APPEARANCES CAN BE DECIEVING part 2
Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard entered the forest cautiously, eyes straining for a glimpse of their errant medical officer. Beckett seemed to have vanished into thin air, not having been found near the river, or anywhere within the encampment. Teyla had indicated that someone had headed into the trees furthest away from their camp, and had been moving quite quickly. She was just ahead of them now, scanning the ground closely, looking for the telltale signs that someone had passed through recently. Rowley and Hudson were nervously bringing up the rear, P90s held at the ready. They were fairly new to Atlantis, having come in on the most recent run by the Daedalus, and were anxious to please the recently promoted officer they had heard so much about.
The forest was cool and gloomy; their footsteps were soundless, muffled by the thick carpet of dropped pine needles, and the air smelled dank and musty like a little-used room in an old house. While it was a tactical advantage having their footfalls so effectively muffled, the disadvantage was that it made tracking anyone next to impossible.
They had gone maybe a few hundred yards into the shadow of the trees, and Sheppard was feeling increasingly nervous, when Teyla put up a hand in warning. Stopping, they unconsciously huddled together, protecting each other without being actively aware they were doing so. Up ahead, they could hear something moving, quite large by the sound of it, and getting closer to their position. Sheppard stepped to the front of the little group, raising his P90 defensively, safety off, curling his finger around the trigger, ready…
The –whatever it was- blundered through the forest towards them. All they could see were the trees and sparse undergrowth moving. A low, menacing growl erupted from in front, and Sheppard took another step forward, increasing the pressure on the trigger a little more.
A huge shape exploded out of the trees, coming directly at them. Sheppard was aware of the gasps of horror from behind him, but his attention was taken by the enormous bear-like creature that reared up, towering over him. He backed up a little, squeezing the trigger harder, preparing to fire, though it would be a bad idea to have that tonnage of wild animal dropping on him- when it stopped suddenly, gave a little snuffling sound not unlike a whimper, then turned tail and disappeared back into the forest.
Just in time, he released the trigger, managing not to shoot the empty air, swinging the P90 down and stepping back, feeling the incredible rush from the adrenaline fading.
"What the hell was that?" he asked shakily of no-one in particular.
"I have never encountered such a thing before," stated Teyla in her usual calm manner, but sounding shaken all the same. For a few moments more, the team stared at the empty space where the bear thing had been, then a soft sound from behind them caused them to
whirl round, Sheppard once more bringing his gun up protectively. He almost dropped it in relief. "Beckett!" he exclaimed to the figure standing there. "Don't ever do that again! I almost shot you."
The doctor made no move, nor did he really seem to notice they were there.
"Doc.?" Sheppard moved forward. "Doctor Beckett?" he asked. "Are you ok?"
"Colonel Sheppard?" Beckett suddenly seemed to come to, as if he'd just woken up.
"Yup. the same," Sheppard clipped the P90 to his vest, regarding the medic closely. "You alright?"
"Yes. Is there any reason I shouldn't be?"
Sheppard regarded Beckett and frowned. Something wasn't right. "Doc," he said gently, keeping calm, "You know you don't go wandering off on a strange planet on your own."
"Ah'm not on my own. You're here."
"Yes, but…" John stopped suddenly. This definitely wasn't right. He felt a need to get out of this forest and somewhere where they could have a chat about proper procedure on uncharted planets, but this wasn't the place.
"Okay," he continued. "Let's take this back to camp. You sure you're ok, Doc.?"
"Yes!" Carson sounded irritated. "Can we go now?"
Again, something struck Sheppard as not being right. They headed back to camp, Teyla asking the doctor where he had been, and getting no response. The Colonel resolved to keep a close eye on the doc.
oOo
The team had packed up and were heading back to Atlantis. Carson had carried on pretty much as normal, but no one had been able to get him to tell them where he had been or what he'd been doing while he was missing. The man would just clam up, and say he'd been walking. Sheppard still felt something wasn't right with their medic, but contented himself with just keeping an eye on him for the present.
