Darkness was the only thing I knew for what felt like forever. Pain had always been something that convicts and prisoners alike were familiar with. There wasn’t anyway to change that. When your entire world was kill or be killed, a few cuts, broken bones, and sprains were natural to deal with. So this, this was something I could deal with. At least for now. Here, inside the darkness, was home. It was familiar and it was safety. Out there, was the world, the whole shebang, and I wasn’t ready to face it yet. True, the other survivors needed to know what they faced, but what was down there in the depths of the hell they wanted me to go into? They needed to know that something was going to eat them if they weren’t careful.
It could wait. I had no idea how long the darkness consumed me, but as I started to wake I couldn’t fight back the moan. Pain flared up in my back as I felt something splash across it. After the liquid cleared away, a pair of rough but strong hands started working away the dirt and grime. I knew they wanted to see how bad the cuts were, but I didn’t want them too. Not like this. Not when I was the most vulnerable. It was time though, to face the piper, and I could only hold the man with the fingers off for so long.
I tried to move, but the growl was enough to make me pause. It wasn’t enough to make me stop completely. Still, I was trying to move myself away – to stand up so I could go find a place to hide until the embarrassment of actually getting hurt could wear off. What forced me to stop was the louder growl and the words. He was an alpha. That was for sure because he cowered my animal with only a few single tiny little words. I wanted to scream out at him that he had no right, but I understood him. He was trying to take care of me. I should be grateful rather than trying to rip apart what he was doing. I could feel a hand digging into my waist.
“Don’t fuckin’ move. It’ll only make it worse..”
Shock coursed through me. What was I supposed to say to that? Here he was, the killer of men, Richard B. Riddick, taking care of me. I could hear someone sniffling not too far away and I managed to turn my head. I could see Jack watching us, looking as if she felt like she failed or something. Stilling myself, and laying back down on my stomach so that Riddick could finish cleaning the wounds, I held my hand out for Jack.
I was already starting to feel the wounds close and my healing to kick in. It wasn’t going to be super speedy recovery, but at least I wouldn’t die right here and now. If the bandages were secure enough they would do their job without me having to worry too much. I wasn’t some invincible force like Riddick seemed to be and I healed. Albeit slower than he did, but still slightly faster than a normal human. I credited it to adapting and surviving so young in that slam.
I wanted to tell her I knew her secret: that out of anyone here it would be the convict and I that kept her safe. We both knew she wasn’t who she was pretending to be, but it didn’t matter right now. “Thank you Jack. If you hadn’t heard me I might still be in that hole. How’s Zeke doing?”
A part of me wanted to know how the man was whose life we managed to save. Even if the others weren’t grateful. Maybe we should have just let those creatures eat him, gobble him up as if he was nothing more than desert.
“He’s alright. He’s awake and rather pissed at Johns for the way he treated you. Kinda mad at you for being stupid enough to go down there.”
I heard the convict snort as if he wanted to laugh, but was afraid it might make me flee again. I didn’t want any of them mad at me. That wasn’t the goal. I needed to heal because if those creatures got out they would go for the weakest – for blood. What was I supposed to tell them?
“Jack, it’s alright. Johns took my shivs or else I would have fared better. I went down there without any weapons. Have you seen my shivs at all?”
I had no doubt the young girl would tell me if she did. I’d be lucky if I managed to find them at all. Who knows where they went in all this mess? I wasn’t talented enough to actually make a knife from the things lying around, and the ones I had were a gift. They had been given to me in the slam as one of the last bits actually made right before my escape. As a small woman, I had small hands and I needed a blade that was both perfectly balanced for me. One that wouldn’t be too cumbersome for me to try to use. Those ones had been custom made for me.
With a sigh, I turned my gaze to look at the convict from the corner of my eye. With his goggles on it was hard to tell what he was thinking. His eyes gave away nothing, hidden behind the black frames. I wanted to see his eyes but this wasn’t the right time. He wasn’t exactly the type of man to share what he was thinking when everyone else was around. With a huff, I closed my eyes and waited. He couldn’t spend forever on my back.
