Treacherous

The darkness inside the hangar was nearly total now without the suns to shine through the vents. “Thank god! We made it.”

A hand closed around Bell’s neck from behind and she squeaked in surprise as she was drawn back. “Quiet,” Riddick hissed into her ear.

She stilled, not really having a choice in the matter. Nothing stirred in the darkness before her, but she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face either. Then a sort of heavy breathing sound came from before them.

How? How could one of those things have gotten inside so quickly? Where had it entered?

“Stay close,” Riddick whispered as he pushed her behind him and started forward. The sound seemed to redouble at his whispered command and their movement.

Down one side of the building. If she were to guess they weren’t really getting that much closer to the ship, but circling it.

A shriek came from the darkness and Bell was unprepared. Riddick backed into her roughly, knocking her back against the wall and breaking their contact. She was disoriented immediately. Sounds came from everywhere before her. Riddick’s grunts, a wet snapping sound, and constantly that thrumming breathing sound.

She didn’t know what to do. How to help? She couldn’t even find him! She used the wall to stand, straining her eyes to see something, ANYTHING. Only thick darkness was before her. Then a sound came from her left, a low scuffle and louder, that sound.

Oh, God! There were two! At least.

The beast Riddick was occupying gave a sort of wet garbled scream, a mockery of the evil sound from before, and then was silent. She looked in that direction but could still see nothing. Had Riddick killed it, or was it now munching on him?

Closer the sound on her left had her turning back.

“Bell! Down!”

She dropped and felt the very air move where she’d just been standing. Again the sounds of struggle while she remained helpless and blind. Getting her eyes shined was something she’d consider seriously after this.

The ship was so close, but she didn’t know which way to go. If she could only get there Ramsay would be able to help.

Ramsay.

She turned in the direction she thought the ship was. “Ramsay! Lights! NOW!!”

Almost instantly the building filled with light. Front guidance beams, spotlights, and lights from the side, all aimed in their direction.

Bell was shocked at how very close Riddick and the creature had been, only feet from her

They both reacted to the light, crying out at the same time. The beast was huge and between them and the ship. It thrashed and screamed in the sudden light, its claws and head slashing in Riddick’s direction.

Riddick was hunched to protect his face from the powerful lights and couldn’t see the danger he was in. Bell pulled him back just as long teeth snapped closed where his face had been. He took an awkward step back, seeming disoriented or in pain, before he went down onto his knees.

The screaming beast seemed even more affected than Riddick. Its attack was becoming feeble as it shrank in the lights that made its skin actually smoke. Bell acted without thinking, some mothering instinct had her putting herself between Riddick and the beast. She wrapped her arms around him, protecting his face and as much of him as she could from both the lights and the threat of injury.

Bell watched over her shoulder, squinting against the lights from the ship that appeared to be burning the nasty creature. It crumpled to the ground, its cries were becoming less strident, its struggles weaker. From ten feet to two, it dropped into a bony stinking heap. Its whip-like tail danced around it until nothing else moved. At the last second it flailed out and she ducked down against Riddick. It wasn’t enough.

The tip of its tail sliced into the flesh of her arm and back, leaving a fiery burning sensation in its wake. She didn’t make a sound, though she had to stifle it. Riddick’s head against her chest gave her the crazy consideration of not wanting to scream in his ear. So she just didn’t.

Riddick knelt on the ground and in her attempts to shield him she’d wound up literally sitting on his lap. Now it worked to keep her upright as she slumped forward from the brutal blow and excruciating pain. Her body had blocked the light, apparently helping him orient himself. Goggles back on with a snap. Then he was pulling himself back, and her with him.

“Bell?”

She smiled, but it felt more like a grimace. Cradling her arm to her side, feeling the heat of blood seeping lower. Her eyes rolled from the sheer agony in her shoulder.

He rose with her, lifting her. “How bad is it?”

She shook her head, feeling weak for showing the pain. “It hurts,” she whispered, not recognizing her own voice.

His hand gripped her shoulder, turning her, and she cried out, falling toward him. A small grimace before his expression closed didn’t reassure her.

“Let’s go.” He grabbed the bag she’d carried this far and then put an arm around her waist.

Bell wasn’t sure how much he helped or how much she did on her own. Were her feet even moving?

Ramsay came out to meet them. His silent assessment had him taking Riddick’s place. Up steps, down a corridor, and into the small med bay. Helped onto a table on her stomach. Shirt cut away. Needle. Sigh.

The local anesthetic reduced the pain almost instantly.

“You will need stitches,” Ramsay said in his unaffected way.

“That’s it?” Bell asked. “I feel like I need a transplant!”

“A deep laceration in the tricep. The wound on your back is less serious because the weapon was deflected by a rib.”

Bell rolled her eyes. She liked her ribs to be used for hold stuff IN not to keep things out. But now with the pain at a manageable level she could at least concentrate. “Just patch it for now and give me another shot. I’m not staying here longer than necessary. We’ll do a better job once we’re off this rock.”

Unable to question orders, Ramsay did as she demanded. Sticky patch instead of stitches and then bandages over the whole mess. Another local pain reliever and she was up. He held out a folded shirt, the medbay’s. Very nice green color.

“Where’s Riddick?”

