Chapter 7
The humming of the ship heading for the surface was almost soothing. Riddick began to sweat with anticipation. His bound hands came up to wipe the moisture off of his forehead. He remembered Frye asking him if he was afraid. At the time she asked him, he wasn't afraid. Death was no big deal, then. Now, maybe he was. He looked around at the others on the ship.
Fucking smorgasbord, he thought. His mind went again to Carolyn. What she did for him. He wanted more than anything to be able to thank her. He wanted to tell her what a turn his life had taken since her sacrifice. It was enough to drive him mad. He felt turbulence as the ship entered the atmosphere of the planet. A lot smoother than the last time, he thought.
He could see out the front window now. Night still engulfed the planet. The pilot turned to the captain.
"Multiple readings of life on the planet, sir." he said.
"Set down where there are least amounts," the captain answered.
"Aye, sir." The pilot maneuvered the ship to hover over a barren piece of land. Lights splashed everywhere from underneath the ship. Riddick could see the dune-like ground. His sweat turned cold. He turned to the captain.
"You can't leave these things on me," he said bringing his hands up. The captain eyed him.
"I guess you can't get too far can you?" he replied tapping his chest referring to the implant.
"No, I guess I can't."
"When we land and have the site secure, then I'll unchain you." Riddick nodded.
Your time is coming, he thought, and your time to die. There was a thud as the ship touched the surface. Riddick suddenly felt sick. All that separated him from those creatures and those memories was the door that was about to open. His mind began to race and his heart felt as if it were going to come right out of his chest. Calm down, he thought to himself, calm. He closed his eyes unaware of the goings on around him. His mind sank deep into silence and concentration. A soothing feeling came across him. His eyes opened and focused on the door. He was no longer scared. He was no longer the confused Lieutenant Riddick. There was no question in his mind who he was. At that moment Riddick was ice; Riddick was cold; Riddick was a killer.
The door opened. As it did the all too memorable whooping sounds of the flying feeders penetrated his ears. He softly laughed. A deep guttural chuckle. The captain looked at him as if he were crazy.
"What the Hell could possibly be funny?" he asked. The sounds got louder.
Riddick turned to him and answered. "It's the sound of evil. Beautiful, isn't it?"
The men around him were obviously shaken by his comment. "Let's go, captain, dinner is served."
Riddick stood up and started for the door. He stopped at the ramp and took a deep breath. It was cold and smelled of death. The gentle breeze put an eerie calmness into the air. They were waiting for him. It was if they knew he had returned.
All the men filed in behind Riddick, waiting for his next move. After the moment he stepped forward and down the ramp. His foot touched the muddy ground with a squishing sound. He removed his goggles to look around. He could see them. They were a fair distance away since the ship was emanating so much light. Still, they were aware of them; they were just biding their time. The men slowly began to follow. The captain came to Riddick's side and put his hand on his shoulder. Riddick looked at his hand and then to the captain's face with his dead, reflective eyes.
The captain carefully removed it without a word. Riddick looked back to the distance.
"The crash site is that way," he said pointing both hands to his right. "The abandon settlement is that way," he pointed to the left. "Where do you want to go first?"
"The settlement, first," the captain said. He ordered all the men to turn on their lights and keep close. Riddick held out his hands to the captain.
"Unlock me," he said. "And I need light on my back but not in my eyes." He felt a strange déjà vu.
The fat man nodded and waved his hand at one of the men. He returned with a harness with two powerful lights on the back. Riddick stood waiting with his hands out. The captain eyed him again, wondering if he was plotting something. He was confidant Riddick couldn't escape; besides, where would he go? He dug into his pocket and pulled out the keys. He unlocked his feet first, then his waist chain, and finally the hands. Riddick's eyes never stopped watching for the creatures. All of the chains fell to the ground with a loud clatter. Half of the men jumped. Riddick smiled. He watched the men unload a small vehicle capable of carrying two men.
Behind it came a small wagon-type attachment for loading salvage. For now,
it carried two small generators that Riddick had requested to light the
settlement as well as the crash site as they worked. He rubbed his wrists,
happy to be finally be free of them. He looked from side to side to see
if it was clear. It looked to be clear. Taking a deep breath, he took the
first step into the night.
