Hey, folks! Survive Christmas intact? Well, someone was asking about Shep whump. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten him. How could anyone ever think that? LOL! I'm the Shepwhumpster! (Or at least that's what my muse says!) Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter Five
Sheppard crossed their campsite while the ground was still shaking. There was debris raining down on them from the top of the sinkhole, so he moved to help Rodney get clear of the worst of it by the time Teyla and Ronon were on their feet. They all met near some fallen tree trunks on the far side of the campsite just as the shaking of the ground stopped.
John stepped away from McKay and let out a long breath. Looking a little bewildered, he said, "Well...that was interesting."
For someone who'd been dead asleep moments before, McKay was moving like a speed demon in overdrive. He threw his hands up in the air and limped first one way and then another. "Interesting? Interesting? Holy shit! This place is more unstable than my Great Aunt Hilda!"
Rodney did his best to pace, even with his injured foot, until he stepped the wrong way and nearly lost his balance. Teyla was closest to him and she was able to steady him until he was upright again.
"Rodney, you must be careful," she said in her calmest tone. "We are all okay. There is no reason to panic."
"Who's panicking? I'm just stating fact. We are all so very screwed if this sinkhole implodes on us, which is very possible given its previously mentioned unstable nature! Atlantis better come looking for us ASAP!"
Ronon bopped his hand against the back of McKay's head, stunning McKay into silence, at least for a moment. "McKay, Atlantis isn't even expecting us for another day – "
Rodney's worry machine lunged into top speed. "Damn it, that's right! Sheppard and his 'let's give Teyla lots of time and space' speech! Oh yeah, that's just wonderful!"
Sheppard walked closer, putting his hands out in a placating manner. "Yes, Rodney, we're on our own, but that's okay, because we've been on our own many times before and survived. We can do this – we just need to do it calmly. If I had a shot of whiskey I'd pour it down your throat, but I don't, so you'll just have to take a few deep breaths."
McKay rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure, just calm down. Easy for you to say. You weren't nearly – "
Rodney was still talking, but Teyla wasn't listening to him anymore; she was watching Ronon. The Satedan's whole focus had shifted away from McKay and into the dark shadowy areas surrounding them. Whatever he was watching was worrisome enough for him to draw his weapon.
Sheppard noticed the change in Ronon, too, and stepped in his direction, his hand on the grip of his nine-mil. "What is it?" he asked quietly.
Even McKay went silent, alarmed by the change in Ronon's behavior. Ronon kept his gaze sweeping the area as he answered, "I think we've got company out there."
Sheppard glanced around, too, as he moved around the outer perimeter of the campfire, looking deep into the shadows. He must have also sensed something because he said, "Everybody, fall back to the jumper."
McKay started to move, then hissed, holding his leg. Teyla put Rodney's arm over her shoulder to help move him faster. She didn't bother to look back, trusting Sheppard and Ronon to protect them as she got Rodney to safer ground. When she let go of him, McKay's eyes were wide with alarm, but to his credit, he kept quiet. He drew his gun and held it in nervous hands.
Pulling her own weapon, she stepped back toward the campfire. The furthest away from the jumper, Sheppard still hadn't moved, making her tense as she whispered, "John, what do you hear?"
Sheppard shook his head. In lieu of an answer, he held up a finger for silence. A long moment passed and he remained motionless, except to cock his head to one side. The howl that rang out in the darkness startled all of them with its shrill keening whine. It was quickly followed by another, and then another. Teyla's thoughts flashed back several years; terrible, agonizing memories flooded her mind until she pushed them away.
It had to be the skree, a large wolf-like creature with poisoned fangs, but it was much too soon for them to come out of hibernation. Perhaps the heavy storms or the rumbling of the sinkhole had disturbed them. Whatever the reason, their situation had just grown more precarious, mostly because the skree traveled in packs.
Sheppard glanced over at her. "What the hell was that, Teyla?"
She looked around, releasing the safety on her gun. "The skree. Be careful – "
The attack began without warning. Ronon's weapon fired a couple of times in rapid succession, but Teyla had no time to see what he was dealing with, because three of the silver-coated skree sprang from the shadows, each heading straight for Sheppard. John hit the first one with a single shot, though its momentum knocked into him before he could move away. Teyla shot the second one, but the skree were known for their lightening-like speed if nothing else and the remaining one leapt out of sight.
A flash of red went over her head, then she heard Ronon cursing. By the time, she spun around, Ronon had lost his weapon and he was on his knees on the ground, fending off a skree with his knife.
Things were happening almost too quickly to keep track of. Rodney let out a surprised yelp behind her and fired his handgun several times. There was some noise in the nearby brush and she caught a glimpse of the wild yellow-eyed gleam of another skree flying through the air toward her. She fired and ducked, then rolled away. The skree dropped to the ground, dead. There were still many more out there, but there was no way to know just how many traveled in this pack. They'd been known to have as many as twenty in a single pack.
