Hey guys. It's been a while. So sorry… it's been really hectic lately. I'm way too tired to give you the plot of Dark Fury, but go online and get it. It's too late, and I wanted to get this out ASAP. Also, many of you are detecting a Riddick/Jack pairing…
Well… let's put it this way: the writer doesn't win. You'll get mad if I don't put them together and you'll get mad if I do… so just keep on reading to find out what happens… and if you don't like it… well… you were hoping for it and you know it.
Oh, and the recent reviews are actually what made me totally speed up and lengthen this chapter, so thanks to you guys!
Chapter 5
Riddick walked into the room to find Jack sound asleep. He knelt beside her to check on her wounds. The black comforter was tightly wrapped around her like a sleeping bag. Riddick's hand lightly touched the comforter where her stomach was. She was extremely warm. He quietly and skillfully unwrapped her. She didn't budge.
"Definition of heavy sleeper," Riddick sighed and shook his head. Being with mercs hadn't taught her shit. Damn lazy mercs.
Her breathing changed and, for a moment, Riddick thought he had woken her up, but as he registered the thought; her breathing came in slow, even breaths.
Riddick took off the gauze and cleaned up the scrapes. Her body shivered and shook under his touch. He dressed the wound again.
Riddick cleaned up the mess and turned on the shower. He stripped off his clothes and stepped in. Letting the rush of water burn off all the dirt and disgusting remnants of the Necromonger ship, he practically felt asleep in this calm place.
Jack slowly turned on her stomach, but her hands held her up so that her stomach didn't touch the ground. The pain in her stomach was unbearable, so she concentrated on the pain in her head instead. Her head throbbed like no one's business. It felt as if her brain was pulsating against her skull.
She flipped back onto her back and heaved a sigh. She lifted a heavy hand to her forehead. She felt a thick patch cover the left half of her forehead.
"I am not a heavy sleeper, asshole," Jack moaned. She got up gradually and went towards the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. Sweet fucking Jesus, she thought. Her forehead had a square white patch, but that was only the beginning. Her right eye was slightly tinted black and blue. One cheek was slightly redder under her tan than the other from the slap. The two cuts on her lip, both still open, were healing faster than expected. There was a dark red slash along the edge of her left eyebrow and down her face another half an inch. It was dry blood, but blood all the same.
Her neck was still red from Vanessa's grip. Jack's eyes trailed down her body. Luckily, she could count on one hand how many bruises were on her body. Her back ached from being thrown down. She felt like Vanessa had put a crick in her spine so that every time Jack walked, she would feel it. The only other serious pain was in her stomach. She lifted the clean shirt Riddick had put on her the night before, and examined the dressings. She wouldn't undo it for Riddick's sake. She didn't enjoy him tending to her wounds. It was just a weakness.
Jack looked at herself in the full-length mirror. She saw a small trash can near her and looked at the trashed gauze that Riddick had cleaned up moments before. The material was stained a dark, almost black, red. It was all over. She barely saw much white. It must have been bad.
All of the sudden, she found herself unwrapping the white gauze. Her eyes stung with salty tears. She let the coverings fall.
Her fingers traced alongside the large wound. Her whole mind was so focused on the abrasion on her side that she didn't hear Riddick come behind her, dressed in black cargos.
By now tears were streaming down her face.
How could you let this happen, Jack? she thought to herself. You swore to yourself that you wouldn't break. You were supposed to be better than this. This isn't strength. This is pure weakness.
"Hey," Riddick spoke gently. Jack jumped slightly which resulted in tremendous pain. She moaned. "You shouldn't be up."
Jack ignored it. Since when did Riddick give her advice on when she had to be up and when she didn't? He has an army at his command, remember? Oh, yeah… that. "I'm not the definition of a heavy sleeper, by the way."
Riddick smiled. Another damn smile. What is this guy on?
Suddenly, from somewhere in the room, a comm clicked in. A heavy masculine voice came on, sounding throughout the room. "Marshall?"
