The Wishing Well
Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of the characters associated with it.
Chapter Three
"Major Lorne, you and Sergeant Ruger, Teyla and Ronon set up perimeter security. I'll stay with McKay while he does his scientific thing." Sheppard waggled his eyebrows and fingers at Lorne, who grinned and issued a sharp salute.
"Stay alert and radio me if you see anything the least bit unusual. I still don't like this place." Sheppard looked at the overgrown outpost with trepidation.
"Yes Sir!" Everyone went about their assigned duties while Sheppard and McKay fought their way through the dense underbrush to the central courtyard.
"Doesn't look like anyone's been here in a while." Sheppard looked around as he pulled twigs and leaves off his uniform.
"Hmm… yeah." McKay was engrossed in taking energy readings. "That's odd…"
"What…did that thing start talking back to you yet?" Sheppard glanced over McKay's shoulder, trying to see what he found so odd.
"Oh, it's speaking to me, Colonel, just not the in way you're thinking!" McKay moved toward what appeared to be an old well nestled in the center of the courtyard.
A deep green moss-like substance was slowly devouring the ashy grey stone structure. Fresh, clear water filled the oversized well to the brim. Mounted above the well between weathered stone pillars, was a flat granite tablet etched with something written in the language of the Ancients. Small native purple and white flowers sprouted randomly from the crevices between the stones. The flowers emitted a sweet smell that inconceivably reminded Sheppard of the perfume Anna had worn when she was alive.
Needing to escape the scent and the memories, Sheppard turned to McKay. "I'm going to check out the buildings, see what's left in them, and look for that ZPM you were so hyped about. Don't fall in that well, McKay! I didn't bring my scuba gear!"
"I can swim y'know! You, on the other hand, had better not touch any ancient devices you stumble across. Beckett isn't here to revive you if you pick up the wrong one! And doesn't he always pick up the wrong one? Oh, and I don't think you'll find a ZPM. The only energy readings I see are coming from this well."
"Okay, I think I'll check it out anyway!" Sheppard headed out to recon the decrepit buildings left behind by the Ancients.
McKay studied the ancient writing etched into the flat stone above the well. He spent a good ten minutes translating it, and he determined it read something like this:
Weary traveler of Ancient blood
Pause your journey, if you would
Slake your thirst, rest a spell
Make a wish upon the Wishing Well
If Fate is kind, your wish she'll grant
If not, return to your old life, can't
Two will enter, only one may depart
Be leery, child, and guard your heart
If you try and leave this place
Dire consequences, you will face
You must decide which way to turn
A valuable lesson, you must learn
Stray from the path, if you choose
A wrong choice, deadly, your life you'll lose
True of heart, noble and wise
Do not trust, for some tell lies
To save your soul and return from the light
Do not quit, stand and fight
Stay the course you know to be true
Your life shall be returned to you.
"Hmm… must be some sort of Ancient riddle. Not good at riddles but I do have the Ancient gene. Let's try this, shall we?" Placing his hands on the stones surrounding the well, McKay squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated. "I wish I had some pocket change so I could make a proper wish!" McKay opened his eyes and eagerly dug into his pockets. He gave a sardonic laugh. Of course there isn't any change in your pockets, Rodney! Get a grip! Like most things Ancient, this one is obviously a bust!
McKay circled the ancient well, taking readings and muttering to himself. "This doesn't make sense. It's just a well, but it emits energy. How is that possible? Hmm…what is this?" He stooped to check readings near the base of the well.
Sheppard, having found no ZPM and nothing else of interest in any of the outbuildings, wandered back and casually leaned one hip against the stone edge of the well. He shook off the sudden chill that crawled up his spine. He felt the beginnings of a headache forming at the base of his skull, radiating upward and out, encircling his head. Feeling suddenly wobbly on his feet, he grabbed the side of the well to steady himself. His skin felt clammy, and his throat was strangely parched. He removed his canteen and realized he'd finished it on the walk from the gate to the outpost.
Sheppard gazed longingly at the water in the well. It appeared to be clean, but, when it came to water, looks could be very deceiving. He removed from one of the pouches on his flak vest a small testing kit and proceeded to test the well water. After determining it was potable, he leaned over and splashed water on his clammy face.
