Chapter 19; Something in the Air
Sam slowed her breathing down. "It's only a dream" she told herself. She
looked at the clock on the wall 7am. Why isn't Mom and Dillion up for school
yet?, she thought then remembered it was Saturday. She got up off the couch
clearing the sleep from her head and eyes and walked out the back door.
Riddick woke up almost with a start. He felt something was wrong. He looked
down and found Jack's eyes staring up at him. "See something you like" he
asked her?
"Of course, my dad" she said simply.
"You look so calm and peaceful when you sleep, I think it's the only time I see your face clear of thoughts and worry. You look similar to a teddy bear, soft and cuddy but offer warmth and strength" she said.
"A little perverse aren't we" he said.
She grinned "Oh you're a hottie, I guess that's a given. I just enjoy the vulnerability in you while you sleep".
"You're a strange child Jack," he said resting a hand on her head.
"You trust her?," Jack said referring to Sam.
He nodded "Yes I do Jack. She wouldn't do anything to discomfort us, if
anything she wants to make sure things are well for us," he said with meaning.
Jack understood and trusted his judgment, he wouldn't lead them wrong. She'd
been thinking a lot about Sam, this woman had a certain hold on Riddick
and it intrigued her. He wasn't one to let himself be attached to anyone,
it'd taken years for him and Jack to create the bond that was there and
now it was unbreakable. Still she was curious as to the person who in shorter
than a weeks time was able to get near him, much less earn his trust and
respect. But she had done it, Jack could tell by the look in his eyes when
he spoke of her and the conviction in his voice. Jack started to move to
get up then he stopped her.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
"I have to piss, it's a common occurrence for people when they first wake up" she told him. He grinned and slid out from under her. He then reached down and scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom.
"I have legs you know" she commented.
"I'm aware of that" he said dismissing the comment. He set her down in
the bathroom and closed the door behind him as he exited.
Jack relieved herself and then stood and looked in the mirror. Her face
was pale and she had bags under her eyes. She picked up a comb and ran it
through her hair then washed her face trying to revive the color to it.
She wore a baggy white shirt and wasn't really sure who's it was and her
own baggy cargo pants. She reached into her side pocket and found a tie.
She pulled her hair back from her face in a pony tail and tied it there.
It was a bit difficult raising her arms up since her left shoulder was still
sensitive. She pulled the shirt up to examine her wound. It was a jagged
scar but Brianna had stitched it well and she figured it wouldn't leave
to nasty of a scar. She shrugged a bit, "Just another mark that tells another
story in my life" she said to herself. She opened the door and found Riddick
standing in the hallway waiting for her. He picked her up and she shook
her head at him.
"I won't break you know" She told Him.
"I know Jack but I'm not taking any chances with you stumbling and tearing
that wound, its nothing to be taken lightly" he said as they reached her
room. He set her down on the bed.
"I want to talk to Sam" she told him.
He nodded. "I'll go see if she's up, if she is I'll send her in to you"
he said and then placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and left.
He found Sam sitting outside on a small deck in the back. "Morning" he said
and she turned to look at him.
"Morning" she said back.
He sat down next to her. They both looked at each other for a moment. "There's a lot to talk about I guess" she said and he nodded.
"I don't know what you want Sam or what you think you can handle
but I do care"
He told her. "I know, it's so odd for me. I've never allowed anyone to be
that way with me, or for myself to open up and be that way with anyone else"
she said quietly. He nodded, he hadn't really either before now.
"I saw so much Riddick" she said letting out a breath. "So much pain and so many memories why do you keep it all in you still? Why haven't you let any of it go?" she asked.
"I don't believe in forgetting, if you forget then might forget the lesson you learned in it" he shared.
"But it's got to be so hard and painful to carry it all with you all this time" she said.
"Some times it is, but I lived through it Sam and I conquered those things.
I earned my strength and in some ways I'm still finding it. I processed
it all, it's over and done with but it's still with me because it is who
I am" he said.
"There's a lot that's still very real and alive inside you, I saw it last
night and I see it now" he told her.
"It's so hard, I mean I want so badly to let it out and to feel things the right way. I want to connect with people and allow them to me and allow myself to believe in them, but even when I want to so badly it's like I can't let go of what's inside and of who I am now. It's like my brain shifts into auto-pilot and rides through it without revealing anything and I fight it but it still wins" she told him.
