Thanks everyone for the reviews! LOL! I aim for action with a dash of plot…

FIGUARTIVE HELL AND LITERAL HIGH WATER

By TIPPER


CHAPTER THREE: HELLACIOUS WINDS

Rodney stood before of the doors leading to the outside, and for a moment, he seemed to hesitate, the fingers of his empty hand curling and releasing nervously. Under his breath, Jennifer heard him whisper, "You can do this. You can do this. You can do this." She smiled a little as she realized this was how he psyched himself up. Then the smile fell when she realized what exactly he was psyching himself up for.

"Ready?" he asked a little too loudly, his voice shaking, his gaze still locked on the double doors. They were rattling with the force of the winds outside, like something big and ugly was trying to get inside.

Which wasn't wholly wrong.

She sucked in a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. "After you, McKay," she said jauntily, trying to sound confident. "Once more into the breach, and all that."

He glanced at her, grimacing a little (apparently, she didn't sound as confident as she'd hoped).

"Just, um…" his free hand lifted, his fingers dancing like he was playing an invisible trumpet, "keep your eye out for flying bits of debris, okay? There's a lot of it out there—nearly got taken out a few times on the way down here. " He looked back at the doors.

"De…debris?"

"You know," he shrugged, and now he was the one feigning confidence, "bits of wood, chunks of metal," he sucked in a breath, "large, heavy objects that have no call being off the ground, flying at your head at high rates of speed."

She knew her eyes were as wide as saucers, but Rodney paid no mind as he suddenly closed his eyes and, with a determined step, shoved the doors open.

Jennifer gasped as freezing cold rain bit at her cheeks, the powerful winds blowing her poncho up around her ears. She staggered backwards, and had to consciously think about digging in her heels and holding her ground. In front of her now, Rodney threw up a hand to cover his face and, bending over slightly, pushed forward into the driving rain. Muttering a prayer under her breath, Jennifer did the same, except she used both hands to shield her face.

The wind was incredible, shoving at her from all sides as she lurched into the middle of the paved street. The rain felt like it was cutting her to bits, drumming down on her shoulders like nails hammered into a board.

And she'd barely cleared the building.

Oh God. This was bad. This was really, really, really bad!

She peered through her upraised arms, trying to follow the dark figure of Rodney McKay as he slogged determinedly away from her, up the paved road. He was only a few feet distant at most, but the storm was too strong; he was already losing definition in her sight. And…and he was moving faster than she was, getting further away with each step. No, no, no, no…

"Wait!" she screamed—and felt her voice ripped from her and carried away. The wind was so loud, she could barely hear herself. "Rodney!" she screamed, lowering her arms slightly. "Can you hear me? Don't go too fast! I can't go as fast as you! Wait!"

She heard him yell back, but she couldn't make out the words. She bit her lip and pressed forward, arms upraised again to shield her face, trying to move quicker. Every footfall was like pushing through quicksand, and she began to worry that the tread on her boots weren't enough to stop her from slipping on the rain-slicked pavement.

Rodney appeared to be headed straight up the main road, climbing the hill that made up half of the town, but Jennifer knew there were many side roads and alleyways shooting off of it. If he turned onto one without her seeing, she'd lose him. And each step took him further away from her, his black clothes helping him to blend into the gloom.

"Rodney!" she screamed again. "You have to slow—"

A massive gust hit her square in the side like a punch, and she staggered, tripping over her own feet. It was a miracle she even stayed upright. She started forward again, focusing on keeping her footing. The water was blinding her now, and she was blinking furiously, trying to clear her sight.

Keep moving; don't lose him!

As she feared, Rodney abruptly disappeared down a side road, and she followed, almost running to catch up, but the wind and rain kept pushing her back; she only seemed to lose ground. She nearly lost him again as he turned up yet another new road. She came around the corner just in time to spot his black shadow turning down another road.

"Rodney!" She stumbled after him. Again, she hit the end of the alley, barely in time to see him head up another road. Up, always up. "Rodney!" This road was as featureless as the others—it's only distinguishing feature being that it climbed even more steeply.

Another gust, even stronger this time, and her left foot tripped over her right, pain blossoming inside her right ankle. Before she could right herself, a third gust blasted into her and she went down on her side, the rough pavement scraping her hands and right hip as she hit. The massive backpack hindered her motion, seemingly trying to keep her down as she attempted to regain some sense of balance. She hissed in pain, dragging in great gasps of air, her entire body trembling and her right ankle throbbing.

Get up! she commanded herself. You'll lose him if you don't! Get up!

Steeling her jaw, she somehow managed to get one leg under her, pushing up onto one knee. Another push, and she was on her feet again, tottering a little…but up. She tilted her head up, blinking through the water coating her eyelashes, wiping off the water dripping off her face with the back of her arm.

