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by Diesel Love |
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| All this time, all these years and never once had the taste of death been so bitter. The spilling of blood was a norm � a part of his everyday life. The kill, the escape, the hide then the capture. The damn routine never changed. Survive. It was all he knew, all he wanted to know. Then Johns, punk-ass Johns, introduced him to this world � a new world � full of people. Three of which actually cared � gave a damn � about something other than themselves. They cared about him. The visions and the voice of the one that had crept, without invitation, into his heart, rushed back. �Carolyn�� came the whispered word, as he shifted against the discomfort of the lumped mattress that held him. C�mon, Riddick! Get up! Get�Up! I said I�d die for them, not you. Now, let�s move. An unconscious giggle freed as he remembered the phrase that was so obviously full of the oldest shit. The sweet memory was short. Staggered steps. Swaying bodies. Blood. A breath lost. The shared stare. Feelings unleashed. Missed flesh. The victorious cry. Thrashing of forceful wings. And then, she was gone � Forever. Leaving him alone and unprepared to handle the new emotions she had stirred within him. Now, he had to take care of them. Imam and his unsuspecting pillar of strength � Jack� A rare smile developed, as he thought of her � so feisty and full of spunk. How could you not admire the kid? It was nearly impossible. After all, she was what had kept him going, what had continued to push him towards that daunting ritual of rejoining the human race. He slipped and fell many times along the way but she wouldn�t let him forget � forget the words he spoke, the hidden promise he�d made. Tell �em Riddick�s dead. He died somewhere on that planet. Yes, Carolyn had started the change but it was Jack who had finished the job. He remembered when she�d come and sit next to him, teasing and cooing about her latest male conquest knowing how he hated hearing them. Time had changed her, bringing forth quite a lady. Long brown hair with the biggest, most beautiful, green eyes he�d ever seen. Jacqueline was the name she�d taken on. At least, that�s what she was to her acquaintances. She was simply Jack to him. Always had been, always would be. Her list of friends had dramatically increased over the two-year period, and along with it, her clan of testosterone driven fans. Breaking a few legs, a couple of arms and perhaps a neck were relatively high on his wish list. Knowing Jack would disapprove, he stayed dormant, remained the protective shadow that only surfaced when he was summoned. He hated it but it worked well. Kept her feeling in control and him on the right path. But a little over a year ago, it all fell apart. The smile faded and he hissed with all the intensity of a Diamond-back Rattlesnake being held dangling in mid-air by our own, Australian Crocodile Hunter. He lifted his fist and pounded against the restraining walls as the countered visions took away her smile, her joy, and the happiness she brought to everyone � especially him. Jack�s first real date would end in disaster. For over eight hours straight, the prick who called himself Julius, tortured, beat, cut, and raped her. It was a miracle that she even survived but she did. She made her way home � made her way back to him. The slow, pained call of his name, Riddick, was the only word but it held depth, a meaning only he knew. She had summoned and he would answer � with vengeance. In less than 48 hours, he�d found the responsible party and showed him that Richard B. Riddick was a force to be reckoned with and that no one he cared about was to ever be fucked with � ever be touched in violence. Returning the favor, he gave the overconfident teenaged boy what he gave Jack � a look at evil � up close and personal only he wouldn�t live to tell the tale. But he was sloppy in his quest. His rage had driven him to the brink of insanity and his usual inconspicuous and evasive manner were forgotten sending the police to his door within hours. Now, there he sat once again. Caged and trapped for doing the right thing, the only thing that made sense � protecting his own. �Damn,� Riddick muttered as he glanced around the 10x4 cell. �Jack�� He shut his lids to contain the weakness that flooded his sensitive eyes, images of the letter he�d written flashing through his mind. The harsh words he�d scripted telling her that she was to write him no more. Telling her to forget him as he intended to forget her. Blaming her for his trip back to Slam, cursing her for not listening, not letting him intervene earlier. Attempting to convince her that she had just been one huge headache. To forget who he�d become, forget her, was the only way he could remain sane. For a while, he thought his work was in vain but after a month the letters started to become less frequent and then finally stopped. Everything after that was sort of a blur. -------------------------------- A voice from the adjacent cell hoisted him from his sleep, his thoughts. Or so he believed. �So, you�re Riddick?� Riddick steered his body upward, slowly descending his legs to the disgusting floor beneath. Squinting, he tried to make out the male figure that sat shadowed in darkness. �That depends. Who wants to know?