A/N: Here's another longer one for you guys! Thank you ShortNinja13, B.R.B., Hikaru69, jordan91, Mikiichann, and Flowerchild23 for the amazing reviews! Also, thanks to whoever voted on my poll for the next fic. I'll be closing it next week, since Under the Summer Rain is sadly drawing to a close, so get your last minute votes in now! Oh, and I had to change Eris' age to 22, since I found out that Riddick is 36 in Pitch Black. I don't mind a large age difference, as long as it's less than 15 years. Anyway, don't own Riddick!
Chapter 9
"Eris?" Jack called out in the darkness, sounding scared.
"Right here," I assured. A light clicked on further down the hallway, then another, casting eerie shadows all over the walls. It seemed that the only one who wasn't scared was Riddick, and that in itself was a no-brainer. He lived for this shit.
"She should've stayed down," Jack said brokenly. "If only she would've stayed down, she'd be okay. She wouldn't have died."
I moved towards him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, giving a comforting squeeze. He clung to me as if he was drowning and I was his lifeline, his body shaking with suppressed sobs.
"Shh," I whispered soothingly, laying my cheek on his head, ignoring everyone else around us. I wasn't used to dealing with kids and I handling other people's emotions wasn't my specialty, but Jack had grown on me and I knew he needed someone to just be there for him right now. Simon had always been my anchor and I felt that I should be Jack's. After a few moments, I felt the shaking slowly stop and I leaned back a bit, chucking him under the chin.
"You good?" I asked, mustering a somewhat reassuring smile. I think I succeeded, because he nodded and quickly wiped the tears off his cheeks. "Keep your chin up kid and stick with me."
I kept one arm slung over his shoulder as we all huddled in a circle, locked inside the only secure place left. I wondered if this was how the settlers had felt before they died. I caught Riddick's gaze from across the circle and then looked away. There would be no sympathy from him. I heard a small snap and knew his goggles were back in place.
"You remember the boneyard?" Johns asked suddenly, breaking the heavy silence. "These just might be the fuckers that killed every living thing on this planet."
"What are we gonna do now?" Carolyn vocalized the question we were all asking, but had no answer to. "Are these the only lights we have? Is this everything?"
"No," Paris answered, looking around the floor. "There's a cutting torch on the floor. I just can't find it."
"Quiet please, everyone," Imam said sharply, putting his ear to the wall. The others piled up alongside, alert. Jack, Riddick and I didn't bother joining them. The clicking got louder as a wave of the creatures flew outside the hold, causing the others to step back.
"Why do they do that?" Jack asked. "Why do they make that sound?"
"Perhaps it's the way they see," Imam offered. "With sound reflecting back."
I jumped and almost shrieked in surprise when we heard the clicking coming from behind us. Hand on my racing heart, I watched in apprehension as the others whirled around, lights revealing nothing. There was only the open door of a container about halfway down the tunnel-like hold.
"How the fuck could one get in here?" I hissed, edging closer to Riddick and ignoring his amused chuckle.
"Um, could be a breach in the hull," Carolyn stammered. "I don't know."
There was a pause.
"Come on, Johns," Riddick razzed. "You got the big gauge."
When Johns realized that everyone wanted him to go investigate, he balked.
"I'd rather piss glass," he remarked flatly. "Why don't you go fuckin' check?"
"I'm not staying here one more second," Paris whimpered, going for the main door latch.
"Where are you going?" Johns barked. "Sit him down!"
"Christ, you don't know what's out there!" Carolyn said, lunging towards Paris. With Imam's help, she dragged him back to the group and pushed him forward.
"I know what's in here!" he muttered. As if to mock him, clicking echoed off the walls.
"Hurry!" Imam urged, herding everyone into a container. The door slammed close behind us, causing my breath to catch.
"Now we're trapped in a much smaller space," Paris fretted. "I hate this!"
I silently agreed with him. It was quiet for a few moments; the only sound was everyone sucking on their breathers. Except for me, that is. Dammit, Eris! You left yours and the whiskey back at the settlement. There was a small thud, then scratching. I heard a hiss and squinted my eyes when Johns held up the cutting torch, adjusting the gases so the flame burned brighter, revealing the door. My eyes widened when I saw blades poking into the metal of the door and realized they were actually probing joints. As one, we stepped back when heavy blows rattled the container.
"Can you do something else with that? Besides holding it in my fuckin' face?" Riddick growled at Johns. The merc had moved back so he was level with us, the cutting torch's bright flame burning in his hand and consequently shining in Riddick's sensitive eyes, even though they were covered.
