Chapter 3
Riddick had leaned back against the wall again. "Well?" he asked. He looked down at Voz, waiting for a response.
"Well, I don't see how telling you could fuck my life up
anymore than it already is," Voz muttered. She was silent again. Where
to start? Voz pushed the thin
blanket covering her away and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her face colored when she realized she had
no pants on, only underwear. All the
same, she continued to get up wincing as she did so.
"No," Riddick said. "You need to stay in bed. You're
still recovering."
"No," Voz retorted. "I need to get up." She stood in
front of him. No shirt either. Instead, bandages covered her torso. Voz felt a little shaky on her legs, but did
her best to hide it.
Riddick noticed. "You don't want me to help you get back in that bed," he warned. He pushed himself away from the wall and
came toward her.
Voz took a step back. "I'm not going to." She
stood her ground. He's not making me
do anything.
Riddick grabbed her around the waist without thinking. Voz cried out and struggled only causing her
more pain. You dumb fucker! Riddick
yelled at himself. He let go of Voz and
she fell onto the bed. She grabbed him
by his shirt to try to stable herself. Riddick lost his balance, though, and followed her onto the bed, falling
on top of her. He hung over her for a
brief moment, straddling her beneath him. He was poised above her on his hands and knees.
Then the door opened. Riddick got up quickly. A nurse
entered the room. "What's going on in
here?" she asked worriedly. "Is
everything ok?" She looked around the
room nervously.
"Yes, ma'am," Riddick assured her. "Everything's fine. She
just wanted to get up."
The nurse looked at Voz. She came over to the bed and began fussing with Voz's bandages. "You shouldn't be out of bed."
"I tried to tell her, but she insisted." Voz shot Riddick a deathly look.
"Well, then, if you need anything, just call and someone
should come," the nurse said, once she'd finished.
Riddick waited for the door to close before he spoke. He turned to Voz. "You happy now?"
"Fuck you," Voz said through clenched teeth. She was sitting up again, but not leaving
the bed.
"You never told me about the cyanide." He leaned against the wall again, looking at
Voz expectantly.
"It has a lot to do with the Galactic Militia," Voz answered
quickly.
"No shit it does," Riddick growled. He was getting tired of
half-answered-question. "But what?"
"It…it's a…a safeguard," she stuttered.
"Against who?" Getting information from her was going to be tough.
"Anyone. But mostly
mercs." She stopped and Riddick waited
for her further explanation. From
there, everything seemed to just spill out of her mouth. "The Company and the Militia are basically
pitted against each other. Don't ask me
why. One of those political mysteries. So I've had my run-ins with the law, but
nothing serious…yet.
"Anyways," Voz continued, "despite their opposition, there's
some merging going on. Meaning, some
lawmen make deals with members of the Galactic Militia. Militia soldiers turn their cyanide into the
Company. Uppers in the Galactic Militia
know who's traded sides if they can identify a former member who has no
cyanide. So anyone without it is
automatically accused of betrayal and put to death."
Voz stopped abruptly. Shit, she thought. Did
I say too much? Something sparked
within her. What's it matter? Like you said, you're already fucked.
Riddick understood now. The screaming match between her and Fry about Owens. 'You could have saved Owens a lot of
pain. He didn't have to die like
that.' 'It would have cost me my
life.' Literally, huh?
"There," Voz interrupted his thoughts. "I'm done. Now it's your turn to do some explaining."