In the Blood (2/3)
by Lacadiva
Rating: PG-13/R for violence. Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I won't get anything, and I'm happy that way.
Summary: Serious Shepp whumpage. John is imprisoned for suspicion of espionage by offworld captors who use a very unusual torture and interrogation technique. Did I say major Shepp whumpage?
vv 2 vv
"John...John..." It was Samantha Carter's voice at first. Then Dr. Weir's..."John, can you hear me?" Then Teyla's voice: "John, where are you, John?"
"Here!" he shouted, waking himself. He pulled himself up from the floor into a sitting position, resting his back against the wall, breathing deeply. His dreams had been so real, so vivid, that they had actually frightened him. His eyes were shut so tight that he had to pry them open.
He was not expecting to find her here.
She was sitting against the wall directly across from him, the creature that had assaulted him twice. She sat with her legs curled against her, as if trying to make herself even smaller than she already was. John leaped to his feet, nearly falling when his still weak legs threatened to give out from under him. But he steadied himself against the wall and jutted an accusing finger at the creature.
"Stay where you are...stay the hell away from me," he said, his voice weaker than he was accustomed to hearing it, "and I won't kill you."
The M'karra covered her face with her hands and began to hum to herself.
"Shut up!" John demanded. She instantly complied. He could see she was more afraid of him than he was of her. Good, he thought - the balance of power had been established. He pushed his full six foot frame to stand straight, in hopes of further intimidating the M'Karra. "No sudden moves," he said, "and you might live to walk out of here."
She made no move to attack him. So he took a quick inventory of his physical condition while he could. His legs still felt rubbery, a little as if they were not his own. His body in general felt better, though still not quite as strong, but the pain he experienced before - hours ago? days ago? - was gone. There was a borderline, lingering sensation, no doubt from the creature's venom, still resonating through his system. It was a lot like being somewhat intoxicated, like functioning with a mild buzz.
"What are you?" John asked. "What the hell is an M'Karra?"
"I do not know what I am. M'Karra is a Lamemnian word. It means, enslaved one."
"You don't know what you are? How can you not know what you are? Do you know where you're from?"
"No."
"You ever think to ask?"
"They would not tell me."
"I guess you don't have a name, either."
"I am Niri."
"Niri, huh? Glad to meet you. Actually, that's a lie. You keep your distance, Niri, and we won't have a problem."
"I will, if you promise to do the same."
"Hey!" John shouted, "I'm not the one going around feeding on people."
" I do not feed on the living," she cried, offended. "I did not feed on you."
John pulled his collar down to reveal the dual set of red, swollen puncture wounds on his neck. "I beg to differ."
The creature Niri hung her head as if she was ashamed.
John ignored her, then began to move around the cell, feeling his legs beginning to regain some of his accustomed strength. He ran his hands along the stone walls, feeling for weak places, cracks or soft spots, but found only solid walls. He moved to the bars, grabbed hold firmly and shook them, hoping that he could work one loose to use as a weapon. But the bars held firm, as solid as the surrounding walls.
John sighed and leaned against the bars, but realized he had turned his back to Niri. He quickly spun around to find her standing, though still in her corner.
"Sit," he commanded. She did.
"So...Niri...your boss coming back anytime soon?"
"I do not know."
"Why'd they leave you here?"
Niri looked at her hands. "They were angry with me. I could not give them the answers they desired."
"I know how you feel," John said bitterly. "Talking to T'kel is like talking to one of these walls. So why'd they leave you?"
"They left me in the hope that you would kill me for them." Her expression looked so pained, so filled with sorrow, that John almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
"Or...hoping you'd bite me again."
Niri's amber eyes looked away from him. "Yes."
"That's not gonna happen."
Niri nodded.
"How well do you know this place?" asked John.
"I've lived here my whole life."
"Any secret passageways, secret doors?"
"I have never seen them. I live in a cell, like this one. I do not remember the world outside."
"Looks like I'm on my own."
"You wish to return to the Stargate?"
"Yeah. Wait, you said you don't remember anything out there. How do you know about the Stargate?"
"I saw it in your blood. Will you take me with you?"
"No," John said flatly.
Pain shot through John's head and gut at the same time. He nearly doubled over, but it seemed to pass quickly. Some of the "buzz" he'd felt earlier was beginning to wane. He hoped he wasn't coming down with the violent shaking and the cold again...the pain reverberating through him like a ringing gong...
And then it occurred to him why he had become so desperately sick. Why he spent brief hours feeling inexplicable bliss, passed out for several hours, then plummeted physically until he was sick and puking on the floor.