_______________________________________________________
The men huddled close as they made their way through the darkness. Only his eyes could see that they were completely surrounded. Riddick envisioned the parting of the Red Sea to what the creatures were doing around them. It was as if they were a moving circle. In front the creatures would open up and close right behind them. Suddenly, Riddick stopped. His head was starting to cloud up and fill with words. Riddick went to one knee, his hands on his head as if he were trying to hold his mind in. Valia's voice echoed in his head.
"Go quickly. Keep your mind clear. Remember, I can't help you through rage and hate. It clouds your mind. Be clear, I am ready when you are." She exited his mind as fast as she entered. Riddick always felt a little dizzy after she spoke to him. He slowly got up shaking his head. The captain came to his side.
"Why have we stopped?" he asked. Riddick wasn't about to tell him the truth.
"I was checking tracks." He didn't think the captain believed him but he said nothing more and pressed on.
The group walked another 100 feet when Riddick stopped again. Only this time there was a very good reason. He turned to the group.
"Don't anyone move," he hissed.
Riddick turned back and watched the creatures in front of them. These ones were different than the others. He could see into the settlement. There were lights, small ones, but still lights. These flyers were trying to put out the lights by lining up for kamikaze missions. In the dark sky, Riddick could see them; waiting their turn to go into the light that would kill them, for what? This was a behavior that he had never seen. They had always feared the light. Now, he realized, these were soldiers, willing to die so others could eat. He carefully turned back to the men and looked at them.
"We've just become a walking dinner plate," he mumbled. The captain looked at him.
"What did you say?" he asked.
"Everyone stay as close to the ATV as possible as well as the big lights. We need to move fast," he barked.
"What's wrong?" the captain asked.
"We're in trouble," Riddick growled.
"I thought you said we'd be safe if we had a lot of light."
"That was before I saw this." Turning back toward the settlement he saw his worst nightmare. The line of kamikaze creatures, all turned toward the group, flying at top speed.
"MOVE!" Riddick yelled. He led the charge to the settlement. To anyone witnessing the charge it would have looked like a scene from a war movie. The two sides going at top speed toward the other in an inevitable clash.
Riddick yelled back orders. "As soon as we reach the settlement, set up the generators where I tell you." The men yelled back in response.
Riddick knew the safest building to be in was the Coring room. The biggest challenge was getting the hole covered. They could do that with the generator. They also needed to do some patchwork on the exterior. It would cost them a couple of men, but as long as he wasn't one of them, he could live with that.
He looked up. Here they come, he thought. Riddick ducked his head down and felt the creature skim over his back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man next to him skewered like a shish kabob. Shining his light on him, Riddick saw the man and the beast were dead but others were already enjoying the feast. Behind him, Riddick heard the men letting out short screams that were being cut off quickly by their deaths. Riddick yelled back," Don't run in a straight line! Move from side to side. Don't make yourselves easy targets!"
Everyone began zigzagging toward the settlement. Riddick had no way of knowing how many men they were losing. He didn't really care. The less men there were, the less he had to kill to escape.
Coming over a small rise, they entered the settlement. Riddick ran toward the Coring room. He stopped waving his arms forward. "Keep going straight ahead. The Coring room is where I want to hole up. Get the generator going, seal the mining hole inside, and make sure the interior has no holes leading to the outside." As the men ran passed him he got to assess the loss of life in their party.
From what he could tell, it looked to be about half. The ATV was still in working order but they had lost one of the big lights, several men and their smaller lights. As Riddick watched the last of the men go by, something caught his eye. A familiar part of the compound.
It mesmerized him. It was that place. The place where Carolyn had slipped through his fingers. The place where Riddick died and someone else was born. He took two steps toward it but stopped realizing he'd probably die before he got there. How fitting that would be. To die in the place where he should have.
He regained his thoughts and bolted toward the Coring room. He was amazed at the precision of the captain's men. They had the generator going and already sealing the main mining hatch inside. Other men were sealing any holes on the inside, leading to the outside. He was impressed with their speed and efficiency. Fear is a powerful motivator, he thought.
Riddick stood with his back to the building shining a bright light on anything that moved. He pulled his goggles down to avoid the glare of the lights as well as the welding torch. Out of the corner of his eyes, Riddick saw movement. One of the creatures was moving around the side of the building. As the creature lunged at Riddick he brought out his shiv and swung it. It came across on of its protruding eyes and fell to the ground. The creature screamed in pain as blue blood began squirting everywhere. Riddick jumped on it slashing every part of it and finally stabbing it in the head. It lay dead at his feet as the captain quickly approached. He looked down at the dead animal.
