Disclaimer:- SGA still belongs to MGM and I'm still missing it.

Rating:- T for violence and nudity. No sexual situations.

Parings:- none. Team fic.

Timeline:- Set after EATG

No beta:- So mistakes are all mine. Hopefully there aren't too many.

The Zylan Trap by Astraldust

Part 1

John woke to the nastiest of headaches. The worst of the pain seemed to be focused just behind his eyes, so he stayed still for a minute or two. Not daring to move in the hope that the pain would ease off a little. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to want to go away, so he kept his eyes firmly closed against any bright lights he might encounter if he opened them too soon.

It seemed pain wasn't his only problem, for some horrible reason his head felt like it might explode at any minute. The pressure was so bad it left him feeling woozy and disoriented. So much so that it took him a good few minutes to realise that he couldn't recall anything since leaving Atlantis. Nothing at all. So where the hell he was and why he couldn't remember anything about the mission and what had gone wrong?

Eventually his brain registered something. Somewhere nearby there was the most goddamn awful pong. John didn't think it had anything to do with the infirmary because the smell had nothing to do with hygiene. However, his fuzzy brain just couldn't seem work out exactly what the stink was. It didn't smell like anything left out to rot but it was just as pungent and equally as smelly as any sewerage plant or Wraith ship. Although when he really thought about it, it was a smell he'd ever encountered before. Regardless the rancid pong was making him sick to the stomach, so much so that John felt like puking his guts out.

He fought to control the reflex by swallowing hard and finally opening his eyes. When he did so, the bad smell seemed pretty irrelevant compared to the fact he couldn't see a darn thing other than inky black nothingness. His breathing quickened to near panting as his heart pounded heavily in his chest. He lay petrified as all consuming terror threatened to overwhelm him. What the hell had happened to his eyes? Then he suddenly realised there wasn't the slightest sound to accompany the solid black barrier, so had he gone deaf as well as blind? That thought didn't help his heart rate any. The increased pounding made his head throb to the frantic pulse of his heart. He knew he had to force his fear down and quickly because it wasn't doing him any good. Having a stroke wouldn't help him at all. There had to be a logical explanation and going into full panic mode wasn't the answer, although the situation was very disconcerting and totally freaky.

To help quell his fear, John concentrated on his breathing by taking in slow calming breaths through his nose. Then his fuzzy brain worked out that he could actually hear them, at least very faintly. So he took in a very deep breath through his mouth to test the theory. A big mistake as he could positively taste the bad smell. However much to his relief, the sweet sound of that heavy sigh reached his ears, meaning his hearing was still working fine, thank god. Hopefully his eyes were in the same healthy state and he was just being kept in a very dark, quiet room.

Another sensation began to return, one that had probably been there from the moment of awareness, yet John's confused brain had failed to register. He was lying on a very hard surface which for some reason felt extremely cold to his skin. But why was he feeling so chilled? Surely that shouldn't be the case unless he'd lost most of his uniform? Yet for some odd reason it was hard to tell for sure because when really he thought about it he felt kind of numb, almost detached from his body. Maybe he'd been drugged or his nervous system had taken a blow, although he certainly didn't have a problem feeling the incessant pain in his head or the sink in his nose.

Determined to find out if he was lying half naked, John attempted to move his arm. He began to panic once again when he realised it was restrained in some way. John quickly quelled his fear. With a bit of manoeuvring he managed to move his thumb enough to encounter his upper leg. His skin felt cold and totally bare. So he was missing his BDU's and most likely his TAC vest because unless he'd lost all sensation, he had a horrible feeling the rest of him was in the same state of undress. Very embarrassing indeed and making him even more confused about his situation because no way would his people have left him like this. At least they would have covered him with a blanket. So what the heck had happened? More importantly, what about his team? Where were they? They were distrubing thoughts. John wanted out. He tried moving his legs but they seemed to be restrained as well, leaving him with no other choice but to lie still.

