You know, I've noticed that I've totally misplaced Hassan. That middle child of Imam's. Hmm. That goes to show the difficulties of updating once a year! Let's just imagine he's been there the whole time.

And on a side note for 'guh' whose review just tickled me greatly. Oh, emm gee, my story has an OC conveniently named Harry, whaaaaaat, what do you mean my fanFICTION is not EXACLTY THE SAME as canon Harry Potter, where my OC HARRY is torn out of his REALITY and sent into an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT MOVIE.

BLASPHEMY. I laughed, honest to god. But thank you for your input! I guarantee it was well received!

And FYI thanks for everyone who's been so interested in this fic, I know it's a very particular genre/kind and I do appreciate everybody's interest! :] 3

And, no comment on the….years between then and now. I'm hoping this will be the second to last chapter, one more I think to finish. Ya'll have waited this long, what's another? :] THANK YOU

-mayu

Chapter 10

00

Imam lost Suleiman.

Harry didn't realize until they were all squatted into that cramped, small space. The poor boy was just barely crossing into manhood, and here Harry was, surprised that he was missing. Johns stood over them with his fingers nervously tapping on his gun. Riddick, in contrast, was leaning relaxed against a crate, arms crossed, and goggles reflecting the burning light of the torch. Harry's nose wrinkled at the smell of the burning gas, but he said nothing of it, attention taken by the shaking girl in his arms.

Imam hunched, quietly sobbing. Hassan, the forgotten middle child, sat by him and stared despairingly into the flame of the blow torch.

Poor Jack, too young for this. Glancing with pity at Imam, who looked beaten down with the last two of his boys under his arms, Harry examined the rest. Ali seemed to have cried all the liquid from his eyes, and sat and stared at the flame with something Harry would call hopelessness. Fry, their ever so brave captain, had her face in her hands, rubbing the sweat and grime from her features. Riddick, sitting still as a statue in the flickering torchlight, was something Harry would never be able to forget.

"We're all going to die." Jack whimpered into Harry's knees, pale, and frightened.

"Shut your mouth kid, before I shut it for you." Johns growled. Sweat glistening on his brow and neck. Harry stared at him silently, chilling green eyes spearing straight through him. That made him turn away from the two, muttering under his breath.

"Shh, baby, I'm right here." Harry murmured to Jack, a hand coming up to gently pet the shaven head. Ali huddled underneath Imam's arm, twelve years too young for this.

"Johns leave him alone, he's just scared." Fry stood up, facing the blue-eyed man.

Johns wheeled around to her, teeth bared, "Don't go telling me what to do here Caroline, seems to me the only one who knows a shit about what to do is fucking me."

"What's your plan then, Johns? Huh?" Fry seemed to have dragged her courage out of the mud, "sit here and starve while we wait for the sun? Good fucking plan."

"Sit down and be a good girl, Caroline, else your 'captaincy' will definitely be over."

Fry snorted, just on the edge of hysteria, "As if that makes a difference now, Johns, and it's not like your any better. How much do you weigh, Johns?" The others simply watched as this drama unfolded, Imam frowning, Paris twitching. Curiously, Harry felt a higher degree of pity for the arguing humans. They muttered and squandered what time they had left, pissing over the commanding alpha position that has already been silently claimed by another.

"About two hundred, what does that matter, oh captain?" Johns asked her, obviously warning her not to open her mouth and continue.

"I think you're two hundred pounds of whimpering white meat that doesn't know a fucking thing." Harry felt like applauding her, despite his dislike. That insult was executed perfectly. It definitely got to Johns, who surged towards her, his hands tightening on his gun.

But then Riddick interrupted him, drawing his attention, whilst sticking a knife on his genitals. Johns made a show of having that gun, completely oblivious to the knife near his genitals until Riddick lifted an eyebrow and tapped just so. Harry giggled, disrupting the tension between the two men. Johns sent him a sneer, but Riddick's lips twitched into a smirk.

"This isn't fixing anything," Imam rumbles quietly, putting his grief aside for the moment, "We must find a way to live through this."

"We wait." Johns said, "Sun's gotta come up sometime." Fry snorted at this.

Harry wasn't interested in the shit-talking. He only cared that the light was slowly burning away its fuel, and the small tank they huddled in stank of human fear. Their heart beats fluttered in panic, like small birds caught between a cat's claws. The acrid smell of their sweat mingled, until Harry could barely tell the difference between Johns' sour stench and Paris' weak piss-smell. What Harry cared about, that he was quickly realizing was incredibly important, was the absolute desire to go run. He wanted to tear out of here, submerge into that living blackness. It raged within him, and he wanted to crow and snarl with the victory all wild things feel when blood gushed between their teeth. It was dark, the night was full of screeching terrors, but Harry was caged by these thin metal walls.

What a sorry thing.

And here was Riddick, the great predator himself, biding his time. Harry could taste the man's energy on the tip of his tongue. His mouth watered, and he tasted acid again. Well, Harry figured, obviously he's not human anymore, so it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to say he was venomous. He decided he was going to take a bite out of Paris and see how long it took the rat to die.

Eventually, it seemed the group had made a decision, and they carefully left the safety of the metal box and made for the ship. Searching for any kind of helpful thing they could get, anything at all that gave off light. Humans have a deep rooted psychological need for light, despite the fact that it actually blinded them further. Harry made a guise of standing watch, but really, he stood on the edge of that darkness and found himself humming.

He's non-human, venomous, and probably crazy. Great, Hermione would be proud. Bushy hair, buck teeth, and sister-like, he remembered her. And he remembered that he himself, Harry, is not at all like he had been before. His teeth lengthened in his mouth, and he fought the urge to slink away into the darkness, to pick off the ugliest ones in their little group of terrified humans. He wanted to claim and fight and make his, feed and drink and savor that sweetness.

