Ghost

Tomoe - lol, I've gotten that reaction several times now!

jmc - thank you! Thank you very much, for such a warm review. I appreciate it, and I hope you continue to enjoy.

16. Jack.

They said Riddick was going to some place called the threshold. All I know was that it was damn weird. One minute he was there, the next he wasn’t. Oh don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean that his body vanished in an impressive swirl of light or any of that shit. I mean his awareness. One minute he was standing there, looking bored and pissed off - the next? He just wasn’t. He was as still and as silent as a statue.

But when he came back, things got a little… strange. He looked at Kain and I like we had just told him that Santa Clause wasn’t real or that we drowned puppies for fun. Kain and I glanced at each other, and when I turned back to Riddick, he looked at me and then looked away. And maybe I’m going blind or something, but I swear he blushed slightly. I don’t think he can blush, so it’s probably a lack of food or sleep, both of which I desperately need right now.

I was standing up right by sheer will alone at that point, and my stomach was cramping. I was used to being hungry, but this was getting to the point of pain. I had barely thought that when Riddick’s head turned sharply towards me. His hand brushed his stomach briefly as a look of surprise crossed his face. He crossed to my side and touched my hand, his voice low when he spoke.

“When was the last time you ate anything, Jack?”

I had to think about it carefully, and I knew my answer pissed him off. Not so much the words, but the knowledge of time.

“Just before you… made me aware of your presence on Crematoria.”

He scowled and wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me closer to him as he shook his head.

“Jack, that was two days ago. Why the fuck didn’t you say anythin‘?”

I could only shrug, and was then forced to walk quickly as he turned and glared at Vaako, who promptly led us out of this room, and down a corridor. The room we were led to was dark and ornately decorated with images of death and pain; twisted statues of men strangling children and raping women. I balked at the sight of it, and Riddick swore softly.

“If I wanted to terrorise her out of eatin‘, Vaako, this room might just do the trick” he spat, and I flinched at the anger in his voice.

Riddick tightened his arm around me, and when he glanced down at my face, his own softened slightly.

“Do you have somewhere else we can go?” he muttered, and Vaako nodded as he led us through this room and into another.

This one wasn’t as bad, but it wasn’t really a ray of fucking sunshine either. The furniture was too dark, and Riddick hissed softly as he led me to a wide couch, and gently pushed me down onto it. Kain sank down near by, his soft groan echoing around us as he leant his head back and closed his eyes.

“How often did those fuckers feed you in that place?” Riddick muttered as he crouched down in front of me, and I shrugged again.

“Once in the mornin‘, once at night. And if you were lucky, you eventually learned to stomach the slop they served as food,” I mumbled and mirrored Kain’s position.

I heard Riddick swear again, and closed my eyes slowly.

“Link… when was the last time she ate before that?” I heard Riddick ask, and was only slightly aware of his answer.

“The mornin’ she was locked in the Boss’s rooms. She’s had plenty of water since we got her back, just nothin’ to eat. I think someone fed her the night she woke up… I just don’t know.”

I felt as if I was made of spun glass and that the lightest blow would shatter me into a thousand grains of sand. I could hear Riddick’s voice. Vaako’s voice. Link’s voice, which was growing softer and softer. Or maybe it was the fact that I had curled up on my side, rested my head on Kain’s thigh and simply closed my eyes as I felt the familiar presence of his fingers threading through my hair.

I woke up when an arm slid under my neck and lifted me into a sitting position. A warm cup was pressed against my lips, and when they parted, it was some sort of soup that was poured into my mouth in small amounts. I became aware that I was laying across Riddick’s lap, and that he was cradling me in the crook of his arm as he fed me slowly.

For a half a moment, I thought I was thirteen again and recovering from a drug addiction. He had fed me then too, when my hands had shaken too badly to be able to feed myself for the first few days after I woke up in the medi bay. But that though bit the dust when I heard Kain cough, and Vaako’s quiet murmur.

“When you’ve eaten, Jack, I’m gonna get you checked over,” Riddick muttered, and I shook my head slowly.

“I’m ok, Riddick, I’m just tired,” I protested and sat up slightly.

He frowned at me, pulled me further across his lap, and then pulled me back against his chest. It was only after he had made me drink another cup of soup that he let me stand up, his hands tightening around my waist as he stood up behind me.

“Enough” he said quietly when I yawned, and I twisted slightly to look up at him.

I had time enough to exchange looks with Kain once, before Riddick wrapped his arm around me and led me from this room and into another that Vaako gestured towards. It was pitch black, and I stumbled slightly in this unknown room. Riddick’s arm tightened around me, and I let out a small squeak when he lifted me up suddenly, and I found myself face to face with him.

