Disclaimer: The Characters of Jack, Riddick and Iman belong to USA Films, David Towhy, etc. I'm just having a little fun here. OK, I confess. I'm doing this because it's the only way to get the Muses off my back G.
Riddick's Death
Copyright 2003 By Cassandra Houston
Chapter Nine: Lillian Fry
The Riddick's took the next month to build a guesthouse near their own home. When Iman arrived with their guest they were ready.
As they watched Iman slowly approach Riddick said softly. "She looks like Caroline. Longer hair, but the resemblance is there." He noted her dark glasses, not unlike their own and wondered.
Iman stopped in front of them. "Richard and Jack Riddick." He said. "This is Lillian Fry."
Lillian looked angry. "You're my new wardens, huh?" she snapped.
Riddick raised his eyebrows. "Yea." He said, matching her voice tone.
Iman cleared his throat. "I will leave you to get to know each other." He said. "I'll come back in a couple of weeks, as usual." He said to Riddick.
Riddick nodded and they watched Iman get back in his shuttle and take off. Jacqueline and Riddick led Lillian to the guesthouse. Lillian looked around and shrugged. "Beats that tin shed in the slam." She said, putting her satchel down. She turned to the Riddick's, who were just outside the door. She looked at their glasses. "It's a little dark to be wearing those isn't it?" She said, motioning to the glasses.
Jacqueline grinned. "We have sensitive eyes." She said. Normally we don't wear them, but since we have a new guest." She broke the sentence off.
Lillian frowned. She reached for her own glasses, her voice filled with a challenge. "I suffer from the effects of apfelsine addiction." She said, whipping her glasses off and showing them her eyes, which were orange on orange. When neither of them reacted in any way, she pouted.
"Sorry." Riddick said. "Jack and I have seen apfelsine poisoning a million times. Your not unique." He took his glasses off and Jacqueline did the same. Lillian couldn't contain her gasp.
"But we are." Jacqueline said, watching her reaction.
Lillian tried to shrug it off. "Whatever." she said, defiantly.
Riddick put his glasses in his pocket. "We sleep during the brightest time of day." He said. "So for us, you're arriving first thing in our morning."
Lillian noted how dark it was becoming. She wondered just how dark it got here.
Jacqueline nodded to Lillian. "You unpack and join us in the main house. We'll have breakfast if you're interested." She and Riddick turned to go. "And stay out of the woods for now. There are things in there that will kill you if you don't know what your doing."
Lillian joined them ten minutes later. She found that the house had shutters closed over the windows. She stopped almost immediately after entering the house, as it was so dark. "There's a lantern off to your right." She heard Jacqueline's voice. Lillian found and turned on the lantern. The light was weak, but gave her enough light to see a foot or so around her.
She walked slowly towards Jacqueline's voice and saw the table before she bumped into it. There was food waiting for her. She sat and began eating. She was pleased that the food was good. She ate quickly and drank some water. She took her utensils and moved slowly, finding the sink and Riddick. He took and washed her dishes along with the others.
Lillian didn't know exactly where she should go from there, so she stood close to Riddick. He glanced at her. "This isn't a slam." He said as he handed her a small towel and a wet dish. "But it isn't a free ride either." Lillian dried the dishes and put them where Riddick indicated. Then she followed him into the main room of the house. She found a comfortable chair and sat quietly. She couldn't see very far around her and so she sat not doing or saying anything. She heard some soft sounds around her, but couldn't figure out what they were.
"Why am I here?" She eventually asked. "I could have rehabbed where I was."
From the darkness came Jacqueline's voice. "Seems Iman has taken a special interest in you." She said. "And he thinks we can help straighten you out."
"Because you knew that bitch sister of mine?" Lillian said, her voice tight.
"Something like that." Riddick said.
"So you're going to try and convince me what a saint my dear sister was." Lillian said.
Riddick laughed lightly. "Not exactly." He said. "But something happened to your sister before she died." His voice became serious again.
Lillian scoffed. "People don't change in just a few hours." She said, frowning. "Especially people like Caroline."
"There were pretty dramatic circumstances back then." Jacqueline. "It changed all of us."
"I don't believe it." Lillian said, defiantly. "Nothing would make Caroline care."
"If you say so." Riddick said. "If you ever want to know about her, let us know. We'll tell you what happened to her." He paused. "You'll like the story. In the end she died quite painfully."
Lillian felt her smile. "Well, at least there's a happy ending." She said. "So I rehab here instead of on that damn humid misty joint."
"Slams don't rehab people." Riddick said. "It just groups a bunch of addicts together. And you've been on Caliga for a month, but your eyes are still as orange on orange as if you had your last hit of apfelsine last night."
Lillian raised her eyebrows defiantly. "I did."
