Slave Planet: WAR OF THE BLOOD FIENDS!

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?? LOOK OUT!!!" Riddick shouted a quick warning at the top of his lungs. They had taken to the trail for only a few minutes when all hell suddenly broke loose. From out of nowhere a horde of hairy men/wolf hybrids attacked with long swords and spears. There had been no warning, just a beautiful morning one second, and stark death charging straight towards startled eyes the next. There was absolutely no question of intent...pure slaughter and bloodthirst consumed the fevered brains of each enraged beast. Already their mouths dripped thick saliva in anticipation of the blood feast.

Solemnity O'Kain was the first to react. It was out of necessity. He dropped cat-like to one knee a split second before a long blade slashed the air where his head had been. O'Kain didn't have time to draw a weapon, but he leaped to his feet instantly and drove the sharp point of his mysterious stave straight into the heart of his first assailant. He released the wooden object rather than take the time to pull it from the dead beastman's chest. Instead, the Puritan wisely used the time to draw his sword and one pistol. Almost simultaneously he dropped another hairy thing with a shot between the eyes. With his steel, O'Kain swapped blows briefly with the sword of a third creature. The forest echoed with the loud ring of steel on steel, and bright sparks rained insanely on the green foliage beneath the Puritan's leather boots. The beast grew enraged at this unexpected, expert resistance. It pressed the attack overly hard and made a mistake. O'Kain used the split second opening to launch a deadly assault of his own. He struck with all the might in his awesome swordarm. The beast was sliced completely in half. The upper part tumbled to the ground, whereas the legs and lower torso remained upright as if undecided on what action to take next.

Riddick had no chance to admire O'Kain's work....he was busy dealing death. He was a little overly quick with the crossbow, and the arrow went high, striking a hairy demon in the shoulder. The enraged monster kept coming only to be blown backwards by a blast from the .10 gauge. Another blast dissolved a monstrous head, but Riddick was rewarded for his efforts by two more attackers. They seemed to be everywhere, and there were plenty of them. The bald outlaw threw the shotgun up in time to block a sword thrust aimed at his chest. With one smooth motion Riddick used the empty shotgun as a heavy club, bringing it crashing down with great force on the hairy swordsman's head. The thing's skull slit open and it fell as brains and blood splattered on the ground. Riddick weaved and dodged like a jackrabbit, even as a spearpoint barely grazed his side, ripping a hole in his black t-shirt. This pissed the begoggled fugitive. He thrust upwards with his shiv, entering at the beast's groin and ripping a crimson line almost to its chest. The shocked wolfman screamed in agony and turned to run, tripping over its own entrails which had dumped onto the ground.

Banin barely had time to throw his rife up to block the first sword that came flashing at him. The sheer force of the blow knocked the slender off-worlder backwards. As he fell, Christina fired her rifle at the attacker. The sudden rush of sheer adrenalin screwed up her aim, but the bullet did manage to clip off the devil's nutsack. This took the fight out of the creature and he raced away, only to knock itself senseless by charging into a large tree. Banin and Christina both fired at another crazed monster and it dropped, shot through the chest and head.

Overcome by its ghastly hunger for fresh human meat, an anxious wolfman threw down its weapon and leaped onto Rarn's back. The boy screeched in pain as sharp fangs took hold in his shoulder. Fortunately the beast never had the chance to rip flesh away from bone as Lissa brought a big rock thundering down on its head, shattering the thing's skull. It fell to the ground, writhing and frothing with death madness. Rarn wasn't sure what amazed him the most, the fact he was still alive, or the fact it was Lissa that had rescued him.

Many of the attackers remained but they hesitated, struggling to understand why their intended food was killing them. O'Kain gave them more to think about, as he blocked a spear jab with his sword before cramming his second flintlock pistol into a growling mouth and pulling the trigger. The top of the thing's head exploded into bits of gore, brains, and skull fragments. Riddick ripped out the .45 and shot two additional hairy critters.

Suddenly the rest broke and ran, something in their small brains told them they needed re-enforcements....lots of re-enforcements. Banin, Christina, and Riddick helped them with their decision by laying down a hail of hot lead as the things vanished into the forest.

It was over. Just that quick...shit!

Riddick made a quick check-over. Everyone was still in one piece. At least everyone in his crew. He was bleeding a tiny bit from the nick in his side, but no one else had a scratch except for Rarn. Fucking incredible. The bite on Rarn's shoulder was nasty but Riddick had seen dog bites almost as bad. Lissa and Jelli were already giving him first aid. Rarn sat on the ground sobbing. It was hard to tell if his tears were caused by pain, or happiness from the realization he had survived the hellish onslaught.

"Shit!" Banin exclaimed. "Some of these assholes are still alive."

Riddick slammed a fresh clip into the .45. "Not for long, I'll do the honors."

