Chapter 8


This had to be some kind of sick joke. Meera leaned on the railing that over looked the holographic waterfall and sighed. Riddick was just playing with her, right? Yeah, that was it. She would go back to the room and he'd laugh at her for being so gullible. She took a deep breath and felt inside her pocket. Hopefully, she'd still have some credit chips left from before Johns had taken her in.

After finding four or five, she walked into the nearest convenience store and bought a bottle of water; she needed to calm down. As soon as the water was paid for, she opened the bottle and returned to the waterfall. This time she sat with her back against the railing and quickly downed the drink.

Yeah right, Riddick killed her parents! And he was her brother! She shook her head and laughed sardonically, he needed to stop playing with her head. Meera took a deep breath and stood up slowly. If she stayed there any longer people would start thinking she was going through withdrawal. Her hands shook as she ran them through her hair. Pushing off the railing, she started back towards the elevator.

"Can I buy you a drink?" someone next to her asked.

"That's original." Meera looked up at the guy and raised her eyebrows. He was older than her, around Riddick's age – maybe older - with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. He regarded her seriously and she stopped walking.

"Yeah, well, you look like you could use a drink," he told her.

"Sure as hell can." He motioned with his arm and she followed him into the nearest pub. They sat at the bar and waited for the bartender to come around to them.

"What's your poison?" the guy asked her.

"Devil's Sunrise," she said automatically, not knowing what it was, just that it was a drink that her foster mother favored.

The bartender came over to them, a wash rag thrown over his shoulder. "Devil's Sunrise for the lady and I'll have a straight Vodka," the guy told him. As the bartender, left Meera watched the man out of the corner of her eye. He reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled something out. "I was wondering if you knew this man."

She sighed tiredly; there was always a catch. Why was there always a catch? She looked at the picture on the bar: Riddick. Meera looked up at the man, his eyes expectant. "Sorry. Never seen him before in my life," she lied, keeping eye contact with him.

"Damn." He reached back into his pocket and pulled something else out. "He might be traveling with this person. Maybe you've seen her?"

She looked down at the next photo and froze. It was her! A surveillance photo of her when she was thirteen years old! "Where'd you get this?" she growled, her eyes flashing and turning to a darker green.

"Easy there, Tiger," he said, visibly uneasy about the change in her demeanor. "Riddick was my old cellmate."

"I don't know who you're talking about. But I would like to know why you have this?" She pointed to the picture of herself.

"Your brother had me watch you until he broke out to get you." He whispered as the bartender placed their drinks in front of them and walked away.

"I don't have a brother." She spoke through clenched teeth and fought hard to keep her anger in check. She took her shot and slammed the glass down on the bar, standing during the process. "Stay the fuck away from," she warned the guy.

He stood up and moved towards her in an attempt to calm her down and not make a scene. Meera patted her freshly charged blaster in a silent, deadly warning, and he froze in his place.

"Got it," he told her, stepping back, taking the hint.

Meera kept her hand poised over her weapon as she walked out of the bar, leaving the guy behind. She looked down at herself as she rounded a corner and started for the elevators. Her hands were dirty with blood under her fingernails and her clothes had blue goo and dry, caked blood all over them.

"Ugh, I need a shower," she whispered to herself. From down the hall she watched the down arrow light up and the elevator doors begin to close. In a desperate rush, she dashed down the hall toward the closing doors. "Hold the-" The doors went wide and she skidded to a stop. "Thanks," she said to the guy who had held the elevator.

"What level?" he asked her. He looked like the kid who had followed her and Fry earlier. "What level?" he repeated.

"Huh?" Meera blinked, coming back to reality.

"What level are you going to?" he asked again.

She shook her head and smiled at her own stupidity. "C."

"OK." He pressed the button and smiled at her.

"Thanks." She moved over to the opposite side of the elevator; if he was the guy who had followed them earlier, she would have to be careful. She refused to look at him or make eye contact while they were in motion. Instead, she kept her gaze locked on the lighted letters above the door.

At last, the doors opened and she let out a soft sigh of relief. The kid stepped off, holding the door open for her. Meera gave him a half, un-heartfelt smile and walked away.

"Nice talking to you," she heard him called out. Looking over her shoulder, she watched him walk down a hall that led in the opposite direction than her room and she rounded a corner.

