Chapter Eleven
"Now the fun begins," Riddick commented off hand to himself, shouldering the gun and strolling past the fallen keepers of law and order. He decided it was time to look for his crew.
Kali had just stepped out when the lights went off. In an instant she was back, taped to their side. "Don't worry," she said calmly, "Just a short some where, I'm sure." She clicked on the walkie- talkie, "Mitch?" There was no reply, "Mitch, you got lights?" Nothing but silence. "Probably turned it off to focus on your friend," she reasoned.
"He's probably dead," Jack said, true to life.
"Don't be scared," Kali replied factiously.
Imam wrapped his arm around Jack's shoulder, as much to restrain her as it was to protect her. He turned to the woman, and said dimly, "I believe Mr. Riddick is coming."
She couldn't find her voice to tell him he was wrong. Instead, she revealed a small, old fashioned hand gun. Even Jack was surprised. She squared herself to the open doorway and aimed into the blackness. He wasn't going to hurt them, no way. He wasn't going to hurt her either, for that matter. Tensely, they all stood still, waiting for what ever was going to happen to happen. Minute after agonizing minute passed, and Kali never eased.
He came, as they all knew he would. His form swooped out of the shadows, appearing like the true creature of the night he was. The door framed him perfectly, a photo from hell. Her firearm was pointed right at his heart. All she had to do was squeeze. For a long moment, no one spoke.
Eventually, Jack couldn't stand it any more. Wrenching herself away from Imam, she jumped between them. "Jack," Riddick purred.
"No. Hell no."
He brushed her aside. No point in her getting all shot up now. After all, he'd come back, hadn't he? "We're leaving," he announced to Ms. Rhiannon.
Before she could reply they heard an earth shattering crash. Like a scientific observation window bursting into pieces as something broke through it. Yeah, that was exactly what it was like.
"Play time," Riddick declared, moving Jack into the hall behind him. He motioned for Imam to join her. The holy man skirted around the raised weapon with extreme caution. "Follow us," Riddick said, turning his back, "Or stay here and die."
She pulled her finger off the trigger and slowly lowered the gun, "You can't get to the hangers with out passing the labs," she said.
"I know."
"Are they really all that dangerous?" she asked seriously, putting the fire arm away. She hoped he'd give her odds to work with.
"Only if they're hungry," he shifted out of her line of sight, an action which made her shiver. She skipped after him.
"And?"
"And I ain't never seen them when they're not." Then he began clicking his tongue against his teeth, staring into the space before them.
Light and the lack there of played a crucial part in the beast's lives. As long as they still had the protective glow juices flowing through them they were unaffected by brightness, yes. But their skin wasn't the only physical part of them affected by these natural aspects. Their appetites were as well. In their dens, peeked by the termite mound-like spires, they were not wholly secluded from the suns. Some daylight was allowed to seep in. It was a hunger suppressant, the instinct to lay dormant during the day had been embedded into them through several millennia of change and development. Once the sky went dark, their desire for meat sprang to life, new and fresh, unexperienced and tantalizing. This was why for the many years the colony congregated under ground, fully developed with rows of razors jutting from their jaws, they did not fly into a feeding frenzy. Occasionally, if one hurt its self or was taken ill they would snack on it, drawn to the sent of death. But in those cases no blood bath ensued, thanks to the subduing warmth and glow from the suns above.
Unfortunately, when the power failed there were several scientists on duty running superfluous tests on a few of the special fifteen. They were now almost as big as fruit bats, but sill glowed faintly. They looked nothing like the little worms that had been scrapped from around Riddick's feet. They were products of their parents, no doubt about it.
The animals had been gentle, dangerously docile. They scampered around almost like pint sized dogs. They did not enjoy being poked, prodded, and caged, of course, but what creature does?
But when darkness fell, the Devil went to town.
Click- click. Clickity- click.
As if in slow motion, the creatures rose to their hind legs where ever they were. Two were free from their box prisons, having been in the middle of testing. They locked onto each man in turn, identifying him through echo location. Then, their bellies started to rumble. A peel of harsh cries swarmed through the lab, and the two pounced, slicing through one man at a time. In response, the caged ones began throwing themselves against the glass panels. Eventually, all fifteen were loose. One man almost made it to the manual door, but five of them descended on his head, ending his endeavors.
Once they had consumed the four technicians they wanted more. At first they tried attacking each other, but found it difficult to do. Not only were they experts at dodging each other, but their skin was becoming sensitive. If they touched another, the other's phosphorescence stung them. As the glow faded, their resistance to light fell away as well. However, ironically, they all still shone bright enough to keep the others at bay. It was an awkward phase for them socially, akin to human puberty.
Escaping was a group effort. They flung themselves as the observation window, scattering its pieces all over the adjoining room. From there, they were free. All of the doors leading into main body of the decontamination center were automated.
"What do regulations say about evacuations?" Riddick asked as he led them through the winding hall ways.
"We have to go off world. There's always the danger of out break here. We can't return to the surface until we've been screened," Kali explained, her breath becoming labored.
"And what if you don't go off world?"
"Riddick, if you don't leave the planet... they'll catch you. I sent a time released e-mail to the president. In twelve hours she'll know you're here."
"I get the picture," he affirmed. "But if we follow you off world, you're not gonna let me go then either... are you?"
"I can't," she admitted.
"Fair enough." Suddenly he halted, stretching his arm out to stop them as well. He held up a finger for silence. Something around the corner was hissing.
