NIGHTMARES

Chapter 2

John lay shirtless, sleeping silently, his body half covered by only a thin sheet. He awoke to the sound of gunfire and found himself off world, in an unknown forest. He was crouched behind some brush, holding his P-90 close to his chest, Teyla and Ronon on either side of him. They both were staring out into the woods behind him, concentrating. He looked around, confused, and instinctively ducked when a barrage of bullets clamored their way.

"Wait a minute! What's going on here?!" he asked to either of them. Neither moved, their eyes steady on their targets "I'll take the two behind the bunker, you guys take the others," Ronon gruffed as he began to rise from his position, John spoke to him in a hushed voice. "Ronon, wait!" Ronon took off without so much as looking back. "God damn it! What is going on, Teyla???!!" John panted as more bullets came flying by their position. "Do not worry, Colonel. I'll take point," and she stood quickly, firing multiple shots into the forest before somersaulting behind a nearby tree.

John looked down at his gun, not knowing what to do and decidedly followed suit. After multiple rounds were shot back and forth, he finally spotted a Wraith hiding behind a large rock and shot him straight through his chest. He started to follow Teyla to the next cover, when he noticed another Wraith coming up dangerously close behind Ronon. "Ronon, behind you!" John yelled in his earpiece, but it was too late. The Wraith held up his gun and shot Ronon point blank in the back of the head.

"RONON!" John cried. Ronon's body dropped to a heap on the forest floor, his eyes open, blood pouring out of the back of his head. "Teyla, Teyla, Ronon's been shot! There's too many of them, we have to fall back!" John looked around wildly. Teyla was nowhere to be seen. "Teyla!" he yelled frantically. His heart stopped when he spotted Teyla ahead, surrounded and disarmed by three Wraith. She stood there amid them perfectly still. Her tearful eyes were on John as he screamed at the top of his lungs and ran towards her, running out into the open, calling her name and firing wildly at the surrounding Wraith.

But he was nowhere close enough to stop one of them from jamming their hand into her chest and draining the life from her. Her eyes never left the sight of John, who was trying so hard to reach her, tears streaming from his face as he ran to no avail.

His bullets seemed to pass right through the Wraith. He felt a flash of white hot pain sear through his leg and he fell on his face into the dirt, clutching his knee. The Wraith who had killed Teyla stood above John, as he lay there bleeding and heartbroken. He put a well placed foot to John's throat and snarled at him, baring his teeth. "John Sheppard. Your failure as a leader knows no end. You could not even protect those closest to you. Your most loyal and bravest friend is dead. The woman you loved but failed to tell is dead. Their deaths are meaningless and you are responsible." John looked over at Teyla's limp body and his heart sank to a place he dared not go. He looked back at the Wraith and with all the strength he could muster, said "Go ahead. Kill me."

The Wraith laughed cruelly and said, "No, Colonel Sheppard. You're punishment will be much worse. You'll live your life knowing what you lost, suffering every day without them. Without her." John's eyes filled with tears and he shook uncontrollably. The Wraith removed his foot from John's throat and kicked him in the side of his head, making John feel as if he were falling into the blackness of an unseen abyss.

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Teyla opened her eyes and found she was lying on her back in one of the many hallways of Atlantis. Silence surrounded her and all the lights were dim. She quickly sat up inspecting herself, unsure of how she had gotten there. She remembered the creature she had last encountered, half child, half Wraith and shuddered at its horrid image etched into her mind. She stood shakily and was determined to figure out what was going on. She walked for many hallways, checking rooms, treading cautiously, finding nothing but silence and shadows.

Just when her legs were beginning to tire her, she heard an echoed scuffling behind her. She turned and her heart leapt into her throat as she spotted two Wraith side by side at the end of the hall she was in, their pace increasing with each step towards her. No weapons, she turned and ran as fast as she could, changing hallways, and ducking through doorways. She entered a room and closed the door behind her, holding her breath in anticipation. Staring at the door, she started to back up into the middle of the room. Something moved behind her. She gasped and turned.

There Ronon sat, half in light, half in shadow. A bloodied knife gripped tightly in his hand, the blood glistened softly in the dim glow of the lamp. "Ronon?" she whispered. Ronon's eyes never met hers. They were fixed steady on the door. "Ronon, what is happening? There are Wraith in the city!" She was barely audible. "It's no use, Teyla. Wherever there's one, there's a hundred. Where there's a hundred, there's a thousand. We can't stop them. They'll eat our flesh over and over again." His voice cracked in despair.

