This story introduces two new characters to the
Valley. My new OFC named Grace Hammond and a
character from a movie Pitch Black by the name of
Riddick.

The beginning of this story contains major spoilers
for the movie. Sorry about that. It's also my take
on a very talked about scene in the movie. Some see
it the way I wrote it, some don't. The beauty of it
is, it can be interpreted either way cause we're never
shown what really happens.

Anyway, thanks to Toni for the beta.

If you'd like to read the story without the beginning
and the spoilers, email me and I'll cut it out for
you. Oh and this is the first story in a series. I
couldn't seem to get it done in one. :)

*******************************************************
Dancing With The Devil Part One
by Christina

 

//Fry.

When he plunged the knife into her back, she had
looked into the eyes of her murderer and smiled.
She'd smiled like she'd expected it to happen. The
smile disapeared when the creature ripped her from his
arms and flew off with her.

Carolyn Fry.

Now that the danger was over, Riddick could analyze
that moment better. He'd been cornered by one
creature and had been able to successfully elude it by
staying in its blind spot. But two, he couldn't fool
and the fight had been on. In the distance, he could
hear Fry calling for him. The damn fool. She should
have put the girl and the holy man in the skiff and
left his sorry ass, but she'd become all noble and was
determined to save them all.

One creature down. He had taken a moment to smile as
the dead animal was devoured by his own kind. It was
then that the second cut him. Riddick roared and in
his rage, easily killed the second. He wasted little
time in beating a hasty retreat. Time to get the fuck
off this rock.

Again, Fry.

She'd appeared before him, offering him her hand and
her help. No one had ever offered him either. But
here she was helping him. It pleasantly surprised
him. "Move it, Riddick," he heard her say, "I said
I'd die for them... not for you."

He'd found the strength to stand in that moment and
wrapped his strong arms around her as she clung
simultaneously to him and to the light that was their
salvation. He'd still held his knife and it was a
simple move to plunge it into her spine. Yet, it was
also the hardest thing he'd ever done. And as she was
carried off into the darkness, he repeated the words
that had condemned her, "Not for me."//

"Not for me," the girl, Jack, heard him say in his
sleep.

"Riddick, wake up," she hollered at him. She'd
learned the hard way not to shake him awake. She was
still sporting the black eye to prove it. He hadn't
even apologized, just told her that she was lucky he
hadn't killed her. And she knew he was right.

Riddick woke with a start anyway. He must have been
dreaming again, dreaming of that moment with Fry. He
had killed her to save himself, justifying it as
triage. Her for him. He'd killed many others for
less. Damn her!

The sensors sounded, and Riddick tensed. His cargo
had said little of what they would do when they found
others. He should have killed them both. He was a
fool.

The vessel that kicked the sensor finally came into
view. It was a transport ship. Time to dump the
cargo.

***

Grace Hammond had existed for over 900 years. She'd
seen a lot and done a lot more in her years of
existence, but no job had moved her quite like this
one. She was now a bounty hunter, and one of the
best. Her current mission was to track down one of
the most vicious, evil murderers she'd ever known.
The rumor mill had said that Johns, a not so
law-abiding bounty hunter, had captured Riddick, but
when communications had been lost with the transport
ship, she went on the hunt again. If something had
gone down, Riddick was behind it.

Grace moved to the comm and hailed the smaller ship.
"Attention unidentified skiff, this is the American
transport ship Reinhart. You have entered our
designated shipping lane. Please identify yourself."

Riddick cocked his head. That voice, where had he
heard it before? Looking at Jack, he gave her a smile
before responding, "This is the skiff Salvation. We
are in need of transport. We are on minimal power and
have three passengers on board."

Grace tensed and then smiled. That was Riddick. How
fortunate could she be to have the criminal just fall
into her lap?! Then she thought again, he'd said
three passengers. That meant he had hostages. Damn!
He'd use them to try to bargain for his freedom and
then kill them without thought. This wasn't good.
"Salvation, you are cleared for docking." She moved
swiftly toward her ammo store. Checking to make sure
the rifle had adequate shells, she moved to where she
could see as the new passengers entered the ship. She
also had her cattle prod at ready, just in case he got
the gun from her. She also had a high beam
flashlight. If it came to hand to hand, his goggles
would be her first priority and the flashlight would
be a valuable weapon against a man who had a 'shine
job' done which allowed him to see at night, making
his eyes *very* sensitive to light.

Riddick gracefully docked the skiff and turned to Jack
and Imam. "You are getting off here."

"What about you?" Jack asked in a panic.

"It's a nice idea you have, me living amongst others.
But we all know that it's not for me. I'm not meant
to be part of the human race."

"Bull," Jack said. "If you aren't going, neither am
I."

Imam, the holy man, moved and placed his hand on
Jack's shoulder. "I think he's right. We should go."

"No. He didn't leave us behind, we're not leaving
him."

Riddick laughed sadistically. "Listen kid, you have
no idea how close you were to being left behind.
Truth is, if it weren't for Fry, your ass would still
be in that cave or better yet being devoured by one of
those creatures. So don't get all melodramatic on me.
I just don't care."

