Chap 7: Unknown Enemy

Rodney looked at John not knowing what to think. Was Sheppard simply hallucinating or was there something more sinister involved here? Yet, John had asked them to trust him. If Sheppard hadn't been so seriously injured that he had to have two morphine shots in less than an hour, and he hadn't been injected by some freaky alien chemical that was obviously doing something nasty to him, Rodney would have trusted Sheppard without a doubt. There would have been no consideration or analyses involved – it would have been instantaneous. However, now he had to ask himself the question, could he trust Sheppard? He looked at the Colonel seeing unfamiliar blue eyes in place of hazel ones and he shuddered slightly at the strangeness of it. Sheppard looked very different staring at him with piercing blue eyes that it was making it difficult for him to read the guy.

He liked to think that they were friends, close friends, in fact, but after three years of being in Sheppard's team, he still didn't know much about Sheppard's family or why he always wore that black wristband on his hand. Sheppard never spoke about them and Rodney never really asked. If the man wanted to speak about it, he would have done so by now so it wasn't any of Rodney's business anyway – that was how Rodney saw it. But despite it, the geek and the flyboy had somehow become friends, crazy as that may sound.

So the question now was whether to trust what the Colonel saw. Trust me, Sheppard had said. Rodney recalled all too vividly how he had once asked Sheppard that same favour. His friend had obliged and even fought for him when Elizabeth hadn't agreed with Rodney to continue the tests at Doranda. However that trust had almost gotten both of them killed. Blowing up almost three-quarters of a solar system wasn't one of his greatest moments but Rodney was well aware that the fault lay entirely at his door not Sheppard's. In fact, it was Sheppard who had hauled his ass out of there, convincing him to press the eject button to his research experiment by his analogy of those test pilots who didn't know how to quit when their planes were falling out of the sky. He had trusted Sheppard then, more so because he recognised that John knew what he was talking about. That trust had saved his life. So now, there was no question about it, he would trust Sheppard - injured or not, John Sheppard was still his friend and he had yet to proof himself unworthy of that trust. Even if he did, Rodney knew that he would forgive him as Sheppard had done once for him. He could do no less. Not after what they had been through together.

Rodney was also uncomfortably aware that even now, on this godforsaken planet, it was Sheppard's actions that had saved his life. If Sheppard hadn't pushed him out of the way and placed his body in the path of the alien projectile, it would have been Rodney lying there seriously injured with a hole at the side of his gut and changing into who knows what. His wounded hand pulsed painfully but Rodney knew that his injury was nothing in comparison to Sheppard's wound. He saw the amount of pain that the Colonel was in, and frankly he never wanted to witness that again. Subconsciously, he knew that Sheppard was the glue that held the team together. Without John Sheppard all of them wouldn't be here. He was the one who had chosen Rodney, Teyla and Ronon to join the team; he was the one who interacted with all of them, bringing them together by inviting them to movie nights and team lunches and outings. He would drag Rodney's ass away from his lab experiments, ensuring that he interacted with the other two members of his team even though the scientist was uncomfortable to do so at the beginning.

In his easy-going, lay-back manner, Sheppard had somehow ensured that his team interacted and became friends, and as friendships formed so did caring for one another. Difficult as it was to believe, Rodney soon found himself thinking of his team mates as his surrogate family. They cared, protected, trusted and looked out for one another just as a real family did. John Sheppard had taught them that and they could do no less for Sheppard than to trust him back.

However, Rodney knew that he had waited too long for his reply when he saw a hurt look flint across the pilot's eyes at their moment of silence. Wanting to ease that hurt and make up for it, he hurriedly replied, "I trust you, Sheppard, I mean, we all trust you." Perhaps it was presumptuous of him to speak for Teyla and Ronon but in this he felt that he was right and he had to let Sheppard know that the team was with him one hundred percent. That the team still believed in him. He felt that whatever changes Sheppard was going through at the moment, he needed that. From the corner of his eye, he saw both Teyla and Ronon nodding in agreement with his words. Rodney smiled, feeling suddenly proud of himself.

He mulled over what John told him and frowned worriedly. "But if what you say is true, then what should we do? Are these black dusts contagious?" Rodney shuddered at the thought and quickly placed a clean handkerchief over his nose and mouth, while he watched Teyla and Ronon warily. He really hated catching any contagion from the Pegasus galaxy and the thought of it freaked him out. His next words sounded slightly muffled as he gasped in horror, "Oh God! I think I see spots on them!"

