Eyes In Darkness

Chapter 16

It was Fry.
She'd tackled me for no reason—at least, that's what I thought until I saw her eyes. There was panic there... and something darker. She wasn't trying to save me.
She was trying to make me bleed.

I realized it too late. She wanted to draw the creatures toward me—to use me as bait.

Riddick shouted, running toward us through the rain. He was almost there when one of the creatures swooped down out of the darkness, tail whipping. It wrapped around Fry's waist and yanked her off me, carrying her screaming into the storm.

Riddick stumbled, blood slick down his chest and arms, but he reached me. I caught him under the arm and pulled with everything I had until we made it to the skiff.

Once inside, I slammed the door shut and grabbed the medical kit. Riddick dropped heavily into the nearest seat, breathing hard. There were gashes across his chest and shoulders, one deep enough to worry me.

"Hold still," I muttered, pressing gauze to the wounds. My hands shook as I taped and wrapped, but the bleeding slowed.

When I was sure he'd live, I helped him into the pilot's chair. He adjusted the controls, hands steady even through the pain.

Then he did something that made everyone freeze.

He turned off the lights.

"What are you doing?" Imam asked, alarm rising in his voice.

Riddick glanced over his shoulder, voice calm and rough. "We can't leave without saying goodnight."

Then he hit the switch.

The floodlights roared to life—pure, blinding white. The skiff shot upward, slicing through the dark as the creatures screamed and fell burning into the night.

We left the planet behind us. Imam and I made up a bed for Jack and Ali in the back, layering what blankets we had. Within minutes they were asleep—Ali's small hand tucked in Jack's. Imam drifted off soon after, head nodding against the wall near the door.

Only Riddick and I were still awake.

The hum of the skiff's engines filled the silence. It was a steady, almost peaceful sound—strange, after everything that had happened.

I watched him at the controls, the faint light from the console catching the lines of his face, the glint of his eyes.

I'd been thinking about what he'd said when he stitched me up—that he didn't like hurting me, that it made him hurt.

I hadn't forgotten the way his voice broke when he said it.

So I took a breath and said softly, "Riddick... there's something I need to tell you."

He turned slightly, one brow raised, waiting.

My heart was pounding, but I made myself meet his eyes. "When you said it hurt you to hurt me..." I paused, swallowing. "It's because you care. And I care too. More than I probably should."

For a long second, there was only the hum of the ship. Then Riddick's mouth curved, that rare, quiet smile that always looked like it belonged to someone else—someone gentler.

He didn't speak, just reached over, resting his hand lightly over mine where it gripped the seat.

"Get some rest," he said softly. "We made it."

I nodded, leaning my head against his shoulder, watching the stars streak by.

For the first time since the crash, the dark didn't feel dangerous anymore.

It just felt... safe.