He nodded, "The fight or flight mechanism it's lives in all of us, and it's a fight to hinder it's knee jerk reaction when situations arise" he spoke. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder "I've got all the time in the world, I'm not going anywhere" he said and kissed her temple.
"This isn't easy for me either, I put myself at your mercy and in a very vulnerable state letting you see what you did" he told her and she knew it was true.
"Jack wants to talk to you" he then told her.
Sam walked into the room where Jack was. "Your dad went for a walk but he
told me you wanted to talk to me" Sam said sitting on the side of the bed.
Jack nodded to her.
"You look a little better this morning, you're fairing this well" Sam told her.
"What, this?", Jack said gesturing to her shoulder "this is nothing, I've
been through worse, a hell of a lot worse" she said. Sam grinned at her
words.
"Look I'm not going to bullshit around I'll just cut to the chase here"
Jack said. "I know you know who my dad is and I also know that he said we
could trust you" Jack said to her.
Sam nodded her head "You can Jack, I wouldn't do anything to separate or harm either of you" she said.
"I believe you, I also know there's something going on between him and you" she revealed. Sam nodded her head slowly. "You must be a pretty damn special lady, woman have thrown themselves at him and flirted with him till it makes my stomach turn and he doesn't toss them a glance to reveal that he has any interest, but he has an interest in you" she told her. Sam looked at down at her hands. "Do you love him?" Jack asked.
"I don't think I've known him long enough to know if I love him, it takes a good long while before you let yourself commit that type of emotion to another human" she said.
Jack laughed and Sam looked at her. "Want to know how long I knew him before I knew I loved him?" Jack asked. Sam just looked at her.
"About two seconds Samantha, in those two seconds I knew I loved him and
I knew I believed in him. He was tied up and restrained and Johns had a
bit in his mouth but he still had strength and peace about him. He had the
control inside him and determination poured from his body and I knew I loved
him then. Yes my love for him has changed and grown over the years but it
was just that quick to realize it was there" Jack said to her.
How did you meet him?" Sam asked.
"You mean he didn't tell you about the crash?" Jack said questionably.
"Yes I am aware of the crash" she said.
"Then you know that's how I met him" Jack said leaning back into the pillows.
"I read the reports on that crash I don't remember anywhere it saying a
young girl was on board" Sam said.
"Probably because I wasn't going as a girl, I'd cut my hair short and used
the name Jack pretending to be a boy and I was a stow away that had snuck
onto the ship, so no you probably didn't read about me anywhere. I don't
imagine anyone even knew I was on that craft" Jack said.
"A stow away eh? I bet you wished you'd picked another ship to sneak onto" Sam said.
"No, not really or I would have never met Riddick and known the life I've had with him" Jack said honestly.
"Why were you on the ship" she asked Jack?
"I was running away" Jack said.
"From your family?"
"Yes, from ... well the people who are responsible for my existence. I guess
you could call them my family" she said bitterly.
"Tell me about your family" she said.
"Did he tell you about Fry?" Jack asked her then.
"Carolyn Fry the captain, he said some about her and I know that she sacrificed
herself for him but he doesn't speak of her much" Sam said.
"That's because it's still to hard for him, he still hurts to much inside
when it comes to her" Jack said and Sam nodded her head.
"Carolyn was the most incredible woman I've ever known, she was so brave
and had so much inner strength because she could allow herself to be at
the mercy of others and think of them before herself" Jack said.
"She's my family, her and Riddick were the parents I was meant to be born to" Jack said softly. Sam looked up at Jack and saw tears in her eyes.
"You can have no idea what it was like on that planet, the horror's that happened and the loss we all went through. It was terrible people dying constantly and the fear of knowing any one of us could be next" Jack said trembling.
"I had pretended to be a boy because I thought I'd bring less attention
to myself in passing as a guy. The aliens on the planet though they went
off the scent of blood and I had started my period. I didn't say anything
because I was afraid they'd leave me behind. He knew though, Riddick knew
and he revealed it to them".
