He had resorted to jogging some two or three minutes ago at the start
of the hill, which, when close up, was a lot larger than first imagined
from such a distance. Jack O'Neill felt his boots slip every now and then,
and he heard the tumbling of pebbles from underfoot as they scuttled down
the path behind him.
Glancing back, clutching his P-90 readily, he saw the two others close behind, easily keeping pace with him.
Pushing himself harder, he pulled with his free hand at large jutting rocks and branches that protruded from the rock face, using them to ease his climb. What kind of predator lived all the way up such a problematic hill anyway? It hadn't seemed so large from far away.
Quit thinking, and get a move on, he ordered himself, nodding sharply, and jumped over a small rock.
They were going in the right direction. The prints of the animal were evident even all the way up here. It was a miracle that the rain hadn't washed them away. Plus, every here and there, he could see drops of blood on the ground.
Realising that the end of their trek was close at hand, O'Neill held up a hand, raising his weapon at the ready, and progressing at a slower and steadier pace, each tread careful and soft.
He could barely hear the others behind him, but he knew they were there. He had worked with them for so long he could sense their presence now; he knew when they were there, and when they weren't.
Waving a hand, he called the Jaffa forward, seeing the large form of Teal'c head up the remainder of the hill alone, until he stopped, zat armed and prepared. His dark eyes shifted to O'Neill, and he nodded once.
Jack pushed up the hill, and poked his P-90 around the mouth of the cave, seeing with the aid of the small flashlight that there was a long tunnel opened up before them, stretching off into shadow and gloom. He narrowed his eyes, and listened for sounds of anything inside. Nothing.
"Teal'c, take point," he mumbled, and watched his friend move off to take the lead down into the darkness.
Jack followed, the light from his weapon shining in a beam down the tunnel, making Teal'c's job a lot easier. The Jaffa could see quite well in these conditions anyway, but the Colonel figured that Teal'c would have a better chance of taking down any potential hostiles if he could see clearer.
Carter brought up the rear, her delicate steps heard slightly in the silence of the cave. Jack knew his second in command was no doubt calm, and yet quite anxious. They would soon find out just whether or not her guilt was well founded.
* * *
Peering over her shoulder, she saw the light of the opening retreating fast, their progress into the cave quick and steady. They were motivated, and Sam knew that Colonel O'Neill was heading for his target fast. Nothing would stand in his way.
Her eyes drifted cautiously around the interior of the tunnel, and she saw no evidence of life, no grasses, no moss, and no droppings. Whatever lived in here was extremely neat... for an animal.
Hearing the hushed whisper of O'Neill, Carter's eyes snapped forward, and she felt her body tense up in preparation. There was an evident opening ahead, leading into some sort of larger cavernous cave, and she watched as the two men entered it carefully. They aimed their weapons left and right, and then waved Carter forward.
She followed quickly, flicking her gun behind her in case something had trailed in after them, and then back to O'Neill and Teal'c.
"See anything?" O'Neill said to Teal'c quietly in a hushed voice.
"Nothing," Teal'c responded, "other than the remains." A large hand indicated dozens of skeletons littering the walls, and he and O'Neill moved off to take a closer look, all the while alert and ready to defend theirselves if need be.
Carter stood watch, her eyes drifting around in disgust at the state of the cave. What looked to be similar to a spider's web, but much more durable, stretched around the walls in long strips, covering the remains partially. Some of it hung, worn, from the bones.
Over in the corner, she spotted a large sack, and she couldn't fight the urge to investigate. Moving over, constantly aware of her position in relation to the rest of SG-1, she halted at the opening to the sack, and shone her light inside.
It was damp, strips of the mucus-like substance hanging motionless from the opening and from inside. She lowered herself to peer closer, and grimaced at the smell. It stank, as though something had died inside quite some time ago. Furrowing her brow, she shone her light closer, and quickly stood. There was blood in there.
