Forgotten Past: Chapter Twenty Three-Ready For Something
Riddick growled as he lifted his head from its resting place on his
crossed arms. His eyes met with Carolyn’s deathly still form, laying on
her stomach.
If he’d known how right he was, he wouldn’t have said anything, he
thought to himself as he stared at the foot long black leathery wings
protruding from her shoulder blades.
The doctor said they were still growing, and if they hadn’t pulled them
out they would have eventually burst from her back, probably resulting
in death.
It had been two weeks since Carolyn’s surgery and although the wings
were still growing and she was still breathing, without help from a
machine, she hadn’t so much as twitched an eyelash.
Occasional nightmares caused the only reaction she had, which was to
extend the deadly bone claws on her hands, then retract them slowly.
Riddick’s stomach was in constant knots, and he found it hard to eat or
sleep, staying by her side non-stop.
Riddick was worried about more than Carolyn’s health, though. The
Company wouldn’t be spending money on researching the mutating
properties of aluthium alloy if they weren’t planning something big,
and that meant bad news for the resistance fighters.
After Carolyn had passed out, Bruce Levake had refused to leave the
ship, splitting the watch with Riddick so they could alternate between
eating and sleeping without ever leaving Carolyn alone should, she
wake up.
The rest of Nylorac had headed on to Earth to search for Reed O’Dell,
another resistance group leader. Apparently, Reed had been searching
for Carolyn, wishing to ask her to contribute to the resistance.
Another piece of Carolyn’s muddied past, Riddick thought wryly. His
full attention immediately snapped to Carolyn as she stretched slowly, a
sort of raw growl irrupting from her throat. The leathery wings
fluttered and she groaned, one black eye opening to a mere slit to stare
warily at Riddick from beneath blonde eyelashes.
“Riddick?” she managed through her dry throat.
Riddick moved to her side, crouching down to his knees so his face was
at a level with hers. “Yeah. How you feelin’?”
Carolyn stretched again then froze, her eyes going wide. “Is it...?” she
trailed off, to terrified to finish her question.
He nodded. “You’ve got wings. They had to operate to get them out and
the doc says they’re still growing.” He paused, watching for her
reaction.
Her white face hardened with determination and she forced her
uncooperative body upright into a sitting position, then turned to look
over her shoulder. Carolyn could just make out the tips of the wings,
and she fluttered them experimentally a few times before spreading
them out as far as they’d reach.
With a wince, Carolyn brought them back to a folded position and laid
back on her stomach, closing her eyes. “So much for sleeping on my
back,” she gritted out in a defeated whisper.
Riddick felt his stomach twist painfully and leaned over to place his
face close to hers. “They might be able to remove them,” he told her
calmly.
Her eyes looked hopeful for a moment before she shook her head in the
negative. “They might be useful. We’re going to war with the
resistance. We’re going to take down The Company.”
~~~
Reed O’Dell got the transmission and called in his crew to board
Ahsatan’s battle cruiser at the air/spaceport.
“Creed’s been in space for two weeks,” Mark began as a prelude to the
rest of what Bruce’s team had told him. They were to check the base for
more shipments of aluthium alloy and get the hell out of Dodge, as
Jarod had stated to Mark in person.
“Then let’s get out of here!” Reed exclaimed. “The battle awaits.”
“Forward ho,” Mark muttered as he trailed much more slowly after
Reed on board the ship.
Three hours later they were breaking the atmosphere and heading after
Creed. It meant two weeks in cryo-sleep, and the transmission had said
that The Charmer would be staying put until Reed could catch up.
Reed plopped down in the captain’s seat of the cruiser and turned to
Mark, who was just entering the room. “Any word on whether or not
Creed’s willin’ to join us?”
Mark nodded before sitting next to Reed. “Yeah. Word has it she’s not
doin’ so well and she wants to take it out on The Company. Whatever
gets her to help rock the boat, huh?”
Reed nodded in agreement. “Absolutely. And Riddick?”
“He’s with her.”
Reed’s lips twisted sadistically, his intentions for The Company made
clear with that simple expression. “Perfect.”
