"Colonel!"
She was worried. When she worried like that, Sam tended to slip back into the old and formal without even realizing it. It was something of a safety net for her. The three of them were running blind, really. She, Teal'c and Daniel had no clue where to go, only a vague direction from a shot they'd heard more than half an hour ago.
Had they been thinking and not so worried when they'd taken off, they could have tracked Jack and Jaffer's progress from the camp by following their footprints and trail. Teal'c was an exceptional tracker, after all. Of course, they'd simply taken off. In their concern they'd been certain they'd find him quickly – probably hauling ass back to camp with a group of baddies on his tail. But there hadn't been a sign of Jack or Jaffer, and although they'd looked, they hadn't managed to cut their trail, either.
"Jack!"
Daniel's voice called out in a masculine echo of Sam's.
"We're never going to find them like this," Carter said, shaking her head.
"We should return to the camp and find their trail and follow it," Teal'c said. He agreed with Sam; they were looking for a needle in a haystack, to use one of O'Neill's favorite sayings.
"That'll take too long," Daniel complained. "What if he needs us, now?"
"We're not doing him any good wandering around out here blindly," Sam said, although she agreed completely. It would take far longer than she wanted to take. "We'd better do it. I want to find him – them – before dark."
It was only early afternoon, but she was thinking about how much darker it was in the trees.
Teal'c nodded his agreement, and the three of them turned and headed back for camp, still looking for a trail or any sign of O'Neill, and still calling for him. Hopefully even if Jack didn't hear them, Jaffer would and would come find them.
..................
A soft whine broke through the silence around him. A whine that Jack knew anywhere, although he didn't hear it all that often. Before he was even awake and aware that he was conscious, his eyes were open and he was trying to sit up, turning his head toward the sound, looking for Jaffer to see what was wrong.
"Ahhh..." He grunted with pain, and the soreness brought him awake enough that he remembered what had happened. He looked at Jaffer, who was sitting nearby, watching him. The black lab stood up when Jack sat up, and he walked over and stuck his nose in Jack's face, snorting softly as he made sure he hadn't taken any lasting harm. Jack grimaced, and stroked the silky face while he looked around him, trying to figure out what had happened, and how long he'd been out.
Jaffer was bandaged, he noticed that immediately. Not in any kind of bandage Jack had ever seen before – they looked like some kind of big leaf all tied or woven together – but it was obvious that they'd been wrapped around the dog's belly and chest for a reason, and the only reason Jack could think of was to be used as a bandage. There were a few small scratches on Jaffer that hadn't been bandaged, either because of the awkward location, or because they weren't deep enough to warrant a bandage. These had been smeared with some kind of substance that looked like... petroleum jelly, maybe, but smelled really good. He looked down at himself, and realized he wasn't wearing a shirt or his vest, and he, too, was wrapped with the odd bandages.
Running his hand along his side, feeling the bandage and the ache under it – that his memory told him should be a lot worse than it actually was – Jack tried to think back to the attack and what had happened.
"What the hell were those things?" He asked Jaffer, running his fingers along the dog's sides as well, watching for any discomfort. He didn't want to take the bandages off until he had a chance to get the two of them back to camp where they could be checked over more carefully. Whether he was talking about the felines, or about the floating hands that had definitely saved their lives, Jaffer didn't know, and neither did Jack.
The big black lab wagged his tail and leaned his head down to lick Jack's hand, and Jack hugged him close for a minute, still feeling just a little out of sorts.
His shirt was with his vest, and both were close at hand. Resting on it was his canteen and his P-90. There was also an odd-looking bowl that appeared to be empty, and next to that was a spear, which was basically a long, straight stick with a burnt and sharpened point on it. Enough of a point to save his life, though, Jack knew.
He reached over and picked up the canteen, and found it was full. It'd been mostly empty when he'd decided to turn back, which meant that someone – or something – and most likely the floating hands and whatever was attached to them, had filled it for him. He took a long drink, gratefully, knowing that if they'd meant him any harm they could have done pretty much anything to him while he'd been unconscious. For that matter, they could have just let the cats finish him off.
