A HeartBeat Away
A HeartBeat Away
by Tropical
TITLE: A HeartBeat Away
AUTHOR: Tropical
EMAIL: Charlizecarter77@hotmail.com
CATEGORY: Action/Adventure, UST-A little horror, Drama
PAIRING: Sam/Jack
SPOILERS: Not that I can think of
SEASON / SEQUEL: 5
RATING: PG
CONTENT WARNINGS: angst
SUMMARY: Just when you think you are safe. The danger is a heartbeat away!
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Heliopolis
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I really had fun writing this Fic. Please tell me if I should do a sequel!! ;)Feedback please!!
SG-1 sat at the briefing table, preparing for their next mission. They were about to gate on P7X F66 also named Veronia.
"what do we know exactly about this planet?" Hammond ask, looking at major Carter.
"well sir, on Veronia, there's a village where the Veronians live. We detected animal life near the stargate and there's no signs that the goau'lds had visited this planet so far. The most fascinating thing about Veronia is that the planet has three suns. The first and the second are as large as our own, but the third is four times bigger. In a few days, there will also be an eclipse, where the three suns will be aligned together" Sam finished and look at Daniel.
Daniel smiled at her and nod "the villagers aren't dangerous and they have a low level of technology. One of the villagers named Nathan said that there was a stone with inscriptions on it. This stone has been there for ages and no one never knew what was written on it"
General Hammond nod and look at everyone in the room "so, this planet is not dangerous?"
Sam hesitated "umm, sir, there is the forest separating the stargate and the village. This is probably the only obstacle there is on Veronia. Light hardly penetrates through the trees because of the thick mist surrounding the forest, so the temperature drops below the normal. We don't know what kind of animal life lives there, whether they're dangerous or friendly. It's very dark but with some flashlights we'll be fine. The Veronians don't use the stargate, so there won't be any proper paths either" she finished, taking an intrigued gaze from everyone.
"does this forest represent any threats?" Hammond ask her.
"we'll have lights and weapons, I don't think we'll be in danger, sir" Sam insisted. It took several minutes before Hammond finally agree "ok, colonel, this one is yours. Be ready in ten, dismiss" Jack nod and SG-1 went preparing themselves for their mission.
Ten minutes later, SG-1 stepped out of the stargate and on to Veronia. They were about a mile from the forest and they could already feel the cold air.
"how many hours until we get to the village, Carter?" Jack ask his 2IC while putting on his back pack.
"well sir, about a day. And that is if we get the right path through the forest" Jack spinned around and look at her in disbelief.
"a day?!! For crying out loud!!"
Daniel smiled at him and walk past him "we better get going before it gets dark" he said and Teal'c followed him.
"of course we do" Jack replied sarcastically and him and Sam started following the others.
Sam was most of the time looking at the three suns in the sky. It amazed her to no end seeing three suns on the same planet. Her CO's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she look at him beside her.
"sir?"
"I was saying that I can't hear any animals. Like birds and stuff like that"
Sam look around her and nod. He was right, they didn't heard any animals since they gated here.
"you're right, maybe they're on the other side of the forest" she suggested and look back at him. Jack look around one last time before looking at her "yeah, maybe"
Several hours later, they finally reached the forest. It was nothing compared to a warm and beautiful tropical forest. The trees were almost all dead or being eaten up by insects. They still haven't seen any animals, and the forest looked deserted.
"take out your flashlights" Jack ordered and took his. Once everyone was ready, they stepped in the forest and stayed close to each other. There was something about the forest that disturbed everyone. The flashlights could hardly penetrate through the mist.
"how big this forest is anyway?" Jack commented and cut a vine that was blocking his way. "big enough I guess" Daniel answered, who was closer behind him. Jack rolled his eyes, annoyed, and continued walking. The only reason why he had accepted this mission, was because Carter said they could witness an eclipse.
They seemed to walk for eternity, it was hard to look at the sky to see if it was still daylight.
"Jack, I guess we should stop walking. I'm sure night is already there" Daniel said, trying very hard to keep up, but finally gave in and slumped on the ground. Jack turned to look at him then Sam and Teal'c stopping behind Daniel.
"fine, it's not like we're getting somewhere anyway" he replied sarcastically. Looking around them, there wasn't any place to build up their tents.
"no room for the tents, we'll just sleep in our sleeping bags" Jack said and reached for his sleeping bag from his back. In a matter of half an hour, everyone was ready to go to bed.
"we have clock set for the night, kids. Who's first on it?" Jack said, sitting on his sleeping bag between Sam and Daniel.
Teal'c stood up and bow his head "I will stand guard first, O'neill"
"I'll go next, sir"
Jack nod to them "I'm third and if there's time left, Daniel will be fourth"
Everyone nod in agreement and slide into their sleeping bags, all except for Teal'c who walked further towards the fire to stand guard.
The forest was even more colder in the night than it was in the day. Even if there was two moons, they couldn't penetrate the mist and branches of the forest. Teal'c was sitting near the fire doing his Kel'no'reem, when suddenly he heard a noise in the woods. He quickly opened his eyes and survey the area under a careful eye. Hearing nothing else, he closed his eyes once again.
Several minutes later, Teal'c heard again the same noise, but this time it was louder and nearer to him. He quickly stood up and took his zat gun in his hand, ready for any danger. He looked around him, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from, but it seemed that it was surrounding him.
Without warning, something from the dark jumped out of nowhere and attacked Teal'c. Teal'c fell on his back and felt something scratching his chest with sharp claws. He opened his eyes weakly and the only thing he saw from his attacker, was two dark yellow eyes. He gasped painfully when he noticed it was shaped like a wolf. The attacker quickly ran away and back into the woods, leaving an unconscious Teal'c in the cold night.
A quarter of an hour later, Sam woke up unable to sleep in the cold night. She sat in her sleeping bag and noticed Teal'c's flashlights lying on the ground, illuminating it's front with a weak light.
Frowning, Sam stood up and took her own flashlight. She walked towards where Teal'c was suppose to stand guard but couldn't find him anywhere. Starting to get nervous, she look around her and gasp as she saw him laying on the ground.
"Teal'c!" she made her way towards him and pulled him on his back, she was shocked to see he was bleeding on his chest. She ran towards the aid kit and meanwhile she woke up her CO and Daniel.
"colonel! Daniel!" Jack immediately woke up at the sound of his rank and look everywhere around him "what?"
Sam look up briefly from Teal'c's wound "sir, Teal'c's injured"
Jack didn't wait any longer and ran towards her and Teal'c, followed by a still sleeping Daniel.
"what happened?" he said and look at the still unconscious Teal'c.
"I don't know, sir, I woke up and found him like this" she said and started cutting his shirt to clean his wound.
"will his symbiot save him?" Daniel asked behind her. Sam look at his wound more carefully and nod "yes, his symbiot is uninjured" Jack and Daniel sigh in relief and walk back to the camp.
"Daniel help me out here, we'll put Teal'c on his sleeping bag. Like this it'll be less uncomfortable when he'll wake up"
Daniel nod and helped Jack preparing Teal'c's sleeping bag and water when he'll wake up.
Sam eventually finished cleaning Teal'c's wound, to her relief, and called out for the others. Jack and Daniel immediately walk towards her and took Teal'c, leading him to the sleeping bags.
"Daniel, light another fire" Jack ordered and walk towards where Teal'c got injured. Daniel did what he ask and lighten up another stronger fire. Jack looked everywhere but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, so he walked back towards the others.
"I can't find any traces of the attacker. Do you think it might be someone from the village?" he ask to no one in particular.
"I don't think so, sir. They hardly leave their village"
"and they are too nice to kill people who can provide them higher level of technology"
Jack nod "who else then?" he look up at both of them. It was only then that he noticed that Sam had Teal'c's blood on her clothes "Carter" he said, pointing to her clothing.
"it's Teal'c's blood, sir" she informed him.
"we saw a stream earlier not too far from here, right?" she nod.
"Daniel, accompany Carter to the stream, let her clean herself up from that blood" Daniel and Sam nod and took their weapons before starting walking away.
"leave your radio on line for me to contact you every seconds" he ordered before he could hardly see the light of their flashlights between the trees. Shaking his head, he sat next to Teal'c and waited for them to come back.
