A/N: Here's the next chappie. I hope you enjoy it. I have every intention of posting the chapters more quickly. This week, life had more power than intention. :0) I think some of you have been burned by unfinished fanfic before. Rest assured, I wouldn't do that to you. I like you guys too much. :0D You say such nice things.
Warning! I don't really have one... it's just become habit.
PS: Have I mentioned that I'm really loving "Dollhouse" and totally fell in love with "Castle" already? Oooh, new stuff is fun!
Do Not Go Gentle
Chapter Twelve
The guard never knew what hit him. Jack knew how to move without making a sound. He rushed up on the unsuspecting Garund and took him to the ground, his forearm covering the man's windpipe until he went limp.
"Stin nact tien!" The cry rose up on the far side of the nearest line of tents to the right.
Jack's head whipped around. Several Garund ran toward them. He turned to Teal'c and ran past, giving a signal for SG-8 to follow and motioning the Jaffa into Jack's not-yet-empty cage.
Teal'c nodded wordlessly and entered the enclosure. He knelt hastily beside Carter and lifted her into his arms. Jack waited for her to move or make a sound but it didn't happen. Instead, her arm hung limply until Major Stone caught it up and laid it up across her stomach before he fell in behind Jack.
Arrows flew at them. Jack felt one graze his arm just before a member of the medical team called out in pain. One of the projectiles stuck out of his thigh.
Jack looked around. He'd figured the best option for their escape route was back behind the cages. There were quite a few less tents in that direction and there was a small line of trees not far off.
He passed by the rest of the group with a signal for them to follow and headed off toward the first tent.
Behind them, the Garund gave chase, several more joining the first. Soon they'd have to deal with more than they could handle. Without any weapons Jack didn't know how they were going to get out of this.
OoOoOoOoO
Daniel paced back and forth inside a smallish cave at the base of a high jutting rock face. He hadn't heard from Jack yet and Kailan had been gone for over forty minutes on his second trip with their things. A shuffling sound drew his attention and Kailan stepped into view. Behind him stood a man Daniel recognized from two nights ago. It was the man who'd been captured with Sam.
"I guess this means you decided not to let him go home this morning," Daniel said. He took a heavy bag from the man. He got a grateful smile for his trouble and he watched the man sit down next to one of the packs.
"My name's Darvan," the man said.
Daniel vaguely remembered Sam mumbling the name. He held out his hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you, Darvan."
Darvan looked at his hand with confusion and then reached out his own. Daniel realized his mistake and reached for Darvan's hand and shook it. "It's a sign of greeting," he explained.
Darvan smiled. "Nice to meet one of Sam's friends." His eyes searched the area. "Where is she? The big one told me she'd be here."
Daniel tried to keep the worry out of his eyes. No need to alarm the man. He remembered how gentle he'd been when Sam had been in his care. "She should be here soon." He looked toward Kailan and raised his eyebrows. "Right?"
Kailan nodded. "I gave the radio and medicine to O'Neill," he said. "I cannot guarantee they were able to escape the village boundaries." He put down the red medical bags he carried and moved away quickly. "I must return. When my people discover the prisoners are missing, they will wonder at my absence."
Daniel stepped in front of the tall man and met him in the eyes. "Thank you, Kailan."
"You are not home yet," Kailan said.
"No, but we'll be on our way soon."
Kailan pursed his lips and nodded tightly. He looked like he wanted to say something but stepped away from Daniel anyway. When he reached the line of trees, he turned suddenly. "I hope Sam will be well." And then he was gone.
Daniel raised his eyebrows. He wondered if his female teammate wasn't the real reason Kailan had decided to help them.
Daniel looked at his watch and dug through the packs to make sure everything was there. He didn't know what was standard issue for the medical packs, but as for the team packs, everything seemed to be there—including all four guns.
That surprised Daniel. Kailan hadn't even kept the one that had killed his brother.
The radio on his shoulder crackled to life.
"Daniel."
Daniel let out a sigh of relief. "Jack. Good to hear your voice."
"Yeah, well, don't celebrate just yet. We're in a bit of a pickle."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"We need our guns, Daniel. Do you have them?" Jack's voice was short.
