Todd ghosted down the hallway toward the source of the gunfire. The screams were reaching a fever-pitch and he wondered what could terrify a being into making such a sound. He tried to identify the species, and finally decided on human, though these screams were much shriller than those of his victims. Then again, he wasn't much for prolonging the feeding to such an extent that screaming was much of an option for his meal.
A shadowy form wavered into view further down the hall, and he slid to a stop, stunned. The vaguely humanoid shape, more felt than seen, hovered a few feet above the floor. The two women would no doubt find it frightening, but he merely blinked.
Wraith! What are Wraith doing here?
He reached out with his mind to make contact with the projection's creator, but could find nothing. He expanded his search cautiously, his telepathy soaring through the spaces between space, where his people could hear one another. More Wraith could prove problematic for his charges, but he would cross that gate when he came to it. Commanders were entitled to personal slaves, but he would have to fight to prove himself strong enough to keep them, and that was assuming he could get the human women to play along. He doubted either would remain convincing as worshippers for long.
His thin mouth tightened in bewilderment as his mind continued to meet only emptiness. Where there should be whispers, emotions, hunger, there was only silence.
"What is this trickery?" he snarled. He marched forward to meet the apparition face on, and the form dissolved, disappearing into the air like wisps of smoke. He glared about him, searching for a trap, but the hall was still and quiet, save for the continued screams in the distance.
Running footsteps suddenly echoed through the hall, moving quickly toward Todd, and he stepped into an unlit doorway. A young Genii soldier stumbled out of a side corridor and ran down the hall, toward Todd and the lab. His face was contorted with fear, and he glanced behind him frequently, as though expecting chase.
Todd waited for him to draw near, then darted out and dragged the struggling soldier back into the dark room. The Genii had time to utter one last shriek before Todd clamped his hand over his mouth. He plucked the pistol from the boy's hand and tossed it aside. The Genii fought to free himself, but Todd held him tighter, and slapped his hand against his chest. He felt his feeding slit part, and hunger flared up inside him, fiercely hot and all-consuming. The soldier bucked as the tiny teeth bit into his flesh, but Todd merely dug his claws in deeper, anchoring himself to his prey. The soldier's struggles weakened, then ceased altogether as his life energy flowed into Todd.
Todd dropped the dried husk of the Genii soldier and shivered pleasurably. His injuries had completed their healing as he fed, and the hunger pain was gone, satiated for now. He allowed himself a moment to enjoy the feeling; it would not last long once he returned what Amelia had given him.
He followed the Genii soldier's muddy bootprints down several corridors, and found himself at the base of a large control tower; the spire, he realized. The tower soared upwards, and an equipment- filled landing spiraled up along the walls, culminating at a platform near the top. The base of the tower was a scene of chaos, and he stepped back hastily as a panicking Genii soldier stumbled towards him, frantically waving away another 'projection'. The soldier clutched a knife in his hand, and he swung it toward the apparition; the apparition dissolved, and the knife sliced through the neck of another screaming Genii. The stricken Genii fell to the ground in a spray of arterial blood; the panicked soldier didn't even notice. Todd stunned him and pulled his prone body into the hall.
More Genii milled around the room, screaming as apparitions chased them. Frightening distortions were reflected in the polished silver of the walls, and Todd bared his teeth as he caught glimpses of the scowling face flowing among them. Several soldiers lay dead or dying on the tile floor, pierced by bullets shot from weapons held by comrades, or sliced open by Genii blades. The men were did not realize they were killing each other, so focused were they on the 'Wraith' assailants.
Todd drained the stunned soldier of his life energy and stepped back into the room. Taking careful aim, he brought down four of the soldiers in rapid succession. To his surprise, the false projections vanished, leaving more than a dozen Genii alive and confused. They spotted him immediately. Guns were raised once more, and with a curse Todd dove back out of the room. Bullets ricocheted off the walls around him, and he hissed as several clipped him. The damage was minimal, but the minor wounds still bled and stung.
Damn all, he thought, firing back. I'll need a new set of clothing after all this, and Threadneedle demands an exorbitant price these days...
The firefight between the Wraith and the Genii raged on, and Todd did not see the soldier with the barrel chest trip over a fallen comrade and fall through a side door.
oooOOOooo
"How are you feeling, Amelia?" Keller asked, as she rifled through a medical cart.