A high-pitched howl came from Ronon's direction, then there was silence as Ronon pulled his knife from the heart of a skree and scrambled for his blaster. He held his broken arm close to him, but he seemed to be moving okay. She turned back toward Sheppard just as Sheppard pulled himself out from under the skree he'd shot. He was still the one furthest away from the campfire and the jumper.
"John, fall back to the jumper," she said, reminding him of his own words as she waved him over, gripping her gun more tightly.
He nodded, but moved stiffly as he got to his feet, which made sense. The skree average weight was over seventy pounds, but larger skree were known to reach a hundred pounds. Getting hit with that kind of dead weight had to hurt.
She glanced to Ronon, standing several feet away and motioned to him. "You, too, Ronon. It is safer in the light. The skree tend to shy away from bright lights."
Sheppard was just starting back toward them when another skree sprang from the nearby shadows. Teyla cursed, because it was headed straight for Sheppard. She knew the beast was traveling too rapidly for an accurate shot, but she fired anyway. Sheppard grunted as the skree hit him full on in the chest and they both went down.
Now, the irritating echo effect inside the sinkhole didn't just disorient Teyla, but it served to haunt her, especially with the skree's growls and Sheppard's breathless grunts. Worse, she knew all too well what the bite of the skree could do to a human if they weren't killed outright in the initial attack.
John lost his weapon when he rolled over in the mud with the beast. Ronon shot once at the skree, then hesitated, because Sheppard and the skree were rolling back and forth much too quickly for an accurate shot, then Sheppard screamed as the skree's jaws clamped down his right shoulder.
Teyla ran a few paces until she was close enough to press the muzzle of her gun against the side of the skree's skull, then fired again. Not taking any chances, Teyla fired one last time as it lay on the ground. The beast was now dead, but the damage was already done; it had bitten Sheppard.
A piercing howl behind her was joined by more further away. There were several other skree still out there, though they had retreated for the moment. Ronon fired his blaster in an attempt to chase them away, but stopped and spun around, alarmed by the sound of a P90 on an extended burst.
"Get away from here, you hell hounds!" McKay shouted as he limped as fast as he could toward the departing predators, providing Ronon with backup. Ronon gave him a nod, then took off after the skree. McKay, with a wild look to his eyes, followed the Satedan into the shadows.
Teyla pulled her gaze away from them and back to Sheppard. John shook visibly, groaning as she dropped to her knees at his side. One of his hands was pressed against his bloody shoulder, the other against his ribs.
"Son of a bitch!" John cursed angrily. He blinked and tried to get up, but failed. He craned his head around as he said, "Watch for – watch for signs of another attack! Damn it!"
"Stay down, John," she whispered as she put a hand to his chest.
She could practically feel the adrenaline pumping through his system as he shook his head and waved her away. He hadn't stopped squirming on the ground. At times, he arched up, but his hand always stayed clasped over his wound. "No, h-help Ronon. Shit, th-they were so d-damned fast..."
Teyla forced calmness into her voice and leaned closer. "Ronon can handle the situation. Rodney is with him. Please, move your hand away so that I can see how bad the injury is."
When he complied, she took out her knife and deftly cut open the fabric from his t-shirt and jacket. "Hey, th-that's my favorite jacket!" he groused, but he was in too much pain to make it a convincing complaint.
Biting her lip, she looked at the wound. It looked like Sheppard had taken a full dose of poison from the skree's fangs, judging by the discoloration of the bite. She cringed, knowing one bite, if left untreated, could kill. She sighed and glanced down at John.
"What's it look like?" he whispered to her, his slightly unfocused gaze darting up to meet hers. It was apparent his energy level was waning, though he still rocked from the pain.
"Just be still if you can," she said, then stopped to stare at the mud beneath him.
Dipping her fingers into the mud, she felt for its consistency, testing to see if it had the right graininess, the proper color, and then sniffed at it. It might work. Looking back to John, she sighed and said quietly, "You will not like this, but it must be done. Brace yourself."
She scooped up a handful of the mud and covered the wound, pushing it into the damaged tissue. Sheppard grimaced in surprise, then groaned loudly. When he could speak again, he rasped through gritted teeth, "Damn it, you – you c-could warn a p-person."
"I did. Time is of the essence," she said and put another layer of mud over the wound. "I apologize, but I must stop this poison from spreading into your system. The mud will bind with the poison still there and slow it down."
John's whole body shook by then, but apparently one word had gotten through his fleeting attention, because he stopped rocking as much as he could and asked, "P-Poison?"