He narrowed his gaze and looked closer, recognising something familiar about them. "They look somewhat similar to the rashes that some of the villagers had!" he exclaimed. "Crap! If that's the case, then it's very likely they're infectious! It could be the reason why they didn't want us there in the first place and why that crazy old woman threw that white powder at us when we first arrived!"

John frowned, and Rodney wasn't sure whether it was because he was in pain or because he was concerned about Teyla and Ronon. Knowing Sheppard, it was probably both.

"You sure about that, Rodney?" John finally asked; sapphire blue eyes staring at him intensely.

Rodney looked at his friend with the handkerchief still covering his nose and mouth, and nodded. At the same time, he wondered whether Sheppard's blue eyes were turning luminous – it certainly looked like it and it disturbed him greatly. He blinked. "Of course I am! While you guys were busy pointing guns and weapons at each other, I was busy noticing other more important stuff like that!" His nose suddenly itched and as he moved to scratch it with his handkerchief, Rodney suddenly felt an icy grip of fear clutch his gut. He forced down a dry swallow. "Sheppard, you sure you don't you see any of the black dusts on me?"

He saw John studying him once more before the pilot shook his head. "No, Rodney. I told you, you're clean." Sheppard's voice sounded tired and mildly annoyed.

"Oh good, that's good." He placed the handkerchief back in his pocket and quickly took out some sunscreen lotion that he always kept close at hand and began applying a generous amount on his face and hands. The sun was pretty intense on this world and he needed to protect his delicate skin from sunburn. Who knows perhaps it might even prevent those nasty alien germs from infecting him. "You will tell me if you start seeing any black dust appearing on me, won't you?"

"And watch you freak out?" he heard Sheppard mutter sarcastically under his breath. "Sure thing, Rodney."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" the scientist snapped back, his lower chin jutting forward in indignation but John had already turned his attention back to Teyla and Ronon.

"How are you guys feeling?"

Teyla and Ronon looked at each other, Ronon shrugged his shoulders and Teyla gave John a wane smile. "I do not feel as you would say, 'a hundred percent' but these rashes are getting worse and more uncomfortable. I believe that my headache is also getting worse."

"Same here," Ronon replied.

John nodded, tried to move and grimaced, hissing back a grunt of pain. "Well…," he panted slightly, "I guess the sooner we get our asses back to Atlantis and get you two guys checked out by Beckett, the better."

"I second that! But Carson really needs to look at you first, Sheppard," Rodney added.

"We have a problem," Ronon stated enigmatically. For the first time, Rodney noticed that the tall Satedan appeared slightly flushed as if he had a fever.

"What? Why?" Rodney asked, not liking the sound of that nor the fact that Conan wasn't looking too good at present.

Dex looked grim as he brushed a hand across his sweaty forehead. "I did a perimeter check; the natives have not left but have stationed themselves just outside this forest, waiting and watching."

"They're making sure that we don't leave?" Teyla asked with a frown, her hand moved to scratch the rash on her neck again.

Ronon nodded.

"They want us here," observed John, his lips pursing together into a tight, worried line. The news just kept getting better. Rodney could see the pain in Sheppard's eyes and the sheen of sweat on his skin. The golden glow on the pilot also appeared to be getting stronger. Sheppard didn't look well at all and Rodney's worry grew for all his team mates. It looked like out of everyone here, he was the healthiest one, despite the hole in his painfully throbbing hand that probably was getting infected right about now. With his uninjured hand, he carefully placed the alien device in his vest pocket and zipped it up.

"I don't like this. Why do they want us here? I mean, what did we ever do to them? We didn't do anything wrong, did we?" Rodney asked as he stared at his friends questioningly.

Teyla shook her head, her hand moving to scratch her lap. "Perhaps by stepping into their village, we unintentionally broke some of their laws?" she hazarded a guess.

Rodney stared at her as he recalled when they had first arrived at the village.

