"You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices." ― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

~oOo~

I remember a time where my kind didn't have to hide.

We were a peaceful people, not bothering ourselves, with the problems of the other worlds, minding our own. My people don't fight, we're peacekeepers, healers, not a weak race but not as powerful as others are. We're Symbolians. Angelic like creatures that have scattered powers ranging from elemental control to powers of suggestion with everything in-between. We are very few in number due to the fact that we can't reproduce with each other but we can with other races out there.

Symbolian father's carry a genetic condition called "Black Blood" where children born of a Symbolian father will turn into a feral by the age of 30. If they're born of a Symbolian mother, they carry on the powers and angelic traits. Each Symbolian has winged markings on their shoulder blades. There are rare cases where they actually develop into actual wings but there are little to none records of my kind having wings. We are look a-likes to humans but are far more superior.

That was until we were almost extinguished from time.

A great darkness cast its shadow over our world.

Then the great war started.

Necromongers, unfeeling creatures, invaded our world. My people knew it was the end, keeping the monsters away while children were stuffed into secret ships to escape their deaths, to preserve what is left of our kind.

I was one of the few. My mother placed me in my pod, tears streaming down her face, kissing her five month year old baby good-bye. She whispered the last words of my people, giving me her locket as a token of her before my pod closed. Out of the five ships, only two survived carrying a hundred and fifty children and newborns, the others were shot down before they even reached space. Little did we know that, that number would be reduced to just ten, myself included.

~oOo~

So there we were, left scattered among the stars, never to speak about our blood, our kind, or who we are. Those who were found out were taken away, the large prices on their heads made them quick cash for those who would die for blood money. They would met their ends quickly unlike those who are found helping us.

Their deaths would be even more painful.

For me, I was sorta lucky. The family they stuck me with in the beginning wanted children; they were good people.

Were.

They lost their lives protecting me as I escaped. As did the other two families that took in a helpless, homeless child. I lost control of my power one day, was found out, and in my defense my 'family' died. After the third family, I was around fifteen when I escaped death once again, I swore to myself that I would no longer allow people to die for me, shield me, and stand in my way of death.

If it was coming for me; I will treat it as an old friend but fight it till the very end.

I was on the run after that. Stealing, hiding, taking small on the side jobs wherever I can, always moving. There was few times where I've had to kill someone but I always made sure the bodies are never found; covering my tracks I was a master of.

But it seems my luck would run out when on a normal back road move, I would be stuck with a killer on board.

Richard B. Riddick.

A handsome deadly murderer whose been on the whispers of the shady and the rich. They put him in a large cryo-tube with warning words in bold letters as if people couldn't tell he was dangerous by the way he was chained, blindfolded, and gagged. Unlucky for me, mine is right across from him.

I got into my cryo-tube, pulling my head scarf tighter around my head so only my purple eyes were shown. Symbolians have one very genetic trait which are our purple eyes. We all have them, male or female.

"Good-night everybody! Sweet dreams!" came a male voice over the comm and I rolled my eyes as I felt my body slip. Just my body mind you, not my mind. It feels weird but I've gotten used to it. My mind wonders, feeling the other minds around me, sensing their dreams as they begin to sleep.

But there is one mind that was awake.

"That's a first." I heard the murderer say in his head. I backed away but heard a chuckle as I did. "Skittish little thing aren't ya?" He said. I pulled away to think. My ability to tap into the minds of others was easy, I've done it to survive, think ahead of my enemy. Someone talking back? That's new. Besides mind tapping, I can do other useful things. Blending into backgrounds, persuasion, small force shields I can muster up, and a bit of healing. Most of my other kind have other powerful abilities but mine are not that impressive.

"You're not human if you can talk back. Or you have a very powerful mind in that bald head of yours." I spoke, going back inside his mind.

"There you are. Was wondering if you were returning or not." He said with a smirk tone. "You're right about me not being human. Can't say the same about you though. You don't smell human." I was quiet, not pulling out of his mind but keeping quiet. "I'll take that silence as yes." He said.

"So? What's it to you if I'm human or not? You're gagged. By the time you manage to get that thing out of your mouth, I'll be long gone." I smirked. The convict chuckled and his voice dropped to this thundering low voice that would capture any woman's attention.

"What's your name?" He asked and I chuckled.

"Why should I tell you? You; you're the infamous Richard B. Riddick." I answered him. "How can you answer me? You're the first who talk back. Mostly people don't even know I'm inside or they just twitch their heads like they have this fuzzy feeling in their brains."

"Aw, come on, not even a pet name sweetness? Like I said; I'm not human. My mind doesn't go to sleep. Besides, you're the first person I've run into that likes to sneak into people's minds. I could feel you move from one person to the next, hopping hosts. Doesn't that tire you out?" He asked and I felt somewhat relaxed. Maybe it's his voice, the way it soothes and slides off his lips like silk.

"When I started out, yeah I got drained after a while but I've been doing it since...I've been doing this for a long time." I said and we feel into a long silence.

"It's a long ride to where we're going. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." He said and I thought for a while before answering.

"You first." I answered and I feel that he was smirking on the inside.

He did. He told me about his past, where he came from, what he was and I was surprised. He was the only one left of his kind, kind of like me. He wasn't afraid to tell me of the people he killed, the things he had done, or what really became of him. When it was my turn I told him the truth. I told him everything about me; about who and what I was. He was shocked, I could tell by the feelings in his head. What startled me the most was that he told me the one thing, the one thing that got people killed.

He said he wouldn't tell anyone.

He said that I could trust him.

But he's wrong.

I can't trust anyone any more.

They just end up dead like the others.

"Oh and Riddick? It's Celeste."

~oOo~

The sounds of beeping, the airs locks on the cryo doors opening, and the shaking of the ship startled our talking. Something was wrong and Riddick and I knew something bad was about to happen. I almost started to panic a little when I heard this purring soothing sound coming from Riddick's head. He said he had an animal primal side but I thought he was just talking figuratively.

He does have a beast in him after all.

"Relax. Calm your breathing." He said and I took a deep breath as I could feel my body awake up. I put my hands to the glass, my eyes open to see Riddick on the other side. But then a few more shakes happened and my head knocked to the side of the tube, the dark taking over everything. Last thing I knew was the sound of the air whipping around us like a hole was somewhere and the my body felt loose and weightless.

"Celeste!"

~oOo~

I woke to someone breaking glass on top of me. I opened my eyes to see the captured convict. He helped me up but then left shortly after when people started to get out of their tubes. I watched him go and silently thanked him as he did. While he disappeared, I adjusted my head scarf then went to help the others get out.

There was Zeke, his wife or girlfriend Shazza she likes to be called, a Muslim named Imam with his three acolytes, Paris, and this boy named Jack who happened to stow away when no one was looking, the 'cop' Johns and the one of the pilots of the ship Fry. Her other friend wasn't so lucky when he woke with a metal rod in his chest.

"Don't...don't you touch that handle!" He screamed and Fry asked someone to get the med kit in the back of the cabin which wasn't there any longer. I came by her side after she asked everyone to leave to tell her I can ease his pain.

"How?" She asked and I sighed.

"A trick a picked up while traveling. Please, he's in a lot of pain." I said and she allowed me access to his head. I placed my fingers on this pressure point and allowed my healing ability to sooth the pain as he passed. The look of pain melted away and I could see him leave as everything started to relax. I couldn't save him but I made sure he didn't die in anymore pain then he had to.

"Thank you." She said and left. I closed the man's eyes and said a prayer to my gods that his soul my rest in the afterlife. After I was done, I went to turn and leave, only to met eyes with the Merc known as Johns.

Shit.

~oOo~