"You..." It was like a hiss.
Niri pushed deeper into the corner, making herself smaller again..
"You injected some kind of venom in me. T'kel said something about your saliva...some kind of chemical reaction..."
"It relieves the pain of the taking."
"Yeah, but that's not all it does."
Another pain shot through John, but this one wasn't fleeting. He did double over this time, slamming against the wall. The shaking started immediately. John began retching, but there was nothing but acid in his stomach. He knew this was only the beginning.
Sweat was beginning to drench his face, soaking through his clothes. His eyes were burning, tearing up. His ears were ringing. It hurt to breathe.
"What did you do to me?" he accused, demanded. He forced himself to his feet and lunged at Niri, his fingers around her midnight blue throat. 'WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?"
Her cries were like a strained song, her tiny hands fought to push him away.
Pain slammed through John again, and he lost his grip, falling to the floor and shaking.
The sight was unbearable to Niri. She was trembling fearfully, not knowing what she could do to help the offworlder, to end his agony. Then, she remember there was one thing she could do, though she knew he would probably kill her for it later.
She leaned over him, touching him gently, rubbing her hands through his hair to soothe him. She held him, rocked him for a while, feeling him jerk, cringe and shiver with every wave of pain. She could not allow him to suffer any more. She hummed sweetly, then bared her onyx incisors, and turned him over gently onto his back. His face was a mask of sheer agony, the worse suffering.
"No...don't..." was all he could say, before the level of pain increased again, and triggered a violent seizure.
"Forgive me," Niri said, then sank her teeth into John's throat.
vv vv
"Anything?"
Samantha Carter leaned over the console, placing a firm hand on the shoulder of the young Technician at the controls.
"Nothing, Colonel," she said solemnly. "Nothing yet."
Carter patted her shoulder, hoping to encourage the technician and everyone within earshot. "Keep scanning, keep looking. We're not giving up yet."
She turned to leave, but found Teyla standing before her. "We need to talk," Teyla whispered.
Carter looked over Teyla's shoulder to find Rodney and Ronon in a corner watching her. Teyla gestured for the Colonel to join them.
"What's going on?" she asked as she approached, crossing her arms.
"We want to go back," Ronon demanded. "Now."
Carter sighed. "We've already had this conversation. The answer's no." She moved to walk away. Ronon grab her arm. Carter looked at his big hand, then defiantly into his eyes.
"Ronon!" Teyla warned. Ronon eased his grip and let Carter go.
"Sorry," the Satedan mumbled.
Rodney moved between Carter and Ronon, computer in hand. "We...that is I... have a theory. Sheppard's life sign isn't registering, but it may not be because he is dead. You're searching for his body, but I believe we need to get back to P419 and continue the search."
"Rodney, I want Sheppard to be alive as much as you do, but the evidence strongly suggests..."
Rodney held the notebook computer up so that Carter could see the colorful, undulating display.
"Take a look...we've analyzed some of the samples taken from P419...rock and soil samples, water samples..."
Carter quickly read the screen, drew a conclusion and interrupted Rodney. "You're saying that the natural mineral content of the planet could be interfering with our scanners..."
"...making it impossible to get a clear and accurate reading," Rodney finished quickly, feeling a little competitive that Carter would grasp the situation without his further explanation. "It explains why our communicators barely worked, why we were barely able to get back through the Stargate. The strong magnetic field emanating from the surface is wreaking havoc with our technology."
"Which means there is a possibility," Teyla added, "that John is still alive. That he is not detectable by our scanners because he is underground or taking shelter inside a cave or rock formation. We wish to go back to the planet to be sure."
Samantha paused as she thought their proposal through carefully, then said, "My original order stands. The answer's no."
"But Sam!" Rodney cried.
"Listen, John is a survivor. If there is a way for him to get back to us, he will. My concern is what happens if we send the three of you, and we can't retrieve you because of the planet's natural interference. "
"We're willing to take that chance," Ronon protested.
"Well I'm not," countered Carter. "I understand how badly you want to help John. I'm sure he knows it, too. But I need you all here. Rodney, I need you to help continue to analyze that data and find a way for us to counteract that interference. Teyla, I need you to prepare a tactical strike team in case John needs an emergency extraction."
"What about me?" Ronon said. "You don't need me here. Let me go."
