CHAPTER 33
A month had passed since Blade and Riddick left them on New Mecca. Imam bought a house there and took both Jack as well as Luna under his roof. Jack was doing great but was still moping for being left behind like that. Moreover was that she missed them, though she didn't show this to the others they could still sense it. Luna also missed the duo but she distracted herself by helping Imam in the house. At the moment she was at the market. Her hair was put up in a French braid to keep it out of her eyes. She wore white with purple robes that were long but light, having gotten them as a gift from Imam. It was the first thing he had done once they left the hotel, buy new clothes for all of them.
Luna had watched him do the paying and after watching others do the same over and over again she managed to understand how to use the money. She looked from one stall to another, her eyes raking over all the many items they sold. When she passed a flower stall, she stopped and looked over all the flowers with a smile. There were many types of flowers she had never seen before.
"Good afternoon miss, can I help you with something?" asked a woman politely from the other side of the stall.
Luna smiled back, "Yes, I would like a small bouquet please." she told her.
Said market woman nodded and asked which one. After pointing at several flowers, she got her bouquet and paid for it. With a quick thanking she turned and walked away. Luna sniffed at the bouquet with a smile as she reminisced back to the few days after Riddick and Blade had left.
She had still been slightly shaken from the kill she had made, although she had to admit that the blowjob she had given them had distracted her a lot.
Jack had questioned her a few times about what they had asked her about in private and what they meant with deal. Luna had refused to talk about it and always avoided the subject whenever it came up. Because of this she had made the young teen suspicious of what it could be but she let it drop. The days after their leaving had Luna been afraid to go to sleep.
The first night in the hotel had been horrible. The moment she had been asleep memories of her parents, the monsters on that planet and the murder she committed had woken her with a scream. Tears had been streaming down her face and she had been afraid to go back to sleep afterwards.
Even now, when a month had past, she still had nightmares. Sometimes it was her parents, sometimes it was the monsters and now and then it was about her killing. But occasionally it was a combination of either or all of them together, waking her up in the middle of the night, screaming and in tears.
Jack also had nightmares of the monsters. She sometimes woke up with a scream also but had less nightmares then Luna. When Jack heard Luna scream she ran to her room and offered her comfort. Luna would do the same to her if she woke with a scream. Imam sometimes heard them offered them solace, acting as a father to them both. The house they had was the house from the last movie. She and Jack slept in separated rooms next to each other. Imam slept in the master bedroom across from them. Though the nightmares made her tired, she still kept helping in the house, if only to distract herself. When she arrived by their house, she opened the door and went inside.
"Imam! Jack! I'm home!" she called as she went over to the other side of the room where a small table stood with a vase with wilting flowers in it. She heard soft footsteps upstairs and looked up. Imam smiled down at her.
"Hello my child, how was your trip to the market?" asked the man as he came down the stairs.
She smiled as she pulled the wilting flowers out of the vase and replaced them with the new ones.
"Good, I bought new flowers." she told him and the man smiled back at her as he came to a halt next to her and placed a hand on her back.
"You really like flowers, don't you, my dear?" he asked with a fatherly smile.
She turned to him with a nod. "Yeah, my parents weren't really… flower-lovers." she told him a bit hesitant. Imam nodded in understanding, sensing the hesitance in her voice but said nothing.
Luna glanced around then. "Where is Jack? Is she here or outside training again?" she asked curiously and Imam's smile faltered as he sighed deeply.
"She is outside training again. I do not know what I can do to keep her mind off of training. It is unbefitting for a girl her age." he said with a concerned frown. She understood him.
A few days after Riddick and Blade had left had Jack suddenly lessened in her sulking and had started training. When Luna had asked why she was doing that, the answer had appalled her.
"I train so that one day I can go with Riddick and Blade and we'll all have fun and adventures." she said with such promise in her voice that it had brought deep concern to Luna and Imam but they both knew there was little they could do.
Still they had tried. Luna tried to keep Jack distracted by doing all sorts of activities with her. Like cooking, or going shopping on the market, or just plain walking around. Unfortunately were the latter two impossible to do with Jack while the first was always a disaster with the two ending up covering the whole kitchen in food. The only shopping Jack liked to do was to look for weapons or anything that would be good for training. Walking around made the two talk to one another but Jack always turned the conversations to Riddick and Blade and wouldn't stop talking or asking questions about them. Wondering this and that.
Imam had tried to teach Jack to be more lady-like. He had tried to make Jack read books but there was no interest. A week ago he had registered her into a school a few streets away and hoped that that would help to at least educate Jack a bit.
