At a signal for Mikal, the two men who held Carson dragged him forward towards the door of the cage. Another man stepped up with a large key and opened the door. Carson was pushed in and the door slammed shut behind him. He heard the key being turned in the lock.
Deprived of the support of the men, Carson almost stumbled. One of the men in the cage put out a hand to help steady him.
"Thanks, lad," Carson said, giving the man a grateful smile. He turned, rather unsteadily, towards Mikal. "Look, if you really want me to help these men, I need my medicine chest. It's back in the cave with the children."
Mikal nodded to one of the men who disappeared off the direction of the cave. In the meantime, Carson started to examine his patients. They all had suffered cuts particularly to their arms and upper bodies. It was obvious that the weapon of choice for the fighters was swords. As Carson moved among the men, he would ask them let him see their wounds, or to move slightly to let him pass. One or two, he asked if they were okay. The only response he got was a nod.
One particular patient was causing Carson some concern. He was lying in the corner, and seemed to be unaware of his surroundings. Carson crouched down beside him, and checked him over as best he could without his equipment. The man had a nasty gash to his forehead, as well as various other cuts to his arms and chest.
As Carson was examining him, the man seemed to regain consciousness. "Hello, lad," Carson said gently. "How're you feeling?"
From outside the cage, Mikal laughed. "Don't expect your patients to talk very much, Doctor," he said mockingly. "If you examine them a little bit further, you'll find they can't talk. It has something to do with the fact they don't have a tongue."
Carson gave him a horrified look, and then turned to his patient to check him out. Sure enough, the man had had his tongue cut out. He turned to the man on his left, his tongue had also been removed.
"What happened to them?" he demanded, turning to Mikal.
Mikal laughed. "They talked too much. We got fed up with the noise. Let that be a lesson to you, Doctor."
Carson turned back to his patient, unable to keep the horrified look from his face. These men were truly barbaric, and Carson vowed to do everything in his power to stop them, even if at that moment he felt truly powerless.
As Carson struggled to get his temper under control, the man arrived with his medicine chest. It was probably just as well, as it gave him the chance to concentrate on something other than his captors' behaviour.
The first thing Carson did when he got his equipment, was to take some painkillers himself. He then put some antiseptic ointment on his shoulder wound. It wasn't much, but hopefully it would keep him going until help could arrive. He then worked systematically, cleaning wounds, stitching them up, setting broken bones, and generally making the fighters as comfortable as he could.
All the time he was working, Mikal was watching him very closely. It was obvious that Carson would be very closely supervised at all times. Even if he wanted to escape, the presence of the children made any escape attempt virtually impossible. Calay had been held by one of the men, with a knife at her throat, the whole time Carson was working. As he moved around the cage, so the man with Calay moved too. They were obviously not taking any chances.
By the time he had finished, Carson was exhausted. His shoulder ached, though it seemed to have stopped bleeding. If he moved too quickly, his head started to spin, and his temperature ranged from freezing to overheated within the space of 5 minutes. All he really wanted to was to lie down, curl up, and go to sleep. But he knew that the children still needed his help. He needed to stay alert for their sake.
"Well, Doctor," said Mikal. "What is your verdict?"
"None of these men are in a fit state to fight," Carson said, trying to keep the disgust out of his voice.
"That's too bad, Doctor," Mikal said. "If none of them are fit to fight, then we'll just have to go back to their village, and get us some more fighters."
One of the men close to Carson jumped to his feet and made a strangled noise. He kept shaking his head vigorously.
"Yes, you see," Mikal said. "That's the problem. The only fighters left at the village are a little on the young side. I'm sure some of your patients here will volunteer to fight, when the time comes, to save their little brothers and sons from this honour. Wouldn't you?" he said, turning to the men in the cage. A number of them, those who were able, jumped to their feet to indicate they would fight.
Carson shook his head sadly. What a way to live, what a way to die. But there was nothing more he could do about it at that moment. His only hope was that John and the others could mount a rescue attempt. Carson had to believe that Teyla had survived the attack and would be able to tell the others what had happened. Not only did he have to believe that a rescue attempt would be made, he couldn't imagine a world, a galaxy without Teyla. He could certainly do with her calm diplomacy, and fighting spirit at the moment. The way he felt, he'd even be grateful for Rodney's presence.
Carson's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the key turning in the lock. One of the men grabbed him, and dragged him out of the cage.
"Your work's finished for the moment, Doctor," Mikal said. "But don't worry; I'm sure we'll have plenty more for you to do soon."
As Carson and Calay were escorted back to the cave, he tried to memorise the route. This time he was more successful, he reckoned he could find his way back to the main cave, if he needed to.
As soon as they reached their prison, Carson is surrounded by the children, all wanting his reassurance. Palo, Calay's little brother, although clambered up into Carson arms. It took all of Carson's concentration not to drop him, especially with his damaged shoulder. But the little boy cuddled up to him, needing the security of the physical contact. Carson had to admit that he could understand that need.
