Hostile Ground Part 12

CHAPTER TWELVE.

He's digging. There's something he needs, something he can't live without. It's buried and he can't reach it. He's digging, but earth is collapsing in on all sides, faster than he can dig it out, burying him in black, loamy dirt.

"Jack?"

Someone says ashes to ashes and he can't breathe. He has to find a way out, he can't stop digging. Hands pull on his arms, dragging him away. There's nothing you can do. I'm sorry, he's gone. He fights them off, he wants to hit them, to scream, but his voice is locked in his throat and he can't make a sound, he can't - "Jack!"

He jerked awake with a gasp, and for a moment the only real thing in the world was the hand on his arm.

"You were dreaming," Daniel said, voice raspy.

Rigid from the nightmare, he had to force his body to relax before he could work enough moisture into his mouth to speak. "Sorry," he said, scrubbing a hand over his face. This happened sometimes, to all of them: bad dreams. Opening his eyes, he looked around, but could only see darkness and had to fight off a slight nightmare-induced panic when he remembered they were underground. Ripping the Velcro cover off his watch he looked at the time - 0300 hours MST, which didn't mean much here, but told him they had about twenty-four hours before the operation to Tollana began. He could feel pressure like a band tightening around his head, and that choked scream from his dream still clogged his throat.

"I think it's morning," Daniel said. "Sam and Teal'c went to find a bathroom about half an hour ago."

Taking a breath, easing the tension, Jack just lay there for a moment. At least he wouldn't have to try to sleep again. Rubbing the grit from his eyes, he sat up and reached for his flashlight and matches. Rustling across the straw-covered floor, he lit the lamp in the corner and the room brightened enough that he could see Daniel. The sight did nothing to help his dark mood; Daniel wasn't looking good at all.

"How you doing?" Jack asked, trying not to betray his concern as he dropped down onto his bedroll and started lacing his boots.

Daniel made a non-committal gesture which, given his propensity to underestimate, most certainly meant he felt as G.o.d-awful as he looked. Jack ran a hand through his hair, considering his options. There weren't many. "Maybe you should stay here? We'll come back for you when we find a way home."

Staring up at the ceiling, Daniel said, "I don't want to slow you down, but I think we both know that if there's any chance I can get back through the gate in the next twenty-four hours I should take it."

Jack closed his eyes and swallowed hard before he said, "That bad, huh?"

"Yeah," Daniel said shortly. "Definitely infected, probably verging on septicemia by now."

"I'll give you another antibiotic shot, we've got one more."

Daniel turned his head to look at him, his gla.s.ses glinting in the lamplight. "Thanks," he said. "But you know that won't be enough."

Jack nodded and reached out to press his hand against Daniel's forehead. He was burning up. "G.o.d, Daniel..."

"Dose me up with everything you've got left and let's just get home," he said with a weak smile.

Jack forced a smile of his own. "You know Fraiser's going to kick your a.s.s for this, right?"

"At this point," Daniel said, turning to stare up at the ceiling again, "I'm actually looking forward to it."

Sam sat amid a small group of Aedan Trask's people with one of their weapons in her lap. Aedan himself stood a little apart, watching her through narrowed eyes. But he seemed relaxed enough about letting her handle the gun and just leaned one shoulder against the cavern wall, sipping at a steaming mug of the herbal infusion they called tea.

Sam had refused the offer of breakfast - these people obviously had limited resources - and instead shared out the content of her Apple Maple Oatmeal MRE pack. In return, she'd gotten this close look at one of their weapons.

It was like nothing she'd ever seen before and it was almost certainly not of Goa'uld design. There was something organic about its flowing lines, from the rounded muzzle through to the segmented handle.

"It has a stun setting?" she asked, looking for some kind of interface that might regulate the power output.

Aedan shook his head. "No settings," he said. "It's only designed to incapacitate." He shrugged. "Unless you're very weak. That's why we didn't use it on your friend Daniel."

That surprised her. "It's a non-lethal weapon?"

"The Devourers prefer to consume their prey alive."

She looked up to see if he was joking, but there was no irony in his face. "But they must -"

Her question was interrupted by a shout from the other side of the room. "Carter!"

The colonel was awake, standing next to Teal'c at the head of the pa.s.sage leading from their sleeping quarters. Still buoyed by the thawing tension of the previous night, she waved in response and climbed to her feet. "Thanks for showing me this," she said, returning the weapon to the young lad next to her. "It's fascinating."

He grinned and colored a little, making Sam smile.

Then, with a nod to Aedan, she began picking her way through the people toward the colonel and Teal'c. "Sir," she said as she drew closer, "I was just looking at one of their weapons. I've never seen anything like it."

"Fascinating," the colonel said, without interest. "Now gear up and get ready to move out."

