John and the others made their way systematically through the complex, trying to find Rodney and Carson. As they found yet another empty room, John turned to face the others.
"Something very odd is happening here?" he said.
"Yep," Ronon agreed. "They've all vanished."
"Including Rodney and Carson," Teyla added.
"But where the hell have they gone?" John asked no-one in particular.
"They're outside," a new voice piped up. It was Stanis.
"Where did you see them?" John turned to the boy quickly.
The boy glanced up at Ronon, who gave him an encouraging nod.
"I saw the other doctor, not Dr Carson, with one of the scary men," the boy said. "They were out in the woods, running away from here."
"Can you show us?" John asked.
The boy nodded, and then immediately turned and headed out the door. The three adults exchanged a look of hope and then followed the boy.
oOoOoOo
Carson regained consciousness, only to find himself in the middle of his worst nightmare. Surrounding him, hemming him in, were more Wraith than he ever wanted to see in one place. They were all focusing on him, and their faces did not suggest they were happy to see him.
A sharp kick to his kidneys confirmed his suspicions, and the subsequent blows just added to his conviction. Soon, conscious thought was beyond him. Survival was all there was left. He curled into a ball, to protect himself, as best he could, from the violence of his attackers.
Time lost its meaning as Carson focused simply on survival. He moved slightly so that the blows were spread over his body, trying to avoid damage to the more delicate areas. Even so, he could feel his kidneys getting bruised, and a couple of ribs seemed to crack. Just as he thought that his endurance was at an end, a voice of authority broke into the violence.
"Enough!" said the leader of the Wraith rebellion. "We don't want him dead, yet."
"But he deserves to be punished, Sandron," one of the other Wraith said.
"Interesting," thought Carson, through his pain. "They've got names. That must be their human side coming out."
"I agree," another voice piped up. For a confused moment, Carson thought the Wraith was agreeing with his thought, but then the voice continued. "He made us the way we are. Alienated from our own kind. He deserves to die, for ruining our lives."
"He will die," Sandron said with relish. "But only once he's given us our old lives back. Not until then."
Carson was aware of being dragged to his feet. His bruised legs struggled to hold him, but the rough hands of the nearest Wraith acted as a support.
"What do we do about Michael?" one of the Wraith nearest to Carson asked.
"We will kill him, eventually," Sandron said, coldly. "But for now, we will let him go. He's not really that important."
The callousness of the remark bothered Carson more than he felt it should. After all that Michael had done to him, and to Rodney, he still felt a sense of compassion towards his former patient. In the back of his mind, Carson couldn't get passed the fact that he felt responsible for Michael. In a very real way, he had created Michael, or at least, created the version of Michael that was now in existence. And he felt a responsibility towards him.
But before Carson could explore that thought further, he felt the callousness of the Wraith in a very personal, and pointed way. Sandron turned to him, and meeting the doctor's eyes, the Wraith raised his fist, and punched Carson in the face. Unable to avoid the blow, and in his weakened state, Carson crumpled to the ground, and the blackness of oblivion welcomed him into its clutches once more.
oOoOoOo
The three adults followed the boy through the forest, moving swiftly, and silently. Ronon's trained eye was watching for signs that Michael and Rodney had passed this way, and every so often John would send him a questioning glance. The Satedan nodded confirmation that the boy was on the right track.
However, it wasn't long before neither the boy's knowledge nor the Satedan's training were required. The dulcet tones of Rodney McKay in full complaint mode could soon be heard over the noises if the forest. John and Ronon exchanged an amused glance, before heading off in the direction of the noise.
As they approached the clearing where Michael and Rodney had stopped, it soon became clear to John that Rodney was giving Michael a hard time, as only Rodney could. John smiled at the courage of his friend. Rodney might have a very healthy streak of self-preservation running through him, but when he was angry about something, he could be more out-spoken than anyone John knew.
"And what do you think you were doing, just leaving poor Carson there like that?" Rodney asked. Michael had a resigned look on his face as if he'd been asked that question on numerous occasions already. "You go to all that trouble to kidnap him, and then, at the first sign of trouble, you just dump him, and leave him at the mercy of those life-sucking aliens."
