Chapter Three
Two days later, Rodney didn't know if he should call it luck or fate when Zelenka found the address to the planet. He stared at the address and the little information it had. The Ancients had called it an uninhabited planet with a misty forest.
They obviously didn't explore further.
"Are you sure about this? You remember what happened last time."
Rodney gave the man a look he hoped said Zelenka was an idiot. "Of course, I remember. I'm still having the damn nightmares."
"Sorry." He handed Rodney the number, not that he'd ever forgot. "Be careful."
A dozen retorts danced across his tongue, but he said nothing. He knew he was cranky because of having to go back to that town, not because of anything Zelenka had done. It was just easy to take it out on the other scientist.
"Thanks," he said instead.
Zelenka nodded and went back to work, leaving Rodney staring at the address. Taking a deep breath, he left the lab and headed toward the Gateroom.
I so don't want to do this. I really hate that town.
~*~
Rodney stepped through the horizon and into a thick fog. He grumbled, hoping he wouldn't slam into a tree or worse: one of those damn monsters.
"Just as I remember it. Foggy." Sheppard turned the light from his P-90 on.
"This is going to be fun." Rodney turned on his flashlight and followed Sheppard into the mist.
"What do we hope to find this time?" Teyla asked, her voice sounding far away thanks to the fog.
"Hopefully a reason as to why I continue to dream about this damn town. It should have been the end of it five months ago."
"Maybe it likes your charming personality," Ronon goaded.
Rodney rolled his eyes, but didn't answer. It wouldn't do much good anyway.
"Let's make sure the creatures can hear us," Sheppard hissed.
They went silent after that. Rodney's gaze scanned the fog for any movement. It was difficult to see much passed his own nose.
I can't see a damn thing. I might have to rely on the noise from the radios. Hopefully they'll still work.
Thanks to the fog, it took longer to reach the forest. So far, the radios hadn't gone off, much to Rodney's relief. They weren't out of the woods, yet, so to speak. They still had to get to the town without being attacked.
The fog let up to reveal the path winding deeper into the woods. The air grew heavy and Rodney's heart raced. He readied his P-90, aiming it into the vegetation. Anything might come at them at any moment.
Nothing came, though, but he wasn't about to let his guard down. He'd been through this too often in his nightmares and in reality. He refused to give these creatures an edge.
They turned the bend in the path and the fog continued to lessen. The scent of moisture hung in the air. Rain would be a welcome respite, but he knew it wouldn't come. He doubted this place ever saw rain.
"I think I should warn you that the creatures are different."
Sheppard glanced at him over his shoulder. "Different how?"
"In the hotel, I came across two monsters that I didn't see last time. One looked like a woman and the other moved on all legs like looked like sabers."
"Oh, is that all? I thought they were more dangerous."
Rodney stared up at the sky. "The woman attacked me with a knife and the other creature was able to block any frontal attacks."
"Great."
Ronon snorted and brought out his gun. "Let's see if they can block this."
"Don't get too cocky, Chewie," Sheppard warned.
Ronon shrugged, twirled his weapon, then put it back in its holster.
Just wait until he actually sees these things. Rodney shook his head at the thought. It wouldn't do any good. The man wasn't afraid of anything.
The fog lifted enough to reveal the town before them. Rodney's heart picked up its pace and his stomach twisted into a knot.
"Everyone keep your eyes open." Sheppard led the way into the town.
Rodney brought up his gun, ready to shoot anything that didn't look human. He took a deep breath to calm himself and gazed at their surroundings. Everything appeared the same; the abandoned buildings wrapped in fog, broken streets dropping into oblivion. He had no idea if it was day or not, the fog blocked out the sun.
"All right, McKay, where to?"
Rodney stared at Sheppard's back. "What gave you the idea that I know?"
"Your nightmares."
"Then I guess it's the hotel. As if that will tell us anything."
Sheppard headed toward their left down a street Rodney hoped didn't just suddenly drop off. He shone his light into the fog, but saw nothing. At best the light from his gun barely penetrated the dense mist. At worst, it bounced back into his eyes. He grumbled and decided to keep his eyes on Sheppard in case the man suddenly vanished.
The silence grew unnerving and seemed to close in around them like the fog. The fear it created crept upon him, threatening to squeeze his heart. He wanted something to shoot just to relieve the tension.
Be careful what you wish for. You might not like the results.
The mist parted to reveal a fence barrier blocking their progress. Rodney stared at it, blinking.
"I don't remember that."
"We didn't go this way last time." Sheppard stepped toward the fence and shoot it. The rattle barely echoed in the thick fog. "We can climb this."
Rodney scoffed. "Oh, hell no. I'd rather find another way around."
"If I have to toss you over, you're going over." Ronon's deep growl sent a chill skimming through him.
"Ok. We're going over."
Ronon patted him on the back and stepped toward the fence. He grasped the chain links and hauled himself up. It didn't take him long to reach the top and he swung himself over.
"Show off," Rodney growled.
Sheppard smirked. "You're turn."
Rodney narrowed his eyes. "Oh, thanks so much."
Rodney hooked his P-90 to his vest and marched to the fence. He stared up at it and swallowed. He really didn't want to do this. He doubted he'd be able to get over it without making a fool out of himself.
Let's get this over with.
Breathing deeply, he grasped the links and pulled himself up the fence. He didn't reach the top in record time, but at least he did. He took a moment to take it in. Smiling, he swung himself over the top and climbed down the other side.
"You took your time."
Rodney glared at Ronon. "Shut up."
Rodney jumped the rest of the way, landing hard on his feet. Ronon smirked, irking Rodney even further. He opened his mouth to sling some insults when the fence rattled. He looked up to see Teyla coming over the top.
