A Dark Horizon(PB2): Chapter Seven-Confrontation
Riddick waited until Cassandra had gone and slipped quietly into her empty offices. He didn't know what he was looking for but he was sure he'd know when he found it. He rifled through drawers and cabinets and endless stacks of papers and files, being careful not to disturb or misplace anything in fear that Redding would notice. The blood stains that covered the room now made him ill, and he could swear he could still smell the faint but pungent odor of decay.
Pulling open a cabinet and pushing aside a take-apart model of the human heart, he discovered a spiral notebook marked: 'Dr. Daniel McCarrick, Med. Log K1-B7 Colony 3.1' in sloppy handwriting on the cover. He flipped through it carefully, searching for any mention of names that were familiar to him or dates. He found the first mention of the plague, which McCarrick had unofficially dubbed 'the spots' because of the outbreak of pustules on the tongue and eyelids, about a third into the book.
Abrubtly soon after, the writing stopped. The last entry contained a list of the dead and Riddick's heart leapt out of his chest as he read through it and discovered all three of the mystetrious settlers names written there: Cassandra Redding, Morgan Redding and Linus Liefert. Further more, the entry was dated more than a year ago. Riddick frowned. How could that be? If the list was wrong, and a group of the settlers had managed to survive even after being pronounced dead and being abandoned by the rest of the colony, they surely would have starved to death, or at the least be severely malnourished from consuming nothing but Morgan's tasteless gruel. The rest of the book was blank save for the juvenile scrawlings on many of the later pages. It was the same phrase repeated over and over again:'Dr McCarrick rests in pieces'. The author of said phrase seemed to go to great lengths to find new and more attractive ways to write it. Sick, Riddick thought.
He was determained to get answers. He was tired of playing games, he was tired of being fucked royally by everyone in this crazy place! He seethed with rage as he crossed the camp towards Linus' humble dwellings. He pulled the outer door open without effort even though it had been electronically locked and stormed inside, grabbing Linus by the shirt collar and shoving him up against the wall. "Shut the fuck up!" Riddick told him, silencing his wild and desperate objections. "I think it's time for us to have a little talk, don't you agree? I want to know about the bodies in the canyon!"
"What bodies?! I..."Linus' lie was cut short by the strangling grip of Riddick's strong hand over his throat. "They were killed," he managed to choke out, struggling to pull Riddick's fingers from his neck, "they were killed by McCarrick. He was determined to find a cure and he began experimenting with the afflicted. That's the truth, I swear it!!!" Riddick let go and Linus tumbled to the floor gasping for breath, looking wounded and indignant.
"What about the list?" Riddick asked calmly, pulling up a chair and sitting, leaning forward to glare ominously at Linus, "the three of you were on a list of casualties that Dr. McCarrick drew up the day everyone left."
"We'd started showing symptoms, "Linus sighed, getting to his feet and straightening his clothes. "It was decided that it was too risky to take any of those who may be infected. They left us behind, snuck away in the night, making sure to take all functioning ships so the disease would never escape the planet. They left us to die. Hell, we were dead to them already.
"Only McCarrick remained, which proved to be more of a curse than a blessing. His experiments continued behind our backs, and one by one the sick began dissapearing. One day, Morgan stumbled onto the doctor's secret graveyard and we knew something had to be done. Cassandra did the deed, he trusted her the most, she was his student, so he didn't even look twice when she snuck up behind him and slit his throat. That was the end of our Dr. McCarrick."
Riddick narrowed his eyes, studying the younger man. He wasn't buying it. The story sounded reasonable enough, but he couldn't help but sense that something was till being kept from him, a dangerous secret wrapped in a convincing lie. He could see it it Linus' eyes, the hidden fear. Now more than even Riddick felt uncomfortable with the situation he found himself in. He'd had his eyes shined so he could see what was sneaking up on him in the dark, so he could always be prepared to fight back, but this... He felt helpless, blind. He didn't like the sensation. He'd felt it only once before, facing those creatures on that planet he'd felt the certainty of death reach out its icy fingers and grasp at him. But suddenly, like an angel, Carolyn had come back for him, saved him, and gave her life for him in return. He'd vowed never to be that helpless again.
Much to Linus' relief, Riddick left without further question. He had, at least for the moment, bought the story. Linus sighed, slumping down into the chair Riddick had just been sitting in and running his hand through his chin-length brown hair. This was getting too complicated.
Suddenly, Morgan walked in, pale and wide eyed. "Was that Johns?" he asked, swallowing hard. Linus only nodded in return. "And he wanted to know what happened here?" A nod again. Morgan scoffed and leaned his back against the wall banging his head against it once and biting off a swear. "Shit! Well, what did you tell him?!"
"Fuck, Morg, I lied for the most part," Linus shrugged, "what else could I have done?! I told him about McCarrick... sort of. Fuck it though, he's not stupid. We're gonna have to do something."
"Dammit, Linus, you know what we have to do!" Morgan snapped. "The descision is yours. Help me." Linus didn't respond, he closed his eyes and breathed a deep, ponderous sigh. Morgan's expression softened. "This is for our own good, Linus," he told him, shaking his head. "You think about it, and you come to me when you're ready to do something about it, when you're readdy to take action." With that, Morgan exited, his stern wary glare echoing his words as he went.Linus knew he was right, he knew it. And he'd have to decide, and quickly, what they were going to do about it.