-oOo-

It was a large village, clustered with round wooden huts woven closely together in a spiral shape with lots of bamboo-like shoots in place. At the front of the village, stood a large oval-shaped stone fountain. Many of the village children were playing in and around it when John and his team arrived. However, as soon as the newcomers were spotted, the children left their play and went running and screaming to their parents, pointing at John and his team as if they were some sort of monsters. Such a reaction made them uneasy and before they could explain themselves, they found themselves surrounded by a group of armed natives aiming swords, crossbows and spears at them. Then a crazy old woman, wearing an odd ridiculous looking headpiece of deer-like antlers on her head, with her white hair appropriately tied together in a bun, approached them. She was clothed in a shabby dress that seemed patched together by different animal hides that went down just below her knees, and she wore a tattered red shawl on her skinny shoulders. She stared at them for a moment before moving around as if to sniff them. There were craggy lines of her face, like canyons that dipped and rose telling a tale of their own. She looked more than a hundred years old, but Rodney doubted that she was really that ancient.

"Hi there, I'm Colonel John Sheppard, that's Dr Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan and Ronon Dex, we come in peace," John greeted her - giving her one of his charming boyish smile that Rodney knew most women easily fell for. However, to Rodney's surprise, the old woman barely gave the Colonel a glance as her hands whipped out and she threw some powdery white dust all over the four of them and began to chant some crazy alien words loudly while dancing around them.

Rodney's reaction had been instantaneous as he shouted out an indignant "Hey!" while John took a step back, shaking his head and wiping the dust out from his dark and spiky hair. Meanwhile Teyla and Ronon started to sneeze simultaneously. Rodney had been pleasantly surprised to discover that he wasn't the one sneezing (usually he would be the first candidate for it) but this time he didn't seem affected by it, unlike poor Teyla and Ronon who had obviously breathed in some of the white dust that went down the wrong way. However, at each sneeze, the crowd gathered around them swayed and whispered amongst themselves uneasily. More armed villagers arrived, looking grim and unfriendly as if they were about to move in and attack them at any instance. The old woman suddenly stopped her chanting and shouted a command in an alien language to the villagers. There were uneasy murmurings, but the armed group seemed to ease back slightly. At this stage, Rodney noticed that many of the villagers appeared to be scratching; some had obvious rashes on them while other just scratched at some unseen itch. He was about to tell Sheppard about it when the old woman turned around and approached them again.

Wild grey eyes regarded John and his team, making them uneasy. "You are strangers here?" she questioned them in a foreign accent.

John nodded. "Yes," he replied, giving her his best Sheppard smile as he lowered his P-90 slightly.

"We mean you and your people no harm, we are explorers, traders," Teyla added, her voice sounding soft, friendly and diplomatic.

Rodney saw that the old woman ignored the Athosian altogether as if Teyla didn't exist. In fact, the old woman's entire stance seemed to emanate disdain for Teyla and Ronon. Her gaze instead shot towards John, appraising him with what Rodney recognised as curiosity mixed with a hint of awe and respect. Her gawk rested on Sheppard for what seemed like an eternity that it even made the Colonel uncomfortable until he finally had enough and commented, "Like what you see?" She did not reply but instead shifted her stare to Rodney, and the scientist found himself caught by her murky gaze. Rodney did not enjoy being under her scrutiny – she seemed foreboding and mysterious. He felt as if this old woman had dark secrets that only she knew about and she wasn't about to impart any of it to them. He noticed that Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon had their weapons armed and ready as threatening looks from the restless crowd were aimed at them again. Each Atlantian took a defensive stance, gathering closer towards Rodney, knowing that if a fight started, he was their weakest link. While he hated to admit it, Rodney was well aware that fighting and battles with armed and angry natives really wasn't his forte. His scientific brilliance had better use than that.

If they were to open fire, Rodney knew that it would be a blood bath. It was not something that any of them wanted. Besides, with the number of armed villagers pointing their weapons at them, he seriously doubted that all of them would be able to get out of that village alive much less scratch-free. Yet, Rodney thought that he detected not only malice from these natives but fear as well. They actually looked frightened, a reaction that puzzled him somewhat. However, he was certain that Sheppard who was standing beside him sensed it as well. When it looked that the situation was turning out to be a stalemate, the old woman's eyes narrowed. Rodney saw her gaze skirting once more towards him and then back towards Sheppard. She saw something in them, what it was, Rodney wasn't certain but it was enough to make him feel decisively uneasy, making him take a step closer towards his team mates. The old woman gave them a firm nod as if coming to a decision before turning back to her people and shouting something at them in her alien tongue. Looks of surprise crossed the natives' features and weapons were reluctantly lowered. Slowly a path appeared before them as the villagers moved away to allow Sheppard and his team access out of their village.

