"Get up!" The voice ordered.
Karla opened her eyes to the darkness, a cold wet slap hit her body as a bucket of icy water was thrown her way.
Brushing the tangled mess of hair away from her face, she rose to her feet.
The smell in the prison block had changed slightly. Fresh meat, she concluded.
A guard grabbed her arm and dragged her from her cell.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked, her tone demanding.
"Boss aint through with you yet", was the reply.
Through the giant steel gates she was dragged into a huge circular hall surrounded by guards. In the middle of the hall a torture device called the rack. She was already familiar with its many methods and so far had managed to resist them all.
Larendaron stood, whip folded in his gnarled hand gently tapping his thigh.
Prisoners gather and pressed their filthy faced up to the cold rusting metal bars to witness the entertainment thankful that it wasn't them in there.
Karla struggled against the guards as she was forced into the hulking torture device. Her hands strapped above her head, feet shackled to the floor slightly apart.
"Holy father" a deep gentle voice was heard coming from a nearby cell. "Take this child, let her not experience pain, give her strength."
"Imam" a deep voice rumbled from the shadowy corner of the same cell.
A man stepped into the light, tall and well built he showed no fear or concern for his surroundings. Slowly he shook his head warning the holy man to be quiet.
Larendaron silenced the crowd of eager spectators. Circling his captive he spoke.
"Karla Dawn of Aldarha, you are charged with treason, how do you plead?".
She remained silent.
Larendaron ripped the flimsy fabric of her shirt exposing her already damaged back.
He leaned in close and whispered into her ear "You will confess and I will have you beg on your knees for your life before we're through today".
Karla tilted her head to the side so that she could see his face a little.
"What is it this time Laren, have a wet dream did we?"
Her arrogance was met with a swift slap from one of the guards facing her.
"Name and rank soldier?" Larendaron demanded.
"Karla Dawn, 25, Aldarha" was all she gave.
Larendaron extended the whip he held and began to flog the prisoner.
"Name and rank?" he spat with each crack of his whip.
Through gritted teeth she held her composure.
"Karla Dawn, 25, Aldarha".
The flogging continued.
Her back began to cut and bleed, Karla began to cry out each time the leather hit her back.
Larendaron paused for a moment; rounding her he took her chin in his oversized hands.
"I can make all this go away Karla" he practically purred. "No more pain Karla, no more".
Karla fought to remain supported by her shackled feet.
"You know what they say about the size of a mans' hands" she replied. "The larger the hands, the smaller the dick". Mustering all her strength she spat in his face splattering him with thick bloody saliva.
He balled his fist and caught her square in the face. Blood poured from her nose and her head snapped back.
In the shadows a deep rumbling primal growl escaped. Forcing it's way from Riddicks gut up into his throat.
Imam took a step back from his friend knowing all too well that when the beat raged within the animal could not be caged.
Karla's consciousness failed her and her body hung limply supported only by her tethered wrists.
"She's done" Larendaron announced. A guard moved to release her and take her back to her cell.
"Leave her" he ordered. "We'll see how accommodating she is in the morning."
The lights went out save for a spot light on the unconscious Karla.
The guards vanished apart from a skeleton crew keeping watch on the sleeping prisoners.
Riddick didn't sleep; the beat was still not silenced. He crouched in a corner of the cell her shared with Imam listening to the holy mans steady beating heart.
Something drew his attention, a movement in the hall. Karla was regaining consciousness. She fought briefly against her restraints but stilled when she saw the guard coming towards her.
He removed his glove and began to stroke her hair. She hissed at his touch.
"Wild cat huh?" he chuckled. "Guess you need some taming"
"Go fuck yourself" she spat.
His hand lingered on her throat as he moved down brushing past her breasts to her abdomen and below. He closed his eyes and revelled in the feeling of her.
"Is that what you want?" she asked him "is that what you want from me?"
The guard nodded.
"Well, get the shackles off my ankles and you can have me."
He proposition was a sound one he thought. Her legs would be free but her hands would still be tied; easy.
His excitement was apparent as he hurriedly fumbled for the key to the shackles. Dropping it once in his over eager hands and dropped to the floor. Karla swayed her hips slowly making the guard salivate with anticipation.
The shackles unfastened the guard began to slide his hands under her shirt gasping at the tender flesh of her breast. Karla shivered into his touch sucking in tiny breaths as he ran his fingers over her raw flesh.
Riddick watched the scene unfold, the beast growing more restless.
Karla let out a groan. She knew she was faking it, the very idea of his hands on her repulsed her to the point that she had to force herself not to vomit.
"Is that the best you can do" she teased "Don't toy with my breasts like a young child. You know what you want and you know how you want it".
The guard kissed her abdomen and moved downwards to her hips. Karla closed her eyes and waited; concentrating she held her breath steady. She waited until the guard reached her panties with his mouth before she mustered her strength and lifted her legs around him.
At first the guard thought this was to give him better access but when she began to squeeze his throat with her thighs he panicked. Thrashing out he tried to break free but with a simple twist she heard the bones in his neck crack and as she released her grip on him he slumped in a heap to the floor.
Riddick rose to his feet the silver of his eyes caught Karlas attention. She glanced at him for a moment only before raising her body higher off the ground to swing herself over the chains that held her wrists. She knew that if she could twist the metal of the links they would eventually warp and break, her only hope was that it didn't break both her wrists in the process.
The muscles in her arms flexed and she silently lowered herself to the floor, the metal was beginning to resist. Grimacing through the pain she lifted again. The chains snapped and she landed in a messy heap on the floor. After a moment she reached out to the dead guard relieving him of his cell keys.
An alarm sounded and the lights came on. Quickly she unlocked a few cells releasing the prisoners. Riddick and Imam were two of the ones she freed.
Guards flooded into the hall as the prisoners began to flee.
Karla was exhausted but she knew if she could just get past this she would have a clear run to her ship and be off this godforsaken hunk of rock.
