The Things We Leave Behind, N-17, ch. 15 [PB/COR/AU]

Title: The Things We Leave Behind
Author: Ratatosk.
Chapter: 15/?
Fandom: Pitch Black/COR.
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Harsh language, rape, ambiguous sexual situations, violence, intense themes.
Orientation: het. Mostly.
Pairing: Riddick/Jack.
Summary: Riddick leaves Jack on New Mecca. She grows up healthy and sane. Wackiness ensues.
Disclaimer: Standard, except I’m evoking a creative commands license on anything I did create.
Archive: go ahead. Just shoot me an email.

Chapter 15. Blood and Bone.

I’m fighting some fucking thing and I keep losing count how many tentacles it’s got. Do know it’s got five mouths crammed with teeth. Been fighting it forever. There’s something I’m supposed to do when I finish, but I can’t remember what any more. It’s wrapped itself around me so tight I’m not sure I’ll hold together when I’m not fighting it any more.

We’re in the water. I don’t remember getting into the water. It pulls me down forever. I let myself go limp. Waiting. Dunno why I haven’t drowned. Decide not to poke that thought too hard.

After an eternity, a squad of penguins shoot by. Tentacles lets me go to grab at them. I shoot to the surface. Penguins swirl around me.

Fry floats by on some sorta inflated beach chair holding a pink drink in one hand and an umbrella in the other. I grab at her. She pokes me with her umbrella.

“You still having fun out there?” she asks. I growl. She splashes me. “Whenever you’re ready to go back in, let me know. They’re probably sick of waiting.”

I feel the tentacles whispering up my legs again. I kick at one. I should ask her for help. “Will there be beer?” I ask, my voice rough.

“Beer and cookies, the breakfast of champions,” she shoots back. “If you’re done wrestling with little Cthulhu there.”

I start to tell her it’s not some fucking game, I’m fighting for my life, but she pokes at a tentacle with her umbrella. It backs away like it’s a skittish kitten. I’m fucking sick of being in the fucking water. I wake up in a cryo tube. It’s pitch black and fucking cold.

I stumbled to the head, piss forever, glare at the fuzz on my scalp, find a hat and a sweater. Stumble to the cockpit. It don’t make me happy. I’ve been asleep for eight fucking years.

Eight years. It makes no fucking sense. I don’t sleep in cryo. Not hardly.

Focus on other things. Communication array was knocked clean off by a rockslide. Gonna have to try to fix that before takin’ off. Might be other damage. Gonna have to do a survey.

Later. The array knocked off in the middle of getting a message from my pet satellite. Seems almost eight years ago, a little ship visited my little winter wonderland. Pretty ship. Looks like high end government ship survey ship, heavily customized. Been in ships like that, back in the day.

Back when I was a commando. When I killed people ‘cause other people told me to.

Huh. Suddenly, I’m ravenous. Head to the mess. Supplies are lower than I like. Except for the hundred pounds of freeze dried banana chips. I grab a handful, chew them slowly. Brew a cup of tea, find some nut flavored protein paste. I’m so domestic.

I shake myself, open the nice fat datapacket the satellite streamed down. It starts with video of the ship approaching the satellite, broadcasting command codes. Satellite knows them, but it’s resisting. Good dog. Two mechanical arms extend, snag the satellite, take it inside. Things get confused after that.

Its cameras aren’t built for this, but there are images. Two blurry geeks in beige. Bad shots of folks in cryo tubes. One looks vaguely like Derek Toombs. Hadn’t thought of that asshole forever. They’re tryin’ to get my satellite to give up info, and it’s resisting. Good dog. It gets some info itself. Ship that snagged it claimed it came from Colchis. Huh. Keep hearin’ that name. It’s an archeology ship. Guess that makes sense. Since they’re all dead.

Except Jack.

Signal shuts off abruptly. I rock back. This message was sent eight years ago. Eight fucking years. And it didn’t wake me up. Why didn’t it wake me up?

Because my ship’s stupid. It was waiting for the end-of-message code. Which never came, thanks to a certain rockslide. I roll my eyes. Dumb ship.
Or maybe not that dumb. That rockslide caused damage, and the ship went deep hibernation to keep me alive. Another rockslide cleared the first, the solar cells soaked up a recharge, and the ship woke up.

I’ve been entombed. Folks came, maybe lookin’ for me, and they missed it because some fuckin’ butterfly flapped its wings.

Wacky.

Plus side, I’ve been quiet as a mouse. Probably everyone buys the Riddick is Dead story. As long as Abu and Jack kept stuck to the story.

My fists clench. Force ‘em to relax. Have to move on. Can’t live my life obsessed with a twelve year old girl.

No. Shit. They grow up so fast when you’re in suspended animation. She was almost grown up before my last nap. Now she’s almost my age.

All grown up. Probably forgotten me. Best that she has.

My hands hurt. I’m clenching them again.

Decide to go for a walk, see the sights. Something woke me up, after all. Might be something fun. Something I can sink my teeth into.

I ain’t been walkin’ fifteen minutes when something catches my eye. Something sticking out of a block of ice. Something fun.

Takes me a minute to hack it free with a rock. It’s a blaster. I heft it in my hand. Only a tiny charge left, tingling warningly. Makes my hand cold even through the gloves. I tuck it into a back pocket, look around.