"You thirsty, little man?" Jack asked, pouring a little water into his hand and holding it out to Jaffer. The lab nosed it – hoping it was really chocolate syrup or something else he wasn't really supposed to have, but he turned his nose up when he found it was water. He wasn't thirsty; he'd just had a good long drink. Which was why the odd-looking bowl was empty.
Jack smiled and took another drink, then sighed. He was going to have to get up and he really wasn't looking forward to the long hike back to camp. The others were probably getting pretty worried by now, since it was getting a little late. Not so late he was worried about being caught out here in the dark – for one thing, he could use Jaffer to help him get back to camp, and for another, he had a good sense of direction and knew he'd be able to find it – but he didn't want to stick around if anymore of those cats showed up.
He looked around once more before standing up, taking in things he hadn't noticed before. He saw bloodstains on the grass and gouged out tufts of grass where claws, boots or paws had been struggling for purchase. Obviously this was the same place they'd been attacked, although there was no sign of attackers or saviors. The attackers he could do without. The saviors he'd at least like a chance to thank.
Moving carefully, Jack put his shirt on, wincing when the cloth rubbed against the back of his neck. He put his hand up to the sore spot and found it was smeared, probably with the same substance that Jaffer's cuts were smeared with. Someone had obviously doctored him and his dog up as well as they could before leaving them. He put his vest on, too, more so that he wouldn't have to carry it, and then picked up his P-90. Looking down at the bowl and the spear, he picked them up as well. He'd eventually return them to their owners, and until then, maybe Daniel could figure out who – or what – they were dealing with by examining them.
Calling Jaffer to his side, Jack looked at the compass attached to his watch to make sure he was going the right direction, then walked out of the clearing and into the forest, heading back to camp.
Behind him, he never saw the figures that formed out of nowhere, their dark eyes watching his progress with satisfaction for a long moment before turning and vanishing once more into the air.
She was worried. When she worried like that, Sam tended to slip back into the old and formal without even realizing it. It was something of a safety net for her. The three of them were running blind, really. She, Teal'c and Daniel had no clue where to go, only a vague direction from a shot they'd heard more than half an hour ago.
Had they been thinking and not so worried when they'd taken off, they could have tracked Jack and Jaffer's progress from the camp by following their footprints and trail. Teal'c was an exceptional tracker, after all. Of course, they'd simply taken off. In their concern they'd been certain they'd find him quickly – probably hauling ass back to camp with a group of baddies on his tail. But there hadn't been a sign of Jack or Jaffer, and although they'd looked, they hadn't managed to cut their trail, either.
"Jack!"
Daniel's voice called out in a masculine echo of Sam's.
"We're never going to find them like this," Carter said, shaking her head.
"We should return to the camp and find their trail and follow it," Teal'c said. He agreed with Sam; they were looking for a needle in a haystack, to use one of O'Neill's favorite sayings.
"That'll take too long," Daniel complained. "What if he needs us, now?"
"We're not doing him any good wandering around out here blindly," Sam said, although she agreed completely. It would take far longer than she wanted to take. "We'd better do it. I want to find him – them – before dark."
It was only early afternoon, but she was thinking about how much darker it was in the trees.
Teal'c nodded his agreement, and the three of them turned and headed back for camp, still looking for a trail or any sign of O'Neill, and still calling for him. Hopefully even if Jack didn't hear them, Jaffer would and would come find them.
..................
A soft whine broke through the silence around him. A whine that Jack knew anywhere, although he didn't hear it all that often. Before he was even awake and aware that he was conscious, his eyes were open and he was trying to sit up, turning his head toward the sound, looking for Jaffer to see what was wrong.
"Ahhh..." He grunted with pain, and the soreness brought him awake enough that he remembered what had happened. He looked at Jaffer, who was sitting nearby, watching him. The black lab stood up when Jack sat up, and he walked over and stuck his nose in Jack's face, snorting softly as he made sure he hadn't taken any lasting harm. Jack grimaced, and stroked the silky face while he looked around him, trying to figure out what had happened, and how long he'd been out.
