CHAPTER ELEVEN: ENTRANCES AND EXITS

"There," Conor said, pointing up at a small white stone edifice, about the size of a large sewer drain, "that's one of the entrances."

It was about a third of the way up, and on the opposite side of the hill from the gate. It was Conor's belief that this one would be the least visible from above and thus their best chance of getting in unnoticed. Ford's hope was that, once inside, their radios would reach the Major and McKay without setting off any alarms the Wraith might have to detect technology.

Teyla and Scathach bounded up the hill first, leaving the slower men behind, but pulled up short at the entrance.

"Oh no," Scathach hissed as soon as she saw the hallway leading inside. "When did this happen?"

The entrance was completely blocked by fallen rocks. Teyla put her hand against one of the stones, and was unnerved to find it still loose. A tiny tremor wracked the ground, and she took a couple of quick steps back as the rockfall settled a little more.

"No moss," she whispered, just loud enough for the other woman to hear. "This has not been this way long."

"What's going on?" Ford asked, reaching their side. He answered his own question when he saw the blocked entrance. "Oh that's not good."

"We have not been this way for months," Scathach said, shaking her head, her broom-like blond hair being attacked the breeze,, "but even so, this entrance has never been blocked before. Something must have happened."

"I did feel the ground tremble a few times," Teyla said, glancing at Ford, "I simply assumed it was from Wraith fire."

"Could their blasts have been enough to do this?" Ford asked.

"This Temple has been here for close to three thousand years, according to our lore, and perhaps longer, as it was built before we came. All we really know is that it was built in honor of Adrah, the goddess," Conor informed him. "The Wraith have never managed to cause damage inside the Temple before." He looked up, eyes narrowing, "and I don't believe anything they did this time could have done it either."

Ford and Teyla just looked at each other, but didn't say anything, though they were both thinking it.

McKay and Sheppard.

"Is there another entrance?" Teyla asked.

"Three more, two higher, one the same height on the exact opposite side of the hill from this one. That one is the closest one to the Stargate," Scathach replied. "The higher ones are to the left and right."

Teyla sighed, "Will you take us to the next closest one?"

Conor just nodded, though his expression wasn't pleased at the idea that the Temple had been harmed. He and his wife were not fools.

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Sheppard was dragging, barely keeping his head up, though his queasiness had finally subsided. Now he just felt incredibly tired. Since the argument, no one had spoken again, but that was to be expected. He had almost gotten used to it.

Which is why hearing McKay swear softly jarred him a little.

He turned, "What's the matter?"

"My radio is broken," the scientist was fiddling with the loop over his ear, pulling it off to hanging limply over his shoulder. "I didn't notice that until now."

"Well that explains why you didn't respond to me when we were separated earlier," the major noted. "Why did you notice now?"

"Well, I thought I might try reaching Teyla and Ford. We haven't gone up any stairs lately, which makes me think we're not headed back to the main entrance."

"You're not," Conla spoke from his position in the lead, "that way is blocked. The earthquakes brought down much stone, and although there are ways around the closed passages," he threw a glance at them over his shoulder, "this way out is quicker."

McKay tilted his head, "Meaning there are other entrances to this Temple?"

"There are five entrances altogether. We are taking you to the one nearest the Ring."

"The Ring?" Sheppard arched an eyebrow, smiling a little at McKay behind him, "Think he means the...."

"Yes, probably," McKay replied. As he did, he tripped a little, the axe having caught a particularly thick piece of slime, and he came down hard on his left foot to compensate.

He stopped immediately as the leg nearly buckled, a hissed, "Damn it...ow...." escaping his lips. Sheppard slowed, turning to check on him. Green mist streamed around the doctor at the abrupt halt, but the man was oblivious. He had lowered his head, hiding his expression, and moved to lean against the wall, all his weight on his right leg. Transferring the axe to his other hand, he leaned over, pressing his free hand against his left thigh, just above the knee. He lifted the leg slightly off the ground, taking the pressure off of it.

The major turned, whistling to Conla. The boy had already stopped, though, alerted by the other children.

"How bad?" Sheppard asked McKay, knowing full well it was the man's knee that had stopped him.

"Bad," McKay choked back, the words hissed through clenched teeth. "I need to stop," he breathed out and in again, "just for a second." He pinched his eyes shut, riding through the sharp aches spiraling up and down the leg.

Sheppard nodded, and looked back at Conla

"How much farther?"

"Not far," the boy replied, looking with concern at the doctor. "A few hundred steps."

Little Brigid was by McKay's side again, and she had knelt down, her fingers reaching for the damaged joint.

"Don't!" He snapped his eyes open, pulling the leg away from her hand as she touched some of the sticky blood on his shin. The little girl looked a little startled by that, but drew her hand back. He grimaced, not really having meant to yell, but she had startled him as well—her fingers were like ice.

"It's bleeding," she said softly, looking at the dark liquid on her ghostly, green fingers, then looked up, "It hurts?"

"Yeah, well," he looked up at Sheppard, "small price to pay."

Brigid lifted her eyebrows at that, even as the Major offered a wry smile to McKay. The doctor looked down at his leg again, avoiding the eye contact.

