Hey guys sorry for the tremendously late update, things have been crazy and the muse wasn't exactly present whenever I opened this story. I hope this makes up for that, I really do, its been kicking my butt something fierce.
Chapter 13
Riddick left the bar, slinging the bag back over his shoulder. He kept his head down and turned to the side as he passed by the mercs table, best not give them any notions of getting a little extra money. He walked towards the exit of the port in heavy thought.
Should help her, can't just leave her. But she can take care of herself. Have to help her, can't just leave her to the wolves.
Bobby was lying on her bed, her arms behind her head and her ankles crossed. She stared up at the ceiling; Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata floating into her ears from the headphones hooked up to her Mp3 player. She closed her eyes and Riddick's image flashed in front of her eyes making them snap open again. After the piece was over she turned off her player and got off the bed, getting changed into her workout clothes and going down to the small workout area in a section of the cargo hold. She wrapped up her hands and feet and started to hit and kick the heavy canvas punching bag.
Riddick turned around just as he was about to reach the exit and went back to the bar, see the mercs leave and go into the direction of Bobby's ship. He decided to follow them and see how she would handle it, if it looked like she was going to lose only then would he step in. He was an excellent tracker and stayed enough distance away that he could keep an eye on them but if one of them looked back for any reason, they wouldn't see him. He could blend in really well if he wanted to.
Bobby stopped in mid-swing as she heard a sound through the hull of her ship, something other than the noise of people. Not being one to dismiss something right away, she went to her weapons locker and strapped on twin knives in sheathes to her biceps, two more at the small of her back and added one to each wrist. The sheaths for the ones on her wrists were so that if she flicked her wrist the blade would come shooting out into her hand, hilt first of course.
Riddick continued to follow the mercs through the port as they got closer and closer to Bobby's ship.
"Hey do I know you?" he looked and saw a port vendor looking at him intently.
"No." Riddick said and looked back, the mercs were gone. "Shit." he hissed and took off at a run.
When he got the ship the hatch was open and it was quiet inside. He boarded and the blood smell hit his senses. He walked to one side and flipped the switch, the hatch closing.
"What are you doing back?" he heard and looked up, seeing Bobby leaning against the railing, looking down at him. She was pale, bruised and bloody, but she was alive. The white gauze wrapped around her hands and wrists were blood stained and there were smears of the red liquid on her arms and neck. A thin line of blood was coming from a split lip on the side of her mouth and she wiped at it with the back of her hand, but merely succeeded in smearing it across her chin.
"Where are the mercs?" he asked.
"Dead." Bobby said simply. "Put their bodies in the trash compactor, it made a terrible squishing sound, be smelling that shit for weeks."
"All of them?"
"Nah, I let Toombs run away with his tail between his legs, he's always good for a laugh every once in a while." She said shrugging. "Ya gonna answer my original question?"
"I heard Toombs and his gang talking about taking you in, I thought I could help you get rid of them, got sidetracked on the way here though."
"Yeah well, I guess it's the thought that counts." She said and turned to walk away.
"Bobby." He said and she waved her arm at him in a 'come along' gesture as she walked.
He found her in the bathroom, removing the wraps from her hands and wrists. There was already a small arsenal of weapons on the sink in front of her. The harsh lighting hollowed out her cheeks and enhanced the dark circles under her eyes, making her seem ghostly.
"You okay?" he asked as he wet a wash cloth and started to wipe away what blood he could. It was mostly still wet, but had started to congeal on her skin.
"Yeah I'm fine, took my hits, but I'm good." she said.
"This is arterial spray right here." he stated simply as he wiped it off her neck, changing the subject.
"Had to get right up close for a few." They were silent and after a moment she pushed his hands away, sliding back the shower doors and starting the faucet, putting the stopper in the drain. The tub started to fill with steaming water and she hopped up on the sink with a grimace, starting to remove the bloody wraps on her bare feet. She dumped the wraps in the garbage can and got down off the sink.
"You want me to leave?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"No," her answer sent him for a spin; he was expecting her to say yes. "I'm gonna need help getting undressed when the tub's full." He nodded and they stood there in the bathroom, the sound of the running water seeming unnaturally loud. "Riddick?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you…"
"Just say it Bobby."
"Could you hold me?" she said and looked up at him with uncertain eyes. "I need to feel human again." His answer was his arms going around her. She spasmed as he touched her sides. "Careful, I got a couple broken ribs."
"You sure they're not…"
"I already checked, its just hair fractures, I'm not in danger of one of them poking through a lung." She said and raised her arms up against his chest, his arms tightening gently around her back. They stood like that for a little while before she spoke again. "Tub's full." She said and they pulled apart. He helped her take off her sweat pants and underwear, but he had to cut the shirt from her because of her ribs. She got into the water, hissing at the heat. The remaining blood started to lift off her skin and she looked up at him. "Join me?" she asked and he got undressed, turning off the lights and taking his goggles off. She moved forward so he could get in behind her, cradling her against his chest. He felt as the ship went on automatic take off and the slight pulling feeling of a star-jump.
"Bobby?" Riddick asked.
"Yes Riddick?"
"I love you." he confessed.
"I love you too." She said and sighed. "Damn it felt good to say that." She said and he chuckled. "Riddick, during the fight and in all the concussion, a very old song kept coming to mind."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Sing it for me."
"Okay." Bobby said and cleared her throat.
Looking back at me I see What I really meant to say What I really meant to say To you, I'm sorry about all the lies What I really meant
to say What I really meant to
say I never meant to be so
cold. I never really wanted you to see What I really meant to say What I really meant to say
That I never
really got it right.
I never stopped to think of you.
I'm
always wrapped up in
Things I cannot win.
You are the antidote
that gets me by.
Something strong
Like a drug that gets me
high.
Is I'm sorry for the way
I am.
I never meant to be so cold
I never meant to be so
cold.
Is I'm sorry for the way
I am.
I never meant to be so cold
I never meant to be so
cold.
Maybe in a
different light
You could see me stand on my own again.
Cause
now I can see
You were the antidote that got me by.
Something
strong like a drug that got me high.
Is I'm sorry for the way I am.
I never meant to be so
cold
I never meant to be so cold.
Is I'm sorry for the way I am.
I never meant to be so cold
I never meant to be so cold.
The screwed up side
of me that I keep
Locked inside of me so deep.
It always seems
to get to me.
I never really wanted you to go
So many things
you should have known.
I guess for me there's just no hope
I
never meant to be so cold.
Is
I'm sorry for the way I am.
I never meant to be so cold
I
never meant to be so cold.
Is
I'm sorry for the way I am.
I never meant to be so cold
I
never meant to be so cold.
Her voice died away and he stroked her hair, blinking back tears. There was such emotion in her voice, it stabbed at his heart and he truly saw how much she loved him.
"Bobby that was…" she was still against him, her breathing ragged. "Bobby?" he looked at her in the darkness and saw that her eyes were closed, blood running down the side of her mouth, and not the side with the split lip. He picked her up from the tub and stepped out, wrapping her in a towel and carrying her to her bedroom, laying her down on her bed. "Bobby sweetheart?" he asked and pressed his fingers to her neck. Her pulse was weak and thready. She was dying.