Luna sighed, "Give her time Imam, one day she'll stop thinking of them and forget they ever existed." she reassured him but knew it was a lie. She knew what would really happen and could only hope that her words would come true but she doubted it.
Imam sighed again and nodded. "I hope so." he said before he motioned to the kitchen. "Come, do you wish to drink?" he asked as he guided her to the room.
She shrugged, "Why not?" she followed him into the kitchen and sat down at the table there.
It was a simple kitchen with advanced technology to cook things.
She had tried to bake cookies with Jack once but unfortunately she didn't know how to work with any of the devices. And Jack had been no better. Together they still tried but it ended up with the kitchen being covered from ceiling to ground in food along with them. It had been a funny sight and they both had laughed hard about it. But the laughter had quickly left them when Imam came home and had seen the mess they made. He instantly had ordered them to clean themselves and the kitchen up. After that, the girls had been told never to come in the kitchen again unless they had someone with cooking experience beside them.
Imam readied some water for tea when the back door opened. Jack walked into the house with a tired but satisfied smile on her lips. She had a faint stubble on her head, showing that her hair was growing.
"Luna! You're back! How was your trip to the market?" asked the preteen happy as she wiped the sweat of her brow.
Luna blinked at the sight of her clothes and wrinkled her nose. She brought her hand to her nose and covered it. Imam instead pulled a face. "It was good and from the smell of it, your training went well as well." she said with disgust smelling Jack's sweat with ease.
Jack blushed and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Yeah, it was fun and hard work. If I keep this up I bet that Riddick and Blade will soon come back for us!" she said confidently.
"Not if you keep smelling like that. You might even chase them away." retorted Luna with a playful smile. Jack stuck out her tongue and walked further into the house and up the stairs.
Imam chuckled as he shook his head before he turned to the water when he heard a soft beep coming from the machine behind him. He pulled the kettle from the fire and poured some in a muck and gave it to Luna along with a tea-bag. When she finished mixing her tea-bag in her water, she drank from it and made small conversation with Imam.
"I was thinking of getting a job at the flower shop a block further. To repay my staying here with you." she told him and Imam smiled at that.
"There is no need, my dear. Your presence alone is enough to repay me as your and Jack's presence fills this house with life." he told her making her smile back. A while later Jack returned from her shower in fresh clothes and sat down by Luna and Imam in the kitchen.
"So, what's up?" asked Jack with a chirp. Luna chuckled.
"The sky." she joked making Jack laugh and Imam shake his head with a smile.
"You know what I mean." retorted Jack with a playful glare.
Luna giggled, "Yeah, yeah, everything is fine. I was thinking of getting a job by the flower shop a street further. What do you think?" she told her and Jack smiled.
"That would be cool, then after school, I can come and visit you and we can both walk home if we're done at the same time." said the preteen brightly.
Luna grinned at that. At least her mind wasn't completely filled with thoughts of Riddick and Blade. Her grin lessened when she thought of them. She wondered what they were doing. If they thought as much about them as Jack and her thought about them. She mentally shook the thoughts away and focused on the conversation again.
Another month had passed and the trio was starting to see trouble. The day after the conversation had Luna gone to the shop and asked for a job. They gladly took her on and taught her what to do. Jack was still training but also went to school. Things didn't go great. Luna had lately noticed strange men lurking around the streets and their house. It had all started a few days ago. At first it had been only one man who didn't stand out much but she noticed how he always glanced in her direction and gave her a bad feeling. Now, three days later, there were several of them everywhere. Across the street, near the alley and who knew where else. Luna wouldn't have found it strange if all of them hadn't been staring at her as if she was a piece of meat.
Then, one day, it happened. Luna had just been done with her job at the shop and was walking home with Jack. The latter had been waiting at the door for her to come out. The duo walked home casually, talking about Jack's training and day and Luna's job. Luna felt eyes burning in her back and glanced over her shoulder. A man with flaming red hair that was pulled back in a small ponytail was staring at her as he walked several feet behind her. She frowned when she saw him smirk and looked back forwards. Jack noticed her frown and stopped talking.
"What's wrong?" she asked curiously and Luna glanced down at her.
"I think we're being followed." she told her truthfully.
Jack immediately tensed and glanced over her shoulder. Her gaze instantly fell on the red-haired man who was staring at Luna's back. She turned back forwards and glanced at Luna.
"Who do you think he is? A merc?" questioned the preteen softly before she came to a stop with a gasp.