-Just in time to see Riddick walking out of the room. Backpedaling around the corner, she turned and started down a different hallway.

"Gonna hafta to talk to him sooner or later," she chided herself. As she turned the next corner, she bumped into to someone. "Christ!" she let out under her breath. Meera took a deep breath and a step back to settle herself.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention," she said, looking up to see the guy from the pub right in front of her.

"S'alright, Tiger. Accidents happen." He looked over her head at something behind her. "Riddick, my man." Meera flinched at the sound of his name and turned slowly. Her brother was standing right behind her, his jaw bruised, but he didn't look pissed. Instead, he looked somewhat depressed.

"Michigan," he answered, sticking out his hand to the other man. "How are you?" He asked as they shook.

She excused herself and ducked from between the two as their conversation started. Heading back towards the room, she turned the corner and collided with someone else.

"I swear, if I walk into one more thing I'm getting my eyes checked," she muttered, leaning down to help the person whose papers were strewn all over the floor. She raised her hand and rubbed it over her eyes, trying to relieve some of the tension. Sighing she said, "I'm sorry. Can I help you pick this up?"

She heard the guy laugh and looked up, her mouth forming a comical "O" at whom she saw. It was the kid from the elevator. "Help would be nice," he told her, smiling. Their eyes met and she nearly dropped the papers she had picked up. Meera diverted her eyes and concentrated on the task at hand.

"Sorry about that," she said again, distracting herself.

"Not entirely your fault." They gathered up all the papers and she handed her pile to him as they stood. "I wasn't completely paying attention, either."

"Well, that's somewhat of a relief." She smiled and began to walk around him. "I'm really sorry." She whispered once more before blurting out: "I have to go." Then she walked as calmly as possible back to the room.

Fry answered the door on the first knock, a half-excited half-worried look on her face. "Where have you been? We've been worried sick about you," she stated, pulling her into the room and shutting the door.

"Sorry, mom. I didn't know I had to check in with everyone," she snapped. Looking around, she noticed that Jack, Imam, and Fry were all showered and dressed in strange clothing that she had never seen before.

"Riddick was worried. What's wrong? I mean, are you OK?"

"I'm fine. I just need a shower." She met Fry's gaze and smiled apologetically, feeling bad for her outburst. "I'll take it in the other."

"OK, I'll...um...leave some clothes on one of the beds," the woman told her, in a low voice.

"Thanks." Meera gave her a half smile, then walked into the adjoining room and right to the bathroom. She locked the door after shutting it behind her and assessed the room in which she stood. A mirror hung on the wall above the sink, a tiny, knee-high toilet sat on the right of the sink, and on the left was a wide, full shower. Meera walked over and studied her reflection in the mirror.

Dirt was smudged on her cheeks, a few bruises were still healing, and dry blood spots were the only indication that she had ever been cut. And she was in a terrible amount of pain, her head pounded unbearably hard and she thought that she would retch at any second. She supposed, if he were still alive, Johns would be happy with what he had done, he would be proud.

But he wasn't. She smiled wickedly, remembering how his head was bitten off by one of those creatures.

"I must have looked like a complete pauper to that kid," she told herself, not realizing the words even came out. Her reflection frowned back at her. "Like I'm supposed to care?"

Meera undid her holsters and placed them on the floor, cracking her back in the process. "Hell yeah," she said. "The dude was munch-able." She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Stop talking to yourself! And he wasn't cute.

She turned to her left and pushed the shower door aside, revealing the knobs to turn it on. After the water was turned on and to the temperature of her liking, she stripped out of her clothes and stepped under the hot spray. The temperature alone made her want to curl into a ball and fall asleep, and the water pressure soothed muscles she didn't even know ached.

He was so cute, the little annoying voice in her head taunted.

Before she knew it she was falling asleep, her head moving forward to lean against the shower wall, eyes drifting shut. Meera's left hand, moving under protest, slid along the wall and turned off the spray of water. She dried her body on the towel that hung on a rack to the side, and stepped out of the shower stall into the bathroom. She walked over and put on the bathrobe that hung on a peg on the back of the door.

