Chapter Seven: The Lost Ones

Flicking off the pin cap, Wolff tossed the explosive through the door
and calmly took shelter just to the side of it. Leaning casually against
the wall with folded arms, he laughed to himself at the sight of Jack
and Keller diving for cover behind a pile of crates.

Before the rocking of the container had even stopped, Wolff was already
striding through the cut in the wall, his glowing eyes searching the
darkness ahead. As he turned to call Jack and Keller in he saw that
Keller had already come to the hole, and as if in slow motion was
bringing up his gauge to bear on Wolff. Wolff dove to the side but knew
he was too late even as he felt the hot slime of blood that showered him
as the creature that had launched itself at him from the ceiling was
blasted to quivering bits by Keller's gauge. Whipping around to lock
gazes with the smaller man, Wolff narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

" There was no time to call 'ware." Shrugged Keller, in explanation for
nearly blowing Wolff's head off.

As Wolff's modified eyes shifted to take the brunt of the lantern
carried by Jack as she entered, Keller felt an inner shudder at the
feeling that the eyes seemed to drill right through him. Inwardly
cursing himself at missing, Keller then told himself he would have
plenty more chances later and walked past Wolff as if indifferent to the
suspicious glare from the big man.

" What happened?" asked Jack.

" Don't really know." Responded Wolff, as he gazed speculatively after
Keller.

Going room to room, Wolff and Keller cleared all creatures from the
containers as Jack followed spraying the illuminating agent throughout
every room with no further close calls.

Gazing about the last room, Wolff remembered the last time he was here
and once more berated himself for getting himself into this mad escapade
of Jack's. For some insane reason, Wolff liked her usual fearful respect
of him, and whether he would admit it or not, the couple of seconds when
she had regarded him with disappointment back at his residence when he
had first turned her down, had bothered him.

" Let's take a break." Said Keller.

" Not here."

" Outside." Said Jack and Wolff, simultaneously.

Sitting outside in the dark, with only the illuminating agent on the
ground providing light, Jack had second thoughts about having their meal
out here in the open. But as Wolff settled down at the base of the hull
to the cargo container, Jack swallowed her doubts and sat in the doorway
to the container.

" So, those creatures were the cause of all this?" mumbled Keller, as he
stuffed more of his vacuum packed meal in his already bulging mouth.

" No." said Jack, condescendingly, picking at the contents of her pack.
" a stray asteroid was the cause of all this. The creatures came later."

" Oh yeah." Said Keller, rolling his eyes. " I still don't see what the
big deal was, y'Imam. They seemed easy enough to handle."

Wolff arched one brow in question, as Jack's eyes flew from her meal to
look at him in amazement.

" Well," amended Keller, in explanation. " they're just dumb bats with
teeth."

" Big teeth." Corrected Wolff. " and claws, and talons, and a big ass
bone razor running down the middle of their heads, asswipe."

" Hey" protested Keller.

" He's right, Keller." Said Jack. " you need to show these things a lot
more respect than that, or you're gonna find yourself on their menu one
day."

" Whatever."he said sarcastically, then changing the subject. " What's
taking those fucks so long to get here?" He grumped looking back toward
the way they had come.

" Why, what's wrong Keller?" asked Wolff, archly. "Aren't we good enough
company for ya?"

Ignoring Keller's murderous gaze, Wolff laughed to himself and proceeded
to dig into his own rations.

" Drop it, Keller." Said Jack. " It's no use butting heads with Wolff.
He's got one of the hardest heads in the whole universe believe me, I
know." She finished, smirking as her comment made Wolff laugh harder.

Turning his back on the chuckling pair, Keller stared at the approaching
glow of the rest of their party, saying to himself

-yeah, laugh it up we'll see how his head holds up to a gauge shot
right through one of his goddamn eyes.-

******************************************

Jack walked around another unopened crate and finally spotted the
shipping label she was looking for. Checking to be sure, she then
pulled out her Luminant spray can, and marked it as one of Ogilvie's
cargo. Later, she and the others would begin the re-packing of his
antiquities for return to First Colony.

