The Journey

The heat. Oppressive, dry, pressing down. It was hard enough to breathe, but with the heat too, it was bordering on impossible.


Still, they didn’t know, and she looked even more boyish without the short hair. She had shaved her head. Broken goggles, attitude completed the disguise.


”Get me out of here” She heard, some sort of tubes leading underground. A woman’s voice calling, almost screaming.

Gasping, Kylie opened her eyes. She was in her ship, in the bedroom there. She wore the clothes from the fight, and the fact that some of the blood on her skin wasn’t completely dry told her she hadn’t been out long.

“Thought you’d want to come back here.”

She startled, whipping her head towards the voice. Her braids flew out, cutting Riddick’s arm.

“I’m sorry.” She muttered, reaching a hand out and wiping the blood drops that welled from the shallow cut on his arm.

He grunted. “Go get yourself cleaned up, then you can get those cuts taken care of.”

She nodded, and started to unbraid her hair, carefully setting the blades she had woven in there on the nightstand. She would need to clean them later.

She slipped into the bathroom and turned the shower on, letting it run hot. While she waited, she walked back into the bedroom, and took her torn shirt off. She really didn’t care that he was still there, he had seen her before after all, and she wanted out of the torn cloth. She could smell the woman’s blood on them, and she wanted to be rid of that odor.

She tossed the ruined clothes into a basket on the other side of the room, and turned, walking back into the bathroom.

As she stepped into the near scalding water, she let out a hiss of pain. The water, while the heat felt good on her sore muscles, stung her injuries as it washed away the drying blood. She leaned against the wall, looking at the water as it flowed first pink, then clear, as it went down the drain to be cleaned and recycled.

She didn’t react as she first felt the air stir around her, followed by a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened at first, but he persisted, pulling her into him, wrapping his strong arms around her.

She stayed stiff against him for a long moment, then relaxed into his chest, drawing strength and comfort from his arms. She felt safe with him, whether he wanted to understand that or not, and while she knew he wouldn’t be there long, she wanted to feel it as long as she could.

She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his hands washing her, surprisingly gentle as he got close to the cuts on her arms and stomach. A big bruise had blossomed on her leg, easily the span of his hand, and he lightly traced the outline of it with a finger, making her shiver.

As the water started to run cold, she was lifted off her feet, and after wrapping a towel around her, he carried her into the bedroom again, laying her on the bed.

He picked up the medicine from the night stand beside the bed, and pulled the towel from her. He started applying it to the wounds, his touch surprisingly gentle. She drew in a breath from the pain of the worst wound, a fairly deep gash across her side. He looked up at her, pulling his hand back briefly, then starting again, even more gentle.

She lay back, closing her eyes as he applied the medicine, relaxing a little. He covered the wound on her side with gauze, taping it down.

She looked up at him, warm and comfortable. “Thank you.”

A voice came over the loudspeaker in the cabin across the hall.

“Lord Riddick.” The voice belonged to Vaako. “There is a ship requesting aid. It is still a ways off. What do you wish us to do?”

He rose and walked into the cabin, shutting the door behind him.

Kylie lay there in the silence, watching as he returned and got dressed, leaving her again.

She wished she knew what to make of him. She knew herself, and wasn’t going to deny that she cared for him. Hell, she could admit she respected Vaako, he was an honorable man, and he was very true to his word when he gave it. But Riddick, well, she wasn’t sure what to think.

She wasn’t sure if he still wanted her there. Since what had happened in the medical ward, he hadn’t really said much to her. Sure he wasn’t one for words in the first place, but still, he had acted so cold, then this, and he walked away so easily.

She waited until she heard the hiss of the ramp closing, and turned, screaming in frustration into her pillow. She didn’t want to make the guards, or anyone else who might be walking by, think she was in trouble when she wasn’t. She knew she couldn’t take much more of how he had been treating her though.

She stood and dressed, putting on her flight suit and boots. She had a feeling that she should, so she put her boot knife into the sheath she had sown into her flight boots a long time ago. Her pant leg pulled down over the top of them, hiding the hilt from view.

With a heavy sigh, she walked to the ramp and let it down. She headed into the communication room, where she found Riddick talking to Vaako.

“The ship is in bad shape sir, it won’t make it much longer.”

Kylie looked over the displays, and then back to the two men.

“We could get them in my ship, it’s fast enough that we’d get there before the ship broke up, though it would take a few days for the trip.”

Riddick nodded. “So be it. Kylie, you’ll take the ship out there, I’ll go with you. We’ll radio if we need any help.”

“As you wish sir.”

Riddick left the room, and Vaako started to make the arrangements for when they returned. Kylie brushed her hand over her face and left, heading back to her ship to get ready.

A few hours later, she sat in the pilot’s seat, ready and waiting to take off. The man that was the source of her biggest frustration sat in the seat beside her. As the bay doors opened, she took off, heading out into the deep of space.

“Coordinates locked in, we’ll let you know when we get there.” She said into the radio, and Vaako’s voice responded with an affirmative, she turned it down to an almost silent level.

She yawned, starting to stretch, but then wincing when the wound on her side moved.

“Go lay down.”

Kylie looked at him, and shook her head. “No. I’d rather be out here.”

He grunted and shrugged, walking into the small dining area. He returned with two cups of something warm, handing her one.

She sniffed it, and looked at him. It just smelled like hot coffee, but she wasn’t too sure about drinking it after what he’d pulled before. He gave a dry chuckle and handed her his cup, and took hers.

She shook her head and drank it down. After doing some routine workups on the scanners, setting them to let them know when they got close, she yawned again, louder.

He just cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Okay, I’m going.” She didn’t want to fight with him, and she really was tired of the tight space without him even really acknowledging her presence.

She got up and went into the bedroom, taking off her boots and flight suit, laying down on the bed in her tank top and underwear, not bothering with the blanket.