Grabbing her stuff, she unlocked the door and walked into the main bedroom. Just as Fry had promised, there was clothing lain out on the bed closest to the bathroom. Meera quickly changed into them and sat on the bed, leaving her torn clothing and bathrobe on the floor. She placed her weapons under the bed, except for one, which she hid under the pillow she would be resting her head on.

She crawled on top of the bed and lay down, stretching out. Within seconds she was asleep.

-----

Fry knocked on the connecting door and waited for an answer, but it never came. Feeling slightly nervous because of the fact that Meera hadn't been answering for a little over an hour, she just walked into the room without a second's hesitation. The girl was laying down on one of the beds, sleeping peacefully. Sleeping arrangements had not been made yet, but she was sure that Meera had found her spot.

"Everything all right?" A deep voice asked from behind her.

She jumped and turned to see Riddick standing there. "Yeah, no, everything's fine."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He walked around her, closing the door behind him. That left the two of them in one room, while Jack and Imam sat in the other. She did not know what she expected him to do, but he was making her nervous. "Imam is catching tomorrow's transport to New Mecca. So, we'll be one man short." She found herself speaking just to fill the silence.

"Really?"

"Yup. So, we only have about sleeping arrangements tonight. Tomorrow night we'll each have are our own bed." Deep down inside Fry was hoping he would let her and Jack sleep in the same room as Meera, while he and Imam took the other one.

"All right, we'll do girls in one, guys in the other." Thank you- "There's something you should know." He said the words so suddenly she stopped her mental prayer.

"What's that?" she asked hesitantly.

"You asked me how Meera was different," he said, sitting on the free bed. "Well, she's different because...she's my sister."

Fry frowned and looked at the girl, who looked so peaceful sleeping, then back at the man in front of her. "Wow. That was unexpected." Now that he said something, they did look somewhat alike.

"Surprise." He stood and walked towards the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower."

"They brought us clothes for the night. I'll bring them in for you." She walked in the opposite direction as him.

"Thanks, you can leave them on the toilet."

Her hand froze on the keypad that opened the door. Quickly she hid the look of shock that crossed her face and turned to him. "I was just going to leave them on the bed."

"I'm not changing in front of her." He pointed to Meera and stared at Fry incredulously.

She sighed knowing he was right, the poor girl would probably be traumatized if she woke up to see him naked in the room. "Fine. Point taken, I'll bring them to you." She turned around again, slid her hand over the sensor and the door swooshed opened. Tossing a quick glance at Jack and Imam, Fry grabbed clothing for Riddick and walked back into the other room.

The bathroom door was wide open, which defeated the purpose of bringing the clothing into that room. If Meera woke up she would see him in the shower instead of right in front of her. Shaking her head to keep quiet, she continued into the other room.

Of course Riddick was already showering when she walked in and Fry could make out an outline of his body through the obscure glass. He definitely had a nice body, all muscles. And those arms, she thought as he rubbed his hands over his head.

She shook her head clear to rid herself of any sexual thoughts. "Here's your clothes," she said, dropping them and turning to leave.

"What was that?" he asked, the clarity of his voice made her turn. He had opened the door to hear what she had said and was now giving her a full view of everything he had. Not that she would be complaining.

"I...um...um," she stuttered. Fry took a deep breath and tore her eyes away from his body, meeting his gaze. "Your clothes. I brought you your clothes."

He raised an eyebrow. "Thanks." She turned to leave, grateful for the chance to exit with some dignity. "Want to join me?" She stopped short, imagining climbing in there with him, all the things she would just love doing to that body.

"I'll pass." She forced out in an uninterested tone.

She continued walking, smiling slightly when he said, "Another time then."

Meera was sitting up on the bed when she walked out of the bathroom. "He's your brother?" Fry asked her in a hushed tone. The girl yawned and stretched, then nodded, looking around the room. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She rubbed her hand over her eyes and shrugged. "It slipped my mind. Sorry."

Sitting next to her on the bed, Fry cast the girl a worried glance. "Are you all right?"

"The brightness is killing my eyes," she was told. The girl squinted against the lights in the room and looked at her. "What time is it?"

"I believe it's nighttime on this ship. You've been asleep for an hour or so."

Meera rubbed her eyes and nodded. "And I'm going back to bed." With that she fell back against her pillow and pulled the extra one over her face, blocking out the light.

