WORST CASE SCENARIO - by NotTasha
CHAPTER 5: HOW TO FEND OFF AN ALLIGATOR
In a fluid motion Ronon moved. His long jacket billowed as he spun, drawing his weapon and stepping out from the confining furnace room. Placing himself into a low stance, as he brought the weapon to bear on the hissing beast.
It was a big son-of-a-bitch, Ronon realized, but it would be no match to the Satedan and his weapon of choice. He moved to get a better position.
The kiwanda spat, showing dagger-like teeth.
"Ronon!" Teyla's voice cut through the air. "Do not fire!"
Dex didn't lift his gaze from the creature. The two predators regarded each other, looking for weakness. Ronon aimed between the creature's urine-colored eyes.
"Ronon!" Teyla's voice cut like a knife. "Remember where we are! If you fire your weapon…"
Ronon cursed, realizing their explosive situation, and without another word, he holstered the gun and flung himself to the left, rolling on one shoulder to land on his feet. Immediately, the creature pursued, lunging at him. Teyla went to the right.
Keeping his hands free, Ronon darted further to the left, trying to distract it, to confuse it long enough to allow an opening. He made a false charge, to gauge its reaction. The lizard parried his movements easily, returning his attempts with snapping teeth.
It moved toward him again, damn fast.
Dodging, Dex put a bank of pipes between himself and the creature. The kiwanda surged toward him, stopping short of running head-on into the barrier. Whipping its head about, it hissed in anger, and scrabbled backward for another attempt.
As Ronon danced with the creature, Teyla looked about frantically for a suitable weapon – something that wouldn't blow up – something that could damage that thick skin. She spotted a heavy wrench sitting atop one of the tanks – too far away. She regarded the creature a moment, finding it entranced with Ronon's movements, and took a chance.
She darted toward the tank. The kiwanda, sensing her movement, lunged after her. It galloped, almost matching the Athosian's graceful sprint with its slithering, undulating, sickening motion.
She ran, feeling the creature at her heels, hearing the clattering of its filthy nails across the floor, the heavy 'heh heh heh' of its breathing. She wouldn't make it, she realized. Its breath was hot on the backs of her legs. In desperation, she leaped, hand reaching for the tank.
Cruelly, she was jerked backward, landing hard on her knees and down on her stomach. She expected the sensation of teeth ripping into flesh and shattering the bones of her feet, but as she turned her head in that direction, she saw the thing had caught merely the cloth of her pant leg.
The kiwanda seemed as surprised as she was for a moment, then it wrenched its head powerfully, jerking her and slamming her against the wall, almost hard enough to knock the breath out of her.
The concussion freed her, and she scrambled to her feet, and darted to one side before it charged again. Trapped between the wall and the tank, she met the yellow eyes of the lizard, knowing that if her gaze strayed for a moment, it would be on her.
She braced herself, preparing to leap the moment it thrust itself forward.
And in a rush, Ronon attacked the thing, bellyflopping onto its back and grasping it around the neck to wrench its head off. The problem was, the thing had a neck like iron.
The kiwanda twisted against his attempts with a frustrated, angry roar, confused. Ronon was on the creature, sending up his own roar as he straddled it, wrapping his hands around the thing's massive neck and pulling for all he was worth.
Furious, the kiwanda hurled itself about, colliding into one set of pipes and then another, fervently attempting to rid itself of the human. The jaw snapped like a trap. Ronon held on, squeezing at the lizard's neck, determined to throttle the monster and put an end to it, even as the creature beat him black and blue.
Teyla grasped the formidable- looking wrench and turned to the fracas. She bounded back and forth, trying to get a good angle at the thing as it battered the room with her companion. She couldn't find a way to clobber the kiwanda without risking belting Dex as well.
Ronon gave up on trying to twist off the beast's head – its armored flesh provided too much protection. He reached for his sword as he clung to the bucking monstrosity.
It thrashed, it gyrated, it banged its passenger to-and-fro. The room rang with the ferocity of the movements, as the creature hissed and growled.
Teyla lifted the wrench above her head as Ronon brought the sword around to hack off the thing's head. Clinging with only one arm, he had no ability to protect himself from the next savage collision with the pipes.
Teyla sucked in a despairing breath as the thing slammed the Satetan, knocking the man senseless and sending the sword clattering off into some corner of the room.
Ronon's head rang, and he let out only a little moan as his grip released and he slipped from the creature. At the same moment, Teyla brought the wrench around, slamming it into the snout of the huge lizard.
Stunned, the creature paused, looking a little stupid. Its jaw dropped and its yellow-black eyes stared off. It made a pathetic little grunt, and Teyla brought the wrench around again with all her might, swiping the thing across its nose again. The kiwanda's head snapped to one side with the blow.
It staggered away, leaving Ronon's unmoving form. Knocked silly, it fumbled in an attempt to escape, and tangled into a wide cloth that draped one of the machines. It fought, unthinkingly, trying to get out, but only managed to wrap itself further in the cloth.
Teyla showed it no mercy. She darted into position, and lifted the tool again, slamming it over and over into the thick head of the creature, aiming for its nostrils, its eyes, targeting what was most vulnerable.
It rolled, almost coming clear of the cloth, but there was no way to escape the attack of the human. It thrashed, its tail whipping about dangerously.
The Athosian followed it everywhere, sledging the wrench with all her might as she skipped over its flailing tail. The lizard wobbled, its head bobbing, its mouth hanging open, and Teyla gave it one final terrific clout.
The thing collapsed, letting out a long, final sigh. After all its frantic movement, it became perfectly still -- a strange goo oozing from the corners of its eyes and from its nostrils, and dripping out of its long toothy mouth.
Panting, Teyla stood, clenching the heavy wrench in one hand. Her body felt electric from the tussle, and she watched it, ready for another movement, any sigh of life. The kiwanda revealed no breath and after a moment she conceded that the thing was dead.
It looked silly, and a little pitiful, half-wrapped in the cloth. But she'd give the caped kiwanda no room for compassion, and, warily, her eyes hardly left it as she moved back toward Ronon.
The man hadn't moved. He lay limp and bruised, half curled on his side beside one of the large of pipes. She crouched at his side, and called softly, "Ronon. Ronon, answer me."
But the man could not respond. She felt his face and his neck with one hand, as she gripped the big bloodied wrench with her other. Her gaze remained on the downed lizard. Ronon's heart still beat and she released a sigh of relief.
The kiwanda was dead. She could only hope that there was only one lizard to contend with, but she couldn't be certain. There may be more hiding in the warm recesses of the distillery.
"Ronon," she called softly. "We must leave this place." She cupped his chin in her hand and said distinctly, "Ronon, you must wake up."
But Ronon didn't move. She was quiet beside him, her ears intent, trying to discern if another kiwanda was scrambling around in the building. The only things she heard were Ronon's quiet breathing, and the thrum of the furnace behind her, and something else. She frowned, trying to identify what the 'dip dip dip' might be.
She turned, attempting to locate its origin, and her eyes focused upon the pipes that had taken so much abuse. At first, she only registered the thick dripping of liquid, forming a puddle at the base of the cracked pipe, but the dripping seemed to increase in speed, and a strange scent became more prevalent, overpowering the stink of the kiwanda and sweaty Satedan.
"Ronon," she said again, her voice urgent. Carefully, she set down the wrench and glanced to the furnace, noting the distance between it and the growing puddle of ethanol. "Ronon, we must leave, NOW!"
But Ronon didn't move, and the dripping of escaping fuel only increased.
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TBC - Okay, I guess that just proves that alligators are nasty on any planet.