His gaze was steady as he held me, and when he lowered me a half a dozen steps later, it was to a bed that was soft and cool under the naked skin of my back. I stared up at the only source of light in the room, and watched as those twin lights disappeared momentarily.

“Riddick?”

I felt his fingertips brush my cheek, and the covers were lifted around me as he gently pushed me back down into the bed.

“Sleep. I’ll see you in the mornin‘” he muttered, and began to back away as I sat up slightly.

“Riddick…”

“Sleep, Jack.”

Light spilt into the room when the door slid open, and I saw him glance back at me once, before the door slid shut again. I was left alone in the dark for the first time in a long time, and my breathing slowly grew unsteady as I sank back into the bed he had put me in. On my own. Separated from the only people I knew. The only people I trusted.

It took me a long time to be able to close my eyes in that darkness. An even longer time to try to relax enough to sleep. And when I did finally manage to drift off, I was haunted by the past. Of fetid breath brushing my cheek and grunts echoing in my ear as a searing pain took over my lower body. Of a hand twisting cruelly in my hair, forcing my back to arch as laughter echoed around me. Of being violated.

And when calloused hands touched my face, I came up both swinging and terrified. I felt my fist collide with a face. Heard the grunt that echoed along with the satisfying smack of bone on bone. And lost all breath when I was roughly shoved down onto my back, and a large body pinned me down. Lost all breath, but fought against what was happening to me.

I wouldn’t scream - I never had. But I used my hands, and when they were pinned after I gorged my nails down the wall of muscle above me, I bucked up as hard as I could. And when that wall of muscle insinuated itself between my thighs, I fought even harder. I could hear my heart beat pounding in my head, along with the roaring of the blood in my veins, and the sound was deafening.

My hands were wrenched up and then pinned above my head, and a heavy hand gripped my hip tightly, pressing me down against the mattress. I could feel bare skin against my chest and stomach, from where the front panel of the robe I was wearing had twisted around and under me. Could feel the heavy cotton material of the pants he wore rasp against my inner thighs. And when warm breath bushed my throat, I turned my face to the side and closed my eyes.

I waited for it - for the searing pain that would come. My hair was pushed back from my face, where it clung in sweaty tangles from fighting against this man. My jaw was gripped in a calloused palm, and forcibly turned back. And still the hand against my face stroked my hair back. Smoothed out the tangles, and wiped away the sweat that ran down my temple.

“You were dreamin’, Jack.”

My eyes snapped open at the rough voice that sounded over my laboured breathing, and I found Riddick staring down at me in light that was so dim, that I could only just make put his features. Smelled the blood that beaded on the surface of his chest from where I had torn open his skin with my nails. Saw the look of understanding cross his face, and fought him even harder.

And when he let go of me a moment later, I rolled away from him and curled up in a ball. Fought to control my breathing. Fought to regain control. And when I almost had it, I lost it again when he rolled me back over so I was facing him. Stared down at me for a moment, and then tugged me across the bed. Tugged me across the bed and into his arms.

Wrapped his arms around me, making it impossible to fight him. Tangled his hand in my hair, and pressed my face against the dip in his shoulder. Held me tightly, as he breathed heavily against the top of my head. Wrapped up in material the colour of blood, and in the arms of a killer, who had spilled so much of it.

“You were dreamin’, Jack,” he muttered again, and tightened his arms around me as I started shaking.

“Turn on the lights,” I whispered, and his hand slid down over the bare skin of my back slowly. “Please, Riddick, turn on the lights,” I whispered, and was mortified when my voice cracked.

“You’re safe in the dark, Jack. Safe with me.”

He didn’t understand - he could see in the god damn dark! And as the fear that was choking the life out of me began to get stronger, I began to fight against him again. Felt his grip on me tighten in response to my struggles, and my fear turned into anger. He growled softly and rolled me back onto my back, and I bucked up against him as he rolled between my legs again to hold me still.

“Shhh… Jackie girl, calm down. You have nothing to fear from me… from him.”

I froze under the bulk of him, and slowly looked up into eyes. Saw his eyes flash out of sight as he lowered his head, and felt his nose brush the line of my jaw as he breathed in.

“Most of the time, Jack, I’d scent fear and get off on it,” he mumbled into my throat, and pressed his nose against my pulse as it hammered under my skin. “But on you? Pisses me off. Makes me sick to the gut. Makes me wanna take my time in killin’ the fucker who did this to you.”

I felt his mouth open against my pulse and the heat of his breath sweep across the vein. Felt his hand slide down my side to my hip. And the breath was knocked out of me when he rolled over suddenly and dragged me with him. His hands hooked in behind my knees and dragged them up so that I straddled his lap as he sat up, putting us face to face. He stared at me for a moment and then spoke.

