Sorry for the lag in updating, I was on vacation in Vegas, lol ;) Anyways, warning to all readers: this chapter is going to be a bit more violent than the other's have been. This is when we are going to see exactly how 'dark' River is and what this darker version is capable of ;) I really have to thank divine one for all her hard work as my beta. She gets the credit for the fight scene in this chapter, because I had no clue how to write it and she did an amazing job coming up with something that fit within the story. Hope you all enjoy. As always I own none of the characters, or the books, music, quotes, etc that may be used in this story. Please don't sick the lawyers on me.
They're continuing on; moving toward the belly of the beast. Shazza, River, Paris, and Sulieman are pulling the cells, while Book walks in between Shazza and River. Johns has moved to the front to walk with Riddick.
"What are they doing up there?" Shazza asks nervously, Johns had been so adamant that Riddick couldn't be trusted yet there he was getting all chatty with him.
River knew exactly what was being discussed, and her blood was beginning to boil at the thoughts streaming thru her mind.
"They are talking about the canyon," she calmly tells everyone. "How to get us through."
Riddick's POV
"Ain't all of us gonna to make it." Johns whispers to me.
"Just realize that?"
"Seven of us left…If we could make it through the canyon only losing one or two, that'd be quite a feat, huh?"
"Not if I'm one." I know where he is going with this, fits so nicely into the fucked up little plan he probably has in his head.
"Well what if you're one of the five or six who make it?"
"I'm listening." Ol' Billy badass should know better, you aren't supposed to play all your cards at once.
"Battlefield doctors decide who lives or dies. It's called triage."
"Kept callin' it murder when I did it." I say with a slight sneer.
"Either way, I figure it's something you can grab onto…sacrifice play…Maybe hack up a body or two, leave it somewhere while the rest of get to the shuttle."
"Like a bucket of bait?" I ask.
"Drag the bodies 40, 50 feet behind us."
"Nice embellishment." I have to say I am damn impressed Johns thinks he can be so ballsy; especially with me.
"So which one caught your eye?" I say as I turn to look back at the group. I can feel River's probing in my mind, I give her a small nod to tell her I agree, Johns is getting on my nerves too.
"What the hell's wrong with you? You want to let them know we are talking about them?" He says as I look back. "I'm thinking the shepherd and the boy won't be missed too much."
"You don't think the girl would be easier?" I want to see where he's going with this. Isn't like Johns to not go for the easiest targets. And the slip of a girl's appearance definitely suggests an easy target.
"No I think she's more valuable than that."
And that's when it hits me what William J. Johns is planning to do. Fucker really should learn to keep away from what's mine.
They've reached the entrance to the canyon now, death row; the Hot Gates. They stand and listen for a moment, thousands of echoing chirps fill their ears. No one needs Riddick's eyes to know what's hidden in the darkness.
Simultaneous thoughts are going through River and Riddick's heads.
"Which sweet spot…which one would be more fun?"
"What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease…"
"The thrill of the hunt, the kill…"
"Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game, but oh how the girl loves this game…"
That's when Johns decides he wants to be a cocky son of a bitch.
"So Riddick, what do you think about what we talked about?"
River's POV
"The girl takes issue with it." The girl is itching for the first point, knows it would irritate Orpheus, which would just make it even more fun.
"Is that so?" And that's when Johns cocks his gun and points it at the girl.
"What is the meaning of this?" Book yells.
The whelp and Shazza are too shocked to move, do not comprehend what is unfolding in front of them, but they both know better than to piss off the man with the gun.
"The Blue devil thinks a 'sacrifice play should be made. Plans to kill Hermes and the boy and leave the bodies here to keep the things busy." The girl says as the others back away in fear at what they are hearing.
"Gorram fuckin' readers." Johns says. "Riddick thinks we need bait too!"
"Now when did I say that?" the Riddick says. "Personally, I think we need better bait…And I think I'm looking at it too…" he says smugly.
The girl can hear Ave Maria playing in her mind as her calculations come to completion. She smiles as she hears the music.
