Bandaging his wrist had proved more painful than the gorram wound itself, but Johns knew that he had to stop the blood from flowing so freely or the others would come to find he dead on the skiff and kick his body out for the land-sharks to snack upon.

Damn Riddick.

Why the hell had he chosen trim instead of the obviously choice of safety?

Sure, the gal was beautiful, but she looked inexperienced and was probably a virgin anyhows!

Growling, the mercenary dragged himself onto the pilot’s seat and engaged the take-off sequence. He mightn’t be able to pilot much, but he knew damned well how to chart a travel plan in the Cortex board and engage auto pilot.

He’d leave those gorram people and Riddick would be sorry he hadn’t ghosted him when he had the chance.

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“Is it just me, or does the fact that this planet supposedly doesn’t exist---like Miranda---bother you, sir?” Zoë Washburne asked, hands clasped behind her back, legs separated slightly and placed firmly on the ground as they looked at the planet M6-117, the planet that Kaylee’s tracking device said she was on, the planet that supposedly didn’t exist.

“’Course it bothers me.” Captain Malcolm Reynolds announced, hunched over the computer graph of the planet, his gut feeling telling him something wasn’t right. “As does the fact that it’s supposed to be uninhabited but the thermal scanners are picking up an army-worth of heat signatures.”

“’N they ain’t human.” Jayne Cobb, the large mercenary, announced from where he stood behind Zoë. He didn’t know much about anything that didn’t have to do with weapons and tracking---his expertise---but he knew those figures the thermal scanner was picking up weren’t human.

“What are my mei-mei and ­bao-bei going through?” Simon Tam, the ship’s doctor and River’s brother, asked from where he sat by the image, looking pale and worn. While he was usually the picture of properness, never once leaving his room with a wrinkled shirt, he now looked like a disaster with dark bags under his eyes and he had yet to change his clothes since they’d realized that they’d been separated from his girlfriend and sister.

“Now, don’tcha be gettin’ your knickers in a twist Doc,” Mal announced somewhat awkwardly, the Doc and he had a tentative relationship at best---they only tolerated each other because of their love for Kaylee and River---yet he felt that as captain he had to look after his crew, even if it was Simon. “Your sister has proven herself to be more’n capable of takin’ care of herself and we all know she’ll take care of lil’ Kaylee if’n they’re in trouble.”

“Yes, I know she would take care of Kaylee.” Simon was tense, and his voice quivered with a mixture of anger and distress. “But who will take care of River? While she’s been doing much better ever since Miranda, she’s still a mentally unstable girl who needs my supervision and care. She needs her medication. She’s never been this long without them!” He ran his hands through his hair, blood-shot eyes wide-open. “What if she has a relapse? What if she has a fit and---?”

“You don’t give moonbrain ‘nuff credit, Doc.” Jayne’s rough voice caused everyone to look at him with eyes wide in surprise. The relationship between River and the mercenary had never been quite stable---she had stabbed him and he’d tried to betray her to the Alliance---so his defense of her was astonishing. “Sure, da girl’s feng le, but she’s been doin’ better, ‘n she’s never let anything keep ‘er from keepin’ Kaylee safe before.”

Zoë sent the large mercenary a small smile.

Simon blinked, looking up at Jayne in silence before giving him a small, thankful smile. “Thank you Jayne, you are right.”

“’Course I’m right.” The mercenary snorted. “You might be one of the ‘most gifted people in da universe’, but ya ain’t gotta lick of common sense—‘specialy when it comes to that feng le sister of yours.”

Simon frowned. “That’s what I get for listening to the ape-man.”

Jayne glared at the doctor, making a pass for Vera, his favorite gun.

“Now, now, play nice children.” Mal shook his head at his doctor and hired-guns. “You two can start threatenin’ each other with guns and sharp surgical tools after we save the girls from whatever problem they’ve gotten themselves into this time.”

