Murus
Chapter Seven – Travels with Bee
SGA SGA SGA
Sheppard came up from the depths of sleep and was just deciding which eye to open up first this morning, when a pat on his cheek startled him enough to open both at once, only to see the smiling face of Bee staring down at him with an amused grin on her face.
"Something entertaining you Bee?" He croaked out from a dry throat, one eye shutting closed again against the low morning sun.
Bee heard the dry tone in his voice and handed him over some water to drink.
He took a swig and then wiped his mouth. "Thanks."
"Welcomes." She said.
Sheppard smiled at the young woman when she pluralized that word. He loved when she said it. He thought perhaps the word he was looking for was 'cute' and was pleased that he had finally found a word, that for him, characterised Bee. Yes. Cute or endearing, maybe - but not at the moment!
"What?" He repeated, grumpily.
"You were mumbling away and I thought you were struggling to wake, so I just gave you a hand."
Raising himself up on one elbow, Sheppard let his jacket fall off him and rummaged in a pocket for the leather pouch with the remedy. He tucked some of the green gunk in his cheek to start the day.
"I was doing just fine by myself thanks Bee." But he let it slide as it was nice to see her smiling. It was also nice to feel more like himself; on first impression anyway. Second impression, when he moved to stand – not so much.
"Whoa, John. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good. The usual. Nice day again." He said to distract her from his stumble. His headache pulsated away in the background and he hoped the remedy would kick in soon.
But Bee knew when she was being cajoled into a different topic of discussion.
"You are less white, tinged with green this morning; just …well, pale white." She continued.
Sheppard by now had both hands on his hips and giving up on her humour, he walked away from her, muttering under his breath, whilst making his way into the bushes for necessities.
Bee, after having her fun at his expense, then started to worry when he hadn't returned within ten minutes. She stood on her tip toes and held her hand up to her eyes to ward of the bright rays but breathed a sigh of relief when Sheppard finally came walking towards her with a big grin on his face.
"Look what I found?" As he held out both hands.
"Lotans, wonderful!" and she took two, positively squeaking with joy. "What a find. I'm glad, I was getting hungry."
"Yeah, about that. Don't suppose you have a knife anywhere on you Bee?"
Bee dragged her bag towards her. "No, but I do have my mother's old sewing kit that I carry everywhere I go and it has a good pair of scissors." And she proceeded to rummage.
Better than nothing, Sheppard thought. I wonder if she will let me separate the blades. But when Bee handed them over to him after withdrawing them from the tin box, that idea was immediately ruled out when he saw how small they were.
"Too small?" She guessed when she saw his face screw up.
He nodded. "I'm not going to hunt anything with these I'm sorry to say. I'll have to try and noose one of these huge rabbit type things I see running about."
"Lago's? You want to catch these and eat them."
"You don't eat meat?"
"No I don't. I eat fish but I have never really had much meat to eat. Lago's are mainly caught for their fur."
"Well, I can't see us getting much strength for this journey by just eating Lotan's, so meat you will eat soon. What else have you got in that kit? Twine?" Sheppard was starting to feel on top of things again, although he should really have looked at all this yesterday if not before.
"Not thick twine but all sorts of threads. I am a seamstress, like my mother was."
She started to hand the box over to Sheppard. "Please don't think me horrible, but this was my mothers …so, please do not lose it. You can use the contents obviously, but not the tin."
Sheppard felt sad for Bee and understood just how she felt. He still had some things of his mother's that he would hate to lose, so when she handed him the battered box with a picture of a log cabin type house nestled under some rocks beside some water, he looked inside and took out only what he thought he would need for the hunt and handed it back to her with a thank you.
"Strong, sturdy box. Nice picture too. Do you know where that is?"
Bee sucked her bottom lip as a wave of emotion threatened to trip her up this morning. "Um, no, well I don't remember if I was told or not. My mother died when I was six; I'm twenty two now." She looked thoughtful for a minute before turning to him. "I was born early, they didn't think I would survive but I did because my mother was strong and stubborn and wouldn't give up on me."
