Chapter Two
John opened his eyes. They felt sticky and congealed. He frowned and put a hand up to his face, wiping the sweat from his brow. Strange, why was he lying down? He wasn't lying down before. He propped himself up on one elbow and rubbed his eyes. He could see...nothing. Again, strange. He rolled over and heaved himself up. He squinted, and through blurred vision, he could see the dim outlines of the wall designs. Ok, so he was in a corridor. That narrowed the field. Shaking his head, and ignoring the pains in his knees from the awkward way in which he was lying, he desperately grasped at the blurry facts. He was in Atlantis. Well, at least he could remember that. He was with a man, and talking about...Pigeons? That couldn't be right. John tried to visualise the mans face. Glasses, messy, thinning hair and a blue shirt. Radek! He looked around, but couldn't see anyone. He heard a slight noise down the hall, and backed into the wall. He looked around the corner, and saw the most grotesque sight he had ever seen. Dozens of creatures, all stalking around in circles. He looked more closely, and saw one of them had dried blood all around it's face, and a strip of blue cloth hung on one claw.
John glared at it, which was all he could do. He had no weapons, and if he ran, they would hear him. If only he could get away somehow. He walked carefully, back to the wall, breathing quickly. It was like walking on eggshells. One of the creatures growled, and he stopped, watching the doorway. His heart pounded in his ears. Why hadn't the creatures heard his breathing? Surely it was loud enough. He waited for what seemed like a lifetime, before starting off again. Suddenly, a shriek echoed around his ears. It came from the opposite door! There was nothing for it, he would have to run.
He streaked around the corner, towards the noise. The creatures behind him let out a screech of anger, and thudded along behind him. The beats of their feet merged with the violent pounding of his heart as he flew along, away from the nightmares. Except he knew they would never stop. Never tire. catch him eventually, then...He twisted around a corner sharply, and, yes! A cupboard! He shot inside, closing the door quietly behind him. The creature screeched around, following his trail. They stopped, looking around eyes glowing in the semi-darkness. They were in a place were corridors met, and the door blended in perfectly with the other walls. John dared to peep around the door, opening it just slightly. Why weren't they moving? Was it...was it really him they were chasing? He held his breath. The creatures stood perfectly still, until something so small and insignificant moved on the floor. A red dot. Like the one on a P-90. John's eyes widened. It moved, quivering slightly, over to the biggest of the creatures until it was right on it's head. John blinked, and in that second a shot fired, and the leader crumpled to the ground. The others fell on him, tearing his flesh with their talons. Nothing moved for a second, then a block of C4 with a tag on it thudded dully to the floor. The creatures stared at it. Since it was doing nothing, they turned their attention back to the half-eaten carcase before them. John bit his lip. After a few more seconds, a figure dropped down for ceiling, and ran like hell for the cupboard were he was standing. He flattened himself to the wall as the person hurled inside, grabbed the remote control for the ignition of the explosive, jammed her finger in her ear, and flicked the deadly switch. John just had time to close his eyes and put his hands over his ears, before a massive explosion shook the cupboard. The person straightened up, and John saw a female outline. He didn't say a word to her, but she sighed, and looked up. Right into his eyes. He stiffened, seeing the anger in hers. She raised her gun, but he held out his hands. She lowered it gingerly. "What...."
"I'm John Sheppard," he said hoarsely.
She didn't say anything.
"Look, it's ok, I need you to help me...." His knees crumpled before he could say anything more, because she had hit him with the handle of her gun.