Title: The Road to Hell – Chapter 0ne
Summary: This chapter begins with a COR:DF recap from Riddick's POV and rolls into Jack, Riddick and Imam escaping from Antonia Chillingsworth's ship.
SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, please note that this story (this chapter in particular) draws heavily upon the events in the anime and includes MAJOR SPOILERS. Also, please forgive me if I take some artistic license in the descriptions.
Disclaimer: The characters of Riddick, Jack, etc. in this story (and the events depicted in Dark Fury and recounted herein) do not belong to me and I mean no infringement upon anyone's rights of ownership to those characters. Any original characters are mine, so please ask if you plan to reuse them.
Feedback: I would love any and all feedback- positive and negative. Let me know if you spot any grammar oversights. As for characterization and tone, I think I've gotten pretty close, but I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks.
Notes: This looks to be a fairly long story. I have already written several chapters and I still have a lot of ground to cover. I plan to stick pretty close to canon, but I may tweak certain occurrences as needed. This is my attempt to fill in some of the gaps between Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick (and perhaps beyond). We all know where Riddick went in the five intervening years, but what happened to Jack? This story is my way of explaining what got her from "cute kid" to convicted murderess.
Chapter One
The big, aquiline ship hung silently, peacefully in the depths of space, but its outer peace belied the turmoil inside. Deep within the ship, a battle raged and it looked like a single man might emerge the victor over the crowd of tough-looking characters who had attacked him. Several of their number floated limply in the null gravity of the large chamber, blood oozing from mortal wounds. The big man battling them had yet to sustain a substantial injury.
Had he not been locked in mortal combat, Riddick might have reflected with bitter, ironic amusement on the present situation. He, Jack and Imam had escaped one of the nastiest circumstances he had ever experienced only to find themselves thrust into one that had the potential to be just as nasty. Oh well, that was pretty typical of his luck lately.
When Chillingsworth's ship speared their drifting skiff with a tow cable, Riddick had identified himself as Johns, hoping to avoid any trouble with the mercs on board. It hadn't worked. Probably used a voiceprint or something, he'd reasoned as he realized they weren't buying his story.
As soon as the skiff had come to rest in the hangar, Riddick had gone into action. Mercs had pulled him in like this before, and he knew a few tricks to confound the sensors that would be scanning the ship. His little ploy with the skiff's fire suppression system actually seemed to be working. Then Junner, Chillingsworth's guard dog, grabbed Jack. From there, everything went straight to hell. In an amazingly short time, Riddick knew he would have to surrender.
When the bastard pressed the blade attached to his gun against Jack's forehead and tightened his finger on the trigger, one cold part of Riddick's mind told him to leave her to her fate. She was a liability that Riddick couldn't afford. However, the rest of him told the cold part to fuck off-they weren't getting one of his people. Besides, he was completely fed up with monsters fucking with him and he was ready to give back a little of the punishment he'd taken on that damned hellhole of a planet. The way Riddick saw it, one monster was as good as any other in the face of his retribution, and Chillingsworth and her bunch certainly qualified. Plus, he was decidedly eager to wipe the superior sneer off Junner's refined Asian features-permanently.
So, Riddick surrendered; there would be a better moment if he just waited for it. That was one of the things he had learned was the key to survival in the slam-you had to pick your moments. If you were patient enough and managed to keep your ass alive, the moment always came.
One of Chillingsworth's mercs shackled Riddick's hands and feet then strapped him to an upright gurney. The corpulent merc tasked with strapping him down exhaled in his face, convincing him that one of the fat guy's duties was cleaning the latrine- with his tongue. The merc took obvious pleasure in tightening the restraints beyond the point of comfort. Riddick realized Bad-Breath was trying to get a rise out of him, but he ignored the disgusting man. This was definitely not the moment.
Riddick heard Chillingsworth, an elegantly lovely, older woman, command her men to take him to her private quarters. Now, what the hell does she have in mind? he wondered as they wheeled him down a long corridor with Jack and Imam pacing his dolly. Racks of cryochambers filled with mercenaries, the men and women who made up Chillingsworth's crew, lined one side of the hall. On the other side, there were additional cryochambers where the mercs stored their captured bounties for transport. Mercs and cons on ice, Riddick observed with wry amusement at the image of large men on skates that his thought conjured.
