Chapter 5: The War
Shirah looked pointedly at Riddick's chest. Glancing down he noticed that the hand print was there again, glowing a light blue.
"That mark identifies you as Furyan. It holds within it the heart and life force of the entire Furyan world, past and future. With it, you will be able to fight our enemies and seek vengeance for our kind. It will give you power when you have none left yourself."
Suddenly there is a loud crash from above, Riddick and Shirah jumped to their feet. Spinning toward the trap door Riddick waited, listening. The sound of many feet pounding on the ground above their heads as Shirah began to blow out all the candles, Lalia quickly joining her. Pulling off his goggles in the dark, Riddick crept toward the door, patient. Time passed, the foot steps began to lessen and then disappeared all together.
Shirah and Lalia breathed a sigh of relief, but Riddick stayed at his post by the door, settling into a more comfortable position leaning up against the wall. He watched as Shirah and Lalia found their beds in the dark, and gradually they all fell asleep.
That night Riddick dreamt, but for once instead of the nightmare that woke him reaching for a shiv and sweating, he dreamt of her: Her smile, her bald head and goggles back on T2, the way she had trusted him completely; "I never had a doubt!" she once said when he came back for her and Imam, huddled in a cave. Then his dream went forward in time to when he saw her sitting on a rock coiling up chain she had just used to kill a man, covering Riddick's ass. He heard her voice in his ear asking again how to get eyes like his; he could feel her breath against his neck. The incredible way she looked now that she was all grown up; deadly, but soft. He saw the way her eyes looked at him as she lay bleeding on the floor of Necropolis, trust, regret, and something he couldn't identify. He heard her tell him that she had always been with him.
A heaviness in his chest awoke him. He still sat leaning back against the wall by the stairs. Shifting, he leaned forward and bent his legs, resting his arms and head on his knees trying to steady his breathing. He felt loss, total and complete. He had nothing left in his life. Everything he knew was gone.
Reaching up he rested his hand on the top of his head, a subconscious gesture that eased the feeling of vulnerability. He sat that way for minutes, hours? thinking of Kyra, Imam, and the Furyan tragedy. The anger that had been building inside him since Kyra's death rose again and began to boil. He would avenge his people and his…Friends.
Standing, he glanced around to make sure everything was as it had been before he went to sleep. Jack, Lalia, and Shirah were still in their beds, the room was dark except for the small glow coming from the wood stove. Riddick grabbed his cloak and goggles and prepared to leave.
As he was about to open the trap door he heard Shirah's voice speak to him. "Where would you go?" She asked.
"South." He replied. "Jack said something about the battle coming in from the South."
Rising, Shirah walked toward Riddick. "I will go with you. I can show you the way."
"Look, sister, I don't like tag-alongs. I can find my own way and I don't need some new neck to save.
"This ain't no joy ride. I am here to kill these mother fuckers and that is what I am going to do." He finished, turning his back on her.
"I am coming whether you like it or not." She shot back, "Remember this, you don't scare me, Riddick. I am like you, I understand you. Besides" she added with a smirk, "you are young enough to be my son so don't you dare talk back to me."
Riddick stared at her, looking into her eyes he saw that she would indeed come whether he wanted her to or not. "Fine." He said, "But don't expect me to cover your ass." Pulling down his goggles he strode over to the trap door, looked back at Shirah and raised his eyebrows, waiting.
Shirah quickly wrote a note to Lalia and Jack, grabbed a cloak and moved to follow Riddick.
As soon as she was ready Riddick began to open the trap door and found it blocked. Something must have fallen on it the night before in the blast. Muscles straining he pushed, slowly edging it up. Finally the obstruction slide off the door and Riddick stepped up into what used to be the living room. Shirah climbed out behind him and gasped.
Her house was completely destroyed. They were now standing under the midday sun, surrounded by rubble. Riddick watched as she slowly looked around. "This was the closest thing to home I have had in over thirty years." She breathed. Straightening her shoulders she nodded to some internal decision. It was time to move on.
Keeping to the outskirts of the city they traveled. Shirah would occasionally point out a useful short cut or hiding place as they moved unseen through the middle of the battle zone. Soldiers were still lurking around every corner; spontaneous firefights would erupt adding to the carnage that already littered the ground.
After hours of running, ducking, and hiding they finally reached the southern edge of the city. Riddick glanced around, turned and stepped into a near by doorway. Following the passage they came to a spiral staircase and began to climb. Reaching the top of the staircase and seeing a closed door, Riddick pulled out his blades and cautiously opened the door. Stealthily he crept out and stood. His knives held vertically behind his arms, cloak blowing lightly in the wind he surveyed the sight before him.
Shirah came through the door behind him and stepped to his right, her breath caught in her throat. They were standing on the top of a guard tower facing towards the South and there, spread before them, were two armies; one with it's back pressed against the city walls desperately trying to keep from being crushed by the second, and much larger force, which had them surrounded on all three sides. Smoke, dust and the sounds of energy gun fire filled the air. Thousands of bodies were lying on the ground.
"Who are they?" Riddick asked, surveying the struggling men.
"Supporters of opposing Lord Marshals." She answered. "There have been six Lord Marshals since the Necromonger faith started. When they would die, they rose here in the Underverse. Each Lord Marshal has a following. They are in constant war with each other for the right to rule the Underverse.
"Necromongers are a violent and twisted people; they cannot and will not live in peace. They prefer death to life, pain to joy, and slavery to freedom. They seek only to rule each other and to destroy whoever they can. Riddick, we must find a way to get out of this place so we can return to Furya and help them start over. We cannot stay here or all will be lost. I am their priestess; I hold the only future Furya may have. I must give them back their heart and strength! Then, once we are a strong people again, we can all return and we will avenge the murder of the Furyan sons."
Riddick looked down at her, his face unreadable. "I told you I don't like tag-alongs, they always seem to get in my way. Or dead." He looked out over the armies. "I am here to settle a score. Don't get in my way."
He turned his back and made his way down the stairs. Shirah stood alone for a minute then slowly she turned and followed Riddick.
Speeding up so that she would catch up with him, she said, "Riddick, there is no way you can do this by yourself. We need more people. There is an entire society spanning galaxies here that deserves to die and another society that deserves to kill them. Don't cheat the Furyans from their vengeance!"
Riddick exploded, "You don't know what the hell you're talking about! You think I am going to do this for the Furyans? This is my fucking fight. They took everything I know." Towering above her he pulled off his goggles and lowered his voice threateningly. "Don't fuck with me."
For a moment Shirah thought she was dead. She had never seen such cold rage on a face before. Rocking back, Riddick turned and walked away, readjusting his goggles over his eyes. She let out the breath she had unconsciously been holding. "What happened to you, Riddick to make you so angry?" She thought as she cautiously began to follow him again. "What made this your personal war?"