Yeah yeah. Read me the riot act. I seem to work better when I have schoolwork that I should be doing instead. Either way, I am still planning on finishing this. I am already working on the next chapter and I know exactly how I want it to go. I might plan on ditching some ideas in favor of just getting it finished.

Sorry again for the late reply. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. I hope to have the next chapter up in a week or so.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. There. I said it. Are you happy now? -Cries-

The trees shifted.

Teyla stiffened and stood up. "I think we should go now."

John looked up. "The Jumper?"

"Something closer."

"Didn't you say that the mess hall was barricaded at one time?"

"Yes," John raised an eyebrow, noticing how Ronon was now turned towards the forest that had suddenly gotten a lot darker. And were those shadows moving back there?

"I think we should go then. Now."

Chapter Three

1 Hour Earlier

There was no war cry or inhuman shrieks. No rustling of the trees and brushes or snapping of twigs. There was only silence so loud that he could hear his own heart thumping wildly against his chest. It spoke in volumes about the things that were coming for them. It spoke of intelligence and an inter-communication that should not exist in such animals.

It was this that made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. It was the thought that the creatures could function so well on such a basic level that made his legs pump faster. He couldn't see or hear them, but he could feel them just as if they were breathing down his neck. That primal fear of the unknown was what drove him, hands clenched tightly to Rodneys' vest as he dragged his friend behind him.

Ronon and Teyla were somewhere behind him. He did not know where, but he could feel their presence near him which allowed him to press forward without looking back.

He veered sharply at a junction, swerving around a small building that had just been put up not too long ago. The unexpected turn made Rodney shoot out and away, stumbling forward and in the wrong direction. He tightened his grip, ignoring the painful angle his wrist was making, jerking his friend back in on the right path.

He heard the indignant squawk but ignored it. His eyes saw salvation in the form of the mess hall. It loomed in the distance, the dwindling light fading behind it, casting its' light over the building like a Godsend.

They were almost there.

It came out of nowhere.

In an instant he was falling, the creature silent and quick. He let go of Rodneys' vest in favor of bringing his hands up to try and push the creature away. He landed harshly on the ground, his head hitting it hard, but he didn't have time to deal with the pain or shock. It was already on him, a myriad of teeth and claws, shrieking when he stopped its' gleaming teeth from sinking into his flesh.

There were shouts next to him; someone was screaming his name. A large sharp object smashed into the ground next to his head, barely missing his ear. For a split second he thought that one of Ronons' large knives had missed but after a second look, he realized that it was the things tail. It detached from the ground, rising up like snake ready to strike.

And holy shit is that another mouth?

The creature was suddenly torn away from him with such force that a chunk of his vest went with it, ripped apart by the things nails. It was shrieking and writhing next to him, a green substance oozing out of the place where its' neck used to be.

Ronon stood over it, face twisted in a hideous rage, eyes a lit. The large knife he had used dropped to the ground sizzling, half-of it already melted.

John blinked dully and slowly stood up. Rodney and Teyla were already next to him, staring down at the twitching corpse. Its' long finger like appendages curled reflexively, the sharp nails piercing through the air.

Its' body looked almost humanoid, deep ridges and crevasses creating an intricate design upon its' body. The black leathery skin almost looked like a suit, stretching thin over the bones and ridges. Long appendages started at the base of its' spine and trailed down the tail until the tail became smooth and sharp.

Its' head teetered from the unbalance of being half-decapitated, it's long skull acting as a balance weight. No eyes were visible, but it was the jaw that drew most of the attention. It was unhinged much like a snake, something small protruding out like a tongue but was clearly not. Its' teeth were silver like steel and looked equally as sharp.

"The fuck is that?"

"I have never heard of such a creature," Teyla stated, eyeing the monstrosity apprehensively.

"So this is something new?" John asked, tilting his head to look at Teyla. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Rondey reaching down to inspect something near Ronons' feet.

"We should not stay here," Ronon rumbled, looking somewhere beyond them.

John tensed, peering behind him to where Ronon was looking. "Right." He grabbed Rodneys' vest again (who proceeded to protest that he could indeed move on his own, thank you very much) and started the jaunt towards the mess hall.

They reached the building without further incident and busted in. Teyla immediately started searching the area, trying to find any hint that one of those things resided within. John and Ronon were already re-barricading the door, forcing tables and chairs to come together in a disorganized pattern.

The door shuddered, bulging inwards. It let out a horrible noise, as the fibers of the door strained against the force. The blockade did its job however, and the door was stopped, holding its' place between them and the creatures outside.

John wiped sweat from his brow as he stepped back from the doors. His eyes immediately looked for his team, finding Ronon not too far from him, another knife ready to go. Rodney was a few feet behind him, staring despondently at the machine in his hands. Teyla was, "Teyla?" he called out, peering around.