As they reached a T-intersection in the passage, Jack, in her typical tough-kid role, leaned close to Riddick and spoke in a conspiratorial voice: "So, what's the plan? Not like we haven't been through worse. Way I see it, we…HEY!"
One of the mercs grabbed Jack by the back of the neck. "This is where we get off, Princess," he snarled at her as he dragged her in the opposite direction from which they wheeled Riddick.
"I won't leave you, Riddick!" she yelled back, struggling with her captor as they forcefully dragged her away. "I'll find you!"
Damn, the kid has nerve and she don't back down, Riddick marveled at her unflinching bravado in the face of all that had happened. Unbidden, a thought crossed his mind, She's gonna be one hell of a woman someday. If she doesn't manage to get herself killed first, that is.
Once he was deposited in her chambers, Chillingsworth released him from the gurney and then escorted him on a tour of the macabre museum, which she called her 'conservatory'. As she guided him through the maze of grotesque 'statuary', the woman ranted about art and beauty. It was obvious to Riddick that she was completely insane and he didn't hesitate to point that fact out to her. She, then, took a perverse delight in pointing out that the figures on display were living breathing beings in a form of suspended animation. He realized at that moment just what she had in mind for him. No fucking way, bitch! he thought fiercely, but he played along with the little combat spectacle she outlined. Just wait for the time to strike.
Not that he had much choice, even if he didn't want to play nice. Chillingsworth dangled Jack and Imam in front of him like so much disposable bait. Riddick felt outrage rise within him to see them that way: their feet precariously balanced atop a pair of large metal spheres, collars around their necks ready to choke the life from them if they fell from their perches. Still not the right moment, but it'll come. Soon.
Even the lethal, little present Junner implanted in his neck, in a feeble attempt to grant Chillingsworth control over him, didn't particularly bother Riddick. Hell, if the bitch is willing to give me explosives to work with, who am I to complain. I know I'll find a good use for that bit of nastiness before we're through.
Chillingsworth casually tossed his shiv at his feet. And here I though you were planning on me fightin' bare-handed. You just made your fatal mistake, old woman. Givin' me a weapon... sloppy... sloppy and arrogant. Gonna make you pay for that.
As he retrieved the blade from where the woman had tossed it at his feet, Riddick eyed Junner, standing behind Chillingsworth with a look of distaste on his elegant features. I owe you one for Jack, asshole, Riddick thought as he twisted the knife allowing the light to play along its edge.
"Next time you see this, I'm gonna put it through your eye," he promised, snarling at Junner. The other man simply looked at him with an expression of extreme distaste.
Riddick was eager to get away from the crazy woman who made his skin crawl with her unending rambling. Hands still shackled, he slipped the goggles off his eyes, and then leapt, panther-like, into the pit, taking one of Chillingsworth's goons with him. Let's see what she thinks of that, he thought with grim amusement. However, before the merc could even react, Chillingsworth released her little pets and turned off the lights. Apparently, not much, he realized, as did the unfortunate merc. The dance had begun.
The two strange creatures that entered the arena looked like some sort of upright squid with light glowing intermittently from their arms and central body. The pair advanced on Riddick, their tentacles waving menacingly in a deadly ballet. The things were beautiful in a disturbing way, but Riddick didn't have time to admire their beauty. His primary concern was determining the most efficient method to kill them without them returning the favor.
The first one made quick work of the merc, dissolving him with some sort of venom injected with a specialized chitinous tentacle. Riddick bobbed and swerved within the arena waiting for an opening. Their movements seemed almost random at first glance; however, as he studied them, he began to see patterns in their actions.
Riddick made a couple of cautious attacks, testing their defenses. On his second foray, the left one grabbed him and tossed him backward into one of the spheres. Nope, that ain't it, he thought as he recovered then continued stalking. He heard a choked scream and realized that his impact must have knocked away the support beneath Jack.
Regret flared, but he pushed it away as the creatures bore down on him. Sorry, kid, no time now. Just hang on a little longer. He kept his focus fully on the twin menaces in front of him; although, he felt a burst of relief as he heard the rumble of Imam walking the other sphere over to support Jack.
