Enduring the Storm
Chapter 1
By Denny J
Jack's elation was short-lived as Daniel's eyes slid shut.
"Sir?" Carter hovered, voice shaking.
"He's alive." Jack could hear the rattling breaths, reassuring him Daniel was just unconscious. "We need to get him out of here, ASAP." Jack slipped off his BDU shirt and wrapped it around Daniel's torso.
"I will carry him, O'Neill."
"No, I've got him. You just clear a path." Teal'c was the best choice for that, besides, he was reluctant to let go of Daniel, even if it was to place him in Teal'c's capable hands.
With one hand under Daniel's shoulders, Jack slid his other arm under Daniel's legs and lifted, cursing at how much weight his friend had lost. He stood and faced Carter. "Watch our six, Major."
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Yes, sir."
"T—lead the way." Jack cradled Daniel closely, ignoring the festering wounds and the stench of unwashed flesh. This was Daniel, and he was alive.
He followed Teal'c back through the cells full of living corpses. Did they even feed these people? Or just leave them here to starve to death? The emaciated body in his arms was his answer.
"Sir." Carter had stopped and Jack turned back to her, following her gaze to a ragged figure chained to the floor, an outstretched hand held pleadingly towards her.
"Carter, they can't walk out on their own and we can't carry them all."
"But Daniel would—"
"I know what Daniel would want, but we can't—you know that." Did she really think he wanted to leave all these people here? He had to focus on saving Daniel—it was the only thing that would get him through this.
Carter swiped at her eyes again, turned towards him, pulled herself together, and nodded her agreement.
Jack resumed following Teal'c back through the second gate and into the storm of shrieks and moans and grasping hands. Teal'c used his staff to push back the press of gruesome bodies assailing them like B-movie zombies. What could any of them have done to deserve this?
Jack's foot slipped on the slime-covered stones and Carter reached out and steadied him. Daniel was undisturbed by the jerky motion, eyes still closed as his head rested against Jack's chest.
Teal'c continued to push his way through the wailing inmates, unperturbed by the pathetic pawing of skeleton-like hands. One gaunt body with sunken eyes pounced on a skittering rat, raising it to his mouth and sinking yellowed teeth into its flesh.
Behind him, Carter gagged.
Nerve-rattling minutes later, they reached the entrance to the prison where a mob of filthy bodies clung to the gate, arms reaching for freedom through the iron bars. Teal'c efficiently dislodged them with deft moves of his staff, punctuated by threats in his deep baritone. The inmates backed away in the face of the intimidating Jaffa.
Two Rastarian guards stood on the other side of the gate, spears leveled at them. Behind them, at the end of a short tunnel, was the outside gate, pale light beckoning them to freedom.
"Open up," Jack demanded.
"You have broken our laws," one of them stated flatly. "You may not leave."
Rage boiled in Jack's gut. They didn't have time for this crap. If their radios worked in this hellhole, they'd call in SG-3 who was holding the 'gate. The zombies were back, pressing in on Teal'c and Carter who were struggling to push them away.
Maybe they shouldn't…
"Teal'c, can you take care of that lock?"
Teal'c glanced at the locked gate and then at Jack, a small dip of his head indicating he was on board with Jack's plan. Carter got it, too, joining Jack to hunch over Daniel, protecting him.
With a swing of his staff weapon, Teal'c fired before the guards could react. They fell back as white-hot shrapnel flew towards them. When the smoke cleared, the gate stood ajar. The inmates immediately realized their freedom was at hand and rushed forward.
"Move!" Jack called, turning with Carter and slipping into the moving sea of filthy bodies.
The second gate was unlocked and its two sides easily swung open under the onslaught.
Clean, fresh air filled Jack's nose as he moved out of the pit of filth and misery and into the open. Teal'c fought to blaze a path through the fleeing inmates as they poured out of the prison. Many shielded their eyes against the bright sunlight while others fell to their knees in the soft grass.
Jack held Daniel close, protecting him from flailing arms that threatened to knock him out of his grasp. If they could just get clear and head for the Stargate. The inmates began to fan out and Jack veered to the left, following Teal'c. As the path in front of them cleared, he spotted more guards coming towards them, blocking their escape. Carter pulled up next to him, knuckles white where they gripped her P-90. Teal'c, too, stopped, his staff weapon leveled at the approaching Rastarians.
The crossbow-wielding troops stopped a few yards away, parting in the middle to allow several black-robed men to push to the front. There in the center, wearing the wide, red hat of his office, was the First Minister. Jack could see his bruised and swollen face from where he stood. This man would not keep them from getting Daniel home.