“The captain’s right.” Zoë frowned disapprovingly at the two men in the room. “Our priority is discovering what exactly is on that planet, if it is a threat, and how to eliminate it before we reach M6-117—which we’ll be doing soon.”

Simon hung his head. “You’re right.”

Jayne snorted, yet didn’t dare contradict the ex-soldier.

“From the tracking image I’m guessing they crashed here, and the small trail left by Kaylee says that they moved a great distance towards what would look like an abandoned settlement.” Zoë announced. “I say we land Serenity here.” She tapped a section of the graphic 3-D image. “It’s a nice open space close to the settlement, and I’m guessing it was a docking station while the planet was still inhabited.”

“A lil’ small, ain’t it?” Jayne winced and looked up at Mal.

River’s and Kaylee’s presences had been sorely missed, because not only was Serenity suffering from lack of Kaylee’s constant nurturing in the engine room, but Mal had taken over River’s duties as pilot---and everyone knew Mal wasn’t exactly the world’s best pilot----‘specially when entering Atmo or landing.

Mal noticed his hired-guns’ expression and bristled, insulted. “I’ll have ya know that I’m an excellent pilot! I just haven’t had much practice-wise since River’s a great pilot and Wash would pilot before her! I’m a lil’ rusty is all!”

“Of course you are sir.” Zoë announced loyally.

Simon snorted from where he had his forehead against the table.

Mal glared at the doctor.

“Sure ya are.” Jayne chuckled. “You just keep tellin’ yourself that cap’n.”

Mal glared at the mercenary.

Zoë did her best to keep her face straight and not smile.

“No respect,” Mal announced melodramatically as he looked at his crewmembers. “I get no respect!”

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There was more scrabbling at the sled keeping them safe from what hid in the darkness outside. Kaylee closed her eyes and wished over and over again for River, Riddick and Johns to have gotten to the skiff, gotten it sky-friendly, and come back for them.

A creature had been trying time and time again to get in at them. Obviously it was drawn by Iman’s and Jack’s bleeding---and probably it could smell the blood on the cloth around her now closed wound.

Shazza had forced Iman and Jack to the back of the group, and stood in front, pistol held shakily in her hands as she kept it aimed at the sled in case the creature decided to risk the light they’d gotten from filling two empty liquor bottles with all the glow worms they could find.

Suleiman stood in front of Jack, holding Iman’s ceremonial dagger by the blade, ready to use it to pierce whatever beast made it passed the shield the sled provided.

The shield gave way and slid to the side, but before Shazza could shoot or Suleiman let his dagger fly, River stepped into the light of the cave with Riddick behind her, both looking slightly bruised yet alive and well all the same.

Jack’s eyes widened and tears filled her vision. “You came back…”

“Mei-Mei­!” Kaylee cried and she pushed out passed Suleiman and Shazza and threw herself into the younger girl’s arms, hugging her tightly. “I was so worried! I thought you’d been hurt!”

“Where’s Johns?” Iman asked, noticing that the blonde wasn’t with them and that Riddick was holding the Big Gauge.

River tensed. “The fox wanted to leave the chickens to the dogs, but the wolf and the girl protested and caught the fox’s paw in a hunter’s snare.”

There was confused silence before Kaylee pulled away, horrified and angry. “He was going to leave us?”

“The hun dan!” Jack exclaimed in anger, and then her eyes went wide at the looks she received. “What?”

“I can’t believe you two came back.” Fry announced with surprise obvious on her face.

“Yeah, yeah--.” Riddick finally spoke up, sounding impatient and somewhat annoyed. “We’re all fuckin’ amazed. Anyone not ready for this?”

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Protected by the meager light of two bottles of glow-worms and two hand-lights, the group slowly made their way out of the crevice, going slower than they would have liked due to the fact that Iman now couldn’t stand on his injured foot. Shazza and Suleiman had grabbed hold of him and were helping him along as they made their way into the darkness.

“Tighter, tighter…” Riddick ordered in a soft voice from where he was a couple of steps in front of the group, goggles off, moving as silently as the night itself.