"Not yet, Ronon. Not until we have something more substantial to go on. And when we do, you'll be the first through the 'gate. And I'll be the second."
vv vv
He awoke slowly, as if clawing his way through a thick, membranous web. Someone was holding him, rocking him, singing softly to him. He was awash in all manner of sensations. It felt alternately like the exhilaration of flying the puddle jumper at maximum speed and like swimming underwater so deep it would crush any normal human being. He felt invincible, yet as vulnerable as a newborn. He felt warm and cool, like the very air around him was constantly recalibrating to suit his constantly changing mood and desire. He felt butterflies rippling through his midsection, and invisible pins prickling and tickling his feet and fingertips. He took a deep breath and imagined the oxygen was made of colors, all swirling and intermingling and changing as it swept in and out of his lungs. There was no hunger, no pain, no fear, no desperate need to do anything but...be.
He opened his eyes now, and was drawn back when he recognized the acrid stench of the cell, and the sound of Niri's discordant voice. He looked up and saw her face over his, and realized it was Niri's arms that held him and rocked him. He pushed her away and sat up quickly. Too quickly. His head swam, and his stomach turned a bit, but the overwhelming sickness he had felt before was gone. At least for now.
"You BIT me," he said.
"Yes," she said.
"YOU BIT ME!"
"To end your suffering."
"For the MOMENT," John said angrily, closing his eyes at the realization. "What did I tell you? What did I SAY? Don't you get it? Your saliva...whatever...it's does something to me...like a drug, narcotic. The sickness...it's withdrawal."
Niri moved to a wall, cringing to avoid him as he moved closer to her. She looked smaller and weaker than the last time he saw her. He even thought she seemed a little paler.
"Every time you inject that crap into me, I get a little more dependent on it! That's the only explanation for what's happening to me."
John backed away, putting some space between them, knowing that if he got too close, Niri would suffer for it. "Am I the only one?"
"I do not understand."
"AM I THE ONLY ONE THIS HAS HAPPENED TO?" John said, slamming his fist into the wall, and regretted it when it instantly began to throb. "Has this happened to other species?"
"Yes."
"What happens to them?"
"Sometimes they die."
"Great. That's just great."
"But you are strong."
"Yeah," John spat. "I'm a regular Hercules."
"If you can withstand the sickness until it passes, until it ends, you will survive."
"That's encouraging. And if I don't, then what? I gotta walk around with you on a chain to make sure I get my daily suck fest on or die?"
"That," Niri said sadly, "would make me your slave."
"Not to me, kiddo. I'm cutting you loose, you got that? You stay away from me. No matter how bad it gets, you stay away from me!"
"Or you will kill me."
John didn't have to say anything more.
vv vv
Time passed, and T'kel had not yet returned. John suspected this was some part of the strange man's plan. He'd spent what felt like hours examining and re-examining his cell, searching desperately for a way out. He called down the hall for help, for water, for anyone to come at all, but no one came. He remained alone.
Except for Niri.
She had retreated to yet another corner, sick and afraid. She had thrown up blood - his blood - then settle down to the floor uneasily to rest.
"Hey," said John. Niri opened her eyes, but remained lying on the cold floor.
"So, how does this blood thing work again? What did you see?"
"The blood carries your thoughts and memories, your dreams and your desires."
"Like what?"
"The things that mean the most to you. Your beliefs, your convictions. Your deeds. Your hopes. The people you care for most. I have seen them."
"Yeah? Who did you see?"
"The tall and angry one."
"Yeah... That's Ronon."
"And the nervous one."
"That would be Rodney. Who else?"
"The ones to whom you once wanted to give your heart, but could not."
"There isn't anyone..."
"One belongs to another. She carries his child. The other one is lost, away from you..."
"Nice trick," John said, "but that's enough."
"You fear she is dead..."
"That's enough..."
"Both have caused you great suffering."
"I said, that's enough."
"It is deep and always with you, this suffering. You are rarely at peace, even when you are at rest. You think more of others than you do yourself."
"Not true. 'Cause right now, all I can think about is getting my butt out of here and back home."
"To Atlantis."
John turn on her. "What do you know about Atlantis? What did you see?"
"Everything you know. The Ancients. The Wraiths. The Genii..."
John grab Niri and pulled her to her feet. He held her so that her feet dangled over the floor.
"You listen to me," he warned. "You don't say anything about Atlantis to T'kel, or any of his people, you got that?"
"Yes!"
Her amber eyes, so hurt, so afraid, bore pleadingly into his. He felt real pity for her this time, and put her down gently.
"Sorry," he said.
"I will say nothing of Atlantis to anyone. Even on pain of death."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." He stared at her for a moment. Something was wrong. "You don't look so good," he said. "Sit down."
