Apologies to those that keep seeing this story come up over and over on the list, I'm not sure why it keeps disappearing or saying invalid url when the link is clicked.
Characters: Sheppard, a bit of Ronon, Teyla and Rodney
Disclaimer: The usual—blah blah, so don't sue me.
Note: I don't own the right to any of the lyrics in here, but this story is based off of the version sung by Adam Lambert, so if you want the emotion behind it, look for Mad World on You Tube by Adam Lambert and give a listen to his haunting version:
Mad World
By Wagthedog
Their tears are fillin' up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow
Frequent glances at his watch told Sheppard that he was making good time on his walk to meet up with his team on the other side of a deserted town on M367-429. A new batch of recruits had delayed his departure, but this world had previously been cleared by SG-2, and McKay was itchy to start digging around in some sort of Ancienty-looking ruins a few klicks to the east.
He squinted up, shielding his face from the glare, then he flipped his Ray-Bans across his eyes. The sun was higher in its mid-day path, breaking the morning chill and starting to burn off the dew that still clung to the low grass in the fields. The sky overhead was a crystal clear blue except for a few knots of gray clouds casting slow moving shadows across the forest in a distant valley. Light showers of translucent rain fell in columns beneath them. If this world hadn't recently been culled by the Wraith, he might almost say it was a beautiful sight.
He thought about avoiding the town altogether, but for some reason, he changed his path, strangely curious to see how far the civilization on this planet had progressed before it had been wiped out. Some of the buildings were still easily recognizable. Bakery here, hotel there, houses lined up in neat rows along brick paved streets. Papers and trash still floated down the side streets carried on the silent wind.
He made his way to the town square, skirting the remains of a stone fountain. Stagnant green water sat in the bottom, pooling below the broken edge of the lower collection bowl, staining the marble as it evaporated. Weathered slate steps on the opposite side of the square rose to the skeletal rubble of a burned out shop, its brick and mortar crumbling under the weight of collapsed beams.
With a rumble of his stomach, he realized he hadn't had breakfast or lunch yet—the perils of being the commanding military officer and leader of the first ranked expedition team on Atlantis. He took a seat on the lowest step and dug inside his tac-vest, snagging a crumpled PowerBar. As he leaned back, letting the retention clip take the weight of his P90, he let his sunglasses drop around his neck and started to enjoy the snack in peace.
The boy slowed his breathing, letting his shaking finger pause on the trigger, uncertain whether the black-clad, dark-haired man on the steps was someone he could trust, or another raider looking for unspoiled food, or some trinket left behind to trade on another world. It was apparent that the stranger had food. The child's mouth watered as he watched him eat. It would be easy to just kill him where he sat and take everything he had.
After a moment's indecision, he released the trigger and lowered the old rusty weapon, instinct telling him that something was different about this traveler. As he heard a shuffling noise behind him, he knew that he was still being followed by his constant shadow, the young girl who had latched onto him a few weeks past. With a frustrated sigh, he rose from his crouch and tucked the weapon in at his side.
Sheppard's eyes widened in surprise as a dark shape appeared at the mouth of the alley across the square, the half eaten PowerBar dropping to the steps as his P90 came up. He squinted into the darkness and could just about make out a small tattered, childlike outline. "Where'd you come from?"
The figure hovered nearby, keeping to the shadows. Finally, Sheppard held up a hand and then lowered his P90. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. Why don't you come out."
Very slowly, a boy emerged a few steps from the alley, clutching an old rifle. Sheppard had seen children like this before on other planets culled by the Wraith. Children hidden by their parents in holes and under the floorboards, children who had somehow escaped the culling beams of the Wraith ships to scurry through the aftermath without food and without homes. Somehow, this boy had found a weapon to defend his deserted planet and what little food he had left.
After a moment's consideration, Sheppard reached back into his tac-vest and pulled out another bar, holding it out to the boy. "You hungry?"
Narrowed eyes returned his offering.