� �A friend,� came the voice again. �Yeah? Well, you�ll have to be a little more specific. I mean, I have so damn many of those.� The sarcasm dripped from his tone. The faceless voice laughed. �Oh yeah�it�s you. Should be in the butt hole hall of fame was what Johns use to say about ya.� �Butt hole, huh? Well, that�s puttin� it nicely.� Riddick chuckled. �So, you knew Johns?� �Uhh, huh�and I know about Carolyn Frye, Imam and good ole� little Jack who isn�t quite so little anymore.� Riddick gave no words � just an instinctive growl at the mention of the familiar names. �Calm down�friend,� the voice soothed. �What happened in the darkness of that world has been the talk of every planet in this solar system. Everyone knows about what took place there and how you had�changed.� The last word was drawled as pearled teeth flashed from the gloom. �Changed?� He laughed. �I haven�t changed. Not one fuckin� bit.� Again, the laugh pierced his ears. �Oh but you had�you�ve lost yourself again.� �Lost myself?� He shook his head. �No, I found myself. I�m who I should be, who I always was.� �Not true, Riddick�� The frame that filled his vision shifted but still went virtually unseen. �They saw the good in you. Made you see it.� �Fuck you!� Riddick stood and walked to the bars. Gripping them, he twisted his hands against the iron, frustration and anger becoming one and the same. �Relax� I just wanted to talk to you, answer some of your questions�perhaps.� The entity drew in his legs and folded them, Indian style, under his body. Questions? �the fuck? �Sure�about Jack. How she�s doing... You�d like to know that, wouldn�t you?� �Look, I don�t know who you are or what kind of game you�re playin� but Jack? She is not an open topic for discussion. She�s a kid. Whateva you�re beef is with me, keep it with me. Leave her out of it.� He shook as the words left his mouth in a stream � the protective demeanor in which they flowed showing clearly. It had been months since he thought of her, let alone spoke her name. �Riddick, there is no beef. I truly mean you no harm�or Jacqueline?� With wide eyes, Riddick released the bars and moved back. �How the hell did you know her real name? There�s no damn way you could of known that! Who the hell are you?� �I told you�a friend.� Silence fell between them as Riddick continued to stare through the rusting bars trying to make sense of it all. He watched the man as he sat completely motionless, he didn�t even seem to be breathing at points. Hmmm� A game? He wants to play with my head? I�ll indulge you � you prick. Rendering no emotion, he became a willing participate of the game. �Yeah, whateva� So, friend�tell me� How is ole� Jack?� �She was very frightened, Riddick for a while. She believed you hated her, believed your unkind words. She�s much better now though. I helped her, shall we say, read between the lines.� �Read between the what?� Again, he laughed. �Yeah? And tell me what did she find?� �The truth.� �What truth?� �That you were simply shutting her out because you were tired of the nightmares, tired of the questions that haunted you night after night? Questions you did not want answered because the resolve would lead you back to a place that you weren�t ready to be.� �I don�t understand.� But Riddick did understand. He knew the questions that this man spoke of but how could he know without literally being inside his head? �Tell me, Riddick. What makes you want to touch, want to feel?� He lifted his head. �What?� The smile brightened the darkened cell once more. �C�mon�think. What makes you laugh�cry?� �Cry? I don�t cry,� he hissed. �Ah, but you do. Before solitary and before the letters stopped, you did. And why, Riddick�what made that happen?� Jesus Fuckin� Christ! How the hell did he know that? Enough... He defied the man. �Look, I have no idea what the hell you�re talkin� about. I�DO�NOT�CRY!� The man stood from his bunk but still remained sheltered from light, still slightly out of Riddick�s vision. �Riddick, the answers to all of your questions can only be found within you but you should know this, the one question that haunts you most has been answered for you. The white line that occupies Jack�s right wrist, that was to take her life, is the proof. Riddick�s heart sped up at the words immediately knowing what they meant. �Are you tellin� me Jack tried to kill herself?� The words streamed nervously from his lips then the confirmed nod broke his heart. �No. Jesus, Jack!� He gripped the bars and bent forward in an attempt to stabilize his ragged breaths. �I�ve gotta get outta here,� he spat as he moved through the cell, agitation and need to be with her soaring through the depths of his soul. �It hurts to think that she loves you so much that she�d rather be dead than without you, doesn�t it?� Quietly, the mysterious voice posed one final question. �What makes you bleed?� �Jack�� The calling of her name had not come as an intended response to the latter question but once it was freed, Riddick knew it was the fitting answer. �Yes�� was the quiet acknowledgement as the man nodded, backed away from the bars and seated his body on the bunk in the exact same position he�d been before the bizarre conversation had ever begun. �What do I do? I have to get back to her, let her know why. How do I do that?