her right hand to grip the thick wrist that held the weapon and twisting her hips upwards, effectively flipping him off of her.
Now, their positions reversed, he tried to recover and fight her at the same time. She straddled him to keep him still, he tried to roll but she slapped him hard across the nose, a good distraction, and wrenched the blade away from him.
She got off of him quickly and scooted away, satisfied with another small trophy.
That's two!
She turned and ran as he got to his feet again, cursing and wiping the dirt and blood off of his nose. She held in her laughter as he stormed after her, not really seeing where he was going, but fueled by anger.She swung herself up into another tree, watched him rage about from above. His foot caught in a looped root and he fell with a loud growl into a particularly large puddle. The Huntress compared the splash to those of a large whale, and covered her mouth to stem the giggles.
She tenderly placed her prey's weapon next to his dark goggles and hopped back down, but staying out of sight. Quickly she checked her wound and was surprised to see how deep it really was. In the heat of battle the pain didn't bother her, the rain washed the blood away and kept it clean, but now under the natural umbrella of a tree, it bled freely, running down under her shorts and forming quite a large dark stain.
I underestimated this man, she thought as she ripped the torn piece of her shirt off to staunch the flow. Her need to rip him to pieces came close to overwhelming her admiration. But she held her fury in check, knowing that a little more of this and he'd leave her territory willingly and forever. She'd chase him out if she had to. Nobody was that determined.
Riddick picked himself up out of the water, cursing at everything around him, the water, the storm, the dirt for getting in his eyes, his unusual lack of coordination, and especially at the evil person tormenting him.
I had him; I had him right under me!
Inhuman.
Not quite the word he was looking for. Primal, quick as a cat, and his equal in combat, but he knew for sure his enemy was human. The age, sex, whatever else, he didn't know, and that pissed him off. An unknowable adversary was harder to fight. Not that it mattered; he was toast if Riddick got his hands on him again.
My shiv. Where the fuck is my shiv?
Riddick thought he still had it but when he checked, it was gone. The fucker took it!
He waited a full minute for another attack, too strung out and seething with rage to care about the rain or the new soreness in his throat. No movement. Not a sound. Another three minutes.With the new injuries, the rain and his exhaustion, Riddick risked closing his eyes for a moment, convinced that at last his enemy was gone.
He wasn't all that hurt, more shaken up than anything. His body shook, he felt uncharacteristically weak, and angrier than he'd been in years. His mashed nose throbbed and bled; he felt the warmth of it dripping off his chin. He wiped what he could off with his arm and hoped the rain would do the rest.
I should find the others he thought as the water trickled down his cheeks and washed the redness away down his neck.
Not completely sure of his whereabouts and the status of his enemy, Riddick swallowed his weakness and began walking. His body tried to betray him, wanted to lie down and rest, recover from the battle. He swallowed again.Walk now, sleep later.
He blocked out his injuries, focused on putting one foot forward, left, right, left, tree stump, right, left, right, hope they have bandages...
He zeroed in on where he thought Jack and Imam went, figured they couldn't have gotten far. He fingered a snapped twig as he passed and sought out other signs indicating their travel. Looking at the ground helped drain his nose, but he tasted the warm liquid ooze down the back of his throat.His eyes were getting adjusted to the brightness; they didn't burn as badly as they were before, and so he kept them wide open. Only the lightning flashes hurt but they didn't occur enough to be a hindrance. He spotted a small imprint, slowly filling with rain about five feet away and he grinned. Jack's heavy boots.
Bless her taste in footwear.
Riddick called out to them, hoping they could hear him over the booming thunder. He made his way in the direction the imprint faced, feeling elated. He would find them and they would get the hell out of here. A bush beside him rustled and Riddick, still in kill-mode, crouched automatically and reached for the shiv that wasn't there.
He's here again he sensed with dread. Riddick spat blood at the bush, disgusted. If he's going to try and kill me, I wish he'd just get it over with.
He felt a sting on the back of his head and spun around. Nobody there. There was just another bush, though he knew differently. Riddick felt his head, checking for new blood, seething with irritation.
