Chapter 7

Bekah walked close behind Fry and Jack keeping her nose tuned to the sky. She knew the creatures would be on them soon and the fact that they were about to approach a canyon made her skin itch in fear. She did NOT want to be in a small, confined place with those fucking creatures and Johns…and Riddick. She shuddered at the thought of Riddick.

Fry nodded up to the two alpha men walking further ahead of the group and Bekah just glanced at them before scoffing angrily. "Something's up…"

"Should we be worried?" Fry asked her.

Imam stepped closer and Bekah shushed them all. Her hearing wasn't as advanced as Riddick's but it was a hell of a lot greater than everyone else's. She turned her head to get a better lock on their voices.

"Ain't all of us gonna make it," Johns called to Riddick.

Riddick's deep timber replied, "Just realize that?"

Johns laughs, "Seven of us left." He pauses momentarily, "If we can make it through the canyon and lose just one, that'd be quite a feat, huh?"

Bekah snarled as she began to slowly get ahead of the group to the side. "Not if I'm the one," Riddicks voice sounded in her ears.

"What if you're one of six?" Johns was smirking in his voice.

Bekah tripped over a rock and smacked down on the ground narrowly avoiding a creature. Johns turned and looked around warily.

"I'm listening." Riddick called.

"What are they doing up there?" Jack whimpered.

"They're talking about the canyon, I suppose. How to get us through…" Imam answered with an uncertain look at Bekah. She shook her head slightly and he blanched.

"Battlefield doctors decide who lives and dies, it's called triage." Johns said smoothly.

"You kept calling it murder when I did it." Riddick replied acridly.

Johns ignored his tone, "Either way, I figure it's something you can grab onto." They continued to walk ahead unknowing of how close Bekah was to them. Imam waved the flashlight back and forth carefully.

"Sacrifice play; hack up a body, leave it at the start of the canyon. Like a bucket of bait." Riddick growled lowly.

"Trawl with it," Johns jumped on his words, "We got extra cable on the sled. We drag the body forty, fifty feet behind us."

"Nice embellishment." Riddick complimented with a sneer.

Johns was pretty smug with himself, "Well, I don't wanna feed 'em. I just wanna keep 'em of our scent." Bekah's nostrils flared and eyes narrowed in anger.

Riddick looked back at the group, "So, which one caught your eye?" He noted that Bekah was no longer with the group so he put himself on high alert. His nostrils flared but he couldn't find her as they were downwind.

"No, no, don't look," Johns growled irritably, "Christ. What the hell's wrong with you?" He admonished.

Bekah backed up slowly until she was in line of Fry. The docking pilot-turned-captain looked at her as Bekah gestured for them to pull back and keep an eye on the group ahead. Carolyn nodded, "Imam, slow down." Imam looked at her questioningly before catching Bekah's disappearing form. "Just a little more space between us and them."

Jack glanced toward where Bekah had disappeared to. "Where's Bekah?" She asked fearfully.

Fry motioned for her to be quiet and gather closer. "Get ready."

"All right, enough of this shit," Johns said irritably. "You do the girl, and I'll keep the others off your back."

Riddick slowly came to a halt, "And what about Becks? She's awfully close on 'the girl'." Riddick smirked as he glanced over his shoulder, "Am I taking her out as well?"

Johns' eyes narrowed, "The convict has a little soft spot for the old girl." He taunted. Riddick raised an eyebrow at him dangerously, "Don't worry, I'll keep Bekah in line," He patted his box of morphine. Riddick remained quiet and Johns smirked, "It's not too big a job for you, is it?"

Riddick turned slowly, menacingly toward the mercenary. "I'm just wondering if we don't need a bigger piece of bait."

"Like who?" Johns questioned with a superior look.

Riddick's eyes flashed with animalism. He remained quiet and suddenly attacked knocking the flare from Johns' hands. He threw his body into him and rolled around so they were back to back and snatched the gun from Johns' holster at his side.

He cocked it and went to fire but Johns spun and threw an elbow into Riddick's forcing him to shoot without aiming. Bekah ducked as the bullet grazed her shoulder and tore open her flesh in a straight line before implanting in a skull behind her and shattering it.

"Leave the sled! Let's move!" Carolyn ordered as she turned with her flare and ran back the way they had come; away from the shooting ahead.

Johns got a hand on the gun and Riddick kept firing to empty the gun. One shot went straight up and a creature screamed in pain while another went over Bekah's head. She flattened herself to the ground and covered her head with her arms while keeping an ear open for creatures and the scuffle.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Fry screamed as she led them blindly away.

Johns got an arm over the gun and drove his elbow into Riddick's face. The convict still did not let go of the gun as he staggered back a step. They grunted as Johns struck the bottom of the gun where Riddick was holding it; he still didn't let go. He struck the gun three more times before breaking Riddick's hold by dislocating the arm and knocking the gun away.

Bekah snarled as the hot metal of the gun slid into her arm and she rolled away just as Riddick knocked the merc back. He almost impaled himself on the spines of some long dead creature whose flesh had been picked clean by the creatures.

Bekah got to her knees now that the danger of being shot was over with and she grimaced as Riddick popped his bones back into place and Johns came at him again. Slowly she got to her feet but remained crouched trying to keep her senses trained on the two men fighting in front of her and the ravenous predators milling about them like scavengers.

Both men stared each other down as Riddick pulled the light harness off his back and kept it hanging from his hand; slowly it rocked back and forth and Johns made sure to watch it as a possible weapon. They began to circle and a creature hissed as it flew overhead eyeing the duo for a tasty meal hoping blood would come soon and the light would die out.

A shiv was pulled from a hidden pocket in Riddick's pants and brandished in the light of the dropped flare. Johns pulled a knife out quickly to arm himself against the convicted killer.