Riddick punched a guard and stole his weapon, it was a crude instrument used for delivering electric shocks to prisoners. Riddick did not hesitate to use it.
Leaving a trail of destruction and death in his path he and Imam made their way to the landing bay. Seeing their ship they ran to it boarding quickly. Riddick started the engines.
Karla led some prisoners to her ship. Riddick watched as she keyed in the code to the loading bay doors.
The guards flooded in. Karla with a last burst of energy fought them off as best she could. A guard caught her and punched her in the face. She landed on the floor and the guards that followed began to kick at her.
The prisoners closed the loading bay doors and began the take off procedure. Karla held out a bloodied hand towards her ship before she was buried in a sea of guards.
"Take the controls" Riddick ordered. "When the green light comes on hit that button"
"Green light, button" Imam repeated. He had never flown before.
Riddick ran down the ramp towards the guards picking them off one by one until the few that were left ran either to get help or in fear for their own lives.
Kneeling by the lifeless body of the woman who had freed him he checked her for a pulse. No sense rescuing a dead person, he thought.
She was alive still.
He scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder before climbing back onboard.
Imam pressed the button as instructed when the green light came on.
The ship detached from the docking clamps and rose in the air burning through the atmosphere and offering a slight jolt as they passed through into the weightlessness of space and the ships anti gravity took effect.
Imam appeared at the cargo bay door.
"Is she alive?" he asked
Riddick nodded before standing up "Get her to a room".
Imam settled himself by the still figure not sure how to touch her without causing more damage.
Riddick walked to the table built into one of the bulk heads retrieving his shiv and sliding it into the belt of his pants.
The girl stirred and moved slightly. Imam put his hand to her forehead and whispered a prayer to ease her pain as her face contorted in agony.
The girl reached up and grabbed Imam by the wrist. He gasped as she twisted causing his wrist to bend at an unnatural angle.
Riddick turned.
Imam held out his free hand to signal Riddick not to attack her.
"It is alright Riddick, she is just frightened." He offered in a gentle voice.
He turned to her and smiled down "Come, child, I am not your enemy. The enemy of your enemy is your friend. I am Imam, and I can help you".
She relaxed her grip on him allowing him to help her stand.
It was the first time either one of the men got a good look at her eyes, wild like a cornered deer, full of fear not knowing whether to fight of flee. Her breath came in quick gasps her composure had left. Her eyes darted from the coloured man to the tall man with shining eyes.
She edged herself back against a bulkhead eyeing a sharp piece of twisted metal. She grabbed it and held it in front of her.
"Now just what in the hell are you gonna do with that?" Riddick asked.
She didn't answer.
Ripping the side of her already destroyed trousers she stuck the twisted metal into her leg. A scream of pain escaped her lips as blood poured from the gaping gash.
She moved the metal in an up and down motion slicing her skin in a crude fashion.
"Hey, lady, what the…"
Her eyes met Riddicks "Help me?" were the only words she managed before sliding down the cold steel bulkhead leaving a lazy bloody trail in her dying wake.
Riddick knelt beside the aching form. He grabbed the twisted metal and pulled it from her thigh, again she let out a cry of agony.
"Do you see it?" she whispered through clenched teeth.
"See what?" he asked.
"Tracker" she spat. "You h…h…have to f…f…find it and take it o…o…out or they'll find m…m…me, they'll f…f…find y…y…you. K…k..kill y…y…you".
The woman used her hand to pull the jagged flesh apart and sure enough Riddick could see the flickering red light of the activated tracking device.
He reached into the wound pressing deeper into the raw flesh finally plucking the device out. He tossed it to Imam who tossed it into the air lock and jettisoned it into space.
"S…s…safe now" she whispered.
Riddick nodded.
The girls' eyes closed.
Riddick regarded her for a moment before scooping her up and carrying her to one of the rooms on the ship. There was no med bay but there were supplies in his quarters.
Imam and Riddick patched the girl as best they could. The cut in her thigh took twenty stitches, ugly black zigzagged stitches against the purest of white skin.
She was out for days; sometimes feverish, sometimes restless. For some reason Riddick was drawn to her. Why? He had no time to get sidetracked but still, the tracking device when she explained that she could be found, that he could be found had he been right in detecting the slightest bit of concern in her tempered voice.
"Where am I?" Her voice, weak and dry came from the bed. Her eyes were staring straight up at the ceiling.
"On my ship" he replied.
It hurt her to move out of stiffness and injury but she tried to sit to survey her surroundings.
"Lights" she spoke but the room remained in darkness. "Lights" she repeated.
"Illuminate" his deep voice rumbled. The lights flickered on.
Karla glanced at the man who had spoken then at her surroundings then at her hands which were caked in dry blood.
Her leg hurt like a sonofabitch she vaguely remembered why.
"Thank you" she offered.
"For what?" he asked.
"The tracking device; you helped me retrieve it".
"Just didn't want my ass dragged back to that rock" his voice was strong, deep and unwavering.
"You're a runner?" he asked.
"Of sorts", she replied.
Imam opened the door to the room.
"Ah, you are awake" He touched the tips of his fingers to his lips, then his forehead. "Allah be praised". His eyes shifted to Riddick.
"We have a problem Mr Riddick. The engine core is overheating and unless we can inject some coolant into it we will have to purge it from the ship."
"So inject some coolant" Riddick replied.
"I am afraid that is the problem. The injection mechanism is not functioning"
Riddick slammed his fist into a nearby table splintering the wood.
"God DAMNIT" He yelled.
Both onlookers jumped.
Riddick was a fine pilot, one of the best, but maintenance and engineering were not his strong points.
"If we purge the fuckin' engine we'll be floating dead in space. We're a week away from the nearest shipping lane and guess what? We've just busted outta a maximum security prison and we have a guest" he gestured in an overly antagonised way to Karla.
"I…I think I could help" she swallowed hard. "Is this an Eagle class ship?"
