Chapter 2
When Voz woke up again, Riddick was holding her up, helping
her walk. She was on some kind of
ship. Her whole chest ached and her
legs felt weak. She felt light headed
and her vision wasn't all that great, either.
The lights seemed too bright, nearly painful. Even Riddick had put his goggles back on. And on top of all that, her right side felt
like it was on fire. What the fuck
happened? thought Voz.
A woman, maybe 30 or so, approached them. She was probably much older, though. It was hard to tell now, since so many
people used cryo-sleep. The woman's
dark hair was pulled back securely in a tight knot.
"Where…?" Voz started to ask.
"You're on the Libra.
It's your standard passenger vessel," the woman explained. "You're lucky we picked you up." The woman glanced down at Voz. Her side was covered in fresh blood from the
gash that had been reopened by movement.
"Jesus Christ!" the woman exclaimed.
"You're all cut up, honey! We
gotta get you to a med station." She
paused. Good goin', Christy, the
woman thought. Now, what do you
do? Tell 'em you can't help 'em? Make 'em leave? "I'm sorry there's nothing we can do for you
here." Christy looked at them gravely,
maybe even apologetically. Jesus! Do you have any idea of what you just
did? Take a look at that guy; does he
look like the kind of man you want to upset?
"Is there anything you can do?" Riddick asked. The way he said it made the question seem
more like a request. You damn well
better be able to do something, bitch. He shifted his grasp on Voz.
The woman bit her lower lip. She had to do something, anything at all, as long as she didn't
piss this guy off. "The best I can do
is give her some morphine." Her gaze
drifted to Riddick's wounded leg.
"You're not looking to good yourself…"
"I don't need anything," Riddick said. His face held no expression. Voz remembered feeling a sharp sting in her
forearm and then a feeling of what would have been complete calm to most
people. Voz tried to fight it, the urge
to sleep. Sleep brought a feeling of
vulnerability to her. Slowly,
everything faded into blackness as Voz's eyes fluttered shut, the drug took over
her, and she fell into a sleep of unconsciousness.
***
"Names?" Voz had her
eyes shut. They fluttered open at the
sound of the voice. Once again, Riddick
was supporting her. The question had
come from a young man in a uniform who stood in front of her and Riddick. He held an electronic clipboard in hand.
"Victor Hopkins," answered Riddick. "And this is my wife and sister." I hope this works. Riddick glanced at Voz. He wished he could communicate with her
telepathically. It would really be useful
right about now. Don't fuck this up,
he warned her mentally.
Voz started. Sister? Who the hell else is…? Voz leaned forward and looked around
Riddick's body. Jack stood on his other
side. She leaned back, satisfied. A thought sent her heart plummeting to the
pit of her stomach. Wait, wife? Oh shit.
Riddick, you bastard, you better not be doing what I think you are…
"Whose sister?" asked the man in uniform. He looked up from the clipboard. He eyed Jack up and down hungrily.
Riddick's voice took on a protective tone. "My sister," he growled. Well, at least he did one thing
right, Voz snorted. Had Riddick
claimed Jack was Voz's sister, the man in uniform wouldn't have
hesitated to do as he pleased with Jack.
Sick fucker.
"What are their names?" the man continued.
"Lizzy Vincent and Heather."
The man looked at Riddick suspiciously. "Thought your name was Hopkins."
"It is. She," here,
Riddick inclined his head toward Voz, "wanted to keep her maiden name."
"I see," the man said slowly. He now looked at the trio carefully. "Well, then…Mr. Hopkins, Ms. Hopkins, Ms. Vincent," he nodded he
head to each one respectively, "…welcome aboard the Phoenix. I'm paging medical technicians right this
minute."
As they waited, Voz felt herself begin to swoon. Her legs buckled. She felt cold, so cold.
Everything was getting numb, except for that burning pain on her right
side. Riddick pulled her to her
feet. The last thing Voz remembered for
quite some time was being carried by Riddick down a brightly lit hallway.
***
The bed wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. Voz had slept in better. But it was more than anything she had had
lately. At first, she wasn't quite sure
where she was. Voz stared around the
small room for a while. The first word
that came to mind was 'sterile.'
Everything in the room was made of metal. The bed was built into one wall.
That's how small the room was.
Voz lay on her back.
Her hand strayed to her neck.
Finding nothing there, she began to panic. Then, she remembered. Riddick,
she thought. She remembered that
night on the planet. When she had sat
in the rain, surely in her death throes.
Voz slammed her fist down on the bed.
"Fuck!"
The door whooshed opened.
Riddick ducked underneath it before it even reached the top. But he didn't rush, he was casual. Voz glared at him. "Thanks a lot."
Riddick stopped. What
did I do now? He gave her a
questioning look. The goggles made his
facial expressions even less readable, though.
"For what?"
"I'm talkin' about my goddamn necklace!" Voz shrieked. She grabbed at her throat like the necklace
was there.
"You were gonna use
it."
Voz strained to sit up.
"No, I wasn't g—"
Riddick walked over to the bedside. "Maybe I gotta refresh your memory. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be—"
"My memory's just fine."
Well, maybe not perfect, Voz thought. There were plenty of holes and spaces ever
since that fateful night. "Goddammit,
Riddick! Did you ever think that maybe there
was some other reason why—"
"Why, then? What's
the deal? Why's it so important to
you?" Riddick crossed his massive arms
over his well-built chest and leaned against a wall.
Voz threw herself down on the bed. She too crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the
ceiling, lying on her back. She let out
a sigh of exasperation. "You don't
understand a goddamn thing," she said, shaking her head.
"Hey, you asked the question." Riddick straightened a little and pointed a
finger at her. "Now what's the
answer? What's the other reason why
you'd keep cyanide other than to kill yourself or others with?"
She didn't answer right away. Voz contemplated for a while.
You better make a decision soon, girl, she told herself. Do you tell him or do you keep it a
secret? What's it gonna be? With another heavy sigh, she made her
decision.
