Chapter 1

"Just turn around, go inside the ship and shut the door! Do what I tell you, Jack!"


"Caroline…I know she…but what about you?" the young girl was sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'll catch up, now please, you have to get to the ship and I have to find him!"

Without another word the girl and the holy man ran for the ship. It wasn't that far at least, they were going to make it. It was all she could think about to keep herself going. All she had was the bottle filled with the strange glowing creatures from the cave. And all she knew was that Fry had gone after Riddick and not come back.

Why hadn't she listened to her sister? Why did she accept this assignment? As a rule, medical scientists of her high ranking got to choose which assignments to take and which to hand down to the others. She knew why she had decided on taking this particular one, but just didn't want to admit it to herself, not yet. Toughest person to hide from – yourself.

She needed to get away. This assignment was best suited, seeing as it was half way across the universe. It's ironic. Running away has gotten her in the worst situation she had ever been in. She was so used to doing everything on her own, independent woman and all that. But the way Dan had treated her...As if she wasn't even worth the air she breathed. She didn't think anyone could ever hurt her like that. Not after she had worked so hard to build a wall around herself. Just goes to show…no good deed ever goes unpunished. She trusted him and look where it got her. Stuck on this planet, about to be eaten by those creatures. Maybe it would be better that way…

A load, roaring scream brought her back to reality. She needed to find Riddick. She knew that was him. It just had to be. He had come back for them, where they were huddled together in that cave. Fry had gone to get him. Rebecca knew Fry was going after Riddick because he was about to leave them there on that planet. She admired her courage. Rebecca wished she could be as assertive as Caroline was, but Dan had drained all that out of her along with everything else she thought she was.

Rebecca decided that it was time to take action and stop being afraid of what was hiding in the dark. Not just those creatures, but also her emotions. She started running through the mud calling to him. She knew why Fry hadn't come back to the skiff. She was sorry to loose her dear friend, but knew what Caroline would have wanted her to do. Then she heard it. A crash. He had fallen onto some crates behind one of the storage buildings. She had to get to him.

"Riddick! Where the hell are you?" she called as load as she could. She heard something that sounded like a metal door sliding and ran towards the sound. Just as she rounded the corner she saw one of the creatures turn it's head towards her. She froze. "Run! In here! Move your ass!" It's true what they say: you really do do things superhuman when you're high on adrenalin. She ran like never before and dived into what looked like one of the common rooms. He slid the door closed behind her. "Thankyo…"


"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he cut her off.


"I…I…" she was so startled by his thundering voice, that she didn't have an answer. She knew that Caroline had wanted to save him for a reason. But sacrifice herself? For a convicted psychopathic multi-murderer and who knows what else?


"Now you are going to die here, same as me. Why?"


Again she just stared at him in the dimly lit room. There were only two small candles left. For the first time she noticed his eyes. He had never looked straight at her without the goggles. Truth be told, she had always kind of avoided being too close to him. The shine was magnificently magnetic, even in the poorly lit room. She wanted to answer him, tell him why she wasn't afraid of dying…but couldn't.

The creatures suddenly started scratching at the metal door behind her and she sprang to the middle of the medium size room. Instinctively hiding behind him. "Just like you women…act tough but still need us men to take care of all the nasty things that go bump in the night." The half-comical tone in his voice caught her completely off guard. "Do you…do you really think those things will be able to get in here?" Rebecca was grasping at straws to keep the lines of communication open, although she knew the answer; you never know what to expect from a convicted murderer. She cursed the fact that she was just another needy female, comforted by conversation. She decided to change that fact when she got a chance to breathe again. She thought the irony was overwhelming. Here she was judging him, and he was probably the only reason that she was safe (for the moment) and that Imam and Jack had made it to the skiv.

She thought that she had the perfect thing going with Dan, but he never defended or protected her a single day in his life. He never let her hide behind his strength like Riddick was doing…It was true, she was a very independent person, but still…What the hell was she doing? This internal debate thing was really beginning to bug her.

He interrupted her thoughts: "If they don't get in here in the next few minutes, they'll probable keep trying until they do. That answer your question?" he answered with brutal honesty.

