Chapter Seven

When Colonel Sheppard finally began to wake, he slowly and painfully fluttered his eyes open, squinting through the shadowy dimness around him. His head was throbbing awfully, and in an instant he felt harsh restraints scratching obnoxiously against his ankles and wrists. He yanked against them regardless and only increased the pain tenfold by doing so. Grunting from frustration, he continued squinting until his eyes accustomed themselves to the minimal light provided by a nearby torch.

Scuffling could be heard in the darkness and Sheppard immediately responded harshly.

"Who's there?" he said in a strained voice.

"Only us," a voice returned. A voice Sheppard only knew too well. He gave an inward groan as Major Lorne stepped into view holding a large golden goblet adorned with black crystals across its grip.

"Major Lorne; I demand that you release me," Sheppard said sternly, hoping confidence and using his title would somehow wake Lorne from whatever power was causing him to act this way. Lorne only smiled in returned and leaned down to Sheppard's head as a tiny bead of sweat rolled down the Colonel's furrowed brow.

"Giving orders will do you no good. You may have been my commander before Sheppard, but here...here we are all kings..."

Lorne turned his head and nodded towards the shadows. Two other members from Lorne's team emerged from the shadows, their eyes as black as death. Sheppard continued to futiley tussle with his restraints, a nervous pit growing larger by the moment somewhere deep in his stomach.

"Stay the hell away from me..."

Major Lorne seemed completely sincere when he looked down at Sheppard and replied, "It only hurts for a minute John..."

One of the marines moved forward and held Sheppard's head still between both of his large hands, one beneath his chin and the other behind his head holding it slightly tilted upwards. The second marine pinched Sheppard's nose shut and yanked open his jaw while Lorne moved forward. He carried the strange goblet out before him as Sheppard attempted to shout wildly while his arms and feet remained restrained.

The grip the marines had was too strong and Sheppard knew it, though he would never willingly stop fighting against it. Lorne tipped the goblet slightly just above Sheppard's unwillingly ajar mouth and poured a thick, gooey black substance down his open throat, smiling the entire time.

A strange chanting came from somewhere in the fiery shadows and Sheppard did all he could to keep his throat closed, trying to prevent the black liquid from entering him entirely. Only moments passed before the effort proved too great and although much of the black goo was covering his face and dripping down his chin, some of it was still passing through his attempts until finally he could fight it no longer.

Lorne and the others stepped back while Sheppard spat out what little he could towards them as they retreated. All three of them smiled while the Colonel began to feel something strange lurch awkwardly inside him, somewhere deep in his chest.

He paused a moment, recoiling. "What did you do to me?!" he screamed, black spittle flying from his mouth.

They didn't answer and only a second passed before the lurching increased and a new kind of pain coursed through Sheppard's body, filling him with a sense of dread and hopelessness as his blood began to feel as though it were on fire and a strangled scream erupted from his throat that echoed as far as voice could carry.

The last thing he remembered before everything went dark was the sick smile streched across Major Lorne's face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Please leave a review.