Chapter Nineteen

Holding her breath Sam waited for the dragons on the far side of the bars to do something, anything. It wasn't until the purple dragon got to her feet that everyone seemed to break from the stunned shock they'd gone into. They raised the bars up just enough to remove the slain man and quickly closed them again. Since they didn't decide to shoot her on the spot Sam wandered over to the corner and sat down with her knees curled up to her chest.

A sudden sharp cry of anguish caused Sam to jerk violently. A pale yellow dragon came running onto the scene and fell to his knees by the dead male. He brushed at the man's hair and checked his pulse, tears slipping from his golden eyes when he found none.

"Lana..." The yellow alien looked at the purple one. "Lana, rek nehana?"

Lana looked at Sam and sighed heavily. The purple lizard gave the yellow one a quick explanation. The yellow one looked over at Sam, but didn't seem to believe what he had heard about her. Sam didn't feel guilty for having killed this dragon's pet, and had no regrets over her actions.

"You gave me no choice."

The yellow dragon turned away and continued to weep. Lana put her hand on his shoulder and had him help the others remove the body. Once he was gone Lana ordered two of the staff to guard the cell while she disappeared. When she returned she had a small rifle looking weapon in her hands.

"I was just defending myself, Lana."

The purple dragon's eyes widened once at the sound of her name. Sam got to her feet so that if she was going to be shot it would at least have a better chance of being clean. However Lana lowered the weapon for a moment and tapped on her chest.

"Lana." She repeated and then pointed at Sam.

"Sam."

"Sam."

"I have a name now. Are you still going to kill me?"

Lana raised the rifle once more and after taking aim she fired. Sam cried out as a sharp needle sunk into her thigh. She reached down and pulled out the dart, but it was too late. Whatever was in the dart brought her down to her knees quickly. Unsure if she was going to wake or not Sam laid down and fought to keep her eyes open. It was getting difficult to breath and after a few seconds her eyes rolled back and she lost contact with the world.

Sam woke to a pounding headache. She was unsure it she was pleased to be alive or not as she stared at the thin bars. Laying on her side Sam glanced around and found herself back in one of the small medical containment cages about four feet off the floor. Every breath took effort as the drugs still swam in her blood.

Moaning against the migraine Sam went to reach up to rub at her temples. She only got her hands up to about chest level before the chain bracelets on her wrists snapped tight. Feeling her stomach Sam found a thin leather belt around her waist that had chains connecting it to her wrists. Sam experimented and found her ankle had not been restrained.

"Bad news guys, I can kick with enough force to kill as well."

Sam's stirrings had been noticed. Lana stepped into view. She started asking all sorts of questions. Sam wondered briefly what made this dragon so much more open minded about her captive. However the fact that her head was splitting open and her wrists were in chains made Sam in no mood to chat. Sam rolled over on the cold metal floor of the cage to face away from Lana.

Trying to cross her arms over her chest to keep warm Sam was once again thwarted by the chains. Shivering from a combination of cold and stress Sam tried to keep from spilling anymore tears. She jolted violently when there was a sudden warm contact on her shoulder. Rolling over she found Lana pushing a blanket and a large pillow through the bars.

"Gala." Sam said sincerely as she took the gifts.

"Nekt ta."

Sam smiled and wrapped herself up in the fluffy blanket. Settling her aching head against the pillow she closed her eyes in an atempt to get some real sleep. Drifting in and out of sleep Sam wondered what Jack was going through being alone. Her guess was that he would start to tear the jungle apart out of rage.

As the lights went out on another night Sam took the pillow out from under her head. She threaded the pillow through the chains on her wrists so that she could hug it to her chest. The feel of having something in her arms helped the devastating loneliness some. She had thought that it was the drugs making it so difficult to breath, but that had been hours, possibly a full day ago.

The constriction in her chest had nothing to do with anything coursing through her blood. It was that same heartbreak that she had felt when she'd first been taken away. Now that the threat of the man was over she had time to think about her loss once again. Sam rubbed at the skin over her heart wondering why emotional pain played itself out on the circulatory organ. No matter the cause there was no denying the sensation. Closing her eyes against the sting of tears Sam slipped into a fitful sleep.

When the lights came back on Sam forced herself to sit up. She couldn't stand in the small cage, but she was tired of laying down. Sam tried to remove the leather belt, however she discovered that it was either locked in place or she simply didn't have the right hand configuration to work the latch. Sam huffed in frustration and blew her hair away from her forehead.

It was a few hours before Lana arrived again. She had a bowl of water and a plate of fresh fruits with her. She slid the bars up enough to place them in the cage. Take a few steps back Lana watched Sam with scientific interest. Sam glanced at the food and then looked through the bars at the purple dragon.

"Even if I was interested I tend to eat with my hands and you've really cut down my mobility."

