A/N – Falling Into Ice… Falling In Twice…? Oh, well! Thanks for the reviews everyone!
Chapter 11 – My Last Day Will Be Tomorrow
Rodney sat on the floor in the arch room and checked the scanner again. The dampening field he had created to mask his life sign seemed to be holding. He was fairly confident it was hiding the Wraith tracker as well, but there was not a lot he could do about it if he was still visible to their hive ships.
He had been steadily passing through the realities now that he had all the equipment he needed and did not have to go on a trek where he ended up to get supplies. He blinked down at his watch tiredly and sighed. He had lost track of the number of times he had gone through the archway, but he hoped that every time brought him closer to home.
He stretched out his back and winced as his wounds moved with him. The version of Jennifer who had helped him was as skilled a physician as she was in his reality and the stitches held.
He lifted up the scanner and laid it on his arm for what felt like the millionth time. He sighed as it showed that he was still not home. He had already been in this particular mystery reality for a few hours and felt it was safe enough to stay there for a while longer, have something to eat and try to get some rest.
He dug around in the rucksack and tried not to let the fact that he only had a handful of power crystals left bother him. He would soon need to venture out to find some more soon in order to continue his slow progress home.
He pulled out an MRE and curled his lip up at the packaging as he read the contents. He tore it open and started to chew on what he found inside. He grimaced as it tasted exactly like the multiprocessed plastic chicken he knew it would. He was so hungry and it had been so long since he had had any proper food that he had not promptly lost in a bout of painful vomiting. Right then, it could have been the finest cuisine Earth had to offer and he smiled as he wolfed down the last remnants of the meal.
There were two more in the bag, but he was also running out of water. He took some more of the antibiotics to fight down the infection trying to take hold.
He then turned on his side and lay down, hugging the rucksack to his chest and resting his arm under his head to at least try and minimize the hard bite of the floor against him. His hip soon protested at the solid ground underneath and he knew he was in for a bad time when he woke up, but he was so tired that he soon drifted away.
It only felt like his eyes had only been closed for a few minutes when Rodney woke up and moaned. There was fire spreading out under his skin. It was not confined to his chest and back as it had been earlier, but it was in every part of his body.
He closed his eyes again, but the sensation stayed with him and held him even tighter with every breath he took. It only continued to increase where he willed it to leave him alone. He muttered sadly in understanding, "The cellular degradation. I'm a dead man."
He sat up and bunched his hands into the rucksack he was still curled up against, as the burning feeling did not go away and his eyes started to water. He suddenly realised that the Wraith Queen had inadvertently healed his cells when she had given his life back.
"Good to go for another round…" Rodney whispered harshly into the empty room.
He knew that he needed haste now to get back, so he grabbed a precious power crystal from his dwindling supply and packed up his gear.
He slowly walked over to the control console as every step sent shooting pains up his legs and he gritted his teeth in agony. It felt like he was standing in a bonfire, but there were no visible flames, only those inside him.
He coiled the strap of the bag around his wrist securely and slotted the crystal in place. He then tapped a few buttons and quickly turned to face the arch as it powered up. He very deliberately walked forwards at a rapid pace where he had become fairly expert at going through the portal to avoid bruising on the other side as he fell.
His speed matched the snag and he jogged into the next reality, praying that his luck held out and that he was either home at last or in another safe place.
Rodney knew he was in trouble the moment he ran out the other side of the portal and skidded to an unsteady halt. His lungs felt like they were full of knives as he caught his breath and dropped the bag to hug his arms around his chest.
He knew it would not be long before he was going to be completely immobilised by the cellular breakdown. At the rate it was now increasing he thought it would probably be only a matter of hours before he could not move at all and then a day at most before he was dead.
That was not what had caused him to panic though. It looked like the inhabitants of the reality where he had appeared made full use of the room as a makeshift armoury. It was crammed full with enough ordinance to start a small war.
Guns of all sizes and descriptions where held up in racks all around the edges of the room. There were tac vests and helmets along with grenades, rocket launchers and rows upon rows of Wraith stunners.
