"A hand?"
Daniel tried to look a little less skeptical than he felt, but it didn't work. Yeah, the way he said it, it sounded crazy, Jack knew, but he couldn't think of any way to say it that sounded any less crazy. He nodded.
"A hand. Just a hand."
"No arm attached?"
"Damn it, Daniel... it was a hand. I saw it."
Carter and Teal'c were both sitting at the wall as well, where they'd been taking a break from helping Daniel – who hadn't taken a break and didn't intend to any time soon.
"It was just floating there?" Sam asked. He didn't look like he was messing with them, but with Jack, well... you never knew. "What was it doing?"
"It was..." He scowled, realizing that they were never going to believe him. Hell, he didn't believe himself, for that matter. And then he was going to tell them that the hand was petting Jaffer? Oh, yeah, that was believable. "...Never mind."
"Perhaps you dreamed of this hand, O'Neill," Teal'c suggested. He didn't believe O'Neill would lie, but a dream might be the only thing that made sense. A free-floating hand certainly did not. "You did say you were asleep, after all."
Jack's scowl deepened, but he shrugged. He was pretty sure he hadn't dreamed that hesitant voice with the weird accent calling his dog's name, or the hand, for that matter. But he supposed there was always a chance that he had. Except that Jaffer had been looking in the exact same direction Jack had been, so it was obvious that the black lab had seen what he saw. Or they'd been having the same dream.
"Nah, I wasn't dreaming it." He looked down at Jaffer, certain that he hadn't been dreaming it, either, and then turned to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Sam asked.
"I'm going to go look around again."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"Nah, you stay and help Daniel... I'll be back soon."
With Jaffer at his side, Jack walked back to the campsite and then knelt next to the dog, looking at the place he'd seen the hand.
"You saw it, right, little man?" He scratched Jaffer's ears, and the lab sighed with bliss at the touch. "Think you can find her?"
Yeah... how to track an invisible hand attached to a little girl voice? Use a dog that probably doesn't have a clue what you're looking for any more than you do. Jaffer wagged his tail, though, and licked Jack's hand.
"Find her, Jaffer..."
Find her? He didn't mean Sam, because they both knew where Sam was. Jaffer sneezed, and wagged his tail, uncertainly, unsure what Jack wanted from him, but eager to do it.
Jack gave up. It wasn't fair of him to ask Jaffer to do something so stupid, anyways. He stood up with a sigh, but slapped the black lab's side lovingly. It was Jaffer's fault he didn't know what Jack wanted. Hell, Jack didn't even know what he wanted.
"Come on, let's go for a walk."
This time he wasn't planning on making a circle of the camp. Jack stopped just long enough to grab his canteen and weapon, and then he and Jaffer headed the same direction that Jaffer and he had been looking when he saw the hand. Then they headed off into the forest (or jungle... Jack wasn't really sure what was the difference)
.................
The bright sunlight that bathed the ruins so liberally didn't penetrate the thick treetops of the forest so readily, which made the floor of the jungle seem later in the day because it was darker than it had been out in the open. It wasn't so dark that they couldn't see what was going on around them, though, although the further they walked into the woods, the denser the trees and brush became.
They crossed the stream a couple times – or maybe different streams – Jack wasn't sure, and went through a couple of small clearings, but even after almost an hour of walking, they still hadn't seen anything odd. Jaffer was ranging out ahead of O'Neill, his nose everywhere as he tracked various small creatures, and flushed game for Jack like he had the day before. The lab was thoroughly enjoying this hike, and Jack was enjoying it just because Jaffer was. However, he was also getting hot and sweaty, even though it was a lot cooler in the trees than it was in the clearings, and he figured it was about time to call it a day and head back.
Then Jaffer came across the kill.
The big dog's nose led him right to it, and his obvious interest in whatever was hidden in the brush was enough to draw Jack over to see what it was.
"What do you have, Jaffer?" He asked, bringing his rifle up to bear, just in case. Who knew, after all? Jaffer wagged his tail, his nose buried in the brush.
Jack moved the brush aside, and grimaced. Jaffer had found a very dead, very ripped up creature that Jack was pretty sure was one of the deer-like things they'd seen the day before. Someone or something had been eating it, and doing a messy job of it, and the kill looked pretty fresh, if O'Neill was much of a judge of such things.
