"What did you do?" O'Neill demanded of the people milling around their cage. "Where did they go?"
As if in answer to his questions, one whole wall of the temple lit up to reveal Daniel. Alive and well, he was on the floor of a forest.
Jack let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Working hard to calm himself, he crouched with Carter and Teal'c in a corner of their cage. "Carter, do you have any guesses about what's going on here?" They kept their voices low although it probably wasn't necessary, The people around them had no interest in the team, their attention was solely focused on Daniel. That suited the Colonel just fine.
"Did not the woman say that this was the Test of Cain? Daniel Jackson also spoke of this test." Teal'c pointed out
"I got that, T. But what is this 'test' exactly? Is it multiple choice, pass/fail, what?" Jack worked hard not to snarl at the Jaffa.
"The Test of Cain?" Carter ran a distracted hand through her hair, "I think we should look at who the players in the story are, sir. Michaels is obviously Cain. He's been jealous of Daniel from the start. He made it pretty obvious that he wants Daniel's place on the team. I think it's plain from what we could see that he was willing to do whatever he had to, to make it happen." She knew the image of Daniel poised on the edge of that fall would haunt her nightmares for some time to come.
Jack connected the dots, and found that he really didn't like the picture he got, "So, if Michaels is Cain, then that makes Daniel…" he couldn't finish the thought.
"Daniel Jackson is playing the part of Abel, who was killed in the story from your own Bible, O'Neill." Trust Teal'c to say the hard things.
Glancing furtively around, Carter dropped her voice even lower, "I think it's some sort of fight to the death, sir. I don't think Daniel is supposed to get out of this alive."
"No!" Jack exploded, beating against the field that surrounded them futilely. "How can you do this?"
The woman approached them, looking at him curiously, "I do not understand. You are allowed to watch the sacred Test. What cause is there for such anger?"
"You sent Daniel out there to be killed by Michaels? You can't let that happen."
She regarded him as one would an unruly child, "There is some danger, it is true. It is the way of the Test. We may not interfere. We may only observe and learn. If you do not wish to watch, we will darken the field so you do not have to see." She raised her hands as if to clap.
"No," Carter cried. "We want to watch."
When Jack turned a scorching glance her way she spread her hands, "Sir," she hissed, "would you rather not know what's happening?"
Defeated, he shook his head.
She pulled him aside and the woman lost interest in them. She turned back to watching the wall-sized Daniel.
"Sir, if they're not watching us, we can figure out how to get out of here," Carter said when they were no longer being observed.
"Well, get figuring, Carter. I don't like this at all!"
On the wall facing them a new image had appeared. It was Michaels.
Daniel knew he had to get to some sort of cover to spend the night. He didn't think the dark would deter Michaels; but he knew that if he himself tried to blunder around in the forest at night, he would hurt himself. Or worse yet, run right into Michaels, delivering himself to the man. He had no intention of letting that happen.
He was beginning to shiver a little in the chilly evening air. He pulled on his dark cammo shirt. It would also help to cover the majority of his pale skin that seemed to glow in the darkness. Trying to recall the wilderness training Jack had forced him to endure; he rubbed some dirt on his face and hands.
He wished he could turn on the flashlight, get a good look at his surroundings; but he knew that the light would shine like a beacon to someone trained to look for it. The moonlight that filtered down through the trees would have to be enough.
The trees... He looked up at the canopy of trees that spread out all around him. They formed a dense roof over his head, allowing very little light to reach the floor of the forest. They were thick and broad, forming a veritable highway above his head.
The first branch on the one nearest him was too far out of his reach; he wouldn't be able to climb it. After a quick search he found one that had a limb close enough for him to pull himself up. He slung his pack on his back, and, choosing the branches carefully, he pulled himself into the trees.
Jack watched approvingly as Daniel climbed into the trees. He moved from tree to tree easily once he was in the treetops, moving steadily away from the spot where he had climbed up. He traveled a long time, the dark around him deepening into night. Then, hoping he was far enough away, Daniel found a crook in a tree where he could settle his body and keep watch on the forest floor. He set himself to rest until morning.
On the opposite wall, it didn't look as if Michaels had resting in mind. Somehow when they had transported the two men away, their weapons had been taken from them. But Michaels was resourceful. Already he had found a branch that would serve as an admirable club, and in his pack he had placed several hand-sized rocks. It chilled Jack to consider the damage he could do with them.
"Sir." Carter startled him he was watching the wall so intently.
