Chapter Three – Not Alone

Lt. Colonel Sheppard shivered slightly where he sat, propped against a tree. He'd applied a field bandage to the arrow wound but he'd let the head stay embedded in the flesh; Carson's voice ringing in his head about the dangers of a fatal bleed. The last of the adrenaline that had surged through his body during the mad dash towards the gate was slowly leaving his system and all that remained was a lethargic feeling and a dull ache originating from the leg.

It had been a little over an hour since the Ancient ship had left the area and left the gate damaged beyond repair. Despite the initial reluctance to try and dial, curiosity overcame fear and he'd dragged himself over to the DHD. However, that seemed to be in even worse shape than the gate itself. No matter what he tried, it just wouldn't work.

He shivered again, suddenly cold, yet his upper lip and forehead was covered with a thin sheen of perspiration. He let out a low moan, drowning himself in misery, allowing himself that since he needn't be strong for anyone.

How he missed his team. He would give anything just to annoy Rodney at the moment.

"Get a grip, John," he scolded himself angrily.

He couldn't afford his attention to drift. He was a soldier, a trained soldier for God's sake. Sitting around and sulking wouldn't get him anywhere.

He glanced up at the storm-clouded sky as he felt the wind pick up even more and stared through the heavy downpour around him. The large branches of the tree provided temporary shelter but he had to move, to find something better. At least the forest fires had died down due to the rain, ridding the air of the thick smoke. The only thing that spoke of what had happened was the scorched ground. He inhaled deeply of the clean, moist, air that had previously been toxic before and irritated his airways.

The villagers had, thankfully, been spooked enough at the presence of the ancient ship not to retain their hunt for the team. Although, he needed to move because they wouldn't keep to themselves forever. He didn't know what they'd done to anger them to the extent that they'd turned against them. McKay had stepped into some sort of cave… he trailed off as it dawned on him. Ancient drawings, just like the ones Teyla had shown him once, with one exception; There had been bones and some sort of device in there. They'd set foot on holy ground. The whole thing escalated when the ship started soaring above their heads.

John chuckled ironically, casting a look at the angry flesh around the arrow, a stinging remainder of a failed first contact. Rodney had been excited about it. He believed he'd found another Ancient outpost as to where Janus had conducted secret experiments. With too much downtime the scientist had cracked a security code in Janus's lab where this address had been found.

The trouble was that no one seemed to have used the Stargate since the Lantean/Wraith war.

Sheppard carefully glanced around before reaching into a pocket to withdraw the life signs detector. He let out a relieved breath as the only mark on the screen was himself. Then his spirit sank as he realised he'd nowhere to go. The village was not an alternative - maybe they'd take care of him now that he posed no threat but they might also just dispose of him, end his misery. The bottom line was that he was unlikely to get any help.

John Sheppard was a highly skilled and competent military officer but unfortunately that wouldn't help when it came to the signs of infection his body was displaying and the woozy feeling he was experiencing. His mind was off somehow and he recognized the signs of a poison in his bloodstream.

He tried to shake the haze away from his mind and did a double take at the life signs detector as several dots appeared at the edge of the screen. The villagers was coming back for him. He groaned, getting up from the ground, then shuddered violently. He forced himself to move on, summoning all his willpower to do so.

"Pain can be ignored," he said through clenched teeth, slamming his jaws together, trying to block out the excruciating agony that came with every step.

He glanced around and then took a shallow breath, heading out in the unknown resolutely.

OOOOOO

Teyla glanced to her left with a cautious smile, yet a deep frown was displayed on her forehead. "Rodney, would you stop doing that," she said.

However, so lost in his own thoughts he didn't hear her, he continued the monotone drumming of his fingers.

"McKay, cut it out or I'll break your fingers," Ronon spoke up as he walked up to stand behind them at the front of the jumper. His voice was low and demanding. Patience having run out a long time ago.

The scientist turned his head slightly, looking completely clueless, following his gaze. "Oh," he said sheepishly, jerking his hand away.

"How much longer?" The Satedan asked pointedly.