"Yes?" Riddick answered calmly.
"The board is all gathered. All we need is you."
"Thanks, Merdoc. I'll be right there."
The comm clicked and there was silence again.
"Come with me." Riddick ordered. Jack would have refused spitefully if Riddick hadn't put his hand on her shoulder and led her out of the bathroom.
He opened one of the many drawers and took out a clean pair of black sweats and a light gray tank top. He tossed them to her, which she caught and began dressing.
She found the pair of shoes given to her underneath the bed and laced them up tight.
Then he gave her a light jacket. A jacket that wouldn't be too hot, yet it would keep her warm. Sometimes wounds like the ones she had would create a "cold" sensation, he knew. That was another thing she liked about Riddick. She didn't need to explain. He just knew.
…
"So what the hell are we gonna do?" Jack broke what seemed to be the never-ending silence.
They had been in this boardroom for the past hour. She sat on the edge of a long table where half a dozen men sat with stern faces. They had been explaining the situation with Chillingsworth and her damn minions.
Jack had kept quiet up until now. She was tired of seeing tired men who were tirelessly trying to figure something out without speaking. This was the reason as to why she was only talking to Riddick and ignoring everyone else.
"Well, Missy." An old man in a black and green cloak eyed her with a bad gray eye and put out his lip in distaste. "Almost one hundred mercs are on their merry way after our Lord Marshal. We're going to kill them."
Riddick would have felt better if he knew that was completely true. However, as much as he knew the Necro's were loyal to preserving the Lord Marshal, the Necromongers would only want to save their own hide and faith in the end.
"And how do you propose we go about doing that, oh holy one?" Jack remarked sarcastically. If they were going to rude and obnoxious, then so was she. Grek's, the man in the cloak, chair scratched back and almost fell over as he stood and glared. But before he could say anything to her, Jack hopped up from her position and yelled, "You can't just ride in, guns a-blazin' and expect to come out alive and victorious!" She folded her arms under her breasts in anger and pure annoyance. "They will have spread out in teams and will use whatever conniving or witty plan that comes out of their ass. For all we know, they could be coming from all directions."
"Well we'll devise an equally conniving plan to surprise and demoralize them." Shark, a young commander with light blonde hair and baby blue eyes spoke calmly.
Jack let out a laugh. It was a cold laugh with a harsh smile, but Riddick noticed no sarcasm. She was amused. She thought what Shark said was funny. Riddick had to turn to Shark and give a small twitch of the end of his lip and refrain from being amused.
Jack put both hands on the chrome table. The gross, metallic, clean air that reminded her of a local prison, entered her lungs, and she hated it.
"Demoralize mercs?" She gained back her focus with a small smile. "Mercs live for money and for themselves. They don't answer to commanders or," she pointed to Riddick, "Gods." Her green eyes turned cold. "No sir. They will stop at nothing to get the job done. There is no moral to demoralize. They are cold hearted bastards who don't even care for their own crew. Take no prisoners, show no mercy." Jack looked down for a moment at the last part and Riddick could swear she was about to cry. He could smell the sudden wave of salty tears. But as soon as the scent registered, she was back up again with the same darkness in her eyes.
"Well, we will fight them, dammit!" Shark slammed his fist.
Jack eyed the fist. He shows emotion too easily. He is a liability. All these damn necros are a fucking liability.
She hated how she could point out his flaws so easily. She hated how she could dismiss this person so quickly. She really was turning into someone else. When she spoke, she was calm. "Let's just hope you never get caught alive." She nodded her head towards his reaction. Some of the men stared at Shark with angry glares. Jack gave a quick glance at Riddick. Even with his goggles on, she knew he was looking at her.
"Riddick is your Lord Marshal." Jack said 'Lord Marshal' with distaste. "I'm not about to tell you what to do." She rolled her eyes and walked out.
