The Things That Happen

Author's Note: I apologize - I have just realized that my italics don't show up. I'm sorry. I don't know how much that takes away from the story, but I think I'll leave it as is. Here I offer you the third chapter for your perusal. Please give me some reviews!!! I'm dying! I'm begging...begging!!! *drops to knees and looks pleading* Either way, though, read and enjoy.

Disclaimer: You know the drill...I own nothing and never will...*sigh*

~*~*~*~

Kyra opened her eyes to see Riddick watching her. “Yeah?” she said, stretching.

“Time to get up. If you’ve got anything you want to take, pack it.” He turned away from her and unlocked the door. “Be ready when I get back,” he threw over his shoulder, then disappeared.

Kyra blinked and sat up. Glancing around the room, she snatched a small leather bag from a shelf over the bed. She tossed in her few clothes, her candles and matches, then she paused. The small, carved wooden box sat on another little outcropping of rock. Kyra reached for it, hesitating. Did she really want to take it with? Did she need it? Riddick was back now; she didn’t need reminders. One of her fingers lightly traced a faerie carved into the lid of the box.

A sound outside her cell startled her. Quickly, Kyra grabbed the box and stuffed it in her bag as she whirled around. Riddick stood framed in the doorway. He raised an eyebrow. Kyra couldn’t tell what he was thinking, especially with his goggles on. Gulping, she settled her bag around her shoulders.

“Yeah?”

“You ready?” She nodded and waited. The papers that Kyra has covered in plans yesterday were still scattered around the cell. Looking through them quickly, Riddick picked up the pertinent ones and motioned out the door. “Let’s go.”

Riddick moved out onto the walkway as he tucked the pages into a pocket. “We’ll hang out somewhere near the control room,” he said, gesturing with a jerk of his head. “When exactly do they go topside?”

Kyra strode along behind him and tried to keep up with the conversation. “What?” she asked.

“When do-”

“Just after full dark.” They stopped in front of a stairwell and Riddick motioned her to go in front of him. She raised an eyebrow at the polite gesture. He mimicked her. Let her think whatever, he just wanted an excuse to stare at her ass. God, she was hot. Shaking his head, he followed her up the stairs. He had to stop thinking like that. This was Jack; Riddick got a mental image of the bald, goggled twelve-year-old she had been. Turning his eyes up gave him another picture.

Growling, he looked around Kyra and watched the levels go past. They were nearing the top. After this, they had only to wait for the right time. When Riddick felt that they were close enough to the control room, he told Kyra, “Here.” She jumped gracefully off the staircase and waited, but didn’t say anything. Hopping off after her, Riddick sat down and leaned back against the wall.

“Now what?” Kyra asked.

“Now we wait.” He closed his eyes. “You might want to get some sleep before this shit goes down.”

“I’m not tired. In fact, I just woke up.” She felt like a child, being ordered around by Riddick.

“You will be. And I don’t want to have to watch your ass as well as mine.” Kyra pursed her lips and dropped to the ground.

“Fine.” Taking off her bag, she used it as a pillow and curled up with her back against the wall. Riddick watched her and waited for night. The kid would be tired, no matter how much sleep she got. Maybe the little extra rest she’d get now would at least hold her over until they were out of this hellhole.

Kyra knew Riddick was keeping a sort of watch over her. She listened to his breathing and sighed. A sort of tiredness was stealing over her body. Yawning idly, she let her mind drift.

~*~*~*~

“Get up.” Riddick’s voice woke Kyra. She sat up, blinking and rubbing the grit out of her eyes. “Time to get moving,” he said. Nodding, she grabbed her bag and slung it over one shoulder and across her body. She stretched her muscles as she stood and looked up. She could feel the soft, warm breeze circulating the stale air of the slam; the vents were open.

“Now?” she asked. Her strong hands were pulling her hair back from her face and securing it at the top of her head. Riddick nodded. Turning away from her, he jumped back onto the staircase and climbed up the few remaining flights. Kyra followed, checking to make sure all her shivs were in place. She had time to wish half-heartedly for a gun before Riddick stopped. He turned around and looked at her, pressing a finger to his lips.

The gate in front of them was chained and secured with a large padlock. Kyra moved to it quickly, pulling a lock pick from a pocket and dropping to one knee. She worked for a moment, then Riddick heard the tumblers turn and the lock popped open. Pulling it off the chain, she let it fall to the ground. The chain, she coiled up and put in her bag; they might need it later. Standing, she opened the gate and motioned Riddick through. He grinned and stepped into a dark, narrow hall leading to the control room. He knew Kyra was following right behind him. Good. Hopefully she would stay that close during the fighting.

The hall was shorter than Kyra had hoped. Forcing her terror down, she took a deep breath and nodded when Riddick looked back at her. She knew he could smell her fear; at least he didn’t say anything about it. Gripping two of her shivs, she watched at Riddick kicked down the door. The battle had begun.

The room was full. Toombs and his crew were sitting around, mingling with the slam guards; all of them looked up as Riddick and Kyra burst into the room. Nine guns were instantly aimed in their direction. Fuck, Riddick thought.

