I meant to put this in the last chapter! If you're new to the story don't worry about reading this. The last chapter I put [1] beside the hair color. If you remember her hair was originally black and white. The image in my head was the majority of her hair being black and the front of her hair (the part in front of her ears) and her bangs were going to be white. However, logically that doesn't make sense with being institutionalized. They don't allow hair dying as far as I know, so I changed her hair to chestnut. I like the rich brown hair and it works out anyway cuz it matches a character that will be later explained. Anyway that's what the [1] was about! Sorry!
Chapter Four
"You didn't have to hit her." Someone mumbled nearby. The voice sounded like Jack, but it was muffled.
There as a short pause before someone answered. "It was for her own good." That was Johns for sure, but again the voices were muffled.
"Even so, to hit a woman, place your hands on a woman, is wrong, Mista Johns." Imam commented. He sounded irritated not that it was surprising. It was against his beliefs to harm another, especially a woman.
"She was in the way and protecting a murderer. Blatantly. She was even helping him before hand." Shazza stated in a pissy tone, still angry apparently.
"How do you know that?" Jack piped up.
"Because it was her fuckin' water bottle he was carrying around." Johns shouted. If I was on my feet and well enough, I would have hit the man across the face for being so vicious towards the young girl I had grown close to.
"She was only doing what she thought was right." the holy man defended raising his voice.
"And I was only doing my job!" Johns snapped and walked away, or at least it seemed so. I couldn't really tell. I opened my eyes slowly, looking around the dark room. I was in the main cabin of the crash ship. Someone's coat was laid out over me and I realized it was Doc's.
Speaking of which, he chose to speak up. "You could have seriously injured her!" he said in a clipped voice.
"So, I choked her a little and gave her a good smack upside the head. She's still alive, ain't she?" Johns sarcastically replied.
The light in the room suddenly dimmed quite a bit. Turning my aching head over to one side, I realized just how close they were to me. Doc had shoved Johns up into a support beam with several different wires and tubes hanging down to cushion his back. "You weren't there, Johns, a couple of hours ago when she woke up flailing, unable to breathe or slow her heart rate, shaking and sweating. You weren't forced to try and hold her down as she swung her arms around wildly because she thought I was attacking her. You don't know what she's been through. The other two adolescents are here because I'm escorting them to a Juvenile Hall. She is not a delinquent. She is a victim of the monstrosities they put her through. Them and that rotten no-good-asshole of a biological father of hers. The only reason she is going into his custody is because I have no way of gaining such rights! I have no proof to indicate how inadequate of a parent he is. So before you decided to pull shenanigans like that again, think twice, you arrogant fool! Not everything is as it seems." With that Doc shoved off him and stalked off outside. I closed my eyes after that. I was unsure of what Johns would do, but I didn't want him to think that I was awake. I heard the merc sigh in annoyance and stalk outside as well.
"Alright, everyone." I heard Carolyn call out to them. "Those of you coming with me, let's get moving. Those of you staying behind, see if there's anything in the storage unit that we could possibly take with us to the settlement." The sound of pounding feet and chit-chat followed immediately after. I reopened my eyes when everything quieted down after several minutes had passed. I heard the grating noise of the storage unite being pulled, either open or closed I didn't know, and I couldn't hear Johns or Carolyn or anyone anymore. I figured at that point it was alright to get up. I swayed as I did so, being forced to cling onto the nearest object, which happened to be an open door. My head killed and my ankle felt like it was throbbing so hard it might just pop off.
"Geez, I feel like I just got hit by a semi." I muttered. Looking down at my ankle I noticed it was slightly bruised and swollen. My right wrist was wrapped tight with a white bandage, tiny spots of blood slowly but surely making themselves known. My left wrist throbbed painfully and seemed to be no better off than my right. I could tell that I was going to need more than just wrappings for either of my wrists. At the rate I was going, I might pass out from blood loss 'Should I tell Doc?' I questioned myself, 'No. He doesn't know how to stitch up wounds. He made that clear when I first met him. I guess, if it really came down to it, I could just do it myself.' I reasoned. It sounded like a good enough plan. Plus, it was a widely known fact that people could stand his or her self inflicted pain better than that inflicted by others.
