Chapter 1
Rodney was looking forward to going back to his hotel room and getting a good night's sleep. The physics seminar had been disappointing. All those physicists bragging about the papers they had published, and rubbing it in that he had not published in years. "Can't publish what is classified," he thought angrily. After a city tour of Boston in the morning, he planned to join his team at Dave Sheppard's place. John and Ronon were annoying at times, but he missed them. He missed Jennifer too, even tho they had a squabble before he left for the seminar. She, Teyla, and Amelia were already at Dave's.
"Rodney McKay!" A voice brought him back to the present. A thin, pale man stood before him, expecting a reply.
"Yes, I'm Rodney McKay!" he answered sharply. "And?"
"Don't you remember me? I know I look different than I did when we were in grad school," the man replied. His voice, with a heavy New England accent, seemed familiar.
"Sorry, I don't remember you. It might help if you told me your name," Rodney answered rudely.
"Harvey Dunwich," he replied.
Rodney looked at the man, then his mouth fell open in shock. For once, he was speechless. Then he said bluntly, "what the hell happened to you?"
"Same old Rodney," Harvey said. "But I can't blame you for your reaction. Let's go have a drink and I'll tell you."
At Harvey's request, they sat at a table in a corner, away from the others. He sighed, than began his story.
"Five years ago, my wife and daughter were killed in a car accident. I threw myself completely into my work. I was teaching at the university, plus working on my own experiments. I had received a grant, but an accident killed my research assistant. I lost both my position at the university and the grant. I had an inheritance from my parents, and I bought a house out in the country and continued my work there. I once made the mistake of telling some other scientists about my work, and ended up with a seventy two hour psych hold in the local nut house!"
"I'm so sorry," Rodney said. "I don't know what else to say."
"There is nothing to say," Harvey replied sadly. He looked far away, but then his eyes brightened. "I think you can help me!" he exclaimed.
"I don't see how," Rodney said. "I'm a physicist, not a shrink!"
"I'm not crazy!" Harvey said emphatically. "I know you work on some classified space program. People would think you were crazy if you told them about it. Am I right?"
Rodney rolled his eyes and sighed. He could imagine the average person's reaction if he talked about Stargates, space ships, and the Wraith.
"I think I can trust you if I tell you what I am working on," Harvey said, and Rodney nodded.
He remembered Harvey from the past-healthy looking, friendly, liked to party a bit. This man was a shadow of his former self. Losing his family would have been a terrible blow, but Rodney suspected it was more than that. His dark ringed eyes had a haunted look, which gave Rodney a weird feeling. Like when his father read him Moby Dick. Even years later the thought of a whale creeped him out.
Harvey leaned forward and whispered. "I have made contact with another dimension!"
Chapter 2
Rodney was intrigued by what Harvey had told him, and cancelled his city tour, which he had not been that thrilled about in the first place. He planned to leave soon after seeing Harvey's discovery and joining the team at Dave's house on Cape Cod.
They arrived at Harvey's house, which had a dark and forbidding look about it, and was several miles from the nearest neighbor. Rodney got an uneasy feeling, which was not usual for him. Harvey referred to it as Haverhill House, describing it as several hundred years old. It looked it, including the overgrown and unkept grounds. Walking up the cracked and weed strewn walkway, Rodney had to fight the desire to turn and run. Then he mentally chided himself for being superstitious.
Harvey led him thru the house, which looked as if it was uninhabited for ages. A few old pieces of furniture, but mostly dust and cobwebs. Rodney worried about spiders.
They came to a heavy wooden door which Harvey unlocked. Then down a steep stairway into a dark, damp cellar. A bare bulb was the only light, casting eerie shadows. One portion of the room seemed darker than the rest, which caused Rodney to squint his eyes, doubting if it was real. An odd looking machine sat on a table. It had an archaic appearance, not like the usual scientific equipment.
"Doesn't the dampness in here effect it?" Rodney asked.
"Not at all," Harvey answered. "In fact it seems to help."
"That's hard to believe," Rodney scoffed. "Does it even work? It looks like it's from the early industrial period."
"Oh, it does work," Harvey replied. "I see you noticed the deeper darkness over there. It is a portal to the other dimension. I found this machine here, investigated it, and the portal opened."
"Could this be some type of Stargate?" Rodney wondered to himself. "Um, what type of portal?" he asked. The Wraith referred to the Stargates as Portals, and this gave him a chill up his spine. Had Harvey contacted the Wraith?
