John had to force himself to keep going forward. He wanted to turn around and haul ass back to Beckett and the others. No way in hell did he want to head back into the darkness he knew awaited him, with the bodies of his fallen men. But John knew he had no choice and he reminded himself of that fact, repeatedly.
He knew when the darkness would appear, or so he thought. He knew he was near the area where the golden, glowing, light had faded abruptly last time. And it did seem to be dimming, but remained just bright enough to guide his way. Bright enough for him to see the downed bodies of Billings and the others. Once again John felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He wished he had brought blankets to cover the bodies, but there was nothing for it so he stepped over them and continued on.
The farther along he went, the brighter it got. Brighter yet, oddly, cooler. John felt warm enough that he welcomed the coolness against his flushed skin. It even seemed to help relieve the ache that had taken up residence in his temples. He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes, relishing the relief. Until he sensed movement. Eyes snapping open, John had his P90 up and ready only to freeze at the sight before him.
Two kids. Teenagers. A boy and a girl. Both with blond hair, the girl's hair fell to her hips. They were dressed in white clothing, simple tunics over trousers. They looked pale yet healthy. In fact they almost seemed to glow with vitality. John blinked hard, wondering if maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, but the pair remained before him. Smiling. "Who are you?" John demanded.
The girl smiled at him. "I am Deyenne and this is my brother, Dahvi."
"Twins?" John guessed, more to himself as he realized how much they looked alike. They were even the same height, making the girl taller than average.
"Yes." Deyenne looked pleased. "You are Sheppard."
John had to tighten his jaw to keep his mouth from dropping open. "How did you know that? Hey...wait a minute. You're not real...are you? You can't be real." John closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand over his face. He felt like shit warmed over, the cool relief from a moment ago fading away. The pain in his head and ribs was more intense now and he winced as he lowered his hand. When he opened his eyes again he realized the twins had moved closer. "Who are you?" John asked again.
Dahvi looked surprised by the question. "We are the Keepers."
"Keepers?" John echoed. "Keepers of what?"
"This place," Deyenne replied. "We keep watch."
John was beginning to think he was hallucinating. "Keep watch over what?" he prompted. "The dead? Because in case you haven't noticed, this place is littered with four bodies and the rest of my friends are about to join them." Anger flared in John and he curled his finger over the trigger of his P90. "Did you kill them?"
Deyenne made a startled sound and she looked stunned. "We do not kill, John Sheppard. That is not our purpose here."
"Then what the hell is going on?" A sudden wave of dizziness hit John and his knees buckled as his vision grayed out for a moment. He felt his knees hit the floor, jarring his ribs and making the pain in his head feel like knives stabbing into his temples. His stomach twisted and it took all of John's self control not to puke on the floor. He fell forward onto his hands, panting against the waves of nausea. Then suddenly a coolness touched his face, easing the pain and the nausea and it took John a moment to realize that Deyenne was kneeling beside him, touching him.
After a moment, the dizziness and sickness faded away and John pulled away from Deyenne, easing back onto his haunches. "Who are you?" he asked, knowing he was repeating himself, but he wasn't getting the answer he was looking for.
Dahvi moved to kneel on his other side. "I told you, John Sheppard. We are the Keepers."
"Yeah...I heard you the first time." John pushed to his feet, swaying a bit. "Look...my friends are dying and I need to get back home to get help. Can you get me out of this hell hole?"
"Hell hole?" Deyenne echoed, her face scrunching up in confusion.
John smirked then explained. "Bad place. Can you help me or not?"
Deyenne exchanged looks with her brother then nodded. "We can lead you out of here. We must go back the way you came."
"Okay...good." John waved a hand in that direction. "Lead the way. Just tell me one thing...is this some kind of trick maze or something? The way we came in...it was blocked when I tried to leave."
"The way out is not always obvious," Dahvi replied, cryptically.
John felt too lousy to try and interpret his meaning. He just let it go as he gestured for the twins to move. Time was ticking away too fast. John knew that as lousy as he was feeling, it had to be worse for Ronon and Teyla. Although he wasn't feeling as bad as he had just a few minutes ago, John suddenly realized. And that fact set off all kinds of warning bells. But he would have to worry about that later. Right now he needed to get out of here and get help.
The twins moved along swiftly and it wasn't long before they reached Beckett and the others. John was relieved to see the doc still on his feet, but he looked pale and a bit unsteady. Ronon and Teyla were where John had left them and they looked unnaturally still. John ran over to Beckett. "Are they...?" He couldn't say it.
"They're still alive. Barely." Beckett patted the sweat off his forehead with his shirtsleeve. "I take it you didn't have any luck finding a way out?"
"Well...sort of. The twins here say they can lead me out," John said, gesturing behind him.
Carson peered around John then made a face. "Twins?" He repeated. "What are you talking about, Colonel?"
John turned and was relieved to see the blond duo still standing there. "The twins," he repeated, gesturing again. "Them. Blond hair...about fifteen."
