DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from 'Stargate: Atlantis'. They're not my property.
The ground beneath his feet felt solid. Both he and Elizabeth had managed to land safely on it. If Romeo's group had decided to follow them by jeep, it would take them at least four hours or more to reach this same spot, giving them enough time to escape.
"Good thinking with the parachute," he told her as they made their way through the thick forest.
"Thank you. I hope it didn't scare you too much," she teased.
"Actually, it was interesting. I might try it again sometime," he said and glanced at Elizabeth who smiled at this.
She then stopped. John turned to her and saw her barely standing still. "I need to pee!" Elizabeth almost whispered.
John raised his eyebrows. "Okay. I'll…" before he could finish the sentence, she had already disappeared behind some bushes and trees. "Wait here…" John finished.
After a while, he heard her call him.
"John?"
"Yeah?"
"What do you do if you see a snake around here?"
"You leave it alone!" John told her. Several minutes passed before he heard a reply from her.
"Thanks!"
"What took you so long to answer?" he asked her.
"The snake did!"
John turned around. "What kind was it?"
"Um, pink and white stripes!" Elizabeth emerged from behind the bushes. "Stayed out of its way."
"Good that you did. It's one of the most dangerous snakes around here," he told her.
A very familiar noise of a gun ready to be fired suddenly stopped them. John exhaled annoyingly and closed his eyes.
"Four hours, huh?" Elizabeth said equally annoyed.
John shook his head. "Didn't take you guys longer this time, I see," he said and slowly turned around to six men with machine guns pointed at him and Elizabeth.
"Our transportation has improved since last time, Sheppard." A tall dark-haired woman stepped up from behind the others. With the olive-colored pants and shirt, her black long hair capturing her waist where a bullet belt that looked more like an accessory gave this woman an age no higher than 35. Her brown eyes and red lips showed a calm mix of satisfaction and something that appeared to be resentment.
John appeared surprised. "Well, nice to see you, too, Juliana."
Although Juliana carried no weapon in her hands, its presence was noticeable, strapped to her back. "Pleasure." She kept a smile.
"You seem to have a lot of friends around here," Elizabeth spoke behind him.
"Oh yeah, plenty," John responded whilst looking at the woman in front of him.
With her hands on her waist, Juliana looked at Elizabeth. "And that is the Canadian?" she asked.
"Romeo filled you in on everything… as usual."
"Yes," Juliana replied.
"And pretty expedient that you just happened to be at this part of the jungle."
"No one ever tried to escape by parachute before," Juliana told him. "Your gun."
Pressing his lips together, John pulled out the gun and threw it over to Juliana. "Don't you have some deals to negotiate with other smuggling bands around here instead of wasting time with us?"
"What you and she found in the Bronze City is worth too much to ignore. And I hope you know how angry Romeo will be over this."
"I have an idea," John replied.
Juliana's face became serious again. "Move," she ordered them.
John turned around and exchanged a look with Elizabeth.
Being ordered to keep their hands above their heads, the two started walking back to the jeep.
Moving through the slippery trails, a sudden yell and gunfire was heard. Turning around the two saw some of the men reacting violently to a sighting of a few snakes beneath their feet, managing to distract even Juliana.
"This would be a good time to start running," John suggested before he and Elizabeth used the sudden situation and took off as Juliana yelled at the men after with bucket-load of curse words.
As they kept running, Elizabeth heard John laugh. "What's so funny?" she asked.
"Just the words she used for how the others reacted to the snakes." John chuckled. "She always had the most colorful language."
Running upslope, they soon saw a wide ravine before them. Managing to stop just mere inches from the cliff, they saw the wild river at the bottom. "They never thought of building a bridge here?" Elizabeth asked, looking down. Instead of an answer from John, a thick vine was shoved in her hands. "You'll go over it first," he told her.
Elizabeth's eyes widened. "You want me to swing over the river?"
"Aha!" John said as he looked for another vine for himself.
Muttering something, Elizabeth grasped the vine as tightly as possible. "I just hope it holds." Taking a few steps back, she then rushed forward and leaped.
Seeing her land safely on the other side, John nodded and moved back, readying himself. But from the thick bushes behind Elizabeth, a man suddenly appeared, and grabbed her. With his arm over her shoulders and the other holding a knife to her throat, the man shouted, "Stay there!"
John pressed his lips, cursing his decision to allow Elizabeth to cross the river first. Romeo's gang knew this jungle well. Just as he was about to give his answer, Elizabeth suddenly shoved her elbow in the man's stomach, her fist then making a contact with his face, for in the end her foot to hit his crotch, sending the man with huge agony to the ground.
Dumbfounded, John stood there, watching her pick up the knife. "Are you coming?" she shouted.
John smirked and rushed forward. By the time he swung over, the others had reached the cliff, firing their weapons at the roots of the vines. As a result, John fell on the ground much sooner. "Shit!"
