The Chronicles Of Riddick: Voyage To Underverse

Chapter 3

Riddick led the two mercs aboard the basilica and had one of the many Necromonger females show them each to where they could stay while being transported away from Helion Prime. The woman escorted them to their quarters, showed them where they could wash and then gave them fresh clothes to change into. She then left them to do as they wished. Logan was grateful for Riddick's generosity, though she still remained cautious. No matter her feelings towards the man, she needed to stay on guard. Toombs was just sulking and bitter about the entire situation, but the merc girl paid his behavior no mind. All she wanted right now was to wash, to wash away her past and all the chaos she'd just been through.

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Logan turned the hot water off once she was fully rinsed. It had been so long since she'd had a proper shower; it felt so good to be clean, free from sweat and grime. She actually felt like a woman again. The steam from the water was thick in the air and clouded up the shower stall door. She opened it slightly so she could reach out and grab a towel. The cooler air whooshed in causing her to shiver and then to wrap the towel tightly around her body.

The merc girl stepped out, hair dripping wet, and began walking towards her bed where the clean clothes were laid out for her to change into. Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks. She felt as though she was being watched and looked up. Riddick stood in front of her. He was leaning against the wall, staring intensely at her. Had he been watching her the entire time? The thought made her insides tingle with excitement, yet there was a fear unlike any other that seemed to settle somewhere deep inside her core. Only he was able to instill that kind of fear.

Riddick walked towards her, barring the way between the shower stall and her bed. He moved closer and sniffed.

"Did you know you hum while you wash?" He sniffed her again, obviously taking in her scent.

Logan's heart was racing and she gasped. "No," she answered.

Riddick walked around her and sniffed again. "I didn't know you'd clean up this good, Eve." He paused. "A merc like you."

Logan stopped breathing for a moment as the compliment sunk in, but all the same her eyes were sad. She never really thought of herself as beautiful or truly desirable. Sure she'd hoped and had her fantasies, but that was as far as that sort of thing went. She was a merc, after all, not a 'woman' and therefore not typically seen in that way. It was devastating and embarrassing to hear that she had to 'clean up' in order to even look remotely desirable to a man. That cutting remark, the reminder of who and what she was, it always lingered in the back of her mind. She just wished that he hadn't been the one to say it aloud.

"The life of a merc doesn't suit you." Again he sniffed her. It was as though he was slowly getting intoxicated. "You should be runnin' with better people than them."

His words took her somewhat off guard; they were unexpected. What he was trying to get out of her wasn't clear and it almost seemed like he was trying to compliment her once again. "You're just saying that because you've been runnin' from the likes of us for years."

Riddick chuckled. "I guess you would think that."

He suddenly thought of Kyra. He thought of her, and those memories were of a time when she was known as Jack. She would've died on that planet if a certain blue-eyed devil had had his way. That fucking merc named Johns. Some mercs had a code of ethics, but most of them didn't. He remembered Kyra telling him that she'd signed on with mercs. And where did it get her? On a one-way trip to Hell where her purity and innocence were stripped and taken away from her forever. And then there was Eve, the woman standing before him. What sort of hell had she been through? How did she make it in that line of work when his Kyra couldn't? Not that he had wanted her to in the first place.

Logan's face showed confusion.

Again Riddick sniffed her, but he also let out a growl. "You know, Eve… it's been a long time since I smelled beautiful," he said.

Logan suddenly became very aware that she was standing in front of the Furyan in nothing more than a towel, and she was still dripping wet. Her insides turned cold despite her fantasies that he'd ever find her beautiful. His statement seemed to come out of nowhere, or did it? She just couldn't tell; her senses were muddled and dulled with him around.

She laughed sheepishly. "Beautiful?"

"Don't act surprised, Eve. You're a beautiful woman trapped in a life that isn't for you."

Logan managed to step away from Riddick's close scrutiny while holding on even more tightly to her towel. She felt confused. She couldn't tell what his agenda was with her and that made her uncomfortable. The merc in her liked to know who was her adversary… or her ally.

"What are you talking about?" She finally asked.

"What the hell you doin' runnin' around with mercs like Toombs?"

"I'm good at what I do." She knew she avoided his question. Now she could only hope he didn't notice.

Riddick laughed. "That's why you nearly died on Crematoria then, right?"

"That was a fluke. You set us up."

"Maybe. Maybe I still am."

Logan arched an eyebrow and Riddick walked towards her again causing her to step backwards towards her bed.

"Maybe I knew something you didn't. Maybe you and Toombs have more of a part to play than you thought. Maybe…" His voice trailed off and he sniffed Logan yet again, very deeply this time.