Rodney widened his eyes in fear as he swept his gaze around the room and said, "Underground lair. An evil, underground lair…"
The atmosphere in the room was thick and felt heavy with the promise of death that all the weapons had already dispensed or were destined to do. There was also a strong tang of gunpowder and burning.
Rodney swallowed nervously and limped over to the control panel. He put the rucksack down as close to the panel as he could and fumbled as he unzipped it. He grabbed a power crystal as his panic increased that he was going to be caught very soon. "Or shot!" he whispered in terror as he glanced at the guns.
He held the crystal tightly and was about to curl his hand around the rucksack straps again, when a blast of blue energy impacted his lower arm. He shrieked as white hot pain rushed up and down his right forearm and made him drop the crystal with a clatter.
He fell over and tried to get to his gun, but his hand was left tingling and limp when the sudden pain receded.
He swivelled himself around where he lay on his back and looked at his attacker. It was Sheppard, but definitely not his Sheppard. The Colonel was leering down at him as he waved the modified Wraith stunner briefly and then pointed it at him without flinching. There were two more marines with him and they both glared at him in equal dislike.
Sheppard said nastily, "You're out of uniform, McKay."
There was venom in his words that sounded like hatred to Rodney's ears and his heart rate sped up even more and dulled the pain he was in. Rodney looked down at his uniform; it was the same style as the one he had been wearing before he had lost his reality.
He decided it was best to try and play dumb so he mumbled, "Uh, okay."
"That's not good enough. You already know what the punishment is for any disobedience and I've had it up to here with you." Sheppard's voice rose as he reached the end of the sentence and Rodney flinched.
He needed to get Sheppard on a level playing field so he stood up slowly and squared his shoulders. He then asked as calmly as he could, "Punishment? No, what?"
Sheppard walked over to him with a cold expression. The soldiers behind him kept their guns aimed at Rodney. He raised his hands and frowned at Sheppard. He asked in panic, "What's going on? What are you doing?"
"That won't work, McKay. There are always consequences." Sheppard grabbed the gun from Rodney's holster and tucked it into the front of his tac vest.
Before Rodney could speak again, Sheppard backhanded him across the face and he fell to the floor. Sheppard moved his foot back and wound a savage kick into Rodney's stomach. McKay released an inarticulate grunt and then rolled over and lay on his side as he rocked slightly. He held his midsection with both of his forearms and coughed.
"Rogers, Leider, get over here. You know the drill."
"Yes, sir!"
Rodney blinked up to see what was going on. One of the marines grabbed his left arm and pulled it away from where he was clutching it across his bruised belly. It felt like he had pulled half the stitches on his chest and the weakness caused by the cell degradation meant that the pain stayed constant.
Rodney struggled, but the hands were too strong and he winced. The other marine rolled him over onto his back and straddled him as he held him down firmly by the shoulders.
Sheppard grinned evilly down at Rodney as he lay pinned to the floor and immobile. He brought up his boot and suddenly stamped down on Rodney's outstretched hand.
McKay howled passionately in agony as Sheppard's crushing foot snapped two of his fingers like twigs. Even after all the pain and torment he was already enduring, the sound he released involuntarily felt strange in his throat and to his ears. Like he could not believe that such an emotional cry could ever emanate from him.
He felt nausea building up as his breath caught in a strangled choking sob and tears of pain streamed down his face.
The marines let go of him and Rodney continued to whimper in misery as he drew his mangled left hand across his chest and furrowed his brow. He felt strong hands pulling him off the floor and forcing him to walk out of the room. He felt the barrel of a gun jabbed into his back brutally and he gritted his teeth.
He looked down sadly as his fingers continued to throb steadily and eclipsed all the other sensations, but a flicker of hope still burned in his mind. They had not taken the rucksack and the power crystal was still lying on the floor in the room somewhere. If he could distract them and get away then he would be free to move to the next reality. Overpowering them was out of the question as he knew that the next blow or shot could easily kill him.