Already I could feel the wounds closing. Being the animal that I was, I had learned in a way to heal faster. Only two of the cuts were deep enough that they might need stitches. Where we would find a medkit around here I didn’t know. The only one that the ship probably had was sucked away into the atmo when the ship was crashing. Riddick could be resourceful though if need be. Instead, I just felt gentle fingers running along the edges of the cuts. Studying them before I heard pieces of cloth ripping. I don’t know where they found it, but I felt the pieces pressed hard against me as they were tied around the cuts.
I could hear the voices getting closer from the outside. Shazza was talking with Fry about if they should come in and check on me. Johns was trying to convince them that the two convicts were better off left alone. Zeke, the man that seemed to perpetually be loud, started to talk.
“They both saved my life. If they hadn’t managed to pull me out and treat me I would be dead. Doesn’t that count for anything? If they wanted to kill us, they could have.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that they are convicts. The law says they gotta do their time. I can’t change that.”
“Whatever. We need to get to the settlement. See if we can get that powercell working in the ship.”
I took a deep breath through my nose and hoisted myself up when the bandages were done being tied. Looking down, I frowned. My shirt was in tatters and it barely covered anything but the necessary parts. I would need to find a new shirt before long. This heat would not do well on my pale skin, and I was surprised that I hadn’t already burned to a crisp. Reaching up and making sure my goggles was secure, I moved away from the ship. We couldn’t stay here, but one power cell was not going to be enough to get us off this rock.
Outside I noticed that everyone that was remaining were all standing around waiting on us. We needed to travel as a group, especially if the Imam and his sons managed to get the water unit working. With a sigh, I could feel the tension in the air mount. I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth as I tried to calm down. It was a mix of fear and tension that was making it hard for me to focus. I couldn’t help but realize that not all of us were going to make it. I hoped, that I could try to save at least some of them. Maybe then I wouldn’t be seen in such a horrible light.
Feeling a body moving closer to mine – a hand brushing along the back as he moved to go stand by Johns – I jolted. Anytime Riddick touched me I could feel it inside. My animal, she was at war. A part of her wanted to stand there and bask in the smallest of touches while the other part wanted to tackle the convict to the ground and demand that he respect me as an equal.
So far though, I knew that I hadn’t really shown him that I was a worthy challenger. I’d drawn blood on him earlier. Nothing more than a scrape really, but then I’d managed to almost get eaten. Not a good sign that I was someone that could take care of herself. With a shake of my head, I tucked a small strand of my wayward hair behind my ear and moved.
“Let’s get back to the settlement.”
My voice was soft, but it had the desired effect. All of them started walking and heading back in the right direction. Johns was behind Riddick and myself, making sure we ‘behaved’. I have no idea what he thought he might accomplish. If we were going to attack him it wouldn’t be in broad daylight where he had the advantage. No, it would be in the darkness when the merc was at his weakest. That would be the perfect time to strike.
My feet were growing tired, my body numb. It was a combination of the heat, walking, and the lack of water. I hadn’t partaken in any of the alcohol that Paris was shoving around, knowing that it would only make it worse in the end. I could make it, though, until we got to the settlement. I would need water and rest. Losing blood and bouncing back wasn’t easy, but I would be damned if they saw me as weak. I was not weak.
Amusing wasn’t something I found often in the slam, but out here in this hellish planet it seemed to surround me. As we were walking with the rest of the group back to the settlement the unusual happened. Maybe it was simply because Johns was trying to make the situation worse or maybe it was because Riddick was purposely creating panic. Whatever it was, I was finding the entire ordeal amusing. It could also be related to the fact that it was about to pass out from the combination of blood loss and dehydration.
Voices picked up as we walked. Paris, who I was starting to fondly refer to as Puff in my head, felt as if he needed to talk to Johns about the situation. As if one William J. Johns would do anything that wasn’t his way. It wasn’t even like the rest of us had a choice.
“So just like that. Wave your little wand and he’s one of us now.”
“Didn’t say that. But least this way I don’t have to worry about falling asleep and not wakin’ up.”
“Well, I feel we owe Mr. Riddick amends.”
“He’s happy just bein’ vertical. Leave him be.”
