The Ninth Life

Shan'ica SilverPheniox


10: Ninth Life

*Clands.* He was easy to recognize, despite the wicked scars that marked his face. She really had done a lot of damage when she swiped him in that apartment, Shane realized. She had gone far deeper than she had intended, her disgust and fear clouded her judgement. And now he was here.

"You are looking wonderful, Ms. Corvan." He smiled, an obviously painful exercise given the location of one scar. He reached out and traced the curve of one of her breasts with one hand. She flinched. "Now, Ms. Corvan, you left New Brazil so abruptly we didn't have time to finish our little meeting." His face twisted into a scowl. "Where is the choker you little bitch?" The man holding her moved his hand from her mouth so that she could talk. Shane screamed a high-pitched yowl that forced both Clands and his fucking lackey to cover their ears. She tried to run, but Clands grabber her and threw her to the ground. She tried to get up and he slapped her, hard. Everything went black.




Riddick had been searching the market for the better part of an hour trying to figure out where Shane had gone. 'Damn it, if only she would listen to me!' He thought. He had a bad feeling about the market tonight. He wasn't sure if it was an actual threat or if it was something else that made him nervous. But he didn't like it and wanted to find Shane. He was about to head back to the entrance of the market and see if he could find her there when he heard it. A cat's yowl. He immediately turned towards the sound. It had to be Shane. He just hoped he was in time to save her. Save them.




Clands' henchman had lifted Shane's limp body upright and she was starting to come to. Not the best idea. Clands struck out at her again, smacking her face hard with his open hand. She guessed he must have been doing this for a bit now. He hit her again, but this time Shane was ready for him, sort of. As his hand moved across her face after contacting she bit him, hard. He screamed, but she refused to let go until the fucking lard ball behind her hit her upside the head. Clands grabbed his hand in agony, then shot her a look of pure hatred and punched her in the stomach. That was the worst mistake he could have made. Out of nowhere Riddick appeared, full of murderous rage. He grabbed Clands and begun to pummel him, turning him into nothing more than a stain on the floor. The fat fucker dropped Shane and went to pull Riddick off of his boss. He didn't get that far. Shane slashed him in the back with her claws, then jumped him, biting down on his neck, tearing at the flesh. He died quickly, his jugular vein ripped from his neck. Shane fell with the body, using it to cushion her own fall. She wiped the blood off her mouth and let Riddick pull her into his embrace. He held her tightly, and she could feel his muscles tremble. He had been seriously afraid for her. Finally he released her.

"Come on, we should get you to a hospital." He began pulling her towards the exit.

"Richard slow down! I don't need any fucking hospital, what I need is an ice pack and some aspirin!" Riddick didn't stop. "Richard, the baby's fine! He hit me too high." That finally got his attention. He stopped.

"You're sure." The concerned look on his face would have been funny any other time.

"I'm sure. He hit me here." She pointed to a spot high on her stomach. "It literally knocked the wind out of me, he hit my diaphragm. But we're both fine. Really." She caressed her belly, the slight bulge undetectable. He pulled he into a fierce hug. She melted into it, enjoying his scent and his warmth.

"Here," she said, finally breaking the embrace. "the cash from the statue and jewellery. It'll pay for the tickets." She handed him the satchel she had been carrying. He took it wordlessly, then swept her off her feet and carried her out of the market.




Shane slept most of the next day and a half, letting her body heal and resting for the journey ahead. She hated cryosleep, and found that she was always tired afterwards unless she slept as much as possible before the trip. Riddick had secured the tickets for a transport the morning after the market. The ship was to leave two days later. Jack had been great, packing up what they wanted to take with them, selling what they didn't.

"Hey, sleeping beauty, wake up. It's time." She blinked her eyes open to be greeted by Riddick's smiling face. He helped her sit up on the bed. "The ship leaves in a couple hours. You had better get ready."

She nodded sleepily, then headed to the bathroom to shower. When she emerged Riddick and Jack had already gotten everything the bedroom packed and were waiting for her. They arrived half an hour before the ship was due to leave, in order to be settled into their tubes and to make sure that the settings on Shane's tube had been adjusted correctly to take into account her pregnancy. They would be travelling for eight months, but Shane would have about 2 weeks before she was due to get settled. Just before she drifted off into cryosleep Shane smiled to herself, a funny thought coming to her. She was leaving behind yet another life and moving on to another. In a way, she was embarking on her ninth life. And she was looking forward to it.



 

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