Chapter 34: Dust Storm

Riddick crouched low at the edge of the field. The sun had set as he was tracking the bomber, throwing everything into a black, moonless night. His goggles were pushed up onto his forehead as he surveyed his surroundings.

Ahead of him was a small, quaint village. All the buildings seemed to be dug out of the earth, leaving only low, rounded hills and a short flight of stair visible from the surface. Smoke and light were filtering out of several of the dugouts, accompanied by the noises of families happily preparing their dinner, but a great deal of sound was coming from one of the larger hills; laughing, yelling, and drunken singing. A tavern. "Got ya." Riddick thought as he stood and made his way to the large mound, down the steps and through the rough, wooden door.

It took several moments before the occupants noticed him, but as they did, silence fell throughout the room. It was not often that a stranger came to their village, and this was a very noticeable stranger.

Riddick studied them all as he stood by the door. A movement caught his eye. He just caught a glimpse as a man slipped through the door in a dark corner of the room. Ignoring the continued stares Riddick crossed the room and went through the door, his shiv sliding into his hand.

The room he had just entered was gently lit by candles and contained nothing but an old, wooden stairwell that led downwards into an earthen passageway. Riddick followed as it led further and further downwards; through storage rooms and what must be the tavern owner's apartments.

A door slammed just around the corner ahead of him. Riddick quickened his pace, yanked open the rotting door, and stepped into an old, unlit chamber. As the darkness enveloped him, he pulled off his goggles and crouched low.

Old piles of rotting wooden crates were stacked along the walls, giving off a sickeningly sweet stench. He held himself motionless and in the heavy silence, he heard a heartbeat; its beating erratic. Riddick pinpointed where the sound was coming from; to his left, behind the crates.

Without making a sound he crept over to the corner. Crouching on the other side of the crates he could hear the man's breathing and smell his cold, clammy sweat. Riddick edged further around until the man came into view, huddled on the hard packed dirt floor, eyes darting around uselessly in the darkness. He froze when he felt the hard, cold edge of a blade press against his throat. "Guess who…Merc."

Kyra forced herself to walk on. The huge, blue sun had long since reached its peak and was now beating down relentlessly on her back. Sweat was running in rivulets down Kyra's spine; water was fast becoming a matter of desperation since she was already dehydrated from her extended time in Cryo sleep. She had seen no sign of water however; no plant life, no animal life, but she remembered what Imam had once said and she could hear his deep voice repeated it in her head over and over, "Every desert has water, it only waits to be found." So she walked on.

J settled the ship down at the top of the crevice, and they disembarked once again to search the ground. Wind buffeted them, stinging their faces and any other skin they had left uncovered as they searched. Finally Jefferies yelled over the howling wind, "This is fucking useless. If she was here, her tracks have been covered by this fucking wind. Get back on the ship."

They began walking back to the ship, fighting the wind when they suddenly heard a deep roar. The all stopped and looked around. The roaring was growing louder and louder. As one they all looked towards the ever lowering sun and were rendered speechless at the sight: A huge wall of dust was flying across the flat landscape towards them, blacking out the horizon. "SHIT!" J yelled as they all broke into a sprint and dove inside the ship just as the wall struck; sending them all tumbling and rolling in its fury. The ship's lights flickered, and then died.

Kyra stood still, trying to force her mind to focus on what she was seeing. As she walked she had come abruptly to a sharply sloping cliff face which apparently led into another canyon. She couldn't see the bottom due to the blowing dust and grit that was flying over the edge and threatening to pull her along with it. She glanced to either side, trying to judge how big the canyon was and if it would be easy enough to walk around. She couldn't make out any change in the cliff face. It almost seemed as if she had suddenly walked to the edge of the world and could go no further.

"Shit. Now what?" she thought blearily. Her body was screaming at her to stop and rest; to lie down and never get up. She grit her teeth, feeling dirt crunch as she bit down. She would go on…There was nothing else for her to do. She looked down and rested her hand on her rounded stomach. She couldn't give up. Turning she continued on along the ridge.

She had lost track of time as she walked along the canyon ridge and she hadn't noticed any change in direction either. "This fucking thing seems to go on forever!" she thought to herself.

She was finding it harder and harder to breathe; her throat and mouth were so dry that they didn't seem to draw in air and what air she did get was whipped out of her mouth by the incessant wind. She was beginning to stop more and more often, gasping for breath, hoping to clear her head. She had found a tiny, smooth pebble to suck on trying to ease her thirst, and though it did draw more saliva into her mouth, she still felt parched and weak. Thoughts of water filled her mind. Lakes…rain…roaring rivers… Her thoughts were snagged on that one.

Cool spray struck her body, the river's roaring filled her ears…And grew louder…Too loud. Her mind suddenly snapped back to reality. It wasn't spray that was striking her; it was the ever driving dirt particles. She glanced over her shoulder and without pausing to think, she did the only thing she could. She jumped over the edge of the cliff as a huge wall of dirt blew over her head.

She fell for only moments before the steeply sloping edge of the cliff caught her and sent her sliding downward on her already battered back.

Finally, her feet struck firm ground and she fell forward, torn and bleeding. She lay still, gasping for breath. Her breaths became dry sobs as the pain, exhaustion, and thirst overcame her. "FUCK!" She screamed. It echoed off the canyon walls, bouncing around and around her until it finally faded away, leaving nothing but silence. Kyra's skin felt numb from the sudden lack of wind. Unable to force her weary muscles into move any further, she fell into a deep sleep; all alone at the bottom of a cliff.

Riddick felt a sudden pull at his heart. Something was wrong. He didn't know how he knew it, but he did. Kyra needed him. She was hurt and she was scared.

He slammed his fist into the merc's face. They were in forest near the village. Riddick had…Persuaded the man into walking out of the tavern with him and into the trees where he had then proceeded to ask questions. They had just started and already the kneeling merc sported a freshly broken and bleeding nose as well as various other, less noticeable injuries.

"I know you didn't think you could get me all by yourself, come on. Tell me where the others are, and where you are hiding your ship and I'll make it fast. Don't, and I'll enjoy watching you suffer." Riddick said slowly, almost lazily. A complete opposite to what he was feeling inside. "Damn, she did make me soft."

The man slowly drug his head upwards until he was looking Riddick in the eyes. "Fuck you." He said, spitting the blood out of his mouth. "I won't tell you shit, you merc killing mother fucker."

Riddick just looked down at him. Then, swiftly and smoothly, he sliced open the merc's stomach, right below the navel. Blood and entrails spilled outward and pooled in the man's lap. Riddick turned and walked away, listening to the man scream and gag as he tried to put himself back together. "Should have talked." He said, knowing the man could still hear him. "It will take you hours to die now." With that, he disappeared into the forest.