Work Text:
“Then where is he?” John all but screamed, gripping the back of the chair as he bent over to get in the sitting man’s face.
“I know not where, only that he is among you humans.” The human said in an unnaturally low voice smiled and the goa’uld inside made his eyes glow. “Without your treatment that prevents him from feeding.”
John’s blood went cold, he hadn’t even considered that, but his face stayed stormy. “Where. Is. He.”
The goa’uld leaned forward, grinning from ear to ear. “I don’t know.”
John slapped him on instinct. “Colonel!” General Landry yelled then other soldiers were on John, holding him back. John fought them until the goa’uld was led out of sight. He sagged, almost relaxing so much that the soldiers were the only things holding him up. They slowly let go and John swayed on his feet.
“We’ll find him.” The general said.
“We have to.” John growled. “Otherwise there’s going to be a very hungry wraith loose on Earth.”
^^^^^^^^^^
Todd kept to the shadows. He didn’t know where he was but he knew from the level of technology and the neon lights around him that he was most likely still on Earth. He rolled his shoulders, moving the hood over his head further forward, hiding his face. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of the jacket, balled into fists.
He’d been on the edge of his next treatment when he’d been transported here, and now he was a day past. Todd could feel the hunger beginning to return, coiling in the pit of his stomach like a snake, and it only served to sharpen his senses. He could feel every mind, hundreds, in his vicinity, see them moving in the night, smell their life.
Todd ducked into an alleyway, retreating from the street alive with the nightlife. He kept going until he came out the other side, a quieter street lined with cars and trees planted in sidewalk concrete prisons. Before he could step out, his hand burned like he’d touched something hot. Todd threw his back against the wall and brought his right hand out, clutching it in his left. The feeding slit was back, dark red against his green palm.
^^^^^^^^^^
“We can track the energy of their transport systems!”
“Calibrating the system would take too long! We are better rerouting power in the sensors to search for alien signatures!”
“Even if we drain the entire west United States, we’d never get enough energy for that!”
John pushed his way between Rodney and Zelenka, mostly staring at Rodney. “How about you stop arguing and DO BOTH?”
They both stared at him for a second before scuffling off their separate directions. John walked over to Keller, who was bent over her own lab. “Time table?”
“He was due for his next treatment three days ago.” She said. “By now, his feeding slit would have definitely come back and, I think, he’d be starting to feel the affects of starvation.” Keller looked at him with a cross between sadness and fear. “Knowing the goa’uld, he was probably transported to a heavily populated area.”
John nodded slowly. “He won’t feed.”
“He’s a wraith-“
“He won’t.” John said harsher. But he turned anyway and called to a lieutenant, “Tell…SOMEONE to look for news reports of a rapidly aged skeleton body thing. Signs of a wraith feeding.”
“Yes, sir.”
^^^^^^^^^^
Four days. He should not be starving this bad after four days. Todd looked down at the offending feeding slit but curled his fingers around it before going back to work. The radio already received the frequencies humans used for communication, all he needed was to get it to broadcast. Their military would be looking for him, must be.
Unless they weren’t. The thought made Todd pause but he shook it from his mind and continued his work. One way or another, they’d find him, either him relaying his location or the news reporting his meal. And the latter would only mean death, which is why he was now holed up in an abandoned building as far from people as he could stumble.
He worked by the light of the street lamp outside, his fingers moving quickly and deftly. His senses perked up at an echo but he ignored it until he heard hushed chatter and the laughter. There was someone in here with him.
^^^^^^^^^^
“We reconfigured the power supply to be compatible with the ZPM which should give us enough power to check large portions of the planet. But it will still take a few scans to get the entire thing.”
“Ok, do it.” John said. Zelenka nodded and started typing on the computer interface. John watched the monitor as life signs started popping up, first the western half of the North American continent, dots popping up up to a perfect sphere.
“Nothing.” Radek muttered. He typed again, changing coordinated, and the machine began its scan of eastern North America. “This may take awhile.”
“Just hurry.”
^^^^^^^^^^
Todd set the radio to the side and slowly got to his feet. He stayed in a crouch, knowing the floor was both unstable and loud, and slowly crept to the railing. The building was a square, main floor tall and open but there was a second floor perimeter that overlooked the main. Todd peered down at the moving lights. He knew he should leave but the hunger was so strong. It was becoming all he could think about and his fingers itched with the fantasy of their lives at his fingertips.
Quick and silent, he leapt the banister and dropped to the first floor. Their lights flipped around, laughter dropped away to scared whispers, but Todd was hidden by boxes. He peaked around them, momentarily blinded by a stray beam, and saw four children. They looked to be almost teenagers, about the age when a wraith lost the ability to eat and needed to feed instead.
Todd curled his feeding hand, pressing it against his side. No, he couldn’t do this. Shouldn’t. But he was so HUNGRY.
If he took them by surprise, he could get all four of them before any escaped and told the other humans where he was. Of course, they’d call him a monster, having never seen a wraith before, but a body would bring more humans regardless. Or he could wait in the shadows, wait for one to come close enough, then by the time the body was found, Todd would be long gone.
The humans swung their light around then headed for one of the doors, coming right for Todd’s hiding spot.
