Chapter 10: Belief

"Jonas!" Colonel O'Neill yelled again, and sighed as he received silence as the answer again.

"Jonas what are you up to now?" Jack called.

"And still, there is silence." He spoke to himself.

"Jonas, answer me." O'Neill pleaded into the night.

"Colonel? Colonel is that you?" Was the reply he received this time.

"Finally! Jonas, what took you so long? I've been yelling for you for the past twenty minutes!" Jack yelled, sounding annoyed but, he was actually relieved.

"Sorry, about that Colonel, I was uh..preoccupied with something else." Jonas put forth.

"Preoccupied! Preoccupied! What could you possibly be preoccupied with on this piece of rock? It's dark, and cold!" Jack complained.

"Something came up Colonel." Jonas replied pushing through, into Jack's range of sight.

O'Neill pointed the flashlight in Jonas's direction and Jonas brought his hand up to block out the brightness of the beam being pointed at him.

"Sorry, bad habit y'know." Jack stated, lowering the flashlight.

"Uh huh." Jonas replied skeptically.

"What was so important that you couldn't answer me?" O'Neill questioned.

"I umm," Jonas searched for the words to explain what he'd just been through.

O'Neill looked at him expectantly.

"Well?"

"I was following a child." Jonas finally said.

"A child! What for?" Jack exclaimed.

"She told me to. And Colonel, it was light, and warm!" Jonas said.

"What?" Jack asked in surprise.
"No, really. I was standing watch and I spoke aloud to myself and this little girl answered me. She couldn't have been any more than ten, I don't think. She answered the statement I had voiced to myself and she told me to follow her. I told her it was dark, I was wondering why she was here all alone, where everyone else was and she insisted that she wasn't alone and she told me that it wasn't dark. And then, as if out of nowhere, it wasn't dark! And I could see! And there was sun and it wasn't cold anymore. The sky, it was purple and the trees they were green! A different color green then I've ever seen and there was a smell, at first it smelled like lilac, but then I realized that there was something else mixed in I couldn't identify what though, and Colonel, it was wonderful! The smell it was pleasant, but I don't know what it was, and..."

"Woah, hold it Jonas, just hold it! You're babbling and you're not making any sense. Slow down, I can only comprehend so much. Now, start again, from the beginning. Take it slow so I can catch at least half of what you're trying to say." Jack replied.

"But, sir, it was so strange. I don't know how to explain it." Jonas replied.

"You weren't having any trouble explaining it a few seconds ago. I got that you were talking to yourself and you answered yourself? Jonas that can't be normal, it'll make people wonder."

"No! I wasn't talking to myself exactly, I was talking to the darkness."

Jack regarded him suspiciously in awkward silence.

"You were talking to the darkness? That's even worse then talking and answering yourself."

"I had to do something to pass the time Colonel, it was too quiet."

"All right so you were talking to the darkness, and there was a little girl?"

"Yes, a brunette, with blue eyes. She was a child, no more than ten I don't think. I asked what she was doing there all alone, she said that she wasn't alone, and I said that it was dark and then suddenly it wasn't. Just like that there was light."

"So the kid said let there be light and there was? Or did you say let there be light and there was?"

"Colonel, nobody said anything, it just was light."

"Okay so it was light and the skies were what? Purple."

Jonas nodded and remained silent as Colonel O'Neill attempted to sort out everything in his head.

"Okay, that's odd. You said something about a strange smell of lilacs, and something else?"

"That's right."
"And she told you to follow her?"

Jonas nodded again.

"Then what?"

"Then I heard you yelling to me. I told her I'd be right with her and she sat in the grass, That's when I came at your call." Jonas stated, simply.

Jack remained silent, taking in what Jonas had just told him and sighed. Jonas was seeing ghosts again? This couldn't be good.

Jonas regarded the Colonel, trying to see if O'Neill believed anything he'd just been told. It was hard to say but, the look of skepticism told him that Colonel O'Neill was doubtful, to say the least.

"Jonas! You said you'd be right back!" Came the voice of the child.

"I'll be right there, hold on." Jonas called after her.

"What?" Jack wondered as he heard Jonas call to the darkness yet again. His face was twisted into a variant of emotions, the main being confusion.

"It's nothing, the child just called to me." Jonas replied matter-of-factly.

"Are you sure? I didn't hear anything, which leads me to ask, are you sure you did as well, or are you hearing voices that only you can hear?" Jack asked, taking a step back in mock caution.