"Yeah. Where are you?" With one hand, he unzipped a big red bag and tipped it upside down, spilling the contents out onto the ground. Once it was empty, he began to gather the weapons and put them inside. Darvan watched silently from his spot on the ground.
"We've just pushed through the tree line south of the village. We're looking for a place to take cover and wait for the cavalry." Daniel thought he heard a shout in the background. Jack's voice remained calm. "That's you, Daniel."
"I got it, Jack. I'm about fifteen minutes away from your position. I'll be there as fast as I can." He grabbed up the bag. It was heavy, but not too heavy.
"Don't let yourself be intercepted. You'll do us no good if you're dead."
Daniel nodded. He stepped around their things and out of the cave. He took a few steps in the direction Jack had indicated.
"What shall I do?" Darvan asked. His face peeked out at Daniel anxiously.
Daniel had almost forgotten the townsman was there. He looked down at the mess he'd made. He gestured toward the pile of medical equipment. "Put all of that into the other red bags. If it won't fit, divvy it up between the team bags." He held up a finger. "Don't break anything."
Darvan nodded with a smile. "I will do as you ask."
Daniel smiled back. "Sit tight and hide if anyone comes by." Then he left Darvan alone to do his work.
OoOoOoOoO
Sam came awake slowly. She pried her eyes open and swallowed past her large tongue. She may as well have kept them closed. All she could make out was the dark skin of a chest. Teal'c.
Her head swam. She felt the world swirl around her. She was jarred over and over in her friend's arms.
Then she registered the shouting. Voices around her were on edge. She heard the sharpness in the words, even though she couldn't make out what anyone was saying.
And there was a sense of movement. Quick movement that tossed her stomach.
They were running.
She closed her eyes against nausea and sucked in deep breaths.
Helpless. She felt so helpless. It wasn't something she was used to feeling. It washed through her even as no other coherent thoughts allowed themselves to surface. Helplessness and pain. Nausea and confusion.
And then blackness.
OoOoOoOoO
"There!" Jack pointed to a field of tall grass. It sprouted up and made the trees look like they were wading in a deep green tide. They'd be able to take to ground and hide, hopefully giving Daniel time to get to them.
Teal'c crashed through the first sprouts and ran deep into the waist-high greens and browns. Jack followed with SG-8 right behind them. Its wounded member kept up as well as he could with a heavy limp and a shaft of wood protruding from his leg.
The Garund would have them in sight in a moment, but they wanted to get as far into the brush as they could before they stopped their run.
Shouting not far off convinced Jack to give the signal. All at once, they hit the ground and lay still.
Jack clenched his lips together and breathed heavily through his nose, his heart pounding in his ears.
The Garund saw their problem right away. Jack heard them talking to each other, angry voices raised in a tongue only Daniel would be able to decipher. He couldn't see what they were doing. He didn't dare chance a glance.
Teal'c lay protectively over Carter's still body. Jack couldn't see her face but he knew she wasn't conscious. He raised his eyebrows.
Teal'c shook his head. Even as he did so, Jack heard the Garund move into the tall grass. They swung their weapons trough the brush, searching for their prey.
Great. Just great. Where was Daniel, anyway?
OoOoOoOoO
"Where have you been?"
Kailan was surprised to be approached the second he made his way into the village. One of the elders frowned at him and spoke hurriedly in their language. "I was scouting the area. There is at least one other group of Tau'ri that came through the Chappa'ai. I do not want them to surprise us."
The elder's frown deepened. It didn't appear he was aware there were others. "The cages are empty. The captives have escaped."
Kailan feigned surprise. "What is being done?"
"Several men have taken chase. Galek just heard and has run out to join the hunt."
Galek. That didn't bode well for Sam's people.
When had they become 'Sam's people' in his head?
"I will go out immediately to aid in recapturing the prisoners," he said.
The elder nodded. "You must. You should not have left the village at all. A leader does not leave his people when there is danger."
Kailan felt anger leap in his chest. "A leader does what he must to protect his people," he said coldly. "There is always danger."
"Still, if you allow Galek to take your place on the hunt…"
"Galek is no longer in line for my brother's position."
A darkness entered the elder's eyes. "Not all agreed with your brother's actions. To demote a member of the tribe for his actions toward an outsider was questionable."
