The Chronicles of Riddick: Into Darkness (Part Two)

by smwelles

Now that his military career is ruined, Riddick must take his life in a new direction.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Into Darkness (Part Two)

1.

Riddick sat in a holding cell, waiting to be called to trial for rape and second degree murder. The cell had three metal walls, something tough, dark, and featureless. He had a metal bunk with a slab of memory foam and a brick for a pillow. No blankets even though there was no place to hang himself if he wanted to. The fourth wall was reinforced glass with a sliding door, and pin-sized holes for sound to get through. Air came through a vent in the vaulted ceiling.

Thompson was alive and crippled. Russel was dead and to be buried in a few days. Tori would be present to speak his word against Riddick's, as would Fink, who would most likely shed as much negative light on him as possible.

They might as well skip the motions of going through the trial and just tell him his sentence. The sooner he learned which cell was to be assigned to him, the sooner he could return to his escape plan. He didn't care that he was going to be found guilty, nor what his punishment was. He wasn't going to sit there and take it once this was all over.

A heavy door clanged open. Boots with metal heels clicked down the hall towards Riddick, a sound that used to instill fear during his boot camp days. Now they it was an alert that another pompous jarhead was approaching.

The king of pompousness stood at ease on the other side of the glass. Fink. Riddick's fingers twitched for his knife, which had been confiscated as evidence.

Wait, despite their clashing, why would the sight of this man fill Riddick with a need for more killing?

Fink looked down at him with all the arrogant superiority in the world. "Hello, Riddick. Still arrogant, I see. Still think you're in control of the situation, huh? Before everything gets started, I just wanted to thank you for finally handing me your court martial on a silver platter. I knew you were trouble from the moment I met you."

Riddick said nothing, his blood boiling. This man had tried so hard for two years to get Riddick booted out of the Marines, given Waters constant hell for all the crap she had to put up with for defending him, and Fink had done everything in his power to stagnate Riddick's rise in the ranks, which hadn't worked. He wanted to kill this man. The want frightened him, but rage kept his fear at bay. This reaction wasn't normal. He knew it. He'd been disciplined countless times for his violent streak, and lectured frequently by Waters. He knew murder was wrong, but right now it seemed like a solution. Was something wrong with him, or was this normal for his alien kind?

"By the way, prisoner or not, you should still be standing at attention when one of your superiors enters the room."

"You're not my superior." The words came out cold and matter-of-fact.

Fink narrowed his eyes, thought a moment, then broke into a smile. "Jumping to conclusions, I see. Keep digging yourself a deeper hole, Riddick. I've no problem with that. You're just feeding one of two outcomes." He held up a finger. "One: you become a lab rat. Your violent nature leads me to believe there's more to your kind lurking below the surface. For the safety of America and this world, it would be best to uncover it."

"Fuck you." Those two words felt so good to say but did nothing to temper his boiling rage. Riddick could discipline himself enough to escape without committing murder, but if there were any confrontations, he wouldn't hesitate. Kill or be killed.

"If you prove to be an uncooperative and dangerous lab rat, we'll have to resort to option two: a death sentence. If you lash out like a wild animal, we will put you down like one. The military hasn't executed one of its own in centuries but, since you weren't born or bred on American soil, I guess that streak won't end." He clasped his hands behind his back. "For both our sakes, I hope you be the good lab rat. I don't want your death; just you out of my ranks, and to answer some long-standing questions that've been bugging me since before Waters found you."

"Like hell I'll give you answers."

Fink's arrogant expression remained unchanged. "Then it'll be a slow painful death for you. If we're lucky, your body will give up answers against your will."

Riddick glared at him. No way in hell he'd let any scientists do that to him, especially when he didn't know what they were looking for. He had half a mind to lie and say that he'd cooperate if Fink would tell him which world he was from. After all these years, he didn't know. It'd become classified before he'd learned enough English to retain the name. He was just "freak" or "alien" or "Riddick." Richard B. Riddick. Now he was a killer on top of all that. A killer and no longer a Marine.

If this was how people were going to treat him for the rest of his life, then fuck them.

Still, it bugged him to not know his origins. He knew he'd heard the name of his home world several times, but the information was kept from him once he started schooling. Waters had told him to stop asking since he was safer not knowing.

"One way or another, Riddick, I will get my way."

Riddick bit back a retort. He didn't want to give anyone clues that he was already forming escape plans. Instead, he got up and stood close to the door, just a hand's length from Fink. The only thing keeping the bastard alive at this moment was the reinforced glass.

Fink's smile waning, he shuffled a step back.

That was all Riddick needed. Let the bastard needle him all he wanted. Riddick refused to sink to his level. "What's the matter? Afraid of a caged animal?"

Fink puffed himself up. "Like hell I'm afraid of you."

Riddick slammed the glass with both hands and the cell echoed with their thunks. Fink jumped back and raised his fists. Riddick broke into a smile.

Fink's face reddened with both embarrassment and contained fury. He brushed off the front of his dress uniform and summoned his inflated ego. "Use all the scare tactics you want, alien. I'll be finally getting my way in a few hours." He marched off, slamming the heavy door behind him with all his might. The hallway echoed with its boom.

Riddick lowered his hands. "No you won't."

2.

