We arrived at the wreckage with there still being light, but it was fading quickly. Riddick and myself were the first ones off the sandcat and into the power cell bay. Fry unlocked four power cells, Riddick taking two and I taking two. When I pushed past Riddick he raised an eyebrow in question to my strength.
"You aren't the only one around here with some muscle, big boy," I purred, hauling the power cells, weighing at 35 kilos a piece out to the sandcat.
"Mmmmm, sexy," was all Riddick growled as he followed me outside.
"Oh my god. Those two are sex addicts," Johns snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose with two fingers.
"We haven't fucked yet," I called out over my shoulder at him, which only made Johns groan in frustration.
"That just makes it worse," Fry grumbled behind us.
"If you guys would just let us get it over with then we wouldn't be at each others private parts all the time," I laughed, making Riddick chuckle as he dropped the power cells into the back of the sand cat.
Riddick slapped my ass as I dropped my load and I turned on him, pinching a nipple and making him hiss then growl. Johns let out another agonized groan of frustration and stalked off. But our play was put on hold as the last of the light started to fade. Both Riddick and myself removed our goggles and Jack caught a glimpse of my eyes. I gave her a shake of the head and motioned to stay quiet, I didn't need a ton of attention at a time like this. I pulle dmy goggles back on and hauled Jack over to the container where Paris was and then called to everyone else. Riddick and Shazza stayed out a few seconds longer when the little creatures erupted from the columns. Once I shoved everyone but Riddick and Shazza into the container I waited to see what would happen next.
"Riddick! Get that ass moving!" I shouted, not caring if Johns had a stick shoved up his ass about it.
Riddick came running, as did Shazza, andthey had to leap into the giant ditch left by the wreckage. Riddick didn't move a muscle as the little creatures flew just above him, both Shazza and Riddick not being detected. But I could tell from the way Shazza was glancing around that she was going to make a run for it. Jack shouted at her to stay down, but the stubborn woman didn't listen. Shazza leapt to her feet and started running, and the smaller creatures attacked. I watched with no interest as Shazza was ripped apart. Riddick came to his feet, looking satisfied that Shazza had died, and dusted himself off. As he approached us the larger creatures were coming out to play. I pulled him inside and gave him a once over. He fisted a hand at the small of my back in my shirt, keeping me close. Fry was looking for the cutting torch and when she couldn't find it Paris freaked out. While they were taking care of Paris, I tapped Riddick's shoulder and booted the cutting torch towards him. He bent and started it up, cutting a hole in the hull and then kicking in the metal. I followed close behind him, as did the rest of the survivors, and when we saw that there was a lot of open space we lifted our goggles and went separate ways. I would click my tongue in Morse code, and Riddick responded in kind. We kept tabs on each other and when Riddick didn't respond back I knew there was something close by. I slowly made my way to where I had last heard him, and when I found him, so did one of Imam's boys. There were two full sized creatures around us, clearly interested in Imam's kid, and when the boy ran the creatures went after him. I tapped Riddick's shoulder and backed up towards the light. I could hear Fry and Johns calling out for us and I responded.
One of the creatures appeared behind Riddick and he took off, well ahead of the thing that was chasing him. I rejoined the group and watched as he was lbinded by their light and fell, the thing chasing him screaming in pain and leaping up into the hull of the ship. Johns got some lucky shots off and the creature landed in front of us sizzling from the light and in the last throes of life, just before death. The thing jerked one last time, making them flinch and back up, and I went to Riddick. He was pulling on his goggles, sccowling angrily. I found a cut on his shoulder and inspected it while he got his temporary blindness out of his system. He gave me a nod when I patted his shoulder and went to have a seat. Jack sat next to me, curled up on herself, and Riddick leaned on a beam across from us. Jack pulled one of my arms over her shoulders and I looked down at her. She reeked of fear and adrenaline. Her heart was racing and her sweat was fresh. She shook under my arm, and I knew that she was going to be a problem. But I wouldn't kill her. I don't think I could.I could kill Johns though. Him I hated.
Fry and Johns had started arguing and at one point Johns lept to his feet and Riddick stepped forward, making the merc draw his gun and point it just below Riddick's chin. Riddick just lifted his goggles, grinning, and tapped his shiv just below Johns' groin on his inner thigh. Johns grinned back at Riddick, though it was a stressed and nervous grin and sat back down, putting his weapon away. Then the inevitable happened. Fry volunteered Riddick to lead us in the dark back to the skiff with the four power cells. But with what we had now, we wouldn't make it. We needed more light. Which was in another part of the wreckage. The group decided to go for it, and I knew most of them would die.