"She sounds lovely."
"Oh she was. The virus killed her unfortunately." Bee allowed a tear to fall and swept it away with her hand.
"Sorry."
Sheppard, never good at this type of thing, chucked her under the chin, as he found he had been doing with her a lot, and then tweaked her nose and got the desired result of a lovely Bee smile.
"Come on, let's get going. Shake off the sleep and I'll keep a watch for a suitable place to catch these…"
"Lago's"
"Right. Where I come from, they are called Rabbits."
Bee mulled the name over. "I like it." Rabbits. Rabbits. She repeated until she was used to the word.
The sun was hot on Sheppard's face, but this morning he relished it as natural heat and not that of a fever caused by the virus. It had finally broke sometime during the night and he was feeling the benefit of more energy this morning. He had to admit that Sulli's remedy really was helping his symptoms but following along behind like a dark shadow was the realisation that it was no cure and without it and Bee's Bellus juice, he would be a dead man by now. In fact, he was a dead man walking unless he got the antidote soon.
He went into a reflective mood as they walked and he hoped Bee understood that he was needing to think about past events, so he was glad that, after reassuring Bee he was feeling good – no really – she left him alone with his thoughts, no doubt thinking about her own situation.
As usual, he thought about his team, how upset and angry they would be at his disappearance. Sheppard knew they would have realised that the copy had not been him, leaving him to wonder at the temporary facade his captors had been aiming for.
They were professionals, Sheppard had no reason to think otherwise, as there was no way his team would have left the planet without him if his imposter did not look one hundred percent like him; ill health though would have disguised the little bit of doubt they would have had if he had not been laid low on the day.
But they had not been fully successful with their plans for him, thanks to Bee interrupting their plans and Sheppard knew she had ultimately saved his life. He looked at her when she realised she had been talking to him and he shook his head to clear it and noticed the stream she was pointing to. 'Good', he told her and refilled the water bottle but putting his hand over it when she went to squeeze more Bellus juice into it. Fresh tasting water today would be enough, he reckoned, until Sulli's remedy ran out. Bee looked like she was relieved and wasted no time in closing it up and slipping it in her bag before he could change his mind. Sheppard admired her alacrity to accept his lead and her enthusiasm at following his orders made it easier on him not to be too hard on her at times when he thought she should have understood what he wanted her to do or look out for.
At first, it frightened him to his core, to think that he was saddled with a simpering, incapable female for the duration of this journey, but she constantly surprised him with her capabilities but really, if he was honest, she had looked after him more than he had done for her. His team would figure out where he was, he just had to watch the sky for that familiar hum and Rodney's thrilled face at finding him, staring out the window.
Bee rolled a Lotan in front of his face and looked annoyed, he realised he had zoned out on her again."
"Are you sure you are feeling okay?"
He finally took in her question.
"Yeah, sorry, um thanks for the Lotan ... Just lost in thought. You?"
"I'm good. Head." She said, signalling for him to bend towards her.
"Wha'?"
"I forgot to look this morning to see if the bleeding had stopped."
"Bleeding?" What had he missed now?
"Your head was whacked when one of the treble 'Ts' hit you."
"Treble Ts'?..." Sheppard looked lost for a minute and then he remembered that he had been hit over the head with one of Sulli's boys but it had hardly bled and he hadn't given it any more thought. He forgot Bee had called them that when she couldn't remember their names.
He wafted away her hand after she had parted his hair to have a look.
"It's stopped."
"I know. Leave it alone Bee."
"Men!"
"Women!"
Sheppard and Bee laughed out loud.
She was a breath of fresh air to Sheppard, finding her demeanour totally unique. Circumstances aside, he was very glad he had met her.
He kept smiling until she came at him again with her little pot but he soon relented and let her put more of the salve on his sore face and shoulder as well to pacify her.
"Bruises are starting to turn yellow already but this will just help it you along." She explained with a shut of the lid.
"Another of your concoctions?"
