She was still wide awake, staring at the convict across from her. She knew he was awake as well, seeing as how cryosleep never worked on the more animalistic of humans. She had unfastened herself so that she could twist and turn in her pod, trying to find a comfortable position to try and get some sleep in. The convict across from her would tilt his head off to the side when she did move, his blindfolded eyes searching for whoever was moving so much. He would occasionally growl, the sound deep and rumbling. She liked his growls, and it scared her. She had never liked the sounds a man had made before. She tended to steer clear of them. She was always alone, not even friends with women. She fended for herself and liked it that way. But this convict was something else though. She had heard of him before, after all, who wouldn't know of the mass murderer named Riddick. She sighed and rolled onto her other side, her joints and back beginning to ache from the lack of sleep. His rumbling growl reached her ears again and she felt shivers run up and down her spine. His growls were doing something strange to her. She let out a purr back, the soft vibrations easing her tense muscles. Riddick let out a chuckle and purred back, pulling on his restraints inside his pod. She purred again, stretching her body like a cat and finally finding a light and peaceful sleep.
Adelayde woke when the red lights and sirens went off, making her press closer to the glass of her pod. She knew that she would be safer if she stayed in her pod. She watched as the merc was released from his pod, looking at Riddick's then hers. She feigned sleep and watched as he went about the ship. She could hear the pilot and co-captain arguing over the intercom. She knew what was going to happen and she braced herself for it. Riddick growled at her, his question clear as day to her. She growled her answer back, fastening herself into her pod once more. Riddick growled his annoyance back at her and she snapped her teeth in answer to his growl. He chuckled and placed his cuffed hands against the door, bracing himself for impact. Adelayde closed her eyes and willed herself into unconsciousness to help protect her from the impact.
Adelayde woke with a start, searing pain waking her. She looked up to see the door to her pod had been ripped off and Riddick was turned away from her, messing around with something in his hands. She sat up and looked herself over. Three broken ribs, two large scratches, and a gash on her outer left thigh. She sighed and tensed when Riddick turned to look at her. His eyes were closed, seeing as how he had torn off the blindfold, but it was too bright for him to see anything.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice coarse and shaky.
"We crashed. Some desert planet with three suns," he growled back, turning to go back to whatever it was that he was doing.
Fear gripped her with a vice like grip. She started to shake and he must have caught scent of her fear for he turned to look back at her once more.
"Not again," she groaned, shakily pushing herself out of her pod and limping to the opening of the hull.
"What do you mean, again?" Riddick asked, coming to his feet.
"I've been on this god-forsaken rock before. And we really don't want to be here," she said, scanning the nearby termite looking columns.
"What do you mean?" he asked, coming closer.
"Just listen. Underground. I can hear them moving," she whispered, scanning the ground not far from the wreckage site.
They were both silent and she shivered when she heard the bioraptors scraping along beneath them. She slowly slid back into the ship and pressed a hand over her wounded thigh. They could smell her blood, and she was a new target.
"How bad is your wound?" he asked, sitting back down next to her pod.
"Not bad, but I can't put my full weight on my leg," she said, coming to sit on the other side of the pod, putting distance between her and him.
"I couldn't find any bandage material," he said, turning his head so that his voice was projected over his shoulder.
"It's fine. If we don't get off this planet fast it won't matter," she growled, grinding her teeth in frustration.
"Do you want to look around?" he asked, not moving from his spot.
"It would be a good idea. Want to come with me?" she asked, a grin on her lovely face.
"I would, but I can't exactly see," he chuckled, coming to his feet.
"I'll lead you around, don't worry," she chuckled back, shakily coming to her feet.
She limped over to him, carefully taking one of his massive hands and placed it on her right shoulder and slowly led the way through the wreckage. She looked for anything that could be used as a bandage. She couldn't find a bandage, but she did find a large piece of hot metal that would work to sear the cut closed.
"Put your hands on my waist, I might need to you to keep me standing after this," she said, moving the hand on her shoulder to her waist.
"I got you," he growled, his grip on her waist tight.
She gently moved the edges of her ripped pants aside and took three deep breaths before pressing the red hot metal to her wound. She bit her bottom lip hard enough to cut it as the heat seared her wound closed. She felt her legs buckle from the pain, but she wouldn't cry out. She didn't have time to be a fragile woman. Riddick held her upright as she threw the metal away and gasped for air. Once she felt the stinging start to subside, she removed his hands from her waist and put one on her shoulder once more.
"Let's move," she gasped, using the wreckage as a crutch.
"You should rest," he growled, his grip on her shoulder tightening.
"I'm fine, just keep moving," she snapped, grinding her teeth in frustration.
He just growled back and followed her through the wreckage. They wandered the destroyed hull for at least an hour before her legs collapsed. Riddick caught her easily and with her guidance carried her over to an intact bench built into a wall. He didn't say a word, just sat there with her and listened to her heavy breathing.