Daniel and Sam walked through the trees and finally heard the sound of the water running down. Smiling to themselves, Sam turned to look at Daniel.
"don't go too far, I only have for a minute" Daniel nod nervously, he was a bit scared to know that Teal'c's attacker was still out there, running free. Sam smiled at him one last time and walked closer to the stream.
The water was very cold, but the only thing she wanted, was to get Teal'c's blood off her clothes. She knelt beside the little river and started washing away the blood.
Daniel was several meters away, looking everywhere around him with his flashlight. He froze when he heard several branches cracking.
"Huh, Sam?" he called out nervously and gripped his gun more firmly.
"just a few more minutes" Sam said to him. She was cleaning herself quickly, when she heard a noise behind her. Thinking of Daniel, she stood up and turned around "Daniel, I said..." she gasped when she saw that it wasn't him but some sort of animal with dark yellow eyes.
Daniel was looking silently everywhere around him and suddenly heard screaming. He turned quickly from where Sam was and shouted her name "Sam?! Sam answer me!!"
Jack quickly looked up from Teal'c when he heard shoutings "shit!" he cursed and dashed towards them.
The creature jumped on Sam and they both fell in the water. The creature looked like it was able to breathe under the water, because he held Sam underneath.
Daniel kept shouting Sam's name furiously and walked quickly around the area. He was even more panicking when he couldn't hear her screams anymore. He suddenly turned around when he heard something run his way.
"Jack" he breathed, but was still tensed.
"where's Carter?" he ordered. Daniel shook his head "I.. I don't know.. she was screaming.. the river.." he breathed and watched him run towards the river.
Meanwhile, Sam was trying very hard to brake free from the creature's grasp. But it was no used, the creature was bigger than a lion, shaped like a wolf and as agile as a cougar. Sam was starting to feel the lack of oxygen in her lungs and was now fighting for her life.
"Carter!!" Jack shouted when he saw the river. No one answered and fear shot through him. He finally noticed several bubbles coming out of the water near him. Running towards it, he saw something black and brown in the water.
The creature must have felt his presence, and swam further in the water and ran away from them quickly. Jack dived in and brought Sam on the side of the river and checked for a pulse. He didn't have time to find one when he heard her cough. He pulled her on her back and let her start breathing slowly by slowly.
"are you ok?" he asked once she finished coughing. She nod and weakly sat up, running a nervous hand across her face. Daniel came running towards them and knelt beside Sam "Oh God, are you ok?" he ask worriedly. Sam look up weakly at him "I'll be Daniel"
"what happened, Carter?" Jack ask her, concerned.
Sam frowned and shook her head "I heard noises behind me so I thought it was Daniel. When I turned around, I saw this ... thing" she stopped for several seconds, catching her breath.
"it was big and looked like a wolf, but it was quite agile. It got two pairs of yellow eyes and sharp teeth" Jack nod and helped her up.
Daniel gave her his coat and they walk back towards Teal'c and the fire.
Once back at the camp site, Jack and Sam sat beside the fire and Daniel went searching for blankets. Teal'c still hasn't awake yet, and Jack and Sam were freezing in the night.
"here" Daniel said and handed them two warm blankets. Sam smiled to him and took it gently, pulling it on her shoulders.
"thanks, Daniel" Jack said and also put it on his shoulders. Daniel sat next to Jack and looked across him to Sam "so, we're obviously not dealing with a human here" Jack started.
Sam shook her head and brought her knees to her chin. Jack looked at her "you only saw one?"
"I think so, sir, it happened so fast. It quickly pushed me in the water"
"did it hurt you like it hurt Teal'c?" Daniel asked.
Sam shook her head "no, I guess it's plan was to drown me instead. It appears they can breathe and look under water too" Jack nod, no doubt thinking that much has happened in just one night.
"ok, Carter, I want you to get some rest for tomorrow. You obviously been through a lot earlier" Sam nod in understanding and stood up. Before she could walk towards her sleeping bag, Jack quickly stopped her "bring your sleeping bag next to the fire, don't want you to catch a cold either"
"yes, sir" she said and did what he asked. In a matter of minutes, Sam was already sleeping. That left Daniel and Jack awake.
"if we're not dealing with a human, how can we know how to fight this.. thing?" Daniel asked him. Jack sighed and shook his head "first thing in the morning, we'll go at the village. Just hope they know how to fight this creature"
Daniel nod and sat down quietly in a more comfortable position and stared at the fire. He couldn't be more relieved to know that both of his friends were alive and will be ok before tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Jack wasn't so relieved like Daniel. Two of his team-mates were injured in only a short period of time. He was surprised to know that the creature attacked two persons in just one night, and could probably kill or hurt more if it could. Apparently, it wasn't afraid to die, if it could die in the first place.
Jack looked beside him to Daniel and found him sleeping on his sleeping bag he had brought over earlier. He was a bit relieved that nothing happened to him, yet. But he was still unsure about how the creature knew who to attack first.
He looked on his other side and on to his 2IC. She was sleeping but was alerted to any noise around her. Their clothes were still wet so that meant that he had to keep the fire running if he didn't want them to be sick the following day.
The rest of the night passed quietly, there was no signs of the creature whatsoever and that calmed Jack a little bit. Finally, the morning showed up and everyone started waking up slowly.
Sam saw her CO still awake walking towards her "sir, have you gotten any sleep last night?"
Jack gave Sam her watterbottle and shook his head "not after we went out for a swim" Sam drank her water and regained her strength.
They suddenly heard a moan coming from Teal'c, Jack looked at each other then quickly walk towards him. Sam knelt beside him and checked his bandages.
"Teal'c, can you hear me?"
"I hear you, major Carter" Teal'c responded and opened his eyes. Jack smiled widely and patted him on the shoulder softly "it's nice to have you back with us, Teal'c"
Teal'c bow his head and looked down at the bandages around his waist "my symbiot has healed me, I do not need these bandages" Sam nod and started taking them off "hold on, I'll get them off"
Jack walked towards Daniel at the camp and they both quickly packed everything up. Jack was determined to go at the village today and ask about the creature that attacked his team mates last night.
They ate dinner before heading towards the village. They walked less than yesterday and the mist wasn't as thick as it was, so they could see more through the trees and where they were heading. They stopped twice during their journey, letting Teal'c and Sam rest a little, even though they kept arguing they were fine.
Two hours later, they finally stepped out of the forest and the light of the suns blinded them.
"we're finally out of these damn woods" Jack commented and looked back on his team "let's go" he ordered and they walk towards the village. A few meters from the village, Daniel saw a stone with inscriptions written on it. It was the stone he took on picture with the MALP.
Smiling widely to himself, he made his way towards it quickly "Daniel!!" Jack called out but no use, he was already next to it. Daniel frowned in confusion when he noticed that on the rock, there was signs of nails, scratching the stones.
"Jack, look at this?" he said and mentioned at Jack to come.
"what?" he said and noticed the stone was almost falling apart "is that the stone you.."
"yeah, this is the stone I took on picture with the malp. It was fine yesterday" he said confused. Daniel took out a small digital video camera from his back pack and started filming the stone.
"come on, Daniel, time to go" Jack said and started walking towards the village. Daniel nod and closed his camera and walked quickly next to the others.
"God! I can't wait to get in that village" Jack commented and walked in the village. There was something wrong, though. None of them saw anyone walking in the village. It was completely deserted.
"hello?" Jack said out loud but no one answered.
"is there anybody here?" Daniel tried but still no answer.
"I don't understand, the MALP clearly indicated signs of life. We even talked to Nathan and his wife a few days ago" Sam informed them and walked towards one of the houses and knocked on the door. Instead of someone answering, the door opened itself up, leaving the house empty.
Something is obviously very wrong here" Jack said and walked past Sam and into the house "it's completely deserted" he said and looked at Sam, confused.
"O'neill!" they both heard Teal'c shout his name and they quickly walked towards him and Daniel.
"you found the villagers?" asked Sam. Daniel looked at her with a disgusted look on his face "I guess you can say that" Sam and Jack frowned in confusion and walked next to them.
Teal'c and Daniel were at the end of the village and were staring at the clearing. Sam and Jack walked up to them and looked at what they found. They both gasped in horror at what they saw.
"what the hell..." Jack started and looked everywhere in front of him.
