I don't know.

magz@charter.net
http://webpages.charter.net/noise


He was cleaning the blood from the shiv when Kurtis walked in. Riddick cast him a lidded look, blade poised above his thigh, blood dripping from the point onto the cement.

"Jezus Christ, Riddick!"

Riddick turned his attention back to the cleaning, swiping the shiv clean on his pants.

"The first chick in months, and y'gut 'er before the rest of us even git a go at 'er, y'fuckin' bastard!"
Riddicks eyes fluttered closed in silent agony.

"Riddick? Riddick, y'meat head! Y'fuckin' psycho, lookit me!"

Riddick forcefully opened his eyes, staring half-lidded at Kurtis. He rubbed a temple and leaned back against the wall.

"Seriously, Riddick, we's gonna hafta siddown and speak 'bout yer problem here, that whole guttin' prime chick's 'fore we kin git a chance fer a dip! The brutha's down 'ere all agree wit me tha-"

Riddick lost it. He flung his arm forward as he was standing, throwing all the force in his arm behind the throw. The shiv slammed into Kurtis' forehead with a sickening slap and buried itself in up to the hilt. Kurtis froze standing, hands up and his mouth open in mid sentence. Riddick took a step to the side. Kurtis fell forward to his knees, then dropped to his face. Riddick watched a hand twitch.

"Bad day, Riddick?"

Jakob stepped into the room behind him. Riddick glanced over a shoulder, shrugged his massive shoulders and leaned down. He pulled his shiv from Kurtis' body, feeling a jolt of electricity shoot up his back at the familiar sound of crunching bone. He wiped it off on the shirt and stood back up to face Jakob.

"Yeah," he answered. "Very bad day. Move."

Jakob moved. He moved clear out of the doorway and into the hallway, his impassive face watching Riddick as the larger man moved past him. He followed close behind. "Mind if I ask a question?"

"Yes."

"Do you get the same feeling? The charge, the sensation of flying, reality dropping far behind whenever you see the blood? Can you smell it even bef-"

Riddick had stopped, half turning to face Jakob. "Yeah."

"Yeah?" Jakob nodded. Pause. "Me too." Another pause. They resumed walking down the hall. "You leaving today?"

Riddick glanced back at Jakob. He allowed himself a grin. "Yeah. How'd you guess?"

Jakob met his eyes. "Guys like you don't last here long."

Riddick walked faster.


***

Riddick looked down at the body against his. His mind came slamming back to earth and he froze. The woman ripped his hand off her mouth, raked her nails uselessly against his jacket, screaming at him and for help. But nobody was coming.

Riddick pulled out of her and stepped back. She tried to rush past him but he grabbed a fistful of hair and flung her against the cement wall. She was already bleeding from her nose and lip and had an ugly gash running down the bruised half of her face. She was crying, sobbing, asking him to stop. And then he was on top of her, straddling her waist and pulling out his shiv. A flailing fist caught him on the temple and he rocked sideways, just enough for her to squirm out from beneath him.

He was grabbing her from behind, hooking an arm around her neck and yanking her back to him. And then his shiv was buried in her side and she was screaming, screaming and screaming and screaming. And he was twisting the knife, then pulling it out and plunging it into her chest, again and again and again. The blood coursed down the front of the woman and he could smell, could taste it on his tongue. Shivers ran up his spine, up the nape up his neck and down to his groin. He pushed the dying woman away from him and stood up. He stepped over her body, tucked the shiv into his pants as he zipped them up.

Then he was gone, walking with a quick stride towards his favorite brothel, unable to keep the wide grin off his face.




I really don't.