It was early in the morning, the third day after O'Neill had found him. Bra'tac woke from his slumber which was a strange mixture of Kel'noreem and what the humans called sleep. For the first time since he had been hit he felt better.
His arm was still stiff and sore, but at least he could use it.
His side was still throbbing, but it felt much better.
Now his biggest concern was how to get back to the gate, with a lesser experienced human in tow. True the humans had proven themselves worthy, back on Chulak, when Teal'c had come to try and stop the priests from performing the Prim'ta on his son. Still, Bra'tac himself had been leading them, with Teal'c as his back-up. He trusted no one, except his former student.
Bra'tac knew the enemy. He knew them well. He had trained many of them himself, quite some years ago.
He knew he had to be extremely careful. They would be looking for him, and he could not allow them to capture him, as that would mean the capture of the human as well. The human was his responsibility now.
Which left the question: where on Chulak was the human?
Slowly, Bra'tac pushed himself to a sitting position, closing his eyes tightly as a wave of dizziness hit him. He concentrated on drawing slow breaths and waited until the unpleasant feeling faded before opening his eyes again.
Then, a man stepped inside the cavern.
Bra'tac moved, in a futile attempt to grab the staff weapon.
"Wow!" a voice that sounded a lot like O'Neill called out. "Easy there, Master Bra'tac."
One arm pressed to his side, Bra'tac stopped. His face showed the agony the too sudden movement had caused him. "Do not sneak up on me like that again, human," he hissed.
"I did not sneak up on you," the other man protested slightly. "Didn't you hear my whistle?"
"I did not," grunted the Jaffa. He raised his head, and examined the man in front of him. "What were you doing?"
"I did some scouting..." O'Neill informed him. "There's more troops coming from that way," he motioned east with his hand. "If you're up to it, we've got to go and head west, bending to the south after a few miles. We'll lead them a little way in that direction before heading back to the gate."
Bra'tac carefully studied the serious expression on the human's face. "How great are the numbers coming in?"
"Great," was the short reply.
"And that way?" Bra'tac pointed in the direction O'Neill suggested they were going.
"Much less."
"How do you know?"
"I know." Sounding impatient now, the earthling continued. "Are you good to go?"
"I am. You are injured." Bra'tac had noticed something amiss in the human's movements.
"Just a scratch," grimaced O'Neill, as he started to pack his belongings together.
Glaring at the man, Bra'tac decided now was not the time to question any further. They would have to make some progress before the new troops came too close or they wouldn't stand a chance to escape.
They left the cave, O'Neill first, moving slowly, then motioning for Bra'tac that it was safe to follow.
They moved, Bra'tac reluctantly following O'Neill's lead. He did not fail to notice the human not only knew were he was going, he also knew how to avoid making any noise in the forest. He also seemed to know where the enemy was located as he carefully led them around.
Apparently, the human had made good use of his time while Bra'tac was recuperating. Slowly, the Jaffa relaxed, realizing the young weren't all necessarily reckless.
When they passed another narrow path, Bra'tac spotted three Jaffa lying face down, in spite of the fact that they were hidden under a bush. His eyes were trained to notice these kinds of details and he threw a questioning look at the back of the man in front of him.
O'Neill moved on as if the Jaffa were not there, telling Bra'tac he knew they were no longer a threat. It was another sign that this human proved himself worthy since he was the only one who could possibly be responsible for out taking those Jaffa.
They hiked, scouted and crawled for another couple of hours, with O'Neill giving the directions. Bra'tac was aware of some more Jaffa, lying hidden along their way and his respect for his temporary partner grew with each step. Only a warrior with great skill was capable of taking on an army of Jaffa by himself. That, plus the ease in the way the human picked their trail, knowing exactly where he was going and where the more dangerous spots were made Bra'tac realize with shame that he had underestimated the human.
"The troops are not directly behind us," the Jaffa noticed.
Without stopping, O'Neill responded softly. "I've set up some things to keep them distracted for a while. Are you still good to move on?"
"Do not concern yourself with me," Bra'tac responded simply, as he thought about what the human must have set up to mislead a troop of Jaffa for that amount of time. "We must proceed."
