The stream of clawed death flapped energetically. It seemed to know that prey was just a few seconds' flight from their home.
Angela and Riddick ran inhumanly fast back to the skiff. The moment everyone was on board, Johns slapped the hatch control to the "close" position.
The skiff's running lights illuminated the area, but the small creatures were moving too fast. Inertia sent them slamming into the hull before they screeched and limped back into the darkness. One even got through the nearly-closed hatchway, heading right to Imam's face. With catlike reflexes, Collin snatched the little beast before it could touch the Arab.
"Thank you," he breathed to Collin.
"Ne problem a'tall," Collin smiled. The smaller animal squirmed and squealed, beating its wings against Collin's arm as it burned in the lights of the cabin. Collin cocked his head, regarding the process with interest. "So that's whot'll 'appen te me if I decide te get a tan back on Earth, eh?"
"Nasty business, dyin' like that," Riddick said, equally fascinated by the nightcrawler's death throes.
Collin bit into it, and the squealing stopped.
"I thought you already ate?" Shazza asked.
He finished and reopened the hatch enough to toss the body outside. "Younglings like me is always 'ungry."
In the pilot's seat, Fry powered up the engines and called to her passengers, "Everybody strap in and hold tight. We're outta here."
Those left without a seat in the cramped space clung to the walls. The skiff rocked as it plowed through the teeming masses of nightcrawlers in the air. Once out of the atmosphere, a collective sigh of relief echoed in the cabin.
"This most definitely calls for a celebration," Paris said. He shuffled through a container at his feet and pulled out a bottle of brandy. He took a long swig and passed it around to the others. When the bottle made its way to Collin, he sniffed it and shrugged, and was about to take his celebratory swig when Riddick grabbed it from him and gave it back to Paris.
"No more booze," he ordered. "It'll dehydrate us, and we need to make these supplies last as long as possible. We don't know how long we'll be out here."
Johns rummaged in another container and came out with the book he'd stolen from Henri. "Get comfortable, people. It's going to be a long wait." He settled back into the co-pilot's seat and opened the book.
The floor of the skiff was packed with containers. Those who had seats couldn't even bend their knees into a sitting position. They had to prop their feet up like they were in reclining chairs - uncomfortable reclining chairs. Angela, Riddick, Inigo, and Daniel were left without seats and had to cram at the rear, sitting on boxes and unable to move out because of the criss-crossing legs in front of them.
Riddick was the first to tire of the cramped position and levitated to the ceiling. He stretched out with his back against the wall and his head cradled in his hands, "laying" in perfect comfort. Angela joined him. The only clue that gravity existed for the two was that Angela's hair dangled long enough to tickle Jack's ankles. Angela noticed and began braiding the length of it. The resulting rope of hair swayed with the slight movements of the ship. The two of them were able to doze lightly in their high positions.
Henri rummaged for his other books, keeping one for himself and passing the other to Inigo. They began reading.
The next several hours were marked by silence. At first, everyone was simply too wrapped up in their own thoughts to say anything. As the silence dragged on, everyone decided that they weren't going to be the one to break it. However, none of the vampires seemed to mind the quiet. They were old enough to know that the true virtue of silence was not having to listen to someone else's inane chatter.
Jack and Ali, being the youngest and least patient, were fidgeting in their seats trying to get comfortable without making too much noise. Their seats squeaked and creaked as they moved around.
Johns finally broke the silence. "Stop squirmin'. It's gettin' on my fucking nerves."
They slouched into their seats, unmoving.
"Lay off, Johns," Riddick said from above. "They're just kids."
"I don't have to listen to them squeak the whole damn flight."
Riddick shrugged. "Doesn't bother me."
"Cool it, fellas," Angela interjected. "The squeaky seats don't bother me either, but I'll be damned if I'm going to listen to you two children bicker all the time."
Riddick smiled. "He started it."
Angela rolled her eyes. Jack and Ali suppressed a giggle. Riddick's jest lightened the mood a bit.
"So tell us about you," Jack said to Angela. "Other than 'You crashed there first', you haven't told us much."
Angela shrugged. "Not much to tell."
"Tell us anyway," Jack prodded. "It's not like there's anything else to do."
She frowned at Jack. "I don't talk about my past...not even with Richie, and I'm closer to him than anyone else."
Jack opened her mouth to prod further, but Riddick shook his head at her. "Don't bother, kid. The first and last time I tried to pry, she cut off my arm. It was a bitch to get back on too."
"I never cut off your arm," she said indignantly. "It was just your hand, there's a difference."
