Elizabeth Weir paced in the 'gate room. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since AT-1 had reported in, and she was concerned. More than concerned, she was almost in a panic. Why was it always _them_ that seemed to get into all the trouble? None of the other teams seemed to attract danger like Sheppard and his team.
She sighed and placed her elbows on the nearest console, resting her head in her hands as she gazed at the still inactive 'gate, willing it to come to life, willing them to come home safely. But it remained silent, and Peter Grodin gave her a sympathetic look. She straightened up.
"Dial it up again, Peter," she ordered firmly, "Maybe there's some kind of interference. Major Sheppard did say they were tracking the energy source across a mountain range." She doubted that would make any difference, but wanted to check anyway.
The chevrons lit and the gate spun to life, the event horizon billowing outward and then collapsing back in on itself.
"Major Sheppard, if you can hear me, please report." The 'gate room waited with held breath, but only silence met their hopeful gazes. "Okay, Peter, shut it down," Elizabeth ordered wearily. "I suppose we'll just have to wait for them to contact us."
'Please be safe' she sent mentally.
-------------
Rodney grimmaced as they walked through the heavily wooded forest, his feet somehow unerringly finding every root, every large stone and even a small woodland creature. It was starting to become annoying. He had fallen so many times, he had to be at least as bruised as Teyla now, if not as injured as Sheppard and Ford.
Rodney shivered slightly as he remembered the crash. Except that he didn't remember it. He had been lost in some kind of vision, a vision of a beautiful city with strange people whose eyes glowed silver. They were warriors, protectors of the humans who lived on the planet. And they wanted him.
Rodney shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. Honestly. He really shouldn't have brought those Robert Jordon books along, they filled his head with such nonsense. So much so, he was having difficulty concentrating on where he was walking and on his companions.
They had spent the night before beneath a tall tree that resembled an oak, except that the leaves were much broader. Teyla had taken the first watch, and Sheppard the second, both deciding that Rodney and Ford wouldn't be able to. Rodney would have been insulted had he been paying more attention to them, and not to the voice that kept calling to him.
He fell for the hundredth time that day. Grumbling, he pulled himself to his feet and glared at the offending object that had tripped him. Then he blinked. It was a large cat-like creature with two horns protruding from its skull and silver eyes that glinted with intelligence. Rodney stared at it in fascination.
~Come with me, child,~ a warm voice ordered firmly in his mind, ~you are our chosen.~
Rodney smiled slightly. Chosen. That meant that...He shook his head firmly. No. This was not happening. He was _not_ having a mental conversation with a giant cat. "I think I need to have my head checked."
"McKay? Stand back," Sheppard suddenly ordered.
Rodney glanced over to see the Major with his gun pointed at the creature, his face pale with the effort it cost him, and probably because it was killing his arm. He turned back to the spot where the cat had been and blinked. It was gone.
"You saw it too, right?" Rodney asked desparately.
"Yeah," John agreed, giving him a funny look, "I did. There's something very strange going on here."
Rodney nodded. Oh yes. Very strange.
---------------
John glanced back at McKay, who kept looking behind him at the spot where that creature had been. The scientist was muttering under his breath and shaking his head. He was also tripping over everything in sight, John noticed in concern. What the hell was going on here?
Ford at least seemed to be holding up better than he'd thought he would. He was holding up better than John himself, whose arm was throbbing with each heartbeat and with each step he took. Despite the splint and quick cleaning they'd given it, he was fairly certain the spot where the bones had protruded was going to become infected.
And then there was Teyla, who was giving them all concerned looks from her position in front. John figured he wouldn't be able to just tell her he was 'fine' one more time before she called a rest. And he wouldn't try to protest. He knew when to quit, and besides. They were far enough away from the crash site now.
Even if it did seem as though whatever had caused the crash was following them, if the way McKay was acting was anything to go by.
"There is a village up ahead," Teyla suddenly called out, "Not very far."
Not very far turned out to be rather close indeed. John looked up and stared at the small huts that had suddenly appeared as they topped the hill he hadn't even been aware of climbling. Damn, he must be more out of it than he thought.
Villagers came pouring out to meet them, and John winced. In his state, there was little he could do to protect his team against a possible attack, but the people seemed to be nice enough. They led each of them away, against John's protest, and he found himself being pushed into a building and onto a bed of sorts. He lost consciousness soon after.
When he awoke, it was night outside again, and his head was clearer. He yawned and stretched, before wincing and clutching his arm. It was in a sling of a material he had never seen before and wrapped in a plastor-like cast, and while moving it still hurt, it was nowhere near as painful as it had been. Obviously these people were more advanced than their dwellings showed.
He cursed suddenly. Where was the rest of his team? He jumped up off the little bed and ran outside into the night air. Teyla and Ford met him on the way.
"They've got an incredible healing ability," Ford murmured softly, "but I don't know how they did it. I was unconscious until just now, and when I woke up, I didn't feel dizzy anymore." The lieutenant only had a small scar on his forehead to show that he had indeed been injured.
"Could they be Ancients?" John asked, remembering something Doctor Beckett had told him, then he frowned. "Where's McKay?"
Ford shrugged, "We were just looking for him when you showed up. That was the last place to check." The young man frowned also then. "And if you came from there, then I'm guessing he wasn't with you."
John nodded. "Right. Okay. Here's what we're going to...what the hell was that?"
A strange, unearthly howling drifted on the light winds to their ears. It sounded like a cross between a cat having its tail stepped on and a man screaming. John felt a shiver run down his spine.
"Let's go."
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