While he was thinking, he must have hesitated, because he felt the barrel of the stunner pressed into the small of his back and shoving firmly until he stumbled.
Sheppard seemed to be on the other end of the torment and he growled, "Keep moving, McKay, or it'll be worse for you this time."
Rodney said, "A reality where everyone's evil and psychotic? I suppose it was bound to happen eventually…" He cried out as the barrel of the Wraith stunner jabbed him wickedly in the ribs and left what felt like a massive bruise when it was drawn away.
No one helped him when he fell down a few seconds later and lay still. He wished they would leave him lying there and go on their way with whatever they did in this reality when not torturing unarmed civilians.
Sheppard bared his teeth slightly in anger and then tapped his radio, "Ronon. Go get Keller. McKay's escaped again and he's being…" Sheppard smiled at him, but there was nothing nice in his expression, "…difficult."
Rodney twisted out of the way as another boot sailed towards him. He cowered, but Sheppard grabbed his arm in a bruising grip and pulled him upright with an angry sigh. Rodney continued to clutch his damaged hand against himself protectively and did not want to look down and to find out about the state of his fingers.
Rodney flinched away and pulled his arm out of the hold. He asked, "Escaped again? Am I still alive in this reality? How is that even possible?"
Sheppard rammed the stunner into Rodney's midsection and he would have fallen again if one of the marines had not grabbed him under the shoulders and held him up. Rodney bent over at the waist and hugged his arms around himself, being careful not to shift his mangled hand.
He gasped, "You're going to kill me doing that! Cell degradation here. Not to mention multiple stab wounds, Wraith feeding, hypothermia…"
He coughed as Sheppard cracked him over the head with the stunner and said, "I don't really want to break this on you, McKay. Zelenka's only got a few."
Rodney clutched his head with his free hand as he straightened. He said shakily, "Then… don't…"
Sheppard shrugged and pushed Rodney along and into the transporter. He shoved the scientist up against the wall inside the chamber and breathed heavily as it looked like he was trying to restrain himself from hitting Rodney again.
McKay narrowed his eyes and asked again, "Where did I escape from? When was the last time you saw me?"
Sheppard frowned at him in confusion and said coldly, "It's martial law, McKay. You know the rules, even though you flout them. Civilians answer to the military. You do as we ask or there are consequences."
Rodney mumbled, "Oh, then you hold all the civilians captive?"
That earned him another punch in the face and he clutched his head as his ears rang and an angry headache flared. Sheppard had his lips pressed together in fury and then jabbed his finger on the control panel.
Rodney grimaced and asked, "So, do you do any exploring and learning?"
Sheppard said coldly, "No. Well, only if there's something in it for us."
"Conquering and enslaving?" Rodney guessed.
Sheppard narrowed his eyes and said, "Huh, but it backfired when the Wraith got past you, got past us and then took Earth." He suddenly stopped and said angrily, "You know all of this, McKay! What the hell's wrong with you?"
Rodney furrowed his brow. He had obviously been right and he knew that he was definitely in big trouble now that he was trapped in this reality.
He was starting to lose control of his legs as he was marched up the next corridor. He was getting weaker from the abuse at the hands of a man who looked like his friend, but could not have been further from the true Sheppard he had left behind in his own reality.
Soon, the marines had to hold him up by the arms and half drag him along the corridor. Rodney was lost in his own mind though, as the pain sealed him off and closed all the doors to anything other than what his wracked body was telling him.
He dimly looked out through the iron bars of the agony as though he was not even seeing the world through his own eyes anymore, but from another man. He saw a dim haze of what was happening as the room tipped and fell.
Then he realised that it was actually him who had fallen and landed on the floor in a heap. He watched the lights as the brig shield activated and locked him away. He felt like he was already imprisoned though, so did not really register the second barrier going up around him.
He struggled with wakefulness and tried to at least escape his first cage of pain. He realised in sadness that there was nothing he could do, so he found the only freedom he could and succumb to unconsciousness. The pain closed in and then faded away entirely.
