Fic - Hope of Prey (2/2)
Title: Hope of Prey
Words: 4838
Pairing: Carson/John
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Misbegotten, Common Ground
Two of the men held him roughly. The other two held Carson and studied his tattoo. They had been waiting by the gate, and as soon as they stepped through, they were immobilized.
Recognizing the mark on Carson's neck, one of the men said, "If you agree to leave, no harm will be done to you or your companion. But if you don't -"
"Wait! He's sick, he needs medical help," John pleaded. "They won't come tonight."
The man took out his knife and pressed the blade on Carson's neck. "Will you leave?"
"Yes!" John shouted, scared. "Yes, just let us dial the gate and we'll go, but don't harm him." The men guarding him stepped away, but the other two escorted Carson to the DHD and then to the stargate.
On the other side, Carson moved a few steps away from the gate and sat down. "I was sure they were going to kill us," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I never imagined people could be like that. I mean… don't they know that it's not your fault? The Wraith could pick anyone. They could have been runners just as easily," he said, angry with the men's narrow-minded thinking.
"Aye, but it's easier this way. They already hate the Wraith. This gives them a reason to hate me, too." Carson looked around and slumped his shoulders when he saw the outline of a village. "I suppose it's easier to hate someone they can see, kill if they have the smallest reason to."
Staring at the village in the distance, John was thankful that it was midday on this planet and they still had a few hours of daylight. The time on the planets rarely matched, and they had gotten used to getting from midday to the middle on the night after stepping through the gate.
"We should go, try to get some food," he said, helping Carson get up.
As they got closer to the village, they saw the burnt buildings and the obvious signs of an attack. "Have we been here?" John asked.
Carson shook his head. "We've never been to the same planet twice. We don't know what the Wraith would do then."
In the middle of the village, on a small wooden table, they found a piece of bread and a bottle filled with water. John looked at the table and its surroundings. "Someone's living here."
Carson nodded, looking at a little building that wasn't as affected as the others. "I'd say they're hiding there."
"We should go and tell them we're not going to harm them," John said, moving towards the building.
"Aye, but that'd be lying," Carson whispered, staying behind.
The house was composed of a room, with no windows and a small door. Ten kids were huddled in a corner, looking at him frightened.
"It's okay, we're not going to hurt you," John said smiling reassuringly. "Where are your parents?"
"Culled," one of the boys answered, taking a step towards him. "All the parents here were culled, and some of the older children. The others are at the hunting camp, down south."
"Any idea when they'll be coming back?" John asked.
"It will be at least one more round of the moon," the same boy answered.
"My friend and I are on our way to… somewhere else, but we could stay here tonight and help you a bit," he offered.
"We don't have anything to give you."
John shrugged, "No need for payment. Just come out of here and tell us what we can do."
The small boy nodded and followed him out of the house. The other kids came out quickly after that. They studied Carson for a bit, then went back to their abandoned meal and continued eating.
"What's this about?" Carson asked, as soon as John got next to him.
"Their parents have been culled. I offered to help them."
"We can't stay here for long enough to help them. We'll just make matters worse," Carson sighed, looking down. "We'll have to leave tomorrow. How much can we help until then?"
"We have to try, maybe if they -"
"The wraith will come here and kill them, too. Look at them," Carson ordered, spinning him around and forcing him to look at the children who were quietly eating.
"We'll leave in the morning, but we have to help."
Together with Carson, he managed to arrange the house the kids had been hiding in, clean up a few other rooms in other houses and teach the kids how to take care of themselves. He fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes, Carson's warm body pressed against his back.
~*~
John woke up when one of the kids walked next to him. Opening his eyes, he saw the kid was studying him intently.
"Hey kid," John said sleepily.
"Good morning. Are you going to leave?" the boy asked bluntly.
"We have to leave. Trust me; it's better this way," John answered, getting up. Carson wasn't inside, but he probably woke up before and needed to get out.
"Your friend said you'll stay."
"He did?" John was truly surprised. He couldn’t' imagine what determined Carson to change his mind and he thought of solving the small problem of the Wraith culling. "I'll talk to him and we'll see."
"You can't talk to him," the kid answered, following him outside. "He left through the ring just before dawn."
John stared at the boy. He couldn't be serious; Carson couldn't have left him there.
"Do you still have to go?" A girl asked, coming next to him and offering a piece of bread.
"Yeah." John knew that alone, Carson wouldn't fight anymore. Without him coming along, the wraith would have nothing to use against Carson, no way to force him to go around other humans. Michael was going to kill Carson. "I have to go. Really fast."