They heard a faint sound above the scratching. "It's Jack and Imam, they're taking off! She actually listened to me." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, they're just going to up and leave us here, huh?" she was sure she heard a smile in his voice. He was tying a piece of ripped fabric around his right thigh. She couldn't judge how badly he was injured, but by the way he moved, it couldn't be that serious. "No, they're just being rational and realistic. There is no way in hell that they could save us and they are going to send help as soon as they can." Rebecca was convinced of the fact, but Riddick was not. "And…and it can't stay dark forever…or at least for long…"

"What makes you so sure that they don't presume we're dead?" Again she couldn't answer him. A few seconds went by and she felt he was waiting for her to answer his question. Testing her in some way. "I…that's all I can do to keep from going insane and bashing my head in against a wall before those creatures tear me to pieces." Her turn to be honest. She couldn't tell what the expression on his face was at that moment, because the one candle had gone out. "How interesting" was all she got before she heard his footsteps and heard him sit down against the back wall.

After about a minute she tried walking over to him to sit next to him, simply craving the comfort his big masculine body silently offered her, even though there was no physical contact. That was another thing Dan could never give her: the comfort of just being close to someone that simply had a unique presence about them, almost tangible. But as hard as she tried, she kept falling over stuff. Finally she decided to do something that she hadn't had a lot of practice at in her life: ask for help, well, ask for directions actually. "A little help here!" she almost commanded, getting a little desperate and annoyed. "O.K. but it was pretty amusing watching you…" and he directed her around and over everything lying in the few feet between them. She knew his eyes were shined in slam for him to see in the dark, but it still amazed her.

She sat down next to him. Afraid to sit too close she scooted as near to him as she possibly could without touching him. She could almost physically feel the waves of heat emanating off his body. But she couldn't bare the silence for too long. "What are we going to do, Riddick?"

He didn't answer her at first. Her nerves must be in tatters, he thought. He himself had been in life threatening situations before, but what situation could compare to this? He was used to it, but what about her? He figured she was a medic of some kind, by the way she treated one of Imam's boys, just before he was dragged off by one of the creatures. She sat there, holding her knees up to her chest, looking around the room, trying to see in the darkness that was slowly descending as the last candle neared it's end. Now and then she glanced over at him, not being able to pinpoint the exact location of his eyes. She wanted him to say something, he could feel it, but what?

Finally he said: "I'm just resting for a bit, got beaten up pretty bad out there…then I'll start looking for a way out. Or a way to a safer room."


"Thank you." That was the first time he had seen her smile. She seemed to always have a silent look of worry on her beautiful face, always seemed to be holding her breath.

He said nothing, just admired her in silence for not breaking down and hysterically running around the room in a panick.

Chapter 2

After about ten minutes of listening to the creatures scratching at the walls, unaware that he had been studying her face, changing expressions and anticipating what was to come and what he was to do, she couldn't take it anymore. She was a very curious person by nature. Had always been. One of her qualities that had gotten her into many spots of trouble over the years. But this time she just couldn't help herself. She had to think about something else. "Riddick…tell me about your life…" No reply. "Please." She didn't mean for her voice to sound pleading, but it did.

"What do you want to know?" his voice was so soft, it reminded her of velvet material she had bought two weeks before the mission but never had the chance to make it into the dress she had in mind.

"Everything…anything…" she stammered.

"Remember, you asked for it." He said slowly with a grim tone in his voice. He began at the beginning and told her the highlights, actually more like anti-highlights of his life. He left out the crimes and whatever it was that got him into Slam for the first time. He also left out all the gory details of life in prison. She was silently thanking him for that. But what he told her, she wished she had a built in lie-detector. What about all the crimes that scrolled across the vid-screen practically everytime she turned it on?

His face remained emotionless, except for when he locked his jaw. She figured out that those were the parts he was leaving out. At least he had turned his face towards the light of the candle she found in one of the corners, although he wasn't looking directly at her. Then he told her about what Johns' plans were. How he had been the one to let Riddick loose. How Johns wanted him to kill Jack to lead the creatures off their scent. And he told her how Caroline was snatched out of his arms by that thing just as they were on their way back to the ship.

