A/N: the end is near, dear friends! But don't despair....this fic is really a prologue to a longer one that will be up shortly after I finish off this one.
Thanks to all the positive comments I received after posting my author note.
I would like to give big e-hugs and sexy pictures of Riddick all chained up, to the following people for making me feel happy about my story again.
Arna
Hyper Vyper
BurgerKingsHamburgler
Jesse
RaevenMoon (wow thanks for the great compliments....I'm actually blushing here. Sorry for making you wait so long in between chapters, but that is one of the ways that I am a very bad author......if I get any sort of new inspiration I will abandon whatever fics I am working on and rush to work on the new fic.... I am hoping to cure this problem in the near future, so please be patient with me)
Kristen00
And the ever lovin' cutleryismyfriend......check out her bio for her views on flamers.
Love you all.......more reviews please ( I am such a review whore)
Now on with the show!.......uh I mean story...
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"It's just not possible. There's too many of them. We're not going to make it."
Cassandra's voice was low, as she attempted to keep Jones from hearing her words, but he still turned in her direction.
"Cassie, we are going to get out of here aren't we ? No one else has to die, please, can't we just go ?"
She licked her lips and looked to Rick for an answer.
"You're going to have to tell him the truth eventually, Cassie. Better let it be now, as opposed to later on, when most of us have been killed."
"I know. But he's so innocent. I don't want him to have to feel as much terror as the first time. If he thinks that we're all going to die, he might panic and do something stupid."
"Like run off into the dark ?"
"Exactly."
Cassandra moved towards Jones, but another spasm of pain shot through her and she almost fell.
Rick caught her as she toppled towards him and helped her sit down.
"Cassie, what's going on ?"
"Nothing," she ground out, between clenched teeth. "Its just a muscle cramp. Nothing more."
"Bullshit."
She glanced up at him and saw his eyes were hard, boring into her.
"Don't worry, Rick. I'll be fine."
His voice dropped into a whisper so the others wouldn't hear him.
"It's not just a muscle cramp, is it ? You got cut by one of those things, but you were too scared to say anything about it."
He watched as her jaw set itself in a defiant position, which normally meant she was about to start telling him off.
"I am not scared. If I told anyone and the others found out, the ones that would be happy to see me go, they would be all for throwing me to the creatures and then where would you be. We're screwed as it is, but without me, you'd just run around in the dark, like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off, until the lights went out and they came swooping in to make a meal out of your entrails."
"I wouldn't let them, Cassie."
"They would overpower you."
"I hardly think so."
"Even so, why does it matter to you if I bleed to death ?"
That was a good question. Why did it matter to him so much ? One reason came to mind pretty quickly, but he squashed it down and tried to think of something else.
Aha, that was it. Too many people had died for him, in an effort to save him and he didn't want anyone else dying because they had tried to help him.
"Too many people have died for me and I don't want you joining them."
She stared at him closely, their eyes meeting.
"You're not really who I think you are, are you Rick ?"
Should he lie ? He wasn't sure.
"Well, I don't know who you think I am, but I'm pretty sure I'm not."
She glared and shook her head.
"Don't ever lie to a telepath, Rick. It's really degrading."
"Well, then. Tell me, who am I ?"
"You are Richard B. Riddick, ex-con and ex-murderer. At least I should hope so."
He chuckled.
"For now, at least, but if Teke and Sawyer keep acting the way they are, then I can't promise you anything."
She smiled, but it was laced with pain.
"Fair enough."
She tried to say something more, but another stabbing pain cut through her and she bit her lip so hard, to keep from crying out, that she tasted blood.
As the pain subsided, she felt Rick's, or should she say Riddick's rough hands on her shoulders, helping her sit up.
"Take off your shirt."
"What ?!"
"I need to see how bad your wounds are, so you'll have to take your shirt off."
"Oh....all right."
Riddick laughed silently, when he saw the deep blush stain her cheeks at her obvious embarrassment.
She managed to maneuver her sweater over her head, without causing herself too much pain and dropped it onto the ground next to Riddick.
The soft pads of his fingers danced lightly over the serrated edges of the cuts on her stomach.
"If we apply some sort of pressure to the cuts, it should stop the bleeding long enough for us to find some proper med supplies. You might need stitches though."
He pulled of his own outer-shirt and ripped a few strips off it, forming small pads with a few of them. These he pressed onto the cuts, before wrapping a few long strips around her waist, to hold the makeshift bandages in place.
"If you put your sweater over-top, no one will notice the bandages."
She stared closely into his eyes as if she was searching for something.
"Why are you helping me ? I thought murderers weren't supposed to have any humanity left."
"I might be a murderer, but someone reminded me, a little while ago, that I am still a human being, not a monster, like everyone else thinks."
Cassandra nodded, smiling slightly. "Remind me to thank them one day."
Riddick also nodded, mutely, not knowing what to say.
Finally, he slipped his hands under her arms and helped her stand up again.
"So you see an opening yet ?"
"No, but there's a small building nearby. It was probably used for storage at one point, but it looks pretty sturdy. The best thing we could do now is go there and try to wait out the darkness."
"So there's no other way ?"
"Not that I can see. At least no other way than death."
"All right. Listen up everyone. We're going to head for that small building, just to our left. Stick together and follow Cassandra."
There were a few muttered comments from the more rebellious members of their little ragtag group, but Riddick threw them a warning glare and they shut up pretty quickly.
Within a few minutes, they had reached the storage building and Riddick managed to pry the doors open.
A few fluorescent lights flickered slightly, as they made their way inside the musty metal structure.
Riddick found a length of chain with a large padlock on it, lying on the ground and wound it around the doors handles, making sure it was locked tight.
As the others settled into comfortable positions the room, he carefully inspected the room.
Smiling, he thought to himself.
No cellar.
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And another chapter ends dear friends
I'm glad so many people like my fic and am going to start on the sequel soon.
One more chappie and then another fic is done!
Of course I have five different baby creativity demons, clamoring to be paid attention to, as well as two different adolescent, fics-that-will-never-be-finished demons trying to escape their cages.
There is no rest for fanfic writers......