Luna did the same. Before them stood two men in the way. One had a gun in his hand and the other had a net in his hands. The men chuckled as they shifted in their place, ready to move.
Luna gently grabbed Jack's shoulder and turned around with her. A gasp flew from her lips as Jack glared. Behind them stood two more men with one of them being the man with the red hair.
Luna glanced to the sides, looking for a way out. The red-haired man stepped forwards, loading his two-handed gun as he did so.
"'Ello sweetheart. Fancy meetin' ya 'ere in the middle of the street." greeted the man casually.
Luna and Jack glared at him with the former pushing Jack behind her. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?" she asked politely but tensely.
The man grinned, "'Course ya do!" he spread his arms wide as his grin turned dark "I'm the one who's gonna bring ya to slam." sneered the man before he brought his arms down and aimed his gun again.
Luna and Jack flinched at his words at first before Jack glared at him and stepped from behind Luna. "Oh yeah? Why don't you come and try! I'll kick your ass easily!" boasted the preteen confidently as she took a stance.
Luna looked at Jack wide-eyed before her eyes flew over the area again. A window to her left caught her eyes. Knowing it was risky, she glanced at Jack and the decision was made. She grabbed the teen's shoulder and jerked her towards the left.
"Come on!" she called and threw her body against the window.
The window shattered against her body and small cuts were made as she fell into the house.
She gasped in pain when she felt some shards in her arms but ignored them and stood up.
Jack jumped in after her and pulled on her arm.
"Come on, Luna! Let's go!" she cried urgently.
Luna grabbed her hand and both ran through the house to the back. They heard the footsteps of the merc following them and prayed that the house had a back door. It had. With a smile she went to the door, ignoring the old man who just walked into the room and jerked the door open.
Without time to waste she ran through with Jack in tow. It was a small garden that had a small fence put around it.
"Quickly!" she said and ran towards the end of the garden and jumped over the fence just when they heard a shot being released.
The fence shattered behind her which she ignored and ran as fast as she could while pulling Jack with her. They ran through the alleys, going through crowds of people to try and escape the mercenaries. When they came to a X-joint they stopped and turned in a circle, unable to decide where to go.
"Which way?" asked Jack frantically and Luna cursed, ignoring the stinging of her arms and turned to the left.
"Come on!" she cried and both ran down the left street.
They dodged around people, jumped over items and came by a market. Getting an idea, she went to the nearest stall and roughly pulled on the side, causing all the items to fall on the ground. Immediately catching on to what she was doing, Jack went to the stall on the other side of the street and pulled on the table and tilted it over. The vendors cursed and shouted at them as all their items fell to the ground. Some people quickly ran to the place and started picking up items.
Luna and Jack did this with two more stalls before a shot was heard and a woman next to Luna got her head blown off. Blood splattered on her face and clothes along with bits of brain and flesh.
Both watched with shock as the now-headless-body fell to the ground as some people screamed and chaos erupted. Luna glanced back and saw the red-haired merc aiming his gun at her as his companions started pushing their way through the crowd. She turned back around and ducked to the ground and went further on hands and knees. Many people started pulling and pushing to either get the items or to get away from the armed men. Jack looked around once she saw Luna duck and noticed her crawling away and followed her lead. Luna came to an alley and crawled around the corner. Jack had more trouble and tried to keep sight of where she was but lost her and looked around.
Not risking to shout her name, she looked around frantically for her friend. A hand on her arm made her cry out in surprise before she relaxed when she saw it was Luna.
"Come on, this way." she urged and stood up. Jack also stood up once they were in the alley and both ran to the end and came out on another street. They both looked around before Jack tugged on Luna's arm to the right.
"This way!" she said and both ran as fast as they could.
Her blue t-shirt was smeared on the sides with blood, making it stick but she ignored it.
As she also ignored the stabs that were starting to hurt her sides. They ran through the almost empty street before Luna suddenly jerked Jack into a nearby alley. Jack opened her mouth to say something but she placed her hand over the preteen's lips.
"Shh." she hissed as she tried to silence her own ragged breathing by covering her own mouth also.
Footsteps came near the alley just when they saw one of the mercs run by and listened to his steps fading away. Both didn't move a muscle before they slowly relaxed and Luna pulled her hands away from their mouths. She then took the time to look at her arms and winced when she saw several small pieces of glass imbedded in her skin. Jack gasped "Your arms." she hissed and gently touched her arms. Luna winced in pain as she slowly pulled the pieces out of her left arm and then out of her right. Jack watched with disgust how she did this before she pulled out a small knife and cut up her shirt.