"Then I decided you would be better off if I distracted the creatures while you got to the ship. You were sure as hell not supposed to come after me. I was the one supposed to die…" the last part of his sentence was almost inaudible, but he never the less stated it as if it was a fact written in stone.

"Why would you say something like that?" she wanted reassurance that they were going to make it, even if it was a lie, and that was the opposite of what she was getting from him. "Just stating a fact." was all he offered. "I deserve to die, you don't."

"How would you know that…No…no that's not right…not the way it's suppose to be…we were all suppose to get off this planet" she was almost hysterical now. It was all the emotions and tensions that had been building up inside her since she realized that she had to leave Dan, then this assignment from hell. Now she is stuck in here with this…this man…who was the definition of mixed signals. He could be so…so relentless, so vicious…and here he was telling her parts of his supposed life story, how he was supposed to die on that planet and not them, she instinctively felt that he was capable of much more emotion if he just…just…she couldn't find the words. Not even in her hysterical, feverish thoughts.

"We have to…we have to make a run for it…" now she was really hysterical. She couldn't calm down. For the first time she felt fear for her life. Not because of this convict next to her, but the opposite. He had a strange sort of presence, which made her feel safe. Nothing made sense to her…how could he make her feel safe?

She couldn't think straight. "What if Jack and Imam hadn't made it off the planet…what if…" she was unaware of the fact that she was thinking out loud…the next second she felt her cheek burning were he had slapped her. Not as hard as she would have thought he would, but just to sting her out of her state. All she could do was stare at him with wide green eyes. She started crying. Not sobbing, but the tears just started rolling down her cheeks. She was still sitting with her legs pulled up and her knees to her chest with her arms tightly wrapped around them. She put her head on her arms. All she could do was cry. Not just because they were going to die, but also because her entire world had come crashing down on her in a few short weeks. She cried for everything she had lost…for everything she would never have. For everything he had never had the chance to have…and he just held her. She didn't know when he had put his arms around her, but he pulled her sideways against his chest so that she was lying against him.

He didn't quite understand it, but he felt he had to protect her. He felt that she wasn't just upset over the predicament they were in, but something more, much more. He wanted her to feel safe with him. He just wished he knew why. It had been so long since he had held a woman because she was upset…just because she needed the comfort that only a strong man's arms around her could offer…

A few minutes went by in which she gave in to her despair. She didn't want to, but she pushed herself away from him. She wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her long black vest and walked over to where she had noticed a couple of water bottles. She opened one, wet her hands and rubbed them over her face without looking at him. She could hear the creatures scratching at the thick metal walls. But it didn't unnerve her as much anymore. She knew that if she were to die at that very moment, that she had made peace with everything that had ever happened to her in her life. Everything she had gone through, was nothing compared to what he had to endure. She thought about how he had held her, and how it would be to hold him when he was upset…he would lay his head upon her lap and she would lay her hand on his shoulder…What the hell? Snap out of it! She was so confused. But one thing she had learned in the lab was clinical correctness and being able to steady herself. So that was what she did. She decided that she had been put in this situation by a Higher Power for a reason, and she was going to be open to whatever the lessons it was that she had to learn. She started concentrating on her surroundings.

She knew very little about engineering, but after thinking clearly for a few seconds, she knew it would take the creatures at least a couple of hours to get through. And she certainly wasn't planning on going anywhere.

She couldn't find the words to express what had just happened between them. Strange, she had always been able to rationalize almost any situation, although many of her decisions were based on emotion…She took a deep breath and as calm as she could, with her new resolve, said: "Would you like some?" She knew he had to be about twice as hungry as she was and not to mention thirsty. "Thank you" he said taking the bottle from her. She was startled at how quietly a man of his size could move. "Sorry." Low and softly the word rolled off his tongue. She wished she could see his face as he spoke. So many of her co-workers had conveniently learned how to mask the emotion from showing in their eyes. She began to think of Riddick's behaviour since she had stumbled into the room. He wasn't a pansy-assed gentleman like the men back at the station, he had the grace of a panther, those big black cats from the amazon on the earth of old. He had this quiet strength. It was almost tangeble all around him.