"What is it, Carter? Found a way to get us out of here, yet?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but there's nothing electronic left in our packs. The most hi-tech thing I can find is a fork. They must have taken them with our weapons." She shrugged apologetically.
"God damn…" Jack took a couple of breaths to steady himself, then he came to a decision. "Hey, Hey, lady …" he called out to the woman who had already talked to them; she seemed to be the leader.
She turned from her contemplation of the two men on the walls and moved to stand outside their force field cage.
"I am Serafina," she informed them.
"Oh, okay." He could do this; he'd heard Daniel do it enough times, make nice with the natives. "I'm.. uh, Jack O'Neill, and this…"
"You are Colonel Jack O'Neill, she is Captain Samantha Carter," she pointed to each of them as she said their name. "The tall one is Teal'c, a jaffa."
Jack had forgotten that she had called them by name earlier, "Well, yes, but how…?"
"You have visited us before, this we remember. The one who is called Daniel Jackson, he was not with you then."
"No," Jack frowned. He really didn't like people that you couldn't see. It felt very sneaky to him. But he was making nice; he could do it. "Listen, about this test…"
"The Test of Cain, it is our most sacred Test."
"Yeah, yeah, we get that now. But listen Michaels is going to kill Daniel, you can't let that happen."
"There is danger…"
"Yes, we know, we heard that, too," Jack's mind was racing, what could he say to convince her to stop this? "Listen, I'm pretty good with tests; especially this kind. Let me take Daniel's place."
The people who had been watching the wall displays turned. Suddenly Jack felt vulnerable and exposed, but he had started, he had to finish.
"This is Daniel Jackson's Test," Serafina reminded him.
"No, really," Jack continued doggedly, "Look, Daniel has some amazing talents, but survival is not one of them. Let me take this test for him, what difference does it make?"
"You do not know him as well as you think, Colonel. Daniel is strong of spirit and of body."
"I know that," Jack insisted, "I really do. But he just recovered from a pretty serious injury. I'm fit and strong. I'd be whole lot more entertaining than he would."
Serafina smiled, "This is his Test, we can not change that, we are sorry. But you honor us with your offer. It has been long since we have had such a Test."
The people surrounding their cage bowed before turning back to the display on the walls.
The night had been long, but not too uncomfortable. The temperature hadn't dipped down too far, so exposure wasn't an immediate concern. Daniel had rested, but he'd never really managed to sleep, too much adrenaline was coursing through his body. The trees had rustled with the activity of the night life and every screech and whisper had set his heart to thumping anew. Since he wasn't sleeping, he'd spent the night thinking furiously trying to figure some way out of the predicament he found himself in.
Maybe the people would accept a different outcome to their test. They seemed to be enlightened enough. From what he had been able to translate on the wall, they lived on a different plane of reality than the one that Daniel and his friends resided on. That would imply some sort of spiritual enlightenment.
Maybe if he could make his way back to the temple without killing Michaels they would accept that as an alternative to passing their test. He didn't know if it would work, but he had to try. No matter the provocation, he didn't think he would be able to bring himself to kill another man, even to save his own life. He'd killed before in the heat of battle, but never like this, hunted and in cold blood.
While it seemed to Daniel that the night would never end, the dawn came at last with streaks in the sky announcing the arrival of the sun. He was never so glad to see daylight. He moved cautiously, stiff from a night of sitting in a tree. Pulling his pack around from where he had been using it as a pillow, Daniel rummaged through it. No matter that he was facing a mad man bent on death; his stomach was protesting a night without dinner. He didn't want to take the time to mess with an MRE, so he found a protein bar to munch on.
As he ate, he looked through his pack, trying to see what he had that might be useful. What was it that Jack always said, "What do you have? What do you need?" He muttered absently to himself.
He was surprised and a little disturbed to find out that his gun was gone from his side, as was his knife. Not that he had any intentions of using either on Michaels, but there was evidence of larger wild life in the forest. He hoped he didn't meet up with any hungry bears or anything else with large pointy teeth.
It was also disturbing to find that anything that might have served as a weapon had disappeared from his pack, along with his radio and any other electronic equipment he had carried with him. All he found were the MREs along with a handful of the power bars, a change of clothes, some matches, his canteen of water, a first aid kit, now that was reassuring, just basic survival items.
He stuffed some of the items in his vest pockets, taking care to make sure they were tucked in securely. He chose the smaller items and the things he would really need, in case he got separated from his pack. His brain was working feverishly trying to remember the things that Jack and Teal'c had taught him.
