Part five
It seemed like hours before the rocks finally stopped falling. Teyla was the first to notice, shining the light over the area in front of them just to be certain, then turned to John who had his eyes closed.
'John?' Teyla kept her voice quiet, not wanting to risk making too much noise that might cause further damage. 'John, it has stopped.' When he didn't respond, Teyla shifted position and took a good look at him, her concern increasing considerably as she saw how pale his face was and noticed the red stain that had now seeped through his clothing. She checked his pulse, finding it to be weak, his skin felt clammy and his breathing was rapid and shallow. Biting her lip as she considered what she should do next, she was relieved when she realised John had opened his eyes and was watching her, a puzzled expression on his face.
'How are you feeling?' Teyla asked gently, her hand on his arm to provide some reassurance. John stared at her unblinkingly for some time before he shook his head as he began to focus on his surroundings.
'What…' he began before he was overcome by a fit of coughing, partly caused by the amount of dust in the air and partly by dryness in his mouth and throat.
'Here,' Teyla offered him the remaining bottle of water and John took it, his hands shaking as he raised it to his lips, water spilling down his chin as he gulped the liquid down thirstily until Teyla took the bottle from him. 'You need to drink it slowly, otherwise you could make yourself sick.'
John looked at her out of the corner of his eye and nodded, wiping his mouth before speaking.
'What's the situation?' His voice sounded weak even to his own ears and he could see it had not gone unnoticed by the expression on Teyla's face as she responded.
'The new fall may have been triggered by those attempting to locate us,' she told him, trying not to display the fear she was feeling. 'Or else the area itself has become unstable, I am not sure which, but it is probable that being rescued could take longer than we expected.'
'I see.' John closed his eyes again, fighting against the tiredness that was threatening to overwhelm him, trying to focus his thoughts. 'And how am I?' He suspected she knew a lot more about his current state of health than he did right now.
'You have lost more blood and I believe that your body is beginning to go into shock.'
'Uh huh.' John considered this, seeing the concern in her eyes and understanding much more than she was saying. 'How's your arm?'
'It is sore, but it is not too bad.' Teyla was relieved that she was at least able to give him some good news. Abruptly she looked away from him, focussing on a spot behind her. 'Did you feel that?'
'What?'
'A draught.' Teyla got to her feet and moved closer to the source. 'Just here.' She turned back to John. 'There is a gap in the wall here. I do not remember noticing it before, but if air can get in then…'
'We may be able to get out,' John finished for her, a glimmer of one of his boyish grins on his face as he forgot their other problems for the time being. 'How big is it?'
'It will be a tight fit,' Teyla told him with a sympathetic smile. 'Perhaps I should attempt to go through first to make sure it is possible.'
'What, and leave me all alone in the dark here? I don't think so.'
'John, you are injured, if it is not possible to get out this way you will have weakened yourself unnecessarily,' Teyla tried to convince both John and herself of this. Teyla felt extremely uncomfortable at the idea of leaving John alone for any length of time considering his worsening condition and took the arm he held out to her, helping him get to his feet.
He stood for a few moments, swaying gently as he tried to get his bearings but Teyla's assessment regarding his state of health was well-founded and almost immediately his legs gave way and Teyla lowered him back to a sitting position.
'Think I'll just stop here for a while.' John tried to sound upbeat but his face was covered with a fine sheen that betrayed how much the effort to stand had taken out of him. 'Wait until you come back.'
'I will return as soon as I can.' Teyla removed her jacket and draped it over John, leaving the last of the water with him before squeezing herself into the hole and disappeared from sight a few moments later.
John settled himself back against the wall preparing for a long wait. He closed his eyes, although with Teyla and the only source of light now gone it made no real difference, but somehow it made the darkness seem less of a threat as he tried to keep his thoughts positive.
-------------
Major Lorne had joined the rescue party after Mya dozed off, clutching the pack containing items from John's pockets as though to reassure herself somehow. He checked back on her at regular intervals and as he returned from one of his checks, his attention was drawn to the roof.
'Get out of there now!' He yelled as he realised the efforts of the rescue party were de-stabilizing the roof of the cave. Pausing only long enough to ensure he had been heard, Lorne scooped up Mya and led the way into the open, closely followed by the rest of his team with Ronon bringing up a reluctant rear.
As soon as he made sure that all had got out safely, Lorne, ignoring Ronon's fierce glares, spoke to Sergeant Marks who was in the 'jumper that had remained near the cave once Colonel Sheppard had been located.
