Thank you guys so much for your reviews and your patience. I now have four stories on the go, and working full time, AND running one forum and moderating two others. LOL.

Fitmama: Thank you. I've been trying to get into his head somehow, but with so many others trying to do the same thing, well... who knows how he'll turn out. You'll find out about our dear Huntress in future chapters.

kiee: Childish, no? LOL. I can see him grumping around like a bear.

and to the rest of you, thank you for your support. I'll try harder to update now... it's all new from the middle of this chapter on... so it'll be a little wierd. hehe. thanks again!

Chapter 6

Riddick had enough. He was physically and mentally exhausted. His drenched clothing would not dry in this humidity, and he shivered with every gust of wind that kept unpleasantly cold. His arms ached from dragging the still-silent woman for the past two hours through the dense bush and rocky terrain. Periodically he'd have to lift her up and over tree roots and rocks, and she'd fight every second. She almost head butted him in the nose but Riddick dodged it quick enough. He was an inch away from beating her senseless again.

"Stop!" he yelled to his companions who were about 30 feet ahead of him and noticeably weary. Jack audibly sighed with relief and collapsed to the ground under a tree. Riddick dropped the woman's legs and sat beside Jack, wincing as his bones creaked. Imam gave him a paternal glare knowing Riddick had overstrained himself when he should have been resting. Riddick rolled his eyes before he could stop himself, but kept quiet.

Vacation planet, my ass! He thought, touching his nose lightly with his stiff fingers. Jack reached over and lightly slapped his hand.

"Quit playing with it. It'll heal crooked."

Riddick grunted at her but obeyed, too damned tired to argue right now anyway. His nose was crooked to begin with.

The strange woman smirked at the display, probably thinking that Riddick was some kind of pussy for taking orders from one half his size, a teenage girl no less. Riddick closed his eyes for a few minutes, blocking everything out but the current problem. He rested his head against the tree trunk and breathed deeply. He thought about the Woman lying in the mud, silent, tense, and alert.

Is it just my warped imagination or does she look nervous?

Of course she's nervous, she's your prisoner.

Although she wasn't nervous when she spat on me, she was angry, focused. But not afraid.

Riddick noted a change in her the last time he lifted her over a root. Her muscles were stiffer, eyes flitted around, and she didn't even struggle as much.

Why?

"Mr. Riddick?"

Fucking Holy Man, he thought, knowing he was near the solution when his thoughts were interrupted. Opening his eyes, he saw that his crystalline glare still unnerved the Father. He didn't know what to think about that.

"It appears that we've gone in circles…again."

Riddick felt the first pound of an oncoming migraine. "What?"

Imam cleared his throat, "I found our own tracks."

"Show me."

The Huntress watched the two men go, trying not to laugh aloud as the Wolf growled at the frightened priest. Before he left he leaned down and whispered into the little girl's ear, glancing at the Huntress while fingering the knife tucked in Jack's belt. The girl's innocent face strained at what he said.

He must have told her to kill me if I try anything. As if she could. The Huntress grinned at the thought.

As soon as the men were out of sight the Huntress resumed her struggle with her bonds. The small jagged rock she used to work at the cloth binding her wrists was always squirting out of her sweaty palms. The mud didn't help either and she'd had plenty of that in the past couple of hours. If she could get just half an inch more through the strong cotton scarf she could tear away the rest and her hands would be free. The rest would be simple.

The girl looked over at her again with a hint of paranoia. The Huntress stopped cutting and stared back, focusing on the whites of Jack's eyes. She didn't look away, even after two full minutes under the Huntress's scrutiny.

Strong will in this girl, she'll make it far if she lives through the night.

Again the Huntress wondered what such a young girl was doing with a warrior like him. Not sexual, she could tell. More…sibling-like. They fought like children sometimes.
Definitely a weakness.

The men stomped back just as the first rumble of another storm shook the ground. Turning away from the Huntress, the girl looked questioningly at Riddick.

"So, what's going on?" she asked. The Huntress wanted to scream her laughter when he just kicked a rock in reply. Twice the group passed the same grove of trees. She knew exactly what was going on and found it almost too amusing to contain.

"We found our own fucking tracks!" he bellowed.

The girl flopped back against the tree with a groan. "Buying time to think again?"

The black look she got in reply was enough to shut her up for a while.

The Huntress laid her head back down and waited for the rain, quietly resuming the work on her bonds. The Wolf would be too preoccupied with figuring things out to notice, hopefully.

Careful. We're so close. Too close.

The Huntress felt rocks in her stomach at the thought of these strangers finding her home. It was well hidden and had it's own security, but she had a feeling the Wolf would find it and get in despite it all. She worked harder at her bonds desperately. Maybe if they fall asleep she could get free and find a rock to bludgeon them with.

