AN: I bet you all weren't expecting such a speedy update? Thank you for the recent reviews from Irishbrneyes, Shenandoah76209, aNarKiiMiiNX, BooklvrAnnie, Rachet, and SeanHicks4. It really makes my day to open up my email and see such shiny reviews. Now on with the show!
Chapter 44: Evil (Is Going On)...and... Bad Blood
XXX
…Back on Serenity…
Dinner has wound down now and Kaylee brings out a bowl of apples for dessert.
"Where the hell did you get these from little Kaylee?" Mal asks in astonishment.
"You all act as if we ain't got some money to spend now. Picked um' up on Ariel when we got the Doc." She says with a huge grin.
"Well shiny!" River says as she reaches for one.
Zoe and Was also grab apples. But instead of bitting into she takes out a small knife and begins to cut it.
"Zoe, how come you always cut your apples?" Kaylee asks as she munches away on her apple.
Wash turns and looks at his wife. "You do?"
"Her and the Captain both. Whenever we get fresh fruit, they never just munch on 'em."
"Know what a Grizwald is?' She asks with solemness in her voice.
"It's a grenade." Riddick says. He knows all too well what can be done with them.
"About the size of a battery. Responds to pressure. Our platoon was stuck in a trench outside of New Kasmir during the winter campaign. More'n a week, completely cut off, and the Alliance entrenched not ten yards away. We even got to talkin' to 'em, yelling across insults and jokes and such, 'cause no ammo to speak of, no orders, so what are you gonna do? We mentioned that we were out of rations, and ten minutes later, a bunch of apples rained into the trench."
Was wants to interrupt for Kaylee's sake. "And they grew into a big tree, and they all climbed up the tree into a magical land with unicorns and a harp."
Jayne rolls his eyes and opens his switchblade. He stabs it into one of the apples sitting in a bowl on the table. Wash is a little startled.
"Blew off their heads, huh?" Jayne remarks.
"Cap said wait, but they were so hungry…Don't make much noise. Just little pops and there's three guys that kind of just end at the ribcage."
XXX
River's POV
She can feel the discomfort around the table. It pains her to see how the war affected Zoe. She was not always the warrior woman, there had been a time where she was more like Kaylee…but she cannot forget.
"But these apples are healthsome, good." Wash says trying to change the subject.
"Yeah, grenades cost extra." Jayne says as he cut a piece off. Kaylee elbows him in the ribs.
She takes another bite of the apple in her hand…but as she's chewing she feels memories.
…Reality Shifts…
She's standing in darkness…the humidity in the air practically weighs down on her like a thick veil…she doesn't know where this is…has never seen this world.
.…Something just ain't right.
That's evil, evil is going on wrong…
She sees lights up ahead…hears voices…she approaches slowly...
...You better watch your happy home…
Each step she takes she feels more and more pain…more and more suffering…its like a punch to the gut.
...You'll catch him just before he goes.
That's evil, evil is going on...
She gets to the voices…just as one of the figures hits the other over the head with a shovel.
…Reality shifts again...
They don't belong to any one at the table…they are haunting…painful…and its unsettling her stomach. But before she can get up to leave…she feels the rush of the explosion in her mind…and her dinner comes back up…unfortunately onto Riddick's lap.
"Fuck River!" Riddick yells.
"Whoa!" Jayne says as he moves away quickly.
Riddick just kind of sits there with his hands up not really able to move with a lap full of vomit.
"River!" Inara says as she comes over to hold the girls hair back.
Simon also rushes up.
"Mei-mei?"
"Going... Going back like... apple bits, coming back up. Chaos." The girl says when she can talk without fear of throwing up more. She can feel everything again…it's not helping.
"It's getting very crowded in here." She say as she moves to get up, assisted by Inara and Simon.
"Come on, lets get you cleaned up." Inara says as she escorts the girl out of the room.
XXX
Riddick's POV
"Would one you all mind getting me a towel or something?" I say as I kinda sit there looking River leave.
The preacher gets up and grabs the closest one and hands it to me.
"What do you think that was about?" Mal asks.
"Hard to tell with her." I say as I manage to clean up most of the chunks of food off of me.