"You are a killer, Riddick. I almost hate to turn you over to Underground," he said.
Riddick took a step toward him and lifted his goggles, peering deep into the mans eyes. "That," he said pointing to the mangles mess of blood and guts," That, is only a preview of what your death will be like. If not by one of them, by me." He pushed passed the captain to check the men's progress. Riddick circled around the building to see if they missed anything.
While at the back of the structure he put his back against it and looked around the compound. Something was bothering him. He felt as if he had missed something. His eyes searched for the answer but he didn't know the question. He flashed his light into the darkness. A quick glimpse of a reflection caught his eye. What was that? He strained hard to see what it was. He was to far away to get a good look. Don't go out there, his mind said. But something else was pulling him there. Before he knew it he was 20 paces closer to it. He turned back to see the Coring room. He should go back. He looked again to the object.
This time he could make something out.
It looked like a small building. A structure they hadn't explored when he was last here. He could see how they missed it. It was tucked behind a small hill almost detached from the rest of the compound.
What was that? He had to know. Quickly dodging another flyer, he ran back to the Coring room entrance. The captain stood in the doorway.
"We're finished," he said, "Everyone inside!" he yelled. The men filed into the safety of the room. All but Riddick. He stood outside the door looking at the captain. "Come on, Riddick, inside." He stared back at the captain.
"I can't."
"Why?" the man asked.
"There's a structure on the outskirts of the settlement. A structure that none of us ever saw before. I need to see what it is." He was almost pleading.
"You're not thinking of escape are you?" he asked patting the remote control to Riddick's heart bug.
"No, where would I go? Besides, there may be something of value in it for you." He knew if he played on the mans greed he would win. The captain looked him over carefully. Was he lying?
"All right, Riddick. Take this and report to me what you find." he said handing him a radio communicator. "If you find something, contact me immediately. If I don't hear from you in 15 minutes, I'm hitting the shock button and asking questions later."
Riddick took the radio and nodded. He began to run at full sprint. The captain called after him,"15 minutes!" He barely heard him.
The flyers were coming from left and right. Riddick dodged, rolled and sliced his way to the small building. He slammed his back against the steel wall trying to catch his breath. Looking on the ground he saw an old weathered and faded sign. Isolation Box. Riddick began to laugh. He had been in more than one of these while in prison.
Even these people had a policing system.
The isolation boxes were for very bad boys. He laughed some more. All the time he had spent trying to get out of them, he was now trying to get in. Looking toward the sky, the flyers were beginning to swarm again. He needed to get inside. Not turning his back to the darkness, he began turning the wheel to open the door. It reminded him of an airlock hatch. He used all his strength but was too hard turning behind his back. He had to act fast. Quickly, he turned and wrenched the door. It gave way, having him fall through just as a flyer swooped down to kill him.
A long claw cut his arm as he went through the door. As fast as he had opened it, he shut the hatch and turned the handle tight. He leaned his head against the door, still trying to catch his breath. Taking his light, he looked at is arm. Not too bad, thought, it could have been worse. He knew he had to stop the bleeding before going back to the Coring room. Quickly, he took off his shirt and tore it into strips. While holding his hand held light, he bound the wound.
Standing there, he realized how cold it was. He shivered and ran his hands across his arms. Riddick flashed his light across the first room. There was a desk that looked like it had been here 100 years, some keys hanging on the walls and a wooden cabinet closed by a padlock. He went to the keys and found the key to the cabinet. Opening it up he found what he was hoping for. Guns. Riddick grabbed one and inspected it. Perfectly preserved. He then went through the desk and found shells. His escape plan was coming together. Suddenly he remembered the captain and his threat. He picked up the radio and called to the captain.
"This is Riddick. Can you read me?" he asked. The captain's voice came in loud and clear.
"I hear you, what did you find?"
"Not much," he lied. "It looks like this was their idea of a jail."
"Fitting place for you then," the captain laughed. Riddick smiled at the radio holding the gun close. Your time is near, he thought. "If there's nothing there, get your ass back here."