When they started this, they thought of a way of getting from planet to planet, without going to the same place twice. They had come up with an algorithm that the Wraith wouldn't easily follow, assigning numbers to each symbol and adding them, using the Fibonacci series. From time to time, when the numbers got too big, they reset the counting. The question right now was if Carson went on with their counting routine or dialed a random planet.
Without any other option, John dialed the next gate address that resulted from their algorithm and stepped through.
~*~
A week later, after being to countless planets without finding any trace of Carson's presence, John stepped on another planet, eyeing the gate guards. He had grown accustomed to seeing guards at the gate, and all of them knew about the runner; all of them were waiting for him.
The guards didn't pay much attention to John, and that was a strange thing. "I'm not the runner," he said cautiously.
The men nodded. "We're here to protect the ring from some of our enemies. The runner is no longer a threat."
John's blood ran cold in that instant. Doing his best to seem calm, he asked, "Why is that?"
"He was captured. The guards in the Confederation aren't as merciful as the ones on independent planets," the man snickered, looking at his companion. "You can see him if you wish, they're holding him in The'Kre."
John numbly nodded and waited for the gate to activate after the guard dialed the address.
~*~
This gate wasn't guarded, but there were a few people walking in the area around it. It reminded John of the commotion he found in every airport and train station on Earth.
A middle-aged man came to him, smiling broadly. "Hello and welcome to our world. I trust you have come to see the runner."
John nodded and stared at the man. He probably had no idea what life was like for a runner, but he was proud that they had captured one.
"Come this way. He is held in the square," the man said, walking towards the village's buildings.
"Is it safe to… keep him here?" John asked, wondering why the men would keep someone who would bring the Wraith in the middle of their community.
"Of course. A great reward will come upon us for capturing him," the man announced proudly.
"Are you… do you worship the Wraith?" John asked, falling behind.
"Oh, no," the man answered, turning to look at him. "The runners are captured by the Wraith, but some of them escape. When the Wraith see we have captured him -"
"You should have let him go," a woman said, angrily. She had a basket with some vegetables and was walking along them towards the village. "He's a young man, and he didn't do anything to harm you," she continued.
"Our village will not be culled again, woman. One life's man for that - I think it's well worth it."
The only problem was the Wraith weren't going to spare them, and if John had anything to say, Carson wasn't going to be here when they came.
"You see," the man said, turning his attention form the woman to John, "our planet was going to be culled soon. It was very fortunate that he came here. Anyway, there he is," he said, gesturing towards a stone platform that had an altar on it. "A long time ago, worshippers lived here. They upset the Wraith queen and were destroyed, but some signs of their presence remained." The man seemed proud of himself and John wanted to wipe that pride with a well-placed punch, or better yet, a few.
"Where is he?" John asked, studying the altar.
"We haven't chained him on the altar, but to the other side. Let's go around it and you'll see."
Carson was curled up next to the altar, his hands and feet chained to its base. His shirt and pants were torn in several places and John could see bruises covering his skin. Some of them seemed to be caused by blows, but in other places, there were cuts that had bled.
"The guards were a bit zealous on their way back and he was hurt a little," the man said, moving next to Carson on the platform and taking his chin. He was forced to look up, and John saw that the right side of his face was covered with dark bruises. He couldn't open his right eye because of it. "Then, he was punished for what he brought upon the other worlds," the man continued, looking at John. Carson followed the man's gaze until his eyes stopped on John. There was no sign of recognition, no sign of any emotion. "He was whipped, the way all of our villains are, and because he wouldn't shut up…" the man let go of Carson's chin, pressing his thumb on the bruised cheek. Carson let out a soft moan and the man came down from the platform, "we convinced him to shut up."
The whole scene felt surreal to John and he wondered if he would wake up from it. A year ago, he would have jumped at the man and killed him on the spot. Instead of that, John focused on Carson's prone form, hoping that the Scot would look at him and understand that rescue was close. That was all that mattered.
The man, the village, the entire galaxy were going to hell, culled by the Wraith, but Carson needed to know he was going to be saved.
~*~
Darkness came two hours later, and during those two hours, John had learned everything there was to know about the square and the people that worked in it. There were no houses in the square, just small trade-related houses. The only one that still had people was a tavern, and when he realised its clients weren't going to leave soon, John stood and went towards the altar.
He felt the cold blade of his knife against his palm's skin. The locks seemed simple enough, and in less than ten minutes, Carson's arms and legs were free.
"Come on, Carson, wake up," he called softly, trying to wake him up. Carson was warm - warmer than normal, his whipping wounds probably infected. Adjusting his position a bit, John took Carson in his arms and got up when the tip of something sharp was pressed against his back.
