By the time they stepped through into Atlantis, Rodney was in deep trouble. He tried to ask about the others, but he couldn't seem to form the words. His legs were tired and heavy, but he stubbornly pushed on, his need to find out what was happening with Sheppard driving him. Unfortunately, he barely made it a handful of steps before he sank to his knees, his legs unable to hold him up any longer.

The next thing he knew, he found himself lying on the floor of the gateroom, staring up at the familiar ceiling and watching in morbid fascination as it seemed to shift and wiggle above him. Elizabeth's face appeared above him, blocking his view of the dancing ceiling so he watched her instead. She was calling for a medical team and her voice sounded urgent and yet far away at the same time. Probably for Sheppard, he thought dazedly.

Teyla's face appeared next to Elizabeth's, assuring him that the doctor would be here shortly and that he would be just fine. He wanted to snort at that, but couldn't get his muscles to cooperate at all. It was becoming rather annoying, truth be told. Of course he'd be fine--he wasn't the one who had fallen out of the sky without a parachute. Well, okay, so Sheppard had had help falling, help that Rodney had supplied, but still, the principle was the same. Wasn't it?

His vision greyed out, but when he opened his eyes Teyla and Elizabeth were still there. Their heads were doing a weird little trick where they melded together into one and then rippled apart again. It was rather mesmerizing, truth be told. They looked worried, too. Must be it was painful, he thought.

His vision greyed again. This time when things cleared and the colors returned, there were a lot more faces surrounding him, hovering above like vultures waiting to swoop down and eat him. He didn't like that thought and wanted to leave, to chase them away and make them scatter, but his muscles still refused to work. The floating heads were talking to him now, but he couldn't make out any of the words. Damn it, why weren't they speaking English? English was a requirement for all expedition members and they were supposed to use it. He really needed to see about having them all fired as soon as he could get his muscles to work again.

His eyes went wide as one of the floaty-heads held up a long, clear snake. He tried desperately to take back the having-them-fired part, but his mouth still wasn't working. Helpless, he could do nothing but watch, horrified, as the snake was lowered to his chest. He tried to scream, but he couldn't do that either. He worked desperately to make his arms move, to grab the serpent and throw it as far as he could, but they were no more responsive than his vocal chords. Then the next thing he knew, the snake was slithering its way into his mouth and down his throat. He screamed and screamed, but the noise stubbornly stayed only in his head. Terrified, he called out for Carson or Teyla or Elizabeth, but the words would not leave his mouth and none of them appeared.

Finally, he could stand no more. His eyes rolled back in his head and the world went black, but still Rodney continued to scream inside his head.