Treacherous

His eyes weren’t enhanced in some operation to help see in the dark. They didn’t need to be. He didn’t need to see.

Darkness was not an obstacle to him. There was no chance of bumping into anything or getting disoriented, or of being afraid.

Closer.

No real goal. He was just curious. How close could he get?

He could hear them, but he didn’t listen, didn’t care to. They could be discussing things that might change or even risk his life, but it didn’t matter. He understood that these were things that weren’t controlled by his opinion.

Closer.

The big hall was dark, and they stood near a doorway for the regular one. But the other one didn’t need light. How did he see? It was dark in the shadowy corners. The thick pillars and weird statues made it even darker.

Closer.

Only meters away now. Silent. He knew he didn’t make any sounds. Simple was perfect. He saw it simply. Making a sound was failing, and he did not fail. Yet somehow he did.

The conversation ended. Couldn’t see the target directly, but heard an end to the talking and someone leave, but one stayed behind. Seconds passed, he didn’t dare move.

“You wear the shadows well.”

Wasn’t listening, so it took a second to realize he was being spoken to. Still he didn’t move. Wait, just to be sure.

The voice came again, not soft, but not harsh either as he’d heard it before. This wasn’t a convincing tone, or an angry one. It was commanding. “Come out, Colin.”

Colin stepped out from behind the pillar. Riddick stood alone now, staring right at him.

“How’d you know?”

Colin watched him, his look direct but thoughtful. He couldn’t glean the thoughts, but he saw that the man was taking the extra second before speaking. Did that annoy him or impress him?

“How do you think I knew?”

The boy frowned. A riddle? Riddick hadn’t seemed smart enough or complex enough. “I didn’t make any noise.”

Riddick nodded, “I didn’t hear any.”

The frown deepened, “I had you blocked,” he argued, figuring the big man was saying he’d felt him.

“Did you?” He nodded, that thoughtful expression, and this time it did annoy Colin.

This man was supposed to be his father, and Colin was supposed to care. Childish books made Daddy’s out to be heroes, but heroes that could still tuck you in at night. J had tucked him in. Ramsay had tucked him in. This man had never even shown up.

J loved this man. Colin could feel it. What Riddick felt wasn’t so obvious. His size was impressive, but Colin hadn’t seen anything else that impressed him. At everything he acted like he was the one to be respected, to be feared, and Colin just couldn’t see it.

“How did I screw up?” Colin snapped at him. “You couldn’t have known I was hear unless you heard me.”

Again that thoughtful look. Colin ground his teeth, his hands clenching into fists. Then so suddenly he hadn’t seen it, the man known to him as Riddick, his father, grabbed him and held him out in the air. Hands on his ribs easily held him without hurting. One step, two, then he was set neatly on the edge of a statue’s pedestal, a good two meters off the ground.

Colin looked down. He had no fear of falling. Even if he fell he could make it so he wouldn’t get hurt, though the thought crossed his mind to fall on purpose to see what Riddick would do. He didn’t like being picked up, held like some infant. No one just grabbed him, no one.

“What is this for?”

Riddick had taken a step back. Did he think Colin was helpless now? If so, Colin would let him think that.

Finally Riddick spoke, “I know what it’s like to be young and strong. Makes you look at things like you’re better than them, cuz you know you can do it better, faster, whatever.”

Colin didn’t speak.

“You’re a little boy, but you’re smarter than most adults. Your special powers are just gonna make it seem worse, knowing things that normal humans don’t.” He shook his head, “Me telling you this shit might not make a difference. I was brought up in a hard world, beaten for speaking when I wasn’t supposed to.” He shrugged as if it really didn’t matter, “But it taught me to bide my time, to watch.”

Colin found himself listening now, wanting to hear what he’d say.

“Might be smart, might be a genius, and we know you have powers that we don’t know of,” he shrugged one shoulder again, as if that didn’t matter, and Colin hurt to see it. Didn’t they care what he could do?

“You’ve got no experience, kid,” Riddick told him, staring right at him. “I didn’t hear you. I didn’t feel you, but I knew. Maybe I smelled you,” he shrugged again, and Colin looked a little harder. Was he saying he didn’t even know how he’d known?

“You can smell me?”

That bit of a smile, “Yeah, kid, you smell clean. Soap and shampoo, kid sweat and baby slobber.”

Colin lowered his head, shifting his butt on the hard stone. He liked the idea of being able to smell someone sneaking up on ya. “You learn that in prison?”

Riddick smiled at him now, surprising him. He’d figured the guy wouldn’t want to talk about prison, would be ashamed.

“Yeah, I guess so. Learned a lot of shit in Slam.”

“Like what?” Colin could hear his own eagerness, but didn’t care. Prisons and slams were fascinating mysteries. Hard worlds full of hard people, strong to survive, mean by necessity.

Riddick seemed to study him for a minute, “Things I wouldn’t tell anyone, ‘specially a kid.” He shrugged, “You try to forget about missing fresh air and real food and all the other shit you take for granted when you’re free.”

“J wouldn’t like you saying ‘shit’ to me,” Colin challenged.

Riddick shrugged that one shoulder again, his eyes flashing as he glanced around the room, “Guess we won’t tell her then.”

Colin smiled. He wouldn’t tell. It had just thrilled him to say ‘shit’, even as an illustration.

Riddick stepped forward and gripped his sides, ready to lift him down, but Colin pushed back on him, the first time he’d willingly touched him. “Why’d you leave J?”

This close, touching, it was hard to hide from each other’s apparitions. Colin felt the answer before Riddick could answer, if he was going to. Through all the conflicting thoughts and images was regret. Riddick hadn’t meant to miss so much.

“There’s a bounty on my head, Colin. Mercs will always be chasing me. I thought I could keep them away from your mother.” He shook his head, looking right at Colin. “Didn’t know she was pregnant.”

“Would you have come if you’d known?”

That hint of a smile, and again he couldn’t hide much from Colin this close. For just a second there was a clear feeling of affection, and then it was hidden. Colin smiled, really smiled.

With Riddick’s hands already on his sides, Colin slid off and into Riddick’s arms. A second of surprise when Riddick realized that Colin was going to let him hold him. An arm around his neck, liking the contact of their bare skin, Colin leaned closer. “For J.”

Riddick nodded and carried him out of the room.

But in the end J was gone, off doing something else, and never saw them ‘bonding’.