"Well here's hoping that Doc can figure something out…Wash, Zoe, why don't you go do a once over on the scans before we all tuck in."
"Yes, sir." Zoe says as she and Wash leave the table.
XXX
River's POV
She hates being in this room…it's too sterile…too white…and it brings back too many memories… But Simon insists on examining her. He's trying…so she lets him. Inara stands near the door…she's conflicted…motherly concern mixed with fear and apprehension…Companions aren't supposed to have families…aren't supposed to care…but she does.
"Well your pupils are responsive." He says as he shines a small light in her eyes.
He continues examining her…takes her temperature…the usual.
"You have any idea why your threw up River?" Simon asks her.
She hides her face behind her hair…one of her few defense mechanisms. "It isn't mine. The memory, it isn't mine. And I shouldn't have to carry it. It isn't mine." She says in a hushed voice.
"What memory River?" The painted flower asks.
"Irrelevant…she cannot name it…it floats in through air…it swims thru her brain…and yet it disappears just as soon."
"Was it from Zoe and Mal?"
"Negative…carnage is nothing new to her…she can stomach carnage…she cannot stomach pain."
XXX
…Serenity's Bridge...
Wash is at the helm, Zoe beside him.
"Little River just gets more colorful by the moment. What will she do next?" He says as he looks at the readout in front of him.
"It's a toss up between mass murder, dumping soup on the Captain, or screaming bloody murder." Zoe says absent minded.
"I hope she does the soup thing. It's always a hoot and we don't all die from it."
"That poor kid…" Zoe says as she runs a hand over Wash's back.
Wash looks at a screen. "Yeah, she's definitely... got...funny." He says as he adjusts some things.
"Something wrong?" Zoe asks.
"I'm just getting a weird heat bounce off our wake."
"Engine flux?"
Wash shrugs it off. "Sensor probably got turned around. I'll climb up top when we hit land again."
XXX
River's POV
He's sitting on their bed when she descends the ladder to their bunk. In his hands is the shiv from earlier. She hears nothing but static from him.
"River what the fuck was that about earlier." Orpheus asks.
"Which part?" She asks. There is no sarcasm in her voice.
"All of it!" He barks at her.
She sighs and looks down at her hands. She feels like a little girl.
"River?" he says prodding her.
"She is unsure…everything feels…off. She catches glimpses…hears whispers…they try and crawl inside her mind…She's afraid she won't be able to stop them."
"Alliance?"
She shrugs. "Too early to tell…too many factors…too many outcomes…she cannot do the math, the possibilities would be endless."
XXX
…Elsewhere…
A door slides open underneath his ship and he glides out. He pushes a few keys as it shuts, then looking down, steadies himself a moment and then pushes off, floating down toward Serenity.
H reaches the top of Serenity a moment later, landing gently as possible. He walks, slowly and deliberately, pulling his feet up with the slight effort of disconnecting magnets. He walks to the window, and very slowly, looks in.
XXX
River's POV
The moment she feels the eyes watching her entire body locks up…She can feel the pain…the suffering he has inflicted…
…Reality Shifts…
She's sitting in bed in one of the passenger dorms on Serenity. She has the blankets around her…
…Oh here it comes now
Got its eye on you...
She senses something and pulls the blankets up around her…If she was a fly it would feel like someone pulling off her wings…and it makes her shiver.
…I don't care if it takes all night
'Cause there's bad blood
Pumping in your veins
It's alright...
Now she's in the upper hall...She sees his leg come down the from the upstairs hatch…his slow and careful steps…He doesn't want anyone to know he's here.
...I've seen the worst of it
Turn into the moment
You lost your way...
He's bad…both of them were…things of evil…their mother knew…saw darkness in them.
...Better run, better run
When it's knock knock knockin'
At your door…
…Reality Shifts Again…
"River!" Riddick screams at her.
She looks up at him. She's lying on the floor of their bunk and he's cradling her head and neck.
"You okay?" He asks as he helps her up.
"Suffering…evil…knock knock."
He looks confused. "What the hell does that mean River?"
"Bad blood." The girl says ominously.
XXX
The exterior hatch in the foredeck hall opens, he steps in quietly. he reaches the bottom and looks around before he pulls off his helmet., and then pulls out his gun.
