Green Eyes

Everyone started arming themselves once they realized Riddick had escaped, and I almost laughed.

Did they honestly think any sort of weapon would make a difference?

But there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, an instinct that whispered something wasn’t right and I should be prepared, so I strapped on Spot’s back-up weapons.

I strapped two of the knives to my thighs, within easy reach, and a third to the small of my back, with another pair hidden in my boots and the last carefully tucked away between my breasts.

Just in case.

Leaving behind the gauge and bullets, I clipped the taser to my waistband and gathered the survival necessities into a smaller backpack I confiscated from the cargo hold.

The others were not quite so efficient, and were squabbling amongst themselves thanks to the tension.

“What’s the point, anyway? If the man’s gone, he’s gone. Why should he bother us?” Paris grumbled, still fumbling with his antique weapons.

“Maybe to take what you’ve got.” Johns noted casually, getting the group’s attention as he continued preparing his big gauge. “Maybe to work your nerves. Or maybe he’ll come back just to skull-fuck you in your sleep.”

Rolling my eyes at his dramatic storytelling, I zipped the bag shut and swung it over one shoulder, unimpressed.

The only one Riddick would come back to kill would be the merc.

“Sounds like a charmer.” Shazza muttered.

“Ever thought of writing horror novels, Johns?” I wondered, mock-innocent. “You might have a future in it.”

He glared, obviously annoyed with me, and I just shrugged, turning away with a smile.

Too easy.

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I can admit that Shazza and Zeke were pretty useful.

At least, more than the others.

Though I was made to function in low-oxygen environments, they were not, and managed to make breathing units for everyone in a pretty short amount of time.

“Imam, if we’re looking for water, we should leave soon. Before nightfall, when it’s cool.”

Lazily watching the horizon, I shifted slightly and peered down at the group from my perch on the Hunter-Gratzner’s nose.

“I think you might want to revise your plans, captain.”

Following my gaze, they also found the bright blue sun rising over the sand, and it dashed any hopes of a cool trek through the desert anytime soon.

Sliding down to the wing, I scanned the desert, ignoring their new brainstorming session in favor of actually doing something useful.

If I listened closely, even with my subdued hearing, I could almost make out something…

Clicking, hissing, growling…

“Hey!”

Jerked from my thoughts, I sent Johns an unimpressed look that must have clearly conveyed my annoyed thoughts.

“What?”

“You, go help dig those graves. Big girl like you can handle that, right?”

Oh, so that’s his game?

Well, we’ll see about that.

“Mochiron watashi ga dekiru, baka. Anata to chiga~tsu te, watashi wa hiyowana karada no yowai hitode wa nai nda.”

The merc paused, his confusion quickly turning to frustration.

“What the hell did you just say?”

“Que eres un cobarde sin espinas, y, obviamente, demasiado estupido para darse cuenta de que te estoy insultando.”

A vein started to pulse in his forehead, and I couldn’t help but smile as Jack struggled to suppress her laughter a few yards away.

“Speak English, damn it!”

“Et de renoncer a la possibilite de vous pisser? Jamais!”

Oh, he looked about ready to spit nails, and I almost gave in to the urge to laugh.

I haven’t had so much pissing someone off in years.

“You listen to me, bitch-”

“Ruguo ni yao wuru wo, zhishao shi ta de chuangyi, ni de liang mian dui yi dui manyu fenbian.”

Paris looked pretty awed by that point, like he couldn’t believe someone could know so many languages, and Zeke was fighting to keep from grinning, as was Shazza.

Glad to be of service.

“Alright, that’s enough!” Carolyn interrupted, standing in front of the merc as if that would be enough to stop him. “Just help Zeke dig, and we’ll be back in a few hours, alright?”

“Tudo o que voce diz, capitao.” I replied sarcastically, adding a lazy little salute that seemed to assuage her.

Hopping down to the sand as the scouting group prepared to head out, I purposely went inside the ship instead of following Zeke.

I had a better idea of how to spend my time, anyway.

A little digging around, and I had some unbroken water containers in hand, clean enough on the inside not to need a washing out.

There was a lower level no one had bothered to search through thanks to the darkness, a handicap I happily didn’t share.

My pupils dilated wide at the sudden lack of light, especially after so long in such bright sunshine, but I only took a few moments to observe the area before moving forward.

The storage room was in pretty good shape, considering, though the innards were fairly tossed about.

Crossing the space with little difficulty, I tapped the walls with one knuckle, listening to the vibrations until…

There.

Unsheathing my claws, I hooked them under the metal panel and tugged it free, throwing the crumpled sheet off to one side.

The radiator gleamed back in the minimal light from the doorway, and I chuckled, pleased.

“There you are.”

Pausing after unhooking the pipes and setting the containers down to fill with water, nose twitching, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Wasn’t expecting you back so soon.” I admitted, turning to face Riddick fully. “Miss me?”