Silenced Screams
By
Zhaan
Chapter One
Explanation of symbols and codes used in the story:
Italic writing indicates thinking. A though someone had.
Flashback will always be in Italic.
Janet continued to putter around the kitchen, doing busy work. The coffee was already brewing and a pot set on the stove warming soup for later. Everything taken care of, she had plenty of time for her mind to wander. Wander what exactly was going on? What had happened? How it had happened? All good questions and all questions I'm afraid to hear the answers to. It was a sure bet that none of the answers will be good. I feel like I'm standing at the very beginning of a nightmare and I'm totally powerless to prevent it from happening. And it will be a nightmare, that much I'm sure of, the only unknown, just how bad the nightmare's gonna be, and what scars it with leave us all with when this is over.
It should've been a fun evening. Our regular 'girl's night out' at O'Malley's. It had started with just two or three women meeting to blow off a little stream after working all week in an almost totally male dominated mountain. As time past more and more of the women of the SGC heard of the gathering and slowly our numbers grew. What had been just the occasional night here and there became the high point to many of women's week. A chance to dress up and go out and be treated like a lady one evening a week made it easier to give over the rest of our lives to being just one of the guys.
More often than not I'd have to pull Sam away from some test or experiment she'd gotten engrossed in and lost all track of time. But since she was on downtime and barred from the base she wouldn't be able to use that as an excuse. As a matter of fact when we'd talked Friday evening she'd seemed excited to actually have the time to let her hair down for a change. Which was why, I guess, I was a little disappointed when she didn't show. Surely she hadn't forgotten. But she wasn't answering her phone, oh well, maybe she's on her way.
After all the designated drivers had loaded their happy passengers up for the night I decided to drop by Sam's to see just what great threat to earth's security had held her up this time. Besides, her house was closer and Cassie was staying the night with friends. So after I've read her the riot act for not showing up, I can just crash there for the night. And that happy thought lasted until I reached the front door of Sam's house.
The door was unlocked. At 0230 Sam's front door was unlocked. Not good. Not good at all. I might be an Air Force Officer, but I'm no soldier, I'm a doctor. If Sam was in there I needed to go in , but if someone had broken in then I'd be of no use to her inside. A million different thoughts raced through my head in under a second as I tried desperately to decide which move to make. Slowly moving back down the front steps and behind the brush at the corner of her house I searched blindly through my purse until my hand finally came upon my cell phone. I might not know what to do, but I knew who did. I could trust he'd always make the right decision in situations like these.
"O'Neill." Came the gruff greeting.
"Colonel, I'm at Sam's and her house is unlocked. She was suppose to go out with us, but was a no show. Now her house is open." I whispered trying to give him all the information I had as quickly as possible while squatting behind the brush in the deep snow. From anyone else there would have been a string of questions, a few minutes to come fully wake and process what was being said. From him it went from sound asleep to alert and full soldier mood between one breath and the next.
"Your position secure?" Was the only response he gave.
"Yes Sir." I replied starting to shake from the cold.
"Stay down and call me back on my cell in five. I'll be there in ten."
And the line went dead. Watching the hands on my watch slowly creep to the five minute mark I quickly dialed his cell number. He answered on the first ring.
"Less than five out, still secure?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Good, stay on the line and watch for me. I'll park at the end of her block."
True to his words four minutes later a shadow separated from a stand of brushes in the next yard as he made his way closer to the house. Making sure he saw me, he motioned for me to hold my position while he investigated. He moved without making a sound, blending with every shadow and slowly moved onto the porch and silently into the house. After only a few seconds I heard him give the all clear and I raced in to find my answers.
It only presented more questions.
The house looked…like it always looked. Not a piece of paper out of place. Sam's laptop still in her briefcase sitting on the couch and a half empty glass of water sitting on the counter. As I moved deeper into the house I met the Colonel coming from the other end where he had completed his search.
"Bed's been turned back, but no sign it's been slept in. And looks like her pajamas are laid out in the bathroom. Tub is full of water but it's cold now." He continued rattling off everything he'd found.
"I'm gonna search the neighborhood…you stay here…lock the doors…she may just be out somewhere."
He didn't sound any more convinced than I felt at that last comment. But I guess before we panic and called in a full search it was wise to check it out. Being a doctor I should be use to playing the waiting game, but…'Sam where are you?' He was gone for over an hour…a very long hour. But finally I hear a knock at the back door. Even though I had been hoping for his return I almost jumped out of my skin at the sudden loud noise. Seeing the Colonel's face through the window I hurried to open the door for him. I could see the bundle in his arms was Sam. 'Thank God.'
"Sam, are you alright? Colonel is she alright? Where'd you find her?" I continued rattling off questions as I followed him back to her bedroom.
"She's half froze to death. I found her down the alley out back." He told me as he gently placed her on the foot of her bed. She was starting to come around and was now violently shaking and teeth chattering.
"Hot shower. We need to get her body temp up…this looks like early stages of frost bite. Sam can you hear me? Do you know where you are? We need to get you into the shower to warm you up. Do you think you can manage that…do you need help? All I got from her was a nod that she could handle it. First things first. Get her body temp back up and something warm in her. She seem to be coming out of what ever trance she'd been in. Where a few minutes ago the Colonel had been fully in charge, now he stood unsure of his next move. Feeling the same way I had earlier.
"Colonel could you please get my bag from the car. I'll examine her as soon as we take care of warming her up. We both left the room as Sam began slowly removing her shoes. While the Colonel went to retrieve my medical bag I went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee and heat up a can of soup.
Janet was shaken from her musing by the bloodcurdling screams coming from Sam's bedroom. Jack had just walked back in with Janet's medical bag when Sam let fly a scream to wake the dead.
Even though Janet was closer, somehow Jack made it to Sam first. What he found froze him to his spot, framed in the doorway to Sam's bedroom.
