Deserter: Chapter Five-Gone Hunting

Riddick awoke to green eyes framed by thick curling hair. He jumped back so that he was a few feet away from Rain, resting on his haunches, muscles coiled.

  She glanced at the shiv he’d drawn and flicked him a smile.

  ‘It’s cold at night,’ she said, her emerald eyes flashing.

  He relaxed a little and nodded. ‘Didn’t think you’d stay away long.’

  Her full mouth pulled into a frown and she sat down hard in the brush. ‘I hate cold. Where I come from its always warm.’

  Riddick went back to her, laying in the flattened patch of fern type plants he’d used as a make shift bed, a space blanket used to keep him warm.

  Rain gazed at the blanket longingly and Riddick growled something about getting old and soft before inviting her to share the blanket.

  She flashed him a small grin and they both laid down beneath the blanket. The others had stayed near the warm glowing embers of the fire, but Riddick hadn’t wanted any part of them. He’d half hoped Rain would show up again.

  Walker hadn’t been able to sleep. He fidgeted nervously about the fire, his bravado gone after having met up with Rain and her blade. Riddick had liked the knife, but he didn’t ask, or even demand, that she give it back. It was strapped to her thigh with the sheath’s leather thongs.

  Rain let out a low groan and laid with her back to Riddick’s broad chest, careful not to touch him. She understood personal space, and with Riddick’s animalistic qualities he wouldn’t want to feel enclosed. She let out a warning growl when she felt Riddick’s thick arm wrap around her waist, but relaxed when he merely pulled her tight against him. She was grateful for the extra warmth, and he didn’t seem to opposed to it either.

  With Rain’s tight body pressed against him, Riddick relaxed. He’d done it for more than warmth. This way, if she moved, he’d know it right away, whether she was clouding his senses or not. He grabbed the edge of the blanked and tucked it around them, then pushed her thick, wildly curling hair away from his face. She didn’t move but he felt her relax against him, and her breathing became deep and even. He could sense that she was asleep, and allowed himself to drift off as well.

  ~~~

  Max shook Clyde awake and held his finger to his lips, telling the other man to keep quiet. Clyde nodded sleepily and pushed himself into a sitting position.

  Max beckoned him away from the fire, drawing him from the others before saying anything.

  “What is it?” Clyde hissed when they were far enough away that they wouldn’t wake the rest of the group. He shivered violently in the cold and rubbed his arms, trying to keep them warm.

  “Remember what Rick said? When we asked him about that prisoner? She’s worth major creds! If we can find her, we can bring her to Titan ourselves and get rich quick!” Max was practically rubbing his hands together at the thought.

  But Clyde wasn’t so sure. “Weren’t you paying attention to what else he said? That chick took him over a year to track down, and she almost killed him *twice*! What makes you think we can catch her?”

  For a moment, Max looked thoughtful. “She didn’t kill Walker. Maybe she’s not as bad as everyone thinks.”

  “She killed Rick,” Clyde reminded him.

  Max threw his hands up in frustration. “If you don’t want your share of the profits, fine. Just means more for me. But I’m takin’ some of those guns Walker made us tote along and huntin’ her down.” He stormed off back towards the fire.

  Clyde ran after him, grabbing his arm. “All right, all right!” he said. “I’ll help, but we better be well armed, because I think she’s just as mean as Rick made her out to be.”

  The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, sending its warm rays over the moon’s lush scenery. The two men crept as quietly as they could back to the fire. Walker had his back to the smoldering embers, his hand resting on a twelve gauge. Everyone once in a while, they could make out a twitch in his cheek, beneath the bandages. Blood had begun to seep through and he groaned in his sleep, probably because they’d had nothing to assuage the pain.

  Clyde spotted one of the two canvas bags full of assorted guns and stalked over to it. He tossed his head at Max, alerting him to his find, and threw the heavy bag over his shoulder. It wasn’t easy though, and he grunted loudly. Max threw him an annoyed look, and Clyde grinned sheepishly.

  Max saw the other bag, but getting it wasn’t going to be easy, considering Walker was using it as a back support. He cursed under his breath and pointed the bag out to Clyde.

  Clyde shook his head no when Max reached for it, and they decided to leave it be and begin looking for Rain right away.

  They headed off, thinking they were being quiet, but Riddick had smelled them already, and Rain and Riddick were wide awake, waiting.

