The Journey

The dawn of the next morning



The sky, usually a peaceful green with hints of blue to it, was almost blood red, the wind whipping the trees and bushes around the settlement. A huge tree crashed down, narrowly missing the furthest house, taking out the radio center.



The people gathered in the center building, the strongest one where their ship lay silent, taking shelter within there from the storm that worsened outside. Children clung to their parents as the world around them howled and shook the buildings.



“Miss Kylie, I took a head count.” Sam reported, Kylie nodded for her to finish. “There are three people unaccounted for. The big man, and two children.”



Kylie frowned, nodding. She lowered her voice so only the woman standing beside her could hear. “I’ll take care of it, keep these people focused, find a way to keep them busy. Just don’t let them panic.”



She draped a heavy coat around her, belting it tight to her waist and pulling the hood up around her head. A bandanna was wrapped around her mouth, allowing her to breath without the wind knocking her breath out of her, her emerald eyes peering through what space was left. It took four people to wrestle the door open against the battering force of the wind and rain pouring down from the angry sky, but they got it open, and Kylie slipped out into the night-dark day.



Her eyes adjusted quickly in the dim light, but she knew that odds were on that Riddick would see her before she saw him, not just his strange eyes had told her that. She would need his help to find the children, so that was who she set out to find first.



She fought for each step against the wind, the loose ends of the coat whipping out around her, the driving rain chilling her legs. Kylie was nervous, not scared, she hadn’t been afraid of anything in a long time, but the thought of the children out there unprotected unnerved her. She debated calling out to them, but she knew that nobody would hear her, the wind was too loud. As she paused to look around, she was knocked to the ground by a tremor.



“No” She muttered to herself. “We do not need this.”



She rose to her feet again, arms pin wheeling around her as another quake shook the ground around her. She remained on her feet, but was forced to jump against the wind as a crack opened in the ground beside her. As she stood looking back at the crevasse, a deep voice spoke in her ear.



“Might want to watch your step.”



“Tell me something I didn’t know.” She turned to look up at the man, “There are two kids missing, out there in this, I need your help.”



“Now why would I do that?” He crossed his arms over his chest, his voice betraying nothing, the goggles he wore making it impossible to read his eyes.



“Fine, I don’t care, go, hide.” With that she walked away, turning her back on him, letting him decide for himself. She genuinely didn’t care what he did. She had long ago gotten used to being disappointed by other people, and not long after gave up relying on anyone but herself. Even now, living in this situation, she didn’t depend on the others for anything. She provided herself her own food, still giving them help when they needed it. She pushed through the thick branches of a bush, and turned her head only half way when she heard the crack of a branch behind her.



His grunt was the only response she got to her look, and she kept moving. Stopping once, her hand resting on the trunk of a tree to maintain her balance as another tremor ripped through the ground around them. She heard a low rumble, then the sound of something sliding.



She whirled around, and her eyes flew open, the ground beneath Riddick was crumbling, and he was sliding down the loose soil and rocks into a deep chasm.. She wrapped one arm as far around the tree as her reach allowed, and grabbed his hand with the other. She sank her teeth into her lip as she felt the tearing in her shoulder, but still pulled, and pulled hard. Her shoulder screamed as she pulled, trying to bring him back up far enough he could reach solid ground. As he found his footing, climbing the rest of the way out of the gaping hole, she still did not let go, only releasing her grip when he stood on the ground beside her.



She stood, unsteady, gasping for breath through the pain roaring down her arm. He stood silently, his goggles removed from his eyes as he peered into the shrubbery around them. She pressed her arm into her side, and started to move again. Her footing slow, but pace consistent.



He followed, pausing after a few moments and touching her arm, the wind howling so loudly that words were useless. When she turned her head, he pointed into a thick bush, beyond which the steep rise of a cliff. She nodded, and pushed her way through the branches, her face set against the pain she felt. She would find the children, no matter what it took.



The roar overtook them suddenly, followed quickly by the mass of an animal the size of a large bear. It’s teeth shone in the dim light as it landed in front of them, the lull in the wind baring the sound of children’s cries.