The breaking of a stick caused him to freeze, listening intently. It was like a shout in the quiet of the dawn. The sun was now over the horizon filling the green forest with the first light of day, soft and gentle. Another stick broke and he heard a voice.
"Ollie, Ollie, oxen kree." He didn't see Michaels, but his voice seemed to come from everywhere. "Come on out, Daniel. Can't you remember when we played? You always let me win. Why'd you let me do that, Daniel?"
Daniel's brow creased in puzzlement. What did he mean? Hide and seek?
"Don't tell me you don't remember, Daniel. But why should you bother to remember? I wasn't anything to you. Just be nice to the kid for a couple of days, then you're gone, gone to school, to live your life. And I'm left behind to live with the Colonel. He's a General now, bet you didn't know that. Of course you don't. You don't care." Michaels' voice was filled with hate, "You know he never wanted me, not ever. But what galls me most was that he would have loved to have had you as a son. You were only there a few months, but he never forgot you. Oh, no."
And then Daniel remembered. It had been so long ago. The Michaels had been just one more foster family to be endured on his way to college and freedom. He'd tried to not get involved with the family.
But Johny had been eight, the same age Daniel had been when he lost his parents. The colonel who was the little boy's father was overbearing and autocratical. Daniel had felt sorry for the kid, so he had taken him to a couple of museums, some lectures he thought the kid might like. Almost against his will, he found himself liking the little boy.
He had tried to keep in touch after he'd left for college, but the family had moved. Daniel couldn't seem to find anyone to tell him where they had gone. He knew it was a poor excuse, but he'd lost himself in college and had forgotten about that long-ago little boy. Then had come Abydos and Sha're. If Daniel had ever thought about Johnny, it had been with a smile and a hope that he was happy somewhere. Now he knew.
There was another branch snap, closer this time. Peering down from his lofty perch; Daniel caught a glimpse of a camouflage-clad figure. Jonathon came into his view. He was searching the ground, for some sign of his passage Daniel supposed.
"I'll find you," the young man shouted to the air, "there's nowhere you can go to hide from me."
Daniel held himself as still as he could while the other man cast around on the ground below trying to pick up his trail. He held his breath, afraid to disturb even the air. Slowly Michaels passed under him and disappeared into the crush of trees. Daniel could hear the sound of his passage long after he was gone from sight.
He could also see plainly where the other man had gone; he was making no effort to hide his trail. Maybe he just didn't think that Daniel would have any idea of how to track him. Teal'c had made sure that Daniel had tracking skills and he knew how to hide his trail, too. Michaels was going to have to work a little harder if he thought he was going to catch Daniel. Of course, Daniel had no intention of getting caught.
After the other man had moved away far enough that Daniel could no longer hear him moving through the undergrowth, he climbed higher in the tree. He needed to get to the top so he could get his bearings. As he reached the top of the tree he tested each limb carefully making sure it would bear his weight before he climbed further. He had no desire to go crashing out of the tree because a limb broke under him. It would cheat Michaels of his fun.
It took a while, but since he didn't have a time schedule that he knew about, he took his time. At last he broke through and could see for miles in every direction. The forest stretched as far as he could see, a veritable sea of green. Not far from his vantage point a silvery stream cut a swathe through the green. It sparkled in the sunlight, but of the temple or the Stargate there was no sign.
He had no idea where the temple was, or how to get back to it. They had walked into the sun to get there from the Stargate, but he didn't know where he was in relation to it. The vantage from the temple had shown a glade at the bottom of the sheer drop, not this forested expanse. For all he knew, he and Michaels could be on a completely different planet.
He decided that his best course lay in following the stream, find out where it led. Maybe if he refused to engage Michaels and could stay away from the other man, the people would get bored and bring them back to the temple. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was the best he could come up with at the moment.
Climbing down was so much different than climbing up. He had to push his fear of heights to the back of his mind, refuse to acknowledge it.
It was Jack's voice constantly in the back of his mind offering encouragement that kept him going. "Just look for the next step, Daniel," the ghostly voice said.
"Don't look down," he shouted when Daniel tried to see how much further he had to go. He could almost feel the other man's hand on his back steadying him.
"Breathe, just breathe," his friend advised him as he clung to the branch, afraid to move.
He was covered in sweat and trembling when he made it back to the perch where he had left his pack, but he was also filled with satisfaction at the thought of what he had done. With a deep breath, he shouldered his pack and dropped to the ground, ready for the next part of his journey.
To be continued...