Chapter Sixteen

Rodney blinked. "You were expecting us?"

What he really wanted to ask was where the hell had she been and how did she get in this room?

Elizabeth smiled and circled the room. "I was expecting you, Rodney."

"Why? What is all this?"

She looked at him, the smile still on her face. She stepped toward him and his heart raced. He stared at her, holding his breath. Would she disappear before his eyes again? Why was she here?

She placed a hand on his face. "It's hell, Rodney. It reads your fears and brings them to life."

"I've never dreamed of any of the things out there!"

She shrugged and circled the room again. "It doesn't matter. We need to get going."

Rodney stepped in front of her, stopping her pacing. He stared into her eyes, so green and beautiful. He felt pulled into them. "Where? What do you mean?"

She smiled again and it unnerved him. A strange light gleamed in the depths he so admired.

"You'll see." She motioned for him to follow and marched across the room. "I've wanted to show you this since you arrived."

Rodney looked over his shoulder, pleading with the others. They followed him, concern in their eyes.

"Elizabeth, wait." Rodney stumbled, trying to keep up.

She opened a door. The metallic creak echoed through the space. She pulled him into another room and the door slammed behind him. He turned, startled. Darkness engulfed him.

"What about the others?"

"They don't need to be present for this. They can head back."

Rodney yanked her to a stop. A dim light glowed not far away, revealing an angry spark in her eyes. It didn't faze him.

"Open that door, Elizabeth. Now."

Elizabeth smiled and caressed his face. The warmth from her hand spread through him. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.

"They'll be fine, Rodney. I only need you."

He breathed in her scent, taking it deep inside him. He wanted to take her in his arms and never leave. Was this her plan?

"You didn't need all this. You could have just returned to Atlantis."

"Not for what I have planned."

He opened his eyes and she stepped into the darkness. His eyes narrowed he followed her. Every nerve in his body told him to leave, go back to his friends and never return to this town. His body had other ideas, though and refused to listen to his instincts.

The dim lighting grew brighter revealing blood soaked walls and bodies hanging from the ceiling. He stopped in his tracks, his pulse skyrocketing.

"What the hell is all this?"

The skinned bodies dripped blood onto the floor creating growing puddles. Bile rose, but he swallowed to prevent it from escaping. He took a deep breath and turned his attention to Elizabeth. She stood under the light, its glow bathing her in white.

"This is the result of those who were overwhelmed by their guilt and couldn't see how to escape."

Rodney shook his head. "What are you talking about?"

"You're here because of guilt, Rodney."

"Come again?" A cold chill ran down his spine. Was that why he was here? How did she know? How could she know?

Elizabeth stepped toward him. "You're feeling guilty because you couldn't save me."

His jaw dropped and the cold chill became freezing. Shaking his head, he backed away from her in disbelief.

"You couldn't save me, Rodney. It's been eating you up inside ever since, you just didn't know it."

He backed up across the room, but bumped into something. He turned to look up at a skinned body. It turned slowly on large hooks. It rotated to face him and revealed a woman staring back at him with blank eyes. Rodney stumbled back, shock sending his pulse pounding.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because you need it."

He turned to face her, but she wasn't there. He stepped into the middle of the room and turned in a slow circle.

"Elizabeth?"

He cursed and headed for the door. He yanked on it, but it didn't budge. He kicked it then spun on his heel. He marched across the room, but didn't see another door. He stared at the blood covered walls, despair creeping in on him.

"You couldn't save me." Elizabeth's voice whispered in his ear. He spun in that direction, but saw nothing.

Memories of trying to save Elizabeth flashed through his mind. He'd been successful in saving her life, but lost her on a mission. A few months later, he'd thought she'd been returned to him only to prove she wasn't the real one. He'd been more than willing to accept her back, but she'd been killed trying to save them from replicators.

He closed his eyes as more memories poured into his mind. He'd tried to save her, but something happened each time to prevent him from doing so. It was almost as if the universe didn't want her in his life. It tore at him, ripping into his heart to show him where he failed.

"Elizabeth." Rodney's whisper echoed in the silence of the room. He dropped to his knees and placed his head in his hands. "I tried."

"And you still couldn't save me."

Rodney looked up only to face the empty room. A trimmer rippled under him, growing in size and power. The room shook, tossing him to the floor. His face landed in a squishy substance. He pushed himself back to his knees and stared up at the bodies swinging from the ceiling. A snap resonated through the room followed by a thud.

