Chapter 4; Memorabilia.
-"I want to beat you in the head with a mother fucking big club, that's what I want to do!"
Wolf, in character, had her feet up on the desk, hands behind her head and eyes on the speaker. Yet again Jack spilled her emotions over her boss. Frustration and fear following, walking hand in hand.
-"The only thing that you'd achieve would be to piss me off indefinitely."
-"C'mon, give me something to work with, will yah…"
The slight sense of humor that burst through Jack's voice spoke of recovery. Lately, or since Riddick's arrival, she'd been nothing but a basket of wasted nerves. With all that was going on it was a wonder how she'd survived.
Dopamine, a lot of dopamine.
-"Still taking your meds?"
Dutifully Jack nodded her head, thinking of the side effects that came with NOT taking her daily doses of pills. Head aches, bad stomach, grouchy..and everything else that signalled a bad temper.
-"Yup, I'm not stupid enough to go off'em."
Wolf leaned forwards, eyeing Jack directly.
-"But you're dumb enough to go for a jumper all on your own."
-"Hey, science development has made progress; we can actually fry the fuckers now."
-"Ain't worth your life."
*What life*
*************************
*Big, coming*
Senses sharp, sharper, cutting through the material world.
Blood, so much blood.
*They. Knowledge*
Six inch long piece of metal tapped onto an old surveillance screen. A gigantic city ship staring through the pair of eyes.
*Fuck*
A rotting body dyed the air with a thick unpleasant stench, just one of many to the human look alike creature.
*They. Think. Smart*
Had it had humor it would have collapsed laughing to the ground, clutching its stomach and keep on laughing.
*Stupid. I. GOD*
A piercing pain ripped through its body, sending a jolt of pain to its lips, producing a bestial scream.
*LIARS*
Running around, into a certain direction, for a certain action.
*DIE: DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE*
One thought, one predator, on instinct surged its body and filled it with purpose.
Death.
Kill them all, every single creature.
Every singe fucking one.
*************************
Two weeks, no one had even approached him, out side from Wolf, and he had not approached anyone. He had tried to get a hold of Jack, but failing miserably every time, and every time those children were there. Once in a while there were meetings with the mission team, he only observed the information he was supposed to consume.
The team he'd be controlling was excellent, an elite of the insane. Hadn't he gotten rid of that with Skylar's death? No, it would always lurch under his own skin. Perhaps that, the recognition of inner struggle, made this place tolerable.
Two weeks, for two weeks he'd sensed Jack's presence, the thousand traces of her on this ship. At night, between the illusions, and between every single thought there she was.
The real Jack. The present Jack. Jack the Ripper.
Every single sense would recall the way she smelled, walked, moved and sounded. A perfect image would be created in front of him and when his mind made him believe that she could almost, almost, be real he'd reach out with his hand, just barely touch her with his fingertips and for a fraction of a second he'd feel her skin and the world would go crazy.
Until she'd disappear. Until memory would serve him right and speak of the terrible things he'd done to her. Not just that last attack, but the miserable mistake of even taking her along for the hell ride.
His slow breathe the only sound in the conference room. His, and the rest. In twenty minutes they'd enter the abandoned station.
**********************
-"I'm sorry Thief."
Wolf 2 sat opposite the chained boy, his red hair sticking to his scalp, sweat streaking his body. His black clothes ripped off him by the battling with Wolf 2. A handsome scratch on her upper arm spoke of the battle, fingerprints on his face spoke of defeat.
-"It's OK. You know it's my fault."
A needle lay somewhere in the room, empty of its sedatives. Sedatives now surging Thief's body.
-"We just don't want you to go loco again."
He smiled faintly, nodding his head slightly then whispered quietly.
-"It hurts, to keep it inside, specially when we're so close. So and so close."
A voice filled with pain suddenly roared out, chains pulled.
-"Let me go you unavailing bitch!"
In calm steps wolf 2 exited the room, leaving the menacing Thief to his own screams and pleas and ten thousand treats.
*This is a bad idea*
*************************************
All crumbled together, in a single skiff, just about to drop off when a final change of plans arrived from Wolf's lips through the communication system.
-"New orders people. Try to retrieve the science projects unharmed. Sci development wants to check if they can be used."
Words ended with Riddick loading his gun.
-"All right, people. Load up with seds."
His deep, dark voice sneaking into every one's psyche, his eyes still staring through Jack, the woman sitting in the pilot's chair.
She made no attempt to load new luggage on.
-"Jack, load the fuck up."
Where? The words? Where in fucking hell had they come from? Slowly Jack turned around, looking directly into Riddick's eyes, opening her west too him, probably revealing a little more than she'd intended on. Her west, packed with seds.
-"I already fucking have asshole."
Before she gave him a chance to respond she lifted off, turbulence should have brought him to his knees. Yet it did not.
A proof. Not so human after all.
****************
Fuck
fuck
fuck
fuck
fuck
plethora
blood
oh
oh
oh
fuck.....
coming
coming
run
fight
run
fuck
fuck
fight
**********************
The mission.
