The ghosts that we knew

Chapter 14

~And we will be who we are

And they'll heal our scars

Sadness will be far away~

Engaging the autopilot, Carolyn slipped out of her seat, pulling the knife out of the sheath she kept on her thigh. Dropping to her knees beside Riddick, she cut the ropes binding his wrists and ankles.

She rolled him over to his back before searching the ship, finally coming up with a blanket and pillow. Tucking the pillow under his head, she opened the bags that Dame Toal had thrown onboard and silently thanked the woman for the first aid supplies as she went to work on her patient, cleaning and stitching his wounds.

Tossing his destroyed shirt out of the way and tugging the boots off of his feet, Carolyn covered him with the blanket.

Digging through the rest of the bags, she knew that she could never repay Dame Toal for her kindness as she stripped out of the cumbersome dress that she was wearing, slipping on the soft leather pants and shirt that had been packed for her along with the boots she had kept from her Furyan captivity.

Attaching her knife back to her thigh, she checked on Riddick before heading towards the pilot's chair once again. Tapping in coordinates from her memory that she hoped were correct, she double-checked the autopilot and went through the other systems on the ship. It would only take them a week or so to get to where they were going but with Riddick unconscious, cryo sleep was out of the question.

Settling down on the floor next to him, Carolyn took a hold of his hand and kept watch.

When Riddick awoke it was with a gasp and a groan. He lay quietly for a moment, taking in his surroundings.

Definitely one of the Necro ships.

The last thing he remembered was being strung up and beaten. Fucking Necros. Sitting up he looked around and saw a pair of booted feet dangling over the pilot's armrest. Clambering to his feet he made his way up front.

Carolyn was sprawled out sideways in the seat, sound asleep. Grabbing her calf to wake her, he didn't bat an eye at the knife that was now resting under his chin. If anything they danced with amusement.

"You're awake."

He simply smirked until she realized what she was doing and flipping the knife around put it away. Struggling to get untwisted out of the seat and her blanket she ran her eyes over him.

"How do you feel?" she asked getting to her feet.

"I've been better," he replied following her back to where he had started, watching as she lowered a bunk out of the wall. Something she hadn't been able to do with him passed out on the floor.

When she turned he was gone, having disappeared into the only other compartment on the ship. When he returned she was waiting with protein bars and water.

"How long?" he asked sitting on the edge of the bunk.

"A while."

He sat silently eating as she looked over the more serious of his wounds.

"Where are we headed?"

"Somewhere safe, I hope."

"You hope?"

"I have a friend. It'll be a place to rest and regroup."

Looking around at the ship he saw the bags nearby and nodded in their direction.

"Dame Toal and Vaako helped me get you off the ship. Vaako said that as long as we stayed away they'd leave us in peace. If you attempted to go back…"

Riddick nodded. He knew exactly what would happen if he went back.

"So, what kind of friend?"

Carolyn looked away as she answered. "A good friend. I flew for him and his crew when I first got my pilots wings. After I left there was an accident and something happened to him. He and his sister fell off the grid after that. We've kept in touch off and on over the years and you and I are going to where he was the last time I heard from him."

Grasping her upper arms, Riddick pulled her down on his lap.

"Riddick," she murmured as he began removing her shirt.

"What?" He asked innocently. "You said it's been a while."

"You're impossible," she whispered as he lay back on the small bed with a grin, pulling her with him.

When they arrived at their destination, Carolyn demanded that Riddick follow her lead. "He knows me, Riddick. It's your turn to trust me for once."

Arms crossed against his chest, he looked down at her with a frown. "The first sign that something isn't right, we're gone."

Carolyn pursed her lips. "Fine."

Leaving the ship they made their way along the busy dockside as Carolyn led them to a seedy looking bar. Stepping inside, Riddick whistled lowly as he pushed up his goggles in the dim light. "I had no idea you knew my kind of people, Carolyn." She heard next to her ear.

Rolling her eyes, she looked at him dryly and led him to a table in the corner so that they could observe the entire room. It was quiet in the bar this early in the day, with just a few patrons. The barkeep himself came to wait on them.

"What'll it be?" He asked eyeing Riddick before staring at the tattoos on Carolyn's face.

Carolyn slid a piece of paper across the table towards him with just one word written on it.

The man read it looking back up at her.

"We'll wait." She said throwing a few bills on the table before leaning back in her chair.

The man fingered the paper looking back and forth between the two of them before pocketing the bills and disappearing behind a curtain.

He emerged a few minutes later and went back to his duties behind the bar ignoring them.

They had probably been there a few hours, neither saying much when he disappeared again only to reemerge and head straight for their table.

"Follow me."

Looking at Riddick, Carolyn took a breath and stood, following them both behind the curtain. They followed the man, weaving in and out of stacked crates till they reached the back of the building.

"Through there," he said pointing to a door in a dark corner before going back the way he had come.