"A portal to the realm of the Old Ones," he answered, his face taking on an expression which could only be called rapture.
"Old Ones? You mean some religious thing? I thought you were a scientist!" Rodney said with scorn.
"The Old Ones were here before humans, but were driven to another dimension. They have been waiting to return for eons. They are the rightful rulers of the Earth. They will return and we will worship them!" he cried, his eyes shining with fanatical light.
Then he moved some levers on the machine and the dark area began to expand. It was blacker than anything Rodney had ever seen. He heard strange music, and felt repulsed but at the same time drawn to the blackness. Then a huge tentacle shot out. Rodney stumbled backward, falling on his butt. The tentacle came closer, and he managed to get on his feet and push a lever on the machine, knocking it to the floor. He heard an unearthly roar, the tentacle withdrew, and the dark portal disappeared.
"Let me out of here!" Rodney yelled, running for the door.
But Harvey was faster, blocking the way. "You can't leave!" he screamed hysterically. "You have offended the Old Ones!" He lunged at Rodney, grabbing him around the throat with both hands. He was surprisingly strong. Rodney struggled but could not break his grip. He began seeing black spots, and thought, "I'm going to die," before passing out.
Chapter 3
Dave's wife Jane recently had their first baby, a boy named Patrick. John and the team had been invited to visit their newly purchased home on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Rodney's physics seminar was in Boston at the same time, and he was expected to join them the next day. Teyla had brought Torren, who was disappointed that Patrick was too young to play. Everyone was enjoying themselves, except for Jennifer. She and Rodney had quarreled before they left Atlantis. She was not keen on the idea of spending time with the group, especially with Rodney away. She would rather stay on Atlantis with her scientist friends. The men and Amelia had gone fishing, which disgusted her. And she could care less about the women's "baby talk." Teyla and Jane actually compared notes on baby poop, and Amelia asked questions about pregnancy and baby care for future reference. "I can imagine Ronon's kid," Jennifer thought. "Probably will play with guns and knives before it can walk!"
The others were having drinks and laughing. She pleaded a headache and went to bed early.
It was late afternoon the next day, and Rodney had not yet arrived. Boston was 80 some miles and he should have been there already. Jennifer was worried, but Teyla said he probably ran into old friends and would be there soon. His phone went directly to voice mail. Finally Jennifer called the venue where the seminar had been. Everyone had left in the morning and no one had a clue about Rodney. After several calls, Jennifer was given the number of the seminar's organizer, and she left him a message. It was early evening when he returned her call.
"Why yes, I remember Dr. McKay," the man replied. "He left in the morning along with everyone else."
"He hasn't arrived yet and I'm concerned. He doesn't answer his phone," Jennifer said.
"I really don't know what to tell you. I suppose you could contact the police if he doesn't show up. Is he a drinking man?" he asked.
"No!" she said angrily. Rodney did drink but she could not see him getting drunk in a bar somewhere.
"Again, I don't know what to tell you. Oh wait! I remember he left with Dr. Dunwich. I think he was planning to visit," the man exclaimed.
"Do you have his address?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, no, but he lives in Arkham, a small town near Boston. That's all I know and I must get back to work."
They were all concerned by this time, and discussed whether they should head out now or wait till morning. Then the calls began. Several to Dave's land line, then everyone began getting calls on their cells. Mostly static, except sometimes a garbled voice would be heard, and an occasional word was barely made out. Something like "arka" and possibly "help."
They prepared to leave, Teyla staying behind with Torren. John and Ronon wanted Jennifer to stay but she insisted on going. They decided it might be good to have a doctor along-who knows what kind of trouble Rodney had gotten into.
John and Amelia had their 9 mm's, and Ronon had his blaster and sword, plus side arm and the usual hidden knives. John usually ordered him to leave the blaster and sword on Atlantis, but he had forgotten, and gave Ronon an eye roll for bringing them. But now he was glad the Satedan was fully armed. Ronon also broke tradition and wore a tac vest and backpack.
"What have you got in there anyway?" John asked.
"Just some extra MRE's and energy bars. You know how McKay likes to eat. And I don't want to be hungry either," Ronon answered. John gave him a skeptical look.
Hopefully nothing serious would happen, but it was not like Rodney to fail to show up or call.
Teyla offered Jennifer her side arm but she refused, never being really comfortable with guns.