She nodded as she tended to him. "Yes, the skree inject poison through hollow fangs to incapacitate and kill their victim. The skree are a hibernating species, I do not understand why they are awake now." Her breath caught. "The collapsing sinkhole must have affected the caves the skree inhabit during the winter months."
"Great," he whispered, taking in great gasps of air just to breathe.
"How is he?" McKay shouted as he limped back, leaning heavily on Ronon for balance.
Teyla turned to face them. "He has taken a full bite from one of the skree. We must work quickly."
Sheppard raised his head and looked around. "Keep your – your eyes open for them. Th-they could attack again."
Teyla nodded. "John is correct, they can double back on us without warning, but Ronon can keep guard. Rodney, you must go ahead to the jumper and make ready for us. Get out the first aid kit, water, and blankets. We will be along in a moment."
McKay handed Ronon the P90 and took off for the jumper, limping along as fast as his injured foot would allow. Teyla brushed the back of her hand against her forehead to push away the hair falling into her eyes, and looked down at John, then at her watch. "We need to get you to Dr. Keller. The bite of the skree is usually fatal after twelve hours without treatment."
"Not g-going anywhere with – with that debris covering the jumper," John stammered as he fought to keep from shaking. His head fell back to the ground. "Damn...so c-cold."
Ronon knelt down, handing her McKay's P90. "Take this – I'll carry him into the jumper."
Shaking her head, she didn't take the weapon. Instead, she said, "You can't with your broken arm."
McKay called out from the rear of the jumper. "What's taking so long? I've got everything ready in here."
Teyla wasn't sure what she should do – if John moved too much, the poison would spread beyond his ability to recover – yet, paralysis would set in soon if she did nothing. She had to make a decision, one she hoped wouldn't wind up killing him.
"Ronon, it will take both of us to carry him over to the jumper. John, you will have to give us as much help as you can." She glanced up at Ronon. "You take one arm and I will take the other, but we must hurry. Time is critical now."
Ronon growled in frustration, spinning back toward the last sighting of the skree and fired off a long burst from the P90 before he slung the weapon over his shoulder and bent down to help.
"Easy, b-big guy," Sheppard said, his teeth chattering so much it was hard to understand him. "Sp-spare the ammo f-for the kill sh-shots."
Teyla put an arm around John's back to help him stand. Ronon practically lifted Sheppard on his own, despite his own injuries. The movement was so sudden, John cried out as injured areas reacted. Teyla put a hand to John's chest and glanced up at Ronon. "I am sorry, John, but we must move quickly."
It wasn't easy. John's legs barely had any strength to them, but the two of them managed to haul him inside the jumper before the skree gathered to attack again. They lowered him to the deck, the trip to the jumper obviously exhausting the injured man.
"Oh, God," Rodney whispered once he got a good look at Sheppard.
Teyla looked up at him, knowing her expression revealed every bit of worry she felt. Sheppard's clothes were ripped from the skree's claws and she had no doubt his flesh underneath was equally torn. The Ancestors only knew what damage he would have incurred if he hadn't been wearing his tac vest.
McKay's gaze darted to Sheppard, then back at her again. "I've got everything ready," he said as he gestured rapidly with one hand.
Ronon slapped an angry fist on the hatch control, breathing hard as the door started closing. He practically threw the P90 on an empty bench seat and moved closer to Sheppard. "How is he?"
Teyla didn't think John was still conscious, but he surprised everyone by whispering, "C-cold."
His words pushed McKay into action. He pulled a blanket from the bench seat beside him and threw it over Sheppard, then he grabbed another and did the same thing again, pausing to tuck John in when he was done. Sheppard undid it all as he began to rock in pain again, his body curling around his wounded shoulder.
Teyla gazed down at Sheppard, putting her hand over his wrist. "John, I must remove your tac vest, jacket and shirt to treat the wound."
He nodded, but she wasn't sure if he'd heard her this time. He seemed to be fading fast. She wondered if the poison had infiltrated a vein after she removed his vest and jacket with McKay's help and stared at the wound. The past blended with the present and she remembered all too well the kind of pain the skree's bite could cause. If only Charin was with them – she would know exactly what to do next. Or Carson, if only Carson were there, he'd have the situation completely under control. Her wishful thoughts of Charin and Carson ended when Sheppard cried out in pain, clasping her arm for support.
"Ah, crap," Rodney whispered, his gaze lingering on the bite on Sheppard's shoulder.
McKay's skin tone went a little paler, but he helped to hold him down, despite his squeamishness. John groaned when they went to take off his shirt, so Teyla reached into the medical kit for the scissors. "Do not worry, John, we have put you through enough. I will cut the shirt off."
"My b-best shirt," he murmured.
