Chapter Fourteen

Test of Faith

Sheppard's first thought was hoping somebody would shut those stupid, cackling, cawing birds, up. Then, his second thought was, birds? What birds? Crap! He sat up, and started looking around. The last thing he remembered was Beckett requesting Gigno fix them. He'd fixed them, all right, straight into unconsciousness, and it'd hurt.

"McKay?" John called. He was still trying to get his bearings, but it looked like they were back in the jungle. The screeching birds were a big tip-off.

"What?" Rodney groaned his reply as much as spoke.

Sheppard winced with sympathy. "Do you see Beckett?"

There was a pause, and a loud grunt. Then a sheepish McKay replied, "You could say that."

"What he means," Carson heaved an lungful of oxygen, "Is that he was sitting on top of me. Rodney, when we get home, I'm confiscating your power bar supply."

"I'm not fat, what is it with you two? This is the second time that it's been inferred that I'm bigger than I should be," Rodney accused. "Get over it, I'm big boned."

"Beckett didn't mean to imply you were fat," John placated Rodney, and glared at Carson, not because teasing McKay was wrong, but the timing sucked. "Can we focus on the matter at hand?"

"That's fine with me," Rodney huffed, but he still offered Beckett a hand up.

"So what happened? And, by the way, next time you're going to make a request from the all-powerful psychotic despot of the year, ask first." Sheppard wanted to rattle Beckett for his impulse, but he knew it was only out of worry for their condition that he'd spoken out like he had. Speaking of which, he realized his arm felt good. No, better than good, it felt normal.

"McKay, how's your - "

Rodney was realizing at the same time that his coughing was gone, he was breathing easy for the first time in almost a day, and he felt as close to perfect as a human being can. "It's gone," he said, amazed.

Beckett was smiling contentedly. "You were saying, Major?"

"Yes, I was saying, just because Gigno did it, doesn't mean it was the right thing to do." Sheppard wasn't ready to let Beckett off the hook so easily.

Rodney was peering at the forested trees, and searching for some sign of what had happened. Gigno had dropped them here, but why here, and he'd agreed to the task, so what was it? Were they supposed to know, or pull it out of thin air? "Is it just me, or are we missing something?"

John had been thinking along the same line as McKay. "It's not just you. The old guy dumps us in the middle of the rain forest, and doesn't tell us what he wants. I'd say, this would be a good time to try and contact Ford," and with that said, he depressed his radio. "Lieutenant, this is Sheppard, do you copy?"

Hissing static was the only reply. John tried again, with the same result. If he thought it would've made a difference, he would've tried it three thousand times, but he had the sneaking suspicion that some annoying old Ancient was jamming their comms. "It's no good," he said. Of course, they already knew that.

Beckett looked at McKay, then at Sheppard, and he wasn't saying anything, but John knew he was dying too. "What? Spit it out, Doc."

"Okay, and I'll admit, I'm not used to this sort of thing, but couldn't we make it back to the gate, and forget trying to complete this task, or test?"

"I wouldn't advise that, Doctor Beckett." Gigno wandered through the undergrowth, coming up from behind the group. While they had already begun to sweat, and wilt in the heat, he appeared impeccably groomed, and not a droplet of perspiration existed on his body, at least none they could see.

Sheppard stepped between Gigno and the others. "What do you want? We said we'd play your game, but get on with it."

Gigno did a mock-offended gesture, and he gave John a forbearing smile. "Oh, it's already begun, Major, it's a test of faith. Do you believe? If you do, you'll win. If not, I win."

"Faith in what?" McKay demanded.

Gigno tilted his head, just a small amount, and he had a smile that was as chilling as a frozen lake in Minnesota on a midwinter's night. "In God." And the old man discombobulated into a mass of energy, and floated away, the forest falling silent before his path.

"He's nuts," McKay asserted, not like any of them doubted that point, but Rodney had a knack for saying the obvious.

Sheppard was worried. A test of faith. That could spell very bad news. From all his Sunday school classes he'd attended as a kid, tests of faith were tragedy, despair, loss, and always great pain and suffering. He remembered Job, and the many trials and tribulations the man had been made to face because God wanted to prove to the devil that Job believed. That he had faith.

The problem wasn't having faith. The problem was, Gigno wasn't God, and John knew the test could only be won if they put their faith in Gigno, but how and when that'd be required, he didn't know. And could they? To save their lives, could they give in to the madness of the old man, and pretend?

"We should probably get going," John said. He looked up at the sky, and he could make out enough of a view to guess it was about mid-morning. Then he remembered a certain pressing need. "If you don't mind, I've got to take care of something."