Helping him stand up, Elizabeth glanced down at him to see if there were any injuries. "Are you alright?"
"I've been better!" John got up. "Did you see others?"
Elizabeth shook her head.
"Good, I began to think he had his men everywhere in this damn jungle!" John grabbed Elizabeth's hand as they sprinted forward into the forest.
Watching them disappear in the thick forest, Juliana cursed out loud. She then spit on the ground and shook her head. Taking out her radio, she then said, "They're heading towards the city."
Elizabeth leaned against the thick bark of the tree to rest. Leaning her head back, she gazed up at the thick vines and leaves that sheltered from the sun so well. "You think they'll catch up with us quickly?" she asked.
Sliding down on the tree opposite her, John shook his head. "I doubt it."
The mating call of a blue-tailed songbird echoed loudly in the distance. That was soon merged with the calmer sound of clicks and whistles of the famous Brush monkey – name given because the primate's head and tail resembled a hairbrush.
"I'm suddenly very thirsty," she then said.
"So am I. Unlucky for us that the river is several miles back," he replied. "But…" he glanced over to his left at a heart-shaped plant with large green leaves. The tiredness he felt wasn't enough to stop him from jumping to his feet again. Pulling out two of the leaves, he then came over to Elizabeth. "We have something better," he said and smiled.
Watching him twist one of the leaves in his hands, Elizabeth noticed a few clear drops fall from the plant's edges. "Water?"
"Sort of. Has the same taste but with more vitamins in it. Saved my life once," he said. "Open up."
Deciding to trust him, mostly because her need for water had been stronger than her willpower to resist, Elizabeth opened her mouth. Her tongue felt the slightly sweet taste of liquid that started pouring in. At one point the amount was so great and unexpected that it forced her to cough.
Her arm felt his hand as he held it. "Easy," he chuckled. "Easy."
Elizabeth looked back at him. "Mm…"
"Good?" he asked.
"Yeah. More," she demanded.
Lifting an eyebrow, John squeezed out the remaining liquid from the leaf. When she asked… or demanded for more, it surprised him. "Boy, you really are thirsty."
After the last few drops of the second leaf passed through her, Elizabeth tried to ease her heavy breathing. She looked up to see John picking some more leaves to banish his own thirst. "What are they?" she asked.
"The Mountain Krolevans call them Water Givers."
"Suitable," Elizabeth wiped the remaining drops away from her chin only to suck them in with her lips afterwards.
"In the past when hunting was a way of life, the hunters would spend days away from their homes and any water source, so they'd gather these," he said of the leaves before drinking from them.
"How long have you been living here?" she asked him. After their rest, they continued walking, hopefully, back to the village.
"Five years."
Elizabeth whistled to this. John chuckled to that.
"Kroleva offered you what you needed then?"
"You could say that," he replied as he walked in front of her.
"Hey, wait a minute," Elizabeth then called. When he turned around, she quickly disappeared behind a large bush.
"Again?"
"Take a look at this!" her voice was heard.
When he approached her, John saw Elizabeth crouching before a tall stone with engravings, hidden among the many leaves and one tree. The writing appeared ancient as he recognized the letters. Beneath them all was the Red Medallion.
"It's…" Elizabeth traced the text with her fingers as she read the lines, "…a warning."
"Great, snap a photo of it and let's go," he told her.
"No, wait. It's an entrance. Um…" Elizabeth whispered something as she reached the last letters. "Oh, um… okay. The entrance is forbidden… to those who don't belong to the Royal court."
"Good enough. We better hurry, it'll take us a while before we reach the village."
Elizabeth ignored him. "Five thousand years ago there would be guards here to make sure no one came in." She looked up at John with a growing grin on her face.
"Yeah, so?" John said warily.
"We just need to push the rock," she told him.
"Do you know what's in there? Where it leads…?"
"Well, no but –"
"Then, let's go," he urged her.
"Why are you so hesitant about this?" she asked.
John watched her for a while, expecting her to come up with the answer herself instead of him having to point out the obvious. The child-like expectance told him it was foolish of him to even think that. He sighed annoyingly. "Because the last time you were so eager about exploring it, we almost got stuck in the city, were almost attacked by a giant ca-…thing, almost crushed by a boulder…."
"Ah!" Elizabeth quickly stood up. "You said 'almost' on all those things. We were in some near-death situations in there but we got out," she told him with that stubborn grin on her face.
"You know, for an archeologist, you aren't the most careful of people," he told her.
Elizabeth smirked. She pulled out her camera, took some needed photos and then put it back. "I've also learned not to leave important finds for later," she replied.
"Well, it doesn't look like this'll be going anywhere," he said. "Can't you just make a note of it or something and return to it later?" he asked her.
"No," she replied. "Actually, I could, but…" Putting her hands on the left side of the rock, she was ready to push when she noticed John standing next to her. "I can't do this one my own, you know. Help me out here!"
