Can't Days Just Get Better?
Major John Sheppard was in a horrible mood. Ford, Rodney, and Teyla knew that if they even tried to be sarcastic, John would easily top it. Ford had learned that the hard way.
"So what are we doing on this mission? Because if it's not important, I'm going to turn this puddle-jumper around and going home!" John said, annoyed.
"We're going to talk to the leader of their people. Hopefully we'll have another alliance against the Wraith," Teyla said, cautiously.
"Sounds important," John said disappointedly. After a few more minutes, they arrived. John was the first one off the jumper.
They were not greeted the way that they had expected. Simultaneously, they were on the ground unconscious.
§§§
Teyla was the first to regain consciousness. She looked around, and was relieved to see that John, Ford, and Rodney were stirring.
"What the heck! Where are we?" John huffed angrily. Ford was sitting next to him, and he rolled his eyes.
"Trade me spots, Teyla?" he said with a longing look.
"Stop complaining, Ford," Rodney scolded, unaware of the irony in what he just said.
"Funny you said that, Rodney. You're usually the one who's complaining," snapped John.
Right then, the door to the room swung open. A dark figure stepped in and looked around. "Who is your leader?" it asked.
"That's so me. Finally I'm being acknowledged as leader. I'm the ranking military officer, for Pete's sake!" John stated.
"Shut up or you'll be king of your own grave," the thing shouted.
"Sorry."
"Step up here if you please, it's time to take care of some of your kingly duties," it said, motioning to a raised platform.
John stood up; walked up, a little less cautious then he would have been any other day. After being motioned to stand up on the plat form, he did. The second he got on, the lights dimmed, and little wires sprung to life and attaching themselves to John's temples. John screamed in pain, but was incapable of doing anything about it, because he was tied up at the wrists and ankles. The wires seemed to be digging themselves into John's brain.
"This machine will make you relive your worst memories, and it will display them to all of your mates," the evil thing said.
"You can't be that interested in my boring life," John said through gritted teeth.
"We'll just see about that."
John's eyes glazed over as the first memory appeared on the wall in front of them.
"John, can you come inside for a minute, Dad's home," said a young woman from inside the house. A much younger John, maybe 7 climbed down from his perch in an unstable looking tree house. The look on his face was not that of a regular little boys' when their fathers come home from work. It was more a look of dread.
Inside, there was a crash, and the same woman's voice from earlier screamed for help. The little John ran inside to aid his mother. Once inside, he saw that it was too late. His mother was lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood, and his father was just turning onto him. An older boy, probably 9 or 10, came up from behind his father. With a gun in his hand, he made eye contact with little John. BANG, with that one shot, John's father was dead on top of his wife whom he had killed just minutes before.
"Eric, what are we going to do now?" John asked what must have been his older brother.
"We have to get out of here. We should make it look like a break-in, and get out of here. I'll call Jimmy and see if we can crash there for a while."
The picture went black when John started to wake up. Teyla was wiping her eyes, Ford was looking shocked and Rodney was looking at the ground, guiltily.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Ford asked John once they all remembered that they were being held captive by an evil being. Before he had a chance to answer, the thing walked up and pressed a button. The wire immediately began to move again. John's eyes glazed over once more, and another scene showed up on the wall.
Eric and John, now probably 15 and 17, were all alone in a little room. John was looking scared.
"Come on, Eric, its not that bad. I need you here. If you go, I'll have to go to another foster home," he pleaded.
"I'm being charged with murder, I'm too old to go to juvenile detention, trust me, it'll be better this way. Once again, a shot rang out, and Eric was on the ground, blood pooling around his head.
John woke again. "What do you want?" Teyla demanded of the thing standing next to John's weak body.
"Nothing, at least nothing you need to be worried about YET,"
With a final maniacal laugh, they were somehow back on the puddle jumper. John's day wasn't going well…/