Sorry for the delay in updating. It's been a tough week! I've also had terrible writer's block as this next chapter is about a battle. As I know absolutely nothing about the military or about battle tactics, etc. I've probably got everything wrong although I did use a real battle from the Gulf War. For those who know, please forgive me and read this with a 'grain of salt'. Please, please, please – review! I need them.
The noise, the shouts – the sounds of gunfire and mortal - all continued to fill the dusty air around them like some hideous symphony gone wrong. Where they lay they were partially protected by a natural rise in the ground.. Although they could hear, neither she nor Jack could see what was happening. Maybe if they stayed where they were they could get out of this safely?
Sam realized that she did recognize the landscape – at least what she could see through the smoke and dust – but she had never experienced a ground battle while stationed in Iraq. Her only experience was from the air. Although that had had its moments of exhilaration and sometimes terror – it was nothing like being in the midst of a battle.
Jack was trying to look over the top of the rise to see if he could see anything – or identify where exactly they were. His experience on the ground was much more extensive and she hoped he might be able to recognize a landmark or at least have a better sense of where they should go.
He inched up closer to the top to do a sit rep. Just as he carefully lifted his head, a voice was heard yelling for help. Jack dropped quickly and muttered a soft – "oh God no!"
"Jack, do you know where we are? Did you recognize something."
"Yes, we're at Medina Ridge."
She knew that this was the location of one of the fiercest battles of the Gulf War. The fact that Jack had so quickly recognized it – and his reaction in general – indicated that he must have been here, although, to her recollection, the air force hadn't taken a direct part in the battle.
"Were you here, General?"
"Yes – my unit was on secondment to the army – I knew the layout of the land because of a previous op – so we were posted with the army to give them assistance."
The sounds of the battle kept on relentlessly – if anything they were getting fiercer and louder all the time.
"Jack, did something happen to you here? Do you know why we've been brought back?"
"Yes – something happened." He paused for what felt like many minutes but in reality was probably only seconds. "This is where I was captured."
"Oh my God. Why do you think we've, or you've, been brought back?"
At that moment, another yell for help could be heard. This time Jack began to inch his way up the ridge.
"Sir …. Jack – what are you doing? Stay down. Maybe if we stay quiet we'll get out of this."
"I don't think so Carter", he shouted over his shoulder. "I think I'm being given another choice – to change what I did before or not."
"But if you were captured before, of course you should change what you do. You don't want to get captured again. What's the point in that?"
"It's not about me, Sam. There's a young soldier who may die if I don't do anything."
"But Jack, this isn't real – he won't really die."
"How do we know – how do we know that the choice I make here, today, won't change the future? How do I know whether or not that young soldier will have a future if I sit here and do nothing? I can't do that – I can't take that chance."
All the while the two air force officers were talking (or yelling) over the noise, the battle raged on. Finally, Jack took one look at Sam and with a small, lopsided grin and a quick, two-fingered salute, he pulled himself over the ridge and crawled forward on his belly.
She quickly shimmied up the hill and cautiously looked over, following Jack's path with her eyes. She didn't know if it was best to stay where she was and watch his six – or try and follow him to see if she could help.
The dust and smoke made it almost impossible to keep him in sight so she quickly decided to follow him. Although she felt totally real and 'present' she still wasn't sure what her place was in this reality – or whether she even existed. It seemed as if the aliens were only concerned about Jack. She didn't quite know whether she could be seen or not – or whether she could be affected by events here in this reality. It had appeared as if Sara had acknowledged her but no one else had.
Soon, she saw Jack, heading quickly towards a young soldier who appeared as if he had been separated from his unit. He was desperately firing his weapon towards the enemy but appeared panicked. As Jack passed the body of a young marine already killed by enemy fire, he quickly grabbed the weapon of the fallen man.
"It's okay soldier, we're gonna be okay", Jack shouted as he wriggled in beside the young man's position.
"Sir, I think the enemy is closing in. What should we do?"
"You make your way back, I'll cover you. Once you are to the ridge back there, you can do the same for me."
"But Sir …"
"That's an order soldier – Go!"
"Yes Sir". And with that, the young soldier began to carefully, but as quickly as possible, slither back on his stomach.
Jack continued to fire towards the enemy position, covering the retreat of the young man. He suddenly heard the sound of an air force helicopter and looked up. It suddenly started to all come back as if in slow motion. Out of the side of the copter he could see Frank Cromwell waving at him and yelling something. He laughed softly, ironically to himself - he knew already what was going to happen.
He began to stand up slowly, just at the chopper moved down towards his position. He reached up to take Frank's hand but suddenly felt a sharp impact against his back. It was all so unreal – and yet he suddenly began to feel so cold. His vision began to shrink and he heard shouts as if through a long tunnel.
Yes, of course, it was all happening again just like before. He fell to the ground, the left side of his face laying in the dirt. Out of his right eye he could see Frank standing in the doorway, not yelling anymore – just looking. With that, the helicopter turned away. He could hear the sounds of someone speaking in Farsi and felt a kick in the side. Just before he passed out he had one last though….
"Sam?"
