DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
"Well this wasn't here before," O'Neill remarked as he peered in through the entrance which had appeared into the first globe.
"Sir, I don't think..."
"Carter, I'm not about to take us in there right now, so don't go fretting," O'Neill replied and gestured to the ground.
"Sit there, Daniel. Carter assume defensive position," he ordered and moved around the globe to explore.
"Aye, Sir." Sam's eyes darted from horizon to horizon. A part of her didn't want to look, yet a part of her was compelled. But if her eyes were to see the shapes again, her insides told her it wasn't going to be a pleasant encounter. She shuddered involuntarily.
"You okay?" Daniel asked, seeing the haunted look in her eyes.
She smiled and crouched briefly beside him. "Sure. You?" she asked, genuinely concerned.
"Oh a bit sore, but Doctor Jack fixed me up really good," Daniel said and smiled, wincing at the same time as he moved into a more comfortable position.
"Daniel?" Sam was standing again, scanning her surroundings.
He looked up at her face. Her eyes roamed anxiously across towards the group of trees. "What's up?"
"Did you ever believe in the supernatural when you were younger?" She asked it tentatively.
Daniel shrugged, surprised at the question. "I guess every kid gets the creeps once in a while. I didn't give much thought to it. Too wrapped in ancient civilisations to go in any other direction, I guess."
Sam nodded and bit her lip.
Daniel felt a wave of sympathy. She looked lost and she looked scared. He'd never seen Sam Carter look that way before. He reached out and closed his fingers over the free hand which hung by her side.
"You're a scientist. You've seen aliens before, Sam. I thought you didn't believe in ghosts and stuff. There's nothing supernatural about aliens."
"This time it's different, Daniel. This time it's really different," she said and her eyes wandered out to the horizon once more.
The gunfire sounded first and then the shouts. Sam swung around to see O'Neill backing towards them around the structure, his gun firing off towards the trees, and then swinging around towards them again, his eyes searching the sky above him.
"Did you see them?" he shouted and grabbing Sam he propelled her towards the entrance to the globe. "We've got to get inside, come on."
"Sir, we really shouldn't go in...." she shouted as she tried to untangle her shoulder from his grasp. He pulled her until her legs started to give way in the scramble. She saw Daniel's face and the look of shock and surprise as he struggled to climb to his feet to stop O'Neill from making a terrible mistake.
She saw his face and then she saw the shapes. Gliding from the trees towards them, moving towards Daniel. He didn't see them but they seemed to be going for him. Then she saw him fire his gun and she knew he saw what she had seen.
In that instant, somehow she knew what they wanted and she summoned her strength from nowhere, ignoring her fear. She swung her body hard on O'Neill's arm and lashed at him, sending him reeling across the ground in surprise, his weapon still firing. She watched the shapes turn and flow past Daniel and come straight for her. She knew it was too late.
"Daniel, get to the Gate. Get to the Gate and get away from here...please!" she screamed at him and then felt the blow to the head and the deep quiet which followed as she sunk into the darkness of unconsciousness.
"SG2 are ready to go, sir," the young officer saluted smartly and stepped back.
"Good. Let's make it happen people. Let's get them out of there," Hammond said into the microphone as he acknowledged with a slight nod of the head, the commanding officer of SG2 waiting on the ramp.
"Chevron 6 encoded," the voice of the young technician droned as the gate followed its final path to opening.
"Chevron 7 engaged."
Hammond put his hands on the console in front of him and straightened up as he watched the SG team, plus two weapons technicians, enter the wormhole and attempt to end the nightmare his people were stranded in.
"Can it really work, Doctor?" he asked.
"We've given it our best shot," she replied optimistically. "Each team has been fitted with headsets to block out external noise, but allow for person to person contact only. As for seeing the aliens, we can't do much about that, but we have briefed them thoroughly. They know what to expect and they're ready. Any hint of problems and they're to get back immediately.
"I've given instructions to SG2 that the techs are to get the gate defences down ASAP, then plant the explosives. If they can pull that off then SG2 can go in to find Colonel O'Neill and the rest."
Janet shuddered. The memory of what she'd seen on the monitor crawling back into her mind.
There was darkness inside the dome. The air was thick with decay and the feel of desperation and despair. Jack O'Neill sat with his back against the wall and stared at the curves of the dome's roof. The structure was huge. There was a light source of sorts but it was dim and came from far above them. Not enough to really see their surroundings but enough to know where he was. Though he didn't know why he was there. There was a damp feel to the walls, and a thick layer of grime covered the floor. Jack had been in some cells in his time but none with the oppression this one offered.
He looked down at the mop of blond hair. Sam's eyes were closed tight, a large swollen bruise forming across her temple. He touched the hairline and examined the damage. Then he sighed.
"I'm sorry Sam," he said in quiet muted tones. "Don't know what happened out there. Guess I screwed up, huh Captain?" He closed his eyes momentarily and leaned back.
Then Sam stirred. She moaned slightly, then her eyelids opened slowly. She ran her tongue across her lips and then put a tentative finger to the swelling on her head.