Cuffs around his wrists and ankles, Riddick was escorted to the courtroom and seated by his assigned lawyer, Barry Chase, some tall gangly man who looked like he loved making money. Riddick didn't trust him or his bored expression.

Chase leaned towards him and spoke in a low voice. "I wanted to talk to you more before the trial but they wouldn't grant me access to you. It was really strange, but I'll see what I can do today."

Chase sounded sincere but Riddick didn't care about what good the lawyer could accomplish. He wanted to hurry up and get this over with. He clenched his jaw and looked at the empty judge's podium reaching ten feet into the air. Varnished mahogany wood. Not one scratch or scuff. Six jury members, three on each side of the podium, sat five feet off the ground, high enough to look down at most anyone. The lighting over their heads made them look large and imposing, and they held themselves like they knew this. Fink and Tori stood with one other jury member, idly chatting away as if the impending trial was a minor thing.

Centered before the judge's podium lay a disc the size of a truck tire, the hot seat. It had a floating circular metal bannister meant to keep occupants from falling into the void, which engulfed the space between the judge and where Riddick and Chase sat. They were positioned opposite one half of the jury, an empty table and chairs sitting opposite the other half.

The space behind him contained the audience, witnesses for this trial. Waters sat among a few dozen strangers, along with Kenner and the rest of her squad. Riddick snapped his gaze forward when Waters looked up. He couldn't bring himself to make eye contact. His blood began to boil anew. The hurt on the entire squad's faces made him want to break his chains, burst out of his chair, and strangle Thompson, who sat opposite the squad in the audience. Thompson had backed up Russel's lies, no doubt.

The judge, Mr. Lyman, appeared in his podium, this walrus of a man in a traditional black robe, and everyone present joined the armed soldiers in standing, until they were given permission to be seated. Formalities were observed between judged, jury, and the lawyer, and then two guards escorted Riddick to the disc, chains jingling away. A narrow path stretched to the disc at the guard's command and Riddick crossed it as the bannister rose higher. He took position in the center and the bannister lowered to waist-level. He was sworn in to tell the truth, the soldiers returned to their post and the path retracted, leaving Riddick stranded and at the mercy of 'justice.' A bright overhead light came to life with a thunk and bore down on him, almost blinding him from seeing outside the cone of light.

This felt more like an interrogation than a trial. Maybe that's all it would be. He wouldn't put it past these people. A few SkyCams flitted around, focusing on him, the audience, and Lyman, who was studying a glowing holo-panel on one side of his podium. A lot of people were eagerly anticipating today, the downfall of some alien freak and his ejection from the military.

Lyman adjusted his glasses and looked Riddick's way. "Richard B. Riddick, you are here today because you've been charged with raping a minor, along with second degree murder of a Marine. How do you plead?" He had a big voice to match his big waistline.

"Not guilty of rape and the other was an act of self defense."

"Alright, then." He passed a hand over the document. "Let's settle this rape business first." He propped his elbows on the podium and motioned for Chase to begin.

Computer tablet tucked under an arm, Chase approached the void and a second disc slid out of the floor. He stepped onto it and drifted out, stopping beside Riddick. A second light thunked to life directly above him, and he began typing something into his tablet. A wall-sized projector frame assembled above the empty table and chairs, and a document winked to life inside the frame. Chase faced Riddick. "I have here an alibi signed by eleven people that states you were present at First Sergeant Jade Waters' home the night Colleen Wrekkio was raped. Is this alibi true?"

"Yes, sir."

"It also says that you didn't leave Waters' house until around twenty two hundred, well after the rest of those but Waters on the alibi, and over an hour after Ms. Wrekkio was said to have left her house without permission. Is your departure time correct?"

"Yes, sir." He didn't remember the exact time but it sounded right.

"Yet you were the one to bring her back."

"She was scared."

"Why not wait for the police to arrive? Why not let them take care of things?"

"I should have."

Chase nodded thoughtfully. "So then why did you run from the Wrekkio household?"

The hologram blinked, changing into a redacted police report, the father's description of the scene highlighted. "The father was furious. He didn't look like he was in the mood for explanations."

"Shouldn't you have at least tried?"

Riddick began feeling impatient. "She had blood down her legs and was frightened out of her mind. Her father wouldn't have believed a thing I said."

"Being a father myself, I consider that plausible." Chase faced the judge. "Your honor, I'd like to call Colleen Wrekkio to the stand."

The judge granted permission. A soldier escorted Colleen and her parents onto a third disc twice as large as Riddick's. Colleen looked terrified in her stool, ready to cry. Riddick felt self-conscious in his chains and cuffs, even though he'd done nothing to the girl. What a monsters he must've looked like now. The parents held their chins high, their mouths thin lines and eyes full of anger as they stood behind their daughter. Lyman politely warned them to keep quiet and not interfere with the trial.

Chase's and Riddick's discs switched places so the lawyer stood before the Wrekkio family. "Miss Wrekkio," he said to the daughter, "before I start asking questions, I just want to let you know I'm sorry you went through something so horrific. If at any time you find yourself unable to continue, I'll stop, okay?"

Colleen nodded, eyes glistening.

"Miss Wrekkio, you haven't made a formal statement yet. Would you be willing to do that now?"

She nodded again.

"Thank you. This is really important. None of the three men involved in this suit have a history of sexual abuse, so the jury needs your testimony to help make the right ruling. Do you understand? Excellent. Please tell us who... who hurt you that night."

