THE NEXT EVENT - by Kolyaaa!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE RUNNING
A/N: Okay... okay. I am BACK! I would apologize for my absence, but an apology is not the sort of thing that the leader of the Genii Special Forces would offer. Suffice it to say that an opportunity arose and I did my best to take advantage of it. Those idiots that have been squatting in Atlantis showed their craven faces at one of our Genii outposts on a desert planet - and I had yet another opportunity to kidnap the brain that is attached to McKay. I did so with the use of blinky lights and firing off a few rounds in the direction of his compatriots.
I was carefree, of course, thinking that Sheppard would not be able to continue after us. I dragged the wretched McKay past a castle of a long dead warlord, over a bridge of evil, through a canyon of grandeur, onto a ship over a man-made lake, then down a dry wash (where McKay fell on his ass), finally ending up in a haunted domicile. Ha ha ha ha! - but Sheppard managed to follow. Damn him! I am stunned that he was able to keep up with my sleek and silvery vehicle! The only way he would have managed to follow would be if he swam, ran, and used one of the two-wheeled self-powered devices of the local people. I applaud his stamina, even though I hate him.
Okay, so he caught up with us and was able to free the McKay while I was getting some coffee and this marvelous beverage of carbonation and caramel color (I am assured that it has no calories). Alas, I have been foiled again.
A/N: I am back! I am Kolyaaa! Fear me!
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"Run Away!" Bedevere's voice cut through the chaos of teal and pink and purple fur. "Run away! Run away!"
Sheppard would have been offended at the scientist's audacity to give orders, but he was too distracted by the onslaught. Tiny vicious creatures came at him one after another. No sooner than he shook one off, that two more fluffy bunnies were there, gnashing their sharp teeth and sinking them deep into his arms and legs. He shouted in pain as he swatted wildly, unable to get a clear shot. He could hear Bedevere screaming and Teyla thrashing next to him.
Boris fired into a mass of the creatures, shouting almost joyfully as fluffy-fur flew, "Right! One rabbit stew comin' right up!"
They moved as a group, backing away from the attack, trying to push one another to safety even as they fought off the tenacious and colorful creatures. They bumped into trees, tripping and hauling each other back to their feet to avoid losing anyone under the mass of nuttalli. Teyla managed to get a shot at the furry demons. The nuttalli exploded in a mess of blood and gore, reminding Sheppard of a bad B horror movie.
"SHHHHH!" The animals hissed and spat at them, but backed off for a moment, apparently impressed by the show of force.
Sheppard and the others kept moving. He wasn't sure how much ground they had covered, but he realized they had managed, as a group, to back themselves up against one of the red cliffs they had seen when flying in.
Okay, Sheppard thought, now what? A quick glance upward assured him that no one would be able to climb up it to safety.
"This is bad. Really bad," John muttered, searching for a way out. He glanced in the direction way they'd come, as he pressed a hand over one of the more impressive wounds on his arm. Who would have thought...?
Teyla fired off another round at the nuttalli. Though they hadn't advanced again, they appeared to be regrouping.
"What are we going to do, sir?" Boris asked. "As much as I enjoy a good firefight, I don't think we can keep this up much longer." Blood trickled down the side of his face but he didn't bother to wipe it away. He joined Teyla, firing on the furry creatures, lurking only a few yards from them, then looked at Sheppard for an answer.
John frowned as his eyes scoured the hillside and the area around them for any sign of escape.
Bedevere sobbed hysterically on the other side of Teyla, and Sheppard was tempted to smack the woman just to shut her up. If the Athosian wasn't in the way...
He couldn't think. Brightly-colored nuttalli scrambled through the thick green thicket. So many of them – they turned the ground into a multicolored carpet. And then they scurried up into the trees. Damn it! The creatures were above their heads again – putting Sheppard and the others in a bad position.
They were getting ready for another attack, preparing to leap down on them. Sheppard could see the fluffy blobs as they moved, huddling together on the branches, thick as cherry blossoms in April. They were biding their time for just the right moment. The fanged puffballs were everywhere, surrounding the bloody and tattered group.
Scowling, Sheppard knew that there had to be a way out. He was not going to be done in by a shower of fluffy pink bunnies! He searched and then he spotted it. There! Beyond Dr. Bedevere, behind another copse of trees, he could see a lightly trodden path leading up and around the cliff. It was scaleable.
"A trail," he nodded in the direction he meant. "I'll hold them off. I want the three of you to run as soon as I start firing."
"We can not leave you," Teyla argued breathlessly.
"I'll be right behind you. Now go."
Even as he gave the order, the animals began to surge. "Go! Go! Go!" he screamed as he fired at the fuzz nuggets, feeling Boris with Teyla slip behind him and run. Bedevere, however, froze. She stared wide-eyed at the approaching fur balls and simply...screamed.