"You're lying," Jack cried as Imam started to pull her
from the ship.

Looking at the convict, Imam said, "I will pray for
you, Mr. Riddick. You may not believe it, but I
believe in you. If you wished it, you could be a part
of the human race again. If you hadn't wanted to,
nothing the captain said would have stopped you from
leaving us. That is what I know."

As Imam led the child out, Riddick thought about the
holy man's words. He thought about that moment with
Fry when he had her flat on her back in the mud with
his shiv to her neck, asking her if she'd die for
them. When she said she would, it had intrigued him.
And that was why he had went for them... because she
interested him. In a rare moment of thoughtlessness,
Riddick followed Imam out of the skiff just to give
the man a parting thought.

Grace tensed when she saw the large man exit the
skiff. No more doubts, this was Riddick. "Richard B.
Riddick," she said with the gun pointed at his head.
She kept more than an arm's length between them, not
giving him a chance to grab her gun. "Nice to see you
again."

Sighing, Riddick said, "I'd say it's good to see you
too Grace, but I would be lying."

Jack screamed, "What are you doing? Put that gun
away. You have no idea what you're doing."

Not taking her eyes from Riddick, Grace said, "And you
have no idea how lucky you are to still be alive. You
have no idea who this man is."

The tall black man moved forward and said, "You would
be surprised at what we know."

"If you trust him, you are fools."

"Put the gun down, Grace," Riddick said calmly.

"I don't think so. I'm taking you back. Have a seat
and remove the goggles."

Sighing, Riddick did as she requested. He was cut,
bleeding, and tired. He'd just fought for his life
and barely made it off that planet alive, only to be
captured again. The tall blonde woman reminded him of
Fry for just a moment. They were built much the same
way, both had the strong will for survival. But Grace
was different. Grace knew the true animal inside him.
She would be a sweet kill, though the urge wasn't as
strong as it used to be. He tossed the goggles on the
floor and gazed up at her with a slight smile. "So,
you're taking me back to Slam."

Jack moved forward, though not touching the woman.
"Please, believe us. He could have left us to die and
didn't."

"He's a killer."

"I'm a killer," Riddick repeated. And it was true.
He'd killed Fry, hadn't he?

Imam took Grace by the arm and gently moved her away
from the man. He saw no danger in this and when Grace
looked at him, she saw it in his eyes. He trusted
Riddick! It was something she just couldn't
understand. "Jack," the tall dark man said, "You stay
here and get settled in, I will be talking to the
young lady." Without force, he gently pulled the
stunned woman toward the cockpit and out of earshot.

Riddick watched closely. He couldn't read lips, but
he could read body language, and what Imam was telling
Grace, she was finding hard to believe. The holy
man's motions were calm as always, but Grace's were
quite active. He smiled at that. She was a more fair
bounty hunter than most of the others, and he knew it
had nothing to do with her femininity. It was her
nature, to do right, to be right. Normally, he saw
that as a weakness, but with Grace, it was her
strength. What surprised him was that he wasn't
thinking of a way to exploit it or her. He wouldn't
go back to Slam and if she tried, he would kill her.
Inwardly, he found himself hoping that she would
believe Imam.

After another half hour, Grace and Imam came back to
the cargo hold. She felt tired. The story the holy
man had told her was beyond belief, yet she knew he
was telling the truth. Looking at Riddick, she
sighed. "I don't want to hear your version of the
story he just told me. I only believe him because he
seems so damn sincere. What I want to know from you
is... is the killing over?"

Riddick regarded her for a moment as everything rode
on this. As was his way, brutal honesty won out. "I
don't know. I only have the urge to kill you if you
try to take me back to Slam."

Grace nodded. "Fair enough. You can't stay here, you
know that. But there may be a place you can go.
There is a catch."

"There always is."

"I go with you. I watch you. You screw up, hurt,
maim, or kill anyone, and I'll bring your ass back and
put the horse bit in your mouth myself. There are
families where we are going, and I won't be
responsible for their endangerment."

Standing to his full height, he approached his savior,
and answered, "I can't promise. I won't promise. I
wouldn't even know how to try to live in a society,
with families even. I don't know that you should
trust me."

"I don't," she replied just as honestly. "That's why
I'm going to watch you. There are others there like
you. Heartless killers, and they are managing. I
can't imagine that you are any worse."

Riddick smiled. "Just as bad, probably."

Grace even managed a smile. "What do you say? You'll
have a home, a job where you can work hard. You can
stay on your side of the river if you want, and join
society slowly. It's up to you. My offer or the
Slam."

He laughed a deep laugh. "Well, since you put it that
way..."

"What about us?" Jack asked.

Imam moved in and put his arm protectively around the
girl. Since he'd lost his boys to the creatures, he
felt the need to ensure her safety. "You and I will
continue on and take the ship to its destination.
There are other passengers on board, I'm sure one is a
pilot."

Grace nodded in agreement. "You will be fine."

Jack was visibly unhappy about the idea. She had
become used to leaning on Riddick, but her bond with
Imam was just as strong. In reality, life with the
holy man would be best.

"When do we go?" Riddick asked.

"How about now?" Grace responded, not believing she
was doing this!