"Go on. The merc should be awake by now. Go hide. I'll be fine," she grumbled, hearing Johns curse and search the wreckage not far from them.
"See you around then," he growled, getting up and disappearing into the wreckage.
She watched from her seated position as Johns silently went through the wreckage, his blue eyes watching the shadows. She cleared her throat and his gaze shot to her sitting form. He quickly went over to her and knelt at her side.
"How badly are you hurt?" he asked, his eyes watching behind him.
"My leg is pretty bad. I can't walk much farther on it," she said, her voice pained and in strain.
"Riddick is loose. Have you seen him?" he asked, his blue eyes staring deep into her silver ones.
"No, I haven't seen him," she gasped as she tried to get more comfortable.
"Fry! I got a survivor here! She needs medical attention!" Johns shouted, scanning their surroundings for Riddick.
Adelayde heard Riddick above her and she looked up as if she was in pain. She gripped her leg and bit her lip, seeing his metallic eyes staring back at her. He gave her a curt nod and disappeared into the blackness. She allowed the survivors to help her out into the sun. She could hardly see, finally understanding why Riddick had kept his eyes closed for the time he was with her. She was led over to a shaded area and helped into a sitting position. Shazza, a woman with long wavy black hair looked at her wound. She was impressed that Adelayde had seared the wound herself, and proceeded to wrap it in strips of cloth that were found among the wreckage. She didn't need to know where it came from, she could smell the dead owner all over the cloth. She heard the creatures below her, directly below her, start to scratch at the earth and she quickly regained her feet. The other people looked at her oddly and she just limped away. She had to find a place off the ground. She wandered around the wreckage, helping search for useful items. She had made a makeshift crutch of sorts out of steel piping and thick rubber mats. The girl who was pretending to be a boy, Jack was her name, followed Adelayde around like a puppy. She knew Riddick was nearby, watching her every move. She didn't know why, but she found it comforting. She was distracted by her thoughts on Riddick when she stumbled into a section of the ship and landed in a hole twenty feet down into the ship. She had felt her leg give out and felt blood well up from the wound. She froze when she heard the creatures nearby. She had to get out of here. Jack shouted down to her, but the kid stopped when Adelayde told her to be quiet. She paused to listen, trying to find out where the creatures were. She heard jack gasp and Adelayde looked up and smirked when she saw Riddick. He was kneeling at the entrance of the hole and let out a growl. She put a finger to her lips to tell him to be quiet and then looked at Jack. She shook her head and tapped a finger to her lips. She nodded hesitantly and looked at Riddick. Adelayde looked back at him and slowly pointed to the darkness. He nodded and slowly eased into the hole, his muscles bunching and flowing beneath his tanned skin. Adelayde, scanned the hole once more, keeping watch. Riddick's feet touched the floor of the hole in silence as he let go of the ledge. Adelayde allowed him to pick her up and put her on his back like a small child.
"They're here. Be as quiet as you possibly can," she whispered, only loud enough for Riddick to hear.
He nodded slightly and took hold of her crutch. He motioned for Jack to move. Once the kid was out of the way, Riddick hooked the crutch onto a piece of metal.
"Hang onto me," he whispered back, adjusting her weight on his back.
Adelayde wrapped her arms around his neck, making sure that she wouldn't choke him, and wrapped her legs as best as she could around his trim waist. She winced when she used her injured leg to hang onto him. He quickly and silently pulled them up out of the hole by sheer muscle alone. She had to admit that it was kind of hot to feel the muscles of his back move against her breasts and stomach. Jack helped pull Adelayde out of the hole while Riddick pushed her up by her ass. She shot him a look that said to watch it and he just smirked. He pulled himself out of the hole and went straight to Adelayde. He checked her wound and growled in anger. She smacked his hand and nodded at the kid, who happened to be staring.
"Jack, could you please get some help for me? Oh, and please don't mention Riddick, I'm trying to keep him alive," she said, smiling sweetly at the girl.
"Sure, anything for you Adelayde," Jack said, scurrying off to do as she had asked.
"Adelayde, it's a nice name," Riddick chuckled, tightening the bandage on her leg to put pressure on her wound.
"It's nothing compared to Riddick," she chuckled back, laying back to try and relieve some of the pain.
"It'll be hard to walk, but you'll live," he growled, gently picking up her leg to test her mobility.
He accidently moved it too far and she shot upright and her grip on his wrists was enough to make him wince. Her fingers had found the pressure points so fast and accurately that it took Riddick a moment to realize what had just happened. He put her leg back down and carefully pried her hands off his wrists.
"Sorry," was all she said as she closed her eyes to hide the tears.
"They are coming. I'll be watching you," he said, sinking back into the shadows.