"We're not as stupid as you think we are, John" the man behind him said. "He called for you, when he was lucid enough to do so and we knew you'd come. Put him down."
John complied, hating himself for letting this happen and these people for doing it.
"Put the runner on the altar and chain this one next to the altar," the man ordered.
Hands were on Carson, roughly pulling him face up on the altar and chaining him to it. Other hands grabbed John and forced him done where Carson had been. The chains were short and he could barely move enough to get to a normal sitting position. The altar was about half a meter high and when he leaned back, he could feel the warmth of Carson's body. John closed his eyes, blocking the image of the defiance in their captor's eyes.
~*~
It was past midday when the woman who John had met the day before on the way from the gate came and gave him a bit of water to drink. He thanked her and looked up towards Carson. "Can you give him some water, please?"
"I would, but he's not awake," she answered with sadness.
"You should leave the planet," John said. She nodded without looking at him, then disappeared.
Over the next ten minutes, people gathered in the square until it was full. Men, women, children were looking at the sky, happy. The Wraith ship descended until it was fully visible, seeming only a few hundred meters above the surface. Several darts flew from it, prompting the man who had captured John to announce, "We shall get our reward for what we have done."
"You'll get nothing, you bunch of fools," John muttered, only those closest to him being able to hear him. The darts came closer, flying over the village. Two wraiths were beamed down and they came straight to the platform, ignoring the people in the square. One of them studied Carson and hissed at the village people, "You almost killed him."
Buildings started exploding around them, with the darts firing at the village. John looked at the panicked people and he knew he should feel sorry for them, but he didn't. It was easier to hate them.
~*~
Carson was dropped on a cot in the cell and John went to him, touching his forehead with the back of his hand. Softly nudging him, he urged, "Wake up, Carson, please wake up."
There was no sign that the doctor would wake up soon, so John sat down next to the cot and, using a bit of fabric he tore from his jacket, he gently cleaned Carson's face and arms. Some of his wounds were superficial cuts that had begun healing some time ago, but most of them were deep, and judging by the way they looked, Carson had been in a lot of pain before surrendering to unconsciousness.
After he was done with the cleaning, he took off his jacket and covered Carson's chest with it. There was no hope it would do anything to help Carson in his current condition, but he needed to do something.
~*~
"Comfortable, Colonel?" Michael asked from the door of the cell. John didn't bother to look up at him. "This is not how I wanted things to end, I assure you, but now you know just how unpredictable humans are."
For a moment, it sounded like the wraith was genuinely sad that this had happened. But sadness was something Michael couldn't feel.
"What part of 'this' is wrong in your opinion? You thought we were going to go on like this forever and keep your -"
"It was not my intention to kill him. I have thought about the best thing to do now, and I decided that you'll be returned to Atlantis."
John frowned. There had to be a catch, something that the wraith wanted in return. "What do you want for that?"
Michael shook his head. "There will be nothing 'in return'. You and your doctor will be returned to Atlantis."
"When?"
"As soon as my scientists tell me your doctors can't do anything to help him."
John leaped from his place towards the wraith, but the two guards who accompanied Michael stopped him. "Don't you dare!"
"There is nothing you can do to stop me, Colonel."
"What's the point in this? He didn't… he didn't even want to do that. It was Elizabeth and me who asked him to develop it, get it to that stage. He fought us about it and he…" John stopped, seeing his pleas did nothing to change Michael's mind.
"He didn't fight you hard enough, apparently." There was a strange mixture of feeling on the wraith's face and for a moment, John thought he changed his mind. "We'll just consider him a casualty of war, then."
Michael left the cell, quickly followed by his guards and the cell web-door closed behind them. John hit the wall of the hive with his fist, leaning on it. Now that the 'reason with the wraith' plan had failed, he was out of options.
~*~
The sound of soft steps made John open his eyes. Maybe Michael changed his mind, although it was hard to imagine he would do that in less than ten minutes.
"You'd better be right, or I'm going to -" a whispered voice said before John saw its owner stop in front of the cell door.
"Good timing, McKay," John said, his heart ready to explode in his chest. Rodney was staring at him, disbelievingly. "Get us out of here," he said, impatiently.
"You're alive," Rodney said, without moving.
"I'd love to chat, but Carson's not feeling very well and I'd love to get out of here."
Rodney nodded, "Right, right," then started fumbling with something in the hive wall. A few minutes later, Ronon was in the cell, taking Carson in his arms.
The halls in the hive were dark and quiet, as always, but John was more worried than ever. If the Wraith were monitoring Carson using his transmitter, they would know they were on the move.
"Listen, we need to hurry up, they'll know we're moving."