She did as she was told, moving slowly, gingerly. He could see that she was weaker than before. As she attempted to sit, she lost her balance. John caught the creature before she hit the floor.
"What's wrong with you?"
"I have not eaten," she said.
"Well, don't look at me," said John.
vv vv
Like clockwork, the pain began working it's way back. The onset was quick, but now it seemed to be intensifying, with every muscle beginning to cry out for the drug that Niri carried naturally inside of her. He kicked out violently, as if he could throw it off, but realized it was some strange reflex action. The seizures were returning. He looked at Niri, who slept on the floor several feet away. Even thought he had warned her to keep her distance, not to bite him again, he knew that if push came to shove...
It was then that John heard heavy footfalls, heading his way. Guards opened the gate and ushered T'kel inside. He gestured to Niri, and the guards immediately moved to her, grabbed her by her limp arms and dragged her out of the cell.
"Where are you taking her?" John asked weakly, voice trembling as fear grew deeply and overwhelmingly in the pit of his stomach. The circles under his eyes were dark, near black, contrasting against his pale, sweaty skin. "She did what you asked her. It's not her fault it didn't work." John grit his teeth hard as pain burst through his midsection and rang through his limbs.
"She is not your concern," T'kel said. "You should be thinking about your own life right now. The M'karra has proved to be ineffective in revealing your true intentions. It happens sometimes. But then, there is something else on which we can depend. The pain you're feeling. Your body is now enslaved. The M'karra is in your blood. Without her bite, your agony will become unbearable. I have seen it. Men stronger than your species screaming, crying, begging for relief. For death. Or for her bite. I will bring the M'karra back to you, to save you, if you admit to your crimes."
"When are you gonna give it up...?" John coughed up thick, white sputum that nearly choked him. His body was demanding the alien drug. He knew he was dying. "I'm not lying. I'm no threat to you. Tell you what. You let me go home, and I guarantee you...my people will never visit this God-forsaken place again. You have my word."
"Your word is worth little to me," T'kel said. He squatted down and grabbed a handful of John's dark, wet hair and pulled his head up. "You are dying, John Sheppard. You must know this."
"Happens to the best of us," John muttered as he cringed.
T'kel pushed John away so hard his head slammed onto the floor. John could barely respond to that assault - his own body was doing him much more harm.
"The problem with this death," T'kel whispered, "is that it is a long, protracted, unmerciful death. It could be many days of this, unending pain, growing ever worse."
"Thanks for the head's up, big guy," said John and smiled through the pain.
"It is just as well, John Sheppard. The M'karra has very little life left in her. She may not live to save you again."
"What happened to her? What did you do to her?"
It was T'kel's turn to smile now. "It is you who are responsible for taking her life. Each time she has bitten you to spare you, you have chipped away at her life. Your blood, offworlder, is poison to her."
"No...she wouldn't have done it...she wouldn't have done it if she knew..."
"She knew. But she is trained to do as she is told. You think us monsters because we do whatever we must to preserve the safety and security of our world. Perhaps we are monsters. But I know this: When your pain becomes unbearable, and you are staring death in the face, I wonder what you would do if Niri came to you? Knowing what you know, would you beg her to sacrifice her own life, or would you willingly sacrifice your own?"
John could not answer. It was then that the seizures began. He was barely aware when T'kel walked away, or that the cell door clanged shut.
John was left alone to suffer.
vv vv
Niri sat in her old cell, shivering, but not from cold. The blood tie between her and John was not yet broken. She was aware that John was dying, and helpless to do anything about it. Along with her own regrets - never knowing her people or her world, never experiencing life outside of the stone compound that was her prison - she also had a sense of John's own regrets. They pained her, compounding her despair.
She was also aware that she too, would die, if she continued to ingest his blood. But for John, after all the suffering she had caused him, she would be willing to die.
Her own organs were close to failing. The offworlder's blood was like a slow acting poison at work in her system. Over a short time, death would come, even if she did not take his blood again. Death was imminent. And no one would mourn her passing.
She hummed a sad prayer for the dying.
vv vv
"His time is not long," T'kel informed his cronies. They had gathered around a small table to discuss what to do with their prisoner.
"Have his people returned to find him?" the eldest asked.
"No. There have been no reports of other offworlders coming through the Stargate. But I think it is safe to assume they will."
"They will demand justice for his death. They will seek revenge against us," another one said, wringing his pale hands together. "They will bring war to our world."