Riddick circled the arena, eyeing the deadly creatures. He recalled the name of their species-shryll. He'd once encountered a prison warden who had a pair of the things. That sadistic bastard had liked to let them loose from time to time, just to watch the ensuing chaos. Riddick had taken great delight in feeding the warden to his own pets before departing the prison. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending upon your point of view, he hadn't actually fought the shryll that time so he had only vague ideas of their weaknesses.
One of the shryll took an interest in Jack and Imam, placed so temptingly at the end of the arena. Light scintillated down its arms in anticipation of the kill as it moved toward them. Imam kicked the ball at the creature, knocking the shryll away from them. As their support rolled from beneath them, Jack grabbed hold of Imam and the cleric grasped the choke-cord above his neck. He was using only his arms to support both his and Jack's weight. Riddick knew the man would not be able to hold them for long.
Instinctively, he launched himself toward the pair, now swinging several feet above the arena floor. He sprang atop the momentarily stunned shryll then immediately kicked off once more. His arc carried him past the dangling Jack and Imam, and his shiv flashed out, slicing cleanly through both cords before he tucked into a somersault and landed lightly behind them. There was a crash as they hit the floor, followed by a scuffle as they tried to stand in the dark arena. "Get on your feet," Riddick commanded, quickly moving between them and the circling monsters.
"I cannot see," Imam declared from behind Riddick as he regained his feet.
"You don't want to," Riddick hissed back as he focused his attention on the two deadly creatures.
He continued his lethal waltz, deliberately drawing the creatures away from his companions. Ducking and weaving like a cobra, he waited for an opening. Suddenly, one creature flowed forward and struck at him with its venom-arm. He lifted his arms, maneuvering the manacles to block the blow. As the venom-arm impacted the restraints, the force of the shryll's strike shattered them, at last freeing his hands so he could really get down to business. "You wanna go, let's go," he purred to the beasts as they whirled around him.
He lunged forward-his knife flashing-and made contact with one of the tentacles. The razor-sharp blade cut through the soft flesh as though it were water and the severed arm dropped to the ground. Riddick was immediately moving again with preternatural speed. Slipping away from the slashing attack of the venom-arm, he glided to the back of the arena where one of the huge balls had come to rest. One of the shryll began drifting toward Jack and Imam once more. Riddick launched the ball at the creature then ran after it. The giant sphere slammed the shryll hard against the wall.
There! He flashed forward as the creature dropped its guard slightly. The impact of the ball had thrown it off-balance and Riddick quickly took the opening. His blade slashed a tentacle, severing it, and then he was at the creature's midsection. With lightning speed he thrust at the thing's center, going for what he hoped was a vital organ. The creature lashed at him and shrieked an alien scream as his shiv slipped through its gelatinous layers, slicing the fibrous bundle that served as its brain.
Riddick's momentum carried him past the creature. He rolled gracefully as he hit the ground and came up into a crouch as the first creature collapsed. His eyes narrowed as the other creature danced away from him and its dead companion. Suddenly, the shryll streaked back toward him with mind-numbing speed. It wrapped tentacles around both of Riddick's wrists and lifted, causing him to drop his knife. The venom-arm zeroed in on him and the creature glowed with eagerness.
"Riddick! No!" Jack gasped and darted forward before Imam could stop her. She picked up a long piece of severed tentacle from the first beast and whipped it around the venom arm. Throwing her weight into the pull, she heaved backward. Abruptly, the creature thrashed a tentacle at Jack, tossing her to the ground not far from Riddick's knife. The big man roared and forcefully jerked his arms down. His abrupt movement tore the soft flesh of the shryll, ripping away one of its appendages.
Jack grabbed the knife at her feet. "HERE!" Riddick shouted and she nimbly tossed the blade into his waiting hand. Riddick's shiv exploded into motion, severing another tentacle and then skewering the creature through its core.
The lights came on as the creature collapsed with the knife still imbedded in its heart. Riddick dropped to his knees, averting his eyes from the sudden illumination. He moved the spectrum goggles into place to block the glaring light then stood, positioning himself protectively between Chillingsworth and his companions.
