Our fate, dear Brutus, lies not in the stars, but in ourselves.~~Julius Caesar
The trio had survived. Only three out of forty had survived the entire ordeal. As Riddick quickly piloted away from T2, he briefly thought back on the events of the previous days. He gazed back on the sleeping Jack and Imam. He could not believe that he had saved lives instead of taken them. As much as he hated to admit it, these people had actually grown on him. People are supposed to be afraid of him, not seek his protection, but these two trusted him. And it scared him.
His thoughts were quickly broken when he noticed that the white anomaly before him grew even bigger. Riddick had noticed the bright circle when they had taken off, but never thought twice about it. It had looked too far away to be a concern. But as they continued to travel, the white circle grew larger and closer. It now looked large enough to engulf their first ship, the Hunter-Gratzner.
The size of the circle started to alarm Riddick. He tried to steer the skiff away, but to no avail. The anomaly seemed to be pulling the ship into it. The only thing he succeeded to do is shake the ship and wake the sleeping duo.
"Riddick, what's wrong?" Jack asked, moving to the seat beside his.
"Steering's locked," he mumbled, still trying to pull the wheel to either side. His muscles tightened as he pulled with all his strength. However, nothing happened. He looked out the front window in time to see the white circle double in size.
Jack had noticed it also. "What the hell is that?" she cried, grabbing the attention of Imam. He also moved to the front of the ship to observe the ordeal.
The bright light from the circle began flooding into the ship. Riddick pulled his goggles over his eyes as Jack and Imam shielded theirs with their hands. They kept moving faster toward the circle, unable to pull away.
"It's taking us in!" Jack cried, while Imam started praying again on his beads.
"Hold onto something!" Riddick growled, gripping the wheel tighter. Jack grabbed the ship's control console as Imam clung to the back of Jack's chair.
Then, the circle engulfed them.
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Despite his goggles, Riddick's eyes still burned from the intense light. He shut them tightly and watched as past scenes from his life played with perfect clarity. As he watched the images pass before his eyes, he felt the ship go faster and faster.
Fry rips away from him and into the nocturnal blackness. As he falls to the ground, he cries, "Not for me! Not...for me."
The ship moved even faster.
"Riddick, wait!" Jack cries as the creature swoops down on her. He rushes to it and slices it to pieces. "Did not know who it was fucking with."
The light grew brighter.
"Billy Bad-Ass. The chains, the gauge, the badge. Should have ghost me..."
Faster.
"He's just a merc. And I'm just a payday. You see, the creed is greed."
Brighter.
"Paris B. Olgibi. Antiquities dealer, entrepreneur." "Richard B. Riddick. Escaped convict, murderer."
Farther memories.
"Lay cornea aside. Drill through eye gel. Shoot a little reflecto-coat on the back of the retina."
Even farther back.
He watches the expression on his first victim as the blade finds its mark. "No, please don't!"
Faster. Brighter. Farther.
"Someone call an ambulance. There's a baby in the Dumpster."
They moved too fast. Riddick felt like he was being torn apart. The brightest flash of light...then darkness.
*************************
Riddick stirred as Jack's voice echoed in the back of his mind.
"Riddick! Riddick, wake up!"
A sharp slap to the face brought him completely to his senses. The pain was good. It assured him that he was alive. However, it did not need to continue. Before Jack slapped him again, he blocked her hand and opened his eyes. As he looked around, he found that he was lying face up on the floor of the skiff.
He sat up and pulled his goggles off from his eyes. "What happened?"
"Our ship entered that circle thing. I think we all blacked out. We kept traveling and ended up here."
"Where's here?"
Jack looked out the window. "I don't know. We're hovering over a planet. It LOOKS like Earth, but bluer. Cleaner."
"We should land," Imam suggested. "Get our bearings."
"Why not just use the com system and contact them on the planet?" Jack inquired.
"It's out," Riddick answered. "Disabled. Must be from that circle."
"Then, I guess we land?" she asked.
Riddick's answer was steering the ship down to the planet.
*************************
As they grew closer to landing, the trio noticed the lack of space outposts; solar powered vehicles, or hovering crafts. Everything looked fuel powered.
"How weird," Jack said.
They finally landed in an abandoned lot, surrounded by nothing but a dark stretch of road. The group exited the ship and surveyed their location. Once again, it was night, and Jack huddled close to Riddick, for she feared the unexpected return of the creatures.
"This can't be Earth," Riddick stated. "It's too primitive and undeveloped."
"There was a city miles back," Imam started. "I saw it as we passed overhead. Maybe we should go there and inquire where we are."
As they pondered that suggestion, Riddick heard a vehicle approaching their position at a fast pace. He lowered his goggles as headlights appeared over a hill.
"How would we get to the city?" Jack asked.
The car was right behind them. The brakes squealed as the driver discovered the three people standing in the middle of the road. He leaned on the horn and watched as Riddick calmly strolled to the side of the car.
