Haunted Planet: Chapter Three-The Garden

Don't cry,
There's always a way
Here in November in this house of leaves
We'll pray
Please, I know it's hard to believe
To see a perfect forest
Through so many splintered trees
You and me
And these shadows keep on changing
-Poe, Haunted

“Good morning boys and girls,” Riddick smirked, leaning against the shuttle’s
entrance access hatch, his booming voice echoing eerily off the cavernous metal walls
of the docking bay.

“You’re a disgustingly early riser,” Arwen snorted as she and Tristan entered the bay
drowsily. With a loud thud, the supplies case she’d been carrying hit the floor, echoing
like a jolt of thunder.

“Been doing a sys-check,” Riddick replied, patting the beat up old hull of the
seemingly ancient shuttle, “making sure this piece of shit is even still space worthy.
Everything seems five by five.” He knelt and, opening the supplies case, he examined
its contents. “This party only for two?” he asked cocking an eyebrow.

“One of us needs to stay up here and keep things running,” Tristan shrugged, but
Riddick could tell by his anxious demeanor and the rigid set of his jaw that the man was
not happy with this decision. “Arwen’s the botanist, she’s been down to the settlement
coupla times plus the fact that she couldn’t really run this place all by herself made the
choice of which one of us is staying a fairly easy one, even if I’m not crazy about it,” he
conceded with a quick glance towards the petite woman.

“Okay,” a small voice said suddenly, startling them all. “So, like, when do we leave?”
They all turned to see Jack standing in the doorway. She looked batter, still not well but
her coloring had returned to normal and she could walk without staggering. Confidence
and determination hardened her face and straightened her shoulders as she repeated
herself more slowly this time, like an adult explaining a particularly difficult to grasp
concept to an unusually slow child. “When... are ...we ...leaving? See, you’re going and
I am coming with you.”

“Like hell you are,” Riddick said flatly in a tone that warned against argument. “You’re
still sick.”

“I feel fine!” Jack insisted stubbornly. “Listen, I’m not sick anymore! I feel fine and I
can help! You can use an extra set of hands and I’m small so I won’t get in the way, I
swear!”

Riddick opened his mouth to protest but Arwen spoke first in the girl’s defense. “No, I
think it might be a good idea,” she said eagerly, fancying the idea of having someone
else along between her and the menacing stranger. “besides, what’s she going to do
around here, just sit on her arse twiddling her thumbs. It’ll be good for her to get out in
the open, and, if she’s able, we could use the help.”

With extreme reluctance, Riddick relented. Arwen collected more supplies to
accommodate Jackie’s presence and loaded them onto the shuttle as Riddick began
the pre-flight prep. The single engine’s whine pierced the still cold air of the docking
bay. Riddick and Jack were already aboard and as Arwen moved to join them, Tristan
caught her by the back of her pants and pulled her to him. “Hey you,” he told her with a
rakish grin. “You be careful, okay?” She answered him with a small peck on the chin
and he gave her nose a teasingly gentle tweak. She boarded and shut the hatch behind
her, looking back only briefly to wave goodbye quickly and silently to her lover.

“And we’re... cleared for take-off,” Riddick said, leaning back casually in the pilot’s
couch as Arwen took a seat next to him. “all boards are green and that is good to go.”
He turned to her and flashed her a wicked grin that made her heart jump uncomfortably,
“Better buckle up.” With a violent jerk the craft left the ground and proceeded slowly
through the bay doors into waiting space. The shuttle shuddered as it gained speed,
plummeting rapidly towards the surface of the green planet below in a controlled dive.
Arwen’s stomach did flip flops and she gripped the arm rests of her couch until her
knuckles were white as she fought the embarrassing proposition of being sick on
herself infront of Riddick.

With a slam they crashed through Ammet3’s atmosphere then leveled out in the
higher altitudes, gliding above the low heavy pink clouds. Arwen breathed a sigh of
relief and glared at Riddick who was looking as cool as ever, totally undisturbed by
their drastic descent. “Smooth, Riddick,” Jack groaned from the back of the shuttle,
letting Arwen know she wasn’t the only one with wobbly knees and an unsettled
stomach. “Next time you decide to show off at least warn us first.”

“You have the co-ordinates for the settlement?” Arwen asked, trying to regain her
composure. Riddick nodded. “Good, good. Of course, we’ll need protective gear when
we reach the surface as the atmosphere is mildly toxic, breathing masks and... well,
you already have the goggles which, I couldn’t help noticing you rarely ever remove. If
you don’t mind me asking...”

“I’ve had my eyes modified for night vision,” Riddick answered matter of factly. “In
slam, they call it a shine job. It makes me extremely sensitive to light, hence the
goggles. If you want to know the specifics....”

