Chapter Two
Sam was running recklessly through a dense jungle. She was terrified, but she did not know of what. She just knew she had to get away; she could not let it catch her!
She had a hard time breathing, but she kept running until, suddenly, she found herself on open land, staring out at a large plain, and her fear instantly dissipated. She felt she was now safe, and she continued on, walking slowly.
She could see a figure in the distance. It looked like a person standing by a cliff. She took a few more steps and found herself much, much closer to the previously distant figure.
She could see now that it was a very young woman. She was dressed in a flowing, amber color robe that molded to her petite figure as the wind blew against her. Her long, golden colored, straight hair flew behind her like a banner. Sam thought the young woman looked familiar, but she could also swear she had never seen her before.
Samantha did not dare to approach any further. She was somehow wary of the stranger, although she did not look in any way threatening. Sam had always felt self-assured in her ability to defend herself, but now she felt strangely vulnerable and defenseless.
She started to back away, but the woman turned to her calmly and she instinctively stopped, held by dark, blue eyes that seemed to look into her soul.
The two women just stared at each other for the longest time, taking in every detail about each other. Sam found the woman/girl beautiful in a gentle, unassuming way. A pretty but fairly common face was stunning in the sweetness of her countenance. Old wisdom shone in those dark eyes, and the young woman’s half smile was friendly, making her start to relax.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Sam,” the young woman finally spoke.
Sam was surprised, and a little worried.
“Don’t fret, you are in no danger. We just want to talk, that’s all.” The stranger had not moved from her spot, but now Sam found herself only steps away from her. “Come,” her placid voice entreated, “Come sit down with me.”
Again, Sam did not remember having moved a muscle, but found herself seated next to the young woman, who was again looking out from the edge of the cliff.
They were both perched on a large rock, and Sam could see a vast, fertile valley at their feet. There were many small towns, busy farms, and distant, large cities that shone under the sun. It was almost as if they could see a whole planet contained in the valley. It was a beautiful sight.
“This was my home, Sam. I was happy here as a child. We had it all… then one day it was gone.” The woman sounded unbearably sad, and her blue eyes rested on Sam’s face, her unshed tears causing Sam pain, although she did not know her. Or did she?
“What’s your name?” Sam asked tentatively.
“Rosha” the woman answered sweetly. Sam knew that name.
“Rosha” she repeated in her mind, trying to remember, and sudden realization hit her. Jolinar’s host! Martouf’s love! He had spoken of her.
Rosha smiled at Sam, endlessly patient. “You know me well, Sam. You will remember, when you are ready,” she said gently, and Sam felt reassured, somehow knowing Rosha would never lie to her.
-----
Jack was crawling on his stomach, still inside the now wider tunnel and with Teal’c following him closely. His zat gun was now in his right hand, his flashlight in his left, and the knife tucked safely away.
‘It’s a good thing we’re not claustrophobic,’ he thought. He could see ahead by the light of his torch, and he could tell that the tunnel was getting even wider as they went on. They would occasionally pass under perpendicular tunnels that let to the surface. Whatever this thing was, it liked having options.
Teal’c suddenly grabbed Jack’s boot. “O’Neill, listen!” he said quietly.
Jack peeled his ears and paid attention. They could hear noises from up ahead, and Jack turned off his flashlight for a moment. A swooshing sound could be heard from a distance, as well as an occasional scratching sound. In the darkness, Jack could now tell that there was some light ahead.
“I think we are close, Teal’c,” he warned.
Both men had their weapons ready, and proceeded to put away their flashlights. Jack continued crawling cautiously, trying not to make a sound. He slowly crept up an incline and the tunnel widened considerably, enough so that Teal’c could crawl up to his side. They reached an edge and very carefully peeked over it, grateful for the light that was pouring into the large cavern from numerous holes in the ceiling.
They both were horrified by what they saw at the bottom of the cave. It looked like a spider, but it had twelve legs, and it was the size of a St. Bernard. The first set, closer to its head, looked almost like hands, with at least ten long fingers on each. The second set looked like lobster’s pincers, but they could tell that that’s not all they were. Something was pouring out of those pincers, something white that looked like spider’s silk. The almost round, blue/black body of the “spider” looked hard, like a crab’s shell. Little hairs covered the head, and it seemed to have about ten eyes, spread all over it. At least, Jack thought they were eyes. They were yellow in color, and looked moist.
But the most terrifying sight of all was not the beast itself, but what lay at its feet. It was Sam’s body, being slowly covered by the white substance the spider was spewing out. She was being held by two of the large legs, and she was being turned as more and more material kept piling on her. They could barely see her face, but Jack could tell — by how her head flapped around as she was turned — that she was still unconscious.
“Thank God for small favors,” he thought.
“O’Neill, this is how the animal saves food for later. There are other cocoons in the cave,” Teal’c whispered, pointing at the different wrapped bodies in various corners of the cave. It seemed like different sized animals had fallen in the spider’s traps.
“What do you think, T? Distract the thing and shoot it? It needs to be away from Sam, we don’t want to risk hitting her,” Jack suggested.
“Agreed,” the Jaffa responded. “I will distract the beast, you shoot it.”
Teal’c did not hesitate and started to move cautiously out of the tunnel, careful not to make any sounds. He moved away from Jack trying to circle the animal, which was still busy working on cocooning Sam. When he was in position, he looked at Jack and nodded.
Jack then got out of the tunnel, crawling in the opposite direction, and got as close as he dared to the spider. He made sure there was no chance of hitting Sam. He looked at Teal’c and nodded.
At his signal, the Jaffa stood up abruptly and screamed loudly, raising his hands like an attacking bear.