Luna blinked in surprise at the sight of it. "Where did you get that?" she asked to which Jack stopped her cutting for a moment before continuing.
"I stole it from a shop a block away from the school." she told her casually.
A frown appeared on Luna's face, she wanted to reprimand her but knew that now was not the time. When she was finished, she had a strip of clothe and helped Luna to wrap it around her left arm, seeing that that arm was the worst off.
Luna smiled down at the girl "Thanks, Jack. Now let's go. We need to get out of here before we get caught." she said and looked to the other side of the alley.
It was a dead-end. Frowning she turned back to the entrance and sighed deeply. She was about to ask Jack if she was ready when she closed her mouth again. Her eyes glanced down at Jack and she frowned. She couldn't outrun these mercs and at the same time keep Jack safe. Her eyes saddened and she looked down at the girl before turning back to the entrance.
"Stay here Jack." she said suddenly causing Jack to blink and look up at her in confusion.
"W-…?" started the girl but Luna placed a hand over her mouth and kneeled down in front of her.
"Listen, these mercenaries obviously want me. If you follow me you will only be in danger. I don't want to risk that. That's why I want you to stay here in the alley while I lead them away. We'll see each other at Imam's house, okay?" she explained.
She knew she couldn't escape them. She didn't know the way around here nor how to outsmart a merc. But she could lead them away far enough for Jack to be safe. Jack slapped the hand away and glared at her.
"No! I'm not leaving you! We've survived a planet full of monsters and a ship full of mercs! We can take them!" said Jack loudly while waving her arms.
Luna shook her head in irritation. "No, Jack! We survived all of that because of Riddick and Blade. Think about it. It's thanks to them we're alive, that we're here. We can't take these mercs. Neither of us knows how to fight them." she told her and Jack clenched her hands into fists and gritted her teeth.
"I know! But now's different! I trained for two months! I can take them!" argued the girl making Luna sigh in annoyance. She opened her mouth to say something when they heard a chuckle come from the opening of the alley.
Both turned to the entrance and gasped when they saw a brown-haired man standing there with a small gun in his hands. "You didn't really think you could get away, did you? Nobody escapes my eye, nobody." said the man as he slowly walked up to the two.
Luna pushed Jack behind her and blocked her from sight. "It's me you're after, leave the kid alone." she told him bravely.
"No, Luna! You can't." said Jack but Luna ignored her and walked up to the man.
"Sure will, sugar. Just put your hands where I can see 'em and turn around." he told her as his gaze drifted over her body for a moment.
Luna walked up to him with her hands high in the air and when she got near him, he stopped her. "Stop right there. Now turn around." he ordered and she took a shaky breath before she glanced to his hands as she slowly turned around.
An idea formed in her mind and without warning she turned forwards again and threw her foot up. Her foot hit the hands of the merc and kicked the gun out of his hand. She lowered her hands and dived for the gun. The man did the same but he grabbed the back of her head and slammed her head against the wall. It was enough to daze her and he made for the gun.
"Bastard!" cried Jack as she jumped at the guy and tackled him down.
Luna shook her head, ignoring the headache that was quickly forming and grabbed the gun.
The man backhanded Jack and threw her away.
"Little bitch!" he snarled as he turned to Luna only to come face to face with the barrel of his gun. He lost color in his face and gulped. "Now, now, sugar. You don't wanna kill me. If you do you'll have another kill on your name." said the man calmly.
She hesitated, knowing he was right and without noticing her arm slowly lowered. The man smirked wickedly and grabbed for the gun. She gasped and took a step back in shock. He got a hold of it but Luna didn't give in and a tug of war started. The pain in her arms from her cuts made it difficult but she managed to ignore it as she jerked the gun towards her. The gun was twisted every which way as they tried to keep the barrel away from them. Jack in the meantime shook her head and glanced up at the two. She gasped and opened her mouth to call for Luna when a shot rang through the air.
BANG!
A deafening silence followed and neither moved for a moment before the guy groaned and fell to the ground. Luna choked on her breath as her hands began to tremble. She had killed again! She couldn't wrap her mind around it. How did this happen? Why her? Tears gathered in her eyes and she wanted to drop the gun and step far away from it. But she didn't. Her mind went to the other mercs and she realized they must have clearly heard the shot.
She turned to Jack, swallowing her tears and pain. "Stay here." she ordered and turned around and ran out of the alley.
Jack gasped and ran to the entrance. "Luna!"
"Go home!" called Luna as she ran down the street.