The four headed out in a rental SUV.
They followed the GPS directions to Arkham. The small town was shut down for the night, except for a tavern. They entered the small bar and the patrons stared at them. Obviously they were not accustomed to strangers. After ordering drinks, John asked the bartender if he knew the address of Dr. Dunwich. The conversation had resumed but stopped abruptly, everyone again staring at the newcomers. Some looked frightened.
"Why do you want to know?" the bartender asked.
"A friend is visiting him and we were invited, but lost the address," John replied. A few people had gotten up and left.
"I suggest you folks drink up and go back where you came from," the bartender replied sharply.
"Maybe we'll just call the police instead," John answered.
"The sheriff will tell you the same. You're not welcome here," the bartender said, pulling out a shotgun from under the bar. "We don't need any more weirdos!"
Ronon stood up, but John put a hand on his arm. "Let's get out of here, we don't want trouble."
They got in the SUV, and were deciding what to do next, when there was a knock on the window. An obviously drunk man stood there, swaying a little, muttering about "those assholes." They had seen him sitting on the steps of the tavern. John rolled down his window. "The place you want is Haverhill House. Those idiots say it's haunted. They threw me out earlier," he said angrily. "Stuck up bastards!"
"Please give us the address," Jennifer said, sounding desperate.
"Sorry, ma'am, don't know it, but follow this road North, then turn left at the first intersection. Keep going and you'll find it." Then he staggered off, still cursing the tavern patrons.
Chapter 4
Rodney woke up lying on the floor of a windowless room. His throat hurt and his neck felt stiff. He struggled to his feet and banged on the door, yelling as loud as his bruised throat would allow. Finally he gave up and sat down on the floor, waiting for a response, but only silence. He wished John or Ronon was there. Then he stood up again, went to the far end of the room, took a running leap, and hit the door with his foot. He had seen Ronon do this many times, but he bounced off the door, landed on his shoulder, then passed out from pain.
When he woke up, he was sure his shoulder was broken or dislocated. His foot hurt too. But the door had not budged. He lay there and tried deep breathing, as Teyla had once told him to do. He had scoffed at the time, but it did seem to help. He tried moving his shoulder, which caused more pain, but he could move it. He took that as a good sign.
The room was totally empty but Rodney spotted something lying on the floor across the room. His phone! He began frantically calling everyone's numbers, but heard only static. He hoped someone heard his pleas for help.
Then he heard the door being unlocked and quickly put the phone in his pocket.
"Don't bother trying to call for help," Harvey said. "Cell service is bad out here and we are far underground." His eyes had a crazed look and his smile was frightening. "You have done a terrible thing, but you will help me make atonement to the Old Ones." He was holding a large knife.
He duct taped Rodney's hands behind him and led him back to the cellar, then sat him in a chair facing the darkness. His wrists and ankles were then taped to the chair.
"I have repaired the damage you did to the machine, as well as making it more efficient. Soon the Old Ones will be able to come through the portal!" he said excitedly.
"Why are you doing this?" Rodney cried.
"You are a sacrifice to the Old Ones," Harvey answered. "You should feel honored!"
"Excuse me for not being thrilled," Rodney squeaked.
A chime was heard and Harvey scowled. It persisted and he became more agitated. "That sound will interfere!" he shouted.
Rodney hoped it was his team come to rescue him.
They followed the sketchy directions. After a long drive, they began to think it was a wild goose chase, but then a large shadowy house was seen. It reminded the three 'Earthers' of a horror movie set. Ronon got a very bad feeling, and was glad he was fully armed.
There were weathered letters 'Haverhill House' carved in the stone work over the door. John knocked and rang the door bell, which made an eerie chime, but no one answered. Then his phone vibrated in his pocket. This time a definite "help" was heard, before static drowned it out.
They were turning to leave, when the door opened, with the expected loud squeak. A sickly looking man with strange eyes asked, "may I help you?"
"We were told our friend Dr. Rodney McKay is visiting here," John replied.
"He was here but left a few hours ago," the man answered, starting to shut the door. But Ronon stuck his foot in and kept it open. The man looked terrified, and held one hand behind his back.
"I don't believe you," Ronon said, his voice more menacing than usual.
Harvey suddenly thrust the knife at Ronon's face, which caused him to jump back, nearly knocking John off his feet. Amelia pushed hard against John's back, and in the confusion, Harvey got the door shut. With a furious growl, Ronon kicked the door as hard as he could. It held, but a small crack appeared.