"Ick..." He reached down and touched Jaffer's rump; when the dog was that distracted, it took a little reminding that he was there and was supposed to be paid attention to. "Come on, Jaffer. We don't want that."
Jaffer wasn't so sure. It smelled like raw burgers to him, and he loved meat! He looked up at Jack, as if to ask him if he was sure that he didn't want any of it, but Jack was already moving away, looking around for whatever – or whoever – had done the killing. He didn't see any floating hands, or anything else, though, and Jaffer was so distracted by the dead creature that the black lab's nose and ears completely missed all the warning signs that Jack wouldn't have caught.
.......................
The creatures were large – about twice the size of Jaffer, although they looked nothing like the dog. Lounging in the trees above their fresh kill, guarding it until they'd digested enough of what they'd already eaten so they could gorge again, they were deadly killers. Vaguely feline, with tawny colored fur blotted by darker patches that gave them wonderfully complex camouflaging which worked extremely well, huge feet that had long claws – for climbing and for killing – powerful jaws, and large dark eyes that glared down with malice at the creatures that dared to go near the kill they'd made.
They moved stealthily, and Jack didn't hear them as the four creatures changed positions from lounging indolence to identical crouches, bodies tense as they sized up their opponents and chose their targets. Jaffer still might have given warning and Jack might have been able to bring his P- 90 up and stopped the attack before it began, except that the dog turned his head once more to the kill, just to take a final sniff before leaving it to follow Jack, and the creatures took it as a sign that he was going to start eating, and with a snarl the leader of the small pack sprang at Jaffer while the others came down from their branches and landed on Jack.
O'Neill felt the attack coming the same way he'd felt the hand close to him, and instinctively turned. Just in time to see three huge creatures coming down on him, claws flashing, and teeth impossibly large. He heard a yelp of surprise – or pain – from Jaffer, and had time to fire one shot, which was incredibly lucky, and managed to hit one of his attackers, and then he went down in a heap, struggling to bring his weapon to bear again, even as he felt something incredibly sharp tear through the sleeve of his light jacket, and felt something else bite down hard on the Kevlar vest he was wearing.
Daniel tried to look a little less skeptical than he felt, but it didn't work. Yeah, the way he said it, it sounded crazy, Jack knew, but he couldn't think of any way to say it that sounded any less crazy. He nodded.
"A hand. Just a hand."
"No arm attached?"
"Damn it, Daniel... it was a hand. I saw it."
Carter and Teal'c were both sitting at the wall as well, where they'd been taking a break from helping Daniel – who hadn't taken a break and didn't intend to any time soon.
"It was just floating there?" Sam asked. He didn't look like he was messing with them, but with Jack, well... you never knew. "What was it doing?"
"It was..." He scowled, realizing that they were never going to believe him. Hell, he didn't believe himself, for that matter. And then he was going to tell them that the hand was petting Jaffer? Oh, yeah, that was believable. "...Never mind."
"Perhaps you dreamed of this hand, O'Neill," Teal'c suggested. He didn't believe O'Neill would lie, but a dream might be the only thing that made sense. A free-floating hand certainly did not. "You did say you were asleep, after all."
Jack's scowl deepened, but he shrugged. He was pretty sure he hadn't dreamed that hesitant voice with the weird accent calling his dog's name, or the hand, for that matter. But he supposed there was always a chance that he had. Except that Jaffer had been looking in the exact same direction Jack had been, so it was obvious that the black lab had seen what he saw. Or they'd been having the same dream.
"Nah, I wasn't dreaming it." He looked down at Jaffer, certain that he hadn't been dreaming it, either, and then turned to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Sam asked.
"I'm going to go look around again."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"Nah, you stay and help Daniel... I'll be back soon."
With Jaffer at his side, Jack walked back to the campsite and then knelt next to the dog, looking at the place he'd seen the hand.
"You saw it, right, little man?" He scratched Jaffer's ears, and the lab sighed with bliss at the touch. "Think you can find her?"
Yeah... how to track an invisible hand attached to a little girl voice? Use a dog that probably doesn't have a clue what you're looking for any more than you do. Jaffer wagged his tail, though, and licked Jack's hand.
"Find her, Jaffer..."