"Yeah," Daniel agreed. "More tendons and muscles you gotta line back into place before it'll heal properly. And he's right, they are a bitch to put back on."
"How did you get your hand cut off?" Jack asked.
Daniel gave a feral smile. "Vamp hunters. Almost got my head, but he only managed my hand. I killed him for it too."
Johns took enough interest in the subject to look up from his book. "Vampire hunters? People really do that?"
All of the vampires nodded, except Collin. He seemed a little nervous by the information.
Johns made eye contact with Riddick. "Sounds like a line of work I could get into."
Riddick peeled off his goggles and dropped them in Jack's lap. "Don't bet on it, cowboy. I'd be honor-bound to my kind to kill you then. Besides, the hunters prefer their people sober."
Johns snarled. "Well apparently, I can catch you when I'm hyped. It's only that damned bounty on your head that's kept me from trying to kill you." He went back to his book, confident that he'd won the argument. Riddick's silence confirmed his confidence, and he smiled.
He didn't see Riddick smile and give Jack a knowing wink. Jack bit down a laugh as she winked back.
* * * * *
The next few days fell into a routine. Fry and Riddick would switch out piloting duty. Johns would steadfastly refuse to acknowledge Riddick's existence unless he thought he could get a quick insult into the conversation. Everyone would shuffle around every few hours, exchanging seats or ceiling space to keep their blood circulating.
Henri kept everyone entertained with amusing or amazing little anecdotes from his life. The children found the tales especially enthralling.
"Wow," Jack breathed after Henri had finish one of his "how I saved the day" exploits from the French and Indian War. "That is so cool. I want to be a vampire too."
"NO!" came every adult voice in unison.
Jack colored deeply, wishing she'd kept her mouth shut.
"Listen, kid," Riddick soothed, "it ain't all glamour, y'know. The foods you used to love now make you sick. Try to go in the sun anywhere on Earth, and you'll fry faster than those nightcrawlers in a tanning salon. You can't tell those that you're closest to - even family - anything about what you are, or Inigo and me will have to pay you an unfriendly visit. Everyone hates and fears you, and that's if they don't just think of you as a cheap Halloween costume or bad cult movie. There's even an armed, organized group hunting you into oblivion...We all had our reasons to join up, kid, but not one of 'em was 'cause it was 'cool'."
Jack nodded, properly chastised but at least she understood why.
"Besides, petit," Henri said, "you are too young. You'd have to be at least into your twenties to be brought across. We have rules about that sort of thing."
"What would happen if I was, uh, 'brought across' this young?"
"As far as breaking the rules, niño," Inigo answered, "nothing would happen. At least nothing for the Enforcers to do...but you would be punished by having a shorter 'lifespan' in any one place. I would say you could pass for as young as thirteen and as old as seventeen...maybe. That is only four years to show up, live that life, then move on. Older ones like us have ten and even fifteen years between new lives. It is far easier, I assure you."
Jack nodded and thought no more of becoming a teenage vampire. She had enough trouble in her life right now. She sighed and slouched against the hatch - the shuffling cycle left her and Ali without chairs. "So how long we been out here?"
Riddick checked the console - it was his shift as pilot. "Three days, give or take a few hours."
They had hit the shipping lane the day before and had been steadily broadcasting an S.O.S. since they had left the planet. So far, no responses. Riddick glared at the sensor array each time he sat in the pilot seat, as if that would make a ship appear on the screen.
* * * * *
Another day passed. Johns had read through the Inferno twice. Henri had run out of stories to tell, and any stories the others were willing to share weren't suitable for children, so they stayed quiet. The boredom was getting to all of them.
Jack had a seat again but still wasn't comfortable. She slouch, then squirmed, then turned sideways and jammed her shoulder into the back of her chair before settling down to sleep. A drop of moisture hit her on the head. She looked up.
Collin was on the ceiling, absolutely sound asleep, quietly snoring...and drooling like a leaky faucet.
Jack reached up and smacked him in the chest. "Wake up, man!"
Collin jerked awake. The shock of his rude awakening made him lose his concentration and he dropped. He managed to catch himself before crashing on the legs of those beneath him.
He snarled. "Whot'd ya do that for?"
"You were drooling on me!" she snapped at him.
He floated back to the ceiling with his arms crossed defensively in front of him. "I dinna drool."
"Well then, check for leaks up there, 'cause somethin' wet hit me."
Collin was about to retort when an alert bleeped from the piloting console. Riddick worked the controls furiously, then abruptly stopped, staring at the readout.
"What is it?" asked Imam. "What is wrong?"
"Not a damn thing," Johns laughed as he also looked at the readout. "It's a merc ship!"