…
It was another hour before Riddick left the meeting. He hated these meeting, but they were necessary. A direct decision wasn't made, but decided that taking up arms would have to happen immediately. They didn't know how long it would take the mercs to reach them.
Riddick looked around for Jack. It took him a good ten minutes before he caught a familiar, fresh, citrus scent. Jack's scent led Riddick to one of the smallest rooms in the ship. It had two large, black, leather couches and the rest was basically a window. It was Riddick's favorite room.
The doors swished open to let him in, but that was all the noise that gave him away. There, head against the Plexiglas, Jack stood quietly. Riddick's cargos hugged her low on her hips. She had found a dark, gray, square-cut tank top and her feet were still bare. Her hair was down in thick brown curls.
Riddick thought she may have been sleeping because she hadn't even flinched at his entrance.
She looked so peaceful, so tranquil. Riddick managed to walk across the floor, which covered a tank of nameless sea creatures, without a sound. He stood next to her and still she didn't move. There were so many stars out. He traced constellations with his eyes. Even though the universe was filled with stars, Riddick could see the sea planet Maldrin far away. It would be another nine to ten hours before they reached the water planet. Riddick took off his goggles.
A quiet whisper came from Jack. "Please don't keep me here Riddick." Her voice was chocked up. Riddick was surprised to see she was awake, but he didn't show it. Her breathing was so calm and controlled.
She leaned away from the window and looked at Riddick. Dammit. Why does he have to take those goggles off? Jack loved his eyes. Had loved them since the beginning, but they saw right through her, and she hated it.
Jack didn't turn away. Riddick's eyes didn't unnerve her as they did so many others. In fact, she was staring him straight in the eye. Riddick smiled inwardly at this, but then frowned at her request. He went gallivanting half way across god-knows-how-many universes to Crematoria to her, went through her death only to find that it hadn't her to begin with and now she wanted to leave?
Riddick did what he did best. He kept silent.
"Dammit Riddick, you can say something!"
"You wanna leave? Fine!" His angry shouts surprised her. He never got angry like this. "Hell, I ain't stoppin' you!" Riddick yelled furiously.
Jack stared at him for a moment as if trying to figure out what he was saying, then looked away, eyes brimming with tears.
Riddick couldn't help his gut twisting somewhere deep inside. He ignored it, swallowed, and calmly called out to her. "Jack."
Jack paused. Don't turn. Don't turn. You can do this! You don't need him, remember? She gave a small, quiet sigh and walked on.
"Jack!" Riddick's voice grew soft, but there was demand in his tone.
Don't go to him. Don't go to him. Don't go to him. Jack pushed everything inside her to avoid that kind tone. That caring tone. You deserve more than this Jack. She told herself again and again. And soon enough, she was out of the door.
From there she ran. She wasn't particular on which way to go, but anywhere away from Riddick was good enough for her.
Her legs pumped with blood as she flat-out ran for ten minutes straight.
As she entered the large room where she first saw Riddick, a man came from behind her and pushed her to the ground. His bulging weight was thinning her breathing air. She grasped for something, her hands searched frantically at her pockets, the oxygen leaving her lungs and beginning to affect her brain. She pulled a small black shiv from one of the sweats inside pockets. She'd have to thank Riddick later.
Her arm lashed out behind her at the man. The man gasped and rolled off of her. Jack didn't even think about breathing at this moment. She pushed herself up and ran towards the dark metal chair in the middle of the room. She didn't mind being cornered, but when men toppled their weight onto her, it was just damn annoying. She stood on the chair and crouched looking at the man. She was breathing hard, trying equally as hard to keep her breathing calm.
The man was not alone. There were four guards clad in heavy metal armor who stood in the main doorway. One of them was already on the floor sputtering blood from his lip and pressing at his cheek. Nice one Jack. One down, three to go.
She looked around her for a way out. There was a railing some ten feet above her. It would be near impossible to get up there without anything, save a shiv.
The only entrance was in front of her. And guess who walked their pretty ass up? None other than Dame Vaako.