His head tilted, eyes on the ceiling, “Cockpit.”

She moved swiftly, doing her best not to move her arm or stretch her back. Ramsay followed.

“What the fuck is she doing out of medbay?” Riddick growled. It was probably the first time he’d spoken to Ramsay and now Bell took it as a dressing down.

“Trying to keep you from stealing my fucking ship!” she yelled as she came forward to where he was leaned over the main controls.

“*No fear, captain. With your life signs only showing distress, I would have waited for your command,*” the central computer assured.

This backed up what she saw on the screen Riddick had been working on. It was refusing him access. He turned on her.

“I can fucking change that status.”

“*Homicide is illegal, Passenger Richard, as well as unethical. Under such circumstances I would power down and alert the authorities*,” Central warned in her monotone voice.

“Your communications are down, bitch. You can’t,” Riddick yelled at the overhead speaker.

“*A disabled system can be fixed by the android on board*,” she countered, not in the least impressed by his anger.

Bell was impressed. She saw the strength and fervor he’d needed and used to escape from slam after slam. Riddick didn’t just want his freedom, he NEEDED it.

He turned a full circle, looking like a raging bull needing to destroy something but not having decided on what.

“Riddick, stop,” she whispered, hoping to calm him. “The ship will be yours, I promise. Help me and the others off this rock and we’ll land at the first safe place. It’s yours. I promise.”

Now he turned on her, “Fucking promises mean shit if we die here!”

She smiled, “Are you afraid?”

He stilled instantly. Defensive, but at least not raging anymore. “Me? Afraid?” He laughed out loud, a scary combination. But she almost saw a chink in his armor. Not afraid of the beasts, no. But was he afraid of her? That made more sense. He’d be very wary of trusting her, especially with something so valuable as his freedom.

“Computer,” Bell started, “Either upon my natural death or upon the second planet we land on after this one, you will no longer answer to me. I give my rights to passenger Richard.”

“*Yes, Captain*.”

Bell watched Riddick as she gave the order. He stared back, goggles in place, but his proximity so close that he could only be looking at her. A slight tilt of his head when the computer responded.

He grabbed her, drawing her forward and lowering his head until their mouths met. That searing stupefying effect took over. She was blind and ignorant to everything but him, everything but this. His only touch was one hand on the left side of her neck, thankfully clear of her injury.

Seconds or minutes could have passed. His tongue withdrew and then their lips parted, freeing her to breathe and think again. His goggles were gone as he stared down at her. “You’re fuckin’ stupid,” he whispered.

“Maybe.”

He straightened, distancing himself. “How bad is the injury?”

“I’m fine.”

He looked past her to Ramsay who’d stood silently at the door. “Did you get the bleeding stopped?”

“She wouldn’t be up if I hadn’t.”

Bell frowned at the droid over her shoulder. Like hell. She’d have found a way to be up no matter what.

“Shall we go, CAPTAIN?”

She curled her lip at his condescending tone, but saw no point in delaying leaving to give him shit. “Strap in,” she told him instead.

Once in her seat with the computer surrounding her and coming to life, she looked at the computerized model of the building the ship was in. “Computer, estimated damage to ship for vertical take-off.”

“*Minimal*.”

The communications hardware was protected, and nothing else was truly vital unless they actually managed to breach the hull, which was improbable.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

A minute to power the engines. She did a few burns, testing the fuel in the system, and then with sweating palms Bell took the controls and moved the ship from its dusty perch for the first time in more than two decades. A second of hesitance, her only weakness. Then she hit the throttle and a screeching, tearing noise sounded throughout the ship. Meaty clunking came next as she forced the ship up, probably more of the beasts. She leveled it off at a thousand meters where nothing natural normally flew.

Only seconds passed before she was above Sunset 4. Fifty kilometers by foot took much longer than by air. Only darkness showed below. Then a tiny speck of light. She zeroed in on it and brought the ship down, smiling to herself at the chunking sounds the creatures made against the hull. KNOCK, KNOCK, she thought nearly giggling.

Scanning to make sure there was room for the ship she slowly lowered the landing gear and settled gently onto the ground. “All hull lights on.”

The beams of light from the front captured an image that she’d remember forever. The holy man, Imam, shrank against the tin of the building before them. A beast ten times his size hulked over him. In an instant the scene changed. The lights scared the creature away and it exited stage left in a flash of smoking leathery wings. They were left looking at a wide-eyed and blood stained Imam.

She and Riddick unstrapped and were moving as one, Ramsay followed.

They stayed in the lights of the ship, Riddick ducking like a boxer to keep the lights from hurting his sensitive eyes. Imam was getting to his feet when they reached him. He shrank against the wall again as Riddick’s unmistakable shadow fell across him. Bell quickly rounded him and moved toward the holy man.

“El Imam, are you okay?” she asked, nearly shouting to be heard over the ship and the riot of sounds above them. Seems the beasties didn’t like having their dinner interrupted.

“Bell?” he whispered, though his eyes never left Riddick.

“Are you injured?” she asked, seeing the blood on his robes.

He looked down and his face fell. “The young ones. I could not protect them. Allah has taken them all.”

“Everyone?” Bell asked. Surely they’d found someway to protect themselves. They were all dead?