Section One: A Year Later
Friendship and Torture
Jack climbed up that familiar mountain with more determination before. This time, she'd get some answers. But just like before, Riddick was not there. Only the other girl who looked like her.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
"Jack...I am you." The girl replied with the same lost look in her green eyes.
"How can you be me?"
"Simple...I'm the doubt. The fear. I'm your subconscious. I am the part of you that knows that Riddick will not return to us."
"He's gotta come back." Jack murmured.
"Stop being naïve." The other Jack sighed.
"I am not arguing with myself." Jack looked away.
"Then who are you talking to?" When she looked back, the other Jack was gone. In the distance she could see the form of the man she looked up to. She started to run toward him only to be pulled back by chains. She fell back with a grunt and stared longingly at Riddick.
"Riddick! Can't you hear me!?!" She cried out trying to keep her tears in check. "I miss you..."
He turned to her and seemed to stare for a time that seemed to last forever yet end too soon. He started to walk toward her but the distance between them never decreased. Jack reached her hand out for him and sobbed. "Why can't you save me?"
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"Who's Riddick?" Alxia's voice pierced the darkness from underneath Jack.
"Riddick..." The only word she could speak. The rest were stuck in her throat.
"Someone you cared about..." Alxia simply found out with her silence.
"Where'd you hear his name?" Jack whispered.
"You talk in your sleep, Jack." Jack could feel Alxia roll to her side under her. "I was on a search to find someone, too..."
"Who?" Jack fell to rest on her side and inched closer to the edge.
"My mother. She was...abducted." Alxia's voice was muffled. From this Jack determined that she had placed her face on her pillow.
"He left me...I was tired of waiting." Jack stared at the dark space. What would Riddick see if he was where she was.
"Boyfriend?" Alxia shifted again.
"Hero." The pitch in Jack's voice became higher.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Alxia sniffed.
"What?" Jack tilted her head to the side.
"Not knowing where he is or why he disappeared." Alxia replied.
"We're in a similar boat, Alxia." Jack closed her eyes.
"I know. Basically abandoned in some way or another." Alxia chuckled bitterly.
"Yeah…everyone leaves me." Jack stared at the wall.
"I won't leave you. People with the same pain understand each other." She seemed to be struggling with trying to sound happy. "I know we just met but I feel like I know you."
"Can you keep a secret?" Jack felt Alxia's body stiffen by the stillness of the bunk under her.
"Yeah." Alxia breathed.
"I feel like I know you, too." Jack's voice lowered to the softest whisper. It was odd for her to open up to someone but there was something in Alxia she could trust. The fact that they shared a similar pain made everything a bit better somehow.
"I bet he will come back for you." Alxia's voice became thick with emotion.
"And we'll find your mother." Jack knew as well as Alxia that these were hopes that could very well not come true but they still believed in it.
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"Blood buddies?" Jack inquired skeptically.
"Yeah. It bonds us to be the closest." Alxia smiled looking underneath the bunk bed for something sharp. Jack smirked.
"Well we'll be pretty close when they stitch us together." Jack mused.
"That's not funny." Alxia grumbled before sneezing.
"I doubt they'd keep anything sharp in here." Jack shook her head.
"Ye of little faith!" Alxia pulled herself from under the bed. "Found something!"
"What?" Jack turned to her quickly.
"A nail!" Alxia held up her newfound treasure.
"That's hardly sanitary." Jack quirked a brow.
"Geez! I thought you wanted to be like Riddick. I doubt he worried about the cleanliness of items he found." Alxia stood from her dusty seat and turned the nail over on her fingertips.
"Riddick didn't cut himself with a nail to become blood buddies with a crazy redhead." Jack countered.
"Ouch! Leave the hair out of this!" Alxia frowned. "Look, if I had something clean, I'd use it."
"Look, Masochism wasn't one of my strong points." Jack shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm not some sicko who gets off on pain!" Alxia wailed. "Come on Jack. You're not afraid of a little slice, are you?"
"No! I just don't you to faint at the sight of your blood."
"I promise you I will be fine." Alxia grimaces as she ran the pointed end of the nail across her palm.