"My mother's. She left me a book of remedies. Seems to work on you anyways."
Sheppard nodded. "Listen, Bee. Thanks again for looking after me when I was at my worst, I appreciate it." He said whilst scratching the back of his head where she had been delving earlier.
"Welcomes." She replied. Of course she did.
SGA SGA SGA
Several miles, several stops for a break and the afternoon had come upon them already. Sheppard was pleased at the distance they had covered, but the unknown terrain and an unknown distance ahead of them gnawed away at his thoughts. They were also starting to lose the cover of trees and, unfortunately, also the tall and dense shrubs that produce the Lotans. Bee informed him that they did not grow higher up in the mountains so they ate them as they walked and pocketed what they could but Sheppard kept an eye out for a good opportunity to catch one of the Lagos. More protein was needed for both of them soon if they were to have enough energy to climb the steeper parts. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long as an obvious burrow came into view with lots of them running around. Bee refused to watch and Sheppard was actually glad of that, so when he caught one using Bee's strong thread as a snare, he swiftly skinned it with the small scissors, ready to cook.
"Oh my, I don't know if I can eat that!" She looked squeamish.
Sheppard ignored her as he was trying not to make such a big deal over it and set about making a fire to cook it, impressing her in the end with his fire making skills. He was taking a risk with the fire and its partner; smoke, but needs must and besides he had not picked up on anyone following them.
The Lago cooked, Sheppard handed her a piece. "Come on try this little bit, it's actually very good. Look, eat it quick and then wash it down with some water."
Bee eyed him up and then the Lago meat and tentatively took a small bite.
"It's quite nice." She said surprised at herself. "You know we should keep the pelt. These are expensive to buy."
"It will have to be next time then." Sheppard said. "I wasn't exactly careful with this one."
Bee ignored the gory scene in her head and nodded. She never thought her mother's scissors would have had this type of use.
If there was one thing she had to be thankful for of late; it was her delight at watching Sheppard in obvious better health and she was witnessing more and more what he was capable of doing to survive in a foreign world, using his obvious skills. She briefly wondered what his true capabilities were and what sort of things he had seen in his past. She watched him reach for the leather pouch after he had finished eating and tuck some more of the remedy into his cheek, closing his eyes for a moment as he did so. Had he been in pain all this time and never told her? She was beginning to think he was doing that a lot as she did manage to catch the occasional grimace but she left him with his dignity and didn't mention it.
Bee was surprised that she was able to keep up with Sheppard on the long trek and relished the open air. She embraced it in ways as she didn't even know it had been available to her. Indoor living was the norm in Mahonet's reign. She made a promise to herself to try running with Pauley when she got back to him as it was a past-time he loved and had wanted her to try previously.
In the last few minutes, Bee had noticed Sheppard occasionally just stop and look around him as if he was hearing something. His brow would furrow and his back would arch just ever so slightly. She was aware it was a marked difference to the tall and secure way of walking he usually had, even when he had been in pain. Worried, she cast him a side glance and he suddenly motioned for her to crouch down. Transfixed by his now intense stare, she obeyed his every word and knew by instinct not to make a noise.
Sheppard backed towards her, stooping low, holding his left palm out to keep her near to the ground. Bee's eyes darted about her in anticipation of something about to happen. She watched Sheppard's back and couldn't help but notice his right fist curl and uncurl, just ready for action. She had seen him in action already and fully expected this to be another incident in their short trip. Bee tried not to be overly concerned this time, although the vibe from Sheppard seemed thick with expectation of something about to occur.
When it did, Bee was unsure of what to make of it, but Sheppard seemed to understand what was flying towards them and before she could ask him what was happening he had flung himself down on top of her, mouthing "stay still and do not move". A low humming noise, getting sharper as it drew nearer made its owner visual by the appearance of a floating piece of white metal with a small engine driving the strange looking object in the sky. What looked like a black glass ball swivelled this way and that, reminding Bee of a giant eye. Through the crook of Sheppard's elbow raised over her head, Bee watch fascinated as it darted here and there but not moving far from their position like some sort of huge Hover fly. Bee felt the heat of Sheppard's body penetrate her back and her chest felt slightly crushed by his weight in the ground but she didn't want to move or speak to him, mimicking his reactions. The object spun, making clicking noises and then flew straight up high in the sky, only to float for an uncomfortable few more minutes until it descended at great speed towards them.