"You were going to say something?"
He glowered at Ronon, but didn't say anything. He unhooked his P-90 and turned on the light. Shining the light into the fog, he took a look at where they were. The street continued on, thankfully.
Feet hitting the ground made him swung back around. Teyla brushed herself off and released a deep breath. The fence rattled again and a moment later, Sheppard swung himself over and jumped the rest of the way down.
"Show off," Ronon said gruffly.
Sheppard turned on his flashlight, aiming it into the cloudiness. "Let's go."
They traveled down the street, keeping eyes and ears open for attacks from anywhere.
Static caused Rodney to jump. He closed his eyes and growled in annoyance. He aimed his gun at the fog, but didn't see anything.
On alert, they moved down the street. The static grew louder as they came upon an alleyway. Sheppard looked down the passage and stepped back.
"Holy hell!" He fired his P-90 into the alley, the gunfire echoing dully.
Rodney rushed to his side the others right behind him. He stared down the alley as a glowing black mass fell to the ground. Black smoke floated toward them, making it hard to breathe. Rodney coughed and backed away from the alley.
"What the hell was that?" Ronon put his gun back in its holster.
Rodney wiped his mouth then glared at him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I left my field guide to Silent Hill's monsters on my dresser. Let me go back and get it."
"That's enough, McKay."
Rodney fought back the urge to scream in frustration. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to go back and forget this place even existed. The only problem with that was he knew he'd have another nightmare if they didn't get to the bottom of this now.
Sighing, he lifted his P-90 and followed Sheppard deeper into the town.
"So where are these difficult monsters you were talking about?"
"I didn't say they were difficult. I said they were more dangerous."
"If you say so."
Rodney rolled his eyes, suddenly wishing he were alone. At least then, he wouldn't have to listen to Ronon's skepticism.
The fog cleared in time for them to come to a complete halt. The street ended, broken off as if something had taken a large bite out of it.
"Great. We won't be going that way."
"How obvious of you."
Sheppard glared at him over his shoulder, but turned and headed back down the street. He headed down an alley on their right. The passage ended in a wooden fence, but a hole on the bottom allowed for one to get through to the other side.
"Are you sure you want to do that? You might end up falling into nothing."
Sheppard scowled. "It's better than going all way back and trying another way."
Rodney cleared his throat and took a step back, giving the Colonel enough room to wiggle through the gap.
"You could just kick it down or shoot it down."
"Be quiet." Sheppard crawled through the hole. Rodney listened for a scream of him falling, but nothing happened. He stepped closer to the fence and peeked through the wood.
"You're turn."
He jumped back at the voice and growled. "Try not to sound so happy."
"You coming or not?"
Rodney rolled his eyes, tossed his P-90 over the barrier then crawled through the gap. The smell of dirt assaulted his nose. He kept his mouth closed, not wanting the dirt or dust to get into his mouth.
He came out the other end and climbed to his feet. Sheppard handed him his weapon. He gazed at their surroundings and saw they were on a hill. At the bottom of the rise, stood another fence along with a large sign.
"Welcome to Silent Hill. Thanks, we didn't know that earlier."
"McKay, you don't need to insult the sign."
"We have to climb another fence."
"I know."
Rodney rolled his eyes and turned to help Teyla and then Ronon through the opening.
"All right, people. Let's go." Sheppard led the way down the hill to the chain link fence.
Sheppard went up first this time, tossing his weapon over the fence. He climbed up and over in no time. He picked up his P-90 and stood guard.
Sighing, Rodney followed, tossing his weapon over first. He took a deep breath to calm himself then climbed up the fence.
Half way over, his radio went off in his ear. He winced, his heart racing. He scanned the area, looking behind them over the hill then down the street in front of him.
"You see anything?"
Sheppard shook his head. "No, hurry up."
Rodney picked up his pace. He swung himself over the top and shimmied down the other side. His feet hit the ground and he picked up his gun. He aimed it into the fog, squinting in hope of seeing better.
The static grew louder and Sheppard moved to his left to cover more ground. Rodney stayed put. Behind him, he heard feet hit the ground. Teyla came into his side view, her gun aimed and ready. A moment later, Ronon twirled his gun and took up position on Rodney's right.
The sound of someone struggling to breathe came through the fog. A dim glow and thick black smoke appeared in the mist. Rodney's heart leaped in dread.
"I take it that's what you saw earlier?"
"Yep." Sheppard raised his gun and stepped forward.
"What are you doing?" Teyla asked in concern.
"Losing patience." Sheppard only took two steps when the creature finally stepped out of the fog.
"Crap." Rodney whispered.
Completely black, the thing's chest glowed like fire. It didn't have any arms and seemed to stumble on its own legs. Black smoke flowed from it. It gurgling grew into a growl as it staggered closer.
Ronon sauntered forward, aiming his gun and fired. A red bolt of energy shot out toward the creature. A direct hit sent the thing flying back. It hit the ground and didn't get up.
Rodney lifted a finger and glared at the taller man. "Don't say a damn thing."
He stalked off into the fog, not caring if the others followed. He cast a glance at the creature on the ground, wondering if maybe these monsters weren't as dangerous as he originally thought.
He shook his head. We haven't met those things in the hotel, yet.
On his left loomed the hotel, a five story monstrosity that threatened to cave in at any moment. He stared up at it, wondering how the building still stood.
"That looks creepy."
Rodney wanted to laugh. Ronon really was Mr. Obvious.
"You're not afraid of these monsters, but an abandoned building gives you the creeps?"
Sheppard cleared his throat. "Let's go, children."
Guns at the ready, they went single file into the hotel.