Lillian helped Jacqueline and Riddick prepare their shipment of fruits, nuts and meats for shipment to Caliga. They taught her to watch for the kardis below and the pandeon above.
"You should pluck those pandeon things." Lillian said, watching the birds. She and Riddick were high in one of the many nut trees that grew on the moon. The light was much brighter in the trees and Riddick had his dark glasses on.
"They molt about every couple of months or so." He said, looking quickly at the bird and then away. He shook the wave of pain from his head quickly. "We collect the feathers, bundle them up and send them down."
Lillian bit her lip. "So how long have you been married?"
Riddick looked at her carefully. "We've been married about six and a half years now." He said. "We've known each other about eleven. Hard to count since the time changes from planet to planet."
Lillian raised her eyebrows. "Six years." she said. "You must like us young."
Riddick looked at her and shrugged. "Jack is in her mid twenties."
Lillian grinned. "Your not." she said. "You're at least twenty years older than she is."
Riddick cocked his head. "At least." He said.
Lillian moved a little closer to Riddick through the branches. "I've heard about you." she said. "Your a legend in slams. Everyone says you went soft after meeting Jack."
Riddick did not move. "I don't care what people think. I never have." He looked at Lillian carefully.
"Love makes you soft." Lillian said, looking at Riddick. Scanning him. "And you are in love. Soft."
She backed away slightly. "I can see it in everything you do."
Riddick amazed Lillian by both frowning and grinning. "You believe that caring for someone is weakness." he said, sounding almost amazed. "Interesting. I've known a few people who made that mistake. Not the least of them being me."
Lillian looked slightly confused. "Caring about another person weakens you. You worry about them and not yourself. It knocks you off your guard. Makes you vulnerable." she challenged.
Riddick pursed his lips. "That depends. In my case I don't worry about Jacqueline. She's as good as I am. In some things, even better. We add to each other. I've never experienced anything like it." He frowned slightly. "I met someone once that I could admire. One of the two people to ever save my life."
Lillian scoffed. "You're talking about my sister." she said. "Iman told me she saved your life. And got killed in the process. I don't believe it."
Riddick shrugged. "Believe it or not. I don't care." he said. "The time is coming for us to tell you about your sister. What she was like when we knew her. What happened to make her change." He dropped a large bag of nuts to the ground. "You can decide what she would have been like if she'd made it off of that planet." He started down the tree.
"She would have been the same bitch she had always been." Lillian said angrily, starting down after Riddick.
Riddick's Death
Copyright 2003 By Cassandra Houston
Chapter Nine: Lillian Fry
The Riddick's took the next month to build a guesthouse near their own home. When Iman arrived with their guest they were ready.
As they watched Iman slowly approach Riddick said softly. "She looks like Caroline. Longer hair, but the resemblance is there." He noted her dark glasses, not unlike their own and wondered.
Iman stopped in front of them. "Richard and Jack Riddick." He said. "This is Lillian Fry."
Lillian looked angry. "You're my new wardens, huh?" she snapped.
Riddick raised his eyebrows. "Yea." He said, matching her voice tone.
Iman cleared his throat. "I will leave you to get to know each other." He said. "I'll come back in a couple of weeks, as usual." He said to Riddick.
Riddick nodded and they watched Iman get back in his shuttle and take off. Jacqueline and Riddick led Lillian to the guesthouse. Lillian looked around and shrugged. "Beats that tin shed in the slam." She said, putting her satchel down. She turned to the Riddick's, who were just outside the door. She looked at their glasses. "It's a little dark to be wearing those isn't it?" She said, motioning to the glasses.
Jacqueline grinned. "We have sensitive eyes." She said. Normally we don't wear them, but since we have a new guest." She broke the sentence off.
Lillian frowned. She reached for her own glasses, her voice filled with a challenge. "I suffer from the effects of apfelsine addiction." She said, whipping her glasses off and showing them her eyes, which were orange on orange. When neither of them reacted in any way, she pouted.
"Sorry." Riddick said. "Jack and I have seen apfelsine poisoning a million times. Your not unique." He took his glasses off and Jacqueline did the same. Lillian couldn't contain her gasp.
"But we are." Jacqueline said, watching her reaction.
Lillian tried to shrug it off. "Whatever." she said, defiantly.
Riddick put his glasses in his pocket. "We sleep during the brightest time of day." He said. "So for us, you're arriving first thing in our morning."
Lillian noted how dark it was becoming. She wondered just how dark it got here.
Jacqueline nodded to Lillian. "You unpack and join us in the main house. We'll have breakfast if you're interested." She and Riddick turned to go. "And stay out of the woods for now. There are things in there that will kill you if you don't know what your doing."
