Chapter: 38 - Teyla
Warning: Some serious blood, violence and death in these next coming chapters, so beware…
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Teyla turned looking back down the corridor to see hunters appearing around the corner. John was already pulling her forward as she turned back towards the airlock and they ran down the corridor to the open door through which other camp members were quickly disappearing.
John swung around the open airlock door and paused for her as she rushed around it and into the airlock chamber. She turned and with John they began to pull the airlock door closed behind them, pausing to let one man through, who shoved past Teyla in his desperation to get to safety. Teyla felt John's burst of aggression towards the man, but Teyla got her hands back on the airlock door and they pulled it closed. Teyla turned the lock handle as John moved away to return with a leg of furniture which he jammed through the handle, wedging it closed. Teyla looked up at the small window to see a hunter appear through it, his angry breath steaming up the small area of glass as he peering into the room.
John pulled at her arm, pulling her back away from the door and she turned to see the last few people scrambling up through the hole at the top of the far door up into the night. There was a table stood on the floor in front of the open airlock door on top of which perched a rather unstable looking chair, upon which the nurse was now standing, as she reached up to the dirt hole above her and Teyla watched as she dragged herself up and out. Loose dirt fell down into the room over the chair as the nurse scrambled up and out of view.
"Teyla." Violet Eyes waved her over as the one last person made their way up after the nurse.
Teyla reached the table and John's hand clamped round her elbow to help her up onto the table. Her stitches pulled slightly, but she ignored such a small problem as she got herself up onto the table and them up onto the wobbly chair, John's hands supporting her. She steadied herself against the wall of earth that blocked up most of the doorway. The opening was just above her head and she reached both her hands up into it, but dirt came loose under her hands, making it difficult to find a good purchase. Hands under her pushed her up and suddenly her head was up into the night air, firelight flickering through the darkness. She got her forearms over the edge of the hole and pulled herself up and out onto the solid ground.
Getting quickly up onto her knees she surveyed the area, her knife already in her hand. Most of the camp members who had already made their way out had disappeared, but one small group were waiting by the hole. Teyla looked around the area trying to orientate her self. The position was partly obscured by the angle of the ship where it was buried into the earth and fortunately there were no hunters in the immediate area.
Teyla turned looking back down into the hole to see John look up at her from where he stood on the chair. She nodded it was clear and he reached up, but turned his body so that his shoulder was against the dirt wall, therefore protecting Charin. Teyla reached down and grasped the top of his vest helping to pull him up. He turned his back against the dirt and pulled himself up and out of the hole. Teyla felt a wave of admiration at his strength. He crouched on the opposite side of the hole to her, briefly looking into the sling to check Charin was alright.
Teyla looked down into the hole again to see Violet Eyes standing on the chair and reaching up for a grip. She and John reached down and caught one of his hands each and between them they lifted him enough for him to be able to climb out. Violet Eyes breathed out a thank you as he crouched down by her and he looked around at the camp.
"The edge of the camp will be closest that way." He said quietly as he pointed in one direction; straight into an avenue of burning tents.
"Okay, let's move." John ordered and the small group obeyed the authority in his voice as they all began to move across the open path around the ship to the fire lined street beyond. Teyla moved to John's side, brushing against his arm as together they hurried across the open space, both watching different directions as they went.
They made it into the street and followed the small nervous group ahead of them. The fires were still burning well, though some of the fabric tents had completely disappeared, leaving only the skeleton of their metal or wooden frames smouldering away. She could hear the shouts and fighting grunts of the enemy, who appeared to be fighting each other as much as they had attacked the camp members. Bodies littered one area they passed by, again a mixture of the camp members and hunters. Teyla looked back, checking their six and she was struck by the image of the firelight dancing over the hull of the ship looming over them. There were so many people still trapped in there and Teyla had to wonder if the enemy had already made their way in, or had they made a deal in the end? She doubted that female hunter would simply let enemy leave unscathed.