"A prick on the thumb would have been less painful." Jack sniffed as she ran the nail across her own palm. Both girls grasped their cut hands together and simpered. "This is going to sting like hell tomorrow."
"We feel each other's pain both literally and emotionally." Alxia offered.
"You need to learn when to shut up about that kind of shit." Jack sneered.
"Now Jack." Alxia put on her serious face. "Be careful. You might just hurt my feelings."
"No...I wouldn't want to do that." Jack and Alxia giggled.
"You know..." Alxia pulled her hand back and started to wrap a piece ripped cloth around her cut. "We should have reached the Kovan Sector by now."
"Does it worry you?" Jack inspected her slash and glanced at Alxia's pale face.
"Course it does. I want to get out of here."
"So we can get our eyes stabbed out?"
"So we can make our escape."
"Have any plans for that?"
"Not really."
"Excellent! We're sure to get out alive and unscathed!" Jack cried sarcastically.
"Never fear, my cynical friend. We'll find a way." Alxia played the positive role again.
"Why did I ever allow you to cut me up so that your dirty blood would run through my veins?"
"Because you're lonely and you love me."
"You're right...I am lonely. I guess that's how desperation works."
"Hey! You gotta chill on the insults."
"I thought you were a masochist."
"Hahaha. That's so funny!" Alxia muttered,
"Goodness gracious, Alxia." Jack feigned ignorance. "Was that sarcasm?"
"It's contagious." Alxia smirked.
"Wherever did you get it from?" Jack blinked innocently. Both girls broke into giggles.
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Jack was torn from her slumber as a Rykengoll pulled her from her place on the top bunk. She was still groggy when her feet hit the floor but Alxia's stifled scream woke her up.
"Alxia!" Jack snapped her head to catch a glimpse of her friend before she was pulled around the corner of the hall. "What the fuck is going on?" She demanded as the Rykengoll dragged her along.
"We have arrived..." The raspy voice of the Rykengoll spoke.
"Where?" The lack of response ran a chill up her spine. The next thing she knew it, she was pushed into a room and chained to the wall. Alxia stood beside her with her chains clasped around her limbs.
"This doesn't look good." Alxia's weak smile failed at hiding her fear.
"Don't let 'em get the best of you!" Jack barked. The next few hours contained anguish and tears. Jacks own pain was not the worst of it. She couldn't stand hearing Alexia's cries and witnessing her torture. Never had she felt so much contempt toward the Rykengolls. She knew she couldn't be broken. She'd rather die then give them the satisfaction of breaking her. But Alxia. Seeing her blood, her tears, and her pain. Jack felt a weight of guilt crushing her lungs. She choked on tears as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Please...stop..." She whimpered. "We'll do anything..." As they were brought back to their cell and thrown to the floor, Jack could feel a throbbing all over her body. Many words came to her head. Knives, bruises, cuts, whips, weights, suffocation but the worst word that came to her mind was the one thing that stripped of her dignity and innocence...rape. All of her injuries could not match up to the destruction of her chastity. Alxia was curled up on the floor with ragged sobs shuttering through her body. Though she ached, Jack pulled herself closer to her once whole and happy companion.
"Alxia..." Her voice box felt shattered and the sound of it made her feel like an old woman.
"I'm sorry Jack. I wasn't strong." Alxia wept. "I couldn't figure out how to escape. I acted like a baby. I let them hurt you."
"Shut up!" Jack winced as the pain of her throat strangled her yelling. "I was in the same position as you. We share each other's pain, remember?"
"Jack...We gotta get out of here." Alxia whispered.
"We will." Jack curled her hands into fists. "We made a promise, right."
"Yeah." Alxia sniveled with a small smile. "We did."
"Let's try to sleep this whole situation off." Jack suggested helping Alxia to her feet. "We'll figure something out tomorrow."
"Then we'll find the ones we care for." Jack hated how Alxia's voice trembled through her tears.
"Yeah! Definitely!" Jack felt odd having to pretend to be composed. All she wanted to do was cry like a child but as long as Alxia was broken, Jack felt that she had to be the level headed one. Alxia leaned on her as Jack helped her into bed. Then, with great effort, Jack bit through her pain and climbed the bunk bed to her spot. It was hard to sleep with Alxia whimpering. Jack couldn't blame her for being that way. She wanted to do that same thing but she had to be strong for Alxia if not for herself. Something inside her had snapped and as she stared into the darkness of the room she felt her fingertips itch. She wanted blood. She suddenly discovered what it was she had to do.