"Bravo!" purred Chillingsworth, standing and moving toward the edge of the balcony, as she applauded him. Riddick noted that she had forgotten the remote detonator for the explosive device that Junner had placed in his neck.
While the mad woman gloated above him, Riddick growled to Imam, "The shiv…"
Imam looked at him, clearly not understanding. In a low voice, Riddick commanded, "Give me the knife."
"Such a thorough performance," she commended as though she'd spent a night at the theater instead of watching people battle for their lives. "It leaves only one question."
"I got a feeling you ain't gonna like it," Jack murmured from behind him.
I got a feeling you're right, kid, he agreed with her silently. Imam tossed him the knife.
"How am I ever going to have you mounted… to do it justice?"
Upon recovering his weapon, Riddick placed the finely honed point to his own throat. The woman's shocked expression at his-obviously unexpected-move amused him. Bitch thinks I'm gonna kill myself to avoid becoming one of her exhibits, he thought unsympathetically. Don't flatter yourself, Chillingsworth. It takes more than your antics to take down Richard B. Riddick.
Riddick make a short, quick incision in the side of his neck above the tiny bomb. He dug his fingers into the wound, gritting his teeth at the sharp pain of the invasion. Grasping the tiny bundle of plastic and metal, he pulled sharply to extract it from his body.
"You gonna keep that?" Jack quipped with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Get down!" Riddick commanded as Chillingsworth-finally realizing what he had done-dove for the remote. He tossed the device at the rear wall of the arena just as Chillingsworth pressed the detonator button. The blast tore through the alumisteel wall as though it were paper, opening a hole large enough to drive a good-sized vehicle through-should one have the notion.
The close-proximity blast threw Riddick off his feet. Jack, ever faithful, tugged on his arm to help him up, and then the two of them quickly followed Imam through the gaping hole. Not pausing to reflect on the fact that the blast, which created the opening, could have originated inside his body, Riddick promptly led the way into the belly of the merc ship.
They raced through the access corridors, many of which were not configured for artificial gravity; however, Riddick soon realized that there was no way the three of them could outrun their pursuers.
"We cannot stop," Imam said desperately as Riddick slowed.
"We're not outrunning this thing," he stated flatly, stopping to let Jack catch up. They heard sounds of pursuit behind them. Something big was coming, and it was coming fast. "Not the three of us."
"What! I can keep up," Jack said valiantly as she panted for breath; her limbs trembled slightly from the exertion. She hadn't eaten or rested properly in days, and it was beginning to take its toll.
"Maybe someday," he told her with admiration for her tenacity. Hell, even Imam can't match my pace. I've gotta do something or we're all gonna die.
Hastily formulating a plan, Riddick told them to hide until the danger had passed and then make their way as quickly as possible to the flight deck. He would lead the creature away so that it was safe for them. Without any further discussion, he made a small cut on his arm and dashed down the corridor, leaving a blood trail for whatever was chasing them.
"We'll wait for you, Riddick," Jack called after him.
No, shit, kid, I'm your goddamn pilot, he thought with a flash of wry humor. A part of him was touched by her sincere proclamation, but he didn't need her doing something stupid that would get her killed. "Follow, Imam," he commanded firmly.
Riddick led his pursuers through another series of corridors before exiting into a larger room partially filled with a maze of piping: Damn, no way out. He could hear the hunters' shouts and knew he had to do something fast. Stripping his blood smeared tank top over his head, he tossed it to the ground and hastily ascended into the tangle of pipes shrouding the ceiling. He crouched there, silent and unmoving… waiting.
Moments later, a small cluster of mercs burst into the room and looked around in confusion as they realized that there was no other way out of the area. One of the mercs bent down and picked up Riddick's discarded tank top. Riddick grinned ferally, Took the bait!
A second merc, this one apparently somewhat smarter than his comrade, whirled on the first. "Don't touch that!" he commanded belatedly. "Shit!"
"What, Toombs?" merc-one asked, looking up in confusion from the crumpled bit of fabric in his hand.