When Lana continued to just stare at her Sam lifted up her hands to show her the problem. Lana sighed heavily and looked around to see if she was being watched. Still looking undecided about releasing Sam's wrists she took a step back. Sam sighed as well and leaned back against the back wall of the cage.

"Do you even know what you're going to do with me yet?"

Lana looked around again only this time she came closer. The dragon hesitantly put her hand into the cage and just stayed motionless for a moment. Sam was forced to smile at this test of trust.

"I'm not going to bite."

Tilting her head to the side Lana made a deep purring sound. Feeling more confident the purple dragon reached further into the cage. Sam held her wrists out in hopes that Lana would unlatch them from the belt. She had just put her scaled hands on the chains when an angry voice startled them both.

"Lana!"

"Va'lo!" Lana and Sam cried simultaneously.

Sam automatically tried to get to her feet and slammed into the top of the cage. Lana had jerked her hands out of the cage and backed away. Sam backed herself into the corner of the small space as best she could as panic overtook her already shaken senses. She couldn't help it anymore, Va'lo stepping into view caused her to tremble violently.

"Please, Lana, far'is, please don't let him take me..."

Lana stared at Sam and only turned away when an angry Va'lo touched her shoulder. She pulled away from him and he started to verbally assaulting her. While the pair fought Sam tried to take a few deep breaths and think about this logically.

"Va'lo is here to take me back..."

Sam tried to calm herself again and looked out at the arguing pair. They were both angry and had their eyes dilated into pinpoints. Va'lo barred his teeth at Lana and she cowered back.

"No...no, he'll just take me somewhere else to be bred. Only next time they'll take no chances, I'll be tied down and raped as many times as it takes. You can't let him take you."

Sam shook her head and pulled at the chains around her wrist.

"You belong to him, Carter, once it's over he'll take you back."

Breathing heavily Sam was talking quickly as she tried to force herself into a difficult decision.

"If you want to see Jack again...this is the only way...just survive...survive and fight another day..."

Swallowing hard Sam forced herself out of the corner and went to the bars. She reached out as far as she could towards Va'lo. The pair of dragons instantly stopped their argument and stared at her. Sam managed a weak smile and bowed her head submissively towards Va'lo. The green dragon snorted in triumph. He pointed at the cage combination lock and demanded that Lana open it. She looked at Sam and seeing that it was what she seemed to want Lana conceded and unlocked the cage.

Va'lo already had a chain leash in his hands. Lana had backed away in fright once the door was open, but Va'lo walked up to Sam with an arrogant confidence. When he snapped the leash to her collar Sam was seized by a breath taking panic attack. He pulled her out of the cage and she just barely managed to keep from falling.

Once she was steady on her feet Sam closed her eyes for a moment to keep from retching against the renewed anxiety. Va'lo barked an order at her that she knew meant to step forward, but she found herself frozen in place. When he jerked at the chain around her neck Sam started to pull backwards.

"I...I changed my mind..." Sam whimpered. "I can't..."

Va'lo yanked on the leash hard enough to bring Sam to her knees. With her wrists held to her waist by only a foot of chain she was unable to catch herself and she fell to the floor. When Va'lo tried to force her back to her feet Sam's instincts reacted before she could think things through. Using the momentum that he was providing Sam threw her shoulder at his stomach and dove them both to the ground.

"Calista!"

Sam was ready for Va'lo's reaction but it didn't keep the sudden loss of balance and the reeling dizziness from effecting her. Pushing her off Va'lo got back to his feet and came close to kicking Sam for her attack. The only thing that held him back was Lana's cry of rage. Sam closed her eyes against the nausea while the two dragons started to snarl at one another again.

The commotion had brought the rest of the early morning staff rushing into the scene. Now that she was backed by her staff Lana was braver about facing down Va'lo. She instructed one of the on lookers to go fetch something. Va'lo was still protesting, but now Lana was knelt protectively next to Sam.

As the vertigo wore off Sam looked up and saw someone giving Lana a file. Sam recognized the blue symbols on the folder as being the ones tattooed to her own neck. She and Jack had drawn each other's tattoos so that they could see them. Lana pulled out a piece of paper and held it out for Va'lo to read.

Va'lo only glanced at the paper, he clearly knew what it said. He had played this card so many times on Ser'in and he did not look pleased to have it pulled on him. However after a final snarl he back down. Sam watched him turn to leave and suddenly realized what it meant to have him go.

"No! Wait, Va'lo come back! I'm sorry, dali! Far'is!"

Sam tried to get to her feet but was quickly held down. She fought against the hands blindly until she felt the sharp pain of a needle. As the sedation tried to take a hold of her Sam continued to struggle. She felt them lift her off the floor and place her back onto the blanket in the small cage. Stepping into view Lana purred reassuring words and stroked Sam's hair before locking the cage and walking away. Sam could barely keep her eyes open, but she still managed to reach out and grip the bars.

"Wait, Va'lo, don't leave me here alone... I'll do anything to get back to him...I'll pay any price. Please, just...just give me another chance..."