Further away from the village, maybe a few meters away, was standing a big pile of bodies and skeletons. They were piled up one on each other, almost creating a tower of dead bodies.
"Oh my God" Sam said in disbelief.
"I believe we found them, O'neill" Teal'c replied and scanned all the bodies in front of them.
"what do you think happened?" asked Daniel to no one in particular. They struggled, ignoring the answer. Jack finally moved away and the rest of the team followed.
"Ok, we don't know what happened but it looks big. It's not everyday that an entire village dies in just one day, since we contacted them a few days before. We'll visit every house there is in this village in hope to find some survivors. Teal'c with Carter, Daniel you're with me. If any of you sees anything unusual, contact me on the radio"
Everyone nod at Jack and walked in separate ways.
Jack and Daniel were searching the houses quickly, in hope to find someone alive on the Veronia's planet.
Teal'c and Sam entered in one of the many houses and Teal'c searched the first floor, while Sam went for the second. She went to open the door but found it locked. Frowning, she tried again and this time harder. The door finally gave itself up and the next thing happened took her completely off guard.
A young man ran outside the room, pushing Sam against the wall.
"Teal'c!" she yelled and rubbed her head where she had knocked herself.
Before the man could reach the door, Teal'c lift his zat and zat him once. The man fell on the floor, unconscious. Jack and Daniel came in an instant and saw the man on the floor.
"what happened here?" Jack asked, puzzled.
"I believe we found a survivor, O'neill" Teal'c replied and Sam slowly walked down the stairs, taking everyone's attention.
"what happened to you?" Jack said and walked towards her.
"he knocked me against the wall" Sam replied, waving at the unconscious man. Jack led her to a chair.
"huh, guys? isn't he the man we talked to a few days ago? Nathan was his name?" Daniel took everyone's attention.
"you're right, Daniel Jackson"
Jack agreed and said that it would be better if they'd stay here until he wakes up and then asked him about his village and the creature running wild in their forest.
After what seemed an eternity, Nathan started to wake up. He opened his eyes slowly and whispered "Kariana?" then, when he noticed his surroundings, he quickly stood up and shouted.
"get away from me!!"
Daniel quickly rose his hands "we won't hurt you, Nathan, I promise"
Nathan frown "how do you know my name? who are you? what brings you to Veronia?"
"hey hey hey! calm down, will ya?" Jack said firmly, standing up from his seat and walked towards him.
"we're the ones who you talked to a few days ago! we said we came through the stargate"
Nathan slowly remembered and scanned everyone's faces "are you the voices that came through the machine?" he asked.
Daniel smiled and nod "yes, it's called the MALP. My name is Daniel, this is our leader Jack. Behind us, there's Teal'c and Sam" Nathan nod.
Jack sighed and decided to take a seat next to him "who were you calling, when you woke up I mean?"
Nathan lowered his gaze on to the floor "I.. it is my wife's name, Kariana. She was killed by the creatures from the Deadwood forest"
Daniel and Sam shared a worried, but yet nervous look with each other "ok, Nathan, can you tell us about those creatures you're talking about?"
Nathan quickly looked at Daniel, worriedly "have you met them?"
Jack nod "yeah, we did and it attacked two of my team members" he showed Sam and Teal'c.
"but you have lived, you are alive!" Nathan said in disbelief. Jack nod and looked at Daniel then back to Nathan "what can you tell us about those creatures, exactly?"
"they are the ones who killed my village and wife. They are never scared and are not afraid to die. They live in the Deadwood forest, where it is forbidden by our Gods for Veronians people to cross. These creatures cannot live during the day, they automatically die. The only times they come out to hunt, is at night"
"is there a lot of creatures like these?"
"there is hundreds or perhaps more"
Sam stood up and walked towards Nathan "wait a minute here, you said they only come out by night?"
Nathan nod "that is correct"
Sam turned to look at her CO "sir, we have a problem"
Jack raised his eyebrows "I kinda figured that out by now, Carter. In the situation we are in..."
Sam cut him off and shook her head "no, if these creatures can only survive at night, then they will be free when the eclipse will take place"
"Sam?" Daniel said, in a nervous tone "what are you saying?"
"in a couple of days, the eclipse of the three suns will take place. This means it will be dark for several days in a row. The creatures will take this advantage and run wild during those days"
"so we leave now" Jack replied but Nathan shook his head "we cannot, not when they know there is food"
"food?" Jack echoed sarcastically and raised his eyebrows.
"he's right, sir, we can't leave. It took us at least a full day to come across the forest. These creatures now know that there's people here and the next time we encounter them, I don't think there'll be just one"
Jack sighed and rubbed his face with his hands "so, what are you saying Carter?" the look in her eyes gave him the answer. They were doomed to stay on Veronia until the eclipse passes.
"Ok, here's the plan, since we can't get to the stargate in time we'll just have to make ourselves comfortable here. This house looks strong enough, we'll stay here and reinforce this house. We have to get food and water supplies and blankets. Teal'c, you're in charge on bringing back wood for the house. Nathan, do you know a river where the water is good to drink?"
"I do, our main river"
"ok, Nathan and I will get water and food. Daniel and Carter, you two are going in several houses and search for objects for weapons or things like ropes, blankets and stuff like that. Now, everyone is clear on that?" they nod.
"ok, let's move out! I want everyone here before nightfall too"
They all left in separate directions and did what Jack ordered. Teal'c took off his coat and started cutting wood, Jack also took off his coat and walked between the river and the house, bringing back water supplies with Nathan.
Sam walked in one of the houses, even though this one was kept apart from the others. She opened the door and inspected the interior carefully. She found blankets, knives and ropes on the first floor. Then she decided to visit the second floor, thinking that she could get more blankets from the bedrooms.
She opened the door of the bedroom and stopped at the entrance. Sam frowned when she saw a bed further in the room and it appeared there was someone sleeping in it, his head was covered by a white blankets, so Sam could just see the hair.
"uh, hello?" she said out loud but no one answered her. She took a step forward and was about to repeat, when the door suddenly closed behind her and one of the creatures fell on her. Sam took out her gun but fell backwards, she gripped on the edge of the blanket covering the sleeping person on the bed, taking it with her. She gasped when she saw a dead body lying in the bed. Sam lost control of her position and fell against the wall, shooting a round from her gun in the roof.
Daniel, who was in another house, quickly walked outside and saw Jack and Nathan further away, leaving the full buckets of water and ran his way.
"what happened?"
"it's coming from where Sam went" Daniel pointed towards the house next to his. Jack and Nathan didn't waste any time and sprint towards the house. He opened the door on the first floor violently "Carter?" he didn't heard any response, then he walked in direction of the second floor.
Meanwhile, Sam was trying very hard to keep her breathing to a normal state. She gazed at the creature and knew it was dead. The creature's eyes were wide open and it's mouth was half open leaving a good sight of it's sharp teeth. Sam closed her eyes and held her weapon tighter, as if trying to convince herself that it was really dead.
Suddenly, the door snapped open and her CO came in quickly followed by Nathan and Daniel. At first, Sam quickly stood up and raised her weapon towards their direction, still under nervousness.
"W'oh! Carter, it's us" Jack quickly said and rose his hands. Sam sighed and lowered her weapon, her hands still slightly shaking.
"what happened... Ah!" Nathan said when he noticed the dead creature on the floor and took a step backward.
"it's dead" Sam said softly "it was dead when I came in"
Jack made his way towards his 2IC, avoiding stepping on the creature, and stopped next to her "are you ok? What happened?"
"I came in and saw someone in the bed. The creature was behind the door and it fell on me, I stumbled backwards and then I noticed the dead body in the bed" she waved at the dead body in the bed with a disgusted look on her face.
"I know this man" Nathan said, taking everyone's attention "he is called Aktouf, he is the wise one on Veronia"
Jack look at the deceased man in the bed and his disgusted look quickly changed into a puzzled one, after he noticed that he still holding a bag in his hand tightly. He walked nearer and took it from him.
"hey, Daniel! you think you can translate these notes for us?" he asked and lifted a book filled with Aktouf's notes. Daniel smiled and nod.
Teal'c appeared through the door, startling everyone "we should start to reinforce the house, O'neill, before it is dark"
Jack agreed and led everyone out of the house and towards their own.