Right at the beginning, before Johns had let Riddick loose, she had sneaked into the room where he was held. Her curiosity getting the better of her yet again. She couldn't help feeling sorry for him, despite all the horror tales Johns had told them about him. He didn't look dangerous to her, except for his muscular form. She could almost feel the rope cutting into her wrists, as it must have been into his. The horse bit in his mouth looked so uncomfortable that she started feeling the insides of her cheeks with her tongue where she imagined he had to have wounds from the horrific metal thing. She wondered how many years he had spent in slam, and what had happened to him…

The first time she saw him tied up like that, she felt he knew she was there, knew what she was thinking. That scared her. The only place she could take refuge in for many years, was her own thoughts. What if he really knew what she was thinking…absurd!

She scolded herself for being so detached from the situation she was in. She felt a pang of fear. Why hadn't she been afraid of him? Sitting so shamelessly close to him? Seeking comfort from his physical closeness? Letting him hold and comfort her? What the hell was wrong with her? And yet…

His voice was music to her ears from the very first moment she heard it. She didn't look at him; instead she kept busy going through the cupboards.

"I don't usually fall apart like that…in front of anyone" she managed to say, felt she had to. She didn't want him thinking she was one of those women who used that sort of thing to get a man's attention, or keep it.

"I know…not many people know my life story." He offered in return.

"So at least we agree on one thing. We realize that there ain't no way we're getting off this rock."

Silence.

Rebecca turned around instinctively. "Riddick?"

Where did he go? Was he getting ready to attack her out of the darkness to which she was so defenseless? There goes her over-active imagination, usually headed in the wrong direction again…

"Don't panic! I'm just checking to see if there isn't another way out of this building into a safer one." He said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Rebecca didn't mean to, but she gave a load and exasperated sigh of relief.

"Didn't realize you were getting that attached to me." She heard him say with a mixture of jest and amusement in his voice from one of the dark corners of the room. She had the sudden urge to stick her tongue at him like she used to do at the boys at school who teased her about her ponytails. And like most other times, she gave in to her urge and made her favorite funny face at him.

"I must point out to you, that I can see in the dark, little missy, and I'm inclined to come over there and spank you." His voice sounded lower than usual, with a tone in it that made her heart skip a beat. The look on her face made him smile for the first time since he met her. It was stunned mixed with embarrassed. But what he didn't realize was that she wasn't blushing because he had seen what she had done. Rather it was the mixture of what he said and the way he said it, that made her cheeks flush. That voice of his was going to drive her nuts. Her situation was made even worse by the fact that it was so dark in there (seeing as the last candle had just gone out) and that put extra focus on tone of voice than when you can see the other person's facial expression. What would it be like to have him whispering softly, slowly into your ear? Damn that little voice in the back of her head! She abruptly shook her head from side to side a few times and continued going through the cupboards for some kind of food.

Chapter 3

"Dammit!"

"What is it? Are they getting through?"


"No, I just pulled a muscle in my shoulder trying to get this damn metal plating off the outside door to the sleeping courters."


"Are you alright?"


"Dammit!"

"What?" there goes her imagination again. In her mind's eye she could see the creature climbing through.

"My fingers are going numb. Must be the swelling of the muscle constriction a nerve or something."

"Where are you?"


"Why?"

"Just come here. You can see me, but all I can do is hear you. I'm going to trip over everything if I try to come over there."

"Why?"

"Oh, would you stop being such a big baby?"


"I've been called a lot of things. But that's one's a first…Shit!"


"Then just trust me and come here."


Riddick made his way to where she was sitting cross-legged on a blanket she had pulled out of one of the supply boxes. "Sit in front of me with your back…yeah, that's it. You're gonna have to come a bit closer, my arms aren't as long as yours." Just to break the tension of him having kind of a weak moment he decided to try something by saying: "No kidding, what are you, like five feet?" She ignored the comment initially and began massaging his shoulders. "Shit! Little to forceful there, Becca." She almost stopped moving her hands as he said her name. She had the strange desire to see his lips as he said her name…OK! Enough!

