Chapter Two
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I am not much more than an animal which has been taught to dance by blows and starvation
-Nietsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
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"The girl that was found topside, Adriana, woke up again about an hour ago. She seemed to be in a lot of pain and pretty disoriented. She didn't speak directly to me, but I overheard some of her muttering… Sir, she was talking about this place being similar to the place with the aliens. At first I thought she was delusional, but then she said something about aliens pretending to be gods, that she was the only person who knew. I couldn't understand much after that. It might not be more than a delirious child's mutterings, but I thought it was too much of a coincidence to not look into it."
General Jack O'Neill nodded towards the doctor as she concluded her report. "You're right. We need to figure out who this girl is. If there is a leak somewhere within the SGC it needs to be taken care of." He looked at everyone seated around the large table. "Carter, Daniel, look into who she is. See if you can get your hands on any missing person reports. Mitchell, Teal'c, I need you to join in on a R&R mission with SG-5 and SG-6; their scientist went missing after he touched something he shouldn't have." He sent a glare at Daniel who smiled innocently back. "Doctor Lam, keep me updated on Adriana's condition and page me when she is lucid enough to talk to me. You are dismissed."
Carolyn Lam collapsed onto the small couch in her office. It had been a relatively quiet day; SG-1 was the only team that gated home today. They were fairly simple post-mission check-ups. And then the girl had woken up.
Something had clawed at her heart when those beautiful black eyes, had fluttered open, piercing her soul, begging her to end the hurting, to release the child from the suffering.
The raw pain expressed in the girl's glossed eyes had done something to her. And it scared her to death.
She, Dr Lam, had seen other's pain, she had seen that look before, but it had never slapped her in the face the way Adriana's had. There was something special about this girl.
She sighed and stood up. She was supposed to be working, not relaxing on her couch.
Carolyn walked from bed to bed, checking vitals and charts before moving on to the next. As she entered the room where the young girl had been staying she was meet with the sight of her tangled in the sheets breathing heavily.
"Adriana," she spoke softly to her.
"No, I'll be good, just don't hit me again." She spoke from the midst of a nightmare. "No, no, they're real." Carolyn couldn't stand watching her like this.
"Wake up, Adriana, wake up." she put her hand on the girl's shoulder and she jerked awake.
Adriana flew off the bed and backed into the corner of the room between a cabinet and the wall. "Go away," she whispered barley auditable.
"Calm down sweetie, you had a nightmare that's all." She shook her head and slowly rocked, knees clutched to her chest. Carolyn stood up and walked to the page button and requested Daniel to come down as soon as he could. Within a few minutes she was quietly filling him in on the current situation.
'This just isn't fair,' though Daniel to himself as her watched the terrified girl rock back and forth slowly, muttering to herself, 'she shouldn't be like this. She shouldn't be a thousand feet under a mountain. She shouldn't be withdrawn like this. She shouldn't be treated like she's nuts.'
He cautiously sat down on the ground several yards from the girl. "Hey, I'm Daniel. This is Carolyn. She helped you get better."
The only reaction Daniel noticed from the girl was her intense gaze flitted from his own face to Carolyn's and back.
Dr. Lam squatted down beside Daniel, "Hey there." She said sheepishly. "Are you in any pain?" she motioned to the girl's arm where the IV had ripped out.
Adriana wrapped her arms around her defensively and stiffly shook her head negatively. "Are you sure?"
"M'fine" The girl's soft voice carried around the room.
"Okay then, do you want to come out of there?" Daniel asked as he extended his arm towards the child huddled in the corner. Adriana shrunk back at the movement.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help you." He tried to reassure her.
Adriana looked inquisitively at the outstretched hand, then up to the man's face, searching for, and finding his innermost secrets, judging his character. She eventually broke the gaze and tentatively reached for his hand.
Daniel was helping her to stand when he heard a pained gasp escape from the girl. Dr. Lam stepped forward to help steady her, which caused Adriana to flinch back, aggravating her injuries more.
The doctor stepped back, observing the child's hitched breathing and eyes, tightly screwed up in pain. She quickly turned to retrieve the appropriate medications while hollering over her shoulder for Daniel to get the girl into bed.