Chapter 4:
She had an infection. Sweat covered her battered face and she shivered against the wall. Carter's thoughts and words became less coherent by the minute. She was suffering and there was nothing she could do about it.
Whether it was from the infection and fever raging in her body or the thought of dying, the tale Carter was trying to relay had become personal, she seemed to be talking directly to him. She would speak a few disjointed words or phrases and close her eyes as if the effort were too much for her body. The pain and fever evident in her features seemed to grow worse each time she opened her eyes.
"He kept coming, sir. Took me back again"
"I'm sorry, sir…I tried."
He felt sick. She was still trying to prove herself to him even after they, the SGC, SG-1, he, failed her.
She lost count at three the number of times she had been dragged back to her new chamber of pain.
Reynarc was always present overseeing the torment. "Samantha, I can keep this up indefinitely or until you die. Tell me what I want to know and it will end." His words were spoken in a sickeningly sympathetic voice as if he were suffering with her.
She was not sure how much longer her body could endure the pull of the ropes, the beatings, the isolation, the voices.
He was winning. She was breaking
She awoke to the familiar darkness of her cell and the agonizing pain. She did not move it was too much to ask of her body; it was too much to ask of herself.
'Carter.' She lay curled in a fetal position on the floor ignoring the voice.
'Carter.'
'So that's it? You're giving up?'
'Of course you are giving up, Samantha.'
"Go away." She whispered. "Please go away."
'I won, Samantha.'
She closed her eyes and welcomed the darkness.
SG-1 had been on Volostra for a week searching for the Midgren base, hoping for any kind of information about Carter. Hammond had authorized the mission after Minister Hvas informed the SGC of the Volostrians intent to destroy the Midgren base of operations. They had no intention of attempting a rescue of their people or Carter and would not divulge the location of the base to SG-1. Hence, the last seven days of intel gathering and waiting.
Reliable information came to them in fragmented bits and pieces and it was up to them to piece together a workable plan. They learned the Midgren base may be located in a remote area of the southern most part of Volostra. The Volostrian military planned to attack the Midgren base in two days. They had two days to find Carter.
They managed to find transport in a slow moving vehicle traveling south out of Volostra. They hoped to be near the base in the morning. They would have a day to find the base and formulate a plan to get Carter. Easy. All they could do now was wait and hope their information was accurate.
The three remaining members of SG-1 sat quietly in the rear of the transport. Each seemed lost in his own world. Teal'c attempted to kelno'reem, Daniel focused on reading a book, Jack feigned sleep; they did not fool each other. They knew. They knew what they were doing and what the consequences may be if they failed.
Daniel was tired of the silence and moved toward O'Neill. "Jack."
"Jack." He said again and lifted the hat covering his eyes.
"What."
"Are you awake?" He knew he was awake.
"No."
"Do you think about Sam?" Daniel asked him ignoring his previous comment.
"What?"
"I've really been thinking about her a lot lately. What happened to her? Is she alright? What are they are doing to her?" He stopped and stared off as if he were trying to imagine the answers to his own questions.
"I think about her everyday." Jack replied softly.
"One of us should have gone with her that day."
"Yeah."
"Do you think she is still alive?"
She may not be alive. He hoped she was. "We're bringing her home, Daniel."
She had not moved from the spot where she had been dumped in her cell hours or maybe days before. She did not know time was no longer a factor. She was barely cognizant of her surroundings when the guards entered her cell and dragged her by her arms down the corridor back to the room where Reynarc waited. Her arms were bound again behind her back and the rope attached. She heard Reynarc signal for the guards to begin and could feel the tension increase.
As the rope tightened and the pressure increased, she felt the muscles of her shoulders slowly tearing away and then heard a sickening crack when the bones tore out of their joints. She screamed. The pain was finally too much or she had just given up. It didn't matter. She could not suppress the agony any longer.
Reynarc stood by smiling watching her finally break. He moved to stand in front of her as he listened to the tormented screams that tore from her.
'So that's it? You're giving up?' She heard the voices resonating in her mind. 'You're giving up?'
'I won, Samantha. I won, I won, I won…'
He approached her when the screams gradually subsided into quiet whimpers. "Samantha," he said tenderly tracing her check with his finger following the trail of tears she could no longer hold back. "Are you ready to talk now?"
She stilled at his touch and weakly nodded her head which hung limply against her chest. Reynarc beamed in triumph at her acknowledgment. With effort, she opened hers eyes and lifted her head toward him. He looked on in anticipation.
"Go…to…hell…" The words were quiet and filled with pain yet her eyes were intense and filled with hate.
His smile faded. His facial features turned from intense satisfaction to profound rage. "How dare you!" he roared backhanding Carter across the face. Her head whipped sideways at the assault. He grabbed her face forcefully and screamed at her again. "Do you think you are stronger than me, Samantha?"
She felt a surge of adrenaline course through her body. Her words had infuriated him. She looked at Reynarc and smiled weakly. "I…win…"
Reynarc looked at her. "Do you want to play games with me, Samantha?" he said withdrawing a knife that hung by his side. He placed the knife against her cheek and lightly moved it down toward her neck. "If you are not going to tell me what I want to know, Samantha, then I really have no more use for you." He stated while the knife traced the curves of her body. "If I do not have any more use for you, well…" He paused, "well, I suppose you will die today." He plunged the knife into her left shoulder.
Carter screamed again when the knife tore into her shoulder, already ripped apart from the pull of the ropes. Reynarc pushed the knife in and held it momentarily while staring into her eyes. "But not before I wipe the smile from your face." He withdrew the knife and plunged it into her right leg. She tried to move away, to kick out at him. He laughed at her anguished screams. "I must say, Samantha," he stated as he removed the knife from her leg and wiped the blood coated blade against her ragged garment, "it has been a pleasure." Reynarc leaned in and kissed her lightly on the cheek and drove the knife into her stomach. "Finish her." He barked to the guards and left the room.