The group instinctively obeyed, moving in as tightly as they could with Jack and Iman in the middle.

River trailed behind, holding up the rear to make sure that they weren’t attacked from behind.

“Stop.”

Hearing Riddick’s voice they piled up awkwardly, listening yet hearing nothing but rainfall.

Fry, as always, had to speak. “I don’t hear--.” She gave a little cry when River wrapped her hand over her mouth, silencing her.

While the psychic assassin couldn’t exactly see where the predator was, she could sense it close by, and didn’t want them getting caught with bleeding people just because the blonde couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

They were only lucky that they were downwind from the predators in the area, and that the downpour also helped cover their scent, thus the creatures hadn’t picked up on the fact that bleeding humans were out in the open.

“Doesn’t see us…wait till it leaves…” Riddick whispered under his breath.

River shivered as she felt another predator fly overhead and land where the first predator could be heard lapping at water. Obviously a pool of water from the rain had gathered and the predators had taken to going there to drink.

The young woman shivered as she felt more predators congregating.

Soon faint clicking could be heard by the others above the rain.

“Get behind me.”

No one even seemed to think of disobeying, and all hurried behind their new leader.

“Hold hands.” Riddick spoke urgently. “When I say go, we go. Full-throttle.”

Everyone nodded rapidly, and Kaylee reached for River’s hand.

River gave it a little squeeze, finally getting the hang of this comforting thing.

“Ready…ready…”

Riddick took off, and the others, linked like paper dolls, followed blindly.

They hit the water like lawn-movers on legs, crashing through, scattering water and unsuspecting predators alike, managing to reach the muddy rise, starting a frantic ascent.

The mud beneath Jack’s feet gave way and she screamed, dropping to the ground and beginning a sharp descent as the rain suddenly stopped.

Riddick’s arm shot out and grabbed her arm, letting go of Fry as the blonde (who’d been given the pistol), turned and fired at the creature that’d appeared in front of them.

Muscling Jack up the muddy ascent once more, Riddick heaved her over the top and sent her sliding down the slippery other side.

The hunting boomerang shot out and sliced through a predator that’d been about to bring its scythe-blades down on Riddick while the murderer had been busy helping Jack. The sharp silver weapon spun in the air, surprisingly enough cutting through another predator that’d flown up before returning to River.

“You know the way!” Riddick ordered the others as he pumped Johns’ shotgun and shot at the predators regrouping and attacking them, bloodlust sending them wild now that they’d had a chance to realize that more than one of the humans were bleeding.

“River?” Kaylee cried out as the others turned and ran away.

“Go!” River ordered and turned her back on the mechanic, flinging out the hunting boomerang once more.

The mechanic looked torn yet did as told, disappearing down the other side of the muddy rise.

Screeches and gunshots filled the air, and the moment the hunting boomerang returned to her hand, River felt the other one grabbed by Riddick as he jerked her around and began a hurried descent, dragging her behind him as the creatures shrieked behind them, hungry and on their trail.

River looked up at the light in the settlement and couldn’t help but think that it looked brighter than when they’d left, but didn’t have much time to think about that as a predator lunged at her from the side. Tightening her hold on the sharp boomerang, she sliced its face open, not once stopping or slowing down.

They reached the settlement and hurried towards the light, knowing that safety was only a couple of steps away, yet as they stopped in their tracks, frozen by what they saw.

The skiff was a couple of meters away from where they’d left it, and it was in flames.

Riddick reacted quicker and pulled River closer towards the fire and light. “Damned Johns!”

Fry, Shazza, Iman, Kaylee and Suleiman were as close to the wreckage as they could without getting burnt by the heat. Iman sat on the ground, eyes closed, moving back and forwards in prayer. Fry was cursing the wind while Suleiman looked somewhat awkward, patting Jack’s back as the girl cried into his chest.

Shazza and Kaylee looked up when they spotted Riddick and River, relief obvious in their faces as they hurried to them.

