Trials of Faith – Chapter 15
Triggered by blood.
Sheppard coughed, searching for his flashlight, clawing at the dusty ground until his hand hit cool metal. He grabbed it and switched it on.
Teyla was splayed across his torso, her hand on his arm; she looked up at him in alarm and scrambled off. John frowned.
'You scared of the dark or something?' He asked. She shot to her feet.
'No.' She smiled quickly, awkwardly. 'We appear to be trapped in a small cavern.'
Sheppard looked around. The rock had surrounded them on both sides making a very small room; Teyla had to duck when standing.
'Yes we do.' He whispered. 'Ronan?' He called gently, hoping that he would not bring the rest of the cave down on their heads. 'Rodney?'
'Sheppard?' Rodney called.
'Rodney!' John tried to stand, but found that he was very dizzy. His face was wet. He reached a hand to his cheek and stuck it under the flashlight. Blood.
'John?' Teyla approached, clutching her side.
'Yeah? How's your side.'
'Sore, I have pulled my stitches, but there seems to be little blood. Far less than what comes from your head.' Even in the dim light she could make out the thick liquid dripping from his chin to the floor. She rushed over.
'Sheppard?'
'Rodney! We're here. Me and Teyla! I can't see the others. You?' He asked.
'Outside! Fresh air, just escaped!' He sounded relieved as well as strained.
'That's nice for you Rodney.' Sheppard growled.
'Very! You in one piece?' He replied.
'Yeah. Ronan!' He urged to the other side of the rock.
'Colonel Sheppard!'
'Astra!' Teyla called, she sounded frightened.
'Ronan is unconscious! His leg is pinned under a very large rock! I cannot move it!' She sounded very scared. 'The cave has not sealed behind us!'
'Can't you levitate it?' He asked hopefully.
'Levitating a pen and a boulder are two different things Colonel!' She snapped.
'Okay!' He said defensively. 'Rodney, get outta here and radio Atlantis! We're gonna need some help getting out!' Sheppard paused.
'Okay, back in a flash!' Rodney called; they could hear his boots pounding away to the Jumper.
John turned to Teyla who was in more discomfort than she was letting on. She sat by his side, stripping part of her top off and using it to mop the blood on his head.
He felt for her hand and gently brought it down. 'I'm okay, we should see to you.' He leaned over, his head feeling like a bowling ball.
'I am fine! I have a bandage already; we must stop this gash from bleeding.' Her hand found the painful spot on his head again and he winced.
'Teyla-' He stopped when he saw the worried look in her eyes. For a moment, he thought she was close to tears. 'Teyla?'
'You are badly injured Colonel, please, lay still.' Teyla pushed his back to the cold stone wall as she sat by him, her face inches from his as she inspected the wound. He hadn't even felt what had hit him.
'Well this went according to plan.' He said sarcastically. Teyla smiled weakly, taking his cheek and holding his face at an angle so she could reach the wound better. He studied her with his brown eyes, being so close to her face. He hated that it was so dark; he wanted to see more of it.
Teyla gently mopped the wound, and then chucked the material to the side, reaching to her shirt to get more. John stopped her.
'You take any more of that off and you'll make me a very happy man.' He reached into his vest and brought out a square bandage handing it to her. She smiled at him and attached the bandage to the side of his head. It seeped up the blood quickly; she frowned, smoothing out the creases in the bandage, her fingers straying into his hair.
John felt this movement and closed his eyes, he also felt her take her hands away quickly when she had realised what she was doing. He wished she wouldn't.
'Your side?' He muttered.
'Fine.' She replied, putting her back against the wall, wincing as she did. John glared.
He reached over and quickly lifted her top before she could stop him; a fair amount of blood had seeped through the material. He turned the flashlight to the side of her head – she was pale and sweaty. He reached a hand to her forehead. She was warm.
'I am fine.' She breathed.