"Go," Sheppard waved to Teyla to go on when she stopped to grab Bedevere. Grabbing the slender doctor's arm, Sheppard attempted to pull her with him as he continued to fire on the attacking horde.
Teyla and Boris ducked down the pathway, trying to put space between them and the candy-colored critters.
There were more of the nuttalli this time. The puffy rabbit-like creatures were multiplying like - well - rabbits. The ever-intensifying hushing hiss seemed to be a clarion call for others. Sheppard knew he was in trouble. He couldn't hold the pastel-colored creatures back. He pulled Bedevere, screaming at her to run, but the doctor stumbled instead and dropped to her knees. Gone was the over-confident woman who'd first stepped off the jumper with them.
John continued to fire on the nuttalli, but there were too many of them. He'd managed to hit one or two, in an explosion of colorful down, but the missing ranks were instantly replaced by more of their kind.
Bedevere screeched as they jumped on her, tearing at her uniform, her hair and skin. She struggled to her feet, but more of them sprang onto her, layering her as she twisted and screamed until she tripped and fell.
There was nothing Sheppard could do as his legs were swarmed by the things. He swiped at them with his gun, but their teeth and claws tore at his legs. Two jumped on his head, another latched onto his arm, forcing him to drop the P90 as he tried to shake them all off.
Frantically he tried to reach Bedevere, pulling the rabid creatures off of her even as he continued to struggle to remain on his feet. She thrashed, and started making pathetic gasping sounds. Pastel fur was soaked in blood as he flung the critters away. She stopped moving. Her cries became softer, little more than choked sobs. And then silence—only the chattering of teeth on flesh remained.
Finally, as John tore at the mob of bloody creatures, he saw flesh...or what was left of it. He stopped stunned, seeing what remained of her face. Her nose was gone and one eye dangled from its socket. Her mouth gaped and he realized her lips were missing. As he ripped away at the creatures, blood spurted from a vicious gash in her throat and the nuttalli seemed to bathe in the fountain.
One of the blood matted creatures looked up at him, uttering an eerie "SHHHHH" and shook itself, splattering Bedevere's blood.
"Colonel Sheppard!" Teyla's voice from above him seemed to shake him out of his stupor. He could do nothing for Robyn, and he swallowed, realizing he needed to move or he would suffer the same gruesome fate. A bright purple nuttalli jumped at his face and he stumbled back, swatting it away as another wave of the mutated bunnies swarmed over Bedevere, continuing their feast on her cooling flesh. Gagging, he turned away and kicked his legs free.
Running, he struggled to stay on his feet and focus on the path ahead, a faint line of pink leading uphill to...hopefully, safety. He could hear both Boris and Teyla firing above him and knew without a doubt that he couldn't fall. If he fell, it would be over. He didn't look at the mass of seething fur where Bedevere went down. He couldn't think of anything except getting to the path and away from the nuttalli.
Swatting and writhing as the downy-soft, sharp-clawed creatures crawled over him, John fought. Suddenly the earth began to tremble and the forest shook around him. He stumbled, but he kept pushing through the panicked animals. The nuttalli scattered as Sheppard recognized the earthquake.
Suddenly, he was free of the nuttalli as they fled with fear of the tremor. The path was within reach; he could feel the incline under his feet as he stumbled yet again, tripping over the scurrying nuttalli in front of him. The path seemed to lurch beneath him and his knee hit the ground, pain spiking. He hands clawed at the cool muddy path as he fought, his feet slipping on the incline that would have been his salvation. Instead, it seemed to fall away beneath him. He felt something hit his head, dizziness overcame him; darkness encroached and he knew...he wasn't going to make it.
And suddenly, he was falling.
But he didn't hit the ground.
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Carson bounced off the tree, stunned. He shook his head, trying to clear it as his ears rang and dropped to his knees, unconsciously rolling in just the right direction as the alicorn barreled through the space he had occupied a second earlier, the breeze lifting his hair.
He jumped, all dazedness gone as the fear came crashing down inside his chest.
"Bloody hell." He scrambled to his feet, scurrying into the clearing, looking over his shoulder for any sign that the alicorn was coming at him again, and he let out a yelp as he watched the animal slide to a stop and turn. The beast lowered its head, pawed the ground once and charged.
He screamed and took off, knowing there was no way he could out run the legendary alicorn. He cursed his interest in the healing salve, damned his curiosity and, looking over his shoulder again, he tripped. And, as if things couldn't get any worse – the earth shook.
Terrified, Carson skidded through the grass, the dark green weeds tearing at his face and staining his uniform, as leaves and loose branches rained down around him. Underlying mud splashed up around him and he rolled onto his back, crabwalking backwards over the trembling earth, even as the alicorn advanced on him, also slowed by the earth's gyrations.
But not stopped.
