"Riddick?" Her voice came out as a hollow whisper in a dead breeze.
Streams of gray pillowed her vision in a haze as she struggled to peer through the coming fog. "Riddick! Where are you?" She called out once more, trying to reach out for him through the threatening mist.
Every fine hair that lined her back rose in unison. A shiver danced along her spine, devouring every logical thought with fear and terror. 'Run!' Her mind screamed, 'Fight!' Her heart commanded. Jack was now overwhelmed in the thick fog…
A soft hiss caught her ears, causing every muscle in her powerful form to tense and quiver. Something was out there and it didn't feel right… Suddenly Jack realized with a horrified gasp, that she was no longer alone.
Riddick paced the floor like a panther trapped in a cage. His mind going over plans that continued to fall short of a resolution. The only thing he could come to a conclusion on, was the last thing he wanted to do.
"Damn it." He growled in bitter defeat as he stood next to Jack's sleeping form. If he was going to do something about this thing, he had better do it fast. The gods only knew what would happen if he let that thing, whatever it was, linger a second longer in her body.
Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his shaved scalp with the palm of his hand and exhaled slowly. "Let's do this." Riddick said to himself and began preparing himself for a very dangerous task. The removal of a strange creature from Jack's chest.
No light penetrated the surrounding darkness, no life danced in the air… Just an eerie hiss pouring from the jaws of something far worse then any nightmare.
It slithered and coiled its snake like body along the cold damp earth as it inched that much closer to a young woman. Her stance that of a ready wolf, anticipating the inevitable. With every silent move it made, the sound of a steady heartbeat pulsed throughout its body, beckoning it to make its deadly presence of twisted malice known.
The thickening fog swirled all around them, churning with a barrier neither could pass, encasing them in a web of clouded moisture. She stood firm, fear no longer an option, now pushed aside like an unwanted child. Jack wasn't about to give in, this was her mind, her soul. She was going to give one hell of a fight to whatever was hunting her…
Slipping away from watchful eyes it squirmed its way toward her, an eerie hiss of a dying mans last breath pouring from its presence. So close to freedom and yet it could not get past the fog…
Tubes trailed Jack's arms and face as Riddick put her under anesthetic, making sure that she was stable and unable to feel what he was about to do. Cleansing his arms and hands of any germs, he placed elbow length gloves on each arm and set her still body under another set of monitors and scanners.
A precision laser in one hand, the other gently resting on her exposed breast, he carefully began making an incision. Just two inches to the right of her left breast the laser skillfully parted skin, muscle and tissue. Riddick took a deep needed breath as the laser went through her ribcage like a shiv through butter.
His eyes widened as something bled into his vision…
'Turn around..' Her soul whispered gently to her thoughts causing her to spin and stop at the sight before her. The image blurred at first, then appeared to her in crystal clarity. Jack withheld the need to throw up as her eyes locked onto her stalker.
The creature coiled up and raised it's snake like body up on its tail. Beige and pink in color, almost flesh like shimmered against the gray that swarmed through the fog. Small arms hung down on its chest as it bowed its head before her...
Without warning the flesh colored skin began protruding, flaking off as it twisted its small form into a strange ball. Eyes wide with sick fascination she continued to watch in silent awe as the cocoon like shape swelled and grew before her very eyes.
Clenching his teeth together, sweat dripping from his focused face he took the disgusting creature from the gaping wound in her chest with a pair of sterilized clamps. Riddick slowly brought the small snake like body to his face for a moment, held back the need to snap its little neck and placed it in a small cage like container and sealed it in.
Wiping his forehead of perspiration he brought his attention back to Jack. Checking the monitors for anything out of the norm, a small wave of relief flowed over his tense form as everything was stable.
"Alright kid, I'll have you patched up in no time." He spoke in a deep voice of nervousness as he took another laser tool to the open chest cavity and began reconnecting bones and tissue.
"What the fuck…" Jack exclaimed as she watched the cocoon grow and darken in color. The beige surface shifted to black in color as it now stood coiled five feet in front of her. Gurgling snaps and slurping sounds echoed in a disgusting chorus all around the dense mist. The sound of bones snapping, cracking and popping flowed out to her ears as the black form began to stir.
Black in color, it towered before her. Strange pipe looking spikes bulged from its back in rows three on each side of its visible spine. Its body looked as though it was held together by swirling tubes of twisted tendons, entangling about bone like limbs. Skeleton like arms reached out, placing humanoid looking hands on the ground.
Something moved behind it as it crouched low to the ground, lined with jagged vertebras, a tail long and whip like rose up into the mist. What caught her was not the long length, nor the strange bone structure. It was the curved shiv like blade at the very tip…
Perfection filled his luminescent gaze as he looked Jack over. Her chest was flawless; the incision was completely unseen, as if she had never been touched. Proud of himself for doing a job well done he removed the gloves and picked up a syringe filled with clear liquid.
Riddick brought it to her arm and stuck the needle into her still flesh. Pressing the liquid into her veins he pulled the empty syringe away and tossed it into the disposal shoot. Now he had to wait for her to come back to him, to leave her dream filled mind and return to the land of the living…
Taking a step back, she felt her blood run cold. 'Don't show any fear. Don't let this thing get you Jack.' She told herself and clenched her fists until her knuckles shown white through her skin. "What are you?" Jack demanded in a growl as she waited for a response.
The long skull shown like a slightly curved cone with ridges and metallic black coloring. A sickening hiss escaped it as it rose up on its hind legs. Reaching its full height, it towered to eight feet, the deadly tail held out behind it as a warning.
Keeping its head bowed before her, its arms crossed over its exposed ribcage of dark gray. Slowly, the long skull rose, slime oozing from its twisted lips only to drip in large amounts to the ground. A human like mouth of madness devoured her sight as it snarled revealing metallic teeth in a menacing sneer.
Its face void of eyes loomed down at her, the jaws opening in a hiss of deadly intent when suddenly a tongue darted out, only to reveal another set of smaller jaws, snapping inches from her face
Jack screamed…
"NO!" Jack shot up, her eyes wide, her heart pounding. Every inch of her skin burned and itched with unimaginable terror as the vision of the black eyeless creature filled her mind.
Riddick brought her into his powerful arms, "Whoa Jack! It's ok, calm down." He reassured her trembling form as she shook against his protective embrace.
Her heartbeat slowed to normal as everything began to sink in. She was in the ship, with Riddick. She was safe. Closing her eyes she breathed in and leaned her head against his shoulder. But something caught her eye…
A small container a few feet away, just in her line of sight… Something moved inside, coiling up and letting out a small hiss…
"Oh god no…" Jack uttered in horrified realization as the small creature suddenly turned toward her and grinned.
-End Chapter Twelve-
((Authors Note: Yes ladies and Jellyspoons.. It seems I have crossed over into the realms Of Aliens.. Disclaimer: I don't own anything that pretains to the Riddick universe Or the Aliens Universe. This is only for entertainment. Enjoy!))