At that moment, a large creature, which was primarily a giant gaping mouth on a pair of mechanical legs, hove into view. It seemed to taste the air with several stubby tentacles inside its maw and then charged the ill-fated mercs. From his vantage point in the overhead piping, Riddick saw the smart merc, Toombs, turn and blast a hole in one of the pipes. He dove into the murky water without looking back at his former companions, being demolished by the beast. Sensing part of its prey escaping, the monster snapped at the pipe. Its bite removed a large section of the conduit and foul water began to pour into the room, but Riddick saw nothing to indicate that it had captured it's quarry. Apparently, Toombs had already slithered away into the bowels of the ship.
The creature stumbled back, still searching for prey. It tilted its maw slightly upward. As its eyes rose toward the ceiling, Riddick struck. Leaping down onto the creature, he plunged his shiv through its eye and drove the blade backward until it sliced into the monster's tiny brain. With a roar, the beast staggered and then buckled onto the floor.
Riddick's shirt was now soaked with the disgusting water from the pipe and thoroughly coated with gore from the various combatants. He picked it up and grimaced at the smell that assaulted him. "I ain't putting that back on," he growled, his lips twitching with sardonic humor. Riddick located a merc who had been tossed atop a pipe and swiftly appropriated the dead man's shirt.
Without hesitation, he took the fastest route he could find to the flight deck. He had to duck merc patrols a couple of times, but eventually, he exited into the large shuttle-filled room. Unfortunately, Junner had beaten him there and been hard at work. The elegant merc held Jack by the throat in a vice grip as she struggled vainly to get free. Riddick saw her struggles begin to weaken as Junner squeezed the life from her.
Doesn't this bastard know when to quit? he thought as he moved into the large room.
"Let her go. It's me you're after," Riddick snarled at the other man and he released Jack. Junner turned to face him as Riddick stalked menacingly across the space between them. "You wanna shot at the title?" he taunted and then he began circling to try to put the light behind him. Junner's answer was to slip out of his long coat and move into the circling pattern as well.
Riddick drew his shiv from his belt and it flashed in the brightly lit room as he shifted it from one hand to the other. Junner released a catch on his gun then withdrew a long bayonet sword. He carelessly kicked the firearm portion of his weapon behind him and advanced on Riddick with his sword extended in a flawless fencing stance.
Riddick crouched, then charged, thrusting with his knife. He searched for a weakness in the other man's defense but was unable to break through. Junner tried a few experimental thrusts, which Riddick parried easily. They circled one another warily, neither giving ground. Riddick saw Junner tense and knew the attack was coming. The man swung his sword expertly, stabbing where he knew his opponent's head to be, but Riddick ducked and whirled away, blindingly fast. Almost as quickly, Junner slammed sideways-crashing into Riddick-using his weight to send the shiv spinning through the air.
Riddick grabbed Junner's wrist and twisted, applying pressure, which caused Junner's grip to relax. The sword went flying and the two men laid into one another with their fists. Weaving and pounding, they circled; neither man was willing to give an inch. Finally, Junner landed a lucky kick that sent Riddick flying backward into some machinery.
Riddick recovered quickly and the two squared off once more. Junner retrieved his sword, then stepped forward confidently, moving between Riddick and his knife. Stooping with liquid grace, Riddick grasped a cable snaking across the floor. He twisted his hand dexterously, forming a loop in the thick cord; then, he lightly tossed the loop around Junner's neck. Riddick pulled sharply on the cable tightening it around the other man's throat, choking him. As the noose tightened, Junner sneered at Riddick and swung his sword almost casually, slicing through the thick cord with measured ease. However, shock soon replaced the arrogant smirk as the purpose of the cable, which he had so nonchalantly cut, became apparent. Then, all was black.
My turn, asshole. Time to say goodnight, Riddick thought fiercely as he slipped his goggles up and attacked in one sure motion.
Seconds later, the ship's computer brought up the emergency lighting, bathing the bay in an eerie red glow. Riddick snarled at Junner as he collapsed backward-dead-with the shiv wedged into his eye socket.
"I told ya that was comin'," Riddick informed the corpse. He walked slowly toward a large elegant shuttle to one side of the flight deck.
"Wh-where are you going?" Imam asked anxiously from where he was assisting Jack to her feet.
"Gonna prep this ship and get off this heap," Riddick said as he sauntered toward the indicated vessel.
"So we can escape?" Imam queried, uncertainty strong in his voice.
