The Necromongor and the Furyan

Chapter 1

They are a plague that now sweeps through the worlds of man. Leaving behind a trail of dead planets and towering icons, monuments to their unholy crusade. They are Necromongors; a dark army that will convert or kill every last human life. Unless they can be stopped.

In normal times, evil would be fought by good. But in times like these, it must be confronted by another kind of evil.

Jess-

"Hola chica!" rings the voice of my always giddy, always loud, loyal friend, Tish Tompkins. She runs up to me and hugs me around my middle like we haven't seen each other in twenty years, in reality it's probably only been all of seven hours. We were standing outside Anderville High School, the school day was over, it was the weekend, and the air was buzzing with energy.

"So what's good this weekend Jess?" she asks excitedly.

I've known Tish and her big brother Tom almost all their lives. Tish is sixteen, Tom is seventeen, and I'm eighteen. My name is Jess Casper, I am the leader of the organization Lost Child Society. For those of you who don't know what L.C.S. is, here are the basics: we give kids a safe haven, a place to go when they are abandoned, we rescue them from abuse and slavery, keep them in school and healthy, and most importantly; make them feel wanted.

Tom and Tish Tompkins help me run this empire of underage former slaves, ex gang bangers, fighters, orphans, abused and all around down-and-out children. As well as my other close friends, it's sort of a family thing. Even Tom Tompkins Sr. helps out in any way he can, usually donating some of the money he gets from being a merc that goes by the name of Toombs. Yeah I know, a merc that donates money for a good cause is pretty ironic and hard to believe.

So right now you're probably wondering why a teenage girl would want to run an empire, and why her parents would let her. The truth is ladies and gentlemen, I've never known my mother. Not even her name. And that the whole L.C.S. thing is sort of a tradtion…thing… on my father's side…sort of. All I know about my lineage is what my surrogate grandfather Pope Joe Williams, or Pop-Pop, has begrudgingly told me after years of prodding. I inherited this tradition from my father's race, on what is probably a dead planet now, where orphaned children would band together in the back woods or deep jungles, or hell back yards, and help each other survive. My father is rather famous or infamous rather. An ex-soldier for the failing Federation's army, and also the most wanted man in the universe. Last time I checked, he was worth one point five million in Universal Denominations. I'm sure you've heard stories. Yeah…Richard B. Riddick.

But enough digressing.

"Let's see what are we doing this weekend? Hmmmm… Oh yeah, picking out this summer's vacation spot?"

"Really?" she squealed.

"Yup."

Tish proceeded to do a little dance.

"You're such a spaz." I said, and we both laughed.

"Go ahead to The Skate Park Tish, I gotta go to The Office and help set up for the show tonight. Late sweet heart, be safe."

"Okay, late Mom."

Mom is one of the various nicknames that I have. Partially because I'm one of the oldest females in our group, but more because my strong maternal instincts I guess. I lean against an open gate and watch till Tish she joins another group of friends and is out of sight. I linger there a little, like I always do. I make sure no fights break out, no kid is being bullied, and that some of the smaller elementary kids get across the street alright. I try to do this as much as possible during the school year. As I turned to leave a chill gripped the base of my spine, despite the heat. I actually had goose bumps. It was as if the air had been sucked out of the atmosphere. I could feel him in the space all around me, his presence was that strong. I could feel his penetrating eyes on my back. I didn't have to be a psychic to figure out who it was.

…How does this guy sneak up on people! Maybe he thinks that there is no need conceal himself...Huh, what reason would he have for killing me? Not-a-one…

But I steeled to fight for my life anyway.

Finally, from behind me:

"Jess." In his all too monstrously deep voice.

"Yes, Satan?" I said turning around. "Oh, Richard, sorry, I thought you were someone else!"

Yeah, I get a tad sarcastic when I might be facing eminent death.

Riddick smirked, then full out smiled, showing off a perfect set of white teeth. Cheeks slightly dimpling when he did.

…Hey wait…Don't I smirk first then full out smile, my cheeks kinda dimple…

"Sweet mother, I have your smile."

…Whew, hand-me-downs from my father never seem to end…

Riddick is breathing hard and holding his side. He is bleeding profusely. He slips his goggles up, we were in the shade of a rather large tree, it's just dark enough for him to do so, and looks into my eyes. His eyes are breathtaking, no question, but all I can see for a fleeting moment is a man who looked so much older than thirty-five. His eyes aren't that of a killer's, just of a person who has seen too many things that he never wanted to see, tired and full of pain.

"Help me Angel." He said as he started to fall.

I close the twenty foot gap that had been between us in record time. I catch him, though somewhat clumsily; it's a clean one hundred pound difference between us after all. I help him lie down gently, with a shaved head in my lap. I had always wondered who had given me the nickname Angel. Pop-Pop had called me that when I went to live with him when I was nine, but I had been called Angel long before that.

Now I know.

I pulled out my comm. and called The Skate Park's board shop where Tom works.

"Tom! Get to the high school now! I'm in the 50 row. And bring everybody."

"Why everybody?" Riddick asked, now woozy from the massive blood loss from his massive wound.

"Because that crew of four or five mercs that probably did this to you won't stand a chance against fifty or sixty pissed off street kids."

Riddick grinned and manage to reach up and brush my cheek with his fingertips before passing out.