Minutes ticked by in cold, dark silence while John strained to pick up the slightest sound that might suggest someone was nearby. There was nothing, not even the muffled sound of a distant noise or the comforting pulse of Atlantis. So even though it might alert someone if he was in enemy hands, he opened his mouth and attempted to call out. It came out as a pathetic croak and the horrible, throbbing pain behind his eyes spiked tenfold, making him think twice before trying again. Again he felt his panic begin to escalate. He hated being in these situations, not that he'd ever been left naked before.

Thoughts began to whirl around his aching head, some of them pretty alarming. Had he suffered some terrible head injury that had left him blind? If only he could remember what had gone down before waking up in this cold and silent hell. However, his memory stubbornly remained a total blank. Another nasty thought slowly crept into his mind. Maybe he was dead and this was his lot in the afterlife. Naked, restrained, and left to freeze. That sickening thought was enough to bring back the panic. What if they believed he was dead and he was in the morgue, being kept in cold storage waiting to be...? He didn't want to go there, it was way too nightmarish. Buried alive! The type of thing one read in the National Enquirer. Not that John ever read such rubbishy tabloids. Give him a good comic book any day. Now he was being ridiculous which wasn't his usual style, but the situation was just too darn scary. There had to be a logical explanation because why in heavens name would they need to restrain a corpse? Which lead John back to the same old question, where the hell was he?

Thinking too much wasn't helping his headache. So he closed his sightless eyes and tried to switch off, which proved to be a pretty impossible seeing as he was getting colder by the minute. He gave up trying after a moment, snapping his eyes open, hoping for a miracle. Instead the pitch black seemed even more impenetrable. It left him feeling vulnerable and totally helpless, not knowing if an attack was imminent? With every passing second, John's fear and frustration began to escalate despite telling himself that panicking was pointless.

He felt like screaming, yet knew that would only make his headache worse and possibly alert the wrong people. Then strangely enough, a few minutes later that's exactly what he heard. Well, not exactly a scream but a long drawn out, loud groan. Had he done that? Although John was pretty sure the noise hadn't come from his mouth. He tried calling again. Pleased to find the pain not quite so intense this time.

"John? Oh, thank God, you're awake!"

So Rodney was in the same situation and the fact that he had used his first name showed just how terrified the scientist was. Although just as scared, John gathered his courage to try and reassure his frightened friend. "You need to stay calm, Rodney. I know it's very dark in here but there has to be a reason for it." Rodney didn't answer for a minute making John wonder if he had heard him. "Rodney? You still with me?"

John had no idea how shocked Rodney had been by his statement and was desperately trying to form a suitable reply, which for him was difficult enough being no diplomat and all. In the end Rodney just came out with it. "It's not dark in here at all. In fact, its way too bright for my liking and the source is directly over my face. Most annoying, although when you're unconscious like I was just a few minutes ago, it really didn't matter."

John felt his heart begin to race again. "What do you mean? I can't see a darn thing." Again, Rodney remained silent. "Rodney? Damn it! Answer me will ya. Are we in separate rooms or something?" But John already knew the answer to that because Rodney's voice had been too loud and understandable to be muffled by a wall or partition.

"No, we're not. I can't see you from my position but I know the table they have you on is adjacent to mine."

"Right." John tried not to sound overwrought but it still came out all wonky. His shaking grew more pronounced as fear and shock threatened to overwhelm his mind. He quickly pushed it aside, he had to have some answers. "Who are they, Rodney, and how did we get here because I can't remember a damn thing."

Rodney listened to Sheppard's shaky voice, so uncharacteristic for the die-hard colonel. Deciding John must be as terrified as he was, Rodney asked. "You remember nothing? Not even the crash?"

"No. I remember leaving for the mission but the rest is a complete blank? We crashed?"

"Yes, you did." Rodney tried to joke but thought better of it. "If you recall we left for what was supposed to be a routine recon mission to M5P 229."

"Yeah...you wanted to check out reports of a highly unlikely source of naquadah."

"Yes, yes. I know you really didn't want to go and I never got the chance to investigate because right after flying through the gate, we inexplicably lost all power to the controls. You yelled at me to get the power back up. I'd hardly got the panel down when we dropped like a stone. Guess you must have managed to glide in somehow but we still hit the ground with some force. Thankfully onto soft, sandy soil with no trees or boulders in the way, so miraculously the jumper remained intact. You must have banged your head on the control panel because you were still out cold when I eventually came to. Ronon was just staggering to your position after having checked on Teyla."