“So can I talk to him now?”
“No!”
I really didn’t expect the answer to that question to be yes. But considering Zeke wasn’t dead and he was still mostly healthy, I was surprised that Shazza was so dead set on telling the child no. If anything, she was the safest one from the convict. The child was not going to be hurt by the bigger man in any way. At least not unless Riddick was pushed to the absolute limit and, even then, I doubted he would.
As we continued to walk, I noticed that Paris was trying to carry more than he should have and one of his bottles of wine falls to the ground. It wasn’t that I expected anyone to really stop to pick it up, but that wasn’t the amusing part. What was funny was how it seemed to almost roll right at Riddick.
“Paris P. Ogilvie. Antiquities dealer, entrepreneur.”
“Richard B. Riddick. Escaped convict, murder.”
The way he said it with the mirth in his voice, as if he was laughing at the situation, was enough to force giggles from my throat. It was a sound I wasn’t entirely used too nor was I truly comfortable with. Still, watching the convict drink down the entire bottle of wine was making me more than amused. I wasn’t offered any but then again, given the situation I was in, I doubted he would have. I looked as if I was about ready to drop and alcohol would only enhance that.
The trip this time wasn’t nearly as long. Maybe because we already trekked it earlier and knew the course. Whatever it was… we made it pretty quickly and Imam and the boys were waiting for us with smiles on their faces. They got the water working. It was a good sign for now.
Choosing not to partake yet to allow the others a chance, I moved out to one of the outlying buildings. There was a bit of shade coming off them and, if I sat just right, I was cooler than before. Leaning my head back, I ignored the burning feeling of the metal against my skin and closed my eyes. So much was going on that I was hearing, feeling, and a part of me wanted to recoil. This planet was dead on the surface, but whatever lay below was angry, and pacing. They were waiting for their chance to break free and kill us – a true fight for dominance and food.
I got lost in my thoughts for a moment that I didn’t hear him approach. Maybe it was the lack of blood or focus but something made it harder for me to hear him. I should have been able to smell him, but the scent of blood in the area was far too strong. Even with my eyes closed I saw a bit of my shadow get darker. I opened my eyes, him clearly seeing that they were open through the goggles as I stared at him. There, in front of my eyes, was a canteen of water.
“Up. Drink.”
Taking it gently, I moved into a sitting position and slowly started to drink the water. I realized that the more he was able to sneak up on me, the worse I would be seen in his eyes. I didn’t want to be weak. As I sipped at the water I could feel things becoming more focused. I could hear the others talking, Fry commenting about how they needed more cells to get the ship to fly. Shazza commenting about maybe being able to repair the sandcat. It was all good and well, but it didn’t help us get off this planet or figure out what happened to all the people.
“You lost too much blood. Too much heat. Drink slowly. I don’t want ya to pass out on me. Here, take this, keep it safe. Lose it and you and I will have words.”
He also handed me a shiv. This one felt like one of mine but it wasn’t mine. It wasn’t the one that had been made for me before I left the bay. Looking down at the metal, I stared in shock. It was truly a work of art. Curved perfectly and balanced as if he knew exactly how I fought with the weapon. It was smaller than his, small enough to comfortably sit in my hand and make it seem as if it was a part of me. This was something. I wasn’t sure how to take.
It wasn’t easy to be around Riddick when he was like this. Normally he was such a bad-ass but right now he was being soft. Not in a weak sense, but in the sense that there was something about me that he didn’t want to let go of. That was where the confusion set in. Slowly I drank the water as I started to feel the dizziness and the lightheadedness leave my body. Blood loss was going to make me feel like this anyway, but when you added in the heat from the suns and the lack of water until now… it would only make things worse.
When it seemed as if I wasn’t going to keel over, the convict moved away. His purpose was done and it wouldn’t do well to linger. After a few moments, I stood and headed towards the others. Inside was what appeared to have been the cafeteria of the area. I saw everyone sitting around a table sipping at glasses of water. I had no idea where the others had been. I wasn’t focused on that. I was focused only on trying to understand Riddick’s behavior up until now. Yet here we all were in a room where we could see everyone.
