InsaneJournal

Who: Rodney McKay and open
Where: The southern shore of the lake
What: Rodney wakes up and catches his barrings
Rating: TBA, probably PG
Status: Ongoing, open


Headache. The first thing he noticed in the waves of blacks and reds was the damned rhythmic pounding at his temple. And god wasn't that just something he needed to start his day? Except--he gave a groan and it took a few good seconds, a solid amount of time before his brain started catching up with his senses. Soft soil beneath him, the stench of dirt and a breeze that tugged and drifted lazily at his hair and clothes. The man gingerly lifted his head, blinking away the confusion as his gaze narrowed blearily in on his surroundings. Not the comfort of his prescription mattress. No awards decorating his desk or the soft lull of the ocean around the great city of Atlantis to tempt him back into sleep. No nothing and it was only after a few more precious seconds did McKay really, truly begin to realize his situation. He wasn't home. He wasn't in Atlantis anymore.

His heart leapt dangerously into his throat as he scrambled, now suddenly like a man on fire, to his feet, jerking and looking wildly around him, awarding the man nothing but a head rush and a deeper sense of panic. What had happened? Where was he? The last he remembered -- he frantically tried to search his foggy mind, tried to clear it out just enough to pick it all out, but last he could recall he'd been at his desk in Atlantis, working on some late night simulations to control power fluctuation in the ZedPM. Had he gone off world? Was he-- and the scientist made to touch at the back of his head -- was he concussed? Did he lose his memory? There was no other logical explanation but he felt fine, and now his heart was really pounding, did that mean anything though? Sometimes people felt just fine before keeling over from an injury due to adrenaline rushing through their system. Was he seconds away from just that?

In a panic Rodney reached to his ear to tap on his headset, something he should've done already by now, only to find nothing there, already starting with a, "Sheppard, come in--" before stopping. The man blinked, patting at the area where the radio had once been before patting down his vest in search of a more bulky one. But nothing there either. Oh no. His heart sank. No, no, no, no. He could not be stranded on his own god knew where without communication or any idea of how to get back. This could not be happening. Thoughts and images of being stuck, trapped here in god knew where flew through his mind, dying hungry and alone on some god forsaken planet without help or contact. And he tried to calm down, tried to keep from allowing the images to overwhelm him before his eyes fell on some of his gear lying at the base of a withering oak towering overhead nearby...along with what was unmistakably blood. Rodney had seen enough of the splatter of distinct rusted red to know as much. What the hell? What was this? Was that his blood? Again he felt all around his head, pressing fingers beneath his scraggly hair, patted down his body but got nothing.

It seemed awfully fresh though. Had someone been here, wounded, and just left him? The colonel maybe?

His heart continued to pound dangerously in his throat.

Or possibly Wraith? Or something else more sinister. McKay wasn't sure what gave him the impression that there could be anything on this planet or any other in the galaxy more terrifying or downright horrifying than the Wraith, creatures that sucked the very life from your screaming bones, but for some reason, in that moment, something tugged and dragged at his heart in dread as though maybe there was.

He swallowed uneasily. Okay. There was no time to panic or get squeamish. "Just have to gather my things and...and...oh damn it, who am I kidding! This is hopeless! Absolutely hopeless!" The man winced, mind spinning hard. What would Sheppard do in this situation? It was all he had to latch onto, and while not his proudest moment, the lt colonel was damned good at these kinds of things. McKay wasn't, he was good at a hell of a lot of things, too much to properly count, but being stranded with nothing but a few powerbars, MREs, and some ammo with no gun available was not one of them.