Disclaimer: See Default Chapter
Chapter Three: Awakening
Sam's own coughing brought her out of her fitful sleep, and she curled into herself to try and ease the ache that seized her chest. As the spasms subsided, she blinked and looked around. Panic seized her, turning her blood even colder as she realized neither Jack, Daniel nor Teal'c were anywhere around.
She tried to sit up, but a vice grip pinched her temples and her vision swam. Laying back again on the dirt floor of the cave, she rested her arm across her eyes. Nausea twisted her gut.
As she tried to regain her equilibrium, Sam fought to remember what happened. She remembered the rain, and finding the cave. Cold. Being so cold it sank all the way to her bones. And Jack touching her face. Curling against him and relishing in the heat of his body.
She squeezed her eyes together as it felt like another nail was hammered into her temple.
Then a fleeting memory... loud noises and she was thrown to the floor. Arms and feet and the sound of Teal'c's staff weapon, and the Zats. Darkness had taken over then.
Sam rolled to her side, the sound of gravel and dirt crunching beneath her. Several feet away a fire burned, but she could tell by the layout of the cave, this wasn't the one they had been in. Where were Daniel and Teal'c? Jack? Oh, God...
Rough voices, speaking a guttural tongue, came from the darkness. Sam squinted her eye and tried to see them. She caught her breath as several figures moved into the light. She quickly counted eight women, dressed in animal skins that barely covered them, matted hair and dirty skin, as they slowly crept towards her.
Drawing on the last bit of energy she had, she gritted her teeth against the chill that made her bones ache, and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She held up her hands, hopefully in a non-threatening act.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she said.
The small gathering of women jumped simultaneously and exchanged fleeting glances. The rest pushed one forward, and she crouched down, approaching Sam on bent legs with one hand pressed into the dirt on her knuckles. She spoke, but Sam had no idea what language it was. It was rough... primitive... sounding more like grunts than actual spoken words.
"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head. Sam pressed her hand to her chest. "My name is Major Carter. Where are my friends?"
The woman shook her head and shouted something in her language, the stench of body odor reaching Sam. It only succeeded in making her stomach churn more. She swallowed against the greasy roll in her gut.
"My friends. Where are my friends?" She pulled her dog tags from the inside of her tee-shirt, showing it to them, hoping they would understand she needed to see the others who wore the same.
A deep, male voice came from the darkness and the women scattered. Sam looked up to see the figure approach. He was big, probably six feet tall, but thin and similar in appearance to the women. Scraggly. Dirty. Barely dressed. He grunted what probably was a command at Sam, but she could only stare and shake her head.
"I don't understand."
Her vision was swimming again, and the pressure behind her eyes grew with each moment. She was so cold. So incredibly cold, which she knew meant she was probably running a fever. Sam's body screamed out to just lie back and rest, but her mind wouldn't let her. She had to find the others – had to find Jack.
The man lunged at her, grabbing a fistful of hair on the back of her head and hauled her to her feet. Sam bit back the cry on her lips, and tried to fight against his hold. Instinctively, she reached for her weapons, realizing too late they were gone. He pulled her against his chest, and the fowl stench of his body and breath washed over her. He yanked at her again, moving towards the dark recesses of the cave, and Sam fought again. Her strength was nearly gone, her legs trembling from holding her weight. Before the light of the small fire disappeared, Sam was already in darkness.
~*~
"O'Neill."
Jack snapped open his eyes and looked into his Jaffa friend's face. Blinking, he glanced around. "Teal'c. What the hell happened?"
"We were overtaken during a surprise attack by what appears to be primitive inhabitants of this planet. I have just awoken, as has DanielJackson."
"Carter?" Jack asked, sitting him. The back of his head hurt like a son of a---
"Her whereabouts are unknown."
"Ah, hell," was all he allowed himself to say, but Jack's chest suddenly ached with deep and intense dread. "Where is Daniel?"
