Chapter 4: Where is John Sheppard?

As John slowly came to awareness it felt like there was a jackhammer pounding in his skull and every muscle in his entire body ached; it felt like he'd gone ten rounds with Ronan, followed by another ten with Teyla. Feeling groggy he looked around trying to access his surroundings. Everything was hazy and it was pitch black. The darkness was slowly beginning to creep in at the edge of his consciousness, so he just let the darkness take over not really caring at this point what was going on. He lost consciousness again.

John's next venture into consciousness was a little clearer. There was still a jackhammer pounding in his skull, but he slowly remembered where he was. He was in the ancient lab on MX 745-217, which was all he remembered before the darkness claimed him again.

On his third awakening things became much clearer. The jackhammer was still doing its work and he was in the ancient lab on MX 745-217. As he tried to get to his feet his stomach rebelled and whatever food he still had in his stomach he managed to lose all over the floor and himself, he heaved until there was nothing left to come up.

"Crap, I have a concussion," he said to himself.

He sat still for a while longer trying to remember what had happened to get him into his current predicament.

"I walked over to a console and it started to hum. Then I remember spinning around as I flew through the air and then darkness," he murmured to himself.

He thought it was time to assess his injuries, as he lifted his left arm to feel for a wound on his head, he felt a sharp pain.

"Crap, it's broken," he rasped in pain.

He lifted his right arm to touch his forehead and realised that he had a nasty cut and lump on his head. Pulling a bandage out of his TAC vest he managed to bandage his head. He found a couple of pieces of straight metal nearby and managed to splint his arm, then using another bandage he managed to make a sling for his broken arm. He took two Tylenol out of his pocket and had a drink of water to try and take the edge of the pain. Then he sat and rested until the pain dulled a bit.

Finally managing to get to his feet, he remembered that Rodney should have been there with him. Looking around the room he realised that the console was totally ruined and Rodney was nowhere to be seen.

Having no idea on how long he'd been unconscious he headed outside, the sun was shining and sky was blue, so he'd probably been out all night. Walking shakily around the ruins he found no one. Sitting down a short while later he started to wonder where everyone had gone and why had they left him behind. He looked down at his watch to try and work out what time it was and realised that as it was on his left wrist it was completely smashed. Feeling tired he lay down in the grass. With the warm sun on his back, he fell asleep again.

He awoke when the sun was high in the sky, blinking he sat up. Looking around he still saw no one, but it was the sound he heard that caught his attention. He was positive he'd heard voices.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sky was blue and the sun was shining when a silent group stepped through the gate onto MX 745-217. Major Evan Lorne, along with his team, Ronan and Teyla took in the beautiful surroundings.

Admiring the view Lorne suggested, "This would be a great place for an alpha site."

"Sure, but we're not here to admire the view, we're here to look for the vanishing Colonel!" Rodney replied in a sarcastic voice.

"Okay, can you lead the way?" Teyla asked Rodney softly.

Rodney took the lead and the rest of the group followed in silence.

An hour later they reached the ruins. Rodney looked around the vicinity, and commented to the others, "I almost expected him to be here in the sun taking a nap." He sounded disappointed that this wasn't the case.

Major Lorne spoke up at this point, "let's have a look inside shall we? Ronan, will you stay outside with my team please? Teyla, you're with McKay and me."

They switched on their flashlights and headed inside almost afraid of what they would see. When they reached the lab all they saw was total destruction, the centre console was a mass of warped metal, shattered glass and melted wires.

"I won't get any information from this!" Rodney said as he started to look around.

In the back corner of the room he found what he was looking for. "Hey! This console seems to be intact; I should be able to download information from the data core."

"Get right on it!" Lorne replied. As he continued to look around, he noticed that one of the walls had huge cracks in it and looked unstable; there was a pile of rocks at the bottom where the wall had started to crumble.

"We'd better get this done as quickly as possible, as this wall looks as if it could fall down at any moment." There was urgency in Lorne's voice.

