Riddick: Bloodhounds: 5

"Splitting Skulls"

Author's note: This story work (beginning with the first chapter) weighs heavily upon the fandom of "Pitch Black", "The Chronicles of Riddick', & "Riddick: Rule the Dark" (I myself have become a bigger fan and have become more influenced by doing the research to have the story become somewhat more canon).

The mythology of Riddick is incredible….However, it is my caution that, folks who are reading this Fan-Fiction should be up to par with everything Riddick, well, at least what has come across the big screen. Anyway, I still hope to be as credible as possible to the faithful followers of the franchise and do the story of Riddick justice. The movies IMO, are truly fun and exciting. Thanx for reading, Z

Prologue:

"Lonely."

That's what people think when they considered the kind of life I was living….

"Yeah, it must be lonely for Riddick, lonely and desperate with having to be constantly on the run, and not be able to enjoy the company of people."

Well they were wrong. I liked being alone (Solitude has a comfort all its own), and, the truth is, sometimes it felt more lonely for me sitting atop the throne of the Necromongers (surrounded by other Necros), than it did just sitting on a pile of rocks somewhere on some barren and distant planet…..breathing fresh air and with the sun shining down on me. Yes, becoming Lord Marshal of the Necros wasn't the cure-all for loneliness.

"Well friends then, friends and family, Riddick must feel something being separated from the folks that he loves?"

Ha..ha..ha.. That's laughable, well, not really. See, truth of the matter was that my entire family had been murdered by the same people that I had ruled over, ironic wasn't it, so there was no family to speak of, and friends, I had had a few, the trouble with that is… they kept getting themselves killed(Kyra I miss you). Hell, I'd even lost the friendship of a beast I'd become attached to recently.

So if anyone should ask, "where does Riddick find his solace?" well, the answer to that is, loneliness and lonely were buddies of mine, and adrift and solitary were my best friends….hell, I'll even throw in "haunted" as a close acquaintance (laughs)…..

Riddick

********** "Splitting Skulls" **********

Luna and Dahl had just been told that they were accompanying Toombs and his crew to LC-236 to find Riddick. Luna had already given them the location of their "mark" (where they could possibly find the escaped convict), now, it had become Luna's thoughts that they would be released, set free. However, things don't always turn out as we assume they will, do they?

"Bugsy, get Miranda," Toombs spoke, "the two of you head out to the local market and acquire some paint, we are going to rename this old tug the "Fairy Godmother".

Toombs chuckled as he said it. Bugs laughed at his chief's humorous idea, his sense of self-amusement.

It was obviously to the two individuals that were not a part of Toombs' crew that the man held a mystique about him, a magnetic draw that attracted people to him, well, a certain sort of people anyway.

"So, you're gonna rename Johns' ship," Dahl spoke questionably?

Toombs turned around and looked at the woman who would remain his hostage…..

"Yeah sista, I'm going to rename Johns' ship. In my line of work it's better not to travel extended distances toting familiar identity….. we change the names to our vessels like a six minute prostitute changes clients," he laughed.

Bugsy Benjamin (who had remained around) laughed all the harder.

Dahl thought, "Toombs always did have a way of expressing himself, crude and degrading though….. would be the claim, what an asshole."

"Now get going Bugs, find Miranda and get the task done," the new captain of the "Fairy Godmother" commanded.

Toombs was the kind of guy that could attract a certain class of people, well, let me rephrase that, people with no-class, but he wasn't alone. Santana seemed to have been the same type of character. Dahl thanked the gods every day that Johns was the kind of guy that had a bit of culture to him, although she cursed him now for running off. Still, she remained a bit curious why Toombs hated Riddick so much? It seemed to go beyond a hatred for just tracking him down for money. So, what was the grudge? He had spoken about being caged between two Hell Hounds, but could that be the only reason why he held such a vendetta? In some manner he had gotten himself free from his confines on Crematoria, still, there wasn't a mark on him, not a scar. So, what was his beef with the ex-Lord Marshal?

Dahl didn't know, but Toombs' and Riddick's animosities extended well beyond the scope of a few years, there was something in Toombs past that he wasn't telling, and Riddick was a part of it.

Toombs had more or less played-off the idea of his luck. He didn't realize how fortunate a man he was. Saved by Eve Logan (after the gun-battle on the scorching planet where Riddick had caged him between two Hell Hounds), the woman had come to his rescue. Eve had found a way to release him from his confines and then the two (along with several others) had made their way up to the surface. There, after a time, they had made rescue (tricked some by-passer into landing and then taking over his ship), and now Toombs had plans on tracking Riddick down, to the ends of the universe if he had to.

Toombs wasn't a man with a lot of pride, but what he did have, that morsel of confidence that gave him some worth, had been stripped away by a "bounty" that caused him to feel less than human. Toombs meant to regain his manhood, and what better way than to have his name engraved onto some bronze plaque somewhere stating that he had been the man that had captured and chained the ex-Lord Marshal?

Toombs was a person with issues, but aren't we all?

"So, your plans are to go to LC-236 and capture Riddick?"

Luna had finally spoken after giving the transponder location of the man they were looking to track down.

"That's the plan," Toombs stated.

"Well, a word of caution to you," Luna informed, "I've seen this man split the skull of someone while sitting chained with both arms shackled to a restraint…and, with almost a dozen people watching. What makes you think can do better with a crew of around the same number?"

Luna's question was a valid one.

Toombs brought his finger up and tapped his temple.

"Because I know Riddick, I know how he thinks and what's inside," he said, "and that may be all the advantage that I need."

END PART 5