Without questioning his words, they fastened their pace and made it to the bay in record time. The jumper hatch door opened swiftly, allowing them to go in. Rodney went to the control and flew them out of the hive.
"The gate is about fifteen minutes away from here," Rodney announced, focusing on flying the jumper.
"I'll be with you in a moment," John said. Turning towards Ronon, he helped him settle Carson on the floor of the jumper. "They've beaten him, whipped him," he explained softly. "I've tried to clean his wounds, but I didn't have too much to work with."
Ronon reached for the first aid kit and opened it, nodding. "I'll take care of him. You talk to McKay."
Softly squeezing Carson's hand, John whispered, "Hang on, we're almost home." He got up and moved to the front of the jumper, noticing how tightly Rodney was holding the controls. "Why didn't you get Lorne, or someone else to fly the jumper?"
"We're in our free time here," Rodney explained, gladly giving up the controls. "It's… we thought you were dead," he said, sitting in the co-pilot seat. "Ronon and I wanted to find out exactly what happened, and we figured we could find something in Michael's hive. That's when we saw him going towards the cells and Ronon said we should check them out, see where he went."
"Lucky us you did," John said, getting used to the jumper again.
"We were so close to not coming… if you only knew," Rodney said, bowing his head. He seemed more tired than he usually was, and he was milder somehow.
"Well, you did. Can we contact Atlantis?"
"We need to get a bit closer to gate to be able to dial it. Why, aren't we going there?" Rodney asked.
"They put a transmitter in Carson… like Ronon had… I know he won't come to Atlantis any time soon, because he knows we'd blow him up, but we need to get it out as soon as possible. And they need to have the med team ready."
"Of course, I'm… " Rodney smiled, "You're alive. Everyone told me I should get used to the thought."
"Good thing you didn't."
~*~
Carson was lying in the infirmary bed, his body covered with white dressings, the dark bruise on his right side seeming even more violent. John and Rodney were sitting on chairs on his left side, talking.
Everyone had come around to talk to him, encourage him, say they were happy to have them back, but it was only Rodney who had stayed. John was thankful for that.
"How's he going to be when he wakes up?" Rodney asked, after hearing the entire story.
"I hope he'll be okay… it can't be worse than it was and I'll do everything I can to keep him safe."
Rodney nodded. "That's what the tattoo means? That he's a runner?"
John looked at the drawing, nodding. "Yes, it's a warning, so the locals know he's a runner."
"He'll have a few things to talk about with Ronon." Rodney paused for a few moments, looking down. "Is he changed… is he colder, or… quieter… is he different?"
"I suppose he is, but he's still Carson. He's still your friend," John said, studying Rodney. He seemed worried about something.
"We didn't give up on you, but we didn't know where to look," he said quickly.
"I know that. If you had given up, we'd still be on that hive."
"I… It shouldn't have gotten this far," Rodney said, getting up.
"No, but it isn't your fault it did, Rodney. You can't waste time blaming yourself."
Rodney left the room without saying anything else, and John knew he would be blaming himself for it for a while. Maybe Carson would help him forgive himself.
He turned back to the bed and the sleeping figure lying on it.
~*~
Carson slowly opened his eyes, and as soon as he saw John, he looked away.
"Hey, good to see you awake," John said, trying to hide his sadness at Carson's reaction.
Carson mumbled something, but John didn't understand. Getting a cup with ice chips, he gave him a few, then waited patiently for him to say something again.
"Sorry," Carson said after a few moments, without looking at him.
"There's… it's okay, you shouldn't worry, just…" John didn't know what to say, didn't know how to comfort Carson.
"I didn't want to leave you there, but I realized that without me, they couldn't find you, and…" Carson closed his eyes, tears slowly falling on his cheeks. "I didn't expect you to find me."
"The guys who captured you said you called for me," John said, taking a napkin and handing it to Carson.
"I hoped you would, but I didn't think you would." He suddenly opened his eyes, looking around him. "Atlantis. We're…"
"…Home. Michael's hive beamed us up from the village, but McKay and Ronon were there and they brought us back."
Carson tried to reach back to the back of his neck, but the IV lines stopped him. "Did they take it out?"
"Yeah," John said, noticing the relief on Carson's face. "Only the tattoo's left. Biro said they can have it removed."
"I don't understand… Ronon still has it and people don't check him for it…"
"They probably check for that only when they know a runner is traveling. I really don't know," John admitted.
"I'll have to ask him," Carson said.
"You could cover it with the clothes, the jackets cover it if they're zipped up," John said, studying it. "Or I could," he added leaning in and kissing Carson's neck, a bit above the tattoo. He could feel Carson relax under the touch and John knew he was smiling.