She felt a drop land on her belly, cold yet welcome. If it rained hard enough it might clear enough mud away from her eyes so she could actually see clearly. Plus it would feel wonderful on her swollen face.

The others didn't seem to like the concept of more rain. Riddick mumbled, "Fuck," and sat again with Jack under the shelter of branches. The priest's shoulders sagged, but he moved toward the Huntress instead of refuge.

What the…?

She hid the rock in her palm and waited. The Priest leaned down and hooked his fingers around the belts binding her ankles, lifting her legs out of the mud with a wet sucking sound. But before he could start dragging her, Riddick shouted.

"What are you doing, Holy Man? Leave her."

"I'm not leaving her out in the rain."

"Why not?"

At least the Priest has some redeeming qualities, thought the Huntress.

The Priest ignored him and pulled the Huntress out from the rain to another sheltered area. The Huntress sucked her breath in sharply as a bit of torn skin caught on a pinecone along the way. He put her legs down and sat next to her in the dry little cave. He signaled to the others to come also, there was enough room inside to fit them all comfortably. The Huntress recognized the cave, a family of deer hid here sometimes during the rainy season. They won't be coming here tonight, that's for sure.

The foursome huddled as well as they could to stay out of the downpour. The Huntress wiggled around enough to sit up, and worked her way over to the side of the cave and rested against it. Its cool stone soothed her aching back, but she worried about insects. She pulled her knees up and though it put pressure on her wounds; it felt better to be warmer. The Wolf watched her constantly and she glared back, unrelenting in her anger. First chance she got, she'd bash him and run. Just a little more cutting to do and she'd be free.

Riddick laughed to himself. Earlier he'd watched as the woman hid the rock in her palm. He'd spotted her partially sliced bonds. Now he watched her pretend to sleep.
She thinks I can't see this?

He felt himself nodding off, listening to the chorus of snores from Imam and Jack, and the calming sounds of the pattering rain. It hadn't subsided at all in the past two hours and the three of them agreed to rest for the remainder of the night in the partially elevated cave. Of course, Riddick would not rest being fully aware that the woman was on the verge of escape.

His brain slowly drifted off, and he had to twitch to wake himself up again. Nothing noticeable, just a leg muscle close to the still healing wounds from those flying fuckers. It was a stab of pain enough to keep him sharp but too light to make him groan. Instead he turned onto his side and kept his one partially opened eye directly on the woman. He wore his goggles to conceal his eyes only, and although they dulled his vision they didn't completely obscure her shape or her movements.

Riddick inwardly grinned at her spunk. She'd been beaten and dragged through miles of rough terrain, and now lay bound and probably in a lot of pain, and she was still trying to get away, still strong enough to fight back. He admired her in a sense. He'd done the same in her situation not too long ago, being bound and fighting like mad to be free of the asshole that held him captive. Once again, Riddick thought he'd have liked this woman quite a bit if she hadn't been such a bitch.

Jack's stomach growled from across the cave. Riddick forgot that they hadn't eaten all day, just a snack left over from the skiff. The poor kid was probably starving, in that teenaged time when they can eat anything and everything and not gain a pound. Riddick smiled thinking of those days, when he'd impress even his peers with his appetite.

The woman didn't move for another hour. She just lay there facing him with her eyes closed, quite possibly catnapping. Not too many people could lie that still for that long and not even twitch. Riddick doubted that she was asleep though, she was too aware for that.

When she did move, it was only a slight shift. Riddick focused all this hearing away from the raindrops and the snoring of his companions and onto the bound woman… and could hear the barest rubbing noise. She was still working through her bonds.

Riddick decided to fuck with her a little, so he groaned real loud and turned over onto his back, then made a snorting sound. The woman immediately stopped her attempts to break free and lay very, very still. He smacked his lips and scratched his belly, trying extremely hard not to outwardly grin. He knew she was terrified he was waking up.

Riddick silenced himself and appeared to go back to a deep sleep, but the woman still didn't move. He almost gave up on it right then, and just about went to sleep despite the danger of her escaping, but he knew better. He knew that if she got her hands free, there was the chance she would injure Jack or Imam, and Riddick had vowed on the skiff not to let that happen while he was nearby.

Okay, if he scratched his balls I wouldn't have made it through without laughing, the Huntress thought as she watched the warrior smack his lips and lie still again. She wasn't positive whether it was an act or not, she hadn't watched too many humans sleep and so she could not tell if his breathing patterns were fake or real. This pissed her off. She wanted out, NOW, and if Riddick was just messing with her. The Huntress swore to the Gods she'd snap that fat neck of his. If he wasn't messing with her, she was just wasting her time being so cautious.

