Out of Mind, Out of sight
Part Two
Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews! This is one fic I had pre-written. Then I had the unfortunate accident of misplacing all the pages…But, here I am! I have the plan outlined in my head, so we'll see how we go.
Previously:
Out of all the things John had ever seen, this had to be the worst for him. The walls had been dripping with blood, it was pooled over the floor and along the bed. Too much, too much blood for a single person. It was Elizabeth. His Elizabeth had been taken. By monsters.
As the nausea slowly subsided, John wiped his mouth and stood up, his eyes flashing slightly as he took a menacing step toward Lien, the only thing on his mind to rip the man apart limb by limb. Teyla grabbed his arm in a vain attempt to calm his burning fury, but he shook it off, approaching the shivering man with an air of evil intent.
"What happened?" He said, voice sounding very much unlike his own. Cold, hollow and without emotion. Lien stood up in a weedy attempt to look affronted at the accusation. But his eyes followed the lines of John's arm, one in which the fingers we're ever so inching toward his leg strap and pistol, before looking back into his eyes, fear clearly reflected.
"If you kill me, you'll be executed by my people" The Chief Overseer said to no effect as John took another step closer.
"What. Happened." John repeated, as Ronan, McKay and Teyla stood at his shoulder, weapons raised. Lien cowered.
"I apologize! You do not understand! You are the first to come through the portal in many seasons! When you came, we thought perhaps you are the ones who could save us from the plague that follows us. We didn't mean for any of this to happen – I swear, had I known that Elizabeth Weir would be in danger, I would have insisted you return to your own planet. I swear it."
John stared, his resolution unbroken.
"What. The. Hell. Happened." Was all he said, his voice frighteningly cold, matching the attitudes of the Atlantians around him, even McKay glaring at the leader, his eyes as sharp as stone.
Lien shuffled slightly, as Aris narrowed his eyes.
"You dare question the Chief Overseer with such rude candor? He would no sooner kill your negotiator then his own family. If you we're townsfolk, you would be imprisoned for such insolence."
The Overseer shook his head slightly.
"It is not of your concern Aris. Gather our best warriors – We shall begin our search for Doctor Weir at first light."
Aris nodded, still glaring, before backing into the crowd and out of sight.
"Forgive Aris. He is not usually so forthcoming, but the insinuation that we would harm our guests upsets him greatly."
"Then what happened to her?" Ronan said without a hint of warmth.
Lien bowed his head and shoulders slightly.
"Many years ago, before our people were forced to colonize this planet we now call home, out ancestors were taken by the Wraith. Miraculously, they we're returned, but with their return, the fear amidst our old community grew and we were forced to leave. After beginning new lives here, on Tanai, the Wraith, angry at their escape, introduced a new species into this planet. An night crawler, we all fear. It is an excellent hunter, it sees in the dark and as such, we are forced to provide sacrifices for the beasts on each full moon. It hurts us to sacrifice our own brethren, which is why we used only the terminally ill – but soon after the beasts refused to take the ill, instead ravaging the homes, taking adults and children alike in greater number. We realised the beast could not be tempted for anything other then a perfectly healthy being, so as a result, we began a war against the Malai, the people who had forced us to leave or be killed.
One by one we offered the enemy as a sacrifice, it was the worst decision we have ever made, but I admit, if we are to be truthful to each other, we made it. Soon everyone in the Malai villages had been taken and sacrificed, and we arrived back at our original predicament. Since that moment, we have been striving on stopping the creatures rather then to offer sacrifice. The next night of Darn'tack is in three moons, we had hoped to have gained new technology from you by that time, with the hope we could push back the enemy and reclaim our freedom."
"So," Ronan commented, sarcastic, "You expect us to believe Doctor Weir is missing just before your people must be sacrificed is just a coincidence? You would have us believe she isn't just being held somewhere around here, ready to be offered as the next meal to save your own skins?"
Lien opened his mouth in shock.
"Search our humble village! Should we have decided to use Doctor Weir as a sacrifice, should you not think we would have captured you all, four extra humans resulting in saving our people's lives for four more moons? There are three full moon's a month! Why would we take only the good Doctor and leave the rest unharmed if it still resulted in our ultimate demise?"
"Why do you not relocate through the Stargate?" Teyla asked, her P90 still held firmly and untrustingly in her hands as the first bead of light could be seen on the horizon.
"Do you not think we have tried?" Lien almost yelled, "On several attempts we have tried sending our people to yet another world, but no matter where we go, or where we hide, the monsters of night follow! They appear, not through the Wraith Ring, but appearing in the nearest forests! We have tried living by the sea, cutting down all of the forests, desert and we have even tried to follow the fading sun in hope of living in eternal sunshine! It did not work, and now we are here."