"Move out?" She glanced at Teal'c. "Where to, sir? Back to the gate?"

He ignored her question - so much for last night's bonhomie - and instead summoned Aedan over with the kind of curt gesture usually reserved for airmen.

Obviously irritated by the colonel's manner, Aedan muttered a few words to the people around him before strolling over. "Jack O'Neill," he said. "Good morning."

"These 'Devourers'," the colonel said, without preamble. "Where can I find them?"

Aedan gave a gruff laugh. "You don't," he said. "You hide from them."

"Say I wanted to find one," the colonel pressed, his patience clearly thin. "Where would I look?"

Aedan shook his head and sipped his tea. "Up," he said.

Sam frowned. "Up?"

Aedan gestured toward the ceiling of the cavern. "They fly," he said. "And if they see you, they take you. And then you die."

"Teal'c," the colonel said, "you think you could take down a glider with your staff weapon?"

"It is possible, O'Neill. But not easy."

And suddenly Sam understood his plan. "You think we'll be able to recover some kind of DHD from a wrecked glider, sir?"

"You said they probably had one on board."

"I was speculating," she pointed out.

"And yet it's the best plan we've got," he said, as if he was willing her to agree. But she couldn't, she knew there was a better plan. After a moment, the colonel turned back to Aedan and said, "Thank you for your... hospitality. We'll be leaving now and we'll need our weapons."

Aedan nodded. "You're strange people," he said, "not to know or fear the Devourers. I don't know whether to admire or pity you."

With a flicker of a smile, the colonel said, "Go with 'admire'."

Aedan's expression softened a fraction, but all he said was, "Either way, if you seek out the Devourers you will end up dead." He nodded to Teal'c and Sam. "I will have your weapons ready for you topside. Elspeth will show you the way." Then he walked away and Sam watched him until he disappeared down one of the other pa.s.sageways.

"Okay," the colonel said. "Let's grab our stuff."

He headed back toward their sleeping quarters and Sam followed, Teal'c at her shoulder. "Sir?" she ventured. "Are you sure this is wise?"

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Carter."

"No, sir," she said as they entered the small room where Daniel lay looking sallow and fevered. "But I just think the further we move from the gate the less chance there is of a rescue team finding us. And, sir, Daniel's really not well and -"

"I know!" He spun to face her, anger sparking in his eyes. "I know Daniel's sick. I know." He took a breath, calming himself. "That's why we have to go. We have to get home today."

"Sir," she said carefully, "our best chance of getting home is staying close to the gate and waiting for rescue."

His jaw tightened in the way it did when he was biting back words and he turned around and started to pack up his gear. "We have no idea if rescue's coming, Carter."

"But it is, sir." She tried another tack. "Think about it: if you'd left the vicinity of the Stargate on Edora your radio wouldn't have picked up our signal and Teal'c would have died in that cave. You'd still be there."

He didn't say anything for a moment, rolling up his bedroll with quick, angry movements. "Three months," he growled, stuffing it into his pack. "I waited three d.a.m.n months on Edora, Carter. Do you think we have anything like that time?"

She didn't answer, couldn't quite think around that slap in the face. Didn't he know what those three months had been like for the rest of them, not even knowing whether he'd survived the fire rain? Not knowing whether all they'd bring home in the end was a body? She felt a swift flare of anger that she could barely control and dared not open her mouth to reply.

"G.o.d, Jack," Daniel sighed from where he sat propped up against his pack.

No one spoke for a while. Sam, furious and hurt, moved to her pack and started shoving everything back inside. It didn't take long and she was done before the colonel, which gave her a bleak moment of satisfaction. Still too angry to risk speaking, she silently began to help Daniel.

"We have one day," the colonel ground out. "Twenty-four hours or we are so unbelievably screwed, you wouldn't believe it."

Daniel frowned in confusion and Sam shared it. What was he talking about? But then Daniel's eyes widened in understanding. "Because of me, you mean?"

The colonel didn't answer. "You've got five minutes," he told them, hefting his pack over one shoulder and stalking out.

The tension eased once he was gone, but Sam searched Daniel's face in concern. "What do you mean because of you?"

He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at her and said, "I'm not doing so well, Sam. I need a doctor. Soon."

"Okay," she said, swallowing a sudden surge of fear. He didn't need to deal with her worries on top of his own. "Okay, so we'll get you home."

"That's the plan."

Teal'c offered his hand to Daniel and between the two of them they got him onto his feet. Jaw set, he looked doubtfully at the pack on the floor.

"You cannot carry that, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said.

"No."

Sam crouched and opened it up. "Tell me what's important."

"Ah, my notebooks, camera..."

"MREs, canteen, med-kit?" she suggested, pulling them all out. "Spare clothes. Teal'c, do you have room for his bedroll?"

