Notes: You wanted him, so here he is. The entrance of the man himself,
Richard B Riddick.Oh, and I know absolutely nothing about real swordplay so
don't get mad at me for making things up.
Chapter 5
"So what's the plan then?" Alex asked the assembly, each of which carried some sort of weapon. All the kid had was a boomerang.
Carolyn stepped forward. "We go armed, but we'll look for water first. Johns will go with some of us, the rest will stay here. Shazza and Zeke found a way to make oxygen hookups out of spare parts, and I suggest that we go outside to keep some sort of a lookout instead of being in here." The rest of them nodded and gathered up the parts to move outside. As Jack passed by Alex, Alex grabbed him by the shoulder and bent down face to face with him.
"You'll need more than that stick. Here." And with that Alex brought the knife in between them so Jack could see it. The kid's eyes widened, then he slowly, almost reverently reached out to it. "Go on, take it," Alex said, and he did. Alex looked into Jack's brown eyes unflinchingly. "Don't use it unless you really need to. It's not a toy. Just like this," and she touched the sword, "is not a toy. You got me?" Jack nodded.
Suddenly Alex realized, that in the way Jack held himself, and something in his eyes, that he was not a he. He was a she. Now it was Alex's turn for eyes to widen. She bent down until she was able to whisper in Jack's ear.
"Don't worry, either, about your little secret. I won't tell. You have your reasons" And I have mine, she mentally added. She straightened, and then uncharacteristically her face broke into a real, but sad smile. Jack looked confused for a moment, then it dawned on her what Alex was talking about. Jack looked about to run for a split second, then she too smiled, nervously.
"Thanks. I.thanks," she mumbled, then ran outside.
Don't give in, a voice in Alex's head said. Remember, they'll all leave, or die. Attachment leads to pain. But somehow, Alex felt that there was a part of her that wanted to be in this band. Or at least a few parts of it. She'd watch it though. Alex looked around at the interior, then went outside as well. She joined Carolyn in leaning against the side of the ship in the beating sun. She admired Carolyn, because in the short time since her breakdown in the cockpit, Alex saw Carolyn shaping into the leader they needed. Alex sighed, and looked up at the sky again. At least nightfall would be cooler. As Carolyn started to get everyone going to look for water, Paris came running up, saying, "Excuse me, I think you should see this."
The group followed him as as they turned the corner around the ship, they saw what caused the commotion. A third, blue sun. As one set, the other rose. Fuck. There would be no nightfall. Imam and his "son" said it was a good sign, blue sun, blue water. Zeke broke in with, "Ever wonder why I'm an atheist?", at which Alex gave a short chuckle.
Johns pointed out that was the way Riddick had gone, even though he threw his restraints the other way. They decided to have Paris, Zeke, Shazza, Jack, and Alex stay at the ship, while Imam and company, Carolyn, and Johns would search for water.
After they left, Paris set up ship with a parsol, a cigar, and some wine on top of the ship. Zeke decided it fell on him to bury the dead. That is, the recognizable parts. Alex wanted nothing to do with the dead. Everyone died. Better to just leave them, and the memories. She could feel it rising up against the walls, the feelings she had when she realized that everything she knew was gone, everyone she loved was dead, on came the feelings of utter despair. Left with nothing to do, as Shazza and Jack were doing something in the ship, Alex decided that perhaps she would do forms for awhile. She found a slightly shaded, smooth patch of sand, and stood in the center. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply twice. Find the flame, she thought. In her mind's eye, she could see it. She fed all her rising pain and anguish into it, leaving nothing but the sword. She opened her eyes. There was a hardness, a focus behind them, and her body was suddenly in a state of readiness. She placed her hands together and bowed to the blue sun. Taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she pulled the sword from the sheath slowly, delicately, without a sound. She brought the sword directly in front of her, tip up, and held it with both hands. She adjusted her posture to the fighter's ready stance. With that, she began to move the sword to the side, slowly. Unfolding the Fan. She whirled it around and down with a snap and a lunge. Closing the Fan. She blocked an imaginary opponent and then swung for a killing stroke. Tiger Follows.