Teal'c inclined his head to Jack's left. It was then Jack realized they were in some sort of makeshift holding cell. Cramped inside a space in the cavern wall, their exit was blocked by large pieces of wood held in place by stones. Nothing he and Teal'c couldn't take down in five seconds flat.
"You okay, Danny?"
Daniel nodded, but seemed intent on listening to the small group of 'humans' gathered outside the cell. Jack stood as upright as he could in the tight space and made his way to the bars. Twenty feet away was a fire, and around it were gathered several men. They spoke in short, choppy grunts.
"What are they saying?" Jack asked.
Daniel shook his head. "I can't get it all. Their language seems to be a very primitive form of Goa'uld, or at least, I think so. I've been listening for the last several minutes, and just a minute or two ago, I could have sworn I saw the eyes of the one in the gray pelt glow."
"You mean they're snakeheads?"
Daniel shrugged. "I think that, in some form, they may be. Perhaps the Goa'uld tried to inhabit this planet, but the humans living here are so primitive even the collective consciousness of the symbiote couldn't break the intellectual barrier. Or perhaps, the humans here have somehow regressed, despite the Goa'uld."
Jack waved his hand in the air. "Et et ... enough. They're snakeheads, that's all I need to know. Have you heard anything about Carter? Where're they keeping her?"
Daniel's expression tensed and he looked away.
"Daniel..."
"All I can catch is that their ... chief... for lack of a better translation, has chosen new woman."
"A new woman?"
"With yellow hair."
"Like hell," Jack growled and kicked at the bars that held them in. "Teal'c, let's get out of here."
Moving in unison, Jack and Teal'c stepped back and kicked at the bars together. Rocks and wood tumbled forward into the chamber. Their escape immediately sent the men in the cave into frenzy, and they called out in loud grunts and shouts to each other, grabbing sticks and rocks to attack them with. Without weapons, they moved into hand-to-hand combat, and as Jack laid out his second primitive, and flurry of action caught his eye. His heart caught in his throat.
The biggest male of all of them came into the light of the fire, a limp and pale Sam being dragged behind him.
Chapter Three: Awakening
Sam's own coughing brought her out of her fitful sleep, and she curled into herself to try and ease the ache that seized her chest. As the spasms subsided, she blinked and looked around. Panic seized her, turning her blood even colder as she realized neither Jack, Daniel nor Teal'c were anywhere around.
She tried to sit up, but a vice grip pinched her temples and her vision swam. Laying back again on the dirt floor of the cave, she rested her arm across her eyes. Nausea twisted her gut.
As she tried to regain her equilibrium, Sam fought to remember what happened. She remembered the rain, and finding the cave. Cold. Being so cold it sank all the way to her bones. And Jack touching her face. Curling against him and relishing in the heat of his body.
She squeezed her eyes together as it felt like another nail was hammered into her temple.
Then a fleeting memory... loud noises and she was thrown to the floor. Arms and feet and the sound of Teal'c's staff weapon, and the Zats. Darkness had taken over then.
Sam rolled to her side, the sound of gravel and dirt crunching beneath her. Several feet away a fire burned, but she could tell by the layout of the cave, this wasn't the one they had been in. Where were Daniel and Teal'c? Jack? Oh, God...
Rough voices, speaking a guttural tongue, came from the darkness. Sam squinted her eye and tried to see them. She caught her breath as several figures moved into the light. She quickly counted eight women, dressed in animal skins that barely covered them, matted hair and dirty skin, as they slowly crept towards her.
Drawing on the last bit of energy she had, she gritted her teeth against the chill that made her bones ache, and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She held up her hands, hopefully in a non-threatening act.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she said.
The small gathering of women jumped simultaneously and exchanged fleeting glances. The rest pushed one forward, and she crouched down, approaching Sam on bent legs with one hand pressed into the dirt on her knuckles. She spoke, but Sam had no idea what language it was. It was rough... primitive... sounding more like grunts than actual spoken words.
"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head. Sam pressed her hand to her chest. "My name is Major Carter. Where are my friends?"