"Carolyn was so kind and caring after that. I lost my bravado and the act
of being a tough guy and gave way to my girlish voice and tears. We were
out in a canyon, death row Riddick had said it was and that was a damn good
metaphor for it. We were trying to drag the cells back to an emergency skiff
that they settlers had left out. Riddick was dragging them behind him and
we were all running as fast as we could at once without stopping. It was
the only hope we had reaching the skiff. One of Imam's boys got snagged
by a creature and he and Carolyn had stopped to try and get him out of the
claws of that fucking thing. They had been keeping me between them as we
ran to try and hide my scent from the aliens. When they stopped Riddick
was still running ahead of us. I shouted for him once and then twice" she
said near tears. Sam realized that must have been what she'd heard the night
before when Riddick was showing her his past. She had heard Jack screaming
his name in fear and urgency.
"All at once one of them came at me making their horrible clicking noises
and screeches, I dove under a skeleton bone for a shield and it landed on
top of it. It had me pinned under it and was banging away at it trying to
get me. I just kept screaming for him and for it to go away. Fry grabbed
the hand light I dropped and started waving it and her burning light at
it" Jack said and her eyes glazed over with nostalgia.
"Get off of her, get off of her, get the fuck off of her!" She could still
hear Fry scream as clear as day and her groans and cries as she tried to
ward the thing away from Jack. Jack turned her face towards Riddick's direction
and she saw he stopped and was looking towards them and then looked away.
Jack knew he was contemplating. There was a fight inside him over right
and wrong. Do what he knew was right or do what was wrong but what his instincts
told him to and that was to forget them and get the fuck to the skiff.
"I had turned my face to look at him" Jack said speaking again. "He had
stopped and seemed lost in thought. He looked at me and then looked away.
I knew that he was fighting against himself inside. Fighting over to do
what his soul told him to or to do what he had learned to do over the years
and numb himself to his surroundings and watch for his own ass only.
Then suddenly I saw this look of clarity on his face, he tore his goggles off and let out a ear piercing scream and turned running at me and the alien full speed. His movement and noise got it's attention and flew off of me at him. He met it standing in it's blind spot and grabbed onto the bones protruding from it's head. They stood dancing death's dance for a moment as he moved in sync with it and then quicker than the bat of an eye he'd pulled his shiv and ripped it's belly open spilling its guts.
He didn't stop though, he went at the fucker tearing it to shreds until
it fell to the ground then he twisted it's head around snapping it's neck"
she said letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
"Did not know who it was fucking with" she muttered.
"What?" Sam said cocking an eyebrow.
"After he killed it he looked down at it and said it did not know who it was fucking with" she told her.
"In that moment I knew he had love for me, hard to explain or for anyone
else to conceive but you see he won the fight. That battle of right and
wrong inside of him. He overcame the natural reaction to not care about
anyone but himself and he acted out and placed himself in grave danger for
me. I knew there was something there" she said and Sam knew what she meant.
It was a huge thing for him, until then he hadn't let himself feel anything
for someone else. But he did for her, he allowed himself to be vulnerable
and to do something that wouldn't serve himself but someone else.
Jack continued to tell Sam about how he'd hid them in the hole and went
on by himself. About the doubt that they had and then when the glow worms
appeared and they'd filled a bottle of them creating a light source and
how Fry had gone on by herself promising to come back for them with more
light. She talked about the things that went through her mind while Fry
was gone and it was just her and Imam the Holy man alone inside the walls
of the mountain.
"Then suddenly the rock started to move and when it did Fry came in and
Riddick was right behind her. He asked anyone not ready for this and it
made me smile" she said grinning and Sam laughed.
"We started at a dead run and didn't let up until a few of the creatures had landed at a large pool of water. We stopped and Riddick looked for any other way to get through but didn't find. He reached behind him and grabbed Carolyn's hand squeezing it tight and then she grabbed mine in like manor. The three of us united palm to palm and I felt the electricity shoot through us. I knew then I had a family. They cared about me and offered their inner support while I was afraid and protected me the only way they could through our battle. I felt like I was at home for the first time" she sighed quietly and then a tear slipped down her cheek.