“They’re in there.” She said loud enough that her companion could hear her, and he nodded. She knelt down, picking up a fist sized rock in her bad hand, the other grabbing a large stick. Her eyes narrowed, muscles tensing within her.



The animal jumped at her, the smaller and supposedly easier of the two before it. She growled in response, ignoring the pain that shot through her as she raised her hand, slamming the rock as hard as she could into the side of the beast’s head.



The swipe of its huge paw knocked her out briefly, and when she awoke, she saw the beast facing off with Riddick, right above her. The shimmer of both their eyes entranced her for a matter of seconds before she realized she was still holding the stick. Taking advantage of the beast’s distraction, right as its forepaws lifted from the ground, she drove the stick into its chest, the blood spattering down on her face.



It slumped on top of her, then started to violently lash out, its claws raking at anything and everything it could, its death throes massive and violent. Desperately Kylie tried to cover her face. She could feel the gashes from the claws as they tore through the heavy coat, the blood drawn pooling and cold against her back. Finally the animal stilled, Kylie finally took a breath, and tried to push the animal off, only to feel it lifting. She braced herself, her remaining strength used to search for something, then saw the strong hands of Riddick throwing the animal off to the side with a grunt.



Kylie pushed the hood away from her face, the bandanna having fallen off long before. Her eyes closed, she took a deep, ragged breath, staggering to her feet, “C’mon, we’ve got to get those kids.” Her voice low, but he heard every word.



He followed behind her, only once putting a hand out to steady her, but she pulled away. “Children…” She called to them, and was rewarded by the sound of their relieved voices.



“Miss Kylie? Is that you?” The older called, slowly emerging from the safety of the alcove. She smiled, seeing that it was her. They ran to their rescuers. Kylie breathed a sigh of relief, and their voices dimmed, her world turning black.







Her eyes slowly opened, the light dim around her. Kylie tried to sit up, but the pain in her back caused her to let out a moan before laying back again.



“Don’t” Came a voice from nearby, the shadows wrapped around him.



“What happened?” She whispered, her throat dry.



“You were hurt. Stitches, cracked ribs, almost got your lung, and your shoulder had to be set.” He emerged from the corner where he stood. “The kids are fine.”



“Good. How long?”



“You’ve been out three days. Doc thought he was going to lose you.”



“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what else she could say.



“I don’t get you. Why would you risk your life like that, you know what I am.”



“Don’t care what you are. I hate them, all of them, if I can screw them, I will. I won’t let anyone be left like that, like I was. They..” She closed her eyes again, the words catching in her throat.



“Not for me.” He murmured softly, his own lids closing over the silver before she continued.



“My mother was murdered, so was my father. They did it, rotten mercs, law, both were involved. Fuck all of them.” She shuddered, causing her ribs to ache. “You don’t matter to them, they only care about their own asses. You’re one of us now, whether you believe it or not, and I will not let one of us die like that.”



He said nothing, looking at her in stunned silence.



“I don’t care about what you did before.”



Footsteps came from outside, and the door opened to Sam. “Oh, good, you’re awake. We just got the radio up. They’re sending a ship to get us supplies and take anyone who wants to go.”



Kylie nodded, and watched as she left. “I’m staying, anyone else who wants to, can go, nobody will stop them.”



When the door was closed, she looked back to Riddick. “I guess you’ll want to go?”



“Can’t take that ride. They’d report anyone on board when they stopped.”



Kylie closed her eyes in thought, and nodded to herself. “Might report everyone here anyway. Take her, she’s not much, but she’ll get ya pretty far. Get whatever you’ll need.”



He nodded, slipping out as she slipped into sleep.



The roar of the engines woke Kylie from a deep sleep, and in spite of the pain she rose, climbing the ladder to the roof of the building. Raising her good hand, she watched as the ship turned slowly, it’s nose moving to face the sky. Before the shutters closed over the glass windshield, he nodded in acknowledgement of her.



“Good luck. Hope we meet again, but not too far in the future.” She smiled, and went back inside.