“Lights ten percent.”

Soft light flooded the room, and I sank my teeth into my bottom lip as he grasped my wrists from where I had crossed over my chest. He brought my hands up to his shoulders and shook his head slightly as he kept his eyes on mine.

“I‘ve never raped a woman, Jack, and I‘m not about to start with you.”

He kept his eyes on mine as he untangled the cloth from around my waist and settled it back over my shoulder. And when it was in place, shielding me from those eyes that saw too much, he spread his hands across the middle of my back, and ran them up and down my skin slowly. When I looked away from him, his hand left my back, cupped my chin and he made me look at him again.

“I know what happened to you, Jack. That’ll never happen again.”

I let my eyes settle on a point over his shoulder, and felt his hands settle on the side of my knees, his fingertips slipping under the material of the robe slowly. I looked back at him, but he only traced small circles on my skin with his thumbs as he stared up at me. Waiting.

“What do you want, Riddick?” I finally asked, and he shrugged slightly.

“Whatever you want.”

“Did livin’ in the ice give you a personality change or somethin‘?” I hissed and he chuckled darkly.

“No, it didn’t change the man. He’s still as closed off as ever. But it gave me a bigger handle on him when he’s sleepin‘.”

I frowned slightly and he chuckled once more.

“You’ve met his darker side before, Jack. You met me when I tore Johns apart in the dark. Met me when I held you as you started to die on the skiff. Met me when I held you on a ship, and you asked the man why he had confused a girl who didn‘t smell like you with the real thing. Met me, when you washed away his sins, and I wondered why you thought you had them when you’re as innocent now, as you were at thirteen.”

I could only stare at him as his lips curved slightly. And when his hands rose to my head, I closed my eyes. Felt his hands gather my hair up into one hand, and then gently tug my head back. Felt him breath in against my throat as he lowered me back slightly over his arm, causing my back to arch. Felt his fingertips brush the line of my throat and heard him purr softly as he pulled me back upright.

“He sees the child. I see the woman. He sees the marks on you and feels guilty that he wasn’t here to stop them from happenin‘. I see the marks and know it's evidence that you survived, time and time again.”

“Was it him that wanted to kill me as a child? Or was it you?” I whispered, and he chuckled softly.

“Both. But it was me who admitted it to you. The same as it's me whose watching you freak out right now and wonder if I’m loosin’ my mind. Or if you’re loosin’ your own. Me who saw your dream, and woke you. Me who you fought and lost against. And me, who will teach you how to get out of that position should it ever happen again.”

“So what do I call you?” I asked, and he laughed again, the sound of it unleashing goose bumps along my body. I'd heard this laughter before - when it had started raining, while surrounded by creatures who were waiting for the lights to go out, so that they could feast on our blood and our screams.

“Call me Riddick. That is our name, Jack,” he said calmly, and that scared me even more than his laugh did.

I could only nod as he began to move his hands up and down my thighs leisurely. Pushing the material higher and higher with each slow pass, until it pooled around my upper thighs, and his fingers were brushing the curve of my butt.

“And you’ll want what in return?” I said flatly when his fingertips lingered there, and he laughed softly. A warmer laugh this time, one of delight.

“There’s my feisty girl. I told you I'm not a rapist, Jack. That I’d never force you. I give you my word on that.”

“Your word?”

“Somethin’ I never give to anyone, Jack. But I give it to you. The man was dreamin’ of you… And now he isn’t sure if he’s dreamin’ or not. He knows what I’m doin’ to you. It makes him uneasy. It makes you uneasy. I can smell it curlin’ around you, all over you. I don’t want you to fear me, Jack. You had no reason to as a child, and you have no reason to now.”

I remained silent as his hands rose to my sides and he began that same journey all over again. Running his hands up and down my sides slowly. Feeling his fingers deliberately bump between each rib, and dig in slightly. Riddick stopped under my breasts and moved back down again, and for the first time since I had woken up to him, I began to relax. He wasn’t pushing me for sex.

That thought had barely cleared my mind when he nodded, and smoothed his hands around to my back. Traced his fingertips down the length of my spine, and lingered with each downward movement at the fourth lumbar. Felt his fingers trace across it, before moving upwards again.

“A blind person learns through touch, Jack. An animal learns through scent. I learn though both. Learn your strengths and weaknesses. Learn about you. Your past. The man removed the scars, but they’re still there. I can feel them when you tense. Smell them when you remember the pain that came with them.”

Riddick spread his hands across my lower back, and his fingers dug into the place where Kyra had sunk a shiv into me.

