A/N: I have a million excuses for how long this took, real ones at that: prom, exams, graduation, working 40 hrs a week, stuff like that. Also, this one I really struggled with, and I'm still not happy with it but there's not much more I can really do. There's a reason why I want to be a script writer and not a novelist. And a thank you to everyone, I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of reviews I received, I wasn't expecting that many! Thanks!
"The Other Side of Dawn"
Chapter Two – "Leader"
It was an hour's walk to the outskirts of the city, and Elizabeth and John passed it in silence. They'd all said their goodbyes back at the cave, hugging each other and wishing them luck.
John knew that there was a good chance that they wouldn't be coming back. There was always that risk, as there had been on Atlantis, but this time they really didn't have a choice.
He glanced back at Elizabeth who was following closely behind him. He'd do whatever he could to keep her safe. He hated that she'd pushed to be included in the groups that went into the city, and she'd pushed until he'd agreed. Elizabeth Weir was not one for sitting back and doing nothing. But that didn't stop John from hating the situation. The only way he'd agree to it was if she went with him and him alone. Not that he didn't trust Ronon, just that he trusted himself more. Elizabeth had always been his responsibility, and their current situation didn't change that.
He wouldn't admit that he'd been scared out of his mind earlier when she'd gone missing, and he'd tried to use that as an excuse to stop her from coming with him, as futile as he knew the attempt would be.
In the city, he knew that she would follow his every word without question. She wouldn't intentionally put them in danger.
Slowing his pace, John allowed Elizabeth to catch up with him. He slipped his hand into hers, and walked alongside her. Her hand stiffened momentarily, perhaps out of shock, before relaxing in his grip.
Whether he did it out of comfort of friendship or something else, he wasn't sure. It was more of a need to feel something; a need for human contact.
When they were only a few minutes from the edge of the forest, John reluctantly let go of her hand and moved ahead again, his hands moving to grip his P-90 tightly.
Through the trees he could see the grey stone of the building walls, the lights shining through the small windows. He turned left and followed parallel to the outskirts of the city.
After another ten minutes John made his way to the edge of the tree line. He peered carefully at the closest buildings. There were gaps between each of the small structures that they'd come to realize were homes. The gaps were large enough to fit two people side by side, and were perfect for them to use.
A large majority of the city's circumference was poorly guarded, if at all. The pure size of the grand city would take hundreds, if not thousands, just to guard its perimeter. Not that John minded.
With one quick stride he left the safety of the tree cover and ran towards the buildings. There may as well have been a spot light shining down on him. He felt exposed as his feet pounded against the ground in a race with his rapidly beating heart. He was certain that at any moment his body would be riddled with bullets and he'd soon be nothing but blood and bones spattered across the grass.
Before he even realized he'd made it to the buildings, he was standing in the gap between two of them. He took a moment to let his brain catch up to his heart and then slid along the edge of the building to inspect the quiet, night street. When he was sure nobody was around, he returned to the edge of the clearing.
Through the trees, Elizabeth was waiting for his signal. Her face looked pale in the darkness of the night. Maybe it was just the glow of the moonlight, or maybe it was the fact that they'd all become creatures of the night and therefore rarely saw any sunlight.
Her hair had grown longer in the few months they'd been there. It hung in loose, brown curls just below her shoulders. It had been a while since any of them had cared about their physical appearance. Most of the men had grown beards, the only one who had shaved recently was Lorne; he said that the facial hair irritated him.
He signaled for her to follow him, and just as he had, Elizabeth sprung from the trees and began racing across the clearing.
Her body seemed to float towards him, the moon light reflecting off her pale, white features. It was as if she was dead and her ghost was floating to him. Maybe it was a sign; an omen of what was to come. If it was, John chose to ignore it, pushing any thought of the matter to the back of his mind as she joined him between the buildings.
Together they crept along the edge of the building and waited.
It had taken weeks of watching various parts of the city to figure out their routine. The native people seemed to work on a 6 day week, the sixth being rest day, and the day that two of the stranded expedition members would go into the city. That night the people all left their homes, heading towards the inner parts of the city. They weren't really sure what it is they did on those nights, but all that mattered was that it left the houses empty.
They'd tried hunting in the first few weeks; they'd even made traps, but nothing came of them. They'd never even spotted any wildlife that was big enough to worth catching.
So they had to rely on the people of the city. Every six days two of them would go to the edges of the city and wait for the people to leave their homes. They would choose a different part of the city each time, and only take what they needed, and from several different homes so that it was barely noticeable.
