Skewed

Chapter Eight

"Oh no,no,no,no! Don't be dead John! I'm sorry...just don't be dead!" Rodney put his ear to John's chest, listening for a heartbeat. He realized he was hyperventilating which was preventing him from hearing anything but his own gasping breaths.

"Okay, okay...I need...a paper bag...Carson said...to breathe into a paperbag...when I hyper...ventilate." Rodney gasped as he struggled to breathe. With no paper bag in sight, he cupped his hands over his mouth and tried to calm down. John was alive. John was alive and needed help. He could do this...John needed him!

"Where is Carson when you need him!" Even as he said the words, Rodney frowned. This was the second time he thought of this person 'Carson'. He didn't have time to contemplate over this curiosity while John lay unconscious, but he stored the thought for later...when John was not maybe dying!

Rodney took a deep breathe and calmed. He bent to listen for John's heartbeat once again and heard a steady thump. Relieved that he hadn't killed his friend, he sat back on his heels and sighed for a moment and let his own breathing return to normal.

He didn't know what damage the weapon had done, so he gingerly checked John for signs of blood or broken bones. Not finding any, he hoped John was just unconscious. He lightly slapped John's cheek.

"Wake up, John...come on, wake up! You're not dead or bleeding, so just wake up! I can't carry your skinny ass to the ruins!"

John didn't respond at all, not even a flinch. Rodney didn't know what to do...John said they were suppose to meet Ankatal at the ruins but there was really no way he could move John and, there were armed men out looking for them. Right now, he feared for John's life. The heartbeat beating steadily beneath his hand gave him some comfort, but what if he had destroyed the man's brain when he shot him with that damned gun!

He decided the best thing he could do was go into town and get Wanisi, one of the town healers to come back here. That decision made, he busied himself hiding John under fallen leaves and branches. He tucked the weapons around John, just in case he did wake, he would have protection. Rodney grabbed the gun he had shot John with in the hopes Wanisi knew something about what it did. Satisfied John was hidden well, he set off for the town.

...

Ronon knelt down, examining the footprints left in the dirt beneath the tree that was the endpoint to the zipline Sheppard and McKay had escape on. He, Teyla and Lorne had followed the line to this point. From here they would rely on his infamous tracking skills.

"Looks like they headed back towards town."

Lorne keyed his ear comm. "Lorne here. Whatcha got?"
He frowned as he received the report.

He looked over at Teyla and Ronon as he gave orders to Sgt. Becker. "Well, the Colonel is long gone by now. Head back to the jumper. We'll meet you there."

Teyla looked concerned. "What has happened? Is John alright?"

"Seems Colonel Sheppard overtook our men sent to retrieve Ankatal from his cottage." Lorne intercepted before an anxious Teyla could ask "Don't worry, Colonel Sheppard wasn't injured though he gave Pvt. Stanton quite a lump on his head."

Teyla was, of course, sorry one of their own was hurt but she was also relieved John was alright.

"So, Sheppard got away." Ronon stated with a smirk.

Lorne returned the smirk. "Yeah, with Ankatal too. This definitely is not going to be easy. Lets head back, maybe Vemir and Hotan will enlighten us with some more info."

As they headed back, Lorne filled in the details, including the Colonel's hesitations. It was a good sign, but they wouldn't count on his memory coming back any time soon.

Ronon kept a steady eye on the tracks as they headed back, just in case their quarry had detoured. Lorne had said only Sheppard had attacked their men, so where was McKay?

"Hold up. They went that way." Ronon pointed ahead to the left."

"I believe that direction is the way to the town fields.". Teyla had a keen sense of direction growing up as an Athosian, besides she remembered the layout from the view above via puddlejumper.

"Regardless, the Colonel is long gone." Lorne was anxious to get back to the jumper.

"Sheppard was alone. We find McKay...we find Sheppard." Ronon knew John would have made sure McKay was safe somewhere before he took on Ankatal's rescue. Knowing McKay, food would need to be nearby...hence the crop fields.

"Hmm...I think you're right, Ronon. But, its been about an hour. The Colonel would have gotten to McKay by now and they would be heading to meet Ankatal."

"We are closer to the field than to the jumper. Perhaps it would be best if we continue from here. Ronon can track them."

