THE MANY SHADES OF NIGHT Part I: "Lest Darkness Come"
"It appears the sun is going down." Carter look over her shoulder. Teal'c was right. The orange star had dipped low on the horizon, turning the sky scarlet and casting long shadows across the alien city. She shivered slightly and turned back to the others.
"All right kids. Time to go." Jack O'Neill was crossing the deserted plaza to where Daniel was still poring over the inscriptions he had found earlier. The archaeologist did not move, even when O'Neill poked him in the shoulder.
"Just a minute," Daniel said absently, waving his hand slightly as if the Colonel were an annoying insect.
O'Neill poked him again, more insistently. "You can come back and play tomorrow. I'm sure your wall will still be here."
By this time though, Carter had stopped listening, her gaze shifting away from the two men, back toward the city ruins. She shifted her weight a little, her fingers tightening unconsciously around her weapon.
She had been edgy ever since they had arrived on PJ2-838. The faint disquiet she had felt when they had first come through the Stargate had only increased as they entered the deserted city. They had met no one on their journey and seen no sign of the city's former occupants. The only sounds had been those they made themselves. No birds soared overhead and no animals scavenged in the empty streets. Nevertheless, Carter had never felt that they were entirely...alone. She hadn't been able to shake the feeling that there was someone -- or something -- just behind her, moving so that it was always at her back. It was as if something malevolent were hiding in the shadows, holding its breath. Waiting for one of them to fall behind...
The ruins themselves were a strange combination of Mayan and Sumerian architectures, according to Daniel, mixed in with a little H.R. Giger and a whole lot of Escher. And -- there was something about the vaguely runic symbols carved into the sides of the buildings, and especially on the walls of the plaza, that seemed familiar to Carter. She couldn't remember where or when she had seen them before, but she knew she had. Somewhere. It was driving her crazy.
None of the team had said much since their arrival. Only Daniel, who had practically gone into raptures when they had discovered this plaza and its inscriptions, seemed able to ignore the planet's oppressive atmosphere. He had been crawling over the rubble and muttering to himself for several hours now.
Normally the team would have fanned out further, leaving Daniel alone with his notebook. At the very least, two of them would have headed out to explore more of the city, while the third stayed behind with the archaeologist. But they hadn't. After a brief argument about the importance of Daniel's find, the Colonel had given in and agreed to stay a while. Without discussing it, almost without thinking about it, the others had taken up defensive positions. Teal'c had moved as far up a set of crumbled stairs as he could, standing motionless against the pale sky, while Carter and O'Neill had stationed themselves at opposite ends of the plaza, their backs to one another, staring out across the ruins.
Carter's chosen viewpoint looked down on a lower level of the city, carved into the side of the sandy hills. More of the half-crumbled brown buildings stretched out before her, almost as far as the eye could see. Faint hints of blues and golds had glinted in the sunlight before disappearing in the gathering twilight, and a long stream of something silver still shone faintly. A waterway perhaps? Beyond, more levels led ever downward until the city spilled out onto a flat plain. In the distance small trees and other vegetation could be seen.
Despite its desolation, this place had a quiet beauty, Carter decided. Beneath the jumble of decay and ruin there was a pattern to the streets and alien structures, and a sense of...purpose. Connection. Meaning. This place had meant something once. People had lived and worked here, built their homes and lives here. So what had happened? Where did they all go? And why had they left? The wind moaned quietly above them and Carter shuddered.
A faint sound made her glance back. Teal'c was moving down from his perch while Daniel was blindly stuffing notes and tools back into his pouch with one hand, his eyes still locked on the wall and its runes. The Colonel was prowling restlessly around the edges of the plaza. Time to go. Carter turned and walked carefully over the uneven ground toward the others. As she did, something made her glance up, in time to see the expression on Daniel's face change. She came to a halt, her heartbeat inexplicably speeding up. Something was wrong.
"Um...hang on..." Daniel was saying.
"For crying out loud..." O'Neill moved toward the other man. "Daniel - pack it up. Now."
Daniel was wearing the same distracted, worried look he always got when he discovered something unpleasant and Carter tensed even more, alarm clawing at the base of her spine. And...there was something else, something that was hovering just on the edge of her senses. A sound? Or perhaps a smell. Something she couldn't consciously identify, but which was strong enough to send every primitive instinct she had into a frenzy. She held her breath, fighting the impulse to flee.