She appeared from the back unharmed. "I found no other way for them to get in," she replied calmly, walking towards them.

He let out a soft sigh. "So, we're safe for now."

"What are you talking about?" Rodney squeaked. "Obviously this place isn't good if the others aren't still here."

John frowned slightly. "They left on their own," he started.

Rodney interrupted with a huff. "And why do you think they left?"

"Perhaps they saw an opening," Teyla reasoned. "Those creatures did not attack us until we killed that," she paused, "that thing that came out of Ellen. Perhaps they believed the creatures were inactive again and left for the Stargate."

"They obviously didn't make it," he snipped half-heartedly.

"Come to think of it, Ellen said they were in that complex right?" John asked, not expecting an answer. "They must have realized they couldn't make it back and headed to the next best thing."

"Right, because clearly the next best thing is the place where things come out of your freakin' chest."

"We don't know if that's where it happened," John pointed out.

"Well it didn't come from here now did it," Rondey said smugly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Before that thing came out of her she said she had just come from that complex. It doesn't take a genius to put the clues together."

"She also said the others were still in the complex," Teyla said thoughtfully. "So there are other survivors."

"Right, and what makes you say that they didn't die the same way she did?"

"Rodney!" John was satisfied when Rodney immediately clamped his mouth and went back to sulking in the corner. "Teyla is right. Ellen did mention other survivors and even if for some reason they are in the same position as her," he sent a glare at Rodney, "we are still on a rescue mission."

"What do you suggest?" Teyla questioned.

"Well, first things first, we need to get to the Jumper." John looked back towards the door. "It shouldn't be too far from here and once we're airborne, we should be safe from those creatures. Then we can contact Atlantis and go from there."

"And how are we supposed to get through those things outside?" Rodney asked reluctantly.

"Well how does it look?" He nodded to the life-sign detector still clutched firmly in Rodneys' hands.

"Blue."

John frowned, eyes narrowing in confusion. "What?"

"Are you deaf now? I said it's blue."

"Let me see that." John walked over and snatched the device out of Rodneys' hands despite the protests. He stared blankly at the screen. "Huh, it's blue."

"I told you. Now give that back!"

"Why is it blue?" John asked, handing the aforementioned device back. "Is it broke or something?"

"Blue means that there's something moving," Rodney explained.

"But it's all blue."

"Exactly."

John peered at him, confusion etched upon his face.

Teyla stepped forward, having put the pieces together already. "There are that many?"

"Yes," was Rodneys' glum reply.

"Oh." John paused. "Oh." He turned on Rodney. "How come we didn't detect them before if there were that many?"

"Wraith."

John jumped at Ronons' sudden declaration. "What?"

"Of course!" Rodneys' eyes lit up. "They must be able to hibernate or something like the Wraith which would explain why we didn't detect them before."

"That's comforting," John replied sarcastically. "So even if we wait for the dots to disappear, it might just be because they're sleeping?"

"That appears to be a possibility," Teyla responded.

"Damn," John scrunched his forehead, rubbing it thoughtfully with his hand. "So we need to rethink how we're going to get out of here."

His eyes danced across the building, taking in the surroundings. Every nook and cranny and object was inspected as he tried to put the pieces together to formulate a plan. His eyes fell upon the kitchen area.

"Wasn't there a door back there?"

"Yes," Teyla replied. "It is currently still barricaded."

"Okay!" John clapped his hands together. "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to un-barricade this door," he pointed to the door they had just finished putting a chair against, "and we're going to make all those creatures go to it while we sneak out through the kitchen door."

"A diversion," Teyla stated, nodding her head. "It could possible give us the time needed to get to the Jumper."

"I'll do it." Ronon stepped forward, withdrawing yet another knife.

"No," John argued. "I will do it. You three will head towards the Jumper when I give the signal. I'll be right behind you."

Ronon stepped forward, eyes staring intently into Johns'. "I'm doing this."

Rodney huffed and stepped up next to the two, too attached to his own life to get in between. "Are we seriously going to argue all day about who's doing the suicide mission? I'll do it for you: Ronon, you'll be the distraction."

John spluttered. "What? Rodney! You can't do that."

"I just did." Rodney crossed his arms indignantly. "Ronon will be just fine. I mean did you see him take down that thing? Besides, we need someone to fly the Jumper and that would be you because I'm definitely not going to."

John deflated, slowly letting out air from his mouth. "Fine."

"Should we not wait?" Teyla questioned, as John and Ronon started to weaken the barrier.

"No," John grunted, pushing one of the tables aside. "Last thing we need is to wait for them to quite back down. We won't be able to track them that way."

Teyla paused, eyebrows furrowed in thought. "They did not attack as before when we were walking among them."