� His questions came as pleads. The voice simply said, �Sleep, Riddick. The answers will come.� Sleep? How the hell was sleep going to get him back to Jack? He stood for a moment and decided that perhaps the man was right. Rest was what he needed if he were going to break out. Being at the top of his game was essential. He dropped his tired body to the bunk, allowing the blackness to reclaim him. But as it did the questions came back. What makes me touch? What makes me feel? What makes me laugh? What makes me cry? �Jack. Only Jack,� he whispered as he rolled over to his side � caught in between his dream and reality, the voice ringing in his ear once more. �Ask her the question, Riddick. Ask her so that you will know. Be happy� Be free.� --------------------------------- Hours later. Riddick stretched and leaned from his assumed bunk, eyes squeezed shut as he searched for his goggles. The sun was warming the side of his face telling him daylight had broken and he�d slept far too long. His plans for escape would have to wait another day. �Shit! Where are they? I put them right here,� he mumbled as his hand did not find the item for which he searched. The mattress shifted next to him and he froze. Then the voice came. �Riddick, you okay?� JACK! His mind yelled her name but his voice took on a much calmer demeanor. �Jack?� The bed shifted again and he felt an arm � her arm � fall across his waist, the feel of rubber bouncing across his lower abdomen. �You lookin� for these?� she questioned through a yawn. �Jack?� he called again, his mind, for one fleeting moment, believing he was caught in a yet another dream. �Yeah, Riddick. It�s me. I�m sorry I ended up in here. I just couldn�t get to sleep.� �Jesus fuckin� Christ, Jack!� He grabbed the goggles and quickly maneuvered them over his eyes then turned and there she was � in the flesh � real life. He searched the room, eyeing the huge chair that had held his body on many nights as he watched over Jack, protecting her from talons that clawed at her during the night. Then there were the two pictures of her that sat atop his dresser encased in mahogany wood. The wood always did wonders for her eyes. What the hell was going on? He wasn�t in jail. He was in his room back at the apartment he and Jack shared � in his bed. Now, he thought he was completely losing his mind. Confused, he jumped from the bed�s comfort and moved to the center of the room, his face covered in sweat. �Riddick? Jesus, man! What�s wrong with you?� Jack stood from the bed and made a path towards him, stopping just inches from his chest. �Jack, it�s really you.� He palmed her face. �God, it�s really you.� �Uhh�dah! Yes�� Before he knew what was happening, he�d pulled her into his arms snuggling his face into her hair smelling the coconut aroma of her shampoo. He knew from the tension in her body that she was totally shocked by his reaction. He released her and stepped back but the smile that had plastered itself across his face remained. �What is gonna on with you? Grinnin� like a damn Cheshire cat. Usually when you wake up and find me in your bed you�ve got nothin� but �you�re not afraid of the dark, are you?� jokes to give.� A hearty laugh escaped Riddick�s throat and he shook his head. �None of those today, Jack. Today, I�m just glad to see you, know you�re okay.� �Of course, I�m okay.� Bypassing him, she headed towards the bathroom. �So, what we gonna do today?� �I don�t know� Jack?� He turned to her. �Huh?� �What happened to that boy�� He spoke slowly with as much gentleness as his raspy tone could manage. �The one that hurt you?� Jack rubbed her eyes, confused and seemingly a bit perturbed. �What do you mean? You killed the sonofabitch, Riddick.� Okay, so that part wasn�t a dream, he concluded. �And I went to Slam�right?� �Yeah.� Her voice cracked and she dropped her eyes. �So, did I escape? How�d I get back� Get home?� She grabbed his hand. �Riddick, are you okay?� �Yeah, yeah� I just need you to tell me, Jack. I can�t explain right now.� He sighed, frustrated. �Look, just tell me what happened okay?� �Okay, okay. Relax.� She dropped to the bed. �You didn�t escape. You got out on some kind of technicality. Whatever proof they had mysteriously disappeared. �Just disappeared?� he repeated with the most vague smile you could imagine. �Yep. Crazy shit, huh?� She seemed relieved at his lightened mood and stood. �Something or somebody was watching out for you.� She started to laugh leaving him puzzled. �What�s so funny?� �Amazing� Imagine� Richard Badass Riddick has a guardian angel. Who the hell would of guessed?� His smile widened. �Yeah� Who the hell would of guessed?� His mind began to replay the events putting the pieces back together. His success at pushing Jack away and the anger of being caged again had sent him into a fit and gained him thirty days in the hole. There what he�d fought so hard to lose claimed him again � the convicted murderer with no care for anyone but himself � the one that sheltered his mind from pain by forgetting human emotion. His mind had shutdown, shoving him into some sort of time warp, losing months of his life. He remembered thinking of Carolyn, of his awful words to Jack and then drifting to sleep. It seemed that after Jack�s letter�s stopped a span of several months was lost as he recalled only the Riddick of old returning. He saw his hands wrapped around one of the guards throat, felt the taser stinging his skin then his world going black. The next thing he knew he was being awakened by this unknown voice, which had skillfully forced him to recall his lost emotions by merely calling her name. �So, how long? How long have I been home?