Part 3
The silence was frightening. Jack lay, the weak light from the torch barely illuminating a few feet of the area around him. He strained to hear, to understand what had happened. The sound of Daniel stumbling to one side and vomiting had roused him as he was about to finally give in to the utter weariness and pain. He had waited for a second, and then hearing nothing from his friend, called out into the dark.
"Daniel?" He waited again - hearing no sound at all. "Daniel!"
Oh crap! Nothing. He tried to see into the gloom, but could make out only shadows. What the hell had just happened?
Then it came to him - Daniel had been injured as well. He mentally kicked himself for forgetting. Who knew how long Daniel had been looking after him, while he just lay there? Hours?
He had to get to him, make sure that he was okay, get him back into the light.
Look after him.
He knew that his dislocated shoulder would be a problem - and that was an understatement - but Daniel had strapped it to his side. If he was careful not to roll on it, he should be able to make it the few steps he needed to reach his friend. He just needed to get his legs under him.
Holding the pain firmly in, he pushed himself onto his chest.
The agony flared and consumed him, taking everything else with it.
Jack whimpered, unable to even cry out.
The emptiness opened up and pulled him in.
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Untended, the fire burnt down and spluttered out, leaving the two men alone in the dark.
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Major Carter pulled her binoculars from her eyes and sighed. The gate was still heavily guarded; there was no way that they could get past the waiting men. A rustle behind her brought her spinning around, weapon at the ready.
"It is I, Major Carter." Teal'c emerged from the bushes, and sank to the ground beside her. "I was unable to find any sign of Colonel O'Neill or Daniel Jackson."
"So it's as we suspected, they didn't leave the town." Sam rubbed her eyes wearily. They had been cut off from the town by several groups of men, all obviously hunting for them. It had only been the superior skills of the Jaffa that had prevented them from being captured before now. They had done the only sensible thing, headed for the gate, hoping to get reinforcements.
That plan had been short lived.
So here they were, holed up in a small ravine, within sight of the gate. Teal'c had gone back, searching once more for any sign that the others had left the town, but it was becoming more clear that whatever had happened had occurred while they had been out of sight.
"We should have gone in as soon as the Colonel and Daniel disappeared." Sam berated herself for what she saw as her mistake.
"That action would have achieved nothing except our capture. It is obvious that they were expected and a trap set. We have been fortunate to have avoided the search parties."
Dusk was settling over the scene, but the guards around the gate showed no sign of lessening their vigilance. Unless something changed in the near future, they could only wait. They were due to return to Earth in thirty-six hours. Hopefully they were close enough to contact the SGC by radio, via the MALP, and able to request that the General send backup.
She just hoped that the Colonel and Daniel could wait that long.
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He woke gradually, his whole body one solid mass of pain. He could feel the sticky, familiar awareness of blood under him, the sharp metallic smell harsh in the air. His chest burned and throbbed. He touched it with his good hand, gently probing the bandages.
This was something that Daniel had left out when he asked for a report on his injuries. He wondered what exactly those sadistic bastards had done to him. Whatever it was, he would have to try and ignore it, at least until he found Daniel.
He listened for a moment, trying to penetrate the blackness with his ears, if not his eyes. There! The soft sound of a slightly blocked nose. Thank god for Daniel's allergies.
Jack brought his knees up, and using one hand, pushed himself off the ground. He staggered to his feet, his head spinning, before taking a tentative step in the direction of the sounds, and promptly falling over something in the dark.
The long trip back down to the ground ended with him on his knees once more, pain flaring again. This time he decided to crawl, one handed.
He pushed aside the pile of wood that had been his downfall, and groped his way cautiously over the dusty floor. After a few feet he stopped, and reached out, feeling in front of him. The breathing was loud, and sure enough, his hand touched the familiar material of Air Force BDUs.
"Daniel." The heavy breathing didn't miss a beat, which was somewhat reassuring. He sat back, his knees screaming protest, and felt until he found the other man's face, giving it a hard pat.
"Come on Daniel. Wake up." He began to get a bit desperate, knowing that he couldn't keep this level of awareness up for much longer. Despite the darkness, lights were beginning to dance in front of his eyes, and closing them didn't seem to help at all. He could feel the slow trickle of wetness running down his chest and he had that light headed feeling that he recognised as weakness from loss of blood.
He needed to make Daniel wake up now!
He moved his hand around to the back of Daniel's head, his long fingers searching for any sign of injury. There it was. A large raised lump, obviously caused by the blow from the club.
Hell! Concussion.
Daniel shouldn't be sleeping. You shouldn't sleep with a head injury. He should wake up. Jack lowered his hand and gave him a gentle shake.