Colleen teared up. She looked at Riddick, then at audience, right where Thompson was seated. She whimpered and cowered against her mother's skirt.

Riddick tensed up as Chase pointed at him. "Was it him?" Colleen shook her head fervently. A wave of murmuring spread through the courtroom and the jury began whispering to each other. Riddick let go of the breath he was holding, having feared the girl would lie because Thompson was still alive. And then he realized he did somewhat care about how the trial unfolded.

"Was it Thompson?" Chase pointed into the audience at the Marine in a wheelchair. Colleen shook her head again and wiped her eyes. Chase changed the image in the holo-panel to a picture of Russel in dress uniform, staring everyone down. "Was it him?" the lawyer said unhappily.

Burying her face in her mother's side, Colleen started crying. Her mother spoke soothing words. The father stopped glaring at Riddick to study Russel's headshot, brows furrowed with confusion. After a few seconds, he put a hand on his daughter's shoulder and sent an apologetic look Riddick's way.

It was a small victory. Now everyone knew, including Waters and her squad. He was one step closer to looking them in the eye again. Still, by the look on Fink's face, the testimony wasn't remotely enough to change today's outcome but Riddick didn't care. Once he had closure, he'd escape and leave Earth. Maybe never come back. A huge sacrifice but it was the best course of action. There was nothing here for an alien freak like him.

Chase faced the judge. "Your honor, this affects the validity of the second charge. I have so many questions for the witness but I don't believe she can continue at this time."

Judge Lyman spoke to Colleen, who accepted the offered recess. The audience began gossiping in hushed voices as the SkyCams zipped around for good angles. Lyman turned to his documents and began typing up notes as the jury excused themselves. Fink looked at Chase, then hurried out of sight.

Dread rose in Riddick's chest as his disc twisted around and a pathway stretched towards him. He kept telling himself that he didn't care about the verdict but he was lying to himself. He wanted to be viewed as more than a dangerous killer, to fit into society somehow. Logically, he shouldn't want those things but they felt instinctual. The guards motioned him over, the bannister rose out of the way, and he wordlessly began walking.

"Hurry up, Riddick," one of the soldiers snapped.

Ignoring the guard, Riddick scanned his path leading to the side exit and his holding cell. Chase approached the table they'd been sitting at a few minutes ago, just two glasses, a pitcher of water, and a sleek briefcase atop it. Chase had only a tablet and phone on his person; nothing in his pockets for Riddick to snatch and use for an escape. The two soldiers had plenty on their person. If he could just grab a few bullets from a magazine...

The soldiers shoved him along, robbing him of an opportunity to steal anything, and keeping him at arm's length. The side door swung open, revealing Fink on the other side. He waved to chase.

"Barry, I need to speak with you in private."

Chase set his tablet computer on the table and disappeared through the door at a brisk walk.

No wonder Riddick didn't trust the lawyer. He was on a first-name basis with Fink. So that's how he'd been picked for this case... Same had to go for the jury. Anyone ranked above Fink would be none the wiser. All of the court officials were bought and paid for. None of them cared about Riddick's extraterrestrial ass.

He glanced at Waters before being shoved through the doorway. The ankle cuffs were chained too close together to allow him to break into a run. He allowed himself to stumble and lose balance but both soldiers grabbed his arms.

"Don't even try to play the victim," the impatient one snapped, "or I will pop one in your knee, you murderous bastard."

Ah, so that one had a personal investment in the trial. Fink had been real thorough with surrounding Riddick with enemies. At least he hadn't been able to ban Waters from attending.

3.

Colleen clutched a tissue box in one hand and a wad of tissues in the other as she described what happened that night, how Russel had enticed her with the prospect of a good time. She was the little sister of another flight member. That's how she'd been picked. That's how they'd gotten her to come along so easily. Riddick's clenched his fists as he listened to the series of events leading up to his arrival.

Chase stood on a disc between Riddick and the Wrekkio family, listening intently, asking for details here and there, and occasionally reminding her to give verbal responses, instead of shrugging or shaking her head. The lawyer hadn't gotten on her case during the first round since she'd been so scared. Tears still lay below the surface but she was doing a decent job of controlling them.

Chase said, "And when Riddick entered the room, did he have a weapon already drawn?"

Colleen thought a moment. "He was holding a knife."

Chase faced Riddick. "Riddick, why would you feel the need to enter your own room while armed?"

Riddick could tell where this was going; however, he had no choice but to answer the questions. "My dorm was unlocked when it shouldn't have been."

"You didn't entertain the possibility of a hiccup in the system?"

"No, sir." That'd happened maybe twice in two years, and both times hadn't filled him with wariness.

"Why rush to the conclusion there were dangerous people in your room? You live on a military base, one of the safest places in the country."

Riddick narrowed his eyes. "Not safe enough to stop a girl from gating raped."

A grimace touched the lawyer's face before he regained his composure. "Answer my question. Why rush to such a conclusion?"

"Some people don't like me."

"They don't like you enough for you to feel the need to walk around armed at all times?" Chase raised an eyebrow.

"It's not against the law to carry weapons."

Chase gestured to the holo-screen. "It says in your records that you've been in a lot of fights with your fellow soldiers over the past two years. Why?"