John looked around, trying to find an excuse to get her out of this idea of hers. When she called out to him again, he sighed in frustration over his inability to come up with an excuse that would convince this stubborn woman. Placing his hands on the rock, both tried to remove it. It refused to move.
"I guess bare strength doesn't work with this one," Elizabeth said, failing to find any other clue of moving the rock. "I wonder where it leads to…" she spoke quietly.
"Okay… I take it you know this path?" she then asked John.
John nodded to this. "And you want me to guide you back there…" he guessed.
"Yes," she replied.
"That'll cost you extra," he told her.
"Oh it's worth it," she said it with that familiar twinkle in her eye.
It took them nearly seven hours to reach the village. Hunger, thirst, and weariness together were not a good combination so when they spotted the light of the fires, they were both beyond relieved.
They were given clean clothing and warm food. As before, they were offered to sleep in Maya's home. Elizabeth asked whether she could buy one of these warm blankets. The Mountain Krolevans gave it to her as a gift instead. She thanked them; they responded with a smile.
During dinner, Maya and her husband Leko joined them. Leko was a taller, rather thin man but with the same kind eyes and smile as his wife. He had made a good trade the previous day and was able to afford to fix a wall of the house that had been responsible for one too many drafts in the past. They asked about the Bronze City and what John and Elizabeth found. The torture chamber was met with expressions of sadness but the halls and decorations of the other rooms caused smiles on their modest faces while the large bronze hall bewildered them.
The next morning, while John was preparing the horses for the journey home, Elizabeth washed up by the cold stream. She was given a small dish with a blue-colored crème by Maya to use on her face. She was later handed a soft towel with an explanation that the fibers of which it was made would be better suited for her soft skin than the towel she had brought with her. When the red cloth touched her face, Elizabeth felt it to be like a soft feather.
When she returned to the horses later, Elizabeth had a smile on her face. John noticed this.
"You tried some of Maya's soap, huh?" he asked her as he secured the bags on the horses.
"Yes, quite good." Elizabeth then noticed some of the villagers going into a small wooden hut with drapes of green silk layered over it. "Where are they going?" she asked.
"Oh, uh, to pray. They go in that hut each week to pray for a soldier who sacrificed himself for the future of the Krolevans."
"What happened?"
"The most I know is that there was a nasty queen one time in the Bronze City who turned against her followers. Gord – the soldier, apparently stopped her from destroying the city."
"How?"
"That part I wasn't told," he replied.
Curious, Elizabeth walked over to the hut. The thick layers of silk distorted her view of the interior, forcing her to remove some of the curtains enough to have a peak but without disturbing the villagers' praying. The inside of the hut appeared modest with no special decorations except for a stone pillar which had a bronze warrior helmet placed on its top. The helmet had the shape of a large wildcat's open jaw with tiny diamond pieces lined above the teeth.
"We better get going," John startled her with a whisper close to her ear. Hesitantly, she agreed.
Very few words were exchanged on the way back to the city. The familiar landscape, the ease of it mixed with upcoming turbulence was a good platform for her to begin and place all her gathered information in its right place where some sense could be made and for it to later be placed on paper.
Once they reached the city, he escorted her back to the hotel. She was surprised when he asked her if she felt well before going home.
After the hot shower, Elizabeth slipped between the sheets on the more comfortable surface. Pulling the woolen blanket over her, she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning she stopped by a small shop to develop her photos. The location of it took her three hours to find, as it had been the only one in town that developed digital images. Earlier, she had called George at the museum and then Radek Zelenka, her colleague back in Toronto to whom she only gave a brief description of her explorations in the Bronze City.
Although her efforts in locating the small shop resulted in heavy sweat, she was pleased by the incredibly low price of the developing of her photos and the short time it took. The young girl at the counter, her smile so wide that one would think she was born with it, presented Elizabeth with complementary postcards of the city.
Back at the hotel, she took another long shower and lunch before settling in her room again to view the photos.
She made notes of letters, symbols, and almost anything else that appeared of interest… which was everything. When the photograph of the feline drawings came to view, Elizabeth felt goose bumps. She rubbed her arm to bring on some warmth to it. Elizabeth couldn't explain why those creatures had this impact on her, even away from the city. Exhaling, she took her magnifying glass – a gift from her grandfather – and brought it over the photograph. She noticed engravings, small ones which hadn't managed to catch her attention before. "Hmm…" Elizabeth jerked her head back. "Wow…" she quickly took her pen again and scribbled something on the thick notepad. She would enter her report in the laptop later.
Putting on his loose pants, John then turned off the light from the bathroom before walking out. Thinking the shirt to be of lesser priority, he instead grabbed a bottle of beer from the small kitchen. His choice of stay was the small backyard. The lush vegetation in this small space combined with the mesmerizing night sky where every single star had been visible, had been one of the main reasons he bought this house. Sitting on the wooden chair with deep red pillows, John leaned back, his eyes already becoming restful by the calmness of this picture before him.
