The Lone Wolf

Chapter 7: Blood, Sweat, Dirt and Tears

I lay there, face first in the warm dirt for what felt like hours, scared into silence and not pointing out the wall of brightness that was slowly creeping towards us. I craned my neck as the men standing around me fought over god only knows what. We were still quite far from the door - we had only paused to watch it open in the distance.

Without warning, a large hand clasped around my wrists, both of which were secured tightly to my lower back. The hand pulled, and I flew upwards and forwards, planting my roughly back on my feet. I tilted my head to see that it was Drike; he had abandoned his post next to Riddick because he was the only one to notice me on the floor. The others were too busy fighting. Typical.

"What is it?" He grunted at me, and the group went quiet to look at me. I must've looked scared. Who wouldn't be? Deadly sunlight was moving towards us at a rapid pace and no one was seeming to notice!

"That!" I exclaimed, indicating to the fast-approaching sunrise with my shoulder. It soon dawned on each of their faces, some faster than others. Riddick didn't seem to be phased by this revelation. The crew just went back to fighting, only with more shouting and throwing their arms about.

"We need to move." Riddick cut in, silencing them all for good, but not causing anyone to actually move, "NOW!"

We sprang to life, turning towards the hatch in the rock: our final destination. If my life were a movie, this scene would depict me racing these men in slow-motion to a finish line with inspirational music blaring behind us. But this was not a movie; this was real life. 

My boots wore against my toes as I dug my heels into the crisp red sand, pushing myself forward. My gun strap (annoyingly missing a gun - or any sort of weapon for that matter) restricted the blood flow in my left thigh and cut into my skin through my trousers, but I didn't have the time to stop and loosen it. The sand in the air whipped past my face and hands as I sprinted, ripping the flesh from my bones and left them raw and calloused. I pressed my fingers into the fabric on my palms, rubbing at the raw flesh until they bled.

Some of the men around me were wheezing for breath. How pathetic. There was a collective sense of panic from the whole group as the temperature drastically rose and beat down on our tired backs. Just a little farther...

"You coward!" A voice I recognised as Drike's erupted from my right hand side, and as I turned to look at him I noticed he was jogging backwards and he was looking in the direction from which we had just come from. It was difficult to see because of the dust clouds and mild sand storms, but my goggles helped me out a little.

He was shouting at the technician. The large, sweaty man was clambering on in the opposite direction, back to the ship.

"He's going to fly off safely in his little ship and leave you all here alone." I grunted whilst sprinting forward to take the lead, but no matter how exhausted I was becoming, the ever growing smirk never left my face.

As my words were met with tension filled silence, I decided to continue: "He'll leave you all here unprepared on this fiery rock, and the only safe place for you will be where you'll be trapped in a prison filled with hundreds of people that you put there. I bet they'll remember you."

A chorus of 'shut up's and 'can I shoot her already?!'s echoed behind me, but I heard a deep chuckle rupture above the chatter from directly behind me as someone ran up next to me on my left. Riddick. Of course it was.

"Unfortunately you can't put a bullet in her. It damages her worth. We get more money if she is handed over healthy." Spat one of the crew members through gritted teeth. I squinted from behind my goggles and wiped away the dust that had clouded them. We were close, another minute at maximum. But the door was beginning to close from either side of the entrance.

I sped forward, but Drike was somehow ahead of me. What was he doing? He somehow channelled all of his strength into pushing himself at least five metres in front. At first I thought he was trying to save himself, until he slammed his back against the edge of one door with his feet pushing the other door back. He was buying us time to get in.

As I reached the door I crouched and body rolled forward under his legs and far into the entrance before I slammed into the wall in front of me. As I turned, I noticed the rest of the guys piling into the room around me, all except one. And guess which one?

The tall, bald man ran towards us with his eyes shut tight, clutching something to his chest. The only problem was, Drike was buckling in the doorway - he couldn't hold it for much longer.

The sunlight was almost on him. Instead of ducking into the gap below Drike's legs, Riddick tackled him into the doorway, which proceeded to slam shut behind them.

The only noise in the room was laboured breathing and a computerised whirring as the door locked and bolted shut.

"What took you so long?" I chuckled, looking up at Riddick who had sat with his back against the door.

"Dropped these." He slipped black goggles on over his head, similar to my own, before turning back towards Drike, "What I don't understand is why you waited."

"You're worth more to me alive than a steaming bag of charred bones."

{A/N:

Hey guys! I'm really happy with this chapter so I hope you like it too :D

I'm so appreciative of your votes, but feel free to comment your thoughts on my story too -  please and thank you. I have more chapters coming, and I'm super excited for the next chapter as our favourite convicts are about to be thrown into a triple-max security prison with no means of escape. Who's looking forward to it?

Love you guys!

~BioHazard xox}