He looks around the hall. No one around. He holsters his gun, moves back to the hatch, puts his helmet in there and seals it shut.
But when he comes back into the hall he bumps into Mal.
Mal is completely taken by surprise and the man reacts quickly by hitting Mal in the throat to keep him from screaming. He gets in close and punches a nerve cluster in Mal's back, and Mal tries to push him off and swing, but connects only glancingly. The man slams his foot into Mal's face, slamming the back of Mal's head into the ladder behind him. Mal starts to drop, but the man shoots forward and grabs him by the shirt to keep him from falling.
The man lowers Mal gently into the room, letting him drop the last of the way, unconscious. He closes the door from above.
He goes to the com and begins a sequence that will lock all the rooms from the outside.
XXX
Riddick's POV
"What do you mean bad blood River?"
As I say this I hear the click of the hatch signaling its been locked.
"He's here." River says.
"Who? Whose here River?"
"Evil."
XXX
…Serenity's Engine Room…
Kaylee is lying on her back, working under the engine. She yawns, goes back to work, but she hears something close by. She sits up, looks out into the dark of the hall, a little unnerved. It's dark in here, most of the light comes from the lamp she's working by, and the hall itself is pitch black.
"Hello…?" She asks to the air as she stands and looks. She sees nothing though.
She turns back to the toolbox, squats down to toss in a part, and as she comes back up she sees a man she has never seen standing inches from her. She gasps, stumbles back. She's up against the wall here.
"I like this ship." He says with a purr in his voice.
Kaylee says nothing and looks frantically around.
"Serenity. She's good-looking. I mean she looks good." The man adds as he looks around.
Kaylee is confused now. "How did you get on…?"
"It strains the mind a bit, don't it? You think you're all alone... Maybe I come down the chimney, Kaylee, bring presents to the good girls and boys. Maybe not, though." He comes closer to her and she shrinks closer to the wall.
"Maybe I've always been here." He continues.
"What do you want?" Kaylee asks timidly.
He looks at the turning engine, mesmerized. "That's her beating heart, isn't it? You pull off any one of a thousand parts, she'll just die. Such a slender thread…"
He doesn't look at her when he asks his next question. "Have you ever been raped?"
Kaylee holds her breath and begins to feel scared. "The captain's right by…" She starts to say.
He cuts her off though. "The captain's locked in his quarters. They all are. There's nobody can
help you."
Kaylee's voice dies in her throat now. She has never felt fear like this.
"I'm gonna tie you up now. And you know what I'm gonna do then?"
She shakes her head no.
He continues. "I'm gonna give you a present. Get rid of a problem you've got. And I won't touch you in any wrong fashion, nor hurt you at all, unless you make some kind of ruckus. You throw a monkey wrench into my dealings in any way, your body is forfeit. Ain't nothing but a body to me, and I can find all unseemly manner of use for it. Do you understand?"
XXX
Riddick's POV
"What the fuck!" I say as I try in vain to open the hatch.
River sits at the com and tries to re-program the locks from the inside.
"Anything?" I ask her over my shoulder.
"Negative. he's infected the system with a virus that would need to be contained from the outside before the locks would be functional."
"Gorramit!" I say as I punch the hatch in frustration.
"She could do it."
"How the hell are you going to do that if we can't get out River?"
"Use the ventilation system. She is just small enough to squeeze through."
"You sure?'
"54 percent."
"Ain't a hell of a lot to go on."
She rolls her eyes and gives me her usual glare. "Well if wishes were horses we would all be eating steak."
She can tell I'm not amused by her snarky comment.
"It's all we have." She says.
XXX
River's POV
The girl rolls her eyes. He can be such a boob to doubt the girl at times like these. She moves over to the ventilation cover over the bed and begins to unscrew the fastenings with a shiv.
"How long is it going to take you to contain the virus?" He asks.
"By her calculations it will take anywhere from twenty to fifty minutes."
The covering comes off and she throws it to the side.
"Lot can happen in a time frame like that."
"She is aware." She says as she begins to hoist herself into the vent.
XXX
…Outside the passenger dorms...
Book exits the bathroom, in his sleepwear, towel over his shoulder, kit in hand. It's dark here as well, though there are safety lights enough to keep one from bumping into things. Book heads for his room, hears something at the top of the stairs. Turns back that way, and looks up. He only sees complete blackness.