Jack's hand clenched tightly around the shiv. Her back shivered and goosebumps rose on her arms as she leaned against the cold metal chair. She hated this place. Hated the cold feeling, hated the cleanliness of it, hated Dame Vaako and her stupid smile, hated the guards and the necros, but worst of all, she hated Riddick for bringing her here.
She suddenly felt another presence. She didn't see anyone, nor could she place why she got the feeling of being watched, but she knew someone else was here with her.
One of the men was stupid enough to lunge his muscular form towards her. He thought he could surprise Jack, but he was far from correct. She saw him from the corner of her eye and moved swiftly off the chair and tumbled down the marble steps. She tucked her head in a fetal position before springing back up into action.
The guard smacked his head hard against the chair. He pushed himself back and growled from the embarrassment. He steered his agile body towards her and twisted his long bulging axe.
It only took him three large strides to get close enough to swing the hunk of metal at Jack. As she moved away from nearing death, the man swung again. He did so relentlessly for another ten minutes. Jack leapt backwards, throwing her shiv at the man with deadly aim. For a moment. a swish of the air and the sound of the blade crushing the man's forehead was all that could be heard.
The man's eyes rolled in the back of his head, and he toppled to the ground. Beads of warm sweat dripped down Jack's forehead from the work-out her body endured. They mixed with drops of cold, chilling sweat that reminded her why she killed only when she needed to.
Her flesh was suddenly covered with goosebumps. This time it wasn't because she was cold. All the men's faces that she had killed rushed through her head for a split second and then vanished.
Jack looked at the man dead on the floor. For some weird reason, her whole body froze. Her even breaths that she had tried so hard to obtain were now coming out short and ragged. It wasn't as if she had never killed a man before. No, she had killed many people, but never for pleasure. It was a survivor's world of kill or be killed. Suddenly, a wave of emotion hit her. It wasn't sadness or anger or regret or remorse. All of the past few days' events stormed through her mind uninvited.
She was… disappointed. Disappointed in what Riddick was becoming and what she became. Riddick was leading a full-fledged armada of piety-crazed psychos. He was going to be killed by mercs and he knew it and Jack knew it.
He doesn't even give a shit. He doesn't even care about his own life anymore, Jack realized Riddick had lost his animal instincts. The animal side that had kept him alive for his entire life. The animal side that now grew and growled deep inside of Jack. The animal side of a killer.
Jack unexpectedly felt tired. Not the 'I'm sore, I need to sleep tired.' No. She was tired of being stuck on this alien ship where people were polite to her. Where she could take luxurious showers and sleep in dream-like beds and be surrounded by beautiful museum-like architecture. She missed the life where she did what she wanted, where she wanted, when she wanted and no one could bother her. Just the peace of her and her small skiff. She needed the isolation.
Jack dropped the knife and looked down. The armed men quietly took her away without any hesitation from either side. Dame Vaako's eyes nearly popped out of her head. She seemed disappointed, like a child who is told he can't pet the puppy.
Jack looked up around the room one last time, and realized the presence she felt earlier was gone.
…
The cage was too clean. Jack wanted to throw her slop-a-la-carte dinner on the wall. So she did. A squishy sound like the one you make when your feet just hit the bathtub water rings through her ears. Jack sits against the opposite wall staring at the brown and while muck. Seeing it drip down was like watching paint dry. That made her feel a little better.
The guard, however, was not as pleased.
He gave a grunt and passed her another dinner probably put into a blender a month ago. "You ruin this one and there's nothing tomorrow."
Jack wanted to laugh. One day wasn't so bad. There were prisons she had spent months in where the guards would "forget" to feed their prisoners. It would be days before her next meal. Some of the inmates, she still unfortunately remembered, ended up killing one another for food. She was proud to say she had never resorted to cannibalism.