Johns stared at him, and then took the hint. He turned and began cutting the common wall between the containers. The clicking got louder as the predator's razor-sharp joints started slicing through the metal.
"Come on," I whispered urgently, sneaking a glance at the wall behind us. "Hurry up!"
The outline was complete and Johns gave the circle a hefty kick. The metal clanged horribly as it fell out on the other side.
"Let's go!" he shouted, waving everyone forward.
Jack speed-crawled through first as the metal behind us groaned and screeched, the creatures tearing it down. Imam's boys followed then Imam, Carolyn, Paris, and Johns. Riddick shoved me to my knees.
"Go!" he roared. I scurried through the hole, Riddick right on my heels. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I heard the creatures rush into the container we just evacuated, shrieking in anger when they realized we had escaped. I scrambled to my feet to find Johns already working on the wall of the new container, sparks flying as the blowtorch melted through the metal. Riddick slapped my ass, moving me out of the way so he could stand up.
"Faster, Johns!" Carolyn screamed as the container rocked. We all shifted towards the merc when one of predator's sharp joints poked through the hole we had made.
"We're through!"
Same drill. We all squirmed through the new hole, except this time around the order was mixed up and somehow Jack and I managed to be last in line. Almost hyperventilating in fear, I crawled as fast as I could through the hole, Jack's small body in front of me. Go faster Jack, I thought, sweat dripping into my eyes. It was like a nightmare where you were running and something terrible was behind you and you just knew that at any minute they were going to grab you, except this wasn't a nightmare and if one of them got you, you were gone. The walls behind me broke down as the creatures swarmed in. I was just about through when I felt something hook into the bottom of my leather pants. I screamed when my knees were pulled out from under me and I was dragged backwards.
"Eris!"
I screamed again, vainly trying to grab at anything. I kicked my legs, struggling to get free as I heard the others calling my name. I thought I had reached the end of my short life and was about to join Shazza when a large body blocked my view and grabbed my middle, yanking me towards them.
"Fuck!" I gasped as my pant leg ripped and I was easily pulled into the arms of my rescuer. I collided into a familiar rock hard chest and just about whimpered in relief.
"Riddick," I half sobbed, half laughed as I leaned on him. That was close and I was trying not to shake as the adrenaline coursed through my body.
"Not now, Eris," he growled, supporting me with one arm. "Get your ass in gear. Do you hear me?"
I swallowed and nodded. He was right, of course. Not the time to lose my head and freak out, even though that's all I wanted to do.
"No time," Johns said, looking over my shoulder into the container behind us. "You ready?"
I clenched my jaw and nodded as everyone filed through the third hole Johns had just finished melting before I was grabbed. Thankfully, Riddick took up the rear this time. We blasted through our fourth, then fifth container, the predators still on our trail. In the last one we found a bunch of cargo lying around, and while Johns torched away, Carolyn, Paris and I shoved it against the hole, leaning our weight against it to hold the creatures at bay. Riddick joined us, pausing when he noticed something on the walls. I watched, confused as he vanished into the darkness, leaving us behind.
"Hello? Hello?" Paris called out, but received no answer. I shrugged and just kept my weight on the cargo until Johns kicked open the new escape hatch. Everyone filed through until only Imam, one of his students, and I were left, staring in the general direction where Riddick had disappeared.
"Riddick?" I tried. Nothing.
Before Imam and I could stop him, his student suddenly ran off into the darkness.
"Shit," I cursed, slapping my leg in frustration. Was everyone going to continue running off like that? Obviously, there wasn't a fantastic success rate to that course of action.
"Imam," Carolyn hissed, sticking her head back into the room. "Where are they?"
The holy man gave a helpless shrug and I shook my head. Carolyn climbed back into the container; light in hand, the other four crowding behind her. We cautiously moved forward, pausing every few seconds to listen. There was a scuffle and clicking ahead.
"Hassan?" Imam called.
"Riddick?" Carolyn asked, shining her light all around us.
The clicking stopped and we froze. A scream ripped through the silence, Carolyn and I started running towards the sound. We rounded a corner and stopped, Carolyn lifting her light, shining it directly into Riddick's unprotected eyes. He gave a shout and dove off to the side, the beam from the light delving deeper into the darkness to reveal one of the predators right on his tail. The creature had a reaction similar to Riddick's and flailed backwards, trying to get away from the light. Carolyn screamed when Johns' shotgun went off right next to her ear. The man was shooting anything that moved, even the shadows.
