MEMOIRS OF
BRIGADIER GENERAL JACK O’NEILL
(Retired)
Part VIII
Chapter Two
By Arrietty
2008
I barely made it to the hole in time as I puked my guts out. There was no water to wash out my mouth or to settle my stomach. The pounding in my head had increased to a stage that I had to hold it as I vomited. My hand hurt, looking at it I could see skin had smeared off the knuckles and blood had dried on them and around my torn fingernails. I could hear the dawn chorus of birds singing. It was now the following morning. I couldn’t remember much of the past twenty-four hours, and then it came to me all in a rush, sending me back to the hole, emptying what stomach juices I had left.
I staggered back from the hole remembering how I had become demented, screaming out to people, scrabbling and clawing with my hands at the wall, trying to get through. When the pain in my head became too much, I had bashed it repeatedly against the wall trying to stop the intense pain. I tried unsuccessfully to shut my mind to the hallucinations that had attacked my vision. I dragged myself into the center of the room, curled up into a ball and began to feel the madness and craving to creep upon me again.
~*~
I awoke to see Leocold and his two young sons standing by as the old lady drip fed me water. At first, I was lucid, and then I started to plead to leave this hellhole. That was when Leocold and his sons had to hold me down. Slowly the life-giving water began to relieve my raw throat. Then they left me. I staggered to the door, screaming at them to let me have the drug, only to crumple down into a heap on the floor sobbing as the pain wracked my body.
{“Jack you okay?”
“Sam? No, I’m not. You have to get me out of here.”
“I will as soon as you tell me where the Lost City is.” Her eyes glowed, before she faded from view.
“Sam!”
The bandits were kicking and screaming at me in their foreign language, I could see the deranged faces of my friends, Daniel, Teal’c, George and Sam as they kicked and punched me. Eimon was there with a large flaming sword. He held it high above his head and brought it down towards me, right down onto my head. Pain exploded in my skull and I fell sobbing onto the floor.}
~*~
The pain was gone from my head. That persistent excruciating throbbing had gone. I opened one eye. There was a flash of light and a different pain spiked into my head. I groaned as I rolled over onto my back. It was dark, but I saw a few stars twinkling through the skylights. Thoughts drifted through my tired mind, comforting thoughts of my team and memories of successful missions. Not wanting to move, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
~*~
I awoke to the sound of ‘tutting’. I could feel gentle hands unwrapping the bandage from my head. I opened my eye to see ‘Mother’ frowning as she worked. I looked around the room, no sign of Leocold or his sons. I began to panic as I didn’t want to hurt this kind woman.
“Shush.” She smiled. “Over, finished,” she assured me.
I relaxed and let her continue with what she was doing.
“Greetings, Jack O’Neill,” boomed Leocold and I flinched at the loud sound. He bent over me and gave me a kind smile.
I watched him dump a large steaming bucket on the floor and plop a mop in it. By the acrid smell of vomit and urine that pervaded the room, I could understand the reason for the cleaning gear. I assumed it was for the room, and I hoped it wasn’t for me, not that I didn’t need something like a good hose down.
The old lady started to cut the bandages from my torso releasing my arm from its prison. When she started on my pants I protested, not very strongly I might add as I felt as weak as a newborn kitten.
“Jack O’Neill.” Leocold bent down beside me. “They are filthy.”
I nodded and shut my eye and, thankfully, drifted off to sleep.
~*~
I could hear quiet voices muttering beside me. “Jack O’Neill. Wake up.” The old lady held a cup of water to my lips and the water tasted wonderful as it rolled down my raw and parched throat. Leocold was standing the other side of the bed and his two sons came walking into the room. One of them carried in his hand the tin cup with the purple flower on the side.
I shook my head. “No!” My desperate voice sounded raspy in my dry throat. I found strength that earlier had eluded me and scooted up against he wall away from them and the cup.
Mother smiled and then said something totally incomprehensible and then Leocold translated, ending with a loud cheer that hurt my head. “You’re cured. Yar!” So that’s why the extra muscle, just in case I went berserk and grabbed for the drug.