Jack was about to follow her when she heard footsteps and voices come her way and quickly ducked back in the shadows of the alley. Four mercs ran past the alley with the familiar red-haired man in the lead.
"This way!" called the man.
"There! I see her!" called another as he pointed in front of them.
Once they passed she came out of the alley and looked around. Neither Luna nor the mercs were to be seen. "Luna." whispered Jack worried and then turned and ran the other way.
Luna ran as fast as she could but she was quickly growing tired from all the running.
She turned a corner and bumped into a woman and her child, sending all three of them to the ground. Knowing she had little time, she roughly pushed away from her and stood up.
"Sorry!" she called and ran further as the woman shouted obscenities at her. Half an hour later she managed to hide in one of the nearest alleys.
She tried to ignore the stabs of pain in her side and focused on regaining her breath. She hadn't seen the mercs in a while now.
'Maybe I lost them? But so easy?…' she shook her head at that thought.
It was too easy. Something smelled fishy about this. Slowly she held up the gun and grimaced at it. Having taken another life was not something she was proud of. Not to mention the guilt that weighed down on her shoulders again. A soft whimper came from her lips and she took a shaky breath.
"Got to be strong. Now's not the time to cry." she whispered to herself and walked silently to the entrance of the alley and stuck her head out.
There were a few people on the street but none of them were mercs. Her gaze went to the roofs but there was no one either.
"Did I really lose them?" she murmured confused and took a deep breath before she stepped out of the alley.
Nobody came at her and all was silent except for the few murmuring voices of the civilians around her. Paranoia crept up on her and her eyes flew from side to side. Something was wrong. This wasn't right. She turned to the right and started running again. She needed to get away, to find a good hiding place where she could rest and stay until they were gone. She saw an alley coming up to her left and ran for it. It had stairs that went down. Going down them, she came out on a small street and quickly ran further to the alley across of her. Coming on another small street, she stopped and looked around.
"Have I really lost them?" she asked herself again with a frown, still not accepting the fact.
She turned to the right and started running again. Suddenly she saw a shadow on the ground and looked up. A startled cry escaped her lips as a steel net fell on top of her and threw her to the ground. The four corners of the net stuck in the ground and drilled themselves deeper in it until the net was tight, locking her in place. She gritted her teeth, ignoring the mercs that jumped down from the roofs and the two that came from the streets, she held the gun tightly in her hand and twisted it until it was aimed at the piece of net on her side.
She fired a shot and managed to break a hole. A smile appeared on her face and she tried again when suddenly someone hit the back of her head with the butt of their gun. The last words she heard were
"Nice try, bitch!" before everything went dark.
When she woke up again, she was chained to a chair with an infusion needle in her right arm that was connected to a small bag that held a blue liquid in it. She groaned when she felt her head throb and tried to shake it but failed. Her neck was chained to the chair as well as her arms and legs. Trying to move her body was useless and she looked around. Only then she noticed how two mercs were watching her with a grin on their faces.
"Sleepin' beauty awakes!" exclaimed the left merc as he held his arms wide. The second one chuckled.
"Hope yer comfy cuz ye're gonna be sitting in that chair for a long while." said the second man just when the leader and the last merc stepped inside.
The red-haired man noticed she was awake and smirked. "Finally awake, huh?" he mused making her glare at him as the first merc stood up and walked to the front and sat down in a chair.
The man started flicking some switches and pushing some buttons which caused the engines to whirr to life.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded in a raspy voice as her eyes slid from one merc to the other.
The leader laughed as the second merc stood up and went to the front and sat down in the second pilot chair.
"Ain't it obvious, sweetheart? We're takin' ya to slam!" he said the last part loudly as he motioned around with his arms. Her eyes widened and she clenched her hands, struggling against her bonds but it was futile.
"No!" she gasped as her eyes flickered to the entrance which the last merc closed.
"Yes!" retorted the leader as he went and sat down on a chair on her left. The last merc went to the chair on her right and also sat down. Each put an infusion needle in their arm as the ship quaked violently.
"A triple max slam at that. It'll do ya some good after ya killed one of my men." sneered the man before he reached over with his free hand and pushed a button on the clamp that held her infusion bag. A soft beep was heard and Luna could feel how the cold liquid started entering her veins, causing her to shudder.
"Bastard." she hissed as her eyes began to feel heavier and heavier, falling slowly shut.
'Jack… I'm so sorry I won't be there… I'm… so… rry…' her thoughts went slower and slower before her mind became blank and she knew no more.