Riddick, in his truer element, came up beside him. There was a beat coming from him, the sound of his strong heart. Harry breathed deeply through his nose, loving the sweat and grit and strength that came off of the man beside him.

"You and me, sweetheart." Riddick rumbled, quietly. They stood so close that the hair on their arms touched like straining fingertips. It made Harry shiver deliciously.

"Yes Riddick." Harry answered, lips wet and eyes bright, getting brighter, "you and me." Riddick's dark goggles looked down at him, his face expressionless. But, one thick finger rose to run across Harry's brow, hand sinking into the dark head of hair. Breathing out a little moan, Harry smiled sweetly, knowing his teeth were glinting sharply in the little light shining from the ship.

"And the babies." Harry added with a small smirk, taking that one step closer to land an open mouth kiss against Riddick's chest. The shirt was stretched so tight Harry could taste the man's flesh beneath it, and he smiled when Riddick growled lowly, the hand grasping the back of Harry's slim neck. Harry closed his eyes, highly aware of the beasts circling them, knowing the speed of the blood rushing through them. He let Riddick watch his back, let himself sink deeply into this primal feeling.

Magnificent.

Riddick brought Harry's chin up with a few fingers, fingers running across that dreamy smile.

"You've gotten pretty vicious, Gorgeous." Riddick murmured, aware of the beasts around them, the humans behind them trying to drag up the courage to leave the ship behind.

"Have I?" Harry responded, sighing deeply, humming from the feelings emitting off Riddick. A nice contentment, the rush of finally being in his element, the possessive arousal, simmering.

Riddick didn't answer, but simply ran another finger down Harry's pale cheek. Shaking himself out of his mildly insane stupor, Harry went and took his place with the sheep, behind Jack so he could keep an eye on her. The girl was pale and shaking, eyes darting nervously out at the inky blackness, as if she could sense where the creatures were. And she stank of menstruation. In contrast, Ali was staring avidly at the ground, one hand clasped tightly in Imam's robes. If he weren't careful, Harry could sense a psychopath brewing in that poor child. Trauma and all that.

Harry had to make sure the psychopath part wasn't the only part left when the boy got off this planet.

"Riddick! Let's get a move on!" Fry called out ahead, where Riddick was running point his back to the lights.

Paris was whimpering, flinching and whining low in his throat. As they ran into the darkness, Harry kept his eyes on Riddick's back, struggling to keep the green in them from shining too brightly. Running felt amazing, even at the pitiful jog they were at.

It didn't take long though, for Harry's prey to fail and falter. Jack stopped and quite stupidly went back to grab a fallen flare, which all ultimately resulted in Paris crawling away in panic and destroying the blue power lights they had clung to so hard.

Harry faded into the darkness, even as the others called for the squirrely man.

He was begging, Harry thought dreamily, speaking into the night in fear and desperation. A thin veneer of pretend. Harry struck before the swooping creature could stick his prey like a skewered pig. He tasted like salt and piss, pores too filled with dirt to breath. But, his poison was effective, and Harry grinned a bloody grin when the creatures around him screeched angrily, recognizing that their meal was now inedible.

Harry couldn't stay here too long, their instinctual fear of him wouldn't keep for long, but he felt dangerous and heady on the taste of blood.

Riddick was the one to tug him back, one strong arm pinning him together so well Harry suddenly realized how far he had flung apart.

"Thank you, love." Harry murmured as they headed towards the last bits of fire light. "Seems like I need a minder."

A dark chuckle brushed his ear. "So long as you have a job opening…" He left it open, but Harry had to swallow his laughter. Clearly the humans would not take kindly to it.

They had stopped, and were now squawking about going back, not going back, a bloody Jack revealed female, Fry being pushed to the floor, and the lack of light. Harry doused his eyes and melded back into their group, death among the living.

"Fuck!" Johns growled loudly, "Fuck!" He had a shaky hand on his big gauge, clutching it to him like a small child.

"If you promise not to shoot me Johns, I can help." Harry commented drily, one arm cuddling Jack to his body. The girl was shaking, and smelled like menstrual blood, most likely it was why the beasts were so interested in them, could find them so easily. The scent was temptation made real.

Johns scoffed. "How?"

Shrugged lightly, Harry made a fist and blew on it, knowing instinctively that his magic was obeying now that the overwhelming heat of the three suns had receded. It was so much closer to his surface now, in the dark. He could taste the fizz, the sparkle of power, and it made him feel almost drunk.

As his breath washed over his pale hand, he opened his fist, and a bright celestial light appeared within his fingers.

The adults made abortive noises, shrinking back. But Jack, her eyes wide and glossy, looked at it in awe. Ali praised his god childishly, sweetly. Honestly, if adults never lost the trust and wonder that lives in children, the universe would be a much kinder place.

"What the hell…" Fry breathed, looking sweaty and wide eyed under the white light.

"Magic. Remember?" Harry reminded them, sending the light ball up above to hang suspended, and allow them a small dome of light to remain safe in.

"It's not going to last long, so I say we better get moving." Harry remarked drily, just as a hulking form swooped over them and screeched in rage when the light burned.

Now that Johns was at a distance, Harry entertained himself by smelling his companion's fear. Even in a dark world filled with cannibalistic creatures, they still placed Riddick higher on the danger scale. Then the green flare was dropped, and Harry's eyes could no longer contain their killing green to match. Fry fled with the sled of batteries, but Harry stuck around to watch as Riddick played with Johns.

Johns, who would so quickly kill a child. Johns, who whined in his throat when his death swooped in. and Riddick, who stood some paces away from Harry, both of them shrouded in darkness even from the senses of the creatures going to town on the bloody corpse.

Glorious.