Adelayde gave him a thumbs up and she heard him chuckle. She watched as Jack came running back with Fry and Johns. They knelt next to her and she let out a deep sigh.
"Maybe I shouldn't be walking around," she chuckled, allowing Johns to haul her to her feet.
He forced her to wrap an arm over his shoulders and gently picked her bridal style and was followed by Jack and Fry. Adelayde sighed heavily and watched as she was placed in the shadows of the wreckage. Shazza, Zeke, Paris, and jack stayed behind with her as the rest of the group went out on a search for any water or settlements. She knew that Riddick was sticking close, keeping an eye on her. Jack assumed the position of guard puppy to Adelayde, though she had no idea as to why. Perhaps Riddick put the kid up to it. She kept dozing off, her head bobbing and her eyes fluttering. She heard jack reach for her and she grabbed onto the kid's wrist.
"It's a bad idea to touch me, kid," she whispered, her eyes still closed.
"Zeke is going to bury the bodies," Jack whispered back, sitting down next to Adelayde.
"Which direction is he going?" she asked, her voice tense.
"Towards the column things. Why?" Jack answered while leaning closer to Adelayde.
"You'll find out why he shouldn't bury the dead there in an hour or so. Try and get some rest, you're going to need it if you want to survive," Adelayde whispered, leaning onto Jack and using the kid as a head rest.
Jack just nodded and quickly dozed off. Adelayde remained awake, her eyes closed and left her ears open. She could hear Riddick getting closer to her, and she knew that he was coming to check on her. Once Shazza was out of sight Riddick knelt next to Adelayde. She opened one eye to look at him and she gave him a small smile.
"How's the leg?" he whispered, his eyes ever watchful as he scanned their surroundings.
"Throbbing like a bitch. But other than that it is fine. Can I ask you a question?" she replied, not moving.
"Shoot," Riddick said, leaning closer.
"Why are you being so nice to me? Wouldn't you have killed everyone in sight?" she asked her silver eyes full of questions.
"You possess something that other people don't have. It is interesting to me. I'm studying you," he chuckled, ruffling her hair.
"That makes me feel so much better," she grumbled sarcastically.
"Relax, I don't plan on killing you or letting anything else kill you. I like having you around," he whispered before disappearing an instant before Shazza came back to check on Jack.
Adelayde made small talk with Shazza and had her bandage changed. Adelayde woke Jack since Shazza needed the kid's help with cutting open more containers. Paris walked by several times, yammering away to himself and drinking his liquor. Adelayde found it getting harder and harder to stay awake. She was losing energy and fast. Once she was left to rest, she fell into a light slumber.
Riddick watched over Adelayde. He didn't know why he hadn't killed her the second he found her unconscious in her pod. Her scent was familiar when he had opened her pod. It had hit him like a ton of bricks. He body had tensed, then instantly relaxed as her scent seeped into his skin. When she had woken just moments after he had opened the pod the sound of her groan had made his skin crawl. She was so different than the other women on the ship that his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He had allowed her to touch him. He never let a woman touch him, unless she was a whore and just wanted sex. But she was different. She didn't want sex, she didn't want anything from him. She had made no inclination of ever wanting something from him. He watched her as Shazza and Jack went about cutting into other parts of the torn up ship, Paris was on a lookout on top of one of the cargo bins, and Zeke was out burying the dead. He was free to do with Adelayde as he pleased, well, almost free. She was just as sensitive as he was. He knew that she could hear him coming. So why wasn't she stirring? He slowly reached out to her, his fingertips just barely grazing her shoulder. She lurched awake, her silver eyes wide and her breathing heavy. Those cold silver eyes scanned her surroundings until they came to rest upon Riddick's hunched over form. She relaxed just slightly and lifted a hand to rub at her tired looking eyes.
"There had better be a damn good reason for waking me up," she growled, not even looking at him.
"I know a spot that is safer," he growled, a smirk on his lips.
"Does it have cushions?" she asked, looking over at him.
"No, but it does have a nice breeze," he replied, actually smiling at her.
"Fine. Help me up would you?" she said, holding out a hand for him to take.
He helped her to her feet and held her up most of the way to his little hiding spot. Once there he sat down fist and helped her ease on down. She was going to sit across from him, but he pulled her between his massive thighs and let her lean back against his chest. He had no idea as to what he was doing, and the look she gave him told him that she still didn't trust him. She sat there, breathing deeply and evenly. He felt her body slowly relax as his arms rested on his legs, forming a slight cage around her. Her head limply fell onto his chest and he held back a chuckle. She was suffering, and the only way she knew how to make the pain subside was to sleep. They sat there for several long minutes, Riddick keeping a watchful eye as Adelayde slept. The pair looked as if they had been together for decades, not mere hours. He was drawn to her, and he didn't know why. It scared him, but he wasn't about to let anyone else know it.