"I've always hated mazes – especially ones made out of corn."
"What makes you think this is a maze?"
"I'm pretty sure we've been down this way before," Jack grumbled, absently hitting out at the stalks as he passed. "That, and the fact that I'm pretty sure we're lost."
"We're not lost, Sir, we've just – wandered slightly off-track."
She stopped as Jack swung the flashlight in her direction. "Wandered slight – Carter –"
"Well, I'm sorry if I didn't make a note of where I was going, Colonel, but I was too busy being chased by – something!"
Jack's brow rose in surprise at Sam's tone. "Is that insubordination I hear, Major?"
"I'm sorry, Sir, I just – my head feels –"
Immediately, Jack reached out to stop Sam walking any further. He pulled her towards him, concern etched over his face as he took another look at her. He already felt guilty for making her travel so far with a head injury.
"How does the head feel?"
"Fuzzy."
Jack resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of all the words his theoretical astrophysicist had at her disposal, and she offered fuzzy.
"Care to elaborate on that, Carter?"
"I feel a little – disorientated – but I don't think it's the injury, Sir." He caught a flicker of embarrassment before Sam averted her gaze. "It's almost as if I've been given those really strong painkillers Janet keeps in the infirmary."
He frowned. "You think we've been drugged?"
"I don't think so, Sir," she replied. "But that's how I feel."
He let her words sink in. The more he thought about it, the more his mind also felt fuzzy. He had thought it was because of the exertion he had put on his body as he'd tried to outrun the enemy, but the feeling he was left with didn't feel like his usual adrenaline rush.
"You said you were being chased."
"Yes, Sir."
"What do you think it was?"
"I don't know. An animal, maybe?"
"Fast and tall? Made a weird shrieking noise?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Yeah," he sighed. "I'd one on my tail too. It –"
The rest of his sentence was suddenly cut off as a loud crackle filled the air, followed by a distorted scream. He couldn't see any threat, but the disturbance was enough for Jack to make a decision.
"Crap."
Without thinking, he grabbed Sam's arm. "We've gotta move, Carter, now!"
He felt like they had been running for hours. He could no longer hear any unusual sounds, but he didn't want to take the risk, so – after checking with Sam that she was still feeling okay – they had agreed to keep making tracks for a while longer. The more distance they could put between themselves and the enemy was always an advantage.
As they moved forward, still unaware of where they actually were, Jack found his eyes continually straying to his second-in-command. She had stumbled a couple of times already and, from what he could see, there was fresh blood on her face. He was just about to tell her to stop when the labyrinth that had encircled them suddenly vanished and the couple found themselves in an open field.
"Well, this is unexpected."
No longer hearing anything out of the ordinary, the officers shared a look and continued walking as they waited for their sight to adjust to the new surroundings. It was still quite dark, and as he swivelled the flashlight towards Sam, Jack saw her pointing to something in the distance. Following her gaze, he saw a looming silhouette of what looked to be a large fortress.
"Sir, do you think those are the ruins the locals showed us?"
He shrugged in response. "Let's go find out."
As always, Jack mused, Samantha Carter was right. They were the same ruins the team explored previously. The locals had told them about the structure over dinner on their first night on PCZ-3R2 and had offered to accompany them to the site the following day. The ruins were from a castle, medieval in its design, and located approximately seven klicks from the village –around ten from the gate – and while Jack had said the escort wasn't necessary, their concern was waved off before the elders started to share the history of the building in question. It turned out that it was originally a fortress that belonged to the Goa'uld Sekhmet. Jack's senses were immediately on alert at this piece of intel, but after being assured that the Goa'uld had long since left the planet, he felt himself relax slightly – until Daniel had revealed that 'Sekhmet' was said to be an alternative manifestation of Hathor. Even though Jack knew she was dead, her name still sent a shiver down his spine, but as they'd found no evidence that she'd left anything behind, he had tried to push his unease aside and let the archaeologist do his job.
Now, as he came to a stop in front of the fortress, Jack sighed when he remembered that he hadn't even had a chance to ask Daniel about his findings. The place was in darkness, everything eerily still. He found a gap in one of the structure's outer walls and stepped inside the ruins, using the flashlight to assess the immediate area. Satisfied that they were alone, he helped Sam inside.
"We're going to need some light in here."
"Is that wise, Sir?"
"Probably not," he admitted. "But I gotta check that head of yours, Carter. I can't do that in the dark."
"Yes, Sir."
She went to move, but a sharp "Ah!" stopped her.
He waited for a beat to make sure that she actually followed his order before he started looking for a light source. Fortunately, there were a number of wooden staves secured in metal fixtures along one of the walls with each end of the stave wrapped in material, so sending up a silent prayer that they would ignite, Jack fished out the small lighter he always kept in his pocket.
