Eyes In Darkness

Chapter 14

There stood Fry, rain-soaked and shaking, a bottle of blue glow worms clutched in her hands. The faint light from the jar painted her face an eerie blue.

"What are you doing, Fry?" I asked, my voice sharper than I meant it to be.

"I came to get Riddick," she said quickly, breath hitching. "We need his help to get Jack and Imam back to the ship."

Riddick's jaw tightened. "I was getting ready to head back for them already."

The fact that Fry had come alone—armed with nothing but a dying bottle of glow worms—said everything. Either she was desperate, or she was falling apart. Maybe both.

Riddick turned to me. His expression softened just enough for me to feel it through the exhaustion. "Be safe," he said quietly. "Stay in the light till I get back."

He leaned down, brushed a kiss against the side of my head, then stepped out into the rain with Fry trailing behind him.

I watched the door slide shut and swallowed the lump in my throat. Then I sat down beside Ali in the front seat, close to the brightest light, and waited. The storm outside howled, but the skiff stayed warm and dimly humming around us. I just hoped it would hold long enough.

⸻

Riddick's POV

I hated leaving Jade and the kid alone in that skiff. Every step away made my skin crawl. But Imam and Jack mattered to her. If they didn't make it, she'd break—and that wasn't something I could let happen.

Fry stayed too close as we moved through the rain. The glow worms in her jar were fading fast, pulsing weakly. Around us, the dark hissed and shifted—the sound of wings scraping stone, waiting for one of us to stumble.

We reached the cave. I pushed the boulder aside, rain spilling in behind me.

Inside, Imam crouched with a knife raised, shielding Jack behind him. When he saw it was us, he lowered the blade, relief flashing in his eyes.

"Anyone not ready for these?" I asked, nodding toward the path. No one answered.

"Then stay close," I told them. "Stay in the light—and keep up."

They followed as I led them out, Fry bringing up the rear with the dim blue jar. The rain came harder, drenching everything. We ran through the canyon, feet sliding in the mud, the light from the glow worms flickering as the jar shook in Fry's hands.

We were almost to the skiff when—