Disclaimer: Don't own Riddick or anything from the Chronicles or Riddick. We can all dream...

Chapter 4

I jumped in the air, landed a kick in a guys face, then spun to punch another in the stomach. He doubled over then fell to the ground. Two down, one to go. I stood still and looked at the last of my attackers. He was scared; I could see and smell his sweat. I grinned at him. He flinched.

"I'm going to give you a choice. You can take these two," I kicked the nearest body, "and never come near me again, or you can die now, and save me the trouble. Because if you do come near me again, I'll feed you do the wolves…So what's it gonna be?" He turned and ran. Didn't even bother to pick up the bodies, very lazy of him.

It'd been nearly two weeks since I'd broken the chain and dropped down into Crematoria. So far, I'd fought off twenty seven people who'd tried to kill or rape me. I was starting to get bored of it. On the upside, the attacks were easing off. The people in charge, the gang leaders and most dangerous prisoners, knew that I was not someone they wanted to screw around with and most of them told their men to keep away. I wasn't interested in the crappy politics of the prison, and they knew it. What they didn't know was why. I was waiting for Riddick, and he was due in today.

I walked back to the cave I'd been sleeping in. Unsurprisingly, it was always empty and nobody went there. Something to do with the fact you had to climb either over or around the wolf cages to get to it, and then you had to walk through a tunnel with absolutely no light in it. It was worth the trip though; it was a huge cave, dimly lit with excellent ventilation. It even had it's own private ledge, inaccessible unless you swung down from a chain or could fly. Then again, if anybody but me tried to get in, they'd probably get their heads ripped off. The wolves weren't all that friendly with strangers. They never bothered me, maybe it was because I wasn't afraid of them.

I changed into some clean clothes I'd bought or stolen. I couldn't remember which, it was all the same really, and headed out on to my balcony. I could see people moving around in the control room. I knew Toombs had stayed for the two weeks to say a final goodbye to Riddick, he'd even come down to 'visit' me once. He'd been completely drunk and he'd only brought two guards with him. I disposed of the guards and tied Toombs up. Then I gave him to one of the gang leaders as a gift. Unfortunately, the warden bought him back. So he was sitting up in the control centre as planned. Shame.

Sudden movement in the box brought me to attention. I watched carefully, then I saw a goggled face come into view. Riddick.

They didn't argue long up top. It was only a few minutes until Riddick was lowered down on a fresh chain. I'd found out shortly after arriving that not everyone had to break a chain upon arrival, it was only the high bounty prisoners who had to be resourceful. In Crematoria, all the convicts were high bounty, so it was something of an honour to be chained up and dropped into a pit. Or something like that.

He used a different method from me, wound himself up the chain and dropped his weight on it, then dropped straight to the ground. He was met with the usual speech and gave some sort of unsatisfactory answer; the welcomer looked displeased and confused. I gave a wry smile. He'd probably said he wasn't staying for long enough to be classed or something cocky like that. He was good at cocky from what I could remember. My memories didn't include much of him. That was the final missing piece in my Furian puzzle. Those last few months, from when my parents died onwards, the time of the resistance. I wondered if Riddick could unlock it, since he'd been there too. Only one way to find out.

I waited until the dogs were released to go looking for him, I had a hunch that he wouldn't have any problems with them. I was walking down one of the widely used tunnels, eyes a piercing blue, when I heard a sound behind me. I spun and slammed my elbow into someone's face. They kicked me in the shin and I retaliated with a kick to the crotch, guessing my attacker was male. No luck though, he was wearing a protector. Smart move. I took a little to long in deciding what to do next and I found myself pinned up against a wall with one arm bending slowly upwards. I gritted my teeth.

"That's the best you can do? You're a trained fighter and you use back alley tactics? No wonder you ended up in the slam."

"Well, you're in here too, Riddick." He gave my arm a sharp twist and spun me round. I found myself looking at that same goggled face. I briefly wondered why I was always pinned when we met. I struggled, but I was still held fast against the rock. "Let me go!" He ignored me and looked at my face.

"Nice eyes, very demonic, but aren't they just a bit over the top?" I paused for a second, wondering what the hell he was talking about, then realised my irises were glowing red with fury. Smiling, I changed them to a bright green of energy. I was pleased to see a look of surprise cross what features of his were visible.

"Lose the goggles and let me down you sneaky bastard! What kind of respectable criminal attacks an old friend from behind? At least have the decency to fall on me from the roof or something next time." He smirked and let me down.

"Got somewhere we can go?" he asked.

"Depends, do you like dogs?"