CHAPTER THREE

The giant bug that had suddenly appeared in the center of the village was unlike anything the fighters had ever seen before, but it reminded them of a time long ago, when visitors used to come through the stone ring regularly to make their people vanish in flashes of blue light.

Those visitors were why the people of this world rarely used the stone ring. They knew how, but they were afraid that opening the water door in the ring would cause the deadly visitors to return, so they dared not tempt fate in such a way. Instead, they chose to live simple lives and the ring was only activated on great occasions and holy days, and even then only with caution. This was especially true for Nak's people, who had to enter Rud territory to access the ring.

So as the puddlejumper landed gently in the village square, there was not a soul to be seen.

Two men and a woman descended the ramp that was quickly lowered from the back of the strange ship while only a handful of curious eyes, belonging to the bravest warriors from both sides of the battle, watched from the cover of the surrounding woods.

Nak's eyes were two of those eyes, and he leaned forward to see the new visitors better.

These were not the same folk as the ones the legends spoke of.

They looked like 'his' stranger, but Nak knew that looks could be deceiving.

He stayed put and watched.

The trio that appeared first from the ship was soon followed by another woman, and then four more men took up the rear.

The group fanned out over the entire village within seconds. They were obviously looking for something. Or someone.

Someone, Nak decided.

Rodney.

The members of the group began to call out the stranger's name.

There was no answer.

Nak considered coming out of hiding to lead the strangers to the wounded man, but his sense of self-preservation was too high to allow such a reckless action. He didn't know what this group wanted with McKay, and for all he knew, they were the ones who had wounded him. Nak figured he might be next.

And so he stayed put. He was still and quiet. And he watched.

XXX

As he lay half buried in debris and brush, Rodney barely registered the sound of gunfire outside, and he never noticed when it stopped. He was only half aware of familiar voices calling his name. He considered answering them, but the effort was too great.

He drifted back to sleep, where it didn't hurt anymore.

As the sounds outside faded from his perception, blackness claimed Rodney.

He gave up.

It was easier that way.

Somewhere, not so far away, an angry soul acted out, and a strong voice with a distinct Scottish accent whispered desperately into the ear of the unconscious man.

"Get up, Rodney."

'I can't,' thought Rodney, not sure if he was hallucinating the familiar voice in his head.

"Aye, you can. And you will. Get up, Rodney."

'No, I really can't...Carson...please...I can't...'

"Rodney...listen to me...it's not your time."

'Carson...it hurts…I'm sick…I can't.'

"Dammit, Rodney, it's not your time. Now GET UP."

The last words were loud and infused with emotion. They left no room for argument on any plane of reality. McKay jolted awake suddenly, thrashing his limbs a few times and yelling out as he did so.

"CARSON!"

Outside, across the compound, Colonel John Sheppard's head whipped around toward a sound he hadn't been expecting. He'd heard a voice. One he knew well. One that often annoyed him but that was sweet music to his ears now. Rodney's voice. It had rung out suddenly and loudly. The scream had sounded like it'd been torn from the soul of his friend.

The word he'd heard didn't make much sense, but John didn't care.

He took off across the village at a dead run.

He found Rodney two minutes later, a tangle of exposed limbs sticking out from a pile of trash, looking for all the world like a dead man.

John's heart stopped for a fraction of a second before his training kicked in and he reacted without thought.

Rodney had lost consciousness again, but as John frantically cleared the dirt and leaves off his friend, he checked for a pulse and miraculously found a thready beat that caused a spark of hope to ignite in his chest.

John yelled for Ronon to help him.

The rescue team, plus one Rodney McKay, was back in the puddlejumper and through the gate inside of ten minutes.

Slowly, Nak and the others came out of hiding, their differences forgotten for the moment. As he looked to the sky, Nak smiled, knowing by the way the visitors had carried Rodney that his stranger was back where he belonged after all.