“You’re okay!” Kaylee once more flew into River’s arms, hugging her tightly, bursting into tears. “Don’t ever make me leave you again! Don’t you dare make me choose your life or mine like that again! You could have been killed---!”

River didn’t understand what she’d done wrong. She’d protected Kaylee. Wasn’t that what she was supposed to do? Why was Kaylee so mad and sad?

“You’re not gonna get all mushy on me, right?” Riddick made a face at Shazza.

The Australian threw her head back and laughed despite the circumstances before playfully punching his shoulder. “Not happenin’ in this lifetime.”

“Good.” He honestly looked relieved.

“What the ruttin’ hell happened here?” Fry turned her anger on them, stalking towards them. “Why did you bring us here if the skiff was crashed?”

“Well, we decided that since the skiff was crashed we would leave the nice warm fire and risk getting killed again to bring all you to the nice little bonfire too since we were all going to die anyhow we should at least do so warm.” Riddick deadpanned.

Suleiman looked up from where he was still awkwardly trying to comfort Jack. “The mercenary must have tried to steal the skiff while they were looking for us and crashed.”

“The selfish hundan!” Kaylee muttered angrily against River’s neck as she continued to cry.

“I told him not to try to steal the skiff,” Riddick shook his head, pulling his goggles back on as the light from the fire hurt his eyes. He then pulled out something from his pocket. It looked like a little chip. “He just didn’t listen.”

Fry frowned when she realized what he had in his hand. “That’s the auto pilot chip.”

Riddick nodded. “Couldn’t fly worth shit, ‘n all chances of him being able ta do so were cut when I tore off the hundan’s hand.” He said, referring to the deceased and obviously cremated mercenary. “While he was tryin’ to convince River to leave all of you behind I took this out just in case he tried to pull a fast one on us.”

“Which, obviously he did.” Iman’s voice was dead.

Jack pulled her head up from where she’d been crying into Suleiman’s chest and blinked, teary eyes on Riddick. “You tore his hand off?”

“Sliced it.” River corrected mechanically from where she was still awkwardly trying to comfort Kaylee and wondering what the world she’d done wrong this time since she was sure what she’d done had been the correct thing. “Bone-shiv. Ripped through the bone and tendons with one long, clean slice. Very painful.”

Fry winced.

Shazza blinked.

Iman began saying his prayers once more.

Kaylee began to cry once more.

Suleiman seemed unaffected.

Jack was silent before nodding curtly in approval. “Good.”

Hearing the clicking around them, everyone rushed closer to the fire, looking around them, bodies tense, each trying to see into the shadows yet not being able to.

Iman’s screaming caused them to turn around in time to see that an adult predator had braved the burn of the light to sink its blade deep within the holy man’s thigh and hurriedly dragged him back out into the darkness.

Suleiman screamed out something in Arabic and would have run out to Iman and the retreating predator if Jack hadn’t tightened her grip around his waist and kept him with her bodily.

Tearing the pistol from Fry’s frozen hands, Shazza whipped around and fired round after round, the first two shots missing completely and disappearing into the darkness around the predator before the next connected with it’s shoulder and the other pierced the blade connecting it to its victim.

The creature shrieked and reared back, trying desperately to drag Iman out of sight.

The last bullet in Riddick’s weapon, the Big Gauge, echoed throughout the night before the creature’s chest apparently exploded with the impact.

“Get him into the light!” Riddick ordered, tearing the pistol from Shazza and firing into the darkness around Iman as predators only the murderer could see tried to get to the holy man.

Shazza and River nodded to each other as River made Kaylee let go and began running into the darkness towards the man praying fervently in his mother language.

As they reached him, the pistol in Riddick’s hand clicked empty and he cursed as the women and Iman were left in the darkness without any backup against the predators circling around.

“Move, move, move, move!” He ordered.

Each woman grabbed hold of Iman’s arms and began pulling him back frantically towards the light, trying to ignore the furious clicking all around them.