Imam shook his head Nebarra Class" he replied.
Karla shrugged "Close enough"
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and tried to put weight on her injured leg. It gave way and to stop herself landing on her backside she rested heavily on the bed.
"Take me to the injection mechanism" she asked looking at Imam.
He put his arm around her waist and slowly led her out of the room and along the long corridor to engineering.
"Are there any independent communications here?" she asked
"Why?" Riddicks voice rumbled from the open doorway. He'd followed behind still unsure about their "guest".
"Wanna call up some of your runner friends let 'em know we're an easy target". His tome was unmistakeable, anger, frustration and distrust.
Karla leaned against the bulkhead by the injection mechanism control panel.
"No, it's just that while I'm working on this I'll need some temperature readings. The panel on here is busted; I take it there will be one on the command control panel."
Riddick nodded.
"Well, you're not likely to let me see the command panel so this is the next best thing. If we can communicate, at least then I'll be able to know when I'm gonna get my ass burned."
Riddick told Imam to go to the command panel, he wasn't about to leave her here with the Holy Man.
Karla lay on her back and slid underneath the control panel casing. Sparks flew at her.
"Shit! Sonofabitch!" she yelled.
Riddick could hear her pained gasps as she stretched her arm to reach the injection mechanism.
"Well, your friend was right. The system is totally fried; fucked beyond fucked".
"And the good news?" Riddick asked dryly.
"That was it; sorry didn't I mention that part?"
More sparks flew at her singing her skin a little. She stretched a little further feeling the stitches in her leg pull tight.
"Damn" she gasped. "Of all the fucking days of all the Bastard days!" she yelled. "Mr Riddick" she peered over her body to catch his eyes with hers "do you ever think sometimes that there s a force stronger than yours working to make your life as difficult as possible?"
"Every goddamned day" he answered in a low rumble.
"Mr Riddick" Imams voice came over the comm. System "The temperature is spiking, we don't have very much time"
"What ever you're gonna do, do it faster" Riddick ordered.
"Shit, I can't reach…" she gasped as the stitches pulled even tighter sending bullets of pain along her thigh up her spine through her heart and out of her mouth in dry gasps.
She reached towards her belt pulling the single tooth out of the clasp and using her fingers she stuck it into the injection system where the other wires had fried. This would serve as a conductor temporarily until she could find a more permanent solution.
Alarms rang through the entire ship.
"Holy Man, get ready to purge on my mark"
"No!" Karla yelled from underneath the control panel. "Wait just a second"
More sparks and then the lights flickered, the alarm ceased and Karla breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Temperature reading please?" she asked
"Imam, what's the temp?"
"Falling Mr Riddick three hundred degrees and still falling"
Riddick grabbed Karlas leg and pulled her from under the panel.
"Hey, I wasn't finished" she protested.
"Yeah, you were" he answered. "What did you do?"
Karla shrugged "A little shit n' spit. It should hold until we can dock somewhere"
Riddick raised an eyebrow as if to suggest that she not fuck with him.
She gestured to her belt "I used the tooth on my belt – Guess you owe me a new belt"
"How long?"
Karla shrugged "Couple of days depending on how hard you push the engines. The hotter they get the more coolant they need, the more coolant they need.."
Riddick held up his hands in mock surrender "I get the picture".
"Help me up" she asked holding out a hand. Riddick could see the ends of her fingers had been burned and were already beginning to blister, speckles of burnt flesh ran up to her elbow where she had bee hit by the sparks.
With one hand he reached down, grabbed her wrist and hauled her to her feet.
He saw her wince a little at his grip; it aggravated the cuts from being tied to that hulking frame in the great hall. He released her and she rubbed the agitated skin.
"What now?" she asked.
His tilted his head from side to side wondering what she meant.
Her eyes lowered. "What are your plans, what do you intend to do with me?"
"Haven't decided yet" was his blunt reply.
"Am I your prisoner?" she asked
"Do you want to be?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"Then don't make me take you as my prisoner" he answered.
Their silence was broken by the ringing alarms throughout the ship.
Riddick ran to the control deck dragging Karla with him.
"What?" he demanded.
"Allah be merciful. I think we're being boarded Mr Riddick".
"Boarded!" he yelled.
He punched the computer keyboard and brought up an image of the docking bay. Armed men, he counted eight, filled the small compartment and were breaking through the security door.
He grabbed Karla roughly by the shoulders and threw her up against a bulkhead.
"Is this your doing" he whispered leaning into her body, shiv pressed tightly against the tender flesh of her neck. Saliva dripped from his chin and she could feel his heart pounding against her.
"No" she replied looking him in the eyes seeing her reflection thrown back in pools of mercury.
He paused for a moment looking for some betrayal, some giveaway tell tale sign that she was lying. There was none.
Slowly he released her.
"Imam, keep her here. If she moves, ghost her" he tossed a pulse rifle to the holy man.
He was gone, vanishing behind the command deck door. Karla and Imam watched the computer screen, the men had almost broken through.
"Mercs" Karla whispered.
Imam nodded
They watched as Riddick dropped down almost silently from a vantage point one of the access tubes running through the ship opened out into the docking bay. The mercs were so preoccupied trying to get out of the bay they didn't notice his presence until he'd sliced two of the mercs. They lay dying, unable to make a sound, their throats slit wallowing in their own life fluid. He hit the light switch and plunged the entire room in darkness.
Karla and Imam couldn't see what was happening. Imam grew restless.
Suddenly one of the mercs turned the lights back on. Riddick, momentarily blinded, was overwhelmed by mercs. Landing on his knees Karla and Imam watched as he was kicked in the stomach.
"I have to go and help him" Karla suggested.
"But Mr Riddick made it quite clear."
"If I don't go help Pilgrim, Mr Riddicks gonna get his ass ghosted and then they'll come for us."
"But your wounds, they are not healed"
"Do you think they give a shit about that".