As she moved through them, she knew she was rusty. Apple Blossom Falls. Dragon on his Cloud. Slowly she began to fall into the rhythm. It came faster now, the sword's glint from the sun flickering quickly. She was breathing harder in the atmosphere. The sun beat down on her black clothing and hair. Into the flame. It all went into the flame. Somehow she transcended her body's needs and her breathing slowed again. Back and forth the blade went, gaining speed until it moved in a blur as she spun. Nothing remained except Alex and the sword.
As she reached the final, most complex movement, Dragon Rushes down the Mountain, she ended with a jump kick into the air, and a single shout, signifying the end of it. She then returned to the salute position, breathing heavily. As she sheathed the sword she felt some muscle fatigue, but surprisingly not much. She had enough room in her cubicle back on the darker planet to do them. It calmed her. It took it all away. Now she was harder, like the tempered steel.
But what she didn't know is that as she had finished, someone else had been watching her. Someone who climbed to the recently vacated perch with a parasol and a cigar, and with raised eyebrows said to himself, "How interesting," and took a swig from a bottle of whiskey.
Alex, unaware of her watcher, sheathed the sword and as she did she heard gunshots. Close gunshots, coming from the ship. She ran around to where Shazza and Jack had been and saw a shocked and bloody Shazza move back as the body of a man fell to the deck, and Zeke pointing a gun at him.
"It was just somebody else, just somebody else from the crash!" Jack shouted.
Alex ran up to the lot of them at the ship. "Jesus!" she shouted, "what the fuck did you shoot him for?!"
Apparently Zeke thought it was Riddick. Alex, in her currently unemotional state, just ticked it off as another loss from their weary band. Zeke took it personally, and justifiably so, and insisted on burying the man with the others in the mass grave out beyond the ships. Jack and Paris were both quite shaken up, and Shazza wiped blood off her face. Alex went into the ship's interior to get a little relief from the sun, and the thought came to mind that what would she do, if faced with Riddick? Hopefully he'd be at sword's length. However, she decided that if she did have to deal with him, she'd come off as hardassed as possible. This was a guy from prison, "The Slam," Johns said. Though she didn't trust Johns at all, she did trust the fact that this Riddick was very dangerous and quite possibly very intelligent. Unless she did come off as tough, he could probably tell that she wasn't a killer and hadn't ever been. Though she'd cut up a street pickpocket, she hadn't killed. Didn't know if she could. No, the best way was to come off as tough as nails and hope he couldn't see through to the sometimes nervous and scared Alex of the twentieth century.
Then she heard gunshots again. And shouts. Coming from where Zeke had gone to bury the body.
This time she wasn't alone as she ran towards the scene. In fact, Shazza was twenty feet ahead of her, and reached the canopy only have to pull it aside and reveal that the entire gravesite was drenched in red. As Alex came closer, she skidded to a halt because crouching above the grave was Riddick with a knife in his hand. He stared at Shazza, then at Alex, for a split second, seeming to see right through her. He slowly got up from his crouch, staring at them all the time, then slowly turned and walked away. Then he started running among the mounds.
Suddenly Alex saw Johns came running in from the direction he and the group left from, Carolyn behind him and Imam and the boys trailing her. He ran into the mounds ahead of where Riddick was running, then tripped him and beat him with a collapsible stick, flipping off his goggles in the process. Riddick lay on the ground covering his face and squinting, and Shazza ran up screaming at him, asking what he did to Zeke and kicking him. Carolyn caught up and held her back, with Shazza demanding they kill Riddick. Alex stood off to one side, watching as Johns finally handcuffed Riddick at gunpoint and forced him back to the ship, where they chained him in the cargo hold so that his arms were held out to the sides. Alex stepped outside after watching them chain him, where Carolyn and the others were gathered after Carolyn had the grisly task of searching the grave for Zeke's body, which was mysteriously missing. The suspicious looking hole in the grave had yielded no results either except more blood.
