Red On Black

Chapter 7

Rehtaeh:

Finally they arrived back at the ship, just in time to see John's pulling Riddick's unconscious body back into the ship. Shazza was freaking out, screaming for them to kill the convict, she kept screaming that he had killed Zeke. She was uncontrollable in her rage and emotional distress, It took everything for Carolyn to drag her away from Johns and the convict. Rehtaeh was in such shock that she didn't ask any questions, didn't put anything together. Otherwise, she would have asked why Riddick had no blood on him. If he had committed murder there would be blood wouldn't there? Rehtaeh just stared vacantly at the scene before her, her eyes were so sore, she could feel them throbbing behind the gray lenses. Mac hauled her forward and for a long moment, the rest of the group didn't even notice Rehtaeh and Mac join them.

The holy man, Imam, saw them first. He took one look at Rehtaeh covered in May's blood and asked, "My child, what happened to you?"

"May, Doc May is dead. Something killed her, something in the ground," Rehtaeh rasped. She was still in shock, still covered in May's blood. "The creepy clicking, and scratching, and screeching things."

Johns came out of the ship, sneering at her as he took in her blood covered clothing, "I take it you didn't find any survivors."

"We found one, we sent him back here, has anyone seen him?" Mac told them, looking around for the man that they had told to go to the relative safety of the ship. He was nowhere to be found, and the look on Jack's face spoke volumes.

"He's dead. Zeke shot him. He thought he was Riddick." Paris told them, spooking Jack at his sudden appearance, his entire demeanor said that this reasoning was perfectly sound and justification for murder. Jack looked annoyed with the skinny man and walked away, with a disgusted look.

Rehtaeh's eyes went wide with shock and pain. Doc May had tried to save someone and had sent the man to his death. It was a poor tribute to the brave Doctor. Mac took her hand and led her away from the group, pulling her toward the darkness of the ship. She let Mac lean on her they moved together into the shadow of the ship. She needed to get his wound cleaned up. They were both in shock over the loss of their friend and for the man they had tried to save. Doctors were curious people, Rehtaeh was used to the coldness of scientists, but Doctors they were a different breed. They wanted to save everybody, to make sure they lived long and filled lives, they had a need to fix people. Doc May was the best of these. Rehtaeh couldn't help but admire her humanity. It was not a trait that she shared, but when she found it in others, she sure as hell appreciated it. She would remember Doc May as a friend. One of the few she had ever had.

She picked up a discarded half empty bottle of alcohol and took it with her. It would come in handy for cleaning up Mac's shoulder. Rehtaeh could hear the heart beat in the same area. They must have been fairly close to where the convict was being held. It was the coolest part of the ship in the lower level near her chamber. Mac sat down on a metal box, it looked like it had once been a fan generator or something. She opened one of the crates that held her old clothes, found something she could use as a rag, and started wiping away the blood from the wound. She stayed silent as she poured the alcohol into the cut making Mac grunt in pain. She cleaned it up as best she could before tearing up one of her old cotton tee shirts making it into a long bandage. She wrapped it around his upper shoulder, putting just enough pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, but not enough to make a tourniquet. She sat back when she was done.

"Your turn Rehtaeh," Mac said standing, indicating that she should sit down in his spot. She looked at him for a long moment, before deciding to allow him to help her clean up, and she sat down handing him the cloth. He poured some of the alcohol on it and crouched down in front of her. "Take off the glasses, Rehtaeh, let's get you cleaned back up."