WARNING: This chapter contains rape-themes. So if this bothers you, then skip the part when things get…freaky and read only the first half of the chap and last few paragraphs. For all the others – this chapter is rather good in my opinion. Intense.
After the sparring when Jack had cleaned up, she went to the kitchen to make herself dinner. It usually just ´happened that she ´accidentally made enough food for two. She would leave it out and find in the morning that it was gone. A real fucking mystery indeed. Riddick was still in the dojo having his own workout. Jack made steak. If she is going to cook for him anyway, she just as well may make something he likes too. A man like Riddick definitely needed meat.
She was taking a plate for herself when she heard Riddick leaving the dojo to go to the bathroom. It shouldn't take long till he comes to share the dinner. Jack sighed and took out another plate. They need to talk anyway, so why not do it during the dinner.
Jack filled her own plate with potatoes, some salad, steak and souse. They had a pretty good kitchen and all the stuff it needed to cook a proper meal. So she had learned to cook, although Jack didn't exactly like it. With a glass of water in hand, she sat down. Riddick walked in, most likely following his nose to the delicious smells. "Serve yourself," she told him plainly and dug in.
He did so and sat down. Riddick never thanked her or said if he liked what she had made. Jack figured that he might see being polite and friendly as a weakness or an unbearable burden. Pff, macho men, she thought and wrinkled her nose.
"Riddick, how do you plan to sell those guns?" Jack asked.
"I'll go to the guy's enemy and see what he has to offer," he told her in-between bites.
"Isn't it too dangerous?"
"Maybe. I'll handle it," he said with just enough confidence.
"When will we go to them?" she asked again. Sometimes Jack found it really annoying that she had to ask for all that stuff any other normal person would tell her in a stride. That ´sometime was right about then.
"Not ´we, I'll go to them. But we'll land in three days. Gives them some time to think."
Jack had to agree with that. Three days is enough to get the rumors spreading, but not enough to get them ready to kill them. Silence too over. Both just ate and kept their eyes down on the food. Jack finished eating first since she had started a little earlier and ate a whole lot less than Riddick did.
"My birthday is in four days. Wouldn't want to die before that," she told him cynically. He didn't answer, didn't even nod or give any other sign that he had heard.
Jack had a clever idea. Being a runaway had taught her to turn every mishap for her favor. She said "Seeing as this deal is so dangerous, I think I deserve a little bit more credits for all the pay you'll get from the guns." Her voice was so innocent, she could have fooled anyone. Jack sounded like a girl begging for an allowance-rise from her father. That was pretty similar to her situation with Riddick.
"Why do you need more credits?" he asked worriedly. He already gave her some every now and then, so she could buy clothes etc.
"Because --- I need stuff! Like a better recorder and new pair of boots couldn't hurt either," she told Riddick.
"Fine," he replied without thinking about it for a longer time. If he was honest with himself, Riddick had to admit that Jack didn't get all that much credits out of him. Most of her expenses were covered by the ship's account. Like food and other good old solid everyday things. And her shivs were made by Riddick. So it would be a good idea to give her a little bonus. If we'll be alive to even see those credits, Riddick thought.
Jack smiled with victory and went to clean the dishes. Thinking that if Riddick was in a generous mood, she should take advantage of it, she opened her mouth again: "I'm going to be 18. That means I'll officially be a grown-up."
Riddick took a sip of water before he said anything. "You don't have a birth certificate. Officially you don't exist. "
Jack frowned but it didn't stop her from struggling forward with their conversation to get to the main point. "Still, I'll be a grown-up. And that gave me a brilliant idea. I -" she was saying, but Riddick cut her off.
"I know what you're plotting. The answer is NO!" he told her with a voice that wouldn't like any objections.
Jack tried anyway. "But you haven't even heard what I was going to say!"
Riddick glared at her. And as he spoke, his low voice hid a serious warning. "You were going to say that you want to celebrate it in a bar, get wasted and high, fuck someone and that I should allow it because you're a grown-up now."
Jack was stricken by surprise. Yeah! she thought wildly. Giving it a final chance, she said: "But I could settle with just the bar-part too!"