"Stop! Stop it!" I shouted. "You're wasting shells!"
"It's okay," he breathed, lowering his gun. "I killed it."
I gave him a look, and then jumped backwards when a carcass dropped to the ground right in front of us. Damn, he did kill one, I thought as we inched forwards. Carolyn scooped up the light that she had dropped in her surprise and shined it on the creature's body.
"Hassan? Where is Hassan?" Imam asked frantically, but nobody answered as we stared in fascination at one of the things that hunted us.
"Is it alive?" Jack whispered eyes wide.
"No, I don't think so," I replied as Carolyn shone the light on it. "Hey, look at that."
Where the light touched the creature's skin, it bubbled and started burning.
"It's like the light is scalding it," Paris remarked, keeping his distance from the body, even though it was dead.
"It hurts them," Carolyn announced, almost gleefully. "Light actually hurts them."
Riddick appeared with his goggles firmly in place. I noticed the cut in his tank and the thin line of blood. Guess the thing got curious. Heads shot up when we heard vulture-like sounds from up ahead.
"Is that Hassan?" Imam asked Riddick. When he nodded, the holy man bowed his head. Poor guy, he was down to one last student. I put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"We'll burn a candle for him later," Johns said. "Come on. Let's get out of here."
The others moved off, and after taking one last look at the carcass, I followed. Riddick joined me in the back, a silent yet comforting presence.
"Leg?" he rumbled quietly. Huh?
"What are you talking about?" I asked, mystified. "The stupid thing just ruined my favorite pair of pants, but no harm otherwise."
Riddick just chuckled as we filed through the hole into the sixth container. Johns, Carolyn and Paris blocked the entrance with a bunch of heavy cargo, making sure it was secure. I noticed they have moved other cargo to every single possible opening and nodded in approval. We sure as hell weren't taking any chances this time around. We gathered around Carolyn's hand light and held a little pow-wow. Jack was huddled by Paris and I gave him an encouraging smile.
"So, we've got one cutting torch," Carolyn said, taking inventory. "We've got two hand lights. There's gotta be something we can rip out of the crash ship."
"Spirits," Paris offered from his position on the floor. Carolyn, Riddick, and I remained standing while everyone else sat. "Anything over 45 proof burns rather well."
Too true, I thought with a smirk.
"How many bottles you got?" Carolyn asked.
"Um, I don't know," Paris said. He thought for a second. "Maybe ten?"
After staring at Carolyn for a few minutes, everything finally clicked into place. She wanted us to make a try for the cells and eventually, the skiff.
"It's worth a shot," I said, nodding when Carolyn's surprised eyes met mine.
"Johns, you got some flares," she stated. "Maybe we got enough light."
The merc's head shot up. "Enough for fuckin' what?"
Carolyn drew in a breath. "We stick to the plan. We get the five cells back to the skiff. We're off this rock."
"I hate to ruin a beautiful theory with an ugly fact," Paris interjected. "But that sand-cat is solar. It won't run at night."
Carolyn wasn't deterred. "So we carry the cells. We drag them. Whatever it takes."
"You mean tonight?" Jack's face went white. "With all those things still out there?"
"All right. Now how long can this last?" Johns asked, standing. "A few hours? A day, tops?"
"I had the impression from the model," Imam spoke up for the first time since Hassan's death, "That the two planets were moving as one...and there would be a lasting darkness."
Johns shook his head in disbelief. "These suns gotta come up sometime. If these creatures are phobic about light, then we just sit tight and let the sun come up."
"I'm sure somebody else said that," Carolyn said lowly. "Locked inside that coring room."
Johns sat there, jaw clenched, his eyes roving about the room before lighting on Jack's pitiful form.
"We need to think about everybody, especially the kid," he said. "He'll be scared out there in the dark."
"Oh, shut the fuck up, Johns," I snapped.
"Don't use him like that," Carolyn warned a look of disgust on her face.
"Like what?" Johns decided to play innocent.
"Like a smoke screen," Carolyn said. "Deal with your fear."
Johns narrowed his eyes in anger as he bit out, "Why don't you shut up for two seconds and let me come up with a plan that doesn't involve mass suicide?"
Carolyn did as he requested...for a few seconds.
"I'm waiting," Carolyn said, arms crossed, eyebrow raised. "How much do you weigh?"
Damn, she's finally growing a pair of balls.