McKay, hearing splashing sounds, glanced up at Sheppard. "Uh, Colonel, I wouldn't do that! We don't know how long that water has been here, maybe centuries. Nor do we know of what properties the water is made. This well is giving off an energy reading that I can't explain…which I realize you might find hard to believe!"
McKay studied Sheppard nervously as the colonel continued to dip his hands in the water. "You okay, Sheppard? You don't look so hot." Sometimes he is such a child! Playing in ancient water! Who else would do that anyway!
"Its okay, Rodney, I tested the water and it is safe." What a mother hen!
"Ha! Safe! Now there's a relative term when you're off-world!" McKay shot back, slightly annoyed with Sheppard's logic. Would it kill him to listen to me for once?
"I'm fine, Rodney." Sheppard splashed more water onto his face. Yup, definitely a mother hen!
The water was refreshing, cool but not too cold. It smelled faintly of the flowers growing around the well, and had a softness to it that soothed as it cooled his skin. His thoughts again turned to Anna. "I wish you were still here." he murmured softly, unaware of his own thoughts, much less that he had voiced them.
McKay's head popped up from where he was squatting down behind the well examining a particular piece of stone. He shot Sheppard a worried glance. "What did you say, Sheppard? You didn't just make a wish, did you?" Oh crap, I hope he didn't make a wish!
"What? No, McKay, I didn't. Do I, in any way, resemble someone who would make a wish in a well, especially an alien one? Besides,… I don't have any change." If I did have change, might have tried it then….
"Yeah, I had the same problem." McKay disappeared from sight once again, but his muffled voice drifted out from behind the well. "I translated the ancient text written on that stone slate up there above the well. Thought you might be interested to know what it says." McKay repeated the poem for Sheppard.
Sheppard closed his eyes and enjoyed the silky feeling of the water on his face and neck. He listened to the sound of McKay's voice reciting some ancient poem, but his mind was drifting.
"Hmm, interesting, McKay. Ancient poetry…. Stay the course…. Dire consequences? Oh-Kaaay!"
The shimmering water mesmerized him; it seemed to whisper faintly in his mind. Strange, reminds me of the way Atlantis whispers. Drawn by the whispered urgings beyond his conscious control, he captured some liquid in his cupped hands and drank his fill. Ahh! That hit the spot!
The water tasted sweet and went down like velvet. It seemed to sooth his insides even better than it had his outside. He could feel a tingle that followed the path of the water as he swallowed. The sensation spread to his stomach and then radiated out to the edges of his body, all the way to the tips of his fingers and toes. In just moments, his headache and clammy skin were miraculously gone.
"Cool! Maybe this water has healing properties or something. We should take a sample back to Carson. I was feeling a little under the weather until I drank some and now I feel great!" Sheppard continued to splash water over his face.
"You drank it? Are you nuts?" McKay's shrill voice called out. "I'm sure Carson will be thrilled to hear how you risked your own health by sampling 10,000 year old water without his having approved it first. You are so in trouble, Sheppard!" Goody! If I'm lucky, I might get to see Carson chew an actual hole in Sheppard's ass!
Feeling refreshed, Sheppard opened his eyes and was rooted to the spot. From his bent position over the well he should have seen his own reflection in the surface of the water. Instead he saw Anna reaching toward him with an equal look of confusion upon her face.
"Anna!" Sheppard breathed her name on a ragged gasp of air. Instinctively, he reached toward her reflection in the water. When his hand touched the surface, he thought he could feel the solid outline of her hand against his.
"ANNA!" She grabbed his hand, and her reflection appeared to give a silent startled scream. A jolt of energy raced up his arm and collided with his heart. Sheppard felt himself sliding, oddly not into the usual darkness, but into a white, blinding light, Anna's hand still clasped tightly in his own.
McKay glanced up. He was about to suggest that Sheppard might not want to admit to Carson that he'd sampled the water, when he noticed the look on his friend's face. He thought he heard Sheppard gasp the name "Anna" before reaching into the well. Confirmation came a few seconds later when Sheppard screamed out "ANNA!" and slumped to the ground.
TBC