Pulling up the lid, Jack noted that it was an old washing machine, with
one of those turning rollers on top for squeezing excess water out of
the clothing. Jack smiled wistfully at the relic from simpler times, and
began to close the lid again. Hearing the tinkle of glass, Jack wrenched
it back up and stared at the washer. Leaning further in, she peered into
the well of the basin and began to laugh bitterly as tears rolled down
her cheeks.

Stepping into the container with his burden of cable and ropes, Wolff
froze as he heard the soft sounds of someone crying. Coming around the
crate, Wolff looked down at Jack who was sitting on the floor with her
back to the container, knees drawn up to her chest, arms folded around
her legs, head hidden in the crook of her arm.

" Jack?" he asked. " what's wrong?"

Snapping her head up at the intrusion, Jack hastily brushed the tears
from her cheeks and sniffled back her sobs.

" Nothing," she said. " I'm sorry, Riddick uh, shit, I mean Wolff."

" Forget that," he growled. " tell me what's wrong."

Rising, Jack came to stand beside Wolff, shifting uncomfortably under
his questioning glare.

" Jack!" he said, warningly. " What's wrong? And if it's that kissbutt
Keller again, I swear this time I'm gonna ghost 'im myself what's
wrong?"

Pulling the lid of the crate open, Jack gestured for him to have a look.
After peering in, Wolff reached into the well and pulled out one of the
twenty, carefully padded, bottles of Scotch.

" Goddamn Paris" he muttered. " Self serving to the very fucking end.
At least you can't call him inconsistent, can you?"

" Wolff, stop." Said Jack, a pained expression on her face. " he more
than paid for his greed."

" But that didn't help the rest of us, did it Jack!" he shouted. " That
didn't help Imam's little boys, Shazza, Zeke, and and and Fry."

" No, and we're not sure if anything could've helped them!" she shouted
back. " Maybe it was their fate! Maybe Imam was right, maybe it was all
God's plan!"

" Bullshit!" Turning, he threw the bottle at the nearest wall, Jack
flinched as the bottle exploded spraying liquor and glass everywhere.
The strong scent of alcohol quickly filled the small room.

" If there was such a thing as God, do you honestly believe that he
would've intended for them to end up as nothing but lunch?! If I wanted
to believe in a sign from God, Jack, I've sure as shit got one now
Ogilivie deserved to die for holding these back. These bottles could've
meant the difference between life and death for one of them."

" You don't know that!"

" All I do know is that she probably would've lived if she'd had
something better than a fucking bottle of glow worms as a light."

Suddenly going quiet, Jack stared intently at the top of Wolff's head as
he dropped to sit on one of the smaller crates. Knowing intuitively,
what and who he was talking about Jack went up to stand in front of him
and rested one comforting hand on his head. Stroking his hair, she then
gasped as he wrapped his big arms around her waist and rested his cheek
on her stomach, but then also picking up the idea that he seemed to be
hurting.
" Do you miss her?" she asked.

Sighing, Wolff seemed to close up whatever door to his emotions that he
had opened to Jack, and pushed her gently away from him, dislodging her
hand from his hair.

" No" he replied, somberly. " I regret her."

Frowning in confusion, Jack watched as he walked back out the way he'd
come.

" Riddick, wait!" she called. " What did you mean by that?"

Pausing at the tear in the wall, Wolff turned to look back at her, his
eyes glowing green from the Luminant in the room.

" Nothing, Jack Forget it. And stop calling me that, I told you
Riddick's dead."

" Do you have nightmares?"she blurted out, then blinked as if surprised.

" All the time." He answered. " and in some of it, the creatures eyes
glow. Just like mine."

She didn't mean to ask him, she had only been wondering. To her further
surprise, he had answered. Jack just wasn't sure if it was such a good
idea to ask in the first place. His last words made her remember her
recurring dreams of him pulling her into the hole, and her skin crawled.
Rubbing her arms, Jack hurried to get out of the suddenly too quiet
container and went looking for the others.

Stroking his chin thoughtfully Keller stayed where he was, hunkered
behind a crate in the opposite corner and waited 'til he was sure the
two had left the premises. Stopping to grab a bottle of Scotch, Keller
left the container and headed for the room he had commandeered for his
own in the colonist complex. Laughing to himself, he began to plan in
earnest. Repeating over and over in his mind
-I've got you Riddick I've finally got you.-

>end of ch7