� he questioned. �Six months.� Damn! That long? Now, he knew. The murder, the jail, the conversation � it was real but it had happened over six months ago. He was reliving the whole thing but why? The question. That�s why. The one question that mattered had never been answered. The question that the unknown voice in the darkened cell next to him and in the darkness of his mind had left him with � the unknown voice that hadn�t really belonged to a mere man at all. Riddick grinned at the self-admission. Well, better late than never, right? �There you go again.� Jack slammed her hands against her fragile waist. �What?� �Grinning, like you just found out that a beer a day does help keep the doctor�s away.� Riddick�s laughter roared through the room. �I didn�t know that but thanks for the information.� A huge grin split her face. �So again, whatcha wanna do today? We haven�t been out of this apartment in weeks. I�m gettin� claustrophic.� She turned and headed for the bathroom. He thought for a moment then rolling his head to relieve the stress that had built in his neck, he shocked her. �I wanna smell the roses in an open field.� She was in front of him like a flash. �You wanna do what?� �You heard me.� He winked. �Now hurry up so I can get a shower,� he called over his shoulder as he left the room. ----------------------- An hour later, they stood together in this field outside of town, side by side. For several minutes no words were passed between them then Jack broke the silence. �When they took you away, Riddick, I didn�t think I was goin� be able to make it without you.� She dropped her eyes. �And after that letter, I almost�� Her words trailed off and she shrugged, eyes turned upward towards the brilliance of the sun�s rays. It was then that Riddick realized that her close call with death had never been revealed � an almost embarrassed look clouding her face. She continued. �I didn�t want to live anymore, Riddick, thought that I�d be better off dead and hell who would care anyway?� Riddick gripped her hand. �Don�t ever say that. That letter was a crock of shit. I was just tryin� to cope, Jack and I thought� I never believed you would�� He gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him. �Around or not, I would of cared. You�ve given a lot to the people who know you. You�re funny, smart and sarcastic as all hell�� He plopped a finger across her, now, pouty lips. ��but that�s what makes you who you are. You�re special Jack. You were to Carolyn, you are to Imam�and you are to me. You do know that, don�t you?� She nodded. �Good girl. Don�t ever forget that.� Turning, he looked back towards the field. The words came, �ask her the question, ask Jack so you�ll know.� Licking his lips, he threw his hefty arm around her shoulders. �I wonder Jack�� She turned her gorgeous orbs towards him. �Wonder what?� �What if I died�tomorrow, what did I give�to anyone?� The smile she gave laid out an entirely different world before his eyes before her words even reached his ears. �Easy question, Riddick. Hope.� �Hope,� he squinted in confusion. �That letter you sent was full of hidden messages, Riddick. It was on the third go around that I was able to see them all. �Forget me as I intend to forget you?� Every word you wrote was an attempt at convincing me that the words you said were true. But the obvious attempt at convincing yourself was also pretty clear. I just couldn�t see it at first. But finally I did and just in the knick of time. I believed you get out, Riddick and when you did, you�d come home. That letter, although hateful in its intent gave me a weird since of hope � hope that made me want to live.� She dropped her eyes for a moment then looked back into the field. �Yep! And that wasn�t the first time either. You gave it to me, Carolyn and Imam the moment you decided to help us get the hell off that planet. Carolyn loved you, ya know?� Riddick dropped his eyes. �Yeah�I know.� Jack reached up her right hand and grasped his wrist bringing the thin white line that crossed hers into view. He inspected it through the shelter of his goggles before taking a single finger and running it over the raised indentation. She released a ragged sigh and gripped his wrist tighter. �I�m here, Jack and I�ll never leave again. I promise.� He planted a kiss against the top of her head and again looked to the field. A hushed moment and then� �So, how�s it feel?� �How does what feel?� he replied, as he turned shielded, puzzled eyes back on her. She grabbed his chin and gave it a rough shake. �Rejoinin� the human race?� Riddick�s laugh thundered into the field then he inhaled letting the smell of the flowers fill his nostrils. Suddenly, a different aroma replaced it as the remembrance of the shearing of Carolyn�s hair came, warming his mind. �Not bad, Jack. Not bad�at all.� ------------------- FINI |
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