She turned and headed towards the door picking up a shiv as she went.
"Karla" Imam called after her. His aim held true on her heart, the laser target danced on her shirt.
"We're wasting time Imam" she seethed "So if you're gonna kill me kill me, if not let me go". She held her breath waiting for what seemed like an eternity.
Imam exhaled loudly almost as though he had been defeated. His aim faltered and then his grip on the laser rifle relaxed. The gun rested by his side.
"Go" he whispered. She hesitated "GO!" he yelled at her.
Karla nodded a salute to him before disappearing the same as Riddick had done. Instead of climbing through the access tubes she decided to go for the more direct approach: the door.
She elbowed the control panel to the door and ripped out the locking wires. Pulling a few apart and joining a few together the locking clamps on the door released and the door slid open.
She caught sight of a fallen Riddick. Two mercs held his arms outstretched his face a bloody mess of mangled flesh.
"Boys, boys, boys" she almost sang to them. "Tsk, tsk, tsk." She offered a smile, the shiv concealed behind her back. "You know, you should never party alone."
As one merc made his move she pulled the shiv from behind her back and sliced catching his shoulder.
She grabbed his damaged limb and turned him around so that his back was to her chest just as another merc came at her with a blade. With too much momentum behind him the knife plunged into the merc she held. She released him and allowed his body to slump to the ground. The second merc sliced across, Karla jumped out of the way. A merc grabbed her from behind, she took one step backwards. He held a knife to her throat. They hit the bulkhead; she threw her head back breaking the mercs nose. In his moment of weakness she grabbed his arm holding the blade and rammed it into the other merc then flipping his wrist she pushed his hand back on itself and into his ribs. She gritted her teeth and twisted the blade hearing the unmistakable crack of bones. Leaving the blade in his body she stepped forward hearing him slide to the floor.
Her concentration was distracted by Riddicks growl. A fifth merc caught her with a punch to the face. She was sent reeling to the floor. She dragged a lazy hand across her bleeding lip and looked at the crimson fluid before licking her lips and bearing her teeth in a twisted smile.
The merc grinned as he hauled her to her feet, pressing her to the bulkhead holding her off the ground with an arm across her throat. She began to claw at the mercs skin; her oxygen was being gradually cut off.
Riddick growled a loud primal growl and the two mercs that held his arms were pulled together as he pulled his arms together. Their grip on him faltered and he rolled out from under them grabbing Karla's shiv before he stood up. The two mercs fell quickly by his hand. His attention turned to Karla and the merc that was killing her slowly.
"Stay back Riddick" the merc yelled "Or I'll ghost her before you can blink" the merc sensed Riddick come to a halt unsure of his next move.
"I'll slice her open and watch her spill on the floor like the filth she is."
"No you won't" Riddicks voice washed over them in a low rumble "because then I'd have to gut you and feed you your own intestines through your ass".
In an instant, before the merc could spit out another breath Riddick stuck his shiv into the sweet spot and twisted. The merc was immediately paralysed and could only gape like a suffocating fish as he fell to the floor. Karla landed on top of him gasping for breath. A strong hand hauled her to her feet.
"I thought I told you to stay put!" he yelled.
"Well thank you too ass hole. If I had done as you said you'd be dead you ungrateful sonofabitch".
Riddick backhanded her across her face sending a stream of blood down the corner of her mouth.
"Imam!" he growled "I'm gonna ghost that motherfucker".
Riddick roared to the command deck; without stopping he caught Imam but the shoulders and pulled him closer to his face.
"Not for me" he yelled "Do you hear me Holy Man. Not for me"
His grip relaxed and Imam sat in a near by chair; shaking.
"She wanted to help" were the only words he could offer.
Karla jacked the locking system to enter the merc vessel. It was gloomy and the smell almost made her stomach retch. The floor was littered with bones of dead animals. The lights ahead of her flickered as the energy pulsed through. Stepping forward dodging the carcasses she made her way through the winding corridors following the gentle hum of the engines she found her way to the engine room.
The computer was still powered on and the panels to all the systems were lit green.
"Green for go" she whispered.
Heading to the computer she punched in a couple of coordinates. The computer digested the coordinates and churned out a string of data. Her eyes flicked over the data searching the screen.
Not finding what she was looking for she kicked out clutching the side of the panel until her knuckles hurt.
"It's gotta be here" she muttered punching the coordinates again.
The same data string spewed across the screen.
"Damnit".
A thought had occurred while she was looking around the rest of the engine room. She could check the coolant injection system to see if she could rip any parts from it to transfer to Riddicks ship. Finding the injection control panel she ripped the side off and lowered herself down and slid underneath.
"What should we do with the bodies Mr Riddick?" Imam asked.
"Pray for their souls holy man." He glanced round "Where's the girl?"
Imam looked baffled "She did not follow you back?"
Riddick shot Imam a glare. "The merc ship".
He ran through the corridors to the docking bay. He saw the bay doors to the merc ship had been jacked. A nerve jumped in his jaw as his teeth ground together.
Silently with his shiv drawn he walked through the ship. It didn't take him long to find her, he had a suspicion she'd head for engineering. He saw her legs sticking out from under the injection panel. Then he caught sight of the computer screen. What had she done? Had she called for help? Betrayed their position called for help…what?
Karla felt the pressure on her injured leg and screamed. Unable to slide out from her position she lifted her head. Her eyes saw Riddick, his knee placed squarely on her thigh where the stitches were. Slowly he applied more pressure.
"One chance" he rumbled "Tell me the truth and I might just let you live".
"Ease up on my leg and I'll tell you whatever it is you want".
Riddick shook his head. "I like my deal better" he paused.
"What are you doing?" he asked removing his goggles to watch her expression.
"I'm checking the coolant injection mechanism; see if I can't rip some body parts outta this hunk of junk and use them." She let out a pained gasp.
"And the computer?" he leaned more of his weight onto her leg.