Rodney narrowed his eyes, fixing his team mate with a glare before hastily casting a glance at his wristwatch. "Well," he began testily. "Let's see, it's been 30 minutes since you last asked and considering we've been cooped up here for five hours – give or take 68 hours?"

OOOOOO

It was turning late as Sheppard half-walked, half-dragged himself forward. He estimated he'd managed to cover a few miles through fairly thick vegetation. It reminded him of a jungle back on earth. Occasionally the landscape would shift into a large opening where the trees where so thick that no sun could reach down to the ground and nourish any other vegetation than low grass. The last mile had been a nightmare as the ground had started to incline, adding to that his vision was beginning to blur and he felt dizzy, his legs unstable.

Then, in a few seconds, the pilot went from weakened and dulled by pain to highly alert and cautious as the vegetation jostled, giving away movement ahead. John felt his heartbeat quicken with anticipation, he tightened his grip around the P90 clipped to his tac vest, brought it up to aim and awaited the unknown presence's next move. Several agonising seconds went by without anything happening, obviously they thought of the same thing – to wait out the other party.

Sheppard carefully took a step forward, stopping mid-step as a piercing scream cut through the air, chilling him to the bone. His finger tightened around the trigger as something that resembled a pig bolted from the safe spot under the low bushes.

Atlantis' military commander let out an ironic chuckle as he sank down on his knees, exhausted. "I don't believe it," he murmured. "A freaking pig."

The animal cried out again, probably as surprised at finding him there as he was. John sagged with relief, a ghost of a cheeky smile twisting his lips into an upward curl. He allowed himself some well-deserved rest. He stretched out on the moist ground, not caring that it seeped through his clothes, and let darkness claim him.

When he awakened several hours later it was with a jolt. His light sleeping luring him to dream of the events prior. He gasped as his eyes flew open and forced his shallow breaths to deepen and become more regular.

"Focus," he scolded himself, soldier training kicking into gear.

He quickly scanned the area, not that he saw much considering that darkness had settled around him, then retrieved the life signs detector. No one seemed to be venturing into this area and he had to admit he could see why. It was pitch black, the air had turned chilly and moist and all around him was heavy vegetation. He glanced up at the sky, it was beautiful, starry, but the stars where too far away to give any light.

John picked up the P90 then hesitated as he was about to switch on the flashlight. However, reminding himself that no one seemed to be around, he threw caution to the wind. Without shelter and without something to use as a heat source there was little choice but to head on. He felt his teeth starting to clatter and slammed his jaw shut to prevent it. A shudder went through his body as he gingerly rose, using the weapon to pull himself up. Unsteadily, he staggered forward over the inclined and uneven ground, using his instincts to choose a direction. Of course, there was a chance he was walking in circles but he deemed it unlikely since he was walking uphill all the time. Priding himself on good walking skills he was fairly sure he was managing a more or less straight line.

Sheppard stubbornly kept his pace, pushing forward. A mantra ran on repeat in his head, urging him to continue, one that he had come to rely on in similar situations in the past. Then, as he'd covered some ground, he felt the wind tussling his hair, pulling at his clothes. The chilly air renewed some of the energy he'd lost but there was no denying; he was running on the last reserve.

Then, as the ground seemed to even out, he came to a large clearing. Seeing lights further ahead, at an odd, downward angle, he switched the flashlight off. It was too far away for anything to register on the life signs detector but he didn't want to take any chances. Stepping out in the clearing, clad by grass only, his legs gave away and he fell. His legs no longer responded to his commands but he didn't allow himself the luxury of closing his eyes and give up just yet. Instead he crawled, running on sheer determination. After a few minutes his fingers closed around the edge of a steep cliff; it was another dead end.

John Sheppard blinked, trying to keep his drooping eyelids open. Through blurry eyes he saw, deep down in the valley, the lights of a city rivalling Atlantis in size but he couldn't make out the design. With a cautious smile he finally lay his head down to rest, giving in to the darkness that had been tugging at the edge of his vision for so long.

OOOOOO

To be continued