I can't," Riddick said. "The creatures are swarming and I've been cut. If I go now, they'll cut me to pieces and there goes your reward."
"Don't fuck with me, Riddick," the captain warned.
"Go ahead," Riddick replied. "Look out and see for yourself." He heard the captain open the Coring room door and one of the men yelled. "They're everywhere, sir," the man yelled.
"All right Riddick, you stay where you are. But I want you in contact with me every 15 minutes. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I hear you," he said signing off. "Fat fuck, you talk big when I'm not in your face."
He put the radio on his waistband next to his shiv. He turned to explore the rest of the building.
The hair on Riddick's arms began to stand on end. There was that feeling again. He held the gun out ahead of him, ready for whatever might jump out at him. Cautiously, he turned into a small room, flashing his light into every dark corner. Nothing there. Turning to his left there was a small door. It was steel but had a hole in the middle of it. Probably where food was put in the cell. Slowly, he opened it. His stomach so tight he almost threw up. This is it, his mind said, it's in here. He took a deep breath and jumped through the door ready for the flyers attack. His light went to the floor, searching for his victim. Riddick stopped. The gun fell to the floor with a clang. His hands shook uncontrollably and his knees went weak. He went to the floor in a heap, landing on his hands and knees, head hanging.
Before he realized it, tears filled his eyes. All he could do was look. His shaking hand went out to touch the mirage. Time stood still as Riddick began the journey to his destiny. He laid his hand on her and whispered, "Carolyn."
Chapter 8
Riddick felt like a child. On his knees, in the dark, shaking . All reality was gone. He could no longer separate fantasy from reality. Was she real? Was this a cruel mirage that his deep desire for redemption was having him see? As he softly,so softly touched her hair, he closed his eyes to see if she was a mirage or if he truly felt her. Her hair moved through his fingers as softly as it did when he blew strands of it into the wind days before. All emotion he had ever known in his life rushed to his mind at the same time. It was overwhelming. Seeing her brought back his feelings of admiration and even attachment; the part of him that held feelings for her that he was never allowed to relay.
Only after she was gone did he understand what those feelings were. He felt anger that he not searched for her. Maybe he should have felt that she wasn't dead. He shook his head. That was impossible. He couldn't have known. Sadness overwhelmed him. He fell back away from her and sat on his feet, just looking at her. She'd survived, only to make it here and die. Did she curse him for leaving her? Did she die hoping he would return for her as she had done for him?
He took his light pack off of his back and set it next to him on the floor. The light from it cast eerie shadows on her back as she lay on her side. Riddick tried to muster up the strength to turn her over and see her face. He needed to, one last time. If for nothing else than to tell her to her face what she had accomplished by saving his life. That would help put his demons to rest. Although his confession would fall on deaf ears, it would put him one step closer to being the kind of man she wanted him to be. He took a deep breath and moved closer to her.
Carefully he turned her over onto her back and slightly lifted her head to put it in his lap. Almost lovingly, he moved her hair from her closed eyes. He secretly wished they were open so he could see into them again. Looking her over, he saw that she had bound her own wound with what looked to be old clothing. From what he could tell the wounds weren't as bad as he thought they would have been. It seemed as if the creature got one good claw into her but not the tail as Johns had. That would explain how she escaped its grip. That made it even worse; she bled to death. Slowly and painfully. He didn't want that to be true. Quick and painless, that's what he had hoped for her.
He cradled her head in his arms and slowly rocked back and forth. The heart that had been so hardened by death and pain was breaking at the sight of this one person, his savior.
After a few minutes, which seemed an eternity, he stopped and looked at her again. He felt he had to do the one other thing he hadn't been able to do. He had to kiss her good-bye. He gently put her back onto the floor face up and bent over her. He'd always wanted to know how these lips would have felt. Would they have as full of life as she was? Would they have been as hard as she was determined? Would they have been soft as the woman she really wanted to be? Even cold, would he still feel her in them? Slowly, he bent down to her, pausing for a brief moment, them touched his lips to hers. Riddick didn't know he had such tenderness inside. As their lips came softly together his hand caressed her face as if to let her know it was of genuine caring that he did this.
As he pulled away, he regretted doing it. Now he had a taste of what his life could have been like with her. He hung his head, angry at everything and everyone. He stood up turning his anger to the walls as he banged on them with fury. It wasn't fair!