The mist of disorientation slid slowly from her eyes and mind and she looked up at the Colonel's face. She started to push herself upwards and then fell back, her world whirling.
"Whoa.... Wait until things feel better before you start to move too far. We're not going anywhere at the moment," O'Neill joked gently as he pulled her up to sit against his shoulder.
"What happened?" she asked quietly and fingered her head once again, wincing.
"Oh that? Just a little bit of a misunderstanding, between our ghoulish friends and me. They told me to do something and hey, guess what? I did it" he answered. "Sound like me? Nope. Thought not. Don't usually follow orders, me." O'Neill shook his head and stared across the darkness.
Sam touched his arm. "Don't blame yourself, Colonel. They're feeding us thoughts, making us see things which aren't there, feel things we don't normally feel."
O'Neill grimaced. "Yeah but would you believe a voice telling you something, well hell, you knew couldn't be true? Pretty lame excuse if you ask me, Captain," he said.
"What did they tell you?" Sam asked, interested.
"Oh, I'd rather that one stayed between me and the freaks in ghoul town, Captain," he replied smiling.
Sam studied his face for a minute and then smiled back. She knew what it felt like to want to keep secrets. She hadn't altogether been straight with her friends either, where the aliens had been concerned.
Sam straightened up slowly. "Where's Daniel? Did he get away? Did you see him?" she asked.
"Well he isn't here in the Happy Park so I'm hoping he's got the sense to get back to the Gate and get out of here," O'Neill replied.
"I told him to go. Just before you... I told him to leave the planet. Get through the gate. He might be able to do it, he just might," she mused, biting her lip.
"At least one of us stayed focused then," he replied. "Good work, Captain," he added and smiled at her satisfied grin.
"What do you think they want?" Sam asked as she leaned against the cool of the interior wall.
"Ah, your guess is as good as anyone's. Maybe we looked nice and they wanted to invite us to stay to tea. Maybe they don't know how to treat their guests properly. Beats me," O'Neill pouted, picking up bits of dirt from the floor of the chamber and dropping them again, and then he looked across the room. "Captain, tell me you see what I see."
Sam followed the direction of his gaze to the far side of the room.
"I see them" she replied and shuddered, her spine tingling.
Daniel scrambled to his feet grabbing at his weapon and began to fire at the shapes moving at speed towards him, the red glow in their eyes and the outstretched claws feeding his fear. The shots passed through them and he saw them flare as if the extra energy was feeding them.
And then they were gone...
He turned to see Sam lash out at Jack and to his horror saw the creatures descend as vultures to surround them, drawn by the sudden violence and flared temper. He knew that if he fired his weapon the shots might hit one of his friends.
He heard Sam's shout for him to get back to the Gate and hesitated to leave them. As he watched Jack strike Sam and the door close behind both his friends and the aliens, he realised that Sam had thrown him a chance and that his friends' only hope now lay with him. He owed it to them to get them out...somehow.
The Stargate lay several hours walk behind him. He knew he had to get there and get there before nightfall and before he found himself alone, to find shelter for the night at the mercy of both the dark and the aliens. He straightened his back and shouldered the pack, gripping his weapon tightly. With gritted teeth he ignored the pain in his arm and pushed on in the direction of the Gate.
"What are you afraid of, Samantha Carter?"
The voices lilted and turned as they hung in the air, the alien shapes swaying in front of them, their red eyes both hypnotising and hungry for a reaction.
Sam swallowed. She tried to tell herself she wasn't afraid of them. That she'd met aliens before. But she couldn't. In truth she'd never met anything quite like them before and they terrified her. She pushed hard against the fear, striking it briefly from her mind.
"I'm not afraid," she said, her voice a comforting solid echo in the strange prison. A whispered brush of air across the side of her face, the breath of a whisper that they would take her friends from her and leave her alone, alone forever. Her stomach churned.
"All beings are afraid, Samantha Carter. We can taste your fear. Tell us what feeds it."
"So you can feed her some more?" O'Neill said loudly. "I don't think so."
"Ah, O'Neill. Your true fears would be good to taste. We have tasted only briefly what your mind can feel. We cannot find your true terror, have not tasted it yet. Your mind is strong, it blocks your own feelings from even yourself and your friends, but we will seek it out, as we seek out all fear, all emotion."
"Well now, that's interesting," O'Neill answered and shot a comforting grin at Sam.
"We find it so," the aliens whispered.
Sam felt waves of nausea rise in her throat and a burning sensation on her forehead. The cold whispers told her she would die there, die there alone. Suddenly she didn't feel particularly well.
One of the aliens moved closer, its eyes glowing brighter as she wiped her hand across her forehead, the beads of sweat breaking out.
"Your sickness worsens. You are afraid of being seen as weak, Samantha Carter. You keep the truth from your friends."
"That's a lie," she retorted. "I haven't kept anything from them."