He slapped me!
Confused once again, Riddick wondered why his enemy, while his back was turned, didn't take the chance to slit his throat. He crept forward, still crouched and ready. His eyes flitted to every movement around him, a stab of alarm hitting him with every waving branch. In the grasp of the storm, everything moved, and his panic soon became one hard knot inside him.
A splash. Riddick spun again, caught a glimpse of a hand before it pushed him roughly into the mud, and disappeared. He caught himself before he was fully seated in the wetness.No sooner than he got to his feet again, with another loud whoop rang out and his enemy struck again. He felt a tug at his shoulder and slapped a hand there, hitting bare skin. He whirled around and saw a flash of hair disappear into the surrounding woods.
His fingers itched to close around the neck of his enemy. The remnants of his shirt dangled down from one shoulder, exposing the other shoulder and half his chest. What's he trying to do, strip me?
He gave chase unthinkingly, running on pure anger now, keeping his eyes on the trees. He refused to be surprised from above again.Where is he, I'll kill em, I do not like to be toyed with, god damn it.
"Where the fuck are you?" He roared, exploding when he couldn't find a single sign of his adversary.
Then he stopped, panting, as a revelation came to him.Whoa, wait a minute, quiet yourself down, you're no good when you're angry, you're not thinking straight. You're just playing into his hands. Focus.
Riddick remembered using this same tactic before, though this person did it a little differently. Confusion, injury and rage. Riddick knew if the target embraced these things, they fought poorly and made more mistakes, an easier kill. He wanted to kick himself for falling prey to this strategy himself. He knew better.
He took a deep breath and cleared his mind of everything, the cold, and the rage. Some of his self-discipline crept back, and Riddick slowly regained his composure. He had to do this. If he didn't get himself focused and alert, he would die. That was a fact and he recognized it.
With one hand he cracked his nose back into place, didn't feel the pain. Unfeeling and...stone cold. Detached. Pain didn't exist. The woods around him, his companions, this chaos, they didn't exist to him.It was only he and his enemy. Now, I'm ready.
With a feral snarl, he opened his eyes.Riddick picked up the scent of blood nearby; he knew his enemy was close. Slowly he crept forward, using the strong fragrance to stalk his target. It became heavier as he got further into the woods. He went as silently as he could, stepping softly, avoiding obvious twigs and puddles until he was in another small clearing. Ringed by trees and sheltered from the storm, Riddick grinned.
He was here. The blood smell was intense and he licked his lips in anticipation of tasting the enemy.
He waited in silence.
The world grew darker as the sun began to set behind the clouds. It was only a matter of minutes until vision would no longer be a problem. Riddick's eyes no longer burned.
The rain suddenly grew warm and fell in large dense drops on Riddick's shoulders and head. He felt every drop ooze sluggishly down his body to mix with the dew already there, but something inside him, his animal nature, told him this was no ordinary rain. He ran a hand over his head and it left a deep red stain on his palm. Its perfume was powerful. He felt its warmth spread across his scalp and was comforted. At the same time his reflexes spun him to defend himself. The source of the red rain was right above him.
He saw the legs descend toward him and instinctively grabbed one around the ankle and yanked hard. The enemy yelped in alarm and pain as he fell and landed with an audible thump on the ground next to Riddick.
Riddick's appetite for pain was not yet sated. He wanted a scream or two.
Blinded by wrath now, he didn't even stop to look at his fallen adversary. Whoever it was recovered quickly, flipped and was on his feet again. Riddick leapt and landed behind him, spun and kicked his leg into his lower back. His rival stumbled and fell on all fours with a grunt. His head swung around to glare furiously at Riddick, and he heard a snake-like hiss.
Riddick didn't waste another second. Charging at his enemy he roared and kicked again, hitting him in the stomach and toppling him over onto his back.Riddick wished he had his shiv, seeing the enemy belly up and prone, perfect for a gutting blow to the belly. He comforted himself for a moment with the thought of ripping him apart with his bare hands.