"Oh, that" she attempted to laugh. "That's nothing, really."
He applied more pressure which in turn made her let out a small cry.
"Wrong answer" he spoke slowly. "Who did you contact?"
"Contact?" she repeated "N…no one…It's the truth" she spat as he applied even more pressure.
She yelled at him to stop, begged him to ease up.
"Tell me what I want to know?"
Karla allowed her body to relax in defeat. The pain was unbearable and tears welled in her eyes she let them fall reluctantly unwilling to let him witness her defeat.
"I'm trying to find something" she began.
"What?" he demanded.
"My home" came her reply. "Damn him" she mouthed to herself, he'd beaten her; she resented her weakness.
Riddick paused for a moment before pulling her out from underneath the panel. Her fists immediately began hitting out at him catching his shoulders and ribs. He pinned them easily holding both hands in one of his holding them above her head.
With his free hand he touched her tears feeling the warm salty water on his tongue.
"Home" he spoke the word yet it seemed alien to him.
"Aldarha" she whispered. "All I wanna do is go home and be with my family".
"Family?" he questioned.
She nodded slowly "I haven't seen them in twenty years. I was taken from my home world when I was five."
Riddicks hold on her loosened and he helped her sit. She dusted her hands on her pants.
"The injection mechanism doesn't match yours but there maybe some other parts of this hell hole that we could use."
"Did you find it?" he asked
"What? My home?"
He nodded.
"No," she threw her hands up in the air "I should have known better than to trust anyone in a slam" she scoffed at herself in mock laughter.
"I guess sometimes you just never know who you can trust" he said. She looked up at him trying to judge his mood.
There was a brief pause before he rose from his haunches.
Karla tried to hoist herself up from the floor but to no avail, her leg was agony and provided no leverage. A hand dropped down in front of her face, she flinched back before she realised Riddick was offering a hand to help her stand.
They scavenged through the ship taking what they could weapons, electrical equipment portable scanners. The pain in Karlas leg was unbearable Riddick occasionally heard her mutter expletives and noted her forehead was beaded with sweat yet she still worked as hard as he.
They worked in silence dragging the bodies of the dead mercs through to their ship; there they would remain in an unceremonious heap of rotting flesh until another ship found them; it could be a day or so, maybe longer. They hoped for longer.
Closing the airlock between themselves and the floating funerary box they manually overrode the docking clamps and allowed it to drift away.
"Does this ship have water?" Karla asked.
"Yeah"
"Good, my throat feels like the fires of crematoria and I stink like a pig".
She heard Riddick inhale deeply. He could smell the animal in her mixed with the blood she'd spilled and the sweat she carried on her clothes.
"Interesting" he spoke slowly.
"Don't suppose we have any of Morpheus' Nectar do we?" She enquired with a hopeful expression.
Riddick shook his head "No morphine"
"Never mind, I skanked a couple of bottles of contraband from that merc ship, that should loosen things up a little." She paused, waiting for him to offer some direction as to where she should go. "Which way?" she finally asked.
He took her elbow and led her along the corridor to a door, sweeping it with his hand it opened automatically.
He gestured for her to go inside. He did not follow, merely stood watching her for a moment before allowing the door to close.
"Lock override" she heard him speak.
"Damn that man just doesn't trust anybody" she muttered.
Glancing around the room she found a bed with a mattress folded on top. Unfolding the mattress she sat on the corner enjoying the feel of something other than cold hard steel beneath her aching body. To her right was an open door leading to a bathroom to her left a small storage locker.
Flipping the cap on a bottle she smelled the liquid it contained first then took a small sip. The liquid burned over her tongue and down her throat needling its way down into her stomach she could feel its every move.
"Should do the trick" she mumbled before taking a long drink. The red liquid spilled a little and a tiny stream trickled down the side of her mouth, the side that had spilled when Riddick back handed her. She drew in a quick breath through clenched teeth. Damn that hurt. She tenderly touched the stinging raw flesh and checked her fingers, at least it had stopped bleeding, she considered before having another drink.
Riddick was on the command deck initiating a sensor sweep checking that the mercs were alone in their travels. He knew that mercs usually travelled light, one ship carrying anything between three and ten mercs at a time. Rarely would the ships travel together, too much competition. It had been known for the mercs to land a target then kill each other in the race to collect the bounty.
"Mr Riddick" Imam spoke softly gauging the barbarians' mood.
"You said "Not for me". What did you mean?"
Riddick grunted. He didn't want to remember that night.
"No one should die trying to save me. I'm a worthless piece of shit that would be better of dead." He scanned the sensor readings; they showed nothing out of the ordinary. They were safe, at least for a while.
"Remember Fry?" he asked punching in some coordinates.
"The Hunter-Gratzner?" Imam asked.
"Yeah, that Fry" Riddick sighed, damn he didn't want to do this.
"The night we got to the skiff. You and the kid were trapped I had already made it and was getting ready to leave. Fry talked me into going back for you two. If it wasn't for her you both would have been…" he trailed off.
"Anyway, we came back for you, remember? Then things went shit shaped, I got attacked. I had it under control, there was no need for her to come charging to my rescue. She said she'd die for you, but not me" he shrugged "Then she was gone." He laughed out loud "She swore she'd never die for me, that I wasn't worth it and yet, she died doing exactly that."
Imam sat silent for a moment.
"So, you didn't want Karla to die for you"
"I don't want anyone dying for me Holy man. It's a debt I am not willing to repay" His expression changed and the mask of the beast slipped into place.
"Your burden is a heavy one Mr Riddick. I don't know which is worst, that you had made the decision to abandon Jack and myself; or that you blame yourself for Fry's misfortune".
"Misfortune!" he raged "Misfortune! She got ripped apart all because of me and you call that misfortune." He looked at Imam, his eyes full of disgust "Call yourself a holy man?"
Imam shrugged "Call yourself a barbarian" he said with a slight smile.