She didn't see Rodney anywhere.

Fear gripped her, and she lurched forward up the hill, turning her head left and right, trying to spot him down an alleyway or next to one of the identical concrete box houses.

"Rodney!" she screamed into the hellacious winds. Where had he gone? "RODNEY!"

She didn't know where she was—wasn't even sure she could find her way back to the hospital now. She kept climbing upwards, hoping to find him. Wind raked at her, and her poncho was up around her neck, trying to strangle her. She fought it down—no wonder Rodney hadn't wanted one.

She was stumbling a lot now, barely keeping to a straight line, the wind sending her sideways and backwards as often as she moved forward.

"Rodney!" she shouted, desperation like a fire in her chest. "Rodney! Where are you! RODNEY!"

The wind slammed into her back this time, and she fell forwards onto the pavement, her knees getting the brunt of the pain, but her hands the rest. She even banged her chin, bringing tears to her eyes. Ow! Damn it!

Shaking, crying (and wishing to God she wasn't), she got her hands under her again and started to push herself up of the black paved road.

Suddenly, a black gloved hand appeared before her, just inches from her nose.

She peered up, and found Rodney staring down at her, all wide blue eyes and looking as scared as she felt. "Sorry!" he shouted, and he really did look sorry. "I thought you were behind me!" He waved his hand in front of her, obviously intending her to take it.

She tried not to feel upset at him for it—it wasn't his fault. None of this was. God—what were they doing out here? If they had to fight this weather the whole way….Brent had been right. They'd die in this! Reaching out, she took his hand and let him pull her up. "I can't go as fast as you!" she yelled at him. "I can't do this!"

He shook his head. "Yes, you can!" he promised. "Just don't let go of my hand!"

And with that, he took a more solid grip on her hand and started to drag her after him. She staggered forward at the abrupt yank, and her fingers gripped harder around his hand—afraid he'd lose her, or she him.

For the next few minutes, Rodney just pulled her along, turning down a side road then up another road, always heading uphill, always heading farther away from the center of town and the Stargate. He seemed unerring in his course, never slowing, compensating as best he could whenever the wind tried to knock them down. Twice, he had to help her up when she fell, and once, when he took a blast of wind to the face and fell back into her—she caught him.

She could barely see. How Rodney even knew where to go amazed her.

He turned up another street, this one as plain as the others, distinguished again only by the fact that it was still going uphill. She tried to see what made this street different, but failed. They were all gray, dark and lined with concrete houses. The whole town was as nondescript as any former Soviet apartment block in Eastern Europe—except that the people here hadn't even tried to decorate, to bring any color or individuality to their homes at all.

"How do you know where you're going?" she shouted.

"Landmarks!" he shouted back. "Trust me!"

Keller grimaced, feeling her already cold lips press into a thin line. She wanted to, she really did, but she didn't know him all that well yet, and she had heard Sheppard and the others ribbing McKay in the mess. He was not exactly known for his wilderness skills.

"But," she yelled, "how can you see anything in this? I can't even see you that clearly!"

He didn't answer, and she frowned more.

He just kept tugging her forward with him, leading her farther and farther away from safety and towards the woods.

"Rodney!" she called. "I—"

She stopped, spotting something black and flat coming at them fast from the side. "Get down!" she screamed, jumping on his shoulders to bring them both to the ground, slamming them both into the unyielding pavement. He shouted something angrily, trying to get up, but she held on as the massive piece of metal shot over their heads and slammed into the side of one of the small concrete homes with a massive bang, sending chunks of concrete flying.

Rodney gasped, and, wide eyed, he looked from the piece of metal then at Keller. "That could have cut us in two!" he yelled. She just nodded, not trusting her voice, and finally let go her grip on his shoulders. He rolled away and got up to his knees. He shook visibly, staring again at the metal, then back at her.

"You saved my life!" he yelled, reaching out a hand. Jennifer tried for a smile as she took it, but her lips hurt from the cold, so it probably looked more like a grimace.

"You can pay me back later!" she yelled in return. He flashed a quick grin, more wry than happy. Together, they clambered back to their feet. Still holding her hand, Rodney leaned over and grabbed the black medical case he'd dropped, frowning down at it.

"It's okay," she shouted. "It's designed for combat! Strong and sturdy—it won't break or let anything inside break!"

Rodney stayed still for a moment, still looking down at it, before lifting his gaze to study their surroundings—particularly the now damaged concrete home. She could guess what he was thinking—the case might not break, but they easily could. It really wouldn't take much—not in this weather.

And for a second, Jennifer thought he might be considering taking them back.

But then he tightened his grip on her hand and was dragging her towards another side road—once again away from the hospital down below.

And she followed.


