It had been almost a year since Jack had seen Riddick.
The first few months were a bitch. All she could do
was think of him. His eyes, his skin. The dreams of
him were so vivid, she thought they were real. But,
in the morning she would wake up and realize it was false.

New Mecca was a nice place, if you liked all
that religious stuff. Jack didn't really mind. She
had a place to stay, food, clothes, and a few friends,
there was nothing to complain about. She had a daily
routine. Get up, shower, dress, and then food. Jack
went to school, although she loathed it.

She was sitting in her room when Imam came in.
He looked tired, beaten, as if he didn't have anything
to live for anymore. Jack, taking notice of his appearance,
said,

"What's wrong?"

"I must leave for a while. I will be back within a week,"
he said flatly.

Jack blinked. He was acting strange, even for Imam.
She didn't dwell on the fact that he was leaving. If Imam
said he would be back, then he would. She watched from her
window. The ship ascended up into space. She sighed. Jack
had tried to push it out of her memory, but it resurfaced.
The ship leaving her reminded her of Riddick. 'Bet he didn't
even look back,' she thought. 'Bastard!' She shook her head
to rid the memory of him. Somehow, he was still there, lurking
in the deepest crevaces of her mind.

The room was dark. Smoke filled the room along with the
scent of alcohol. A woman, plump with tangled hair leads a
man upstairs by his hand. She giggles at everything he says.
At the bar a man sits, sipping on his beer. His head is shaved
and looks almost as if he is asleep. He stares deeply into his
glass. He remembers things. Things people said to him, things
people did to him. He lifts the glass to his mouth again,
taking a long gulp. He is trying to forget. The same woman
from upstairs comes to sit by Riddick. He doesn't even glance
at her. She leans to over and whispers something in his ear.
His face remains emotionless. She whispers something again.
The woman places her hand on his right thigh and massages it.
He stands up, knocking over his glass of beer. He grabs her by
the neck and brings her close. She whimpers. Riddick throws
her down onto the floor and walks out of the bar.

There is a buzzing sound at the door. Jack rolls out
of bed, still half asleep. She moans and thinks, 'This better
be good, stupid son of a bitches, waking me up at the crack of
dawn...' She opens the door. A man dressed in brown hands her
a package.

"You need to sign for it," he says.

She takes the package and scribbles a name on the clipboard.
Jack closes the door and stumbles onto the couch. She lays the package
on her lap and begins to open it. She flips the flaps back to reveal
a single piece of paper. It reads, DOCKING HOLD B-14. She puts
throws the paper back into the box and lays back onto the couch.

Jack wonders through a crowd of people. She tries to blend
in, not wanting to bring any attention to herself. She looks up,
a sign reads B-13. 'One more door,' she thinks. In truth she
didn't know why she was following some damn note. Maybe because
she was bored, maybe because, deep down inside, she hoped it was
Riddick. She came to the door leading into hold B-14. Jack took
a deep breath then opened the door.

The hold was dark.

"Lights," called out Jack.

Nothing happened.

"Lights on," she said, a bit louder.

Still nothing. 'Damn company, lazy ass bastards, mother fu........'
her thoughts were cut off by a rustling sound. She instantly dropped to her
knees. She peered into the darkness, trying to see something, anything.
'Riddick's eyes would come in handy right about now,' she thought.
A large hand covered her mouth and pulled her back. She tried to
scream, but it was muffled. Jack kicked and threw her weight,
trying to get loose, but it was no use. 'So,' she thought,
'this how I'm going to die. Be carried away by some pyscho,
what a way to go.' Jack was drug into a large ship. She
heard the ramp close. She still couldn't see the person
who had a hold on her. She continued to thrash wildly and
she somehow got her leg between his. She kicked up and all
she heard was painful moan. Jack ran to the lever that released
the ramp, but before she got there she heard a raspy voice, but
unmistakeable, say,

"Jack,"

She slowly turned around. Her eyes filled with tears, but none dropped.
Jack's breath caught in her throat, but she managed to say one word, one name.

"Riddick,"