"Yeah, well we don't have the time to wait for them to settle down. And for all we know they won't now. The best chance we got is to get to the Jumper." John took a step back to reassess the door. "Now we just need to make noise."

Rodney seemed to notice how Johns' eyes went straight towards the kitchen. "Very primitive," he snipped. "I have something better than meager pots and pans." He walked towards the front, laptop nestled in his hands.

John looked at the scientist in shock. He wanted to say 'how the hell did you keep a hold of that when we were running for our lives', but instead it came out: "What do you have in mind?"

A smug smirk grew upon Rodneys' face as he pressed a couple buttons on the device. Only a few seconds later, the device screeched. It pierced the air and Johns' eardrums and he could swear he could see the air move around him.

John put his hands to his ears, watching as the others followed suit. "What the hell?"

"Found the function a while ago," Rodney explained, almost yelling in order to be heard over the noise. "It takes the background noise in the area and amplifies it."

The door behind them shuddered, making Rodney stop talking. More noise was added from the outside, inhuman shrieks and screams creating a cacophony of noise surrounding them.

"It's working," John yelled excitedly. It was hard to depict exactly where the noise was coming from but, judging from the repeated pounding on the door and the way dust and debris kept falling with every thud, he had a good idea. "On my mark you turn it off and we run to the back." He looked at Ronon. "I'll give you a signal to open remove that last table."

Ronon grunted, having not moved from his position near the door, knife out and ready.

Rodney hesitated, turning to Ronon with a calculating look. "Don't let its' blood touch you." At his Johns' raised eyebrow, he shrugged.

"Alright, folks, don't let their blood touch you." At the round of nods, John turned back to face the door. "Ready?"

"Go!"

Immediately the noise from the laptop ceased. The screams from the door had not stopped but rather instead intensified. It was still behind them as John led the way, with Rodney and Teyla on his tail. He skimmed past the kitchen counters and over to the door, opening it. He was half expecting one of those creatures to attack him, but was pleasantly surprised when nothing jumped out.

It only took him a second to get his bearings. Behind him he could already hear the screams and cries of their pursuers. He chanced a glance behind him, noting in relief that Ronon had made it out of the building and was running towards them like a mad man, dread locks flowing freely behind him.

Ahead of him, Rodney and Teyla had already turned the corner disappearing behind the next building. John quickly reached the bend and turned, crashing into Rodney in the process. With a jolt of dread, he realized they were going to hit the ground and lose precious time between them and the creatures. However, Rodney had other ideas. His force and momentum was thus that instead of both of them falling, they kept on going in his direction, John momentarily running backwards.

Rodney grabbed his shoulder and quickly righted him, a crazed look in his eyes. "Not that way!" he shouted, his other arm waving frantically, perhaps trying to get Ronons' attention. "Not that way!"

Despite himself, John peered behind him spotting Teyla and Ronon not too far behind, a sea of black on hot pursuit. He swallowed thickly, turning back to his task, easily taking the reins from Rodney who had slowed down after his short spurt of adrenaline.

He pulled them into another turn, gun ready for anything that might jump at them. However, there was nothing to greet them. Any form of relief was instantly squashed when he noticed shadows moving in from the sides.

"Rodney," he hissed, trying to get his friends attention. "Which way to the Jumper?"

Rodney shot him a look before shakily pointing his finger in the opposite direction they were going. Back where the swarm was.

John cursed angrily slowing down a bit at the final building before the outskirts of the camp was reached. Gun out and Rodney tucked safely at his side, he turned around the building in hopes to go around the creatures and to the Jumper.

A black mass jumped out at him, hissing and screaming. His gun went off, bullets sinking into the skin and bones, green liquid spraying out. Rodney jerked them back and away from the liquid as it found its' way to the ground and fizzled out.

The creature quickly jumped onto the building, hissing angrily at them and leaving a trail of sizzling blood.

Teyla and Ronon were upon them. "We can't reach the Jumper," Teyla called out. "The creatures are blocking the way."

"Damn," John hissed, eyes roaming the area and quickly taking in possibilities. "The excavation building is right over there." His finger pointed to the ruined building. "We'll head there to regroup."

Rodney whimpered but did not protest as he pulled him forward again. The creatures were catching up and a new group was forming on the sides, congregating to create one solid group.

Their run to the building was unhindered and would seem leisurely if not for the hissing and screaming behind them telling their brains to run. Run. Run!

John almost smashed into the front door in his haste to get there. He quickly activated the door, his gene immediately lighting it up and making it swish open. The air rushed outside feeling dark and dank. But the creatures were rushing towards them and he could think of no other solution.

Ignoring the whisper in his heart that told them they were being herded, he shut the door behind them.