The woman shook her head and shouted something in her language, the stench of body odor reaching Sam. It only succeeded in making her stomach churn more. She swallowed against the greasy roll in her gut.
"My friends. Where are my friends?" She pulled her dog tags from the inside of her tee-shirt, showing it to them, hoping they would understand she needed to see the others who wore the same.
A deep, male voice came from the darkness and the women scattered. Sam looked up to see the figure approach. He was big, probably six feet tall, but thin and similar in appearance to the women. Scraggly. Dirty. Barely dressed. He grunted what probably was a command at Sam, but she could only stare and shake her head.
"I don't understand."
Her vision was swimming again, and the pressure behind her eyes grew with each moment. She was so cold. So incredibly cold, which she knew meant she was probably running a fever. Sam's body screamed out to just lie back and rest, but her mind wouldn't let her. She had to find the others – had to find Jack.
The man lunged at her, grabbing a fistful of hair on the back of her head and hauled her to her feet. Sam bit back the cry on her lips, and tried to fight against his hold. Instinctively, she reached for her weapons, realizing too late they were gone. He pulled her against his chest, and the fowl stench of his body and breath washed over her. He yanked at her again, moving towards the dark recesses of the cave, and Sam fought again. Her strength was nearly gone, her legs trembling from holding her weight. Before the light of the small fire disappeared, Sam was already in darkness.
~*~
"O'Neill."
Jack snapped open his eyes and looked into his Jaffa friend's face. Blinking, he glanced around. "Teal'c. What the hell happened?"
"We were overtaken during a surprise attack by what appears to be primitive inhabitants of this planet. I have just awoken, as has DanielJackson."
"Carter?" Jack asked, sitting him. The back of his head hurt like a son of a---
"Her whereabouts are unknown."
"Ah, hell," was all he allowed himself to say, but Jack's chest suddenly ached with deep and intense dread. "Where is Daniel?"
Teal'c inclined his head to Jack's left. It was then Jack realized they were in some sort of makeshift holding cell. Cramped inside a space in the cavern wall, their exit was blocked by large pieces of wood held in place by stones. Nothing he and Teal'c couldn't take down in five seconds flat.
"You okay, Danny?"
Daniel nodded, but seemed intent on listening to the small group of 'humans' gathered outside the cell. Jack stood as upright as he could in the tight space and made his way to the bars. Twenty feet away was a fire, and around it were gathered several men. They spoke in short, choppy grunts.
"What are they saying?" Jack asked.
Daniel shook his head. "I can't get it all. Their language seems to be a very primitive form of Goa'uld, or at least, I think so. I've been listening for the last several minutes, and just a minute or two ago, I could have sworn I saw the eyes of the one in the gray pelt glow."
"You mean they're snakeheads?"
Daniel shrugged. "I think that, in some form, they may be. Perhaps the Goa'uld tried to inhabit this planet, but the humans living here are so primitive even the collective consciousness of the symbiote couldn't break the intellectual barrier. Or perhaps, the humans here have somehow regressed, despite the Goa'uld."
Jack waved his hand in the air. "Et et ... enough. They're snakeheads, that's all I need to know. Have you heard anything about Carter? Where're they keeping her?"
Daniel's expression tensed and he looked away.
"Daniel..."
"All I can catch is that their ... chief... for lack of a better translation, has chosen new woman."
"A new woman?"
"With yellow hair."
"Like hell," Jack growled and kicked at the bars that held them in. "Teal'c, let's get out of here."
Moving in unison, Jack and Teal'c stepped back and kicked at the bars together. Rocks and wood tumbled forward into the chamber. Their escape immediately sent the men in the cave into frenzy, and they called out in loud grunts and shouts to each other, grabbing sticks and rocks to attack them with. Without weapons, they moved into hand-to-hand combat, and as Jack laid out his second primitive, and flurry of action caught his eye. His heart caught in his throat.
The biggest male of all of them came into the light of the fire, a limp and pale Sam being dragged behind him.