'I want you to try the life-signs detector again, see if they can penetrate the caves.' He fell silent as he watched the 'jumper rise slowly into the air and hover over the hillside. They had tried it before, right after John and Teyla had become trapped, but had been unable to get any readings because of the minerals in the rocks. The response came after a few tense minutes, those watching and waiting realising the attempt had failed as they watched the grim expression on Lorne's face, listening as he spoke to White who was in the second 'jumper guarding the 'gate.
'Contact Atlantis and get Dr Zelenka here as quickly as you can, and anyone else who can help modify the sensors.' He glanced down beside him at Mya who tugged on his hand, pointed at the hill and started making her way up. 'What is it? Where are you going?' Chasing after her as she scrambled up the side of the hill, he noticed for the first time what her keen eyes had spotted.
The sun was starting to rise making it easier to see what couldn't be seen even by the light previously provided by the 'jumper. There was a small opening about 30 feet away from them at the top of a fairly steep slope and Mya was making her way towards this with the agility of a mountain goat, forgetting her exhaustion as she came closer to her goal.
'White, belay that order and stand by. Marks, get as much light as you can on the hillside.' Pausing only long enough to issue new instructions to the 'jumper pilots, Lorne followed Mya, closely pursued by the rest of the search party, arriving just as a bedraggled and dirty Teyla scrambled into view.
Trying to catch her breath, Teyla accepted Lorne's offer of assistance gratefully, leaning heavily on him for support as her legs threatened to give way underneath her. Once he had seated her on a ledge to one side of the opening, Lorne handed her some water, waiting for her to catch her breath so she could speak.
'Colonel Sheppard is still in there,' she told him as soon as she could get the words out. 'He is alive but he is very weak and is in need of assistance.'
'What was it like getting through there?' Lorne moved to one side to allow one of his team to see to her injuries.
'The part nearest the cave is narrow,' Teyla spoke through clenched teeth as several cuts and scrapes were cleaned and her arm bandaged, proving to be a painful process. 'It opens up after a short distance but then it begins to climb quite steeply. I needed to rest frequently before I was able to make my way out.'
'Ok. Farrow, Carlton, you're with me,' Lorne nodded at the two people named. 'Marks, I want you to take Teyla, get her to Atlantis and bring Dr Beckett back with you. Teyla, you have the most information on Colonel Sheppard's condition and can bring Dr Beckett up to speed.' Lorne silenced any protests from Teyla before she could speak up. 'The rest of you stand by until we return.'
'I'm coming with you,' Ronon stated, getting to his feet and moving towards the opening.
'I can't let you do that, Ronon,' Lorne quickly positioned himself in front of the larger man having half-expected something like this to happen.
'I'm not just going to stand out here and do nothing,' Ronon snapped without allowing Lorne to finish
and made to step around him, but the movement was anticipated and Lorne still blocked his path. 'You're in my way,' Ronon glared at Lorne coldly.
'Ronon,' Teyla's quiet voice caught his attention. 'You should listen to him. If you attempt to go in, there is a strong possibility you will not get through. Major Lorne has chosen the smallest people in his team for a good reason. You cannot help Colonel Sheppard if you become trapped.'
Glaring at Teyla and Lorne, Ronon moved out of the way but took up position at the tunnel opening, drawing attention to the small figure disappearing inside. Ronon and Lorne both made a dive for the tunnel but were too late to prevent Mya from entering and within moments she could no longer be seen.
--------------
Mya had been sitting beside Teyla listening to everything that was going on. She learned very quickly that John's condition had worsened and that these people wanted to help him but seemed to be taking an awfully long time to do anything. As she listened, a plan formed in her own mind that seemed to provide all the answers: she was the smallest of all of them, she could reach John quickly and help him until they could get a fully-trained healer to him. She'd helped him before and she wasn't about to let him die – she had already lost too much and wasn't prepared to lose anyone else, not if she could do something to prevent it.
She also knew that these people wouldn't approve of her plan and would try to prevent her going, so moving quickly and quietly, she retrieved the pack which held John's belongings, shoved the nearly full bottle of water she had been given into it and made her way to the cave opening while Marcus and the tall, scary looking man, the one they called Ronon, were arguing.
She could hear Marcus calling after her as she went further into the tunnel but she ignored him, focussing only on reaching John and was soon too far away for voices to reach her. She switched on the flashlight and continued to follow the route down towards the cave, having no problems negotiating the steepness or size of the path, her size making it seem almost easy until she reached the smallest part that Teyla had mentioned and knew she had almost reached her goal as she wriggled her way into the cave.
As she shone the light over the cave after climbing out of the tunnel, she caught her breath as she saw John at last. His eyes were closed and from where she was standing it didn't look as though he were breathing. Feeling scared for the first time since entering the tunnel, she moved towards John, reaching out a shaking hand to touch him.
--------------
To be continued…The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author