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She was awake when they came again but this time she was hidden in the shadows of a corner. That was when she noticed the train of daggers that trailed behind them. Of course...they needed those to blind one another. Jack picked a dagger up and pulled it from the others. She did this so gently that they never noticed. The dagger was hidden in her sleeve as the Rykengolls reached for her. Although it was one figure, there were two men stitched together. Jack shuddered at the sight.
"What are you doing, girl?" One asked.
"I could not sleep so I waited." She answered bitterly.
"Ah...anticipating your next visit to the chamber." The Rykengoll sneered.
"Why yes." Jack smiled with a glint in her eye. Nothing that they could see for they were blind.
"Get the other girl up." The other ordered. Alxia put up quite a struggle for she did not want to go back. They would bring more Rykengolls if Jack didn't do something.
"Alxia...Calm down..." There was an edge to Jack's voice that Alxia had never heard before. She became still and stared at her solemn friend.
"Let's move along." The Rykengolls said at once as they led Alxia and Jack out of their cell. Once they were down a narrow hallway, Jack pulled the dagger from her sleeve and stabbed the Rykengolls. Twice on each side. They let out a cry of surprise and pain. Alxia's eyes widened as Jack took a hold of her arm and started to run.
"We've got to find a way out of here." She hissed to Alxia.
"Jack. You've changed." Alxia whispered.
"Someone has to be strong." Jack looked ahead and pursed her lips. "Okay...I think there were only two Rykengoll on this ship...and I just killed one of 'em. We need to somehow detain the other one and fly this baby to a safer place."
"What makes you think there are only two?" Alxia inquired.
"Wishful thinking." Jack breathed. "But we need to find the other one."
"He'd probably be waiting in that chamber." Alxia suggested.
"Yeah. I think so too." Jack toyed the knife with her fingers. "There's two of us and kind of one of them. We can take this one down and free ourselves."
"Alright, Jack..."Alxia set her eyes ahead. "Y'know...in a ship this big...I'd say there would be ten at the least."
"How would we succeed in taking them down?" Jack whined.
"Don't be stupid! Our cell wasn't the only cell that was full." Alxia growled.
"Looks like the wheels in your head are finally turning." Jack smirked. "You're really worried about there being more than one left, huh?"
"Well I don't want to think about what will happen if we lose to them." Alxia swallowed.
"Yeah… Alright then. Let's find the keys on these guys and free the other prisoners." Jack knelt down and searched the dead bodies until she came upon a ring of keys. "Eight keys."
"I hope there are more than eight people."
"Well the two of us made one cell." Jack stood and started to walk toward the hall of cells.
"So you're hoping they're all full of two people?" Alxia followed quickly.
"Bingo." Jack stopped at one cell and peeked in. It was so dimly lit that it was hard to make out if anyone was there. "Hello?" Suddenly a hand shot out and squeezed around her neck. Jack couldn't breath, which led talking out of the question. She looked over to Alxia and gagged.
"Let her go!" Alxia cried. "She's trying to help you escape!" After a moment or two, the hand released Jack. To both girls' surprise, a female voice responded.
"Forgive me. I'm a little perturbed." The voice chuckled.
"I'll get you out." Jack wheezed trying every key until she could open the cell.
"Thanks!" another voice this time male spoke up. Jack and Alxia looked at each other.
"I thought people were paired up with the same sex." Alxia blinked.
"Well since me and Drude, here are real twins, it doesn't really matter." The woman said finally in the light. She tall. Almost Amazon tall. Her face was hard with years of tragedy, somehow Jack could tell. It was quite similar to Riddick's. Her twin on the other hand had a face like a child. Something about him retained that innocence that most have lost.
"This is Alxia." Jack muttered as she walked to other cells keeping a fair distance to avoid another attack.
"Call me Rayn." The woman smiled brushing a strand of black hair from her auburn eyes.
"I still have trouble calling you that." Drude mumbled.
