Chapter One

The hut was dark and filthy. McKay had some choice words to tell the idiots who thought that this was a good place to put someone of his obvious brain power. And tied hands to feet and then dumped in the middle of the floor. He didn't even know what he'd done to make the natives mad this time. One minute he was talking to Teyla and laughing about something, and the next he'd been hit from behind by a very big truck. Or, at least, that's what it had felt like.

Come on, McKay, how are you supposed to get yourself out of this one? And just where are the others? He had no idea where Shepperd and Ronon were. They had been taking a tour of some kind of warrior training lodge. Ronon was very excited about it. Well, he had grunted anyway. For Ronon, that was practically gleeful. He'd heard Teyla arguing with someone just outside the hut a few moments ago, but then silence.

He hoped they were ok. Most of all, he was hoping that he would hear gunfire really really soon, and he wouldn't have to spend one more minute in this horrible place, on this horrible planet, with these horrible natives.

"HEY! Let me out of here!" he yelled at the door, frustrated at not knowing what was going on. "You should know that Sheppard gets very very angry when anyone messes with his geeks! And I'm head geek! So if you don't let me go and take me to my team, you are in a big pile of..."

A bright light momentarily blinded him as the door to the hut was shoved open. He turned his head away and wasn't prepared when the blow hit him in the side of his face. Knocked to the ground, he opened his mouth to protest at the treatment, but was kicked in the stomach by his attacker before he could get a word out.

"Ahhh! What is wrong with..." he stopped as a fist was raised again "OK, OK. I get it. Shutting up now."

His ropes were cut and two big men grabbed him by the arms and hauled him to his feet. He saw Teyla being held between two men, one with a knife to her throat and her arm twisted behind her back. He froze, indecisive. They were clearly outnumbered here. Anything he or Teyla tried to do now would onlyresult in their deaths. Painful, bloody, messy deaths.

His eyes widened in fear and he shrunk in on himself as he saw the head honcho, guru, shaman or whatever they called this guy, come towards him with a knife.

"No nonononono. What? Just... " but he was forced to stop talking as goon number one and goon number two turned him quickly around.

"Leave him alone, he's done nothing to you!" Teyla cried out in anger, but she was ignored as the shirt was cut from Rodney's back.

White hot pain washed over his back and he cried out, fighting against the men holding him, but he was helpless to miss the next slice into his skin. Or the next one.

"Stop!" Teyla yelled again. "You must stop this! I will do as you wish." and, to Rodney's surprise, he was released to fall to the ground.

Curled in the fetal position on the floor of the stinking, filthy hut Rodney McKay thought "Crap. This is gonna get so infected."

He felt several more kicks to his back and then voices shouting, and he thought he heard Teyla, but he couldn't understand what was being said. At this moment, he didn't really care what was being said.

And then suddenly, there was a gentle hand on his face and Teyla's warm voice was speaking. He knew she was saying something important, and he gathered himself to be able to hear her.

"You will be alright Rodney. We shall get you home soon." She whispered into his ear.

"Enough! You will come with me now!" A deep rumbling voice shouted, and Rodney took a few seconds before he realized it was the man who'd done this to him, the leader of the tribe. It took even longer for his words to sink in. He looked up in time to see two men grab Teyla by the arms and drag her towards the door.

"Wha..." He gasped, understanding dawning. "Teyla? No, Teyla!"

But it was too late and she was being dragged out of the room. She struggled against her captors momentarily, until the leader loomed over Rodney again, menacingly. She instantly quieted and allowed herself to be pulled from the hut. Rodney attempted to get to his feet to follow after her, but was pushed to the ground and kicked a few more times for good measure.

He lay gasping and panting for breath. A couple of the kicks had landed on his chest and he had been momentarily unable to breath. Tears forced their way out of his eyes, no matter how much he willed them back. Everything hurts so much. And Teyla... what was going to happen to Teyla? He had the feeling that he didn't want to know.

He gathered himself together. He had to save her. He couldn't let these men abuse her and... and... he didn't want to think about it. He looked around, some what surprised to find that he had been left untied and that he was alone. Ok, that was a surprise. Perhaps he should take this opportunity to... to what? Escape? How?

Well, first things first... Find Sheppard and Ronon, and then they would save Teyla, and then the three of them would show these idiots what for. Yes, a good plan. Find his team and then let them handle the big crazy men with knives. Yes, that's a very good plan.