It had taken a while, as he did not trust easily but at this point Bra'tac was no longer uncomfortable following instead of leading. The warrior of Earth was more than capable of leading, and Bra'tac silently praised Teal'c for having chosen to fight at this human's side.
O'Neill did not stop, even for a breather. Bra'tac figured he wanted to gain as much ground as possible on the Jaffa, and was glad he could keep up. It made him wonder how the human managed without a symbiote, but then he had said it was just a scratch.
Their progress was good. They had gained much distance and the enemy was not on their trail yet. Whatever the distraction was the human had used, it must have been good.
They reached a stream sometime in the afternoon.
Stopping for a moment to sip from their canteens and take a bite from some energy bars, Bra'tac narrowed his gaze. O'Neill's face was shining, beads of sweat dotting his forehead. His lips formed a tight line and he stood, awkwardly bent forward favoring his left side.
Barely finished eating his bar, O'Neill's hand moved to point out the direction. He glanced at the Jaffa. "Here, we need to head south. The ground is hard here, we won't leave tracks." The human prepared to walk away. "Wait here, while I set up a distraction further in that direction."
Bra'tac grabbed the man's arm. "Wait."
O'Neill stopped, turning slowly to face the older man.
Bra'tac's eyes studied the dark ones of the warrior of Earth. "I shall set up a diversion. You are in need of rest." His tone had been firm and the Jaffa nodded in satisfaction as O'Neill slowly sat down, reclining against a tree. "I shall return shortly."
True to his word, Bra'tac's expertly set up a false trail to keep their pursuers busy for some time. He was glad his injuries were healed enough to allow him to move without too much hindrance. His symbiote was of course to thank for that. The human however did not have that luxury, and his appearance had worried the Jaffa greatly. He had no idea how badly O'Neill was injured, but he knew now it was more than a scratch. He only hoped they would be able to make it back to the Stargate before the man's condition deteriorated further. Having finished his job, Bra'tac headed back to where he had left the human. Approaching the spot, he found O'Neill apparently sleeping, as the man's head was lolled sideways.
"Human," Bra'tac softly called out, to announce his arrival.
"I heard you," came the soft reply, although the eyes remained closed.
Then, when Bra'tac was almost beside the man, O'Neill's eyes opened as he lifted his head. "Let's go."
"Allow me to check your side," Bra'tac motioned.
"Nothing you can do about it now," O'Neill shrugged him off. "We need to gain some more distance before finding a place to spend the night."
"How far is it back to the Chappa'ai?" Bra'tac questioned.
"We should get there sometime tomorrow afternoon," O'Neill guessed, "if we can keep up this pace."
The underlying statement clear, Bra'tac nodded. Leaning forward, he held out a hand for O'Neill to assist him in getting back to his feet.
The man from Earth swayed a little, shook his head as if to clear it then moved into the right direction without looking back.
Shaking his head, Bra'tac followed, now one eye on their surroundings but the other one on the human to make sure he was all right.
They continued their walk. O'Neill picked the direction, although Bra'tac knew the route now as well. The further they went, the more the human started to stumble, but he didn't yet slow down. To Bra'tac, it was all a matter of time and without saying anything, the old Jaffa took some longer strides until he was walking beside the human and simply grabbed the man's arm. Draping the arm over his shoulder, Bra'tac now moved his own arm around O'Neill's waist for additional support.
The man did not resist and gave a thankful nod.
At first, Bra'tac's aid was just to prevent the man from stumbling now and then but after a few more miles of traveling, the human was leaning on him in order to stay upright. A quick glance sideways told Bra'tac that O'Neill was sweating profusely and fighting to keep going.
Although the stubborn man probably would not admit it, the Jaffa knew they needed to rest. He was grateful for the distance they had managed to put between themselves and their pursuers and he simply refused to think about the guards that would have been left behind to secure the Stargate. For now, all that mattered was to find some place to hide before the human collapsed at his feet.
