Chapter
22: The Sweet Spot
They
remained together for a little over a year and Riddick even gave her a present
on her seventeenth birthday; a shiv made from a strong, cool, black material.
Onyx, Riddick called it.
Eve loved the blade,
"Thank you,"
She had said when she jumped in his arms and enveloped him in a huge,
bone-crushing hug, while silent tears streamed down her face.
It was just the right size to fit in her small hand, curving like a talon
extending as if it was part of her. Riddick trained her; taught her skills,
ones the company could never hope to instill in her.
Eve learned fast and became an extension of him, she had known almost every
technique he displayed, but he gave her the street sense to go along with it.
Riddick taught her how to hone in on her already heightened senses; to pick up
the various scents people emitted and the feelings associated with them.
Eve Nubriani became just like him, learnt the art of survival, and intern she
gave Riddick a piece of her heart, a piece he would relish in for all time and
a piece he would never forget.
They had retired to their separate quarters, but neither slept, their minds
working in overtime; remembering things they wished to forget, living past
experiences that haunted them, and thinking of the other, wondering how it was
going to be from now on.
Could they continue? Could they forget? Live like nothing happened…like the
past never existed?
Eve was the first to get up and she lazily walked to the kitchen, where she
poured herself some vodka.
"You old enough to drink?"
"What the fuck do you think."
He came out of the shadows and propped his massive form against the doorway.
"What are you 27 now?"
'Still look like you're 17 though' he thought.
"No…I'm 22."
"It's been ten years."
"Yeah but spending five fucking years in a cyst tank'll fucking do that to
ya…no aging for the technically dead."
Riddick moved from the doorway and sat on top of the table. Eve handed him the
bottle and she sat atop the counter next to him, resting her one foot on a
chair and the other was splayed across the counter top.
They remained silent for a moment, until Riddick broke the uncomfortable
silence.
"What happened?"
Eve knew what he meant, but she wasn't sure if she had the strength to tell
him; the memories still haunted her sleep at night.
"Parts are still blurry…it's hard to remember much of my past anyway," she
finally spoke.
***
Riddick had gone out that night, on the prowl, when he got wind of some mercs
that landed on Torca; Eve stayed home, peacefully watching the midnight news.
It was a month and a half after her 17th birthday, the tension growing between
her and Riddick. There was more than friendship between the two, but neither
would admit that it was more than a type of 'family love' – Riddick went to
brothels more and more and Eve became sexually frustrated; being raped and beaten
all her life, she never had the chance to willingly fall for someone, until
him.
An odd noise bought her attention to the present.
She flipped over the back of the sofa and grabbed her shiv, without making a
noise; she never did tell Riddick about her hands and crept towards the door.
'Muffled footsteps, trying too hard to be quiet…cheap cologne…drugs…muffled
voices"
Parts of their conversation traveled to her sensitive ears,
"Room 101…Riddick…big bucks…on the count…ready…"
Without hesitation Eve flung the door open, lunged at the two men, sending them
flying into the opposite wall.
Her shiv connected with the one merc's abdomen and she gutted him clean,
sending his innards toppling to the floor. The second merc, however, knocked
her blade out of her hand before she could swing around and slit his throat.
Eve spun and extended her blades, slicing clean across his chest, but he was
too far away to do serious damage.
He lunged at Eve and caught her off balance, she toppled to the floor, and he
butted her with the blunt end of his rifle; knocked her out.
When Eve came to, she was bound to Riddick's bed with strong metal wire, and
the asshole was standing above her.
"Well, well, look who decided to wake up."
He straddled Eve, taking her shiv, and slowly began to cut away her clothing;
she began to bleed as he dug the blade into her skin.
Eve wouldn't cry, she refused to; she wouldn't give him the satisfaction or the
pleasure, her innocence was taking many years before by the man she should have
been able to trust; she was through crying. She stared out into nothingness,
severing her body and mind, as she learned to do so many times before.
When he entered her, she didn't notice, when he ravaged her over and over, she
didn't cry out, and when her beat her senseless when he was finally spent, she
didn't flinch.
He finally began to tire and withdrew the shiv again; spreading her legs, he
carved in her inner thigh his name,
'Johns'.
Johns untied her, opened the window, and threw her out into the dumpster below,
then proceeded to clean up the mess.
Johns would wait for Riddick to find the surprise he left him, the only clue
was the window.
Riddick returned home just before dawn, tired and horny, he didn't find the
mercs and didn't feel like going to the brothel. He would tell her how he felt;
no more hiding and no more games, he had to know, but when he reached the
complex he immediately knew something wasn't right.
He could smell the familiar scent of copper in the air.
Riddick quickly made his way to the room and listened carefully before he
entered; not a sound escaped. He went in cautiously, scanning the darkness for
anything, but everything was as he left it.
"Eve?"
No answer
He walked into her room.
Empty.
The bathroom.
Nothing.
Riddick stood in front of his door and was greeted with a sinking feeling in
the bottom of his stomach.
"Eve?"
The room smelt of sex and blood, but the bed was perfectly made, and not a
thing was out of place.
The window: the cool breeze drifted in slowly as a shiver went down Riddick's
spine; her scent came with it.
He stormed over to the window, scanning the alleyway for any signs of Eve, but
he saw nothing. Riddick was about to turn away when something caught his eye.
"What the…"
He almost jumped out of the window, but thought otherwise. Instead, Riddick
sprinted down the four floors in record time, knocking people over; all the
while his mind was racing.
'Please don't let it be her. Please no. Let it be a junkie, dear god, just let
it be someone else.'
Riddick knew he was wrong.
He reached the heap of garbage, leaned in, and pulled the object out.
Their staring lifelessly back at him, was a bruised and beaten young girl…his
Eve.
She was almost naked, save for a few tattered remains of her underwear, and her
body was bruised and bleeding…
'She's bleeding?'
Riddick felt a sudden rush of hope well in his frozen heart, but when he
couldn't find a pulse, the feeling died as quickly as it was born.
'Must be my eyes.'
Riddick couldn't help it, he let the tears fall; he truly had begun to love
this young spirited girl, who looked up to him, trusted him.
He carried the body to a hospital and left her there, whispering his last
goodbyes to the one person he ever loved.
His eyes caught something on her inner thigh and he gingerly moved her leg to
see.
"Johns," he whispered.
"You rang?" a voice from the shadows echoed.
Riddick's mind became a bloody rage as the animal within him roared furiously
for release. He lunged at Johns without thinking but he aimed a gun directly
between the con's eyes.
"Riddick, Riddick, Riddick, getting sloppy with your old age aren't you?" Johns
taunted, "tell me something…was she just as sweet for you? "
The look in Riddick's eyes would have driven the devil himself back to hell,
but he remained quiet, calculating his next move.
"What, she never gave it to you? Too bad you could have had that tight body
under you moaning your name…but I'll tell you one thing… she was tight…never
had a piece that nice before…maybe I'll go over there and have another go, you
can watch," he said with a sardonic smile plastered across his face.
That was it, Riddick had heard enough; the beast roared from his cage and
before John's couldn't even react, Riddick was already gone.
John's lay on the pavement, immobile and numb, Riddick had left him a present.
He went for the sweet spot and missed.