"Let us leave."
The First Minister pulled himself up to his full height and placed his hands on his hips. "You have broken our laws and must be punished."
A shadow fell across them, and Jack looked up to see dark, gray clouds rolling across the sky, covering the sun. He turned his attention back to the man blocking his way. "Not gonna happen."
"You attacked the First Minister," one of the other men said.
"And now you have released prisoners without authorization," the pompous First Minister added, waving a hand towards the fleeing mob.
Lightening flashed across the sky, followed by a clap of thunder. The Rastarians glanced upward before turning their eyes back to Jack and his team.
"Attempting to stop us would be unwise," Teal'c warned.
But that's just what they were going to do—Jack could tell they wouldn't back down. Couldn't have outsiders coming in and shaking things up. SG-1 was outnumbered, but better armed, yet he had his own arms full of an unconscious Daniel. Jack glanced down at his friend and was startled to see his eyes open.
"Daniel?"
There was no reply, but at least the storm had startled him awake—a good sign. Daniel continued to stare, unblinking, as thunder rolled, each clap crescendoing as the lightning flashed wildly, but no rain fell. The wind came up, blowing dust into Jack's eyes and making the Rastarians grab for their hats and duck their heads.
Carter held onto her cap and braced herself against the onslaught while Teal'c continued to stand, squinting, with his staff weapon pointed at the Minister.
Daniel seemed oblivious to the building storm, luminescent blue eyes staring upward. Jack could feel a steady heartbeat against his chest, reassuring him his friend was still alive.
A powerful gust of wind rushed across the field, sparing SG-1, but hitting the Rastarians with enough force to knock some of them down. A strike of lightning close enough to raise the hairs on Jack's neck finally sent the delegation running for cover, abandoning their confrontation with SG-1.
"Head to the 'gate!" Jack shouted over the tempest. They needed to get out of the open themselves.
Teal'c moved without hesitation, jogging for the path that led to the Stargate. Jack followed, moving as quickly as he dared with his precious cargo.
Carter was on her radio, trying to contact SG-3 to tell them to dial the 'gate. The wind howled as lightning continued to flash across the sky. The Rastarian contingency was nowhere to be seen—probably high-tailing it back to their city. A glance behind him showed inmates continuing to stagger out of the prison, and Jack felt some small satisfaction that at least a few of them would manage to elude capture.
Daniel's eyes were half-lidded now, only a sliver of blue visible as he lay limp in Jack's arms. Was he even aware of anything going on around him?
Jack carefully picked his way down the rocky path that led off the open plateau where the prison was situated. The 'gate wasn't far, set within a ring of tall trees on the outskirts of the town. Fortunately, it was on the opposite side of town from the Ministry building. Behind him, the thunder quieted as the storm quickly fell apart, allowing an occasional shaft of sunlight to peak through the clouds. He couldn't help thinking that it was a bizarre coincidence that the brief, but intense, storm had arrived just in time to aid in their escape.
"SG-3's holding the 'gate open," Carter called. With any luck, Daniel would be in Fraiser's hands inside of half an hour. Daniel may have lost weight, but Jack's arms were starting to burn, and there was a definite catch in his knee. Peachy. He steeled himself against the protests of his body—six weeks they'd left Daniel here; there was no way he'd let him down now.
They passed into the trees and quickly arrived at the 'gate. SG-3 had taken up defensive positions but relaxed when they spotted SG-1. The 'gate was open and waiting, its shimmering pool beckoning them.
"Almost home, Daniel" Jack whispered as they reached the steps of the 'gate platform. Without glancing back, he followed Teal'c into the wormhole.
~o~
Fraiser, flanked by her staff, was waiting next to a gurney at the base of the ramp. She sprang up the steps when she spotted Jack and began examining Daniel while they walked.
Daniel's eyes were closed as Jack laid him on the gurney, his muck-covered limbs in sharp contrast to the pristine white sheets. Jack was gently pushed back as Fraiser and her nurses swarmed over Daniel, checking vitals even as they began moving towards the 'gateroom doors.
Jack suddenly found Hammond at his side. "Colonel, what happened?"
Visions of the squalid prison and its inmates—barely recognizable as human—sent bile rising in Jack's throat. What Daniel must have endured…. "They reneged on the deal and wouldn't let Daniel go. They stuck him in a hellhole, chained him to the floor, and left him for dead."
"Good God." Anger flared red across Hammond's face. "Go—get checked out. We can debrief later."
"Yes, sir." Jack raced after the gurney, Carter and Teal'c on his heels.