Well, well, well... you finally get to see what Riddick is thinking. He is like a wild animal and you never know whats going on in that head of his. This time you will. And remember, he IS a beast (with a good side of course), so I decided to upgrade the rating for his use of language. They might not come out in this chapter but they will. I believe that if I even use the "F" word once that I better change it to R, just so the moderators won't kick my ass. Cuz people seem to be finicky about that sort of thing.
The girl felt light in his arms, her legs dangling loosely, her arms about his neck and her head resting against his broad chest. As soon as he had lifted her she had passed out, too weary to stay awake. Damn, shes a fine piece of ass. He couldn't help thinking it. It had been awhile since he had been in the company of a beautiful woman, what with being captured and all. That tumble in the sand had been quite enjoyable and had suceeded in awakening his inner beast.
Erica. The name flashed through his head. This wasn't their first encounter, though he knew full well she could not recall anything about him. Ocassionally a flash of recognition had crossed her face, but the flicker had been quickly lost and the ever present mask of confusion had re-asserted itself over her delicate features. She knew nothing of her past. He smirked. All the better for him. He would enjoy fucking with her head. That was one of his twisted pleasures. Black to the core, he thought ruefully.
It wasn't far to the crash site now, if he squinted he could make out the hulking form of twisted steel. He allowed a glance downward at the finely curved body sleeping limply against his steel-like bulk. Damn, he though once more, I could have a hell of a good time with her. Not only was she beautiful, but she was just as strong as he remembered. When he had first awakened from the impact with her sprawled across him, he had wondered if she had lost her spitfire attitude along with her memories. She had been frightened and confused and had worn those emotions like a second skin. In her previous life, she would have never been caught so off guard, and even if she had been afraid, she would never have shown it. It had only taken a short time for that wild animal to resurface, however, her red hot temper making an almost immediate appearance. He grinned at that. Her short fuse made it all the easier for him to rile her. He supposed that she had merely been out of her element. She was used to being in control and he knew that she was bothered by her lack of it. And that little test, it had proven to him that Erica was still the same girl, and he hoped it had proven something to herself. He needed her to remember how to be a fighter if he was going to take her from this planet alive.
There was something here and he could smell it. Danger lurked beneath the sand and its aura was palpatable. It made his senses even more on edge and his nerves were tense with anticipation. Erica needed to be attentive and she needed to get in touch with her warrior spirit. He knew what skills she possessed and it would make his job a whole hell of a lot easier if he didn't need to come to her rescue every five minutes. He wasn't planning on rescueing her out of the goodness of his heart. Hell if he'd rescue anyone for that reason. Riddick looked after Riddick. And he wasn't planning to "salvage" a nice piece of ass either. That girl had a bounty on her head so big that he would be a fool not to collect it. He didn't need to worry about getting involved with her contract either. The person who wanted her was a private party, no need to be getting mixed up with the authorities or mercs of any size, shape, or form. He'd been on the same planet as she when they had both been taken by Johns. He hadn't wasted any time getting to know the particulars of his fellow captive. And he'd be damned if he let her know his plans for her. He didn't need her to realize that he wanted her to come out of this in one piece, that took away some of his advantage.
As they neared the ship, Riddick crouched down behind a large chunk of debris. It looked like it could have been a bulkhead, but it was so mangled that he couldn't be sure. He set Erica down in the sand, careful not to upset the wound in her leg. Fuck, he though, that little test couldn't have been good for that leg of hers. He needed the thing to heal. No measure of skill could overcome the handicap of only having one useable leg. Reaching out, he unwrapped the bandages, investigating the bloody mess. The gouge in her thigh seemed to be shrinking, noticeably smaller than it had been only hours before. Well fuck me sideways. He had forgotten about her unusual healing powers. The gene for the amazing ability ran in her family, but it only surfaced once every five decades or so. Satisfied, he rebandaged the wound, allowing himself a bit of pleasure in the feel of her skin against his callused fingers.
Erica felt hands on her face. A light slap brought her to full consciousness. As she blinked away the black spots hovering before her eyes, the muscular form of Riddick came into focus. She sat up quickly, ignoring the vertigo it caused. Riddick was simply staring at her through his dark goggles, his face completely unreadable. A quick glance around told her that they had arrived at the crash site. She spotted Sydney off in the distance, seated in a lounge chair, she supposed he was supposed to be keeping watch. Riddick made no move nor did he say anything. His stony silence irked her.
"Why?" she demanded, dropping her voice quickly as she realized how loudly she was talking, "why didn't you leave me?" She searched his face to no avail.
