"Arggggggh!"

It was possibly the worst nightmare to wake up to. One minute Lieutenant Cain had been soundly sleeping (dreaming of a very friendly fellow doctor that in actuality hadn't shown any interest in him, but in his dream was about as friendly as he could hope for) and the next a blood-curdling scream jerked him from sound asleep to wide-awake in an instant.

He opened his eyes and sat up, just in time to see some huge shape in the darkness rushing seemingly right at him, and was roughly pushed flat once more, a heavy weight pressing against his chest uncomfortably.

"Stay down."

The voice was deep and he knew immediately – even through his terror – that it belonged to the Jaffa that had been walking by him all day. Cain was more than willing to comply, and tried to flatten himself even more.

Around him the night was bedlam.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Amazed once more at the awesome speed of the great cats, Mitchell barely had time to raise her Beretta (if she'd had it in its holster, she'd never have been able to draw it in time) to face the coming charge – even with Talon now in command. She fired, knowing there was no way they were going to be able to catch any of them alive for Carson or the others to study, and one of the creatures screeched, but none of them stopped. The sounds of pitched battles – both weapons fire and snarls – told her plainly that there were more out there than just these.

A furry body dove past her from behind, meeting the charge with a snarl, and engaging the cat that was in the lead. The two animals, dog and cat, tumbled off to the side of the fire in a flurry of spitting, snarling and eerily human-like screams.

She fired again, but the rest of the cats were on them, now, and it was impossible to maintain gunfire without the worry of someone close by stumbling into the path of one of the bullets. A bolt of red energy dropped one of the cats, proving Ronan wasn't having the same problem just yet, and Mitchell fell back as one of the cats jumped at her, its huge paw slashing at her head, but missing as she fell.

She grabbed for her knife as she went down, and reached up for the cat that followed. One hand grabbed a handful of fur, and her legs came up around the creature's belly, holding tightly because it was a lot safer to be close to the animal where it might not be able to get a grip with claw or teeth. Her free hand plunged the knife into fur, and the cat screamed in pain and anger, spitting as it tried to find a way to grab the pesky creature that was clinging to its belly.

"Colonel!"

Ford had fired a few rounds at the cats as they approached, but like Mitchell he knew it was too dangerous to continue indiscriminate firing. Unlike Mitchell, none of the cats came at him. Two had attacked Mitchell – Ronan dropped one and she was fighting the other – and three had gone for the Jaffa who was pinning the doctor to the ground. The Jaffa had dropped one with his staff weapon, and had fallen back under the creature's attack, and now they were grappling in the dirt, and another had been attacked by Ronan who had dropped his gun and reached for a knife as well.

Aiden lunged for the cat that was clawing at Mitchell, his knife flashing in the firelight as he pounced on the screaming creature. The cat snarled again when he scored a hit, and twisted around to meet this new attacker, only to have its belly ripped open by Mitchell, who had been presented with a target she couldn't resist. Blood spurted, and the cat's scream this time was deafening as it took the mortal wounding, twisting once more in its desperation to get away now, and landing hard on Ford, who couldn't get out of the way in time to avoid it.

Melony didn't wait to see if Ford was okay. There wasn't time. She went on the offensive, reaching for her zat – only to find she'd lost it in the struggle. Without waiting to look for it, she lunged at the two cats that were wrestling with Lin'at and tripped over Cain, who was flat on his belly and watching the entire scene with eyes the size of dinner plates.

She rolled as she fell, and managed to slash her knife hand out, catching one of the cats on the flank and drawing its attention to her instead of the outnumbered Jaffa. It turned on her, swiping at her with a lightening quick paw filled with razor sharp claws, but she rolled again, right up against the rocks surrounding the fire, and the cat screamed in fury, turning and pouncing as Mitchell tried to get her knife up once more.

Once more a furry body jumped over her, and one of the Light Ones was there, teeth snapping as he went for a killing bite to the throat and missed. The momentum of the wolf knocked even the huge cat to the side, and they crashed into Cain, who yelped in terror, certain he'd received a killing wound. Melony scrambled upright and reached out and grabbed him by the collar to pull him out of the way. And he bit her arm, unaware who it was that was grabbing him.

She bit back a curse and yanked on him, jerking him clear, and pushing him flat once more with a little more force than was probably necessary.

"Stay!"

Then she lurched to her feet and dove into the fray between Lin'at and the cat, knowing that the Light One didn't need her help as much as the Jaffa did.

Just as she launched herself against the cat, however, it gave a screech that sounded a lot like the death cry of the one she'd killed. The creature stiffened for the briefest of moments, and then slumped as the Jaffa under it stabbed it in the heart – finally.

Unneeded, she turned to help Ronan, only to find that he'd dispatched his cat as well, and was turning to look for another target, a wicked-looking knife in his hand covered with blood. Much like everything around the campfire was, it seemed. Including Mitchell and Ronan. Both of them turned at the sound of yet another screech that ended in a gurgle, and a triumphant snarl as the wolf closest to them ripped the throat out of the cat he was battling.

"Are you all right?"

They both turned again, this time at the sound of a relatively calm – if out of breath – voice.

Teyla had come up behind them, holding a long knife that looked more like a machete than anything, both the knife and her arm covered with blood. Talon released control of her body and Mitchell looked around the camp, and saw the rest of the Jaffa approaching as well, all showing signs of having been attacked (which explained why none had been able to come help her, Ronan and Ford) and one of the other Light Ones.

"We're fine," Ronan said, looking around as well. "You?"

"I am fine, as well."

"Help…"

Ford was still pinned under the dead cat, and several of the Jaffa moved over to pull the creature off him, and then pull him to his feet.

"You okay, Aiden?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

Despite her very real need to sit down and catch her breath, Mitchell looked at the Jaffa.

"Injuries?"

"Your Colonel Sheppard is down," one reported. "Sar'l is bringing him. There are no other major wounds that I know of."

One of the others nodded his agreement.

"Good fight, though."