He scrambled to his feet, spreading his arms out to keep his balance. A movement from the center of the room caught his attention. He stared in amazement as the body climbed to its feet. Bones cracked and skin stretched as the body grew in size. The creature stepped toward him and his pulse sped.

"My God."

It continued to grow in height until it grabbed the bodies beside it and ripped them from the ceiling. The scream resounding from the creature pierced his ears. He closed his eyes and covered his ears, but the scream continued to bounce around his head. He fell to his knees and cried out in pain.

"Stop it!"

The shriek stopped, but Rodney was afraid to move. He wanted this nightmare to end. He wanted to wake up in his bed back on Atlantis and all this be a bad dream.

The floor rumbled and he looked up, up at the monster towering above him. His stomach dropped and his eyes widened. The bloody skinned creature stared down at him with green eyes.

He scrambled away from it then realized he had a gun. He aimed his P-90 at the being and opened fire. It screamed and swiped at him. He tumbled out of the way, rolled to his knees and continued to fire. It followed him unfazed by the bullets slamming into its body. It shrieked and took a swing at him again. He rolled away and climbed to his feet.

The creature stepped toward him, stalking him. He moved around the room, trying to get away from the beast at the same time attempting to get a better lock on it. He positioned himself between two bodies still hanging from the ceiling. He aimed at the creature's head and pulled the trigger. The creature screamed and stumbled back. He smiled and continued with the onslaught.

The monster swung, hit the body he stood beside, and sent him flying across the room. He hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from him. He moaned, pain shooting through him. He took a deep breath and winced.

Rodney opened his eyes, saw the monster move toward him, then pushed himself to his feet. He aimed his P-90, but the gun clicked. Cursing, he tossed it aside and went for his 9mm.

"Lot of good this is going to do." He aimed it up at the monster, but the creature grabbed him as if he were a doll. He stared into the thing's green eyes and his heart sank. Grief tore through him as images of Elizabeth flashed before him.

The creature's mouth fell open showing rows of jagged sharp teeth. Self-preservation shoved the grief away and sent his body into overdrive. He aimed his weapon at the monster's face and opened fire. It screamed and dropped him. He landed hard on his legs. A bone snapped in his leg and he cried out. He curled around it and took several deep breathes. The monster screamed above him, but he didn't care. He couldn't move and he wanted this to be over.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth."

The screaming stopped and Rodney chanced to look up. The beast stood above him, it long fingers flexing, ready to grab him. He groaned and rolled over onto his back. He aimed his gun at the fiend's face and opened fire. It stumbled back, lost its balance and fell on its back.

"Ha! Take that." He pushed himself to his feet and hobbled over to the monster. It attempted to get to its feet, but he emptied his weapon into the thing's head. Blood sprayed everywhere, but he ignored it. The noise stopped, leaving the room in silence.

Rodney stared at the creature, waiting for it to move. A click echoed through the room, but he didn't hear it. He didn't move. He continued to stare at the creature, images of Elizabeth flowing in his mind.

"I miss you."

A hand fell on his shoulder and he jumped. He spun, aiming his gun.

"Whoa! Rodney, it's me. John. What the hell happened in here?"

Rodney blinked. Sheppard stood in front of him, his hands in the air. Teyla and Ronon stood behind Sheppard with equal expression of concern on their faces. He relaxed and lowered his gun. He closed his eyes, releasing a long sigh.

"It was Elizabeth."

"We know."

He looked at Sheppard. "What?"

"Let's get out of here." Sheppard patted him on the back and pushed him toward the open door. He stumbled and gasped at the pain shooting up his leg. Sheppard placed Rodney's arm around his neck and helped him toward the door.

"Let's erase this place's address from the database. I don't want to ever come back."

Sheppard laughed. "You'll get no argument from me."

Rodney looked back at the door he'd just come through. The body of the monster was gone and the bloody room disappeared before his eyes. The door slammed causing all of them to jump. They stared at the door, but Rodney had enough.

"Let's get out of here before something else shows up."

"No problem there." Sheppard led the way through the house back to the street.

The fog hadn't lifted, but commented. Monsters didn't attack them as they made their way to the forest. Rodney didn't question why, he was just glad to be free of this town.

END