She stared at the plate as if expecting a puppet show to pop out and entertain her. A finger dipped into the food. At least it's warm. She stuck her whole hand into it, made a half-fist, and took her hand out. She then proceeded to throw the mess at the guard.
She hit him smack dab on the back of his head. His pristine golden hair was tainted with the necro's chef special.
He swerved around and barked, "God damn, you stupid bitch! See if you get any food tomorrow or the next day! I'll make sure of it!" He left to go rant to one of his buddies.
Jack gave a huge grin and s a small chuckle. She amused herself. She was used to entertaining herself. She decided to get up off the concrete floor and picked up the gourmet meal with her. She used the rest of the muck to doodle on one of the clean walls. Her mind was absentmindedly directing orders for her hands to paint a mural. The rest of her thoughts were focused on how the hell she was going to get out of here without Riddick knowing, or trying to stop her.
She must have been at it for quite a while because her hand reached into an empty bowl. She stepped back to admire whatever the hell she just "painted." There was flat land without life. Off to the side corner stood a tree. The tree was bare with millions of branches sticking out. No green leaves covered it (partly because today's soup special wasn't green, but brown).
"A masterpiece by Jack. Who would've ever thought?" A low rumble sounded behind her. She twisted around to find Riddick seated lazily in her cell on the "bed".
"Can you tell 'em to make more colorful… sloppy joe's next time, which at my menu rate could be next week?" Sudden rage took over her calmness. Riddick disturbed that calmness. "Maybe I'll get so good at it because I'll have been in here forever that you can send me blank canvases, and I'll end up giving my art depressing names like, 'Lonely girl in cell'."
Riddick gave a crooked smile and the smallest rumble of a laugh. Jack could see he was amused, but something told her it wasn't permanent.
"So I suppose you keep all your traitors company?" Jack tossed the plate out of the cage and hit a random spot on the wall.
"Only the cute ones," Riddick's eyes were hidden behind his goggles, making it impossible for Jack to see what was going on in that fucked-up mind of his. She frowned. He returned the frown. It was a secret game they played. Who could frown the most and the longest?
Riddick broke the silence. "We should be arriving at Maldrin in about eight hours. You should get some sleep." He moved from the bed closer to Jack.
Riddick was probably right, but Jack knew it was an order. Jack wouldn't give him total satisfaction. She wouldn't want him here when the nightmares came along. She lay on the bed and coldly responded, "And you should get out of here."
Jack was prepared to hear yelling and his booming low voice, or him walking out without a word. Instead, Riddick pushed her aside and made room for his muscular mass. "Naw, things get pretty hectic right before a landing." He rested his large hands on his stomach. "Besides, I've had to play host took long. Even master-mind criminals need sleep."
"No Riddick." Jack didn't want to say anything to him. She didn't want him to leave, but her nightmares were embarrassing. She knew she tossed and turned and, on rare occasions, she would talk. She had to face her nightmares alone. Riddick wouldn't be in her life much longer. She couldn't depend on him to let her sleep peacefully. She had to fight her own wars.
Riddick didn't move. He gave no sign that he had heard her, but she knew he was still awake. "Riddick…" She hated the way her voice pleaded.
"Go to sleep kid," Riddick interrupted. Jack shut up then. If she kicked him during the night because of a nightmare, which she hoped she would, that was his fault. So be it.
…
Riddick felt a kick in his side and he awoke immediately from a light sleep. He never could have a decent deep sleep.
He looked at Jack's sleeping form. She was now in the fetal position. Her eyes moved frantically behind her closed lids. Worry lines and fear showed clearly along her tan skin. She was mumbling incoherently.
Riddick didn't move from his position. Instead, he leaned in closer to see if he could make out her words.
"I… don't know who the hell this Riddick guy is." Jack muttered and her body jerked. Riddick raised an eyebrow. She suddenly lay still. "You can't make me… fucking planet." Riddick tried to put two and two together. "Pitch black… fucking monsters will rip us apart…" She paused. "This isn't even close to torture, asshole."
