Chapter 18 – Running Out of Time
Sheppard reached up and tapped his radio as he had already done several times even before they had heard the shots ring out, "Sheppard to McKay… Rodney come in."
He sighed and shared a worried look with Teyla. The shield must be blocking their communications.
They both met up with Ronon a couple of minutes later, between them they had walked around the whole perimeter of the Ancient lab. They stood close to the only door to the facility once more.
"Anything?" Sheppard asked Ronon
"No. The whole thing's covered. Did you hear the shots?"
Sheppard and Teyla both nodded grimly.
Sheppard poked the shield again with his P90 and still it did not yield at all. He frowned, "I could run back to the Jumper and see if there's any way to link up and break through."
Teyla looked at him, "That would seem to be the only possible solution at the moment."
Ronon nodded, "Other than hanging around out here doing nothing."
As he spoke the shield shimmered. Sheppard swung his P90 up again and tested it. It passed unhindered right through the air where the shield had been.
"Maybe I won't have to after all." He said as he walked towards the door without coming across the shield.
"Sheppard to McKay?" There was a reply this time, but it was only static.
He turned to Teyla and Ronon, "Ronon stay out here. If the shield goes back up or you don't hear from us; run back to the Jumper and wait for Atlantis to check in. Tell them to get Zelenka to contact the Daedalus."
He nodded and then cast his wary eyes back on the forest around them.
Sheppard went into the facility first and waved his hand over the panel next to the door they had seen their missing scientist dragged through and shut behind a few minutes earlier. To his surprise it opened and he went into the curved corridor, followed closely by Teyla.
Sheppard frowned down at the rucksack lying abandoned on the floor in front of them. He reached down and shouldered it and then crept stealthily along the passageway towards the door to the central chamber.
He wished he had a life signs detector, anything to give them a heads up on what they were about to come up against, but Rodney had lost one and taken the other from the rucksack.
He raised his P90 as he stood next to the doorway and felt Teyla doing the same behind him. Then he quickly swung himself around the doorframe and tracked his eyes and gun around the entire room.
Teyla followed him and stood on his left side doing the same. Her gaze soon rested on the two figures lying unmoving on the floor close to the pillar.
"Rodney!" She gasped with her eyes wide.
Sheppard was also looking at the two unconscious scientists and kept his gun trained on Newall as he rushed over with Teyla.
He carefully recovered both sidearms, which he found on the floor and tucked them into the rucksack as he placed it down.
There was so much blood on the floor and on both of the men, it was unclear exactly who was injured and where. Sheppard knew that Rodney had been fine before he went into the lab and therefore checked him over first. With Teyla's help they quickly found the graze on Rodney's leg and noticed how his tac vest was shiny with blood as it continued to leak out of him from an unknown wound.
Teyla helped him to do that which Rodney had been unable and they carefully removed his tac vest trying not to move him. Sheppard could feel slight tremors running through the man and a small trickle of blood dribbled from his mouth as they worked.
Sheppard did not like how pale Rodney's face was and how the bruising around his eyes was so stark against his skin.
Teyla gasped in shock and Sheppard baulked when they finally found the source of all the blood and Rodney's unconsciousness. Sheppard carefully peeled back the injured man's shirt and placed a bandage over the wound high up on Rodney's left side, eliciting a slight moan from him, but no more.
Teyla quickly moved down and securely wrapped another bandage around Rodney's upper leg.
She pinched her features together in worry as she worked, "He has lost a lot of blood. We need to get him back to Atlantis."
"I know," Sheppard said as he pressed down firmly on the bandage. Rodney furrowed his brow and whimpered for a moment, but then his face went slack and he was now completely unresponsive.
Sheppard reached up and tapped his radio, "Sheppard to Ronon. We need you in here now."
Sheppard did not like the look of Rodney's injuries; the man was in a bad way. The leg wound was messy, but not too serious, but the hole in his friend's side was too close to his chest and Sheppard dreaded to think what kind of damage there was inside the scientist.