John, his eyes having traveled past the excuse making leader to the rising sun, turned heel without another word and trod in direction of the forest.
"McKay." He said, voice level and cold, "Your with me. Teyla, Ronan, go North-West. Check in every half hour."
John strode without a moments hesitation into the dense undergrowth, as the others stopped in shock, exchanging glances before following orders, and splitting up.
They had been pacing for hours, when John finally sighed to a stop. McKay, holding inside hours worth of complaints and groaning, only managed a squeak, falling to his knees and digging for all his worth for a power bar, finding one and munching, his eyes fixed on his CO, the man currently resembling a caged tiger, pacing back and forward, water bottle clenched in his hand, his eyes narrowed and scanning the darkness between the trees.
"You should eat." McKay said quickly, wincing when Sheppard didn't even react.
"Not all of us think with our stomach's Rodney."
The cold remark came as a shock to Rodney, who felt the sharp pang of hurt.
"Well, your going to die if you don't eat something. Not all of us are the perfect little soldiers you make out to be."
John stopped pacing, his head slowly coming around to glare at McKay. McKay winced. His eye's we're dead, almost as if a part of him had died.
"Well, Rodney, maybe it would be better if you went back to the gate and reported to Atlantis. We wouldn't want you slowing down the search."
McKay ground his teeth, fury replacing the hurt, burning through his veins.
"Your not the only one who cares about Elizabeth you know!"
John glared at his for a second, before turning and walking into the forest, not even seeming remorseful. McKay cursed, shoving the half-eaten bar into his pocket and clambering to his feet, stopping for a second to wonder if he should indeed return to the gate, before making it his mind and stumbling in the direction John had just disappeared into.
It was at least an hour later before McKay even had his first glimpse of Sheppard, the man was walking like a man on a mission, Rodney wondered if he was even taking in his surroundings, or just running on blind anger as he struggled to catch up. He tripped over a root and fell painfully to his knee, before sighing and taking a deep breath, pulling himself to his feet once more, only to realize the path up ahead was empty, meaning Sheppard had veered off. Cursing, he walked another meter ahead before turning left, by pure guess, and wondering in the general direction, wondering if he asked John on the radio for directions, if Sheppard would answer.
Having never seen Sheppard this angry, McKay took a moment as he walked to wonder if he cared about Elizabeth a lot more then he let on. She was closer to him then anyone else on Atlantis. Maybe they we're lovers? So engrossed in the puzzle that was John Sheppard, McKay didn't notice the tree in his path until he had ran into it, falling backwards with a strangled cry. Sitting on the ground and rubbing his forehead, he looked up, intent on glaring at the tree (he could have a concussion!) before the sight before his eyes made him scream, concussion forgotten.
A skeleton. Picked clean, hanging from the tree by ropes and vines. He didn't even realize he was still screaming, until bush crackling under feet met his ears and he was stunned into shocked silence, as Sheppard pulled himself through the trees, running to McKay, before seeing the skeleton and falling back beside the fallen scientist, sitting on the ground beside him breath coming in loud fearful gasps.
Terrified, Rodney stared at the skeleton, until something caught his eye. Elizabeth had once told him, while pointing out to him when he thought he had broken a leg, she had indeed broken hers once at the knee, and if he had broken his own, he would be in a lot more pain then Rodney was complaining to. Interested, Rodney had asked about it, and Elizabeth had explained that on a negotiating mission Iraq, she had been captured by a group of extremists. She had a clean break and it was the reason it still hurt her later. Part of her kneecap had to be wired together. This person, this skeleton, had both kneecaps, in tact. It wasn't Elizabeth.
"J-John." He stuttered, grabbing the other man's arm, "It's not Elizabeth, It's not Elizabeth…!"
John looked at her, his eyes wide and reflecting terror.
"Are you sure?" He croaked. McKay nodded with haste, in desperate need to get his point across.
"Positive." He breathed. John sighed in relief, letting out a shaking laugh and putting his forehead in his hands.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." John said, a hand gripping McKay's upper arm. Rodney smiled and stood up, pulling John with him.
"It's okay, I'm sorry too. Let's just focus on finding Elizabeth yeah?" Sheppard looked at him with far away eyes.
"Y-Yeah. Yeah."
Rodney nodded, taking one last look at the skeleton, a reminder of their desperate need to find Elizabeth, before Teyla and Ronan broke through the foliage, undoubtedly attracted by McKay's scream. Teyla gasped at sight of the skeleton, before McKay managed to tell her it wasn't indeed, as first assumed, Elizabeth.
John looked back at the group, his eyes focused, but the first hint of worry clearly visible on the surface.
"We stick together from now on." He said slowly. "Let's bring Elizabeth home."
To be continued.