Rodney woke up to the sound of grating laughter. It was utterly mirthless and totally unpleasant. He narrowly opened his eyes and found that he was lying on a bed in the isolation room. They had removed him from the brig, but he was still locked away.
There was an IV line threaded in his arm, but there was still a dull throbbing ache throughout his body which he knew was only being silenced from the screaming agony of earlier by a drug of some description.
He blinked slowly and swallowed, but his throat was dry and he coughed weakly. He turned his head as the laughter stopped abruptly and watched in horror as Jennifer moved away from where she was standing very close to Ronon.
The Satedan was smiling at her, but like Sheppard, his face was distorted and he did not appear to be truly happy. He looked greedily upon her in hunger as his eyes bored into her face. He then turned to look at Rodney and his expression instantly swapped to the same hatred Rodney had seen in Sheppard's eyes.
Rodney shrunk down into the bed, but there was nowhere for him to go. He felt warmth in his left hand and glanced down to see that his broken fingers had been carefully set and splinted and were strapped together.
Jennifer walked over and kept her face neutral as she removed the IV line. She narrowed her eyes briefly and then turned her face away and stalked back to Ronon.
Rodney followed her with his gaze and then felt angry as his heart leapt in a jealousy when Jennifer hugged Ronon tightly and he growled at her.
She laughed, the same mirthless and horrendous laugh that was nothing like the tinkling raindrops of her usual happy chuckles. Rodney felt all his hair standing on end as he grimaced and looked away feeling completely crestfallen and wretched.
He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow as he mumbled sadly, "That was to be expected."
She said to Ronon in a humorous tone, "Don't break him too much this time or I'll have to spend all my time repairing him and less time will be left for you." She poked her finger in his chest and pouted.
Rodney shifted on the bed and swung his legs over the side to build up his best defence after what Jennifer had just said. He tried to ignore the fact that the woman was wearing Jennifer's face as she grinned at him nastily and then left him alone with Ronon.
Rodney watched Ronon warily, but the Satedan just stood there and glared back at him neutrally. Rodney went straight for a new question that had just formed in his mind, which would hopefully earn him less punches over its stupid insanity, "How's Earth these days?"
"Earth," Ronon grunted and snarled. He snorted slightly and then said, "Culled years ago."
"Oh, why am I not surprised?" Rodney said, starting to feel a little indifference at the attitude and behaviour of the humans he had encountered so far.
He slowly lifted his bandaged hand to gesture around the room and added, "So, this place is the last outpost of human race? You're not really setting a very good example for the species from the behaviour I've seen so far."
Ronon did not lift his fists to threaten the scientist or aim any kicks his way. He just continued to stand there and stare at Rodney intently until he had to look away uncomfortably. "So, uh, how did that happen and were you always this evil?"
Ronon shifted and curled his hands up briefly. Rodney flinched away until his back hit a wall and he winced. Jennifer's words must have got through to the Satedan, as he still did not lash out even though it looked like he wanted to.
"The Wraith, McKay! Working in that lab of yours alone for the past year really has driven you crazy." Ronon came over to him and placed one hand on the wall next to Rodney's head.
"Huh?" Rodney closed his eyes at the closeness of Ronon and his threatening behaviour and frowned. He asked, "Before today, when was the last time anyone saw me?"
Ronon shrugged and then grinned at Rodney. The scientist narrowly cracked his eyes open and had a fleeting view of Ronon's sharp teeth before he started speaking again, "Dunno. Don't really care. You're a snivelling coward, McKay and I hoped you'd finally decided to end your misery and ours. Obviously not though."
Rodney tried to flinch away, but Ronon was still staring at him cruelly and he did not have a choice as fighting was out of the question. He did not feel very brave at that moment and he knew his expressions and movements were only confirming what Ronon had just said.
The Satedan continued, "As long as I stay alive, I don't keep tabs on what happens to anyone else."
"Wow, people say I'm selfish…" Rodney muttered under his breath, but Ronon was so close to him he must have heard every word.