"Uh...guys? I think I know what happened to the inhabitants of the city..."
"Great." O'Neill shot him a look. "You can tell us on the way..."
The archaeologist ignored the interruption. "It says that many of them were killed, by...they called them the Ammita -- 'Demons of the Night'. Creatures that feared the sunlight and dwelt in the places where the sun sets. I think they were..."
Carter was no longer listening. It was a sound, she realized now. Dried leaves rustling together. Bones snapping. A thousand sibilant voices, whispering in the wind. Mocking her.
And growing louder.
She looked back at the rest of the team. Couldn't they hear it? There! Something was moving, a shadow dancing on the edges of her vision. But when she turned her head, it was gone. Or...were those eyes looking back at her, gleaming a dull red in the darkness?
She was already in motion, bolting back towards the others before she had made a conscious decision to move, the sound of her racing heartbeat mingling with the hissing and crackling in her ears.
"We have to leave. Now!" She skidded to a halt beside a startled O'Neill and resisted the impulse to grab his sleeve and forcibly pull him into motion. Instead she spun around again, her gun aimed, peering out through the gathering darkness. Automatically the Colonel, Teal'c, and Daniel reached for their weapons and fell into a tight cluster around her.
"What?" O'Neill shot her a quick, questioning look, then twisted around to scan their surroundings.
"Can't you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Daniel asked.
Carter shook her head, trying to force the sounds away. "I..." She broke off. There was no time to explain, and no words to explain with. Instead, she shot an anguished look at O'Neill. "We have to get out of here, Sir. Fast."
He stared at her for a brief moment, then nodded. "All right," he said decisively to the others. "You heard the Major. Let's go." Not hesitating this time, they turned as one and headed for the exit at a steady run while behind them, the last faint rays of the sun vanished altogether behind the distant hills.
**********************************************************
They had maybe fifteen minutes of lingering light, Carter decided, trying to juggle things like the planet's orbit, atmospherics, and their current latitude in her mind as she jogged with the others through the darkening streets. On Earth, at certain times of the year, she might have expected up to an hour of reflected light after sunset. But here, they didn't have half that much. Perhaps not even a quarter. Breathing deeply, she increased her pace, noting that the others were doing likewise.
They hadn't questioned her. Not once. Evidently they had all decided that explanations could wait until they were safely back on Earth. She hoped she would have one to give them. Actually, she just hoped they *would* make it back to Earth. The whispering in her mind hadn't ceased. If anything, it had grown louder while around them the shadows seemed to boil with something even darker. *Many* somethings. If she paused to look closely she knew she would see a thousand dull red eyes, staring back at her, moving ever nearer.
She didn't pause.
They reached the open field outside the partially destroyed city walls in considerably less time than it had taken to find their way in. Ahead, the Stargate was barely visible in the rapidly fading light but its DHD was a scant thirty feet away. Daniel sprinted ahead and began dialling rapidly, his hands flying over the symbols. Teal'c had moved up beside him, his fingers poised over his GDO, ready to send the signal back to Earth to open the iris. O'Neill hung back a little with Carter, both of them facing the way they had come, covering the others.
Carter heard but did not see the Stargate open, and felt the slight tremor in the ground and changes in atmospheric pressure as the wormhole stabilized. A quick glance showed her that Daniel and Teal'c were already in motion, racing over the final fifty feet or so that separated them from the Gate. O'Neill met her eyes. "Go!" he said, nodding toward the Gate.
Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. Carter saw Daniel vanish through the event horizon. Teal'c was close behind, turning back to look at them as he ran. O'Neill had gained a few feet on her and was slightly ahead but the Gate was nearer now. They were all going to make it. Relief surged through her...
...and the night erupted. Darkness came raging out of the shadows and poured over the field. Things -- creatures or demons perhaps -- raced toward them, each on many legs, razor claws shimmering in the moonless night and multiple red eyes the colour of old blood reflecting the first faint light of the stars. There were more than she could count, more than she could imagine...a nightmare given form.