The animal reacted promptly, dropping Sam’s body with a thud and turning on Teal’c, its pincers now up in attack mode. Long spines were now sticking out of them.
Jack suspected one or both of those spines had been used on Sam when she had screamed that she had been stung. He thought the thing looked like a bull, its feet scratching the ground as if preparing to rush the screaming Jaffa. Instead, Jack saw the animal take an unexpected leap toward his friend, landing only feet away from him.
Jack fired his zat gun immediately, once, twice, three times, but the thing was still there. It was, however, momentarily stunned.
“RUN, TEAL’C!” Jack screamed, realizing the zat gun was not an effective weapon against this particular foe. He dropped the energy weapon on the ground and pulled out his handgun.
Teal’c had wasted no time, which had been wise, since the spider shook itself off and leaped again, blocking his way. Teal’c shot at it again with his own zat gun twice, but only to give himself enough time to pull out his handgun, just as Jack had done.
The spider was screeching loudly now, and its legs were twitching in rage. It was, however, hesitant to attack again. The thing was not stupid. The energy weapons had hurt it, and it seemed to be assessing its adversaries.
Jack wasted no time. He fired at it repeatedly, hitting it with every shot. The spider screeched even louder and turned to leap at Jack, but Teal’c started shooting at it as well, hitting it with just as much accuracy.
Both Jack and Teal’c emptied their guns into the beast and replaced their clips without pause. They were both worried that the thing did not seem to be dying. It was still screeching in fury, but it had been slowly backed into a corner of the cavern, the two men approaching it carefully while they shot at it. They were aiming at its head now, and they finally stopped ten feet from it, ready to move in case it leaped again.
Suddenly, the screeching stopped and the spider seemed to get smaller, pulling in its legs and becoming very still, yellow liquid oozing from countless wounds.
Jack and Teal’c looked at each other warily, both unwilling to let down their guard just yet.
“Teal’c, keep an eye on it. I’ll go check on Carter,” Jack ordered, anxious to tend to his captain.
“Indeed,” Teal’c responded in a growl, not taking his eyes away from the beast.
Jack ran to Sam’s body, now completely covered in the same substance she had been so mesmerized by earlier. Her eyes were closed and she was deathly pale, and for a moment Jack thought they had lost her. He was able to feel for a pulse through the stuff covering her neck, it being fairly flexible. He was immensely relieved when he found one, although faint and slow.
“Is she all right, O’Neill?” Teal’c asked the Colonel, his eyes still on the animal.
“She’s alive, Teal’c, but her pulse is very weak. We have to get her out of here,” he answered, looking around for an exit. He thought he saw one and he moved away from Sam’s side to go investigate.
Teal’c was momentarily distracted by the movement and looked to see where Jack was going. The moment he did that, the beast jumped, landing on top of the Jaffa with a screech.
Teal’c automatically dropped his gun and grabbed the threatening spines trying to reach him. He struggled to hold them away from him and heard O’Neill fire his weapon repeatedly, closer and closer.
Jack, two feet away from him, finished emptying his gun into the monstrous animal. “DIE, YOU DISGUSTING BUG!” he was yelling at it, his patience gone.
“O’Neill! You can stop now,” the Jaffa said calmly, pushing the heavy animal off himself with both arms and feet. It landed upside down, now completely still, its legs open and stiff.
Teal’c just stood over it, looking down in disdain, and gingerly touching his badly scratched chest. Jack, however, pulled out his large knife and leaned over the thing.
“I’m making damn sure this time,” he said. He started hacking at the dead bug and did not stop until he saw the head roll away from the body. When he turned back to Teal’c, the Jaffa was looking at him with a typical raised eyebrow.
“Now it’s dead!” Jack stated, putting away his knife and heading to the same spot he had meant to investigate earlier.
-----
Daniel thought he was going to die, victim of a burst heart. He had jogged all the way to the spot where he had left Jack and Teal’c, the two teams right behind him. When they arrived, however, they saw no sign of the two men other than the rope they had used to lower themselves into the hole.
“JAACK! TEEAL’C!” he screamed into the hole, hoping to hear a response. The two teams dropped their burdens and spread out, searching for the missing people.
“Over here!” one of the soldiers yelled from about four hundred meters down the hill minutes later.
Everyone ran to the man, who was now helping Teal’c carry a strange package. It looked like a light blue sack, but in the shape of a person. Daniel was appalled to realize it was Sam, completely wrapped in some unrecognizable substance. Only her face could be seen through a thinner layer of the stuff, and she did not look good. There were scrapes on her forehead, cheeks and nose from being dragged through the tunnels, and she was white as a sheet.
“Is she…?” he started to ask Jack, his eyes pleading for a negative answer.
“She’s alive, Daniel, but she needs help fast,” Jack answered, hiking quickly.
When Daniel realized what Jack was carrying in his hands, he jumped back, disgusted. “What the heck is that?” he cried.
“This is what took her. It’s part of it, anyway. The rest of it was too heavy to carry. We thought Doc might want to inspect the head. It injected Sam with something. It’s probably some kind of venom. Teal’c has one of its pincers. It’s sure to have some of the stuff in it,” Jack was talking as he walked.
One of the medics had checked Sam quickly and stated that they needed to remove the stuff before they could help her. Jack had informed him that knives were no good against it, so they were now headed to the Gate as quickly as possible.
Daniel decided he had heard enough and lagged behind, walking next to Teal’c and the medic carrying the stretcher on which Sam’s body now lay. He hardly took his eyes off her face the whole way to the Stargate, praying that she would not stop breathing before they made it home.
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