Kyra reviewed the plan in her mind. There were too many; they couldn’t take this many mercs. Suddenly, she heard Riddick’s voice. Stick with the plan. Whatever we find in there, stick with the plan until I say otherwise. Giving a mental shrug, Kyra stepped to one side of Riddick and sliced the throat of the nearest person – one of Toombs’ crew.

Riddick saw Kyra out of the corner of his eye and grinned. Good girl. She was sticking with the plan. Turning to his left, away from her, he grabbed one of the guards’ pistols and twisted it out of his hands. He aimed carefully and shot. A slam guard hit the floor with a sickening noise. To his right, he could see Kyra; she was holding her own against another one of Toombs’ crewmembers. Riddick aimed the guard’s gun again, but the shot went wild as he ducked a blow from his left. One of the guards was clutching a knife, trying to plunge it into Riddick’s chest.

“Nice try,” he rumbled. Grabbing the blade and the guard’s hand, he twisted, breaking the other man’s wrist. Riddick grinned as the guard fell to the floor, screaming and cradling his injured hand to his chest. Stray bullets clanged off the walls around the control room. One of the shots took out the breaker box, plunging the room into almost complete darkness. Riddick pulled off his goggles and laughed.

“Not afraid of the dark, are you boys?” he heard Kyra call.

“Let’s see how good your shine job is, kid,” he called back. In the semi-dark he could see the door to the underground tunnel that led to the hangar. Turning back to the fight, he mentally reviewed the plan. He had taken down two guys, and Kyra had at least gotten one. The odds were getting more and more even by the second. Aiming the gun again, Riddick shot twice more, emptying the chamber. Fucker wasn’t fully loaded, he thought, surprised.

Kyra dodged a knife as she watched one of Toombs’ crew and another guard fall to the floor. Whatever else she had to say about the man, he could sure shoot a gun. The slice of a blade opening the skin along her side brought her attention back to her attacker. Clutching her favorite shiv in a blood-slicked hand, she drove the knife up, into his stomach and under his ribs. Jerking it out, she slashed his throat and wiped sweat from her forehead as he fell to the ground. Counting the bodies sprawled on the floor she came up with seven; only two left.

Riddick came up behind Toombs and pressed his shiv to the merc’s throat. “You should’ve taken the money, Toombs,” he growled. Moving faster than lighting, he removed the blade and slammed Toombs’ head into the wall. Let the merc die here on this rock, but not before he had a chance to experience what a hellhole it was. Riddick looked up and saw the one remaining guard had gotten the drop on Kyra. Silently, he came up behind the man and plunged his shiv into the sweet spot, just above the fourth lumbar vertebrae. He could feel the warm blood gushing over his hands and grinned.

The big guard dropped as Riddick slid the blade out of him. Kyra sat on the floor, trying to catch her breath.

“Let’s go kid,” he said. Crossing the room, he hit the button to open the thick metal door. There was a buzzing, then the panel slid back, revealing the underground tunnel. Still coughing, Kyra followed Riddick into the narrow passage. She looked back quickly as she keyed in the codes to lock the door behind them. In the glow of the emergency lights, she could see the damage they had caused – bodies, guns, and broken equipment lay everywhere. Kyra lingered for a moment, trying to understand what had just happened.

“I said, let’s go kid,” Riddick growled from somewhere up the tunnel. We ain’t out yet.

“Coming,” she called out as she took off up the passage after him.

They hauled ass toward the hangar, Kyra pushing herself farther then she ever thought she could go. When they finally burst through the heavy door, she was out of breath and running on pure adrenaline. Riddick caught her as she stumbled down the steps to the main floor of the room. Supporting her, he led them over to Toombs’ little skiff and set her down on a crate. He punched in the codes to open the ship, then keyed in the sequence to open the hangar door. Returning, he stood in front of Kyra, hesitating.

Suddenly, Riddick hauled her into his arms and captured her mouth with his. He kissed her hard, then let her go. “You did good,” he said, turning and walking up the ramp leading into the ship. Kyra stumbled after him, collapsing in the nearest seat; she couldn’t say anything. Noting her silence, Riddick turned to look at her. “Now what do you say we get off this rock?” he asked.

Swallowing hard, Kyra muttered, “I could deal with that.”

~*~*~*~

Kyra was asleep by the time Riddick got the small ship set to the autopilot. How she had drifted off through all the commotion of that take-off, he wasn’t quite sure. Turning, he took her in as she sat, curled up in the seat. Her hair was falling haphazardly around her face and blood was spattered or smeared on almost every square inch of exposed skin. Rising, he carefully buckled her in and sat next to her. Fastening his own safety harness, he rested his tired muscles.

Riddick had set the autopilot destination to Helion Prime. The holy man would be able to help them – or so he hoped. It would only take a day or so to get there, then Kyra could get some real rest and he could find them a better ship. Merc skiffs were great for short hops when there was nothing better, but Riddick wanted something with some legs on it.