McKay was right there with the Major, and so was Beckett. They each had the same issue, and found a spot, dealt with the problem in quick order, and regrouped. "Can we find the gate?" Rodney asked. This was out of his territory. He knew how to fix things, read schematics, decode power signatures…he didn't know how to find the way out of a jungle, or track a path to the place of origin, and that was assuming they'd been placed anywhere near their previous trail.

Sheppard took a minute before answering McKay. He scanned the area, but didn't recognize anything. Not that it was unexpected, it was a big jungle, and the old man could've transported them anywhere, but if he was a betting man, he'd say the odds were they were somewhere in the vicinity of the complex. "I'd say yes," he finally replied.

Beckett didn't look like he believed a word of it. "How can you tell anything? It all looks the same. I don't see any sign of our trail."

"He doesn't think we can find it," McKay perceived. "Let you in on a secret. When Sheppard doesn't know, he acts like he does, but he never realizes we all know that he doesn't know."

Sheppard was about to reply to that, refute McKay's accusation, but honesty compelled him to admit, if only to himself, that the physicist was right. John was all positive thinking and affirmation, even when he didn't know the answer or the outcome. So far, it'd served him well, so McKay could take his opinions, and…, "You're so smart, you get us out of here."

"I don't think so," Rodney narrowed his eyes at me. "You got us into this mess, you get us out of it."

Of all the nerve, "Me?"

"Yes, you," McKay pointed an angry finger at him. "Are you a betting man," he mimicked.

John rolled his eyes. "I didn't see you with any better ideas."

"You didn't give me a chance!"

Beckett sighed; here we go again, "Grow up, the both of you!"

Sheppard fought against the urge to point out that McKay started it, but if anything, that urge proved Beckett's point, he was being childish. Instead, he remained silent. McKay was being a real pain in the ass, but so was he.

Rodney was the one who broke the awkward quiet. "We might as well go. We won't find anything by standing here."

"Yeah," but strangely, John was reluctant to start moving. It was a big jungle out there. If they went the wrong way, things might not work out so hot. He took another minute, trying to find any clue, no matter how small, of which way was the right way, but nothing stood out. He started forging a path, and once he made his mind up to do it, he didn't look back.

Beckett looked at Rodney, who shrugged, and followed after the Major. Who knew, might as well go with it. The funny thing was, they'd have had a word or two to say if they'd known the dilemma had been solved with a good old round of enie meanie miney mo.


McKay wheezed, sucking in air. "Major, we need to stop." They had been fighting the undergrowth for the better part of the day. Rodney was tired, and he was about to quit whether Sheppard okayed it or not.

Sheppard, for his part, was as worn out as McKay, but he hadn't been ready to admit defeat. Secretly, he'd hoped to find something before now, but all they'd found was a lot of bugs. A lot of bugs. He turned back. McKay was already sinking to the ground, and he waved the vine he was holding away from his face, as he let it drop, and retreated back to the others. "Fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen? Try fifty," McKay replied, and he leaned his head back against a dead log. Fatigue had removed any restraints he had about what might be on that log.

John lowered himself beside McKay, and noticed Beckett was doing the same. "Fifty, then," he agreed. It probably was a good idea. He was getting worried. They'd had no water, no food, and half the day was gone, with no sign of any of the aforementioned necessities. At the rate they were sweating, dehydration was going to become a real problem.

They'd have to change their priorities. Finding a way out wasn't going to walk up to them and present itself, so they'd need to seek out some basics. There was rainwater, but how would they catch it? It'd be better if they could find a river, but then they'd face the risk of contaminated water. Wildlife was abundant, and he did have a knife with him, so food wasn't as big an issue as water.

"Major?"

Sheppard was distracted from his musings, and there was something in McKay's voice, that caused him to look sideways at him post haste. He wasn't sitting more than three feet from McKay, and there, lying between them without so much as a by your leave, was one of the biggest snakes he'd ever seen, and ever wanted to see.

McKay had frozen, trying to not attract the attention of the beast. "I hate snakes," he moaned.

"Since when?" Sheppard hissed, trying to scoot away without being noticed.

"Since now." Rodney was looking at the snake, and he was taking a cue from the Major, and inch by inch, scooted sideways, away from the reptile.

John thought it was a good point. He had to stop his sideways crawl when the beady black eyes turned towards him. He hadn't moved slow enough. The snake was easily ten feet long, and its body was as thick as his leg, it's head the size of his foot. The color blended almost seamlessly with the ground of the jungle, a muted decayed green and brown. Snakes didn't bug him, but he had a feeling this one would.