They left the old woman to finish tending to my injuries. It was then I noticed I was clean; this I was grateful for and slid back down the bed feeling relaxed. I watched kind mother dump a small piece of moss like substance into the cup. She carefully unwound the bandage from my head and placed some of the dampened moss over my closed eyelid and then bandaged it back up again. She smiled, picked up her things and left.
Looking down at my body, I could see fresh bruises and grazed skin. Mainly the grazes were on my hands and my knees. I heard some doors opening and a waft of cooking smells drifted down the hallway. My door opened, two hands holding a tray, Leocold’s beaming face, followed by the rest of him.
“Here’s some Kakavia for you. Nothing substantial I’m afraid, not until tomorrow.” He settled the tray onto my lap. A single tankard sat in the center, steam rising from inside. A clear fluid had slurped over the side of the tankard as he’d set it down. It looked like soup to me, and it certainly smelt like soup. “I thought you would find it easier to drink it like this.” He then sat down on the chair. We stayed silent for quite a while as I sipped the hot soup.
“Who is Sam?” he asked. My tankard paused momentarily on the way to my mouth then I continued to take the sip. “He or, I suspect, she, is someone special?”
“Not anymore,” I growled, “She’s dead.”
“Thought so.” He let out a puff of breath, leaned his hands on his knees and stood up. “You sleep. I’ll be back when the patrons have gone.” He took the empty tankard and tray and left the room.
Too tired to even try and work out what all that was about, I slid down the bed and as I fell asleep realized that I was in a different room to the one that I had first been in. Thoughts of Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter’s tea party flitted through my head as I drifted off to sleep.
~*~
I was surprised at how quickly I bounced back after my bout of madness. It took two days before I could keep anything solid down, but, at least, they had moved me back to my original room. This way I could hear the noisy laughter and chatter that came from the patrons of the inn. I didn’t feel so alone then. After a week I was beginning to potter around the Inn and helped Leocold with his chores. I found I enjoyed the simple domestic lifestyle that he had. It made things feel normal in my very abnormal life.
~*~
After two weeks I was fit and well enough to retrieve my things. I asked the younger son to show me where he had found me. I found myself puffing and panting as I climbed the small hills just out of Leocold. It took us two hours to get to the bandits’ campsite.
“It is safe. The bandits had gone before we found you and they won’t be back for a long time.” I nodded to him.
“Thanks, Brunoc. You can go home now.”
“But, Jack. Surely you need me just in case something goes wrong.”
I smiled at him quietly. “Don’t worry, I will return, but it will be a while. You go home and reassure your family that you are safe.” He stood still, looking indecisive. “Go on,” and I shooed him away with my hand.
He nodded. “Yes, I will if you wish, but will you come back?”
“Yes, I will return this evening, I promise. I’ll walk back with you to the ridge.”
“Thank you.”
Once again, I puffed and panted up this hill onto the ridge. I didn’t move from my strategic position until I saw him as a tiny speck disappear from view.
Turning around, I walked as quickly as I could down the hill, past the campsite, over another small ridge to where the stream still bubbled and chattered over the rocks. The purple flowers were still there, giving me different memories from what I’d had the first time I’d seen them.
I ran over to the large rock. I just hoped everything was still there, I thought, as I reached into the crevice. My hand closed over the soft leather of my coat and I gently pulled out the heavy article. Then I reached in again and dragged out my pack. No one had interfered with anything as far as I could see. I checked the pockets of my coat, all my weapons and ammunition were still strapped to it. My bag was untouched and hadn’t been opened. I felt along the lining to see if the gold coins were still sewn in and hadn’t been removed. Without the gold I would never be able to buy the horses and my journey would have been a waste.
I pulled on the coat and though it was a little on the large size after my enforced diet. It still felt good to be wearing it again. I walked to the stream. From my pack I pulled out shaving gear and plonked it down on a smooth rock. I rubbed my hand over my chin making it rasp against the short beard that had grown in the last two weeks.
