Chapter Two's new and improved!

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Sam opened her eyes and sat up, slightly confused as to where she was. She looked around the camp and saw Moiraine sleeping while Lan was keeping watch a short distance away. Sam rubbed her eyes and scooted closer to the fire, the memories of the last several days surging forward in her mind…

"We need to make it to the Gate!" Jack yelled as he changed clips for his P-90. Sam fired off several shots and the blasts from the Jaffa halted. "Go!" Jack ordered and SG-1 leapt to their feet and dashed for the Gate.

Daniel began dialing the Stargate as soon as he was at the DHD. A moment later the wormhole established. He sent the GDO code through and leapt through. Jack yelled in pain as a staff blast ripped into his upper leg. Sam laid down cover fire as Teal'c made his way to the Colonel and pulled him to his feet.

"Go!" Sam shouted. "I'll be right behind you!"

Teal'c nodded and pulled Jack through the Gate. Sam ducked down and quickly changed the magazine on her weapon before opening fire again. She ran up the steps and leapt through the Gate as a blast struck the Stargate and overloaded it.

Sam grunted as she landed heavily on the ground, rolling several feet away. She rose to her feet and looked around. "Damn it," she grumbled, looking at the barren and diseased looking landscape. "Least there's oxygen…" she muttered and began looking for a DHD.

She lowered her head and sighed angrily. "This is not my day." She rested against a tree and began to think about what she could do when she felt something move behind her. She lurched forward and spun around, staring wide-eyed as the tree moved its branches on its own.

"Definitely not in Kansas anymore…" she murmured. She checked to make sure her P-90 was still in working order when growls and snorts met her ears. She slowly turned her head and saw several dozen humanoid creatures. They were taller than a man and had animal features. Sam could make out ones with canine snouts, ones that looked like sheep, and some that had the faces of grotesque humans. Fur covered their bodies and a putrid scent invaded Sam's nose. She fumbled for her gun.

The creatures roared and began to charge her. Sam finally grabbed her P-90 and fired off several shots, dropping two of the creatures even though she hit five. Sam slowly backed away, her heart pounding. She wished that something would happen to make these things back off from her. A pure white bar of liquid fire suddenly formed in front of Sam and hurled itself at the creatures in front of the Stargate. Some of the creatures leapt out of the way but the rest were engulfed by the bar. The bar of fire did not stop once it struck the creatures. It continued through and Sam watched in horror as part of the Stargate melted from the fire.

"Running is a good idea," she finally decided and spun around, taking off through the trees and bushes. She pushed her tears down and continued running.

Sam ran as fast as she could, the sounds of her pursuers loud in her ears. She ran for she didn't know how long through the diseased land before seeing a clearing ahead. Sam put on an extra burst of speed and ran into a vivid green clearing. She slowed to a stop and took a sip of water, the sweat pouring off her face.

She turned and saw one of the creatures come into the clearing. She lifted her P-90 and shot it multiple times before it fell to the ground, dead. Fearing that more of the creatures were behind this one she turned back around and ran in the direction she had been going. Somewhere along the way in the strange forest her watch and GDO had been ripped from her wrists, but she wasn't about to go back and look for them.

Sam ran for several more miles before coming to a halt in a thick grove of trees. She looked around and decided to climb one. She unclipped her backpack and pulled out some food and her canteen. Her hands brushed something metallic and she pulled it out.

She studied the hand device for several minutes before slipping it on. She stared at it with some contempt before hiding her pack and pulling herself up into the high branches of a nearby tree. She ate some of her jerky and took a few sips of water before she fell into an exhaustive sleep.

Sam awoke with a start, the sounds of snorting and growling below her. She looked down and saw several of the creatures tearing into her pack. Sam cursed silently and fired off several shots. Two of the five creatures went down immediately and Sam kept the trigger down, dropping another two.

"You damn bastards!" she snarled, cursing herself as well for leaving her pack on the ground. What a dumb mistake, she thought to herself.

The remaining creature struck the tree hard with its club, shaking the wood. Sam tried to stay up in the tree but the impact had shaken her loose. She dropped heavily to the ground and looked up at the creature as it advanced towards her.

Realizing that her gun was still in the tree Sam lifted her left hand and focused her will. The crystal glowed brightly and the creature was suddenly hurled ten feet backward into a tree. Another creature emerged from the trees and advanced towards Sam. Having no choice but to leave her gun and the remains of her pack, Sam took off through the trees again, knowing that the creatures wouldn't be too far behind.

For days she ran and hid, always trying to stay one step ahead of the creatures. Days into her flight, she saw a clearing through the trees, and a fire burning there for two people…

Sam pushed down the memories and stared into the fire. The hand device was still on her left arm. She was grateful that Lan and Moiraine didn't know what it was or didn't hint that they knew. She drew her legs up to her chest and looked up at the sky, staring at the stars. She thought of her friends on Earth and a tear slid down her face before she buried her head in her arms and cried herself back to sleep.

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