"Stop whining and let her do what she needs to do," McKay said in a chiding tone, but compassion overrode the content of his words, and Teyla knew just how worried McKay was for their friend.
She left the mud pack in place as she cut away his shirt. He had some pretty deep claw marks on his arms, chest and abdomen where the skree's claws got under the tac vest, but she had a feeling there was more severe damage below the skin in the chest and abdomen areas. She ran her hands over his neck and chest to check for broken bones and John practically came off the floor when she pressed against the ribs on his left side.
"Damn," he whispered in a hissing moan before he dropped back and exhaled deeply.
"I am sorry," she replied with deep remorse. She couldn't feel any broken ribs, but they could be cracked. She would have to check them again later.
He nodded, but didn't waste energy by talking. She covered him up again and leaned back, holding her side as she tried to recover from the effort of moving him. McKay looked across Sheppard's body, his voice wistful as he said, "He's bad, isn't he?"
She took a deep breath and nodded. Her hand unknowingly went down to rub her left thigh, the site where she'd been attacked by a skree. It was only because of Charin's careful treatment that she had survived. Rodney ran a hand through his hair as his gaze darted to the forward section. He smiled and started snapping his fingers. "You know, all that rumbling might have shook the jumper free of some of the debris, allowing us to get away..."
She gave him a quick smile. "See what you can find while I tend to John."
Rodney started to get to his feet, then faltered. Ronon offered him a hand up and Rodney took it gratefully. They stepped around Teyla and Sheppard and headed for the cockpit.
John moaned and she brushed her fingers across his forehead, whispering words of comfort. When he quieted down, she let go of him to clean the bloody claw marks and bandage them. He barely reacted to her touch, then she covered him again with the blankets. She rocked back on her heels, putting a hand over her mouth as she tried to keep calm now that the danger had passed and they were relatively safe.
"T-Teyla," she heard John whisper.
She looked down, surprised that he was alert enough to talk, and forced a smile onto her lips. "How are you?" she asked softly.
"We'll m-make it home," he said as his eyelids drooped.
She felt a wave of sadness and her thoughts answered him, Yes, but will it happen in time to save your life?
The acceptable stretch of time they had planned on using to wait for help from Atlantis now seemed far too long. She frowned as she stared at the rear hatch, remembering what she had seen on her exploratory trip around the sinkhole with Ronon. She straightened, bringing a hand to rub her neck. "If I had the right components, I could prepare a healing salve that would help draw the poison from the wound."
She didn't realize she'd said the words aloud until Sheppard shook his head. "Don't g-go back out th-there."
"I have to do something, John. The poison is already coursing through your system. I imagine the paralysis is also setting in."
John's gaze darted away and she had her confirmation.
"Don't d-do it," he implored as his eyes latched onto hers again.
She licked her lips as she looked into the cockpit. "Rodney, are we able to take off?"
McKay glanced back at her, bitter disappointment burning in his eyes. "No, damn it. It's too dangerous to move this thing without knowing if it will cause the edge of the sinkhole to collapse directly on top of us. Maybe Sheppard would know more – "
"John is unable to assist you at the moment, but keep working. Ronon, help him while I gather what I need."
Ronon frowned, not moving from his seat. "Gather what?"
"I saw some of the ingredients for a healing salve while we were out scouting. If I can find them again, I can help John – "
"D-Damn it, T-Teyla, no," Sheppard whispered as he struggled to move limp limbs. "T-Too d-dangerous."
Ronon stepped closer. "This salve can save him from the poison?"
She nodded. "Yes, if applied in time."
He pulled out his blaster, checking his ammo.
"Then let's go."
"NO!" John said, more emphatically this time.
Ronon stopped, looking up at Teyla in confusion because she wasn't moving. "What are you waiting for? Let's go."
He grabbed one of the larger flashlights, tossing it to her. She looked down at John and said, "I am sorry, John, but we must go."
Then she retrieved her P90 and followed him to the rear hatch. Ronon paused long enough to look back at McKay. "Keep an eye on things while we're gone."
Teyla turned and walked back into the rear compartment, seeing McKay's discarded backpack. "May I use this? I will need it to carry the ingredients I require for the salve," she said, already knowing McKay's answer.
Rodney nodded. "Sure," he said quickly, moving to her side. "Just dump out the stuff."
She did as he said, then knelt beside John once again. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "We will not be gone long, John. Do not give up hope."
Sheppard shook his head, but didn't say anything. She wondered if the paralysis had started to affect his speech. If so, they didn't have much time at all. Ronon opened the rear hatch and she followed him, waiting for the hatch to open completely.
She met McKay's worried gaze for a long moment before she slipped one of the shoulder straps of McKay's backpack over her arm. She turned and went off into the darkness with Ronon.
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