"One rule." Riddick's gravelly voice ground out as Johns hopped nervously from foot to foot. Riddick stayed perfectly still with the flare casting ominous shadows from behind him. Johns blinked and he attacked. The light harness caught the knife and flung it away into the surrounding darkness before swinging back to knock Johns over.

Bekah threw her weight onto her right side to avoid the knife and caught it with her left hand hissing only slightly as the blade nicked her finger. She flipped it so she could stab easily with it and was about to jump forward to help when a sound from behind had her throwing her body to the ground. She narrowly avoided being impaled by one of the big predators' tails. She swung the knife up as it was retreating and cut off the sharp tip.

It cried out in pain startling the two combatants. Bekah rolled forward with her knees tucked to her chest and landed right under the creature. She kicked up with her legs and caught it in the chest sending it upward. It hissed and dove down at her with its head and she barely missed the damned thing. It lunged to the side and knocked her over making her cry out. She ducked under some bones as it attacked again and began to hammer its boney skull into the place she was hiding.

She snarled and squeezed herself through some of the wider bones and jumped on the thing while plunging the knife through its side again, and again and again until it died screeching. She spat at its body and crawled back over to the pair of fighters.

"Stay in the light," Riddick growled out. Johns reached for something and Bekah saw it was that stupid extending baton. She growled as he whipped it out and knocked Riddick onto his back and began to pummel him with it. The harness went flying when he landed and his shiv was knocked a few feet away.

"No!" Bekah snarled and jumped on Johns' back knocking them both over. She rolled clinging onto him and he smacked her shin and then her arm. A crack made her yelp and she kicked him over and away from her. Riddick's shiv was lying beside her so she knocked it back toward the man as Johns dove for her. She put her foot on his chest and rolled them over again and tossing him aside.

"Bitch!" Johns snarled and as she went to kick him he tripped her before striking her a couple times with the baton. She cried out in pain and then pushed a wall of fire at him making him fall back into Riddick. He turned as he did and tried to smack the man with his baton but his wrist was caught.

They fell and Johns snatched up Riddick's shiv before trying to decapitate him. They both grunted with the force they were exerting. Bekah's sais glinted in the small light catching Riddick's eye. She held one over Johns' head to bash him and Riddick smirked. "Remember that moment."

With that, Bekah cracked Johns in the head with her sai. He yelled and Riddick thrust his fist into the merc's chest knocking him up and back off him. The shiv went flying beside them and Johns reached for Bekah just as Riddick snatched up the shiv and grabbed Johns' wrist before slicing him across the back.

Blood welled to the surface immediately as the deep gash leaked life's blood down his back. Johns yelled in pain and hit the ground with Bekah used for cushioning. She yelped as Johns put his forearm to her throat and her usable arm clawed at his face. She scratched him and bit his hand and kneed his kidney. Riddick watched as they struggled and waited for Bekah to break free. She snarled and finally hooked her legs around his throat and ripped him off of her. He coughed and struggled where he landed on the ground as Riddick's voice taunted him, "You should've never taken the chains off, Johns."

Riddick snatched her off the ground with one arm and pulled her behind him as Johns grabbed for the gun. Bekah saw the flare begin to die and stayed behind Riddick clutching at her dislocated shoulder and the cut. "You were one brave fuck before."

Johns began to reload the gun as Riddick walked back from the dying flare's light with Bekah pressed roughly against him. "You were really bad-ass." He mocked as he began to disappear into the dark. "The chains." His voice was fading as he did, "The gauge. The badge." He was gone from sight.

Johns struggled to his knees and aimed the gun using its meager flashlight attachment to try and find them. He turned in a circle as Riddick taunted him one last time, "I told you to ghost me."

Riddick's arm wrapped around Bekah's middle and he pulled her closer to his body so he could assess the damage. She winced in pain and his large hands moved her one from her shoulder. He wrapped a muscled palm around the back of her neck and pressed her mouth to his shoulder while he prepared to pop the shoulder back in. She bit down in pain as it slipped back in with an audible 'pop' and Riddick groaned at the feel of her teeth.

She breathed a sigh of relief as his hands turned her around and urged her on in front of him. She handed him the light harness and his shiv which he replaced without turning the lights on. They could hear creatures wailing around them and had to duck a few times. Riddick stopped them momentarily and turned around.

In the distance a few more shots were let off as the creatures attacked the merc. Suddenly the gun clicked on empty and Johns grunted in pain while a creature shrieked. Riddick watched as it impaled Johns and then took a large bite out of his head. Blood spurted and bone cracked before shattering and his brain made an odd squelching sound.

He smirked and then turned to catch up with the others while pushing her ahead of him with a slap on her rear. She snarled at him and snapped her teeth in his direction. Riddick laughed and they ran on; two predators amongst many others ready to fight to the death.

Blood scented on his nostrils and Riddick felt a lust for blood overtake him. Bekah ran beside him and her scent reached his nose making him growl lowly in his chest. He saw the blue blood of the creatures glisten on her skin. Sweat covered her body and her blood smelled sweet to him. He felt his groin pulse in time to their synchronized heart beats.

A creature dove at them and he tackled her down to avoid it. She was smashed beneath him as he landed on her to both protect her and find a little relief. She groaned as his rock hard dick pressed into her groin through their clothes. "Riddick, we-mmph!" She tried to speak but his lips and tongue penetrated her mouth and his hands gripped her hips forcing her hard against him. Her breasts were crushed painfully against his chest and he growled into her mouth.

He released her mouth and bit her neck several times causing her to yelp before he pulled them up – her body still pressed against his. He let her down and all she could see in the dark were his swirling silver orbs. She let out a breath and kissed him once and then bit him hard drawing blood. "We need to go." She growled out before lacing her fingers with his and tugging him forward as much as he allowed.