I know, I know. I couldn't resist having a little cliffie. It just presented itself and I had to do it. You understand, right? Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful feedback. You guys put a spring in my step! And yes, as we continue, you should probably be playing the music from "Jaws" in your head.

Chapter 7

Zelenka grabbed Sheppard again and leaned back, putting all his weight into pulling the Colonel to safety.

Sheppard was terrified. He could feel the pressure tugging on his lower leg, but due to the numbness, there was no pain. At least if he'd had the pain, he could guess at how badly the creature was mangling his lower appendage. He wondered if he would even know if the thing did bite his leg off. All the shark movies he'd seen over the years played back in his head and only served to feed the suffocating sense of panic.

"Shoot...shoot...shoot!" Sheppard muttered as he strained to move forward and up. Little by little, Sheppard would come up out of the water, only to be yanked back in. He wasn't sure how much longer he and Zelenka could hold out...not to mention his leg. Suddenly he had a thought. He mustered every bit of energy he had left and kicked at whatever had his leg. He thought he felt his foot connect with something solid. He knew that between the exhaustion and the numbness, he didn't get much force behind the blow. A split second later, however, the pressure eased as he and Zelenka flew forward. They struggled and crawled until they had Sheppard completely out of the hole.

"Thanks..." Sheppard managed after a few minutes.

Zelenka lay on his back in the water while Sheppard lay on his stomach, his head on his arm to keep his face out of the water.

"No...problem...Colonel. We...should probably...get out of ...here." They lay there a few more minutes until Zelenka finally decided to sit up. "Colonel?"

"Hmmmmm?" Zelenka glanced at Sheppard, who seemed to be either dozing or losing consciousness.

"We must get out of here," Zelenka said matter-of-factly.

"Out...of...here..." repeated Sheppard weakly.

Zelenka reached over and shook Sheppard, glancing down at his legs. He was almost afraid to look, half expecting Sheppard to be sporting a bloody nub. But both legs were there. The right leg was missing a shoe and the pant leg below the knee. His sock was pulled down around his heel and looked as though it might be bloody. It was hard to tell in the dark.

"Is...it there?" asked Sheppard faintly.

"Is what there?"

"Leg...is it still there?" It sounded like he might be holding his breath.

"Yes, Colonel...Your leg is still there."

Sheppard breathed out heavily. "Couldn't tell."

"Colonel...you have to get up. We have to get out of the water. It is...too cold...and not safe."

"Can't...legs are...numb."

Zelenka moved over closer to Sheppard and began rolling him over on his back. Sheppard pulled away from him, finally becoming aware of their situation. "Zelenka?"

"Colonel...We must get out of here."

Sheppard looked around. "Can you walk?"

Zelenka shook his head. "I have lost my walking stick."

"Oh." Sheppard looked thoughtful. "Guess we're crawling then, I can't feel my legs yet."

And that's what they did. As they crawled, Sheppard's hand landed on Zelenka's metal pole and he snagged it, dragging it back with him. The two men slowly and painfully crawled back across the watery floor and into the hall, where they lay panting and shivering.

Zelenka realized he had been drifting in and out, but had no idea for how long. He finally convinced himself that they had to get moving while they still could...if they still could. He looked at Sheppard, who was, as he expected, asleep.

"Colonel...wake up. We have to get moving." He leaned over and shook Sheppard.

"Noooooo...sleep...ing," Sheppard slurred. He just wanted to sleep. He was so tired and every inch of him hurt. He honestly didn't think he could get up again. He just wanted to be left alone.

"Colonel, PLEASE wake up!" Zelenka pleaded as he shook Sheppard more violently.

Sheppard realized he couldn't quit with Zelenka depending on him. He finally began to get his eyes open as he batted at Zelenka's hand. "Okay...I'm awake...stop..that..."he said, annoyed. His speech still sounded slurred to Zelenka, but at least he was responding.

"Thank goodness, Colonel. I was afraid you would not wake up."

"I'm awake, Dr. Z. It's...okay." He sat up slowly and carefully, nursing his bruised ribs. He struggled for a minute to even out his breathing where it didn't pull too badly on his battered body. He then began to rub his uninjured leg. "Just got to get the blood flowing again so I can...Oh, crap! Where's my shoe...that stupid thing...ate my shoe."