"Tired," Amelia replied, stretching carefully. Joints popped loudly, and she winced in pain. "Being fifty is harder than I thought it would be."
Keller watched her, then shook her head. "You have the physical appearance of a woman in her fifties," she said. "But your movements and physiological responses are more in line with someone much older. I've been watching you. Your condition is deteriorating. We need to get you back to Atlantis, and very soon."
"What's the point?" Amelia asked. "What can be done there to help me? You said there was no treatment."
"We can put you in a stasis chamber until there is," Keller explained. "What do you think? Is this a scalpel? I think it's a scalpel. Kind of." She held a slender silver blade up to the light.
"If it's sharp, that's all that matters," Amelia shrugged. Stasis chamber, she thought. Months or years spent sleeping in the cold, dreaming with no way to escape. Then waking up with no clue how much time has passed. Can I endure that? I don't want to. I really, really don't want to.
"Do you think Todd will be alright?" she said. It was Keller's turn to shrug.
"Probably," she replied, setting aside a blood-stained saw with a moue of distaste. "He seems to have more lives than a cat. I may be prying a little, but you and he seem to have something going on between you. What's up?"
"Going on?"
"Oh, I don't know," Keller sighed, pulling out another drawer. "Look, you spent an hour with the guy, and the next day he's risking his life to save you, and you're giving up yours to save his. What gives?"
"He saved your life, too," Amelia pointed out.
"I doubt he would have gone through the trouble if it was just me," Keller said dryly. "Todd and I are not exactly seeing eye to eye at the moment, and in all honesty, he scares the hell out of me. But you're not frightened of him at all."
"I guess out of everything that's happened today, he's the least scary part," Amelia mused. "To be honest, I like him. He's funny, in a gallows humor sort of way. And how can a person who loves chocolate that much be all bad? And those muscles..." She cocked an eyebrow suggestively, and Keller laughed.
"Well, he isn't bad looking," she conceded. "And I suppose the way he irks Ronon has nothing to do with it, right?"
"Oh, perish the thought!"
"Hands up. Now."
Amelia stiffened as she recognized the voice at the door, and she turned slowly, raising her hands.
"Oh my god," Keller breathed. She stumbled back against the medical cart as Stubby sauntered in. He stared at Amelia, then smirked.
"Looks like you should have stayed with us," he said. "At least Sora would have given you a clean death, rather than being fed on like an animal."
"How did you find us?" Amelia asked, standing slowly. Her lower back twinged, but she didn't bother to hide her grimace of pain this time. Stubby relaxed slightly as he took in her diminished state.
"Over there," he said, gesturing with his gun. "Beside the doctor. It wasn't hard. Just followed the tracks in the snow to this place. The door was a challenge, but we got through soon enough. But running into you here, that was just pure luck. Hurry up, now. Stop dawdling."
Amelia walked slowly and carefully toward Keller. The doctor's eyes were wide with fright, but Amelia could see the scalpel clutched in her hand, hidden beside her leg. Amelia passed Stubby, then whirled around and swung her fist at his face. Muscles tore from the effort, and she clenched her jaw against the pain, but her movements had slowed. Stubby raised his arm fast enough to block her blow, and she felt her forearm splinter, but swung her other arm and knocked away his pistol. He staggered back, and she struck out with her leg, fighting to ignore the searing pain in her hip. He caught her foot with a grunt, and he shoved her back, hard. Amelia went flying backwards into one of the workstations. She heard a crack like a gunshot as the back of her neck hit the edge of the desk. All feeling vanished from her body as she sank to the floor. Blood roared in her ears; she saw rather than heard Keller scream as she jumped Stubby from behind and jammed the little blade into the side of his throat. Deep red blood arced through the air, and Stubby fell to his knees, grasping at the scalpel still protruding from his flesh. A moment later he was dead. Keller ran to Amelia's side.
"Amelia, are you alright?" she demanded, kneeling over her. "Can you hear me?"
Amelia fought to answer, but her body wouldn't respond. Her lungs began to burn, and she realized she wasn't breathing. She struggled to draw a breath, but even that basic function was denied her.
"Amelia," Keller said loudly. "Amelia, I need you to breathe. Sweetie, you need to breathe for me. Oh god, please breathe!"
Gray shadows dimmed the edges of Amelia's vision; tears clouded the rest. Her chest ached with the need to draw in air. When she thought she couldn't stand anymore pain, the burning subsided and she drifted away into darkness.