by Avalon (avalon99@telusplanet.net)
fanfic at http://members.dencity.com/avalon_online
PG-13, S/J, Part 7/8
THE MANY SHADES OF NIGHT VII
"Shadows of a Starless Night"
It was Carter's fear for Colonel O'Neill, coupled with another nameless emotion, which broke the link between her and Jolinar. The Tok'ra's presence vanished without warning, returning to whatever part of Carter's mind she normally resided in. Carter felt a moment's sensation of loss and loneliness, and then she was herself again, leaning tiredly over the Luminar...which was beginning to glow with a faint silver light.
And...by the stairs...
For the second time since her arrival on Hejira, Carter found her body catapulting in motion before her brain had had quite enough time to process the command. She was racing frantically across the room, her right hand automatically going to her only remaining weapon, before she even had time to think. Knife in hand, she flung herself at O'Neill...and at the creature that was standing over him, its fangs buried deeply in his right shoulder.
Once again, time seemed to crash to a halt. Carter was still halfway across the room when she saw O'Neill's M9 drop from limp fingers. It clattered to the floor and he grimaced, reaching for something with his left hand. The creature raised one of its clawed legs in the air...
...And O'Neill stabbed upward with his left hand, starlight glinting off the blade of his knife. The Ammita screamed. Once again, the sound was taken up by a thousand other voices in Carter's head, but they were slightly more distant this time. And unimportant. All that mattered was getting this mockery of nature away from her Colonel.
Carter skidded to a halt, actually running into the Ammita, so quickly was she moving. Without hesitation she added her own knife-thrust to O'Neill's, feeling the shock go all the way up through her shoulder at the impact of the knife against its armoured hide.
There was no time for fear. No time for anything except driving the knife deeper into the creature's body, forcing the blade past the dull black surface, into the flesh beneath. She was shouting something but the scream of the creature was deafening, drowning out her own cry...
...And then it was over. The Ammita collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut, falling beside the Colonel, its teeth still locked in his shoulder. Carter found herself falling forward as well, her deathgrip on the knife hilt dragging her down with the creature, a clear fluid running down the blade and back over her hand.
"Get it off!" O'Neill's voice was strained and filled with pain. "Get it off me...now!"
Her breath coming in shaky gasps, Carter released the knife and threw herself at the creature's head. Two sets of glinting razor-sharp fangs, each at least four inches long, had met through O'Neill's shoulder, just above the collarbone and to the right of his throat. It was impossible to tell in the dim light if the fangs had hit anything important. Not that that really mattered. If the creature had struck a major vein or an artery, the Colonel would be dead in minutes and there would be nothing she could do about it. She would know soon enough. In the meantime...
Carter reached out for the creature's jaws with shaking hands, ignoring the shudders racking her body and the cold feeling of dread in her stomach. There was so much blood. Too much. It was flowing down O'Neill's shoulder and arm, mingling with the fluid still leaking from the Ammita. "Get it off," he whispered again weakly, giving her a desperate look.
Carter gritted her teeth, tightened her grip around the Ammita, and pulled.
Nothing happened. The creature's jaws remained locked around O'Neill's shoulder, almost like a bear-trap. At her effort though, the Colonel moaned, his hands curling into fists. "Damn it, Carter..."
"Hang on, Sir!" This time she threw her heart and soul into the battle. It seemed to take forever, but finally, inch by inch she managed to prise the Ammita's jaws apart. It took every ounce of strength she had, but at last the silvery fangs began to slowly disappear back into his shoulder and then out the other side.
The instant the fangs had cleared O'Neill's shoulder, Carter shoved the creature's head away and let its jaws spring shut with a snap. She had done it. He was free.
And they were coming.
A sound behind them made her turn. Carter froze. In the ever increasing light from the Luminar, she could see the first black shape emerging from the stairway. Close on its heels was another one and further back Carter could sense even more, their cries taking on a triumphant note.
Something touched her hand. Sickened, she turned away, dragging her mesmerized gaze away from the sight of the monster by the stairs. She looked down...to see Colonel O'Neill looking back up, his face clouded with pain, but his gaze clear.
"Run, Sam."