"Is it? Interesting. You wish to be seen as strong. You would hide your weakness even when it threatens to destroy you. That part of the Goa'uld remaining inside you is arrogant. Your arrogance will be your death, Samantha."
The alien whispering was growing. The voices seemed to be joined as one, assaulting her ears.
O'Neill turned to look at Sam sharply as the alien spoke.
"Carter? You okay? Is that "thing" up there telling the truth? You getting worse," he asked.
"It's just a little fever starting up. I must be coming down with something. It's nothing Colonel, nothing," she reassured and then coughed.
The alien eyes burned. "More deceit. You are scared Samantha. Scared of letting them down, of being the weak link when you are not. Why do you not seek his help? What are you afraid of losing? Your strength lies in your compassion for one another and yet you would break free and remain alone in your misery and your suffering."
"Just quit with the riddles why don't you!" O'Neill thundered as he watched Sam pale and put a shaking hand to her head. "Carter, you're not sick - they're making you believe it. You're fighting whatever it is off, don't give into it. Don't listen to them!"
Sam looked across at him and shook her head.
"Colonel I don't feel so good." she muttered reluctantly.
"Excellent. Admitting your weakness causes you a different pain. Your suffering, your fear grows. You will die alone here. The sickness, which plagues you, has taken many who have ventured onto this world. Their minds were weak. They could not fight. Would you like to see the end? Would you like to see how you will be when your final hour comes? Come...look." The alien moved slowly away and hovered.
A solitary figure crawled from a side of the chamber and stopped. In the darkness, the shape had no form but a shaft of light appeared suddenly from above them and illuminated it. Sam gasped at the sight of the ravaged soul, its skin destroyed by plague, its hands outstretched. Whether it was male or female was impossible to tell. She buried her head in her hands. O'Neill grabbed at her arms, pulling them free. He turned her to face him.
"They're fooling with your mind, Carter. Whatever you can see. It's not there...it's not there," he shouted at her face. "You're not sick. They're making you think you are. Come on Carter, this is me. You're okay. Fight it. Tell yourself you're fine."
Sam shook her head and clenched her fists. 'You will be alone', the voices had said.
"I can't. I don't want to die alone, Colonel," she pleaded, raising her eyes to look at his face. "I'd rather die now than be here alone," she said, a tear breaking free.
She could feel his warm breath gust her face and she stared into his eyes, burning with determination, burning with concern.
The creatures descended nearer, hovering as vultures over a dying prey. They felt the compassion in O'Neill and it excited them. A new emotion, a new mind to subvert. They felt the terror rising in Sam.
"Listen to me. I won't let you die here. Do you understand me, Carter. We're getting out together. You've got to believe me and be strong. Come on, remember when you had that damn Goa'uld, Jolinar, in you, you fought then. Fight it now," he shouted at her closed eyes, her clenched hands. He gripped her shoulders and held them tightly.
The mention of the Goa'uld, Jolinar sent a shudder through her. From the deep recesses of her mind she felt a warmth flood through. It drove at the terror and the pain and jolted her. She opened her eyes wide and stared unblinking at O'Neill. And then she knew he was right. He was the reality, they were not.
She swallowed and blinked, nodding her head.
O'Neill took her two clenched fists and squeezed them. "Okay. That's good. Fight it, Sam, fight it. You've got through worse than this. Don't let two creeps in cloaks do this to you," he said.
She nodded, her hands still shaking. She concentrated on the pain in her head and the pain in her stomach. She concentrated on the memory of Jolinar. The combination worked. The mantle of pain lifted.
"I'm okay, Colonel," she said softly.
"Way to go, Captain. Way to go," he said grinning, giving her shoulders a squeeze of warmth.
Sam pulled herself straight, wiping her hand across her eyes fiercely and stared at the shapes.
"You're the sick ones. You're the ones who can't survive without feeding off our fears, our emotions. How sick is that?" she shouted.
"Yeah, we're not fooled by a couple of ghouls in gowns, right Carter?" O'Neill breathed a sigh of relief to see her pull herself together and grabbed her hand, making ready to move for the door if the shapes decided to leave.
Instead, the shapes moved backwards slightly and then settled on the floor at the far side. The whispering was low.
"Don't you know it's rude to whisper in company?" O'Neill quipped.
"And what of you, O'Neill. What is your greatest fear? What would cause you the greatest pain?" Their voices chimed softly around the chamber.
"Aw, me? Well gee. See I'm flattered that you're thinking of me like this, and that you want to help so much but really I'd rather not...."
"Your concern for your friend opened a door to your mind...your feelings are clearer now, much clearer. You are afraid of your own inadequacy. You fear letting your friends down, of not being there for them. You are terrified of losing anyone else. You are afraid of their deaths. The mask of death hangs heavy on you, O'Neill. You carry its burden through your life. Let it go...here...we will help you to lose it."
"Thanks for the offer guys but I don't want to play anymore. This game is getting tiring," O'Neill shot at them.
"But we insist..."
"These guys are really beginning to annoy me, huh Carter?" O'Neill said as he swung around.
Sam was gone.