Okay, in the last chapter, the title was "The Darkest of Days"...

That was a stupid typo. I'll fix it later... but yes...The Darkest of Nights

Chapter Two

Running With A Criminal

I don't think I was out for that long; maybe a couple minutes at the most, but that was about it. I remember waking up with the strangest feeling. I remember feeling squashed by the cryo tank and finding it hard to breathe, but then I remembered the thoughts running through my head: I was a alive. I mean, this tank was heavy, yet here I lay; alive and perfectly well.

Scratch that, I wasn't perfectly well; I was in pain. With a grunt, I slid my wobbling arms under my now dust coated clothing and began to push up. I had expected to stay immobile with the cryo tank holding me down, but to my astonishment, it lifted. It didn't go very high, but it was definitely getting somewhere. The tank seemed to get heavier and heavier as I tried to drag myself out from under it. A sweat began to break along my forehead as I continued on.

This was impossible. I just wasn't strong enough. I finally let my arms collapse, feeling my entire body shake from fatigue. That's when I heard the footsteps drawing ever closer to where I lay. Opening my mouth, I was about to start screaming for help with the little energy I had left, but thought better of it and closed my mouth. What if it was Riddick? Before I even had time to turn my head to see who was coming from behind me, the cryo tank was lifted off of me, just as if it had been as light as a feather. I let out a gasp when I could finally breathe normally and rolled onto my back, ready to thank whoever had helped me. That's when my throat went dry. There, crouching and staring down at me, was Riddick. Just my luck, right?

I didn't know if he was really looking at me, or just sensed me, because the blind fold was still hiding his eyes.

Once on my back, I just laid there, looking up at him, wondering if he was about to pounce. He didn't. Instead, he began reaching out to me. Out of natural reaction, I flinched back, looking fearfully up at him with my wide eyes.

Stopping his hand before reaching me, he tilted his head to the side, almost in an animalistic manner, and began to ease his arm back. He opened his mouth, as if he were going to say something to me, but the bit was still in his mouth, impairing his speech. Instead, he just stared at me through that cloth around his eyes. Of course, he remained expressionless... but what I'd give to know what was going through his mind.

A loud bang of metal had me, and Riddick, jumping. More of just me, really. After looking toward the noise, Riddick's eyes, or so I thought, went back to me. The chained criminal brought both of his hands up to his face (they were shackled together, after all), and using his right index finger, motioned for me to be quiet before pointing to a place between my newly set up cryo tank and a large piece of scrap metal that now leaned against it. Figuring he wanted me to hide, I shakily got to my feet, my whole lower half aching, and went over to it. It barely looked like I could fit in there.

"But-" I mumbled, turning around to talk with Riddick. But in my turning, I found myself alone. Now hearing the scuffling of feet growing ever nearer, I turned around and squeezed into the tiny area, pushing back as far as I could. For a while, all I could hear where the footsteps and my heavy breathing. Once a pair of boots stopped right outside of my hiding place, I clapped one of my dirty hands over my mouth to try and stifle my breathing, to no such avail.

Whoever it was, I didn't know him. But he bent down, and found me in my hiding place. But... why had Riddick told me to hide? Truly this man wasn't going to hurt me..?

Before anything else in my mind could process, a pair of dark boots came from the ceiling, shackled together. The shackle went around the other mans neck as Riddick tried to suffocate him.

Unfortunately, the man pulled out a stick. Like that was going to hurt Riddick. But then again, if swung hard enough...

He began to beat Riddick viciously as he held tight to the wires and things above him.

Suddenly feeling like a helpless child, or some damsel in distress, I felt a wave of anger shower over me (for what reason, I didn't know). Squeezing out of my hiding space, I grabbed at the stick that the man before me had. Surprisingly enough, I got it, but being the weak fourteen girl I was, against a man his size, I was nothing. The man yanked his stick back out of my hands before he smacked me over the head. A flash of red blinded my vision before I fell against my cryo tank, holding my now throbbing head as I slid to the ground. Before I knew it, both Riddick and the man hit the floor. I glanced up from my agony to see the man standing over Riddick, his back to me.

"Somebody's going to get hurt one of these days. It ain't gonna be me." He growled down at Riddick, who remained immobile. What was wrong with him? What had happened that I missed-?

"And you." I heard the man growl as he turned back to me, a glare in his ice blue eyes. Devils eyes.

In my blurry vision, I saw him raise the stick once more to hit me, but stopped it just before it hit me.

"That's a warning."

In a few minutes, Johns had both Riddick and I tied to to separate poles, facing each other, with our arms behind our backs. Yeah, Johns; that's what his name tag read. I didn't know him all that well yet, but I could tell that he was going to be one pain in the ass...

What ever drama was going on, I had no insight from where I was chained. Someone was dead, I knew that. I heard the screaming, yelling. It wasn't anything new really; eleven of the forty some passengers and crew had survived. People had died... and I had the uneasy feeling that there'd be more. So there I sat, my arms tied behind my back and a seriously deadly criminal sitting across from me. Might as well get used to it; no body on board trusted me now that Johns tied me up with Riddick...