"I'm one of those 'life-sucking aliens'," Michael reminded him.
"Exactly," Rodney replied. "And so you know what they're going to do to him. And what good will that do you? You'll be stuck as you are forever. Only Carson can help you. Only he knows what voodoo potions will make you a Wraith again. And what do you do? You just leave him there. I don't understand you."
"Then that makes us even," Michael muttered. "Dr Beckett's interference wouldn't be of any use to me if I was dead." Michael continued, more audibly.
"And just how much use is he going to be after those friends of yours suck all the life out of him?" Rodney asked.
"They won't kill him," Michael said confidently. "At least not until he has served his purpose."
"And what good will that do you?" Rodney asked. "Since you've run away, again. Like some amoeba on speed."
The Wraith looked confused by the words, but John was hard pushed to smother the laugh that sprang into his throat. Even in such a dangerous situation, Rodney's colourful analogies didn't desert him.
But Michael's confusion only lasted for a moment. Although he didn't fully understand what Rodney was talking about, he did recognize an insult when he heard one. It was the final straw. All his plans had ended in failure, and he was left escaping through the forest with this ungrateful human, who complained all the time, and then insulted him. In anger he raised his hand, and reached towards Rodney's chest. The scientist cringed away, but his escape was limited by the trees behind him.
As he closed his eyes, Rodney resigned himself to the agonizing pain that was sure to follow. When it didn't, he opened his eyes again, to see three very familiar faces staring back at him. And to add to his joy, they each had a gun pointed at Michael.
"What took you so long?" he asked by way of greeting.
"Oh, you know," John replied casually. "We had to make nice to the locals, kill a few Wraith. And when we did find you, you disappeared again."
"I didn't have much choice in the matter," Rodney retorted, pointedly.
"Where's Carson?" Teyla asked.
"Michael, here, kindly left him with the other Wraith," Rodney said, giving Michael an angry stare.
Ronon snarled and took an angry step towards the Wraith, who, almost in spite of himself, took a step back in the face of the Satedan's very potent form of intimidation.
"What have you done to him?" Ronon asked, threateningly.
"They won't kill him, yet," Michael said, unconsciously echoing the words of Sandron. "He's too valuable to them. Dr McKay, on the other hand, is useless to them, and he would be dead if I hadn't taken him with me."
"Why thanks for nothing," Rodney piped up. "Not content with threatening me with violence, now you insult me. That is so typical of a Wraith."
For a moment, the group was distracted as a loud noise, like an explosion, but not quite the same, reverberated through the forest. As they looked around, trying to find the origins of the noise, a large ship rose above the tree line, hovered for a moment, and then went streaking out of sight.
John turned to Michael, an accusing look on his face.
"Was that who I think it was?" he asked.
Michael grinned, but it was a mirthless grin. "That was my fellow Wraith. And your friend Dr Beckett will be with them."
They turned to look at the sky again, as if hoping to see where the ship had gone. In that moment of distraction, Michael took full advantage. Moving with the silent grace that all Wraith seemed to possess in some degree, he virtually vanished into the undergrowth.
It took Ronon's bellow of rage to alert the others to what had happened, but soon Ronon and John were in hot pursuit. Teyla was only a step behind them. Rodney had to disentangle himself before he could follow the others. A tangle of vines seemed to have captured his foot. By the time he'd caught up with the others, they'd come to a standstill and seemed to be gazing into space.
"Am I missing something here?" he asked, between gasps.
"Damn!" John replied, slamming his fist into the nearest tree.
"Where's Michael?" Rodney asked, still trying to make sense of what had happened.
"There," Ronon said, pointing up towards the sky.
"Okay," Rodney said, with a sigh. "Did you take a detour and eat some of the local hallucinogenic flora?"
"No," John said, turning to face the scientist. "Michael had a cloaked ship. And he escaped in it, before we could reach him."
"But that means he's gone," Rodney said, still trying to grasp what had happened.
"Give the man a prize," John said, sarcastically.
"And so has Carson," Rodney added, ignoring John. "And without Michael's help, how on earth do we find him again?"