Words: 4838
Pairing: Carson/John
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Misbegotten, Common Ground
Two of the men held him roughly. The other two held Carson and studied his tattoo. They had been waiting by the gate, and as soon as they stepped through, they were immobilized.
Recognizing the mark on Carson's neck, one of the men said, "If you agree to leave, no harm will be done to you or your companion. But if you don't -"
"Wait! He's sick, he needs medical help," John pleaded. "They won't come tonight."
The man took out his knife and pressed the blade on Carson's neck. "Will you leave?"
"Yes!" John shouted, scared. "Yes, just let us dial the gate and we'll go, but don't harm him." The men guarding him stepped away, but the other two escorted Carson to the DHD and then to the stargate.
On the other side, Carson moved a few steps away from the gate and sat down. "I was sure they were going to kill us," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I never imagined people could be like that. I mean… don't they know that it's not your fault? The Wraith could pick anyone. They could have been runners just as easily," he said, angry with the men's narrow-minded thinking.
"Aye, but it's easier this way. They already hate the Wraith. This gives them a reason to hate me, too." Carson looked around and slumped his shoulders when he saw the outline of a village. "I suppose it's easier to hate someone they can see, kill if they have the smallest reason to."
Staring at the village in the distance, John was thankful that it was midday on this planet and they still had a few hours of daylight. The time on the planets rarely matched, and they had gotten used to getting from midday to the middle on the night after stepping through the gate.
"We should go, try to get some food," he said, helping Carson get up.
As they got closer to the village, they saw the burnt buildings and the obvious signs of an attack. "Have we been here?" John asked.
Carson shook his head. "We've never been to the same planet twice. We don't know what the Wraith would do then."
In the middle of the village, on a small wooden table, they found a piece of bread and a bottle filled with water. John looked at the table and its surroundings. "Someone's living here."
Carson nodded, looking at a little building that wasn't as affected as the others. "I'd say they're hiding there."
"We should go and tell them we're not going to harm them," John said, moving towards the building.
"Aye, but that'd be lying," Carson whispered, staying behind.
The house was composed of a room, with no windows and a small door. Ten kids were huddled in a corner, looking at him frightened.
"It's okay, we're not going to hurt you," John said smiling reassuringly. "Where are your parents?"
"Culled," one of the boys answered, taking a step towards him. "All the parents here were culled, and some of the older children. The others are at the hunting camp, down south."
"Any idea when they'll be coming back?" John asked.
"It will be at least one more round of the moon," the same boy answered.
"My friend and I are on our way to… somewhere else, but we could stay here tonight and help you a bit," he offered.
"We don't have anything to give you."
John shrugged, "No need for payment. Just come out of here and tell us what we can do."
The small boy nodded and followed him out of the house. The other kids came out quickly after that. They studied Carson for a bit, then went back to their abandoned meal and continued eating.
"What's this about?" Carson asked, as soon as John got next to him.
"Their parents have been culled. I offered to help them."
"We can't stay here for long enough to help them. We'll just make matters worse," Carson sighed, looking down. "We'll have to leave tomorrow. How much can we help until then?"
"We have to try, maybe if they -"
"The wraith will come here and kill them, too. Look at them," Carson ordered, spinning him around and forcing him to look at the children who were quietly eating.
"We'll leave in the morning, but we have to help."
Together with Carson, he managed to arrange the house the kids had been hiding in, clean up a few other rooms in other houses and teach the kids how to take care of themselves. He fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes, Carson's warm body pressed against his back.
~*~
John woke up when one of the kids walked next to him. Opening his eyes, he saw the kid was studying him intently.
"Hey kid," John said sleepily.
"Good morning. Are you going to leave?" the boy asked bluntly.
"We have to leave. Trust me; it's better this way," John answered, getting up. Carson wasn't inside, but he probably woke up before and needed to get out.
"Your friend said you'll stay."
"He did?" John was truly surprised. He couldn’t' imagine what determined Carson to change his mind and he thought of solving the small problem of the Wraith culling. "I'll talk to him and we'll see."
"You can't talk to him," the kid answered, following him outside. "He left through the ring just before dawn."
John stared at the boy. He couldn't be serious; Carson couldn't have left him there.
"Do you still have to go?" A girl asked, coming next to him and offering a piece of bread.
"Yeah." John knew that alone, Carson wouldn't fight anymore. Without him coming along, the wraith would have nothing to use against Carson, no way to force him to go around other humans. Michael was going to kill Carson. "I have to go. Really fast."
