A Wish Is A Dream The Heart Makes.

A.N: I know that I'm going to be taking liberties with the storyline, just consider them due to Xander's addition. The chapters will either be shorter and posted quicker or longer and up slower. Let me know which you'd prefer. This chapter is going to be told in first person.


Chapter Four: From The Wreckage We Crawl.

Riddicks P.O.V.

They say that 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... sounds like forty, forty-plus. Hear an Arab voice... some hoodoo holy-man... probably on his way to New Mecca. But what route...? What route?


Smell a woman. Sweat, boots, tool belt, leather. Prospector type. Free settlers. And they only take the back roads. And here's my real problem... Mr Johns, the blue-eyed devil. Plannin' on taking me back to slam, only this time he picked a ghost lane. Long time between stops... Long time for things to go wrong. What the hell is that? A scent, the faintest hint of chocolate, ripe, fertile and male. It teases me. Tempts me. It's close, so close only one sleep chamber between us. It calls to me, eager for me to claim it. I know that scent, it fills my dreams. A shudder runs through me, soon I'll be free. Free of chains, free of Johns and free to claim him. The one I sense, but know only as mine.


I drift and time passes. His scent, surrounds me... growing stronger... Calling louder. My tube jolts and across the ship alarms sound. Strident and painful in my ears. The emergency lights glow red and their flashing annoys me; hurting my eyes even through my blindfold. I wait, more alert now. I'm eager for what I know is coming. Emergency protocol, it'll free them from their tubes. Not me though, can't release a wolf amongst the sheep. No matter. My chance will come. It always does. Half my mind spares a thought to the cause of the alarms, will it affect my escape. Help me, or fuck with me? Either way I'll be free soon, the chains won't keep me long. The entire ship is shaking now, not a good sign. The pilots can deal with that shit.


I wait. Soon I'll be able to do more than smell him. The shaking is increasing...I start to feel fully aware... feels like an emergency landing... the people around me are waking now. I can smell them starting to panic. But his scent is calm. I know he's aware though I can feel it. I start to pull on my chains as I hear the ship starting to break up. I know the impact will be soon, I growl around the bit in my mouth, shuddering with the thought that he might be injured.


We hit hard and fast, I can feel the ship tumbling, breaking up further. The second impact... I'm thrown free of the tube, still chained... but not for long. Around me the others are toppling free. Screaming. Shit! I'm forced to duck or loose my head as I hear something, smelling of scorched metal, as it flies past me, I turn automatically, following its flight. Fuck! The boy. Shit! I twist, quickly trying to see if he's safe. The ship finally stops in place, settling with a final tortured, metallic scream. I easily keep on my feet, even chained. I search trynig to sense his presence. It's hard to find. Everything that remains is jumbled, the groans and screeches making things almost impossible to recognise. I listen harder, ignoring the screams, calling of names and coughing as best I could. Trying to focus on something beyond the scent of terror, pain. There! His scent, it's still strong, still no fear. But... blood, I can smell it; it makes his scent stronger, sweeter. He's injured, not too badly; the blood scent is there, but it's faint. Hmm, what to do? What to do? I paused, unsure for a moment, wavering between checking on him or making my escape for now and returning for him once free. I heard Johns stirring, swearing. My descision has been made for me, no more time.


I make my way further into the remains of the ship, knowing that Johns will be after me shortly. I fade, easily, into the darkness; settling down high above where I know Johns'll pass. I wait patiently. I know him too well by now. He'll be rash. The thought of loosing my bounty will be what's driving him now. Pushing him to act without thought; without plans. Got to love an incautious Johns. One day I'll ghost the stupid mother-fucker. But for now, he entertains me. Here he comes, right on time. I let myself drop from the ceiling, wrapping the chains on my legs tight around his neck and sqeezing, choking the bastard. Pain shoots up my legs, I can feel Johns striking at me, it's suddeness almost causing me to let go of the wiring I'm gripping to keep me aloft. Not good. If I fall, he'll regain the advantage. I'm still chained and blind he's not. As I think that the fucking wires shift under both of our weight and I feel myself falling. Fuck! I knw he grins at me smugly, before speaking, I hear it in his voice; Dick, trying to intimidate me. He fails. I hear a swift sound of something cutting through the air followed by pain and nothingness.


Fucking bastard. I wake chained to the ship, arms tight behind me. I sense around me to try to assess my options. I inhale and realise that I'm not as alone as I'd first thought; the gentle smell of chocolate teased me, I could feel him watching me from the shadows. The feel of his eyes running over me makes me shiver slightly. His silence spoke to me, on my most primitive level. I could sense what he was doing. I knew he wouldn't help me escape. Not now. First, I'd need to prove myself capable. He was judging my worth as a mate, after all, if I couldn't take care of myself... how could I be expected to care for a mate? I grin around the bit, fuck, I love a challenge.


Hmm. Footsteps, two sets one lighter smells like Johns and a woman. She stinks of guilt and fear, interesting. I listen to Johns tell her about me. I'm amused by her whispered question, asking if I'm really all that dangerous. I smell her fear as it quicks up a notch, and snort at Johns' reply, 'only around humans'. This rate he'll do my work for me. They leave, too uneasy to stay in my presence. I look up, around the blindfold; the idiot had chained me to some sort of upright pole. Johns really did make this too easy. I turn my head, to stare into the darkness where I knew he waited. I continue watching, even as I dislocate my shoulders to allow me to raise them up behind me and lift myself free. I continue to watch him even as I fit my shoulders back in place, gruntig with the effort but showing no hint of pain. Free, I fall forward, I'm chained... bolted to the floor. There, in front of me, a cutting torch. That'd solve the problem of the chains. I grab up the cutting torch; using it to offer him a cocky salute. It's the work of a moment to get free. I reach up snatching the blindold off and finally taking the bit from my mouth. Time to go see where we landed. I need to know what I've got to work with. I know it won't be long now until Johns shows up to check on me, time is getting short. I offer him a small nod, sensing it as soon as he turns and leaves. He knew I'd be back for him. So did I. Soon.


After I leave him behind me, I slow. No sense putting on a show, if it ends with me tied. I listen, carefully trying to locate the other survivors. There. They seem to be over there, concentrated together. Something that way too. Smells dead. Hmm. Someone over that way too. Far enough away... they won't bother me none. Quietly now, I work my way through the wreckage and outside. Looking out across the dessert. I wince, fuckin' three suns! Just what I need. I grab the shades I'd hidden on me and slip them on. Time to leave some false trails and go explore this new teritory. Once I'd rested up some, I'd be back. He'd be waiting.