"Don't move, Major!" Beckett said loudly. Carson had jumped up when he realized the predicament McKay and John were in.

Moving? Was he serious? "I wouldn't worry about that happening," he assured Beckett.

Carson, meanwhile, had tentatively approached McKay, and was whispering something to him, what Sheppard couldn't make out. He heard Carson count to three, and on three, he grabbed McKay's forearm, and yanked him up, to his feet, but concurrently pulled him sharply to the side. The snake never took his eyes off John. Great.

"Major, we're going to try and distract it, be ready to move!" McKay instructed John hurriedly, and Sheppard saw him reaching for a large stick. It was normally a stick he'd consider big, but compared to the snake, it seemed entirely inadequate.

"Oh, I'm ready," John assured him. He was staring down the animal, and those black eyes blinked impassively at him. If he didn't know better, he'd think it was unnatural, how it sat there; it wasn't normal. He hadn't moved a muscle, and it should've slithered off after the lack of continued movement. Snakes were deadly quick, but they couldn't see worth crap.

McKay stretched the stick as far as he could go, and started waffling it back and forth, directly over the snake's back. It almost reached the reptiles head. It continued to stare at Sheppard.

"Hit it!" John shouted, getting desperate. He couldn't maintain this position much longer. The leaves were tickling his nose, and he swore there was something trying to crawl up his pant leg.

McKay gave him an astounded look. "I'm not going to hit it!" he shouted, "It's bigger than I am!"

"McKay," Sheppard ground out, "If you don't hit it, I'm a dead man."

Carson was urging Rodney to hit as hard as he could, and John realized in some other world, this would be funny, but not right now. McKay started swinging downwards, and the comical thing was, he had squeezed his eyes shut, and was striking blindly at the snake. The first hit finally connected, and it slithered closer to Sheppard.

"Stop!" John shouted, panicked, "You only drove it towards me."

McKay opened his eyes, and saw that it had moved over, instead of turning towards him and Carson. He slapped Beckett angrily on the arm, "You said this would work!"

"And you took my word for it?" Carson shouted back, frustrated. "I'm a bloody doctor, not a herpetologist!"

"Look, I really hate to interrupt you two," John spoke worriedly from his position. He knew now that there was, in fact, something crawling up his leg, and the snake was looking decidedly angry. "Get me out of here, now!"

Beckett swore, and ran at the snake's rear end, "Go, Major!"

Sheppard didn't have time to realize what was happening, before the snake was rearing around, to get at Carson, who now had the thing by it's mammoth tail. McKay was beating on it with his stick. John rolled to his feet, desperately trying to shake out whatever had crawled up his pants, and running to help his friends. "Go, let go, Beckett!"

Carson didn't need to be told twice, he let go, and ran for it. McKay took one more swipe at the reptile, before dropping his stick, and running. Sheppard headed out right behind them, and he heard the snake slithering after. He could only hope they had enough time for them to get clear. "Go, go, go!" he shouted, as they crashed through the clinging vines, and thick leaves.

Sheppard didn't know how long they'd run for, but when they finally stopped, he was doubled over, sucking in air so fast he thought he was going to pass out. "Is everyone okay?" he finally asked, when he'd gotten enough oxygen to speak.

McKay, and Carson both nodded yes, shakily, still bent over as well. That had been close. Way too close. "We need to be more careful," Sheppard cautioned.

McKay raised his face, and John could tell he was floored by his warning. "Careful?" Rodney snapped, "Careful, Major, is watching that you don't step in dog shit. Careful, is making sure you don't spill water on your pants. Careful is making sure you don't burn toast…careful is not," by the time McKay had reached this part, he was shaking so hard John thought he'd fall over, "facing down a serpent straight out of Genesis, that clearly wants to do bodily harm!"

Sheppard straightened, after finally catching his breath. "You're such a drama queen, McKay," he bit out.

"Drama queens live longer," Rodney replied, unperturbed.

John realized Beckett was remaining quiet. He stared at the Doctor, and wasn't surprised to see Carson looked seven shades of green. "You okay, Doc?"

Carson looked up at Sheppard, and he was shaking his head, "You do this stuff all the time?"

McKay found a soft spot, and dropped. "Maybe not quite this bad, but yes, Carson, all the time." He pulled at his shirt, which was sticking wetly to his torso, and tried to rub the soreness out of his calves. "We've got to take another break, that did me in."

"Aye," Carson agreed, and dropped next to McKay. "I've got things hurting in places I didn't know existed."

Speaking of which, Sheppard pulled at his pants, shaking, not sure if the bug he felt had fallen out, gotten squished, or what, and he was afraid to look. Sometimes, your imagination can be worse than reality, but he had a hunch that this place was the exception.