After shaving and changing from my borrowed pants into my BDU’s, I counted out some money and put it into the pocket of my coat. Then, slinging the pack onto one shoulder, I started the long walk back to town. By the time I had reached the road that led into the town it was beginning to darken because of the late hour. I pulled out my black beanie and dragged it over my short unruly hair. Though I had tried to flatten it down at the stream it wouldn’t co-operate. I really needed a good shower or bath to wash my hair, but that would have to wait for another day.
It was only a ten minutes walk to Leocold’s Inn and I saw many friends that I had made over the past two weeks walk right by me. Some answered my greeting, but most scurried out of my way into doorways. I was puzzled by this and to be truthful, slightly hurt to think that these new friends of mine didn’t want to know me anymore.
It was late when I pushed open the Inn doors. It was the one day of the week that Leocold shut early, mainly to get extra chores done and get an early night. He reckoned as long as he got one good nights sleep a week, he was fine. He was busy stacking the tankards.
“We are closed,” he said firmly, but kindly.
I stood still, puzzled. Thoughts of mirrors and alternate universes spun through my head. Shaking it to dispel those thoughts, I then pulled off my hat.
“Leocold?” I questioned
“Jack!” He beamed and walked towards me. “I didn’t recognize you. Come in and sit down.” He went behind the bar and filled a tankard up with the beer that he served on tap. Walking back over, he placed it down in front of me, and then sat down opposite me on the bench.
He nodded towards my coat. “Who are you? Really?”
I frowned and couldn’t work out what he meant, until I looked down at my coat. Peaking out from between the buttons was the butt end of my P-90. I shifted the coat flap to cover it. I had been careless.
“A traveler, on my way to buy horses, like I told you.”
“Why the weaponry, I can see you have more than that in there. And there was that small weapon my boys found. What are they? I haven’t seen anything like them before.”
“Then you are lucky, they are dangerous.”
“I was a soldier before my Papa died and he left me this inn. I know all about weaponry and danger.” He looked me straight in the eye. His face was devoid of joviality.
They are special weapons, ones that are made on my planet. I use them for defense.
“Didn’t help you much with the bandits.”
I shrugged. “That’s true, but I was taken by surprise. I usually have a team watching my back. No excuse though.”
“No.” He agreed. “Where was all this?” He waved his hand over my bag and coat.
“Stashed somewhere safe.”
“You are lucky the bandits didn’t find it all.”
“Yes, and glad your sons didn’t either.” It was my turn to look serious.
He tilted his head on one side and questioned me with a look. I sat still and closed down all emotions.
He said one word that sent a jolt right down into my gut. “Charlie.”
Anger began to replace the fear that his perception had caused. “Just how much did you hear?” I leaned over the table menacingly.
“Sorry, Jack. I have a tendency to know what makes a man tick and yes, I heard a lot, but I needed to be around. Some men have been known to try and kill themselves in there, just had to make sure you didn’t.”
I relaxed and sat back with a tired sigh. “Sorry, Leo. It’s just a touchy subject which I’d rather not delve into.”
He nodded in reply then leaned forward. “I lost a son to the fever that spread through the land many seasons ago. He was my eldest and he was only two of your years old.”
We stared at each other for a while then broke eye contact. He understood, I understood, we were brothers.
“Would you like supper, you missed it earlier?”
“Thanks, that sounds good. What did you make?”
“Gurglot stew.” I laughed; he remembered my story about the gurglot stew.
“Leocold. Tell me more about my eye. All I can see is a faint line and kind mother isn’t very forthcoming with her explanations.”
He plonked a great plate of stew down in front of me and sat back down again.
“If it doesn’t put you off your supper,” and then laughed his big hearty laugh. “When you came in you were really banged up as you know. One of the bandits kicked you in the head that is why kind mother gave you the lewberry juice. Your eye was swollen and all around it was swollen too. But your eyelid was hanging right across to here.” He showed me by drawing his finger from the outside of his eye to the inside. “You were lucky it was still attached. Kind mother sewed it back on for you and then put bandages soaked in lewberry juice. This is what it is made for, not to be drunk by the mug full.” He mock glared at me.