A dozen feet slammed down to the fine iron grid. First thing greeting them was a dead cut up body. Old blood staining the premises.
-"What a specimen."
Somehow Riddick's remark only achieved a chuckle from Gambler. And…
-"Shut the fuck up." from Jack.
He sensed her nerves strained, her body trembling. Was it just over his presence or the mission? She sure as hell hadn't been trembling when she'd shown him her cleavage.
He'd seen her fight and handle weaponry, she should have been confident about her knowledge.
-"You're shaking Jack."
-"That's fucking obvious."
A sharp movement to the left stole everyone's silent attention. Jack's eyes shining as she moved further into the dark. A gleam amongst all the other gray tones in Riddick's vision caught his attention and crawled up his legs, right into his brain. Her eyes.......that thing he hadn't been able to put his finger on.
*Fuck me, she's got a shine job*
-"Why you people standing around here, get movin'!"
The group spread systematically, leaving him alone with Jack. The egotistical bastard had taken advantage of his position.
-"Are you going to stand here until one of those freaks get you?"
Jack's grown up voice intoxicating and her mask made him laugh. She still pretended to be cold and tough. The years might have made her tough but one thing the real Jack could never be was cold.
Another move to the right.
-"It's circling us."
Jack nodded her head, loaded her gun as quietly as possible, as if she were afraid to scare the AWOL science project.
A shade moved oddly, almost like a string puppet, then it ran away. Riddick felt profound anxiety stream into the air, Jack was flooding in it. Still, she didn't let any of it get to her.
*Good girl*
Turning their backs to each other, such a shame to let the woman out of his sight.
A leap right in front of him.
*Damn, whatever the fuck it is, it's fast*
He discarded his thoughts, they were supposed to get the info, not the pet.
-"Let's move it Jack, it ain't ours."
An angry look flashed him as she obliged silently to his command, steps, walking always just several steps behind Riddick.
-"Are you gonna backstab me kid?"
A little taller, she barely had to look up to have him.
-"Are you?"
Too prove her point she walked ahead. With concern in heart and a restless spirit.
******************
*Fools*
Silently taking cross steps just above them. Silent and fast pacing.
*All dead*
A crooked smile of pleasure and pride.
*Only I*
Another voice in the creature's head stretched through and kicked the ego.
*Only you bleeding. Weak one, strong many*
Instinct crushing the voices, concentrating on the two walking and brawling humans. They looked awfully familiar. The woman, very familiar.
*Records. Yes, the records.
No
No
No, not the records. But still the records.
Interesting.*
The creature got ready for a kill
***************
Steps running above them brought attention to Riddick's senses. Jack seemed to have sensed them as well.
-"It's the same one."
Jack's voice too sure to ignore.
-"Why in fuck to follow us?"
She shrugged and replaced her shots with seds, swallowing hard and taking a deep breath.
-"Dunno."
Lies, he could almost taste it. Lies. She knew more. He'd get it outta her eventually. With a single look he left the eyes he knew were watching him. Eyes he knew would follow. Just knew, somehow.
They were the hunted.
******************
Nothing happened. Nothing. No data, nothing at all.
Jack had nearly dented the table in the station's mess hall when they'd found absolutely nothing.
-"Just a big fucking fat zero."
More steps coming close, Gambler and Lee dragging a third in between them.
-"Greenie thought she'd be harmless, tried to pet it."
-"Fuck."
Yes. Riddick was in the cold when it came to the groups common knowledge.
-"It's a female?"
Gambler smiled carelessly.
-"Nah, barely and she x-ed everyone here out."
A breath sweeping through Riddick's soul, a breath from Jack's lips, a breath of concern. A long hissing sound recaptured everyone's attention.
Closing in at rapid speed. Steps following.
-"Riddick, Jack, she's coming!"
Quickly Lee, Gambler and Jack had the exits blocked, Riddick in the middle to face the monster.
In the middle, she was in the middle. "It" stood in the middle.
Lips parting and shaking. Riddick caught by the surprise. This looked like a kid, a thirteen year old, not a monster. Fresh blood flooded his sense of smell. Wounded, or bleeding.
Her back slouched as she stood, a long silvery shiv in her right hand, her knees together but her feet shoulder with apart. Awkward, tired, wounded.
-"Shoot it."
His decision obeyed.
-"What the fuck are you people doing?"
Jack's shadow cast upon the floor in front of him, unarmed. He wanted to grab and stop her but for a reason called a hateful and desperate look, stopped him.
A hand held out.
-"Prologis."
A whisper amongst screams of silence. A motherly voice tearing through animal instincts.
-"Honey, come with us."
The girl looked oddly at Jack, like an animal at an alien object. Then just a psycho child at a human.
-"Look. Mother."
The creature Prologis ran into Jack. Riddick came to late to her defenses, the creature already having dived the shiv into Jack's scarred stomach. Viciously the girl drew the knife out. Then Riddick noticed the blood between the girl's thighs. A river of red.
The girl just smiled, a sed shot into her arm.
-"Look. I. Make. Her"
Mommy. The thought seeping into him and a fresh suspicion. Jack, the mommy.