Sam laid her hand over Jacks. "Then we ran, we ran like a bat out of hell
through all of the rain and through the bands of animals. We all slid in
the mud going up the hill and he pulled and shoved all of us over as the
aliens approached telling us to run that Fry knew the way. We ran and he
stayed behind getting up on his own. We didn't stop until we got to the
skiff. Imam and I ran inside but Carolyn stayed on the boarding strip looking
out over the darkness for signs of Riddick. We heard the aliens but nothing
else. After a moment Imam gestured that we should go. Carolyn turned around
for one last look and that's when we heard him scream. She took off before
anyone could say a word. I'm not sure exactly what happened it was away
from me where I couldn't see. All I know is suddenly Fry rounded the corner
of a building and Riddick and her were wrapped around each other and you
could tell he was hurt. She was screaming at him to hold onto her that they
were almost there. And then suddenly we say the alien fly towards them.
It was like time stood still" Jack whispered.
Sam looked at her and saw that the night was reliving itself in her mind.
She could see the anguish and pain rip across Jack and she could feel it
inside herself when Jack turned her naked eyes to Sam. "It went completely
silent and we saw the creature strike. For a moment there was nothing I
remember thinking I should of screamed but it seemed as though every one
of us was frozen in our own state of shock. Riddick eyes and hers were locked
on one another and then in a silence shattering shriek it tore Carolyn's
body from him and he dropped to the ground screaming, Not for me"! Jack
wiped the tears away that had spilled down her cheeks and Sam did the same
realizing she'd let tears of her own fall.
Jack drew in a ragged breath. "She gave up her life for him in that moment
and no one had ever done that. I don't think anyone had ever offered any
kind of emotion or care for him. I don't know, he never talks about any
thing from before that time. She was his savior, she restored the human
inside him and was the life support to the part of himself he'd shut off
and she was taken from him before he could tell her so. He lost the person
who had given him life, and I lost the only person I'd known as a mother
in every sense of the word" she said shaking. Sam looked at her.
"She's a part of me, I may not have known her for very long but she offered more to me than anyone had before, she is my mother" Jack said with strong belief and faith and Sam nodded understanding her.
"She's part of him too, she always will be but now you are too" Jack told
her and Sam's eyes shot up at her. "I can see it in him Sam, and that says
a lot that he doesn't even try to cover it. You are a part of him now, please
don't play with it" Jack said.
"I wouldn't do that Jack, not to anyone and not to him" Sam told her. Jack
looked into Sam's eyes and she knew it was the truth.
"Do you miss her?" Sam asked.
"Everyday of my life, I hope to bring honor to who she was and be the kind
of person that she would of been proud of. More than anything I take care
of him, I know that sounds absurd seeing as he could take care of himself.
But after she died something broke inside of him, he was no longer the person
he was before. He couldn't hate and be indifferent to people at least not
inside, he may have not reacted differently physically but things affected
him emotionally afterwards. But he has a hole in him, he blames himself
for her death. He should have saved her. It shouldn't have been her that
died he told me once. He'll carry it with him forever. And he'll live his
life for her. He's my gift to from her and I'll never take what she let
me have for granted" Jack said with deep conviction and emotion. Sam looked
to Jack and smiled.
"You're an extremely brave girl Jack, and you've got a heart that I haven't
seen in anyone before. I'm sure where ever Carolyn Fry is she's more than
pleased with you, anyone would be", Sam told her.
"I hope so" Jack said in almost a whisper.
Sam smiled at her again "I know so", she said laying her hand on Jack's arm. It was burning hot to the touch. Jack shivered from the cool touch of Sam's hand on her skin.
"Your hand is cold" Jack commented.
"Yes I was sitting outside, must be the dampness of the morning air" Sam said standing up. "I'm going to get something to eat, do you want anything?" she asked.
"No I'm not hungry at all, must be the after math of the.. ummm ...accident" Jack said not knowing how to word it.
"Ya, well try to rest ok. You need to rebuild your strength. If you need anything just holler and we'll come a running" she said and Sam grinned.
"Alright" Jack said and settled down her eyelids already drooping.
Jack heard the door close and felt herself slowly slipping back into sleep.
"I'm awful tired and worn out, it must be the wound and emotion stress from
the memories" she thought to herself then nodded off.
