Chapter Text
The Chronicles of Jack
HADES
Skiff, Safe Skiff
No one looked at me, then their scent filled my nose, regret and sadness from the Imam; guilt and the scent I could not identify in Riddick only moments before. She whispered softly, thinking we wouldn't hear, "Damn, Johns said he'd leave us." Anger flared in me, I just realized she felt resignation, that Riddick had resigned himself to let me die and was going to walk away so he wouldn't see. Anger drained away as I remembered, he could not take the step away. He then went for the beast only after I fought for my life.
Riddick had put us here to keep us safe, we had all fought for our lives or tried to protect someone else. That is why I was sure he'd be back for us, either with light or in the skiff. They were trying to come to grips with everything that had happened. Time was passing and I was imagining that Riddick was getting to the skiff; he would be putting the cells in one at a time and would check that the skiff would fly. I was going to offer to light some clothes on fire maybe we could dry out a bit. Reaching in the front pocket of my pack I found the lighter was gone. I flashed on Paris scurring away from us and the flash of fire that illuminated him surrounded by monsters, holding the lighter.
"Damn!" I said, they looked at me and I continued, "the lighter's gone." Fry laughed and then Abu and I joined in. Leaning on the wall we decided to extend one lantern so we poured the liqour from one bottle into the other, squeezed the rope we'd used as a wick to get every drop, then sat and listened to the creatures moving around outside. Soon the lantern sputtered and died plunging us into darkness. The sounds outside grew louder, screaches and cries of pain. Fry was scared and I was reacting to it, moving back I feel Abu's hand and am greatful when he takes my hand in his. I reach for Fry's hand and she calms perceptibly.
Suddenly the cave is filled with blue light, looking up we see slug-like things clinging to the wall. Their bio-luminesence bright enough to hurt ofter the darkness. Fry jumps up and grabs a slug looking at it she picks up the bottle we'd emptied. She puts it inside and we are all up and moving. Putting slugs into the bottle and grabing more. Fry pulls out Shazza's knife to scrape off the lable. I wonder how long she's had it. The first bottle is filled and looking around I'm sure the last bottle will not be as full. Fry came to the same conclusion, she decides she'll go to the skiff and bring back enough light for us.
It takes all three of us to move the bone, and to put it back as we wait for her to bring Riddick and/or light back for us. She promises me, "We'll get you off this monster planet, I swear we will." Tears sting my eyes and I blink to keep from crying. She leaves and I swallow past the lump in my throught. Abu and I gather the rest of the slugs and put them in the bottle. I hand him a few and say, "This is the last of them." He nods and takes them to put them in the bottle. Taking my hand he says, "Let us pray, child."
He asks that Alah guide Fry's feet, to reach her destination safely and asks that her return to us and our trip to safety also go smoothly. I pray silently, asking god to please make the connection or bond that I share with Riddick be strong enough that he can not leave as Fry thinks he will. I also pray that Fry is strong enough to resist the urge to flee to saftey with him, for that is my only fear right now. We sit and listen to the movement of creatures poking at the bone. I pray they don't know how to move it, for Abu and I aren't strong enough on our own to keep it from moving.
To pass the time we talk about his pilgrimage to New Mecca. He feels profoundly guilty that the boys in his care all died. I tell him that I should have made them come with me when I left the Coring Room, that I felt something was wrong. He tells me it was not my fault, that they each made the decision to stay in the room. Then I tell him about my parents, and that I believed they had been killed by people acting for those hunting my mother's race. Then I tell him I think Riddick might be of the same race, even said "he smells a lot like my mom, just male."
We talk about how I had been Jack since I was like seven and that we were going to the second stop the Hunter-Gratzner was supposed to make; that I was going to call my uncle and find out where he lives so that I could be with family, it was what my parents always said I must do if we were seperated. He offered to help me in any way he could. We were huddling together, trying to stay warm, when we heard movement by the bone. We stood and Abu put me behind him, I held up the bottle of glow slugs and he held the knife out, we watched as the bone moved side ways, then Fry was there and our apprehension turned to relief, she moved aside and Riddick was looking in at us.
Smiling hugely I moved out from behind Abu and said, "Never had a doubt!" His answering smile is brilliant, he said, "Any body not ready for this?" then he reaches for my hand and I go to him without hesitation; I know he's really touched. Abu says to him, "There sir, is my god." We are on the move again, Fry has my Pack and her bottle of glow-slugs. Abu has the flashight and I have the other bottle of glow-slugs. Riddick is running point but he has us in a tight group, they keep me in the middle. We climb a steep hill and Riddick turns to help us up, Fry is first then me then the holy man. He tells us to move and we run for the skiff we run between two metal storage units and I look back to see Riddick is looking all around, there are lights from the skiff shinning just ahead. We are in the light and up the ramp when I turn to find we number three.
Fear shoots through me and I see it cross Fry's face too. For once I feel no jelousy at all. I want to go get him, but she says I need to stay. She said she would bring him back, that we were going to make it. I told her to be careful, squeeze her hand and she grabbed her bottle of glow-slugs. The Imam, Abu, was praying for their safe and speedy return. I heard her voice again, {We're going to make it!} her voice morphed into my dads and I began to cry. He'd said the same thing to me shortly before he died.
I too sent up a prayer, I thought, {Please, if only one can come back, please let it be Riddick} I know that it's fucked up, she had done so much for me after all. She stood between me and Johns everytime, she protected me from the creatures and she kept her promise to come back for us. Still, Johns voice was there saying "She pulled the lever to dump the cargo bay to save herself, the thing was jammed, we're all just walking ghosts to you, aren't we lady?!" I reminded myself she was only human and had made up for her mistake by putting herself on the line again and again.
She was a pilot, but Johns said Riddick could fly too. So I hoped they both would come back, but prayed that if only one could, it would be him. A man of my mother's race, a protector and a friend. He might not be the man from the prophesy, but he might be the one to help me grow up to be the woman who gave birth to the male who would be. One thing I learned from the story my dad told me and from the history taught on diffrent planets, was that the prophesy was never prevented by these heinous acts of genocide. That in fact, had the subject of the prophesy not tried to stop it, it might never have come to pass.
It felt like forever before we saw him, stumbling up wounded and alone. The Imam asked about Fry and he shook his head. I was thrilled he was alive, felt guilty that she was not. He made us strap in, closed the door and turned on the engines, seemed to think something through and shut everything down. Looking at him, I asked, "What is it? What's wrong?" He looked at me and said, " We can't leave," then a creature jumped on the windshield; I jumped in fear and he continued, "without saying Good-Night!" He turned on the engines to full and burning those behind and plawing through those ahead, he took out as many of the creatures as he could before pulling up and out of the planets gravitational pull.
When Riddick set the auto pilot on a course for the shipping lanes, I moved into the co-pilot's seat. Straping in, I turned to him and said, "Lot of questions from whoever picks us up, might even be a Merc ship." He noded once and said, "Yeah?" but I heard the 'your point' implyed. "Well, what do we say about you?" I asked. After a moment he said, "Tell 'em that Riddick is dead, he died somewhere on that planet." Abu and I look at each other and nod.