As soon as they arrived on the planet, John was very aware of the differences from any of their other visits. The most obvious difference was the lack of a welcoming committee. In fact, there was a distinct lack of anyone. This worried John more than anything else. He glanced at Teyla, and the worried frown on her face told him she was anxious too.
An eerie silence seemed to engulf the village as they approached it, making John search the undergrowth for bodies. He couldn't help but wonder if Michael and his friends had gotten hungry and decided to feed. He glanced at Ronon, and could tell by the tension in the former Runner's body, that he had the same thought.
Unable to cope with the silence any longer, John raised his voice.
"Is anyone home?" he called out. At first there was no reaction, and then slowly, a door to one of the neighbouring houses opened. An old woman could be seen through the crack of the door.
"What do you want?" she demanded, her voice rusty with age.
"We were wondering where everyone was?" John said, taking a step towards the woman.
"Oh," said the woman, when she realised who they were. "You decided to come back then? Silis thought you'd deserted us."
"We had a problem that needed to be solved before we could return," Teyla said, stepping in when she realised that John was floundering slightly as to what to reply. He threw her a grateful glance.
"Well," the old woman responded. "Silis and the others decided they couldn't wait for you, and they've gone to find Shela themselves."
"So that's where everyone is," John commented.
"And he told the rest of us to stay in our houses, and not come out for anyone."
"Then we are very glad you agreed to speak to us," Teyla responded to the old woman, who looked pleased by the compliment.
"Where did they go?" John asked.
"Into the forest," the woman responded. "Where Shela saw the monsters."
"Can you take us there?" Ronon asked.
"Silis said we were not to leave our houses," the woman said, a note of determination in her voice.
"I'll take them," said a young voice from behind the woman. A young boy, about 13 years old, appeared from behind her.
"Now Stanis," the woman said. "You know what Silis said. And think of your poor mother. She's already lost Shela, and you saw what state she was in then. She'd not be able to cope with loosing you too."
"I'll make sure he's not hurt," Ronon said, taking a step toward the boy. The woman took a step back, but the boy looked pleased. He gazed up at the big man, with a look of adoration on his face.
"Oh boy," John said under his breath.
"You can take us to this place?" Teyla asked.
"Yep," Stanis agreed. "I was the one who took Shela there, first," he said.
"Great," John said, with a false enthusiasm. The last thing he wanted was to have a young boy to look after.
"Follow me," the boy continued, setting off, confidently, towards the forest.
oOoOoOo
As Rodney watched, Carson worked frenetically, muttering to himself the whole time. The scientist had offered to help, but Carson had just waved him away again, and continued to gaze into the microscope.
It worried Rodney to see Carson like this. It was not the medic's usual work pattern at all. He was normally slow and methodical, in contrast to Rodney's own style of inspired rapidity. Rodney remembered a conversation they'd had only a few weeks earlier.
They'd been in Carson's lab on Atlantis, and Rodney was getting frustrated at the speed at which Carson was working – or the lack of speed.
"Carson," Rodney had said. "Do you think you could hurry up abit. Radek is likely to die of old age before you find out what's wrong with him."
"Rodney," Carson had replied, with exaggerated patience. "As you keep reminding me, medicine is not always an exact science. If you make a mistake, what's the worst that can happen? You destroy a universe, right?"
"Five-eighths," Rodney had corrected automatically. "And it was uninhabited."
"Exactly," Carson had replied. "But if I make a mistake, people can die. And so I like to be as careful as possible."
Now, Carson seemed to be working at break-neck speed.
"Carson," Rodney said. "Will you slow down? If you make a mistake, Michael is going to send us on a one-way ticket to rapid old age."
"Aye, Rodney," Carson replied. "I know that."
"And just what do you think you're doing?" Rodney asked sharply, as Carson took out a needle.
"I need some human blood to work with," Carson replied, approaching the scientist with a determined stride.
"And you expect me to donate some?" Rodney asked, eyeing the needle suspiciously.
"Well, Rodney," Carson replied. "You're the nearest thing I've got to a human around here."
"Oh, very funny," Rodney replied, just as Carson found a vein and slipped the needle in. Although Rodney would never admit it, Carson did have a very light touch when it came to needles.
Just at the moment the needle sank into Rodney's vein, the door opened, and Michael came in, accompanied by Shela.
"Ouch," the scientist exclaimed, as the needle moved slightly as he turned to see who had come in. "Will you be more careful, Carson, if you must practise you voodoo medicine on me."
Michael snorted at the comment, obviously pleased to see his prisoners arguing.
"If you can keep from killing each other, look after this child," the Wraith ordered. "She was crying; it was annoying."
He then pushed the girl towards the two men. Carson had managed to extract the needle from Rodney's arm, and the scientist managed to stop the little girl's forward momentum before she inadvertently destroyed all of Carson's research to date.
"How is your research going, Dr Beckett?" the Wraith asked, giving Carson a penetrating stare out of his piercing eyes.
"It's slow progress," the doctor admitted. "That's why I needed some blood from Rodney, to help with isolating the human element of the DNA from the Wraith."
"I don't really care about the details, Doctor," Michael said, dismissively. "But if you've not got something concrete for me by this evening, then I'm afraid Dr McKay is going to have to lose a few years of his life."
"Look," Carson said, forcefully, taking a step towards Michael. "This is not something you can rush. If I get even one wee calculation wrong, it could kill you."
"Then you'd better not get any calculations wrong. Or you will all die with us," Michael replied, including the little girl in his stare.
"What has the wee lass got to do with it?" Carson asked, still standing directly in front of the Wraith. "Why don't you just let her go?"
Before Michael could answer, the door to the lab burst open, and Merrick came in.
"We have people approaching the clearing," he said, addressing Michael.
"How many?" Michael asked, sharply.
"About 50," the other Wraith replied. "And they are armed, with primitive weapons."
Michael whirled round and took a step toward Shela.
"Did you lead them here?" he demanded from the child.
She looked at him, her eyes wide with fear, and her thumb crept up to her mouth. At any other time, Carson would have found it amusing, that children, even in a different galaxy, found comfort in sucking their thumb. But instead, he took a step forward, between Michael and the child.
"How the bloody hell is she supposed to have led them here?" he demanded, causing Rodney to put a restraining hand on his friend's arm. Carson just shook it off, and took a step closer to Michael.
"The wee girl was unconscious when you found her, right? So how the hell was she supposed to have led the others here?" he demanded further.
"Carson," Rodney said, a note of warning in his voice.
Michael gave Carson a narrowed-eyed stare, and then turned to Merrick. "Take the child, and use her as bait, or as a shield, whatever you need her for."
As Merrick came over to get the girl, Carson stepped in front of him, acting as a human barrier. The Wraith snarled at him, then raised his hand and gave the doctor a back-handed swipe. Carson went flying across the room, knocking some of his experiments flying as he did so. He came to rest against the wall, his eyes shut and his head at an awkward angle.
Merrick snarled again, in Rodney's direction, who took a step back, then picked up the child, and let the room, with her under his arm.