Iliana didn't get sent to the hole again- the kid had spoken up for her, and told the warden she had just been defending herself. Riddick spent three days in the infirmary- two to get the bleeding to stop and one to observe him. He enjoyed the rest, but cursed the fact that his ears were still sensitive. If she realized this, she'd box his ear again and there was a good chance he'd lose his hearing permanently if she did. He didn't mind the pain- his mind was numb to it by now- but he would miss his hearing. It had proven to be his best weapon. He put his overactive but underused mind to work on solving this current problem- avoid confrontation with Iliana without making himself look like a pussy. Scene after scene played in his mind, but at the end of the three days he still didn't have an answer. He thanked whatever god it was that watched over miserable murdering fucks like him that he still had four days to figure out the answer to his problem before he would be released into the general population.
Riddick sighed for what seemed like the ten billionth time that day. He now was at three hours and counting before lunch and was no closer than he had been a week ago. He finally decided to give it up- what would happen would happen. He was a little slower in eating lunch that day, but not so much that anyone noticed. He rose again and scanned the room for Iliana. He had deliberately not asked about her, as to do so would be a sigh of weakness. Besides- his men would have made casual reference to her if anything important had happened. He walked out into the dome and let his eyes scan the area. One benefit of wearing goggles was that no one knew what he was looking at- it scared the shit out of people, too. He saw that she was no where to be found. He went back in on the pretext of talking to one of this buddies and scanned the lunch room. Not here either. Had she punked out? He wanted to think so, but he knew it was unlikely. He made a mental note to walk by her cell on the way back to his before going to life weights- which were all perfectly in order.
More than a week went by with no word of the young firebrand's whereabouts. Riddick chanced making some inquiries under the table and found his communication lines dry- no one knew where she was. Correction, Riddick thought, no one was telling him where she was.
Iliana huddled on the floor of her cold metal cell, closing her eyes and trying to ward off the pain that threatened to engulf her system. She could feel her own blood, warm and sticky, soaking her clothes. She was bleeding from a long gash on her abdomen and one from her upper arm. She felt the nausea come again and fought the darkness at the corners of her vision. She groaned as she forced her body to move and grabbed the blanket she knew was somewhere on the floor. She tore it with the last of her strength, knowing that she would die from blood loss if she didn't stop the bleeding. A painful gasp escaped her lips as she tightened the blanket around her lower half, the darkness creeping further and further. She gave herself a second to rest, gulping air like a fish out of water, before sealing her arm. She collapsed on the floor, not caring if she lived or died anymore, so long as the pain went away.
Riddick's eyes flashed as he pulled his goggles from his eyes and placed them on top of his shaved head. He glanced at the girl's cell as they passed and his gut twitched when he saw her figure lying prone on the floor. He remained silent as they walked passed, and looked at the guards as the cell closed. One of the guards, Grunters, helped him out from time to time, provided he could pay for it. He knew for a price he could have his unwavering loyalty.
"Check cell 112. Help her- I'll make it worth your while" he said cryptically and turned to walk farther into his cell. He heard Grunters leave and hoped he took his advice.
Illiana flinched as a flashlight was shined in her eyes, her headache unbelievable. Much to her amazement, she was lifted gently off the floor and carried. She recognized the smell of the infirmary and silently thanked whatever force had saved her.
"Who did this?" the doctor asked, who had a warped sense of right and wrong- which was more than most workers here had.
"Dunno. Just found her like that" Grunters lied. He wondered why the fuck Riddick wanted to save her- weren't they sending each other to the infirmary every week? Grunters didn't care so long as he got paid. He left the broken and still bleeding girl to the doctors and went to collect his payment.
"Riddick- she's in the infirmary" he said lowly, so only he and the inmate could hear the conversation. A box appeared between the bars of the door and Grunters opened it. It was a shining emerald necklace. Beautiful and priceless.
"Holy shit" Grunters said lowly, "How'd you get something like this in here?"
"I know a guy" Riddick stated and turned from the guard. Grunters looked at the exquisite piece of jewelry once more before closing the box and putting it in his pocket.
Riddick had no fucking clue why he gave a shit about the girl- she was a pain in his ass and it would be a relief if she were gone. His gut twisted again when he realized that who ever had attacked her was a guard- and one that wanted her gone. Inquiries weren't generally made into the death of an inmate unless the person was attacked where there were witnesses. Iliana had been attacked alone, so no one would care.
The doctor began to cut away the clothes caked in dry blood. He stitched up the stomach wound carefully; wanting to making sure the stitches would last. The arm wasn't as deep, a flesh wound, but he stitched it up anyway. He sponged down the barely breathing girl and replaced her clothed with slam issued sweats. He put an IV into her pale arm and ran a saline drip, praying he wouldn't need to do any more. He had limited medical supplies and if she suddenly turned south more likely that not she would die.
Iliana woke groggily from her blood loss sleep, shielding her eyes form the harsh light. She felt better then she had in days but she still felt like shit. The pain in her abdomen wasn't as bad, and she felt along the sweatshirt, tracing the stitches below it. Her arm was okay too, lying at her side, tucked warmly by her body. She sighed and closed her eyes, for the first time not afraid to go to sleep for fear of not waking up.
Iliana spent the next three weeks in the doctor's care, rehabilitating her arm. She figured it was just an excuse, which it was. The doctor was truly being a saint by Slam's standards. She would be easy prey for the other inmates in her present state. She held out her hand to the doctor before she left, and he shook it. Iliana's stomach muscles contracted, a painful thing, when she saw her cell. It was clean but she could still freshly remember the attack. She paused at the entrance and the guard, the kid she had talked to all those weeks ago, nudged her gently.
"Don't worry- I'll protect you" he whispered. Iliana walked into the cell and tried not to wince as it closed. She turned and looked at the young guard and nodded her thanks. He turned on his heel and walked away.
