…Pitch Black Aftermath…

From when she was young she had always been around a rougher crowd. She bounced from one orphanage to the next, never truly belonging anywhere or to anyone. She never really knew a different way of living so she grew used to the constant game of leapfrog that was known as life. It wasn't until that fateful day when a ship crash-landed on a desert planet full of alien creatures that killed the whole crew except a holy man (Imam) and a convict (Riddick) that she realized her true destiny, or so she thought.

-Some time after the return from the desert planet—

"Imam, keep her out of trouble."

"I will certainly try, I owe you my life, wont you please stay a while longer, she is clearly terrified and frightened from the events that occurred on that hell hole of a planet. She seems calmer when you're around, safer."

"I don't have time to watch over children holy man."

Jack quickly tiptoed back up the staircase treading carefully, to not make any noise that would give away her location, even though she had a good feeling that Riddick already knew she was snooping, he knew everything. Riddick approached the door to leave. Jack envied him, and it was true that she felt safe around him even though he was a convict, and an extremely dangerous man. After all, he did save her life out of all the crew members from that ship. Jack was a tough kid and would never admit to anyone the fear she still had from the events that occurred while on that planet. However, she knew that her nightmares were a dead give away. Riddick was leaving, just like everyone in Jack's life. She felt a connection to him; she didn't want him to leave. She aspired to be as great as him. She felt as though she owed him something. No one had ever really done anything significant in her life, except leave her to fend for herself.

Jack was 16, with an attitude and mentality of a 20 year old. She was mature way beyond her years, and also had a stubbornness to her that would get her in trouble in the coming years. She didn't dwell on what people told her, or said about her. She had made up her mind that she would stay close by Riddick, that somehow, it was her calling and she couldn't see herself doing anything else other than staying by his side, like a sidekick, she wanted to be just like him.

Riddick wasn't a man, not entirely anyway. He was a Furyan, part man, part something else. This meant that his senses were fine-tuned and he was alert and ready to take action if need be in any situation. He was aware of changes in the atmosphere and could feel sensations from the wind. As soon as he left he knew Jack was attempting to trail him, as he half expected her to. He picked up his pace and headed toward the city, deciding that he would lose her if not on the way, in the populated urban environment.

Jack was out of breath as she was trying her hardest to keep up with Riddick through the alleys. He was losing her. She definitely needed to work on her endurance she thought. She saw him round a corner and sprinted after him, as she did so, her foot caught the edge in the pavement and she dove head first into the gravel. She broke the fall with the palms of her hands and knees, obtaining some scratches and a large gash down her arm. She got up on one knee to check herself out before she took off again. She spat out a mixture of saliva and blood from biting her lip on the impact. Her adrenaline was gushing through her veins, and she wasn't about to give up the chase after her hero. She couldn't bare the thought of losing him forever. She got up after deciding that she was fine and sprinted to the corner of an old rustic brick building. As she turned the corner there was no one in sight but a few pedestrians who stared at her and her bloody arm that she was cradling so the blood wouldn't get everywhere. Her anger was building as she realized that she would most likely never catch up with Riddick, meaning she would probably never see him again. Her stomach made a loud growling sound. She decided she might as well head to the city market to grab a bite to eat, and think of her next move.

Riddick had heard her little tumble and smelled the blood off the breeze.

"Damn it Jack!" he thought to himself.

Ever since he saved her from the creatures he felt a pang of responsibility towards her. He cursed himself everyday for having such feelings for the child. He couldn't quite pin it but he saw something in Jack that reminded him of his lost past. He had no memory of his childhood, only broken images of a burning village and a woman he always assumed to be his mother reaching out to him.

He climbed a fire escape and backtracked to Jacks location via the rooftops. He felt the afternoon sun beaming on his head as he felt the burning sensation. Beads of sweat rolled down his face, he wiped them away with the back of his hand. As he looked down upon Jack, he couldn't help smiling, thinking of how easy it was to lose her, how she looked like such a pathetic and sad creature. As she started to get up and check herself out, he once again set out towards the city to the hub station, where the ships came and went, in hopes of catching a ride.

