Progress was slow, and tiring, and Sam's body was already starting to become painfully aware of the strain she was putting upon herself. Thankfully the path was easy to follow, although cumbersome and narrow. It weaved like a snake left and right in an upwards direction, along the steep incline of forest terrain, and every few paces, glancing sideways Sam could see the high cliffs rising above them through the thick tree branches. Thankfully the path stayed clear, but as they came to a short halt, pausing for breath, Sam and Daniel exchanged and apprehensive glance as they looked ahead.
The thick mist was already starting to roll slowly down the side of the incline they were trying to ascend and Sam doubted they'd get too far, before they were in the midst of it. However, determined, she reaffirmed her grip on the stretcher and continued on, head down, taking it one step at a time. As they continued, painstakingly slow on the uphill walk, Sam watched as mist started to gather at their ankles, rolling eerily along its way downwards. At first it settled about them, giving them enough ability to see their way, but as they reached halfway, Sam knew she had to call a halt to their climb, lest they lost their way. Worst still, if they continued on blindly they could end up falling and or tumbling down the terrain they were climbing.
Setting the stretcher down softly to the ground, Sam leaned down and checked on Cameron, he'd been quiet to a degree, although she knew the knocking and jerking of the stretcher hadn't been any comfort to him and his condition. Every few minutes, she'd heard harsh intakes of breath, but he hadn't given voice to his complaint thankfully. As he lay on the ground, the mist impairing vision of any sorts, he closed his eyes and lay quietly. Daniel settled himself nearby and Sam sat between them, staring into nothingness, mere grey white cloud.
As they sat, Sam's mind whirred over the day's events. An ordinary mission turned sour, shouldn't be much of a shock to the system. She let out a sigh and leaned her head back on the thick trunk they were leaning against, as her thoughts tried to assimilate some kind of reason for the consequences that had befell them. It wasn't unheard of for weather to change so dramatically in such a short time, the thunder had un-nerved her, and the effects it had had on the terrain more so. Of course the ruined temple looked as if it had had to deal with such events before, slowly succumbing to the nature of the terrain it had been built on, between crevice and high cliffs.
Reflecting on her first thought o the temple, it now seemed to have had a vulnerable presence to it. Dwarfed by high cliffs on both upper and lower sides. She pondered silently on what findings Daniel would have come up with, had he been given more time. Why would a civilisation, natives, a colony have built a temple in such a vulnerable spot?
Perhaps she had been correct in her thinking, perhaps the weather change only happened at certain times of the year, and at first the temple would have stood solidly, despite being shook to its foundations by vibrations of thunder and minor shock waves. Or perhaps the people, who built it, had been unaware of its fate until too late. She screwed up her forehead in disagreement with herself. The passageway down through the crevice had been built for a reason, perhaps that very reason, as a means of escape. Or perhaps it had been hewn into the rock, when the temple was being built, to give access to the natives from wherever they came from. The path was old and well used, overgrowth proved it had been unused for some time, but it was still visible and useable enough.
Sam wondered if they'd ever reach a full conclusion. She was sure she and Daniel would have a in-depth conversation at some point or other about it, but as she felt a heavy but comforting presence rest itself on her shoulder, she knew now was not the time. She opened her eyes, and pressed her cheek into his hair a moment, resting her head on his, the mist restricted all but the closest view, and she could barely make out Cameron lying by her.
Her eyes followed the unseen path along the direction they'd come from. Restraining a shudder of guilt, she pressed away images of the young Lt lying in the darkness of the caves they'd escaped from. Now was not the time to deal with guilt and ill feeling of having made decisions, she knew would haunt her for a time. She also guiltily pressed away the voice telling her she was military, a soldier and had been trained for such events and casualties. This line of work, work she'd been doing for nigh on a decade of her life, caused such thoughts to be construed under new light. Training never prepared you fully for casualties, by they of war, or unfortunate un-seeable events such as this. And working, living and ultimately creating new dynamic and intricate friendships and relationships, with the people she had, such as Daniel and Teal'c meant having to just deal was a whole new matter.
It was times like these over the years, which had ultimately changed and rearranged her as a person. Her perspective and outlook had also changed, forever shaped by people in her life, especially an important three. Sam never really intricately looked at the details of her relationships with Daniel, Teal'c and the General. She just knew she couldn't; now be a complete person without them. Despite changes in their working lives, promotions and such did that from time to time, they were still inextricably linked. Sam knew this was one of the main reason she was deeply missing Teal'c's presence as they three sat huddled waiting for whatever next the day wished to throw at them.
