She couldn't breathe. Her insides were screaming for air. Looking around wildly, pulling hard against her restraints, she tried desperately to find a way to breathe.
Baal had her submerged in a glass cage, and from the outside he stood laughing at her attempts to live. Her lungs burned and she tried to call out to him.
"Until you learn to address me properly, you will continue to suffer," he chided as he walked toward her, hand on the glass, patiently waiting for her to die.
Her vision began to tunnel and she screamed, her voice bubbling to the surface, water filling her lungs. Everything was so dark and so quiet, like she was locked in a light-less, soundproof room.
When she was sure her lungs were about to collapse, she felt herself being released from the cuffs that anchored her. She tried to swim to the top, but she couldn't figure out which way that was, and her arms wouldn't cooperate. She tried to open her eyes but at that moment, she saw Baal's face, smirking at her, a key in his hand, and she knew she was going to die. He knew her freedom was only half a meter away, just a quick stroke to the top and she'd find the air she needed to live. He knew that she wouldn't be able to get there, and she would die from her own inability to do what she needed to.
As her body finally gave in, and her last breath was captured by a bubble that found its way to the top of the cage when she couldn't, she felt a sense of relief flood through her. Maybe this time would be the last.
When she awakened, she was back on the torture wall. A sob escaped her; she should have known he would never just leave her to die. Her body had been healed enough to bring her back to life, but not enough to stop the pain that coursed through her veins.
Looking around, she noticed she was alone. There weren't any guards, nor was Baal anywhere near. He had been a near constant presence for however long she had been prisoner here - which felt far longer than she knew it had to have actually been - so it was odd that he wasn't there to welcome her back to life.
She hung her head, neck already aching, and hung limply from the wall. Her body was covered in goosebumps, the concrete wall cold against her naked skin.
She wasn't sure how long she hung like that, but it was long enough to have fallen asleep, and the next thing she remembered was the sliding doors opening and Baal strolling through.
"Ah, my dear Samantha. I do apologize, I would have been here to greet you sooner, but I had some ... vermin … I had to deal with." He smirked, and clapping his hands together, he ran his eyes up and down her body. Walking over to her, he cupped her breasts with his hands, toying with her nipples, which were perked from the cold. "It looks like you're ready for me, though, so maybe I should make you wait more often," he laughed.
He backed away from her, leaving her disobedient body cold and achy for his touch. He pressed a button that was located on his cuff, and it opened a wall that revealed a hidden tank. In it swam a serpent - she wasn't sure what it was but fear and disgust sent a shiver to her core. The serpent must have represented something horrifying in her past life.
He looked from the tank to her, and grinned when he realized she didn't recognize it but was still afraid.
He walked toward the cage and pulled the squealing snake from its prison. He strolled back towards her and grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling her head back, exposing her neck. "Do not worry my pet," he purred, "this symbiote is dying. It will only live long enough to accomplish what I want to do with you." The serpent slid off his hand and onto her shoulder. She could feel its slimy skin against hers and she shivered. It curled around her neck, almost as if to examine her, and suddenly the world went dark as it burrowed into her.
It wasn't long before she regained consciousness, but something felt different. She tried screaming, but no sound came out. She beat against her invading captor, crying, begging it to release her, but she heard it chuckle and it knocked her back. She was trapped in her own mind.
Baal walked toward her, leering at her, and the being controlling her body lifted her face and spat at him. "Lord Baal, my pleasure," it said. Her voice was deep, and it echoed in the small room. She shrank further into her mind, but her captor wouldn't let her completely retreat.
You will have to endure what I endure, and I will make it much more painful for you if you fight against me, she heard it speak internally to her.
Wiping the spit from his face, he used the same hand to slap her. Blood flew from her busted lip, and he exclaimed, "Hadad, don't get too feisty yet. I've got much planned for us. But you know me, I do love an audience."
Memories that weren't hers flashed through her mind, ones full of torture and passion that spanned millennia, and her heart ached. It seemed that whoever controlled her – Hadad – had quite the past with Baal.
Baal ordered his Jaffa to bring forward another, and her heart skipped a beat. She felt like she was being suffocated; she couldn't handle another one of these things in her head.
The doors opened and Baal's Jaffa drug forth a man, clad head to toe in ripped clothes that looked so warm and so comfortable. She couldn't remember that last time she had been allowed clothing, and suddenly she shivered, completely aware of her nakedness.
The man looked up at her, and his eyes brightened with recognition. "Sam!" He tried to fight the guards, but they used their torture stick to subdue him, and suddenly he was chained to the floor in front of them. He continued to try and fight against his chains, but they wouldn't give leeway.
"Jack O'Neill, glad you could join us. You're just in time."
"Fuck you," Jack spat at him. "Carter, how are you holding up?" He grimaced at the pun.
Jack. The man she had begged for help. He was here. She didn't recognize him, but her heart blossomed with warmth and hope. But as soon as she felt it, Hadad was quick to repress it, and she felt her eyes glow.
Jack noticeably shrank back, but he continued to watch her. "Sam, you've got to be in there somewhere. We're going to get you out of this. The whole gang is here and –"
"Enough," Baal said, using his hand device to throw Jack back against his chains, effectively silencing him. "You are here to witness the destruction of our mutual enemy, Hadad, and the destruction of your friend."