"Go now! Leave immediately! You are not welcomed here!" the old woman suddenly declared.

"But…" Teyla made as if to speak, obviously puzzled.

Rodney however was just glad that they had been allowed to leave. He didn't like it there and he preferred not to look the gift horse in the mouth.

Sheppard seemed to agree with him for he curtly said, "Leave it, Teyla. We're leaving." The pilot gave the old woman a respectful nod and a tiny farewell smile. Teyla and Ronon followed suit with Rodney tagging close behind them. The last sight the scientist had of the village was seeing restless armed natives staring at them as they made their way out from the village and headed back to the Stargate. Twenty minutes later, they were attacked.

-oOo-

John's team looked at him, and for an instance, he read doubt in their faces and it hurt like a stab in the gut. He blinked telling himself that his feelings wasn't hurt, that it was okay, that he could deal with it, but then Rodney surprised him and said openly the words that he needed to hear.

"I trust you, Sheppard, I mean, we all trust you."

From the look on Rodney's face, he knew that the scientist meant it and so did Teyla and Ronon. He swallowed, feeling an uncomfortable lump form at the back of his throat not realising how much he needed that trust until now. He still remembered the time when he was turning into a bug and everyone, even his closest friends, had started to regard him with fear and distrust in their eyes. Losing that trust and seeing the fear in his friends' eyes whenever they looked at him, was a painful experience that left him feeling angry and frustrated. Ronon was the only one who wasn't afraid of him but the Satedan didn't trust his judgments – and with good cause too for John had felt his mind slipping away as the retrovirus took over. He experienced true isolation then and he understood how Ford felt after the young Lieutenant changed and became addicted to the Wraith enzyme. He didn't really want to experience the same thing now, and he realised that his team was taking a risk in having such faith in him. John told himself that he won't let them down.

-oOo-

As the rest of his team began discussing the reason why they had been attacked by the villagers, John looked around, wondering what they could do to get out of the prickle that they were in. So, they were surrounded and the natives wanted them here, which meant that the best course of action was to get out of Dodge City while they still could. Experience told him that if armed natives were willing to attack you to lead you to some place – that meant that the place was not going to be good for you. The question was: how were they going to get past the natives? As he mulled over this question, he suddenly felt a prickling sensation at the back of his neck, the hairs on his skin began to stand on their end and his blood began to burn painfully. He sensed danger approaching. In the distance, he heard the sounds of howling.

"Do you hear that?" he asked, reaching for his P-90 lying on the ground next to him. His side protested at the move, and he had to pause to grimace in pain, trying to catch his breath again.

Instantly the rest of his team stopped talking and became more alert. "Hear what?" Rodney asked, looking almost like a scared rabbit. Teyla cocked her head in concentration and then shook her head indicating a 'No'.

Ronon stood up, turned around and scanned the wooded forest nearby for hidden dangers. "I hear nothing," stated the Satedan grimly.

His team looked at him again and he could read in their faces concern for him. It was no contest; all knew that the Satedan's hearing was sharpest among them. Furtive glances went to his bandaged side and his pallor. He knew that they were wondering whether he was hallucinating, hearing stuff or going just plain crazy. Yet, the howling grew stronger and everything in his gut was telling him that danger was near – he knew they were in danger, it screamed at him with the burning sensation he felt in his blood.

"No, trust me, something … approaches," he stated firmly, forcing himself to get up. It was enough for them. Ronon nodded and went to help him to his feet, grapping his arm and offering support. There was a soft crackling sound and to his horror, he saw the Satedan grimacing in pain. When the Satedan removed his hands from him, the auras that John saw on the Satedan's fingers pulsed silver blue and gold. John was afraid that if his vision was working properly, they might indicate singed flesh.

"I'm all right, Sheppard, no permanent damage," the Satedan reassured him with a grim look of his face before stepping aside. "Which way?" Ronon asked.

John felt a warm glow form on his insides. Despite everything, his team still trusted him. That was all he needed. "There," he indicated, pointing towards the part of the forest under dark shadow with over grown trees and thick golden corpses.