  ~~~

  Riddick sent Rain an annoyed look. “I don’t want to have to explain why I helped you kill those kids.”

  She was indifferent to his annoyance. “Then leave. Go back to the camp. There’s no reason why both of us should be blamed for any unfortunate. . . accidents those two might come across.”

  Although he hated giving up on a good hunt, he agreed with Rain. “All right. I’m going back to the camp, but you’d better make this fast, because if the others get wind, they might come runnin’.”

  She nodded and then disappeared in the direction of Max and Clyde.

  The minute the sun had lifted over the horizon both Rain and Riddick had snapped awake. Riddick had smelled the two would-be bounty hunters instantly. After a few minutes, she’d heard them crashing about in the underbrush, trying to be quiet. They were fools.

  She heard a slight rustle beside her, and when she looked Riddick was gone.

  Rain heard hushed voices approaching and crouched low, slowly drawing her blade. She loved the weight of it in her hand. It was perfectly balanced and she tossed it lightly, flipping it in the air then catching it by first the tip then the handle. It reflected the sunlight that filtered through the leaves and she examined it.

  Within a few minutes, she picked up on Max and Clyde’s excitement. She could pick up bits and traces of their thoughts, their racing emotions making their thoughts readable.

  Max was letting greed cloud his judgment, but Clyde was a bit more watchful. She could feel the anxiety radiating off of him and waited. Rain crept about slowly, facing them as she went until she was behind them. She got closer and closer until she could make out their backs.

  When they stopped beneath a tree, having found the spot where her and Riddick had lain for the night, she climbed up the trunk of one particularly large tree. The branches were long and thick and she slid out over the top of them, looking down curiously.

  The branch forked out into two different segments and she used the crease to hold herself up as she swung down, hanging completely inverted by her feet.

  Max had his back to Clyde and wasn’t paying his companion any attention. Rain, using speed and strength, grabbed Clyde’s skinny shoulders and yanked upwards, curling up as she did. Before Clyde could even yelp, she slit his throat.

  His warm blood splattered across her shirt front and she laid his body across the thick branch.

  “Clyde, she couldn’t have gone far yet,” Max was saying. When Clyde didn’t answer he turned around, only to find his partner gone.

  “Clyde?” Max called. “Clyde, this isn’t funny, man! Where’d you go?”

  Mixed emotions flooded Rain’s mind as she picked them up from Max. Frustration, fear, anger. The boy was enough to drive her crazy. Most people cloaked their emotions, whether consciously or unconsciously. So while she could feel them, she wasn’t overwhelmed. This boy was like a radio, spewing everything he was feeling out of himself. It clogged her senses and she shut down her mind, trying to close him out.

  Knowing she’d have to get a better handle on her abilities before she could take Max out, she propped Clyde in a way that would make him fall out of the tree within a few minutes. When she left him, gliding from tree to tree, he had already begun to slide towards the ground.

  When Max heard a thump behind him and turned around to find the wide staring eyes of Clyde gazing up at him dully, he screamed. He dropped the gun he was carrying and the bag over his shoulder and stepped back, eyes round with horror.

  Clyde’s throat was slit from ear to ear, the veins and tendons exposed to his site. Something that looked suspiciously like bone could be made out as well, and Max realized with terror that the con he was hunting had slit Clyde clear down to his spine.

  Bile rose in his throat and he retched until his stomach was empty. It was then that he realized who was really hunting who.

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