"What does this have to do with the murder charge?"

"Your records suggest that you're becoming progressively more violent. Now you've killed someone. There appears to be a pattern here."

"It was out of self-defense."

"Yet you stepped into your room with a weapon drawn." Chase faced Colleen again. "Miss Wrekkio, what happened after Riddick entered the room?"

She said, "Riddick and Thompson fought, then Thompson went down and started swearing a lot."

"Who started the fight?"

"I don't remember. All I remember after Thompson going down is a gun going off, and then Riddick packing a bag."

Chase faced Riddick. "Why did you start packing?"

"Russel called 9-1-1. He was trying to frame me for rape. On top of that, I'd hurt Thompson pretty bad without meaning to, and killed Russel out of self-defense. If anyone walked in on the scene with me still there, it would've looked bad."

"Running has made you look guilty. Is there something else you're trying to hide?"

"No, sir," he said angrily, getting fed up with having everything he said twisted against him. He wanted to snap at Chase to hurry up and ask the jury for their ruling.

"Why did you kill Russel, instead of maim him as well?"

Riddick stumbled over the question. He'd never tried to kill anyone before, but he'd buried the knife in Russel's neck without flinching, the aimed throw feeling instinctive. It'd preserved his own life. "He aimed his firearm at me. I reacted. I felt my life was in imminent danger. That's it, sir."

"This was not premeditated, despite how much you two have clashed in the past?"

"No, sir."

Chase turned to Judge Lyman. "Your Honor, it appears to me that Mr. Russel may have drawn his firearm out of self-defense, considering that Riddick entered the room with a weapon drawn, then proceeded to maim Thompson. Russel must have drawn his firearm to protect himself from getting maimed as well. Instead, he was killed. Russel doesn't have the paper trail of violence Riddick does. Riddick's a loose cannon. I don't hear any remorse in his voice for what he's done."

Remorse? Riddick wanted to laugh. Killing a man who resorted to raping some innocent girl and attempting to frame someone else for it, and Riddick was supposed to feel remorse for having killed such scum? Ha! The fact that Chase was glossing over the attempted framing didn't bother him. It was clear that no one could pin him with it, so they'd dropped it as if it'd never happened.

The trial went on and on. Chase drilled both Riddick and Colleen, asking them the same questions over and over, testing to see if they'd change their answers. Even Colleen started getting impatient with the repetition, but her story never changed, and Riddick's answers remained the same. Discussing the rape part disappeared from the trial, the questioning hyper-focused on Riddick's behavioral record and the fact that he was armed at all times. At one point Riddick stopped listening and mechanically answer the same damn questions with the same damn answers. If the wording was changed, Riddick answered accordingly without tripping up.

Finally, thirty agonizing minutes later, Chase said, "No further questions, Your Honor."

Lyman studied Riddick and the frightened Colleen. "The jury will now convene to discuss their verdict."

Bring it.

The jury of six returned after no more than five minutes. The audience listened while SkyCams buzzed around and the jury stood, one by one, unanimously declaring Riddick not guilty of rape, yet guilty of second-degree murder. Fink and Tori did a poor job of hiding grins. For some reason their smugness got under his skin. Riddick tried to convince himself that their grins meant nothing. He was going to escape and never give Fink what he wanted, but all he could do was envision himself leaping into the jury pit and bashing Fink in his pompous face over and over. Why did the verdict sting so much? The people didn't matter to him.

Maybe it bothered him so much because of how his former superiors were handling Russel's death. They were more interested using it to get what they wanted without carrying any emotional pain from the death of a soldier. Russel had become collateral. Either that or at least Tori was doing a spectacular job of hiding his pain.

Who was the monster now?

Judge Lyman brought up a glowing file with a wave of his hand. "Before I announce the ruling, I want to bring something to light." He shifted his overweight frame. "Richard B. Riddick, it says here you weren't born in America, much less on Earth. What world are you from?"

"That's classified information, Your Honor," Fink said.

Lyman gave Fink a glare that made Fink bow his head. Interesting. Even though the judge had been bought, he still held superiority over the General in a courtroom setting. "Be that as it may," Lyman said in a controlled voice, "Riddick's heritage must be taken into consideration with my ruling. There's an expressed interested in understanding what his alien kind are capable of. So far we have been led to believe that they are a violent, dangerous type, ones that don't belong among the military's ranks. Richard B. Riddick, as punishment for the murder of Corporal Kurt Russel, I hereby sentence you to life in prison. In addition, you will be studied by military scientists and biologist in the name of research for global security. If you do not cooperate and instead continue your violent streak, you will return to trial for an appropriate death sentence. Not as a Marine. Not as an American. Not as a human, but as the animal you are. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Riddick said with all the venom he could muster. Over the years, so many people had looked at and treated him like some beast or animal. He hated it. He didn't feel like he was an animal but he must be acting like one more than he realized. He clearly didn't fit in with the human race. Maybe he should stop trying and start giving in to the animal side everyone saw in him.

"Good. You are dismissed. Court adjourned!" Lyman pushed to his feet like some walrus rearing up and disappeared behind the podium.

