My Despair
Disclaimer: Only my stuff is mine.
A/N: Despite the title, not too angsty, I swear! I don't wanna give anything away…but, not all is as it seems in this story. LOL.
ENJOY!!!
The rain beat down hard on the dark landscape; the only light coming from the huge, primitive bonfires lining the rough outdoor passageway. Lightning cracked the sky and thunder rocked the ground.
"Jack!" Daniel screamed from his position near one of the fires. "Jack! You have to say it!" Daniel and Teal'c were tied together; forced to watch the horrid scene play out.
Jack tried to answer, but the large, claw-like hand wrapped around his neck allowed him no breath. His toes barely brushed the ground as the large alien lifted him easily by the vice grip on his throat. Jack desperately wanted to shout what they wanted to hear. The three little words that would save them.
That would save her.
Sam was on her knees in the muddy field, dangerously close to the fire. The flames cast a harsh orange glow over her terrified features; blue eyes turning gold in fire and fear. Another alien had a multi-jointed arm wrapped around her abdomen, making sure she couldn't escape.
The alien's claw-hand was hovering dangerously above her exposed neck, poised to cut.
"Carter…" Jack's desperate, ragged whisper was whipped away on the icy wind.
He had to say it! He had to tell her! It's what they wanted…they would let her go if he just said the three damn words that had defined his relationship with Sam for years.
If he didn't…they would kill her.
"Sir, don't! Don't say anything!" Sam yelled, defiant of the danger she was in.
She wouldn't let him do this. She wouldn't let him ruin his career…his life…just to save her.
"Jack! They'll kill her!" Daniel yelled, glasses askew, flames too close to his boots. "Stop being such a stubborn son of a bitch and just say it!" His eyes darted from Jack to Sam in panic.
'I can't!' Jack screamed in his head, willing the words to come out of his mouth. 'I would do anything! Please…please! Just let me say it!' He thrashed violently against the alien, but the creature only smile a wide-toothed, carnivorous smile and squeezed tighter.
Knowing that Jack wouldn't be able to speak, the alien's eyes narrowed and his lips curled smugly, tightening its grip even more. Jack's breath held in his lungs and his desperate voice caught in his throat. He tried to extricate himself…but it was no use.
He had failed. Three small, small words…
At that moment, Jack's eyes held Sam's and he knew.
Her eyes were wide and terrified. There was a glassiness to them that could only mean one thing.
Tears.
But, there was also resignation. She knew too. She knew there would be no miracle getaway. This was it.
She would die.
And it would be all his fault.
The tears falling unchecked from Jack's eyes were lost in the rain. Sam's eyes slipped shut and Daniel shouted. Teal'c had joined in the younger man's screams for release, but to no avail.
Jack watched the claw descend in slow motion. He screamed frantically, but his windpipe was being crushed and no sound came. The claw cut into her skin and dragged. Blood spurted, spraying across the ground, mixing with the mud and hissing in the fire.
'No!' Jack raged against his captor. Darkness blurring his vision, he barely registered Daniel and Teal'c's screams as they were set aflame. Jack tried to reach for Sam and his fingers brushed her hair as blackness claimed him.
'I love you.'
Those three little words…and he could have saved them all.
A/N: Let me know what you think! The next chapter's a bit confusing, so bear with me.