"We should kill him. Fucking kill him. He killed bloody Zeke!" Shazza was yelling with tears streaming down her face. Imam was all for saving him, as he was a religious man. Paris was back and forth, but this was a man after saving his own hide, so he tended to stand with Shazza. Johns remained silent, so did Jack.
Alex watched Carolyn, who strode angrily into the cargo hold where Riddick was. Stepping just inside the main room, she listened in on their conversation.
"Well, do you want to tell me about the sounds? Look, you told Johns you heard something." Carolyn paused, waiting for Riddick, who said nothing. "That's fine. Look, if you don't want to talk to me that's your choice but JUST so you know, there's a debate going on right now as to whether we should just leave you here to die." Acting as if she didn't fear him, she started to walk off when he broke in.
"You mean the whispers."
That got Carolyn's attention. She walked back, cautiously. "What whispers?" she said quietly.
"The ones telling me to go for the sweet spot just to the left of the spine." Alex shivered as she heard Riddick speak. The man had the rumblings of the devil. "Fourth lumbar down." Now Carolyn seemed either frustrated or scared. Maybe both. Alex sensed that somehow Riddick was laughing at them. "The abdominal aorta. It's a metallic taste, human blood. Copperish, if you cut it with peppermint schnaps that goes away of course-"
"Do you want to shock me with the truth now?" interrupted Carolyn. Damn, she was braver than Alex thought. She knew that he was fucking with them.
Riddick slowly moved his head to one side to look at her, eyes without goggles but still in shadow. "All you people as so scared of me. Most days I take that as a compliment, but it ain't me you gotta worry 'bout now." Alex could tell. He was incredibly intelligent. How he became locked away in prison she didn't want to know, but she thought that he'd be a challenge to match minds with.
Carolyn seemed fascinated by him. "Show me your eyes, Riddick."
As he told her to come closer, Alex, also, moved into the ship closer to where the incredibly muscular man was chained. Would those chains hold him, she wondered. As Carolyn moved in, trying to judge how far the chains would allow him to move, Alex put her hand on her sword in case Riddick tried anything. She could see him tensing, it took a fighter to notice it. As soon as Carolyn was close enough to him, like a snake Riddick got up and moved towards her as far as the chains would go, revealing eyes that shone in the light, like a cat's. As he and Carolyn locked gazes for a second, Alex saw that Jack had also joined them in the cargo hold, looking with amazement at Riddick.
He turned to look at Alex and then Jack, who blurted out, "Where the hell can I get eyes like that?" So he told her. Crazy kid. But being sent to a prison where you'd never see daylight, that would twist just about anyone.
Jack was smiling as she realized why he'd get a shine job on his eyes, "so you can see in the dark?" she said with a apprehensive grin.
"Exactly," Riddick said with a smile. The smile of someone who knew he had his prey right where he wanted them.
Carolyn didn't want Jack there. "Leave!" she shouted, then at normal volume, "leave." Riddick was unnerving. So completely confident.
"Cute kid," he said as Jack left. Then his gaze turned to Alex in the opposite corner of the dimly lit hold. She faced him, stare for stare, using the flame to remove her fear. It wavered. She saw his eyes move slowly towards her sword then back to her eyes, with a confident half smile. It didn't reach his eyes. It took all of the flame within her, but she hardened her gaze and folded her arms, leaning nonchalantly against the wall next to her. Outwardly relaxed, inwardly every muscle was tense. She allowed her lips to curve upward in an arrogant sort of smirk, barely noticeable. She saw his expression change slightly, oh so slightly, then he looked back at Carolyn. As his gaze had shifted away from her, Alex forced herself to relax slowly and take deep calming breaths. It was such an intense stare. He slowly lowered himself back to the seat he had been in before
"Did I kill a few people? Sure. Did I kill Zeke?" here he hesitated, "No. Ya got the wrong killer."