Taking a seat in the shadows, sipping at the water brought to me, I waited. I could see Rididick sneak in and Jack not to far behind him. I couldn’t fight the grin on my face at watching the kid. For someone trying to be a boy, she had gone a little out there this time. It was almost as if she was trying to be a Riddick clone. Her hair had been shaved down and a pair of goggles decorated her face. The look from Paris was enough to make me actually burst into a peal of laughter. I smiled at Jack and winked at the girl letting her know she didn’t bother me any. I wondered how Riddick felt about the girl trying to look like him.
“Well if it isn’t the winner of the look-alike contest.”
As everyone gathered around, we started to talk about what we are going to do. The skiff seemed to be the number one thing on everyone’s mind – trying to get us out of here. Fry and Shazza are talking about it, and, of course, the convict just had to show how much he knew about the information. What I would never understand is why the world continues to think he’s stupid. In the brief amount of time that I’ve known him, Riddick has shown to be by far one of the smartest men I’ve ever encountered, and yet the others brush him off because he’s a convict.
There was conversation about the people that used to live on this planet. I hadn’t managed to do much exploring of my own yet, but there were signs that they were some sort of researcher types. I didn’t care honestly. What mattered the most to me was trying to understand what happened to them. By the looks of everything around us, they never left the planet and, if that was the case, I shuddered to try to come to terms with where they are now.
“Who were these people anyway? Miners?”
With a look that clearly said that he was stupid, Shazza looked at Paris before replying.
“Looks like geologists. Advance team – moves from rock to rock, taking their families with them.”
It wasn’t that we all really cared about that. It was Jack’s next question, timed with my own that seemed to change the atmosphere in the room. No one really did understand how the two of us managed to talk at the same time or why we asked the same question exactly the same way. Still it happened and we both looked at each other sheepishly, while I heard a small snort of amusement out of the animal. He was laughing at me. I would deal with that later, when we were alone.
“But why did they leave their ship?”
Maybe it was the silence that forced everyone to calm down or maybe it was because no one wanted to face the answers to that question. We all knew that something was under the surface. My back was the sign of that. They just didn’t want to wake up and face the reality that it was far too dangerous to be here even with the convict on the loose. This planet was the enemy not us.
At the sound of Johns’ condescending voice, I fought the urge to punch him in the face. He thought he was some big shot that had all the answers. He was wrong. I was barely aware of the growl that escaped my mouth, feeling a presence move closer to me as if trying to calm me some. I didn’t have to look up to know it was Riddick. His smell permeated the air around me and I breathed it in like a dying man starving for oxygen. It was the only thing right now keeping me calm. It wasn’t like he could just reach out and put his hand on my shoulder. At least, not until we had the upper hand in the situation.
“It’s a skiff. Disposable really.”
“Like an emergency life raft?”
“Sure. Coulda had a real drop-ship take them off planet.”
“They didn’t leave. Whatever almost got Zeke got them. They’re all dead.”
“What? You don’t really think they left with their clothes on the lines? Photos on the shelves?”
“Maybe they had weight limits, you don’t know.”
“I know you don’t uncrate your emergency ship unless there’s a fuckin’ emergency.”
“He’s fucking right.”
The direction of this conversation was starting to depress me. Riddick was right. No one left here. They uncrated their emergency ship because they were facing something bad. No one wanted to hear it come from the mouth of the convict though – that’s why they kept protesting what he was saying.
“Well, far be it for me, another convict, to make a point here but Riddick is right. Think about how those animals went after Zeke and me when we both dropped the flashlight. Imagine if these people didn’t know anyone was here and then suddenly they are digging into the planet, disturbing holes and nests. You’d be fucking angry too. Angry enough to attack everyone you found.”
With everyone looking at me, I sighed. I was only stating the truth and I could see it in everyone’s eyes but Johns. He still wanted to be the big hot shot, the person that came up with the information. No one wanted to deal with the fact that the two of us, the two people they ‘should’ be afraid of had managed to suss out the truth when they were too busy hiding their heads in the sand.