Without turning, Riddick gestured impatiently for them to follow. Irritated, Riddick strode the rest of the way to the shuttle and opened the lock. As the doors yawned open, he glanced back at his companions. Fuck, holy man, you think I'd go through all that… then just leave you! he thought angrily. You still don't have a clue who I am!
Suddenly, Antonia Chillingsworth stepped out of the shuttle with an old-fashioned pistol leveled at Riddick. Her clothing was disarrayed and her once sleek hair was wild about her face. Her eyes were glassy and flashed with an insane fury as she moved forward. The woman's finger tensed on the trigger and the docking bay echoed with a loud boom as she fired the gun. Riddick threw himself to the side but was not quite quick enough. The bullet grazed his shoulder, knocking him off his feet.
Chillingsworth snarled with mad glee. "Back to Hell with you, you bloody, stinking savage!" she cursed as she carefully aimed at his chest.
Well, Riddick, you always knew it had to end sometime, he thought as he tensed for the shot. A second gunshot roared through the chamber and he flinched involuntarily. As Antonia Chillingsworth dropped at his feet, he realized the second shot hadn't come from her gun. "Im—?" he started in confusion as he pulled himself to his feet. Riddick hadn't thought the cleric capable of such an act of violence. Then she stepped into view-Junner's smoking rifle held firmly in her hands-and the truth hit Riddick.
"Yeah, we made it," Jack told him.
"Awfully uncivilized thing, you just did there, Jack," he said with a carefully neutral expression as he was slammed with unexpected emotions: shock, gratitude, admiration, and—oddly—a hint of regret.
The shuttle rocketed out of the docking bay and Riddick quickly plotted a course away from Chillingsworth's ship. The indicators on the proximity readout showed the larger ship receding away from them and did not indicate any signs of pursuit. He did a rundown of the ship's specs and was grimly pleased to note that the star drive was intact and working. He'd been half-afraid that Chillingsworth might have disabled it before she ambushed them.
He laid in a short star-jump in a random direction and then placed the ship on autopilot to carry out his instructions. The quick jump would help eliminate possibilities of pursuit and would give him some time to think before he plotted a final course and engaged the cryosystem.
Riddick looked at the small figure who was huddled in the co-pilot's seat beside him. She stared out the window with a haunted expression. Shortly after they had boarded, while Riddick focused on their escape, Imam had tried to comfort her, murmuring words of encouragement and telling her that Allah would forgive. Jack had shaken him off and climbed into the chair beside Riddick to stare into the depths of space. She hadn't moved in the past fifteen minutes.
In the back of the shuttle, Riddick heard Imam praying – an omnipresent murmur to which he had grown accustomed during their flight from the planet before Chillingsworth picked them up. Pointless, holy-man, he thought, but the sound had become vaguely reassuring nonetheless.
"Y'okay, kid?" Riddick asked off-handedly, turning his chair to face Jack. She finally tore her eyes away from the blackness of deep space to look at him. Riddick slipped the goggles up to his forehead and returned her regard. It occurred to him just how close Chillingsworth had come to killing them-hi-and he again felt a wash of gratitude for the remarkable young woman beside him. She briefly stared at him with stricken eyes and then dropped her gaze to her hands, clasped tightly in her lap.
"I had to do it, Riddick," Jack said flatly.
"Yeah, kid, you did," he replied, leaning toward her.
"She'd have killed you and then us. She was crazy."
He suddenly felt intense emotion coursing through him once more: compassion, protectiveness, and the desire to comfort. These sensations were new to Riddick, or at least so long out of use as to seem new. He realized that they were entangled with Carolyn Fry's sacrifice and the things he'd experienced on that accursed planet. However, they seemed to have been dramatically amplified by the incidents they had just left behind on Chillingsworth's ship. "Yeah, Jack, she was," he agreed.
"Then why do I feel so awful?" she asked, choking on a sob. She raised her eyes to his face and a single hot tear streaked its way down the side of her nose to catch at the corner of her mouth. Jack let out a long, shuddering sigh and leaned slightly forward in the chair, resting her head in her hands.
Riddick reached out to the girl beside him. He rested his hand on her stubbly head and it hit him again just how young-how vulnerable-she really was. Jack slowly looked up at him; her eyes glittered with tears. Suddenly, she moved forward. Before he knew what was happening, she was on his lap with her head burrowed into his chest and her thin arms around his waist.
