SAMARITANS part 4…Close Encounter

Sheppard was bone weary. His headache hadn't abated and his muscles protested the treatment they were receiving. The endless trips up to the cave with firewood were taking their toll. He kept himself in good shape but even the fittest body would cavil at the treatment he was putting it through.

John sat wearily on the sand at the edge of the sea and having taken his boots off, was enjoying the sensation of warmth against his feet and the contrasting coolness of the wavelets as they lapped at his toes. A bundle of driftwood was piled behind him ready for the next trip up to the cave, but he had decided he needed to rest, just for a few moments.

The Major was hot and tired. The sun, though past its zenith still beat down fiercely, reminding him he was thirsty. His anxiety about their dwindling fresh water supply was preventing him from keeping his own body properly hydrated; he wanted to save what little water there was for Beckett.

The doctor's worsening condition was concerning Sheppard greatly. Carson wasn't complaining, but the Major could tell he was hurting and it was a given that that leg would become infected. The bruising around the doc's eye had spread down his face and was already spectacular. He'd also helped the doctor to sit up and been alarmed by how warm Carson was already feeling. He'd given Beckett two more of the Tylenol, which would bring the fever down and ease some of the discomfort, but it wasn't enough, not by a long shot.

For now, Sheppard was taking some time out to consider their options. They didn't have any really, except to wait for rescue to arrive, which he estimated at two days at the earliest. Atlantis wasn't going to miss them until they failed to check in the day after tomorrow, then a rescue would have to be planned, and mounted. Tomorrow, John decided, he'd build some kind of beacon that could be seen from sea or air, but for now fresh water was their main priority. Sighing, he put his boots back on and decided to make one last short foray into the forest behind the beach to see if there was any drinkable water there.

Placing the bundle of wood near the path to the cave, Sheppard entered the forest. The change in temperature beneath the trees was enough to make him shiver slightly, before his sunburnt skin relished the coolness. There was no proper path, just narrow trails where the indigenous fauna moved through the undergrowth. Where there were animals though, there was likely to be water. He chose one of the larger trails and decided to follow it.

Half an hour later, the Major was becoming discouraged; the undergrowth hadn't got any denser. He'd been using his knife to mark the direction he'd come in just in case, but the trail didn't seem to do anything other than meander round the trees. So it came as a complete surprise when he found himself suddenly at the bottom of a steep rock face, and there, just in front of him was a small spring. A trickle of water only, but after tentatively tasting it, it was fresh and cool. A huge weight felt like it had been lifted from his shoulders and perhaps it was the relief at having one of their problems alleviated that made Sheppard less cautious of his surroundings. He finished refilling his canteen after drinking his fill then turned to go back and almost blundered into the first wildlife he'd seen on this island.

At first the creature didn't seem too threatening, vaguely resembling a koala bear from earth. But the resemblance was a passing one. Koala bears looked cuddly, this one had talons three inches long and teeth like a lion. Sheppard froze, not wanting to have to test out his waterlogged sidearm on the creature. For a long moment there was an impasse then the creature turned to leave revealing its back was covered in long, barbed spines. John heaved a sigh of relief; from nowhere the sigh turned into a sneeze. It wasn't much, but it was enough. The creature startled, let out a high pitched yowl, then began to turn back towards Sheppard, advancing threateningly. Sheppard backed away slowly, both hands held out placating.

"Uh, nice, thingy," he said, moving slowly, the animal watching his every move, and continuing to advance. Sheppard continued to back up, not really looking where he was going, focussing all his attention on the creature before him. A noise behind him forced John to turn his head quickly.

"Ahh, crap," he said. Another, similar animal was directly behind him, talons unsheathed, teeth bared threateningly. He remembered what Maroni had said about his need for weapons and the fact that their wildlife wasn't friendly. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, Sheppard took off, running between the animals. He'd only taken a few steps when he felt a sudden stinging pain in the back of his left calf. He let out a cry, but carried on running until he thought he'd left the 'koalas' behind. Only then did John stop to take a look.

"Shit, shit, shit." The Major wouldn't have believed it possible but his day had just got worse. Standing proud of his shredded trouser leg was several of the barbed spines. Breathing hard, Sheppard lowered himself to the ground to get a better look, not easy due to where they were. The spines were embedded deeply and a tentative tug produced nothing more than an increase in the pain he was already feeling. "Shit!" He swore again. John felt it described the situation nicely. He didn't want to stay there too long, in case the 'koalas' decided to carry on where they'd left off. Struggling to his feet, Sheppard limped back off towards the beach.

Once the sand was under his feet, he flopped down, heavily. He needed to get back to Beckett, the doctor would probably be fretting and Sheppard didn't want to leave him too long in any case. First however, he had to sort out his leg. Using his knife, the Major carefully cut up the trouser leg until the whole of the damaged area was visible. For a while, he just looked at it stupidly. There were six of the damn things embedded in his leg and because of the barbs, he didn't know if he'd be able to get them out. Carefully John tried pulling at one again. It didn't move and all he got was a cold sweat for his efforts. Using his knife again, Sheppard cut down beside the easiest to reach one, not without some difficulty and swearing on his part, but it was in too deep. He cursed again, pressing a fold of the cut fabric against the wound he had made in an effort to stop the bleeding. Eventually it stopped. John decided the best way of treating it at the moment was just to trim the spines down so they were almost level with the skin, then leave well alone until Beckett was up to looking at them; much easier said than done. It was quite a painful while later that Sheppard shakily he got to his feet again, limped over to the firewood bundle and hobbled back up to the cave.

Once he'd returned, all thoughts of getting Carson to take a look at his leg vanished. Even in the dim light of the cave Sheppard could see that the doctor was worse. The Scot was flushed and shivering; his fever had risen despite the Tylenol.

"Hey, honey," Sheppard said in an attempt at levity, "I'm home."

Beckett grinned up at him, but didn't say anything.

"I found some water, so you can drink as much as you need. Once these are empty, I'll go fill them up again."

"D-did you find anything e-else?" asked Carson through chattering teeth.

"No not yet. I thought I might swim out a bit later; see if I can find any sign of our boat. In the meantime we've got plenty of firewood and some fresh water to keep us warm and comfortable."

There didn't seem to be anything else to say, and Beckett wasn't up to making small talk. Sheppard built a fire close to the entrance of the cave, then, when it was going nicely helped the doctor to move closer where the fire could warm him. Sheppard eased himself down beside Carson, favouring his injured leg and for a while both men sat content to watch the flickering flames.

TBC