We were stuck there for a while, so I did the most sensible thing; I napped. After all, the sleep in the cryo tank was artificial. It didn't really make you sleep. So I caught up on some of my sleep. I fell in and out of it, every once in a while hearing voices. At one point I heard Fry and Johns talking about Riddick and me.

"He just escaped from a maximum prison." I heard Johns mumbled.

I glanced up from where I was chained. They were behind a pile of rubble a few feet behind Riddick, and I could just barely see them.

"So, do we just keep him locked up forever?" Fry asked as I tried to fall back into sleep. Not interesting enough for my attention.

"Well that would be my choice." Johns answered.

Fry whispered someething about him being dangerous, and I opened one of my eyes. This I wanted to hear.

"Only around humans." Johns said shortly.

I rolled both of my eyes under my closed lids. Well that was useful information. I never really thought he'd be such a bad criminal if he hurt animals, Johns! Give me a real answer!

"And the girl?" Fry asked.

Uh huh. Talking about me now? I could feel two pairs of eyes on me. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to look into the adults' faces, but finding my courage somewhere deep inside me, I looked up, my eyes open. I put on my sharpest glare, hoping to get them a little scared. It worked on Fry a little bit (she mostly looked... sad for me?), but Johns just sneered. I really did wanted to rip his head off for chaining me up. I mean what was I supposed to do? Let the guy who saved me get beaten to death like a pinata? I think not.

"Just some brat working with Riddick. Tried to stab me with a knife she had while Riddick was strangling me." Johns growled to Caroline, his devil eyes on me.

I did a double-take as my mouth fell open.

"You liar!" I snarled, glaring at him with a deadly look in my darkening eyes (the phrase "if looks could kill" described it perfectly), "I tried to grab that stupid stick you pulled on Riddick while you were beating him-!"

While I was practically yelling at him, he walked very quickly around the rubble, and when I was about to finish my sentence off, he smacked me hard along my left cheek, sending my face jolting to the side.

I felt tears threaten to spill but I held them in, glaring up at Johns, a snarl on my lips, as I felt my cheek redden.

"Don't ever let a lie like that slip through your pretty little lips, or next time I'll cut them off." Johns said as calmly as ever.

"Johns, was that necessary? She's just a kid-" Fry began, stepping forward to, surprisingly, defend me.

"Better to slap them down while they're young so they don't end up like him." On the emphasized word, Johns jerked his head over to Riddick before giving me one last glare and leaving the room with Fry.

So with, again, nothing better to do but roll in my anger, I fell into a fitful sleep.

The next thing I heard was a sound was a sound that would not leave my ears for years to come.

It was the "pop... pop..." of some noise. Looking up with drowsy eyes, I saw Riddick with his arms straight up, both shoulders dislocated. Wait, wait, wait... what was he doing!

Popping them back into place (the sound sending shivers of agony down my back), he slid in shackle through a break in the top of his pole. Grabbing a torch, he began undoing all of his restraints, starting with his arms before going to his legs, and at last, the one around his head. Of course, being dumb little me, I watched as he did all this in complete shock.

Once the restraints had been taken off, the one that had been around his head had been slipped into his pocket, he slid the black cloth off from around his eyes and put on a pair of black goggles in a matter of seconds. He looked around like an animal searching for it's prey, his eyes even stopping on me, once, before he started to make his way to the exit, pulling out a knife of some sort.

"H-... hey!" I whisper/shouted, catching his attention, "What about me!"

Seriously; was he going to leave me behind?

"You'll just slow me down kid." Riddick said in one of the lowest voices I have ever heard. It was gravely, in a way, and very masculine.

"Try me." I growled, fidgeting with my shackles.

"Rather not." Riddick answered quickly, ready to leave.

"If you leave me, I'll scream." I said quickly.

Actually, that was partly a lie. I didn't have a girly voice, and I very much doubted that I'd be able to scream loud enough.

"You do, and before you can reach your highest note, I'll cut your throat." He said somewhat menacingly, holding up his knife (no wait, shiv) as a threat.

"Then just take me with you." I concluded.

There was a very long pause before he turned back around to stare at me with those dark goggles.

"You get in my way, kid, and I'll personally serve you on a silver platter to Johns, ya hear?" He muttered as he began to get me out of the shackles.

Once free he began pulling me along, pushing me out of our crashed ship, after looking around, and ran.

I was now a serious criminal...

How interesting.

Sorry this took so long... I've been busy, you know?

I'd love some feedback (thank you to Dreaming Dragonfly, shay silverdawn, menolikey, Nelle07, Dynasty Artemis, midnight84118 and DarkDreamer1982 for the Reviews!).

To-

menolikey: Where's Chapter Two? Right here!

DarkDreamer1982: Hmm... well, as this Chapter kind of hints at it; she's turning into Riddicks accomplice! You'll see things that weren't in the movie, as well as the normal things.

Have any questions? Feel free to ask them, and I'll answer!

Until next time...

Much Love to Everyone!

~Scree