It was a terrible scream.
A type of scream Jack had actually heard once.
A type of scream he didn't want to hear again.
He and Carter weren't the only one to run into the direction the heard the noise coming from. It had already changed into a mixture of struggling, screaming, pleading, laughing and sobbing. The sad noises came from a female voice while a whole lot of very motivated male voices could be heard.
They made their way to a small alleyway. It lay in shadows.
But still they could see everything.
The apple fell out of his hand.
No!
Just No!
Jack felt like the world stopped around him.
He couldn't hear anything – instead for the scene right in front of his eyes.
He felt like being in a tunnel.
A man was over her.
She had been pushed to the wall of one of these beautiful houses. It was one with flower boxes on the balcony. The red flowers were dancing with every blow of the wind, sparkling in the light of the sun creating many different shades of red.
But it wasn't beautiful anymore.
The woman was crying and begging. A knife was pressed on her throat to threaten her not to move away or be killed. Her whole posture was screaming defense. She was pressed hard against the stone wall as if she wanted to hide in it. As she had only one arm free because the other was hold over her head in a strong grip she tried the best to cover herself up. Before the knife had found its way to her throat the man had obviously cut into her clothing. Her legs were firmly pushed together.
Jack felt his heart race. Blood boiling.
He felt like being in a tunnel.
It was a young woman barely twenty years of age. Under normal circumstances he would have described her as attractive. She had beautiful wavy hair in a hazel color and a nice figure. The dress she wore had been lovely before it was cut, the colors matched perfectly. A basket was lying next to her, all the fruits she had bought fallen out of it.
Such a waste.
He felt like being in a tunnel.
The man that was leaning over hear was twice her age the very least. He was laughing lustfully swaying the dagger with not much accuracy. He was obviously drunk.
He felt like being in a tunnel.
Jack didn't notice anything in his surroundings instead for the scene in front of him. He didn't think about the people around him – he didn't even think about Carter. He was just immersed in the grotesque scene.
Some apples and other fruits were thrown at the man. It was obvious the bystanders wanted to help but were too afraid of the drunken man with the knife. They feared for their own safety.
The man didn't react much to the coming attack. He was so immersed in the girl he didn't really seem to notice the world around him.
As he was in a tunnel.
The woman was still crying and squirming. However she seemed to notice her possible chance of help.
Her fearful eyes met his.
They were of a radiant blue color.
Like Sam's eyes.
Jack felt like in a dream when the image in front of him shifted to the Goa'uld mother ship they had been on weeks ago. And in all sudden it wasn't a drunken man that howled over the woman, it this sickly Goa'uld Lord. And it wasn't the young woman that so desperately looked at him, it was Sam.
The begging look in her eyes. They were screaming for him to help her. To make him stop.
To make everything stop.
And then all his fuses were blowing. All of them. Simultaneously.
He was just running at them. Straight.
The drunken man didn't even seem to register what was happening to him when Jack jumped into him with full force. The fist that hit his face broke his nose in an instant and made him almost fly through the air.
The woman screamed in fear.
Everything else was silent.
The man was lying on the ground, gripping his bloody nose moaning in pain. He didn't even fight back. He was just lying there.
Jack grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up. He just had this one second to actually look into the man's face and to see the surprised and at the same time fearful look but Jack didn't have time to let it sink into his mind. His fist was raised again already.
With full force he hit the man again. Jack's grip loosened around the collar and it slipped his fingers. The man fell back with full force and hit his head on the hard stone. He cried out in pain.
But Jack didn't stop.
Again and again.
He just punched him in the face.
He was to safe her.
This time he was to safe her.
He must safe her.
He just couldn't stand aside one more time.
He must safe her!
Again and again.
His fist found its way into the man's face again and again. Again and again he felt the soft flesh bouncing off the pure force of his hit. He felt bones break.
And he felt great.
It felt so damn great.
Again and again.
He felt like being in a tunnel.
The man was unconscious by now. Jack didn't even notice.
Again and again.
And then he stopped.
He was made to stop.
Jack felt a weight jamming into his back. Hands reached around from behind forcing him into an embrace.
"Stop!"
The voice was loud next to his ear.
The embrace tightened even further and made it almost impossible for him to move. He tried to dislodge the person but it was to no avail. It was the moment he heard the sobs, he felt the wet cheeks on his own and he saw the blond strands of hair tickling his skin.
"Please, Jack."
It was barely a whisper.
As if falling from a trance Jack woke up. It didn't take long for all the impressions around him to finally sink in.
He was about to kill a man by beating him up.
His breath got stuck into his chest. His eyes wide in fear and shock.
