The carriage passed field after filed of crops as it approached the large plantation house at the center of several dirt roads. Slaves worked the fields tirelessly, their backs bent and glistening with sweat when bare and stained when clothed, cloth clinging to muscled frames. Slave drivers strolled the gravel roads on horseback, whips coiled and ready at their sides as they watched the slaves. Waves of heat shimmered, distorting the view of the fields and Teyla shook her head incredulously, anxiety gnawing at her gut. “How could they treat others like this?”
Ronon watched a young boy help his mother harvest a crop of fruit, his face grimy and shining with sweat, and then slowly shook his head. “Even the Wraith don’t do this.”
She exhaled nervously, glancing at the way they’d come. “We must attempt to get word out to Colonel Sheppard as soon as possible.”
“I agree,” Ronon said as the carriage ground to a halt beside several poorly-maintained wooden shacks and waiting slave drivers. The men strolled up to the carriage after it halted. The gate was opened and the five were ushered out in a line. Ronon and Teyla were at the back of the column and as soon as the carriage was vacated it continued on to bear the blue bonnet woman to the large house.
“Form a line,” one of the drivers was drawling as he paced, cradling a prod and sounding bored. “Follow me.”
Ronon let Teyla step before him so that he could watch over her from behind. The driver led the line to the back of one of the buildings where what was once a small fire was smoldering and two other drivers were waiting. Their leader lazily turned, halting the shackled group, then in his husky voice called out, “Who’s first?”
No one moved and the woman Teyla and Ronon had spoken to back at the auction was whimpering. The lead driver spat then looked at Ronon under the brim of his hat. The Satedan met his gaze, looking impassively down at the shorter man. The driver stroked his dark mustache then nodded his head towards him. “You look like trouble. You go first.”
Ronon glanced around at the armed drivers as they stepped forward and grabbed the chains on his wrists. He stepped with them easily, searching the scene for some clue as to what to expect. His heart rate quickened as he watched a driver languidly pull the handle of a glowing brand out of the smoking embers and turn to face him. Ronon immediately yanked back, jerking the two drivers with him, making them stumble as he tried to escape the man advancing upon him with a brand.
The lead driver hollered and the two struggling with the Satedan kicked the back of his legs until they forced him to his knees. One yanked his wrists forward, straining his elbow joints as two others held him in place by his shoulders and hair. Teyla’s eyes widened as the man with the brand approached him, rattling her own chains as she struggled to restrain her desire to fight off the drivers. Ronon ground his molars together and growled in frustration as he tried to shove against the hands restraining him.
He howled a scream as the man with the brand yanked his top to the side and pressed the hot end to the back of his shoulder. Smoke rose with the Satedan’s yowls as the brand was removed, leaving a blood red mark the shape of an S with two triangles angled off the sides, like a winged snake. Ronon’s scream tapered into a squeaky gasp after the scalding metal was removed. His shoulders sagged as the drivers released him, shoving him forward before pouring a ladleful of water onto his new wound then letting him alone to cringe and shiver while they yanked Teyla forward.
She weakly resisted, knowing it was futile and attempting to steel herself against the coming onslaught of pain. Ronon squeezed his eyes shut as Teyla screamed a primal cry of agony. She managed to silence herself as her wound was doused with water before she was allowed to stumble to Ronon’s side. Her hair was in her face as she hunched, panting, but when she looked up to his gaze and he saw the stubborn determination of her brown eyes, he was reassured by her graceful strength.
The sun soon set and the two were subjected to a disgraceful examination where each was prodded by the drivers’ hands to assess their health. Night had fallen and the temperature was dropping by the time they were unshackled and shoved into their sleeping quarters. Teyla caught onto Ronon as the door was locked behind her. He reached out a hand to steady her, glancing at the pale outline of the door then turning to face the darkness of the building. The deep breathing of a dozen slumbering bodies echoed and the two hesitated in moving, not wanting to step on anyone in the dark. Through the cracks in the planks of the wall they could discern that the dirt floor on the end was unoccupied They slowly made their way along the wall to the edge of the building.
Easing into a sitting position in the dirt, Ronon looked out of one of the cracks, his breath clouding before him. All he could see beyond a trodden path were the stalks of the crop bordering their sleeping quarters. Teyla sighed as she sat down beside him, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ears and wincing as the movement made her shoulder throb. A hound trotted by outside and Ronon pulled away from the crack, looking to Teyla. He could barely discern her arm in the moonlight shed by the cracks in the plank wall. “How’s your shoulder?” he whispered.
She glanced to his silhouette. “It still pains me greatly, but it will heal. And yours?”
He sighed. “Same.”
She glanced around, barely able to discern the sleeping forms of her fellows. She looked back to her teammate. “Do you think John will be able to find us here?”
Ronon shook his head. “I don’t know. I hope so.” He paused as someone stirred in their sleep then leaned in closer to Teyla so that he could speak more quietly. “We might not even be on the same planet as the one we were darted on.”
She exhaled, rubbing her neck where the dart had struck her a day or so ago. “I am not even certain that I know how much time has passed.”
“Neither am I.” His eyes searched the roof but he could only see a few shafts of pale light. “But I’m sure not keen on the idea of serving another again.”
Teyla nodded in understanding, lost in thought. “I feel we must endure until Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay find us.”
He groaned lightly as he lay down on his left side with his back to the wall since his right was burnt. “Let’s hope that’s soon.”
“I agree,” she breathed as she lay down beside him, also on her left side.
The two fell silent, the breathing of the others in the quarters lulling them into a fitful sleep. Yet the temperature continued to drop until there was a light coating of frost outside. Ronon cracked his eyes open, shivering lightly. Teyla was still beside him and the moonlight on her shoulder revealed that she was quivering. He knew that they would need all of their strength to face whatever unknown trials the next day held, so he shrugged off propriety and closed the distance between them, pressing his body against the back of hers and wrapping his arms around her middle. Their combined body heat soon began to warm him and his shivering slowly abated.
Teyla’s soft, “Thank you” surprised him for he had thought she was asleep.
Closing his eyes, he rested his forehead against the back of her head, sighing as sleep finally became obtainable.
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