Before anyone can further process or comprehend, the girl has used the opportunity to yank the gun from the blue devil's hands. She is now aiming it at him instead. His face pales dramatically, and she smirks in satisfaction.
"Remember that moment the Riddick spoke of? Well, you should have never left the girl unchained once you figured out who she truly was, as you know, she's worth so much more, and for good reason..."
"You were one brave fuck before…You were really bad-ass." The Riddick says as he circles Johns like panther stalking its prey.
"The chains…The gauge…The badge…I told you to ghost me…"
But before Riddick can move into strike, to connect with the sweet spot, the girl has fired two shots into the blue devil's stomach. He falls like a bag of rocks. He is withering in pain as the girl shoulders the gun and moves back towards the others.
"One point." The girl says as she looks at a very tense Riddick.
Shazza and the whelp visibly back away from the girl as she approaches, The shepherd just stands tall, again nodding his head in understanding.
"Advantage will expire in 3 minutes, 22 seconds. We must leave immediately to avoid further losses."
"You heard the girl, let's get the fuck out of here. Unless any of you want to keep Johns here company?" the Riddick says motioning to the writhing sacrifice. Shazza, Paris, and Sulieman do not know what to be more afraid of, the monsters in the darkness, or the two in front of them.
The girl answers their thoughts. "Persephone and Orpheus are far worse, but we won't leave the flock in the storm."
It takes a moment, but they recover from their shock, grabbing the straps to the sled, and they all walk into the canyon, leaving a still screaming Johns in their wake.
Riddick's POV
GORRAM GIRL TOOK MY FUCKING KILL! Johns was supposed to be MY kill! Five fucking years I wanted to go shiv happy and she uses a gorram gun to make the kill. I am going to have to have words with her when we get our asses off this rock. There is no skill in using a gun, shouldn't count in my opinion…
…Reality Shifts…
The girl cannot help think of the first time, the first time she felt the rush, the adrenaline pumping through her veins; the excitement. She feels it all over her body once again. They had begun innocently enough, the Video interviews to monitor her 'progress.' Dr. Vincent had been assigned to her case.
At first he comforted her, told her what an important contribution she was making to the Alliance. That she would make a difference. But the girl heard his thoughts, heard what they had planned for the girl…And she felt trapped, trapped in a cage with no way out.
And each time they met, she felt the despair grow, felt it start in the depths of her stomach, and progressed little by little each time. He told her that it was impossible to transfer, reminded her of how 'slow' the other classes had been, told her she was special, told her that she meant so much to them, that Dr. Mathias was so proud.
And the more they did, the more they probed, stuck more needles in her, the more the resentment grew. It was consuming her, eating away at her from the inside. . And that's when the girl realized what must be done. She realized that bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host…until there is nothing left but an empty shell…
…But anger? Anger is different… It is like fire. It burns it all clean…
She is in her 'room' when it dawns on her, when she first begins to hear the music. And the girl smiles a genuine smile, moved by Requiem Mass: Lacrimosa playing in her ears.
She begins to play the part that they want, tell them the things they want to hear. He says he is so proud, that she is accomplishing so much.
It is a few weeks later that she tells the man she hears something, has a secret... but tells him she cannot tell…couldn't possibly tell…But if she could write it down…write down the words she cannot seem to find, then he would understand…understand the beautiful words that she hears…
He hands her a pen and a piece of paper from his notebook, and she begins to write… and after a moment she hands the paper back to him…
We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell…
And before he realizes his mistake the pen is lodged in his throat. She sits as primly as an girl of high society as the blood gushes from him, splashing onto the table…Once he has slumped over in his seat she stands, walks to the two cameras and stares into one…
"I can see you…" And she smiles a very deadly smile.
…Reality Shifts again…
River's POV
The girl can feel Orpheus' anger roll off of him like a tidal wave. He is irate at the girl for 'cheating.' The girl just thinks he is being a baby because she got the first kill. Orpheus never established rules. The girl will just have to establish that he stated he plays dirty before the game began, therefore he cannot be upset with the girl for doing the same.