John's hand tightened on her arm and she looked back round to see the group had stopped and saw that they had caught up with some others that had escaped with them through the airlock. But, she realised those ahead were not running, in fact they were edging backwards, knives raised. Then she saw the hunters beyond them.
She turned, gripping John's vest, urging him back the way they had come.
"They are here." A loud male voice cried out and Teyla watched as a new group of hunters rushed around the base of the ship and swarmed down the street blocking their retreat. They were at an intersection so Teyla turned to the right hoping escape would be provided in that direction only to see more hunters appear trapping them in. Behind this group Teyla saw a figure step out from behind a burning tent; the female hunter. Why was she down here? Teyla gripped her knife tightly as the female hunter looked back at her around the heads of the hunters between them. The female grinned wickedly at Teyla as she stopped in the middle of the street and crossed her arms ready to watch the destruction.
John's shoulder bumped against Teyla's and she risked a few moments to look round her assessing the situation. The group of escapees had formed into a vague circle in the middle of the intersection, but they were surrounded on all sides; three with hunters and the last side a blazing fire. Teyla returned her attention to the hunters in front of her and moved herself slightly closer to John's side; she needed to feel him there beside her. It had been a long time since they had been alone fighting their way across this world, but the same old feelings returned; the fear, the worry, the anger and the desperate need to survive. That was all increased even further now with the knowledge that their daughter was caught up in the centre of all this as well. No further thoughts were possible though as the hunters rushed in.
Teyla swung out and cut down the first who reached her, but another took his place in a second. She fought quickly and efficiently, her body moving with instincts, training and speed that her thinking mind could not entirely process. She was aware of John moving next to her; he would protect Charin with his life and Teyla wanted to be able to press her back to his as they used to fight, but they needed to keep the circle to stop the hunters breaking through to attack the other escapee's backs.
Teyla fought on, but she was aware of some of the camp members were down, including the man who had been beside her. She saw him fall down breaking open a space in the circle, so Teyla moved to fill it, cutting down the hunter who had killed the man. She was no longer so close to John's side and it bothered her, but she could do nothing but keep on fighting.
In the distance there was a blast of sparks followed by a loud creaking and shouting. The hunters pulled back slightly and Teyla took advantage of that to slice one down. Then there were only a few hunters in front of her, but the lead female hunter was still there in the distance and Teyla saw she was looking off to the left. Teyla swung her knife round, intimidating the remaining hunters before her and as she did she saw out of the corner of her eye part of a ship collapsing into the camp. The female hunter turned back towards Teyla, her eyes dropped to her fallen people with a frown. She uncrossed her arms and began to move towards Teyla. Teyla stepped forward, fighting briefly with a hunter in her way, before the female was upon her.
The woman sliced forward with her long knife and Teyla dodged the strike, sweeping in with her own knife, but the hunter deflected it with a smaller second knife that had been hidden in her other hand. Teyla pulled back, but the woman followed her, rushing into Teyla's space. Teyla dodged another blow and kicked out at one leg. The woman only grunted in response, but it gave Teyla a second to reach out and grasp the woman's arm with her free hand. The hunter's strength was very impressive, but Teyla was able to control that arm, digging her thumb into tender points trying to get the woman to release her smaller knife. The hunter resisted the pain and struck down with her other knife. Teyla blocked that, locking them into a close battle, pushing against each other's blades, as Teyla still worked to get the hunter to drop her other knife.
Teyla thought she heard John shout her name, but she couldn't let anything distract her from this battle; this female meant to kill her quickly and she was clearly very well trained.
Teyla kneed upwards, catching the female in her middle and the smaller knife finally dropped away. Teyla released the hold and pushed at the woman. The hunter pulled back, but Teyla kicked away the small knife before she could grab it and they stood apart for a few seconds, each watching the other through the firelight. Teyla watched the dark eyes of the woman, the fire glittering in her dark pupils, which shifted from Teyla to the right. Teyla shifted backwards and turned her eyes quickly to see the woman was looking at John fighting. Teyla's heart thundered in her chest, the hunter probably recognised the sling around him; she knew that John was with Teyla and that Charin was their child. The black shining eyes turned back to her and a wicked smile crossed her features that told Teyla that this woman had plans for her family. Then the hunter launched forward at her again.