When they started this, they thought of a way of getting from planet to planet, without going to the same place twice. They had come up with an algorithm that the Wraith wouldn't easily follow, assigning numbers to each symbol and adding them, using the Fibonacci series. From time to time, when the numbers got too big, they reset the counting. The question right now was if Carson went on with their counting routine or dialed a random planet.
Without any other option, John dialed the next gate address that resulted from their algorithm and stepped through.
~*~
A week later, after being to countless planets without finding any trace of Carson's presence, John stepped on another planet, eyeing the gate guards. He had grown accustomed to seeing guards at the gate, and all of them knew about the runner; all of them were waiting for him.
The guards didn't pay much attention to John, and that was a strange thing. "I'm not the runner," he said cautiously.
The men nodded. "We're here to protect the ring from some of our enemies. The runner is no longer a threat."
John's blood ran cold in that instant. Doing his best to seem calm, he asked, "Why is that?"
"He was captured. The guards in the Confederation aren't as merciful as the ones on independent planets," the man snickered, looking at his companion. "You can see him if you wish, they're holding him in The'Kre."
John numbly nodded and waited for the gate to activate after the guard dialed the address.
~*~
This gate wasn't guarded, but there were a few people walking in the area around it. It reminded John of the commotion he found in every airport and train station on Earth.
A middle-aged man came to him, smiling broadly. "Hello and welcome to our world. I trust you have come to see the runner."
John nodded and stared at the man. He probably had no idea what life was like for a runner, but he was proud that they had captured one.
"Come this way. He is held in the square," the man said, walking towards the village's buildings.
"Is it safe to… keep him here?" John asked, wondering why the men would keep someone who would bring the Wraith in the middle of their community.
"Of course. A great reward will come upon us for capturing him," the man announced proudly.
"Are you… do you worship the Wraith?" John asked, falling behind.
"Oh, no," the man answered, turning to look at him. "The runners are captured by the Wraith, but some of them escape. When the Wraith see we have captured him -"
"You should have let him go," a woman said, angrily. She had a basket with some vegetables and was walking along them towards the village. "He's a young man, and he didn't do anything to harm you," she continued.
"Our village will not be culled again, woman. One life's man for that - I think it's well worth it."
The only problem was the Wraith weren't going to spare them, and if John had anything to say, Carson wasn't going to be here when they came.
"You see," the man said, turning his attention form the woman to John, "our planet was going to be culled soon. It was very fortunate that he came here. Anyway, there he is," he said, gesturing towards a stone platform that had an altar on it. "A long time ago, worshippers lived here. They upset the Wraith queen and were destroyed, but some signs of their presence remained." The man seemed proud of himself and John wanted to wipe that pride with a well-placed punch, or better yet, a few.
"Where is he?" John asked, studying the altar.
"We haven't chained him on the altar, but to the other side. Let's go around it and you'll see."
Carson was curled up next to the altar, his hands and feet chained to its base. His shirt and pants were torn in several places and John could see bruises covering his skin. Some of them seemed to be caused by blows, but in other places, there were cuts that had bled.
"The guards were a bit zealous on their way back and he was hurt a little," the man said, moving next to Carson on the platform and taking his chin. He was forced to look up, and John saw that the right side of his face was covered with dark bruises. He couldn't open his right eye because of it. "Then, he was punished for what he brought upon the other worlds," the man continued, looking at John. Carson followed the man's gaze until his eyes stopped on John. There was no sign of recognition, no sign of any emotion. "He was whipped, the way all of our villains are, and because he wouldn't shut up…" the man let go of Carson's chin, pressing his thumb on the bruised cheek. Carson let out a soft moan and the man came down from the platform, "we convinced him to shut up."
The whole scene felt surreal to John and he wondered if he would wake up from it. A year ago, he would have jumped at the man and killed him on the spot. Instead of that, John focused on Carson's prone form, hoping that the Scot would look at him and understand that rescue was close. That was all that mattered.
The man, the village, the entire galaxy were going to hell, culled by the Wraith, but Carson needed to know he was going to be saved.
~*~
Darkness came two hours later, and during those two hours, John had learned everything there was to know about the square and the people that worked in it. There were no houses in the square, just small trade-related houses. The only one that still had people was a tavern, and when he realised its clients weren't going to leave soon, John stood and went towards the altar.
He felt the cold blade of his knife against his palm's skin. The locks seemed simple enough, and in less than ten minutes, Carson's arms and legs were free.
"Come on, Carson, wake up," he called softly, trying to wake him up. Carson was warm - warmer than normal, his whipping wounds probably infected. Adjusting his position a bit, John took Carson in his arms and got up when the tip of something sharp was pressed against his back.