'You are not fine, and you should have said so.' He growled at her, taking a larger bandage from his vest as she slipped her jacket off. He kneeled, his head screaming in protest, and wound the material around her. She held onto his forearms, arching the way she had when Carson had used the defibrillator on her.
A piece of the material caught on the rock behind her, he lowered his head down to see, using the flashlight to guide him. When he unhooked the material and passed it round he came back up. His head brushed her cheek, and for some reason he slowed. In the darkness of the cave, the flashlight on the ground, John held his arms around her, the bandage almost finished. His cheek smoothed hers for near to ten seconds before he pulled away, hovering in front of her mere centre metres from her face. She looked at him with large brown eyes, frowning slightly, searching his face. She lingered on his mouth before looking away. John had seen that look, had felt that look in his own lips and in the way that they burned. She looked back at him again. This time he looked at her lips.
Teyla felt her heart pound. He was so close. Why was he so close? He looked at her face, at her eyes, at her lips…she saw his eyes come back to her eyes. She looked at them, beautiful and brown, boyishly handsome and brave. Teyla felt it more than saw it, he edged forward, she parted her lips in anticipation…
'Colonel!' Rodney was back.
They paused. Teyla looked down and John licked his lips, looking to the side.
'Yes Rodney?' He asked lightly, knowing that when he was free, he would rip the scientist a new one.
Astra heard that Mckay was back, she used her light to find Ronan's face. Still unconscious. She kissed his cheek and studied his leg again. It was bleeding rather badly, but she couldn't reach the source of the wound. She swept her hair behind her back and propped Ronan up against her. She smoothed her hand across his face.
'Ronan?' She whispered, kissing him again. He did not stir. She felt his breath against her hand and was settled for a moment.
The old woman must have known that the cave wasn't safe, even if she did need the herb for a sick child, any warning would have been appreciated. Wise she was not, not even her advice made sense. Find the trigger? She didn't know what she could do let alone find out how to do it!
'Astra!' John called.
'I am here.' She whispered.
'Ronan?' He queried slowly, not liking her tone.
'He is here also, he will not wake.'
John paused. 'Rodney's called for back up, they should be here in a half hour. We're just gonna have to sit tight.'
Astra nodded to the darkness and laughed slightly. 'Ronan's leg is bleeding badly; he does not have long before his body will fail.'
Teyla shuffled. 'You cannot stop the bleeding?'
'I cannot reach the bleeding. The boulder hides the wound.' She told them, stroking Ronan's face with more vigour. She was afraid for him, she could feel tears on her cheeks and she wiped them away angrily. She wanted to help, that was all. How could she help an entire galaxy if she killed those who followed her willingly? But Ronan was not just a follower…he belonged to her; she felt it in his touch, in the way he would look at her. She kissed him again.
'Astra, you must try to move it.' Teyla urged.
'I have tried, it is too heavy.' She shook her head.
'Don't use your arms! Use your mind!' John demanded.
'It is too big!' She yelled. 'I cannot move it!'
'Well, try to stem the bleeding the best you can.' John said softly, she heard him sit again.
Astra stroked his hair and watched his face, crying silently. Hopelessness set in against her, like the darkness, it enveloped all the light. She stared at the rocks blocking their path. They were large and thin, some were particularly sharp.
Suddenly, the cave rumbled again. She shielded Ronan's face with her own, hearing Sheppard shout something. A few more boulders fell, parts of the newly formed wall shifted. When the dust settled slightly, she looked up. A large pointed rock was poking out diagonally, aiming straight for Ronan's torso. Astra panicked. If the cave moved again, it would impale him.
'You in one piece?' Sheppard yelled.
Astra did not yell back as she shifted Ronan as far from the wall as possible. It didn't matter. It wouldn't work. She couldn't move him far enough, the boulder pinned his leg in such a way that he could not go far. Any position she put him in would mean that the rock would go straight through him.
She kneeled by him. 'Ronan! You must wake!' She cried.
'Astra?' Teyla called.
