Chapter 5: Into the Night

Jonas was pulled out of his thought process by a memory of something flashing through his mind. What it was, he didn't know. All he was aware of was an icy feeling crawling up his spine and a salty taste in his mouth, which was odd, because from what he could remember, he hadn't eaten anything salty since arrival. Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten anything.

He also found himself shivering and realized that it wasn't because he was cold. He shook his head to clear the confusion that was grasping him, and was finally able to focus on the situation at hand.

They were on a cold planet. That was certainly more than he'd bargained for, it was more than any of them had bargained for. Then again, in this line of work, you had to take it as it was thrown at you. Even if it did pitch a curve ball in your direction. To top it all off, it was almost ten in the morning, and still dark! Not to mention he had a headache from something that he couldn't explain no matter how hard he tried.

As he continued to feed his muse, he kept wandering further away from the gate until he finally felt compelled to come to a complete stop, and he did just that. He sank his feet into the ground to get a grip on the slippery surface. He peered around curiously into the darkness and continued to wander further ahead. Then he stopped once again and his face went blank.

At that moment, as he was in a state somewhere between memory and realization, a limbo of some sort and another image flashed through his mind. This one more prominent than the last. It was definitely cold, and it was definitely dark. That much he could make out. For some odd reason, it was also wet, and he felt a pressure building in his head as something pushed him down. He was gasping, gasping for everything he was worth. He broke through and the wind that hit his cheeks instantly made them raw. He was looking into the cold, dark eyes of a man that he didn't know, and he was scared. He was pushed under again and came up sputtering.

Then the flash was gone and only the wind was left roaring through Jonas's hair. He swayed unstably and slowly lowered himself to the ground to avoid pitching forward. He shook his head to clear it and breathed deeply. He was definitely confused at what had just happened. He shook his head once again and let out a disbelieving sigh.

When he was sure he'd be steady on his feet, he pushed himself from the ground and started back toward camp. He wasn't sure if he'd tell anyone what he had just experienced but, he knew that eventually it'd come out and he decided to wait until the opportunity presented itself. After all it was bound to happen.

He sauntered back into the camping area to see how everyone was progressing with their tasks at hand. Major Carter was still puttering around in front of the DHD and cursing softly to herself while Jack stood by, looking on in amusement and Teal'c stood watch about five feet away from them.

"Ah, there you are Jonas, I thought for sure you'd gotten lost in the dark, scary, woods." Jack replied.
"No, I didn't get lost."

"See any more ghosts?"

Jonas shifted uncomfortably in his place and Jack regarded him with interest.

"You did, didn't you?" Jack asked suddenly.

Jonas quickly shook his head. "No Colonel, I didn't see any ghosts."

"Oh, well that's good."

Jonas nodded absent-mindedly and breathed in the cool air, gusting around them.

"It is." Jonas's voice trailed off into a whisper as his face went blank.

"Jonas?" O'Neill waved his hand in front of his team-member's blank face and Jonas blinked.

"Sorry about that. I guess I was a little lost in my thoughts." Jonas replied.

"I'll say, what were ya thinkin' about anyway?"

Jonas shrugged. "I don't remember."

Jack shook his head and a smile played on his lips.

OOO

Jonas stood watch, buried in his thoughts when he heard the same crying as he had before and he stiffened in place. The cold wind picked up and he shielded his exposed face.

He turned toward the sound of the crying, and saw a woman standing there, sopping wet and looking like she'd just crawled out of an ice box, her hair was matted and frozen to her head and her lips were a pale blue shade that made him shiver. Her eyes appeared blank and lifeless. Her tears froze on her face in crystals that caught a light from somewhere, she breathed out, and from her nose came slight tendrils of cold steam.

He closed his eyes and when he opened them again the woman was gone, leaving only the silence surrounding him and he was standing alone in the dark.

Jonas gazed around and there was nothing there. He felt a shiver run down his spine as he turned back, still shaking.

OOO

Sam thrust her hand out and made a connection with the DHD. The thing still refused to work and she was losing patience. She was alone with the DHD as Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c had decided to go elsewhere when she began throwing a flashlight in frustration, narrowly missing her CO.

She hadn't meant to throw the light, it just happened. She hadn't meant to frighten her comrades away. Either way, they were gone and she was alone. Not the situation she preferred to be in on this certain planet because she had to admit this place did give her the creeps and she wanted to get off of this forsaken planet before anything more major than Jonas's misfortune took place.

The wind gusted forcefully and she had to keep rubbing at her face to keep it from going numb. Suddenly the gusting stopped, hands down, and was replaced instead by screaming. Faint screaming that sounded like it was coming from far off. The thing that mainly caught her off-guard though, was the realization that the screaming sounded like anything, but human.

She got to her feet and looked into the darkness in the direction of the screaming.

"Who's there?" She called.

"Somebody, please help me!" Was the reply she got. It was a man's voice, panicked and scared, no doubt about it.

Sam went into overdrive and dashed into the darkness to provide any assistance that she could. As she ran, branches grabbed at her ankles, feeling like bony hands gripping tightly, trying to trip her, and the hand-like projections almost succeeded in grounding her, but she was able to recover her balance.

As she ran, the terrified screams grew closer and with each shout, Sam's stomach churned in apprehension. The wind picked up and pushed her along as impatient hands would, seeming to be leading her in the direction she should take and she offered no resistance since the wind seemed to know where it was pushing her.

Just as the screams were so loud and close that they made her ears ring, they stopped dead and silence fell around her. The sounds of the desperate man still ringing in her ears. She picked up her pace and ran harder.

The man picked up from where he left off once again, and it sounded as though she'd passed him by. She turned on her heel and made her way back towards the shouting, the wind continuously helping her. She reached the same place as she had before and the screams stopped, as did the gusts of pushing wind.

"Hello?" She called into the night. The sound of gurgling water met her as well as the laughing of a playing child drifted about. She stood listening curiously at the change in tone and a smile fell on her lips.
"Sam, come and play with me!" Came the voice of a young girl.

Carter drew in a sharp breath as she felt the grasp of a hand in her own. She looked over and saw nothing. Then she looked down and still there was nothing, yet the grip was still there. She wrenched her hand free, a shout of surprise escaping her mouth, and she backed away.

Beneath her, the ground seemed to turn to the rules of friction and gravity as she was pulled down when her foot slipped on the newly formed ice. She hit the ground, and again drew in a sharp breath as she felt the connection.

The screaming took up again, a huge change from the laughing child of the past, and it was close to her this time. So close in fact, that she could feel the breath from the screamer on her neck...