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Lorne knew Ronon wouldn't take no for an answer, plus it made sense. Keying his ear comm, he informed Sgt Becker of their intentions and ordered him to find out where the ruins were from their captives."

It took only ten minutes to reach the fields. Ronon led them into the stand of fruited trees. About a hundred yards away he saw slight movement coming from a mound of branches and leaves.

...

John woke slowly. He immediately felt the pounding of a monumental headache. His first thoughts were that if he moved, his head would likely detach from his body...which might not be a bad thing...Instead, he took stock of his body.

Everything was numb and heavy-feeling. "Welcome to the stun club, Ford." was his next thought...though he had no idea what Ford was?! And...stun club?...while it did describe how he felt, an overwhelming sense of deja'vu hit him. He lay perplexed, his ponderings only exasperating his pounding head. Nausea was quickly leading to the need to expel whatever was in his stomach.

He swallowed hard to avoid spilling his guts. Not moving was good, so he lay, giving him time to think. Where was Rodney?! He remembered now that he had brought the weapons back to where he had left Rodney. Weren't they suppose to meet Ankatal somewhere...the ruins, thats right!

"Rodney?" He whispered, unmoving.

No answer.

He swore under his breath. Now he would have to move. He slowly lifted his upper body, his right arm barely holding him upright as his left arm swept away the pile of debris on top of him.

"What the f...?!" Wondering why he was buried beneath dead branches.

He had to squint his eyes to take in the movement coming towards him. His eyes went wide when the shape moving towards him was not that of his expected friend.

Panic took hold of his every thought. His limbs still felt leaden but he forced them into action. Feeling the hard casement of what he instantly knew was one of the weapons he had confiscated from the armed men, he swung it around in just enough time to hit his attacker in the head.

Ronon had seen the lump of debris transform into a shape of a man. As the man shook off the debris, Ronon had instantly recognized him. Without hesitating, Ronon ran to intercept.

By the look of surprise on Sheppard's face, Ronon knew he had to act quick. Sheppard would either try to flee or he would fight.

Bearing down on the half-prone man at a full run, Ronon recognized the after effects of a stunning. Sheppard would be slow...too slow to run. He would have to subdue Sheppard without hurting him...easier said than done, especially when he knew Sheppard would be out for blood.

He didn't quite dodge the blow from the swinging P90 and it caught him just above his right eye. Blood streamed down into his eye, but he tackled the prone man. Both men rolled head over heels. Ronon was up in an instant, while John was slower to recover, his limbs still protesting. John lunged for the gun laying just out of reach. Ronon was on him before he had a chance though. Instead John started swinging with all he had left. He wasnt about to go down easy.

After several blows, Ronon had had enough. He knocked John off his feet with a sweeping lunge. Before he could recover, Ronon straddled on top of John's body, pinning him down. He held John's arms out tight against the ground with all his weight. The struggling man was hard to hold, fury now feeding strength into his weakened limbs.

John continued to struggle but his strength wasnt what it should be and taking in the enormous bulk of man sitting on top of him, he knew it was futile. Still, he wasn't one to give up or give in.

He brought his knees up and pounded on the man's back with all his might, hoping to distract the brute enough to loosen his hold. When that didn't work, he levered himself with one leg straight out and brought his other leg up and over. He caught his assailant around the neck with his leg and pushed against him, hoping to cut off his air supply.

Ronon was at a disadvantage as he didn't want to hurt John, though, he had to admit that John was seriously pissing him off. The leg cutting off his air was the final straw (though he had to hand it to John for being able to pull the move off)

He let go of one arm and clocked John in the chin, enough to daze him. He then grabbed John's leg and threw it up and off him while lifting himself high enough to turn John over onto his stomach.

Ronon then grabbed the flailing arm and wrenched it back, pinning it high up against John's back. An audible pop was followed by an very audible scream. Instantly, guilt filled Ronon, but he held John down until the man stop struggling. It was only when Teyla tried to pull him off John that he realized John had passed out.

"Ronon, you can let go now!" Teyla encouraged her teammate and friend. She knew Ronon would never hurt John, but the circumstances were too frenzied for the warrior to hold back his nature.

"Damned! What did I do?," Ronon croaked, his throat sore from the pressure exerted on it.

Ronon eased off his unconscious friend, guilt consuming him.

"I fear you have dislocated his shoulder. We must right it before he wakes or he will be in extreme pain."

TBC