^^^^^^^^^^
“Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to go?” Major Lorne asked.
John clipped the vest around his chest and glared at Lorne. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“You’re a little, um, CONNECTED in this.”
“I’m still the ranking officer in this operation.”
“Colonel, sir with respect, Carter could lead this. Or O’Neill. Or there must be another of equal ranking that could do this.”
John knew Lorne was just trying to help but he couldn’t stop the anger that swelled through him. “No.”
“Sir, you haven’t exactly been the most RATIONAL-“
“LEAVE IT, Major.”
“Yes, sir.”
John grabbed his gun off the rack and walked out to the rest of the force. Ronon and Teyla were there, despite not being military, and the rest were either Atlantis or experienced SG personnel. Very few here had never seen a fully feral, starving wraith. They knew what to expect.
“If you see anything, stun first, ask questions later. It won’t hurt civilians and it’s better to shoot a bird,” Pointed look at Rodney, “then get yourself fed on.”
“Sir, isn’t this guy a friendly?”
John flipped his stunner on, watching the light flick on. Armed and ready. “Not right now. Ronon, I want you keeping an eye on Keller-“
“I can protect myself!” The Doctor spluttered.
“Just do it.” John said, not looking away from Ronon. His best friend may not agree with his relationship but he still knew how much this was hurting John.
Their vision turned white as they were beamed then they were standing in middle of an abandoned, dark warehouse.
^^^^^^^^^^
There was a sound from the corner and the entire team swung their weapons towards it, ready. John signaled quietly then began to creep forward. Teyla and an officer fell in behind him, swinging their own weapons to the sides as John kept his eyes in front of them. He rounded a crate, flashlight illuminating behind it, and two screams greeted him.
“We got kids!” He yelled over his shoulder then lowered his stunner to haul them to their feet. “Come on, follow me. What happened?”
At first they didn’t answer. Then one, in broken english and a thick accent, sounded out, “A beast. Taked our friend.”
John nodded. “Where?”
All three pointed up to the second floor. Perfect. John pushed the kids towards the officer. “Lieutenant, grab a second to go with you then get them out, Teyla, you’re with me.”
They crept up the stairs, John leading the way, Teyla watching behind them, occasionally glancing up. The second floor was barren, no crates, little debris. Probably where the higher ups and pencil pushers had worked. As soon as they were out of the stairwell, there was a growl from John’s right. Barely illuminated in the light from outside were two bodies. John swung his flashlight around.
Todd was on his side, growling weakly. A still-young looking kid was propped against the wall next to him. John and Teyla rushed to them. Teyla checked the kid’s pulse and nodded, then began to drag him away while John dealt with Todd.
He was shaking slightly, feeding hand hidden in a hoodie and tucked against his body pitifully. Todd hissed as John approached slowly then frowned and relaxed, his head lulling back.
“Sheppard.” He said weakly.
“Sh.” John rose his voice, calling down to the first floor. “Keller, we got him!” John looked back at Todd, tentative about reaching out to comfort him. Todd kept waxing between baring his teeth and snapping and laying down to look like he was accepting death. “Keller’s got your treatment. We’ll get you fed.”
“I cannot hold it back. I’m starving.”
“You didn’t feed on that kid. You can last a few more minutes.”
“Don’t taste good.”
“Was that a joke?” John forced a laugh. “Even dying, geez. Need a better sense of humor.”
“John.” Keller panted, dropping next to him.
“Careful.” Sheppard whispered, watching Todd’s eyes track her hungrily. He’d seen starving wraith, Todd was not acting much different.
Keller was quick to put together the serum and click it into the needle. Now John moved, pouncing on Todd to hold his arm down while Keller quickly injected him. They both retreated from the hissing and spitting wraith.
“So is he gonna go unconscious or calm down or…?”
“I have no idea.”
Still infuriated, Todd rolled to his feet then started running at them, feeding hand raised. John pulled the stunner from around his neck but a red pulse beat him to it and Todd dropped to the floor.
“I never saw you flip that to stun.” John said to Ronon.
Ronon shrugged. “I don’t usually remember which it’s on either.”
^^^^^^^^^^
Todd woke with a start. He wasn’t in the infirmary, nor that dark warehouse, or a hive ship. But there was a warm body next to him and Todd rolled into it, the beginning of a purr rumbling in his chest.
“Mm, good morning.” John mumbled. “Or noon. Night. I dunno.”
“Why am I here?”
“Cause you were unconscious. Keller said you could sleep it off here.” Todd looked at his hand, the movement waking John up the rest of the way. The feeding slit was gone again, the skin smooth and unbroken. John reached up and wove his fingers through Todd’s. “Said you’d wake up not feral. Hopefully.”
Todd chuckled. “And you fell asleep next to a hopefully not-feral wraith anyway.”
“Watched the slit close up, which was really gross, but knew you at least couldn’t feed on me.”
“I still have teeth.”
“Mm, not opposed to that as much. Was really worried.”
“I’m sure you bit off everyone’s heads.”
“I may have been a little short tempered.”
“Thank you.” Todd kissed John’s head, smiling into his hair. “I could not have held on much longer.”
“Yea, noticed.” John mumbled. He flung an arm across Todd’s waist before dozing off again.