Ronon shoved his hands onto Rodney's chest and pressed him into the wall until Rodney was sure that some of the stitches had torn and his ribs were about to splinter. He pushed his uninjured hand against Ronon's chest, but he had little strength left and could not shift the taller man away. Ronon used his grip on the scientist's shirt to pull him away from the wall before spinning him over and bodily slamming him into the ground.
Rodney cried out and lost his breath when he landed. His head also connected with the floor and he closed his eyes as he lay there. He felt the hands leaving him and looked up through his blurred vision to see Ronon standing over him menacingly.
Rodney remembered the Wraith tracker in his back and savagely wondered whether the Wraith had already picked it up and were on their way to eliminate the remnants of Earth's population permanently. He found himself echoing the sentiments of the version of Ronon looming over him without a flicker of remorse on his face, as he no longer cared very much if they had.
Rodney said between panted gasps, "I, I'm dead… in this reality! You need to… let me go back… to the room where the others found me!"
Ronon frowned and knelt down next to Rodney. He said, "Sheppard won't like that."
Rodney winced and whispered, "Go to my… lab and see… for yourself… I'm not from this reality…" He coughed and cringed as the painkillers began to wear off, "If you truly don't… care about anything… let me go." His voice squeaked in desperation at the end and he closed his eyes involuntarily.
He heard footsteps around him and braced himself for a kick which would probably be one of the last things he felt. It did not come though and he heard the door open before mumbled words echoed back at him.
He then heard another person coming over to him, but he could not find the physical strength or willpower required to open his eyes and find out who it was.
He felt a hand grabbing his upper arm and tugging brutally. Rodney moaned and the grip became tighter and the relentless pulling caused more pain to rail against his fragile body.
He moved then, only to stop the new torment assaulting him. He snapped his eyes open as he shouted in a high-pitched voice, "Stop doing that, can't you see I can't move!"
He immediately closed his mouth and tried to smooth the deep frown on his face when he saw it was actually Jennifer trying to help him up.
She clenched her teeth together and glared back at him. It was not a hurt or indignant expression though, but one of anger. She said slowly, "Get up, McKay or I'll leave you here to die."
Rodney flinched at her words and then understanding started to flow through his mind, "Like you already have?"
Her frown shifted into one of confusion, "What are you talking about?"
Rodney put some of his own strength behind her pulling and levered himself up and onto the bed. He swung his legs round and lay back with a violent shudder as his many bruises were pressed against the sheets.
Jennifer showed no remorse or pity though as she continued to glare at him.
Rodney turned to her once the trembling had subsided and said, "Everyone here is totally mad. Whether it's the destruction of Earth and the desperation or whether you were all just born this way… I don't know…"
He panicked slightly as Jennifer came closer to him and took what looked like a pen out of her pocket. Rodney glanced at it briefly and then up at her face again. He quickly added, "I don't care either! I need your help, or someone's help to get out of here and back where I truly belong."
Jennifer folded her arms over her chest and sighed. She said, "McKay, why should I help you?"
Rodney's eyes darted around the room and then he locked eyes with her again, trying to push aside the fact that she looked exactly like the woman he loved. "Ronon! If you let me go, you can be together without any distractions!"
Jennifer looked down while she thought about it and then straightened up, "Alright. I'll see what I can do. If you try to escape before though…"
Rodney swallowed and had very little faith that this version of Jennifer was any less evil than the others. He silently stood up as she walked away from him. He once again rested his damaged hand over his chest and held his other hand over his mouth to quieten his breathing while he followed her over to the door.
He tiptoed and fought back a cry when the nagging pain flared through him again.
The door opened for Jennifer and she stepped out. Rodney suddenly ran at her and lifted up his injured hand as he grabbed her around the neck with his other arm. He quickly spun her around to shield himself with her body from the confused marines who were standing guard by the door.
He said into her ear quietly, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just need some insurance."
Jennifer's hair was right in his face, so he puffed out a breath to clear it from his vision as he backed away from the marines as they continued to watch him lazily. It was almost like they no longer cared what was going on either.
