Chapter Three
He knew they'd be coming for him, and he had no idea what they'd do to him when they caught him, but he didn't intend to give them the chance. They had captured him once, but he wouldn't let it happen again. He just had to keep running.
Confusion and panic had set in as the strange woman led him down the path. She spoke words he didn't understand, and he found himself growing more and more confused the further they walked. What was she saying? Who was she? He knew, somehow, that he was in trouble and that he had to escape.
And now he was running from her and the two men who'd been with her. They were obviously warriors, obviously the ones who had hurt him. He had a brief, terrifying memory of a very large man looming over him, wanting him dead. He stumbled over a tree root and found himself on the ground, momentarily stunned.
Where were they taking him? Why had they hurt him? He pushed himself back to his feet and ran. He panted for breath as the trees rushed past him, slapping him with their branches. Hopefully, they'd have to take care of the woman he'd hurt - and he felt a strange sort of pang in his gut at that thought, but pushed it aside - and he would have a good head start.
And then he was falling, tumbling down a steep slope. Too panicked to really pay attention to where he was going, he'd come to a gully and run over the edge, unable to keep his footing.
He hit his head on something and felt his foot twist underneath him on the way down. He was lucky that it wasn't a very far drop, though, and he came to rest on the gully floor, tears streaming down his face from the pain. His back felt like it was on fire, and he knew he wouldn't be able to move any further.
So, this was it, then. They'd find him and probably kill him. As his breathing slowed he heard crashing through the underbrush up above and froze.
He saw a light, and recognized that it was attached to a weapon of some kind. He was familiar with that weapon, but he didn't know from where or why. The light wandered up above him, and then he heard a voice in his ear.
"Ronon? Have you found him?"
"Not yet, can't hear him running anymore, though. He's close." And that voice came from above as well as the device in his ear.
"Get him back here. I've got to get Teyla back to Atlantis, and then I'll bring reinforcements. It won't be more than 10 minutes."
He didn't know who was speaking, and the names meant nothing to him, but he felt a strange twinge. He should know who these people were. He was just so confused. If he could just rest for a minute, he was sure he could figure it out. He could find the answer, he knew it.
"Yup. No problem."
"Ronon, be careful. We don't know why he ran, but he is armed."
And that's when he realized that the strange weight on his leg was a weapon. He rolled to his side, trying not to whimper from the pain, as he grabbed for the gun. Maybe they wouldn't kill him today, after all.
He must have made a sound, because the light trained down on him and he knew he only had a few seconds before he'd be toast. His mind cleared as he aimed towards the light, and his finger hit the trigger. It was like he was watching himself from far away. He heard the bullets fire, three in quick succession, and then heard the impact as they hit the target.
And then the light fell.