Sheppard pulled at the remainder of his pant leg and Zelenka looked over to see the damage.

"Did the sea monster...hurt you?"

Sheppard's leg had long, deep scratches extending from just below his knee down to his ankle. The lacerations were about one inch apart and completely encircled his leg. Just below the knee, where the scratches began, was a series of much deeper cuts. This was obviously where the creature had initially grabbed Sheppard's leg.

As the realization of how close he had come to losing his leg sank in, Sheppard shuddered. He was also wondering how big something would have to be to have that much of his leg in its mouth. "Must...have...been playing with me...Lucky me...got to...keep my leg."

That caused Zelenka to shudder as he considered what would have happened if the creature had indeed taken Sheppard's leg. He felt relatively sure he knew what would have happened. The Colonel would have bled to death in a matter of minutes while he died a slow death waiting to be rescued. Not a pleasant thought for either of them.

"Does...it hurt?" asked Zelenka. He thought surely the Colonel would be in too much pain to continue.

"Not yet," said Sheppard. "Legs are...still...kind of numb." Sheppard couldn't stop shivering and he was getting aggravated. He began to vigorously rub his leg, trying to restore enough feeling in them to walk.

"Can you get up, Colonel?"asked Zelenka.

"Maybe...one way to find out." Sheppard pressed his hand to the wall, struggling to get to his feet. Once there, he leaned heavily against the wall, locking his knees so he wouldn't topple over. "See...no problem."

"Yes...but can you walk now?" Zelenka sounded uncertain.

"Let's get...you up...and then we'll...work on complex...skills like walking." He kept one hand on the wall and extended the other. Zelenka used Sheppard and his pole to get to his feet.

"Okay...I am now standing as well." Zelenka said proudly.

Sheppard nodded. "Good...okay...on to walking." The two men began their quest for freedom by once again trudging painfully down the darkened hallway.

As Sheppard began to regain the feeling in his legs, he slowly gained more control over their movement. Unfortunately, he paid for it with the pain from the injuries in his right leg. From the deep gash in his thigh to the scratches streaking down to his ankle, his whole leg simultaneously throbbed and burned. He had no field bandages left and he could feel the tickle of blood oozing slowly from the deeper bite marks around his knee. If he thought he had trouble walking before, it was nothing compared to the nightmare he was experiencing now. It didn't help that he only had on one shoe. His other problem was that every breath sent stabbing pains through his battered and bruised ribcage. He had lost count of how many times he had been rammed against the edge of the hole. Every time he took a limping step, it jarred his tired and sore body. And sleep. If he didn't get sleep soon, he was going to lose it for real. His head felt like molten lead and his eyes like someone had set them on fire. If Zelenka hadn't been here, he would just stayed down that last time. He knew he wasn't going to last much longer.

Zelenka was fighting his own battles. His ankle throbbed like it would sure explode any minute. Every move he made seemed to send waves of pain radiating from his ankle all the way to his thigh. He had begun to notice an uncomfortable tightness in his lower back as he tried to hobble with the pole. He was pretty sure he had pulled a muscle while trying to help Colonel Sheppard from the hole. He was afraid to tell the Colonel, though. He didn't want him to feel guilty or think he had caused the injury. Both men were covered in cuts, scratches, and bruises from their encounters with the metal debris.

They were both so focused on putting one foot in front of the other, that they almost missed it when the floor began to slant upward slightly. Sensing it at about the same time, both men stopped moving.

"Dr..Z...is it...?"

"Yes, Colonel...I think it is...You do not think..."

"Oh, I think...I think...Let's check it out." The two men moved forward a little faster, hope alive in them for the first time in quite a while. They went upward for several yards before coming to a door. They looked at each other briefly before Sheppard began prying the door open. Since there was no power, it took him a couple of minutes to get the doors apart. He held them for Zelenka while he slid through and then managed to slip through himself before they closed back again.

They found themselves blinking heavily in the muted early morning sunlight. They were on one of the many outdoor walkways that seemed to encircle a good part of the city. Once their eyes had adjusted to the light, they looked at one another and grinned.