She wasn't disconcerted that she wasn't missing O'Neill. He was forever a voice in all of their heads, as if, despite his lack of presence, they just knew what his opinion on such an occasion would be. Had he been present, she'd probably be having to listen to him grumble about their current state of events, the chain of events which had led them to such state, and be giving up a few 'For crying out louds' in the process. She chuckled softly and wasn't surprised that in such a predicament as they were in, he could still make her feel a little lighter about the situation.
"Something amusing?" mumbled Daniel absentmindedly, from where he rested his head against her.
"I was just thinking about what General O'Neill would be doing right now if he were here" replied Sam softly
"God he'd could be hell at moments like this" sighed Daniel "I'm sure he'd be griping on about something or other seeing as nothing seems to be going right"
"Yeah that pretty much sums up what I was thinking"
"You just know he's going to be on at me about this whole experience when we get back, I can just imagine the phone call now" said Daniel "Hey Daniel, so I heard you managed to get yourself a broken arm. How many times have we had the conversation on old temple ruins, there's a reason they are abandoned ya know"
Sam could hear the light tone in his voice, and smiled.
"Perhaps we should actually start taking heed of some of his more wiser critiques"
"What and admit he's sometimes right?" asked Daniel with a sigh "Then there'd be no living with him"
Sam gave another light laugh and sighed, leaning her head back onto the tree trunk again, Daniel shifted slightly and she felt his hair tickling against the skin of her neck.
"We're not doing too bad without him are we" stated Daniel quietly
"No were not doing too bad at all. I think Cam fits in quite well with us, he's got just about as bad a sense of humour as the rest of us. His quirks give Teal'c something to ponder about, and you still have someone to verbally spar with" said Sam
"And you continue to get us out of awkward situations" replied Daniel "Our lives are complete"
They fell silent once more, glad of each others company as the mist refused to waver to allow them to continue on. It merely settled about them, and Sam grew tired and impatient of having to wait.
After another thirty minutes, small chit chat exchanged between them, they heard the overhead rumblings once more, and merely sat as the noise echoed about them. But as the noise grew louder and more intense, the mist started to dissipate slowly. Sam took this as their cue to start moving again, as the path finally started to come into view. Standing and stretching their aching tired limbs, Sam checked on Cameron who had succumbed to tiredness. Lifting the stretcher once more, they continued on their way, Daniel leading them but sticking close as the mist evened out but still impaired their view somewhat.
As they walked, ascending higher up the terrain, the mist started to moisten their skin and clothes; the rumblings grew less frequent and intense above them. Continuing further, the terrain eventually started evening out, leading them away from the high cliffs the forest inclined by. Sam frequently stopped for rest, checking their direction, keeping a mental reference of where they were headed, as the mist started to slowly expire, being replaced instead by a fine drizzle.
Daniel seemed as doggedly determined as she to carry on, despite the weather changing from cold mist to fine rain and marched steadfastly on ahead of her, arm carefully held against his chest. They spoke little, except to offer each other words of encouragement as they rested at moments. Cameron had not woken and Sam was concerned about his injuries, but she could do nothing for him trapped on a deserted planet in the middle of a wood, which was slowly turning into a rainforest.
As she had feared the rain, starting off fine and drizzly started getting worse, and small drops started pelting down slowly at her getting faster and heavier. She knew it could be mere moments before the heavens opened and relinquished its true glory, and Daniel paused on the path ahead of her, weary of the walking and the wet weather. Sam paused beside him, the rain soaking her through, droplets making small paths down her face. She shook her head, trying to clear some of the water from her hair and jerked her head towards the large trees and plants growing on the wayside.
"We'd best take cover, I doubt this is the worst of it" she said to Daniel, shivering as the cold rain found its way down her neck.
Daniel merely nodded gritting his teeth and moving off. Sam scouted the immediate area, and pulled the stretcher to lie under the enormous overgrowing leaves of a plant, it offered limited shelter, but hopefully enough to keep them protected somewhat. She settled herself by Cameron, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms about them, trying to stave off the cold, as the rain feel heavily about her unceasingly.