They are about halfway through the canyon when blue liquid, thick and slimy, starts to fall down on them from the sky.
"DON'T LOOK UP!" Riddick barks out.
But Sulieman doesn't listen. He glances upwards and stops in his tracks. "They are killing each other!" He shrieks.
"KEEP MOVING!" River and Riddick both yell.
But it doesn't do any good. The creature has seen its opportunity and swoops down and spears the boy. A moment later it ascends into the darkness once more.
"Sulieman!' Book cries as drops to his knees and he raises his arms into the darkness, as if somehow the boy will be delivered back to him.
"Come on, get him up." Shazza says. And that's when the next creature decides to try and grab a piece of meat. It knocks loose a piece of rock from the canyon wall Shazza. She falls beneath the weight of the rock, trapped, and feverishly tries to fight off the beast.
"Get off her!" River screams, she leaps towards Shazza and begins slicing at the fury with her shiv.
That's when she hears a roar, and sees Riddick come and break the creature's neck in one quick twist.
"Did not know who it was fucking with." Riddick says as he looks at River.
Paris and Book pull Shazza free from the rock and the group quietly reconfigures themselves. Riddick and River take over pulling the cells.
They get all of ten feet when the unthinkable happens. It's slow at first, but then the rain begins to pour like a deluge. The alcohol flames are quickly extinguished despite Shazza and Paris' best efforts to keep them dry.
And with this Riddick lets out a laugh like no other. "So where the hell's your god now?"
River stands stock still, the whispers keeping her from focusing on the music. Their odds for survival dwindling quickly, she yells "Hide here! Now!" Is all she can think of as she identifies a small alcove in the canyon wall.
They all run to seek immediate shelter from the rain and the monsters who they suspect are circling them like vultures. Book, Paris, and Shazza immediately scramble in, but as River goes to enter, Riddick pushes her back as he places a large boulder in front of the alcove.
"Why are they still out there?" Paris asks nervously.
River's POV
"What is the meaning off this?" The girl asks.
"We take the cells ourselves, less risk that way."
There is static in his mind, she can tell he is not being truthful, she knows something is not right. There is no time to think, no time to calculate and this bothers the girl.
"Come on! Before those things get ballsy again!" The Riddick is now dragging the cells up the incline in front of them, and she jogs to where he is and begins to pull with all her might.
Everything is made more difficult by the rain and the sand that provides no traction. It seems like it is three steps forward and one step back. The girl and the Riddick are both panting heavily as they reach the top of the incline of the canyon's mouth.
They begin running full speed to the settlement now, with the girl just following the Riddick's every move, trusting his eyes.
After fifteen minutes of sprinting they reach their salvation. They drag the cells up into the shuttle and the girl immediately starts to connect them to the shuttle.
As River connects the cells Riddick walks to the control panel and begins to power up the shuttle. The lights flicker on and River lets out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding. She is connecting the sixth cell now, but stops as she is about to complete the connection. She hears music again, and she does not like what she hears.
River's POV
"What is the meaning of this?" She says as she stands and faces Riddick seated in the pilot's seat.
"Looking after us." he says while he begins to input flight coordinates.
"What? NO!" She hoists the gun she still carries and aims it at the Riddick's back. He stops moving his hands as he hears her cock the gun.
He turns to her now and rises from the chair. "Fuck them River. You think they give a damn about you? People like that don't give a damn about people like us!"
"The girl will not leave them to die."
"You don't think they would leave you? Where were people like that when we needed someone to fight for us? Were they there when the Alliance arrested me on false charges? When they threw me in the slam? Branded me an animal? Were they there to keep them from cutting into your brain little girl?"
"They are not the Alliance. Do not hold them responsible for the mistakes of others."
"Little girl I will do what I damn well please." As he makes to grab the gun from her the girl throws it out the shuttle doors.
"You really want to do this little girl?"
"You wanted to see the girl dance."