Sheppard had an idea that this was not good and that their position had been visible in its probe. Damn, he thought his brown and cream clothing like the earth, camouflaging Bee's pink ones, would have been deterrent enough for what looked like a drone's survey.
"Get up. Move!" Sheppard now changed his tune and shouted for emphasis.
Bee slipped, trying to make purchase on the ground but Sheppard had her elbow and tugged her along, stopping her falling back down again. Her bag was held tight in her hand and she ran following Sheppard's zig-zag pattern.
Nonetheless, Sheppard knew he was running as if blind, as he did not know the area, and neither did Bee. He didn't think the alien drone thing was armed but standing still was not an option.
Sheppard felt a sharp pain in his shoulder but he chose to ignore it, he concentrated in holding tight Bee's hand and aimed for a denser section of low bushes in the near distance. A small cry escaped Bee's mouth and he took a second to glance back at her to see her eyes wide with surprise and clutching something that was embedded into the soft flesh of her neck. He slowed down and still walking fast, he swatted her hand away and yanked it out as fast as he could and flung it aside. It looked like a dart and he prayed it didn't contain a lethal concoction.
Troubled, Sheppard stopped and shook her. "Bee. Bee. Don't go out on me. Hang on!"
Bee could hear Sheppard speaking to her, but it was like she was in a tunnel all of a sudden, although she knew that could not be true as a breeze on her face felt weirdly sharp on her sensitive skin.
"Jo..n?"
"I'm here, hold on."
Bee felt herself being lifted in the air and a spinning sensation snapped her eyes shut before she was sick. Sheppard's strong arms held her tight against his chest, and as she got used to the motion, she tentatively opened her eyes and looked up at his sweating face. His heart hammered with the effort of carrying her and running at top speed but it was more than that. He started to stumble and weave awkwardly, not fluidly as he had started out.
"John?" She spoke as if her mouth was full of cotton wool.
"Ssh Bee…I'm...damn…" Sheppard stumbled and fell and Bee rolled out from his grip and landed in some bushes.
Sheppard fell hard on his knees as he lost his footing and in turn, Bee. He reached out for her but his vision was blurring and he realised with a start that the sharp pain in his shoulder must have been a dart. Unsure if the drone had any more of the projectiles, he grabbed Bee under her arms and dragged her along beside him and then rolled into and under a low bush, pulling down the branches in the hope that it covered them well enough to hide from view. Sheppard reached behind his shoulder and felt for the dart. Bee noticed his efforts and pulled it out, handing it to him. Sheppard put a finger to his mouth as he took it from her and she remained quiet. Their breathing was laboured and both seemed dizzy. Sheppard eventually lay down flat on the ground, pointing on her to do the same thing. Eventually the sky seemed quiet and he hoped the drone had moved on.
"We can't fall unconscious Bee. Fight it!" He whispered to her when he noticed she was struggling to stay awake.
"Trying!" Bee whispered back.
"I know. It's hard. We have been hit with some sort of tranquiliser but I don't think either of us have had a full doze so don't worry, you'll feel better soon."
"You sound like you are used to this."
Sheppard shrugged but managed to give her a smile. "Maybe!"
Bee rolled her eyes and shook her head. She could not understand how anybody could go through something like this adventure more than once and not want to run away and never be found again.
Sheppard was strengthened by the fact that the drowsiness was leaving him, so he sat up and peered out and up through the low branches, glad to stretch his body in the cramped space. Thankfully the drone seemed to have missed their hiding place as he could not see it but more importantly, hear it.
He turned and slid out on his stomach and then stood up, surveying the area and protecting his eyes from the suns glare which was adding to the ever present headache.