Teyla kept her hand on Rodney's leg and then turned to face Newall.
The other scientist had his eyes open and was blankly staring up at her.
"Colonel Sheppard?" Teyla said in fright at the vacant gaze she was receiving. As she watched, some focus returned to Newall's face and he blinked slowly at her.
Sheppard was carefully wrapping the bandage around Rodney's torso and had just grabbed another out of the rucksack. He put it over the other one on Rodney's abdomen, which was already pink in the centre and turned to look at Newall.
Newall's mouth opened in a grin as he saw Teyla and Sheppard desperately trying to save Rodney's life. "He's already dead," Newall whispered harshly, "You should just leave him and get back to Atlantis."
Sheppard frowned, "Not if I can help it." In defiance, he pushed down even more firmly on Rodney's side.
Teyla narrowed her eyes, "Why should we get back to Atlantis?"
Newall laughed silently and started to cough, "Before it's too late."
Sheppard shared a worried glance with Teyla and then turned back to Newall, "What's wrong with you?"
Newall just leered up at him and licked his cracked lips with a dry tongue.
Sheppard turned back to Teyla, "There's some water in the bag. Let him take a few small sips, but not too much."
Teyla did as Sheppard asked in disgust that they should try to save the life of one who had so seriously injured Rodney.
Ronon walked in as Newall passed out again. He looked around and assessed the situation in the way only he knew how and quickly strode over to Newall. He pulled out his blaster and aimed it at the unconscious scientist's head.
"Ronon stop!" Sheppard shouted as he placed his free hand on Rodney's chest to make sure he was still breathing.
Ronon glared in fury at Newall and growled as he increased pressure on the trigger.
Teyla stood up from her position beside Newall, she still had the water bottle in her hand, "Ronon, please! We know he hurt Rodney, but he also needs our help now too!
Ronon was staring intensely at Newall but softened his expression slightly as he turned to Teyla, "He doesn't deserve to live after what he's put us through and I'm sure McKay would agree, if he survives."
Sheppard could feel Rodney's chest still rising and falling shallowly and he sighed, "I don't think that's true. I need both of you to stay here while I run back and get the Jumper. I know there's not much of a clearing around this lab, but this is an emergency."
Teyla nodded slowly and moved over to take Sheppard's place.
Sheppard stood up and looked down at his hands which were soaked in Rodney's blood. He grimaced and turned them over. He then lifted his head to Ronon, "Don't shoot Newall while I'm gone and keep McKay alive. That's an order."
Ronon grunted and nodded. He reholstered his blaster and he sat down next to Teyla to help Rodney.
Sheppard ran as fast as he could through the forest. He tried to keep to the same path they had taken before, which was fairly obvious due to the chopped and smashed branches Ronon had carved up to make a route.
He sometimes missed his footing and stumbled, but kept upright and forced himself ever onwards. Rodney's very life was draining away every moment he wasted and he did not know how much more time his friend had, if any at all.
Sheppard cursed as he went off course and was rewarded by being snagged in some branches. He ignored the scratches they gave him on his arms and face as he brutally tore himself free and continued in his run.
He had let Rodney down and he knew it. The whole purpose of having three military trained people on the team was to protect their scientist and they had let him be captured and shot. Guilt flowed through Sheppard's veins. Rodney had been hurt on Sheppard's watch when he was supposed to be under his protection.
He tried to break out of the thoughts by reasoning that there was nothing they could have done to prevent it, but there must have been something. Sheppard was angry with himself, which only made him run even faster. He would never forgive himself if Rodney were to die.
He quickly freed his foot from a vine on the ground which had nearly made him fall headlong into the undergrowth and ploughed forwards again.
His breath came in rapid gasps and he could feel sweat running down his face in the humid heat of the forest, but he ignored his own tiredness and concentrated on keeping himself moving.
When he finally reached the Jumper he was nearly exhausted. He ran inside and booted up the systems while muttering a mantra between rapid breaths, "Please don't die Rodney, hold on for just a little while longer and we'll get you back to Atlantis."