His anger subsided as exhaustion and lack of oxygen took over. He turned his back against the wall and stared at her.
"I'm so sorry, Carolyn. It should have been me, he told her quietly. It should have been me." He suddenly remembered the captain. He quickly picked up the radio.
"Captain, Riddick, I'm still here." The captain came back. "Enjoying your familiar surroundings?' he asked.
"Yeah, really enjoying my fucking self. Are the repairs holding up?"
"Seem to be. We're having dinner. Want some?" the captain laughed.
"Only if it's your heart on a plate," Riddick sneered. The captain paused.
"Funny. Every 15 minutes." The radio went silent. Riddick put the radio back on his belt and went to his lights. He reached down to pick them up when something dawned on him. It was almost a revelation! He had kissed Carolyn's cold, dead lips except as his memory brought it back, they weren't cold!
Grabbing his lights, he shined them on her face. Her cheeks were pale but still had color! He dropped them back to the floor as he fell again to his knees. He lifted her upper body into his arms and stared into her face.
Could it be? Could she have survived? He moved closer to her face.
"Carolyn," he said quietly. He touched her face. "Carolyn," he repeated. He gently shook her. "Carolyn," he said a little louder. "It's me. It's Riddick. Open your eyes, dammit. Come on, Carolyn. Wake up and tell me to fuck myself, anything. Just give me a sign, here."
He waited for a moment and he saw it. Movement under her eyelids. She was alive! Riddick looked toward the ceiling and then closed his eyes. It almost seemed as if he were praying to Imam's God. His eyes came back to her. Slowly, as if coming out of hibernation, her eyes moved more. Her head turned, slightly, toward his chest. She spoke one word, almost too quiet to hear.
"Riddick?"
He moved her hair again. "Carolyn, it's me," he whispered back.
Her eyes fluttered trying to open. She was very weak. Finally they opened and focused on him. Their eyes locked in that same look they had as she was pulled from his arms. It seemed to last forever. Did she know? Could she see he was different? She weakly smiled, mustering all of her strength together to bring her hand toward his face. Riddick waited for the touch of her hand. It came as a weak slap across his face. It didn't hurt but it caught him by surprise. Her arm fell limp across her chest.
"Bastard. What the Hell are you doing here?" she whispered.
"Nice to see you, too," he replied. He admired the fact that she was still fighting. He smiled, almost amused. But the other emotions were coming back. This time he fought them. Something inside of him couldn't let her see that much yet. Especially when he could tell she was still suspicious of him. He finally got them under control and his smile faded. "I'm sorry, Carolyn."
She nodded, knowing why he was sorry. His mind raced. What was he going to do? Riddick's escape plan just became more complicated. He needed to get her back to the Falcon. His plan didn't consist of going back. Valia was to get Jack and Imam to the planet to retrieve him and escape from here. Plans had to change. He had to let Valia know, things had changed. What would she think? Some thing told him she already knew. Two women, from two different lives, shared by one man. Carolyn's voice broke his train of thought.
"Riddick?" she asked. He focused on her eyes. "I'm cold."
She was so weak and had lost a lot of blood. Riddick feared that he was too late to save her. He made a decision. Picking up the radio, he called for the captain.
"Captain, do you read?" Riddick asked.
"I hear you. You're early. I love a punctual slave."
"I have found a survivor," he looked down at her. "She's in bad shape. We need to get her to the ship."
"How do you propose we do that? Those things are still out there." Riddick thought for a moment.
"Send over the ATV. She can be loaded into that and transported to the main landing ship. They can take her to the Falcon and return here for us."
"Is she of value?" the captain asked. Riddick clenched his teeth. Rotten bastard wanted to know of rewards. She was of value, but only to him. He wasn't going to tip his hand to the fat captain yet.
"I don't know. All I can tell you is she was the pilot of the Hunter G."
"Pilot? Doesn't seem like she was very good at her job," he laughed. This only made Riddick angrier. "Very well, I'll send the ATV over. Be in it with her." The radio went silent. Putting it back onto his waist, he looked to Carolyn.
"Carolyn, listen to me," he said quickly.
"I'm so cold."
