Ok we are going to tear away from the movie just a tad here so expect some other stuff. (must credit my friend Nicole for this chapter…she got me re-interested…lol)




Someone found a flashlight and turned it on. The beam danced along the inside of the corridor. Odd shadows bounced back and forth.

"If she only would've stayed down…" said Jack, disbelieving what had just happened to Shazza.

"She didn't deserve that." Racheal said finding her voice. "She was the strongest of all of us."

Johns gave a snort of argumentative laughter.

Unfortunately, their attention was quickly taken away from Shazza's memory and onto the alien/animals that now pawed at the outside of the cargo hold. Their screeching voices echoed strangely thru the corridor. Racheal tried to remember if she had even existed before this planet. Had she had a home? A family? The only real thing in her mind was that death awaited on the other side of a metal wall. Then a screeching sound came that sounded as though it were in the cargo hold as well.

The survivors scrambled inside another room, deeper into the ship. It was obvious the creatures were clawing around on the other side of the door.

"This is unbearable." Paris said taking another deep swig of alcohol. "We're like sitting ducks."

"It's okay. We're safe in here.'' Fry said, calming him down. She cast dark looks to Johns and Riddick.

Johns was scowling at Racheal, who was clinging to Riddick as though the murdering psychopath was some hero. Johns felt like he was going to be sick. He wasn't sure what disturbed him more. The fact that aliens were crawling around, not 4 feet away from him, or that Riddick and Racheal were pairing up and getting closer.

Riddick's face leaned in closer to Racheal's and Johns could tell he was whispering something to her.


Racheal crammed herself into the smaller room with the rest of the group. She was thankful that the heat was subsiding some.

They shut the boom door behind them just in time to hear screeching engulf the corridor they were in.

It was a breaking point for Racheal. She didn't care anymore what anyone thought. She could no longer pretend to be brave or strong. She buried herself into Riddick's chest. Closing her eyes, she searched for that feeling of safeness she had with him in the ship earlier that day. Riddick's body didn't move to comfort her. His chest remained firm under her touch. His only action was to slowly lower his head to hers.

"Don't you worry." he whispered deeply into her ear. "As long as I'm here, nothings gonna hurt you."

She looked up into his face. She wanted to look in his eyes, to make sure that he meant what he was saying, but when she did look up, Riddick wasn't looking back down at her. He was looking straight ahead. She followed his gaze to Johns. Johns' scowl went from Riddick to her and back again.

No one else seemed to notice because everyone else was panicking.

"This room is intolerable." Paris complained again. "We must get out of here."

A crashing sound came from the next room as the aliens began to ram themselves into the door and wall.

"That door ain't gonna hold much longer." Johns said, aiming his weapon at the door.

Thunderous bangs echoed thru the small room. Riddick firmly removed Racheal from his chest and took out his shiv, the only weapon he had.

The metal boom door was no match for the hammerhead-like aliens and it soon fell to the floor with a clang. The aliens squealed in pain as the flashlight beams seared into their skin. They quickly withdrew from the, now lightened, corridor.

"Our light actually hurts them." Fry said. "You know what this means, don't you?" Everyone was silent waiting for her to continue. "We can get the power cells back to the skiff and get off this rock."

"You got to be joking." Johns shook his head.

"No, I'm serious. We drag them, whatever it takes." Fry said.

After a debate it was finally decided by a vote. They would try their luck getting back to the skiff in the dark. They first went to the crashed ship to try and find some more light and to build a sled for the power cells.

They broke up into pairs, once inside the ship, to search for transportable light. Racheal went with Carolyn, and began helping her rip out beams of incandescent light.

"I know you and Shazza were friends." Fry said quietly as they worked.

"Yeah," Racheal deflected her eyes and continued working. "We were starting to become friends."

"About what Johns said about you." Fry wasn't very good at beating around the bush. "Is any of that true?"

"Why do you ask?" Racheal glared, she was getting tired of being referred to as a criminal.

"Because I want to know who we can trust out here and who we can't." Fry had stopped pulling out the light as well and now stared at Racheal.

"I'm not a criminal." Racheal said. "And as for who you can trust? Your guess is as good as mine." Racheal stormed off leaving Fry alone. She didn't really want to be with any one at the moment.

She sat in a dimly lit corner well away from the others. On the verge of tears, yet she still held them in.

Riddick emerged from the shadows in front of her. Racheal immediately tensed in his presence. She slowly got to her feet as he walked closer to her. He held her body against the wall and his goggled face bent close to hers. He ran a hand over her bare shoulders, sending shivers thru her. He put his hand around her waist and pulled her into the darkened shadows with him. It was just dark enough that she could barely see.

Riddick reached up and removed his goggles, pocketing them. He bent closer again to kiss her. She felt venerable knowing he could see her perfectly and yet she couldn't see anything. She shut her own eyes and relied on the feel of him. His deep kiss and his hands around her.

It was cut painfully short by a flashlight beam and an all to familiar voice.

"Get the fuck away from her." It was Johns pointing his gun at Riddick. Fry was behind him, apparently she had sent Johns to come looking for Racheal. Riddick raised his hands and backed away, back into the darkness. Racheal wanted to follow him but she didn't.

Fry, satisfied everything was cool now, left to go back to fixing up the sled. Leaving Racheal alone with an angry Johns.

"Having fun?" he asked bitterly.

"Until you showed up." she shot back.

"I'll show you fun." Johns said putting the gun up to her this time. She instinctively backed away from him, right into the corner.

"If you say anything, I'll kill you." he said once she was sufficiently trapped. "You make a move, I'll kill you."

"What do you want from me?" she asked despite his warning. Racheal knew better than to be alone with Johns after what happened the last time, but she had let herself become trapped.

"I think you know what I want." he said unbuttoning his shirt, "and I think you know I'm going to get it."

"You really are an asshole." she said staring at the gun and trying to find a way to escape.

"As opposed to Prince Charming?" he asked with a hateful smile. "Did you forget he's a killer?" Johns taunted.

"You're no better than him." she said and Johns struck her hard against the face. Her face began to bleed, and Johns laughed.

"Maybe you're right." he said getting closer. Johns took her jaw and brought her head back up. Racheal's focus swam in and out. That's when she saw Riddick. He was approaching Johns fast. His usual emotionless face now shown with unmistakable anger.

Johns face went from a smug grin to a hurt filled panic as Riddick sliced thru johns back. Johns spun around dropping Racheal to the floor. Riddick and Johns wrestled for control of the gun, but in the end Riddick won out.

Johns laid in a bloody heap on the floor in front of Racheal. Riddick stood up and wiped off the bloody shiv on his pants.

Riddick looked at Johns fresh corpse and then glanced over his shoulder at Racheal.

"Told you I'd protect you." he said lowly, then simply walked away.


r/r please!