The others were sound asleep, that she could tell by the cacophony of grumbles from the Imam and the wheezes from the girl, Jack. But Riddick was still a problem. She thought that if she could get her bonds cut, and he was faking it, she might still have a chance to grab the rock she'd been resting her head on and bash him over the head with it and run.

Yah, and bears can grow wings and fly, she joked. She was fast, but not that fast.

She tested the bonds again and found them loose enough that she could rip the rest of the way through. She debated with herself whether to do it now or wait until she was sure Riddick was asleep. Oh, piss on it. She pulled as silently as she could and could feel the bonds ripping further and further until they were loose enough for her to unwind her wrists.

All the while she kept her half-shut eye on Riddick, still unsure if he was awake or asleep, watching her or not. On his back he had a disadvantage but the Huntress couldn't take the chance. Her wrists finally loose, she flexed her fingers and wrists until she heard a bone pop, then went totally still. Her enemy may have heard it, so she shut her eyes completely and let her body go completely loose. She kept an ear out for movement though.

She thought she heard a blink, but wasn't sure. It could have been the patter of the rain on the logs outside, but she wouldn't take the chance, she kept her stance.

Five minutes went by without a noise. She could swear Riddick was asleep, but fear clutched her belly that he was awake and watching her, so she kept her eyes shut for another couple of minutes.

Finally, after no sound but the rain, she chanced opening her eyes a little…

And found the Wolf staring right back at her.

Gotcha! Riddick thought with glee as he saw the outright fear in the woman's eyes as she discovered him not a foot away from her, staring into her eyes. He knew his silvery gaze threw people off, so that definitely helped here in the dark of the cave.

What he wasn't prepared for was the butt of her right hand hitting him hard on the chin, causing him to bite his tongue. He grunted and spit blood as she scrambled to her feet. Not this time sweetheart…

Riddick grabbed her ankle and she landed on top of Imam with a yelp. Using his chest she pulled herself to her feet and kicked at Riddick with the one that was still free. How he got her feet free he didn't know, only that she was bent funnily before, but he honestly didn't think she was that flexible, or her legs that long. In any other situation he'd be a little turned on at that, but now all he could think of was the Hunt.

Surprisingly to Riddick, Imam got into the action, reaching up and tackling her around the waist. They landed in a jumbled heap next to Riddick, Imam keeping her pinned with his weight. Riddick tried to get an elbow around her neck to keep her still but she kept wiggling out of the way. With strength he didn't believe she possessed, she shakily lifted both herself and the Holy Man off the ground, and swiped at Riddick's eyes with her nails. He barely dodged it and ended up on his back.

Knocking Imam totally off her back she got to her feet, kicked Riddick in the gut and almost tripped over Jack on her way out of the cave. She only slowed to grab her staff. It took the others a moment to recover from the sudden strange assault but Riddick was out of the cave in a flash. His belly still hurt from that powerful leg but he put the pain aside for now, intent on hunting his prey again.

She was still in sight, skipping easily over the logs and puddles, enormously nimble and swift for someone so badly beaten. Riddick couldn't even hear her movements. The only thing he could hear was Jack yelling around behind him and the careless splashes of Imam as he tried to catch up to Riddick.

Riddick ignored them both for now, focusing completely on keeping track of the escaping woman. Soon their voices were far behind him and Riddick idly hoped that the two of them just gave up and went back to the cave… he didn't think the woman would be too happy about hunting around the dark forest for his companions with him.

His little plan didn't go well, his surprising her when her eyes opened he thought with a laugh. For some moronic reason he expected her to just roll over and behave herself. Ha! He wouldn't, why would she?

The Woman disappeared behind a tree and Riddick slowed, thinking she was just hiding behind it. He wanted to sneak up on her and get her from behind, where her flying fists could not reach him.

Riddick felt his heart thump in his chest, his senses were on high alert and he felt… wonderful. Alive. Better than on T2, that's for sure. That place, the days they spent there, it was purely survival, trying not to get killed. Sure, it was a challenge, but nothing like this, with an adversary that was close to if not totally his equal. A fellow warrior. And in fact, and he was reluctant to admit it, but despite the numerous beatings, cuts, scrapes and near-chokings, he was thoroughly enjoying this.

He smelled her, she was close. The tree was less than ten feet away and Riddick felt the ridiculous apprehension that she could hear his heart beat and would take off running again.

Five feet away, and Riddick was stalking the tree. He kept as silent as possible, grinning wide and preparing to leap. There was no movement near the tree, but the woman was thin enough to hide behind it easily.

He leapt, going for her knees and missing completely. He was surprised, in his head he'd calculated where her legs would be and they just weren't there! What the hell? Riddick landed in the mud next to the tree, no woman in sight.

"Fuck!" he muttered as he got to his hands and knees. Where the fuck did she go this time?

Only then did he remember she liked heights.