The first part of the trek into the darkness had been rough. Paris had gotten taken out, Jack nearly died trying to get a flare that had fallen, and now we had circled the canyon just before the settlement. Riddick and myself had stayed out in the front, and people just thought it was because we were fuck buddies. But with all the light behind me, it wasn't as painful to see and to survive. After we came back to the sand cat tracks the group started arguing again. Johns and Fry were at each others throats again, and when Johns threw Fry into the dirt he pulled Riddick ahead of the rest and started talking. I stayed a few feet behind them, just in case a fight broke out, and what I was hearing made me hate Johns even more. The cowardly bastard wanted to cut Jack up and use her for bait. That I wasn't going to allow. I stepped up beside Riddick and passed him another shiv, and went a little further ahead of them, but I could still hear them.
"How come Alex's eyes are like yours? I thought you had them done surgically?" Johns asked, his blue eyes locked on my back.
"She was wearing contacts, the tinted ones I guess. Must have had hers done too," Riddick answered, covering for me.
"Hurt like a bitch too!" I said over my shoulder, making Riddick grin.
"You fuckers are crazy to get a shine job. Crazy," Johns grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Not so crazy now that you guys need it," I growled, stopping and turning around to face him.
Johns just rolled his eyes I gave Riddick a look that said, 'Did that bitch just really do that?'. Riddick shook his head with a grin on his face and I backed up into the darkness.
"You think you could handle this? Not too big of a job for you is it?" Johns asked, focusing on Riddick again.
He wanted to kill Jack, just to save his own skin. In the blink of an eye Riddick lept forward, grabbing Johns gun and got a few shots off, but they didn't hit his main target. Riddick and Johns started fighting for the gun and Johns managed to dislocate Riddick's left elbow, making him release the gun. I trembled from excitement as Riddick popped his joint back into place like it was nothing out of the ordinary, and then turn to Johns. Riddick slowly pulled his lights from his back and set them aside, making a predatory circle around the merc. I watched from underneath a pile of rib bones, safe from whatever was in the dark, and I felt completely at ease. Watching Riddick work was like watching a ballet, except this ballet was deadly. Riddick moved with grace and patience, like any expert killer would, but his grace and strength came from a more animalistic side of himself. Finally the two got down and dirty, wriggling and wrestling on the ground. Johns would have shoved the shiv into Riddick's throat, but of course Riddick was stronger and faster, blocking the blade with ease. Once Riddick had Johns on the ground beneath him, he let him go to grab the shiv, and whirled around gracefully to slice open Johns' back. Blood poured from the fresh wound and I could feel the things in the dark getting excited. As Riddick slipped back into the darkness I stared with a blank expression as Johns was eaten alive.
I came to Riddick's side and he looked down at me. He wore a frown, but that was customary I suppose, and I headed back to the group that was retreating out of fear. I got here first, slipping into the ranks unnoticed, but Riddick made it a fright game. he appeared right behind Fry, making her scream and leap back when her back touched him. He just grinned slightly and approached Jack who had started to cry.
"Don't you cry for Johns. Don't you dare," he growled as he slipped past the kid.
I followed close behind him as we entered the canyon, him pulling all four power cells while I made sure his path was clear on either side. The rest of the survivors were in front of us, like a shield, and Riddick was being the boss and yelling what to do. They would keep stopping, which would earn a roar from Riddick to keep moving, and those roars made the very ground tremble beneath our feet. At one point the younger raptor things flew over us, a few catching on fire when Fry lifted her liquor bottle torch. I had to dodge them, as did Riddick, and we ended up at a halt at the boneyard that we had destroyed on the way to the wreckage. Riddick and Imam cleared a path, allowing me to keep my back to the group and keep an eye on what was behind us. One by one more and more full grown raptors fell from teh sky, killed by their own kind. As Imam's last son was climbing over some of the bones a dying raptor made a grab for him, its talons sinking into the soft meat of his lower leg. The kid screamed in pain and I kicked the raptor int he head to get hi mto let go. Imam pulled the kid aside and began cleaning his wound, only to have a raptor climb down the side of the cliffs on either side of us and snatch him up. The kid disappeared over the top and Imam began screaming the kid's name. For others death was violent and cruel, but to Riddick and me, it was just part of life. Everything had to begin, and everything has to end. Fry and Jack were huddled together as Riddick and I surveyed the rest of our journey. The settlement was still a ways away, making things just a bit more difficult. I looked over at Riddick and he just stared ahead of us.
"They aren't going to make it," I whispered quietly so they wouldn't over hear us.
"I know. There's a cave just behind us that they can stow away in. We are getting off this rock," he rumbled back, finally looking at me.
"Shame, the kid was entertaining," I mumbled, flipping a shiv over my hands.
"We ain't got time for games, Alex," Riddick said, his tone serious.
"Another shame, we could have played who's a better killer," I said, turning to rejoin the survivors.