He flew the craft up above the canopy and back to the Ancient lab so low he was almost skimming the treetops. He could see the clearing where the lab was and his mind was suddenly filled with the memory of his friend lying in a pool of his blood on the floor. He shook his head to try and clear the images, the manoeuvre was going to be very difficult and made even harder if his thoughts were clouded by emotion.
He steeled himself as he slowly guided the small craft between the trees and cursed as he snapped some of the smaller branches. The wind gusted strongly and nearly blew the slowly moving ship into one of the trees.
He wrestled with the controls for a second and was soon under the canopy above the lab. It looked so much smaller from the Jumper then it had up close. He flew the ship at a snail's pace under the overhanging branches and brought it down just outside the door in a space with barely a few metres of clearance on each side.
Sheppard had no time to marvel and congratulate himself at his flying skills. They were on the clock and the longer he waited the less chance of survival Rodney had left.
He leapt up out of his seat and grabbed the medical kit from the rear compartment before running back into the lab.
When Sheppard ran into the room he thought that Rodney looked even paler than he had done before he left. Teyla was still keeping up the pressure on his side. He could also see that the injured man was shivering despite being unconscious.
Ronon was watching Newall dangerously and kept his twitching hand very close to the blaster in case he was ever given a tiny excuse to end the other man's life.
Sheppard gave the medical kit to Teyla and picked up the rucksack he had left with them. He indicated for Ronon to assist and walked over to the pillar in the middle of the room.
He crouched down and looked inside the podium at the stolen ZPM. He could hear it humming softly as it glowed an almost blinding bright yellow. He wished Rodney were awake, he would know whether it was safe to be removed. McKay was out cold though and there was no way Sheppard wanted to risk waking him up and hurting him anymore.
Rodney did not have enough time left for them to debate about it though so Sheppard said to Ronon, "We need it back. Hold the bag open while I grab it."
Ronon crouched down next to him and peered at the ZPM. "Are you sure? It might kill you. McKay would know what to do, we could try waking him up."
Sheppard shook his head, "Rodney's in no condition for any more stress. I'm not even sure we could wake him if we tried."
Teyla was looking down at Rodney's pale face and frowning that her other team members were even considering trying to get him up.
Sheppard reached forwards and grabbed the ZPM. He had to shift it up slightly, but it came free easily. He sighed in relief as he slipped it into the rucksack.
"Hey, what's that?" Ronon said pointing into the space vacated by the ZPM.
Sheppard put his hand inside and quickly picked out a small circular device which had been slotted into the side of the pillar. He got his hand out just in time, as the pillar rapidly lowered into the floor and joined seamlessly with the ground.
He turned over the contraption in his hand and shrugged. He then put it in his pocket and turned back to Ronon.
"Can you lift McKay and carry him back to the Jumper?"
Ronon raised his eyebrows as though Sheppard had asked a stupid question. John still looked at him questioningly so Ronon nodded, "Yes."
Sheppard looked grimly around the room and at the blood on the floor, which was smeared in some places. Newall was beginning to stir again and he went over to him.
Sheppard gave him some more water and said, "Teyla, grab the bag. I'll help Newall and Ronon follow us with Rodney."
Sheppard hefted Newall up and draped the man's arm over his shoulders. Staggering slightly under the weight, Sheppard then slowly shuffled towards the door. Newall was barely helping him and seemed to be deliberately dragging his feet more than necessary.
Ronon crouched down next to Rodney while Teyla checked the bandages around his leg and side were secure. She nodded and Ronon very gently gathered McKay up into his arms.
If Ronon thought Rodney was heavy, he made no sound or sign as he left the lab behind and followed Sheppard.
Teyla took one last look around the lab and felt a sudden wave of sadness and fear passing over her when she saw so much of Rodney's blood on the ground. She shouldered the rucksack, retrieved the medical kit and left the terrible room behind.
TBC