"Then we will deny responsibility for his death," said T'kel as he moved to a basin to wash his hands. "We will take him, while he still breathes, to an open place and leave him. Let the carrion birds and the night creatures who hunger for flesh be the fault of his demise."
"And what of the M'karra? Her usefulness wanes."
"Release her. With no survival skills, she will die long before she can learn to adapt to the harshness of the world beyond her cell."
To the Guards, T'kel said, "Take the offworlder, and deliver him to the farther point to the east, and leave him. As for the M'karra...simply open the door a shoo her away. Tomorrow, we will go through the Stargate and hunt for another like her to take her place."
vv vv
Never in John's life had he ever felt anything like this before. It was beyond words. It was beyond reason. It was beyond sanity. Every minute he lived, he regretted. He was crying now, a thing for which he may have felt shame before, but now, crying was all that he could do. He opened his eyes, hoping he could find something, anything in his cell he could use to take his own life. But there was nothing. Nothing left.
He thought of his friends back at Atlantis. There had to be a reason, a logical reason why they were not storming this place and demanding his release. There had to be an explanation for their absence, their silence. Until now, he believed Ronon and Teyla would have moved Heaven and Earth to find him. Perhaps they were somewhere outside these walls even now, searching in vain for John. But from his perspective, there was only silence. There was only his failing, pain-wracked body.
He thought of Niri, and something akin to an electric shock tore through him, as if his body was responding to the thought of her. The idea of her biting him now no longer disgusted him. He longed for it. The pain of her teeth rending his flesh was preferable to this agony.
And then he remembered. She would die. It would be his fault.
He had no choice but to withstand the pain. He had to live through this in order to be free of his alien addiction. He had to be strong. He sobbed again, hugging himself as his world seemed to crash and burn around him.
vv vv
The Guards entered her cell and demanded that she stand. Niri pulled herself up from the floor on weak legs that shudder under her tiny weight. They pulled her down the cold stone corridor, and then up many stone steps so high she had to negotiate them by crawling on all fours. They dragged her down yet another lengthy corridor, to a stone door that was opened by angry looking sentries. Sunlight blinded her; she covered her sensitive amber eyes, hissing at the sudden shock of light, a light which she could not ever remember seeing before. The Guards pushed her, and she fell to the hard desert ground.
"Go!" one of the Guards shouted.
Niri did not understand. Why would he send her away? Where was she to go? This place was her home! It had always been her home. She slept here. They gave her food and water. She had performed many takings, just as they had told her to. Had she displeased them so greatly that they no longer needed her? Were they leaving her out here to die?
Niri tried to go back through the door, but the Guards pushed her harshly, back to the dusty ground. It hurt her. She lay there, trying to understand. She hummed and cried at the same time, still dumbstruck by her situation. If they would only let her back inside, back to her cell, all would be well.
"Go on! Go!" the Guard yelled again. One waved his arms. The other brandished a machete. She'd been cut by the weapon on many occasions. It was not pleasant. It hurt for days, and bled so badly it weakened her. She did not wish to feel the blade upon her skin again. She scurried to her feet and took several steps back, away from the door, but turned back, hoping they would step away and allow her to enter again. They didn't. She turned and ran, and kept running, not knowing what else she could do.
vv vv
John was barely aware of what was happening. He felt something pull at him, then realized he was being picked up by strong hands. They were dragging his limp body across the floor. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he imagined that he was being taken to his execution. Fine, he thought. All of this would finally be over.
Heat prickled his skin. Light burned through his shut eyelids. Where were they taking him? He was lifted and placed on a hard surface that eventually began to move jerkily, jostling him. John tried to open his eyes, but it took more strength than he had. He simply lay there, waiting to see what horrible course fate would now take.
vv vv
"GOT HIM! COLONEL CARTER!"
The young technician was practically giddy at her find. It was very faint, but still quite obviously a tiny red "blip" of light showing on her screen. A life sign.
John Sheppard was alive.
Colonel Carter raced to the screen to see for herself, practically nudging the technician out of her way. Ronon, Teyla and Rodney were not far behind.
"Do we have a lock on him?"
"The signal is weak. It will take me a moment to triangulate."
The technician's fingers flew over the keyboard, coaxing information out of the computer.
"Got a fix on him. He's moving!"
"Good work!" Carter said smiling, even as she double-checked the technician's findings. "Let's go get him."
"Saddle up, people!" Rodney said, but instantly felt embarrassed when Teyla gave him a strange look.
Carter, Ronon and Teyla raced off. "Wait for me!" Rodney cried, handing his laptop to the technician and running to catch up.
End chapter 2