Retrieving a sample container, she managed to break off a small area of the wall, and placed it inside, wiping her sticky hand on her pant's leg afterwards, and placing the container in her vest, standing in the process.
She turned, her interest no longer held by the sack, and shone her light around the rest of the cave, surprised when she saw it reflect against something on the opposite wall.
Curious, she walked over, her steps silent against the muddy ground below, and tilted her head at the presence of a large area of the wall covered by the white substance. She followed the beam of her light to where it had reflected, and saw just what had glinted.
She lowered her weapon, and looked again, confirming her suspicions. A ring... one she had seen before on many occassions.
"Oh my god," she muttered under her breath, seeing the hand, and the edge of a green cuff. Her eyes darted over the extensive area covered by the substance, until she realised she needed more light. She pulled out her small flashlight, and flicked it on, her eyes going wide.
"Jonas..."
She stretched out a hand to touch his cheek, and was shocked to find how cold his skin was in comparison to her own. She didn't know why she hadn't seen him earlier, but she supposed it was because most of his body was completely covered by the substance.
"Sir!" she called, hooking her light on her vest, and yanking out her knife, her other hand trying to find a pulse on Jonas.
"What?"
"Get over here!" she called urgently, and carefully tried to cut some of the substance away, cursing when the blade failed to do anything.
She heard their footsteps as they approached, and then the shocked mumble of the Colonel as he obviously saw what had her so preoccupied.
"We've got to get him out of the wall," she told them, trying to pry the blade of her knife under another part of the restraining substance. Failing again, she resisted the urge to curse loudly, and whirled to O'Neill. "Sir, I can barely feel a pulse, and he's breathing so shallow I couldn't even tell whether he was actually breathing or not. He's as cold as ice."
"Where you unsuccessful in your attempts to cut the restraints, Major Carter?"
She looked to Teal'c, and nodded frantically, turning back to Jonas, and tried to directly ram the knife in. To her surprise, the blade sank partially into the white exterior, but not enough to truly matter.
"Dammit," she muttered impatiently, and resorted to trying to pry it off with her fingers.
"Carter," O'Neill began.
She pulled her hand away, her fingers cold at the tips, and shook them. Her eyes snapped to O'Neill. "Colonel, do you have a lighter?"
"What? No, I quit," he said earnestly, and shook his head, looking over the form of the Kelownan in puzzlement.
Carter fumbled for a moment, before, glancing back at Jonas, said, "What about a flare?"
O'Neill cocked his head. "What for?"
"Sir," she began quickly, "this mucus, or whatever it is, is ice cold. And ice melts in direct heat, especially if put into contact with extreme heat, like fire. If I can get the blade of my knife hot enough, I might be able to cut this away from Jonas."
O'Neill searched around in his vest pouches, before retrieving a long stick, and presenting it to Carter.
She struck the end of it, and shook her head. I hope this works, she thought. Light and heat exploded from the end of the flare, and she carefully held the end of her knife to the sparks. She felt a couple land on her hand, and stifled a hiss of pain from the burning sensation.
After a while, she threw the flare at the ground near to the wall, just below where Jonas' feet dangled.
She set the knife against the substance, and smiled triumphantly when she felt the resistance give, and the blade start to cut through it a little easier... in fact, a lot easier. The closer to the inside she got, the easier it got.
Within no time at all, Jonas' entire right arm was exposed, and hanging from the wall... a little too limply for Carter's liking.
O'Neill had taken to heating his own knife, and was starting on the other side, cutting quickly but carefully at the substance to free the unconscious Jonas.
Teal'c kept watch a little way back, zat gun at the ready, armed and aimed at the tunnel's entrance. If the creature returned, it probably wouldn't be too happy to see intruders in its home.
Carter cut away at the substance cautiously, but with urgency, careful not to catch Jonas with the blade of her knife. The weapon was proving to be quite effective when heated, and she soon felt another part give way. She crouched to start work on his right leg, pausing, seeing the dark patch on his leg.