Jaffer was bandaged, he noticed that immediately. Not in any kind of bandage Jack had ever seen before – they looked like some kind of big leaf all tied or woven together – but it was obvious that they'd been wrapped around the dog's belly and chest for a reason, and the only reason Jack could think of was to be used as a bandage. There were a few small scratches on Jaffer that hadn't been bandaged, either because of the awkward location, or because they weren't deep enough to warrant a bandage. These had been smeared with some kind of substance that looked like... petroleum jelly, maybe, but smelled really good. He looked down at himself, and realized he wasn't wearing a shirt or his vest, and he, too, was wrapped with the odd bandages.
Running his hand along his side, feeling the bandage and the ache under it – that his memory told him should be a lot worse than it actually was – Jack tried to think back to the attack and what had happened.
"What the hell were those things?" He asked Jaffer, running his fingers along the dog's sides as well, watching for any discomfort. He didn't want to take the bandages off until he had a chance to get the two of them back to camp where they could be checked over more carefully. Whether he was talking about the felines, or about the floating hands that had definitely saved their lives, Jaffer didn't know, and neither did Jack.
The big black lab wagged his tail and leaned his head down to lick Jack's hand, and Jack hugged him close for a minute, still feeling just a little out of sorts.
His shirt was with his vest, and both were close at hand. Resting on it was his canteen and his P-90. There was also an odd-looking bowl that appeared to be empty, and next to that was a spear, which was basically a long, straight stick with a burnt and sharpened point on it. Enough of a point to save his life, though, Jack knew.
He reached over and picked up the canteen, and found it was full. It'd been mostly empty when he'd decided to turn back, which meant that someone – or something – and most likely the floating hands and whatever was attached to them, had filled it for him. He took a long drink, gratefully, knowing that if they'd meant him any harm they could have done pretty much anything to him while he'd been unconscious. For that matter, they could have just let the cats finish him off.
"You thirsty, little man?" Jack asked, pouring a little water into his hand and holding it out to Jaffer. The lab nosed it – hoping it was really chocolate syrup or something else he wasn't really supposed to have, but he turned his nose up when he found it was water. He wasn't thirsty; he'd just had a good long drink. Which was why the odd-looking bowl was empty.
Jack smiled and took another drink, then sighed. He was going to have to get up and he really wasn't looking forward to the long hike back to camp. The others were probably getting pretty worried by now, since it was getting a little late. Not so late he was worried about being caught out here in the dark – for one thing, he could use Jaffer to help him get back to camp, and for another, he had a good sense of direction and knew he'd be able to find it – but he didn't want to stick around if anymore of those cats showed up.
He looked around once more before standing up, taking in things he hadn't noticed before. He saw bloodstains on the grass and gouged out tufts of grass where claws, boots or paws had been struggling for purchase. Obviously this was the same place they'd been attacked, although there was no sign of attackers or saviors. The attackers he could do without. The saviors he'd at least like a chance to thank.
Moving carefully, Jack put his shirt on, wincing when the cloth rubbed against the back of his neck. He put his hand up to the sore spot and found it was smeared, probably with the same substance that Jaffer's cuts were smeared with. Someone had obviously doctored him and his dog up as well as they could before leaving them. He put his vest on, too, more so that he wouldn't have to carry it, and then picked up his P-90. Looking down at the bowl and the spear, he picked them up as well. He'd eventually return them to their owners, and until then, maybe Daniel could figure out who – or what – they were dealing with by examining them.
Calling Jaffer to his side, Jack looked at the compass attached to his watch to make sure he was going the right direction, then walked out of the clearing and into the forest, heading back to camp.
Behind him, he never saw the figures that formed out of nowhere, their dark eyes watching his progress with satisfaction for a long moment before turning and vanishing once more into the air.