A/N - Again the POV will switch so you get a better idea of what each character's feeling. Sorry this chapter's a little short, they will be getting longer !
"This is going to end so bad," Orla mumbled trying to not get upset.
"How'd you mean?" Laura answered quickly.
"Teyla is right, we should leave this room. At the moment we're in a broom cupboard with only cleaning supplies to hand, with strange men walking about who knows where with big guns. You've seen the horror films; it's gonna be like one of those Friday the 13th movies. Any minute some great big huge scary guy is going to appear carrying knives and probably a gun. We're so dead, all we need is the scary music," Orla was starting to freak out, she was scared, fed up and just a little tired.
Jennifer bit her lip harder to stifle the whimper, she was feeling no better.
Laura was scared, she looked at the woman and realized someone needed to be strong she just hoped she could try.
Teyla was anxious, scared but was not about to let fear take over, her people had faced the Wraith this would be easier… she hoped.
Ronon activated the door; he wouldn't pull a weapon out on Orla or the other women. But he knew something was wrong and hated going in to a situation blind; he'd have to rely on nothing but strength and maybe he hoped the element surprise. As the door opened he could see the four women inside, petrified and screaming. Teyla had a stick and was trying to protect the others; Cadman stood like a replica of Teyla. Orla and Jennifer were at the back, they started to throw the contents of the room at Ronon and Sheppard.
Teyla grabbed the brooms and broke the handles to create staffs. She handed one to Laura and told the others to stay behind them. As the door revealed the men it appeared Orla had been right. To the left was a giant of man, giant in height and breadth. He had wild hair and was dressed in leather. Beside him was a smaller man, equally wild hair but with a face that looked infinitely more patient than the formidable mountain of a man at his side.
Teyla steeled herself and shouted "now," Teyla lashed out with all her might at the man in front of her glad that the woman beside her, Laura, was doing the same. Behind them Orla and Jennifer were screaming at the top of their lungs, they threw everything they could get their hands on at the men over the women's head. It was working the men retreated swearing, not expecting the women's attack. When the men backed out Teyla and Laura sprung forward using surprise to their advantage before the men regained themselves.
"Orla, Jennifer, run," Laura shouted as she whacked Colonel Sheppard hard across the side of his head.
Ronon and Sheppard started to duck at the flying debris coming from the room, they were shocked. These were women they knew, what was happening? Ronon was trying to regain his composure when Teyla smacked him hard across his ribs with the staff causing him temporarily, to gasp trying to get his breath back.
Sheppard was stunned, what the hell was wrong with these women. At that moment, Laura Cadman blinded him with her stick across his temple; he groaned and clasped his head.
Orla and Jennifer held hands and ran screaming from the fight desperate for a place to hide. Orla turned to Jennifer saying, "We can't leave them alone, they're fighting for us we should be there to help."
Jennifer didn't say anything too shocked to answer but followed Orla back towards the fight.
As the girls rounded the corner they saw Teyla easily held and secured under the arms of the wild giant. Next to him Laura was equally pinned to the angry man with short black hair.
As they backed away from the corner hoping the two angry men didn't see them they turned to come face to face with Major Lorne and two Marines, armed. Both women started to scream frantically, until one Marine stepped forward to try calm down the scientist he'd been off world with and had become friends with. That's when they both women fainted at their feet.
As Orla started to come to, she felt restricted. She couldn't move her hands or her legs. She opened her eyes slowly not understanding where she was, the last thing she'd remembered was being with Jennifer and those men, oh my god they had guns. She started to naturally struggle against the restraints.
Carson had insisted the women be restrained as they were hallucinating or something similar and to stop them from hurting themselves. This didn't work well with Teyla and Laura who after restraining, Carson had to sedate.
Orla struggled scared against being restrained when a man came through the curtain. She panicked it was the giant wild man, the scary one. As he approached the bed, she screamed and begged him to not hurt her please; she just wanted to go home. As the tears flowed down her face and her vision blurred she started to tire, suddenly falling unconscious.
The men had been discussing what to do next with the women when Ronon heard Orla move against the restraints in the nearby bed. He still wasn't happy about Carson putting her in them. He was capable of holding her. As he moved the curtain aside and stepped beside her to calm her, she looked at him as though she'd never seen him before. She screamed when he moved toward her, pure fear in her face as she looked straight at him, tears uncontrolled. He didn't know what to do, Orla had never been scared of him, it made him feel sick. He backed away hoping she'd stop screaming when Dr. Beckett crept beside the woman and administered a sedative.
As the infirmary filled with women panicked and scared, Radek Zelenka, having been told the whereabouts of the Colonel, Ronon and Dr. McKay entered the infirmary and approached the men he'd been searching for. "Dr. McKay, Colonel Sheppard, Ronon, I think I have something to tell you," Zelenka nervously twitched.
Rodney looked at Radek and instantly dismissed him, "I seriously doubt that anything you have to add is going to make a difference, Radek. Now have you finished that diagnostic?" McKay said annoying everyone with his dismissal of the Czech scientist.
At that point Richard Woolsey joined the group in the increasing swamped infirmary.
"Colonel Sheppard, please can you tell me what's going on?" Woolsey said tiredly.
"Mr. Woolsey, we're trying to understand what's happening ourselves. Radek, you wanted to add something?" Sheppard looked at the Czech scientist. He'd always liked Radek; the man was pleasant and had a good sense of humor.
"It's just that… I may have caused this. I was doing the diagnostic and my hay fever kicked in. As I was carrying the sphere Major Teldy's team found I sneezed… the sphere landed heavily onto the securing base unit I found. After a while, something like a sound wave was released I felt nothing and saw nothing but it might be what is affecting the women. I have a linguist checking the orb as we speak and the other scientists are checking the databases for any mention of it while I came here. I am so sorry… please I meant no harm."
"Radek, thank you for telling us what happened. Nobody blames you, we all know you'd never hurt anyone. It's okay," Sheppard tried to make the man feel better; it was true the man was gentle by nature. He just hoped Ronon would remember that.
"Radek, why the hell didn't you report this the moment it happened?" McKay shouted at the man.
"To be honest Rodney, after that Wraith device. I hoped… stupidly, that it was nothing," Radek uttered upset that he might have caused his friends harm.
"All the more reason don't you think to mention it, I mean, we all saw what that device did," McKay snapped unnecessarily at the Czech man.
"MCKAY! Zelenka's explained what happened, he didn't mean any harm. Leave it," Sheppard glared at Rodney, he wanted to be angry at the man too but having gotten to know Radek he was certain the man would do anything in his power to avoid hurting anyone, especially his friends.
"Can we please apportion blame later; right now I'd like to know exactly what's going on, Colonel?" Woolsey interrupted taking his glasses off to clean them, a habit he'd discovered he'd started when stressed.
"We're not entirely sure, so far, all we can tell is that the women from Katie Brown's party held in the botany labs, all think they're… fifteen years old," Sheppard waited for Woolsey to tell him that was ridiculous.
TBC... Please review