"I promise, I'm not gonna hurt ya." Sheppard smiled to himself and split the distance between them, moving slowly toward the fountain to set the bar on the edge. "I'll just set it right here if you want it."
Carefully, the boy walked over, watching Sheppard's every move. He tried to sling the weapon awkwardly across his shoulder, but the old leather strap kept slipping. It almost dropped to the ground as he snagged the bar from the fountain's edge and then retreated a few feet. He looked at it in confusion until Sheppard picked up his own half eaten bar and ripped a bit more of the outer wrapping off in demonstration.
The boy imitated his movement and clumsily unwrapped his own snack, jamming half of it in his mouth. Through half chewed peanut butter chocolate, he mumbled, "You came through the ring?"
Sheppard nodded. "Who's you're friend?"
The boy turned to look back at the alley. The girl was hovering near the edge. She called out to him quietly.
"What's she saying?"
"It is nothing."
"Here, why don't you take her some food." Sheppard ripped the Velcro open on one of his lower pockets, slowing the movement as the boy jumped, then he reached in and pulled out one of his prized chocolate bars, turning the shiny wrapped candy around in his hand to show that it was harmless. It wasn't the best in nutrition, but it was all he had left. Too bad Rodney wasn't around. The scientist was always good for at least six PowerBars in his vest, if not more. "You can share it with her."
The boy stared at the chocolate in indecision. Sheppard stood and walked toward the alleyway. "Come on, let's take her something to eat."
They walked over to the entrance of the alley and the boy stopped about ten feet away, face set in steel, almost as if refusing to move any closer. The girl shied back, bare feet tripping over the rubble.
Shepard looked between the two children, one eleven or twelve, the other not more than seven. Finally, he broke off one half of the candy bar and knelt down, offering it to the girl. "Come on, now, I won't hurt you." He held his hand out, disgusted at how similar the motion was to beckoning a hungry dog, yet determined not to let the emotion show on his face. Frustrated with her lack of response, he appealed to the boy. "Tell her to come over."
The boy sighed. "Stop hiding in the corners and come out!" he growled at her impatiently. Her head popped up, startled, like a wild animal ready to run.
Sheppard narrowed his eyes at the boy, not liking his tone, but little by little, the girl moved, eyes constantly shifting between Sheppard and the boy. In the end, hunger won out over any fear, and as soon as she was close enough, she snatched the candy from Sheppard's hand and fled behind the boy. Sheppard flashed a one-sided smile as the kid sighed again.
"What's your name?" Sheppard asked him.
The boy carefully wrapped up what little he had left of his bar and horded it away in a pocket then he let the old weapon drop into his hands, gripping the cold metal and worn wooden stock while the girl continued to hide behind him. She grabbed at the lower corner of his torn shirt with chocolate-smeared fingers. He tried to elbow her away. "My name is Auren"
"Auren? Are you alone here? Where's your family?"
"My mother was a…uh... teacher."
"Was?"
"She is gone now." The boy's slim fingers tightened around the weapon.
"What about the girl?"
"She does not belong to me."
The little girl released her hold on the hem of his shirt and latched onto his ragged sleeve, pulling at him and whining, tears welled up in her eyes and made tracks through the dirt on her sunken cheeks.
Auren yanked away from her grasp and pushed her down to the ground. "Stop your crying! Seyma is dead!" The girl spun into the dirt and curled in on herself, sobbing.
"Hey, don't do that." Sheppard knelt down and gathered the child to his side. She latched on, burrowing into him, her need for human contact winning out over any internal struggle of fear. He pulled back a bit, feeling awkward, but then reminded himself that these were only kids, left alone on a deserted world to fend for themselves. Like most children in the Pegasus Galaxy that had survived Wraith cullings, they'd had the realities of adulthood thrust on them before they were ready to deal with it. He looked down at the child at his side. To Auren, she was probably just an alarm clock waiting to alert any invaders or hungry survivors and another mouth to feed when he was starving himself.
