Chapter Three

"Wake up Merc." Anna heard and she woke up slowly raising her head off of her chest, groaning slightly at the throbbing spot on the side of her head. She opened her eyes and found herself staring into the black goggles of Richard B. Riddick. "You never should've put your gun away Merc." He said and backed away.

"Riddick." she whispered.

"That's my name. You found me, good job. But you dropped your guard, bad job. What's your name?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Might as well get to know you, you ain't going any where for a long time." he said and she finally noticed that she was chained to a wall, she had been too wrapped up in the convict in front of her to notice before. She pulled at them and heard Riddick chuckle. "Its useless Merc, absolutely in vain." He tilted her head to the side examining it. "I hit you pretty hard, but you didn't even bleed. Good for you."

"Bite me." She snarled and he grinned.

"Don't tempt me." He said, definitely not the Riddick she knew when she was a teen. "A woman merc, gotta tell you it's new. You never did tell me your name."

"They call me Collector."

"They?"

"Other mercs and the convicts I captured."

"Who hired you, Collector?" he asked and she stayed silent so he hit her with an open hand. He didn't use his full strength; he wanted her awake and aware. "Who hired you?" she spit blood out of her mouth, she could feel it trickling out of a corner. He hit her again but still received no answer.

"You hit women now. Well isn't that just peachy." Anna said with a small sarcastic smile and he chuckled hitting her again.

"You're a merc, it doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman." Riddick said and she spit out more blood. "Now who hired you?"

"Pick a slam, any slam." She said and put her head on her chest again, she watched as some blood droplets fell onto her shirt and she was glad she decided to wear a black one.

"Don't pass out on me now Merc." Riddick said grasping her chin in his large hand, forcing her head back up.

"I'm not." She said and looked at her reflection in his goggles, he was taking up her entire field of vision. "We're not in your apartment are we?"

"Nope." He said and stepped back so she could look around, she recognized the holding pen of her ship.

"Fuck." She said and he chuckled.

"Well put, some ship you got here Collector."

"Bite me." She said and he chuckled again, but said nothing this time. "So what did you tell the land lady when you brought me down the stairs unconscious?"

"That you passed out. She said something like 'kids these days, don't know how to eat properly'." Riddick said and laughed.

"Amusing."

"I thought so." He said and stepped towards her taking up her vision again. She licked her dry lips and spit out some more blood. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. "Aren't you scared that I'm going to kill you?"

"If you were going to you would've already, in your apartment."

"What if I just to like play with my prey before killing it?"

"Like I said, if you were going to kill me you would've already." Anna said and opened her eyes a crack seeing him nod. "There was a time when I felt safe around you."

"What?" he asked and she closed her eyes again.

"I felt so safe around you, like you could protect me from anything and anyone." She said leaning her head back, baring her throat to him. She was so tired; the adrenaline of being hit was wearing off. "Even if we were only fifteen." She said and her head rolled forward, moving a little back and forth on her chest as she fell into a deep sleep.

"Anna!" Riddick said frantically shaking her shoulders but she wouldn't wake. He quickly undid her wrists and she fell into his arms. He carried her up to her room and laid her down on the bed. He got a wet wash cloth and wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth, the cut on her cheek. Why the hell did he have to hit her so hard? He lay on the bed next to her and watched her as she slept.

[VO Riddick] I found her, or I should say she found me. She's a Merc now, big shocker, must have become one to survive or to find me, I'll ask her when she wakes up. I can't believe I hit her, so fucking stupid. Her hair is different, much shorter, but its like I can still see the color of it and her eyes, now that I know its her. She looks different, grown up, less like a teenage girl and more like a woman. I imagined our meeting again to be different, maybe me seeing her somewhere then running up to her and picking her up in a hug while she laughed and hugged me back. But no, I knocked her out, chained her a wall then beat her. So fucking stupid. But none the less, I'm glad that she found me, even if she is a mercenary.