Disbelief, followed closely by anger, shot through her. After all they had gone through together? Did he really think she would leave him? Shooting O'Neill a caustic glance, she reached for his good arm. "Without you? No way." She pulled his arm around her neck, struggling to lift him.
"Damn it, Major. That's an order!"
The first creature was drawing closer.
This wasn't working. He was too heavy. "No. Now get up!"
He was trying, she could tell. But he was too weak, the blood loss and shock already taking their toll. Behind her, there was the ominous click of claws on stone. Carter's anger abruptly turned to rage, a white blinding fury that boiled through her.
"God damn you Jack! Move!" She was screaming at him, or at least thought she was. It was hard to tell. "On your feet, soldier! NOW!"
And then, by some miracle, he was upright, leaning heavily against her. Carter didn't know whether he had found some last reserve of energy or if she had suddenly found the strength to lift him herself, and she didn't care. Instead, she hauled his arm even further around her neck and half-dragged, half-carried him toward the nearest window. There was another sound from the monsters behind her, the scrape of clawed legs coiling against the stone floor, and then the rush of air as the Ammita leapt toward them...
And without any hesitation Carter threw her Colonel out the window and dived hastily after him.
* * *
Carter hit something hard, her left shoulder and hip absorbing most of the impact. And then she was rolling out of control, the night spinning around her. She tried to dig her heels into the surface of...it must be a rooftop... to slow her descent, but it didn't work. Another heartbeat and then she was falling through the air again to come to a sudden, agonizing stop on a sandy surface.
Perhaps she was getting better at hard landings -- she'd certainly had enough practice since her arrival on this planet -- but she didn't lose consciousness this time. That wasn't to say it didn't hurt. Something warm was trickling down her spine -- the cuts on her back must have reopened -- and the pain in her left hip was rivalling that of her ankle. But she seemed to have moved beyond the agony somehow. There was obviously a point beyond which the human body was incapable of feeling any more hurt, and she had reached it. Besides...
Colonel O'Neill. He needed her.
With a groan, Carter dragged herself upright, noticing out of the corner of her eye the silver light pulsing out of the tower above them, as bright as a full moon now...and the stream of many-legged black figures pouring down the sides of the tower like an ebony waterfall.
Not good. Definitely not good. Biting her lip, Carter took a pace forward. "Colonel?" she whispered.
"Here." His voice was faint. Carter turned and limped toward the sound.
He was laying on his back a short distance away, pieces of tile from the roof they had tumbled off strewn on the sandy ground around him. Carter came to a swaying stop then sank to her knees beside him, laying an unsteady hand on his chest. "Colonel. Are you all right?"
O'Neill shook his head slightly. "Broken leg." His voice was slurred and his breathing was laboured. He was clinging to consciousness by sheer force of will, she could tell. He coughed once, winced at the movement, then blinked up at her. "Situation?"
"They're still coming." She glanced back. The Ammita would be on them in seconds. "The Luminar -- it's on, but it hasn't worked. I don't know why. I'm sorry, Sir." Her throat tightened. "Can you move?"
"No." It was a faint whisper. His hand touched hers. "Not your fault. Just go...please."
Carter shook her head violently, tears threatening to obscure her vision. She didn't bother to answer. Instead she moved hastily behind him and lifted him by the shoulders, both arms locking around his chest. Then, every muscle straining, she proceeded to drag him away.
She managed maybe a dozen paces before her legs finally gave out and she collapsed without warning, still holding O'Neill close against her. Gasping for air, she looked up...and her breath caught in her throat. All around them, the shadows were full of blood red eyes. The Ammita had encircled them in those few seconds and were closing in. Carter bit her lip, racking her mind desperately for a plan. A way out. A weapon. Anything...
A movement close at hand drew her horrified gaze away from the advancing creatures. O'Neill was reaching an unsteady hand into a pocket, withdrawing a small round object. Their last grenade. He turned his head to the left, meeting her eyes. Their gazes locked.
And then there was no more need for words. With one quick movement, O'Neill pulled the pin and tightened his grasp on the grenade.
Three seconds.
A lone tear trickled down Carter's cheek as she reached around him with both arms, adding her grip to his. His other hand came up to cover hers, his fingers curling tightly around her own.
Two seconds.
Carter bent her head slightly, resting her cheek against the Colonel's, and closed her eyes.
One second...
TO BE CONTINUED