"CAROLYN!" he snapped. Her eyes focused hard on his face. "We don't have much time and I can't explain everything, but there are going to be men coming to get you to take you to a ship. They are not friendly. The Father and the girl are being held on that ship. If anyone asks you, you hate me with every part of your body, do you understand? Tell them I left you here, whatever you have to. Show no attachment to me as one of the survivors."
"Hate you?" she said weakly. "That won't be hard." Riddick smiled to himself. Even if she meant it, as long as she was alive, he could live with that.
"That's right. I'm the murderous bastard you never liked anyway." She nodded. Riddick turned his head hearing the ATV approaching. Carolyn brought his attention back to her.
"Lots, of questions," her voice squeaked. He put his finger across her lips.
"Shhh, not now." Her lips felt soft against his finger. He quickly pulled it away.
"Hold onto my neck. I'll carry you out."
"Don't do me any favors," she said trying to be tough.
Riddick scooped her up into his arms. She weighed nothing, but he'd never been happier to be carrying anything in his life. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her head against his bare chest. Riddick wondered if she pressed that hard against him for heat or something else. On her back he could feel the wound. It felt as if it had started to bleed again. They had to hurry.
He moved from room to room, getting closer to the door leading to the darkness. He stopped short of the door and suddenly turned around. The gun. He had left it in the other room. The men from outside banged on the door. He turned to face it. Damn! There's no way of retrieving it in time. The door flew open to the sound of the flyers. The rain had also begun to fall again. A man appeared from the hatch.
"Riddick! Give the woman to me." He shouted above the noise.
"Be careful. She had a wound on her back!" he retorted. He handed Carolyn over to the man. He gave a quick glance over his shoulder toward the room where the gun was.
"Riddick! Let's go!" Decision made. He turned back to the ATV and climbed in. The space was so cramped he was surprised they all three fit. Outside, the creatures banged against the hull of the vehicle. Riddick thought to himself, I love solid steel.
He looked back down at Carolyn, her head lying in his lap. Of all wonders in the universe, this woman held his mind. How did she do it? How did she survive? Strong survival instinct is one thing what she had rivalled even his instincts. He admired her.
It was a short trip to the Coring room but for Riddick it seemed an eternity. His mind was still reeling at his finding Carolyn alive. All the things he wanted to say, the thoughts that he wanted to convey to her about the changes he had gone through. It all seemed so trivial compared to what she had endured and was still going through. All he could hope for now is that they weren't too late to save her. Please God; don't let it be too late. He realized that it was the first time he had asked God for anything.
The ATV stopped and the driver unlocked the side door hatch. The swooping creatures made it difficult to escape the vehicle without injury. Riddick poked his head out to see if the coast was clear. Looking to his right he could see them coming in waves. He turned back to the driver.
"When I say go, you go," he said quietly. "I'll carry the girl, you keep the lights as bright as you can. You go first. We'll follow after the wave ends." The driver nodded. Riddick looked outside again. Almost ready. The last monster in the group went by.
"Go!" Riddick yelled. The man jumped out and took the ten steps to the Coring room door. Quickly, the door opened, letting the man in and then closing behind him. Riddick closed the hatch in time for the next wave of flyers. He took the brief time in between waves to check on Carolyn.
"Are you ready for this?" he asked her.
"Do I have a choice?" she answered quietly.
"No, not really. I'm afraid you're going to have to trust me."
"Never mind then, I'll stay here."
"When all of this is over, Carolyn, you'll thank me."
"Fuck you, Riddick." He was still amused. He knew why he liked her. He peeked his head out to check the next wave. They were ready to go.
"Hold onto me Carolyn." She grabbed around his neck with all her strength.
"Here we go!" He dove out the door at first dragging her, then stopping to pick her up.
Cradling her in his arms, her ran the few paces left at full sprint, knowing they were coming. He hit the Coring room door. It didn't open. Riddick kicked it as hard as he could. Still it didn't open. A quick glance over his shoulder showed that the creature's next wave was beginning their descent. Riddick turned back to the door.
"Son of a bitch, open the door!" he yelled knowing the captain was behind it.
"Who is it?" came from within. Riddick began to see red. Anger began to take over his rational senses. He was losing his temper. He turned to face the darkness with his back to the door. Carolyn managed to open her eyes.
"Some rescue," she whispered trying to smile and suddenly went completely limp.
"No, don't you do this. Don't you die on me now," he said to her. "Carolyn? Dammit, Carolyn."