"What's it matter?" Johns asked a puzzled expression on his face.
"How much?" Carolyn demanded.
"Around 79 kilos, to be exact-"
"You're 79 kilos of gutless meat," she interrupted. "That's why you can't think of a plan."
"Hiding behind a kid? God," I agreed. "You're a coward and an asshole, Johns."
"Is that fuckin' right?" he growled, getting to his feet and making a move towards me. I lifted my chin defiantly, waiting for him. The odds weren't in our favor for making it out of this alive and I was done dealing with his shit.
Riddick's large frame moved in front of me, blocking Johns' path. To say I was surprised would be an understatement.
"Where you goin?" Johns sneered, shotgun bumping the underside of his chin. Riddick took his goggles off and stared at the merc through his shined eyes. The two men's gazes locked in a battle of wills, before Riddick smirked and dropped his eyes to something. Johns followed his line of vision to find Riddick's shiv poised at his balls, ready to eviscerate him. The merc immediately backed off, slinking over to his corner like a beaten animal. Riddick stared at him for a few seconds, eyes radiating a clear warning.
"Please, this solves nothing," Imam pleaded.
"They're afraid of our light," Carolyn said to Jack. "That means we don't have to be afraid of them."
"And are you sure you can get us there?" Imam queried. "Even in the dark?"
"No, I can't," Carolyn said after a beat. Then, "But he can."
As I stared up into Riddick's uncovered eyes, I realized that she was right. He spared a glance at her, nodding his head slightly. Everyone except Johns breathed a thankful sigh of relief.
I touched Riddick's arm to get his attention, then teased softly so only he could hear, "Look who's playin' hero."
He smirked then said, "Let's look at your leg. You can't be bleedin' or they'll come after you."
"I'm telling you Riddick, I'm not bleeding," I protested and sat down on a large crate, pulling up my mangled pant leg up to show him. "Oh. Guess you were right."
As the others began to chatter excitedly now that they had a form of hope, I stared at my leg where a long cut stretched from the tendon at my ankle to mid-calf. It wasn't deep, just a surface wound and it didn't hurt which was why I hadn't even noticed it, but Riddick was correct in the fact that it was still bleeding, most likely from my continued movement.
"Damn," I murmured. "I'm one lucky bitch, thanks to you. How did you know?"
Riddick didn't answer as he sat down on another crate and pulled my leg onto his lap, assessing the damage.
"You win," I hissed, batting his hand away when he pushed on the skin around the cut. That did hurt. "Stop it."
I looked around, trying to find something to wipe the blood off. There was no way I was going to rip my shirt since it was a tank top and knowing my luck, I'd end up ripping it too much and being shirtless. "Hey Imam, could you spare some cloth?"
The holy man smiled at me and ripped a piece off his turban then stood and handed it to Riddick before sitting back down. The convict pulled a bottle out of his pocket and my eyes widened.
"Oh, hell no," I said. He was holding a small bottle of dark alcohol that he must've pinched from Paris' locker at some point and it appeared that his plan was to clean my cut with it. "That shit hurts."
He gave me a look and my mouth snapped shut. "Fine."
Riddick unscrewed the cap and took a swig before poising it over my calf. I made a quick decision and snatched it from his hand, taking a very large gulp before handing it back.
"Don't judge," I stated when he shot me an amused look. He placed the cloth under my leg and poured the alcohol over the cut.
I hissed in pain and clenched my teeth as it was cleaned out. That stung like a son of a bitch. Riddick put the bottle to the side and wiped all the blood away so there was only a thin red line left on my leg. He took the hem of his own shirt and ripped some off in a small strip before tying it around the cut so it was completely covered.
"Thanks," I whispered as he pulled what was left of my pant leg back down. I wasn't sure why he had decided to doctor me up, but I thought it wise to let it go and not ask.
"You're welcome," he said gruffly, back to his usual Big Bad self. I rolled my eyes as I hopped off the crate.
"You finished?" Carolyn asked, glancing at my leg.
"Yes," I replied. "It wasn't that bad."
"Grab all the lights we have," Johns said a sour look on his face. He obviously still thought we were committing suicide by leaving the cargo hold. "We're heading out."
Everyone grabbed all the lights we had brought with us, Johns picking up the blowtorch again. He turned the gas knobs, making sure the flame was as high as it could go. Riddick put his goggles on and we turned to the door across from the blocked hole we had made. I swallowed nervously as Riddick moved towards the latch.
This was it.