“Right here. This is where Kyra stabbed you. You were chained to the roof. Forced to stand on tiptoe. And when that shiv slid in, your back would have been arched. That would have pressed your hips back in counter movement, and as you fought the scream that lodged in your throat, she would have gained enough control over you, to suck out more memories.”

I nodded slightly, even as I wondered how he’d known and Riddick flattened his palm against my spine. Protecting his spot. I saw the corners of his lips curve and he nodded as he tilted his head to the side.

“What did she suck out of you in that moment, Jack? It wasn’t knowin’ me, because she stabbed you usin’ my signature. So what did she see?”

When I shook my head, his arms tightened around me as he pulled me a little closer.

“We can’t work together with this between us, Jack. Tell me what she saw.”

“Me.” I said finally. “Me sleepin’ wit’ you. Wakin’ up and rollin' over to look at you. Tryin’ to memorize your face, because I knew you were plannin’ on leavin’.”

Riddick nodded as he slipped his hands around my waist, and pressed against the side of my body slightly.

“The man healed a scar that came from a laser blast here. What happened?”

I lowered my eyes and sighed.

“I was shot. Ambushed when we least expected it. Kain jerked me out the way, but I was still hit. If he hadn’t moved me when he did, I would have been holding my stomach in my hands. As it was, it still cut me down for a week or so.”

Riddick nodded and his hands tightened slightly on my hips, his thumbs digging into the bones.

“What did Kain do?”

I bit my lip as I stared down at him, and then looked away.

“He hunted down the man responsible, kicked the shit out of him and then slit his throat.”

A small smile crossed his face, and he leaned back slightly against the headboard of the bed.

“When did this happen?” he asked a moment later, and I shrugged.

“A little over two weeks after I turned seventeen,” I mumbled, and he sat back up.

“Just after you gave yourself to him?”

I know my jaw dropped, and Riddick’s face darkened slightly.

“When we went to the threshold, the Quasi Dead showed us more than we bargained for,” he murmured, running the tip of his finger up and down the back of my neck.

“What did you see?” I whispered, and he laughed softly. Darkly. I heard the danger in that laugh and flinched as his hand curved around the back of my neck.

“We saw Carolyn. Kyra. Kain. You.”

His fingers tightened briefly, and he leaned forward to nuzzle my shoulder.

“The night you turned seventeen.”

Where I would have jerked away from him, he tightened his grip on me, and wrapped his arm around my waist as he ran his nose across my shoulder. Breathed in against the hollow, and breathed out against my collarbone.

“In a bathroom. Wet tiles. Wet skin. Steam in the air.”

He tilted his chin up as he lifted his head to look at me, and I saw anger in his eyes.

“They tried usin’ you against us. Tried usin’ you to make us do what they want.”

I looked away from him, and when his teeth closed lightly over my shoulder, I bit back the soft cry that threatened to echo in the darkness. I felt him shift under me, and his hands cupped my face, forcing me to meet his eyes again.

“That’s what we face, Jack. So now you know what we know. They will use memories against us, much like Kyra did. But the difference? She sucked them out. They can make us experience them.”

I know my face was warm under his hands. Warm from the humiliation of what he was saying, and embarrassment that he had seen something so private. So special to me. So… experience it? My gaze snapped to his, and he nodded slowly.

“Experience?” I croaked and when he nodded again, I closed my eyes.

“A natural part of life, Jack. But something that was meant to remain between the two of you.”

He nuzzled my shoulder again and when I finally opened my eyes he smoothed his knuckles down my cheek.

“They showed us somethin' from Kain’s past.”

I nodded and Riddick licked the corner of his mouth.

“Someone with blue eyes, who was bleedin'. Bleedin' green blood.”

I knew what he was talking about, and shook my head slightly.

“Not my story to tell, Riddick. No,” I said softly, when he went to object. “That’s a part of Kain’s past that isn’t mine to speak of, Riddick. Don’t ask me to betray Kain in that way, because I won’t. Not even for you,” I finished softly as I looked down at my hands.

He sighed in the darkness, and his hands covered mine and lifted them back to his shoulders.

“There can’t be secrets between us, Jack. Not anymore. Not when they can twist them so well and cause trouble in any way they want.”

I nodded slowly as he ran his hands up and down my arm, and when a yawn I couldn’t suppress escaped, he chuckled softly. Pulled me closer and then rolled us to the side. Cradled me in his arms, and when my head came to rest on his shoulder, he purred.

“I’ll be watchin' you, Jack,” he muttered, and I nodded as he pulled me closer. Wrapped me up in his arms, and his mouth brush my forehead. Heard his soft purr, and heard him mumble, “she ain’t dyin’ for me,” and wondered as sleep crashed over me what else he had been shown that he wasn’t telling me.