"I am a barbarian Imam, just ask those fuckers I already ghosted."
"Mr Riddick. Just because somebody labels you doesn't mean it's true. We have a tendency to only believe the bad things about ourselves it is easier than admitting there may be a little good in our hearts also" Imam dared to place his hand over Riddicks heart. Riddick knocked it away viciously.
"I am bad Holy Man, touch me again and you'll see just how bad I can be" he spat.
Imam sat in deep meditation considering if Riddick were truly as bad as he says, as Johns made out on the planet when the Hunter-Gratzner crashed. Bad enough to be chained up like a rabid animal. How could anyone that bad possibly feel remorse? And yet the words Riddick had spoken of Fry; did they not suggest remorse?
Maybe there was hope for Mr Riddick after all.
Karla had drifted to sleep. The bottle she had been nursing was now two thirds empty resting on the table by the side of the cot.
Huge trees hung overhead, brightly coloured sweet smelling flowers nestles in every crevice. She heard laughter. Glancing over she watched children playing, their laughter was the sweetest noise she had ever heard. A child with blond curly hair had picked pink flowers and made a chain to wear as a crown around her head. The other children were dancing around her in a circle. Karla listened closely to their voices, they were singing a birthday song and offering blessings to the child. The scene made Karla want to weep with joy but she had no idea who these children were of where this dream was taking place.
Looking up at the azure sky she sucked in a deep breath. The sun was turning black, the light was fading and the shadows were growing long.
A low rumble forced the villagers to look up.
Screaming: people running, grabbing their children and fleeing the village.
Dust caused Karla to choke. She couldn't see her parents, couldn't breath and couldn't call for them. She wanted to run yet couldn't move. Fear gripped her entire being.
Rough hands grabbed her shoulders and dragged her to the rumbling sound.
It was a ship, a vast ship and it had landed by the village. The engines were the cause of the rumbling. Karla fought but the mean calloused hands held her firm until they were onboard. There she was thrown to the ground in a tiny cell like room. Shr ran to the door as it closed and beat her fists on it until the bled calling for her mummy and daddy. They didn't come.
She felt the ship begin to take off, running to the window she saw the devastation left behind by the men. Fires burned as homes had been torched. Men. Women and the children who put up more of a fight lay scattered, dead and dying. The trees had been pushed flat by the force of the ship and the flowers singed by the heat from the engines. In her cell pink flower petals began to tumble like rain, when they landed on the floor they exploded as blood and stained the floor and her clothes.
She could still hear the laughter of children as Karla woke. Tears stung her face as they fell travelling the same route as the other eighty thousand she had shed already.
The ship was quiet apart from the slow hum of the engine. Feeling claustrophobic, she opted to take a short tour of the ship. Knowing that Riddick had already disabled the locking mechanism on her door made her venture a lot easier and quieter, since she wouldn't have to break the control panel and jack the wires.
Quietly she padded along the corridors wandering without aim. She found her way to what looked like a galley. It was dark but she could see a little from the light in the corridor. Imam was standing behind her watching her.
"Shit, you scared the crap outta me Pilgrim" she began.
"Are you alright Karla?" he asked noting the streaks of salted tears.
"I'm fine; why wouldn't I be?" Oh lord, she mentally kicked herself. Did she really want him to answer that, wasn't it obvious that she had been crying. Maybe he would take the hint that she didn't want to talk about it.
"You have been crying" he said in a gentle voice.
"Yeah" she sniffed "so?" she added a shrug hoping her nonchalance would throw him off the scent.
"Do you dream often?" he asked.
Damn cut to the chase why don't you Karla thought. She lowered her eyes; they had betrayed her once again. One day she'll get a shine job then no one will be able to read her.
Karla rested heavily against a table.
"I dream of my sons. I had three" Imam began with a slight smile.
"Had three?" Karla repeated.
Imam nodded. "Several years ago we were stranded on a planet. The transport we were in crash landed. The suns shone all the time, we thought that there was no night, well, no darkness anyway." Imam paused, his face changed and his eyes turned cold, and emotionless when he looked into Karlas.
"We were wrong." He whispered. "Night came and the darkness followed in the form of huge creatures who fed on our flesh. Some of us managed to escape, but not my boys." He took a huge breath "There were fourteen of us including Mr Riddick who was being taken to a slam. Three of us survived."
There was a long pause. Karla put a gentle hand on Imams shoulder as the man fought with anger and tears.
"I'm sorry" she whispered.
Another pause followed.
"I think it's my home" Karla began. "It's been so long I can't remember." She ran an idle hand through her hair raking through the snags until it smoothed out.
"It's the same every time. There are children playing, laughing. This beautiful child, she looks like an angel, she's wearing pink flowers in her hair. It's her birthday.
Then they come and I'm in a cell on a ship. I can see people dead and dying and then pink petals fall from the cell ceiling and explode like blood on the floor staining my clothes." She shuddered. "I wake up and every time I feel this pain, this deep pain; it feels so bad I can barely breathe." She looked at him and saw an understanding in his eyes, the like of which she had not been witness to before.
"And some days you wonder how you manage to go on." Imam offered.
Karla nodded.
"So you try to block it out; you create a mask to hide these feelings and so, when your guard is down and you are sleeping, the memories of past hurt comes back at you ten fold".
Karla rose from the table. "What would you have me do Pilgrim?"
Imam chuckled lightly "That, my dear, is for you to discover" he traced a tear down her cheek with his finger and then cupped her chin in his large hands. "Never forget who you are."
Her face changed to one of stone "Not who I am Pilgrim; but what I am". With that she headed back out the door to find her way back to her room. Imam followed several paces behind and ducked in to his room.
In the galley all was still. In a dark corner two silvery orbs broke through the darkness and watched in silence as the door closed.
Karla slowly, painfully removed what was left of her clothing and gingerly stepped under the hot running water pouring from the shower head.
