A/N Thanks for viewing the story, and commenting! I love comments, please leave more! Heh heh! And now back, to poor McKay....


Chapter Two.

It was the startling daylight from the twin suns bleaching through his burnt eyelids that finally woke him. His body screamed in protest as he tried to straighten himself, making him grunt in pain with every movement. He slowly opened his eyes to the brightness and saw that he was still alone. He could see Ronon and Teyla far in the distance, but could not tell if they were unharmed or even awake. Lifting his head back, his neck cracked painfully with the motion. His hands and feet were numb, and he was almost sure that he had dislocated a shoulder.

He heard someone approaching and was relieved to see Sheppard limping towards him.

"Sheppard! What the..."

"Rodney, where did we leave the jumper?" Sheppard asked hurriedly.

"What?" he asked in confusion, eyeing the blood on John's shirt. "Untie me!"

"Rodney! Where is the jumper?"

"You know damn well where the jumper is!" McKay cried. "What is it? Untie me!"

"I can't remember where I left it. I must have gotten hit on the head." John looked around the landscape, fidgety and nervous.

"So get me out of here and I will take you!"

"DAMN IT! Rodney, TELL me where it is!"

Something in the colonel's voice stopped McKay from saying any more. He stared at him, noticing the darkness in his strangely vacant eyes. His body seemed unable to stay still as he paced about, throwing his arms in threatening gestures.

"Tell me where the damn jumper is!" John forced through clenched teeth.

McKay shook his head, instantly regretting the action as Sheppard threw a punch that rocked the brain inside his skull. His head snapped to the side, causing more pressure on his already aching joints. He tasted the blood dripping from his mouth, his tongue licking it from his lips. Lifting his head back up, he saw that Sheppard was pacing once again.

"Sheppard? What the hell is going on?"

John ignored him. He paced and wrung his hands, then seemed to pause in confusion.

"Rodney?" Sheppard said in a voice that seemed more like his own. His face was filled with confusion, he clearly had no idea where he was or what had happened.

"Sheppard, get me out of here! Let me help you!"

A cloud seemed to descend over John's face, his eyes becoming wild and angry. He turned and smacked McKay's face so hard the scientist thought his teeth would explode from his mouth.

"If you don't tell me where that jumper is, I am gonna go and start on Teyla."

Rodney's eyes went huge with shock. Not only was his friend attacking him, but he knew he could not tell where the Jumper was and that meant that Teyla would be hurt as well.

"No! You can't!"

Sheppard's fist landed squarely on McKay's upturned face. Bone crunched as the man's nose was broken, sending a sharp blinding pain through his head. Not happy with the result, the officer hit McKay again, sending him back to unconsciousness.

"So be it," he muttered, and with that, he walked away, leaving McKay hanging limp in the bleaching heat of the suns.

---

McKay's groggy mind was brought speeding back to reality with the agonizing pain in his face. He spat clotted blood from his mouth, grimacing at the pain.

He remembered what John had said and frantically searched for Teyla in the distance. The twin suns were setting and the light diminishing, making it hard to see very far. He could almost make out the shape of Teyla, thought he saw her move. Thank God.

He strained to look up at the darkening sky, fear prickling at his senses. Not another night, he silently pleaded.

A breeze had picked up, washing a welcomed coolness over his fevered, sun-burnt skin. His mouth was terribly dry and his stomach churned with hunger. He thought about the energy bar in his pocket, making his mouth water for something he could never reach. How long could he last here? His rapidly declining blood sugar would take him for sure, but maybe not before either Sheppard or the night beasts took him first.

A scream pierced the air and he realized it was not a human that made the noise. It was like a wild cry of nature, like wolves howling in their pack. The night beasts.

As the darkness fell more quickly, he watched the horizon, believing he could see the animals bounding towards him. His fear triggered nausea, a heaving in his stomach bringing bile spewing from his mouth. The bitter taste left him thirstier than he had been before.

Darkness was complete.

The twin suns had set leaving a gaping black hole for him to look at in their absence, a blackness that conjured frightening images in his mind. He thought he could almost see the animals, teeth bared and eyes wild, slinking towards him. Although he had not actually seen the beasts, his imagination did a good job of creating a horrific picture of them, complete with gaping jaws full of razor-sharp teeth.