"Colonel, I heard her yell. I told her I'd be right back. I've got to go." Jonas replied.

"Not alone, you're not going anywhere." Jack told him.

"Then come along." Jonas replied.

"No! Jonas, leave him there. Come alone. He won't believe you anyway. Besides, I don't want to show him anything. I want to show you something." Came the child's shout.

"How can you be sure he won't believe me?" Jonas called back.

"He just won't!"

Jonas sighed, and turned back to Colonel O'Neill.

"She wants me to go alone. She doesn't think you'll believe me."
"I probably won't but, let's just go and see, shall we?" Jack replied cautiously.

Jonas shrugged and began to walk back the way he had come, followed closely by Colonel O'Neill.

"I told you to come alone!" Came the child's voice from close by.

Jonas looked down and saw the brown haired child, standing not three feet from him, hands on hips defiantly, her blue eyes turned icy.

Jonas knelt down so he was at her eye level and spoke.

"Sorry, he insisted on coming along. Why don't you show us both what you wanted to show me?"

"Jonas, who are you talking to?" Jack asked.

"The child, she's right here." Jonas replied in puzzle as though anyone should be able to see the glaring child.

"Okay, hey kid." Jack replied cautiously into the darkness.

He looked down at the kneeling Jonas, and shrugged. "Where?"

"Right here!" Jonas replied, placing a hand on the child's shoulder. She was cold to the touch and Jonas immediately drew his hand back.

"What Jonas?" The girl questioned innocently.

"Aren't you cold?" Jonas asked, reacting to the chill he'd felt as he touched her shoulder.

"Maybe a little." The girl admitted.

"Now, what is it that you want to show me?" Jonas asked, looking at the young girl sympathetically.

"You can't bring your friend, it's a secret."

"I'm sure Colonel O'Neill won't say anything to give it away, will you Colonel?" Jonas inquired, looking to where a very confused looking Colonel O'Neill stood looking at him blankly.

He slowly shook his head. "Oh, no, not at all." Jack said slowly.,

"See?" Jonas asked the child.

"He's lying! He doesn't even believe you, can't you see that?"

Jonas drew back at the child's yelling but, remained in his kneeling position.
Jack looked onto the situation in sheer confusion. Jonas was kneeling on the ground, in front of an invisible child that only Jonas could see, and what made it worse, he was talking to the figment of his imagination, just like he'd talk to an actual person standing right there in front of him.

"C'mon, Jonas. Why don't we go back to camp and get Carter to take a look at you huh?" Jack asked cautiously.

"You don't believe me do you Colonel?" Jonas questioned in exasperation.

"I don't know how to tell you this but, no. I can't see what you see, so therefore I don't believe you. I'm sorry Jonas I wish I could but, until you give me something solid to work with I'm going to doubt you." Jack admitted.

"See, I told you." The child told Jonas.

"I guess you were right." Jonas told her.

"Will you please stop doing that?" Jack yelled.

"Doing what Colonel?" Jonas asked.

"Talking to the empty spot in front of you. It's making me uncomfortable." Jack shifted in place.

"To me, the spot in front of me isn't empty. There's a child here and that's who I'm talking to." Jonas stated.

"No, Jonas there isn't a child there!" Jack shouted.

"We don't need him anyway Jonas, he's no fun. Let me take care of him." The child replied and before Jonas could object, she stared icily at the Colonel and he began gasping for air.

"Stop! Please, don't hurt him!" Jonas begged.

The child ceased her act and simply threw the Colonel back with the force of her thoughts.

Jack felt the air being pushed out of his lungs and he gasped for a breath after Jonas's plea to nothingness. Jack was finally able to breathe again and coughed as air flooded back into his lungs. Then he felt an impact of something in his mid-section and felt himself being thrown back. Upon landing, he felt his head connect with something solid and saw the darkness swimming around him. He turned to Jonas who was looking on in horror and behind his team-member he caught a glimpse of a bright stand-still light that rushed at Jonas and passed in through the man's back.

He tried to yell out but, realized that he couldn't utter a single word, as he fought against the dark that threatened to overtake him. He saw Jonas go limp and pitch forward as the light passed into him. Jack knew there was nothing he could do in this state and despite his best efforts, he passed over into darkness and knew no more.

"I told you he wouldn't believe you." The girl said as she watched Jonas fall forward after touching him.

"If you won't come willingly, I'll have to force you to come see what it is I want to show you." She replied as she brought her hands together, she and the unconscious Jonas vanished into thin air.