"You know, I forgot to thank you, didn't I," Sheppard said softly, "for saving my life."

McKay snorted, "Yeah, you did."

"Thank you."

He shrugged, trying not to show how pleased that made him. "You're welcome," McKay's smile grew despite himself, and he lifted his head again. After a moment, his hand braced around the axe again, he pushed off the wall back to his feet, gingerly returning weight to his left leg. He nodded at Sheppard when he felt stable again.

"All right. Let's go."

Sheppard fiddled with his own radio then, checking it. "As soon as we get out, I'll radio Ford. Maybe we can get some sort of stretcher."

McKay just nodded, gamely limping after Sheppard as the Major started moving again. Conla turned and, with his hands behind his back, continued to lead the way.

Brigid stood for a moment longer where they had stopped, looking at his blood still on the tips of her fingers. After a moment, she dissolved into mist and faded, and the blood fell to the floor.

A moment later, she materialized by McKay's side again, and she touched his sleeve.

"What?" he muttered.

"How old am I?" she asked softly.

"I don't know," McKay replied, not really looking at her, "Ten?"

She nodded, looking up towards Conla, "I have been ten for a long time."

"I imagine so," the doctor said, without really thinking.

"I don't remember dying," she added suddenly.

McKay slowed, finally turning his eyes to her, and, in front of them, Sheppard looked back.

"But I have not felt pain for a long time," she was looking at her hand again, though the blood was gone, "nor have I grown older." She looked up at Conla, who was obviously listening, for he too had slowed. "None of us have."

"I only remember falling asleep," one child said, obviously in tune with her thoughts.

"And waking up like this," another added.

Conla shook his head, "Stop," he ordered them, "It's a trick, remember? Don't let them get to you!"

"McKay is bleeding, Conla," Brigid replied, "because he is alive. But I don't feel like I have any blood in me anymore. Why not?"

"Because we are spirits. Our bodies are back in the pit, sleeping, waiting...." the boy had stopped, turning to face her and the other children. Some rallied at his back, while others floated uncertainly behind hers.

"Waiting for what?" Brigid sniffed, her eyes softening. "So many people have come and gone, Conla. So many we have scared away. So many that they do not come anymore. But those that did--I didn't recognize any of them. No one from our villages, from our homes. I don't think our families are coming, Conla. Too much time has passed. And I still look ten years old. You still look thirteen. But it has been seasons and seasons and seasons...."

Conla grimaced, still shaking his head, "We're not dead, Brigid."

"I'm going to go look, Conla," she said suddenly. "I'm going to go see."

"No, wait!"

But she was already gone. Much of the mist went with her.

Sheppard arched an eyebrow at McKay, but the scientist could only shrug.

Conla looked at the ground, then around at the foggy mist still hovering. Finally, he looked up at the two men.

"Come on. We're almost there."

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They were following a well worn track, hiking up the side of the hill. Scathach was in the lead, then Teyla, then Ford and finally Conor.

Above, the blue sky faded to white as clouds rolled in. It smelled like rain.

"The Wraith don't like rain," Conor said, looking up, "Perhaps this will encourage them to leave."

Ford just grunted, his eyes noting with some interest the occasional "support" beam of stone he saw embedded in the side of the hill. It really was an amazing construct. He wondered if the hill had been first or the Temple.

"The next entrance is just up ahead, around the corner," Conor said. "We call it the back entrance, as it is the farthest from the main one atop the hill."

Scathach rounded the bend as he spoke, and cried out, diving to the side just as a stunner blast burst in the place where she had a second ago been standing. She got behind a tree, and the other three also found cover, just as two Wraith guards rounded the corner.

Ford and Teyla were already up and firing, shattering the still air with machine gun fire. Conor's mouth dropped, meeting his wife's gaze as the two Wraith guards shivered like puppets on a string...and finally fell to the ground. Both Atlanteans came out from behind their covers, finishing the clips in their weapons, ensuring that the two creatures would not rise again.

When it was over, Conor emerged from behind the rock he had used, while Scathach scrambled up the hill a bit to join them. When she reached the first dead guard, she knelt and looked at it for a few seconds. Finally, she pulled out her knife and sank it up to its hilt in the creature's exposed neck, her eyes bright. It bucked a little, then settled, and, as she drew the knife back out, there was a cold sneer on her face.

"So," she said, her eyes narrowing, "I knew they could be killed, though I have never seen it happen before." She looked up at Teyla, who was busy putting a new clip into her P90, "You do bring hope."

"It's only a start," the Athosian said somberly, snapping the clip into place. "Just two. There are many more, on many planets."

"But still a start," Scathach stood up to her full height, standing a head taller than Teyla, and looked over at her husband. "We must get them and their friends to safety as soon as possible."

He nodded, "The back entrance is just...."

He stopped, as the echo of more machine gun fire from somewhere in the distance shattered the air.

Scathach looked at Conor, and he nodded. She started to run down the track away from the back entrance, Conor on her heels.

"It's coming from the direction of the entrance near the Ring," Conor yelled to Teyla and Ford behind them. "Follow us!"