Sam was worried. She knew her hand wasn't cold at all, Jack's body had
been hot and the clashing of their body temperatures had caused Jack to
shiver. Sam's eyes were crossed with worry as she decided to go out and
find Riddick.
Riddick was sitting out in the woods thinking things over. She was on his
mind constantly now it seemed. First full of fire and spunk and then mad
desire and physical aggression, now she was vulnerable and and full of emotions.
Her body and face finally freed itself of the brick wall and stone like
stance and gave way to the emotions and parts of her she'd learned to keep
hidden. He remembered running his hands and lips over her silky skin and
the reactions it brought from her. Her hands had slid over his skin like
satin, softest touch he'd ever felt. She'd traced over his face. He remembered
staring at her naked body for the first time and feeling completely awed
by it, by her. When she reached for him and her caress had driven him mad
and they finally joined it almost felt holy to him.
"Is that what loves like, is that possibly what this is?" he thought to himself. Then suddenly he sensed someone's presence, they weren't familiar and his guard came up instantly.
"Penny for your thoughts" he heard a female's voice say. He turned around and saw a woman sitting in the curve of a branch a few feet in off the ground. She had long dark hair and pale skin that held a strong contrast to the black clothing she wore.
"They're worth a lot more than that" he told her.
She grinned "Smart ass I like that".
"As if I cared" he said starting to walk off.
"Hey where you off to so fast?" she asked hopping down from her perch.
"I don't think I need to tell you" he said without breaking his stride.
"You're staying over with Sam and her family aren't you?" she said.
He stopped and turned around. "What is it to you?" he asked.
"I was just curious, Daniel had said a hulk of a man that Sam had drug
back home with her attacked him in the cemetery the other night. I figure
it must be you, it's not exactly a booming town or anything and everyone
here knows everyone but I don't know you" she said pointedly.
"Interesting. Now if you'll excuse me I'll be on my way" he said turning
to go.
"That your daughter who came with you?" she asked.
He stopped short at mention of Jack. "What would you know about me or who accompanied me here?" he asked evenly.
"You know you really got to lighten up man, you're much to serious" she commented.
"I'll take that under consideration in the mean time why don't you tell me what the hell you want with me and why you're obviously watching me" he said.
"I'm not watching you alright, Daniel had told me of your guys spat and then mentioned you had a girl with you who had shown an interest in the gym. I train a few of the guys on the settlement and I thought I'd offer her my services while you two were here".
Riddick looked her up and down. Tight pants and clingy shirt, you could
see the muscle under her skin. Hard and compact. A bulky mass that had good
strength in it but it didn't look lean and trained, that's what mattered.
She could sense him seizing her up. She notched her chin up a bit "I've
trained all my life believe me I'm capable of working with a young girl
alright".
He laughed 'I'm sure you are but no one trains my daughter but me, thanks for the offer but we won't be needing it" he said to the woman.
"Fine, whatever thought I'd be nice to offer" she said.
"And nice enough to sit perched on a tree for a few minutes and watch me before you spoke up?" he questioned.
"Nothing wrong with weighing out the other side" she said. He nodded and
walked off.
"Tell Sam that D said hello" she tossed at his retreating figure.
Sam was walking down the side of the ride lost in her own thoughts when
she bumped into something. "Oh sorry" she mumbled then saw who it was.
"Oh Riddick" she said and he was grinning.
He'd seen her walking ahead of him, he watched her weave and how her pace would slow down and pick up and he could tell her mind was elsewhere. "Got a lot on your mind?" he asked jokingly.
"Actually yes I do" she stated.
He grabbed her and yanked her to him "Need some help clearing your thoughts?"
he whispered in her ear.
"Well it's a really nice offer but..." she said pausing.
"But? But what? Don't tell me you have to wash your hair" he said.
She punched his chest "Don't be a dumb ass I'd scrump with you any day of the week over personal hygiene".
"Well I'm flattered but please don't give up your daily bathing for me
hun, I may not be around to scrump on that much when the flies start swarming
around you" he said. She punched him again making a face.
"What? They're attracted to strong body odor and uncleanliness" he said
trying not to laugh.
"Argh" She groaned stamping her feet.
"I swear it Sam I'm not lying they are I know I read that somewhere" he said breaking into a grin.