After saying my piece I felt the need to escape. In that room, I was suffocating. I could feel their loathing and anger and I had no way of knowing if it was directed at me or not. Something had them all on edge and being around that was driving me insane. Outside, I breathed a moment before sighing. I didn’t really need the breather anymore. My body had adjusted to the low oxygen on the planet. It was a hindrance anyway. Removing it and setting it off on the ground I headed towards the largest building. There on the side was a sign CORING ROOM. I knew what it’s purpose was – it wasn’t hard to guess with them being geologists and all.
At first, I had no idea what drew me to the room but I knew that something was calling to me. The closer I got to the building, the more I heard it. The sounds from inside. I could hear feet scuffling and I sighed. Someone had gotten a little too curious for their own good. Moving around to the side of the building, I saw the small hole and climbed inside. Considering what these creatures had done to me… this was stupid. I would probably end up making Riddick chain me to the wall himself if only so he could keep an eye on me.
Inside the room I could hear the animals moving, watching as the kid accidentally turned on the lights. Readying my shiv, I prepare to do whatever I must to protect the child. While it might be his own stupidity and curiosity that drew him here, I couldn’t just let him die. What kind of person would that make me? Turning my goggles up and letting my natural eyes take over I moved through the darkness with relative ease.
Catching the boy before he pisses them off too much was easy enough. I shoved him behind me just as the animals start to take flight. I could see them surrounding us – demanding payment, demanding food. They want us. We are their source of nourishment and they’ve been in hibernation far too long. With a lunge, one of them goes after me. I can’t fight the scream that is ripped from my throat as I feel the claws rip into me again. Turning, I throw the young child to the ground and cover him with my body. The worst thing he could try to do would be to run so I had to protect him, keep him from being seen by the creatures. My back becomes their playground once more, ripping open the barely closed wounds and creating new ones.
The sound of feet pounding towards me only gives me a moment’s hope before I hear the shotgun blast. It was enough to startle the creatures, to get them to veer away. As the light comes streaming in, I hear them shriek and scream. All of them were attempting to run away, their meal forgotten for now. Feet moved closer, but all I could focus on was the pain. I couldn’t even move. Still hunched over the young child, I listened as he breathed in and out – quickly in a panic but alive nonetheless.
Two strong hands picked me up from the ground and moved me out of the way. Somewhere else, not too far away but away, there was a feeling of underlying tension in the muscles. I had no doubt who it was that moved me. Riddick’s smell surrounded me as I felt his fingers trace the rips in the fabric over my shirt, tracing through the wounds again. Sighing he started to clean and redress the ones that he could find. We needed this done, the wounds closed up as much as they could. They weren’t all that deep, it was just quite a lot of them.
Laying there on my stomach, feeling the hands leave my back, I closed my eyes. I was trying to center myself, trying to come to terms with what happened. In moments like this Riddick touched me as if I was the most precious thing in the world, as if I was made of glass. I hadn’t even had a chance to attack any of the creatures, my only thought about protecting the boy.
“You have a death wish don’t you? Don’t pull another fuckin’ stunt like that without me again. Understand?”
“Is he – Is the boy alright?”
I didn’t get an answer. Instead, I got a growl. Turning my head and opening my eyes to stare into Riddick’s, I saw the emotions there. He was angry, and scared and it was unreal. I wished for a moment that I could read his mind but I didn’t really need to. I understood those emotions that he was showing. He was angry at me for coming in here, for not telling anyone where I went, and for worrying him. He was scared that they would kill me or that they had killed me. My back was an absolute mess and I had no idea when I’d be able to actually lay on it in the future. It was going to take more than bandages to keep the wounds from reopening. I watched as the anger slid into what looked like possessiveness. As if he owned me and would be the one calling the shots in the future. That might very well be true if we got out of this alive. Glaring at the convict, I spoke, the venom in my voice was sure to set fire to the dominant man that was Riddick.
“You aren’t my keeper. If I want to ‘pull’ another stunt as you call it I will. You don’t own me.”