"ok!" Jack said out loud and clapped his hands together, taking everyone's attention.
"Nathan, Teal'c and I will cover the exterior while you Carter and Daniel reinforce the interior"
"yes, sir" Sam said and stepped in the house, followed by Daniel. Nathan, Teal'c and Jack started cutting wood and tied them against the walls of the house, with some strong and resistant rope.
Meanwhile, Sam and Daniel were in the house. Daniel cleaned the kitchen table and laid everyone's bags on it. Then he went out to bring some wood for the fire.
Sam was upstairs in front of the only window there was on the second floor. They had a great view of the forest and the suns from there. She took out her binoculars and other items before making the rooms. There was only three rooms, one downstairs and two on the second floor.
'great' Sam thought and put their sleeping bags in different rooms. Teal'c will have his own room and will be sleeping downstairs. Nathan will have the first room on the second floor and the rest of SG-1 will be sleeping in the last room by the window.
Outside, the trio was making progress with the house but time was running out. There was only few minutes left before the suns were completely down.
"O'neill!"
"yeah?" answered Jack, leaning against the edge of the roof to look at Teal'c.
"we must enter the house at once. It will be soon dark and the creatures will come"
Jack glanced quickly to the suns then back to him "ok, give us a sec!" he shouted back.
Teal'c stood at the house's entrance and waited for them to come down. Upstairs, Sam looked out of the window and witnessed the suns going down. Everything was quiet, too quiet for her liking. Suddenly, she heard furious howling and saw a lot of the creatures running out of the forest and towards them. Panicking, she ran to the room entrance and shouted to Daniel
"get them in! NOW" Daniel didn't waste any time and dash outside. He paled when he saw at least thirty creatures approaching them.
"Jack! we gotta go!"
Jack looked up and quickly patted on Nathan's arm, mentioning him to go in the house as quickly as possible.
"shit! shit! shit! let's move move move!" he ordered and they got down from the roof and ran around the house. It was just when they got in and closed the door, that the creatures were in the village.
Sam quickly walked back down and sighed in relief when she saw everyone was fine.
Everyone tensed when they heard the creatures stopping at the house and tried to get in. Jack backed away from the wall and took out his gun, just like Daniel and Sam did.
"will this house be strong enough to hold them back?" asked an afraid Nathan, hiding behind Teal'c.
"of course it will" Jack said sarcastically, pointing his gun towards the door incase they could found their way in. After a few minutes, they heard the creatures running away and it was silent again. Sam was the first to lower her weapon then Jack and Daniel followed.
"are they gone?" Nathan asked and stepped out from behind Teal'c.
"I do not think so"
"I doubt it too" Sam said and walked upstairs to the window. Daniel sighed nervously and walked back to the fire he had previously made. He always kept his gun beside him just in case. Teal'c sat next to him and went in deep state of Kel-no-reem. He needed it after exhausting himself since his attack yesterday.
Jack found nothing else to do and joined Sam in the room, Nathan on his heels.
"they're eating the remains of the dead villagers' bodies" Sam said once she heard him walking in the room. Jack made a disgusting expression on his face and sat down.
"that's disgusting" he replied and sat next to her.
"very" Sam answered softly, her concentration was on the creatures outside she was looking at with her binoculars. After a moment, she backed away and turned to look at him "do you want to see, colonel?"
He shook his head and waved his hands "nah! it'll cut my appetite" he joked.
Sam smiled and nod. She put down her binoculars beside her and sat more comfortably "is there something I can do for you sir, then?"
"you really don't have any idea how long the eclipse will last?"
Sam shook her head "I'm sorry, sir, but I don't. Maybe if I would have more time to study..."
Jack quickly cut her off "no! it's ok. Tomorrow we'll have to have more water and maybe some *healthy* food. Not like some ration bars I know.."
Sam laughed softly and nod in agreement. Her smiled slowly disappeared when she noticed Nathan's arm was bleeding.
"God! what happened?" Sam said, taking Jack's attention to her then followed her gaze to Nathan.
"I.. huh.. it is nothing to worry about.." he tried to assure them and held his arm tighter against his chest. Sam gave him a stubborn look a held out her hand "let me see, maybe you'll have an infection.."
"I assure you.."
"Nathan, do what Carter says. I don't want you to be sick or anything, we have enough problems right now"
Nathan hesitated and watched Sam has she reached for the med kit in her bag close to her. Nathan nod and let Sam see his arm. Sam softly pulled up his sleeve and was very surprised to see a very large gash along his arm. Jack came closer to them and looked up at Nathan.
"how or when did this happened?"
Nathan closed his eyes painfully and sadly when Sam started cleaning his wound.
"it is before you have come to Veronia... I tried to cover it with tissues. Before my people were killed by these beasts. My wife, Kariana, was imprisoned in our house when a beast came in. I tried.." he stopped, tears were rolling down his cheeks and his voice raised higher and angrily almost shouting "I tried to force the beast to go away but it kept walking towards us and not stopping. I cried for my wife to run but she was too afraid.. " he closed his eyes tightly, taking a deep breath "I tried to protect her but.. but I was not strong enough. The beast bite me in my arms and all the strength I had vanished. The last memory of her I have is.. is when she was screaming out my name has the beast killed her..."
Sam and Jack stayed quiet, looking at Nathan crying sadly at the memory of his lost wife. Sam cleared her throat "I'm done, Nathan. If you want some time alone, your room is next to this one"
Nathan opened his eyes and stood up "I appreciate your help, thank you" and he left the room to go in his own.
"wow" Jack said quietly and look at his 2IC.
"poor him, it must be difficult for him" he nod and looked around.
"will he be fine with his wound?"
"yes, sir, he will. With some sleep, he'll recover more quickly" Jack nod and looked at her again "just a question.. where everyone's gonna sleep?"
"well, there's only three rooms.. Teal'c will sleep downstairs, Nathan will also have his private room. That leaves Daniel, you and I with this room" he nod, uncertain "or someone could always sleep in what looks like a living room" she added.
Jack shook his head "nah, I prefer sleeping with a snoring Daniel than down there" Sam laughed and shook her head.
While they were upstairs, Daniel was still translating downstairs while sitting near the fire to warm him up. Sam had said earlier that the night would be colder since the suns were soon to be aligned together, which meant less warmth.
Daniel was so much into his work that he didn't noticed Teal'c walking towards him.
"have you found information concerning these creatures, Daniel Jackson"
Daniel jumped in surprised when he heard him talk. He look up to him, startled "Oh!.. well, not that much. I learned that these creatures were sent through the stargate one day. The villagers thought they were friendly but this was until domestic animals started disappearing.
That's where I am right now, but this man Aktouf has really good information"
Teal'c bowed his head "I will leave you some privacy, Daniel Jackson" Daniel nod and returned his attention back to his work.
Soon after Sam and Jack came down and looked around "no troubles with the house?" Jack asked to Daniel and Teal'c.
"no problems, O'neill. The creatures appears to leave us alone"
"maybe not for long. They probably didn't know we could protect ourselves this well and weren't prepared" Sam gave her opinion.
"I agree with Sam, we probably took them by surprise" Daniel agreed.
Suddenly, they all heard a piercing scream coming from upstairs. Startled, everyone took out their weapon and ran upstairs "it's coming from Nathan's room, sir" Sam informed him and he burst the door open.
Nathan was sitting in the corner of the room, rocking forward and backward, his hands on the side of his head. He was moaning silently but painfully to himself and his eyes were closed tightly.
"Nathan!" Jack called out for him and everyone lowered their weapons.
"it hurts, you have to make it stop! the noise.. it hurt.. MAKE IT STOP!" he shouted and started hitting his head against the wall.
"shit!" Jack cursed and immediately dashed towards him and led him away from the wall. Sam quickly followed him and touched his forehead "he has a fever! Colonel, lay him on his bed"
Jack nod and mentioned to Teal'c to help him. They laid a still screaming Nathan on the bed and Sam told Daniel to get some water, a tissue and the aid kit.
"does this has to do with his wound?" Jack asked Sam while taking a careful look at Nathan's wound. She struggled "I don't know, sir. It wasn't critical when I cleaned it before" he nod and he and Teal'c were still holding down Nathan's hands and feet from either hurting himself or someone else.