"Was anybody injured?" John asked, concerned.

"Apart from a few bruises we got off pretty lightly." Rodney assured him. "You suffered a nasty cut to your forehead but..."

"But what?"

"You didn't complain about not being able to see or any memory loss when you eventually regained consciousness a while later. Not that we had much time to talk before it happened..." Rodney stopped there, which was more than unusual for the over talkative scientist.

John felt his impatience's growing. "Come on, Rodney, before what happened? I need information here."

"Okay...okay, keep your shirt on." Rodney snickered nervously when he realised what he'd just said. Sheppard didn't react at all, so he continued, "I understand your need for info but how do I explain something that even I didn't understand and I'm a genius."

John sighed loudly. "Just put it in simple terms."

"Yes, well, you were still unconscious when we decided to leave the jumper and head back to the gate on foot. Ronon carried you while I took point and Teyla watched our six. I estimated we were approximately two kilometres away, so the trek shouldn't have taken very long only...we kind of lost track."

"You lost track?"

"Yes, we did...even Ronon was lost and you know how good his sense of direction is. But that's beside the point because it wouldn't have made any difference. What happened would have happened so or so, I guess...but all the same we shouldn't have gotten lost. We were going around in never ending circles like being in a..."

"Rodney, I get that...what happened?" Rodney's evasiveness was making John tenser by the second, as if he didn't have enough to worry about.

"We continued walking for what felt like hours, although it probably wasn't all that long but you know how much I hate useless trekking. At some point you regained consciousness and insisted on trying to walk by yourself. Of course you fell flat on your face after a few steps, so Ronon ended up supporting you."

"I...I can't remember."

"Yes, you already said that.

"Yeah, Rodney, I know. I must have been able to see at that point otherwise I would have mentioned something, wouldn't I?" Unless I was totally out of it. "Okay, come on what happened after that?"

Rodney racked his brain, trying to formulate the words to explain the strangest phenomenon he'd even seen. "Despite our best efforts we made no headway whatsoever toward the Stargate. It didn't matter how many different directions we tried, we never found it. By then you weren't much help as you kept drifting in and out of consciousness. Ronon ended up carrying you again." Rodney failed to mention that at that point he'd been panicking like a school kid stuck in a maze.

"Guess I must have had a concussion."

"Yes, more than likely. You know I consider myself the foremost expert on wormhole physics but even I can't explain what happened next. One minute we were trudging along still trying to reach the Stargate and the next, this strange energy field appeared directly in front of us. It shimmered like sunlight off a clear lake, fascinating, almost hypnotic."

"So you couldn't resist touching it?"

"No, I did not touch it. I have far more willpower than you do."

John swallowed hard because even after all this time he still carried some guilt over touching the crystal eternity. And Rodney knew it but John decided not to pursue the matter as this was hardly the time or place to mention it.

Rodney didn't seem to realise what he'd just said, which proved how scared he was. "I...err...we did venture a little closer, then it suddenly started acting like a huge magnet, drawing us in. We tried getting away, but it proved useless as the field just expanded around us. Teyla was sucked in first being lighter and I watched on helplessly as Ronon tried to fight against it while keeping a hold on you. He fought hard but you were plucked away from him like a rag doll. I don't know what happened after that because I was dragged into the field. I guess Ronon followed, although I haven't seen anything of him since awaking up here."

"And Teyla?"

"Haven't seen her either, so I don't know whether she's alive or not."

John swallowed hard at the thought that two of his best friends could be dead or worse. "So we've been abducted by someone?"

"You're telling me. I've never seen beings like them. They make the Asgard look like teddy bears."

"You've actually seen them?"

"Seen them, smelt them. It's positively sickening."

John screwed up his nose. "So that's the unpleasant smell around here. Can you try to describe them for me?"

Rodney didn't really want to think about it, although Sheppard needed the information. "I'm telling you they are huge. I mean in height, not so much in body weight. In fact they're quite skinny just like you," John let out a sigh but remained quiet as Rodney continued, "Except for their fairly thick, short necks. I guess they developed those because of their overly large heads. Their dark eyes are multifaceted like some insects but their skin is nothing like chitin. It's kind of glossy, and reflects their various shades of blue in a strange luminescent way.