Kailan felt his lips draw back from his teeth into a true sneer. "Galek was demoted for his actions against me, not them. He attacked me. The punishment was just."
The elder looked like he was about to say something else, but then his mouth snapped shut and he bowed.
"I will go to my kinsmen and attempt to recapture the Tau'ri. Which way did they go?"
"Just south of the cages."
Kailan nodded. "I want to know how it was they were able to escape," he said. "Find out." He made it an order.
"I will, Kailan." The man bowed again, turned, and shuffled off.
Kailan watched him leave and pursed his lips. He knew there were people in the village who were not happy with his brother's punishment of Galek. Could it possibly be one of them who killed him? Daniel thought it obvious the deed was done by the punished man, but Kailan knew Galek. He knew he could burn hot in the head, but could he really kill someone he considered to be a brother? Kailan would not rush to judgment.
Now, he needed to gain control of the situation. That included keeping the hunting party from recapturing their escapees—without being obvious about it. Galek was smart. He would make things more difficult.
Without another thought Kailan reached into his quiver to make sure he had an ample number of arrows and set off to catch up.
OoOoOoOoO
The men were getting closer. If they didn't do something soon they'd find themselves at the business end of a Garund weapon.
Jack rolled to his back and put his arms over his eyes. Think.
His eyes snapped open and he reached for the radio in his pocket. He drew it out and eyed it. It could work. The grass nearest them was brown and dry enough after cooking all day in the sun.
He caught Teal'c's eye and pointed to the radio, the grass, and then gestured he should be ready to run. He flipped back to his belly and held his hand out for Teal'c's knife. Once he had it, he awkwardly pried the radio apart. He didn't remove the batteries. He'd need the power. He stripped two wires, receiving a shock for his trouble.
"They are near, O'Neill," Teal'c whispered.
Jack nodded. He ignored the sweat that rolled off his forehead and into his eyes. He touched the stripped wires together and smiled at the resulting spark. He held them closer to the grass and nodded his warning to Teal'c. His friend tensed and adjusted his grip on Carter so he could lift her quickly. The only member of SG-8 in Jack's line of sight raised himself up just a bit to get ready to run. He trusted the rest were doing the same.
The wires touched together again. The sparks reached out to the grass. Nothing happened. Jack wouldn't be discouraged. He fought a chuckle in his head and glanced at Carter. She'd have the grass blazing by now. He tried again. The wires sparked and the grass ignited. Quickly, he pulled more grass toward the small flame, blowing gently to give the fire life.
He nodded in satisfaction when the flames grew taller and reached out for the surrounding greenery.
Smoke rose from the spot and the Garund shouted out. If they didn't know where to find their prey, they did now. There was one a little too close for comfort. He crashed through the grass toward Jack.
Jack went up on his knees and threw the knife. It buried itself in the man's shoulder. His thoughts of Kailan's help in their escape kept his aim away from the heart. The Garund cried out and fell to the ground.
It was in that moment that the fire spread its arms and roared to life. Smoke began to fill the air, making it difficult to see. Jack gave the signal and his team popped up out of the grass and ran in the direction opposite their pursuers.
It wouldn't take the Garund long to make it around the fire line, but Jack hoped they'd have an effective smoke screen by then.
Jack ran behind Teal'c, who didn't appear to be slowed down at all by the weight of Carter in his arms.
An arrow flew past Jack's head. He chose not to look back. What good would that do, anyway? Stone and the rest of SG-8 slid quickly past the trees ahead and plowed into the thicker green undergrowth. As soon as they disappeared, Teal'c did, too.
Jack felt a presence behind him just as he ran past the first large tree. He put on another burst of speed, but it wasn't enough.
A body flew into him at the waist and he fell to the ground. The weight of his attacker landed on top of him and he felt the air whoosh out of his lungs.
Jack clawed at the ground to pull himself from under the man. He hefted himself forward and got enough leverage to flip over and face his foe.
His eyes widened in shock as he met Galek's angry features.
I've been itching to watch some shippy hurt/comfort. Problem is, I have no clue where to find it. I'm figuring my best bet is anime, but there are so many out there.... hmm. Maybe some of you know where I can find some. :0) So far I've tried "The Mummy," "Fushigi Yugi," "Babel," and a few episodes of "Buffy."