As soon as the words left my mouth I knew they were a mistake. I could see the silver-shined eyes of the convict glaring down at me, but I couldn’t stop it. He was right though. He was in control of me. My animal submitted everytime he came near. I watched as his face shifted from rage to amusement before a body landed on mine. I stilled, terrified of what he was going to do to me. He hadn’t said anything yet and that was the more pressing issue.
“If I tell you to behave, you behave. Do you not understand this? I’m your alpha, I feel you submit, giving me power and control. If you die I will find a way to bring you back so I can kill you again myself. Slowly. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!”
The ferocity in his words made me shudder and I wanted to know if the others heard him yell. He was acting out in anger, but at the same time I had said something stupid. Matlock had told me to trust the animal inside of me – that she hadn’t let me down. Now was my chance. Here underneath the body of the convict, I could feel myself weaken and give in. He did control me and, if the fact that he was once again sniffing my neck was any indication, he was quite sure he was in charge. What was I supposed to do? So what if I had this strange attraction to the man? If my animal thought that I should just surrender and let the other animal dominate me… Now wasn’t the time to dwell on these feelings. Was it?
My thoughts were interrupted when I felt pain in my neck. My arms automatically moved and wrapped themselves around the convict as I felt him shift above me. His body pressed against mine – his stomach to my back as I felt the pain erupt through me at my wounds. He wouldn’t press hard enough to get blood on his clothing, but enough to make a point. The whole ordeal took more than twenty seconds before he was up and moving.
I shifted to sit up, dazed as I ran a hand against my neck. I could feel it, the bite mark he had left. Deep inside of me I could feel a purr rising to the surface. He had just marked me as his, staked his claim, and it had taken me getting him angry for him to do it. Nothing else. No other physical contact initiated. Not even a kiss. He was punishing me, making me know that he owned me body and soul now and there was not a damn thing I could do. I could only hope that the wound would heal fast enough because I refused to be the butt of anyone’s jokes.
Voices brought me out of my reverie as another set of hands encircled my waist. It was Jack. She was hugging herself to me as if I could ward away the evil. I hugged her back for a moment as I tried to focus on the words. While I was concentrating, I felt Jack shift my hair around to cover my neck on the side that Riddick bit me before she smirked at me. She could tell something was going on and I knew that she was an ally. Slowly everything around me was coming back into focus. I could hear the sounds, smell the scents as they came, but there was something new.
When he bit me he had formed a connection and I felt a small sliver of the convict. I felt a ghost of emotion as it passed between us – amusement, mirth, and a tad too much masculine pride. He was happy with what he had done and, well, I couldn’t blame him. If I had been in the same situation I probably would have reacted the same way. There was no escape for me now. I belonged to Riddick.
“Why was the door chained up? Why the bloody hell would they lock themselves in like that?”
The question hung in the air for a moment as I stood slowly. Moving my way over to the coring pit, making sure that Rididcks bite mark wasn’t showing, I got close enough to peer down the hole. It was littered with bones. Row after row of bones.
“Other buildings weren’t secure… so they ran here. Heaviest doors. Thought they’d be safe inside. but…someone forgot to lock the cellar.”
The words sent a shiver down my spine. I could see just how deep it was even without John’s throwing one of his flares down the hole. Whatever had come out of the ground and gone back into it had killed all the people here. We weren’t going to find any survivors. Why bother? It was pointless to think we would. Closing my eyes, I tried to steady my emotions for a moment. I needed a clear head if we were going to assess the situation. I could hear the soft conversation between Shazza and Riddick and while I should be jealous, I wasn’t. He was standing close enough to me now that I could feel his heat on my back.
Once I was grounded enough that I could focus, I opened my eyes, slid my goggles back in place, and turned. We needed to get out of here – to think, to fix the skiff, and get off this fucking rock.I needed to get outside in the sunshine. It was too hard, too bad to be in here. It was cramped and stuffy. On the way out I heard Fry and the others talking and I wanted to roll my eyes. Of course it wasn’t going to be easy to get off this planet, and it sounded like the darkness was going to creep in. Even though I could see in the dark, I didn’t want to be here when it hit.
“Let’s board this up and get the hell gone. They seem to stick to the dark so if we stick to daylight, should be all–”
“Twenty years ago.”
