(Revised 05.06.2022)
Johns had taken Riddick and chained him up in a different part of the ship. It felt wrong seeing him restrained the way he was, completely open and vulnerable to attack.
"…Hey." Nova started, with a slight wave.
Riddick acknowledged Nova with a slight head nod.
"So… I saw the hole where, Zeke, was. And–" Nova started, before Fry stole the conversation away.
"So, where's the body?" Fry demanded.
Riddick remained silent.
"Fry, I'm trying to–" Nova started, before being cut off again.
"Well, do you want to tell us about the sounds?" Fry asked.
More silence.
"Look, we told, Johns we heard something." Fry insisted.
"It was kind of like chirping, right?" Nova said, trying to get anything from Riddick at this point.
More silence.
"That's fine if you don't want to talk to us, that's your choice. But just so you know… there's a debate right now as to whether we should just leave you here to die." Fry said.
"Whoa! When was this a thing!?" Nova interjected.
"While you were out, we made it a discussion." Fry said.
"Listen, I understand you're scared, and you don't know what else to do. But leaving him here to DIE, isn't the solution! You people don't even know if he really did it! YOU'RE JUST ASSUMING!" Nova yelled, growing more furious with each statement.
"You hear the whispers?" Riddick started, grabbing their attention.
"What whispers?" Fry questioned.
"The ones telling you to go for the sweet spot just to the left of the spine, 4th lumbar down. The abdominal aorta. It's a metallic taste, human blood, copperish. You cut it with a Peppermint Schnapps, that goes away." Riddick said, before Fry cut him off.
"Why not try scaring us with the truth now?" Fry said.
"All of you people are so scared of me." Riddick said, turning his gaze on Nova for a moment. "Most days I take that as a compliment, but it ain't me you got to worry about now." He said.
"Show me your eyes, Riddick." Fry commanded.
"You'd have to come a lot closer for that." Riddick said.
Fry started inching her way closer, making sure to stay on her guard, not willing to put her complete trust in Riddick.
"Closer." Riddick said, coaxing Fry more forward.
Suddenly, Riddick got up and lunged at Fry making both women jump backwards in surprise. His chains kept him from getting too close.
"Where the hell can I get eyes like that?" Jack asked mesmerized, having been watching from the shadows.
"You got to kill a few people." Riddick answered.
"'Kay, I can do it." Jack said, enthusiastically. Giant grin on his face.
"And you got to get sent to a slam where they tell you, you'll never see daylight again." Riddick continued, his attention solely on Fry. "You dig up a doctor. You pay him 20 menthol KOOLs, to do a surgical shine job on your eyeballs." He said.
"So, you can see who's sneaking up on you in the dark?" Jack asked, thoroughly interested.
"Exactly." Riddick confirmed, turning to smile at Jack.
"Leave!" Fry ordered.
Jack frowned.
"Leave." Fry repeated, less harsh.
Jack looked from the two women and then Riddick before going back up the ladder.
"Cute kid." Riddick said. "Did I kill a few people? Sure." He said, sitting back. "Did I kill, Zeke? …No, you got the wrong killer." He finished.
"He's not in the hole, we looked." Fry said.
"Look deeper." Riddick said.
"In the second hole, right?" Nova spoke up.
Riddick nodded his head.
"Okay then." Fry said, before looking back at Nova expectantly. "Are you coming?" She asked.
"I will in a moment. I still have my own questions." Nova said.
"Okay, but be careful around him, and don't let him out of his restraints." Fry ordered sternly.
"With what key, Fry?" Nova answered in monotone.
Fry gave him one last glare before leaving.
"So, what are these questions of yours?" Riddick asked.
"So… I saw the hole, and the hole inside of that hole. I saw the blood and gore and smelled something I've never smelled before, and I heard the chirping for the first time." Nova said.
Riddick grunted in acknowledgement.
"I know we haven't known each other long, but my interactions with you won't allow me to believe you did it. And we know nothing about this place. It's only been us this entire time, and now there's a possibility something else is here with us." Nova said.
"I like that about you. You're a thinker." Riddick said. "You could be panicking, but you're taking the time to look at everything before drawing a definitive conclusion." He said.
"Honestly, it's just us. They don't value us as people because of a label. They assume we're trash, and I hate that shit." Nova said.
"What did you do to get locked up?" Riddick asked.
"I was protecting my family, and the system failed me. That's all." Nova said.
"Can a system that wasn't designed for us really fail?" Riddick darkly joked.
"Well, what did you do to get locked up?" Nova pried.
"Oh, you've probably heard the stories." Riddick said.
"Yeah, stories. That doesn't mean they're all true. I heard you were ruthless, but you saved my life. Then again, you might have tried to kill me earlier. Who knows?" Nova said.
"Yeah, about that. What the hell happened to you? It was like your body was attacking itself. First you smelled fine, then you smelled beyond sick. Like some sort of severe allergic reaction." Riddick stated.
"I don't know. Something about you, your presence. It drained everything out of me. Like a weakness I never knew I had." Nova said.
"You seemed fine with our first few interactions." Riddick said, leaning back intrigued.
"Yeah, but we never actually touched each other. I removed that horse bit, but you hadn't been so close to me that I could feel your breath on my neck, feel the texture of your skin on my lips–" Nova said, pausing when she thought she heard a commotion. "…Do you hear something?" She asked.
Out of nowhere Riddick started yanking violently on his restraints, making Nova jump.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Nova exclaimed.
Without bothering to explain, Riddick kept yanking violently on his restraints faster and harder.
"Finally found something worse than me, huh?" Riddick said.
Johns had come back and told Riddick how something had almost gotten Fry when she went down into the hole.
"So, here's the deal. You work without chains, without bit, and without shivs. You do what I say, when I say it." Johns said, trying to strike a deal with Riddick.
"For what? And end up going back to some ass over cell? Fuck you." Riddick said.
Riddick looked at Johns for a moment.
"You're saying you'd cut me loose?" Riddick's voice was quieter and more contemplative, almost a hint of hope.
"I'm thinking you could have died in a crash." Johns said.
"My recommendation, do me. Don't take the chance that I'll get shiv happy on ya' wannabe ass." Riddick said.
"Okay." Johns responded.
"Ghost me, motherfucker. That's what I would do to you." Riddick instigated.
Johns shot so quickly that Nova thought he had killed Riddick, but he had shot the cord that was holding his restraints instead. Riddick turned his head back in Johns' direction, and let his arms fall.
"I want you to remember this moment. The way it could've gone and didn't." Johns said. "Here." He finished, motioning to hand Riddick back his goggles.
Riddick motioned to take them, and in one fluid motion he snatched the gun out of Johns' hand and had the barrel pointed right in his face.
"Take it easy." Johns said, hands up in surrender.
"Fuck you!" Riddick yelled, never lowering the gun, unsure of what he should do next.
"Do we have a deal?" Johns asked.
"I want you to remember this moment." Riddick said, before leaving with Johns' gun in hand.