"You're such a shit" she said.
"And you're incredibly amusing when you're pissed" he said.
"Who'd of thought you'd have a sense of a humor" she muttered throwing her hands in the air.
He grinned then walked up catching her hands in his grip and pulled her to him. "I told you there's a lot those reports and files don't tell you" he breathed in her ear.
She shivered. "I'm beginning to learn that" she said then turned to face him. He could see that something serious was going on her, too much there. Her eyes were starting to look like a mirror. Suddenly he saw worry and tension in them.
"What is it?" he asked her.
"It's Jack" she said slowly.
"What?" he asked urgency creeping in his voice.
"I'm not sure. I went in and spoke with her and when I laid my hand on her arm her skin was burning up and she shivered telling me my hand was freezing. I don't know a lot about this but I do know that didn't seem right" she said.
He nodded, "It isn't right".
They walked towards the house quickly. Riddick needing to get there and
see Jack for himself. He remembered his run in with the woman in the woods.
"I ran into someone I guess an old friend of yours in the woods while I
was walking" he said to her.
She raised her eyes to him "A friend? I haven't been here in years. I couldn't imagine who it would be" She said as the reached the front door.
Opening it he said "D, I think she said her name was D. Very strange woman. Something not quite right about her, can't put my finger on it but there's something about her".
Sam froze for a minute. "What, what is it?" he asked.
"Dark hair, light skin unusual eyes?" Sam spoke.
"What?" he said again.
"The woman you saw did she have dark hair, light skin and kind of unusual eyes?" she said a bit frantic. They were walking towards the hallway that led to Jack's room.
"Well I wasn't paying to close of attention to her eyes but ya she had long dark hair, very pale skin and a lot of muscle to her for a woman. She said Daniel had told her some guy had arrived a day or two back and his daughter had showed an interest in the gym, she offered her services to train Jack" he told her.
"I just bet she did" Sam said.
"I told her I trained Jack and no one else. It's not big deal Sam" he said. "
I hope not, I hope its just another pale skinned woman. I wish you could remember her eyes though, that would tell me for sure" she said.
He tired to remember the woman's eyes. Funny, he thought, normally it's
the first thing I look at on a person.
"She had a tattoo" he said as Sam reached for the knob on Jack's door.
"Where at and what was it?" She asked him.
"It was small and on her neck right about here" he said pointing to where the neck joined into his shoulder. "A small little dragon looked like with smoke coming out of his nose" he said remembering it.
"Detra" they both heard and turned to face Sam's mom. She had come up behind them and heard him talking of some woman, Sam nodded her eyes locking with Riddick's. What was it that he saw cross them? Suddenly they heard choking and sputtering and Brianna rushed passed them opening the door.
"Jack" said she loudly.
Jack was leaning over coughing. Riddick was there in a flash running his
hands down Jack's back. She was burning with fever. She started to sit back
up and fell against Riddick's chest. He wrapped his arms around her trying
to calm her down. Sweat covered her body and her breath was raspy as she
breathed in more air.
"I must get some cold cloths" Brianna said and rushed out.
"I feel so cold" she said.
"It's ok Jack we're working on it alright. I just want you to calm down and try to remain still. Now I need to look at your shoulder to make sure that it didn't tear from the strain of your coughing, alright" he said slowly laying her back. She nodded and laid down.
Riddick slowly pulled her shirt off one shoulder and pulled back the bandage that covered the wound. There was a little blood but it didn't look like any serious damage had been done. He put the bandage back over it and pulled her shirt back down. She shot up coughing again and he caught her in his arms. Brianna entered the room with a basin of cold water and a handful of wash cloths.
"Ok baby lay back we've gotta put these on you to bring the fever down"
he said easing her back down to the bed.
"Riddick did you cut yourself in the woods?" Sam asked noticing a splash
of red in his shoulder top. He looked at his shoulder and notice the trace
of blood but saw no wound.
"I don't remember" then he stopped and looked down at Jack. Her lower lips was reddened with blood.
"Here Jack take a drink of this please" Brianna said.
When Jack opened her mouth for Brianna Riddick saw the traces of red blood on her tongue. She's bleeding inside! The thought seared through his mind. Brianna's eyes met his and he saw worry there.