The holo-screen dismantled and stowed itself as the audience rose and began gossiping in excited voices. SkyCams zoomed around. One got in Riddick's face and he wanted to bat it out of the air like a cat taking down a bird, but his chains allowed him to raise his hands no higher than his stomach. He was escorted off the disc as strangers pointed and spoke behind hands. Chase scooped up his briefcase and left without even looking at Riddick. What a coward. Couldn't face the man he'd helped doom to a life of confinement and torture.

"Riddick!" Waters pushed her way to the partition separating the audience from the rest of the courtroom. "Riddick!" Worry was etched all over her face. Her beautiful face. She reached towards him but one soldier stepped in front of her, blocking her from view.

Maybe Riddick shouldn't give up entirely on fitting in with the human race. He veered towards Waters but one of the soldiers escorting him more punched than pushed him back towards the door. Shrugging off the blow, Riddick clenched his teeth and held his chin high as he looked in Waters' direction until the doorway blocked his view. Unless Fink and the others were petty enough to rob him of visitation rights, that was probably the second to last time he'd ever see Waters.

He would see her once more after he escaped. It might be days. It might be months. Maybe even a few years, but it was just a matter of time. First he'd lull his captors into complacency, and then make his move. If he could make people do what he wanted in a fight, he could exert this control elsewhere.

4.

Three nights after the trial, Riddick woke in his darkened cell. He'd been dreaming about tearing the wings off of a dove. When he realized he was strangling his pillow, he relaxed and took in his room, and the details of his dream started slipping away.

His cell was dark at this hour, like it should be, and the hallway lit along the crux of the wall and floor, as it should be. No sounds, no smells, nothing out of place. Even though he heard nothing over the hum of the central air system, he felt like someone was approaching. Maybe an adjacent prisoner had gotten up and started pacing his respective eight by eight cell.

A distortion in his vision made him do a double-take of the hall and reach for the makeshift shiv he'd made out of a fragment of his bed. A curve in the hall that looked like it was being refracted in water drifted along the width of his cell, stopping when a semi-circle distortion line framed the cell door. Riddick paused with his fingers curled around the rim of his bed. Was this real or was he still dreaming?

The glowing red outline of his door turned yellow, and then the door slid open. Riddick snatched his shiv, rolled and threw off the foam slab, and crouched on his bed, weapon ready and muscles tensed. The distortion spread into the room like one giant half of a bubble, and the dome's apex stopped just inside the door. Riddick wanted to dive at the center, shiv leading the way, but for all he knew that's exactly what his intruder was hoping for. He caught a whiff of a familiar scent.

It couldn't be!

The smell of beautiful. Waters.

Waters' face, combat goggles and all, broke through the distortion field first, followed by her rifle and solid frame dressed in combat gear.

"Close your mouth and stay quiet," she whispered. "And fix your bed so you can lie on it. I need to record a hologram feed."

Riddick closed his mouth and did as told, but had to be told to stop staring and pretend to sleep. Heart pounding, he lay still with his eyes closed while Waters recorded a minute of footage, having him shift a couple of times to really sell it. Once she was satisfied, Riddick got up and Waters set the hologram in his place. It was weird looking at a replica of himself laying there, sleeping fitfully. Despite how long he'd been around technology, seeing himself like that added a whole new perspective. It was like looking at a reflection, but reflections were supposed to look back when you looked at them.

"Let's get out of here." Waters tugged his arm.

Riddick started to move then stopped. "Wait, why are you dong this for me?"

"I'll explain after we're out."

"But you're throwing away your career."

"I'll explain that, too. Now let's go." Rifle in hand, Waters threaded an arm in his and hugged him close as they stepped into the distortion field. He hovered protectively close, feeling a need to guard her, even though he was the one being rescued. She collected the device from the doorframe, shut the door, and guided them down the gloomy hall on silent footsteps.

They passed two guards at the end of the hall, both of them slumped in chairs with tranquilizer darts protruding from their necks. Waters and Riddick snuck by and continued down the next hall.

"Why did you tranq them?" Riddick said.

"The distortion field doesn't mask noise. The doors make noises when opening and closing. I had no choice."

Riddick nodded.

They wound along a circuitous path, passing sleeping guards at every checkpoint. They snuck under dozens of cameras, hopefully with no one paying careful attention to their feeds. The prison was relatively quiet, the steady hum of the central conditioning system making more noise than most guards or cleaning staff, awake or asleep.

Apparently no one was carefully monitoring the security cams. They made it to the prison entrance without any problems. Waters whispered something into the headset built into her goggles, and Kenner's towering frame walked past the doors, making them slide open. The only two guards Waters had been able to avoid tranquilizing paid the doors no mind as she and Riddick exited the prison.

They followed Kenner along the parking lot, under a section of pine trees, and over to an SUV parked on the side of the road. Kenner took the driver's seat, Waters took shotgun as she turned off the distortion field, and Riddick sat alone in back.

"Lie down," Kenner said, "just in case."

One again, Riddick did as told, making himself comfortable with a pillow that'd been provided as Kenner pulled away from the curb and hugged the low speed limit. Riddick scrunched himself up so he could look at Waters through the gap between chairs. "So will you explain why you're both throwing away your careers over me?"

"We're not," Waters said solemnly.

"Besides," Kenner said, "we couldn't just leave you there after hearing the truth. We didn't let Chase and Fink suck us into their fucked up agenda."