O'Kain leaned on the hilt of his blood-dripping sword. "Belay that brother, we might well be needin' the ammunition later."

Riddick scratched his chin thoughtfully before putting the pistol away. "Yeah, good thinkin' O'Kain, I better use the shiv instead." The gaunt Puritan nodded his approval as he wiped his blade clean against a hairy back.

As Riddick did his work, O'Kain picked up the head of a beast he'd decapitated during the fight. "Foul hellspawn. Ye thought we'd be easy game like those poor unfortunates we found a'yesterday. I hope ye enjoy yee stay in hell," the Puritan sneered his disapproval of the object before tossing the bloody trophy aside like just another piece of garbage.

"What in hell are those horrible things?" Christina gasped. "Whatever they are, they came from somewhere besides Tronas."

Everyone's tense nerves leaped at the sound of a deep voice no one recognized. "Perhaps I can answer some of your questions young lady."
....................................................................................

All eyes snapped around at the sound of the voice. Three men were standing there, and a stranger group, Riddick was fairly certain he'd never beheld. The man who spoke was about fifty or so. He wore wire-rimmed glasses and looked the scholarly type, with his tweed jacket and bowtie. Other than being out in the middle of nowhere, there wasn't a whole lot unusual about this one, but the other two........!

Standing to the left of the man with glasses was a burly, bearded fellow. He was dressed in dark bell-bottomed pants and a light blue shirt. He wore a jacket that matched the much darker blue of his trousers. The shirt was unbuttoned in front, revealing a very muscular, hairy chest. The man's eyes were dark and piercing. Around his waist was a leather gun holster. His hand rested on a very old-fashioned revolver. Riddick figured it was a pretty heavy caliber weapon judging by the largeness of the thing. Most likely a .45 caliber, the same kind Riddick carried, only not an automatic. Not much chance of that big hogleg jamming, the silver-eyed fugitive mused.

Perhaps the oddest bit of this picture was the weird hat the man wore. It was a funky looking white thing with the brim turned up all around. Riddick had seen a picture or two of hats like that...sailor caps....yeah, that was it....real old school though. Despite the hat, its owner had the appearance of a tough guy, a real hard-ass.

As freaky as the second stranger was, he was nothing compared to the last cat. This one was clad all in black, not unlike Solemnity O'Kain. Thing was, his entire body, head, face, hands, everything was covered. Like Riddick he wore goggles, dark red goggles. The goggles were the only non-black object on the man's body. His nose and chin were covered by some kind of metal grill thing. Strapped across the broad shoulders of this bizarre figure was a long, and especially lethal looking, katana sword. On his left hip was a scabbard containing a long dagger. The scabbard, was made of black leather, just like the small backpack he wore, his knee pads, and the heavy wristbands on his arms. Even the gloves on the man's hands were black. It was a hot morning and pretty much everyone was panting a bit. Not this one, you had to stare to see if he was breathing. Fuck, Riddick thought to himself. If this dude was half as bad as he looked, it might be a good thing if he wasn't hostile. Underneath, the tight fitting, black outfit, this dude was all hard, corded, muscle....just like a freakin' steel spring. No shit.

Riddick shot a quick look at O'Kain. The Puritan glanced back, his eyebrow slightly raised. The cold, steely blue/gray eyes of O'Kain showed no fear whatsoever. Riddick almost smiled. Whatever else you could say about Tronas, there was no lack of bad-mutherfuckers roaming around. Two of these strangers were obviously off-worlders like Riddick and Banin....at least they weren't mercs, not the kind that the begoggled outlaw knew of anyhow. The two little groups stood sizing each other up for a few seconds before the rather drab fellow with glasses spoke up again.

"Those things you just killed are commonly called Canners. A rather innocent sounding name until you discover how they earned it. You see, they are an alien species that considers human flesh a delicacy. A very desirable delicacy. In fact, one could even say they are almost addicted to the taste of our flesh."

Riddick spoke up, "first off, what are you guys doing out here? I hope you tell me that you're not with these hairy critters. Whoever, you are, we're just passing through and not looking for trouble. These things jumped us and we defended ourselves. All we ask is that you step aside and we'll be on our way."

Tweed jacket spoke again, after thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "Be assured, myself and my friends bare you no ill will. From the looks of it, I would say you are a slave transport heading to Merryville." The man's voice took on a truly serious tone. "It truly pains me to inform you of this but there is no Merryville anymore. These things have destroyed the place. I seriously doubt that there are more than a handful of survivors out of thousands of poor folk."

There was an audible gasp from the female members of Riddick's entourage. The Outlaw might have called the man a liar, had he not just been introduced to these beasts up close and personal. "Alright," a still cautious Riddick said. "Tell me more."

