The Chronicles of Riddick: Ghosts of Furya Page 4

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  Waters piloted the ship into the sky as Kenner plotted out a course on the screen next to her. Pond and Markham manned gunner stations just in case, and Riddick was strapped into a passenger chair with Spark keeping him company. The kid was wild-eyed but fighting to keep his composure while he maintained a death grip on his shoulder straps.

  Waters leveled out the ship at 30,000 feet, locked it on course to the civilization an hour away, then told Kenner to keep an eye out just in case their GPS missed anything during the initial sweep hours ago. Kenner made himself comfortable. Waters unbuckled her seatbelt and headed for the passengers chairs.

  Spark had his chair swiveled around so he was facing Riddick. With aid of two buttons in the headrest, Waters swiveled around the one next to him and locked it in place, then flicked open a flap in the floor and stepped on a button. “Watch yourselves.” A sheet of stainless steel rose out of a thin opening between the chairs, stopped at her eye level, then split into halves and formed a table. She took a seat and propped herself up on the table with her elbows.

  Riddick stared in open wonder at the table and slowly relaxed his death grip.

  Spark patted the stainless steel. “Table.”

  “Table.” He patted his straps, then unlatched the chest buckle. “Belt.” He patted his chair. “Chair.” He looked at Waters’ chair, thought a moment, then got up and stood behind the one next to him. He looked out the pilot window. “Flying. No,” he said with a shake of his head. He began feeling around the sides of the headrest.

  Spark laughed. “It’s not for everyone. You say, ‘flying no.’ Now say, ‘I don’t like flying.’”

  Riddick paused in his search. “I don’t lie fy-ing?”

  “I don’t like flying,” he said slower.

  “I don’t like flying?”

  “Right.” Spark fished out a package of dried fruit from the compartment under his seat. “I like food.” He popped a few pieces into his mouth and held out the open bag.

  “Food.” Riddick sniffed the air as he stuck a hand in the bag. He ate a few pieces and nodded approvingly. “Food. Yes.”

  “Say, ‘I like food.’”

  “I like food.”

  “I don’t like flying.”

  “I don’t like flying,” Riddick agreed, then eyed the bag. “I like food.” He reached for seconds, then turned back to the chair and pressed one of the buttons. The chair swiveled. Riddick pressed the other and locked it in place. He plopped into it and studied Waters thoughtfully. “I like girl.”

  The men laughed and Spark smirked. Waters felt herself go red. She shook her head. “Don’t corrupt the kid.”

  “Good luck with that one, Riddick,” Kenner said over a shoulder. “The Jade Dragon is unobtainable. Many have tried. All have failed.”

  His tone was genial but the words still bit into Waters. They placed a magnifying lens over her single status. That and Riddick’s behavior tugging at her maternal instincts made her realize how much of that side of herself she’d buried under being a workaholic. She didn’t regret any of it though. She loved her job and the good she accomplished. The military and her country needed her.

  “I’m not trying to corrupt him,” Spark said. “That’s all Pond’s idea.”

  Pond spun around in his chair. “Gee, thanks. It’s not like any of you tried to stop me during his first vocabulary lesson.”

  Waters snapped out of her brooding. “What a good point. All of you deserve punishment when we get home.” The men voiced protest but she quieted them with a raised hand and wicked smile.

  Spark dug out a piece of dried fruit. “Thanks a lot, Flower Boy.” He leaned forward so Waters’ head wasn’t blocking his view, then he chucked it at Pond. Riddick intercepted it and popped it in his mouth. Spark blinked. “Those are some impressive reflexes you’ve got there, kid.” Riddick gave him a blank stare.

  Those most certainly were. That feat, couple with his recovery from the stun gun rounds and his quick uptake on English, gave Waters the feeling that she and her squad were beginning to see why Furyans had put up such a fight against the Necromongers. She retrieved a tablet computer from under her chair and began drawing up a report on what she’d gathered so far. Spark handed over the dried fruit to Riddick, then collected his fang and began cleaning and polishing it while clamping it between his knees. Riddick wolfed down the snack while observing everyone.