Riddick clenched his jaw at the memory of Chase leaving without so much as looking at him. "Did you believe the charges?" The question came out before he could stop himself. He'd been wondering what the people he liked and cared about thought of him, even if the truth hurt. He wanted to know how much of an animal he really was to them.

The question caught both squad members off guard. Waters turned in her seat, forehead creased with empathy. "The rape? Definitely not." Kenner voiced his agreement as Waters popped a gentle smile and Riddick's thoughts went to him kissing her on the neck that night.

That was some consolation. "And me being a killer?"

"Riddick, you're a Marine."

"Was a Marine," he said bitterly.

Waters shook her head. "Like it or not, that training is with you for life. You, Kenner, and I have all been trained to kill. We're soldiers. Kill or be killed. I'd believed the accusation was plausible, but I wanted to hear what happened exactly before jumping to any conclusions. Riddick, you're far from the first Marine to kill a fellow soldier for one reason or another."

"But did you think I was a cold-blooded killer?"

"Goodness no! You're too smart and compassionate for that. You can be brash as well, but that goes for just about every man your age."

Kenner said, "I've done my share of stupid things growing up. Thankfully I was never in a situation like yours with Russel, but I bet my life that I'd probably have done the same thing in your place." They turned onto a housing street.

"Well, now you've helped me break out of prison," Riddick said unhappily. "You can add that to your list of stupid things."

"We couldn't just leave you there," Waters said.

"I was working on getting myself out."

"How? You saw all the guards and checkpoints."

Riddick flashed his homemade shiv and Waters raised her brows. "I was working on it. Was gonna wait and see all the places they were gonna take me before figuring out the easiest escape route."

"Already armed yourself inside being incarcerated for three days. You work quick. But anyway, I guarantee you our help is faster and easier." She faced forward, smiling.

"I'm really grateful for your help but why didn't you just leave me there? How is this better than throwing away your careers?"

"Don't worry about that, Riddick. Just wait and see."

5.

Kenner pulled into his driveway sitting adjacent to a house like Waters' ranch. Another SUV was parked on the side of the road. Waters' vehicle. What exactly was their plan?

The two squad members checked their surrounds before escorting Riddick inside the protection of the distortion field. The device looked like a palm-sized disco ball with spider legs that ended in pincers. He followed Waters and Kenner into a living room full of family photos and military memorabilia, and shut off the distorter. A bulging bag sat on a La-Z-Boy chair.

Kenner picked up the bag and chucked it to Riddick, who caught it. "Go get changed," Kenner said, then grimaced. "Then comes the fun part." He sounded like the next part was going to be anything but fun.

Riddick looked at the bag, then at the two Marines.

"It's your flight suit. I grabbed it before Tori could."

"We collected a bunch of your things," Waters said. "We're getting you off this planet with as full bags as possible. Now hurry up and change. That hologram in your cell will last about as long as the tranqs, which will be roughly three hours. After that, shit's gonna hit the fan."

"I've never really understood that phrase." Riddick headed for the bathroom.

Kenner said, "Means we're gonna have way more problems than we'll want to deal with. The sooner you get off-planet, the better."

Riddick hurried into the bathroom and donned his flight suit as fast as he could, throwing it over his orange prison attire, and swapping his blue loafer slippers for combat boots. The slippers he stuffed in the bag. No sense in leaving evidence that he'd been in this house.

Riddick found Waters standing outside Kenner's bedroom, the door wide open. She waved him over and he followed her inside the room.

Kenner sat on his bed, wearing a football t-shirt and basketball shorts. He looked ready for bed. Now what?

Waters chambered a tranquilizer dart in her rifle. "Riddick, we're eliminating any chance of them thinking Kenner helped you escape."

Kenner got up and stood before them. "Take the XGT ship I fly." He shoved keys in Riddick's hand. "It's already got a list of chartered courses to other worlds, and it's set to take you back home."

"Home?"

"Furya. Where you're from."

That's right. That was the name. "But-"

Waters said, "You're in this mess because we took you from your home. You were doing perfectly well without our help. The least we can do is help you get back there."

Despite being a misfit, Earth felt like home; however, some part of him liked the idea of returning to his original home. "So is that the only place I belong?"

Waters took a deep breath and let it go. "Ultimately you decide where you belong. No one can tell you that but you."

Riddick looked at the keys and frowned. "I don't know where that is." Having been gone from his home world for so long, what if his own kind rejected him, too? He really enjoyed Waters' company, along with her squad's and their families, but so many people had made that impossible now. How was he supposed to fit in anywhere?

"I know life here on Earth hasn't been easy for you, Riddick," Waters said. "I'm still not sure if bringing you here was the right thing to do."

"It was," he insisted, meaning it. "I don't regret it."

"Thank you, Riddick," Kenner said. "I really appreciate hearing that." He clasped Riddick's hand as he pulled him into a one-armed hug. Riddick rarely made physical contact with others, but this hug felt good. They mutually let go. "No matter what happens, always strive to be the better man. Don't let crap like this trial get to you. You were a great Marine. Never forget that."

"Thank you, sir."

Kenner nodded. "I'll pass on your words to Pond, Spark, and Markham. They'll be glad to hear it, too. They recorded videos of themselves saying goodbye to you. You can watch them on the ship. It was too risky to have everyone help tonight."

Riddick nodded. "I understand."

