As soon as we got back to the abandoned city, everyone wanted to check out our new 'lifeboat'. Fry was inside it once again, taking note of all the damaged and worn out parts, and Johns was just outside of it, drinking. Shazza was inspecting the outside hull, and Jack went into it, following Fry. Paris was examining the thing, walking around it and turning his nose up at the aged spacecraft. "Well normally I can appreciate antiques, but this," he paused, pointing at the ship. "This is something else."

"It'll work," Johns stated, taking a swig from his bottle.

Fry walked out from the inside of the ship, Jack following behind her. "There's nothing we can't fix, as long as the electrical adapts," she said, squatting by the power cell. She was fiddling with some of the wires in it, and I was curious as to how the power cell works.

Shazza looked over the ship once more and commented, "Well, she's not a star jumper."

Aria looked over at me and mouthed, "Star jumper?" I just shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. It sounded like what they say in Battlestar Galactica before they go forward a long ways, or jump, as they called it. Whatever it was, I hoped we would find out soon so we could get off this glorified rock.

"It doesn't need to be," Riddick said, catching everyone's attention as he stood a ways away from the group. "Take a two-seater like this up to the Sol-track shipping lanes, stick out a thumb, bound to get picked up." He turned and looked directly at Fry and asked, "Ain't that right, Captain?"

Fry and Johns exchanged a look, but it seemed as though no one else noticed it, simply resuming their previous activities. Fry was still by the power cell, and she looked a Johns asking, "Can I have a little help here?"

Riddick stepped forward to help, his hands clasped behind his back, but as he approached, Paris decided to become useful. Paris helped Fry drag the cell into the ship, Jack hovering around them in case they needed him. "I got it, I got it," Paris said, but he really wasn't doing much work.

Johns saw Riddick walk up, and stepped in his way, rubbing his chin. "Do me a favor," he said, pointing his chin out in the distance. "Check those containers out, and ah, see what we can patch these wings up with." Johns stared at the wings, his mouth hanging open, before he turned to look at Riddick. Riddick didn't respond, only stared at Johns, who then asked, "Huh?"

They were locked in a staring contest for a while, but eventually Riddick conceded and walked off. Johns had a smug look on his face, and I felt really tempted to pop him in the jaw. I glared at him as Aria and I passed him, heading into the baby ship. It was a little dark in here, but the shade was a welcome relief from the constant sunshine. Fry and Jack looked up at us when we entered, and Paris left.

I stood there awkwardly, scratching the back of my neck and asking, "Is there anything I could help you guys with?"

Jack smiled at me reassuringly, like he knew how hard it was for me to talk to the others, but it was Fry who spoke, "No, you can go explore with everyone else, all I have to do is a bunch of electrical stuff."

"Oh, okay," I said lamely. "Look, I'm sorry if I offended you or whatever before, but I hope you understand why I did what I did."

Aria patted my shoulder and walked outside, and I turned to follow her. I heard Fry respond to me as I was leaving, "You were just standing up for what you believed in, no harm done." I nodded my head and kept walking, wanting to hang out with Aria but she was busy looking for Johns.

I found this building that looked mainly residential. There was dust everywhere, but the building looked mostly intact. There was a shelf of toys, and I lazily gazed at them. There was a tank, a few space shuttle like ones, ones that looked like the baby ship, and a few reptiles. A big metal fridge was against one wall, and a counter with what looked like a sink. There were no light switches, but there were quite a few windows that let in a decent amount of light. I wandered down a hallway, seeing one room with a double bed and a closet, the other with a single bed and toys littering the floor. I also found a bathroom at the end of the hall, but the plumbing was very strange. I guess if I needed to pee I could figure it out, but I think I would actually be more comfortable peeing behind a bush.

I worked my way back to the kitchen and suddenly realized that I haven't eaten anything in a long time. In fact, Aria and myself hadn't even had supper yet when the storm started. My stomach rumbled at the thought of food, and I made my way towards the kitchen. Going to the fridge would be stupid, seeing as though I didn't know how long this place has been abandoned, but by the looks of things everything would have been spoilt. I looked through the cupboards beneath the counter and found a whole lot of pots and pans, but no food.

I looked around the room, seeing a pantry and a few upper cupboards crammed into a corner. I walked over to the pantry first, seeing as though most people keep canned food in the pantry, but all I found were some crackers and a bunch of ripped open bags of dried food. I decided I probably shouldn't trust the opened bags, but I took the crackers. I reached up and tried to open the cupboard, but the stupid thing was stuck. I yanked on it, hit it, and eventually got so frustrated I wrapped some cloth around my hand and punched a hole in the thin wood. Inside was exactly what I was looking for.

There were four cans inside, two were peaches, one was cherries, and the other was spam. I pulled all of it out and placed them on the table, carefully deciding my next move. I could be a pig and eat them all myself, or I could share with Aria like a good best friend would. I could also tell everyone and divide it all equally among us, but I really wasn't about to sacrifice my hard-won food to feed everyone. Yeah, that's pretty low of me, but I take care of my own.