"He's NOT.in the hole." Carolyn said angrily. "We looked."
"Look deeper," came the answer.
Chapter 5
"So what's the plan then?" Alex asked the assembly, each of which carried some sort of weapon. All the kid had was a boomerang.
Carolyn stepped forward. "We go armed, but we'll look for water first. Johns will go with some of us, the rest will stay here. Shazza and Zeke found a way to make oxygen hookups out of spare parts, and I suggest that we go outside to keep some sort of a lookout instead of being in here." The rest of them nodded and gathered up the parts to move outside. As Jack passed by Alex, Alex grabbed him by the shoulder and bent down face to face with him.
"You'll need more than that stick. Here." And with that Alex brought the knife in between them so Jack could see it. The kid's eyes widened, then he slowly, almost reverently reached out to it. "Go on, take it," Alex said, and he did. Alex looked into Jack's brown eyes unflinchingly. "Don't use it unless you really need to. It's not a toy. Just like this," and she touched the sword, "is not a toy. You got me?" Jack nodded.
Suddenly Alex realized, that in the way Jack held himself, and something in his eyes, that he was not a he. He was a she. Now it was Alex's turn for eyes to widen. She bent down until she was able to whisper in Jack's ear.
"Don't worry, either, about your little secret. I won't tell. You have your reasons" And I have mine, she mentally added. She straightened, and then uncharacteristically her face broke into a real, but sad smile. Jack looked confused for a moment, then it dawned on her what Alex was talking about. Jack looked about to run for a split second, then she too smiled, nervously.
"Thanks. I.thanks," she mumbled, then ran outside.
Don't give in, a voice in Alex's head said. Remember, they'll all leave, or die. Attachment leads to pain. But somehow, Alex felt that there was a part of her that wanted to be in this band. Or at least a few parts of it. She'd watch it though. Alex looked around at the interior, then went outside as well. She joined Carolyn in leaning against the side of the ship in the beating sun. She admired Carolyn, because in the short time since her breakdown in the cockpit, Alex saw Carolyn shaping into the leader they needed. Alex sighed, and looked up at the sky again. At least nightfall would be cooler. As Carolyn started to get everyone going to look for water, Paris came running up, saying, "Excuse me, I think you should see this."
The group followed him as as they turned the corner around the ship, they saw what caused the commotion. A third, blue sun. As one set, the other rose. Fuck. There would be no nightfall. Imam and his "son" said it was a good sign, blue sun, blue water. Zeke broke in with, "Ever wonder why I'm an atheist?", at which Alex gave a short chuckle.
Johns pointed out that was the way Riddick had gone, even though he threw his restraints the other way. They decided to have Paris, Zeke, Shazza, Jack, and Alex stay at the ship, while Imam and company, Carolyn, and Johns would search for water.
After they left, Paris set up ship with a parsol, a cigar, and some wine on top of the ship. Zeke decided it fell on him to bury the dead. That is, the recognizable parts. Alex wanted nothing to do with the dead. Everyone died. Better to just leave them, and the memories. She could feel it rising up against the walls, the feelings she had when she realized that everything she knew was gone, everyone she loved was dead, on came the feelings of utter despair. Left with nothing to do, as Shazza and Jack were doing something in the ship, Alex decided that perhaps she would do forms for awhile. She found a slightly shaded, smooth patch of sand, and stood in the center. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply twice. Find the flame, she thought. In her mind's eye, she could see it. She fed all her rising pain and anguish into it, leaving nothing but the sword. She opened her eyes. There was a hardness, a focus behind them, and her body was suddenly in a state of readiness. She placed her hands together and bowed to the blue sun. Taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she pulled the sword from the sheath slowly, delicately, without a sound. She brought the sword directly in front of her, tip up, and held it with both hands. She adjusted her posture to the fighter's ready stance. With that, she began to move the sword to the side, slowly. Unfolding the Fan. She whirled it around and down with a snap and a lunge. Closing the Fan. She blocked an imaginary opponent and then swung for a killing stroke. Tiger Follows.
