Sam ran for the FRED and grabbed one of her shirts. She took out her knife and turned the shirt into four strips of material. She handed one to each person.

"What are we supposed to do with these?"

"Ash, when it comes into contact with water can turn into a concrete like substance. If you breathe enough in, your lungs will solidify."

Jack's eyebrows shot into his forehead as Teal'c tied the material over his own mouth and nose, copying Sam. Daniel looked warily at her and followed suit. Jack struggled to get his hands behind his head, as he could feel pain flowing through him when he tried. Daniel, noticing his difficulty, stood up to help him.

"Now what should we do?"

"We should gather what we need and pack it. Only essentials. Food, water, warm clothes..."

"No books Danny."

"Sir, I should redo the gauze on your back now, while we can."

Teal'c pulled everything off the FRED and he and Daniel went through what they had, sorting items into what they needed to put in their packs and what they could leave behind. Sam carefully, yet quickly changed the Colonel's gauze, noting that it had stopped bleeding. Finished, they all grabbed their packs and had some discussion as to anything else they would need. Daniel wanted to bring some wood for a fire, seeing as Teal'c and he had some room. Sam didn't want to but Jack agreed with the other two. If they found shelter they would need a fire to cook something warm, and he didn't want to risk going outside.

"Which direction do you wish to travel Major Carter?"

"I'd like to head for the shore."

"Is that wise Sam? Wouldn't be risking walking into another tsunami?"

"What about going somewhere with a high vantage point Carter? We could see what was going on in the morning."

"Sir, I'm worried that if we choose a high point, we could be standing on the side of the volcano unknowingly."

"Good point."

"If we go to the shore, yes we are risking another tsunami, but it's an open space. The biggest one I can think of."

"Why in the open? Shouldn't we be finding shelter?"

"Daniel, I don't know where this volcano is or what kind of eruption has occurred. If it's close and there are chances of a pyroclastic flow occurring, we won't be safe, no matter where we are. If it's further away, being down there will give us a chance to see where it's coming from."

"I am unfamiliar with the term pyroclastic flow, Major Carter."

"It's a cloud of hot gasses, ash, and rock which flows across the ground at speeds up to 100miles/hr. It can be so hot, it will incinerate anything in it's path."

"Can we see it in the dark?" Daniel was starting to feel panic rising within him. He had handled all sorts of deadly situations before, but this one was beginning to top the list.

"We should be able to see a red glow. In daylight it's a massive grey cloud. We'll hear it first though as it will sound like rolling thunder."

"All ready? Let's move out." Jack gave the command and followed Teal'c into the forest. He could see the worry on Carter's face, and the panic on Daniels and reasoned the best way to keep them calm, was to keep them moving.

It took several hours to reach the shore but they got there just before the sun rose. Walking through the trees had protected them a little from the ash but now, in the open, the ash was falling like a heavy snowstorm. At the edge of the treeline, Jack stopped and dropped the pack he had insisted on carrying. Sam peered through her binoculars towards the horizon, trying to see where the volcano was. Teal'c spotted it, far away in the distance. Daniel felt slightly comforted by the distance between him and the volcano, but not enough to sit down as Jack was doing.

"Carter. Where do we go now?"

"Now I know where the eruption is occurring, I would suggest we go back to the gate and get it to work."

"Can we Sam?"

"If we can get it out, we should be able to manually dial."

"What other choice do we have?" Jack was sitting on his pack pushing the small amount of ash by his feet around.

"I agree with Major Carter. We must try to remove the gate. As O'Neill stated, it is our only option."

Sam took one last look at the volcano on the horizon, then followed her team back into the forest. The daylight made walking easier but it was still slow going as Teal'c had set a pace to accommodate O'Neill. Jack was struggling with his pack, which was causing him some mild irritation, and hadn't noticed the pace. Sam tried to pick between the lesser of two evils. Either remove his pack and have him pick up the speed, or leave his pack where it was and keep him distracted. One could cause further damage to the skin on his back, and the other, while still able to cause milder damage, could push him to exhaustion much quicker. A quick glance from Daniel made her decision for her. Leave him as he was.

At the gate, Teal'c crawled right up to the hole. The ash was now several inches deep, making the sides of the fissure very unstable. He untied the ropes they had left on the gate the day before and brought them back to the others.

"Major Carter, I suggest that I tie the rope around myself and investigate the buried gate, to see if there is any easier way to remove it."

"Ok Teal'c. Give the end to Daniel."

Sam tied another rope around her waist and hesitantly handed the end to the Colonel. She wanted to get a closer look, but there was no way that Daniel would be able to hold onto her and Teal'c if either slipped. She joined Teal'c peering over the edge of the drop and used her gloved hands to shovel as much of the ash and sand away from the gate. The covering over her mouth and nose slipped, and she inhaled some of the cloud of ash created by hers and Teal'c's hand movements. She coughed violently, attempting to get as much of it out of her lungs as possible. She waved to Daniel to let him know she was ok, adjusted her mask and continued. After what felt like hours, Teal'c pulled back. The bank he was lying on was starting to give, and he didn't want to end up finding out how deep it was. As Daniel held Teal'c's rope taut, Jack tugged on Carter's several times to give her the hint to return. The moment she turned towards him, the ground beneath her gave, cascading down onto the gate. She held onto the rope and pulled herself towards him amazed at the amount of ash that had fallen. There was a good 2 inches on the ground now and as she stood up and walked, a small cloud followed in her wake. She joined the others, fighting the urge to cough. They retreated to the trees, out of the ash and discussed their options.

"T. What d'ya reckon?"

"Regarding the gate, I do not believe we will be able to remove it."

"Great. Carter?"

"I agree with Teal'c. Not until this ash fall quits. The ground surrounding the crack is too unstable to risk trying to pull it out and whatever we dig out will just be replaced when the sand and ash fall back in."

"Danny?"

"I'm going to stick with Sam and Teal'c on this one. I think we should get out of here, and find some sort of shelter before night falls."

"How long till that happens?"

"Sir, I'm guessing that's in 4 hours, but with the eruption clouding the skies, it could get darker soon. It's already much darker than it should be for the time."

"Anywhere particular we want to take shelter?"

"Sir, I'm guessing the caves would be the best place."

"Carter, I'm not too sure about that."

"Jack, didn't you say there was two shield devices in there?"

"Yeah, one for earthquakes, and one for, well, I'm guessing for tsunamis, but neither worked too well."

"It's a warning though. It would help, right Sam?"

"O'Neill, did you not say that the water rose rapidly and almost to the top of the cave? If there was another tsunami would we not be safer further away from the water?"

"Carter?" Jack had no clue what the answer would be to that, so he redirected it to one who might.

"I think the safest place to be, is on the shore. We can keep an eye out on the volcano that way. If there's another tsunami, we will have to climb up the side of the caves."

"Sam, is that possible?"

"We'll have to check it out when we get there."

Sam broke down coughing, and removed the material from her mouth to spit out what had loosened in her lungs. Jack whipped his head around to look at her, as Daniel patted her back.

"You ok Carter?"

"Yes. Just getting the last of it out I think."

"Alright, here's the plan. We'll go back to the caves and check out a possible escape route incase we need one. If it doesn't work, we'll think of something else. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Move out."