They begin to circle each other like jungle cats fighting over hunting territory. Slowly moving out of the shuttle and back outside. She had done the calculations as to who would win the fight but continually came o different outcomes each time she ran the calculations. While her training was superior to his, he outweighed the girl and could therefore put more power behind his strikes. While she was more agile than him, he had superior speed. There were too many variables to account for to produce a consistent answer to the equation.
"Only one rule, stay in the light." Riddick says.
River acknowledges with a slight head nod and then proceeds to launch herself at him, and they become a flurry of limbs.
River's POV
Although her calculations had been incomplete, her understanding of their strengths and weakness were correct. She was, perhaps, just a bit more agile than him, and he a bit faster than her. But these differences seemed to balance them. Upset though she was with Orpheus, she was still able to appreciate the beauty and strength and skill of his moves.
As she swung her left leg out in a low arch, attempting to drop him to the ground, he read her body and leaping just in time, he cuffed her small frame as it was off balance, and instead of him being the one lying on his back on the ground, it was she who lay there.
She could hear him chuckle at the sight of her splayed there in the dirt, and her anger spiked. Catapulting her frame into a standing position, she punched the Riddick with her right hand, catching the left side of his face flat on.
He stopped chuckling.
"Listen little girl -"
She swung out again hitting him in the same spot and following this punch with a kick to the stomach.
He didn't fall, but he did stumble back a few steps. He lifted his hand to his jaw, where a sliver of blood was edging its way out of his mouth. Looking at the blood on his finger, he licked at it then lifted his eyes to the girl who was standing with her hands on her hips, a smirk on her face.
"Well okay, if that's how you want to play."
An old earth-that-was song played and swelled around her, soft pants of breath escaping her and him, grunts of exertion as he warded off her swift attacks, mews of frustration as they bested one another. And all she could hear was "Dance, Dance…"
We're falling apart to half time
Dance, Dance
And these are the lives you'd love to lead
Dance, this is the way they'd love
If they knew how misery loved me
They danced around the lit shuttle, blow after blow, kick after kick, caress after caress warming bodies that had been dormant for too long.
You always fold just before you're found out
Drink up its last call
Last resort
But only the first mistake and I...
"Give up and get on the gorram ship little girl." Riddick ordered as he ducked out of the way of a kick aimed at his temple.
"Persephone will not leave the flock behind." The girl shouted as she nimbly moved out of the way of a punch.
I'm two quarters and a heart down
And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds
These words are all I have so I'll write them
So you need them just to get by
They were both of them dancing on the edge, the edge of frustration, the edge of the sexual tension that had been building in them since they became aware of one another.
Why don't you show me the little bit of spine
You've been saving for his mattress, love…
They were also dancing on the edge of the ground lit by the shuttle.
Dance, Dance…
RIDDICK'S POV
Riddick watched the girl shimmy backwards, readying herself for another attack and out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the creatures, edging closer to the shuttle. To River.
Enough of this!
RIVER'S POV
Moving faster than she had thought he could, the Riddick reached out for the girl, not with a closed fist as previously, but with an open hand. He pulled at her, using his full weight to toss her in towards his body and as he did so, she felt the faint cold, wet touch of a wing of one of the creatures passing over her leg.
She had let the music, their dance, make her careless. And Orpheus had saved her.
To a degree.
… she felt the edge of the shiv that he held against her neck.
Riddick's POV
"RICHARD WILL REMOVE THAT THING FROM THE GIRL'S NECK…NOW" River huffs and the scent of her anger is filling my nostrils, it is like pepper spray, and I know she is seething with frustration.
"Shut up!" And I press the shiv a little harder to emphasize my point.
There is a moment of silence between us, punctuated by the echo of a creature nearby.
"You'd die for them?"
"The girl would try for them."
"You didn't answer me." She pauses before she answers my question.
"Yes, I would…I would die for them."
"How interesting." And I release the shiv from her neck and stand up.
Author's Note: Feedback is always appreciated =).