"It isn't your real name?" Alxia wrinkled her forehead.
"Shiroyn...does not exist anymore." Rayn smiled sadly.
"Why would she not exist if you're clearly alive?" Alxia raised both brows.
"It's almost poetic in a way." Jack uttered as she fiddled with the lock. "Something important in her is taken away and the thing that made her Shiroyn can never be returned thus the birth of Rayn."
"How do you know this?" Alxia queried.
"Cuz Jack just died yesterday." Jack whispered as she opened the barred doors allowing escape to the next to cellmates.
"Then what shall we call you?" Rayn placed a hand on her hip with a smirk.
"..." Jack tilted her head up in thought. "Just call me Kyra."
"Kyra? A whole new animal, eh?" Rayn approached the younger girl and held her by the chin to lock eyes. "You go from cub to beast."
"I guess so." Jack, now Kyra, pulled her head back and turned to the next cell. By the end of this, there were ten prisoners who were now escaped. Most were either mercs, convicts or assassins. Kyra held her dagger in two and squeezed her eyes shut.
"This is going to be bloody." Kyra led them to the hall where the dead body of the Rykengoll laid. Before she could continue, Rayn pulled her back.
"Something isn't right." She hissed in Kyra's ear.
"What are you talking about?" Kyra shook Rayn's hand off of her shoulder.
"The Rykengoll would notice a fallen member. His could be a trap." Rayn replied.
"Ambush, actually." A voice from behind spoke and then a battle ensued. Kyra had never fought so viciously before it was as if a new name had made her a new person. She took note of Alxia's fighting style. It was all about kicks and punches like some karate shit. There was so much blood everywhere and the screams of both Rykengolls and prisoners rang clearly in her ear. Kyra took as step back as a Rykengoll ran toward her and gave him an uppercut with her dagger. Before her died she put her lips to his ear.
"Can you see your God now?" She whispered. In the end, only five cellmates remained and all fifteen Rykengolls laid dead at their feet. Rayn held the dying body of her brother in her arms as Alxia cradled a wounded arm. The others looked to Kyra who seemed to be hurt the least. A cut ran along her collarbone but she seemed undaunted by it.
"Can anyone fly this ship?" Kyra asked with no emotion in her voice.
"I can. The name's Brick." He put an arm around her and quickly pulled it back when he only received a cold stare from Kyra.
"I don't like being touched." She growled as she turned on her heels and walked down the hall.
"I can't blame her." Alxia sighed. "When you've been abandoned by the one person you admire and you've betrayed by mostly men...it's easy to hate them."
"I'll talk to her." Rayn placed the body of her brother down and stood up. "I know the feeling all too well." And without another word she was down the hall.
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Rayn could hear Kyra retch as she approached the open cell she was in.
"Not used to the smell of blood, eh?" Rayn stepped into the cell.
"I didn't think it would smell so...so..." Kyra's voice trailed off.
"Sweet." Rayn stood over Kyra as she coughed over a bin in the corner.
"How could he stand it?" She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.
"An Idol?" Rayn cocked her head to the side. "Drude was my idol. He was such a splendid fighter."
"Your brother?" Kyra stood upright.
"No...My father." Rayn leaned against the wall and gazed at the ceiling.
"He taught me everything I knew. Then one day, he and mom had an argument and he upped and left. I blamed mom. I blamed myself. I felt everyone was at fault except for him."
"Why do they leave?" Kyra sighed.
"Different reasons. It's never your fault, kid. I'll take you under my wing until you, hero comes back...if he does." Rayn turned to leave before turning back. "Alxia seems quite concerned. Maybe you should go see her."
"Why are you being nice to me?" Kyra looked up into her eyes.
"Because you remind me so much of Drude."
"Your father?"
"No...My brother." Rayn grinned and left the cell leaving Kyra to her thoughts.
"If he comes back..." She leaned up against the wall and rested her head back. "The chances of you coming back seem to lessen each time a day passes. Why did you leave, Riddick?"
A/N: It is a fact that Kyra was sold and brutalized by Rykengolls. It also true that she killed one. There is no information that told how she was tortured and how she escaped. I just improvised all that happened. So please bear with me.