Fiona uncrossed her arms for the sixth time, recrossed them for the seventh, and dropped her feet from the console for the eighth. She was done. She picked herself up from the pilots seat and headed towards the back.
It had been too fucking long.
She had wanted to scream when he took off without her. It was entirely too dark, and sure he had the darkness on his side, but she couldn't handle it. They didn't separate in a crisis. From the beginning of time when the situation got thick he kept her as close as possible at all times. She had been clinging to his side many-a-times when he had sliced open men.
She had wanted to pull him back to her, wrap her arms around him tightly and remind him of why he should stay. The modesty inside her won out though and she kept that to herself, the captain's eyes already burning holes into her soul.
She furrowed her brows, hands on her hips, eyes staring out into the darkness. The woman had been right. Leaving the kids behind didn't sit well. The adults had made choices in their life, had direction and drive to take control and move on. She knew for a fact that anyone could survive any situation as long as they had the will, but a kid didn't have the right experience.
Riddick would come back, she knew that.
"Go go go..."
The hushed yelling caught her attention. She stepped down the ramp, watching the place Riddick had walked away in, looking for his looming figure to come back to her. She wanted him to step back through that darkness and sweep her up. She wanted him to whisk them away, slip up again into the darkness above and say goodbye to this retched planet.
Jack came barreling out of the darkness, tripping over her own feet, Imam just behind her. They didn't even speak, just pushed past Fiona and into the ship. The captain was hot on their heels, the bottle of glow in her hands, all three of them drenched.
"Riddick..."
His muffled yell answered her question.
The rain slammed down on her as she ran into the darkness. She found the first building up on the right, and slammed her body against it to keep herself hidden. Her adrenaline pushed her forward when she heard him yell out again. She left the edge of the building and crossed the huge path to the other side, pressing up against the coring room. The sand slipped out from under her feet and the rain pelted down. She could hear the squeals in the air; the thrashing of what could either be wings or the wind picking up all around her.
The creature fell out of the darkness and right into her. The body smashed her up against the doors, flinging her into the darkness through them. She tumbled over and right through the giant grate hole. Her hand reached out, catching the edge of the grate, eyes moving up quickly. She could hear it, snuffling around just outside, looking for her. It was dark, pitch black, the only light source the faint glow of a dead glow stick just at the bottom of the core. She kicked to and fro, reaching out her toes for the edge that she could faintly see. A three foot thick line of brick reached out to the second gate, another row just a yard below it reaching out to the third. When she caught the ledge with her foot she let her hand free, slamming into the grate just below.
The chains rattled under her hands, the gate at the very bottom shook angrily. The loud screeches wracked her brain and she covered her ears, curling up tightly, trying to avoid the noise. They thrashed against the gate below, trying to pull the chained doors open.
She shook, unwrapping her arms quickly and skirting over to the edge to grab the flare that hadn't given up just yet. She found the ladder up, putting the flare in her mouth and started up. She had to get out, had to make it back up to the surface and find him. She couldn't hear the outside world down here; the only sound the swirl of screaming and swiping. When the gate slammed shut she halted.
The claws clanked on the metal and griped the grid of the grate. She could see the gleam of the moon on their smooth surface. It called out in the darkness, shaking off dust and exhaustion, seeming to take a seat there on the top. She tried to slow her breathing, watching as the creature looked around the edges of the outside. It unfurled its wing, letting their full span show, as it tilted its head back and listened to the grappling below.
Her hands slipped on the ladder and she gritted her teeth, trying to figure out what to do now.
BREAK -
Riddick pushed the captain forward, forcing her into the light of the ship. He toppled forward, gripping his abdomen where the beast had sliced him. The pain was explosive. He could feel it in his bones, each muscle of his body spasming around him. He covered his eyes as best he could, goggle's trapped around his neck. The kid grabbed his arm and with the help of the Holy Man they yanked him up into the skiff and closed the door.
He could hear words, the slurring of yelling going on around him. The final words were dropped and the ship went up, light flooding around them, his stomach turning as the ship took air.
BREAK -
Fiona fluttered her eyes open, pulling in air quickly. She thumped up against the wall, frantically looking for some kind of understanding. He wasn't there; he wasn't in the darkness, wasn't watching her, he wasn't holding her. Her shaking hands reached out into the eternal obscurity for something, anything, and she felt the air catch in her lungs as she grabbed at air.