"NO!" Riddick roared and left the kitchen.
Jack couldn't understand why he had to get so worked up over such a little thing. What would it do if she had a night off? It's not like she has any particular requirements for the planet the bar is at; or for the bar itself for the matter. What harm would it do, if she could see life again over the five years and have some fun!
Jack plopped down on her mattress and took out her notebook. It was filled with lyrics. She started to write. Once it was finished, Jack re-read it to see if she needed to change anything. No, it was perfect. Warily, Jack looked to where Riddick was on his own bed sharpening his blades. He didn't seem to be in a mood to hear what this song was about. So Jack took her guitar and went down to the cargo hold.
Jack sat down on the floor, the notebook open in front of her. Slow and painful melody echoed back from the walls. Jack started with the chorus.
Trapped in the golden cage
Always being the same
Drives a girls crazy
Want some fun maybe
She tried to keep her voice down. Riddick might find the statement of this song insulting and irritating. Jack had won two unexpected battles today – being allowed to keep the gun and getting some extra credits. She didn't want to give him a reason to take them back.
Trapped in the golden cage
Where no-one ever age
Rushing through the stars
Facing many wars
Little girls was dying sad
Wanting things she never had
Riddick heard all right. His enhanced senses could easily pick up a singing voice and the guitar-play from the other end of the ship. He put his blades aside and listened to her sad voice.
Trapped in the golden cage
Filled with righteous rage
Little girl stoop up
Never gonna shut up
Many battles left behind
One ahead will be divine
Riddick didn't get irritated. He simply wondered why Jack had bothered to go away if she wanted to sing a song. Did she really think he couldn't hear?
Trapped in the golden cage
Where her soul fades
She now fights for right
To step into the light
She will age like everyone
For a chance to be someone
Jack sang the chorus twice to end it properly. When she was done, she didn't feel like getting up. She knew it was around the time she usually went to bed, but… Jack was so tired of being unhappy! Riddick was her golden cage! She didn't want to escape it, but to change some rules a bit. What will it take to make him see, who Jack really is?
Riddick's steps on the stairs leading to the cargo hold woke her from her thoughts. She got up and eyed him carefully as he walked closer to stand next to her. Riddick didn't quite know what he wanted to say to her. The only thing he could grasp was that Jack was miserable and looking up at him with fear. He could smell it all around her.
"Are you upset about the bar thing?" he finally asked. Riddick knew that asking questions can be a tricky thing. You just might even get the answers.
Jack didn't know if it would be wiser to admit it or deny it. "Maybe."
"You are or you aren't. Yes or no, Jack," he told her.
"Yes," she said. If for once Riddick was in a talkative mood and took any interest in her, then Jack should at least give the man a chance.
Riddick nodded. "Why?" he asked. Riddick couldn't understand what was so important about going to a bar. A bar is just a bar, nothing special.
"Did you hear the song?" she asked in return. Truthfully, she already knew he had. Why else had he bothered to come down here anyway? "I want to have some fun," she told him quietly.
"Fun? Going to a bar is fucking dangerous!" he yelled at her.
Jack yelled back. "But I NEED it! Bullshit, Riddick, it's just as dangerous when you go to the whorehouses!"
Both of them were angry now to say the least. Riddick was intimidating, but Jack wasn't going to back down now.
"At least I know how to take care of it!" he said.
"I can too! Jesus – all I wanna do is meet some people, let my fucking hair down and live a little!"
Riddick took a step closer before lowering his voice just a little. He asked: "So this is all about fucking? You wanna fuck, Jack? You wanna fuck so badly?" The glint in his eyes spoke volumes of his mood. He wasn't in control of his anger anymore.
A second later he had pushed Jack up against the wall and pressed his body to hers. Immediately his lips brutally crushed hers in what could be called a kiss. His hands gripped her body everywhere – breasts, shoulders, stomach, back, butt… He ended his kiss only for a moment. He hissed: "Wanna fuck? Fuck ME then!"
Jack tried to push him away, she really did. But she was no match to a man his size and strength. As his tongue did its damaging work in her mouth, Jack tried to turn her head away. But Riddick only brought one hand up to capture the back of her head; and continued.