“As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil,” Iman whispered to himself fiercely. “For Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me…”

The clicking stopped, and cold dread filled River as, with her connection to the planet, she felt the air give resistance to the blade flying violently towards her back.

She screamed when a hand grabbed her by her arm and pulled her out of the way right in time to see the blade whish right in front of her, barely missing her. River looked up at Riddick, who pushed her behind him.

“Get back into the fuckin’ light!” He snapped as the predator turned its attention on him.

Although worried, River nodded and Shazza and her continued to drag Iman; fear giving them the adrenaline to pull him faster.

Spinning in the air, the creature plunged violently at Riddick, scythe-blade outstretched. In the flash of an eye the murderer reached out and caught the beast under the scythe-blade, blunting the attack.

The predator clicked furiously at him before it reared its head back, readying to bisect the amazingly strong human with its skull-head.

Switchblade fast, Riddick dropped his hand and yanked out his shiv and with a fluid movement swept it over the belly of the beast, tearing it open.

Howling in agony, the predator fell, disemboweled.

River and Shazza were still trying to drag Iman when Riddick stomped towards them and grabbed River, pushing her forwards towards the light before grabbing Iman by the collar and dragging the injured man back into the light with a couple of long strides.

Everyone looked at Riddick in surprise, everyone other than River that was, who just smiled up at him in both thanks and admiration. She’d known he was her equal, knew she’d finally found the other half of her, yet his being able to kill the creature with his hands and a primitive weapon only proved it further.

“H—how----?” Fry stammered from where she stood as Jack finally let go of Suleiman, who rushed towards Iman’s side and fell to his knees, crying and saying something rapidly in Arabic. “H-h-how?”

“Fucker didn’t know I don’t like anyone touchin’ what’s mine.” Riddick announced, turning, grabbing River by the shoulders and shaking her roughly. “What the fuck happened out there? You sensed it and you froze! Next time something’s trying to kill you and you sense it you fuckin’ move, you hear me?”

“The girl was programmed not to leave partners behind while on a mission.” She replied softly, not frightened of his scowl or showing pain at the way his fingers dug painfully into her or reacting to his violent shaking. He was worried about her, he’d been terrified for a split second before rage took over and he’d confronted the beast.

She smiled up at him.

Riddick looked down at her and shook his head, voice a sure threat. “You do something feng le like that again and the darkness will put you over its knee.”

She giggled, knowing she was exasperating him more but couldn’t help but love the fact that he was speaking her language again.

There was a dreamy sigh to her right that sounded suspiciously like Kaylee.

“How are you doing, Iman?” Fry asked as she pushed passed Riddick and River, jostling them, and went to stand in front of the injured man, as Shazza used the material Suleiman had torn off of his clothes to try and make a compress to stop the bleeding.

“I---I---.” Iman’s eyes widened in horror.

“Grim!” River gasped as she felt it and looked up in time to see a predator swooped down from above, its blade protruding through Fry’s back and stomach.

Everything played through in seconds, yet it seemed like a lifetime as everyone watched in horror as a shocked Fry placed her hands on the blade running through her stomach and looked at them in understanding before the creature shrieked at the light and shot back up into the darkness, taking the pilot with it.

“Fry!” Jack screamed, crumbling to her knees, safest of them all as she was the closet to the flames.

“Everyone down!” Riddick ordered as another predator swooped down yet shrieked at the light on its skin and flew away. “As close to the fire as possible! NOW!”

Shazza and Kaylee stumbled to pull Iman closer to the fire with Suleiman’s help, all the while keeping to the ground.

Riddick pulled River behind him and she allowed him to keep her in the warmed and protected with his body around hers as they all huddled together close to the flames.

“We’re all going to die.” Jack whimpered and Kaylee crawled towards her, pulling the crying girl into her arms, planting a kiss on the top of her head of short hair and holding her in a protective embrace.