Something must have landed near here. Nothing screams landing site, but the blaster in my pocket tells me it wasn’t too far. Fuckin’ too bad they didn’t hang out until I got up. I coulda used the company.

Feel myself grin. Company. Yeah. If only Jack had been with them.

I feel my grin turn into a grimace. Yeah. If only Jack had been a six foot two heavy worlder ex-marine with mercs on her trail and medals for marksmenship. Then maybe we coulda hung out a while. Then maybe we coulda --

I force myself to stop thinking about it. Look around. Found a gun, wonder what else is here to be found? If I’d dropped a blaster, where would I be? Like a fuckin’ yellow brick road, I see it. Something heavy comes past here often, following the same shining path to the cliffs.

Pull a shiv. It’s warm. I like it.

The path isn’t long, just twisty. Pretty soon, I’m at the cliffs, which are full of cracks and caves. Pick the closest. Jackpot. It’s full of broken bones and piles of fur. Whatever lives here knows how to nest. Doesn’t seem to be home. I dig around the nest a bit. I find clothes. Cold weather gear. Looks like two people. Dig around a little more and find their wallets. Sweet. Tuck them away. I hear something big. Between me and the door.

I keep my breathing slow, thinking it through. Something lives here. I’m in its home. It’s like me enough to wanna nest. It doesn’t shit in its own home. I listen for its heartbeat and hear it. Slower than mine. Heavier, like it’s got a lot of mass to feed. Probably eats penguins; I can’t remember anything else that could sustain something that would need this nest. I turn around.

It’s big, two feet on me at least. Heavily furred. Eyes set ahead like a predator. Bipedal, at least right now. Curving claws coming out of big paws. It’s beautiful.

We stand looking at each other for a long time. Finally, I take a sideways step, away from the nest. It just watches. I take another. It flares its nostrils, turns around, and is gone. Huh.

I pull the shiv again and jog out of the cave. I can’t see it, but I see its track. Heading down the mountain, towards the ship. Fun.

Hear something behind me and instinct takes over. I spin as something white leaps. The thing? Can’t be the thing, it’s in front of me. Too tall. It takes a swing for my head and I duck under the blow, step forward, stab. Feel it go in, but even up to the hilt, it’s not enough. Thing’s got an arm around my neck; if it was human, I’d have a problem, but it’s not that flexible. I stomp on its foot and it lets go, shoving me away hard. I stumble, spin, and it’s aimin’ a blow across my middle with those damn claws. I block it and get a swipe across my arm for my troubles. Right where I cut myself so Jack and I could have our special moment.

All I can do to hold on to the shiv, slippery now.

Thing roars, and I hear something behind me. Okay, got it, there’s two of them. Gotta finish this. It’s holding back now, maybe I did hurt it; maybe it’s waiting for its buddy. My arm’s bleeding; no time for that now. I grip the shiv tight and launch at it. It raises its arms to swat me down but I’m ready now; use them to leverage up, get it in the eye. It drops. I fall on top of it. It’s buddy gets there just in time to see us.

Doesn’t make it happy, that’s for sure. It launches at me, and I roll, almost losing the shiv in the process. It gets a glancing blow which nearly takes me out. I kick out where its knee should be. Would drop it if it’s human; this just sends it back a step. I get to my feet.

It’s the one from the cave, I’m sure of it. And it looks betrayed. Squash a stab of sympathy, try the eye thing again. Must of understood what I did to its buddy because it slaps me to the ground, hard, and dives after me. I roll. It fucking bounces after me like it’s gonna squash me.

Finally remember that heartbeat. My body knows what it means. I relax and let the damn thing think it’s got me. Gonna squash me flat, yes it is. Only I’ve got the knife ready. As it comes down, my knife goes up, sliding through that tight skin. My hand follows right along after it. The thing screams something that almost sounds human, tries to get away. I wrap my legs and free arm around it, thrusting my other in deep. My blade hits something hard bone and I hold tight, making it slide past, slide home. I feel the heart beating for one glorious moment. Then it stops. It drops to its knees. Then it drops.

Well, this is nice. 250 kilos of ice monster, warm and wet, pinning me down and my arm quite a ways inside. Shiv’s stuck on a rib or something. I let it go, I yank myself out, collapse against it. Feel a pang of regret. Woulda made a nice pet.

Body’s cooling already. Can’t stay here. Every predator around’s gonna want their piece of this. That’s a whole lotta meat. Realize I’m still hungry. Man cannot live on banana chips and protein paste alone.

Can’t remember if I can eat this. I hear myself sigh, roll it onto its back, go back in fishing for my knife. It hits me it’s a girl. Hits me that she found me in her cave and she let me go. Finally get my knife free. Go over to the other one, and it’s pretty definitively male. I glare at it. “Fucker,” I say, my voice rough. “If you’d had the good sense your mate had, you’d both be huntin’ penguins right now.” I suppress the urge to kick it. Tempted to leave them both for scavengers; not lovin’ guiding everything back to my little ship. Decide to bring the female. She’s lighter, and shit, my arm is still bleeding.

If I can eat these things, might come back for the guy. If not, that skin’ll be warm and those bones useful. If they can keep an edge.