"Colonel, I've found a wound," she reported, cutting carefully around his leg, tugging at a heated area to quicken the process, feeling it give way in her hand. She threw it to the floor afterwards.
"How bad is it?"
"Not too bad, but from the looks of it, it's been bleeding quite a lot, with no pressure on it. I'd say he needs medical attention quite fast, sir," Carter explained, freeing the rest of the right leg, seeing O'Neill begin on the left.
Carter stood to her full height, and frowned at the substance covering the back and side of Jonas' head, only partially on his face. She would have to be extremely delicate in her work if she didn't want to do more harm than had already been done.
She picked up the flare again, and reheated the blade, having felt it cool off. Throwing the flare back to the ground, careful not to hit O'Neill, she started to pry the substance away from Jonas' head.
The only thing left to cut free after this was his chest.
Peeling the last piece of restraining material away, she sighed.
"He's bleeding, Colonel."
"Where?"
"Head. It doesn't look too bad, but he might have a concussion."
Colonel O'Neill let out a sigh, and pried his knife into the side of the thick matter at the edge of Jonas' chest, and said, "He really needs to be more careful."
Carter copied her commanding officer's actions, and the two simultaneously cut into the mass over the Kelownan's chest. She felt it give almost instantly, no longer able to hold Jonas' weight.
"Teal'c!" O'Neill called.
The Jaffa turned instantly, releasing his zat to the ground, and caught Jonas as he fell free of the wall, holding him over the shoulders, gripping the Kelownan carefully by the legs, and his right arm so he knew he would not drop him along the way.
"Alright, let's get outta here," O'Neill announced, retrieving Teal'c's dropped zat, and heading out of the cavern, P-90 at the ready, aimed straight ahead.
Carter brought up the rear, her eyes resting on Jonas, her mind filled with concern. Had they taken too long? She hoped not... her thoughts told her that they should have been here sooner, that he might die. He was so cold and pale, and where the substance had been, he was clearly damp, as though on the inside the mass had been moist for some reason.
She didn't have time to think about that now. They had to concentrate on getting Jonas back to Earth and to the infirmary.
Their trek back down the hill was quicker than it had been going up, and Teal'c tread carefully to avoid slipping, with the extra burden of Jonas across his shoulders.
Reaching the bottom of the hill, they had continued even faster through the thin woods, and had soon reached the thicker, denser cover of the larger trees. Birds and mammals came into earshot and sight, and Sam found their presence slightly comforting. They watched the procession with curiousity and intrigue.
It was when they reached the clearing that Colonel O'Neill suddenly stopped, raising his weapon defensively.
Teal'c halted, and Carter was forced to peek around the large man to see what was going on.
What awaited her eyes was slightly shocking, and she felt her muscles tense at the sight of the huge animal. Its monstrous fangs were bared threateningly, and its eyes glinted in the light, glaring up at Teal'c, flickering to the prone figure across his back. A long tail swayed angrily from side to side, and a low grumble of a growl emerged from deep in its throat. The fur stuck up all over its gigantic frame, its long legs prickly with spiky hair, sharp claws gouging up the dirt below its paws.
As Sam stared at the animal, realising that her long eye contact could be perceived as a threat, she noticed that the large paws were roughly as big as Teal'c's hands. That in itself was impressive, and dangerous. Anything as bestial as this creature with proportions relative to the Jaffa was a definite threat to SG-1.
O'Neill let off a shot into the air, warning the creature to move back and away, but the animal did not falter. Its eyes turned in the Colonel's direction, and they narrowed, and a louder growl emerged from its maw, the teeth parting in an exchanging of threat with the commanding officer.
Suddenly, it snapped its jaws at the Colonel, the teeth slamming shut roughly a centimetre or two from the man's leg. He jumped back, and shot a single bullet into one of the animal's hind legs.
It let out a small yelp, but did not desist in its threatening actions.
"Teal'c, I could use a hand here," O'Neill said slowly and definitely.