"Danny, I really need you to wake up now." Still no reaction. He made to edge closer towards the sleeping man when his right knee suddenly gave out, throwing him in a heap.
"Shit!" Jack rocked backwards and forwards uncaring that the motion made the pain worse. One part of him cringed as the smell of vomit assailed his nostrils, recoiling from the wet patch next to Daniel, the other part of him really didn't care - he had much more urgent things to worry about. Like staying conscious.
His over tired brain had suddenly put two and two together and come up with about fifteen reasons why he couldn't join his friend in sleep. He had a head injury as well. That fact had been submerged in amongst everything else. He had to find the torches he remembered Daniel bringing in here with them, light one, see how bad the other man's injuries were. He had to stop the bleeding he knew had begun again, the main source being the wounds on his legs. He had to see exactly what was wrong with his chest. He had to find some water before his mouth dried up completely. He had to find a way out of here.
Above all he had to stay awake.
His left shoulder muscles chose that moment to spasm, causing him to cry out in the silence.
Yep! That helped - no problem not going to sleep now.
Jack sat in the dark and shivered.
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Daniel groaned his way to wakefulness.
"I really wish that you wouldn't do that."
The strained voice came from somewhere behind him and off to the right.
"Do what, Jack?" He opened his eyes, squinting with the sudden onslaught of light.
"That moaning sound."
Daniel held his hand in front of his eyes and moaned, his head pounding.
"Oh god! Will you quit that!"
"Sorry. Can't help it. Tell this headache to go away and I'll stop." He kept his eyes shut.
"Go away headache." The answer held a small echo of Jack's normal sarcasm.
Daniel twisted towards the voice. "Brilliant, Jack. Except it didn't work." He opened his lids a tiny bit, bracing himself for the expected pain.
Jack sat in front of him, his back against the rough wall of rock. He looked like a vision from Hell.
"Shit, Jack! Oh shit!" Daniel pushed himself to his feet, and reached the wall within seconds. "Shit!"
The blood streaked man smiled slightly. "You know, Daniel, for a linguist you sure have a limited vocabulary."
Daniel grabbed the shaking hand that was held out to him. He could feel the heat pulsing from the other man, see the drawn face and bloodshot eyes. He shook his head and squeezed the hand gently, receiving an even weaker one in return.
"Shit, Jack."
"We've been through this already, Daniel. Can we move on now?" Jack's words ended in a painful cough, half swallowed before it was allowed to escape. He wrenched his hand from Daniel's grip and held it to his side, shutting his eyes. "Are you up to getting me a drink of water?" He gestured towards the pot, near at hand.
Daniel looked around, searching for anything that he could use as a cup. He vaguely remembered giving Jack water in his hand before, but that was too wasteful, and the injured man wouldn't be able to drink enough.
"There's one of your sample bags over near the water. I used that."
Daniel found the small plastic bag beside the pot. He dusted it of as best he could and dipped it into the liquid, noticing how low the level was. They would have to be very careful not to waste any, but right now Jack needed a drink. He sealed the top of the bag and made his way back to the waiting man, kneeling beside him. He found that his headache, although severe, could be ignored, worry for his friend taking all his attention.
He held the limp plastic up to Jack's mouth, letting the water escape through a small gap he opened at the top, and watched as it was eagerly drunk. He waited until it was empty before speaking.
"How long was I out?" He was reassured by the fact there didn't seem to be many torches used. It can't have been too long. The answer surprised him.
"I'm not sure - about six hours by my estimate."
Daniel frowned. "That long?" He glanced over at the pile of torches again.
"Well, like I said - I'm not sure. I wasn't around for a lot of it myself."
Daniel helped Jack to lie down, supporting him as much as he could to protect his misshapen shoulder and elbow. Despite his care, Jack cringed as his body reached the floor, and Daniel could see that his face was pale in the half-light.
He used his voice as a distraction as he began to examine the wounds on Jack's legs.
"What do you mean, you weren't around?" He could see that several of the deeper holes had bled again, but they appeared to have already stopped. He repositioned the bandages as best he could.
Jack gasped, his right hand clenching. "I logged out of here about the same time you did. Woke up in the dark." His fist pounded on the stone floor.
Daniel paused for a moment, thinking. "How did you light the torch again?" He finished examining the legs, noting that both knees were badly swollen. He looked up into the sweaty face of his friend, then let his gaze track down to the bandages around his chest, noting the fresh blood. He began to pull the cloth from the injury.
"I found a lighter in your pants pocket, along with the plastic bags." Jack swallowed loudly, a cough choked off in a harsh ragged almost sob. "I don't even want to know what you intended to do with them."
