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chapter 1

Teyla Emmargan sat quietly in the co- pilot's seat, musing over the many memorable things that had happened during her short stay with her people on the main land. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, letting the sun warm and tickle her skin. She listened to the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks and the constant humming of the jumper's engines. The shadows played and danced across her eyelids and the welcoming silence almost sent her to sleep. She opened her eyes and tried to suppress a yawn, with little success. The messy haired pilot smiled gave her a smile. Shy, yet charming.

"Tired?" he asked Teyla who turned her head to reply.

"What gave it away?" she joked making him chuckle.

.His name was Alex and he was new to Atlantis. Teyla had taken quite a liking to him. He was sweet, charming and intelligent and she thought he had the cutest smile. Teyla pushed some hair behind her ear and out of her face. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes once again. They shot open and her head jolted up as the jumper shook.

"What was that?" She asked Alex who shook his head in response. The lights above them started to flicker on and off, sending a chill of apprehension down Teyla's spine. The sudden ear-piercing scream of the alarm alerted Alex's attention back to the controls. Fear clearly painted in his blue eyes. The jumper jolted forward bringing Alex with it. He slammed into the controls, shattering them in to pieces. Then he went limp. Teyla put her arm in front of her face to shield herself from the oncoming glass. Teyla felt surge of fear go through her as she felt herself falling through the air. Glancing out the front window of the jumper, Teyla gasped at what she saw. Bright orange and yellow flames licked at the glass, Teyla quickly unbuckled her self and rose from her seat moving to Alex's side. she felt for a pause but hung her head as he did not have one. He was dead. Tears welled up in Teyla's eyes, burning them as she held them back. A small explosion of hot white sparks near by caused Teyla to fall and hit her head painfully on the floor. She groaned then reached to the back of her head, her hand came back bloody. Her vision started to blur and the world around her was turning black. The last thing she saw was the freezing cold water rushing through the shattered window of the jumper, then blackness.

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Teyla slowly began to regain consciousness. Her brain fighting desperately to connect with her senses. Her head was pounding, her clothes were soaked and she was beyond freezing. She felt the chilly sensation of water tickling her skin and the feeling of the breeze playing with her hair. She opened her eyes feeling a surge of pain go through her head as she looked up in to the lifeless sky. It was not bright, the sun had nested behind a dark cloud, but her eyes were still sensitive to the light that remained. She slowly got to her feet, swaying a bit as she stood, then looked at her surroundings. A large, dark and overgrown forest stood tall in front of her and the huge sparkling blue ocean seemed to stretch for miles behind her. Teyla ran a shaking hand through her knotted hair, wincing as she her hand touched the wound on her head. He fingers came back bleeding. Her knuckles too were bleeding and she had a constant ache in her side. It was then when she remembered what had happened, the jumper shaking, and the flames on the outside of the windscreen, the water rushing in… and Alex his eyes once full of wonder and excitement, now lifeless and dead. It all came rushing back to her like on huge wave. She squeezed her eyes shut hoping that when she opened them again she would be back on in Atlantis and safe and warm in her bed. No such luck. She didn't bother to hold her tears back, she was too tired. She surveyed the area one more time before sitting down on a dry patch of sand. She pulled out her fire starter that had been tightly nestled in her back pocket and made a small fire. A wave of heat hit her and she was grateful for the warmth the fire gave her. Her stomach groaned in hunger and she tried her best to ignore it whining. Teyla stared in to the flickering flames of the fire, lost in her own thoughts. She could feel her eyes getting heavier until she couldn't keep them open anymore. They fluttered close and she laid her head softly on the smooth sand. Sleep came easily.

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John Sheppard, Ronon Dex, and Rodney McKay all sat quietly at the debriefing table waiting for Elizabeth and Teyla to arrive. Ronon didn't know what it was but her felt something wasn't right. Elizabeth finally walked through the door, a troubled expression on her face. She made her way to the head of the table and put her file down. Her forehead was creased in deep concentration, as if thinking of something to say. The silence in the room was a little unnerving.

"Where's Teyla?" Ronon asked, leaning back in his chair comfortably. There was another uncomfortable silence.

"We don't know. She didn't return from the main land as scheduled. We radioed the mainland and they said that she left in the jumper." All three men tensed up in their seats, eagerly waiting for Elizabeth to finish what she was saying. "There is a slight chance that the jumper crashed in the ocean…" Elizabeth stopped again. John spoke up.

"But?" he questioned, Elizabeth looked down finding the floor suddenly very interesting.

"There is not a good chance that she survived the crash, let alone the freezing water."

"But there is still a chance?" Ronon interjected glancing round the table worriedly. Another silence.

He bolted up from his seat and started for the door, ignoring the protests of his friends. He ran through the halls, startling Scientists, Doctors and Marines as he passed.

Teyla couldn't be dead, she could live through anything, she had to be alive. Thoughts like these tumbled through his head as he tried to push them aside. He wanted to wake up and realize it was all a bad dream. He wanted to see her smile, he wanted to see her.

Hr strode through the door that led out on to the many balconies of Atlantis and looked up in to the night sky. It was dark and cold, like many of the night he experienced while he was a runner. He sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting the cool wind play with his dreads.

"Please be ok" he whispered to himself, sending a silent prey to the Ancestors. He was determined to find her to save her life, even if it meant losing his own life in the process.

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The late morning sky was dark and overcast above the dense and rutted forest. Teyla ducked under a hanging tree limb and carried on walking. It was cold and dark and Teyla had no idea to where she was going. She was looking for a river or lake of some sort because where there was water, there was people, but that all depended on whether the planet was inhabited or not and if it was, whether those people took kindly to strangers. The thick fog that had formed earlier that morning had not yes disappeared and gave off the enchanted forest look. Teyla kept a careful eye on her surroundings in case anything decided to make her its breakfast. With a large stick in her hand to use as a weapon she carried on making her way through the rough, muddy and wet forest, ducking under branches, hopping over tree logs and battling with hungry insects and bugs. To top it all off her head wound was still bleeding slightly, but it was still enough to attract some unwanted attention. She stopped to catch her breath and squinted through the darkness of the trees debating whether it was a good idea to go gallivanting deep in to an unknown forest with just a stick to protect her and a possible concussion. A sudden rustle behind her made her heart stop. She slowly turned round, her eyes widened at what stood no more than five feet away from her. A grotesque looking creature stood on its hind legs bent in to a hoop. Its arms hung limply by its sides, swaying back and fourth every time it took a step towards her. It skin was black and its teeth were huge and sharp and it eyes were nothing but black pools. It seemed to have a shell on its back but a soft underbelly. It hissed as it stalked toward her a predatory look on it face. Teyla stood frozen in place unable to move. Her brain screamed at her to run but her body disobeyed its orders. She could feel her self shaking as the creature neared as her trebling hands gripped the stick tighter. Her limbs felt like concrete and all she could do was watch as the creature lunged at her.