Read SGA-13 Hunt and Run for Free Online Page B

instant. Perfect.
    Then he selected a clump of trees, took up a stance behind them, and waited.
    As he’d suspected, it didn’t take long. Ten, perhaps twenty minutes passed and then he heard heavy footsteps approaching from the front. They weren’t the stranger’s either — he had moved through the trees without a sound.
    And there had been only one of him.
    Ronon took a quick glance around the tree, pulling back smoothly so no sudden movement would tip them off, and frowned. Three Wraith were rapidly approaching his hiding place. He could feel his blood heat up at the sight of them, with their pale green skin and long white hair.
    Two of them wore heavy, segmented armor chestplates and strange ridged helmet-masks that completely covered their faces. They carried bulky rifles, the wide stock taking up most of the weapon’s length, a glowing energy beam visible through its center. They were soldiers, warriors, and Ronon had faced their kind back on Sateda. They were powerful but slow and not clever. Armed as he was, taking out both of them would not pose a problem, not even in his current state.
    The one in front of them, however, was slighter in build and moved more easily, almost catlike in his grace. He wore a long, flowing black jacket and pants rather than armor, and his head was bare, exposing his pallid features and yellow eyes and strange facial slits. His long pale hair hung over his shoulders and midway down his back, and he carried a small pistol of some sort in one hand. That one would be the dangerous one, Ronon knew. His eyes were everywhere, darting from tree to tree, searching. He was a commander, and he would be far more intelligent and resourceful than his two companions.
    Ronon targeted him first.
    He leaned out from behind the tree and snapped off a quick shot. His pistol flashed red, firing a matching red beam that struck the lead Wraith square in the chest. The creature staggered but did not fall, and its mouth opened into a wide grin, revealing all its sharp teeth.
    “Ah, the prey bites back!” It called out, looking directly at Ronon despite the tree between them. “Good, I enjoy a more spirited contest. Come out and face me, Ronon Dex of Sateda!” Its grin spread. “Or did all the true men of your world die when we attacked?”
    Ronon knew it was a deliberate goad but that couldn’t stop him from rising to the bait. “The last real man of Sateda is here,” he snarled, stepping away from his cover and presenting himself to the three Wraith. “Come and see what kind of spirit I possess!”
    The Wraith eyed him up and down. “Indeed I shall.” It did not gesture or speak to its companions, but they raised their rifles as one and sighted on Ronon. “Run now and I will give you a moment’s head start, to make this more sporting.”
    Ronon shook his head. “I’m done running.” He fired on the warrior to the left, but the blow glanced off its heavy chestplate. “And this isn’t a sport to me.” He aimed for the commander again, but this time the Wraith sidestepped the crimson bolt.
    “Your choice,” it said with a hint of disappointment, raising its own weapon. “But I had hoped for a bit more entertainment first.”
    Then it shot him.
    Ronon’s body convulsed and he almost fell to his knees. Pain! The feeling was almost exactly like when the stranger had shot him, only not quite as intense, and he wondered about the pistol he now held. Where had the man gotten it, and why was its stun setting more powerful than the Wraiths’? Regardless, he managed to maintain his grip on the weapon and hefted it again. This time the Wraith commander was not expecting return fire, and took the hit square in the chest. It staggered back, smoke rising from the hole in its armored jacket.
    “You dare?” It growled, eyes narrowing. “For that I will flay you alive before draining your life from your bloody flesh!”
    And it sprang at him.
    Ronon managed to fire once more before the Wraith was