Thanks for the great reviews everyone. I'm sorry I haven't replied to you personally, but I'm working at the moment and only have my lunch hour to write in. I will answer a couple of comments though - I make no apologies for being a Jack whumper - at least you know what you are likely to get when you read one of my fics g .

Jack's Fangtastic Adventure – Part 4

Sam and Daniel dragged their unconscious leader between them, his feet trailing in the dirt. Any other option had been taken from them by the frequency of the animals' attacks. Dawn hadn't deterred them, and they appeared to have been joined by further pack members. The creatures dogged the heels of their retreat, disappearing as soon as a weapon was raised, their actions showing an unexpected degree of intelligence.

Teal'c's staff weapon was the most effective deterrent in their arsenal, making it impossible for the Jaffa to carry the Colonel. The trail of blood leading back to their camp was far from dwindling, and, to the horror of the human members of the team, several of the larger animals now had muzzles caked with red from where they had been nuzzling the damp soil. Large tongues swiped at mouths, and it was almost as if they could see smiles of pleasure at the taste.

Stopping was impossible, neither the hyenas, nor the Colonel's rapidly failing health allowed any rest. Sam had taken to touching his forehead whenever she could relax her grip on his arm enough to do so. He felt alternately hot and dry, and cold and clammy, changing from one to the other with disconcerting rapidity.

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They were still several hours from the Gate when it happened. Another attack had Daniel and Sam drop the Colonel unceremoniously to the ground, their weapons raised. Teal'c was already firing, the smell of burnt hair strong in the still air.

The fight was fierce and bloody. The largest of the creatures concentrated their attention on the Jaffa – a new tactic. They snapped at him, darting in from all directions, and he spun on his heels, aiming not so much for individuals, but into the mass of bodies.

It was a few minutes before he realised what they were doing. Instead of fighting back to back with his comrades, he was now isolated, several feet from them, with the pack leaders between him and them. He fired desperately into their midst, but they seemed to shift aside, avoiding most of the blasts.

"Teal'c!" Daniel Jackson's cry had him turning, his staff weapon tracking with him, its head glowing fiercely.

His teammates were standing over their unconscious leader, Major Carter's feet almost treading on his legs. Brown bodies surged around them, until, to Teal'c's dismay, the Major was knocked over, and he watched in horror as she disappeared under a pile of flashing teeth and claws.

Teal'c felt a pull on this arm, and he shifted his stance, his attention stolen by the mass of creatures around him. As he fought, he caught Daniel Jackson's lunge towards the fallen woman in his peripheral vision, just as his grip on his staff weapon was broken.

Within seconds, he was down.

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It was the smell that woke him. A sharp, extremely unpleasant smell. The sort of smell he associated with tomcats.

A very hard smell to ignore.

Trying not to breath too deeply, he cracked open one eye, the one not pressed into the soft surface of whatever he was lying on. It took a surprising amount of effort, but finally he was rewarded with a foggy view of a sideways world.

And two very large paws.

He lifted his head, shaking off the haze, and opening both eyes. The animal standing a few inches away from his face snarled, its long teeth showing. Jack couldn't help but notice the gap on the right side of its mouth, the area around it red and inflamed.

"I was a bit tougher than you thought, wasn't I."

The sound of Jack's voice, rough and dry though it was, sent the massive beast into a frenzy of growling, its hackles raised, the coarse hair between its shoulder blades standing up and making it appear even bigger than it already was. Its head came down, and it took a step closer.

Jack realised that he was at a distinct disadvantage – the hyena was twice the size of a large dog, and built like a linebacker.

He stared at the creature, reluctant to take his gaze from the orange eyes, sensing that a momentary distraction on his part was all it needed to attack.

Then he heard it.

From all around him there was the soft, breathy sound of panting. He threw a look rapidly to each side, quickly gauging his situation, catching the impression of grey depths and shadows inhabited by eyes – too many to count.

Concentrating his stare back on the animal in front of him, Jack struggled to sit, levering up against the damp, rocky wall at his back. When he was positioned as best he could, he quickly patted at his pockets, hoping against hope that by some miracle a weapon had attached itself to him by magnetism, or perhaps, on an outside chance, by magic. No such luck. He didn't have his vest on, and the emptiness of his BDU pockets reminded him of his hurried change of clothing. .

There was a sound, surprisingly like a sigh of annoyance, and the hyena stepped back, backing off a few paces. Keeping its eyes fixed on Jack, it turned in a circle before flopping down, tongue out, looking for all the world like a dog curling up in front of a fire.

Jack let out the breath he hadn't realised he was holding, the tension in his muscles loosening slightly. He took a moment to access the situation.

He was in a large cave, the only opening off to his left, showing only as a narrow band of light. Sparsely scattered blades of desiccated grass covered the floor, and they were the only relief from the monotonous rock of walls and ground. That's if you discounted the scores of hyenas sitting, both alone and in groups, on all sides. From pups to pack leader they were all there.

And they were all staring at him.

Crap.

Jack slowly felt along his upper leg, wincing at the stab of pain that rose as he touched the site of the bite. He dropped his eyes for a second, seeing the only positive thing in an otherwise dire situation – the wound had stopped bleeding. The bandage he remembered Carter tying tightly around it was gone, and his pants were stuck to his leg with a large patch of dried blood.

Carter.

The Colonel's head spun as a wave of dizziness past over him.

His team.

He frowned in concentration. How he had gotten from sleeping at the campfire with his team to here was a complete blank. Perhaps they had brought him here, finding the cave and making a stand here. Maybe they were somewhere nearby.

Maybe they were dead, killed by the creatures before him.

"Carter? Teal'c? Daniel?" His shout wasn't loud, barely more than a croak from between his dry lips, but it was enough.

Enough to evoke a reaction.

With a savage snarl, the pack leader leapt. Dagger-like teeth wrapped around his throat before he could even move to defend himself.

Jack struggled, pressing his hands up into the animal's face, pushing hard against its muzzle. The pressure on his throat increased, as the full weight of the massive beast was thrown on to him, knocking him completely to the floor. Try as he might, he couldn't budge the creature, and gradually he felt his consciousness fade as he struggled to breathe.

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