Invulnerable – Part Two
Rodney would never know if he had lost consciousness or how much time had passed, but when he came back to himself to his mind and his body he was still standing.
The first thing he saw was the Wraith, far too close, its hand still pressed against him. The skin of its face looked dry and brittle, eye sockets empty, lips shriveled away from needle-sharp teeth. A sudden violent shiver swept through him, and the Wraith fell away and collapsed in a dusty pile of fragmented bones and powdered flesh. Rodney staggered back, sliding to the ground when his back hit the wall of the house.
He couldn't stop shaking, heart hammering against his ribcage as he tried to take deep breaths. He couldn't take his eyes off the remains of the Wraith, although it wasn't moving and clearly would never move again.
The sound of running footsteps pulled him out of his shocked state and to his feet, but the support of the wall at his back was the only thing that kept him upright. He fumbled for the Beretta but his numb fingers couldn't hold it and it fell to the ground again just as Sheppard turned the corner, P90 at the ready.
Rodney's relief was so great it was all he could do to keep from grabbing Sheppard, if only to make sure he was really there. Sheppard's quick gaze took in the shaking scientist and the withered corpse with one glance.
"Where is it, McKay?" he snapped.
It took Rodney a moment to find his voice. "Where is what?" he asked hoarsely.
"The Wraith. This is the only way it could have come. Did it hit you? Your nose is bleeding."
Rodney's hand went automatically to his face and found a thin trickle of blood flowing from one nostril. He blotted it on his sleeve and looked up to meet Sheppard's concerned gaze.
"Are you okay?"
"I've just had a close encounter with a Wraith, what do you think?" The snark spilled out of his mouth automatically and brought a grin to John's face.
"You sound fine to me. Now, which way did the Wraith go?"
The scientist pointed wordlessly at the dusty pile of bones.
"That's a dead body, Rodney," the major said with surprising gentleness. "Which way did the Wraith go? I know it came by here."
Rodney swallowed hard and tried to put his jumbled thoughts into speech.
"That is…was…the Wraith, Major. It…it tried to…" His brain finally caught up with current events, and he turned a horrified gaze on Sheppard. "Oh my god, did it…am I…" He felt his face for wrinkles with shaking hands.
Sheppard made an impatient sound and pulled his hands away from his face. "For the last time, Rodney, which way did the Wraith go?"
A surge of anger gave him the strength to push away from the wall and walk stiffly over to the desiccated corpse. "The Wraith is right here, Major. Just a few minutes ago it was very much alive. I know because it tried to it " his voice tapered off and Rodney looked down at his chest. His jacket had fallen closed, so he pulled the edges aside and they both stared. The blue shirt underneath was ruined by a large hole with singed edges, surrounded by five smaller holes. The whole area was stained with blood.
It seemed like just the sight of the wound made it start to hurt: just a tingle, then a cold burning that he tried not to find familiar. It was hard to draw the deep breaths he desperately craved because every time his chest moved, the burning increased. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and the world tilted sickeningly before his eyes, so he closed them. A pair of strong warm hands grasped his upper arms and steadied him.
All his attention was now focused on trying to breathe through the freezing pain that seemed to expand across his chest, icy tendrils racing up his ribs to curl around him and crush the air from his lungs. Numb hands caught Sheppard's pocketed vest and grasped it with the desperation of a drowning man, then the suffocating agony in his chest surged up into his throat and he choked on it. Through the roaring in his ears he heard John yell his name. Suddenly there were gentle fingers at his throat, feeling for his pulse; the warmth was soothing on his cold skin, so he untangled one hand from Sheppard's vest and put it over the fingers to keep them there.
The pain and dizziness faded as quickly as they'd come, so he straightened his knees and stood upright, and he heard his name again; but this time it was a whispered gasp, and he opened his eyes to see Sheppard's face, white and wide-eyed with fear. It seemed the only thing holding the Major up was Rodney's grasp on his vest.
He let go and allowed Sheppard pull his hand away from Rodney's throat, and watched in astonishment as the Major dropped to his knees, panting harshly.
"Doctor McKay, what happened?"
Rodney turned to find Ford and Teyla staring with concern at the major, who had closed his eyes and was breathing deeply with obvious effort, cradling his limp right hand against his chest.
"I don't – the Wraith – " Rodney started, then spread his hands to indicate his confusion. "I don't know."
Teyla was surprised by his brief, candid response. It usually took the scientist several minutes and a great deal of temporizing before he could admit to ignorance.
Ford knelt in front of Sheppard and said firmly, "I think we should get back to Atlantis and have Dr. Beckett check you out, sir. I don't think there's anything else here." John nodded and allowed Aiden to help him to his feet. When he stumbled, Ford snapped, "Dr. McKay, you help the Major so Teyla and I can cover us."
Rodney moved toward them, but Sheppard flinched and said hoarsely, "No…no, you help me, Ford. Rodney's hurt, too. We need to get out of here."
"I – I'm okay, let's g-go," Rodney stuttered. His heart was racing and he felt shaky and jittery and exhausted.
Rodney was starting to feel better by the time they reached the Stargate. His hands were still shaking, and he was certain that if he tried to fire Sheppard's P90, which Ford had given him to carry, he'd be lucky to hit the broad side of a barn. But the pain in his chest had done no more than twinge since Sheppard's collapse, and the jitters felt more like he'd had a few too many cups of coffee than the adrenaline overload of fear.
That was okay, though: it was minor compared to the fact that he'd nearly been killed by a Wraith. For a moment, after the major found him, he'd been terrified that he was going to end up like Brendan Gall, dying by inches until he couldn't stand it anymore and ended his own life. Suicide had always been incomprehensible to him. If he tried it he'd probably bungle it and leave himself even worse off, paralyzed or brain-damaged or something equally unthinkable. The thought of having to ask for help to die – how pathetic would that be? Brendan, as hurt and weakened as he'd been, had managed it on his own.
Aiden's voice, asking him to dial Atlantis, woke him from his morbid train of thought, and he looked up, surprised that they had reached the Stargate without his even noticing.
But the moment he stepped through the Stargate, from the chill dampness of Pataskala to the dry warmth of Atlantis, everything came crashing down.
Ford and Sheppard had gone through the 'Gate first. John was walking unsupported, but moved like every muscle in his body ached. Rodney and Teyla followed them, but Rodney hadn't taken more than a few steps when his entire body was suffused with an intense chill and the nervous energy he'd felt a moment ago drained away.
The P90 seemed incredibly heavy, and as it slipped from his fingers it occurred to him to be grateful to Sheppard for drilling it into him always to keep the safety engaged unless there was actually something to shoot at.
Everyone ducked when the weapon hit the floor, clattering loudly in the sudden silence.
Rodney stared down at it sadly, wishing vaguely that he dared to bend down and pick it up, but considering the increasing vertigo he felt just standing there, he didn't think he'd be able to get back up again.
It was so cold in here! He made a mental note to check the environmental controls as soon as he had a spare moment – which would probably be ten years from now, if they all lived that long. He felt a shiver pass through him and clutched his jacket closer, belatedly recalling that he'd left his modular vest back in that farmhouse, and he was going to get chewed out over that. He'd probably have to go back and get it, and Pataskala was now high on his list of places he never wanted to go to again.
"Rodney?" Elizabeth's voice penetrated the fog in his mind.
"Ummm…" he said intelligently, "I think my blood sugar is bottoming out."
Teyla, still beside him, immediately pulled a power bar from a pocket of her vest, broke off a piece and pressed it into his hand. He automatically put it in his mouth and chewed slowly as they guided him after Ford and Sheppard in the direction of the infirmary.
TBC…