Daniel came up quickly and handed Sam what she needed. Sam cut the tissue in two and put a piece in Nathan's mouth.
"why are you doing that?" Daniel asked her, confused.
"he's hurting himself by biting his tongue" Jack made a disgusted face "what now, Carter?"
"we need to bring his fever down, sir" Sam looked up to him, worried. They didn't have anything to bring down his fever.
"we could put him in the water" Daniel suggested.
"yes, but if we use all the water supplies, we won't have some anymore" she explained.
Jack thought for a moment "we'll get some more tomorrow, right now we need to bring his fever down!" Sam nod and stood up.
"Carter and Daniel, you two go and put the water supplies in whatever replace our bath and call us when you're done!" Jack ordered and they left.
Sam and Daniel took all the water supplies they had retrieved today and filled the very large bucket the villagers were using to clean themselves. Once they were ready, they ran back to the screaming Nathan "it's ready, sir!"
Teal'c and Jack brought Nathan, who by the transportation had fallen unconscious. Sam stopped at the entrance "you need to get him out of all his clothes and keep the water as cool as possible. I'll be here if you need anything" Jack nod to her and she closed the door.
Sam stayed on the other side of the door, waiting for them. She was starting to feel nervous when she started hearing the creatures walking around the house. Some of them started howling and others started growling.
It took the men half an hour until they all got out after dressing Nathan properly. Sam stood up when she heard the door opening "colonel, how is things in there?" she asked.
"it's ok, Nathan's fever is down but he's still unconscious" Sam nod and Teal'c walked out of the room with Nathan in his arms "where should I lay him, major Carter?" Sam look at him "Oh, you can put him on his bed, Teal'c" Teal'c nod and walked towards Nathan's room.
Daniel came out, looking physically and probably mentally exhausted.
"we should grab something to eat and go to sleep. Those creatures.." Jack was cut off by another creature howling just outside the house "... don't look like they can get in" he finished and walked downstairs.
Teal'c joined them after and they all ate some of their ration bars and prepared to go to sleep.
"Teal'c, do you mind sleeping in the room on the first floor?" Jack said, indicating the room itself.
"I do not, O'neill"
"ok, the rest of us will get some sleep upstairs" before going, he turned to look at Teal'c "if you hear and see anything, you call out for us, understood?" Teal'c nod and watched them leave the first floor.
Everyone went to sleep, Teal'c stayed up to stand guard in case of any danger and for a part of the night, he did his Kel-no-reem.
The next day, once everyone was awake, Sam informed them after studying quickly the suns, that they still had today and half of tomorrow of sun light.
Jack didn't want to waste any time.
"Daniel and Carter, you two find food. I don't care if it's in trees or gardens, we need lotsa food!" Sam and Daniel understood and left the house after making sure there wasn't any creatures in case.
Jack and Teal'c went searching for more wood while Daniel and Sam searched for food. Today would have to be a long day. Daniel and Sam came back an hour later with a bag full of fruits, vegetables and still fresh meat. Though they doubted it could be enough for the days they had to live on Veronia.
"we have food" Daniel announced when they saw Jack and Teal'c still working on the house. It was soon to be noon and the day started to get hotter.
Jack took a sip of his water-bottle and sigh "we need way more water supplies. The suns are hot like hell. We can't know for sure how long we'll be staying here so I suggest we bring back a lot of water supplies. You and Carter will start to get some, Teal'c and I will get some later" the two team members nod.
"I'll join you shortly, Daniel. Gonna bring this in the house and check on Nathan" Daniel nod and took two buckets before heading towards the main river. Sam walked in the house and put the bag of food slowly on the table.
She walk upstairs to Nathan's room and knock softly "Nathan, are you awake?" no one answered. Sighing, she stepped in the room and frown. She suddenly ran out of the room and dashed to her CO.
"colonel! Nathan's not in his room!" Jack's head snapped up to look at her "what?" She shook her head, breathing heavily "the room is deserted, like no one has ever been there"
Jack cursed and stood up "where the hell should he be? the kid's sick for crying out loud!" he was about to give some orders when they heard Daniel's shouts from the river's direction. Jack started running, Sam and Teal'c on his heels.
"Daniel?" Jack called out firmly and they saw him on a sitting position, his hand bleeding from a small gash.
"Daniel" Sam breathed and kneel down next to him, looking at his hand "what happened?"
Daniel closed his eyes, trying to keep control of himself. Reopening them, he frown "it can't be.. he..it looked like Nathan" he breathed. Sam and Jack shared a worried look and Jack nod "ok, you two go back to the house, mostly to the *suns* Teal'c and I will see the surroundings and bring back water" Sam nod and helped Daniel to his feet before walking towards the house.
Jack reached for his gun as Teal'c for his zat gun "I do not think he will show his face again, O'neill"
"yeah, me neither. Better get back some water supplies for tonight. Tomorrow we'll get the last shots" they took the buckets, filled it with water and prepared to leave. Just has they stepped out from the river's side, they heard a few branches cracked. Looking around him, they saw nothing. They reached the house and saw Daniel sitting on the floor, reading Aktouf's notes.
Jack and Teal'c put down the water supplies "where's Carter?" Jack ask, breathless.
"she's upstairs" he informed her and watch him walk up. Daniel and Teal'c shared a look and stayed quiet. Jack reached to the bedroom door where there was the window and saw her searching some things in her bag. She look up sensing someone walking towards her.
"sir" she acknowledge "did you see him?" Jack shook his head and sat down in front of her "nope, no where to be found" Sam sigh and pulled her bag away to her side.
"Carter, about tomorrow, how many hours do we exactly have left?"
"exactly?" she echoed. He sigh and shook his head "estimation"
"from the rising suns, I would say to noon... That makes it 5 hours, sir"
"that's not a lot" he commented quietly.
"no it isn't, sir" he lock his gaze with Sam. Things weren't so good. Nothing was good. He was afraid they couldn't make it back alive and that scared the living hell out of him.
"sir, we'll make it" she said, determined, as if she read is mind.
"keep those positive thoughts coming, Carter"
"always, sir" she smiled.
They fell in a silence, both lost in their thoughts. Sam was terrified of this planet but couldn't do nothing about it. They were stuck and that was final. Now they had to make it back alive with no injuries.
Jack stood up, bringing Sam back to reality "Teal'c and I have to finish the house. Daniel can't work with his injured hand, we need you to do the windows in the interior of the house" Sam nod at his orders and followed him downstairs.
"ok, Teal'c. We're gonna finish this damn house reinforcement tonight. You Daniel, keep on reading these notes and see if there isn't a way to kill them before they make us their evening meal" Daniel nod.
Teal'c and Jack went outside while Sam did the inside. The day was not only hot, but also long and very humid. They all wish for a bath before being stranded here for several days.
Jack felt things weren't going as planned. They didn't have enough food, the water supplies were too little to live with, the house was still too weak to support the massive creatures. Anyhow, he continued giving orders and everyone worked together. They worked as a team.
An hour before the suns went down, everyone from SG-1 were in front of the house. Teal'c just came back with another round of water supplies.
"we need more food, sir" Sam said, breaking the silence with a bad news. Jack sigh and pulled Carter away from the others for a private talk.
"we only have five hours tomorrow, right?" he ask. Sam nod in agreement.
Jack closed his eyes in desperation "damn it!" he swore and rubbed his face with his hand. Meanwhile Sam glance to Daniel and Teal'c behind Jack. They looked sad, lost.. defeated?
"ok, this is what we're gonna do tomorrow" Jack spoke aloud for everyone to hear "we're all going to search for food supplies. Because we have to stay in this hell-hole, I'll be damned to die of starvation. We don't know how long those suns will be in eclipse, but as Carter said it could be for several days, hopefully she's right"
Everyone nod "we'll have better chance to find food when we're four than two, right? Tomorrow is our last day of light, after that, we can't leave this house!" Jack finished firmly.
"O'neill, it would be wise to enter the house immediately. It appears the suns are getting down" Teal'c informed them.
Jack nod "let's get in" Teal'c went first, followed by Daniel. Before walking in, Jack turned his head around to look at the woods. A dark human figure was standing at the edge of the forest. It just stood there, not moving and staring at them. Sam turned around to see what was wrong and saw what he saw.
"Nathan?" she suggested.
