The Chronicles of Riddick: Ghosts of Furya

18

Riddick hid under cover of a shrunken distortion field while Waters attempted to gain access to the airstrip. The guard spent an unusually long time staring at her ID badge, but he gave it back to her without expressing any dissatisfaction. Riddick lay curled in a ball in the backseat, tensing when a flashlight shined right on him. He felt eyes rake the back of his head and didn’t recommence breathing until the guard gave Waters the okay to enter, and he didn’t uncurl himself until the SUV stopped moving minutes later, and the engine shut off. When he finally got out, he stretched his aching limbs.

“Alright,” Waters said, “follow me close and keep the distortion field small.”

Duffle bag over his shoulders, Riddick followed her among the light foot and vehicular traffic to the hangars, where Kenner’s ship awaited them. No one paid Waters any mind, patrolman or pilot, but Riddick didn’t relax. He felt completely exposed, even though no one could see him, unless they entered the field with him.

Waters unlocked the multi-story-tall hangar with a pass code, the aluminum door hummed and rattled as it rose, and the interior lights switched on, revealing a tidy hangar. They stepped inside and began double-teaming the pre-flight checklist, doing their best to not rush too much. The last thing they needed was to be their own reason for not making a clean getaway.

Once they worked through everything they could do inside the hangar, Riddick boarded the bus-sized ship and taxied it out onto the tarmac, guided by Waters’ hand signals. Once his tail was clear of the doorway, she stuck both arms in the air, signaling for him to halt.

Right as he flipped the switch that locked the wheels, Waters looked over her shoulder. And that’s when he noticed they had unwanted company. His stomach dropped to his feet.

Six soldiers, all armed and armored, formed a semi-circle ten feet away from Waters. She kept her arms raised as she slowly faced them. Riddick scrambled out of the cockpit and rushed down to protect her.

“Ah, there he is,” said a familiar smug voice as Riddick darted between Waters and the soldiers. That voice belonged to Fink, who took off his head guard and looked at Waters. “I figured you’d try something. Didn’t expect you to act this fact, but I knew something like this was inevitable.”

Where had they slipped up? Had one of the tranquilizer darts worn off too fast? Had... it had to be the guard just outside the airstrip. Waters’ ID must’ve been flagged for unusual activity. That had to be it.

“I was hoping you’d prove me wrong, Waters. You’ve been an exemplary soldier up to this point. It’s going to be difficult to clean up your records after this business is straightened out. Jules, take them into custody.”

A man broke away from one end of the semi-circle and approached.

Just like the moment when Russel aimed his gun, everything fell into slow motion. Each of Jules’ strides seemed to last for an eternity, and the rest of the soldiers stood still as statues. Riddick’s survival instincts kicked into hyper drive. If they were captured tonight, Waters’ dream of living as a family would never happen. He knew it in his gut.

Jules took another step.

Coupled with his superior strength and speed, Riddick could easily outmaneuver two or three heavily armed soldiers while armed with just a knife, but not six. Not six.

And another step.

Waters had set her rifle aside when they’d started going through the pre-flight checklist, and the soldiers had been too close to the ship to use any of its guns to mow them down. On top of that, it would’ve taken too long to dig out his firearm from wherever it was stashed in his duffle bag.

Three strides away.

Wait... Riddick had one ace up his sleeve.

Once Jules was within arm’s reach, Riddick looked him in the eyes and saw his gaze shift to the side of Riddick’s head. A blow was coming.

In one swift motion, Riddick ducked under the rifle’s butt and sunk his shiv in Jules’ side, between the armor padding. His body shook with spasms and he fired several rounds, taking out the soldier who’d been standing opposite him. Riddick put Jules in a headlock and used his body as a shield, whipped out the distorter and threw it at Waters’ feet, then seized Jules rifle and opened fire. The five soldiers returned fire, however they fell one by one. A fiery pain erupted in the arm he had wrapped around Jules’ neck, but he didn’t let go until he was the only one standing, ears ringing from all the gunshots. He looked around to make sure there were no other enemies approaching, then let Jules’ body join his comrades on the tarmac, along with his gun. Clutching his injured arm, he stepped inside the distortion field.

The blood drained from his face.

Waters lay in a pool of her own blood, three gaping bullet wounds in her head and neck. Riddick dropped to his knees beside her and checked for a pulse. She had none.

Riddick wanted to scream, but the anguish was stuck in his throat. He closed Waters’ eyes and held her hand as he absorbed what just happened.

He was alone. He was very much alone. He had no family left. All those hopes and dreams gone. Waters was gone. The future he’d been working towards: gone. Life with the rest of the squad: also gone. Life as he knew it was over.

He heard gurgling from outside the distortion field and looked up.

Fink was feebly moving his limbs as struggled to fill his lungs. He reached for his throat and coughed several times.

Riddick tore his shiv from Jules’ side and strode over to Fink. The General gasped when they made eye contact, and defensively raised his hands. Riddick plunged the blade into Fink’s throat, and then in his stomach, the thighs, and ever last fatal spot he’d been trained to seek out. He grunted with each blow, making Fink’s body jerk, then landed one last blow in his heart.

Gasping for breath, Riddick went over to Jules and took his knife, then kneeled before Waters once more. He thought of giving her a farewell hug or kiss, and even taking the time to bury her. Instead, he cut a lock of hair and boarded the ship with a heart so heavy that his chest was hollow.