It was another hour before the people began leaving their homes. Families started heading towards the transporters located on the corners of every street. They seemed to function similarly to the Atlantis transporters, but as far as Elizabeth could tell, it wasn't Ancient design, but she hadn't really had a chance to look at them.
After spending months in a cave with the same seven people, it seemed odd to see so many people, adults and children, going about their lives like everything was normal, while the eight of them spent everyday on alert, fighting to survive on a strange world.
They waited another half hour after the last lights went out before moving. None of the houses that they'd come across had any form of locks or security on the doors, which was lucky for them as they chose their first house.
By the time they'd finished with the fourth house, their packs were filled to the brim with supplies. John motioned for them to leave, and Elizabeth pulled her pack on. It was just as she passed the table on her way to the door that she saw something familiar out of the corner of her eye.
Turning to the table, she was surprised to find it covered in books and paper. The surprise was what was on the paper.
The natives' written word was familiar to all of them by now, which was why the character on the pages drew her attention. The block form of the Ancient text drew her nearer, her eyes staring down at them as if they were a dream and if she dared blink they'd disappear.
At the doorway, John paused when he realized that she wasn't behind him. "Elizabeth?" He whispered and walked over to her. "We need to go."
"It's Ancient," She breathed, her eyes never leaving the table.
"It doesn't matter; they'll be back any minute now. Leave it, we can come back and look at it another time."
Elizabeth nodded and turned to leave when she spotted something poking out from underneath a piece of paper.
John, noticing Elizabeth's hesitation, sighed. "Elizabeth!"
Ignoring him, she shifted the piece of paper to the side and inhaled sharply. "Oh my god…" She picked up the small crystal piece, cradling it in her shaking hands.
"What is it?"
"It's a dialing crystal." She tore her eyes away from the rectangular piece and looked at him in awe.
"What?"
"It's the dialing crystal that's missing from the DHD!" She broke into a smile. "We can get out of here!"
"Don't move!"
Elizabeth froze, looking past John's shoulder. Five men stood at the door, four with weapons pointing at them. They'd been too wrapped up in the crystal, they hadn't heard anyone coming. Her eyes fell to John's and she noticed his hands tighten on his P-90.
"Turn around slowly!" growled a man at the front of the group, obviously the leader.
John turned around, keeping himself between Elizabeth and the armed men.
As soon as the men saw the weapon in John's hands, they took a step closer. "Drop your weapon!" Leader ordered.
"We're not here to hurt anybody." Elizabeth spoke, stepping to John's side. As she did, she slipped the crystal into the back pocket of John's pants. "We're just trying to survive." It had been a while, but the diplomatic leader was returning to the surface.
Her attempt earned her two weapons pointed at her.
"Place your weapons on the ground, or we will be forced to take action." She didn't doubt Leader's words; his three men gripped their weapons as if their lives depended on it. They looked like they were ready to pull the triggers at any sound or movement.
John turned to look at her, and nodded. He lowered his P-90 to the floor and removing his side arm. Elizabeth did the same.
As soon as they were unarmed, the fifth man of the group of guards shot past them to the table. "What were you doing with my research?" He wore a pair of glasses, similar to Earth design but with huge round lenses. He pushed them up his nose as he shuffled through the papers.
The action reminded Elizabeth all too much of Dr. Radek Zalenka, and she felt a pang of sadness for the scientist before pushing all thoughts of Atlantis to the back of her mind.
Ignoring the scientist, "Search them," the leader ordered. One of the guards stepped forward to take their discarded weapons, while the other two stepped forward on shaky legs to search them. Elizabeth watched their weapons warily.
"We came through the Stargate," John spoke, "We're travelers and we're stranded here, we don't want to harm you or any of your people."
"Silence!" Leader seemed to like yelling.
"'Stargate?'" Glasses queried, turning his attention from the table. "The Ancestral Ring? I have heard of it called this in various texts. You know how it works?"
"Dr. Nasiir." One of the guards spoke, pulling the crystal from John's pockets. "Is this yours?"
Nasiir stepped forward and took the dialing crystal. He turned to Sheppard. "Do you know what this is?" He looked excited: a scientist on the verge of discovering something new.
John opened his mouth to reply when Leader interrupted. "Enough! Shoot them."
Before she could move, a sudden strong force hit her stomach and she felt the air leave her lungs. She felt a sharp pain spread through her body before the floor came rushing towards her and the world went black.