He could understand Sheppard's frustration, but taking it out on the few civilians who were left… Rodney wondered whether his earlier assumption had been correct. Then again, everyone was so evil and out of character he did not believe for a moment that they had not always been like they were and had brought about the destruction of Earth through their own selfish actions.
He reached the transporter unhindered and tapped the display for the corridor close to the arch room, which was being used as a makeshift armoury in this reality.
When the journey was complete, he quickly released his strangle hold on Jennifer. She stepped away from him and coughed harshly as she rubbed her neck.
She suddenly spun around and came at him. Rodney's eyes widened in shock and he pushed his hands against her shoulders at the same time he felt a sharp new pain in his flank.
The sensations assailing his body had blurred into one big lake of pain and misery, but he was still able to notice the new feeling and looked down to see what had happened to cause it, if anything.
What Rodney had thought was a pen, was in actual fact a scalpel and Jennifer had just stabbed him with the small blade. It stuck out sideways from him, just below his ribs and he pushed her away more firmly with a whimper as she glared at him in fury and then smiled. The expression tore into Rodney as it was the first time he had actually seen a flicker of any true happiness.
He winced, but could not contemplate pulling the blade out himself. Jennifer decided to help him. Before he could stop her, she curled her hand around the instrument and pulled it out.
Rodney cried out weakly and pushed past her to free himself from the transporter alcove and get more room to manoeuvre.
She held the bloody blade up and slashed it through the air towards him as he backed away and tilted his upper body to avoid the tiny blade.
He held up his hands and said, "Whoa, whoa! What are you doing, Jennifer?"
She snarled at him and forced him further along the corridor with her constant attacks. Rodney knew he was going towards the arch room, but that was little comfort as the scalpel flashed towards him and he did not move quickly enough to avoid being sliced across the arm. His clothes hardly protected him as the tiny glint of sharp metal cut through his sleeve and drew yet more blood.
The adrenaline surge helped though and although it stung terribly and he grimly knew that he was going to pay for it later, it was not totally disabling and he still walked backwards and kept his eyes on her.
He gritted his teeth in concentration and anticipation of a slash that would be fatal as it either slit his throat or nicked an artery.
Jennifer seemed to have been taking lots of lessons from Ronon as she swept the blade across Rodney's chest, but he moved out of the way just in time to avoid being cut again. She slashed at his face and neck but missed as he continued to desperately dodge and weave.
He knew he should probably turn around and try to run away, but that would only prove how much of a coward he was to her. He did not trust his legs to hold him up or her not to catch up and slash his back wide open. So he stood his ground and faced her down. How much damage could a scalpel really do to an unarmed man? He knew he was about to find out and he was in for a lot of grief.
He held up his hands again and she regarded him mercilessly and held the scalpel in front of her, ready for another attempt at slashing him. As she angled it towards him and prepared for another attack, Rodney cried, "No no no! Stop! Please stop!"
Jennifer raised her eyebrows and said righteously, "I'm trapping you, McKay. You're the reason why the Wraith got to Earth and killed everyone. You're the reason why the only place where humans still live is on Atlantis."
She thrust the scalpel forwards and Rodney was able to catch her wrist with his good hand and prevented the blade from stabbing him again. He curled his belly inwards to avoid it as it inched closer to him.
They struggled and Rodney aimed an elbow at Jennifer's face half-heartedly. She avoided the blow easily and grunted before turning the blade towards his wrist as he held her in a desperate grip.
She jabbed it under his skin and he gritted his teeth as blood ran down into his hand and his grip on her became slick and difficult to keep hold of.
He dimly wondered why security had not yet caught up with them, but he had a more urgent need to survive. She smiled again with that horrid happiness spreading over her features that she had hurt him and was winning the fight.
She pulled her wrist away as Rodney's blood made him lose his hold on her. She then slashed at him with the blade once more.