Riddick stopped breathing. Whatever lame story she told him about Flare was bullshit.
"Jack," Riddick quietly whispered. She moaned. "Jack." Riddick gave her a nudge.
Her arms immediately pushed herself up as she woke up. She was already in a crouching position, ready to fight, when she realized it was only Riddick who woke her up.
She shook her head roughly and sat on the metal cot. "I kicked you didn't I?" She gave a slight grin. Riddick stayed silent. Only the ends of his mouth twitched to give any sign he was still alive. "I warned ya!" Jack turned away from Riddick and smiled to herself. "You deserved it." She pushed herself off the cot, but a hand shot out and pushed her back down. "What? You did deserve it!" she protested angrily, but he twisted her hand.
"Tell me the truth. After I left, what happened?" Riddick commanded. Jack knew he hated people who lied to him. Great! What the hell had she said in her dreams?
Jack looked around. It was quiet and the guards all gone. "I told you already. Flare and his team gave me a lift." Riddick stopped her again when she tried to get up. He twisted her wrist farther back, causing an immense amount of pain to rush through her arm. She didn't show the signs of pain that she felt, nor any sign that she was going to answer his question.
Riddick pushed her to the ground, twisting her whole arm this time. As she knelt on the floor in front of him, she let out a small grunt and a sharp intake of the sterile air.
"I found a transport a little more than six months after you left." He eased up a bit on the pain. "I traveled for a month or so debating on my next plan of action. I got off on Djeb in the Gregon universe. It was a nice place. Nice streets, nice people, nice everything. So I'm walking down the street minding my own business when the prince passes me by. This is when I'm," she thought back, "fourteen. Anyways, the prince wants me to be trained to be his "special" concubine." Jack rolled her eyes in disgust. "I say 'no'. So I get thrown in jail for treason. I get out easily, kill the prince, and the rest is history."
"What happened after that?" Riddick allowed Jack to squirm out of his grasp.
"What I've been telling you. Geeze!"
"Don't lie to me Jack. You know how I feel about liars."
Jack smiled. Oh, she knew how much he hated when people lied to him, and yet, he was the king of liars. "Hypocritical bastard," she spat out. Riddick pushed harder. Jack let out a yell of pain.
"Tell me."
There was a pause. Jack wouldn't tell him. It was her business and not his. It was almost embarrassing. "You're not getting a thing from me." Besides, it wouldn't matter either way since she was no longer going to be on this fucking ship.
Riddick dropped her suddenly and left without a word. He knew she meant business. Thank the gods for that.
She lay on the cot for a while, wondering when it would be time for her to leave. Obviously, when the ship landed, but eight hours was a lot of time to kill. That's when the hatch to the door of her cell opened. She prepared herself for another round with Riddick.
And that's when she blacked out.
---
Lamyka – I'm really trying! I promise the next chapter will be up WAY sooner than this one had.
Idea – that's a brilliant idea. I don't really know if I can fit a guy relationship in here, but why don't you give it a shot.
Silverbloodrain -blushes thanks
Crematoriacon – ohhh! I have talk! Whoo hoo! and what talk is that?
K-Marie-M – YA! You totally made my day with that review! Now I know what my readers are looking for (and we're looking for the same thing, fortunately!)
cutelilchick4ever – ah, you don't know how good it is to hear that I'm staying in character because I can't stand stories that don't. Love your review!
JohnMayer1207 - squeeeeee Your review made my week! And I LOVE that you LOVE that line… there should be more sassy comments to come!
Snowgurl54 – I'm trying on that regular thing… It's hard, but I'm trying.
A - ssshhh you'll get those scenes…
TotallyRiddickObsessed – Thank you SO much for your corrections. I haven't gone back to change things, but, now that I know, I can. Yeah, I knew it was Dame Vaako, but I guess Lady sounded more appropriate. Not that I'm trying to change the name or anything.
Megan Consoer – you got your chapter… and there's more to come.