The Jaffa nodded, and lay Jonas down on the ground gently near to Sam. The Major moved to the Kelownan's side, and prepared herself in case the animal should make a move for the injured party. She was ready to put herself in the line of danger to protect her friend. She raised her P-90, and aimed it at the animal's chest.
Jonas stirred on the ground, and his right hand moved slightly, his body shivering.
Sam laid a hand on his shoulder soothingly, and said quietly, "It's okay Jonas."
She heard him mutter something about being cold, shortly before he went still again, his shallow breathing worrying Sam greatly. She rubbed his arm gently, and then rested it back on her weapon.
Teal'c and O'Neill were facing off the animal, even as it paced towards them. But at the sound of Jonas' quiet words, its slitted eyes glared in Sam's direction, and it changed its target. It was heading right for her and Jonas, its steps confident and focused.
O'Neill made a move to step in its way, but the claws swiped for it, and he fell back to avoid being practically sliced apart. The predator snapped a growl at him once, and then continued on its way to Sam and Jonas.
Sam's eyes went wide at the sound of a guttural noise resembling a word. The mouth opened definitely, and the tongue flickered in the forming of speech.
"Mine."
"Colonel, it spoke!" Sam announced, unsure of what she should do.
"I don't care! Kill the damn thing!"
Closing her eyes, with one last look at Jonas, she squeezed the trigger on her weapon, and felt the bullets explode from the gun, shortly before hearing the agonised screams as they tore into the beast before her.
"Carter!"
She didn't hear him; only felt the tears in her eyes at having to destroy what was obviously an intelligent sentient being.
A hand fell onto her shoulder, causing her to stop. When she opened her eyes, she looked up into the gaze of Teal'c, and then over to the point where the creature had been standing. Instead, it now lay in a bloody mess on the floor some five feet from her. A great pool of scarlet had started to seep from the wounds, and she mouthed words that took on no sound.
"Major Carter, we must leave," Teal'c told her, retrieving the Kelownan carefully from the floor, scooping him up and laying him over his shoulders, taking a hold of his legs, and one arm so that he was secure.
Carter headed off at a run after them, taking one last glance at the carcass.
Glancing back, clutching his P-90 readily, he saw the two others close behind, easily keeping pace with him.
Pushing himself harder, he pulled with his free hand at large jutting rocks and branches that protruded from the rock face, using them to ease his climb. What kind of predator lived all the way up such a problematic hill anyway? It hadn't seemed so large from far away.
Quit thinking, and get a move on, he ordered himself, nodding sharply, and jumped over a small rock.
They were going in the right direction. The prints of the animal were evident even all the way up here. It was a miracle that the rain hadn't washed them away. Plus, every here and there, he could see drops of blood on the ground.
Realising that the end of their trek was close at hand, O'Neill held up a hand, raising his weapon at the ready, and progressing at a slower and steadier pace, each tread careful and soft.
He could barely hear the others behind him, but he knew they were there. He had worked with them for so long he could sense their presence now; he knew when they were there, and when they weren't.
Waving a hand, he called the Jaffa forward, seeing the large form of Teal'c head up the remainder of the hill alone, until he stopped, zat armed and prepared. His dark eyes shifted to O'Neill, and he nodded once.
Jack pushed up the hill, and poked his P-90 around the mouth of the cave, seeing with the aid of the small flashlight that there was a long tunnel opened up before them, stretching off into shadow and gloom. He narrowed his eyes, and listened for sounds of anything inside. Nothing.
"Teal'c, take point," he mumbled, and watched his friend move off to take the lead down into the darkness.
Jack followed, the light from his weapon shining in a beam down the tunnel, making Teal'c's job a lot easier. The Jaffa could see quite well in these conditions anyway, but the Colonel figured that Teal'c would have a better chance of taking down any potential hostiles if he could see clearer.
Carter brought up the rear, her delicate steps heard slightly in the silence of the cave. Jack knew his second in command was no doubt calm, and yet quite anxious. They would soon find out just whether or not her guilt was well founded.