'I have to get him out!' She called. 'The wall will crush him if the cave moves again!'
The pause meant that Teyla and Sheppard were thinking. She prayed that they would come up with something.
'Help is on the way. We must stay still, and we must stay quiet.' Teyla informed, Astra cried aloud.
'No! Help will not come soon enough!' She snarled. 'He is bleeding too badly!' She watched the pool of liquid forming under the boulder.
Teyla and Sheppard did not know what to do.
'We should try to find a weak spot in the wall,' Sheppard said to Teyla. 'If we can get through, maybe all of us can move the boulder.'
'No, the wall cannot be moved at all! If it does, it will kill him!' Astra yelled angrily. Had they not been listening?
'Well what do you suggest!' Sheppard growled. 'If we do nothing, he dies, and if we do something, he dies!'
'Ronan would want us to try.' Teyla said softly.
Astra knew it would not work and that Ronan would die. Even when the team arrived to get them out, if they did anything drastic, Ronan would die. He had saved her; he had pushed her to the ground when the ceiling fell. She looked at his peaceful face, and ran her index finger down his nose and across his lips, tears falling silently.
'Astra?' Teyla called, waiting for her reply. They should do it now before the team came. There would be nothing they could do from the outside, it was up to them, and Ronan was in trouble.
'You will die…' She whispered to him. And she would die with him. She would not leave him.
She thought of him when she first saw him. Killing the Wraith with an energy weapon, saving Teyla, and then running over to put her in the ship and take her to Atlantis. The way he had looked at her on the balcony – so unsure and yet intrigued by her...the way he had stayed with her, protected her from even the smallest unkind word. The way he touched her, the way he kissed her, so close…he was an animal with passion and a kind heart, and he didn't deserve this.
'I found a weak rock here; I think we can get through…' She barely heard Sheppard, it was an echo. Her memories of happiness flooding her mind.
When he trained with her, so playful and warm, and possessive…she felt protected. And now, he wasn't here to protect himself. She would do it for him, she would shield him.
Her thoughts strayed to Borus - a warrior, her friends on her home world, the broken people who pleaded with her when she ran to the next world…her parents. The way they had lied to her, kept things from her. Her grief turned into rage, her fists shook as she clutched at Ronan, she wanted to scream. The Wraith had taken everything, had destroyed it all, it was because of them that she had met Ronan, and it was because of them that he would die…
The wall shook. They had moved the rock. The one protruding from the wall shot forward as she remembered the faces, the last being Ronan, and she screamed, the pain of it all pushing her to the very edge of a broken human being.
John and Teyla flew back as a blinding light swept the cave and the roaring of stone screeched throughout the hollow darkness. John rolled on top of Teyla as rocks fell.
He felt nothing. No pain. No squishing. He paused, and realised that they were surrounded by light. He sat up and gaped.
The cave and been lifted from above them, rocks of all shapes and sizes floated high above with the leaves of the tall trees. Teyla and John turned to where Ronan should have been.
Astra stood, her eyes glowing fiercely, bathing the green grass with icy light. Her eyes looked down at Ronan; the ones above did not fall. They watched as the boulder on a filthy Ronan lifted slowly and rolled away. Astra lifted her hands to the sky and gave a mighty push, all the rocks flew into the forest, crashes were heard in the distance as they fell to the floor.
Astra fell to her knees, the exhaustion clear. She crawled to Ronan's leg, tearing part of her top off and wrapping it tightly. She collapsed and did not move again.
Suddenly Ronan moved forward, with difficulty. He had woken in time to see her fall, to feel her wrap his leg. He rolled her onto her front, leaning over her face. They couldn't hear what he said to her, but they understood what his kiss meant.
John turned to Teyla who looked at him with the same expression of awe.
'Rodney?' He turned to look for the scientist who had been waiting outside when the cave had fallen – and then risen.
Mckay stood with his arms wrapped around a large tree, staring up at the now empty sky.