"They're gonna miss ya, as will I." Kenner tucked himself in bed with one arm on top of his blankets.

"I'll miss all of you, too." Damn, he was gonna miss the entire squad. They'd all mentored him in one way or another over the past three years.

"Hold still, Kenner," Waters said, motioning for Riddick to leave the room. He stepped into the hall and Waters dropped to one knee just outside the door, which she pulled almost shut, then took aim with her rifle. "Kenner, I apologize in advance for how you'll feel in the morning."

"No need, ma'am. It's worth it. Good bye and good luck."

"Good bye." She shot Kenner in the triceps.

They drove to the air strip with Riddick sitting in the front passenger seat. He'd hop in back once they got close to the gates. Waters dug something from under her bullet-proof vest and held it out to Riddick. "Almost forgot again. Had to dumpster dive for it."

His Wolverine necklace. He snatched it and looped it around his neck, thrilled to have it back. "I got so mad when they took it."

"I got just as mad when they told me they threw it away. So petty."

"Thank you for getting it back to me. And... for everything else."

"You're quite welcome. There's a loaf of banana walnut bread in your duffle bag, too. It's from the Wrekkio family. The parents send their apologies for jumping to conclusions, and Colleen says thank you for bringing her home. She was too full of shame to say anything sooner."

"Shame?"

"Women react to rape in so many different ways. It's..." She shook her head. "Just rest easier knowing you helped her."

"I will," he said softly. "It's one bit of closure." Colleen's gratitude was some solace in the face of how things had turned out. He probably would've been better off leaving her there in the long run but it was too late to change that. "Now will you tell me why you're throwing away your career over me? You can't possibly cover your tracks like you did Kenner's. There's no way you can pass off my escape as a solo stunt. They'll know I had help."

"You're very right," Waters said with a hint of sadness under her casual demeanor. "I don't consider helping you a waste."

"But all those years of hard work!"

"They led me to you. Sometimes our efforts add up in ways we don't expect. Riddick, did you really expect me to forget about you and go on with my life, while you got tortured and tormented?"

Riddick clenched his jaw. "Yes." An ache developed in his chest. "I wouldn't have held it against you or anyone."

"I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I'd abandoned you like that. Not only are you here on Earth because of me, you were enlisted into the military, but what matters most is that you're a son to me. I know I've treated you more like a soldier than a son; it's taken this long to realize that was wrong. I've done the best I could but now that I realize how much I care about you, I want to do better. No good mother abandons her children. My military career means nothing compared to your happiness and wellbeing." She reached for Riddick's hand and he took it, holding tight.

That was quite the confession. He implicitly knew Waters cared deeply about him, but he'd never known the extent until now. "Thank you. Really, I can't thank you enough." He wasn't just some animal and killer in her eyes. He didn't know how to put how happy that made him feel into words. "But what about your family?"

"That's already been planned out. Don't worry."

"Okay. And what plans do you have for yourself exactly?"

"You run home while I run in another direction."

"Why won't you stay here? No matter what happens, this is your home."

"I already told you, you make your own home. Riddick, I've been to many different worlds, and for years I've toyed with the idea of living elsewhere, but I've been too scared to leave the safety net of the military. You're the motivation I needed to break away from it and act on my dream." She turned onto the winding road leading up to the gates. "Once the military loses interest in finding me, I'll come get you and we can start life over as a proper family. How's that sound?"

Them a real family? It sounded almost too good to be true. Maybe by the time the reunited, he could coax Waters into seeing him as something more than a son, but if not, he'd let it be and enjoy what he had. "It sounds great. I'm already looking forward to it."

Smiling, Waters squeezed his hand and he squeezed back.

6.

Riddick hid under cover of a shrunken distortion field while Waters attempted to gain access to the airstrip. The guard spent an unusually long time staring at her ID badge, but he gave it back to her without expressing any dissatisfaction. Riddick lay curled in a ball in the backseat, tensing when a flashlight shined right on him. He felt eyes rake the back of his head and didn't recommence breathing until the guard gave waters the okay to enter, and he didn't uncurl himself until the SUV stopped moving minutes later, and the engine shut off. When he finally got out, he stretched his aching limbs.

"Alright," Waters said, "follow me close and keep the distortion field small."

Duffle bag over his shoulders, Riddick followed her among the light foot and vehicular traffic to the hangars, where Kenner's ship awaited them. No one paid Waters any mind, patrolman or pilot, but Riddick didn't relax. He felt completely exposed, even though no one could see him, unless they entered the field with him.

Waters unlocked the multi-story-tall hangar with a passcode. The aluminum door hummed and rattled as it raised, and the interior lights switched on, revealing a tidy hangar. They stepped inside and began double-teaming the pre-flight checklist, doing their best to not rush too much. The last thing they needed was to be their own reason for not making a clean getaway.

Once they worked through everything they could do inside the hangar, Riddick boarded the bus-sized ship and taxied it out onto the tarmac, guided by Waters' hand signals. Once his tail was clear of the doorway, she stuck both arms in the air, signaling for him to halt.

Right as he flipped the switch that locked the wheels, Waters looked over her shoulder. And that's when he noticed they had unwanted company. His stomach dropped to his feet.

Six soldiers, all armed and armored, formed a semi-circle ten feet away from Waters. She kept her arms raised as she slowly faced them. Riddick scrambled out of the cockpit and rushed down to protect her.