~~~
“Do you remember this woman?” Martina demanded, thrusting the
color photo at Sleke.
Sleke reached out with lightening speed and snagged the photograph,
her eyes lingering on the pretty blonde woman’s image. Her expression
was bored as she dropped it to the floor and stretched luxuriously, a
low purr erupting from her throat as her tail twitched lazily.
“No,” she finally purred and flicked the photo of Carolyn towards
Martina’s feet.
“No? That’s all you have to say?” Martina was not impressed by
Sleke’s lack of enthusiasm.
Orange eyes blinked at him sleepily from beneath black lashes. “You
want an explanation? ‘No, I’ve never seen her before. If I have, I can’t
remember. No, I don’t remember her, or know anything about her...’ I
could go on? Should I?” She opened her mouth as if to continue and
Martina held up a silencing hand.
“Forget it. I’m just surprised that she doesn’t mean anything to you.”
“Should she?” Sleke raised one dark brow questioningly and whipped
out her tail, snagging Martina around the waist and forcing him closer
to her.
Martina resisted for a moment before allowing Sleke to drag him
forward. “Yes. She’s your sister.”
The tail loosened immediately and curled around Sleke’s leg as she sat
hard in a leather chair. “Sister?” she whispered, staring up at him.
Sitting across from her, Martina nodded. “Yes. You know that the
mutation causes memory loss, don’t you?”
Sleke nodded, for once her mocking and lazy demeanor gone, replaced
by a strained look of pain. Martina felt that maybe he was finally
connecting with Sleke.
“The Company didn’t tell you who you were for whatever reason. I
can’t specify. But since you took the mutation so well, we wanted to find
out anything we could about you. We found you have a sister. Her name
is Carolyn Fry,” Martina finished, watching Sleke’s expression closely.
It flickered loss before tightening. “Who am I?” she demanded, her
voice a low growl and he watched her fingers flex, the claws painted a
dark crimson today.
“Eden Fry. Carolyn is your big sister. Do you remember anything?”
“Eden.” Sleke rolled the name off her tongue, unsure if she liked it. “I
like it, but it doesn’t quite fit me, does it?” Her tone and her eyes were
mocking, flashing sardonically at Martina.
He smiled without humor. “I suppose not. Do you remember
anything?” he questioned again.
Sleke shook her head. “No... I don’t think so. It’s all so muddled in
there. I think I might...” Another frustrated shake of her head, causing
silvery blonde and black strands to fall across her face and around her
shoulders. “No. Nothing. It’ll take time. Can anything bring my
memory back?”
This serious, hopeful Sleke wasn’t something Martina had ever thought
he’d see in his lifetime, or one that anyone else ever would in theirs. But
here she was, wanting to know about her past, and her sister.
“Yes,” he started, and held up a hand for her to wait when her
expression became hopeful. “I only *think* there’s a way. It’s never
been done, but it just might work. Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
Sleke stood purposefully and wrapped her tail around her waist a few
times. “Yes,” she hissed quietly. “I’m always ready for something.”
~~~
A slam against the hull and Lt. Craig Austin slammed against the wall,
his head cracking painfully against a bolt. He felt warm blood trickle
down the side of his face and quickly pushed himself back up.
“What was that!?” he demanded, his voice harsh and exhausted.
A screen popped up before his eyes, showing a number of weapons. It
scrolled through more than he could follow before freezing on one. The
image rotated around, showing the weapon from all angles.
“That’s what they’re using on us?” he growled.
The man at the console nodded, his eyes wide.
“That’s the biggest damn elecrablaster I’ve ever seen, sir,” the man
stated frightfully.
Craig took a deep breath and felt another shudder rack the outer walls
of the Company battle cruiser, a blue ripple of elecricity glowing neon
as it rolled across the inner wall. “We’re going to die, and the resistance
is going to move in. Alta 10 is lost.”
“Are you ready for energy blast, sir?” the man questioned as Craig
drifted thoughtlessly.
Snapping out of his reverie, Craig turned to the man. “Yes. I’m always
ready for something.”
***