As the room was slowly thrown into a warm orange glow, both Jack and Sam observed their surroundings. The room provided them with protection, but it didn't seem to be the most structurally secure. Deciding it would have to do for now, Jack pointed to a large stone bench in the far corner. He straddled the bench and ordered Sam to take a seat. Her knees brushed against his as she mirrored his stance and he had to force himself to focus on the task at hand. The blood had started to matt in Sam's hair and he grimaced.
"This might hurt a little, Carter."
She nodded and took a deep breath as the Colonel started to carefully examine the wound. After hitting a particularly sensitive spot, he apologized, only vaguely registering that Sam's hands were now resting on his thighs, the pads of her fingers digging into his legs. He tried to clean the cut as best he could and swore softly when he remembered that he had no medical supplies.
"It's OK, Sir. If the bleeding's stopped, it can wait until the morning."
Reluctantly, Jack nodded because he knew they had no other option – unless he had a quick look around the fortress to see if there was anything he could use as a bandage. He weighed up his options and after checking that Sam had a weapon, just incase she needed it, he left to see if he could find any supplies.
Using one of the torches, Jack used it to light a series of others along the corridor and a few in the other rooms too. Most of them were empty and dilapidated; nothing that would suffice for Carter's injury. He went to call Sam on the radio when the sound of a door slamming caught his attention.
He placed the torch into one of the fixtures and made his way towards the door. It was faint, but he could make out the form of two figures at the far end of the corridor. They seemed to be communicating, but as hard as Jack tried, he couldn't understand what they were saying. Like the screams from earlier, everything was contorted. He ducked back into the room when the creatures split up, taking one room each, and he panicked – they would soon reach Carter and he had no way to warn her without being noticed. He had no time to worry, however, as a squeal suddenly pierced the silence.
It was Carter.
Without hesitation, Jack slipped into the corridor and broke into a light jog. Just ahead of him, one of the creatures stepped into view and Jack instinctively flattened himself against the wall. His hand trailed down his leg and he felt the zat press against his thigh. He slipped it from its holster and crept forward. When he was sure he was within range, he fired and watched as the creature fell to the floor.
Jumping over his target, Jack entered the room where he'd left Carter and found her alone. He knelt in front of her, ignoring the protests of his knees, and checked for any injuries.
"Y'alright, Carter?"
He shifted his weight and slowly helped her to sit up. When he didn't receive an answer to his question, he leaned closer. "Sam?"
She looked surprised to see him and he frowned. "Are you hurt?"
"No, I don't – no. When I screamed, the creature – it – backed away."
"I'm guessing that's the one I shot," Jack supplied with a quick glance over his shoulder. "We should probably move, incase it wasn't alone."
Sam nodded and ran a hand through her hair but winced as she remembered the cut on her head.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she replied, glancing around the room. "I just – it's nothing."
"It's not nothing if it's bothering you, Carter. Spill."
"I'm just – I'm just a little freaked out."
In the dim light of the room, Jack could pick out her embarrassment at the admission and cast another look over his shoulder. Despite the seriousness of their situation he tried not to grin. His voice betrayed him, however, when he spoke, the words escaping before he could stop them.
"My Carter is 'freaked out'?"
"Your Carter, Sir?"
"Uh – I mean – well, yeah. You're a member of my team. So… you're my Carter."
He heard a soft laugh escape Sam and he nudged her knee with the back of his hand.
"What's going on in that head of yours?"
"I don't know, Sir. Everything just feels – off. Like we're missing something. Something important."
"We're missing Daniel and Teal'c."
He wasn't lying. They were missing their teammates – not just physically, but emotionally as well. Jack liked to keep his team together as much as he could off-world and particularly when trouble was involved. It was his responsibility to make sure that he kept them all safe and brought them all home again in one piece, but until he knew where Daniel and Teal'c were on the planet – and that they were okay – he wouldn't be able to settle.
"C'mon," he whispered. "We'll find another room to crash in."
He had just helped her to her feet when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
"Get behind me, Carter," he murmured.
Slowly, he turned and saw another of the creatures standing in the doorway. Instinctively, Jack – who still had Sam's hand in his –pulled her behind him to try and shield her from its view. Glancing to his right, Jack saw his zat lying on the ground, out of reach. He thought about diving for the gun, but was worried that the enemy would attack over any sudden movement, so, he stayed still and hoped it would appease the threat. As if the creature could read his mind, it took one, slow step forward. Automatically, Jack retreated a step, his back pressing against Sam's chest for a second before she followed his action.
One step forward.
One step back.
It was only when Sam hit the wall that their hunter released a low, guttural sound and Jack frowned at the noise. It almost sounded like –
"Sir? It knows our names."
"Yeah, I know, Carter. Ssh," he whispered.
Without warning, another noise filled the room, right before a bolt of blue electricity surrounded them both.