Rodney dodged, but he was running out of evasion tactics. He knew his luck would run out soon and she would catch him a fatal blow to the throat or slash across his body so deeply that he would bleed to death in seconds. He was also getting slower and weaker as the adrenaline surge was draining what little strength he had built up after his prolonged ordeal.
She laughed and her happiness echoed in a hysterically disturbing manner as she lunged at him with the scalpel again. Rodney threw himself out of the way and slammed into a nearby wall.
She followed it up with a jab aimed much lower down and he barely saw the blade in time. He twisted his body around with lightning fast reflexes as he narrowly avoided being stabbed where she was aiming. She missed his groin, but buried the scalpel into his inner thigh. Rodney flinched and scrunched up his face in pain, but he was just glad that it was only his leg that was hurting him and not something far more important.
He gritted his teeth and found himself snarling back at her. He realised that he had not once really tried to hit her himself. He had just dodged and let himself be stabbed and slashed. This creature was not Jennifer though, not by a long shot. It wore her face and used her voice, but his Jennifer would never hurt him like this, not physically. She was a woman of healing not the aggressive and evil person who was trying to gut him with a tiny blade.
He steeled himself and bunched his working hand into a bloody fist as she tugged the scalpel out of his leg and dragged it across his body. It only sliced through the air though as he rapidly spun out of the way and backfisted her in the side of the head.
It wrenched his heart to hit her like that and he wanted to stop moving and tell her how sorry he was for what he had just done. His good intentions and natural programming where quickly rammed back against him as she screamed in fury and rounded on him.
She dashed at Rodney and he narrowed his eyes and calculated his timing perfectly. His very life depended on his next move and he knew that if he failed, he would be cut into tiny ribbons of flesh by the small blade Jennifer was wielding.
He drew from every training session with his team, every time he had ever had to fight in his life and gathered up every thread and trace of experience. He swung his uninjured leg round in a crescent kick and with great delight over his prowess; he finally knocked the scalpel out of Jennifer's hand.
She cried out and looked down at her hand where Rodney's foot had just hit her. She then made the mistake of trying to see where the blade had gone and Rodney ran at her and punched her squarely in the centre of her face.
She looked at him with a dazed and shocked expression for a brief moment before crumpling down to the ground.
Rodney trembled and felt wet trickles of blood running down his right arm and dripping from his fingertips as he stood there and panted. He rested his other arm over his chest where his broken fingers throbbed and screamed so much that he doubted he would ever be able to use them again.
He pressed his good hand against the wound on his inner leg as he crouched down. He grimaced as he lifted his hand away and wiped it on his trousers before he pressed his fingers against Jennifer's neck. He found a strong pulse and before he could stop it, relief washed over him.
He needed to get out of there though, before the blank marines thought it would be worth bothering to call security to come and round him up for another torture session. He knew if he did not escape he would get trapped there and the rest of his life would be excruciatingly painful and very short.
He used the last of his strength reserves to run in a strange limping canter down the corridor away from where he had fought and into the arch room.
He one handedly unzipped the bag still propped up against the control panel and used his teeth to assist as he tied a bandage tightly around the cut on his right forearm. His upper leg was more difficult and he could not pull it tight enough to think it would do much help to stop the bleeding. The shallow stab wound to his side was also difficult to bind, but he wrapped a bandage around himself and tucked the end in to hold it in place.
After he completed his hasty self first aid, he picked up the control crystal in his shaking hand. He then looked along the walls and packed a few spare stunners in his bag, hoping to cannibalise their power cells to make it through some more realities.
His entire body had become nothing but a mass of pain. He grimaced as he used only his right hand to draw the bag over his shoulders securely. He had to make sure he did not need to focus his flagging strength on keeping a tight grip on what he knew was the last hope for his survival.
He quickly plugged the power crystal, smeared and darkened with blood from his hand, into the console and smiled savagely as he was pulled out of the insane reality. He would welcome another Wraith infested Atlantis as long as they did not want to feed on him straight away.
He was unconscious before he passed under the arch and left the reality of most recent trauma and brutal treatment behind.
TBC