CHAPTER 2

A sharp pain raced across McKay's shoulder, bringing him painfully back to consciousness. His eyes shot open in shock, only to close just as rapidly at the assault on his corneas from the harsh light.

What had happened?

He remembered Sheppard leading him on what could essentially be considered a forced march across that hellish desert. He'd been trying to enlighten the Colonel about the dangers of continuing the mission in that sort of environment. The heat alone was enough to make him pass out from heat exhaustion. Combine that with his low tolerance for UV radiation, the physical exertion, and his hypoglycemia and it was ass if Sheppard was trying to kill him. A flash of irritation crossed Rodney's mind as he recalled that Sheppard hadn't even been listening to the perfectly legitimate concerns.

Then the thudding pain in his shoulder suddenly flared up jolting him back to reality.

John, what had happened to Sheppard.

His last recollection was of Sheppard shouting at him to get down and then he had felt like his shoulder was being ripped from his body. The shock and blood loss from whatever had hit him just have caused him to pass out. However, right before his slipped into unconsciousness he had thought he heard gunshots.

Once again he tried opening his eyes, more slowly this time to adjust to the glare of the harsh sunlight. As his vision slowly adjusted he was able to make out the golden glow of the sun on the sand. Judging by the terrain outside and simply the presence of that damn heat, he knew that at least he was still on that planet. Atlantis would search here first, and they had a better chance of finding out where they went if they weren't taken off planet.

Next he quickly examined his aching shoulder. He was surprised to find that it had been cleaned and bandaged. The bandages looked fresh, as there was only a small amount of blood staining them. Still, McKay thought, it's probably infected. I highly doubt these Neanderthals know anything about proper medical care.

Groaning from the stiffness in his muscles and the pain arcing across his body from his shoulder, he managed to sit himself up to better take in the immediate surroundings. It appeared as if he was in some sort of moving cage. It was the size of a small cart and looking around he saw that he was surrounded by a rather haggard looking group of people. Though he supposed he didn't exactly look so great himself. Twisting his neck to look around at the people he noticed Sheppard slumped in the corner closest to him out cold.

"Colonel," he said in surprise.

He winced at the raspy nature of his voice. It was no wonder really. With the heat and blowing sand he wasn't exactly hydrated; who knew when he had last had a drink of water.

"Colonel," he managed to shout a bit louder, but there was no response from the still body.

"John!" Rodney was finally able to make himself heard over the rumbling, creaking sounds of their traveling prison. Unfortunately, this also meant that the large brutes guarding them heard as well.

Suddenly, he felt as if every part of his body were burning from the inside out. He could literally feel his insides boil as his entire body went completely ridged, every limb fully extended, eyes wide open in shock. Mercifully the sensation was brief. He gasped for breath as he slumped to the floor, the horrific pain already fading away to nothing more than a memory.

Then a harsh voice spoke from above him, "Quiet slave."

A device resembling a cattle prod was pulled out from between the bars. So, they were slaves, which certainly explained a lot. Apparently he and Sheppard had completed the mission after all, to find and meet the local traders. They just hadn't bee expecting them to be slave traders with a penchant for violence and who were looking for new merchandise.

Levering himself up with his good arm, Rodney slowly made his way over to where Sheppard was still out cold. Rodney was able to prop himself up next to his friend, where he proceeded to try and wake the unresponsive colonel. He reached over to shake Sheppard awake, and was startled to find the back of John's head had been bandaged. Rodney suspected that Sheppard had been hit on the back of the head and was now suffering a concussion. With this new development in mind, Rodney doubled his efforts to wake his friend.

"Come on John. You've slept long enough. I've I have to endure this heat so do you. Now wake…" he trailed off at the soft groan coming from Sheppard.

"M'kay?"

"Of course. Were you expecting someone else?"

Sheppard's eyes slowly opened to reveal dark bloodshot eyes. There was a glazed expression on his face and it took awhile for his eyes to focus. Looking at the dazed expression on his friend's face Rodney was almost certain it was a concussion. If that was the case then he needed to make sure Sheppard stayed awake. Keeping in mind the subtle way in which their guards had decided to keep him quiet, He kept his voice down as he spoke rapidly to Sheppard, trying to get the man to focus back on reality.

"It appears as if the locals aren't the friendly traders we were informed about. As usual the aliens of the Pegasus Galaxy seem intent on giving us the warmest of welcomes, evidenced by your head injury."

When Rodney mentioned the head injury Sheppard suddenly seemed much more alert, seeming as if he had just remembered something. Worry quickly crossed Sheppard's face and he asked about Rodney's own injuries.

"You were hit with a crossbow. Your shoulder how is it?"

Rodney scoffed, "Well it appears that since they didn't kill me they decided to try and fix the damage they caused. They must have pulled out the bolt, because my shoulder appears to be completely cleaned and wrapped. They also wrapped up your head by the way." With a sigh he went on, explaining what he thought had happened.

"It looks like they're slave traders. And based on a…confrontation I had with one of them earlier I can say with absolute certainty we've been taken as slaves."


Slaves. Great, this was all they needed.

John looked up at Rodney when he mentioned a 'confrontation,' seeing the pain in McKay's eyes he wasn't certain what to make of that. But he guessed he wouldn't like the answer.

He sighed and settled back against the bars of their new prison. Running a hand over his hair he winced at the sharp stabbing pain behind his eyes.

"Colonel?" He heard the worry in Rodney's voice and sighed.

"No worries, just a little headache." He was lying, and he knew it. It felt more like a jackhammer in his brain; probably a small concussion. Nevertheless, he tried to flash a disarming smile in Rodney's direction, but only got scowl in return.

"Really? It looks more like a concussion to me."

"Well there's not much we can do about that now is there? Now unless there's anything else I need to know I'd like to focus on getting us out of here," he snapped in irritation. The incessant squeaking of the cage was beginning to grate on his senses.

Rodney gave a harrumph but it seemed like he was going to give it a rest. But then a look of shock crossed the other man's face.

"What?" John turned to look in the direction that Rodney was starring at so intently.

Their wagon had begun to descend into a large valley, but it was what was at the bottom of that valley that had caused the look on the astrophysicist's face. John was sure he now wore a similar expression of his own.

In the middle of the huge desert valley a large river cut through the vast expanse of sand. The blue waters perfectly reflecting the color of the sky, and to either side there appeared to be lush vegetation and farmland. But directly in the middle of it all was a huge gleaming stone city. Absentmindedly, John thought it reminded him of Rome, or maybe Cairo. Heck he could even make out a building that could resemble the Colosseum.

No, it's more like someone moved Rome and put it on the Nile.

At the front of the procession a voice called out, "Behold the great city of Amnis Levis."

And slowly they continued down the road, into the city itself.

TBC


A/N: RL has a way of intruding. Reviews help me write faster wink,wink, nudge, nudge