She decided to put real effort into thinking of a comeback for his comment on her height. Then she massaged his back, shoulder and neck muscles until she felt him relax. She wasn't the tallest women, but not the shortest either. By the world she lived in's standards, she was average everything: average height, average weight (not fat, but not skinny), her golden brown hair was down to the middle of her back and straight. She had never thought of herself as overly beautiful, just all right.

She decided to be a little more adventurous. She was going to die anyway, so why not engage in this word game with a multi-murderer? (And she was getting less and less convinced of that "fact"). It must have been ten minutes she had already been massaging him, because her hands were getting a bit tired. Not that she would complain. Although she couldn't see anything, she felt the hardness of his perfectly toned muscles. He wasn't 0 % fat like most of the guys at the lab where she worked. They never ate real food. Just the "nutritious" garbage the machines spat out. She liked a man built like Riddick. Always had. Then again, she had always been a bit odd, she thought and smiled to herself. It's now or never, show him that you're not just a scaredy-girl, Becca! She gave herself a little pep talk.

"Watch out, mister Riddick, you know what they say…dynamite comes in small packages"

"Hmmm…I'll bet…" he almost purred. She felt the vibrations of his voice through her hands and up her forearms and down her spine…to settle right between her legs. Her eyes closed of their own accord, and then widened as she realized what was happening. How could she be doing this? It's just a game…or is it? She was actually massaging what could potentially be one of the most dangerous men she had ever heard of, he was obviously enjoying it, and she was enjoying the fact that he was enjoying it!

She didn't realize that she was no longer moving her hands, but instead rested them on top of his shoulders. "You've got real talent, Dynamite…" he said lazily and stood up. She looked up at him in surprise (well, to where she thought his face would be in the pitch darkness).

"Thanks, it feels a lot better…just let me know if you have any aching muscles I can help you with." he added in that deep, rich, gravelly way, as he turned around to try and work on a way out again.

Did she imagine it, or was there a serious bit if insinuation in his voice?

Chapter 4

"Can't I help you? I feel useless just sitting here. It also doesn't help much that I feel totally blind."

"You just sit tight and wait. I'm almost through to the other side." His voice sounded commanding, so she decided to obey, this time…

"Really? Are…you sure they haven't gotten in there?" She had started twisting a loose thread of the blanket she was sitting on, around her index finger of her left hand.


"I'm sure. Finely tuned senses and all that"

"Are you smirking?" she asked getting annoyed at the fact that he apparently found the situation amusing. "Yeah, your kinda funny...I'm just trying to get your mind off our imminent death." She was stunned at how fast this man's emotions seemed to change. First almost playful, then painfully truthful. She couldn't figure out if he was joking or not. Since the ship had crashed on the planet, she hadn't had much to do with him. Nobody except Caroline, Imam and Jack actually gave any notice to her. She kept busy with her own thoughts, trying to sort out her messed up life.

A load crash interrupted her train of thought. "Riddick?"

"Got it. I'm through! Now come on!"

She stumbled a few times trying to get to where his voice was coming from, but she eventually got there, or so she thought.

"Where are you?" she asked a little more scared than she would ever admit. She couldn't hear the sound of his labored breathing anymore. Maybe it was just being drowned out by her thundering heartbeat. She thought of the fact that he could just leave her there as a distraction for the creatures so he could get away…she didn't notice the fact that she was standing with a bewildered look on her face. Frozen.

"I'm right here," he answered from right beside her. "I've been here the whole time."

That was exactly what Dan had said. After she came back from work at the lab late that night and she just knew that he had been to visit that bimbo, for the umpteenth time. Call it women's intuition or whatever. That was the very moment she decided that she would come along on the mission, no matter what happened to her or where they were going.

She had gotten lost in thought again. Not noticing that she was looking a bit catatonic. Riddick wondered if she was in a mental debate with herself or just plain nuts. He spoke again, a bit further away this time.

"Are you comin' or just gonna stand there like a wax doll?"

