Chapter 4: Taking a Chance

Colonel O'Neill had finally convinced Dr. Fraser to let him out of bed and now he sat next to Major Carter as she regained consciousness.

Her eyes fluttered and locked with O'Neill's strained, brown gaze.

"Hey." He said quietly as Sam shifted her head to face him better.

"Sir, what happened?" She asked.

"We're not entirely sure, but as near as we can tell, it was an ambush." Jack told her.

"Teal'c and Jonas?" Sam questioned.

The act that O'Neill was putting on for her own benefit faltered for a split second, as pain crossed over his eyes. Carter drew in a breath.

"Sir?" She wondered.

"Teal'c is fine, I saw him earlier. He just caught a glancing blow."

"What about Jonas?"

"I'm afraid he wasn't so lucky. He was hit twice, his wrist was broken, and he cracked some of his ribs." Jack replied.

"He's going to be all right though, isn't he?" Sam asked.

"Carter, he hit his head, and cracked his skull in two places."

"Sir?"

"Carter, he's in a coma." O'Neill replied finally, feeling as though he'd beat around the bush enough.

Sam was speechless, her eyes glittered with concern as she searched Jack's face for a sign that he was joking. The Colonel had a tendency to do that most of the time, but from what she saw, this was not one of those times.

Jonas sighed and sunk to the ground, not knowing where to go from his current position, he'd been walking for what seemed to be miles, yet nothing had changed.

"Mollie! How do I get out?" He yelled. His childhood friend had vanished nearly an hour ago and he hadn't seen her since.

"Don't you know? It's your mind after all." Came the reply as Mollie stepped out of the shadows.

"You said you were going to guide me." Jonas said.

"Oh that's right, I did, didn't I?"

Jonas nodded, and looked solemnly at her.

"Well, you have a variety of paths that you can take, but only one will lead you out. It's your mission to find which one." Mollie stated.

Suddenly, Jonas's surroundings changed. He was now standing in the centre of a shadowed area, there were six paths that he could see, none of them were marked, and each lead in a different direction.

"Which one?" Jonas called.

"Can't tell, but I can tell you this, some of your paths may cross." Came Mollie's voice.

Jonas sighed helplessly, Mollie was supposed to be his guide. She wasn't doing a very good job at it, at least not in his opinion.

"There is a way out though, right?" Jonas asked.

"Well, ultimately that's up to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, whether there's a way out or not, is up to you."

Jonas remained silent and surveyed his paths. Finally, deciding on one by chance, he made his way out of the clearing and down the path.