“Wha’?”
“Coring samples. All dated twenty years ago, this month.”
I watch as they move away and out to another building. I don’t need to go there to know what they are talking about. Fry found something that had shown that there was going to be a darkness here, but my concern was how long. How long would it last? Would we be able to get all of these people on that tiny skiff and off this planet before we all died?
Moving closer to the building, if nothing else than to stay in visible sight of the others, I heard the all gather around the machine. I watched as they moved the wheels to show how the planets aligned at the twentieth year to form an eclipse – a full and total eclipse. Fry moved it once more, signalling one full year and then the eclipse was over. One whole fucking year of these creatures roaming free to kill and feed. We wouldn’t make it a year.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?”
I giggled at that last line. Leave it Riddick to once again point out why he was superior to Johns. For a merc, he really was a fucking chickenshit. Why was it every time Riddick said something it made me giggle? If he was trying to scare them, he was succeeding.
————————————————————————————————————————
Damned woman was fuckin’ stupid. Goin’ down in that hole and not havin’ a weapon. It almost made me forget she grew up in a slam. Well, I thought she grew up in a slam. She had traits that led me to believe she did. The moment I saw her lyin’ there covered in blood I knew I had to act. What is it about this woman that drives me crazy? What makes me want to drop everythin’ and go help her? That’s what I needed to figure out.
With her in my arms, I carried her back inside to the confines of the ship. We didn’t have any water or nothin’ like that so I had to filch some alcohol from Paris. I cleaned her back as much as I could, knowin’ that on some level she could feel the pain. Her back was covered in scratches and rends, those fuckin’ things rippin’ her to shreds. I would make Johns pay for this one way or another.
As I was cleanin’ the wounds, she roused. I didn’t expect her to stay down long; those of us with a fightin’ spirit like she had weren’t. She was movin’ and it was making me angry. Didn’t she understand that it was only gonna make things worse in the end? I couldn’t fight back the growl or the demand that she quit movin’. Eventually she stilled and I finished wrappin’ the shreds of the random shirt I found around her cuts. They were tight enough to restrict the wounds from seepin’ too much but not so tight they’d cut off the circulation.
We needed to get out of here. I knew we had to go back to the settlement they supposedly found. I could hear Johns and the wanna-be pilot talking about the skiff. It wasn’t much but it would be enough to get off this rock. I ignored the conversation between Jack and Autumn until my woman mentioned something interestin’. Her shivs were missin’. That would explain why she looked like she’d been run through a meat grinder. I was going to make him pay.
When the girls moved away, I left the ship. We didn’t have any other reason to stay there and so we started walkin’. I needed to keep my head clear enough that I could plan. There were already two contingency plans coming up. We had to get off this ship, but how many of us would survive? Well, that was somethin’ for time to tell us.
I watched her as she slowly started to fade. Anyone that had lost blood and then be thrust out into the sun to walk would. It wasn’t smart. We had no water right now and we could only hope they got it workin’ by the time we go there. I made nice a moment with one of the survivors, watchin’ in amusement as he shrank away in fear.
I wasn’t even sure if we could call this crappy thin’ a settlement. It was tiny as fuck and there weren’t that many buildin’s, but it was clear somethin’ was missin’. Everyone seemed to scatter when we got here and I headed off in my own direction. I was lookin’ for water for my girl. Spying the Arab man, I gave him a smile as I took a cup and filled it. It wasn’t for me but they didn’t need to know that yet.
Movin’ forward I found her. Not hard to miss her with her scent lingering in my nose like it was. She was leanin’ in the shade against a buildin’ and lookin’ like she was about to pass out. Passin’ her the water I made sure she drank enough to be healthier. She had to have somethin’ to keep herself safe and I sighed. I knew this was going to be advantageous, but why let her know I was thinkin’ of her when I made the smaller shiv? Pullin’ it out of my hidin’ spot, knowin’ she could see it, I handed it to her. The look on her face was enough.
