In Consequence

FOUR


Where were her clothes?

Jack sat up and looked around, trying not to fear the man she knew was most likely watching her in the darkness. She was on a bed... on what felt like a real bed. A desperate part of her mind prayed that her captivity had all been part of a fever-dream. "Lights?" she called hopefully, not really believing they would work. Sure enough, nothing even flickered.

Okay. She was on a bed.

Riddick's.

In bed with the enemy, so to speak. Biting her lip, she took stock of her body. She was naked, which was a clear indicator of violation, but she didn’t hurt anywhere. She learned enough in her sex-ed classes to know that if he had raped her, she would be hurting like crazy at that point.

She swung her legs down to the ground, cautious in case she wasn’t as steady on her feet as she thought she was. After some initial dizziness, she was able to stand well enough. Knowing that it would piss Riddick off, and forcing herself not to care, she stripped the bedspread off of his bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. She knew all too well that he could see in the dark, and she didn't think she could stand being exposed to him more than she already had been. Holding her 'robe' closed at the base of her throat, effectively hiding her nudity from even shined eyes, she walked toward the door.

The ship appeared to be deserted. The lights were off, and there was nothing she could do to compensate. Even the small splashes of artificial light from the console in the cockpit, theoretically, would have given some illumination. Jack kept an eye out for her captor, though it was probably useless. She didn’t like this feeling of being alone, when she knew it was impossible. Something wasn’t right.

“Feeling better, Jackie?”

The feral rumble made her jump in surprise. Jack placed a hand over her palpitating heart and tried to breathe more calmly. “Jesus, Riddick, you scared me. Where are you?”

Riddick didn’t answer her question. “I asked if you were feeling better.”

Jack was puzzled. What had happened in the past couple of days? “Yes… I guess I feel better. What’s going on?”

“Are you hungry?”

Her temper was even shorter than usual. “What kind of game are you playing here?” she demanded. “Where are you?” She began turning around. The darkness that surrounded her felt absolute. It made her shiver as she cast about for a glimpse of silver.

“No game. Answer the fucking question. Are you hungry?” Riddick’s harsh words didn’t match his gravelly monotone. The combination made her skin crawl.

She might as well give in for the moment. “Yes, all right? I’m hungry. Now will you at least turn on the lights?”

“No.” His voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. She was starting to get seriously freaked out. His voice interrupted her panic when he said, “Go to the galley.”

Galley? Oh, the kitchen. Jack bit back another smart-ass retort and put her hands out, trying to avoid bumping into anything. Her stomach rumbled in an almost painful reinforcement to get to the source of food as soon as possible.

Somehow she made it to her destination without incident, and she called out, “Okay, I’m here. Will you turn on the lights now? Where are you?”

“Program yourself some food first. I’ll wait.”

Jack rolled her eyes. “How am I supposed to do that? I don’t have night-vision like you do.”

“Figure it out.”

Silence.

“Riddick?” Jack waited for a response. Hearing nothing, she tried again. “Riddick. This isn’t funny… Riddick!” Still nothing. “All right, fine,” she muttered, squaring her shoulders and setting her jaw in the darkness. Finding the food synthesizer, she rewrapped Riddick's blanket so that it was wrapped around her chest and under her arms like an oversized bath towel and hit a button at random. A horrible screeching noise filled the galley, and she covered her ears.

“Ow! Shit, I’m sorry. Shut up!” she yelled at the machine as she slapped at it, trying to hit the same button and turn off the source of the noise.

Finally cutting of the sound, she accidentally hit another button and was rewarded with a low humming resonance. “Okay,” she murmured to herself, trying to remember just how Riddick had done this. When she pressed another button, the humming noise was accompanied by the smell of cooking pasta. Her stomach rumbled appreciatively. “Finally,” she sighed.

Within seconds, her food was done. She felt awkwardly for the dish. When she finally made contact, she promptly dropped it on the floor due to the heat which burned her hands. The dish didn’t break, but the piping-hot food splashed all over her feet, peeping up from the edge of the blanket.

“Oh, fuck!” she yelled, jumping away from the mess and brushing the noodles from her sensitive skin.

“Riddick, would you please come help me?” she snapped.

Riddick’s voice was mocking. “Help you? Why would I do that? Come on, Jackie-girl. I thought you didn’t want a thing to do with me.”

~*~

Riddick laughed silently as he watched his girl fumble around in the galley. She was feeling better, was she? Time for the first real lesson, then. She had to learn that, like it or not, she was dependant on him. And that blanket has got to go.

After burning her hands and then her feet in quick succession, Jack’s temper only grew more and more incensed. Riddick just stood in the darkness and waited for her to really lose it. She had to understand that on his ship, in his domain, he was in charge. She was helpless in his world, even if she didn’t understand it quite yet.

“Going to try and cook something else?” he taunted. He was truly curious as to whether or not she would invite disaster again, or just cave and eat off the floor. He didn’t want to break her spirit. He merely wanted to drive home the new facts of her life.

He watched her look around briskly, and stifled a snort. He was as good as invisible to her, and she knew it. It thoroughly amused him that she thought she could sneak something by him.

When she shoveled the first handful of food from the floor into her mouth, he allowed his sadistic chuckle to reach her ears. “Taste good, Jack?”

Her eyes narrowed in anger. He relished it. “Fuck you, Riddick.”

“Don’t tempt me.” Riddick approached the galley silently. Her leash was in one hand. He knew she couldn’t hear him as he walked closer and closer. With the lightest of touches, he clipped the leash back onto her collar.

Jack tensed as soon as she felt him touch her neck. “Riddick, what are you doing?” she whispered, voice thickening with tension.

“What are you, Jack?” he asked, instead of answering. He used his free hand to loosen the blanket from her body, drawing it across her skin and away from her body. The sight made him growl in approval. Beautiful.

“What are you talking about?” she huffed, fighting to get the leash off of her neck and groping for the blanket at the same time.

Riddick slapped her hands gently. “Nuh huh,” he growled, almost playfully, before loosening the blanket all the way and tossing it carelessly to the floor. Here came the fun part— what some people called training. He just thought of it as gaining her acceptance.

Jack’s illness had caused Riddick to see things in a whole new light. He was responsible for her. This relationship of theirs wouldn’t be nearly as easy as he had anticipated it being. It was a two-way street, though. She didn’t have a choice in the matter, but he would much prefer not to have her fighting him from that point on.

“What did I tell you, Jack?” Riddick growled, tugging on her leash so that she was pressed against his chest. “Keep fighting and you’ll live in my world. You like my world, girl?”

Jack didn’t answer as she pressed her feeble hands against his pectorals, trying to put some distance between their bodies.

Riddick twisted the leash around his palm, effectively shortening it. “Answer me. Do you like my world?”

“Riddick, let go!” She sounded frightened. Enjoying himself immensely, he did what she said—he let go. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, scrabbling for the blanket. Scooping it up, Riddick disappeared into the bowels of the ship’s black depths again. Let her try and fend for herself for a few days with no lights. Riddick wouldn’t do a thing to get in her way. In fact, he planned on avoiding her entirely. He wanted to have Jack begging him to acknowledge her. He needed to hear her admit that she needed him. In the meantime, it would be amusing to watch his chosen slave attempt independence.