"Yeah, I'm coming" she said and tried to keep up through the meandering tunnels that seem to go on forever. Her legs were aching, but at least there weren't any obstructions in her way. All she had to do was follow his footsteps. She was intensely aware of his breathing. Like his voice it was extremely unique. The air smelled disgusting, except for the musky sweaty smell coming from Riddick that wasn't all that disgusting. She didn't want to, but she began imagining rotting corpses everywhere, wondering what the settlers' last moments must have been like. She became more and more anxious. Suddenly she fell over something on the floor and screamed.

He seemed to be at her side instantly. "Nothing to worry about, it's only some clothes that someone must have dropped." She just huddled on the floor, back pressed against the wall, her eyes wide with terror. In the complete darkness and with his shined sight, he marveled at there electric green color.

"Get up!" His voice seemed overly load, even to him, but he knew it was necessary. She took a deep breath and to his surprise said with a relatively stern voice: "so, what are you waiting for, lead the way, big guy." For the third time in the relatively short while he had been in her presence, he smiled from ear to ear. This woman sure is something else. Being able to control her emotions, only slipping up for short periods of time.

Rebecca willingly followed him into the darkness, noticing that he didn't walk that far ahead anymore. And now and then she heard his footsteps stop and then continue as if he was checking to see if she was still there.

"Stay here. The door around the next corner leads to the outside. I'll come and get you." And with that she stood there frozen, waiting for the man that seemed to have a knack for creating the conflicting emotions and thoughts swirl around inside her tired mind and body.

After what felt like an hour, she pressed her cheek against the cold metal and listened. Even though it was dark she closed her eyes and prayed. Strange as it may seem she prayed for him. She actually prayed for herself as well. She was use to the clinical methodical workings of a med lab so actually feeling feelings were foreign to her. It scared the crap out of her. She thought about losing what she had found. Loosing him, if that was a merck's ship. But what if it wasn't?

Chapter 5

She listened again. The engine had fallen silent. She held her breath until it felt like she was going to pass out. Suddenly the metal door slid open and a blinding light shone in through the door. She couldn't believe it! The eclipse was over!

"Are you alright ma'am?" an unsteady male voice echoed through the metal corridor.

"Yeah…yeah, a little blind from the light but I'll be just fine!" she was so happy to be able to get off the planet that she momentarily forgot about the possibility of it being a merck she was chatting to. As she stepped into the ship, she immediately saw him. He was chained to the back of the ship. They had removed his goggles. His eyes were tightly closed. She knew that light hurt his eyes, on the count of she had read about the shining procedure in one of her more liberal textbooks.

She was hit by how exposed he looked without the goggles. Almost vulnerable. Almost. At least there was only a shred of cloth tied around the back of his neck, as a bit would have been. She was glad that at least it wasn't a bit. She wanted to do something, but suddenly he opened his eyes. One look into hers stopped the idea forming in her brain. Just as quickly he closed his eyes. He slowly shook his head from side to side just an inch. The merck that had introduced himself as McGaven didn't seem to notice. She silently vowed to get him free. Because he had saved her from the creatures and because Carolyn was willing to die for him.

"Pretty hefty bounty on your head this time, Richard." The grin on McGaven's face made Rebecca feel physically ill. She just sat in the chair on the other side of the small craft and looked at Riddick. She was petrified. From what she had heard, mercks did pretty much anything to their captives before handing them over to the proper "authorities". And by the look of this McGaven, he sure as hell wasn't above torturing him just for the fun of it, right there in front of her. She had seen some horrific things in her time at the Lab, bodies shot up, gaping wounds, but couldn't bear to see him get…

The other two mercks kept busy with readying the ship for take-off. McGaven was headed over to her with a disgusting smirk on his face, wanting to buckle her in, but she had done so soon after she sat down. He turned to Riddick again and gave him an injection that seemed to put him under real quick. She faked being asleep already, trying to look extremely exhausted. He was standing directly in front of her and for the second time in a short period of time she prayed, only this time is was that he wouldn't touch her, and if he did, that he would drop dead.