"Come out. I think it's gone now." Sheppard put a hand down to help her up and cupped her face in his hands when she was steady. "You good to continue?"
"Yes. What was that?"
"Where I am from, we call them drones. Aerial spies in the sky. Unfortunately, they now know where we are, so we best get a move on."
Sheppard's good mood at the remedy managing his virus and having a full stomach for the first time in days, was taking a hit with this latest turn of events. He had thought them safe enough and congratulated himself on the distance he had covered regardless how ill he had felt. Speed was once again of the essence. He only hoped they had recovered enough from the effects of the dart's poison to step it up a notch.
Now, as they hurried along, the trees had dissipated and the ground was hard and stony with only a scattering of bushes marring their path. So far, all was quiet skyward, although Sheppard kept his ears trained to the slightest noise. The bedrock became uneven and wet in places and they had to jump over running water on several occasions.
Bee sensed his air of suspense and tried to distract him slightly.
"Tell me about where you are from? What's it like? Atlantis was it?"
"Yes, I live in Atlantis, but that's not where I am from."
Bee looked at him quizzically.
"What do you mean?"
Sheppard laughed. "Oh it's a long story Bee…Bee!"
Sheppard watched in horror as she slipped on the bedrock she had been walking on suddenly and landed heavily on her backside and started to slide down the slope in the flow of water.
He reached for her but the ground was too slippy. He had to right himself on a couple of occasions, missing his chance to catch her hand.
"John!" She shrieked.
Sheppard, getting his balance, ran down the dry ground beside the wet and over the rocks as he tried to catch up with her vanishing body. He was dismayed when he saw that Bee could not get a purchase on the terrain and she was fast getting out of sight.
"Grab on to something." He shouted.
Her screams continued to hasten his speed and adrenalin saw him leap over boulders that just earlier he would have slowly stepped round, but he was losing sight of her fast and the water was getting faster and noisier so that he had to strain his ears to hear her.
"Bee?" When she had stopped calling him.
"John, I can't…John!"
Urged on further by the extra octave, Sheppard ran, skidded, slipped and hurried as fast as he could to catch up with the traumatised scream. The more he ran, the more he felt he was running out of time somehow to stop her slide, as the gradient had suddenly dropped away to reveal the shimmering blue water below of a large body of water. He noticed a thin tree stick out from the side of the hill and he slammed into it to a stop.
"Bee?"
Nothing. Then.
"John. Ah, help... I'm here."
Sheppard dropped to his backside and using his hands and feet going forward, he slithered closer to the edge to see Bee hanging onto a dead tree that's weather damaged roots were visible and just waiting on the extra weight of Bee to snap it from its mooring.
"Crap!" Sheppard took in the looming disaster and put a hand out to try and reassure Bee.
"Are you hurt?"
She whimpered but did not answer.
"Bee. I want you to stay very still whilst I work my way down to you. Do you understand?"
She nodded.
"Good. Now, don't look down. Just hang on."
"John?"
Sheppard bit his bottom lip as he worried about the best route to take.
"Yeah?" He asked lightly, too distracted by his worry.
"If I drop…I can't swim!"
Time stood still.
"Good job you are not going to fall in then."
"John… It's cracking."
Sheppard stole a glance at her. Bee's small face was white and terrified. Cataloguing that piece of information, he was even more determined to reach her before she had an uninvited plunge.
Almost there.
If he could just avoid slipping himself, they would be home and dry, but the water couldn't be stopped and Sheppard had reached an awkward part that required a little bit of rock climbing and hand holds were far and few between.
She was very quiet and he risked another look at where she clutched the tree, only to see her wide eyed and trembling.
"Almost there. Is your bag on your shoulder? No don't move!" He cried when she reached for it.
"Uh huh."
"Good. Now, when I get beside you, I'm going to ask you to hold onto one of the handles as tight as you can whilst casting it towards me. Got it?"
"Yes. Please hurry."