* * *
Peering over her shoulder, she saw the light of the opening retreating fast, their progress into the cave quick and steady. They were motivated, and Sam knew that Colonel O'Neill was heading for his target fast. Nothing would stand in his way.
Her eyes drifted cautiously around the interior of the tunnel, and she saw no evidence of life, no grasses, no moss, and no droppings. Whatever lived in here was extremely neat... for an animal.
Hearing the hushed whisper of O'Neill, Carter's eyes snapped forward, and she felt her body tense up in preparation. There was an evident opening ahead, leading into some sort of larger cavernous cave, and she watched as the two men entered it carefully. They aimed their weapons left and right, and then waved Carter forward.
She followed quickly, flicking her gun behind her in case something had trailed in after them, and then back to O'Neill and Teal'c.
"See anything?" O'Neill said to Teal'c quietly in a hushed voice.
"Nothing," Teal'c responded, "other than the remains." A large hand indicated dozens of skeletons littering the walls, and he and O'Neill moved off to take a closer look, all the while alert and ready to defend theirselves if need be.
Carter stood watch, her eyes drifting around in disgust at the state of the cave. What looked to be similar to a spider's web, but much more durable, stretched around the walls in long strips, covering the remains partially. Some of it hung, worn, from the bones.
Over in the corner, she spotted a large sack, and she couldn't fight the urge to investigate. Moving over, constantly aware of her position in relation to the rest of SG-1, she halted at the opening to the sack, and shone her light inside.
It was damp, strips of the mucus-like substance hanging motionless from the opening and from inside. She lowered herself to peer closer, and grimaced at the smell. It stank, as though something had died inside quite some time ago. Furrowing her brow, she shone her light closer, and quickly stood. There was blood in there.
Retrieving a sample container, she managed to break off a small area of the wall, and placed it inside, wiping her sticky hand on her pant's leg afterwards, and placing the container in her vest, standing in the process.
She turned, her interest no longer held by the sack, and shone her light around the rest of the cave, surprised when she saw it reflect against something on the opposite wall.
Curious, she walked over, her steps silent against the muddy ground below, and tilted her head at the presence of a large area of the wall covered by the white substance. She followed the beam of her light to where it had reflected, and saw just what had glinted.
She lowered her weapon, and looked again, confirming her suspicions. A ring... one she had seen before on many occassions.
"Oh my god," she muttered under her breath, seeing the hand, and the edge of a green cuff. Her eyes darted over the extensive area covered by the substance, until she realised she needed more light. She pulled out her small flashlight, and flicked it on, her eyes going wide.
"Jonas..."
She stretched out a hand to touch his cheek, and was shocked to find how cold his skin was in comparison to her own. She didn't know why she hadn't seen him earlier, but she supposed it was because most of his body was completely covered by the substance.
"Sir!" she called, hooking her light on her vest, and yanking out her knife, her other hand trying to find a pulse on Jonas.
"What?"
"Get over here!" she called urgently, and carefully tried to cut some of the substance away, cursing when the blade failed to do anything.
She heard their footsteps as they approached, and then the shocked mumble of the Colonel as he obviously saw what had her so preoccupied.
"We've got to get him out of the wall," she told them, trying to pry the blade of her knife under another part of the restraining substance. Failing again, she resisted the urge to curse loudly, and whirled to O'Neill. "Sir, I can barely feel a pulse, and he's breathing so shallow I couldn't even tell whether he was actually breathing or not. He's as cold as ice."
"Where you unsuccessful in your attempts to cut the restraints, Major Carter?"
She looked to Teal'c, and nodded frantically, turning back to Jonas, and tried to directly ram the knife in. To her surprise, the blade sank partially into the white exterior, but not enough to truly matter.
"Dammit," she muttered impatiently, and resorted to trying to pry it off with her fingers.
"Carter," O'Neill began.
