A Dark Retreat

Escape

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Pitch Black, Riddick, and music assets used. I only own any original characters I include.

~ Riddick ~

'They say most of your brain shuts down in cryo-sleep. All but the primitive side. The animal side. No wonder I'm still awake. Transporting me with civilians. Sounded like 40, 40-plus. Heard an Arab voice, some hoodoo holy man, probably on his way to New Mecca.
But what route?
What route?
Smelled a woman. Sweat, boots, tool belt, leather. Prospector type. Free settlers. And they only take the backroads. And here's my real problem. Mr. Johns, blue-eyed devil. Plannin' on taking me back to slam only this time he picked a ghost lane.

A long time between stops.

A long time for something to go wrong.'

I'm pulled away from creative ways to ghost Mr. Johns when something pierces through the hull, alarms blare as turbulence and raised voices draw my attention. I snort with amusement as I hear the pilot try to jettison the passengers. Suddenly a bright, white light fills my pod. Through rips in my blindfold, the light stabs my eyes and I can see nothing through intense pain. The sounds of the ship dissolve around me. I fall, no longer held by the chains in the cryo pod. Wind whips at my ears and branches scratch my bare arms as I hit the ground. The hot atmosphere the ship had been falling through moments before has been replaced by cool night air; the light from the ship replaced by forest.

I've landed in a ditch surrounded by vines of thorns and bushes. The darkness is almost complete. The scent of wet earth and leaves fills my nose, mingled with the sharp smell of metal and the reek of exhaust. No longer needing protection from light, I pull off the blindfold; Damn, Johns for taking my goggles I use to protect my eyes during the day, I tuck it in a pocket to use later, but can't get the cuffs off yet.

'There's a woman too. Lighter step quicker than a man's. Heading away from the lights and into the darkness.'

Her scent tells me she is relaxed in the dark, surrounded on both sides by trees. Steel and somethin' fruity' make up her scent. Her shoulders are slightly hunched under the heavy backpack she's carrying.

Her voice floats on the cool night air; she's... singing?

'New question, where am I?'

~ 10 Minutes Earlier ~

~ Quinn ~

I've had nowhere to go for the past few days, so I'm going back to someplace I know. I hope it's still abandoned. I just want to lie down and sleep. I've been going all day. I don't have a job anymore, my boyfriend was a complete dick and we broke up after a long fight. It's been a bad week, hell it's been a bad few years.

I jump out of the cab of the single cab Ford truck at the Country Market. A man had offered me a ride. He wanted me to offer something in return for the lift but I shut that down with my pocket knife pressed against the artery in his inner thigh near his jewels.

'The jerk wanted a blowjob!' I sigh, 'I hate most men...'

I went inside and bought some non-perishable food; many Ramen, cans of veggies, beef jerky and water, while I wait for the jerk to leave. He drives away, down the road in the opposite direction I plan on heading. Walking out of the store, I make my way into the darkness. I'm relaxed and begin to sing softly as I watch and listen to my surroundings.