Kyra made a soft noise in her sleep and pushed against her harness. Startled from his thoughts, Riddick reached over and unbuckled it, allowing her to turn on her side. His hand came away sticky and red. Frowning, he unfastened his belt and knelt on the deck next to her. There was a big gash up her side, slowly oozing blood. Dammit. Riddick gently shook Kyra awake. When she rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes he pressed a light, comforting kiss to her forehead.

“I need you to stay awake for a few minutes for me. Can you do that, Kyra?” he asked. She nodded. “Good. Stay awake, and don’t move.” Riddick stood and crossed to the back of the skiff. There had to be some sort of medic pack or something – wasn’t that a requirement? Fuck. Just as he was about to give up, a dingy, battered-looking tin caught his eye. Pulling it out of its cubbyhole, he flipped up the top and sent up a prayer of thanks. In the tin were bandages and gauze, along with some sort of disinfectant.

Moving back to a groggy Kyra, Riddick helped her stand up and lift her shirt so he could see the cut. His lips compressed in a thin line as he swabbed disinfectant – peroxide, if he read the bottle right – as gently as he could into the wound. Kyra gave a hiss as the peroxide started to bubble and tingle. Riddick could see her hands shaking and he grimaced.

When the disinfectant had done its work, he wiped her skin clean and bandaged her up. Carefully, he helped her back to her seat and let her sit down. Her eyes closed and she was asleep again almost instantly. One near-crisis averted. Riddick resumed his seat in the pilot’s chair and strapped himself in. Closing his eyes, he tried to rest for a little bit.

~*~*~*~

The ship was quiet when Kyra woke. She sat up and felt the bandage on her side. Searching her memory, she vaguely remembered Riddick telling her to stay awake and not move. Then a scene from the fight flashed in her mind – a giant, evil looking knife slicing up her side. Riddick must have taken care of her wound.

With that settled, Kyra stood and stretched. Riddick was sleeping in the pilot’s chair, so the skiff had to be on autopilot. Sneaking silently around to look at the control panel, she saw Helion Prime locked in as their destination.

“Shit,” she whispered.

“Language, Kyra.” Riddick’s deep rumbling voice startled her. Turning, she saw that he was watching her; he had moved the chair around when she had been studying the controls.

“Why are we going to Helion Prime?” she demanded. She had left for good reason and she didn’t want to go back.

“Holy man can put us up for a few nights while I find a better ship.” He unfastened his harness and stood, moving up behind her.

“We can’t go. Set it to take us someplace else.” She couldn’t tear her eyes from the screen showing their destination.

“No.”

“Fuck you,” Kyra said, holding herself very stiffly.

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” Riddick asked, leaning in as close as possible without touching her; his breath whispered past her ear. God, he wanted her.

“My mother’s dead,” Kyra breathed. Riddick could hear her heart pounding. Suddenly, she turned, sliding one of her shivs out of its sheath and pressing it lightly against his throat. “Just like you’ll be if you don’t back off.”

“Now where’s the fun in that?” he asked. “Jack.”

Their eyes locked and held, each waiting for the other to break first. Finally Kyra squeezed her eyes shut.

“Fuck!” she shouted, throwing her blade across the room; it thunked into the padded section of bulkhead. Turning on her heel, she strode to the restraint chair at the rear of the ship. Riddick couldn’t resist following. He stood in front of her, leaning close as she sat down. Kyra wouldn’t meet his eyes; she just stared straight ahead.

“You’re a bad ass alright,” Riddick rumbled. “When you’re on home ground.” God, she was hot; even bruised, battered, and bloody, she still turned him on. He leaned closer, smelling her anger and arousal.

Wait. What? Arousal?

She wanted him.

Still, he couldn’t help messing with her a little bit. “Now look at you,” he muttered. “All back of the bus an’ shit.” Riddick jerked back as a tiny knife slashed out from between Kyra’s teeth. He chuckled and shook his finger at her. “Play nice, Kyra.” But he was proud; there was an animal in her.

“Where’s the fun in that?” she asked, throwing his words back at him. Laughing, Riddick moved back to the pilot’s chair and sat down.

“We’ll be on Helion Prime in a few hours,” he said. He turned the seat around to face the control panel. Kyra watched as he checked the autopilot and strapped himself in. “Try to get some more sleep, if you want,” he tossed behind him.

Pursing her lips, Kyra grabbed her bag and began to dig through it. Her fingers grazed the wooden box tucked under her clothes and she paused. Helion Prime was bright; she would need glasses - or goggles. For the first time, Kyra regretted her shine-job. In the gloom of the slam, her eyes had helped her. But somewhere bright, the light would make her useless. Sighing, she dropped the bag to the deck and leaned back in the restraint chair.

She had a few hours still, before she was dragged back to everything she hated. At least she knew she was safe with Riddick. Pulling a tattered paperback out of a pocket on her bag, she flipped to some page in the middle. She wasn’t tired, and reading served to occupy her until they reached the planet. Soon, she was lost in the story.