Title - Cold Comfort (4/6)
0000
“Where are you?”
Teyla packed C4 against the door. Ronon handed her a blasting cap. “We’ve got two more doors before we reach you. We are at the base of the stairwell.”
“Time’s up.”
“Set a charge at the second door. We can come through and help.”
“I don’t have any left. I’ve had to plant them along the corridor. Figure if I can slow them, it’ll make them easier to take them down.”
“How is everyone else?”
“Holed up in the ward. Kids are screaming their heads off as I speak?”
“Sheppard?”
“Never mind,” he said. “Dammit!”
“John?”
“They’re here!”
0000
Sheppard set the first charge and the second, but he couldn’t tell how many of the creatures he’d taken out. The charges had blown out a wall and debris was masking their approach. He fired into the smoke, hoping that at least some of those bullets would hit home.
An explosion in the distance meant that his team were getting closer, but he didn’t have the luxury of waiting and retreat wasn’t an option.
He lit a flare and over handed it down the corridor. The red light illuminated the creatures, climbing the walls, the ceiling, along the floor. Their mouths were dripping with blood. They started making that creepy sound again as they advanced.
He ducked out of the reach of one and pelted down the corridor, firing blindly behind him to get to his third charge.
Something smacked into his back. He went to his knees. Without turning, he tucked his handgun under his armpit and fired behind him. He felt the resistance fall away. How many was that? There’d been ten pods. Was that the fifth creature? The sixth? Or were there more pods that he hadn’t seen? He smacked his head against the wall. Dizziness this time and not the creatures.
“Sheppard!”
“Busy!” he snapped, just as he slammed onto his back and fired up at the ceiling. The creature dropped and he rolled over to avoid being speared. It was still reaching for him. Its talon connected with his boot and sliced straight through the leather. Kicking out, he caught it in the face. While it curled onto itself, he fired a single bullet into his head.
“Sheppard! What’s going on?”
“John?”
“Answer us!”
He was being pushed further down the corridor. Soon, he’d be out of time.
One managed to get passed him. He watched it move on all fours, racing towards the ward. He flicked open the remote detonator. Waited a second and depressed the button. The C4 exploded next to it. He felt a slash against the back of his leg, but it didn’t break skin. Sheppard kicked out and dove out of the way as another one lunged towards him.
0000
The children had their eyes closed and they were shouting and screaming at the top of their voices. What child would not enjoy this?
Nia was not joining in. She watched the door, waiting for the colonel to arrive and tell her that it was all over. Even though she was hidden, she felt vulnerable and she couldn’t help but think that something was lurking in the darkness with her. Not knowing what the creatures looked like made it worse. Her imagination was running wild with the possibilities and in each scenario she died in increasingly painful ways.
Over the children, she could hear and feel explosions. She wondered if the colonel was still alive.
There was an eerie red light outside in the hall. The children were oblivious, believing that this was all a game. She hated to deceive them, but she was responsible for their well being.
She looked to the corner of the room. Was that dark patch moving? Was there something there? She crouched back against the wall and pulled her knees up to her chest. What if it had seen her? She was going to die? The colonel wasn’t here. What if he was already dead? He couldn’t protect them in here.
0000
Sheppard watched his p-90 slide away from him. Out of reach, he went for his handgun and that clattered away too. He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding talons that left ridges in the hard floor.
Pushing to his feet, he staggered towards his gun. One of the creatures raced past him. He sprinted after it, jumped and they landed in a tangle heap. Sheppard punched it in the face. His fist slipped over its wet skin. He dug his nails into his eyes and it reared back and tried to cut him. Despite its size, it wasn’t particularly strong. He managed to push it off and roll. As he was going for his knife, he felt a breeze by his stomach. He shook his head and jabbed the knife into the creature’s throat. It gargled blood and dropped back.
He doubled over and pressed his hand against his side. It came away bloody. He didn’t have time to dwell on it, as another creature advance.
His team were shouting in his ear. He wanted to answer, but it was taking all his effort to move towards his handgun. He was pushed to the ground in front of it. He stretched out his arm, felt around for his gun and bought it up under the chin of one of the creatures.
0000
Nia couldn’t take it. She had to get out. It was here. It was going to get her. She moved into a crouch and started to move the bed aside.
“Don’t.”
Desla was staring up at her as the others shouted and screamed. She’d already had to convince them three times that they had to continue with the game. They’d probably stop soon. There would be no hiding what was outside.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, smiling tightly.
Desla hugged her knees. “No,” she said. “You won’t.”
“I’m…I’m going to see the colonel. I’ll be right back. Now stay here.”
She closed the gap in the barricade, being careful to ensure that the children were all well hidden. Then she ran across to the door, waiting to be pounced. Relieved to be alive, she opened the door and looked into corridor. She could hear gunfire and smell smoke and…what were those sounds?
