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Chapter 7- Trapped
"Sheppard," Ronon yelled.
"John," Teyla closed her eyes and said a small prayer to the Ancestors.
"Is McKay with you?" Lorne was the only one who thought to ask about the other man.
John groaned as he tried to move as a light coating of debris covered him, "Rodney, where are you?" the more he moved the more he realized the ground below him was unstable. "McKay, say something." The military man started to feel around and he was relieved when he felt the back of the other man's tac vest. "Say something," Sheppard gave the vest a slight nudge. "Oh crap," the tone was reminiscent of Rodney.
"What's is it, Sir?" Lorne replied.
"I have a vest but no Rodney," he lifted his head and saw holes three feet to each side him and knew there was only one place that the Canadian could have gone.
"He fell into the river?" Ronon shouted down.
"River?" John asked with an uncertain edge to his voice.
"Yes, Sir. Beneath you there is some kind of underground river." Lorne informed his commanding officer. "Don't try to move too much. I don't think the rope we have is enough to get you out."
"I don't plan on it, Major," Sheppard tried to sit up to see if he could see Rodney below. "Can one of you toss me a light? I need to see if I can see McKay anywhere."
Ronon tossed his flashlight down and made sure his teammate picked it up.
"John, are you alright? Are you injured?" Teyla asked as she carefully made her way toward the edge.
"Nothing a hot shower and a good night sleep won't cure." John moved carefully to be sure that the ground under him did not give way. He wanted to see where Rodney had fallen and to see how badly his friend was injured.
"Do you see anything Colonel?" Evan asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
Several sweeps of the area with the flashlight confirmed John's fears, "A boot. The current is swift. You have to find out where this river leads."
"Ronon, you and Reed are with me. We will try to find the river on the surface. The rest of you, return to Atlantis and get what we need to get him out of there," Lorne took control of the situation.
Teyla shook her head, "I am going to stay here. I think someone should stay with him in case something should happen again."
Evan agreed, "You are right."
Once Teyla knew everyone was out of hearing range, she turned her attention to the trapped man, "I'm sorry for the way I treated you. It was wrong of me to dismiss your feelings as I did."
John tried to look up to make eye contact, but the Athosian was too far from the opening for him to see her. "You want to apologize now?"
"I know now isn't the right time, but there are some things that I need to tell you."
"Such as?"
"You might be right."
TBC: Next Up The Talk