She pulled her hand away, her fingers cold at the tips, and shook them. Her eyes snapped to O'Neill. "Colonel, do you have a lighter?"
"What? No, I quit," he said earnestly, and shook his head, looking over the form of the Kelownan in puzzlement.
Carter fumbled for a moment, before, glancing back at Jonas, said, "What about a flare?"
O'Neill cocked his head. "What for?"
"Sir," she began quickly, "this mucus, or whatever it is, is ice cold. And ice melts in direct heat, especially if put into contact with extreme heat, like fire. If I can get the blade of my knife hot enough, I might be able to cut this away from Jonas."
O'Neill searched around in his vest pouches, before retrieving a long stick, and presenting it to Carter.
She struck the end of it, and shook her head. I hope this works, she thought. Light and heat exploded from the end of the flare, and she carefully held the end of her knife to the sparks. She felt a couple land on her hand, and stifled a hiss of pain from the burning sensation.
After a while, she threw the flare at the ground near to the wall, just below where Jonas' feet dangled.
She set the knife against the substance, and smiled triumphantly when she felt the resistance give, and the blade start to cut through it a little easier... in fact, a lot easier. The closer to the inside she got, the easier it got.
Within no time at all, Jonas' entire right arm was exposed, and hanging from the wall... a little too limply for Carter's liking.
O'Neill had taken to heating his own knife, and was starting on the other side, cutting quickly but carefully at the substance to free the unconscious Jonas.
Teal'c kept watch a little way back, zat gun at the ready, armed and aimed at the tunnel's entrance. If the creature returned, it probably wouldn't be too happy to see intruders in its home.
Carter cut away at the substance cautiously, but with urgency, careful not to catch Jonas with the blade of her knife. The weapon was proving to be quite effective when heated, and she soon felt another part give way. She crouched to start work on his right leg, pausing, seeing the dark patch on his leg.
"Colonel, I've found a wound," she reported, cutting carefully around his leg, tugging at a heated area to quicken the process, feeling it give way in her hand. She threw it to the floor afterwards.
"How bad is it?"
"Not too bad, but from the looks of it, it's been bleeding quite a lot, with no pressure on it. I'd say he needs medical attention quite fast, sir," Carter explained, freeing the rest of the right leg, seeing O'Neill begin on the left.
Carter stood to her full height, and frowned at the substance covering the back and side of Jonas' head, only partially on his face. She would have to be extremely delicate in her work if she didn't want to do more harm than had already been done.
She picked up the flare again, and reheated the blade, having felt it cool off. Throwing the flare back to the ground, careful not to hit O'Neill, she started to pry the substance away from Jonas' head.
The only thing left to cut free after this was his chest.
Peeling the last piece of restraining material away, she sighed.
"He's bleeding, Colonel."
"Where?"
"Head. It doesn't look too bad, but he might have a concussion."
Colonel O'Neill let out a sigh, and pried his knife into the side of the thick matter at the edge of Jonas' chest, and said, "He really needs to be more careful."
Carter copied her commanding officer's actions, and the two simultaneously cut into the mass over the Kelownan's chest. She felt it give almost instantly, no longer able to hold Jonas' weight.
"Teal'c!" O'Neill called.
The Jaffa turned instantly, releasing his zat to the ground, and caught Jonas as he fell free of the wall, holding him over the shoulders, gripping the Kelownan carefully by the legs, and his right arm so he knew he would not drop him along the way.
"Alright, let's get outta here," O'Neill announced, retrieving Teal'c's dropped zat, and heading out of the cavern, P-90 at the ready, aimed straight ahead.
Carter brought up the rear, her eyes resting on Jonas, her mind filled with concern. Had they taken too long? She hoped not... her thoughts told her that they should have been here sooner, that he might die. He was so cold and pale, and where the substance had been, he was clearly damp, as though on the inside the mass had been moist for some reason.
She didn't have time to think about that now. They had to concentrate on getting Jonas back to Earth and to the infirmary.