She listened to his footsteps heading towards his seat at the front of the vessel. After taking off, she made sure that the crew was in cryosleep. She opened her eyes and started to stand up. Riddick's movement caught her eye. He was motioning with his head for her to come to him. She obeyed. So this is what deafening silence sounds like, she thought as she slowly and quietly walked over to him. So he wasn't asleep. The drug apparently had no effect. He opened his eyes and just stared into hers. She was so mesmerized she couldn't speak. She would never have guessed they were so beautiful. Truly.

She walked slowly and quietly. That guy had tried to make damn sure Riddick didn't get loose. Rebecca tried to steady her hands as she reached for the cloth between his teeth, but her hands just wouldn't stop shaking. She noticed that he was looking at her hands and then closed his eyes. She couldn't believe such a gesture from him. He knew she felt embarrassed because she couldn't control her body like he could his. She took a deep breath and removed the cloth. Again she marveled at his perfect lips. Wondering how they would feel pressed against hers…wondering how it felt to be kissed by a man like him…STOP IT! Her mind yelled at her. Just then he opened his eyes and she blushed as if he could read her mind. She moved to his side and tried to get the gadgets that held his arms to the sides of the ship loose. She couldn't. She didn't look at him, but whispered into his ear: "How do I get these things loose?"

He slightly turned his head to her to whisper in her ear: "There is a locking mechanism that turns. If you get the combination it'll open." For a moment she was frozen. Rebecca closed her eyes and felt a trail of goosebumps ran from her neck down the length of her spine. That voice of his…even in a whisper it had the power to…

She forced her hands to move to the locking mechanism of his one arm. She quickly got the combination and moved to the other. As soon as both of his hands were free, he dropped his arms to his sides. She looked down at his wrists and without thinking took his right hand and turned it so that she could see if the metal had cut his skin. There were abrasions but it wasn't bleeding. He studied her face. Trusting little thing. For all she knew, he would snap her neck along with the rest of them and fly to wherever it was he wanted to go.

She inspected his other wrist. It also didn't look too bad. She looked up into his eyes and opened her mouth to speak. He pressed his finger to her lips silencing her. He motioned for her to take a deep breath by doing so himself. She obeyed. Her nerves were shattered (if they could get more than they already were). What if the mercks wake up? Riddick walked up to where McGaven was sitting and Rebecca suddenly couldn't breath. What if he killed him? With what could he kill him? With his bare hands, dumb question. She started walking up behind him to try and stop him, but he was already changing the settings on the cryochamber. He turned around and looked into her eyes. Again it felt like he was reading her mind. Did he know she thought he was going to kill the guy? There had been many fleeting moments on the planet were she felt afraid of him. But that look just made the fear she had for the crew's lives, and her own, disappear. He turned back around and adjusted the other crewmembers' settings on their cryochambers.

He came over to where she was still standing. Frozen. He looked her square in the eyes (well as square as could be seeing that he was a good bit taller than she was). "They'll be asleep a lot longer than they planned on, but at least they'll wake up. Thanks to you. I can't properly off somebody with an audience." Still she stood there after he sat down in the pilot's chair. At that point she didn't know if he was joking, or if this was a warning that he could kill her anytime he wanted.

His next action surprised and terrified her at the same time – only a hint of a smile slowly crept over his lips as he put his goggles on.

Chapter 6

"You better get comfortable, we've still got about four hours of flying before we reach our destination."

She just stared out into the endless expanse of space. Afraid to speak. Afraid to breathe. What if he was just toying with her? Was this how he got his kicks? Or could the horrific reports actually be true? He hadn't tried anything…yet? She couldn't seem to get her thoughts into order. Her head felt heavy and her body cold.

"Hey, you've gotten awfully quiet over there. Something wrong?" He actually sounded concerned, she thought to herself. How ironic. Acting like he is worried about how she feels when all she is to him is an inconvenience. That was her new conclusion. She wished she could read his mind for a change.

"No...noth...nothing wrong."

He almost sounded amused when he spoke again: "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

She looked over to him and decided that honesty was the best policy, but still hating herself for opening her mouth, seeing as she knew she would babble.