As she moved through them, she knew she was rusty. Apple Blossom Falls. Dragon on his Cloud. Slowly she began to fall into the rhythm. It came faster now, the sword's glint from the sun flickering quickly. She was breathing harder in the atmosphere. The sun beat down on her black clothing and hair. Into the flame. It all went into the flame. Somehow she transcended her body's needs and her breathing slowed again. Back and forth the blade went, gaining speed until it moved in a blur as she spun. Nothing remained except Alex and the sword.
As she reached the final, most complex movement, Dragon Rushes down the Mountain, she ended with a jump kick into the air, and a single shout, signifying the end of it. She then returned to the salute position, breathing heavily. As she sheathed the sword she felt some muscle fatigue, but surprisingly not much. She had enough room in her cubicle back on the darker planet to do them. It calmed her. It took it all away. Now she was harder, like the tempered steel.
But what she didn't know is that as she had finished, someone else had been watching her. Someone who climbed to the recently vacated perch with a parasol and a cigar, and with raised eyebrows said to himself, "How interesting," and took a swig from a bottle of whiskey.
Alex, unaware of her watcher, sheathed the sword and as she did she heard gunshots. Close gunshots, coming from the ship. She ran around to where Shazza and Jack had been and saw a shocked and bloody Shazza move back as the body of a man fell to the deck, and Zeke pointing a gun at him.
"It was just somebody else, just somebody else from the crash!" Jack shouted.
Alex ran up to the lot of them at the ship. "Jesus!" she shouted, "what the fuck did you shoot him for?!"
Apparently Zeke thought it was Riddick. Alex, in her currently unemotional state, just ticked it off as another loss from their weary band. Zeke took it personally, and justifiably so, and insisted on burying the man with the others in the mass grave out beyond the ships. Jack and Paris were both quite shaken up, and Shazza wiped blood off her face. Alex went into the ship's interior to get a little relief from the sun, and the thought came to mind that what would she do, if faced with Riddick? Hopefully he'd be at sword's length. However, she decided that if she did have to deal with him, she'd come off as hardassed as possible. This was a guy from prison, "The Slam," Johns said. Though she didn't trust Johns at all, she did trust the fact that this Riddick was very dangerous and quite possibly very intelligent. Unless she did come off as tough, he could probably tell that she wasn't a killer and hadn't ever been. Though she'd cut up a street pickpocket, she hadn't killed. Didn't know if she could. No, the best way was to come off as tough as nails and hope he couldn't see through to the sometimes nervous and scared Alex of the twentieth century.
Then she heard gunshots again. And shouts. Coming from where Zeke had gone to bury the body.
This time she wasn't alone as she ran towards the scene. In fact, Shazza was twenty feet ahead of her, and reached the canopy only have to pull it aside and reveal that the entire gravesite was drenched in red. As Alex came closer, she skidded to a halt because crouching above the grave was Riddick with a knife in his hand. He stared at Shazza, then at Alex, for a split second, seeming to see right through her. He slowly got up from his crouch, staring at them all the time, then slowly turned and walked away. Then he started running among the mounds.
Suddenly Alex saw Johns came running in from the direction he and the group left from, Carolyn behind him and Imam and the boys trailing her. He ran into the mounds ahead of where Riddick was running, then tripped him and beat him with a collapsible stick, flipping off his goggles in the process. Riddick lay on the ground covering his face and squinting, and Shazza ran up screaming at him, asking what he did to Zeke and kicking him. Carolyn caught up and held her back, with Shazza demanding they kill Riddick. Alex stood off to one side, watching as Johns finally handcuffed Riddick at gunpoint and forced him back to the ship, where they chained him in the cargo hold so that his arms were held out to the sides. Alex stepped outside after watching them chain him, where Carolyn and the others were gathered after Carolyn had the grisly task of searching the grave for Zeke's body, which was mysteriously missing. The suspicious looking hole in the grave had yielded no results either except more blood.