Teyla walked over to Ronon and put her hand gently on his shoulder, they way she often did when things were grim. He flinched slightly at her touch and begrudgingly brought his eyes to meet hers. "Ronon, I do not know what is going on but I feel there is something very wrong about all this. Do you not feel it? This….this fog clouding our heads? It feels as though I am awake inside my own dreams." He looked at her blankly. She sighed and started again. "Ronon, think. How did we get to be here? How did the Wraith enter the city? Where IS everyone? Where is Colonel Sheppard?"

Ronon looked thoughtful for a moment before returning a deadly gaze to the door. "I'm sure they're all dead." Teyla stood back, her mouth agape at the mere thought. "No, you are wrong. If he….if they were dead I would sense it. They are here somewhere and I [Iwill[/I find them. We need them to fight this and figure out what is going on. I ask you to come with me, Ronon." Ronon did not respond. Teyla sighed heavily. "Be well, Ronon. I will return for you."

She tried to feign a smile to him as she left him there, but her heart sank heavy at the thought of finding anyone she cared for dead. An image of Colonel Sheppards dead body flashed through her mind, and fueled her body with such an intense rage, she felt as though she would choke on her own breath. Nothing would stand in her way of finding them. With that thought, she slipped out unnoticed by the Wraith into the hallway.

Teyla emerged in the hallway, peering carefully around each corner before she turned its corridor. She was anxious and exhausted from running. Ronon had her on edge picturing their entire expedition lying dead in all corners of Atlantis. After narrowly escaping three different sets of Wraith, she found herself running through a corridor in the East Wing, a place she had never ventured before. It was very dark and she was traveling at a great speed when she tripped hard over something and went flying through the air. As quickly as she could, she regained composure and turned back to see what she had fallen over.

Her eyes widened as she realized she had tripped over someone's legs, someone who was lying flat on their back in the middle of the hallway. She dropped to her knees as she looked at the face of the person who lay there before her. It was Colonel Sheppard. He was lying there so still, Teyla was sure he was dead. She felt sick as she crawled over slowly to his motionless body, dragging her heavy hand to feel for some sign of life. She felt no life signs and began to gag on the rising spittle in her throat. Her chin was trembling and she sat there, staring at his restful face.

Her mind felt fuzzy as she thought of everything they had been through together and all the time she thought they would have together. Desperate gasps of air clogged in her throat when suddenly, Colonel Sheppards body seemed to come to life as he began to sputter and cough, turning slowly onto his side, his eyes still closed. Teyla's heart leapt with joy and she felt overwhelmed with emotion, as tears spilled from her eyes. "John? John?! Are you allright?" she asked her smile wide and true as he continued to cough.

When Colonel Sheppard felt a whoosh of air rush into his lungs, he started to cough and rolled over on his side, slowly catching his breath. He thought he heard Teyla's voice over his incessant coughing, but his thoughts returned to him and he remembered that dirty Wraith draining her body and tossing it aside like a rag doll. His coughing started to subside and he heard Teyla again, she sounded like she was right there beside him. He opened his eyes quickly, for her voice sounded so real. He saw her sitting there, on her knees, her beautiful smile was bright and her eyes seemed to glow with joy.

John sat up immediately and reached out with his hand to make sure she was real. His touch surprised her and she fluttered briefly as his hand touched her face. Overcome with happiness, he grabbed her roughly and pulled her warm body close, burying his face in her hair, feverishly taking in her scent. Teyla was so happy that Colonel Sheppard was alive, his touch had surprised her, and before she knew it she was engulfed by his strong arms, his hands wrapped tightly around her sides. After a few moments like that, she began to realize the pure ecstasy his touch was having on her, and she slowly began to pull away, unsure of what to do.

His eyes were glistening as their eyes met and she felt her heartbeat increase as she backed up slowly, looking deep in his face. "Teyla," he said softly. "I thought you were dead." Teyla smiled and looked down quickly. "And I thought the same of you, Colonel." John stared at her hard. She had never looked as beautiful to him as she did at this moment, and he wanted everything he had ever held back from allowing himself to feel for her to pour out, but as she looked away, he lost his nerve.

He started to get up from the ground and lent a hand to help her up as well. "Teyla," he started. "I saw you killed by a Wraith. We were in the woods and I-". She interrupted him. "Colonel, I believe we are all witnessing things that are not real. I have seen Ronon and he seemed very disturbed, like he had been through some great trauma. I have been through much of the city and found no one else, till now. I feel as though we are somehow conscious yet we remain in our subconscious." John pondered this, scratching his messy hair.

"Ok, let's say I buy that. What does that mean? We're stuck in our nightmares? Hey you haven't seen a guy with a black and red sweater and long metal claws for fingernails, have you?" he asked half joking. She looked at him confused and answered, "I have seen only Wraith." He looked at her seriously and replied, "Close enough. C'mon, let's go see if we can find anyone else."