"My name is G Stratton Bone, you can call me G if you wish. I had just undertaken a trip to Merryville myself. These gentlemen are my bodyguards and friends. We had barely reached the outskirts of town when the Canners attacked. It was horrible, just horrible. They slaughtered anyone who tried to resist, the rest were rounded up...later they will literally be....canned. Nothing more than tasty snacks for the monsters back home. These creatures were driven back some fifty years ago. Since that time they've remained dormant. Obviously, some new, very powerful king or head priest has emerged to lead them back to devastate the human race...wherever they might find us. Only the incredible stealth skills of my friends kept us alive...alive for now anyhow."

The studious chap continued, "I am a teacher and scientist, I operate a very elite school for teenagers near here. My desire is to educate a few of the promising young folk from these parts. I provide them with a free education, something they would never have otherwise. Unfortunately, all that is quite pointless now....the Canners will seek out everyone. That is their way. I'm afraid we are all marked for death."

The burly man in the sailor cap suddenly chimed in. "Not if I have a say in that! Let em' come, my pals and I will give them another strong dose of what you fellows just handed out in generous portions!" This dude was pissed...really pissed. His fists were clenched and the veins popped out on his powerful forearms as he spoke. "My name is Hector X Delgado, you can call me Shipwreck. With his head he motioned to the mysterious figure with the red goggles. "This is my buddy Snake-eyes. He don't say much but believe you me, nothing would make him happier than kicking a bushel basket load of hairy werewolf ass! Ain't that right Snakey old pal?" The one named Snake-eyes nodded. It occured to Riddick that a simple nod from that dude somehow implied even more pent-up berserk rage than Shipwreck's impassioned speech. Whoa.

The man calling himself G managed to regain his composure. His speech became a bit less desperate for the moment, "Our school is within the high walls of an old citedal. I'm no military man but I daresay we'd stand a much better chance there. Who knows, we might even hold out a few days before.....," his voice trailed off and he fell silent.

"Ah, c'mon Doc Bone...its not over till its over," said Shipwreck. "I think what he's trying to say to you guys is that you're more than welcome to stand and fight with us. From the looks of things, you'd be a helluva lot of help. The only fighting men we got with experience are myself, ole' Snake-eyes here, and our pal Sci-Fi. He's back at the school keeping an eye on things. Now don't get me wrong, the three of us have taken on bigger trouble than this before...and we're still above ground."

Snake-eyes grabbed Shipwreck by the shoulder. He just looked at the sailor without saying a word. Shipwreck nodded. "He says its time we get rollin', there are big packs of these bastards on the hunt. They're gonna come back here for sure. So what are you people gonna do...better decide quick! You damn sure don't wanna be out here in the open when a big shitload of these damned cannibals show up."

O'Kain spoke up...."I say we stand with these people and help them defend their school. And maybe I'm mistaken here but I judge that ye two strange ones be fellow earthmen."

"That's right mister, we are from earth...twentieth century earth. Yeah, I know it dosen't make any sense, but if I'm lying, I'm dying. I'll fill you in on all the details later. Right now, you guys need to make a decision. Stayin' put is certain death...believe me, if you'd only seen what I did." Shipwreck's eyes took on a sad, faraway aspect.

"What about delivering these slaves?" Banin asked, with that same obnoxious tone of voice that irritated Riddick so badly. "We got a contract to fulfill."

Riddick turned to his fellow off-worlder. "As of now there ain't no fucking slaves. Besides you dumb fuck...didn't you just hear the man say Merryville is fucking toast? When we got to Merryville I was gonna let them all go anyhow. Do you have a problem with that shit-fer-brains?"

"What if these freaks are lying?" Banin asked impatiently while shooting a quick glance at Shipwreck who glared back with malice.

"What if they ain't?" Riddick answered. "If you want to go on to Merryville, that's fine with me...git movin' you stupid asshole. Anyhow, I've made up my mind...we're going with these guys..for now anyhow. If you get in our way...I'll let O'Kain dice you into fillets with that sword of his.....after I cut your throat!"

Riddick recalled his dream, the one with werewolves impaling him. He hadn't had any bad dreams about a teacher, a sailor, or a ninja.

"Let's roll!" He said.

"Ok everyone, follow me, its not that far," G said. Shipwreck and Snake-eyes started picking up swords and spears that had formerly belonged to the dead wolfmen.

"What are you doing that for?" Riddick asked.

Shipwreck shrugged, "those school kids are gonna need weapons too. This is everybody's fight I reckon." Made sense. Riddick shouldered a couple of spears and crammed a wicked looking dagger into his belt. Everyone else picked up some kind of weapon before falling in line behind G.