"Go!" O'Neill was waving at Teal'c as he ran, urging him through the Stargate. Nevertheless, the Jaffa paused on the threshold and raised his staff.
They could still make it, Carter thought. They could reach the Stargate before the creatures reached them. They *would*. She stretched her legs even farther, her lungs burning and heart pounding, everything within her focused on the Gate. And escape.
When it happened, Carter had no warning. The rustling noise in her head had risen to a scream and she could hear nothing beyond it. She could see little in the darkness which had fully descended on the planet and no instinct made her turn her head at the last moment. Something unseen came out of the shadows -- for all she knew it rose up through the ground itself -- and slammed into her. There was a distant sensation of something slicing through her flak jacket and across her back; the crushing impact on her right side as she fell; then the horrible moment when the body knows that it has been injured but the pain has not yet had time to reach the brain. She inhaled...and the agony hit her.
It was nothing compared to the fear though. One of those - - things -- materialized before her, darker than the darkness around it. She had a vague impression of many limbs, a body hunched over like an insect's but which still towered above her, and a face full of fangs. Then it was raising a single limb, a barbed claw glinting dimly in the night, and she was swallowing a scream, her hands automatically raising her gun and firing up at the monster before her.
It had an effect, but just barely. The creature rocked back on two of its legs and hissed like a snake. She switched her weapon to sustained fire mode and held the trigger down. As she did, she could hear more gunfire coming from behind her, and the distant sound of shouting. After an endless moment, the creature staggered backward into the night and *screamed*. The sound echoed through her head and was taken up by a thousand more voices, until nothing existed for her but the sound.
*Get up. You have to get up.*
Carter didn't know if the words came from someone else or if it was her own sense of self-preservation screaming at her to move. *Get up.* She tried, but nothing happened. It was as if the pain had shut her body down completely. Even her lungs seemed to have stopped working. "From when I fell," she thought hazily. Already her vision was beginning to blur from lack of oxygen and she sensed, rather than saw, movement in front of her. She struggled to lift her weapon again, and failed.
"I'm going to die," Carter thought distantly, and wondered why she no longer felt any fear. Before her, the shadow in the darkness moved closer.
**********************************************************
THE MANY SHADES OF NIGHT Part II: "Hunters in the Dark"
The shadow moved closer to where Carter lay gasping for air and then a pair of hands were hauling her up by her jacket and holding her upright.
"Come on, Major!"
Colonel O'Neill. He was still here. He had come back for her. The wave of relief that swept over her was quickly replaced by one of sheer frustration. He should have gone through the Gate with the others. Staying here was suicide...
"Dammit, Carter," he was shouting. "We've got to go. Now!" And then he was pulling her into motion, dragging her stumbling form back towards the abandoned city.
It took a second or two, but Carter discovered that her body was at last responding to her brain's commands, at least a little, and she managed to get her legs under her enough that she didn't tip over as O'Neill pulled her after him. Her abused lungs were finally drawing in some oxygen and her head was beginning to clear, enough to realize...
...they were going the wrong way. Carter frowned and twisted slightly in the Colonel's grasp, trying to look back at the Stargate, but it was too dark to see now. With an effort she managed to draw in enough air to gasp: "What about the Gate?"
She sensed rather than saw him shake his head. "No good. The bugs were all heading for it. I told Teal'c to go through and shut the iris." He glanced back over his shoulder, tightening his grip on her jacket. "And now they're heading for us. Can you run a little faster, Carter? I think they're gaining."
Okay. Red fire was shooting up her right leg and side, and an inferno of agony was burning across her back, but she could run a little faster. Adrenaline was a wonderful thing.
A few moments later they had passed the city walls and were hastening once again through its dark streets, Colonel O'Neill dragging her in his wake. Behind them, Carter could hear the sounds of pursuit growing louder. She risked a quick look behind her, then wished she hadn't. The night was ablaze with red eyes. Directly behind them, on both sides, halfway up the surrounding roofs...and they were drawing closer.
Abruptly, O'Neill turned and dove into a small alley barely visible in the starlight, pulling Carter in with him. Not pausing, he reached for a grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it back toward the creatures. Then he shoved her behind an empty doorway and flung his body over hers, holding her tightly.
