A Dark Horizon(PB2): Chapter One-Harsh Planet
The planet was dark, cold and barren. Only people wished to dissapear
came to a place like K1-B7. It was perfect. The tall stranger removed his shaded
goggles from his eyes and pulled them up over his shaved head, surveying the
landscape.
"I hope you find what you're lookin' fer here, Mr. Johns,"the
pilot of the frieghter who'd picked up the stranger's skiff out of the shipping
lane commented politely. Truth be told, the stranger gave the pilot the creeps
and secretly he was glad to be rid of the whole lot of them, the muslim and the
young girl too, happy to dump them on this god-forsaken wasteland of a planet.
The stranger didn't answer, didn't even acknowledge the pilot's presence. The
pilot just shrugged and left, wanting nothing more to do with them.
The harsh, forboding atmosphere rumbled angrily and a bolt of rose colored
lightening split the murky crimson sky."We should find shelter," Imam
said, "for the night, yes? Before the rain comes."
"Riddick," Jackie sighed, rubbing the palm of her hand across
the short ichy stubble that covered her scalp, and the tall stranger smiled. No
one had spoken his real name in weeks though it gave him some sort of perverse
pleasure using the name Johns, he preferred his own:Richard B. Riddick, escaped
convict, murderer. "Riddick, we need to go now!"she urged him.
"There's a settlement this way, towards the horizon," Riddick
told them, motioning his arm. "Traders, free settlers, claim jumpers. Trust
me, these people ain't gonna be askin' questions, and if they do..."His
voice trailed off, something had distracted him, something hard and wet hitting
his cheek. A raindrop. A reminder. Deluge followed quickly, sweeping across the
planet's barren plains like a curtain. One thought and one thought only filled
Riddick to the point of heart break...Carolyn and the moment his world broke.
Standing there in the rain, he could still see her, hair soft as clouds, dark
wild desperate eyes watching him in the seconds before she was taken from him,
literally torn from his arms even as he held tightly onto her. Only a breath
away then she was gone, swallowed by the darkness, swallowed by the night. It
had blown his soul. She'd come back for him, she'd died for him. And he'd lost
her. The three made thier way towards the settlement through the blinding
downpour. Though Riddick could see in the dark he found it exceedingly difficult
to find his way in the heavy wall of raindrops. Eventually they reached the
small cluster of industrial-style buildings, drenched and exhausted, bones
aching through and through. They found an abandoned structure and took shelter
for the duration of the storm. Jackie fell to sleep instantly, the first peace
she'd had in weeks, while Imam retreated to a quiet corner to pray for the
people he'd lost down on that planet, to the darkness and soon he drifted in to
reast as well. Only Riddick remained awake, he'd taught himself never to need
sleep. He was alone with shadows and memories of his own demons.