“This is amazing; there’s barely a scar and no swelling around the eye. It’s only been two weeks since you found me.”
“Yes it is an amazing flower. If it didn’t have such great healing properties, I would have made sure that all the plants were destroyed.”
As he was speaking a memory came to me. It was of Alexander, pouring something from a long thin necked bottle and it was purple in colour. He used it to soak the padding that was imbedded into my knee as it healed.
“I think it has been used on me before. For a knee injury.”
“Could be. Now it is time for me to get some shut eye.” He slowly stood up.
“Leocold, can you put this in your safe for me?” I held up my pack.
“Why sure. Come this way.”
I followed him out to his office and he clicked a few dials and opened the door. As I placed the bag and my weapons into the safe a feeling of dread came over me. “Leocold, who else has access to this safe other than you?”
“My mother.”
“Not your sons?” I asked concerned.
“No, they are not old enough to warrant this kind of responsibility.”
I relaxed and continued to shove my weapons into the safe. The P-90 was hard to fit in but I managed to work it out in the end.
I watched as he shut the door with a clang then spun the dial around to lock it. “Leocold.”
“Yes, Jack.” He turned and watched me fumble in my pockets.
I pulled out the handful of coins that I had sorted out earlier and slapped them down on his desk. “This is for the last two weeks of room and board and the doctoring, and for this coming week.”
He reached across his hand and placed it over the pile of coins; never once hesitating he slid them across to me. “No, Jack. You don’t owe us anything; if anything, we owe you.”
I slid it back across to him not saying a word. He looked at me for a few moments then let out an audible sigh. “Okay.” He threw his hands up in surrender, “but you take this back; we don’t deserve to be paid for something that we caused,” referring to the lewberry juice. He counted off a few of the coins and put them in his pocket. “Take it, Jack.” He looked me in the eyes. I relented and drew the rest of coins into my hand and shoved them back into my pocket. “Excellent.” He slapped me on my back and we walked back out into the main room. “See you in the morning, Jack. Bright and early.” He ambled off to his room, humming something tuneless. I opened the door to my room and collapsed onto the bed. I was tired.
~*~
The sun was just rising over the ridge behind the small town as I walked out the front gates. I wanted to get an early start to this long journey, at least I would be able to ride one of the horses back and hopefully, it would be quicker.
Once again, I left good people behind me, people that I would miss, but I would see them on my return journey when I would stay with them. I chuckled to myself remembering Leocold assuring me that his stables were warm and dry and that they would be big enough to house Neeron’s great horses. It wasn’t until I had walked several steps that I realized I’d ‘chuckled’ just like Leocold. Shaking my head in disbelief I strode up the dry dusty road, my coat flapping around my shins as I took each step.
Not much more happened on the journey, at first I found it interesting watching the wildlife and the scenery, but after a while I was wishing that the journey would hurry up and end. Every few days I took the opportunity to check out caves that would not only be a good strategic point but would house the great horses that I would be bringing back with me. At each cave, I stashed piles of wood and dry bracken, because I wasn’t sure that I would make it back in time to miss the winter. And if someone came across the firewood and had need of it, I didn’t mind if it was put to good use.
The only unusual thing that puzzled me on my journey is that I came across no other travelers. For over two weeks, the only company I had was myself and the small animals and birds that scurried in the undergrowth and chattered and twittered in the trees.
~*~
2028
‘Daddy.”
“Hey, baby. Come here. When did you get home?”
“Just now, Mommy wants you to get the shopping out of the shuttle.”
“I heard that little Miss. Just need some help that’s all, Jack.”
“Wow, what’ya buy, the whole store?”
“Jack”.
“Be right there.”
~*~
arrietty39@yahoo.co.nz
© Arrietty 2005
Heliopolis Main Archive
A Stargate: SG-1 Fanfiction Site
Memoirs of Brigadier General Jack O'Neill (retired)
by ArriettySite Navigation
Support Heliopolis