Their trek back down the hill was quicker than it had been going up, and Teal'c tread carefully to avoid slipping, with the extra burden of Jonas across his shoulders.
Reaching the bottom of the hill, they had continued even faster through the thin woods, and had soon reached the thicker, denser cover of the larger trees. Birds and mammals came into earshot and sight, and Sam found their presence slightly comforting. They watched the procession with curiousity and intrigue.
It was when they reached the clearing that Colonel O'Neill suddenly stopped, raising his weapon defensively.
Teal'c halted, and Carter was forced to peek around the large man to see what was going on.
What awaited her eyes was slightly shocking, and she felt her muscles tense at the sight of the huge animal. Its monstrous fangs were bared threateningly, and its eyes glinted in the light, glaring up at Teal'c, flickering to the prone figure across his back. A long tail swayed angrily from side to side, and a low grumble of a growl emerged from deep in its throat. The fur stuck up all over its gigantic frame, its long legs prickly with spiky hair, sharp claws gouging up the dirt below its paws.
As Sam stared at the animal, realising that her long eye contact could be perceived as a threat, she noticed that the large paws were roughly as big as Teal'c's hands. That in itself was impressive, and dangerous. Anything as bestial as this creature with proportions relative to the Jaffa was a definite threat to SG-1.
O'Neill let off a shot into the air, warning the creature to move back and away, but the animal did not falter. Its eyes turned in the Colonel's direction, and they narrowed, and a louder growl emerged from its maw, the teeth parting in an exchanging of threat with the commanding officer.
Suddenly, it snapped its jaws at the Colonel, the teeth slamming shut roughly a centimetre or two from the man's leg. He jumped back, and shot a single bullet into one of the animal's hind legs.
It let out a small yelp, but did not desist in its threatening actions.
"Teal'c, I could use a hand here," O'Neill said slowly and definitely.
The Jaffa nodded, and lay Jonas down on the ground gently near to Sam. The Major moved to the Kelownan's side, and prepared herself in case the animal should make a move for the injured party. She was ready to put herself in the line of danger to protect her friend. She raised her P-90, and aimed it at the animal's chest.
Jonas stirred on the ground, and his right hand moved slightly, his body shivering.
Sam laid a hand on his shoulder soothingly, and said quietly, "It's okay Jonas."
She heard him mutter something about being cold, shortly before he went still again, his shallow breathing worrying Sam greatly. She rubbed his arm gently, and then rested it back on her weapon.
Teal'c and O'Neill were facing off the animal, even as it paced towards them. But at the sound of Jonas' quiet words, its slitted eyes glared in Sam's direction, and it changed its target. It was heading right for her and Jonas, its steps confident and focused.
O'Neill made a move to step in its way, but the claws swiped for it, and he fell back to avoid being practically sliced apart. The predator snapped a growl at him once, and then continued on its way to Sam and Jonas.
Sam's eyes went wide at the sound of a guttural noise resembling a word. The mouth opened definitely, and the tongue flickered in the forming of speech.
"Mine."
"Colonel, it spoke!" Sam announced, unsure of what she should do.
"I don't care! Kill the damn thing!"
Closing her eyes, with one last look at Jonas, she squeezed the trigger on her weapon, and felt the bullets explode from the gun, shortly before hearing the agonised screams as they tore into the beast before her.
"Carter!"
She didn't hear him; only felt the tears in her eyes at having to destroy what was obviously an intelligent sentient being.
A hand fell onto her shoulder, causing her to stop. When she opened her eyes, she looked up into the gaze of Teal'c, and then over to the point where the creature had been standing. Instead, it now lay in a bloody mess on the floor some five feet from her. A great pool of scarlet had started to seep from the wounds, and she mouthed words that took on no sound.
"Major Carter, we must leave," Teal'c told her, retrieving the Kelownan carefully from the floor, scooping him up and laying him over his shoulders, taking a hold of his legs, and one arm so that he was secure.
Carter headed off at a run after them, taking one last glance at the carcass.