'Mckay?' John laughed slightly. 'Are you still in there?'
Rodney's head snapped to him. He managed to produce a few vowel sounds, but that was it.
'Good enough.' John turned to Teyla who watched Ronan. 'You okay?'
Teyla nodded. 'I am alright, but we must get back to Atlantis. Ronan will need stitches, as will you.' She turned to look at his head, which looked ghastly in the daylight. He was pale and blood covered half of his face. She edged forward, pressing the bandage she applied earlier. He took her hand, watching her face, and brought it down, but did not let go.
'Teyla…' He began quietly.
'We must speak with Ilea.' She said suddenly, frowning. She rose to her feet stumbling, grabbing her side and offering her hand for John to stand too. Now was not the time for that conversation. John looked up at her, took her hand and rose, dizziness making him nauseas. He felt Teyla grip his chest and take his arm over her shoulders. He realised that he was at an angle to the ground. Maybe he had hurt his head, just a little.
'Rodney!' He called, fighting the urge to fall to the ground. 'Give Ronan a hand.'
Teyla took him down the hill toward the Jumper and came back to help Ronan and Astra. Rodney was still attached to the tree when she returned, looking nervously up at the sky. Teyla had barked at him to help her, not feeling well herself. He ran over to her and moved them all down the hill quickly.
With the gravely injured in the Jumper ready to return, Teyla marched with Rodney to Ilea's hut. Her side was so sore, so hard to breathe, blood seeped through her fingers and Rodney glanced at her with concern. It would take twenty-five minutes to get back to Atlantis; they needed to leave as soon as possible. Plus he was driving, so that added another ten minutes.
She thrust the skin hanging over the doorway to the side and walked in, Ilea was hanging another vial from the roof. She turned to see Teyla and smiled.
'Ah! Teyla, my girl, no need to worry about that plant! I had some stashed behind my roots! I have brewed the medicine, the child will be…fine.' She paused at the menacing expression on Teyla's face.
'Ilea.' She stepped forward.
Ilea saw her injury and hurried toward her. 'Teyla! What has happened?'
Teyla stopped her from touching the wound. 'Why did you ask us to go into the cave when you knew the danger was so great?'
Ilea turned from her. 'I did not know it was so dangerous! Please forgive me, child, it was an old fools mistake…'
'Ilea, do not lie to me, I know you well enough to understand when you lie!' Teyla barked harshly.
Ilea huffed and spun, folding her arms, looking like a child without their lollipop. 'Alright! Alright! I knew the cave was not safe. I had not expected for you to venture inside. It was for Astra alone!'
Teyla gaped at her. 'You knew it would fall?'
'And that it would rise.' She looked at Teyla sadly. 'That girl has a power, she came looking for it, and I showed it to her.'
'Yeah, by almost killing us!' Rodney snapped.
'Oh hush! No one has died! And the girl has learnt a great deal!'
'You are beyond…you're just…you're a mad old woman, far more senile than any of the ones I know! Psychotic! Like the woman with the three snakes who use to live above me!' Rodney yelled at her.
Ilea raised an eyebrow. 'I do not like snakes.'
Rodney shook his head, she was missing his point.
'Although, they make a powerful stew!' She pottered over to the corner sifting through some baskets.
'Oh god, tell me that you don't have-' Rodney began, and shouted, hopping behind Teyla when she pulled out a dead snake from a dark basket.
Ilea smiled when she produced it, and then seeing his expression, placed it on the table, sighing.
'I am sorry Teyla. But these times called for something a little more…dangerous.' She walked forward to Teyla, taking her hands. 'Astra must now go with this new force, and learn how it came about. She will make you proud.' She smiled weakly and headed for her chair.
Teyla shook her head. 'Good day Ilea. Be well.' Teyla gave her a firm smile and left the tent.
'We'll run tests with machines, using science to determine how she did it!' Rodney thrust at her, before jogging from the tent.
Ilea narrowed her eyes. 'Men and their science…'