"There's no one there, son." Carson looked a bit concerned as he moved towards John, lifting one hand to press it to his forehead. "You're burning up."
"Hey!" John smacked his hand away. "Neither one of us are doing so good, doc," But this isn't funny. The twins are right here. Their names are Deyenne and Dahvi." John turned to them. "Say hello to Dr. Beckett."
Deyenne shook her head at John. "He cannot see us. Only you can."
John did not want to hear that. "What? Why? You've got to be kidding me?" Just when he thought his day couldn't get any worse, there it went, shot to hell in a hand basket.
"Colonel?" Carson's voice was soft and kind as he put a hand on John's shoulder and turned him around. "Why don't you come and lie down a spell. Then we can figure out a way to get out of this place."
"I don't need to lie down." John shrugged Beckett's hand off him. "I'm not hallucinating, doc. The twins are here. Deyenne just informed me I'm the only one who can see them, which is par for the course the way my day is going." The last was muttered under John's breath. He saw the way Beckett eyed him. Sympathy glimmering in the blue gaze. He knew the man did not believe him but John did not have time to worry about that.
Neither did Carson because Teyla suddenly went into convulsions. "Help me hold her!" Carson shouted to John as he moved to Teyla's side.
John fell to his knees on her other side and gripped her legs. He prayed hard for this to end soon and for Teyla to be all right. Thankfully, whatever Gods existed in the Pegasus galaxy, they were apparently pleased with John tonight because Teyla went still and Beckett nodded to John after taking her pulse.
"Still alive," Carson confirmed, vocally. He paused to wipe a hand over his flushed face. "But she won't last long. Not long enough for you to get help."
"Dammit!" John was on his feet and pacing, ignoring his own pain and weakness. This was something he couldn't deal with. Being helpless. But there was nothing he could do to save Teyla and he was pretty sure Ronon wouldn't last until he returned either. The way Beckett was looking, John doubted he'd hold out which meant John would lose his entire team and that did not sit well with him.
"John Sheppard."
He turned to find Deyenne standing beside him. Surprisingly he didn't jump, but he wished she would stop doing that. "You have to get me out of here!" he snapped at her. "My friends are dying!"
She nodded, face solemn. "We can help you help them," Deyenne whispered.
"You can?" John was more than a little surprised to here that. Surprised and suspicious. He still wasn't sure they weren't to blame for what was happening. For whatever it was that was killing them.
"It will not be easy for you," Dahvi interjected. "To try and save them might put your own life at risk."
John wasn't overly concerned about that part. "Welcome to a day in the lift of John Sheppard," he shot back. "What do I have to do?" He was willing to try anything at this point.
Carson had moved to join him and he was holding a syringe in one hand. "Colonel. I want you to come lie down and let me give you a little something to make you feel better."
"No!" John backed away. "I know I sound like I'm nuts because you can't see the twins. But I swear to god they're here and they're real. And they said I can save you...all of you."
"I don't think anything can save us now," Carson countered, sadness heavy in his tone.
John glared at him. "Don't give up on me now, doc!" he growled. Then he risked turning his back on the man to ask the twins, "What do I have to do?"
Deyenne reached for John, taking his hand. A moment later, Dahvi did the same on his other side.
John was about to protest but he felt a wash of cold air then he sucked in a breath as he realized Deyenne and Dahvi were fading into mist. It startled John because he could still feel the grip of their hands on his. But then the pressure was gone and John realized that the mist was enveloping him and that it was glowing. Glowing red and warm and he knew what he had to do.
A hand on John's shoulder and he turned to find Carson ready and willing to stab him with his syringe, but John gripped his wrist and pushed him away. Carson's knees buckled and John grabbed for him, moving the sick man to the wall and easing him down to the ground. "I'll be back," John promised, then he moved to Teyla's side. Kneeling, John pressed one - glowing - hand on Teyla's stomach, the other on her forehead. He watched as a part of the mist broke off and enveloped her before being absorbed into her body. A moment later her eyes fluttered open and John fell back and away, feeling shaky and sick. He watched Teyla sit up and stare at him in confusion, but he was already moving away to repeat the process with Ronon.
A heartbeat later the warrior was sitting up, looking pissed and confused.
John moved to Beckett. The doc was staring at Teyla and Ronon in stunned disbelief. John wanted to shake a finger at him and tell him See, I'm not crazy! But he didn't have the energy to do that. It took all the strength he had to pretty much fall next to Beckett and repeat what he had done to Teyla and Ronon. This time, even as John watched the mist absorb into Beckett's body, he saw his own mist fade away and John went limp and boneless, falling into cold darkness.
He didn't see Beckett grab him and check his vitals. He didn't know that Teyla ran like hell, back the way they had come only to fly back in and tell Beckett and Ronon that the way out was clear. He didn't feel Ronon lift him, cradling John in his arms then moving out with him. Carrying him to the gate with an ease that suggested John was a lightweight.
He didn't see Deyenne and Dahvi standing just within the entrance of the ruins, watching him and his team as they ran for the gate.
John didn't know he made it home.