"Maybe I was looking foward to another roll in the sand," he said, grinning wickedly. Erica blushed and frowned at the same time. She knew better than that. She was sure that it wasn't the reason, but she didn't feel like pushing it at the moment. Riddick looked out over the rubbage extending ahead of them. "Go," he said, serious once more. She hesitated. Something inside of her urged her to stay with him, but her logical mind told her that Johns was who she needed. Not Riddick. She needed to get her memory back. She nodded at him before rising from her position and heading towards the ship. When she looked back, he was gone.
She was nearly upon the make shift camp when Sydney finally spotted her. Apparently he had been soaking up the sun and drinking. She imagined it kept his mind off of their dire situation. He scrambled down from his perch when he saw her limping along. Her leg felt better and her gait was steadier, but she still hobbled noticeably. As he reached her position Erica stumbled slightly on a piece of rebar and Sydney reached out to steady her. She nearly toppled to the ground avoiding his touch. It wasn't that she disliked the man, she simply loathed being touched by a member of the opposite sex. Simply being too close to a man made her skin crawl. The thought of them touching her physically reached down to a deep seated fear which she attempted to conceal at all times.
Something had happened to her, but she didn't know what. She would wake up screaming in the middle of the night, flashes of the terrible ordeal intruding upon her dreams. Erica knew that she had been captured by some sort of political group, they had held her captive until Johns had arrived, swiping her from beneath their noses. He had told her about the contract and where he was taking her. Her instincts had screamed not to trust him, but she wanted out of that hell hole. They had done something to her there. She blinked the thoughts away and a puzzling question suddenly leaped into her mind. With Riddick it was different. She felt comfortable around him, even though he was a dangerous criminal who could have sliced her throat at any moment. He aroused her, made her feel things she fought to control. It didn't make sense.
The hours passed uneventfully from there. The boy ventured out into the light, taking a break from helping the miner woman do whatever they happened to be doing, and introduced himself as Jack. There was something different about him, but she couldn't quite place it. Perhaps it was that he seemed rather feminine to her. Erica took the time to work her muscles, attempting to devise a strategy for fighting with her injured thigh.
Her practice was interrupted rather violently as a gunshot rang out. She rushed around the side of the ship as quickly as she could, fully expecting Riddick to be on the other side. The sight that met her eyes, however, was not even remotely pleasant. A man lay face down in the sand, four stunned faces staring at the lifeless body in disbelief. No one seemed able to move or speak. Erica was the first to break the silence. "What happened?" she asked, her eyes lighting on the weapon in the miner man's hands. He had been away, doing God knows what. Suddenly he appears, and a man is dead.
"I...I though he was Riddick," the man stammered, mortified by what he had done. Jack turned away, looking frightened. Were those tears forming in his eyes? Erica wanted to soothe him but she resisted. Life was cruel, he had better learn it. Especially if he planned to live on his own.
The womam decided to take charge, shattering the atmosphere of disbelief and forcing her partner into action. "You should bury the body," she told him, "in fact we should bury all of the bodies we find. There are plenty." The man nodded in agreement, shaking himself out of his daze. He left again. To dig a mass grave he said. He drug the body along with him. Erica cringed in disgust. Skittish, she thought once again. They're all too skittish.
She had resumed her training exercises when she was interrupted once more. At first she heard screams. She paused to listen to the distant sound. Looking around, she wondered if anyone else noticed it. But there was no time to wonder as the terrified cries were followed by gunshots. The sharp cracks brought everyone running and they wasted little time reaching the source. Erica arrived first, dropping to a knee at the edge of a large pit that the miner had obviously been digging. Blood stained the sandy bowl as if the man had been torn into pieces and flung about. The air reeked of the metallic scent. She also noticed that there was what looked like a tunnel dug into the rear of the pit. It was decidely strange.
Erica suddenly realized she was being watched as the dead man's partner slid to a halt behind her. She knew who it was before she raised her head to look. Riddick. He was crouched much the same as she at the opposite end of the crater. Had he done this? She furrowed her brows in a questioning manner. He simply stared back with not a hint as to what had taken place. He is a cold blooded killer she reminded herself. Perhaps the man had attacked him, ensuring his fate. But she hadn't imagined he would be so brutal. He would have had to slice his victim into numerous pieces to create the blood spray that met her gaze. And where had the body gone? It looked more and more like the work of a pack of vicious animals than a murder.