"You mean they're blue like the guys in Avatar?"

"Not exactly. Some have more of a greenish tone and these aliens are no way as pretty as they were. Their mouths are huge too but they appear to have no teeth unless they have an inner jaw like the creatures from Alien."

John shuddered. "Don't go there, Rodney. I hope for our sakes they're nothing like those monsters. Have you tried talking to them?"

"Tried, but they don't appear to share the same form of language. In fact, all that came out of their mouths were a series of high pitched whistles, hoots, beeps, and barks."

"In other words we can't negotiate with them until we learn what their sounds mean. Just great." Rodney didn't comment. After a short pause, John asked. "Are you as cold as I am?"

Rodney drew in a deep breath and started to babble. "If you mean am I missing my clothes, then yes I am. I've never been so embarrassed in all my life. They could have left us with a little dignity. Just because they don't wear clothing doesn't mean we have to copy them. I just hope Teyla isn't in the same predicament. And I'm hungry. They haven't given me anything to eat or drink since ending up in here."

"Have you any idea how long we've been here? Wonder if Atlantis is looking for us?" John thought aloud without waiting for the first answer.

"Could be. Hope the rescue team doesn't end up in the same predicament. To answer your first question, I don't really know. I was out of it for some time before waking up on this table and then they knocked me out again. Only my stomach tells me it's been a long time. I'll be going to go into hypoglycaemic shock if I don't get anything to eat soon, and did I tell you I'm cold, really, really cold."

"Same here, Rodney." John remained silent for a minute or two after that. How could he help Rodney when his own situation was just as dire? He felt sorry for McKay but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Yet despite everything, John still tried to reassure his friend. "We'll get out of this somehow. We'll have to try and communicate with these beings, make them release us so we can go back home. I just wish I...I could see."

"I would feel more positive if you could but I'll be your eyes until you get your eyesight back, John. I promise."

That was so uncharacteristic for the usually egoistical scientist that it made John smile and relax a little. "Thanks, Rodney. Just warn me when the aliens return. OK?"

No sooner had John said that when he sensed a change in his friend's mood. He didn't need eyesight to know McKay was suddenly very afraid, possibly terrified by something as a series of high pitched whimpers reached John's ears. "Rodney! You okay? Tell me what's happening? Please!"

John heard a definite quiver in Rodney's voice when he finally spoke. "Kind of busy here. Surround by five of them. You must be able to smell them."

He could smell them. The stink was even more overpowering than before. John felt like gagging again but controlled the reflex, fearful of choking. Instead, he shouted as loud as his parched throat would allow. "Get your hands off him...!" He nearly said - you goddamn dirty ape, but Rodney had assured him there was nothing ape-like about the aliens.

"More like fingers." Rodney called out. "Six very long, bony fingers on each hand and they're very versatile, ambidextrous fingers. They love using them to touch and prod every part of us." Rodney sucked in a breath before whispering. "Oh my god."

"Rodney! What are they doing to you! Answer me, please!"

However, there was no answer forthcoming. John lay fearful in the dark, terrified for his friend. After what felt like an eternity of silence, he suddenly felt a slight draft of air upon his face as if something or someone was standing very close by. A soft, slimy object touched his forehead, immediately intense pain radiated throughout his skull like the worse kind of migraine. Unable to stop himself, John cried out. Thankfully the pain eased fairly quickly. The object touched to his forehead again, however this time there was no escalation of pain. Instead his saw a flash of light and for a second or two he could actually see the faint outline of a large bulbous, dark purple head. It gave him hope; maybe his eyesight wasn't so badly damaged after all.

However his hope was short lived as the inky blackness returned along with a pain so intense it felt like someone was drilling holes into his forehead with a power drill. He tried to fight through the agony but after only a minute or two he couldn't stand it any longer. His drawn out scream echoed loudly before blessed oblivion took away his awareness.

Tbc.

Hope you like the beginning? Please review and I promise to complete the story.