"We should kill him. Fucking kill him. He killed bloody Zeke!" Shazza was yelling with tears streaming down her face. Imam was all for saving him, as he was a religious man. Paris was back and forth, but this was a man after saving his own hide, so he tended to stand with Shazza. Johns remained silent, so did Jack.
Alex watched Carolyn, who strode angrily into the cargo hold where Riddick was. Stepping just inside the main room, she listened in on their conversation.
"Well, do you want to tell me about the sounds? Look, you told Johns you heard something." Carolyn paused, waiting for Riddick, who said nothing. "That's fine. Look, if you don't want to talk to me that's your choice but JUST so you know, there's a debate going on right now as to whether we should just leave you here to die." Acting as if she didn't fear him, she started to walk off when he broke in.
"You mean the whispers."
That got Carolyn's attention. She walked back, cautiously. "What whispers?" she said quietly.
"The ones telling me to go for the sweet spot just to the left of the spine." Alex shivered as she heard Riddick speak. The man had the rumblings of the devil. "Fourth lumbar down." Now Carolyn seemed either frustrated or scared. Maybe both. Alex sensed that somehow Riddick was laughing at them. "The abdominal aorta. It's a metallic taste, human blood. Copperish, if you cut it with peppermint schnaps that goes away of course-"
"Do you want to shock me with the truth now?" interrupted Carolyn. Damn, she was braver than Alex thought. She knew that he was fucking with them.
Riddick slowly moved his head to one side to look at her, eyes without goggles but still in shadow. "All you people as so scared of me. Most days I take that as a compliment, but it ain't me you gotta worry 'bout now." Alex could tell. He was incredibly intelligent. How he became locked away in prison she didn't want to know, but she thought that he'd be a challenge to match minds with.
Carolyn seemed fascinated by him. "Show me your eyes, Riddick."
As he told her to come closer, Alex, also, moved into the ship closer to where the incredibly muscular man was chained. Would those chains hold him, she wondered. As Carolyn moved in, trying to judge how far the chains would allow him to move, Alex put her hand on her sword in case Riddick tried anything. She could see him tensing, it took a fighter to notice it. As soon as Carolyn was close enough to him, like a snake Riddick got up and moved towards her as far as the chains would go, revealing eyes that shone in the light, like a cat's. As he and Carolyn locked gazes for a second, Alex saw that Jack had also joined them in the cargo hold, looking with amazement at Riddick.
He turned to look at Alex and then Jack, who blurted out, "Where the hell can I get eyes like that?" So he told her. Crazy kid. But being sent to a prison where you'd never see daylight, that would twist just about anyone.
Jack was smiling as she realized why he'd get a shine job on his eyes, "so you can see in the dark?" she said with a apprehensive grin.
"Exactly," Riddick said with a smile. The smile of someone who knew he had his prey right where he wanted them.
Carolyn didn't want Jack there. "Leave!" she shouted, then at normal volume, "leave." Riddick was unnerving. So completely confident.
"Cute kid," he said as Jack left. Then his gaze turned to Alex in the opposite corner of the dimly lit hold. She faced him, stare for stare, using the flame to remove her fear. It wavered. She saw his eyes move slowly towards her sword then back to her eyes, with a confident half smile. It didn't reach his eyes. It took all of the flame within her, but she hardened her gaze and folded her arms, leaning nonchalantly against the wall next to her. Outwardly relaxed, inwardly every muscle was tense. She allowed her lips to curve upward in an arrogant sort of smirk, barely noticeable. She saw his expression change slightly, oh so slightly, then he looked back at Carolyn. As his gaze had shifted away from her, Alex forced herself to relax slowly and take deep calming breaths. It was such an intense stare. He slowly lowered himself back to the seat he had been in before
"Did I kill a few people? Sure. Did I kill Zeke?" here he hesitated, "No. Ya got the wrong killer."
"He's NOT.in the hole." Carolyn said angrily. "We looked."
"Look deeper," came the answer.