I gave myself a minute to get my bearings and find my center of gravity before letting go of the door and wandering off towards the front. The sun was awfully bright making me shy away from the outside and back into the welcoming darkness on the other side of the support beam Doc had thrown Johns up against. I could see the very tiny outlines of the group going back towards the dig site, so I figured the others had gone to the storage unit. 'Fine by me. I'd rather not deal with them right now.' Turning away from the sun I wandered down the dark hallway, only to find myself staring at Riddick. He was chained up again. This time with better chains and his arms spread eagle. 'Well, at least they gave him something to sit on this time.' I sighed. He turned his head in my direction, his eyes in full view. I outwardly gasped. I had never seen such beautiful eyes before. They were pitch black, but at the same time reflected in the darkness a gorgeous blue-silver color. Exquisite! 'Just like the rest of him.' I mused, nearly blushing at my own thoughts.
"They chained you up again." I stated as I stepped closer to him. He never took his eyes from me. His gaze was so intense I thought I might melt.
"Seems so." he rumbled softly, pulling on his restraints.
I sighed as I walked up in front of him, my fingers sliding down the silver metal. "I'm sorry." I muttered.
Riddick stared at me before cocking his head to the side, giving me a very incredulous look. "Why is it that you find yourself somewhere near me, eh? Am I really that fascinating?" he smirked, those thick lips curling upwards.
I took another step towards him, against my better judgment, slowly reaching out a hand towards his head. He didn't flinch or jerk away when my fingertips gently brushed around the area where Johns' baton must have bashed him. "I don't know." I told him honestly, running my fingers around the area again, "I really don't. Maybe you do fascinate me or perhaps it's because you're really not as bad as everyone seems to think you are. If you wanted to kill us, you would have. You would have let Paul find me. You would have let whatever it was that's in that hole just take me away. You would have let me share Zeke's fate." I watched as his eyes flashed at my words. "But you didn't."
He jerked his head away from my hand and glared at the wall, "You don't know shit about me, kid." Realizing I must have hit a nerve, I went to back up, however, Riddick leaped up suddenly, "Don't move." he growled. I was too stunned to have moved as it was. I was not expecting him to move that quickly or to move at all for that matter. I felt him run the tip of his nose from my shoulder slowly up the crook of my neck, just below my ear, taking in a deep breath as he did so. 'He's smelling me?' I thought shocked.
"Why are you smelling me?" I murmured self-consciously. "I can't imagine I smell pleasant." I hadn't had a shower since we got here and I was covered in sweat, sand and blood. That didn't exactly add up to the galaxies best smelling perfume.
"Mmm. You smell fine to me. Perfectly fine." he breathed against my skin, hot air rushing over my chilled skin. I blushed deeply. He was fucking with my mind, he had to be.
"Well…a-are you done?" I asked cautiously, accidentally tripping over my words.
Riddick gave a rumbling laugh and pulled away only enough to look me straight in the eyes. "Do you I make you nervous….Hailey?" I shivered when he said my name. Maybe it was because he didn't actually say my name but whispered it sensually so close to my lips I could almost feel his own against them. It made the heat rise in my face even more. I could only imagine I looked like a tomato. I could see the amusement in his eyes and the sadistic smile creep over his lips.
"Only when you do that." I answered softly, truthfully.
He chuckled and moved to the opposite side of my neck, doing the same thing he had before, only adding a groan at the end. "What will you do if I get loose again? Hmm?" he asked, his mouth suddenly right next to my ear. "I'll come after you first."
I took a deep breath and turned my head to look at him. Again his eyes shined with mischief. "Why would you come after me?" I asked. On a braver note I added, "Do I intimidate you?"
Riddick threw his head back and laughed. "You? Intimidate me? Why would I be intimidated by little 'ole you?" His face was once again close to mine, our noses brushing against one another's.
"Because I'm not afraid of you." I stated calmly and clearly.
Riddick's smirk disappeared in an instant and he stared at me with an unreadable look, eyes flashing dangerously. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted.
"Hailey! I figured I would find you here." It was Doc. He looked anxiously between me and Riddick, unsure of what was going on and why we were so close. Scurrying over, he gently took me by the elbow and pulled me away from Riddick. The large criminal stared me down until I got to the door, slowly taking a seat.
"You shouldn't be around that man."Doc stated worriedly, as he continued to pull me over to where the three Arab boys were.