Sheppard had never considered himself as being quite so savvy with Pegasus children, especially after he'd bombed out with telling the Athosian kids that Halloween story late one night in Atlantis. They just didn't have the same cultural references, and he wasn't a particularly touchy-feely kind of guy. He usually left that stuff up to Teyla. Perhaps it was just the support of an adult that she needed; the security when so long without. "Do you know what her name is, or what she's crying about?"
The boy stopped fidgeting, but refused to look at either Sheppard or the girl. "She does not talk much any more. All I know is that her sister is missing. In the time...uh...before...her mother told them to stay together and take care of each other no matter what happened, but one morning, Seyma left her to find food and she never returned."
Sheppard had a bad feeling that Seyma was gone forever. "Did you help her look?"
"It does not matter now. I told her she was dead."
Sheppard opened his mouth to answer, but stopped as he heard sounds approaching from the edge of town. It wasn't his team and their usual banter. Experience told him it was the determined march of a Wraith patrol. Why would they be here? Had his team been captured? This planet was supposed to be cleared!
He lifted the girl awkwardly on one hip, ignoring her squawk of protest, then reached out to grab Auren by the scruff of the neck as he scuttled backwards into the alleyway. He gathered both of the children against him, one to each arm, as he flattened himself against the wall in a crouch.
Auren jerked and tried to get his arms free, managing to wiggle around and swing his weapon in an arc that cracked painfully against Sheppard's knee. Holding his breath against a string of expletives, Sheppard grabbed the back of the little moppet's neck and pushed him back down against his leg, holding him against any further struggling. "Unless you wanna get us all killed by the nasty green monsters…knock it off, okay?" he hissed.
The boy's eyes widened for a moment and then he stopped struggling, falling limp and shaking across Sheppard's leg. The girl started sobbing and Sheppard realized his mistake. "Big green monsters" were universally understood and were never a good thing in a child's world of fairy tales and bedtime stories. Quietly, he tried to shush her before the patrol got too close to their position. She finally fell silent, but the tears continued to roll from reddened eyes.
Sheppard released the boy and shoved him up against the wall. "Look, just do me a favor and stand right there, okay. I need to see what those guys are up to and I can't watch the two of you at the same time."
Taking a steadying breath, he leaned around the corner and wanted to beat his head against the wall. One of the Wraith drones had found the PowerBar wrapper he'd left on the steps and was showing it to the patrol's leader. He snatched it with a clawed hand and brought it to his face, almost seeming to draw in its scent, then he threw back his head and hissed, showing a mouthful of pointed, translucent teeth. Apparently, he could tell it was fresh. He crushed the wrapper in his hand and sent a telepathic order to the drones, sending them out to search the town. Their own brand of snack was nearby.
Shepard flattened back against the wall and looked at his watch. He was supposed to meet up with his team soon. Would they realize and come looking for him, or had they all ready become a meal, and tipped the patrol off that there might be others nearby? He tapped his radio and spoke softly, trying to make contact with any of the other SGA-1 members. Nothing. What a cluster this was turning out to be.
Too bad he'd strayed into the town and not kept to the outside path like he was supposed to. Then he glanced at the children. He couldn't imagine the horror they would have faced alone against the Wraith. Damned if you do...blah blah blah. Frustration didn't begin to cover what he was feeling right now.
He drew a hand across the sweat beading his upper lip and slid back under cover."We need to try to get outta here. As quietly as possible. You understand?"
Auren's brow was furrowed. He shook his head. "No, I must stay and fight."
Sheppard took a long breath. Most worlds told stories of the Wraith for generations. Where had this kid been? Hadn't his mother been a teacher? "Look. Do you realize what they'll do to you? They make you see things that aren't there. They have stunners that'll put you down before you can even raise that crap rifle. You won't have a chance in hell."
"It does not matter. I am not important." The answer was soft, almost as if the boy had already fallen into his own world of despair.
"What?"
It does not matter. I am not important. Sheppard rolled the words over in his head and looked at the boy's blank expression. Without a moment to spare, he grabbed both of the children and pulled them back away from the building and into the darkness of the alleyway.
TBC...and thanks for reading. Feed the writer if you deem this worthy.