Then Harvey's voice was heard from inside. "How dare you offend the Old Ones! Go away or I will slit your friend's throat!"
"We're sorry and we will leave now," John called out, then whispered, "sounds like a real nut job."
Jennifer looked horrified, her hand over her mouth and tears starting.
"We'll get him," Amelia said, trying to reassure her.
"We need to figure out how to get in," Ronon said, eyeing the three story house, "but I need to get some stuff from the SUV."
"Wait," John said, but Ronon was already headed that way.
He put on the sword and opened the pack, pulling out not food, but C4 and flash bang grenades. He gave some of them to John and Amelia, and put the rest in his vest pockets.
"I should have known," John said.
"Teyla was meditating and saw us in danger from something worse than the Wraith," Ronon replied. "I can't imagine what that could be, but I trust Teyla's intuition. So I brought more weapons."
"You could have mentioned it," John said.
"You might have said no," Ronon answered.
Chapter 5
They walked around the large house, looking for a way to get in. A window on the third floor was broken. It looked like a nearby tree branch had caused the damage in a storm. A narrow ledge ran the length of the top floor. Ronon climbed the tree, but when he tested the branch, he felt it would not hold his two hundred plus pounds.
John climbed up, told Ronon to move, and cautiously started across the branch. He almost made it when the branch began to crack. He grabbed hold of the ledge as the branch hit the ground. He dangled, and the three ran beneath him to break his fall. But John managed to get a leg on the ledge, then pull himself up. Slowly getting to his feet, he gave them a thumbs up, then began making his way to the broken window. They all breathed a sigh of relief when he climbed inside.
They waited anxiously for almost thirty minutes. Ronon tried to find a way to scale the wall but there was none. He paced impatiently, Jennifer cried, and Amelia tried to keep them both calm. Then John opened the back door. "What took you so long?" Ronon said gruffly.
"I was checking out the house. Nothing on the two upper floors but dust. I found a back way into the cellar," John replied. "Let's go!"
They descended a stairway, then down a narrow corridor, which smelled of musty dampness. John on point, Ronon at their six. Music was heard, weird but strangely hypnotic.
"What is that?" Jennifer asked.
"It's creepy," said Amelia.
"Try to block it out," John replied. "Something about it is wrong, and it will mess with your head. I had to fight it to turn back."
"I don't hear anything," said Ronon, who normally had the sharpest hearing.
They came to a door, John giving the sign for quiet. Harvey's voice could be heard, chanting with the music, in an unknown language. They hoped it would be unlocked, but no such luck. The wooden door looked old and rotten. After a short conference, they had a plan.
Ronon took a running start, leaped and kicked the door, which shattered. Then they threw flash bang grenades, quickly covering their eyes and ears as best they could. There were screams from Harvey and Rodney, a crash, and an unearthly roar.
Harvey lay on the floor moaning and holding his ears. Rodney had fallen over backwards in his chair and struggled with the tape that bound him. Under other circumstances it would have been humorous. Ronon quickly ran to his side and cut the tape. "I thought you would never get here!" Rodney shouted loudly.
"Shut up!" Ronon yelled but Rodney could not hear.
Harvey grabbed for the knife he had dropped, but John stepped on his wrist. Pulling zip ties from his vest, he bound Harvey's hands behind him and to the chair recently vacated by Rodney. He began more chanting in the unknown language.
A grenade had gone into the portal and the darkness was roiling. The archaic machine was making a humming sound and glowing. Rodney tried to push it off the table, but it was too hot and he jumped back. Ronon pushed him out of the way and shot it with his blaster, set on kill, demolishing it. Harvey laughed insanely. "Too late! The Old Ones cometh!"
The unearthly music grew louder. Jennifer stood still, staring into the darkness. Amelia held her ears, shaking her head. John grabbed Jennifer, shook her, and yelled, "fight it!"
"What?" Ronon said, putting an arm around Amelia. She tried to pull away from him.
"The music!" she cried.
Then Rodney began slowly walking toward the darkness, which was growing larger. Ronon got him in a head lock with his other arm. Rodney tried in vain to break free.
John struggled to block out the effects of the music, while Jennifer struggled to walk toward the darkness. Harvey laughed hysterically, saying, "it won't be long now! You may as well give in."