"Hello?" He says cautiously.
He hears nothing and turns to go…but then hears another sound. He starts up the stairs, merely curious.
Just as he reaches the second step a man slides down the handrails on both hands, shooting down at Book with both feet out. Book is caught by surprise and the man catches him in the face and send him flying back.
XXX
River's POV
She hears the thud above her. She winces as she feels Simon's mind begin to stir from the sound. She moves as fast as she can without making much noise through the ventilation shaft towards the cargo bay.
XXX
…Just above…
Simon comes into the hall that Book was in a moment earlier. It is empty now and Simon is a little puzzled as to the noise he heard. Before he can retreat back into his room though, he feels something punch on him like a spider. Simon crumples to the floor in pain. Then he's yanked up and sees a gun pointed at his face.
"Doctor Tam, why don't you sit yourself down?" The man with the gun says.
Simon is unfazed though. "Rather die standing."
"The intention is not for you to die. The warrant doesn't specify any particular need for you to be alive, but…" He motions for Simon to sit on the steps.
Simon hesitates but complies with the demand.
"Where's your sister?" The man asks.
"Are you Alliance?" Simon asks cautiously.
The man looks confused. "Am I a lion?"
"What?"
"I don't think of myself as a lion….You may as well, though: I have a mighty roar."
"I said "Alliance"." Simon says.
The man looks even more confused now. "Oh. I thought…"
"No, I was…"
"That's weird."
"Where's your sister?"
"I don't know. Who do you work for?"
"The plan is to take your sister, get the reward, which is substantial."
"So you're a bounty hunter."
"That ain't it at all."
"Then what are you?"
"I'm a bounty hunter." The man says rather proudly.
Now Simon is annoyed at the man's nonsensical attitude. "That's what I said."
"Yeah, but you didn't say it well. I'm named Early. I'm known to some…probably not your set, though."
"This is insane. I'm not gonna help you find her in any case."
Early holds up his gun now…not directly pointing it at Simon, just kind of observing it. "I think this is very pretty. I like the weight of it."
"I thought the intention was not to kill me."
"You're missing the point. The design. Of the thing. It's functional. The plan is not to shoot you, the plan is to get the girl. If there's no girl, then the plan...You are gonna help me look for her."
"I don't think my last act in this 'verse is gonna be betraying my sister."
"You're gonna help me because every second you're with me is a chance to turn the tables, get the better of me, and it's the only chance your sister has. Maybe you'll find your moment. Maybe I'll slip. Or you'll refuse to help me, I'll shoot your brain out, and then I'll go upstairs and spend some time violating the little mechanic I got trussed up in the engine room. I take no pleasure in the thought but she will die weeping if you cross me."
Simon's eyes flare with concern when Early brings up Kaylee. "You're out of your mind."
Early shrugs his shoulders. "That's between me and my mind. Let's start with these rooms."
XXX
River's POV
She slowly creeps out of the ventilation shaft and into the darkened cargo bay. She moves like a cat thru the shadows to reach one of the electrical panels. She opens it up and begins entering various sequences to try and contain the virus. After a minute or two though she realizes her efforts are in vain.
"liu kuoshui de biaozi he houzi de ben erzi." She curses under her breath.
The girl realizes that there is only one way to be able to contain the virus...She creeps over to the storage lockers….She just hopes Orpheus will not be terribly upset with her for deviating from the plan.
XXX
…Back in the passenger dorms…
Simon and Early open one of the passenger dorms and come upon an unconscious Book slumped against the wall. Simon crouches down and begins checking to see he's if alive.
"He's not killed. Be a while before he comes to, but he'll mend." Early says as he grabs Simon's arm to move him away.
"And which part of your plan dictated the necessity of beating up a Shepherd?' Simon asks incredulously.
"That ain't a Shepherd." Early replies.
Simon looks at Early, unsure if this is just more of his off- centerness. Early is looking down the hall.
XXX
AN: It took me awhile to figure out exactly how Riddick would fit into this episode, because let's face it he would easily beat Early's ass. But I have a good plan in store so I hope you all like where I am going with this. Till next time ;)