Rodney was right. They crested a hill near the edge of town, and as they started downwards, the wind lessened almost immediately. At about the same time, the concrete and pavement world of the Helenan settlement abruptly ended; there was nothing before them now but a dirt path leading downhill into a heavy forest. By the time they had dropped about twenty feet, surrounded by pine and fir on all sides, the screaming gusts had been replaced by a dull roar on the edge of hearing, and, while the rain continued to pelt down, it was now hampered by the thick pine needle and leaf cover.

The hill was a natural windbreaker—which was why McKay had been so certain they'd be okay when they got this far. She wished Brent were here so she could smile smugly at him—she'd been right to believe Rodney…even if, deep down, she hadn't really. Not until now.

Rodney continued to hold her hand, leading her down the muddy, leaf strewn dirt road. Pinecones littered the area, and she nearly turned her ankle a few times stepping on them by accident. Water ran down in thick rivulets by their feet, a hundred little streams pouring down the hill from the concrete town above. Through it all, Rodney kept up his brutal pace, and she jogged, tripped and slid down behind him, straining to keep up. His grip on her hand was beginning to make her fingers ache.

Finally, as if finally registering how much she was struggling, he slowed when they reached a curve in the road, at a point just before the path tilted upwards again. A large boulder jutted up off the side, and he dropped her next to it so she could lean against the stone, catch her breath. Letting her hand go, he backed off a couple of feet, resting his now free hand on the P90 attached to his vest and watching the woods.

Jennifer was grateful—she knew it probably killed him to have to stop at all. She leaned her back against the cold rock, her hands on her knees, gasping for air as if she'd just run a marathon. After a moment, she reached up and ripped off the strangling poncho, grateful for the freedom as she let it drop to the muddy ground. Then she returned to her bent over position, again just trying to get her breathing under control.

"You okay?" he asked, his voice at a more natural volume. She peered up at him, and nodded as she panted.

"Yeah," she said. "That was…" she pulled in a shallow breath, "not fun. Let's try to avoid walking through typhoons in the future, okay?"

He gave a small smile and turned away from her. "Yeah. Welcome to my world. I say stuff like that to Sheppard all the time. It doesn't work. Sometimes I think he puts me in situations like this just to drive me crazy."

She laughed softly, reaching up a gloved hand to rub at the back of her neck, and pulling the wet ponytail out from under her collar at the same time. It slapped against the top of her jacket and backpack with a wet 'slurp.' She sighed again, and stood up straighter. Her heart still felt like it was going to slam through her chest, and her breathing was ragged to the point of painful—but she knew they couldn't stay here long.

Trying to catch her breath, she peered more carefully at their surroundings, taking in the dense wood. It reminded her a little of a mountain forest back home—which wasn't surprising. From everything she'd seen of Pegasus—which wasn't that much, truth be told—all of the planets had flora and fauna similar to Earth. Probably because the Ancients had seeded them that way.

This particular forest was very brown. Other than a few short evergreens and a handful of baby deciduous trees, mostly all you could see were the tall, brown tree trunks of the tall pines, each with a million short branches and dead looking limbs sticking off of them. She used to climb trees like that as a kid—before she'd developed her fear of heights. There were a few lighter colored trees—birch like white trunks interspersed with the brown—but that was it for variety. The ground was littered with dead brown leaves and thousands of rust colored pine needles, and darker brown mud. Brown, brown, brown.

The forest was also thick with mist. A side effect of the storm—the forest was heavy with water vapor, preventing her from seeing anything more than fifty feet from their position clearly. After that, it was just gray gloom and shadows. Between that and the constant white noise from the hurricane, she shivered a little from a strange sense of claustrophobia.

She drew in one more fortifying breath, finally feeling her heartbeat lessen.

She looked up, taking in the towering green overhead, letting the rain wash the sweat from her face. The canopy was their protection from the worst of the storm. At least, since it had developed into a hurricane, typhoon, monsoon…or whatever it was, it wasn't thundering and lightning anymore. That was something, right?

She tipped her head down again, and pushed herself off the rock, adjusting the pack on her back. Rodney was still waiting for her a few feet away, his jaw tense, his countenance rigid with worry and impatience—but he said nothing. Obviously he didn't want to push her beyond what she could do, even with his clear desperate need to hurry.

She gave him a nod. He gave her a grateful smile back and immediately started walking, heading uphill along the path.

She blew the air out of her cheeks and jogged to catch up, sparing a glance for the poncho she left behind. Someone else could grab it later.

Rodney had a really long stride, something she had noticed before in the hallways of Atlantis, but hadn't really appreciated until she was forced to catch up to him when he was really moving.

"So," she said, panting a little as she came up alongside, "how far away are they from here?"

He gave a shrug. "Not sure. I wasn't really paying that much attention when I was running back to town."

She lifted her eyebrows. "You ran?"