Jack nod and sigh "yeah, come on, let's go inside" they walk in and Teal'c and Jack closed the door with help of big stones.
They didn't talk to each other and walked in different directions. Daniel sat by the fire, still translating Aktouf's notes. Teal'c and Sam set up the food and water supplies somewhere while Jack walked upstairs by the window.
The suns were slowly getting down, the air became cool and the sky of a terrifying dark shade. The figure by the woods still stood there, not moving an inch. Jack closed his eyes, he never liked leaving people behind. But he wasn't human anymore, right? Like Daniel said, his behavior wasn't the same but still it didn't make it right.
Opening his eyes sharply, he saw the last seconds of the suns getting down behind the trees of the Deadwood Forest. It was quiet, everything outside was silence. Suddenly, a piercing howling was heard through the trees, making everyone jump out of fear in the house.
The creatures exited the forest, running past the human figure so-called Nathan. Their direction was the house, this house where SG-1 took refugee in.
Hundreds of them ran straight to them and for a moment, Jack thought the house couldn't hold the shock. Standing up, he dash downstairs "they're coming!" he almost shouted. Everyone reached for their gun and took their positions in case the door would not hold the creatures.
The first creature that hit the door, trying to brake it open, made everyone jumped in fear and stress. Another did the same and hit the door. Holding on to their weapons tightly and staring at the door, they started to forget how to breathe.
Howling and other growling were head outside. They heard them walking around the house, others trying to penetrate by another side. After a moment of trying to brake through the house, the creatures gave up and surrounded the house, incase one of them would leave.
"I don't think they'll try again. They look exhausted" Daniel commented but still held on tight to his gun. Jack shook his head "we have clock set for the night!" he breathed heavily.
"I shall take first watch, O'neill" Teal'c took a step forward. Jack nod and mentioned everyone to lower their guns. The creatures needed to find food and water or else they were too weak to try and penetrate in the house.
"we'll eat something small. We have to expand our food for as long as it takes. After that, we'll go to bed. I'm next for standing guard, Carter? I'll wake you up when it'll be your turn" Sam nod and they ate a little something before slipping in their sleeping bags. It was hard to sleep when you were stranded on a off-world planet with creatures that just ate an entire village and were going to use them as deserts.
Jack couldn't find sleep at all. He was wide awake and stared at his surroundings. He felt it was his duty to bring back his team back to earth but it was hard. Being on Veronia made everything look harder. It was hard to go in military mode when half his team weren't from the military in question. He had to ask several times Sam's opinion on what they should do and since now, they got themselves out of preatty big troubles. Having Sam as a military officer made him more confident concerning him not having to make all decisions by himself.
Sighing, he closed his eyes and slowly fell to sleep until it was his turn to take watch.
The night was silent, Teal'c was open to any weird or unusual sound coming from outside. The only sound he was hearing were the footsteps of the creatures walking around the house, some growling and others howling.
The next morning, fear was felt in the air. The idea of today being the last day of light was making everyone tensed. At first light, everyone was up and ready for work.
"ok, we separate in two teams. Daniel you with Teal'c, Carter with me. We're looking for food, anything that we can eat, bring it with you" Jack ordered to his team mates. Everyone listened to him carefully. The tension was rising every second until they opened the door for the first time today.
"let's go!" Jack ordered and ran in a direction, quickly followed by Carter as Daniel and Teal'c took the opposite one.
They searched everywhere, in every houses but still couldn't find enough food. Daniel and Teal'c were left in the village when Jack decided that he and Sam should explore the forest's entrance in case of trees with food.
Slowly walking towards it, they shivered by the coolness. Ignoring the terrifying silence from the woods, Jack and Sam searched for food. Sam was scared. Not in four years have they encountered a planet with such dangerous species. They killed a whole village and was about to kill them too is they couldn't protect themselves enough.
After an hour of complete search and only finding a tree with what looked like apples, they walk back to Daniel and Teal'c in the village, hoping they found more food than they.
"find anything?" Jack called out at Daniel. Daniel jumped and look at them walking their way. He shook his head and lift a bag "only a few breads, you?"
"apples.. well it looks like apples" Jack commented and sigh.
"what exactly do we got?" Jack ask, breaking the silence. Time was something they didn't have.
"we have a few fruits, enough for a day since we're four. Pieces of meat, not even enough for a day. Bread, a few vegetables"
"so, all these things together would be enough for how many days?" Jack ask.
"well, sir, since we're four. All of this would make it around three days only" Sam answered. "shit!" Jack cursed under his breath. Daniel lower his head as Sam look away. They spend three hours looking for food and the only thing they found was a few bread and fruits! Everything was wrong.
Slowly, Jack turned around "ok, we only have two hours left, no time for breaks!" he stated firmly "we'll get more woods and water supplies. Daniel, how's the hand?"
"I'm better than yesterday, I could bring back water" he informed. Jack nod "you and Teal'c get water as much as you can under two hours. Carter and I will get some wood for the fire" Daniel and Teal'c followed his orders and started what they were asked for.
Unlike the other days, time seemed to pass quickly, too quickly. Teal'c and Daniel brought four rounds of water supplies as Jack and Sam brought wood. At their last round of water supplies, Daniel and Teal'c waited for Sam and Jack.
"God I hate trees" Jack commented has they brought back more wood. Sam smiled a little "the suns will get down soon, we must get back to the house and quick" she informed him. Jack nod in understanding "I hope Daniel and Teal'c are already there"
They arrived at the house, a few minutes before the suns could get aligned. Putting everything in the house, they stopped at the entrance.
"so this is it" Sam commented slowly has the suns aligned. The big sun came in front of the others, making a beautiful and yet dangerous sight. Slowly by slowly, the planet has become pitch black and SG-1 entered the house very quickly. They blocked the door with rocks, not intending to get out any time soon.
The first howling was heard, making everyone stop in their action.Reaching for their weapons, they heard hundreds of creatures running in the village. They were howling and growling furiously.
"God" Jack whispered when they hit the front door. Everyone backed away quickly and rose their weapons.
"stay focus" Jack ordered quietly, his eyes fixed on the door. There was more running and more creatures coming near the house.
One of them howled just on the other side of the door, making everyone snap out of their fear.
"it does not appear those creatures can penetrate this house, O'neill" Teal'c spoke first.
Jack hesitated, he was right, they couldn't get in the house... yet!
"I want someone here every hour to make sure these things don't get in the house!" he ordered and lower his gun. Sam and Daniel did the same, glancing everywhere around the house, they sigh.
Daniel went to his translation as Teal'c took first guard. Sam and Jack walked upstairs to see what was happening outside. They walked in slowly and kneel in front of the window. The creatures ran around the village angrily, not finding food. Some of them exiting a few houses has others searched the already deceased villagers.
"eww, that's disgusting" Jack whispered to her. She nod in agreement and glance at the sky. The suns were all aligned together, forming a big golden ring in the sky. The light was just enough to see the surroundings of the village and where the creatures were.
"sir, according to the suns, we might be stuck here to two to three days" Sam informed him quietly, studying the suns under a careful eye. Jack nod, his eyes fixed on the creatures below them.
"you know.." he started "they say food is good for the brain. Eating you only will make them preatty damn intelligent" he finished quietly. Sam chuckled and smiled at him.
He glance at her and smiled "let's go see what the others are doing. The show here is getting preatty boring"
They stood up "you were expecting a show, sir?" Sam mused.
"well.. outside, not in the house" he joked and walked downstairs. Teal'c was sitting at the table, where he could keep a close eye on the door in case something happened. Daniel sat by the fire, translating Aktouf's notes.
"we haven't seen Nathan today" Sam started, taking a seat next to Teal'c.
"don't want to see him either, not now anyway" Jack said, sitting on the opposite side of her. After a moment of silence "God I wish we had a game of card with us or something" Jack said under his breath.
"uh, Jack, these notes says a lot of things about those creatures... important things" Daniel took everyone's attention.
Jack raised his eyebrows "really? how *important* are they?"
Daniel stood up, a fear expression on his face "they have some sort of powers" he started, sitting next to Jack.
"powers?" Sam echoed.