Jack was feeling sorry for herself, and unsure of what to do next. She knew Riddick would be getting off the planet and laying low for a while, she just needed to figure out his next move. Riddick was a mysterious creature and figuring him out was next to impossible. It was going on 3:00 in the afternoon by the time Jack reached the market in town; she scanned the crowd for Riddick knowing that he wouldn't be around. It was bustling with people trying to buy last minute food, fabric or small items of value. Jack didn't have any money on her, but she was aching for something, anything to eat. She saw a fruit stand a couple paces down the path. There were all kinds of luscious fruits, from stark red apples, to vibrant yellow bananas that hadn't been picked too long ago. The barrel of apples was the easiest to access, since it was in front of the actual stand. Dust curled up from the people shoveling past her eager to make their final sales and head home to their families. Jack hadn't lifted anything in a while, not since before the plan crash. She got a little nervous as she made her approach. She followed behind a taller gentleman who held a basket with some dimly looking fabrics he had purchased to make a new robe, since the one he was wearing had holes and patches in it, not to mention the ends were stained a deeper brown from walking the streets. As she ambled by, Jack made sure the fruit sellers didn't notice her. She snatched an apple and tucked it up under her sleeve with her hand. Once she cleared the corner she diverted to another isle of stands not looking back, trying to act calm and get a safe distance away to enjoy her apple. The nerves of the act made her stomach ache even more, and she was desperate to finally get some food in her stomach. She quickly walked to the end of the market, sat up against a building on a stoop, and took a look at her grab. The apple looked delicious, no imperfections, and bright red like the others. It appear polished from the reflection of the afternoon sun. As she took a bite a woman walked up and stood over her.

"I saw what you did young girl, such actions are not tolerated in our town."

Jack looked up, her stomach tying in knots instantly. Behind the woman, two "town market" officials stood, beaming down at her and her apple.
"Oh please, I'm a poor homeless young girl with no home and no food, I'm very sorry for what I did but I am starving." She said it with as much sap as she could muster, given that she had been out of practice.
" I'm very sorry as well that you chose to run away from your parents, but that does not make it acceptable to steal from people who are making a living, your going to have to go with these men, and answer for your crime."

It all seemed so "by the book" to Jack, like a performance, unreal. The officials seized her by her arms, secured her hands behind her back, and carted her off to their jail just beyond the market. Jack was used to law enforcement and wasn't worried that anything would happen to her; she would most likely just sit in the local jail until nightfall, when they cleared the jail in preparation for the criminals to come in that night. They tossed her in the barred room with two others, an older man with a beard, and another person, slumped in the corner by their self. Jack sat across from the older gentleman underneath the window on a red wooden bench that bobbed under her weight as she sat down. None of the men looked up as she entered their environment, which was just as well, she didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment, she just wanted something to eat. The community jail cell was old and needed to be redone. The tan colored paint on the walls was peeling off, revealing an off white undertone. There were only a couple benches in the room, of which had large pieces of wood missing from them and the ends were all splintered from age. Jack pulled her legs up to her chest on the bench and laid her head on her knees in an attempt to ease the pang of hunger.

" Where could he be?" she thought about Riddick. He must be on his way to board a ship off this planet but what ship, there were always so many ships entering and leaving planets everyday, going everywhere. She slowly drifted off as she thought of Riddick's whereabouts.

…Several Hours later…

"Wake up, get a move on inmate!"

She woke to an official tapping her on her shoulder with a light beaming down in her face making it difficult to see anything. Night had clearly fallen; she was relieved they were finally letting her go. As she got up to leave she was pushed up against the peeling wall, her hands were violently pulled to her back as they tied her up again.

"What was going on?" she thought, "Why aren't they letting me go, I barely committed a crime."

They guided her outside then shoved her to the dusty ground behind several others who were tied up. At the front of the group was a large transport truck that the town officials were loading the inmates onto, one by one, like cattle. Jack was terribly confused and was starting to panic.

"Lets go dirt bags, time to go to your final resting places!"

Jack quickly put the pieces together; all these people were being transported to penitentiaries; prisons!
"Hey! I haven't done anything, why am I being included with these criminals? I took an apple, and barely even got one bite out of it, I'm not a criminal, and you can't take me!" Jack shouted to the nearby official, a sturdy looking man, his face was stone cold, like he was ready to put an inmate down face first in the dirt to get his point across. He approached Jack, his black uniform ironed perfectly that it could probably stand on its own. He stood over her and stared her down, and then he smiled and let out a thunderous laugh that Jack wasn't expecting.
"Sure little one, we could let you go, but you are a prime example of the new standards of our town, we are cracking down on thieves, congratulations, you are now a criminal, now shut up and step up into the truck, I want to go home and take a shit." He grabbed her by her arm, and thrusted her onto her feet and up towards the back of the truck.

This was going to be a long night for poor Jack, where was her hero now?