He looked up into the sky. They were almost upon them. Riddick was tired. He had fought so hard in the last three days he didn't think he had anymore left to fight with. This was a shitty way to die, he thought. Waiting for them, holding her. He looked down at her pale face. "It's almost over, now."
He could hear their wings flapping closer and closer. Riddick closed his eyes, clutched Carolyn even closer to him, and waited for the end. Just as he heard one of the creature's screams, Riddick fell backwards through the door. He hit the dirt with Carolyn on top of him. Opening his eyes all the men were standing around him including the captain. He sat up slowly, laying her carefully on the ground. He then stood up and began to brush himself off. A quiet chuckle escaped his lips as he looked at the captain and smiled.
The moment the smile came across his face he leapt. Grabbing the captain around the throat, Riddick squeezed. Men came from all sides trying to stop the assault. All the hate and frustration were visible. Finally, he was overpowered. Riddick's arms were pinned behind him as well as being held around his neck. The captain coughed and gasped for air. At last he pulled some in as he spat to get the taste of near death out of his mouth. Still gasping, he stared at Riddick. The captain reached forward and pulled off Riddick's goggles. It was bright enough to make him squint.
"I thought you smarter than that," the captain said throwing his goggles to the floor. "I know you're a man that believes he can win in all situations. Strange you haven't learned you can't win with me."
"Killing you will be the sweetest thing I will have ever done," Riddick hissed.
"I doubt that." On the floor Carolyn began to move and moan. Thank God, Riddick thought, she's still alive.
The captain turned to her and knelt down. He brushed her hair out of her face. Riddick could hardly contain himself. "Oh, yes, she's a pretty one, isn't she? She'll make a fine addition to my ladies. Don't you think gentlemen?" the other men began to laugh. "Yes, a fine addition, don't you think Mr. Riddick?"
"Fuck you." The captain picked up his radio.
"Planet lander this is the captain, do you copy?"
"I copy sir."
"We have a survivor here. We need to have her transported to the Rena Falcon. Make sure the Med Lab is ready and have my chief medical officer waiting. I want her treated very well and very carefully."
Riddick thought about the medical officer. At least he knew she'd be safe with him. I don't think he likes girls, Riddick thought to himself. He couldn't help but be a bit amused.
"Yes sir." The radio went silent. The captain turned to Riddick. "As for you, " He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "You will learn respect."
He opened the box to reveal a button and pushed it. Pain shot through Riddick to the likes of which he had never experienced. Completely retracting into a ball on the floor, he could hear nothing but his own screams. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, he couldn't think. His heart felt as if it were going to burst while his skin seemed to burn right off his bones.
Carolyn Frye managed to look over at Riddick. Instead of wanting him to writhe and die, she found herself reaching out to him. "Riddick," she could barely say. Somehow through the blinding pain, he heard her. Faintly, but she was there. "Don't give up."
Still he thrashed about like a fish out of water, somehow trying to hide
from the agony in his chest. At last the assault was over. The captain put
the box back in his pocket. Riddick could only lie on the floor, too weak
to move, his breath coming in short spasmodic bits. The fat man bent down
to whisper in his ear.
"Seems the girl had taken a shining to you," he mused. "Maybe
it was the eyes that did it."
Riddick didn't even care. All he could remember was the pain and Carolyn. Had he really heard her voice?
"You win in a way. I see what you mean about the salvage operation. I've lost a lot of good men, today. Besides, I have two wonderful commodities. You and this tasty young lady, here. She will come in handy, I'm sure." Still in the fetal position, he heard the main lander approaching the settlement. He was going to live through it again, but at what price? "Load everything that we can," the captain said.
"Take the girl first." Carolyn was carefully loaded onto the ship. The others moved quickly around Riddick's immobile body loading whatever salvage they could. At last everything was aboard, except Riddick and the captain.
"I should leave you here to die," he said looking down at him. "But you are worth a lot of money. Plus, I have some special plans for you."
One of the men came up to the captain. "Should I get some of the others in here so we can load him?" he asked.
"No," said the captain. "You don't need to restrain him." The man looked at the captain.
"Sir? Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure." With that he kicked Riddick in the face, knocking him out cold.
"See? He'll be no trouble at all." The captain laughed as he left the room. Behind him Riddick was picked up and loaded onto the ship.