Riddick also noticed Shipwreck cramming some lungeleaf in his pockets. Not a bad idea. Riddick quickly filled a pocket with the plant as Christina watched and smiled. "Its for energy," Riddick said. "Yeah, sure," the little blond answered. Her top was soaked with sweat and did little to conceal the huge, pierced nipples underneath. Riddick felt a throb in his crotch. He and Christina brought up the rear of the troop. When he felt no one was looking, he reached out and playfully squeezed his companion's tit. The girl's hand darted down to fondle the growing snake in Riddick's pants. Riddick smiled...sorta. As they marched onward, the bald outlaw's thoughts drifted to another time and another girl...a girl named Fry. Those were painful thoughts. Riddick had found someone special and lost her to another bunch of deadly beasts...the grue. In his mind Riddick swore that this time he'd die before that would happen again. In a surprisingly gentle moment, he put his hand on Christina's shoulders and caressed her. She reminded him a lot of Fry...tough and courageous. Oh yeah, and sexy as hell.

Shipwreck fell in beside Giella whom he'd been eyeballin' for some time. He pulled off his jacket and asked the girl if she'd like to put something on.

Giella smiled, "oh thanks a lot, but I'm really hot and sweaty, for the time being I think I would prefer to stick with just my thong. It's awfully sweet of you to ask though."

Shipwreck put the jacket back on. He couldn't take his eyes off the girl's huge plump tittys. The way they swayed and jiggled with even Giella's slightest motion hypnotized the horny sailor. The fact that he'd been munching on lungeleaf all day didn't help the situation one bit.

Giella looked at him innocently through her big beautiful eyes. "I hope it dosen't bother you that I'm nearly naked. It's a little weird but I feel so free like this. Even while I was a slave I felt more free while I was naked."

"Oh, I see," said Shipwreck. He noticed that each nipple had a couple of hickies on either side. "I suppose one of these guys is your boyfriend?"

Giella shrugged and seemed a bit sad. "No, not really. Riddick and I had something going on there for awhile. But then Christina showed up and they can't take their eyes of one another. I really hoped for another chance to suck him off but I guess its over. Oh well, I'll just turn the page and move on."

Shipwreck nodded. "Yeah, from the looks of those two I would say that's a wise thing to do. Maybe, since you're available, you and and could hook up. I'm always horny as hell."

"Hey, sounds great," Giella replied. "I bet a stud like you has some big full nuts for sure!"

Well shiver me timbers an excited Shipwreck thought to himself. It's about time I scored some pussy around here without having to pay for it!

"Are you really from the twentieth century?" Giella asked. "How is that possible? Mr. O'Kain claims to have come from the sixteenth century but I honestly don't understand that either. It makes my head hurt just thinking about it, could you please explain it to me Mr. Shipwreck.

"Well....," the sailor began slowly. "It all dosen't really make sense to me either. I can't speak for your friend O'Kain but I will do the best I can to tell you what happened to me, Snake-eyes, and Sci-fi. You see we were on assignment aboard a destroyer. We had just entered this area on earth called the Bermuda Triangle. Suddenly, from out of nowhere we were attacked by COBRA. That's this bunch of real assholes on earth. They're always up to no good. Our job was to stop them at all costs. Anyhow there was a big battle and we finally defeated COBRA. Unfortunately, the ship was badly damaged and we were forced to abandon it. We lost quite a few men so there were an abundance of lifeboats. Snakey, Sci-fi, and I had a boat all to ourselves. At about this time a big storm blew up and made the rescue mission pretty tough. Our boat got missed somehow. We stayed on the lookout until late that night. Finally, everyone dozed off including me. When we woke up we were still in the boat...but on a different ocean and a different planet. Anyhow, we didn't know all that until we made it ashore near Merryville. When we tried to explain what happened to us everyone thought we were nuts. Everyone except G that is. I was telling our sad tale in one of the local watering holes when I met the professor. He explained to me that the Bermuda Triangle held one of the most notorious time/space continuity tears in the universe. At some point in the night we had floated smack dab into the tear and it transported us here, a one in ten billion shot. Personally, I still think COBRA had something to do with it. Those bastards were always experimenting with new weapons and technology. It could be that one of their weapons test backfired and somehow shot us across time and space to Tronas. Anyhow, like I said, it don't really make any fucking sense to me either and everything is just explained is theory. Weirdest thing is, it looks like we are needed here even worse than we were needed on earth. G took us in and promised to try and figure out a way to get us home..if that's even possible. Still, he is one smart dude fer shure."

Shipwreck's dark eyes strayed again over Giella's body. "The way the women look here on Tronas, I'm not sure if I should be complaining about being here...if you know what I mean."

"I think I heard a compliment somewhere in all that," Giella said. "The one thing out of all that I understood is that you are a big flirt Mr. Shipwreck."

The sailor's cock was straining against the tight fabric of his denim trousers. "Well, trust me on this one thing sweet girl, I got a helluva lot more in mind than just flirting!"