“Colonel?”
Something exploded and the wall ahead was showered with grit and plaster. She moved towards the red light, staying close to the wall and focusing on the sound of repetitive gunfire. Surely, this meant that the colonel was okay.
Silence descended just as she was about to turn a corner. This was it. Everything was going to be fine. She took one step and went down to the ground. Seeing a flash of grey, she let out a sigh of relief. “Colonel. I think there’s something-“
Her vision tunnelled and she blinked. Something wasn’t right. She lifted her hands from her stomach and they came up red. As soon as she realised she was bleeding, the pain suddenly surfaced.
“Colonel?”
There was a strange sound; like a clicking.
She heard gun shots getting closer, more screeches and then-
“Fuck!”
The colonel face appeared over hers. His kind eyes were crinkled and she knew bad news when she saw it.
“Colonel?”
His attention shifted and he fired at something over her. She turned her head and saw pure white eyes staring back at her.
0000
Desla led her friends out of the ward. They had played the game for as long as they could, but now their throats were hurting and they were worried because the nurse hadn’t come back when she said she would.
There was a funny smell like smoke everywhere. Some of the others coughed.
“Look!” she said.
There was a light moving around up ahead. It would point up and then down and to the side.
“It’s the colonel!”
They ran up the corridor towards the light. When the colonel saw them, he turned away and started wiping at his face. Then he turned and pulled his vest up to the top as if he was cold.
“You need to stay in the ward,” he said.
“We got bored of the game. The nurse left.”
He smiled. “I saw her. She’s okay.”
“Where is she?”
“She wasn’t feeling well. So, she’s taking a nap. I was just coming to make sure you were okay.”
“What’s going on down there? There’s smoke.”
“Yeah we can smell smoke.”
The colonel was acting weird. He seemed all wobbly and strange. He leaned against the wall and slid down it as if he was really tired.
“Are you still feeling sick?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Nose is still running. Headache.”
“Don’t forget the rash,” Neema said, holding up her arm.
He scratched at his arm. “Haven’t forgotten about the rash.”
There was a really loud bang and the floor moved. Desla held onto the colonel’s shoulder to keep from falling over.
“What was that?”
Desla shook the colonel’s shoulder until he groaned and opened his eyes.
“There was a sound. An explosion. Something exploded!”
The colonel went to get up, but then he couldn’t because he was too tired. He removed something from his ear and held it up. “Who’s the most responsible?”
There was a chorus of me me me’s. But he pointed straight at her. That was the right choice because she was the oldest.
“Here,” he said, hooking the funny device into her ear. “Now, head back towards the stairwell. You know the one that you came through at the beginning?”
“That was really far away.”
“I know. That’s why you have my earpiece. Just click it on.“ He showed her how to do it. “As you’re walking you can talk to my friend, Rodney.”
“What kinda name’s Rodney,” Mal asked. “It sounds funny.”
The colonel laughed. “They’ll get you some place safe.”
“What’s wrong with this place?”
“All the lights have gone out,” he said, coughing into his hands. The cold was the worst part. Desla’s chest still hurt from all the coughing.
“Oh.”
“Just keep walking and talk to Rodney. When you find them, tell them to come and get me.”
“Why don’t you come with us?”
“I’m pretty tired.”
“I’m sorry. We kept you awake.”
“No, that’s okay. I’m just going to stay here and take a quick nap and you can get my friends to come get me. Okay?”
0000
“Rodney?”
McKay waved Teyla and Ronon quiet as they shifted fragments of the door aside. “Hello?”
“Is this Rodney?”
“Uh, yes. Who is this?”
“I’m Desla.”
“Okay Desla. Where’s Sheppard?”
The others stopped hefting rubble and watched him. Ronon clambered towards him. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” McKay said.
“Who’s Sheppard?”
“Colonel Sheppard?”
“We just call him colonel.”
“Can I speak to him?”
“He gave me the ear thing and said to talk to you until we found the way out.” She said. “It’s not safe here because of the dark.”
“He’s not with you?”
“No, he was feeling tired.”
“Tired?”
“He’s sick like us. But it’s okay because once he’d had a nap he’ll feel a bit better.”
“Okay, okay…uh…..just keep walking to the exit. Do you know the way?”
“It’s difficult to see but we’re using the wall so we don’t fall over.”
“Okay.” he said. He deactivated his comm. for a second. “Something’s wrong. Sheppard’s handed his earpiece over to a bunch of kids.”
Teyla raised her eyebrows. “He is not with them?”
“No. Apparently, he’s taking a nap.”
Ronon was already clearing a path, his blaster drawn.
“We will locate the children and then we’ll bring them back here to safety. Ronon?”
“On it!”
part 5 http://obsessed1o1.livejournal.com/102749.html#cutid1