Lillian joined them ten minutes later. She found that the house had shutters closed over the windows. She stopped almost immediately after entering the house, as it was so dark. "There's a lantern off to your right." She heard Jacqueline's voice. Lillian found and turned on the lantern. The light was weak, but gave her enough light to see a foot or so around her.
She walked slowly towards Jacqueline's voice and saw the table before she bumped into it. There was food waiting for her. She sat and began eating. She was pleased that the food was good. She ate quickly and drank some water. She took her utensils and moved slowly, finding the sink and Riddick. He took and washed her dishes along with the others.
Lillian didn't know exactly where she should go from there, so she stood close to Riddick. He glanced at her. "This isn't a slam." He said as he handed her a small towel and a wet dish. "But it isn't a free ride either." Lillian dried the dishes and put them where Riddick indicated. Then she followed him into the main room of the house. She found a comfortable chair and sat quietly. She couldn't see very far around her and so she sat not doing or saying anything. She heard some soft sounds around her, but couldn't figure out what they were.
"Why am I here?" She eventually asked. "I could have rehabbed where I was."
From the darkness came Jacqueline's voice. "Seems Iman has taken a special interest in you." She said. "And he thinks we can help straighten you out."
"Because you knew that bitch sister of mine?" Lillian said, her voice tight.
"Something like that." Riddick said.
"So you're going to try and convince me what a saint my dear sister was." Lillian said.
Riddick laughed lightly. "Not exactly." He said. "But something happened to your sister before she died." His voice became serious again.
Lillian scoffed. "People don't change in just a few hours." She said, frowning. "Especially people like Caroline."
"There were pretty dramatic circumstances back then." Jacqueline. "It changed all of us."
"I don't believe it." Lillian said, defiantly. "Nothing would make Caroline care."
"If you say so." Riddick said. "If you ever want to know about her, let us know. We'll tell you what happened to her." He paused. "You'll like the story. In the end she died quite painfully."
Lillian felt her smile. "Well, at least there's a happy ending." She said. "So I rehab here instead of on that damn humid misty joint."
"Slams don't rehab people." Riddick said. "It just groups a bunch of addicts together. And you've been on Caliga for a month, but your eyes are still as orange on orange as if you had your last hit of apfelsine last night."
Lillian raised her eyebrows defiantly. "I did."
Lillian helped Jacqueline and Riddick prepare their shipment of fruits, nuts and meats for shipment to Caliga. They taught her to watch for the kardis below and the pandeon above.
"You should pluck those pandeon things." Lillian said, watching the birds. She and Riddick were high in one of the many nut trees that grew on the moon. The light was much brighter in the trees and Riddick had his dark glasses on.
"They molt about every couple of months or so." He said, looking quickly at the bird and then away. He shook the wave of pain from his head quickly. "We collect the feathers, bundle them up and send them down."
Lillian bit her lip. "So how long have you been married?"
Riddick looked at her carefully. "We've been married about six and a half years now." He said. "We've known each other about eleven. Hard to count since the time changes from planet to planet."
Lillian raised her eyebrows. "Six years." she said. "You must like us young."
Riddick looked at her and shrugged. "Jack is in her mid twenties."
Lillian grinned. "Your not." she said. "You're at least twenty years older than she is."
Riddick cocked his head. "At least." He said.
Lillian moved a little closer to Riddick through the branches. "I've heard about you." she said. "Your a legend in slams. Everyone says you went soft after meeting Jack."
Riddick did not move. "I don't care what people think. I never have." He looked at Lillian carefully.
"Love makes you soft." Lillian said, looking at Riddick. Scanning him. "And you are in love. Soft."
She backed away slightly. "I can see it in everything you do."
Riddick amazed Lillian by both frowning and grinning. "You believe that caring for someone is weakness." he said, sounding almost amazed. "Interesting. I've known a few people who made that mistake. Not the least of them being me."
Lillian looked slightly confused. "Caring about another person weakens you. You worry about them and not yourself. It knocks you off your guard. Makes you vulnerable." she challenged.
Riddick pursed his lips. "That depends. In my case I don't worry about Jacqueline. She's as good as I am. In some things, even better. We add to each other. I've never experienced anything like it." He frowned slightly. "I met someone once that I could admire. One of the two people to ever save my life."
Lillian scoffed. "You're talking about my sister." she said. "Iman told me she saved your life. And got killed in the process. I don't believe it."
Riddick shrugged. "Believe it or not. I don't care." he said. "The time is coming for us to tell you about your sister. What she was like when we knew her. What happened to make her change." He dropped a large bag of nuts to the ground. "You can decide what she would have been like if she'd made it off of that planet." He started down the tree.
"She would have been the same bitch she had always been." Lillian said angrily, starting down after Riddick.