Now the problem really is, how can I make sure no one else finds out I have food? I could give some to a select few people. Gaining allies who would hopefully become useful later, but who? Two of the cans were obviously for me and Aria, and I kinda liked that Jack kid too, so maybe one for him. But who would I most want as my ally? Riddick immediately came to mind, but I shook that thought away. I don't trust Johns, so he's out, and I don't have enough to feed Imam and his children. Shazza already hates me, even though she was the one in the wrong, so giving it to her would be a wasted effort. Fry could be a very good person to associate with, but she would most likely try and evenly distribute the food.

And so that really just left one person. I have no doubt in my mind that befriending him was a wild gamble. He is the one to most likely get off this planet, but would he take us with him? And if he doesn't leave here, I may make too many enemies to get away scott-free.

Alright fine, Riddick wins! I would give Aria, Jack, and Riddick a can, then give Imam the crackers. I couldn't not include him, especially when he has three boys with him. Hes a nice guy, I like him, so I could at least give him crackers to share with the boys.

I found Aria first, pulling her away from playing around with some solar powered toys. I told her to just follow me without any questions and she agreed reluctantly. We went off to find Jack, spotting him creeping up behind Riddick. I pulled him away and lead the two of them into the little house I found. They both sat down and stared at me with questioning eyes.

"So heres the deal, I found a little smidgen of food, and I'm giving you two some of it," I said. Jack jumped up to take a can I pulled out but I held it away from her. "But there's a catch." Jacks smile disappeared and he sat down. " You cannot, and I mean cannot, tell anyone you got these okay? I only found a few, and not enough for everybody, so I don't want any trouble for giving it to those who I think, uh, need it most. You got that?"

They both nodded their heads vigorously and snatched the two cans away from me. I laughed as they struggled to get into the cans before I drew the knife from my bra and cut open the cans. They both ate like wild animals, and I couldn't help but smile at their mannerless behavior. I gave them one last parting look before I headed out to find Imam.

He was sitting by the solar well this when I approached him, working with some of the wires. I sat down next to him and cleared my throat. He looked up and me and smiled before saying, "Ah, Chara. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I have something for you and your boys, but you mustn't tell the other about it."

He looked at me apprehensively before asking, "What is it?"

"Some food, but not enough for everyone. Here," I said, handing him the large bag of crackers. "They may not be the best with this dryness and heat, but I figured with our new-found water and everything, it would be better than nothing."

He graciously took the bag, giving me a smile as he did so. "Thank you, my child."

And now I had to find Riddick. He wasn't an easy one to track down, but eventually my roaming eyes spotted him across the camp. I ran over to where I saw him, but he had disappeared. I looked around frantically, trying to see where he ran off to, but like every horror movie character ever created, I never thought to look up.

"Miss me?" a deep gravely voice questioned. My head shot towards the sound, and I saw Riddick crouching on the roof of a building a few feet away from me.

For a moment I forgot why I was there, and I just smiled at him. But I quickly remembered and fought a blush away. "Not really, but I do have something for you," I said, proud my voice didn't shake or crack.

"Really?" he asked, jumping down from the roof and landing completely silent. He stalked over to me like a predator to prey, and I started getting nervous. "Like what?" He purred. A tingle went down my spine at his stupid attractive voice.

I took a step back from his approaching figure and held out the last two cans, "I, ah, found some food and thought I'd share. I'll give you the choice of spam or cherry."

He paused in his stride for just a second, and I could have sworn I saw surprise flash across his face, but he kept coming towards me. Once he got real close he circled me, and I stood stock still, impersonating a dear in headlights. He stood behind me and smelt my neck, and for some reason it didn't totally weird me out. It felt natural.

"Hm, you smell different," he stated, running his nose along the side of my neck. I just stood there, unsure of what to do, his light breathing on my neck tickled, and I squirmed a bit.

"Well, I haven't showered in a while... so, yeah," I finished lamely. I was so happy that my voice sounded even remotely normal! Maybe I could pretend to be unfazed by his strange acts, but his deep rumbling laughter shattered all hopes of acting normal.

"You almost smell like, well almost like me," he said, finally backing away from me. "How interesting." He took a can and when I turned around, he was gone.

I thought about what had just happened, and my heart kicked it up a few notches and my cheeks burned in embarrassment. Distantly I noticed he took the spam, and was grateful for that because spam is disgustingly, even though it is healthy. I thought over the conversation again and again, cursing myself for not using Ducky's line from A Land Before Time. It would have been the perfect time to say, 'You smell me?' But nooooo! I just had to get flustered and lose my witty charms and movie references.

I was silently cursing the cruel fates for making me so funny and attractive, but stealing away all of my charms in the presence of an attractive man, when I almost committed violent murder right where I was.

Johns held Jack up by his shirt and was yelling in his face. Demanding to know where he got the food, and why he didn't share. Jack looked so scared, and I hated myself for putting him in this situation. Johns raised his fist, and it didn't look like there was anyone around to help him as Jack whimpered in fear. Jack caught sight of me and pleaded for help with his eyes. Johns followed his gaze and saw me, still holding a can of food.

"You little bitch!"

Alrighty! I am being forced to have this thing called a life, and so I will be on vacation, without internet, for two weeks. So, I'm super sorry but I won't be updating for awhile! I just thought I'd leave you all with a cliff hanger, so that maybe you'll stay interested while I'm gone... Please stay interested! Anyway, please review!