Thanks again for your comments! The story wasn't originally going this way, but a new plot bunny bit me when I was reading the reviews, and I'm very glad it did! Thanks:-)
As soon as they crested the hill, John knew something was wrong. The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and little alarm bells started going off in his head. There was no sign of Teyla or Rodney. He scanned their position to make sure he had the right hill…he did. Something was definitely wrong.
Elizabeth picked up on the sudden increase in tension, and looked at John warily. "They're not here…what's wrong?" Her forehead was creased with worry lines and John caught a glimpse of fear in her eyes.
Giving a noncommittal reply, John reached for his radio. "Teyla, McKay…this is Colonel Sheppard. What's your position?" His apprehension grew as only the crackling of radio static came through the handset.
He turned to say something to Elizabeth and realized with a start just how open and vulnerable their current position was. Anyone in the area could see them clearly at the top of this hill. He motioned for Elizabeth to follow him down the hill; she raised an eyebrow in confusion, but followed without comment.
As they came into the little valley below, Sheppard reached for his radio to try contacting his team once again.
Then, in an instant, Elizabeth's nightmare plummeted to an even worse dimension.
Out of nowhere, four men surrounded the pair, guns drawn. Sheppard immediately pulled up his P90 and moved protectively in front of Elizabeth. But even as he fell automatically into defensive position, the rational portion of his brain knew that this was a hopeless situation. There was no way to get out of this without one or both of them being seriously injured or, more likely, killed.
Reluctantly, and with a reassuring glance toward Elizabeth, Colonel Sheppard lowered his weapon. The man closest to him immediately stepped forward to pull it out of his hands, along with the sidearm strapped to his thigh. Another, younger than the others, shouldered his weapon and took the reigns to Sheppard's horse. He stepped to the side, and the remaining three gunmen ushered their new prisoners forward.
A minute later, the group rounded a small outcropping of trees, and Elizabeth's confidence fell even further. There in front of her, Teyla and Rodney were kneeling on the ground with their hands on their heads. Each had another gunman behind them pointing a nasty-looking weapon directly at them.
Elizabeth and John were maneuvered into position beside the other two and instructed to do the same. Elizabeth had just knelt down on the end and was raising her hands when she looked up and froze. She was once again staring into the face she had hoped never to see again, even in her nightmares.
Damien, the smug smirk back on his face, strutted toward the captives and stopped a couple of feet away, surveying them as if he had just captured prize animals in a hunt. He flashed a broad mocking grin and said, "Well, it appears I was correct in my assumption that you were hiding something, Colonel."
John once again felt the cold fury rising from the pit of his stomach and threatening to overwhelm him. He struggled to resist the urge to launch himself at Damien and choke the life out of him. Instead, he remained rigidly still and tried to concentrate on what the bastard was telling him.
"I knew something wasn't right from the very beginning…I'm very observant, you know. So, I had you followed. It seems my intuition has served me well once again." He turned to the Colonel and Dr.Weir, "My men told me of your actions back at the hill before they captured you both, Colonel. How touching!" His self-important smirk and mocking tone only served to infuriate the Colonel further.
Seeing this, Damien gave a short laugh and turned back to address them all. He clapped his hands together and tilted his head in thought. "Now…what should we do with all of you?...Hmm…"
John finally found his voice and tried to keep the hatred out of his tone. "If you kill us or try to keep us as prisoners, more of our people will come looking for us. As soon as we're overdue for this mission, they'll send people through to investigate…and I doubt they'll try the whole 'negotiate first' thing."
To John's surprise, Damien seemed to be seriously considering his warning. John took this opportunity to glance toward Elizabeth. She seemed to be holding up pretty well, but her entire body was tensed and the spark of fear still hadn't left her eyes. John cursed himself for not being able to take her away from all this earlier.
His attention snapped back to Damien when the slaveholder nodded his head; evidently he had come to a decision. John held his breath and waited for the verdict, apprehension for his team slamming to the forefront of his consciousness.
Damien looked at the Colonel with a completely serious expression. "I will allow you to be escorted back to the stargate and return to your planet. However, you will be put in restraints for the duration of the journey. I must also ask that you never return here."
John could hardly believe his ears. He was just going to let them go! Hell, I'm not going to argue with him! He breathed out a small sigh of relief and started to voice his agreement, but then he noticed the smirk return to Damien's face. John's eyes narrowed in suspicion and he waited for the other shoe to drop.
He didn't expect the other shoe to kick him square in the chest and stomp him repeatedly.
"I will allow you to go," Damien said, "but as punishment for deceiving me, I will reclaim my property. The slave belongs to me once again."
Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock as Damien's meaning sank in, and she began to shake. One of the guards stepped forward and Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat when she saw what he was carrying. Her eyes fixed on the restraints she and John had discarded earlier. The guard moved toward her, and she felt panic begin to take hold.
"No," she whispered. Then, louder and stronger, "No…I won't go back. I can't!" She started to scramble backward, away from the guard with the manacles. Suddenly, she felt strong arms encircle her and haul her to her feet, arms effectively immobilized by her sides.
She distantly heard John and the others shouting, but all she could focus on was the overwhelming panic at the thought of wearing the restraints again. Without thinking, she threw her head back and smashed the back of her skull into her captor's face. She heard a sickening crunch and a yell of pain before she was thrown violently to the ground.
She started to pull herself up, acting purely on adrenaline and a primitive survival instinct, but a hand around her neck forced her down on her back. She thrashed and kicked out wildly, but the two men together finally managed to lock the restraints back into place, including the neck chain. They both stood up, one nursing his crushed nose, the other rubbing his chest where a well-timed kick from Elizabeth had left a vicious bruise.
They left Elizabeth lying on the ground, tears streaming silently down her face. Just when she thought she was finally free, they had thrust her back into hell.
John, now sporting a cut along his hairline at the temple from an attempt to help Elizabeth that ended in a blow from the butt of a gun, stared helplessly at the ground in front of him, hands balled into fists. Anger, frustration, and anguish for what he knew Elizabeth must be feeling, rushed through him. He raised his head and locked eyes with Damien. He poured all his emotion into that one glare, letting him glimpse the murderous rage that was barely held in check.
Damien, arrogantly unimpressed, simply turned to give instructions to his men. "You two, restrain the prisoners and escort them back to the gate. The rest of you, with me." He nodded to a burly man with a scar down the side of his face, and the guard reached down to grab hold of Elizabeth's chain. He yanked her violently to her feet and mounted one of John's horses.
As they walked off, John caught Elizabeth's eye, and what he saw there shattered his heart. The spark of defiance in her eyes was gone completely. In its place was a blank detachment. No emotion registered at all on her tear-streaked face. John tried to let her know without speaking that it wasn't over, that they would get her out of here. But there was no hope left in her eyes. At another tug on the chain, she turned and followed the group back toward the plantation, leaving John with a deep ache in his chest.