The Huntress groaned in agony as his booted foot connected forcefully with her gut, and she felt herself go down. Instead of earth she saw sky. And even that intensity, the forks of lightning illuminating every curve of the clouds, was dulled by the slight blur in her eyes. On her back she knew she was prone, but couldn't move as swiftly as she wanted, she needed to recuperate first.
Her prey had turned around, suddenly the Hunter. The change had been obvious to her and as the Huntress watched, she had been pleased but a little unnerved that his Warrior nature finally made itself known. Unfortunately, now that her prey had the upper hand, she had no choice.
No scaring this one away. Kill him. No more mercy.
Like a starved wolf, seeking blood. He even licked his lips like one.
Muhe'kun.
Mesmerized by his eyes, the Huntress did nothing but stare as the man put one foot on either side of her, his glowing orbs coming to rest on the stolen knife she had tucked in her belt. He kneeled down, effectively straddling the Huntress, much like she had the cowardly hunter before ripping him apart. Riddick's full weight crushed her underneath, and every breath came as a gasp. His demonic grin widened at the sound.
The moment he moved to reclaim his blade, the Huntress's instincts kicked back in. She tried to roll and buck but his weight held her still.
If he gets that back, you're a dead woman.
Riddick reveled in the music of pain. His weapon was so close, he could almost see his enemies vital fluids flow over it, envisioned the contrasting red and steel and the torments he would inflict. And he would definitely take his time with this one. His beast insisted on it.
The body underneath him wriggled and Riddick's attention was brought back to him. Only now, as the cold steel slipped into his palm, did the enemy fight back. One hand also went for his weapon while the other struck out and hit his check, then struck him under the chin and pushed up and away. Riddick ignored it; he didn't need to see the meat to cut it up.
The blade was almost lost again as they played a twisted version of tug-o-war, struggling for control. Riddick pulled harder and the sharp edge split the soft meat of the enemy's palm, and he let go. The injured hand dripped into the mud and the beast inside howled.
Riddick struck the hand on his chin away, punned it down above the enemy's head. He rammed his elbow into his chest and placed the blade at his throat. Hovering mere inches from the enemies face, victorious, Riddick let out a pleased growl.The whole confrontation took less than a minute, which surprised Riddick a little because of the obvious skill of his adversary. Now beaten and unable to move, his foe seemed to relax, probably knowing death was soon to come.
Not that easily...thought Riddick, slowly pulling the shiv away from his enemy's throat, leaving a razor thin line of blood behind and dropping it in the mud. He then raised his fist and punched him. The smack of flash against flesh echoed in Riddick's ears.
Again. And again.The enemy struggled to be free of him but Riddick's unrelenting, bare fisted pounding soon left him weak and limp. Riddick dropped the other wrist and continued the beating with both hands until he was out of strength.
He slowly became more aware of his surroundings when he stopped the beating. Like a dream he was slowly waking from. He began to see and feel things again. The trees around and the softness under and the lack of rain above. He heard someone yelling his name. He chose to ignore it for now, needed to destroy what life remained in the unconscious body beneath him.
The beast inside of Riddick began to fade, satisfied with the bloody mess it wrought and the vanquishment of the threat. It was now up to him to finish the job.
"Riddick!"The voice grated on his nerves as he reached for his shiv, intent on skinning his enemy with relish. The voice was near. He heard a splash as the source of the voice hurried toward him. There were two of them.
Riddick stopped admiring the blade he held for a moment, ready to take on this new threat.
Small, female, bald... Jack.
Jack! Suddenly Riddick was wrenched totally out of his daze, knew who he was, and where he was. Jack reached him but didn't touch, just knelt beside him and looked at him anxiously. She carefully reached and took the shiv from him, and he let her, knowing she was completely trustworthy. He noticed Imam a few feet away, staring at the ground underneath Riddick. Jack was pulling at his shoulders, trying to move him, couldn't do it because she was so small and Riddick was still so tense. "Riddick, come on, get off of her."Who? Her? What the fuck?
Riddick looked down at his adversary; saw the gore spattered body beneath him. I did that? His mind reeled.
Not again.
Now he was moved effortlessly by Jack, as he had gone limp.