"It was mostly downhill," he admitted, peering into the woods, his free hand still on his P90. "I couldn't run back to the hovel where I left them—not the whole way. Ronon probably could, though. Or Teyla. If they hadn't…I…" He stopped, pressing his lips together unhappily. "I wish I could," he said softly.

Jennifer dropped her eyes to the ground. Fact was, he was more hampered by her now than his own weaknesses. She tried to pick her pace up a little.

Hang on…if the way from the hovel to town was mostly downhill…that meant the way back was mostly uphill.

Oh crap. Don't think about it. Don't.

Instead, she considered that they were on this path—was it the same one that led to the ruins? Or was it a different one?

"How do you know where you are?" she asked. "Is this the same road you took before?"

He glanced at her, then gave a quick nod. "Yeah. Pretty much. "

"But then…" Jennifer swallowed, "aren't you, um," she bit her bottom lip, "maybe worried about being attacked? You know, since you were attacked on this road before?"

He grimaced, then shook his head. "We didn't see anyone after the storm got really bad. I don't think they like the rain any more than we do."

"Okay," she said, hoping he was right. She looked at the road again, which was curling up away from them, disappearing around another corner further up. Were they going to be on the road the whole time?

She cleared her throat. "The cabins you found—"

"Hovels. They're more like hovels."

She frowned. "What's the difference?"

"You'll know when you see them. I didn't think there was a difference either, but…," he shook his head, "wait until you see them."

"Okay," she said slowly. "So," she licked her lips, "the hovels you found, are they on the road?"

He snorted. "No. Wouldn't be much of a place to hide if they were. Teyla's not that stupid."

She frowned. Did he just imply that she was stupid?

"Well," she said, "if they're not on the road, then are they close to it?"

Rodney sighed heavily, grimacing in irritation. "If what you're trying to ask is," he looked at her, "whether we're staying on the road the whole time—no. The hovels are far, far away from the road, way up on the side of the mountain. Happy? We'll be going cross country soon enough. I marked a tree where I hit the road on the way down. We'll turn there."

Jennifer frowned again. "But, how can you be sure we won't get lost once we're off the road?"

"Oh for…" He rolled his eyes. He stopped in the road and faced her, not hiding his annoyance. "You don't trust me, do you?"

She'd stopped with him, and her eyebrows lifted. "What?"

"If I were Ronon or Teyla or Lorne or someone like that, you'd not even question, would you? You'd just follow blindly, right? But because it's me, you're terrified that I'm going to lead you right into the middle of an ambush or into a pit of vipers, right?"

"Uh…," she bit her lip, "well, I mean…."

"For your information," he stated, spinning around and walking away from her at a fast clip up the road, "I have a very good sense of direction—better than most people. If I've been somewhere once, I can almost always find my way back again without needing directions again. You should see Sheppard in the woods—it's like watching a chicken with its head cut off. Did I tell you how his getting us lost was how we ended up with the Genii as enemies? Next thing we know, they're invading Atlantis and Elizabeth and I are fighting for our lives and the city, and all because he 'likes to walk in a straight line.'" He huffed. "Sure, sure, he saved us and all that during the Storm, but—"

He stopped walking. It was so abrupt, Keller, who had been practically running to keep up with him, slammed into his back.

She teetered backwards, holding her now bruised nose. Ow!

"What the hell, McK—"

"Shht!" he hissed, and she suddenly realized he was staring off to one side, not blinking.

She went rigid, looking in the same direction. She couldn't see anything. What was he…?

Her eyes widened when she saw a flutter of movement between two trees.

"Take this," Rodney said quietly, shoving the medical case at her. She did so, pulling it close to her.

Rodney pulled up his P90, resting it in both hands and focused on the movement they'd both seen.

"Back up," he whispered quietly. "Into the woods behind you. Move slow. Biggest tree you can find—get behind it. If I start firing—run up away from me as fast as you can."

She nodded, stepping backwards until her boot-heel impacted the muddy incline of the hill behind her.

Swallowing thickly, she turned and started climbing up the incline into the trees. There was a large oak like tree not far up, and, when she reached it, she stopped.

Rodney was covering her, backing up as she was. When he too hit the edge of the road, he started to climb up the hill sideways, never losing his sharp eyed gaze on the woods. He was tense and ready for whatever might come…

Suddenly, whatever was behind those trees moved, jumping out from between the brown trunks and running away into the woods.

It had looked like a deer. Or whatever creature on this planet was deer-like.

Rodney's shoulders slumped in relief. Jennifer rested her head against the tree trunk and closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, he was looking up at her, his mouth turned down in a deep frown.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go."

She nodded, stumbling down the incline back to the road. When he reached to take the medical case from her, she drew it back.

"I got it," she said. "You just…you just keep that gun up, okay?"

He gave a sad smile at that, but didn't argue. He just started walking again, with Jennifer on his heels.


TBC…