The merc girl closed her eyes and trembled.

Riddick could see her shaking under his gaze. He liked that, he found it sexy. He also knew that she was interested in him. She made that plain as day when he was locked down on Toombs' ship and they were heading for Crematoria. Funny that she thought a Furyan couldn't sense his surroundings even while in cryosleep. But that was a side issue. What piqued his curiosity, however, was whether her interest was just a lustful fantasy or whether it was something more. That he didn't know, but it didn't really matter. Not now anyway.

"You never answered my question, Eve."

Logan opened her eyes. He was standing very close to her, looking down into her brown eyes. She could feel the warmth of his body and it gave her gooseflesh despite its radiating heat.

"Why you runnin' with mercs like Toombs'?"

"Toombs is all right. He's a bit rough around the edges, but…"

"He's an egocentric asshole who doesn't care whether you live or die."

"That's not true," she began.

"Why are you so quick to defend him?"

Logan heaved a sigh. "He saved my life."

Riddick backed away from her slightly and let her speak.

"He could've left me for dead back there; I was pretty close to death. But he didn't."

Riddick nodded knowingly. "I guess that mother fucker's full of surprises then."

Logan's voice wavered a bit. "So that means…"

"You wouldn't have died there, Eve. You weren't as close to death as you might think."

The merc girl's face turned red. Riddick approached her again and sniffed.

"You'd better get dressed. This ship is cold… everything about these Necros is cold." At that he nodded and walked away.

Logan let out a forceful exhale and dropped down onto her bed. Her heart was racing and her chest was heaving. There was something about that man that she just couldn't shake, didn't want to shake. She wiped her eyes which were suddenly tearing for reasons she couldn't explain and finally dressed herself.

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Toombs paced back and forth in his designated room. He refused to wear the clothing that the Necromongers provided him. They may have been new and clean, but there was no way he'd wear that shit. Instead, he managed to persuade one of the females to have his own clothes cleaned and promptly brought back to him. Of course, they couldn't get all the grime out, but he didn't care. He preferred a little dirt to Necro-wear.

The merc didn't like being on the basilica and he was getting more and more agitated as their departure from Helion Prime grew closer. It was only a matter of hours now and he didn't like not knowing which system he and Logan would be dropped off on.

He continued to pace, muttering curses under his breath.

"I've never seen you this on edge, Toombs," a voice said. It seemed to come from out of nowhere.

Toombs looked up and sure enough, there was Riddick standing in the doorway.

"You always know how to make an entrance, don't you?"

"I wouldn't want it any other way."

Toombs ground his teeth in frustration. "So, where are you taking us?"

"You don't need to know that now. You'll find out soon enough."

"Oh I see, what're you gonna do? Just shove us off in the middle of nowhere, right? Drop us off on some freakin' nearly uninhabited planet 'cause you know me and Logan won't be able to leave."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Damn you!"

"Now, didn't your mother ever teach you it's not nice to yell at your host?"

Toombs' eyes were wild with anger. He hated how calm and cool Riddick was and how nothing ever seemed to make him flinch. It pissed him off.

"Fine, so you'll tell us when you're ready. Great. So what're we supposed to do in the meantime?"

"Believe it or not, I actually do have use for you." Riddick walked into the room, shiv in hand. "In return for my transporting your bounty hunting ass, you can do me a favor."

"A favor? Like what?"

"I need someone like you, a merc like you, to watch these Necro bastards. You know the importance of knowing your enemy and I need to know mine. I can't be everywhere at once so an extra pair of eyes and ears will be useful. Plus I don't need them getting suspicious. They already don't like my way."

Toombs laughed. "Really, can't even begin to guess why."

"This is probably one of the most important things you could ever do with your sorry ass, so you in?"

The merc rolled his eyes. He hated to admit it, but he understood why Riddick made the request. And what's more, he hated to admit that he agreed with the idea and found it to be a good one.

"I don't like it, but yeah, I'm in."

"Good. Keep a close eye on Vaako. And his wife."

"His wife?"

Riddick smiled. "She's more dangerous than he is."

Toombs arched an eyebrow in surprise, but Riddick merely nodded and walked out of the room never uttering a word more about it. At least, not yet.

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Logan didn't care for the dress that the Necromonger female left out for her to wear. She longed for her much more comfortable merc clothes. They were easier to move around in. She'd been reassured, however, that she'd get them back once they were cleaned, so she just sucked it up and decided to wear the damned dress. No need to cause a rukus unnecessarily. Besides, she was sure that Toombs would not go for the Necromonger clothes the males were wearing. They were definitely not him. One petty fight with the Necros was plenty.