River closed her eyes as she sensed the creatures all around them, heard the furious clicking as the predators tried over and over again to swoop at them yet couldn’t because they were too close to the light.

Feeling them congregating hungrily around, ready to attack altogether, River closed her eyes and buried her face into Riddick’s chest.

Suddenly light rained down on them from the heavens, and the swarming predators shrieked in pain at the bright light, darting away frantically.

The survivors, who’d been ready to face their fate, blinked, looking around them and then upwards at the blinding light.

River smiled, keeping her eyes closed tight. “It’s raining light.”

“SERENITY!” Kaylee screamed in delight. “They’re here! We’ve saved!” She then winced when the class Firefly ship had a somewhat rough landing close to them, always keeping the light shining on the group of survivors. “Hmmm. The captain must be piloting.”

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Riddick watched as the cargo doors opened and more light shone in the darkness as three people hurried out, keeping to the light, and fully armed with gun that had flashlights attached to the scopes.

The one in the front was a man with messy brown hair and a long brown coat.

To his left was a big mountain of a man who was armed to the teeth.

And to his right was a caramel-skinned woman whose body screamed military. She probably had been a soldier some time in the past, probably during the Unification War, and if the brown coats both she and the man in front war had anything to say about their allegiance, they’d been on the losing side.

“River? Kaylee?” Someone rushed down from the cargo hold. He looked completely different from the others and screamed CORE, most probably a rich kid. He had no weapons.

“Simon!” Kaylee screamed as she let go of Jack and ran through the path of light, passed the three armed ones, and went straight into the arms of the well dressed one.

River looked up and tore herself from Riddick’s protective grasp, following Kaylee’s example and ignoring the armed ones before rushing into the younger man’s arms.

The man in the brown coat turned to the woman next to him. “It’s amazing how much love I’m feeling right now.”

The woman smirked. “Right you are, sir.”

The big mountain of a man ignored them and addressed the survivors. “Ya’ll gonna git your asses here or ya’ll only gonna gap?”

Riddick frowned as he stood up. He didn’t like being told what to do.

Shazza and Suleiman quickly helped Iman up, and with Jack’s help, took him hurriedly to the class firefly ship and safely into the Cargo Hold.

Riddick followed at a leisurely pace, goggles back on and reminding himself that the man now holding and kissing his woman was her brother. No need to ghost him.

The armed ones followed them from behind and once they were all safely within the Cargo Hold, the big giant of a man hit a lever and the door closed.

A blur of color was all that River was to the normal human eye as she pulled out of her brother’s arms and…flew right into the arms of the man in the brown coat.

“Captain!” She cried happily, arms around his neck, drawing herself against him.

“Lil’ albatross…” The man, obviously the captain River had spoken of with such open adoration, gave her a smile too tender for Riddick’s liking before hugging her to him, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. “You okay?”

“I knew you would come for us.” She told him fervently.

The man’s smile grew even tenderer. “’Course I would…” Hearing a banging against the metal of the Cargo Hold’s door, he pulled away reluctantly. “So, how about you flyin’ us outta here ‘fore those creatures tear my ship apart?”

“Yes sir!” Giving him a quick peck on his cheek and beaming up at him, River turned heel and raced up the catwalk and away, passing Simon, Kaylee, Shazza, Suleiman and Jack, who were taking Iman to the infirmary.

The Captain beamed after River before turning to the woman and the mountain of a man behind him. “Now you see---that’s how you’re supposed to treat your captain.”

The big man snorted. “Ain’t kissin’ ya Mal. Ya ain’t my type.”

‘Mal’ glared at him. “You know gorram well that I weren’t talkin’ ‘bout the kiss!”

Riddick left them and slowly followed the scent of River up the catwalk and through a darkened hallway as he felt the class firefly ship lift gracefully from the ground, much different from the way it’d landed.

The faceless bastard he was going to kill now had a face…

…a name…

…and an appointment with Grim tonight when the lights went out and everyone was asleep.