It took a moment of inching slowly forward before she was comfortable. The cuts were stinging, the dries blood was sticking to her skin almost as though it had been welded onto her. She glanced down tracing a scar with her right hand. The pinkish silvery jagged line began just under her left shoulder and ran in an uneven diagonal fashion to her right hip.
Never again, she thought to herself; never again will that bastard bleed me. Her teeth ground together as flash backs invaded her vision. Resting her palms on the wall she breathed deeply under the scalding water calming herself.
When she was clean she found it hard to move, her skin had pulled taught over the wounds and the slightest movement sent a thousand pins of pain through her entire body. Slowly she loosened up as she patted her skin dry. Now all she had to do was find some clothes to protect what was left of her modesty.
The cupboard in her room had a few belongings, black tank top, black cargo pants and a couple of pairs of boxers. Raising an eyebrow she held the clothes up. The tank was a snug fit, the cargo pants needed rolling up a couple of inches and she definitely needed a new belt. The boxers were, roomy.
Reaching for the bottle of contraband on the table she took a long drink and coughed as the liquid burned down her throat setting her stomach on fire.
"Damn, that's good".
Riddick left the galley silently and made his way to the command deck. Sitting at the controls he punched in the coordinates he remembered from the computer on the merc ship, the ones Karla had used to find her home.
The scan came back negative for any planet that could sustain human life.
The Aldaris system was there, just no Aldarha. Riddick began to question whether she was being entirely honest about her origin. He broadened his scan of the system mapping all the outlining colonies, maybe one of those was her home. Maybe what he was really considering was dumping her on the first piece of rock he could find and letting her work it out for herself. But then, she did save him from that goddamned slam. No, he argued internally all she did was unlock the cell then she got her ass kicked about and he was the one who rescued her. If nothing else they were even.
Then he could get Imam back to New Mecca and then if he was still alive he would find Furia and track his own origin which was a history he was hesitant to mess with yet found himself driven towards almost like he was being pulled by an invisible thread
"Holy shit" Riddick was dragged from his reverie by Karla's whispering voice. He turned to see her slump lazily into a chair gazing out the ships screen at the stars. There was a gaseous nebula just to the left; the purple and blue gasses swirled in a silent waltz around the stars it was engulfing in its pull.
"Don't see that ever day" she commented.
Riddick grunted "It's just a nebula".
She drank from the bottle and wiped a hand across her mouth.
"Amazing" she whispered.
She heard Riddick scoff at her remarks and she rose from the chair.
"What?" she challenged "Are you telling me that you don't find that nebula fascinating? All the colours, the grace of movement" she moved forward trying to see his face to gauge his mood. She lowered her eyes to the floor when he remained silent.
"I guess when you spend your life in space you take things a bit for granted huh?"
He supposed she was right. He had spent the majority of his life on some space vessel or other and, well, when you've seen one nebula you've seen them all.
"Don't you wish you could go back and experience things for the first time again?" she asked offering a peaceful smile.
"Sure" Riddick answered not looking up. "I wish I could feel the restraints on my wrists for the first time, I wish I could feel the blood of my very first victim on my skin, I pray every goddamned night to get skull fucked for the very first time and lets not forget slam city now there's a place I wanna experience again for the first time"!
Karla stepped back taken aback by his angry tone she didn't feel safe around him.
"And you, do you want to feel those flowers in your hair for the first time!"
He rose and took four large strides to where she stood; he grabbed her chin roughly forcing her to look into his eyes.
"You heard that" she whispered fighting back the salty tears that threatened at his mention of her nightmare.
"Do you want to smell those flowers for the first time? See your parents murdered again but take it like it was the first time"
"Don't" she whispered her voice barely audible trying to move his hand so that she could avoid his stare. She saw pure hatred in his eyes and wondered what it was that was so terrible to make him want to hate her so much.
"There are something's no one should experience not even once" he said.
Riddick slammed his other hand palm first into the wall by Karla's head; she flinched in anticipation that the next slam would be his hand on her face. She closed her eyes and held a breath.
He released his grip on her and slumped back into the pilots seat.
"What about love for the first time? What about colours for the first time?"
Riddick turned to look at the scared woman. Tears gently tumbled from her eyes.
"I spent twenty years looking at the same grey walls. I didn't even know colours like that existed. Don't take that away from me" she whispered; it almost sounded like she was begging.
Riddick was confused. What the fuck was she rambling about colours, love, shit, she needed one fucking big wake up call. Surely being locked up for twenty years must have taught her that there is no such thing as love.
But then he was curious as to why after everything she'd been through and he was assuming the worst given what he had already seen over the last few days, how the hell could she spout such fucked up shit, her soul couldn't have survived such an ordeal, hell, he knew his own had long since high tailed it leaving him with an empty ache in his gut and a raging beast for a heart.
He heard her stomach growl even though she tried to cough over the top of it.
"We have food here" he mentioned nonchalantly.
He could feel her insecurity, her nervousness.
"Well, go get something".
She waited, he sensed she was still in the room and turned to face her.
"What?" he asked
"Food." She said "I…I don't know what…" she didn't know how to say that she had no clue of what to do. She had no idea why she felt embarrassed; her eyes searched the floor looking for a hold to widen and swallow her so that she could avoid the next sarcastic off hand remark. It didn't come. Instead she felt a strong hand wrap around her wrist and lead her from the command deck.
In silence they walked, she offered no protest and he was thankful of that.
The doors to the galley opened.
"Illuminate" he said. The lights came on full. He used an arm to shield his goggled face "reduce seventy per cent". The lights dimmed to a gentle orange hue and he removed his goggles.
"Sit" he gestured to a chair which she took without argument.
"This is a replicator" he pointed to an off looking machine on the wall. "You speak into it and ask for whatever you want. Example" he turned to the machine "Apple, green" he spoke directly into the machine.
Karla watched the machine, after a couple of seconds a few sparkling lights lit up the bottom of the machine. Riddick reached in and fetched the apple that had appeared.