"yeah, according to Aktouf's notes, he says and I quote : These creatures from hell appears to have powers. At night, I have noticed one of them moving small objects without touching them. I do not understand how this could have happened, magic does not exist. Another night when I came to my window to study the night creatures, they seem to nullifies gravity for a while around them. The battle for reproduction between two males to conquer a female is a very intense one" Daniel finished, glancing at everyone on his team.
"so, not only are they ugly but they have powers too?" Jack spoke, stunned in disbelief "then we're not out of the woods just yet, kids"
"Daniel Jackson, if they possess powers, why did they have not used them before?" Teal'c ask. Daniel shook his head "I don't know that either, Teal'c. I have to finish translating the page to know the answer"
"get on it!" Jack ordered. Daniel nod and went back to his translation by the fire. His news brought more fear into them all. So, at any seconds they could just burst in the house in a heartbeat.
Outside, the creatures surrounded the house. They were breathing so loudly, SG-1 could hear them through the door. Walking around the house, they already found food. The only problem, they couldn't get to it... yet.
SG-1 was silent, no one was talking but lost in their thoughts. Sam was upstairs, studying both the creatures and what affect the eclipse had on them. Daniel still sat by the fire, his translation brought more and more fear to him. Jack was sitting at the table, toying with a paper ball he had made earlier. Teal'c sat quietly, his ears open to any sound.
Sam walk down from the second floor. Jack look up at her "anything new?" she shook her head and sat next to him "nope, nothing at all"
"I have something new!" Daniel interrupted them and look up "I found new important things" Jack nod and pointed at the seat in front of him "let's hear it!"
Daniel sat down and opened his translation book and Aktouf's notes.
"ok, now I know why they don't use their powers immediately" Jack cut him off "so, they *do* have powers.. *all* of them?"
"all of them" Daniel nod and continued "but they don't use it right away, not before they choose a new chief. If they do use it before, they will be killed by their own"
"so, how to they find their chief?" Sam ask.
"Aktouf doesn't really say, but he wrote something like when a new arrival comes on their territory, the chief is the only one to kill it first. If it gets injured or attack the new arrival without killing it, the new arrival will soon become the new chief. The arrival doesn't have to be a creature, it can be another animal and as well as a human. The only time where all other creatures will have their powers will be after the new chief will kill his first victim" Daniel look up to everyone.
"Nathan" Sam said out of the blue. Everyone look at her, confused.
Jack frown "Nathan? what about him?" Sam leaned more on the table "Daniel says that when the chief is getting injured it attacks his new victim without killing it. Nathan got bitten and it was probably by the chief"
"yes, but Nathan wasn't first person who the creatures attacked" Daniel reasoned.
"yes, but it doesn't mean the chief won't kill again after the first. He might have killed the first one and Nathan was the next. He got bitten and the creature died, leaving Nathan to be the next chief"
Daniel stayed silent, she was right. Everything was now making sense. Jack cleared his throat "ok, so if Nathan is the new chief, then why don't they use their powers on us already?"
"maybe because Nathan still didn't make any signs that he was now in charge of the troup, I don't know. But everything Sam said makes sense, Nathan is to be the next chief, until he shows his superiority to the others. And that we can't know for sure when it's gonna happen"
"Daniel's right, Nathan can be in charge of the troup without us knowing it and attacks us without warning" Sam said.
Daniel searched his notes again and pulled out a piece of paper "and I know other things about the so-called chief" he said, distracted in his notes. Everyone look at him once more, knowing it wasn't good news.
"the chief has a power that no other creatures possess. The capability to become invisible"
"what!?" Jack gasp. Daniel nod and continued "that's what Aktouf wrote and I quote : I was in my bedroom when I studied the creatures outside. The chief approach his troup to see what food they brought back to him. They were my neighbors. I could not believe they captured my friends but I could not do anything. The creature suddenly look in my direction, I stayed quiet. Since they are in my village, I have been hiding in my room.
The creatures followed their leader's gaze and it is me they saw. I was in too much fear to react. I did not see how the chief must have did this but it disappeared in a heartbeat and appeared... in front of me... I am in too much fear to breathe anymore..."
Daniel finished "that was his last notes he wrote" he spoke quietly. Jack rubbed his face with his hands and Sam sigh, disgusted.
"then we must be prepared when they decide to attack" Teal'c spoke out loud, taking everyone's attention.
"and how do you expect us to do that when we're four against hundreds?" Jack replied a little harshly. Teal'c raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet.
"sir, we have to be prepared anyway. We can't just give up" Sam spoke softly. Jack look at her then to Daniel who was still staring at his notes.
"of course we'll try, but..."
"what about those positive thoughts, sir?" Sam cut him off before he could say anything more. Jack look at her sitting beside him for a long minute.
"ok, let's get the weapons prepared" he ordered. They put all their weapons on the table. MP5, 9mm, grenades, knives, C4, zat guns and Teal'c's staff weapon.
"we need to know how we're going to arrange this without going outside or getting caught" Daniel said.
Jack nod "when Nathan will get in the village, we must divert the creature's attention from us. Nathan knows where we are. We'll plant the C4 we got at the back and front of the house, when it'll explode they'll be frightened and run away. We'll take that moment to run in the forest"
"that's risky" Daniel commented. Jack look at him "you have a better idea?" he shook his head. Jack and Sam prepared the C4 by the wall on the back and front of the house. Nervous, they walk back to Daniel and Teal'c.
"ok, that's done. We need other plans for when we'll be *in* the forest" Daniel stated. "we'll have our guns and grenades, since they are afraid of the light we can use these for protection. Explosion will scare them off for a bit"
Daniel and Sam look at each other "we have a day of walk to the stargate, sir.. a few grenades and guns won't do much"
"well, we'll bring torches and flashlights. We have nothing else, Carter" Sam nod and look down to her flashlight in her hands.
Daniel let out a very nervous breath "ok, so what if we don't make it and..." Jack cut him off quickly "we're trying to be positive here, Daniel. Help us here, will ya?" Daniel nod quickly and sigh.
"Carter and Daniel, you go upstairs and see if you see any signs of Nathan. Alert us if you do!" Sam nod and went upstairs, Daniel on her heels. They kneel in front of the window and look outside.
"do you think Jack's plan's gonna work?" Daniel ask Sam quietly.
"we'll do our best, Daniel. He's as scared as the rest of us" Sam replied and took out her binoculars.
"you see him?" he ask.
Sam shook her head and sigh "no, it's just the creatures walking around, looking famine"
"Oh" was all Daniel said and they stayed quiet for the rest of the hour. Jack and Teal'c separate all weapons for each one of them. Thoughts kept running through Jack's mind every second.
He was scared out of his mind. Those creatures were strong, stronger than they ever imagined. Will his plan work? Sam was right, he had to be positive, for the sake of them all.
For the rest of the day, everyone prepared themselves if Nathan was going to make an attack on them. Sam and Daniel didn't saw Nathan approaching nor the creatures trying to brake an entry in the house by another way.
Around midnight, Jack called out everyone in the kitchen "ok, we have everything ready. Let's eat and rest if we want all our strength to run to the gate" Jack pulled out the bag of food and laid it on the table.
There was really not enough food for everyone. A piece of small bread for everyone, a fruit and vegetable and the water. Everything was enough for them to be full for the rest of the day and maybe tomorrow at noon.
"ok, we still have clock set for the night. Teal'c, Carter, me and then Daniel. We must rest before our time, I want everyone fully awake and aware of every single noise there is around the house" Jack stated firmly.
Teal'c stayed at the first floor has everyone else walked to their sleeping bags.
"I don't even know if I can sleep" Daniel commented has he entered his sleeping bag. Sam smiled sadly at him, knowing what he meant. They stayed awake longer than they anticipated. Staring at the roof, they stayed quiet to hear all noises around them.
Teal'c's time was almost over and Sam had to get up. Slowly getting up, it was in the middle of the night and still nothing was quiet outside. Carefully not to wake her team members before their time, she was downstairs to Teal'c.
"hey, anything new?" she ask softly. Teal'c shook his head "no, major Carter. None tried to enter the house" Sam nod and smiled tiredly at him "ok, Teal'c, it's my time now. Go and catch up on some sleep for tomorrow. We'll need it" Teal'c stood up and bow his head "very well, good night"
"good night, Teal'c" Teal'c walk to his room and Sam sat down on the chair, not knowing what to do. She sat at the table, wondering what the creatures were doing on the other side of the door. Suddenly, all sound stop, making Sam snap out of her thoughts. Looking around, she frown.