A shriek broke out behind her with little warning. Erica covered her sensitive ears, cringing. The miner woman was flying past her in a blur of distraught fury. She leapt into the pit, paying little heed to the gore, and flung herself at Riddick. He was gone before she reached the other side, sprinting off towards the horizon with powerful strides. Erica forced her legs into an ambling run, a hopeless effort on her part. That woman was crazy to go after a convict like Riddick. As she watched, Riddick's flight was cut short by a booted foot that struck out from behind a weathered rock. He hit the dirt hard, rolling onto his back with a grunt. As quick as Riddick was, he wasn't quick enough to evade Johns as he descended upon him, ripping off his goggles with a single swipe. The burly man attempted to shield his delicate eyes from the blinding light of the blazing sun as he was pummeled by first Johns and then the miner woman.
Erica caught up to the angry pack quickly, tackling the woman and bringing her to the ground. "Stop!" she screamed, struggling to restrain the crazed individual. It did her no good to kick the shit out of Riddick. She held her firmly until the woman stilled, breaking into uncontrollable sobs. Erica would have liked to say it was alright, but it was quite the opposite.
They drug Riddick back to the ship where he was chained to a very unusual contraption, one which not even he could escape from. Johns was satisfied that he was secured effectively and decided he needed no one to watch him this time around. " I don't want you in here with that monster," he instructed her. She set her jaw defiantly at the command.
"I'll do whatever the hell I please," she seethed, despising him even more thoroughly.
"Now you listen to me.." he began, reaching out to grasp her forearm.
Erica reacted instantly, striking out with a fist and catching him squarely in the chin. He staggered back, surprised. Johns rubbed his face where she had connected, staring at her. He growled then in anger. "Don't you mess with me missy, you don't know who you're dealing with." He attempted to grab her once more, this time more forcefully, and once again she reacted violently.
"Like hell I don't," she spat, attempting a spinning kick. It failed as her treacherous leg gave out on her and she crumpled foward into the man she had been assaulting. He caught her, squeezing her upper arms harshly. "Don't you touch me you asshole!" she screamed, attempting to bite him. He realeased her quickly, barely managing to save his arm from a set of teeth marks.
"Watch yourself," he warned, stalking out of the room in a huff. Erica stared after him, setting her face in an ugly grimace of hate. Riddick chuckled deeply from his chained position, his glowing eyes shut even in the dimness of the interior.
"Physical contact ain't your thing, is it princess?" he quipped, his chains rattling as he flexed his muscles experimentally.
"No, its not," she replied, malice for Johns tinging her voice. She noted his use of the term princess with distaste. She didn't like that title. Her anger cooled from a boil to a simmer and subsided all together as she considered Riddick. "Did you do it?" she asked him, stepping closer. He knew that she was refering to the recent death.
"Maybe I did," he replied, "what then?" He was starting to play games with her and she knew it.
"I don't think you did," she said, ignoring the question. "It looked more like a bunch of animals ripped that man to pieces." She was pacing ever closer to the dangerous man.
"You've got worse things than me to worry about," he commented, and Erica found his deep voice exceptionally seductive.
"Like what?" she asked, genuinely interested. She had her hunches, but she wanted to see how they compared to his.
"Closer," he said, lowering his voice so that she couldn't help but do as he commanded, simply to hear him speak. She stopped a foot or so before him. She still believed that he wouldn't hurt her, but that didn't keep her from not trusting him. That would have been a foolish thing to do. "Closer," he said again, his eyes still closed. Erica stepped forward until she was inches from the man who was making her heart pound in her chest and her temperature rise to nearly unbearable levels.
There was silence for a moment as she leaned towards him and he simply sat in his contraption which appeared somewhat like a sadistic throne. Faster than she could blink he lurched forward, chains creating a racket against the metal as they slipped along it. His eerie eyes were open and staring into hers, his face so close to her own that she could feel his warm breath on her cheeks. Surprised, Erica couldn't do so much as breathe, desire flooding her body. Riddick's eyes moved over her face and down to her full lips. She knew what he intended then and moved to pull back. The cat-like man wouldn't allow it however, pressing his face quickly against her own, his lips covering her mouth. It was possibly the best mouth to mouth experience she had ever had. Erica couldn't help but revel in the kiss as he teased with his tongue and then dove into it passionately, causing her to moan slightly. When he pulled back she simply stood their dazedly, swaying on her feet.
"Why...why'd you do that?" she managed to stutter.
"Its been awhile, being captured and all ," that smug smile was plastered on his face, glowing eyes seeming to pulse with pleasure.
Erica fought out of her stupor, that familiar feeling of rage spreading through her like fire. "How dare you," she forced out of clenched teeth. "I won't be some fix for your sexual pleasure." With that she stormed out, conflicting emotions swirling inside her.
Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. Her name is Erica not Alex. I realized I changed her name after the first chapter on accident. Lol.