Silence. It was the silence and darkness combined that truly terrified him.

Trying to ease his terror, Rodney thought about his earlier encounter with Sheppard. What the hell had been going on there? The question brought a memory flashing back to him: The jumper bursting from the Stargate in orbit above this planet before landing near a clearing. Walking out of the jumper onto a bright field of long grass swaying in the wind. The bright blue sky with its beautiful, strong twin suns. He had worried about his complexion at the time. It seemed so stupid now.

The memory was gone, leaving him wondering how he had got from there to here. Feet padding along the ground scattered his thoughts. A mewling sound next to his right ear made him jump. Whatever the creature was, it was back, sniffing him again and pawing at his leg once more. He sat as still as he could, hoping it would go away, sure it would not. It was sniffing around his face, licking at his mouth and nose, sending sharp jolts of pain through his head.

The blood! Oh my GOD! The BLOOD!

Rodney could almost see it in his mind—the animal getting the taste of him and wanting more. He could see it pulling and gnawing at his body as he writhed and screamed in the darkness. The images in his head sparked a panic that consumed his being, uncontrollable shivers shaking his body.

Footsteps. Someone running towards him.

The beast ran off, screaming as it left, sending a chill down McKay's spine. In his mind, it sounded as if it had said it would return later.

Silence. He had been so sure that he had heard someone running. Fear heightened his senses as he strained to hear anything in the stillness but there was nothing.

McKay swayed on his restraints as he fought to stay awake, exhaustion permeating his body more than it ever had before. He leaned his body back against the stump he was tied to, his aching muscles crying out at the change of position. He thought he saw something coming towards him. In this darkness? But yes, there was something, someone walking towards him.

"Rodney?"

"Hey, McKay?"

He could not believe it! Teyla and Ronon were in front of him! They knelt down next to him, smiling.

"How did you escape?" Rodney demanded. "I have been trying, but couldn't! Untie me!"

But neither of them of them moved. They just smiled at him.

"Are you comfortable?"

His eyes flashed open and his stomach turned as he realized it had all been a figment of his imagination. Shaking his head in frustration, he almost wept.

"I said, are you comfortable?" the voice asked again.

He had thought that had come from his imagination too, but it was real, and the thought of that made him quake.

John Sheppard was somewhere in the darkness.

"You know, McKay, it would be so much less painful, if you just helped me out," the air force pilot informed him.

What direction was the voice coming from? McKay turned his head, frantically searching in the inky blackness, hearing a sudden movement behind him. His head cracked to the side from the impact of John's fist, exploding light bursting in his mind.

As he tried to shake the dizzying feeling from his head, he was hit with a kick so hard it sent the air rushing from his lungs. His breath came back in quick, short rasps as he sucked in air through clenched teeth.

"Are you gonna tell me where the jumper is?" the voice so close to his ear, it made him jump in fright.

Cringing, he waited for the next assault.

It never came.

---

He was shaking and trembling, breathing painfully fast. His body was on fire, almost every nerve burning with pain. It took him a while to calm down and realize that Sheppard had gone, leaving him alone once more in the darkness.

He felt as though he may go truly insane. He was a captive here in this hot and awful planet, being beaten by his best friend who seemed intent on continuing his torture. What had he done to deserve this?

What would happen when John came back? He was not going to tell him where the Jumper was, no way, all their lives depended on that ship. But he was not sure just how much beatings he could take.

He had taken more pain than he thought was possible to take, more than he had ever had to endure in the past. He knew it was only a matter of time before his body gave out whether he held strong or not.

But what would happen if John found the Jumper on his own? Left them all tied here to die in the heat and at the mercy of the native wildlife?

Oh God, I can not die here! I can't be here another night! I can't take another beating! I...I....

He took a deep breath and screamed into that darkness, long and loud, pouring all of his frustration, pain and all-consuming terror into the heart-wrenching noise. He did not care if the noise attracted something or someone, he could not help it. His breath ran out and the scream became a whimper. He leaned back on the stump and raised his eyes to the dark sky.

He began muttering to himself, asking for freedom, praying for light and merciful release. His prayers unanswered, he fell into a fitful sleep full of nightmares and torture.

Might post another chapter tomorrow, if I get the chance to read it through in time. Please comment, so I know if it is even worth finishing the sequel!!