There was no more howling or growling, sniffing or barking. Worried, she stood up and walk to the door. Leaning in, she tried to hear something through it. Silence was what she heard. Without warning, a creature hit the door, making Sam back away from it quickly and gasping.
The sounds came back and Sam breathed hard and closed her eyes tightly. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it would explode. Sighing, she turned around and came face to face with Nathan.
She gasped loudly and stunned to see him standing there. His eyes were dark yellow and he was staring at her seriously.
She didn't have time to react when he hit her across the face, making her fall violently against the wall. Quickly, she tried to reach for her gun but remembered Jack told them to leave it next to their sleeping bag incase of danger. She forgot it there.
"Nathan" Sam started when he walked to her, a deadly seriousness in his eyes. Before he could reach for her, she ran out of his grasp and tried to make it to Teal'c's door. No chance, Nathan appeared right in front of her. She gasped in shock and terror before he pushed her across the room.
"Teal'c!" she shouted before lifting her eyes to see Nathan walking to her again. Just before he hit her again, she heard several bullet round and Nathan disappeared before it could even reach him. Sam sigh and saw Jack, Teal'c and Daniel running to her.
"Carter! are you ok?" Jack ask, helping her up.
"been better, sir" Sam managed to say. He led her to a chair and look at her bruises "anything hurt apart from your bruises on your face?" he ask, concerned. Sam shook her head "just need to catch my breath" she said.
"did you see him enter?" Daniel ask her. Sam shook her head and took a sip of her water bottle Jack has just given her "no, first it was silent outside. I was intrigued and when I turned around.. he was just standing there like he never left the house" she winced when Jack cleaned her cut on her forehead with water.
"Daniel! Teal'c, you guys get the weapons ready! we're leaving this place before Nathan and his friends show themselves again!" Jack ordered, finishing with Sam's wound.
"you sure you're ok? dizzy or anything like that?" he had to make sure she was fully fine before running away in the forest at full speed. Sam nod and forced a smile "I'm sure, sir" he smiled at her before leaving the kitchen to go in the rooms.
They brought all their weapons with them, each of them having the same number of bullets, grenades and knives.
"we're leaving what's not important here. Back packs, jackets, hats and things like that. Only bring your weapons. we need to run, guys, and we can't run with heavy objects on us" Jack stated.
The thought of running outside of the house, with no jackets and with the creatures running wild on the planet, made them all very nervous and scared. Once everyone were ready, they got together in the kitchen, everyone having a load of butterflies in their stomach.
"ok, everyone ready?" Jack ask his team mates. They nod, out of fear but also determined. Jack nod "that's good, because I have to make it clear! we can't stop for no reason at all! and *everyone* stay together. Clear? we stay close to each other and nothing will happen if so"
SG-1 nodded to each other and closed their eyes nervously. Jack and Sam nod to each other and set up the C4. They all ran at the back of the house and waited for it to explode. A loud explosion was heard and the sound of creatures running away.
"go! go! go!" Jack shouted and they ran out of the house. There was howling behind them but they couldn't be sure whether it was because of the explosion or them escaping.
SG-1 ran to the forest at full speed, none of them slowing down "come on, we have to make it to the forest!" Jack shouted. Suddenly, several creatures saw them running away and alerted the others. A piercing barking echoed through the trees and all creatures ran towards SG-1.
"Oh! shit!" Jack saw them running. They were fast and that was bad "don't slow down!" he ordered "they're right behind us!" he knew they had a long run to the stargate but it was better to go half way instead of nothing at all.
"sir, we might get lost!" Sam replied, noticing they ran without looking where they were going.
"it's better than do nothing at all!" he replied and ran off with his team. After what seemed an eternity, SG-1 started to get tired and the creatures started to catch up with them.
"we're not gonna make it!" Daniel breathed hard.
"Daniel!" Jack barked, in full military mode "run and that's an order!"
Daniel nod but his legs told him otherwise and caught his foot in a branch, making him fall down.
"Daniel!" Sam shouted and stopped to help him get up.
"Carter!" Jack called back and saw Daniel "shit! get him up!" he ordered and got to them. "Jack.. I can't.. I'm tired.." Daniel breathed.
"Daniel! get your ass off that ground and start running! I'm not leaving you behind, Daniel!" Daniel tried to protest and stood up.
The creatures approached them and suddenly, without realizing it, they were surrounded by them.
"sir?" Sam ask, a little too scared to say anything else "stay calm, just stay calm... where's Teal'c?" he quickly ask when he noticed he wasn't with them.
One of the creatures walked to them, stopping a few meters away. They couldn't shoot them with their guns or all other creatures would have attacked them instantly.
Suddenly, a weapon fired around them, making the creatures back away in fear. It was from a staff weapon. The rest of SG-1 sigh in relief when they saw Teal'c walking out from behind a tree.
"we must leave, O'neill!" he said. Jack nod and glance to Daniel before starting running. Teal'c shot several times his staff weapons, making light to scare off the creatures. Small fires burned on several bushed, making the creatures run around it, taking them more time.
"keep it up, we'll make it!" Jack shouted, soon to be out of breath himself. Their flashlights couldn't get through the thick mist in the forest. The air was very cold, making it hard to breath in while running. The sounds of the creatures running further away from behind them started to get louder. They weren't running fast enough.
They kept on running and suddenly, Nathan appeared in front of them. without any warning, SG-1 were thrown backward and against the trees. They moaned in pain and tried to get up. "I think this is their attack about gravity" Daniel breathed, wincing at the pain in his back. Jack got up and pointed his gun at him, shooting once. With a blink of an eye, his gun was thrown out of his hands and further away in the woods.
Looking back at him, the creatures caught up with them. They were all looking very famine and angry "we didn't make it" Daniel informed the others, backing away as far as possible from the creatures.
"sir" Sam spoke softly to Jack, standing beside her "we can use our flashlights to scare them off" he look down at their flashlights in front of them "right" he said and quickly made his way to his. No use, Nathan quickly throw him against the tree.
Sam look at Daniel beside her "take your gun" she spoke softly. The creatures started to walk towards them. Daniel did what Sam asked "and now what?" he whispered back. Just before a creature was able to jump on them, Sam lifted her gun and shot several round "shoot!"
Daniel lifted his gun and starting shooting rounds of bullets around them. Startled and injured, the creatures automatically backed away, some running away and others still jumping on to them. Teal'c shot his staff weapon near Nathan, making him fall on his back. He wasn't prepared for this kind of attack.
Jack reached for his flashlights "come one! let's move!" he ordered. SG-1 started running again. Nathan shouted angrily behind them and stood up. More creatures from the village made their way passed him and to SG-1. This time there was no escape.
Tiredness was the thing that caught up with SG-1 way before the creatures. They started to feel their muscles tightening and their lungs burning from the constant cold air.
"I se the stargate, O'neill!" Teal'c shouted in front of them.
"thank God! let's move! move! move!" Jack ordered. For the last way they had to run, they used all their strength to arrive at the stargate. Soon to be at the end of the forest, Sam ws violently pulled back from the others.
"Carter!" Jack shouted and stopped running.
"Sam!" Daniel cried out and look at Jack "dial home, Daniel!" Jack ordered.
Sam hit a tree behind her and fell unconscious. Nathan appeared right next to her, a look of victory written in his dark yellow eyes.
Jack heard the stargate activating and the creatures approaching them. His hands reached a grenade from his pockets and waited. Sam started to wake up and opened her eyes slowly only to found herself face to face with a creature. Gasping, she backed away against the tree.
"Carter, get away!" she heard her CO shout and saw the grenade in his hands. Quickly, she hide behind the tree and saw the creatures being thrown by the blast of the explosion. So much for her, she wasn't so far from the blast and got hit.
"Carter? Carter!" Jack came around and helped Sam up. She was bleeding from the head but pushed the pain aside when they heard Teal'c shout "O'neill, we must leave at once" nodding to Sam, he helped her run to the stargate by holding her on the arm and SG-1 jumped in the event horizon and to safety.
The stargate's event horizon vanished and Nathan smiled to himself after learning the coordinates.
The remaining creatures started howling again.
The End
- Tropical -
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