Teyla helped Rodney to his feet.­ John noticed with a sense of pride that both Teyla and Ronon instinctively gave Rodney the safer position, placing the scientist in the middle of them. Checking his P-90, he stepped away from the team, the pain and weariness that he felt a moment ago drained away from him as adrenalin took over, lending him strength. ­The last morphine shot should hold for now, but John wasn't certain how long he could last before the pain became too much for him to handle again. Please make it long enough for us to make it out of this alive, he thought silently to himself.

"John, what is it?" Teyla's voice called out his name, wondering what he was doing.­

Something tingled at the back of his mind. "Spread out," he said evenly. "Don't stand too close to each other," he instructed.

His muscles felt rigid with tension as he stared ahead, seeing the duller yellow and green hues indicating plant life and trees of the alien forest. He concentrated harder. It took him a while but then he saw something dark - the colour of midnight black - approaching them further ahead. It was large and it seemed to howl like a thousand wolves or a ghostly killer storm of unceasing fury. His heart started to hammer loudly in his chest. What ever it was, he sensed that the thing was coming for them. It was the reason why the natives had led them there in the first place. Sacrifice. His mind seemed to scream out the word.

"Get back!" he suddenly shouted. "Get ready, guys…" he said, lifting his P-90 towards the thing that approached them, standing in frontline in hopes to protect his team.

Suddenly, Ronon was there moving in front of him, nudging him gently back to stand with Rodney and Teyla followed suit. Sheppard frowned.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"You're in no condition for a fight, Sheppard," the Satedan replied. But they had listened to his advice and spread out. It looked like his team was looking out for him as they positioned themselves around him.

The howling was getting worse and John was finding it increasingly difficult to focus. His blood seemed to burn more painfully. "You guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Rodney asked again, shooting him a confused and anxious look. "It's only the wind blowing and rustling the trees and …"

Ronon however stopped the scientist with a dark glare. "If you say there's something out there, Sheppard, we believe you." The Satedan fixed him with a steady stare.

"Yes," Teyla agreed; her P-90 ready in her arms.

John nodded, suddenly realising that if he could choose anyone to be with him right now, he didn't have to look far, for these were the exact people whom he wanted with him. He trusted them with his life - just as he would willingly give him life up for them. They were his team and they were the best.

"Of course if you're wrong, Sheppard, and this just turned out to be some freak of nature caused by the wind or something, then we'll know you're nuts!" stated Rodney loudly, making John chuckle. He suddenly stopped himself when his side protested with a stab of pain.

The feelings of foreboding grew and steeling himself, he stared ahead. Through his world of shimmering colours, John saw the Darkness of ink-jet blackness approaching them, pushing through the trees and bushes. Inwardly he wondered whether their P-90 would have any effect on the entity that approached them now. By now even his team noticed that the disturbance caused on the foliage was the result of something more than just the wind.

"What is that?" Teyla asked uneasily.

"Why are the trees and bushes moving as if they're being pushed apart?" Rodney asked nervously, gripping his weapon tightly in his slightly shaking hands. "Crap, we're screwed aren't we?!"

John turned to look at the scientist, the howling was almost deafening now. "What do you see?!" he asked loudly.

Rodney looked at him surprised. "Why are you shouting?!" Then he shook his head and replied to John's question. "Nothing! Just trees and bushes being swept aside, but there's nothing there! Hang on! Wait a second!" He quickly placed his weapon at the bend of his arm and removed the life signs detector switching it on. "Whoa! You're right, Sheppard! The LSD is indicating something definitely there, something big, but wait, the readings are fluctuating, like it's only partially there, as if it's not fully in our dimension—"

John gritted his teeth, his heart pounding hard in his chest, adrenalin once more fuelling him with strength. "Worry about what it is later, Rodney! For now, aim at the source of disturbance and get ready to open fire at my command!"

Rodney gulped and nodded. Ronon and Teyla looked grim and were getting ready to do exactly as he said. Despite everything, John felt a sense of pride grow in him. His team were the best and hopefully, if they worked together, they would make it out of this alive.

"What do you see?" Rodney asked him, looking nervous.

"Darkness!" John replied and his mouth thinned into a grim line. It looked like their day just got worse.

-oOo-

TBC

Note: Thank you to those took the time to review the last chap.

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