Jack's sudden movement caught Riddick by surprise. He patted her awkwardly unsure of just what to do, but then he felt her shudder against him. His arms wrapped tightly around her as the sobs began in earnest. She wept deep, soul-wracking sobs that she had obviously been holding in since they escaped the planet - an attempt to be tough, to prove she could keep pace with the infamous Richard B. Riddick.
Riddick nestled his cheek atop the stubbly head and gently rocked Jack while she cried. He cradled her small form while he softly stroked her back, soothing and reassuring her as her grief spent itself. As he held her, Riddick felt the bond growing between him and this waif who had killed to save him-a link of kindred spirits joined by tragedy and despair. Also in those few moments, as the newly reawakened humanity in him sang in answer to the connection he felt with Jack, he made an excruciating decision: he had to leave her behind.
Eventually, Jack's tears subsided and she rested peacefully in his arms. She smoothed her cheek against his chest and inhaled deeply then sat up with one small hand resting on his shoulder. As Riddick watched her intently, she forced the cocksure, tough-kid mask back into place, covering the vulnerability that had been there only moments before. A bitter knowing smile, which seemed out of place on such a youthful face, crept across her features.
"Sorry for the meltdown there, Riddick," she said sheepishly. "Didn't mean to turn into a fucking baby on ya."
"S'allright, Jack." Riddick squeezed her knee reassuringly. "Happens to the best of us."
When he squeezed her knee, Jack realized just where she was and a flush stole across her face. She quickly scrambled out of his lap and stood in front of him, fidgeting. "Goddamn, Riddick, sorry I was blubbering all over ya like that… I mean… And then me climbing on ya and such… Jeez, what you must think of the fucking 'little kid'…"
"Jack, stop," he commanded, leaning toward her, his liquid-silver eyes locked to her bright-green ones. "You've been through hell and back on that damn planet, then with those fucking mercs. You took a human life today and that's not nothing. You have a right to a little 'meltdown' after all that. It's what makes you human."
"I don't see you or Imam bawling like a fucking two-year-old," she snapped.
"Well, the holy-man has his God to keep him steady. And me, well…" he gave her a feral grin and shrugged as he let the sentence trail off. Jack knew that he was intimating that he wasn't human, but in that moment, she realized that she'd never met anyone more human than the big man in front of her.
On the planet, he had transfixed Jack and she'd quickly moved to emulate him in hopes of getting him to notice her. The couple of days, which the group of survivors had spent working on the skiff, had seen her crush increase tenfold. Then he'd gone and rescued her: first from the awful things on the planet and then from the awful humans on Chillingsworth's ship. Jack now discovered that the emotions she had for him had subtly altered during the past few days from a schoolgirl crush to something deeper and more profound. The intensity of them almost overwhelmed her. She realized that what she felt for Richard B. Riddick, a convicted murderer and wanted man, was stronger than anything she'd felt for another human being in her thirteen or so years of life.
Impulsively, Jack leaned over and hugged Riddick tightly, inhaling his dark musky scent to help lock this moment in her memory. He returned her embrace awkwardly, she noticed, but still he returned it. "Thanks, Riddick, for not being an asshole," she breathed into his ear then released him.
He looked at her with a bemused smile for half a moment then said simply, sincerely, "You're welcome, kid."
Three little words, yet they washed over her, reassuring her. She felt the emotional weight behind them and it hit her that Riddick really did care what happened to her. The events of the past few days flashed through her mind, reminding just how many times, in such a short period, he'd saved her life. She was suddenly glad that she had shot the Chillingsworth bitch. She felt fiercely protective of Riddick, and it occurred to her that she would gladly kill again for the man in front of her.
Jack sat back down in the copilot's seat and grinned at him to let him know that she'd made it through her crisis. Riddick grinned back then turned to the controls. As she watched his hands moving over the instrumentation, Jack wondered if what she was feeling was the sort of thing normal families felt. Was this what it meant to have a big brother? She wasn't sure. She'd never had a big brother or for that matter, a normal family. The truth was, she didn't care; she knew how much Riddick meant to her and that was all that mattered.