CC
"Teyla?" Ronon yelled, walking cautiously along the top of the tunnel as he looked for the opening.
He listened carefully, and was rewarded by a shocked response of, "Ronon?"
Turning in the direction of the voice, he called back, "Where are you?"
"I fell through into one of the tubes," she told him, and he was able to hone in on her location even more.
As he walked in the direction of her voice, he assured, "I’ll have you out in a minute."
"Watch your step," she advised. "The ground can give way under your weight."
Following the sound of her words, he finally caught sight of the jagged edge of the hole she’d formed with her fall. Lying flat to distribute his weight around the top of the cavern, he scooted cautiously up to the edge and ignored the way his busted ribs protested at the action.
"Are you saying I need to shed a few pounds?"
Teyla shielded her eyes against the bright sun shining down through the opening and smiled up at him in relief. "I am the one who fell through to begin with. If anyone should lose weight, apparently, it is me."
Ronon snorted. "Torren probably weighs more than you."
He tried his best to check her over from his position… she was bleeding from a few scrapes and scratches but nothing seemed too serious. The low light in the cave made it hard to be certain, but it looked as if she had a bruise on the side of her face, and she seemed to be keeping weight off of one leg. But she was alive and alert, so it was hard to complain.
Teyla raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Flattery? From you?"
"What flattery? I’m just saying Torren’s a big kid. What are you feeding him anyway?" Ronon soon came to the conclusion he would need a rope of some sort for Teyla to use to climb out seeing as she had fallen at least fifteen feet.
"Perhaps it is the bites of your dessert you insist on sneaking to him in the cafeteria," she challenged with raised eyebrows.
Ronon decided it was probably best to change the subject at that point. "I’ll need to find a vine or something to pull you out. The jungle isn’t far. I shouldn’t be gone very long."
"Use care," Teyla warned once more. "If you fall through, as well, it will do neither of us any good."
Ronon nodded in agreement then started back toward the trees in the distance, careful of his step. Once back among the foliage, Ronon tested several vines, finally setting to braiding multiple ones together to get the strength he’d need to rescue Teyla from the hole. Once he’d completed his task, Ronon returned to the hole and threw his homemade rope over the edge.
When Teyla tested the vines, Ronon asked, "Can you climb or do you want me to pull you out?" He was a little worried about the sharp edges of the opening cutting into the vines, but he’d risk it if he had to.
"I believe I can climb," Teyla told him, although her tone suggested she wasn’t completely confident she’d be able to.
Teyla cried out when she attempted to use her legs, and Ronon frowned in worry. "Teyla?"
"It is my knee; I wrenched it when I fell."
In the end, it was a combination of both her climbing and him pulling, and Ronon managed to get her within arm’s reach before the vines started to give way. He hoisted her up the rest of the way and ground out a groan at the sharp pain that radiated down his entire right side. Yeah, he’d definitely broken a few ribs on his trip through the rapids. But if that’s all he had to worry about at the end of the day, Ronon would consider himself lucky.
Teyla sprawled awkwardly on the rocks, breathing hard from the exertion of the climb, and Ronon honestly didn’t look much better. But when the surface snapped and popped from their combined weight, they both rolled off in opposite directions before a chunk the size of Ronon collapsed to the bottom of the tube and shattered on the floor below. Ronon and Teyla exchanged relieved glances that it wasn’t one of them who had taken the fall instead of the rock.
"You okay?" Ronon asked, finally seeing Teyla in the full light and trying to confirm his initial assessment of her condition.
"My injuries are minor," she assured, although the lump on her head looked worse in the sunlight than it had in the shade of the cavern. "How did you find me? And why are you so wet?"
"It’s a long story," he dismissed, managing to make it to his feet without letting Teyla see his injures… at least he hoped. "But I was cutting across the rock and thought I saw you. When I lost sight of you I came to look and heard you."
Teyla took his offered hand and stood, as well. "Then I am most fortunate that whatever brought you here did."
"Yeah," Ronon agreed, not wanting to think about what might have happened if he hadn’t been washed down into Teyla’s area by the river.
"I do not suppose you have seen either John or Rodney," she asked hopefully.
"No. But if we head up that slope, I think we’ll run into McKay’s trail."
Teyla nodded in agreement. "Or we can continue across the lava fields and back to the stone circle. If all went well for them, they could both be back waiting for us."
Click here if Teyla and Ronon try to find Rodney’s trail
Click here if Teyla and Ronon continue on to the stone circle
To return to the beginning and start again click here.
To Leave a comment click here.