I’d seen people look at weapons, but none had looked so touched as she had in that moment. It was as if I’d given her a gift worth a million cred or somethin’. I couldn’t fight the smile that graced my lips as she smiled at me. I told her not to lose it and then I made my way away. It wouldn’t do any of us any good to linger. We had to keep a distance, before the others tried to take us down again.
Goin’ to see if I could scare the others I found Fry, Shazza and Johns all talking about a ship.
“Nothing we can’t repair– so long as the electrical adapts.”
“It’s not a star-jumper.”
“Doesn’t need to be. Take a two seater like this, up to the Sol-Trak Shippin’ Lanes, stick a thumb out. You’ll get picked up.”
I watched the heads as they swiveled to me, wonderin’ how I knew that. Yeah, I could pilot and wouldn’t they be sorry in the end. Leavin’ wasn’t all that hard with Johns’ tryin’ to tell me what to do. I would pretend to follow his orders but do thin’s my way. Movin’ I headed out to look at the buildin’s. The corin’ room seemed to be the one with promise. I could hear the creatures inside of there, movin’ and shiftin’. This was probably the place the others ran too that were on this planet. Of course, I could also hear Jack as she spied on me. I had to give the girl credit. She was pretty damned good at gettin’ into places no one else did.
I hear Johns callin’ to me and I go, callin’ for the girl to join me. We made our way inside to the others. I have to just fuck with them. They deserve it. All of them, but Autumn. She’s the only one in the entire fuckin’ room that doesn’t hate. I saved some of their lives and they can’t even be grateful enough to talk to me. This conversation is gettin’ boring and I speak out. No one wants to hear what I’m sayin’, but I’m not surprised. It’s her reaction to my words that made a small amount of shock run through me.
Never had I seen someone so adamant about sometin’. Her words seemed to shock them into understandin’ that the two convicts were smart enough to figure out what was goin’ on. I watched her leave, but I couldn’t stop her. Now was not the time to play that hand. Later. We’d have some fun later. Thoughts started runnin’ through my head of all the thin’s I was gonna do to her when we were alone.
“Has anyone seen the little one? Ali?”
“Has anyone checked the Coring Room?”
I watched as they all take off runnin’. I took my time, at first, until I realized that Autumn wasn’t outside. I heard the scream before the others and took off runnin’. The door was locked with the same chains from before and it pissed me off. I wanted to get in there. I could hear her cryin’ out in pain and this time I could do something about it. Johns’ finally usin’ that big gage of his shot the door open and I took off. The others, they were waitin’ for the animals to flee. I didn’t have that kinda time.
I crashed to my knees as I saw her, her back ripped open and bloody again and it made me growl. Lifitin’ her off the boy I noticed that she had kept him safe. She had a soft spot for children too. Somethin’ to think on later. Movin’ into the darkness where I knew the other’s wouldn’t loko I started to clean her wounds again. Each one made me see red and it was only through a severe force of will that I managed to keep from yellin’ at her.
I snapped though. The animal inside of me demanded that she understand that she was mine. My Mate, mine to protect and to keep safe. I wanted her to understand this, but she started to argue. The bitch had the nerve to try to tell me that I didn’t own her. We’d see who was right in the end. The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could really think. My animal already snappin’ to the surface and takin’ over.
I pushed my body at her, lettin’ her feel me. What I did next I knew would haunt me, but there was no other choice. I needed to mark her – to let the others know that she was claimed. Bitin’ down on her neck right where her shoulder met.. it was somethin’ else. I could feel the blood in my mouth and it tasted divine. No, I didn’t normally drink the blood of the people I killed but this really was somethin’ else. The animal inside of me purred around the bite as I felt her react. She might not have realized it, but the woman underneath me clutched me to her. I realised it when I knew she was marked well and good. It would be there forever, a sign for others not to fuck with us.
I had to leave though, push away from her and go talk to the others. I knew what happened to ‘em and it wasn’t hard to deduce. It was funny though, how scared they were of just a few words. They knew I was right but it scared them to know that the thin’s we saw fly outta here were dangerous to us all. We all left the buildin’ not too long after that and I made sure that my woman was in sight. I wouldn’t let her get hurt again. Not if I could help it.
reinla's trip down the rabbit hole 