Half an hour later Rodney had finished downloading the data core. Just as they started to head out the crumbling wall started to collapse.

"Run!" Major Lorne shouted, pushing Teyla and Rodney ahead of him as he left the building.

Ronan looked at them with concern as they exited the building. They looked back at the room they had just left and realised that it was no longer intact, as an entire wall was now missing. They were exhausted, so they sat on the grass outside, for a rest and a snack before they headed back. They all sat in silence enjoying the sun and the view. They were all deep in thought thinking of all the times they'd spent with Colonel Sheppard (good and bad).

Lorne was thinking what he would do if they never found the Colonel. He didn't want his job; he was the best CO that he could ever wish for. His final thought before he stood up to leave was that you never really appreciated a person until they were gone.

Ten minutes later they had one last look around and with much sadness they headed back to the gate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Sheppard became more aware of his surroundings he strained to listen and began to wonder where the voices might be coming from. The more he strained the more it awakened every pain in his body. His head was still pounding and his arm hurt like crazy. Every muscle ache and pain awoke and suddenly he felt nauseous again. He stayed perfectly still until his stomach settled, had a drink of water and some Tylenol, then he staggered to his feet and headed back into the control room. He was sure that was where the voices were coming from.

As he entered the room he saw McKay, Teyla and Lorne looking around.

"Hey guy's you've found me!" He was startled by the realisation that they were looking for him. "I knew you wouldn't leave me behind."

He was confused by their lack of response. He spoke again this time to Lorne, "Hey Major it's me Colonel Sheppard!"

What was going on? He tried again this time speaking to Teyla, "Hey Teyla it's me John. I'm so glad to see you. I haven't seen you in forever!"

He was starting to get a little desperate by this point. With desperation combined with his injuries, he was really beginning to worry. He really wanted to lie down and have a sleep, but he knew he had to stay awake to find out what was going on, so he headed across the room and started to wave his hands in front of Rodney's face. He did the same to Lorne and Teyla, but got no response.

He sat down against the wall for a few minutes to try and figure out what was going on. Was this a dream? Were these people real or were they just hallucinations?

A few minutes later Rodney announced, "I've finished downloading the data core."

At that moment Major Lorne shouted. "Run!" He started to push McKay and Teyla towards the exit.

He started to follow when the earth began to shake and dust started to fly. He made it to the exit just as the crumbling wall collapsed. He fell to the ground just as he exited the building and twisted his knee.

"Aw Crap," he groaned in agony as he just lay there on the ground, staring up at the sky.

While he was laying there he had a drink, he didn't dare eat anything as his stomach was still unhappy.

When he finally managed to sit up he found a small branch next to him long enough to use as a walking stick. He looked around and noticed that the others were sitting nearby with Ronan standing over them. He struggled to his feet and stumbled over to him.

"Hey, big guy!" He slurred out, as his head was really beginning to pound again.

He sat in the shade of the ruins and waited to see what his friends would do next.

When they got to their feet, he struggled to stand as he grabbed his stick and followed behind them.

As he followed his friends he was really glad that they were moving slowly as there was no way he could move any faster with his bung knee, sore head and broken arm. He was a real mess and he wanted to be in the infirmary lying in a nice soft bed, with some extremely good drugs.

He continued to stumble along behind his friends. As they neared the gate he sped up as much as he could as he realised that he may not be able to get through the gate alone. He already had his suspicions as to what was going on.

Leaning on the DHD as Rodney dialled the gate, he wondered what he was going to do when he arrived back on Atlantis. Heading to the infirmary wasn't really an option at this point, because no one could see him.

As Lorne sent his IDC he stood up ready to follow them through the gate. Once he arrived in the gate room, he moved as far away from the wormhole as he could and collapsed.

As he was lying there, he remembered the movie, "The Fantastic four." Crap, I'm the Invisible man was his last thought before he lost consciousness.

TBC…

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. I've been really encouraged by your support for the story. Thank you to those who've sent me private messages offering me advice and suggestions.