"We're not as stupid as you think we are, John" the man behind him said. "He called for you, when he was lucid enough to do so and we knew you'd come. Put him down."
John complied, hating himself for letting this happen and these people for doing it.
"Put the runner on the altar and chain this one next to the altar," the man ordered.
Hands were on Carson, roughly pulling him face up on the altar and chaining him to it. Other hands grabbed John and forced him done where Carson had been. The chains were short and he could barely move enough to get to a normal sitting position. The altar was about half a meter high and when he leaned back, he could feel the warmth of Carson's body. John closed his eyes, blocking the image of the defiance in their captor's eyes.
~*~
It was past midday when the woman who John had met the day before on the way from the gate came and gave him a bit of water to drink. He thanked her and looked up towards Carson. "Can you give him some water, please?"
"I would, but he's not awake," she answered with sadness.
"You should leave the planet," John said. She nodded without looking at him, then disappeared.
Over the next ten minutes, people gathered in the square until it was full. Men, women, children were looking at the sky, happy. The Wraith ship descended until it was fully visible, seeming only a few hundred meters above the surface. Several darts flew from it, prompting the man who had captured John to announce, "We shall get our reward for what we have done."
"You'll get nothing, you bunch of fools," John muttered, only those closest to him being able to hear him. The darts came closer, flying over the village. Two wraiths were beamed down and they came straight to the platform, ignoring the people in the square. One of them studied Carson and hissed at the village people, "You almost killed him."
Buildings started exploding around them, with the darts firing at the village. John looked at the panicked people and he knew he should feel sorry for them, but he didn't. It was easier to hate them.
~*~
Carson was dropped on a cot in the cell and John went to him, touching his forehead with the back of his hand. Softly nudging him, he urged, "Wake up, Carson, please wake up."
There was no sign that the doctor would wake up soon, so John sat down next to the cot and, using a bit of fabric he tore from his jacket, he gently cleaned Carson's face and arms. Some of his wounds were superficial cuts that had begun healing some time ago, but most of them were deep, and judging by the way they looked, Carson had been in a lot of pain before surrendering to unconsciousness.
After he was done with the cleaning, he took off his jacket and covered Carson's chest with it. There was no hope it would do anything to help Carson in his current condition, but he needed to do something.
~*~
"Comfortable, Colonel?" Michael asked from the door of the cell. John didn't bother to look up at him. "This is not how I wanted things to end, I assure you, but now you know just how unpredictable humans are."
For a moment, it sounded like the wraith was genuinely sad that this had happened. But sadness was something Michael couldn't feel.
"What part of 'this' is wrong in your opinion? You thought we were going to go on like this forever and keep your -"
"It was not my intention to kill him. I have thought about the best thing to do now, and I decided that you'll be returned to Atlantis."
John frowned. There had to be a catch, something that the wraith wanted in return. "What do you want for that?"
Michael shook his head. "There will be nothing 'in return'. You and your doctor will be returned to Atlantis."
"When?"
"As soon as my scientists tell me your doctors can't do anything to help him."
John leaped from his place towards the wraith, but the two guards who accompanied Michael stopped him. "Don't you dare!"
"There is nothing you can do to stop me, Colonel."
"What's the point in this? He didn't… he didn't even want to do that. It was Elizabeth and me who asked him to develop it, get it to that stage. He fought us about it and he…" John stopped, seeing his pleas did nothing to change Michael's mind.
"He didn't fight you hard enough, apparently." There was a strange mixture of feeling on the wraith's face and for a moment, John thought he changed his mind. "We'll just consider him a casualty of war, then."
Michael left the cell, quickly followed by his guards and the cell web-door closed behind them. John hit the wall of the hive with his fist, leaning on it. Now that the 'reason with the wraith' plan had failed, he was out of options.
~*~
The sound of soft steps made John open his eyes. Maybe Michael changed his mind, although it was hard to imagine he would do that in less than ten minutes.
"You'd better be right, or I'm going to -" a whispered voice said before John saw its owner stop in front of the cell door.
"Good timing, McKay," John said, his heart ready to explode in his chest. Rodney was staring at him, disbelievingly. "Get us out of here," he said, impatiently.
"You're alive," Rodney said, without moving.
"I'd love to chat, but Carson's not feeling very well and I'd love to get out of here."
Rodney nodded, "Right, right," then started fumbling with something in the hive wall. A few minutes later, Ronon was in the cell, taking Carson in his arms.
The halls in the hive were dark and quiet, as always, but John was more worried than ever. If the Wraith were monitoring Carson using his transmitter, they would know they were on the move.
"Listen, we need to hurry up, they'll know we're moving."