"Not while I'm here!" Ronon yelled. Then he swept Rodney's legs out from under him, shooting him with his blaster, set on stun, as he hit the floor. Then he did the same to Amelia, but lowered her down gently.
"You OK?" he asked John.
"I can't hold her back and keep my own head together," John answered. He was sweating from the effort. Ronon shot Jennifer, and John lowered her to the floor. He had not given them direct hits, just enough to put them out for a short time.
Another unearthly roar was heard, louder than before. A huge creature appeared in the dark portal. "The Old Ones have arrived!" Harvey cried. Then a tentacle shot out and grabbed Harvey, chair and all, pulling him into the darkness. He screamed desperately, the scream fading away and finally ending.
Chapter 6
John and Ronon stared in horror at the hideous creature. It was at least twelve feet tall, with too many tentacles to count. Some were large with suction cups, others were thin and snakelike. All were writhing in time with the strange music. Some of the 'snakes' had mouths like snapping turtles. A few larger tentacles had deformed hands on the ends. The face was out of a nightmare-bulbous eyes glowing red, a snarling mouth full of long sharp fangs.
Another loud roar, and the creature began to speak. The voice was an impossibly low tone, Ronon's deep bass was high pitched in comparison. "Your companion has opened the portal and we are coming back to reclaim this realm. You humans are no match for the power of the Old Ones!" The music increased and John covered his ears, desperately fighting the urge to run into the blackness. Ronon heard nothing but the creature's voice. Then it turned it's malevolent gaze on him. "You are not of this Earth!" it roared, shooting out a tentacle.
"I'm Satedan!" Ronon roared back, drawing his sword and chopping off the tentacle. More tentacles shot out, and his sword whirled in arcs as tentacles flew.
John was able to focus and began shooting at the creature's face and body. It then turned it's gaze on John, who lost his focus and shot wildly into the darkness. "You have the mark of your Ancient ancestors!" Ronon put his blaster on kill and shot the creature over and over. It's roar became weaker and it withdrew back into the blackness until only an outline could be seen. The music faded away and John's head began to clear.
"We need to set C4 charges and get the hell out," Ronon shouted. Amelia was waking up and Ronon pulled her to her feet, then began shaking Rodney. John got a disoriented Jennifer on her feet, but Rodney still slept.
"Get him up!" John ordered Jennifer and Amelia, then joined Ronon in setting several charges at the edge of the blackness. Rodney finally woke up as Amelia continued shaking him.
Then they ran, the three still disoriented, John and Ronon setting charges thru the house.
They kept running until they reached the SUV and climbed in. John wished it was a jumper. He hit the gas and Ronon pushed the button on the detonator. The explosion shook the ground.
Epilogue
It was still dark when they arrived at Dave's house, glad everyone was still sleeping. They sat on the back porch and talked in hushed tones about what had happened. Rodney, Jennifer, and Amelia had little memory of anything after the music started. John's memory was fuzzy and he had a headache. Ronon never heard the music.
"You better have your ears checked," Rodney said sarcastically.
"No, you better have your brain checked," Ronon shot back.
John remembered the creature saying Ronon was not of Earth, and that he himself had the mark of the ancestors. Or something like that. "I think I know what happened. The music only affects people from Earth, and my natural ATA gene interfered with it."
"That's what I thought," Rodney said, then looked at the ceiling as both men rolled their eyes.
"I vaguely remember a monstrous shape in the blackness," Amelia said with a shudder.
Ronon put his arm around her and she snuggled against him.
"It was horrible," Jennifer said, covering her face.
"Those tentacles were worse than the whale. Now I will have more nightmares," Rodney whined.
Then the door opened and Teyla joined them, holding Torren. "I thought I heard voices. When did you arrive?" Looking at their faces, she knew something unsettling had happened.
"Please don't tell Dave and Jane," John said, as Teyla sat down beside him. They decided to say that Rodney's GPS had malfunctioned and he became lost.
"Your vision came true," Ronon told her, "and it was worse than the Wraith."
No one spoke, so John replied," I guess I'm elected to tell the tale."
After hearing the story, Teyla looked shocked. "Is the portal to that dimension destroyed?"
"No way to tell," John answered. "It could have survived, and there could be more of them."
"Maybe that's why Earth is so weird," Ronon said.
Later that morning, the TV news was all about the mysterious explosion of a house in Arkham, reputed to be haunted. The homeowner was missing and presumed dead.
"Must have been a gas leak," said Dave.