Fry continued to sit on the bed and study the girl, until Riddick walked out of the bathroom. He had opted not to wear the shirt she had given him, and the sight of his bare chest did nothing but remind her of seeing him in the shower.

"We have some things to talk about," he told her, sitting on the empty bed.

Standing from her spot on Meera's bed, Fry walked over to the empty chair that sat by the door. "OK, what do we need to talk about?"

He looked at her for a while before speaking. "Meera."

"Why do we need to talk about her?"

"So that you know the deal between the us."

"You mean besides the fact that you're brother and sister?" she retorted, imagining that what Johns had said earlier about the two was actually true. Had he and this girl actually done things? Riddick glared at her and she watched his face as he calmed his visible anger. She resolved not to use that tone again for quite some time.

"I killed my parents." The statement came out of nowhere and Fry nearly fell out of her seat. That was not exactly what she was expecting to hear. After taking a deep breath, he continued, "Meera and I are kind of going through this phase, right now, where...she's not talking to me."

Ignoring his latter statement, Fry asked, "Why would you kill your own parents?"

"When I was born, my parents wrapped my own umbilical cord around my neck and tossed me into a trash bin behind a liquor store." He scratched absently at the top of his right hand and looked over at his sister. "The owner heard me crying and saved my life, he...became my father, raised me, put me to work, and set me on a straight path." Riddick tilted his head to the left and she heard it let out a sickening serious of pops. "When I was twelve they came into the store, my mother, real mother, was pregnant and happy. I, um, I watched them walk the isles, knowing that they were my parents-"

"How?" she asked, confused.

"My foster father had pointed them out, he knew exactly who had dumped me. So for the next couple of years I watched them. They were completely happy with their new child, they were completely happy with Meera, but not exactly. See Meera became an ornament to them, she was something they showed off to their friends and colleagues. She wasn't allowed to have a life, nothing." He tilted his head in the opposite direction, his neck making the same sounds as before. "When I was eighteen I went to see them, confront them. My real father said that it was a lie, said I was only saying this because I wanted money. They had no money." She heard him laugh sardonically at the last comment.

"So what happened then?"

"How can you deny that someone is your child, when they look exactly like you? If someone is a mirror image of you, how can you say that their not your?"

He seemed to be talking to himself, but she answered anyway, giving him the support he needed to go on. "I guess, sometimes, people just don't want to live with the truth. Maybe knowing that you survived that night made him feel guilty, but by saying you weren't his took away that guilt." This was not the same Riddick that had helped them all survive on that planet, this Riddick actually felt, he cared, he had a sister.

Obviously feeling a little better, he continued, "Anyway, after that he proceeded to call me trash and, well let's just say, some of the things they said...were not exactly nice."

"So you killed them?"

"I acted in self-defense. That man pulled a knife on me. I got slashed twice in the ribs before I was able to turn the knife on him. My mother? She, uh, she walked right onto the blade. I hadn't meant to kill her, but she...she walked right onto that blade." He looked up at her, his shined eyes seemed a little more glassy than usual. "As she was dying she pulled me onto the floor with her. Um...she, uh, she apologized for missing out on the last eighteen years of my life. She said that my father had told her that I was dead, and it was for the best."

"She didn't know?" she asked incredulously. How could someone not know that a child was alive when it left her body, a baby would cry. She had to have heard the crying.

"I guess not, but we both made our peace for that. Meera walked in after our mother had died. She didn't know who I was or why I was there," he swallowed hard, "so I told her to leave. She left and that was the last time I saw her. Up until about four years ago, but by then I had broken out of the Orion and had to hide in the shadows and shit. So the next time we actually came face to face was when Johns caught us."

"And you told her you're her brother?"

"Right before she ran out before. It's been pretty hard."

Fry ran a hand through her hair. "I can imagine." This was definitely a different Riddick, she knew as she watched him wipe away unbidden tears. He looked up at her and she pretended not to have seen them.

"I'll send Jack in," he said, standing up and walking to the door.

Jack walked in a few seconds later with a smile on her face. She sat down on the bed that Riddick had just vacated and sighed. "Riddick talked to me."

Fry shook her head at the girl's statement and stood. "We're sharing the bed for the night."

"OK." They settled in and went to sleep.


Read and review please.

Thanx.

~Litl A~