Carson's eyes widened as the creature's head lowered. It was only a few feet away now, and the doctor's sight narrowed in on the glittering spear of a horn aimed at his chest. He knew there was no way he was going to escape, and he absently wished to hear his mother's voice one last time. He braced himself for the impact wondering just what it would feel like...
And then the top of the alicorn's head exploded.
The horn flew in one direction and Beckett instinctively raised his arms to cover his face as, a millisecond later, another blast took the rest of the animal's head. Blood and brains rained down on him as the creature collapsed to the ground. The ground had stopped shaking at almost the same time as the creature had died, as if in astonishment.
His own body trembling to compensate for the lack of earth-quaking, Carson slowly lowered his arms, opening one eye to peek at the scene. The animal's body lay still and quiet only inches from him. He could have reached out and touched the beast's leg if he wanted.
Beckett yelped as two more blasts were fired into the downed animal. This time the weapon did the damage it was designed to do, tearing and mangling the alicorn's hide, sending more blood splattering onto the doctor.
He turned his head, and blinked at the sight of Ronon striding confidently toward him, then smiled gratefully before flopping backwards in the grass, heedless of the mud. He needed to will his heart to start beating again. He closed his eyes, longing for relief when he heard Nonor suddenly screaming.
McKay.
In an instant, Carson was on his feet again, running and skidding to the center of the clearing where Nonor loomed over Rodney, nudging him onto his side with one foot. Why wasn't she helping him?
Instead, Nonor was bent double, yelling at the injured scientist as he rolled the rest of the way onto his back on his own. She wasn't yelling in anger—it was more like the carping of a bratty child.
"How could you do that? Couldn't you see I had almost earned the alicorn's trust? I was so close, and you destroyed everything!" She let out a sob, straightening up and covering her face with her hands. "And now I'll never know if the Alicorn would have accepted me! Because of you, it's dead! I hate you!"
Carson's eyebrows shot up in shock. What the hell...?
Her toned arms suddenly flailed up and away, nearly knocking the doctor down as he came up behind her. "It's all wrecked now!" she whimpered. "You've ruined everything! You're nothing but a coward!"
Oh, that was just too much! "What the hell are you on about?! Are you crazy?" Carson spat furiously as he dropped to his knees beside McKay. "He bloody well saved your life, lass! You should be thanking him!"
Rodney stared up at Nonor, obviously out of it. Tears rolled from the corner of his eyes as he blinked slowly, the blue eyes shifting only vaguely to look at Carson. Beckett hissed in concern, certain his friend was already in shock. The alicorn had torn McKay's shoulder open to the bone. There was blood everywhere. Oh God, Rodney.
Putting aside his emotions, surgical procedures raced through Carson's mind as he pulled at his vest, searching for a field dressing or anything to stop the bleeding. Behind him, he could hear Nonor berating Ronon for killing the legendary creature, blaming McKay for overreacting and jumping to the conclusion she was in danger.
Rodney hissed and squirmed beneath his hands when Beckett peeled back some of the fabric of his jacket to better expose the wound. "Yer going to be okay, Rodney," he assured, glancing down as McKay quietly closed his eyes. "Damn it."
"What?" Ronon stepped closer, obviously conflicted between his concern for McKay and the things his sister was insisting he hear.
"We need to get him to Atlantis. I can do nothing for him here." Carson pressed a dressing against the wound, putting his strength into it to try and stop the bleeding, and shook his head when McKay didn't react. "He's passed out again."
"I got him." Ronon knelt beside Carson.
"But he's the one who..." Nonor started, but a deadly look from Ronon stopped her. She closed her mouth, then grimaced, frowning at the oblivious Rodney as if he were to blame for the censure she had just received as well. The tears running down her face seemed to increase in frequency.
Ronon holstered his weapon and gently eased McKay's limp body up with Beckett's help, then over his shoulder.
"You okay there?" Carson kept a steadying hand on Rodney as Ronon stood, the Satedan staggering a touch under the weight.
"I got him. Let's go." Without waiting for their agreement, Dex spun around and took off at a fast pace out of the clearing.
Nonor took a moment to look back at the fallen alicorn, tears running down her face. Then abruptly she turned, glared at Carson, and hurried after her brother.
Beckett started to follow but turned and jogged back to the grotesque remains of the nasty beast. He swiped a hand at his face, doing what he could to remove the bloody alicorn spatter from his face as his gaze roved over the gore. Finally, he saw what he was searching for. Quickly, he reached down and scooped up the impressively sharp horn. It was cold to the touch and still stained with Red's blood. Carson tightened his grip and ran after the others.
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A/N: Okay... okay...so I also spent a few days trapped in the Venus Flytraps. Curse you, Carnivorous Plants!
A/N: Tell me how much you missed me! Shower me with reviews of great praise while I soothe my poor rattled Julie.
