Hope is a Waking Dream

Chapter 8

It took another week before Sheppard felt strong enough to walk around the small hut, and finally take his first few steps outside. The wound in his side was stubborn in healing, but with Renee's herbs and soup, he could feel himself returning to normal. It took a few days before she allowed him to eat solid food, and Gorav brought home various small animals that the old woman was a master at cooking. Sheppard had not eaten such good food since he was a first-year cadet in the Air Force Academy.

Gorav was a quiet man. Unlike his wife, he preferred silent companionship, and Sheppard was happy to sit with the man outside in the fresh spring air, watching the flowers blooming after the sudden frost. Gorav took Sheppard hunting once the pilot was strong enough, and Sheppard learned the best way to trap jorats - a distant cousin of the groundhog - and how to find edible plants, herbs and berries.

One day, while the two men were lying lazily side by side at the top of a grassy knoll, watching some small deer-like creatures' graze, Sheppard asked the question that had been burning in his mind since last encountering the Genii.

"Gorav, do you know if there's a Stargate on this planet?"

Gorav was silent for a few moments, chewing at a long piece of grass before throwing it away. "If you mean the Ring of the Ancients ... it is quite a journey from here. I know someone who has been there once. It took him two months walking." He looked Sheppard in the eye. "It is time for you to be leaving us?"

"Yes. I have to go back to my people," Sheppard replied. The thrill in his heart at hearing there was some escape from this planet raised his hopes. "You and Renee have been very kind to me, but I'm afraid the Genii will find me if I stay here much longer."

"I was very careful when I found you," Gorav said. "I'm not a boasting man, but no one can track me. I was the best hunter and tracker in the village where I come from. You are safe here."

"I appreciate that, but my people might be thinking I'm dead," Sheppard answered. "I need to get back home."

Gorav looked back down the hill at the deer, then pointed in the direction of the rising sun. "You will find the ring due east from here. You walk towards the morning sun. It is outside of this valley, across the stony desert, the Begadashii Mountains and through the tall forest. The trees there are tall and straight, not like these. Once you reach the tall forest, you will find an old stone path. That will lead you straight to the ring."

"Thank you," Sheppard replied gratefully, snagging a bit of sweet grass to chew. "I'll leave tomorrow."

"Renee will not be happy," the old man sighed.

"It's for the best." Sheppard looked down the hill and felt the thrill of hope rising.

"You remind her of our son."

The pilot looked at Gorav at the sudden comment. The sun sinking behind the trees started to cast a shadow over the man's face.

"The Genii killed him, four years ago. They took him away from the village, away from his wife and children. We don't know exactly what happened. We were told he had been killed but not why. They never gave us his body." The old man pushed himself to his feet. "You must be careful out there, John Sheppard. These Genii are ruthless. They will kill you if they find you."

"Believe me, I know," Sheppard said softly.

Renee fussed over Sheppard early the next morning. She had dressed him in sturdy trousers made of tanned hide, a vest and coat also made of hide, and had prepared a bag full of dried foods and a canteen of water. She folded a woollen blanket and added it to the bag, setting the gun and knives that Sheppard had been carrying on the table.

"It's a long journey, John Sheppard," she said, absently straightening the knives on the table then handing them to the pilot. "I hope you have enough food. Summer is coming. You should stay warm at night, but if you want another blanket, don't be afraid to ask."

"Renee, I'll be fine," Sheppard placed a hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eye. "I'm a soldier. I know how to survive."

"The Genii are still out there," she said gravely. "Gorav said he has seen them close by. They are still looking for you. We managed to hide you while you were sick when they knocked on our door, but it doesn't mean they won't try again."

"I'll be careful." Sheppard gave her his best lopsided grin. "They couldn't catch me before. I won't let them catch me now."

"And stay away from the villages," she said, brushing her hands on her dress as Sheppard tucked the knives into his belt. "You never know who will be Genii sympathizers."

Sheppard stepped outside the door, finding Gorav leaning against the fence surrounding the small compound. Renee stood in the doorway, wringing her hands nervously.

"Thank you both for your help," Sheppard said. "You have no idea how much I appreciate your kindness. When I get back home, I'll find a way to come back and visit."

"Go well, John Sheppard," Renee whispered.

Sheppard could see tears gathering in the old woman's eyes as she turned back inside the house. Gorav extended a hand to the pilot and echoed his wife's words. "Go well."

Sheppard gripped the man's hand and took a deep breath, the air smelling fresh and holding the promise of summer.

"Thank you, Gorav."

He turned into the forest and set his back on the old couple's house, heading east.

It took two days traveling east before Sheppard found the first sign of the Genii.

Two bodies lay shrivelled and fly ridden on the forest floor, a single bullet in each man's head. He didn't think that Gorav had shot them as the man didn't own a gun. He wondered who would kill the two men before moving on more cautiously.

Twelve days later, he found signs of a large camp. It had long ago been abandoned and he was certain that the Genii had camped here for a time before moving on. He was disturbed at the other signs he had seen in the forest as he moved cautiously through the trees. Bushes and long grass were hacked down, looking as though the search for the pilot had turned into a thorough combing of the forest floor. He suspected that they did not know how badly he had been injured and perhaps Jenar had turned the search for a live man into one for a dead body.

The signs showed that the search had headed from the camp towards the valley, and he hoped that they were still heading away from him as he continued his trek towards the east.

Sheppard was still cautious, knowing enough not to let his guard down, even if he believed the search was heading away from him. Jenar was too smart to not have all his bases covered, and with the numbers of those hunting him around a hundred men, it was possible to have eyes in all corners.

The forest stretched ever onwards, and Sheppard managed to move quickly through the never-ending trees, using his newfound knowledge from Gorav to find food, water and shelter. He found that he had adapted quickly to the planet's thin air and heavy gravity, and moved with a lighter step than when he had first arrived. The nights were cold and the days warm, and he was grateful for Renee's blanket. He wished several times that he had his sunglasses as the glare reduced his vision, despite the shade.

Moving quickly with a light, tireless stride, he covered many miles a day, hindered only by the fact that he was on high alert for any unnatural movement or sign of human life.

Fifteen days later, he was ambushed.