"I…I've always been very tuned into peoples' moods and emotions, but it's like you have this wall built around you that I can't see through. It scares me that I feel like you can read my mind and know exactly what I'm going to do even before I do. For a very long time my only safe haven has been my thoughts and you've seemed to have taken that away too." She drew in a shaky breath. "Yes Riddick. I am afraid of you, but not as much as I used to be. Dan always said I was too trusting, but you haven't hurt me…" Rebecca swallowed, her throat and mouth was so dry. "…yet…"

She only stopped because she had to take a breath. She couldn't take the moments of silence that followed her rambling, it was driving her insane. What if she said something that would set him off. Why was he just staring at her like that? Was he even listening?

"And…and those…your goggles…they unnerve me…" Rebecca was trembling now, and truly afraid, but also didn't worry what happened to her anymore. In that moment she realized – she had nothing to go back to. No boyfriend, no job, no life. She wished she was dead. She wished he would just…

Riddick stared at her. He watched as the flurry of emotions crossed her unnaturally pale features. He wished that he could read her mind. He felt a pang of emotion stirring somewhere deep inside him. He hated emotions. It had always only complicated his life. He decided to try to make the situation a little more bearable for her, just so she would stop…stop acting so…he didn't have a word for it…inconsistent…that was it. In one swift motion he removed the goggles. She didn't know what to think or what to do. Her heart was beating at break-neck speed all of the sudden. "That better?" he asked with no sign of emotion on his face. "Yes" she replied and added with a sigh: "Thank you." She was even surprised at her own next action.

She closed her eyes and leaned back against in her chair with her head rested on the back. She felt as if she didn't even have the strength to blink her eyes, let alone carry on with her internal debate.

She wanted him to know that she thought of him as a human being and wanted to thank him with this gesture for getting her off the planet and not harming her or the mercks. She realized that maybe all the reports on him wasn't entirely true. OK, given his physical presence and the way he moved and acted, he was definitely not a class A citizen, but maybe…

To her surprise she fell asleep. When she woke up, she didn't open her eyes at first, but simply listened. She could hear his breathing – deep and even in the chair next to her. She was sure he was asleep, so she opened her eyes and slowly looked at him. His eyes were closed so she figured he had to be asleep. His features were still masculine, but in some way soft and peaceful. She had the sudden urge to touch his cheek, but restrained herself with force. It must be the hunger that is making her act this way. She decided to remedy the situation before she did something she would probably regret, by looking for a kitchen or something on the small ship. She found some dried meat and some water bottles in a cupboard.

She stood there not knowing whether to put his out for him or just leave it on the table. She just stood in front of him.

"Hmm, smells nice." The low rumbling of his voice startled her and she dropped the water bottle. He caught it before it hit the floor and said amused: "Be careful, we shouldn't waste anything, don't know when we'll be able to get more." She wondered if he had been awake the entire time. Rebecca had put his food down on the control panel in front of him and walked back to get herself something. She swallowed down the fear rising in her throat and walked up behind his chair. He quickly spun around and completely caught her off guard, for the umpteenth time. Instinctively she took a step back and froze as he stood up. "You should really learn not to be so jumpy, it could be hazardous to your health where we're going. Can't look out for your ass 24/7, though I wouldn't mind to..." he said taking more meat from her and jamming a piece into his mouth while walking past her to one of the other two rooms.

Wasn't he hazardous to her health as well? And what did he mean by…

With this thought still lingering in her mind, she digested what he said for a few minutes and then went to find him to ask him exactly where they were going. As she rounded the corner (probably the only one in the small hallway on the small ship), she heard his deep, even breathing again. He was stretched out on his back on a large bed. She had the urge to crawl up next to him and lay with her head on his chest and fall asleep to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Right at that very moment he opened his eyes and lazily motioned for her with his hand to sit on the bed next to him. Her eyes widened as she realized that she was actually contemplating taking him up on his offer, so she did the only thing she could think of – ran out of the room as fast as she could. But not fast enough to escape the soft gravelly laugh that rose from his throat.