She walked out of her room, not quite sure of where to go. The Necros made her nervous. They all looked so solemn and she could hear them mumbling the word 'breeder' every time she passed by, as if it were a derogatory thing to be able to breed. She also found the scars on their necks to be strange. Why did they have them? What did it mean? Logan shivered and continued walking.

The merc girl felt strange in the Necro dress. No clothes of theirs could make her resemble what they were. Sure, she looked like the other Necro females wandering around, but still there was something about them that was different and made her stand out in a crowd. Was it because their faces were paler and that their faces lacked emotion of any sort? No, that was just a part of it, but a small part. There was something more and she didn't like thinking about it.

As Logan walked on, she saw a group of female Necromongers gathered together in a small circle. They laughed at her when she passed by so she quickened her pace to get past them that much faster. Suddenly, she came upon a large opening to her right. She looked over and suddenly a scream was caught in her throat. A large hand had covered her mouth staying the shriek she was about to let echo throughout the basilica.

"It's the conversion chamber. And it's the last time it's gonna be used."

Logan's muscles tightened. She could feel a hard body against her back and a strong arm encircling her and then there was that hand touching her face. She tried her best to relax, which caused the hand and arm to release her.

Logan turned around and saw Riddick's silver-shined eyes staring straight into her own brown ones.

"Conversion chamber?"

The man nodded. "See, the Necros have a strange way of talkin' you into their ways. Take a look."

Logan reluctantly turned around and looked into the chamber once again. Rows upon rows of people were suspended in the air, spikes drilled into their necks. Scars.

"They hurt you until you feel nothing."

Logan winced at the sight. "Nothing," she whispered.

"That's why they walk around like zombies. That's why they don't breed."

Riddick approached the merc girl and sniffed her deeply. Her body stiffened immediately, but she didn't back away. She let him get his fill.

"Is that why they look at me in disgust? I've heard them calling me 'breeder.'"

The man sniffed her again. "Exactly," he paused. "I think they're envious of you. The women want what you have, but they can't get back what's been lost."

Riddick thought of Kyra again. If he succeeded in finding her in Underverse, she would be like the Necros. Unable to breed, unable to feel. Then again, she showed her defiance before she passed on. The man's eyes glistened for a moment as he held onto a hope he normally wouldn't dare hold onto.

Logan nodded. No wonder she didn't fit in, she couldn't fit in and the thought of doing so repulsed her. Suddenly her stomach began to hurt. She was a tough woman, could handle anything, but this… This was different.

Riddick sensed her fear and took a hold of her arm. "Come on, that's enough of this place." He led her away and down another corridor.

Logan just followed him and let him hold onto her. She had to do everything she could to remain calm; being around Riddick was more than enough to get her excited.

The man led her through a maze of hallways before finally stopping.

"Here." He gently pushed her into an empty room. "I need to talk to you, Eve."

Her eyes widened a little. "What about?"

"See, I've made an arrangement with Toombs."

Logan let out a reluctant sigh. "Yeah?"

"The way I see it, we need to work together. If we all want to avoid being converted and save the human race, as you put it, then we need to figure out how to destroy these Necro bastards. I'm leading them to Underverse to keep them happy, but it's a long way to Valhalla."

"Valhalla?" Logan's eyebrows furrowed. "I've heard of that planet, but only in stories. It's not real."

"Well the Necros believe it, so it must be real. It's gonna be a long trip and I need people on my side who are skilled in the ways of stealth. What better people than mercs like you and Toombs?"

She nodded. "All right, what d'you want me to do?"

Riddick walked around her, his mouth very close to her ears as he spoke. "So quick to help, good. That's good. You're a smart woman, Eve."

"I gotta look out for my ass."

"True, princess."

Logan bit her lip suddenly at the term. That man called her princess. Whether it was meant to be a compliment or an insult she couldn't tell. She hoped it was the former.

"No one else will." He paused. "Then again…" His voice trailed off.

Logan knew he was looking her over. She enjoyed being under his scrutiny, but at the same time it was terrifying. The thrill was almost too much to bear. Riddick was all animal and she knew that, but she also knew he wouldn't touch her without consent. Despite his actions in the past, he did have a code of honor and he stuck to it. For all the fear he instilled, there was a comfort in knowing that.

"So, I want you and Toombs to keep watch over Vaako and his wife. She's a cunning bitch, so be careful."

"That it?"

"No. I also want you to keep an eye on a certain Elemental. Her name is Aereon. Just be watchful and let me know everything you hear them talking about. I think that they all have an agenda that they're not telling me."

Logan nodded.

"Smart… I like that in a woman," he responded. And with that, he walked away leaving Logan by herself.