"Ah, there he is," said a familiar smug voice as Riddick darted between Waters and the soldiers. That voice belonged to Fink, who took off his head guard and looked past Riddick at Waters. "I figured you'd try something. Didn't expect you to act this fact, but I knew something like this was inevitable."

Where had they slipped up? Had one of the tranquilizer darts worn off too fast? Had... it had to be the guard just outside the air strip. Waters' ID must've been flagged for unusual activity. That had to be it.

"I was hoping you'd prove me wrong, Waters. You've been an exemplary soldier up to this point. It's going to be difficult to clean up your records after this business is straightened out. Jules, take them into custody."

A man broke away from one end of the semi-circle and approached.

Just like the moment when Russel aimed his gun, everything fell into slow motion. Each of Jules' strides seemed to last for an eternity, and the rest of the soldiers stood still as statues. Riddick's survival instincts kicked into hyperdrive. If they were captured tonight, Waters' dream of living as a family would never happen. He knew it in his gut.

Jules took another step.

Coupled with his superior strength and speed, Riddick could easily outmaneuver two or three heavily armed soldiers while armed with just a knife, but not six. Not six.

And another step.

Waters had set her rifle aside when they'd started going through the pre-flight checklist, and the soldiers had been too close to the ship to use any of its guns to mow them down. On top of that, it would've taken too long to dig out his firearm from wherever it was stashed in his duffle bag.

Three strides away.

Wait... Riddick had one ace up his sleeve.

Once Jules was within arm's reach, Riddick looked him in the eyes and saw his gaze shift to the side of Riddick's head. A blow was coming.

In one swift motion, Riddick ducked under the rifle's butt and sunk his shiv in Jules' side, between the armor padding. His body spasmed and he fired several rounds, taking out the soldier who'd been standing opposite him. Riddick put Jules in a headlock and used his body as a shield. He whipped out the distorter and threw it at Waters' feet, then seized Jules rifle and opened fire. The five soldiers returned fire, however they fell one by one. A fiery pain erupted in the arm he had wrapped around Jules' neck, but he didn't let go until he was the only one standing, ears ringing from all the gunshots. He looked around to make sure there were no other enemies approaching, then let Jules' body join his comrades on the tarmac, along with his gun. Clutching his injured arm, he stepped inside the distortion field.

The blood drained from his face.

Waters lay in a pool of her own blood, three gaping bullet wounds in her head and neck. Riddick dropped to his knees beside her and checked for a pulse. She had none.

Riddick wanted to scream, but the anguish was stuck in his throat. He closed Waters' eyes and held her hand as he absorbed what just happened.

He was alone. He was very much alone. He had no family left. All those hopes and dreams gone. Waters was gone. The future he'd been working towards: gone. Life with the rest of the squad: also gone. Life as he knew it was over.

He heard gurgling from outside the distortion field. He looked up.

Fink was feebly moving his limbs as struggled to fill his lungs. He reached for his throat and coughed several times.

Riddick tore his shiv from Jules' side and strode over to Fink. The General gasped when they made eye contact, and defensively raised his hands. Riddick plunged the blade into Fink's throat, and then in his stomach, the thighs, and ever last fatal spot he'd been trained to seek out. He grunted with each blow, making Fink's body jerk, then landed one last blow in his heart.

Gasping for breath, Riddick went over to Jules and took his knife, then kneeled before Waters once more. He thought of giving her a farewell hug or kiss, and even taking the time to bury her. Instead, he cut a lock of hair and boarded the ship with a heart so heavy that his chest was hollow.

7. One week later...

Riddick sat in the cockpit, elbows on the dashboard and face in his hands. He'd overridden the course to Furya and just let his ship wander aimlessly across the Milky Way Galaxy. He didn't want to go to his birth world anymore, leaving him at a loss for where to go or what do next. He'd fought so hard for his freedom, but now it seemed so worthless without anyone to share it with.

Furya was off the table. Never again would anyone use his heritage against him. His origins would remain a mystery to everyone but him from here on out. He'd change his name if he had to. Maybe even his appearance. But first he had to figure out where to go next.

Heaving a sigh, Riddick lifted his head and turned on the database. Kenner's list of charted courses came up and he read through them for the hundredth time, but this time actually seeing the words in front of him. The list had been just a bunch of nonsensical markings over the last few days, he brain too numb to process anything but his base needs to eat, sleep, and such. Now he was finally ready to make a choice.

Out of the list of twenty worlds, three sounded decent, but out of those three, one struck a chord with him. The world was very militaristic and the inhabitants described as a motley crew gathered from all corners of the universe. That sounded like the easiest place to blend in, even if he couldn't fit in. That world even had a prestigious military. He felt a need for such social structure and rigid discipline. Spending a week alone on the ship felt so aimless and pointless. He craved what that world had to offer.

He plotted a course for Sigma 3.

Dear Readers-

Thus begins Riddick's downward spiral into the person the universe is introduced to in the movie Pitch Black. That leg of his character journey is summarized in a Wikia site, so I'm disinclined to turn it into a full-blown fanfic piece. If I'm bugged enough, I might oblige but, as far as I'm concerned, that gritty story has already been told by the creators of the Riddick universe.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed them.

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