With only one swift yank, Riddick had torn open her shirt and broken her bra. He had a free way to do as he pleased. Still kissing her, he moved his other hand down to her shorts and slipped his hand inside to touch her there. All this time he rubbed his body against hers and kept kissing her.
Jack wanted to scream, but who would hear her? Who would help her? This was something she had wanted to happen – but never like this! Now the person she loved the most was making her feel vulnerable, so unworthy of being called a human being! Jack tried to use her knee to kick Riddick away, but he had pinned her between the wall and himself in a way that didn't allow her to move at all.
Riddick's hand was in her panties, his finger in her. As if he wanted to make Jack enjoy being raped. Jack could feel the pressure on her hip, he was erect. She feared what she knew would happen next. The tears sprung from her eyes and she tried to shout for Riddick to stop this revenge or punishment of his, whatever this was.
But he didn't stop. Riddick only brought his hand up to push down her shorts and underwear. Jack tried to struggle to make it impossible, but Riddick just needed to use a little more muscle to fulfill his wish. Last hope Jack had had, was gone when she felt that her shorts were at her knees and Riddick used his foot to pull them down completely.
His mouth moved away from her bruised lips to bite a trail down her neck and breasts. Jack used the given opportunity to beg him to stop. "No! NO! Riddick! Please let me go! No, I don't want this!" she cried. But it seemed as if Riddick had lost his hearing. He wouldn't listen to her plea.
Still leaving bite marks on her chest; he opened his belt buckle, unbuttoned his cargo pants and pulled the zipper down. Jack heard it all and every passing moment made her fear grow. Riddick was breathing in her ear as he pushed his pants down a little. Jack could feel his tumid cock on her bare skin. It must be a matter of seconds now, Jack thought. She couldn't see anything anymore – her tears were running down her cheeks and clouded her vision.
And as abruptly as the invasion had started, it ended. One moment Riddick was pulling down his pants and pushing her legs apart with his knee to get some moving area when he would ram in her. And the other he was in the middle of the cargo hold. Jack could see that he had pulled his cargos on, but left the belt open. Jack could see him watching her without blinking as she quickly pulled up her underwear and shorts. There was nothing to be done about the ripped bra or shirt. So she just folded her arms to hide her nudity.
He still wasn't saying anything. Jack's silent tears kept falling even though she tried to stop them. Without giving Riddick another chance to attack her, Jack run up the stairs faster than she had ever even thought she could run. She slammed the door shut behind her, and continued her run towards the bathroom. Jack got in without Riddick fallowing her and locked the door. It wasn't strong enough to hold Riddick out if he wanted to get in, but Jack locked it anyway.
She didn't know for how long she had been crying there, sitting in the far corner from the door. Finally she ran out of tears. Jack shakily got up and went to take the shower. She left her clothes on in dread of Riddick running in while she's trying to wash off all this touches, all of his kisses and words. All of him…
After a while the shower ran out of hot water, but Jack kept scrubbing herself with soap inside out under the cold fall. She just couldn't get clean enough. The tears came back again and they mixed with water.
Finally, when Jack was blue form the cold, she stepped out of the tube. She had nothing to dry herself with, so she simply sat back to the corner. Jack pulled her knees to her chest and wined her arms around them. Then she prayed to every single god she knew, to let it all be just a bad, bad dream.
There was a knock on the door. Jack held herself tighter and tries to make herself even smaller, if not invisible. She wanted to disappear. But Riddick didn't want to come in if Jack wasn't going to let him.
"Jack, I am really sorry. I don't know what came over me. I can't believe what I did to you! I am really, really sorry! Can you please forgive me?" Riddick asked from behind the bathroom door. His tone of voice was so soft and honest, as if he really would have meant what he said.
Jack didn't answer. How could she forgive being almost raped?
Riddick waited for a while. Apparently he gave up and said: "I put new clothes just outside the door. I move your bed to the dojo, you can sleep there. I will be in the cockpit, door closed, by the time you come out. If you want to talk about it, then just come in… I would want to talk to you." Again, his voice sounded so pleading, so sincere. But how could he even expect to be forgiven after what he did to Jack?