Moving on, Bra'tac's eyes were now searching for possible hiding places as well. More and more heavily the human leaned on him and Bra'tac sometimes felt him shiver violently.
"It is late. We must search for a place to take shelter," the Jaffa stated matter of factly.
A slight nod was his response.
"I am in need of rest and so are you," Bra'tac added, in order to make the human feel better by letting on he was not the only one in need of rest.
They stumbled on for a while longer, then Bra'tac decided enough was enough. Without warning, he led the trembling man behind a boulder and simply sat him down. "Wait here. I will seek a place where we may take shelter for the night. I shall return."
He threw one last worried glance at the human, who now had his eyes closed. Although he had not complained, Bra'tac could tell the man was in a great amount of pain by the way he bit on his lip and sucked in short, shallow breaths.
The Jaffa left, hoping he would find a good place to hide soon and not too far away. Searching the area, he found one a while later, a shallow cave that would protect them from the elements and keep them out of sight. As the human had done for him, the Jaffa now prepared a similar makeshift bed before hiking back to where he'd left O'Neill.
This time, the man from earth did not respond to his approach. Kneeling beside him, Bra'tac pressed two fingers against the human's neck, noticing the heat first before he felt the rapid pulse.
"Human," he called softly, slightly shaking O'Neill's shoulder.
A soft moan escaped the tight lips and the man fought to open his eyes.
"Come, we must take shelter," Bra'tac urged, his hands already reaching to support the trembling man as he struggled to get up. "I have found a suitable place but you must help me to get there."
It was hard to keep O'Neill on his feet. The man had given all he had during their trek until now, but it seemed as if he had given too much. His body was shaking and burning with fever, and he now barely managed to keep his eyes open, much less place one foot in front of the other. Bra'tac needed to check him out and see what was wrong, but had to get him to their hiding place first.
"You should have left when you had the chance," the Jaffa snapped. "We will be captured with the pace you are going."
The harsh words appeared to have the wanted effect. Drawing on his final reserves, O'Neill moved, one foot in front of the other, slowly, but steadily, in the direction the Jaffa Master was leading him.
Bra'tac supported the weakening man and finally got him to the hiding place before gently lowering the human onto the prepared bed.
"...eav..."
Bra'tac frowned. The human was mumbling something, but he could not make out what he was saying. He leaned over the supine man.
"..eav.. me..."
"Leave you?" Bra'tac guessed. "I should. Maybe I will, human. After I have made sure you will live. So I can kill you myself next time you make such a foolish choice."
The Jaffa first unzipped O'Neill's jacket. Pushing it to the sides he noticed the area drenched with blood across the man's midsection. Next, he started pulling O'Neill's shirt from his pants in order to reveal the injury.
O'Neill moved his hands, in a weak attempt to protect the painful area.
Pushing the hands down, Bra'tac softly spoke to him. "Do not move, human. I shall see what is damaged."
The shirt rolled up gave Bra'tac a clear view of the injury and he shook his head. "Hasshak! You should have informed me of this." He was looking at a long gash, from the man's ribcage all the way to his hip. The injury was probably caused by a knife or spear and must have been deep. There were dark threads, neatly in a row, keeping the edges together, telling the Jaffa that O'Neill must have stitched his own wound together in order to stop the bleeding.
The whole area around the wound was swollen, red and felt hot to the touch. The stitches appeared to be holding for now, but an infection had clearly set in and pus was building up underneath, threatening to burst out. "When has this occurred?"
An answer was not forthcoming, as the human was obviously in distress. His face sweaty, he sucked in shallow breaths. Groaning, he tried to roll over to his side and started heaving.
Bra'tac steadied the man until O'Neill was finished, and then quietly helped him back down. The injury must have happened at least two days ago, he figured, to be infected like that. The Jaffa knew he had to do something for the human, to control the infection and to reduce the fever. Only then they would be able to travel further the next day.
Luckily his many years of experience had taught him lots of things, including some medicine. He hated leaving the human behind, but he had to get out and find some medicinal plants in order to treat the wound. Bra'tac placed a solid hand on the still man's shoulder. "I shall return shortly. You will remain quiet and rest."