Chap 4
Kiba dropped Sheppard off in his room, guards posted at the door. His hands still bound, Sheppard slumped heavily onto his bed and promptly curled into a ball. His thoughts swirled.
He had killed everyone he… loved? Is that the right word? His… family. He still felt like vomiting, only the emptiness of his stomach forestalled it. The tears slowly came, dripping down his cheek. The light red of his tears as they fell to stain his sheet surprised him. For a moment, he thought he was crying blood.
Then he realized he was covered in blood; the red of Telya's blood soaked into his black shirt, making it darker; clung to his face, mixing with dirt, blending the hues until the red was gone, replaced with black, until released by his tears to form a dull red river, cascading onto the white military sheets beneath him.
And the tears fell, and the red river widened, and there was one tear for everyone he had murdered, every friend whose eyes stared, accusing. Teyla's surprisingly calm, brown eyes, Rodney's wide, frantic, pleading blue eyes, Ronan's forever battling black, Elizabeth's green, Cadman, Lorne, Johnson… the names went on, those he had seen, those he knew to be dead, even the desperate brown of Radak and the hopeful blue of Carson, for he knew that, though they still lived, it would not be for long. He had murdered them as surely as the others.
Lastly, he cried for himself. He cried that he had outlived his friends, that he would, most likely, live to see more deaths at his hands. He cried that he was not the first to die.
-000-
What woke him, he did not know. A feeling of evil, even stronger than before, seemed to loom over him, suffocating him. John opened his eyes, and jerked back in shock, falling neatly off the bed with a scream.
The Wraith Queen leaned slightly to peer over the bed, her ghoulish face grinning in amusement.
"Human," she sneered; he might have even said she snickered, if a snicker could be attributed to a Wraith.
Sheppard's heart nearly shoved its way through his ribcage. "What? How?"
Kiba stepped out from behind her and leaned over. "Our Queen has arrived to appraise our conquest."
She turned to Kiba, and, running a clawed finger down his arm, said, "My followers are most proficient."
"Followers?" Sheppard asked, mouth hanging open. He looked at Kiba with a mix of anger and illness. Wraith worshippers.
"You… Sheppard," she drew his name out with a hiss, "and your people have been a thorn in our side for far too long. The other Queens appointed me to eradicate you. However…" she paused, eyeing him hungrily.
Sheppard swallowed, not liking the look in her eyes, "However what?" he spoke up abruptly, shattering the strange silence.
"I have higher aspirations. My children need a new feeding ground. Earth."
"Go to hell."
"After Earth, perhaps." She smiled, obviously pleased with his reaction. "Bring him."
Kiba hoisted Sheppard from the floor, shoving him behind the Queen as they traveled to the control room. The screams of terror followed them, and several times they were forced to step over desiccated bodies lining the hall. Many Wraith had already fed on the few inhabitants left. John turned away as he recognized certain features on the bodies. More dead at his hands.
As they reached the control room, John could hear the familiar angry brogue of Carson.
"Ach! You bunch of idiots don't seem to understand! I'm a bloody doctor, not an engineer! I canna help you with things I dunna know!" A loud thwack echoed, followed by a grunt of pain. "Omph. Hit me all ya want, ya fool. I canna help you." Carson said softly.
A loud exclamation in Czech and a small squeak of terror occurred just as John rounded the corner.
A large Wraith male held Radak close to his body, his right hand hovering over Radak's chest. Zelenka looked as close to passing out as humanly possible, only terror kept him upright.
"Colonel Sheppard!" Carson's brogue grew more pronounced as he pulled away from the drone beside him.
Poor Radak mumbled something in Czech, something along the lines of "Thank God".
Colonel Sheppard turned, staring boldly at the Queen.
"Leave them alone. They don't know anything." Sheppard snarled, protectiveness going into full swing.
The Queen seemed amused.
"I will let them live, if you tell me what I want to know," she purred.
Sheppard winced as Carson's voice rose up, "She wants Earth's bloody address! I'd rather die first!"
"A wish easily granted," the Queen said, gesturing lazily to towards the drone. Sheppard turned away as Carson screamed.
Radak had paled to a shade just darker than the Wraith holding him. His eyes were rolling back in his head as Carson's body hit the ground with a dull thud.
The Queen strode up to Radak, bent down to his eye level, and held his shuddering gaze.
"You will tell me how to get to Earth," she snarled, baring the sharp, feline teeth of her species in a specter of a smile.
"Fight it, Radak!" Sheppard cried, pulling at his restraints. It was too little, too late. Radak imputed his security code, readied the computer.
"I need Colonel Sheppard's code," Radak said tonelessly, still under her spell.
The Queen turned to Sheppard. "The codes, Sheppard?"
Sheppard spat, the saliva just missing her feet. The drone moved quickly, but the Queen stopped him with a wave of her hand.
"You still fight?" she asked, drawing close. He fought to avoid her gaze, but as the long claws of her fingers pierced his face, his gaze was drawn to her. He slid to his knees, fighting her every inch of the way.
"Earth, Earth, Earth," he muttered his mantra, straining to hide his code from her insidious touch.
It took a long while, longer than even Sheppard expected, but finally she had what she wanted.
The Queen left a panting Sheppard still on his knees and entered his code. As the stargate dialed and the wormhole opened with a whoosh, the Queen turned to look at him.
"Humans. So weak." She cackled as Radak obediently entered the iris code.
Sheppard could only watch in horror as wave after wave of Wraith flooded through the stargate, and the gunshots previously heard over the radio were overcome by screams.
TBC
AN: Good guess with the Koyla thing, but no cigar! Better than Koyla, huh? Sorry about the long wait. RL is a pain.