Without questioning his words, they fastened their pace and made it to the bay in record time. The jumper hatch door opened swiftly, allowing them to go in. Rodney went to the control and flew them out of the hive.
"The gate is about fifteen minutes away from here," Rodney announced, focusing on flying the jumper.
"I'll be with you in a moment," John said. Turning towards Ronon, he helped him settle Carson on the floor of the jumper. "They've beaten him, whipped him," he explained softly. "I've tried to clean his wounds, but I didn't have too much to work with."
Ronon reached for the first aid kit and opened it, nodding. "I'll take care of him. You talk to McKay."
Softly squeezing Carson's hand, John whispered, "Hang on, we're almost home." He got up and moved to the front of the jumper, noticing how tightly Rodney was holding the controls. "Why didn't you get Lorne, or someone else to fly the jumper?"
"We're in our free time here," Rodney explained, gladly giving up the controls. "It's… we thought you were dead," he said, sitting in the co-pilot seat. "Ronon and I wanted to find out exactly what happened, and we figured we could find something in Michael's hive. That's when we saw him going towards the cells and Ronon said we should check them out, see where he went."
"Lucky us you did," John said, getting used to the jumper again.
"We were so close to not coming… if you only knew," Rodney said, bowing his head. He seemed more tired than he usually was, and he was milder somehow.
"Well, you did. Can we contact Atlantis?"
"We need to get a bit closer to gate to be able to dial it. Why, aren't we going there?" Rodney asked.
"They put a transmitter in Carson… like Ronon had… I know he won't come to Atlantis any time soon, because he knows we'd blow him up, but we need to get it out as soon as possible. And they need to have the med team ready."
"Of course, I'm… " Rodney smiled, "You're alive. Everyone told me I should get used to the thought."
"Good thing you didn't."
~*~
Carson was lying in the infirmary bed, his body covered with white dressings, the dark bruise on his right side seeming even more violent. John and Rodney were sitting on chairs on his left side, talking.
Everyone had come around to talk to him, encourage him, say they were happy to have them back, but it was only Rodney who had stayed. John was thankful for that.
"How's he going to be when he wakes up?" Rodney asked, after hearing the entire story.
"I hope he'll be okay… it can't be worse than it was and I'll do everything I can to keep him safe."
Rodney nodded. "That's what the tattoo means? That he's a runner?"
John looked at the drawing, nodding. "Yes, it's a warning, so the locals know he's a runner."
"He'll have a few things to talk about with Ronon." Rodney paused for a few moments, looking down. "Is he changed… is he colder, or… quieter… is he different?"
"I suppose he is, but he's still Carson. He's still your friend," John said, studying Rodney. He seemed worried about something.
"We didn't give up on you, but we didn't know where to look," he said quickly.
"I know that. If you had given up, we'd still be on that hive."
"I… It shouldn't have gotten this far," Rodney said, getting up.
"No, but it isn't your fault it did, Rodney. You can't waste time blaming yourself."
Rodney left the room without saying anything else, and John knew he would be blaming himself for it for a while. Maybe Carson would help him forgive himself.
He turned back to the bed and the sleeping figure lying on it.
~*~
Carson slowly opened his eyes, and as soon as he saw John, he looked away.
"Hey, good to see you awake," John said, trying to hide his sadness at Carson's reaction.
Carson mumbled something, but John didn't understand. Getting a cup with ice chips, he gave him a few, then waited patiently for him to say something again.
"Sorry," Carson said after a few moments, without looking at him.
"There's… it's okay, you shouldn't worry, just…" John didn't know what to say, didn't know how to comfort Carson.
"I didn't want to leave you there, but I realized that without me, they couldn't find you, and…" Carson closed his eyes, tears slowly falling on his cheeks. "I didn't expect you to find me."
"The guys who captured you said you called for me," John said, taking a napkin and handing it to Carson.
"I hoped you would, but I didn't think you would." He suddenly opened his eyes, looking around him. "Atlantis. We're…"
"…Home. Michael's hive beamed us up from the village, but McKay and Ronon were there and they brought us back."
Carson tried to reach back to the back of his neck, but the IV lines stopped him. "Did they take it out?"
"Yeah," John said, noticing the relief on Carson's face. "Only the tattoo's left. Biro said they can have it removed."
"I don't understand… Ronon still has it and people don't check him for it…"
"They probably check for that only when they know a runner is traveling. I really don't know," John admitted.
"I'll have to ask him," Carson said.
"You could cover it with the clothes, the jackets cover it if they're zipped up," John said, studying it. "Or I could," he added leaning in and kissing Carson's neck, a bit above the tattoo. He could feel Carson relax under the touch and John knew he was smiling.