Grabbing the door handle, Riddick all but wrenched the door off of the sedan. The driver stared in amazement as the convict leaned into his car. Try as he might, the poor man could not catch a glimpse of the intruder's eyes through the dark plastic of his eye wear.
Riddick met his gaze, face to face. "Out. Now."
The scared driver fumbled with his seat belt and then fell out of the car. Stumbling to his feet, he soon fell again as Riddick's fist met with his head, knocking him unconscious.
"This is how we'll get to the city," Riddick informed Jack, pointing at the car.
"What about him?" she asked, gazing down at the poor victim.
"Leave him." Riddick started moving into the car.
Imam stopped him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Riddick, but I cannot allow you to just leave this poor man on the side of the road. We must at least get him to safety."
Riddick looked at the unfortunate driver, then at the Islam. "Fine. Throw him in the back."
As Imam struggled to put the unconscious man into the back seat, Riddick slid into the driver's seat. While he looked over the controls, Jack grabbed shotgun.
"Do you even know how to work this?" she asked Riddick.
"It shouldn't be that different than piloting. The only difference I notice it the acceleration on the floor instead of at your side. And it's a pedal, not a lever." He turned back to Imam, who had gotten both the man and himself positioned in the back and had shut the door. "Which way was that city you saw?"
"That way," Imam pointed toward the east. "Should not be more than several miles."
"Then we go that way." Riddick moved the drive from P to D.
"From 'Park' to 'Drive," Jack observed. "Why isn't it M for 'Move' or F for 'Forward?'"
"Who knows?" Riddick remarked. He put his foot on the pedal, but nothing happened. He tried again with the same results.
"What's wrong?" The girl looked worried. "Why aren't we moving?"
Riddick looked at the floorboard and noticed the other pedal. When he hit that one, the car lurched forward at a quick pace. "Everyone remember where we parked," he quirked as they sped away.
*************************
After about twenty-five minutes, the unconscious driver slowly woke up. Looking around frantically, he observed the people about him. A oddly dressed African American sitting right next to him, looking out the side window. A teenage child (he was unsure if it was a girl or a boy) sitting in the passenger seat, shaved head and broken goggles on its head. The child was obviously imitating the man who was driving his car. Each of these strangers looked tired, wearing ragged and torn clothes with worn expressions on their faces.
"Who are you people?" he asked, looking at each in turn. Both the child and Islam turned to face him.
The child addressed the man driving. "Um, Riddick, he's awake."
"I know." Riddick kept his eyes on the road.
"Please be calm," the Islam said. "I am Abu al-Walid, otherwise known as Imam. The young one's name is Jack, and the other man is Riddick. May I ask your name?"
"It's Daniel. Daniel Everton. Why the hell did you steal my car?"
"Because we fucking needed it," Riddick mentioned in his low voice. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"No, no problem. I wasjust wondering." Daniel was really scared of the big man driving his car.
Riddick could sense that.
Daniel decided to change the subject. "Sowhy are we heading toward Dallas?"
"Is that the name of the city?" Jack asked, turning in her seat to face Daniel. "We were wondering what it was called."
Something flashed through Riddick's memory. "Dallas? As in Texas?" Daniel nodded.
"How did you know that?" Imam asked Riddick.
"Ancient geography. I remember reading about how that American president was shot there while visiting. It sounded like somewhere I would want to visit." Riddick continued to gaze down the dark road. "If we're headed to Dallas, that means we're on Earth."
"But we can't be," Jack stated. "You yourself said that this is too primitive to be Earth."
"Excuse me," Daniel interrupted. "ANCIENT geography? Too PRIMITIVE? Where exactly are you people from, 'cause you are really starting to make me believe that you escaped from the local looney bin or something. I mean, it's the early 21st century for crying out loud. People as sick as you should be safe in a home or something."
Riddick slammed on the brakes and let the car briefly fishtail. When it came to a stop, he whipped around to face Daniel. "Number one, shut the fuck up. Number two, did you just say this was the 21st century?"
Daniel opened his mouth to reply, but quickly remembered Number One, so he slammed his jaws shut and just nodded yes.
Riddick punched the steering wheel with his fist. "How the fuck did we end up in the 21st century?"
"Maybe that circle thing was some kind of portal," Jack suggested. "Like a tear in space."
Daniel smiled. "Oh, I get it. The location confusion. The portal in space. You guys are Star Trek extras, aren't you?"
"I thought I told you to shut up," Riddick glared at Daniel, who quickly sunk into his seat. "Okay, we've traveled into the 21st century through a tear in space. How the fuck are we supposed to get back?"
"I don't know," Jack started. "But can we think about it while we get something to eat? I'm really hungry."
"Yes, it has been quite a while since any of us has eaten, Mr. Riddick," Imam agreed.
"Fine, we'll go to the city and eat. Then, we figure a way off of this fucking rock and back to our time."