"We made it Dr. Z," said Sheppard softly. He was almost afraid it was a dream and he would awaken back in the dark, damp hole they had just escaped from. He looked at Zelenka, seeing him for the first time in several hours. His clothes were wrinkled and torn, his hair messed up, his body covered with scratches and bruises, and he was still half wet. "Gee, Dr. Z...you look like death warmed over. I don't even think the cat would drag you in."

Zelenka snorted. "Have you looked in a mirror lately, Colonel? The cat would bury you." The two men laughed out loud, hours and hours of pent up frustration being released as they basked in the sunlight.

"Let's see if we can find a ride. I have no idea where we are...but I don't think I can walk to the infirmary."

Zelenka nodded. "I am with you, Colonel."

The two men began limping along again, a little more energy in their step now.

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Major Lorne walked down the hall with a young soldier who had only recently come to Atlantis. They had been up all night looking for Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Zelenka with no luck. They were on their way back to the inhabited part of the city, but were taking a round about path to get there. They had to check with a couple of scientists in one of the labs about an object they had obtained off world in their last mission. Lorne had come up with this route as a shortcut.

"No offense, sir, but are you sure this will get us there?"

Lorne nodded, somewhat offended that the man did not trust his ability to read a map. "Yes, I'm sure. If this doesn't get us to the wing with the science labs, I'll buy you breakfast."

"Gee, thanks. Mighty generous of you, sir," the soldier said sarcastically.

"No problem, Roberts."

They reached the end of the hall and turned left to head into the city. As they did so, Lorne saw movement down the corridor to the right. He quickly turned and pointed his P90, knowing that no one should be in that area. The younger man mimicked his actions. Two figures hobbled down the hall slowly in their direction. The tall one seemed to have half a pant leg and no shoe on his right foot. The shorter one was using a metal pole as a sort of make-shift crutch. They slowly lowered their weapons and began to walk toward the two struggling figures.

"Sir...is that...Dr. Zelenka and Colonel Sheppard?"

Lorne could hardly believe his eyes. It was, in fact, the two missing men. Both looked filthy, battered, and bloody and barely able to stand. Where in the world had they been and what had happened to them? "Yes...I believe it's them."

The four men met face to face in the corridor. Sheppard gave a faint smile. "Hey, Major...I found Dr. Zelenaka."

"I see that sir. No offense, sir...but you look pretty bad."

"Yeah? Well,...I can almost guarantee I feel worse. If you ...wouldn't mind...I really don't think we can walk...so much as another foot...could you call us a medical team...or at least something with wheels."

"No problem, sir. Where have you been all this time? We've been searching for you and Dr. Zelenka all night."

Sheppard shook his head. "Long story...Been in the basement...with submarines...and sea monsters..." Sheppard looked down at his bare foot. "Got my shoe...hey., that was a new pair...hate sea monsters..."

Lorne and the young soldier just looked at one another in confusion. "Sir..." he stopped, noticing Sheppard beginning to sway slightly. The two soldiers moved forward, Lorne taking Sheppard's arm and Roberts taking Zelenka's arm. "Why don't you guys sit over here and I'll call you a cab." They helped them over to the wall and eased them into a sitting position. Relief at being off their feet flooded the faces of the exhausted men.

"Thanks, Major...needed that," said Sheppard weakly, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes.

Lorne went straight for his radio. He had several calls to make. "Dr. Beckett, this is Major Lorne. We have located Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Zelenka and we're going to need a medical team and a couple of gurneys."

Dr. Beckett replied almost instantly. "Major...could you briefly describe their injuries."

Lorne looked down to where Roberts had removed Zelenka's shoe. "Dr. Zelenka seems to have broken either his foot or his ankle. It's pretty swollen. He's also got lots of cuts, scratches, and bruises. Looks pretty exhausted and beat up."

"And Colonel Sheppard?" inquired Beckett. Lorne thought he heard Beckett sigh loudly and he smiled to himself. Sheppard was in so much trouble.

"Colonel Sheppard has quite a few lacerations to his leg. Some look pretty deep." Lorne noticed that Sheppard was watching him, so he pointed to the field bandage on his leg.

"Deep cut," said Sheppard simply.

Lorne continued. "He has one rather large, deep laceration. Like Zelenka, he's covered with scratches and bruises. Their clothes seem to be wet and they're both shivering a little. Unfortunately, we don't have any blankets."