"So you were groping me in the dark, Colonel O'Neill? Should I be worried?" The three long gashes, red and inflamed, shone against the pallid skin.
"In your dreams, Doctor Jackson. In your dreams." The smile turned into a grimace, and Daniel found his hand grabbed once again, this time in a grip of steel.
"Don't!" Jack shook his head from side to side, his eyes moist. "Just leave it. Don't touch it."
"I have to, Jack. I have to clean it." Daniel tried to pull his hand away, surprised at the strength of Jack's hold.
"No you don't. We both know that it's already infected, so what's the point. Just leave it." Jack's lips lifted in a parody of a smile. "The Doc can fix it when we get home."
Daniel saw the pain in his friend's face and nodded. "At least let me rebandage it. Stop any more of this dust getting in." He waited for a reply.
Jack shut his eyes for a moment, blinking, then nodded once. "Okay, but do it quick." He lowered his head back to the folded jacket and released Daniel's hand.
Daniel took his shirt off, then pulled his t-shirt over his head, wincing as it touched a tender spot. He needed more bandages, and there was nothing else to use. The air where they were was stuffy and close, he certainly didn't need the T-shirt for warmth. He put his shirt back on, buttoning it up, and started ripping the black material into strips. They weren't clean or hygienic, but they were better than the pile of blood soaked bandages he had discarded on the floor, and he couldn't afford to use any of their precious dwindling water to wash them.
It wasn't long before he turned back to Jack, ready to begin. Jack lay with his eyes closed, his face set in an unemotional mask. Daniel slid the first strip of cloth behind his back, trying to avoid moving him too much, and brought it around, tying it off above the shoulder opposite the dislocation. He had to avoid the injured arm, making the whole process extremely awkward, and he fumbled slightly, trying to find the best position to do the job. He could hear Jack's breathing alter, but he refused to let himself look up. He had to get the job done, regardless of the cost.
His resolve slipped at the same time as his hand did, sticky and slick with blood. Jack arched his back and began to shiver uncontrollably.
"Oh god! Sorry!" Daniel's voice shook as he looked up, just in time to see his friend's teeth release their grip on his lip before his whole body relaxed into unconsciousness, finally succumbing to the pain.
The only thought Daniel allowed himself was one of thanks. He finished the job as quickly as possible, and took the opportunity to move Jack back on to the bed of straw.
Daniel watched the other man of a while, making sure his breathing was even. When he was satisfied that there was no more he could do, he took a small drink of water before relighting the fire. He sat for a while, thinking over their options.
It didn't seem that their captors had knowledge of these passages, there had been no sounds of searching. But there had been no sounds of rescue either. It looked like they were going to have to get themselves out of this mess, and judging by Jack's deteriorating condition, the sooner, the better. Their dwindling water supply was also a factor that had to be considered.
He stood. The first task was to see if there was a way out of here. For all he knew, there could be a door to the outside just around the corner. His decision made, he lit one of their reserve of torches. Jack hadn't stirred. Daniel knelt next to him and wiped off the sweat that beaded on his forehead.
Yes, he had to find a way out of here.
Picking up two extra torches, Daniel headed up the passage. At the first branch he marked the wall by scraping a line at waist height, using a sharp rock, resting his hand there for a moment as a wave of dizziness swept over him. It was a reminder that Jack wasn't the only one hurt. He would have given anything to just sit back and let someone else take charge, but that wasn't going to happen. He pushed off the wall and watched the torch flame for a minute. There seemed to be a slight movement of air in the right hand fork, so he took that one, walking as quickly as he could. He glanced at his watch, noting the time. He didn't want to leave Jack for too long.
The torch light flickered over the stone, illuminating the grey wall and showing the undisturbed dust of years. Daniel walked on into the silence.
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He felt hot and uncomfortable. And thirsty. Thirsty was at the top of the list. He cleared his throat, feeling his tongue rasp on the roof of his mouth. He reached over, groping for the call button, but couldn't find it, his hand hitting a rough surface instead of the softness of the mattress.
His head felt like it was about to break out the top of his skull using a pneumatic drill.
He stayed as still as possible, hoping that it would help to diminish the pounding, and tried to remember what had happened. His body hurt in so many unbelievable ways it rivalled that time in the desert of Iran for sheer agony.
Daniel had been here.
He lifted his head, trying to see past the light and into the gloom.
They had the lights down low for some reason. Must be night.
Daniel was probably working in his office. He should go find him, tell him about Carter and Teal'c. Tell him that they were lost.
He twisted around and finally managed to get to his feet, swaying on the spot of several minutes.
He really needed to get that drink of water.
And find Daniel.
Jack took a deep breath, pushed down the pain, and stumbled off into the dark.
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