PARADISE
By NotTasha
PART 7: UNNERVING
The evening was spent in testy, anxious quiet. After a dinner of MRE's, brought along in case of emergency, the team split up the night watch. McKay received no shift as he was left to concentrate on fixing the DHD. Sheppard took the first leg, followed by Ford, and then Teyla.
McKay worked, illuminated by his P90's flashlight. He continued to put in parts, take out parts, mumbling and groaning and cursing under his breath. "Okay, that's not good," McKay commented as he retracted another piece.
Sheppard lowered his head as he sat near the fire. "What's not good?"
"The substitutions just aren't functioning as I hoped," McKay's said with a sigh, his expression falling to one of utter desolation. "We're doomed," he muttered.
"You'll fix it," Sheppard responded, changing his attention from the Canadian to the darkness around them.
"Yeah, right," McKay responded. Sitting down, with his back to the DHD, McKay placed the latest crystal in his lap and examined it.
Sheppard yawned, wondering how McKay kept track of all the little pieces that were strewn around him. It looked like the contents of a toy box upended. The astrophysicist would pick up one piece, hold it to the glow of the P90's light, and then either work it into his latest component or set it back among the muddle to seek out another.
"You'll get it," Sheppard assured.
"Yeah, it's either that or we'll all die," McKay responded. "No pressure." He clucked his tongue discontentedly. "Either eaten by wolves or slowly starving on a diet of snails."
The options didn't sound appealing to Sheppard either, as continued to share his attention between the McKay and the woods. "I have faith," John replied honestly.
The physicist snorted.
A rustling in the undergrowth around them brought silence to the two men. Sheppard jumped to his feet, snapping on the light of his P90, followed by McKay who'd snatched up his weapon and dumped his work. They hardly breathed, listening to something that scuttled in the dark around them. Their lights swiveled, trying to find the thing that invaded their space.
Eyes shown at them like little lanterns. "There," Sheppard said, having only a second to see the weird, pinkish creature before it darted away. The darkness around them seemed alive with movement.
"Yeah," McKay responded. "Yeah," his voice trembled. "Saw one, too."
An unearthly sound rose up, a hysterical snickering, like the calls of hyenas mixed with a higher whine like the drone of insects. McKay back-stepped closer to Sheppard. "Oh great," he commented. "This is just great."
Sheppard clenched his jaw at the unnatural sound. "Keep calm, McKay," he uttered, feeling his own heart race. This just wasn't right.
The animals snickered and gibbered, droning away, sounding as if they were laughing their asses off at the predicament of the humans.
"I don't think I like this," McKay muttered.
"Join the club," Sheppard returned, spotting one of the creatures for a fleeting moment as it bounded near the camp. It moved too quickly to allow him to aim – and it rustled its way into the undergrowth, uttering that hysterical cackle.
"They're rather… unnerving," McKay paused, taking time to swallow, "Don't you think?"
Sheppard and McKay stood back-to-back, their lights searching, but whatever had spied on them had fallen back. The men's positions didn't change as a minute passed, as the calling of the creatures died away and they were left with the darkness.
Convinced that they were again alone, Sheppard commented, "Maybe we should move up into the caves. It'd be easier to defend."
"And you came to this conclusion because you found all those chewed up bones in there?" McKay pointed out. "It's a death trap!"
Sheppard had to agree, and they continued to sweep the night with their little lights. When no further creature approached them, Sheppard sighed, snapped off the light on his weapon and returned to the fire. He added more wood, which spat and smoked – too green to burn cleanly.
McKay still stood, searching the forest, tense and stiff.
"You should get some sleep," Sheppard stated.
"Yeah, right. After this?" McKay stated. "Sure… good idea. Sleep. Maniac hyena-dog things with creepy eyes, laughing at us as they stalk our camp."
With a shrug, John sat. "I think we scared them off."
"You think? How did we do that? By standing here and shaking?" McKay quickly turned to one side, trying to suss out something that might have made a sound in that darkness. "I don't know if I'll be able to get that sound out of my head."
"That was pretty disturbing," John admitted, knowing that he'd be troubled by it for some time, too. With a sigh, he watched Rodney's nervous movements. "McKay, sit down," John ordered. "They've moved back. Relax."
"Relax… good thought… yeah. They're about to rip my throat out and laugh about it. Yeah. Relax."
With a groan, John regarded McKay's inflexible posture, realizing that the doctor wasn't going to do himself any favors if he stayed worked up over this. "Sit down. Work on the DHD. That's your job. Me, I'll watch the forest."
McKay made no move to stop his search, snapping from one direction to the other, in search of whatever had peeked in on them.
"McKay!" Sheppard barked, trying to keep his voice low enough to let the others sleep. "You want to keep from getting your throat ripped out? Fix the damn thing! It's our only way home. I'll take care of the watch."
Finally, Rodney lowered his weapon, and turned to John. Looking a little lost, he settled the P90 again, so that the light would illuminate the area, and he sat amongst the scattered parts and continued his work.
TBC
A/N - night night... sleep tight... don't let the bed bugs...