At The Sign Of The Happy Helg

Chapter 13

"What kind of an outfit is this?" John's voice shook with cold.  "They don't even have proper cells!"

Teyla had been listening to her team leader complaining on and off for most of the night.  She knew why he was doing it; to distract her, to distract himself.  His voice had grown steadily more uneven and croaky and she could tell that he was shivering as much as she was.

"Stalagmites," he said and coughed hoarsely.

"I do not understand, John." Teyla could not stop her teeth from chattering together as she spoke.

"These things they've got us tied to.  They're called stalagmites," he rasped.

"Oh."

"They grow up from the floor." He coughed again.  "The others that come down from..." He broke off and this time his coughing fit ended in hoarse gasps of pain.

"John, do not talk any more!" ordered Teyla.

After Smeadon's dismissal the previous night they had been hustled back down the stairs and there had been some rancorous discussion about where to put them. Predictably, but foolishly, Teyla thought, John had interjected his thoughts on the matter.

"How about back where you found us?" he had said, making himself a natural target for Karron to release his pent up anger and humiliation.  Teyla had walked and John had been dragged through the troops' living area and through a rough, winding passage, to this cave.  The floor and ceiling were a mass of spiky rock formations, beautiful in their own way, Teyla thought.  They had each been tied to a separate formation and left in the dark and cold, and although the thick spike she was tied to had looked as soft and smooth as chalk, Teyla had quickly realised that it was made of solid, unyielding rock and, with her arms tied behind her, pulled back tight against the smooth, damp surface, it was impossible to get free.

Teyla tried to breathe slowly and deeply through her shivering; she tried to calm her mind and take herself somewhere far away, somewhere where she was not cold or in pain or fearful for her life and that of her friend.  She imagined being warm and comfortable and safe, with her people on Athos, her lost home, or with her new family on Atlantis.

She managed for a short time and then the pain in her strained arms brought her back to reality and she was surrounded by the harsh, frigid blackness once more and John's wheezing breaths.

"We'll get out of this, Teyla," he croaked.  "We will.  Somehow."

"Yes, John, we will."

oOo

"All ready, Dr McKay." Lorne's voice came out of the chill, pre-dawn darkness.

Rodney nodded sharply, his jaw clenched tight with suppressed panic.  Two Jumpers were parked outside the Happy Helg, as well as the little Skyrunner; Elizabeth had sent Sergeant Stackhouse's team as well as Carson, and Gard was eager to come along and earn his bounty.

Boudicca loped up the ramp of Lorne's Jumper and sat, looking back at him.  Rodney followed and they were soon airborne.  He sat on one of the benches, opposite Carson, who looked at him with sympathy.

"We'll soon have them back, Rodney."

Rodney smiled weakly.  Boudicca, unfazed by the closing hatch and confined space, pushed her furry head into Rodney's side and he put his arm around her.

"How's Ronon?" Rodney asked.

Carson rolled his eyes.  "Put it this way," he said, "I had to threaten him with restraints to stop him from coming along!"