"Okay, we're on our way. Stay with them until we get there. Where are ya, lad?"

Lorne gave Beckett directions to their location.

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Rodney stormed into Elizabeth's office. "Why didn't you call me?" he demanded.

Elizabeth looked up from her coffee. "Rodney...what are you talking about?"

"You know very well what I'm talking about. I went to the lab a few minutes ago and someone came by to ask me if they had found Radek and Sheppard yet. Imagine my confusion, since I didn't even know they were missing. You should have called me."

"You were sleeping. Your team was exhausted and needed the rest."

"Sheppard was more exhausted than any of us. What was he even doing out there? Shouldn't he have been sleeping?" McKay's face was beginning to turn red. She tried to remind herself that he was just worried about his two friends.

"Yes...he should have. But he heard the radio chatter about Dr. Zelenka and you know how he is. I would have had to have Carson restrain him and sedate him to keep him from..."

"Dr. Weir, this is Major Lorne."

Elizabeth turned her attention to the radio. "This is Dr. Weir." She didn't even ask the question, not daring to hope that the report would be anything more than the ones she had been receiving all night.

"Dr. Weir, we found Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Zelenka and a medical team is on the way. They're pretty beat up, but it doesn't look like anything too serious."

Elizabeth sighed heavily with relief. She smiled and nodded to Rodney. "They found them," she whispered. To Major Lorne she said, "Can I speak to Colonel Sheppard?" There was a brief pause.

"Hey...liz..buth." Elizabeth was startled at how slurred Sheppard's speech was.

"Hey yourself. You've got a lot of explaining to do...where have you been?"

Sheppard was struggling to keep his eyes open and his thoughts progressing. "Base...ment...with the...sea monsters...cousin of jaws...I think..." Sheppard drifted off, mumbling incoherently.

Lorne took the radio back. "Ma'am...he seems to be a little disoriented...I think he's drifted off to sleep."

"Did he just say sea monsters?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes ma'am...that makes twice he's referred to sea monsters. And it looks like something's had a hold of his leg. He's missing part of his pant leg and a shoe and what may be bite marks are on his leg." He looked toward Dr. Zelenka for a possible explanation, only to find the scientist's eyes closed as well. "I think they're both down for the count at this time. We'll have to get the story later."

Elizabeth sighed reluctantly. "Understood. How long before they get back to the infirmary?"

"Probably about twenty minutes for the medical team to get here, a few minutes to check them over and load them up, and another twently minutes to get them back. All in all, about fifty minutes."

"Where are they?" asked Rodney. "I'm not waiting an hour."

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "What is your location, Major?"

Lorne once again gave directions to their location. Next he called Sgt. Stackhouse, who had taken over command of the search teams when Lorne left, and informed him of the good news. He smiled as he heard cheers in the background when the Sgt. informed the searchers that their missing people had been found. Then he turned his attention back to the injured men before him. He kneeled down beside Sheppard, deciding to put a field dressing on the deep bite marks around the Colonel's lower knee. They were still oozing blood and it would be a while before the medical team arrived. He quickly completed the task and then checked the bandage on Sheppard's thigh. It was wet and looked as though blood had soaked through hours ago. He removed it and replaced it with a dry dressing, noticing how deep the gash was. Sheppard never stirred. He figured the man must be exhausted.

"I wish we had a blanket. They seem cold," commented Roberts. Lorne nodded. Sheppard's skin had been cold to the touch and he was shivering. The Major removed his jacket and draped it over Sheppard's chest and arms. Roberts followed his example, covering Dr. Zelenka with his jacket. "What do you think happened to them?" asked Roberts.

"I have no idea, but I'll bet it's going to make a good story. Sea monsters and submarines. Huh! I'm not sure if something really weird happened to them or if the Colonel is maybe..."

"Crazy?" offered Roberts.

Lorne shook his head. "No...just...not himself...you know, because of the injuries and the lack of sleep. Crazy doesn't sound very respectful of your CO."

"Sorry, sir," said Roberts. "Guess we just wait for the medical team."

"Yeah...but I can't wait to hear the story behind this. This is one mission report that should make for some interesting reading." They settled in to watch over the two sleeping forms before them.

TBC