The wormhole whooshed into life, and they stepped through, Beckett holding back, until Sheppard, always the last to go through, gently nudged him forwards.
"Ready to go home, Doc.?" he asked, knowing how much Carson hated travelling by wormhole.
"Uh, yes," was the succinct reply, and the pseudo Carson Beckett entered the event horizon.
The post- mission briefing was short; Dr. Beckett's unscheduled walkabout being the only matter of note, and it was only a half hour or so later that they were all in the infirmary awaiting their checkups. It still seemed to the Colonel that Carson was more subdued than normal, but no-one else appeared to have noticed anything different. Sheppard took the examining officer to one side and stated his concerns.
"Well, sir, he seems ok," replied Dr. Lawrence, "I haven't noticed anything unusual, but if anything turns up in his blood work, I'll let you know."
"Yes, please do that," said John, beginning to feel that maybe he was the one that was being paranoid. Casting a glance back in Beckett's direction, Sheppard was still struck by…something…that just didn't seem right. Shaking his head, he left the infirmary. Maybe all he needed was a hot shower, and a couple of hours downtime to get his equilibrium back. He didn't notice the covert look that Beckett sent his way as he turned to leave.
oOo
Beckett, the real Carson Beckett, was beginning to wake up. Water dripped onto his face, and still groggy, he reached up to wipe it away only to find he couldn't; his arms were firmly held down by his sides. Snapping his eyes open in a hurry, he tried to make sense of where he was. It was dark, and damp, and it smelled unpleasant. A dry rustling noise assailed his ears, and then all the memories came flooding back. Panicking, he tried to free his arms, but to no avail. All he managed to do was set himself swinging, and as soon as he realised this, his frantic efforts stopped.
Forcing a few deep breaths, he made himself calm down and take stock of his situation. The light inside the cave was dim, but his eyes had adjusted enough that he could just about make out where he was. And where he was, which was almost enough to set off the panic again, causing him to repeat the deep breathing exercises until he'd once more gotten a grip.
He was currently held in a-a cocoon, suspended above the floor of the cave, quite a way above it too, if he was any judge. The floor beneath him seemed to be moving, and as he watched closer he realised it was moving-with the bodies of the spider things, scuttling about beneath him. Shuddering, he closed his eyes, a cold sweat breaking out all over. He was alone here, with no hope of rescue; the rest of the team would think that..that-thing - was him. He had to get out; he couldn't let Atlantis become the next nest.
oOo
"Colonel Sheppard, may I see you for a moment?"
The Colonel had been leaning against the railing of the balcony overlooking the control room, when the quiet voice addressed him. He turned to see Dr. Lawrence regarding him, and the expression on the other man's face was enough to send warning bells ringing.
"Sure," he replied, "What can I help you with?"
"You asked me to tell you if I found anything with Dr. Beckett."
Sheppard nodded.
"Well, the thing is, this blood picture isn't right." The doctor proffered the screen showing the blood results. They meant nothing to the Colonel.
"And?" prompted Sheppard.
"Well, I know this is going to sound crazy, but these results don't look human."
The Colonel stood straighter, and looked more closely at the medic. He knew from experience that Dr. Lawrence would have double checked everything, and if he felt something wasn't right, then something was definitely way off base. He took a moment to think what to do.
"Have you shown these to Beckett?"
"No, sir. I couldn't even if I wanted to; he seems to have disappeared."
"Right. Thanks, Doctor," said Sheppard. He tapped his earpiece. "Major Lorne, this is Sheppard. Meet me in the control room."
"Sir, be right there," came the reply.
"Did you get a chance to talk with Beckett?" Sheppard asked the doctor.
"Only very briefly. He seemed…preoccupied."
"Yeah, I felt he was a little off too, after the disappearing into the forest act. So, he doesn't know that we know about these results?"
Dr. Lawrence shook his head.
"I think that's a good thing. Ok, I'll get a couple of teams together and we'll find him. In the meantime, let me know if he shows back at the infirmary. And, Doc? Be careful."
TBC