“No! No, I... “ Arwen grinned sheepishly. “It’s like I said before, it’s really not any of my
business. I’m generally a trusting person, Mr. Riddick, and I take it in very good faith
that you haven’t tried to harm me or Tristan since you showed up. Whatever’s in your
past, it’s not for me. Look, there’s the landing pad, down there, “ she said suddenly,
pointing to a small dimly lit clearing among the thick of ancient trees below as the craft
smoothly dipped beneath the clouds. “Well, the lights are still on, that’s promising.
We’ll have to hike a bit to get to the enviro-dome, hope you don’t mind.”

Their landing was considerably much smoother than their take-off had been, gently
the ship set down upon the concrete landing pad with nary a shake nor a bump.
“Impressive,” Arwen smiled teasingly, throwing a glance towards Riddick who much to
her surprise returned the gesture. The two unstrapped themselves and made their way
to the back of the shuttle where Arwen helped Jack with her protective gear, then put
her own on. With a hiss the access hatch opened, releasing the craft’s oxygen and
other environmental gasses into Ammet3’s atmosphere.

The three stepped out and Riddick instantly found himself covered in a thick layer of
sweat from the heavy wet air that lay like a blanket over the planet. “Nice,” he grumbled
through his breathing mask’s comm, wiping the back of his neck with his hand.

The pink sky was just beginning to dawn as they made their way through the exotic
alien jungle that lay between the pad and the settlement. The ground was soft and
springy beneath their boots and the brown and green vines that hung from the ancient
gnarled trees surrounding them kept tangling with their arms and legs, making their
progress very slow.. “There used to be a path through here,” Arwen informed them, her
voice sounding tinny and distant through the breather’s comm. “But it’s all overgrown
now.”

“Is that normal?” Jack asked.

“Not for only a month’s time,” answered Arwen. “But maybe it’s been like this for a
while and just wasn’t reported to us when Team B descended. Maybe. Aha, here it is,
up ahead. “ Before them rose a clear plastic and metal structured dome, dirty and
weather beaten by the sometimes viscous storms that swept Ammet3’s surface almost
daily. What surprised Riddick was the actual size of the thing, a small city would have
fit in its entirety inside it. Arwen led them to the entrance, a small circular portal with an
irising opening. Digging through her pockets she retrieved a card key which she ran
through the door’s main control panel. The iris parted then closed behind them after
they’d entered, and they found themselves in a small white tunnel-like room with
another door at the other end of it which remained firmly shut. “Decontam and
atmospheric pressurization,” Arwen explained, as gasses hissed and blew from vents in
the walls, filling the room. She removed her goggles and breather, and Riddick and
Jack followed suit, breathing deeply and gratefully the admittedly stale recycled air.
The second door opened and out they stepped into the settlement.

“Welcome,” said Arwen with a broad proud smile, “to scientific research colony 1029
or, as we were fond of calling it: the garden.” And indeed, that’s exactly what it looked
like, overgrown and wild with every kind of Earth plant and flower. Broad, bent trees
reached all the way to the very top of the dome, their eaves brushing peacefully yet
insistently against the cloudy clear plastic ceiling. “Bugger, it’s hot in here!” she swore,
stripping off her flight jacket. “Everything’s grown so much and God is it hot! The main
cooling system must be down or shut off.”

“Creepy, huh? Jackie said quietly, raising an eyebrow towards Riddick.

He grunted thoughtfully in return and commented loudly enough for Arwen, who’d
gone ahead, to hear, “And empty. Whoever was here before is obviously not here
anymore. Where’s the drop ship again?”

“In the hanger off the west entrance,” Arwen replied, making her way clumsily across a
path overgrown with thick wild foliage that lead to the nearest and by far the largest of
the six small gray building scattered throughout the dome, which were now almost
completely hidden by heavy layers of vines and other greenery. “We came in the south.
I’m going to radio Trist, let him know we got in okay. You two have a look around, see
what you can find.” She disappeared into the building.

“So, what do you think?” Jack asked once she was sure the woman was out of
earshot.

“Riddick just shrugged. “This place is dead. It’s like a tomb. But Rose was right, I don’t
think these people just got up and wandered off into that jungle out there.” Suddenly,
something moved just beyond his vision, a dark shadow. He turned to get a better look
but whatever it had been was already gone. Warily, his gaze lingered there for a
moment, scanning silently the plantlife for any sign of movement. Nothing. A cold shiver
ran up his spine despite the damp heat pressing down on him. Distractedly, he led Jack
way saying quietly, “Come on, let’s go.”



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