"What are you doing?"

John looked up from his leg, and noticed Carson and Rodney watching him fiddle with the material on his pants. He doubted McKay wanted to know. The paranoid physicist would probably freak out if the thought of bugs crawling in tiny places occurred to him. Heck, it was freaking Sheppard out, and finally, he couldn't resist it anymore, and he pulled up his pant leg.

The black dot, about the size of his fingertip, made a wave of queasiness pass through him. He hadn't imagined it, and whatever it was, it was stuck to his leg. "A bug," Sheppard said, and resisted reaching for it.

Beckett frowned, but got to his feet, and hunched down to examine Sheppard's leg. He reached to the ground, and picked up a stick, and prodded it. "Looks like some kind of a leech," he said.

"Get it off," John grated, and he was experiencing flashbacks to the last time he'd had a bug stuck to him, although last time was a lot worse. Still, an alien planet, the last thing you wanted was some nasty critter stuck to your leg.

Beckett tried to flick it off with the stick, but it remained adhered to John's skin. Rodney had joined them, and was watching with fascinated horror. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

Sheppard was about to snap back a wiseass reply, but it occurred to him, it didn't hurt. "Actually, no, it doesn't. I can't feel it at all. I felt it when it first crawled up, but nothing, I thought it'd fallen out when we were running."

Beckett peered up at him, "When did it crawl up?"

"When I was having to do my best impression of the Thinking Man," Sheppard drawled.

McKay winced with sympathy. Beckett continued to frown at his leg. "Would you get it off," John requested, again.

"It's not that simple, Major," Carson explained. "With insects like this you've got to be careful, if you pull them off wrong, they can inject bacteria from their system, into yours, and that's not something I'd want to happen right about now."

Sheppard couldn't believe this. "Can I sit down?"

"Are you feeling sick?" Beckett asked sharply.

"No, but I am tired, and I'd like to sit down," John responded with more patience than he felt.

They helped him to a sitting position, his leg outstretched, and Beckett continued to examine the bug, and would occasionally try to poke it, or prod it, and at one point tried to peel it off.

Finally Beckett rocked back on his haunches, "Major, I know you don't want to hear this, but I think we should leave it, for now."

Sheppard couldn't help the incredulous look that came across his face. There was no way he was going to leave that thing on his leg. "No," he said emphatically. "Get it off, now."

Beckett held up a hand, "Major, listen to me, " he said placating. "If I pull it off, and parts of it don't come out, it'll get infected, and right now, that's a risk we can't take. If it's like a normal leech, it'll come off on its own when it's eaten its fill."

Rodney was with the Major, he wanted it off, but he didn't want Sheppard to get sick. They'd finally gotten better, grudging thanks to the psycho guy, and if they were going to get out of this, they'd need everyone in as good of condition as possible. "Major, listen to Carson."

Sheppard was going to argue. He wanted to yank it off right now, before they had a chance to stop him, but he kept his hands still by his side. He knew they were right. They couldn't take the chance. "This is definitely going on my list of complaints," he finally said, defeated.

"Aye, I'd imagine it would," Beckett agreed.

"We should find some water," Rodney reminded them of another growing issue. It was getting late, and they needed to start thinking ahead regarding shelter, and at the least, water.

John knew McKay was right. He tugged his pant leg back down over the insect, suffering from a mental shudder at the thought, but at least he couldn't feel it stuck to him, that was one blessing. "I thought I heard something to our right, when we were running from the snake, sounded like a small river."

They each straightened their clothing. Sheppard figured they were a sight. Their shirts were clinging to their skin, pants filthy, rivulets of sweat had traced grimy paths from their hair to their chins. He shook his head ruefully. They were a mess, but they were still alive.

"Let's go find this water, then we'll set up a shelter for the night," he peered at the treetops. There was still time left in the day for traveling, but all things considered, he thought it was best they hunker down and recoup. "And Beckett, if that thing comes off in my sleep, and goes anywhere else," here John coughed self-consciously, "I'm holding you accountable."

They started heading in the direction Sheppard had indicated. Beckett smiled; his eyes twinkled with a private joke, as he looked pointedly at McKay. "Rodney, I'll need to do body checks when we stop for the night," Carson winked at Sheppard, as he continued, to the physicists' disgust, "If there be one of those little buggies, there's probably more."

TBC


AN: I feel like I've kept you all waiting forever, so I apologize. This fic, well, it's a monster of a fic, and I'm handling it with care, as much as possible. Thanks again to my wonderful beta Gaffer!