Last Dance Redux 32

::THIRTY TWO::

“Fuck, Riddick, I’m sorry…..”

Kid looks scared. Not that I can really blame him. Jenkins isn’t really a kid, and, at some point, I’m going to have to stop thinking of him as one. Today seems like a good place to start. I could say that he’s just damned fast, but I have to look at the truth. I’m getting slow in my old age.
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Last Dance Redux 31

::THIRTY ONE::

“Is he awake yet?”

She’s sitting in a chair, beside Johnson. Comes down here quite a bit, and, if I couldn’t find her anywhere else, I know she’d be here. I’ve only left her side a couple of times, and, even at that, it’s only been in the last two days. She’s armed. Enough people here know Jane wouldn’t hesitate to shoot. Still makes my guts knot up every time I leave her alone. Had to start dealing with it sometime.
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Last Dance Redux 30

::THIRTY::

Tried not to hear the knock on the door when it came. Stayed watching her for a moment, the corners of her mouth turned up, in the start of a grin, as we both lay still, and pretended not to hear the door. Knew we couldn’t stay in here forever. I throw some pants on, and answer the door, shielding Jane from view. It’s the kid that handled the comm system. I don’t say anything. He came down here for a reason, better to just find out what it is.
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Last Dance Redux 27

::TWENTY SEVEN::

“Jane, wake up.”

She wakes instantly, making a move to roll out of bed, move up front. Not quite fully alert. Just going through the motions now, her instincts taking over. Reasoning will come later. I pull her back at the last moment. Franks has already turned away, respecting her nakedness, moving to the back to bring my clothes, left by the bathroom door. He drops hers, sticky and heavily clotted with blood still, stiffening as they dry. Pull the sheet over her, as I sit up beside her.
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Last Dance Redux 25

::TWENTY FIVE::

The last time she cried she was sleeping. Couldn’t have helped it even if she’d known she was doing it. She cries almost soundlessly now. To look at her, you’d think she was just sleeping, not sleeping well, but sleeping. Sitting with her in my lap in the back bay of the Virago, on the floor against the bulkhead. How can she be so small, so fragile? I never forgot she was a woman, but sometimes I forget just how small she is.
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