Now. If he could only move.

He groaned in pain as he rolled from his side onto his hands and knees. Taking a deep breath, he staggered to his feet, and closed his eyes as the room seemed to tilt. Waiting until the world righted itself, he grimaced at the deep, horrible pain in his back.

Ok, Mckay, think. What tools do I have at my disposal? He had nothing. His weapons and pack and vest had been taken from him before he'd been thrown in this dump, and the hut was devoid of anything that he could remotely use as a weapon. He closed his eyes once again against the pain and steadied himself on the large pole in the middle of the room.

He slowly made his way over to the wooden door that the head jerk had come through before. It was, to say the least, not put together very well. He peeked through the fairly wide gaps in the slats of wood and could see a fire not too far off.

The Head Jerk, and Rodney was thinking of him in capitals now, was sitting there, drinking something from a cup, laughing. Rodney saw, with a lump in his throat, that Teyla was sitting next to him, surrounded by large men with pointy weapons aimed in her direction.

OK, so, probably can't get out that way. Perhaps through the wall in the back?

He staggered over to the wall in the back and studied the material it was constructed from. Flat, thin wooden boards, horizontally attached to rough two by fours. He pushed against several, testing their strength, until he found one near the ground that he could move outwards by about half an inch.

He sat down for better leverage, and kicked against the board. It creaked loudly and one side was pushed outwards. Victory! He shifted his weight a bit to kick against the other side and felt a thrill of satisfaction when he was able to remove it. Moving up to the next board, he kicked it as hard as he could and then swore in frustration as nothing happened, and his only reward was a sharp, stinging pain running up his leg and through his back.

He thought he should probably stop to assess his injuries, but he really really didn't want to even think about it. As soon as he got back to Atlantis, he'd spend several hours making sure that everyone knew how miserable he was, but with no one here to complain to... well, he might as well put his brain towards getting out of here. He redoubled his efforts on the wall.

About fifteen minutes later, he had an opening large enough for him to shimmy through. He'd checked through the slats on the door several times and Teyla was still there with... what was his name, anyway? Sul'say? Sol'nis? Something stupid with an apostrophe, he was sure. Well, it was time to make his escape and find Sheppard and Ronon. No problem. He could be sneaky.

He got down on his belly, tenderly, still hurting from the kicks it had received, and pushed himself through the opening in the wall. He was about halfway out when he heard the door to the hut open, and a voice shouting at him. He swore and tried to hurry through, but felt a hand on his ankle.

He was unceremoniously dragged back through, his back scrapped against the top of the hole and he whimpered. He managed to kick out with his free foot, and connected a solid hit to the shin bone of the native who had a hold of him. He saw a knife being drawn and rolled over to his side just as the man tried to make a new hole where his head had been.

Just then, the sound Rodney had been waiting for could be heard. Weapons fire rang out. Rodney's attacker paused in his assault and rushed to the door. He paused there, and, not liking what he saw, he turned towards Rodney again. Murder shone in his eyes.

"Oh, crap." Rodney whispered to himself. And then louder, he called "Sheppard! I could really use some he..." he backed out of the way, on his hands and backside, as the knife came down again.

He managed, just barely, to grab the wrist coming towards him, inches away from his head. Remembering his self defense lessons with Teyla, he tried to roll to the side, hoping to break the wrist he was holding. "Sheppard! Where are you? Get in here and help me!"

And then, somehow, he felt the knife give way into flesh. But not his flesh. He scrambled to his knees, pushing the man off of him. He heard the ragged gasping for breath and saw the handle of the knife sticking out of the chest of the man who, a moment ago, had wanted Rodney dead.

Rodney hesitated, torn between fear of the man dying in front of him and a desire to help. He was really really bad at stuff like this, though, and decided to retreat. It's not cowardice, he told himself. It's knowing where your strengths lie.

He was almost to the door when it burst open, kicked from the outside. Sheppard stood before him. His gun swept the room as he noted the position of Rodney and the man on the ground.

"Rodney. Get yourself into trouble again?" he raised an eyebrow. "Are you OK?"

"Shep... John..." He stuttered, the magnitude of what had happened starting to sink in, the adrenalin faded and his back felt like it was on fire. A buzzing started in the back of his head, and everything began to grey. "I... he... was going to... and then the knife..." and then, Rodney McKay, the smartest man in two universes, fainted.