For some reason, it was as though Gatak's men had sensed that McKay wasn't of the fighting type. After quickly rendering Sheppard, Ronan and Teyla unconscious, they left McKay, his arm twisted painfully behind him, conscious.
Almost immediately, they started to drag the Atlanteans back down the corridor they had just come from. McKay threw a desperate look at Fayne, then shouted, "What are you going to do?"
Fayne regarded him coldly, then turned and vanished into another corridor next to the throne.
It was a painful walk back to the Stargate, and McKay's hopes were high that the men were going to let them leave, but after being deposited unceremoniously back in the Stargate's chamber, McKay noticed the DHD was just outside the room. As he scrambled to try and get back through the door, Gatak planted a boot in his stomach and sent him sailing across the room before activating a door, effectively sealing them in the chamber.
"Great, that's just great!" McKay cursed, then moved to Sheppard, Ronan and Teyla, shaking them awake. The three were groggy and disoriented, but then quickly recovered when they realized their situation.
"So the DHD is outside?" Sheppard asked.
"Yes, that's what I said!" McKay replied.
"Any way you can rig the Stargate to activate without the DHD?"
"Not a chance," McKay snapped. "Not without equipment. They didn't leave us with much."
"I've got my knife," Sheppard said, patting himself down.
"I have no weapons," Teyla said.
"Neither do I," Ronan shook his head.
"Great." Sheppard swept the small chamber with a careful gaze. "Did they say what they were going to do with us?"
"Hmm, put us in an underground chamber that's taboo in their culture ... Doesn't sound like they had anything nice in mind," McKay complained.
Suddenly, there was a low growl from above them. Sheppard leapt back to the side of the chamber, followed closely by his teammates. They gazed anxiously into the blackness.
"Does anyone feel like we're in the middle of Return of the Jedi, here?" McKay hissed.
Rocks crumbled down from above as something moved in the darkness.
"Find a place to hide," Sheppard whispered. He and his teammates felt along the side of the walls for any crevice to squeeze themselves into.
Suddenly, the rocks started raining down again and the shadows moved.
"Oh my —" McKay started.
Red, glowing eyes appeared in the darkness, gazing down on them, then the beast's body emerged from the shadows. It was a huge animal, bigger than an elephant, with a body and head resembling a mix between a bull and a lion and huge paws with long, sharp claws. The beast was black with long white horns on its head, and it bared sharp teeth as it growled again.
"We're gonna die," McKay squeaked.
"We're not gonna die," Sheppard hissed.
"Actually, I think I'm with McKay on this one," Ronan said.
Sheppard shot him an annoyed glance and quickly began calculations.
They had one weapon, his knife, and no way out of the chamber. If this thing turned out to be deadly, it was probably going to be a kill-or-be-eaten situation. Even so, Sheppard didn't like waiting for the beast to make the first move. Animals were unpredictable, but after living in the Pegasus Galaxy for a few years now, something to keep into account was that this creature might be intelligent.
The beast was using the rock outcroppings to slowly climb down the walls, and it did not appear comfortable with climbing. Sheppard guessed that it slept or hibernated high up in the walls but didn't spend its time climbing. That was one thing to their advantage and he put that thought on the sideline.
"It's coming closer," Teyla warned.
"Any plans, people?" Sheppard asked.
"You have the knife!" McKay said.
Sheppard stepped in front of the group and waved at the beast. "Hi there ..."
The animal froze and growled menacingly, then with a gigantic leap, it roared and landed heavily on the ground. The floor shook and more stones clattered down the sides of the walls.
"I can distract it for you," Ronan murmured. "Give you time to get to it."
Sheppard scrutinized the animal carefully, trying to figure out where it's weak spots may be. The beast loomed over the small group, and then it raised a paw and swept it towards them. The four scattered, diving and rolling across the floor in an attempt to escape the vicious claws.
Choosing that moment to make his move, Ronan ran towards the beast, grabbing one of its paws and clambering up towards its back. The beast roared and batted at the man. Sheppard raced towards the distracted beast, getting under its belly and slashing upwards with his knife. A hot spray of blood hit him as the beast roared and clawed at him. Ronan was thrown off and landed dazed on the ground. Sheppard tried to duck out of the way, but one of the beast's paws caught him in the side and sent him sailing through the air into the side of the chamber. There was a sickening crunch as he hit the side and he felt to the ground, stunned. A strange heat was spreading along his torso, and as he shook his head in an attempt to clear the stars fogging his vision, he saw bright red blood covering his right side. Dully, he realized the beast's claws must have caught him when it threw him to the side. Strangely, he wasn't in any pain.
"John!"
Teyla's voice of warning made Sheppard look up just in time to see the beast looming over him, it's teeth bared and right paw raised as it prepared to crush him.
Acting entirely on instinct, Sheppard pushed himself up, hefted the knife, and threw it straight into the animal's gaping mouth. The beast staggered back, screaming in pain. Collapsing to the ground, it flailed its limbs for a few minutes, twitched, then was still.
With a groan of pain, Sheppard fell back to the ground, the pain from his wounds finally hitting him. There was a flurry of movement at his side and the dim sound of voices. He was gently rolled over onto his back, but the pain from his side caused a flareup of agony. Something didn't feel right. His limbs were shaking and the stars that had continued to spiral above his head were cascading into night.
AN: Please read and review!