I am, I am. Sheppard muttered to himself whilst looking for a good foothold that was secure enough for him to be able to keep still enough to hold her once she let go of the tree. The climb up would be a worry for later.
"Right, here I am." Sheppard said as he was climbing down beside her. "Don't move yet. I'll tell you when."
The blue of the sky and the blue of the water below was having a dizzying effect on Sheppard as he looked this way and that for the best purchase for feet and hands and then he heard the awful crack and movement as the old tree and Bee left the side of the hill.
"Bee, throw me your bag!"
Bee froze for a second too long and missed her chance to obey Sheppard and she careered down the cliff face along with the tree.
Sheppard lunged anyway and managed to grab the handle of the bag but Bee hadn't had a chance to grab her side and they parted company.
"No."
Sheppard started to slide down after her, once more on his backside, but gradually raised himself up on bended knees and then started to run after her as best he could leaning back to slow his descent.
He heard two splashes as both Bee and the tree landed in the water. Throwing caution to the wind, Sheppard picked up his speed and just balanced for a moment on the edge with his toes, whilst looking down into the water before spying where Bee had entered and jumped down so he landed beside her.
It took his breath for a moment, but he recovered and went back under to look for Bee. It didn't take long and he made a grab for her, a thin stream of blood leaking from her forehead momentarily worried him.
He reached her and had his hand under her shoulder in seconds and kicked for the surface. He pulled her up against his chest when they broke.
Damn. Breathe Bee. He needed to empty her stomach. Sheppard held a hand under her chin and swam for shore as fast as he could. Almost there and he met with a long flat rock so he pushed her up out of the water on top of it and hauled himself out of the water, kneeling beside her and started CPR. He had only pushed her chest a couple times when she coughed and water spurted out of her mouth. Relieved, Sheppard rolled her onto her side and rubbed her back, whispering soothing words into her ear so she knew she was safe.
Water ran over his hair into his eyes as he watched her catch her breathe. He wiped her face and noticed a bruise appearing on her forehead and a small cut through her eyebrow which was where the blood had escaped from.
"Ssh Bee, you are all right now. Take your time." He told her when she started to whimper.
"My…" Bee coughed loudly and Sheppard licked his lips, grimacing.
"It's ok."
"My head." She got out this time.
He cradled her head on his knee and lifted her hair from her eyes. "You've bashed it a bit."
"My…arm."
Crap. He forgot to look for other injures.
Gently putting her head back on the rock, Sheppard found her arms and caught sight of the various bloody scrapes down the length of both of them, but didn't feel any breaks. Her right trouser leg was ripped at the knee and thigh so suspected she would have some bruising there.
"Anything else hurt? Your back?" He suddenly asked in panic.
"No. My back is fine. You?"
Sheppard smiled down at her, keeping the sun off her eyes. "I'm good. Listen, Bee. We are going to have to swim for shore. Don't worry, I will pull you and you won't have to do a thing. Trust me?"
Bee nodded but looked worried.
"I've done this loads of times, there's nothing to worry about."
He didn't give her time to mull it over really, just lowered himself into the water and then pulled her in with him. He felt her tense up but soon relaxed when he continued to smile at her.
"I'll just support your head. Let me do all the work and we will be on solid ground in no time."
Bee nodded and felt Sheppard's hand grip her chin, she panicked slightly but then allowed herself to relax and watched the sky as he turned towards the shore. Her arms ached and her backside was numb but she felt safe and glad to have survived her trauma.
Once there, she felt Sheppard stand up and slip an arm under her knees and arms and carry her to shore where he knelt down and placed her flat on the sand. She tried to move but he placed a hand on her tummy and she wasn't going anywhere soon.
He threw himself down beside her and blew out, puffing his cheeks.
"That was a ride!"
"I can't speak." Bee said which somehow Sheppard found amusing. He sat up and Bee watched his amused look instantly drop. Bee turned her head to see what he was looking towards.
An elderly man wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a battered hat was unexpected enough. But the shotgun in his hands was a worry.
SGA SGA SGA
TO BE CONTINUED…