Find her? He didn't mean Sam, because they both knew where Sam was. Jaffer sneezed, and wagged his tail, uncertainly, unsure what Jack wanted from him, but eager to do it.
Jack gave up. It wasn't fair of him to ask Jaffer to do something so stupid, anyways. He stood up with a sigh, but slapped the black lab's side lovingly. It was Jaffer's fault he didn't know what Jack wanted. Hell, Jack didn't even know what he wanted.
"Come on, let's go for a walk."
This time he wasn't planning on making a circle of the camp. Jack stopped just long enough to grab his canteen and weapon, and then he and Jaffer headed the same direction that Jaffer and he had been looking when he saw the hand. Then they headed off into the forest (or jungle... Jack wasn't really sure what was the difference)
.................
The bright sunlight that bathed the ruins so liberally didn't penetrate the thick treetops of the forest so readily, which made the floor of the jungle seem later in the day because it was darker than it had been out in the open. It wasn't so dark that they couldn't see what was going on around them, though, although the further they walked into the woods, the denser the trees and brush became.
They crossed the stream a couple times – or maybe different streams – Jack wasn't sure, and went through a couple of small clearings, but even after almost an hour of walking, they still hadn't seen anything odd. Jaffer was ranging out ahead of O'Neill, his nose everywhere as he tracked various small creatures, and flushed game for Jack like he had the day before. The lab was thoroughly enjoying this hike, and Jack was enjoying it just because Jaffer was. However, he was also getting hot and sweaty, even though it was a lot cooler in the trees than it was in the clearings, and he figured it was about time to call it a day and head back.
Then Jaffer came across the kill.
The big dog's nose led him right to it, and his obvious interest in whatever was hidden in the brush was enough to draw Jack over to see what it was.
"What do you have, Jaffer?" He asked, bringing his rifle up to bear, just in case. Who knew, after all? Jaffer wagged his tail, his nose buried in the brush.
Jack moved the brush aside, and grimaced. Jaffer had found a very dead, very ripped up creature that Jack was pretty sure was one of the deer-like things they'd seen the day before. Someone or something had been eating it, and doing a messy job of it, and the kill looked pretty fresh, if O'Neill was much of a judge of such things.
"Ick..." He reached down and touched Jaffer's rump; when the dog was that distracted, it took a little reminding that he was there and was supposed to be paid attention to. "Come on, Jaffer. We don't want that."
Jaffer wasn't so sure. It smelled like raw burgers to him, and he loved meat! He looked up at Jack, as if to ask him if he was sure that he didn't want any of it, but Jack was already moving away, looking around for whatever – or whoever – had done the killing. He didn't see any floating hands, or anything else, though, and Jaffer was so distracted by the dead creature that the black lab's nose and ears completely missed all the warning signs that Jack wouldn't have caught.
.......................
The creatures were large – about twice the size of Jaffer, although they looked nothing like the dog. Lounging in the trees above their fresh kill, guarding it until they'd digested enough of what they'd already eaten so they could gorge again, they were deadly killers. Vaguely feline, with tawny colored fur blotted by darker patches that gave them wonderfully complex camouflaging which worked extremely well, huge feet that had long claws – for climbing and for killing – powerful jaws, and large dark eyes that glared down with malice at the creatures that dared to go near the kill they'd made.
They moved stealthily, and Jack didn't hear them as the four creatures changed positions from lounging indolence to identical crouches, bodies tense as they sized up their opponents and chose their targets. Jaffer still might have given warning and Jack might have been able to bring his P- 90 up and stopped the attack before it began, except that the dog turned his head once more to the kill, just to take a final sniff before leaving it to follow Jack, and the creatures took it as a sign that he was going to start eating, and with a snarl the leader of the small pack sprang at Jaffer while the others came down from their branches and landed on Jack.
O'Neill felt the attack coming the same way he'd felt the hand close to him, and instinctively turned. Just in time to see three huge creatures coming down on him, claws flashing, and teeth impossibly large. He heard a yelp of surprise – or pain – from Jaffer, and had time to fire one shot, which was incredibly lucky, and managed to hit one of his attackers, and then he went down in a heap, struggling to bring his weapon to bear again, even as he felt something incredibly sharp tear through the sleeve of his light jacket, and felt something else bite down hard on the Kevlar vest he was wearing.