"I shouldn't be around Tina, Paul or Micah either, but they're here, too." I shot back.
Doc sighed and faced me, placing a hand on my cheek. "I know and I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice but to bring them along. I figured that we could get everything done in one shot."
I looked at the man in front of me thoughtfully. "I won't stay away, you know that right?" I asked.
Doc nodded his head. "Of course, I know. Just don't let that monster catch you." he told me, nodding at the group that had returned rather quickly. Doc and I watched as Johns, Fry, Imam and Shazza fought back and forth. Jack, seeing me on my feet, grinned widely and raced over to me. I smiled happily at the girl and opened my arms to her. "You're awake! I'm so glad!" she chirped as she jumped lightly into my arms. I could tell she was being mindful of my ankle and the fact that I might not be as steady as I look.
"Heh, thanks." I looked back up at the group when I noticed Johns fast movements towards the area that Riddick was tied up. "What are they doing?"
Jack, with arm around my waist still, watched the man disappear into the ship. "Fry went in the hole."
"She what?" I exclaimed, shooting the pilot a worried look. She seemed to be unhurt just a little shook up.
"Yeah, and apparently you were right, not that I didn't believe you," Jack added, "It wasn't Riddick that killed Zeke. There are monsters down there."
I nodded slowly. "So what is he going to do to Riddick?" Jack merely shrugged her shoulders. Fry and Shazza walked up to the three of us.
Fry, walking a little ahead of Shazza, smiled at me. "Good to see you're awake again. How's your head?" she asked.
I cocked an eyebrow, but returned the smile—although somewhat hesitantly. "Fine. I'm a toughie." I saw her glance down at my right wrist, which lay lightly on Jack's shoulder, but I slowly removed it from her sight. Shifting her gaze back to mine, I gave her a meaningful look. Nodding her head ever so slightly, she said nothing about it.
Jack laughed, "That's for sure." I grinned down at the girl. She was so cute! I always did want a younger sister. At least, one that was quite a bit younger than me. I do have a best friend who I consider to be a younger sister, but she's only a few months younger. I really missed her. I was supposed to see her when we docked, but apparently that wasn't going to happen any time in the near future.
Shazza stepped up and looked at me apologetically. "Look, Hailey, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt."
I scoffed and stared at her deadpanned. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. I got hurt because I was defending someone I happen to care about. DON'T," I snapped, holding a hand up to stop the comments I knew were coming, "ask me why I do. I don't know. But I do know this: he was completely innocent and all of you accused him just because of the things he did before he got here. You blamed him because he was an easy target."
The dark haired woman glared at me, "He's a murderer! What was I suppose to think? He had a shiv made of bone in his hand, for Christ sake!"
I crossed my arms and leaned back, cocking my right hip. I heard Doc sigh from my right. He knew I wasn't going to back down. "Tell me, Shazza, did the shiv have blood on it?"
She paused, "No. B-but he could have wiped it off!"
"On what? The sand? Because despite the fact that black is indeed a dark color, you can clearly see when there are signs of wetness. The only wet spots on his shirt were from sweat."
"W-w-I…" she stuttered, trying to find some reason to blame him, but discovered she really had nothing to go on other than his profession.
"Like I said: easy target."
Silence followed quickly as Shazza and I had a stare down, though I clearly was the more dominant one as she eventually averted her gaze to the floor. Fry stepped in not long after that, "Doc, did you find anything in the storage unit?" Everyone turned to look at the man, who nodded.
"Yes, we found a couple of useful items. Little things like blankets and changes of clothes. Also some medical supplies and tools for repairs." Doc told her.
Fry was silent for a moment, mulling over the information. "Good, grab that and meet in front of the ship. We're going to head out in a few minutes. We found a settlement and a water hole." Doc's face lit up as he heard about the water. Clearly someone was as excited about it as I was! I could finally clean up a bit!
"Did I hear you say water?" Paul asked, appearing out of nowhere with Tina at his side. Tina looked over at me, smirking and nudged Paul, who followed her gaze. I glared and walked away before anything could be said. I didn't want to deal with them at all. I was in high spirits because of the water and a chance for new scenery, I was not about to let them get under my skin. In fact, I wasn't going to let anything get under my skin.
BANG!