It didn't take long to redistribute most of Daniel's belongings between the two of them and her pack only felt slightly heavier when she swung it onto her back.

"Okay," Daniel said, grim but determined. "Let's do this." With obvious effort, he started walking toward the door and Sam exchanged a worried look with Teal'c as they followed.

Bending his head toward her, Teal'c said in a low voice, "Daniel Jackson is strong. He will endure this hardship."

"I just wish he didn't have to."

Teal'c didn't respond to that and she figured there was nothing he could say about her futile wishes. All that mattered now was getting Daniel home.

At least it wasn't raining.

But it was cold, a dank kind of chill that crept into your bones. c.r.a.ppy planet, Jack thought, squinting up at the white roof of cloud that served as the sky. Maybe the sun never shone here?

A few of Aedan's people had gathered to see them off, Elspeth among them. An older woman stood talking to Daniel, who was resting on one of the rocks and catching his breath after the climb out of the caves. In the daylight he looked even worse, dark circles under his eyes and skin like dirty snow. G.o.d only knew how he was staying on his feet; Jack knew plenty of soldiers who'd have given up by now. The woman put her hand to his face, shaking her head in a manner that reminded him of Fraiser - he figured she was the doc, or medic, or whatever they called her. Shame she didn't have more than a few herbs to work with.

"O'Neill." Teal'c called his attention away from Daniel and toward the iron door to the caves. It stood open as Aedan Trask and a couple of his men emerged holding all their weapons. Thank G.o.d for small mercies. They lay them carefully on the ground and stepped back.

"Thank you," Jack said, crouching down to examine their stuff. Their weapons looked untouched and he picked up one of the MP5s, turning it over in his hands.

"That's mine, sir," Carter said, holding out her hand for it. They all had their preferred weapons, the ones they'd check out of the armory first if they had the choice. His had a little nick on the forearm that was the result of a close encounter with the side of a cliff-face one dark night. Carter's had a scratch along the pistol grip.

He handed over her weapon without comment and she took it without thanks. Better that way, he figured. He'd let things get too friendly the previous night, too normal, and it was time to cool off. But it had been hard to resist that unexpected moment of camaraderie between them all, lying in the dark and feeling more-or-less safe for the first time in days. Maybe he shouldn't have let it happen, but he was getting so tired of the whole jacka.s.s routine and he missed his team, he missed the bond that had drawn them so close - especially now, when it felt like everything was going to h.e.l.l. He wasn't too proud to admit he needed them.

Another twenty-four hours, he told himself, and he'd call it off. If they weren't home by then, the Tollan mission would be a bust anyway, and he wasn't keeping up this charade for a moment longer than absolutely necessary.

He picked up his MP5, slipped the strap over his head and cinched it tight, then holstered his Berretta. Better. He felt much better armed. Carter was doing the same and Teal'c was hefting his staff weapon with obvious satisfaction. Daniel hadn't moved, so Jack picked up his handgun and handed it to Teal'c; Daniel wasn't in any condition to fight and someone should make use of the weapon. Just in case.

So, this was it. They were ready. The question was, ready for what?

He glanced up, but the sky was empty. He figured they'd head for high ground and stay out from under any tree cover, looping back toward the Stargate. If there were some flesh-eating Goa'uld flying around up there, they'd get a good view of them and hopefully come close enough that Teal'c could take them down. If not, then maybe Carter would be right and they'd find a MALP at the Stargate and SG-3 scouting the area. Crazier things had happened.

It wasn't a great plan, but it was a plan.

After their final farewells, Aedan's people watched in silence as they left. The only one showing any kind of agitation was Elspeth. She was fidgeting next to Aedan, looking from him back to Daniel, and up at Aedan again. Jack couldn't figure out if she was his sister, girlfriend, or just another member of the gang, but in the end she didn't say anything as Jack gave the order and his team moved out.

He took point, leading them back up the valley along a shallow incline. There was a ridge along the top that was nice and exposed and would give an easy view down over the valley and back toward the Stargate. He kept the pace slow because of Daniel, who walked with Carter. Teal'c brought up the rear. No one was talking. Specifically, no one was talking to him. He could hear Daniel's slow, breathless voice behind him and a few curt replies from Carter. He couldn't hear what they were saying, for which he was grateful. Eavesdroppers never heard anything good about themselves and he was quite sure he didn't want to hear Carter's opinion of her CO right now.

He kept his eyes on the sky as they walked. The clouds were high, a thin misty layer of darker cloud running fast beneath the impenetrable ceiling of white. Once he thought he saw something, a dark flash that was gone before it was there, but he couldn't be sure. It could have been a bird. "Teal'c," he said, glancing over his shoulder, "did you -?"

He broke off when he saw a figure running after them - one of Aedan's people.