They traded quick hits and blocks. Teyla managed to lock her knife around the hunter's, reached around the locked blades and punched the woman's face. She growled at Teyla as she caught Teyla's wrist in her sharp nailed grip. The pointed nails bit into the soft skin of Teyla's inner wrist. Teyla stretched her hand out towards the woman's throat, but all she could reach was her necklace. It was tough and sharp in places so Teyla gripped it, pulling. The hunter resisted the pull and the necklace came away from her neck into Teyla's hand so she twisted her grip and raked the necklace across the hunter's cheek. The woman cried out, blood gushing down her face and pulled back enough to get away from Teyla.
Teyla pulled back and realised the necklace in her hand was made up of teeth and claws. The deep cuts across the woman's face bleed fiercely and Teyla saw the fury rising in the woman before she leapt at Teyla yet again. This attack was lower and knocked Teyla back and down to the ground. The ground was hard against her back as she fell, but she managed to get her hands up to grab at the hunter over her, a knife flashing down at Teyla's face. Teyla caught the descending arm and pushed all her power into resisting it. The hunter's bleeding face dripped down onto Teyla's jacket, but Teyla ignored it reaching up with her other hand and she pushed up at the woman's chin and neck. She had a brief flash of déjà vu, as John's people called it; she had been in a similar situation against a male hunter many months ago. Now, however, John wasn't going to be able to save her. She could hear him grunting in battle, heard him call her name worriedly over his shoulder, but she didn't have time to answer him.
The hunter pushed down harder towards Teyla with the knife. Teyla decided on a different tactic and pushed the knife sideways as she changed her grip on the woman's neck and instead of pushing her away she pulled the woman down onto the head butt Teyla forced upwards. She caught her sharply on the woman's nose, again a repeat of what had happened before; people never expected that. The woman pulled back obviously in pain and momentarily blinded by Teyla's attack, but she still had her knife and she pulled her arm from Teyla's grasp. But, it was her other fist that impacted into the side of Teyla's head. The world swam around Teyla for a moment, but in that time the weight of the hunter left her as someone dragged her away. Teyla rolled away to clear space and in case another hunter went for her.
The dusty ground under her got into her throat for a moment and she coughed it out as she struggled up to her knees. She could see the hunter sprawled over someone else a short distance away, and her knife lifted, blood running down its blade. Anger, pain and fear gave Teyla what she needed to clear her head. She got to her feet, reaching for her knife that had fallen nearby. As she straightened up the world seemed to slow and she saw the female hunter stand up from her victim revealing that it was Violet Eyes beneath her, who was now bleeding from one shoulder. The hunter turned to the right, her knife rising and Teyla saw that John's back was to the woman as he struggled against two hunters. He had no time, no chance to turn and stop her.
Teyla was moving up and towards the woman, as the hunter's evil smile twisted her bloodied face and she lifted her knife in two hands over her head as she stepped the two strides towards John's exposed back. Teyla screamed out to John, but though he heard her and began to turn, he was too restricted in holding off one hunter still who had literally body grabbed him, perhaps holding him for the female's strike.
The hunter's knife hovered above the woman's head and then it began to fall as she stepped towards John's exposed back. Teyla rushed forward, pulling back her own knife in both hands and she screamed out violently at the woman.
Teyla saw the woman register the cry and for a moment Teyla thought she saw the woman's mistake register in her eyes, but the knife was still falling towards John's back and Teyla was already slicing through the air.
Teyla had no idea what metal the long curved knife was made of, but it cut through the female hunter's neck with barely any resistance. The swing carried Teyla's arms round and down and she paused, standing over the bleeding Violet Eyes as the decapitated body fell to the ground.
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TBC