He held it out for her to take but she recoiled a little.
"What is it?" she asked.
"An apple, fruit, take it you'll like it" he motioned for her to take the fruit.
She reached out tentatively not knowing if this was some kind of trick, some strange magic or some sick joke. Machines can't produce food. The planet she had been held captive had no such machines. The floor she was served daily was a grey mush of tastless slime.
She touched the fruit to see if it was indeed real then gasped as she felt the silky smooth skin.
She wrapped her fingers around the fruit and pulled it gently from Riddick's grasp.
She looked at him "What do I do with this apple?" she asked.
Riddick threw his head back and laughed loudly. Never in all his life had he met with such innocence, it was pathetic and yet touching at the same time.
Riddick grabbed the shiv from the back of his pants. Karla gasped again as she saw him advance on her. He took the apple from her hand used the shiv to cut a slice from it then handed the slice to her. He cut himself a slice and made sure she watched as he lifted it to his mouth and took a bite.
She mimicked his movement surprised and the crunchy texture of the fruit. It was alien to her, uncomfortable and….
"Ughh" she spat it out on the floor.
Again Riddick laughed as he watched her wipe the saliva from her mouth and chin.
"Stop laughing at me" she whispered.
"Didn't you like it" he smirked tilting his head from side to side.
Karla shook her head "I'm not sure." She replied. "It's like nothing I've ever had before. The taste is so…" she searched for the right word.
"Sweet" he finished.
"Yes, sweet. It is sweet" She smelled what was left of the apple slice in her hand and watched as Riddick sliced more for himself.
She took a smaller bite and pushed it around her mouth. Chewing, tasting feeling the juice hit the back of her throat her automatic reflex to swallow kicked in before she had the chance to spit it out again.
She felt the crunchy pieces slip slowly down her throat.
"I think I like this."
Riddick sat opposite her and past her the rest of the apple in small slices.
"What did they feed you in that shit hole anyway?" he asked.
She shrugged and spoke with her mouth full. "I don't even think they had a name for it" she covered her mouth with her hand to stop small pieces of spittle covered apple flying out of her mouth.
"I don't get you" he began "You fight like a merciless mother fucker and yet you know very little of the outside world. Enlighten me?"
His tone of voice suggested to Karla that it wasn't a request, it was an order.
She swallowed.
"I was trained for sport" she said simply. "Taught how to fight, how to defend myself so that when trials ran in the great hall I would…survive."
"Trails?" Riddick questioned. The notion intrigued him.
"To stop overcrowding there is a general cull of prisoners. Those who are not executed for their crimes and used as sport; fight to the death." She took another bite of apple. "As soon as I was able to I was in the great hall every second moon." A shiver ran the length of her aching spine and she looked at Riddick who watched her intently.
"May I have a drink?" she asked "That contraband stuff is pretty good to dull the fucking pain but does nothing to quench a thirst".
Riddick motioned for her to use the machine.
She rose and stood in front of the replicator.
"What is the liquid called…it's clear, has no taste, cold."
"Water" Riddick answered.
"Water" she said to the machine. Nothing happened. "Water" she repeated a little louder; still nothing happened.
"Cold" Riddick suggested. "You have to specify whether you want hot or cold water."
"Water, cold" Karla heaved a sigh of relief when the sparkling light appeared. She waited for them to disperse before reaching for the glass that has appeared.
She sipped at the water feeling the cold rush wash the remnants of the fruit down into her stomach.
"Treason" Riddick began "The big guy said you had been accused of treason"
Karla's hand trembled slightly; she hoped he wouldn't notice, she should have known better. He could smell the fear on her he didn't need to see the tremble in her hands as she sat.
"I was not a citizen of that planet so I don't know where they got that idea". Her answer was a flippant one.
"Don't fuck with me." Riddick said in a low growl.
"You want that pleasure all to yourself huh" she shot back.
"Remember where you are girl. My ship, my rules." He took a breath still smelling her fear. "Talk"
She sat back in her chair and sipped at the water.
"I wanted out that's all. I was part of a group called the Mel'Lar. We had been working on the plans to the slam finding a rout out. What we didn't know was that we had a mole, a traitor; he betrayed our plans to a faction on the outside, the Shedan. The Shedan wants to take Larendaron down and find what it is he's hiding."
"What's he hiding?" Riddick asked.
Karla shrugged. Riddick raised his eyebrows and he repeated the the question slowly.
"What. Is. He. Hiding?"
Karla's eyes lowered and focussed on an imaginary black spot on the otherwise white table.
"A weapon…I think, I don't know. There were stories of a weapon being built in the mine using an ore they'd discovered. Apparently this ore can deliver a blast one thousand times a weapons normal yield. Couple that with the fire power he has and you have enough fire power to destroy whole worlds with a single shot and you don't' even have to have a good aim."
Riddick rose from his chair.
"Somarian soup, hot" he said to the machine.
He placed the soup in front of Karla. The smell that assaulted her nostrils was amazing. She lifted it to her lips but he put a hand over hers stopping her.
"It's hot" he said.
He took his seat once more.
"So, the treason they spoke of was"
"A smoke screen" she finished. "Larendaron wants me dead."
"Why?"
"I am a threat to him." She answered.
"How?"
"Because I escaped him once and it scared him I think."
"You escaped from a slam"
Karla nodded and gestured to her leg "I got fucked over when the caught up with me. Never trust a killer" she offered. "I was betrayed, my location surrendered; I was recaptured, they found the slam plans on me and decided to make an example of me. Only I had no idea I carried the plans"
Riddick followed the story as best he could.
"Sounds like a whole hell of a lot of double crossing to me" he rumbled. "You got burned but then you shouldn't play with fire".
"And you would have done what exactly"
Riddick smirked "Not get caught for a start"
Karla threw her hands up in surrender.
"Drink your soup" he told her.