Consummation

Riddick hurt. Everything, every nerve, every thought, centered on his injured arm. What the hell was going on? Where was he?



Freed. He was at Devin Freed’s place. He was looking for Jack. He was hurt.



The information pounded into his brain, one thundering bit after another. Shaking his head, trying to clear it, he tried to sit up, only to be stopped by a sharp tug in his skin. Looking at his arm, he saw that he was hooked up to an IV.



The fuck?



He ripped it out and pushed himself upright on the bed. A wave of dizziness struck at once, but he shoved it aside impatiently and stood up.

And promptly fell down. He only managed to save himself by clutching the side of the bed, knocking over the IV drip in the process.



Mary appeared, probably summoned by the crashing and banging sounds, and he glared at her. “What the fuck happened?” he snarled, ignoring the tearing pain in his arm.



She looked pale. “Your arm….”



Riddick glanced down and saw blood seeping through a fresh bandage. “What happened?” he repeated, hauling himself up to his feet.



“Rick, lie your ass down, man, or I’ll tranq you.” Freed stood in the doorway with an anxious-looking black man peering into the room behind him.



Riddick sat on the bed, but didn’t lie down. “What happened? Why am I in a bed like this?”



“You passed out three days ago.” The black man was walking forward, creases furrowing his brow. “About an hour before I arrived. You’re lucky. The blood poisoning was almost bad enough to require hospitalization.”



“I’d have killed you if you tried to pull any of that shit,” Riddick growled, allowing him to replace the drip. “What is this shit, anyway?”



“Antibiotics.”



“Why the fuck do I have antibiotics being pumped into me?”



The doctor-type glared at him. Yep, he was definitely a doctor. Only a doc would glare at a patient like that. Riddick’s estimation of the man grudgingly rose a few notches. “You almost died. There was a massive infection.”



Riddick frowned and grunted. “Well, I got some stuff I need to do, so—”



“No, you’re not going anywhere,” the other man interrupted, stepping back and crossing his arms. “Not until I’m sure the infection isn’t going to come back. Besides, we need to replace some of the muscle tissue.”



No fucking way. He didn’t have time for that! “I don’t fucking think so,” he said.



The doctor shrugged. “Fine. I suppose I could just remove the bandage and cauterize it. Of course, you’ll only have about half the use of the arm that you did before.”



Riddick paused. Fuck. Fuck! “How long is it going to take?” he asked, trying not to let his temper get the best of him.



“No more than another three days, I should think.”



Riddick shook his head. “No. Too long.” Who knew where the fuck Jack would be by then?



The doctor glared at him. “I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice. What do you need to do that’s so pressing that you’re willing to risk your life?”



I need to get my girl back. I need to show her that I’m not going to hurt her.



“None of your damn business.”



~*~



The barracks were uncomfortably cool, but not to the point where she would be in any danger of freezing. Jack looked at the row of beds and saw a girl, much younger, lying on her stomach at the other end. Giselle swore softly and marched over to her.



Jack almost followed, but hesitated. She didn’t want to make things worse for herself, so she just stayed put. In a moment, though, Giselle called out, “Come here!” and beckoned with one hand.



Jack walked over as swiftly as she dared and gasped at what she saw. Drawing up to the bed, she saw that the girl—little more than a child, fourteen at most—had been beaten badly. She had a blackened eye and a split lip, and her long blonde hair was a mess of blood and dirt. Tears streaked her pale face.



“What happened?” Jack asked. My god… that poor girl… what is this place?



Giselle’s cold face was set in a stern mask. For a moment Jack was afraid that either she or the younger girl were about to be punished for something, but then Giselle spoke.



“Was it Alonzo?”



Jack didn’t know who Alonzo was, but from the look on Giselle’s face, she did. She watched as Giselle’s eyes narrowed when the girl nodded.



“How bad?” she went on. The girl shook her head. “How bad?” Giselle asked again, much more harshly. “Did he rape you again?” The girl nodded slowly.



Giselle swore under her breath. “You. Girl,” she said, looking at Jack.



“Who, me?” Jack asked, immediately feeling like a moron. Or course her. She was the one Giselle was looking at, right?



Giselle looked irritated even through the angry expression on her face. “Yes, you,” she sneered. “There’s a bathroom through the door back there. I want you to take Renee and clean her up. There’s a medikit, too. I’ll be back.”



Watching the woman disappear through the barracks door, Jack shook her head. She didn’t understand that woman, that was for sure. On the one hand she was threatening her and scaring the shit out of her, and on the other she was telling her to take care of someone else? If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought that was compassion flickering behind Giselle’s cold eyes.



She turned to the girl and forced a smile. “It’s Renee, isn’t it?”



The girl nodded and lay her head back down. Jack looked at her awkwardly for a moment. “Wait here, all right? I’ll be right back.”



The bathroom was right where Giselle said it would be. Jack saw a row of commodes along one wall and another row of showerheads along another. There were drains spaced along the floor of the shower side. No decorations, of course… just a cement room with metal plumbing.



She turned on one of the showers and adjusted the water until it was nice and warm, but not hot. She looked around and spotted a shelf, and sure enough, there was the medikit. She got it down and checked its contents before going to get the girl.



Whatever had happened to the girl, it had left her almost too weak to walk. Jack had to support her, almost carry her, as she guided Renee to the bathroom.



“Let’s get these clothes off of you first,” she said gently, and Renee nodded and began undressing. There was no hesitation, no modesty. Apparently Jack wasn’t the only one forced to be naked at times.



The girl was a mass of bruises, scrapes, and even a few old scars that looked like they were from a whip. This girl was so young! Jack was horrified, but didn’t say anything. Instead she helped the girl underneath the gentle spray of the water and began rinsing her down. The blood and dirt washed away, but the blank look on the girl’s face remained. Examining her critically, Jack saw some blood between her legs. Either the girl was on her period, or….



“No,” she whispered. It looked to her like this girl really had been raped… and raped brutally.



The girl was finally rinsed off completely, and Jack took some shampoo and gently massaged it into her hair, being careful to avoid touching the wounds on her face.



When the girl was clean, Jack looked around for a towel. Seeing none, she asked the girl.



“No towels,” she whispered. “It’s laundry day.”



For a moment Jack considered using the girl’s own clothes to dry her off with, but one look at the dirty things changed her mind. Instead she took off her own top and began brushing the water from the girl’s skin.



“What happened?” Jack murmured as she worked. “Can you tell me?”



Renee bit her lip, but nodded. “I was helping with the laundry when Alonzo told me he needed some help with something. I knew what he really wanted, but he’s Mr. Bentley’s son. I had to go, obviously. Then…” her voice trailed off and she shrugged. “It’s happened before. I’ll be all right.”



Jack didn’t know what to say. She felt like she’d been dropped right into the middle of a nightmare worse than any she’d ever had before in her life. She’d give anything to be back with Rid—



He’s dead. Stop it.



Maintaining her silence, Jack reached for the antiseptic.