What have I done?
His still raised hand started to shake. It was a mixture of muscle fatigue, tiredness, shock and still ongoing rage that wanted to leave his body. Then his arm fell limply to the ground. He didn't feel the pain of the impact.
He hadn't even felt the pain of the repeated hits.
Carter was crying into his ear. She was shaking. Out of fear or shock he couldn't tell. All he knew was that his 2IC was embracing him as he was a lifeline and when he thought her grip couldn't get any stronger she just tightened even more.
"Please, Jack."
Jack fell back from his crouching position. He ended on his butt. He kept staring at the situation in front of him. With shock he raised his hands. His right fist was bloody.
"Sam" he breathed heavily out of extortion and shock "What have I done?"
But she didn't answer. She was just hanging over his shoulder and cried.
Jack started to look around. He was met with terrified eyes. No one moved. No one tried to intervener. Everyone was just staring.
Even the girl.
She had slipped to the floor. She didn't even cry anymore. She was just staring.
"What is going on here?"
The mayor of the town came running and made his way through the crowd. Still no one dared to move and let him pass.
When he reached the alleyway he also just stood there. He was as immersed in the scene as everyone else.
Behind him Daniel and Teal'c showed up. The archaeologist was breathing heavily from the running while the Jaffa was more stoic than ever.
The scene that displayed in front of them was heartbreaking.
Their CO was sitting on the ground, his hand bloody and shaking. His 2IC was kneeing behind him, hugging him with all her power while sobs shook her body. In front of them a man with a face so bloody you could only imagine what he looked like. And then a young woman with a pale face cowering on the dirty ground, her hand searching for ground in the wall she leaned on, her dress ripped in many parts, her eyes red from crying.
The archaeologist pushed the mayor aside and stormed to Jack. He didn't even had to ask what had happened here. The situation was clear. With a shocked face his eyes wandered to the man on the ground. The sight was awful.
"This woman needs assistance", Teal'c said to him.
Daniel was still too shocked to make sense of all. He was glad the Jaffa remained a cool head. Daniel snapped out of it and looked into the crowd. "Does anyone know this woman?" he asked with the firmest voice he could manage. He was positively surprised by his own efforts.
"Is family of this woman present?" the mayor repeated the statement even louder. This action brought many of the crowd back and stirring was visible.
"Call for a doctor!" a male voice was heard in the crowd. Again this statement was repeated by many people. Then movement started. Hectic broke out.
Many hands reached for the young woman to make her stand and to remove her from the scene. A blanket reached her out of nowhere and was put around her shoulders to cover her nakedness because of the ripped dress. It was just in that moment the woman noticed her state and pulled the blanket even tighter around her. Many helping hands guided her in her way back and made sure she wasn't falling. Teal'c assisted her for the most part and only handed her over when he knew she was safe in the hands of the locals.
Some brave men made their way to the beaten man on the ground. They kicked the knife out of his lifeless hands. After they made sure he was still alive and only unconscious they lifted him up and carried him away.
No one had reached for Jack and Sam.
They still remained in their positions.
Daniel was just sitting next to them and kept staring. In his eyes disbelief was written. He felt overwhelmed with the situation. It was a scene he had never seen before. He didn't even know what to ask them.
Jack felt like he was packed in cotton. Everything seemed so distant to him. The moment Daniel had come. The moment Teal'c had asked for help. The moment the locals had reached for the woman. The moment this man had been carried away. Everything was so distant.
"O'Neill."
It was Teal'c's voice. His eyes searched for him. He needed to turn his head in his direction. The Jaffa was towering over him. Even though his facial features were still stoic Jack knew the Jaffa wasn't calm. His jaw was tight. Teal'c was very worried.
"This man –" Jack began to stutter. His finger pointed to the point where the man way lying. But there was no one. Where did the man go?
"He – the woman – Carter –"
Carter!
Where is she?
With searching eyes he looked for her. Then with a shock he was reminded by a sob that his 2IC was still hugging him. Relief filled his heart. He had been so afraid to have lost her yet again. Then a panic settled in.
Is she all right?
Jack tried to turn around to have a better look at her but she only tightened her grip. She wasn't ready to let go of him yet.
Jack reached up with his hand to get into physical contact with her. He stopped the moment he saw his bloody hand. He swallowed hard. He then reached for her with his left. His hand found its way into her blond strands. They were so soft. He brushed some from her face and left his hand onto her head. With a soft force he pushed her head closer to his own leaning into her embrace. He could feel her doing so as well.
"I'm sorry, Sam" he hushed with a thin voice. It was full of emotion. "I'm sorry."