One second. Two. Carter shut her eyes and clung to O'Neill. Another heartbeat passed and then the night was filled with sound and light. The force of the explosion drove their combined weight hard against the wall and she stifled a scream at the pain in her back.
After a moment, Carter opened her eyes, staring over the Colonel's shoulder. She could just make out dark forms scuttling away from them, their cries echoing in the night. "They're going," she said distantly.
O'Neill released her and turned to look, then grimaced. "Yeah, but not far."
He was right. The creatures had withdrawn slightly but were milling just out of range, as if waiting to see what the humans would do next. Already, a few of them were beginning to inch closer. In a moment or two, Carter knew, they would attack.
"Any suggestions?" O'Neill unconsciously moved forward a step, as if to shield her.
"No, I..." Carter's voice trailed off, then she said abruptly. "The plaza. We have to get back to the plaza."
"Why?"
"I..." She didn't know why and she couldn't begin to explain how, but she *knew* they would be safe there. "Trust me," she said.
He didn't bother to answer that one. Instead, he shot her a quick look, running his eyes up and down her body as if appraising her condition. "Can you make it that far?"
Carter nodded, then winced slightly. "Yes, Sir," she said firmly. Her voice didn't shake at all, she was pleased to note.
"All right," the Colonel said, hoisting another grenade and giving her a quick grin that was 100% pure O'Neill. "Let's go dust some bugs!"
The next explosion lit up the night like a nova. Once again the creatures retreated as Carter and O'Neill sprinted down the streets they had already travelled twice before, back towards the plaza.
At least O'Neill sprinted. Carter found herself limping heavily after him, as quickly as she could. There was no one to help her this time and the full extent of her injuries was becoming agonizingly apparent. The pain in her right leg seemed to have localized in her ankle -- it was probably only badly twisted, she thought, but it felt as if it had been shattered into a million pieces. As for the rest...she couldn't tell. She just knew it hurt. A lot. Nevertheless, she gritted her teeth and kept going. She could fall over and whimper later.
She hoped.
**********************************************************
Only two grenades remained between them by the time they reached the plaza. Gasping, Carter came to a halt beside Daniel's wall. O'Neill did the same.
The impulse to crash to her knees and let oblivion take her was overwhelming. She had used up almost all of her reserves just to make it this far, Carter realized. She was shaking badly and her vision kept fading in and out. And something warm was seeping down her back. Her hand came away wet when she touched it.
"Major?" O'Neill's voice was strained. Small wonder. He had done most of the work as they fought their way through the city. He had transferred his submachine gun to his left hand after one of the creatures had gotten too close and slashed him across the upper arm. Blood was trickling down his forehead, the result of not ducking quickly enough when he had thrown one of the fragmentation grenades. "Now what?" he asked tiredly.
Carter straightened stiffly and turned to the carved runes, waiting for inspiration to strike.
"Carter...?"
She ignored him and limped toward the other end of the wall. Memories of -- something -- were beginning to ripple through her mind and she reached out and touched one of the symbols -- a circle quartered by a cross. She could barely make it out through the darkness but it was hauntingly familiar. She ran her hand across them all, trying desperately to remember.
"Uh, Carter..."
"Wait, Sir..."
There was a rapid burst of gunfire behind her. "Sure. No problem. Take your time..."
Carter bit her lip then shut her eyes to close out the sound of his voice, reaching instead for the memories. An eternity passed. Then, before she had time to think about what she was doing, she opened her eyes again and rapidly pressed a complicated sequence of runes, ending on the crossed circle.
Nothing happened.
Carter's heart sank. It should have worked. She didn't quite know what she was expecting, but *something* should have happened.
The grinding noise was the first indication that her actions had had some effect. Carter cast a startled look down. The stone wall was moving. Slowly at first then more quickly it slid upward until it had formed an opening approximately eight feet high and three feet wide in the side of the alien building. A gust of dry, musty air flowed out around her.
Carter caught her breath and stepped closer. Inside there was nothing but darkness and the beginning of what looked like a flight of stone stairs, leading downward. There was no light at all, no reflections...nothing. The darkness seemed so solid it was almost as if she could reach out and touch it...
She looked back over her shoulder. The creatures had surrounded them again. There seemed to be even more of them this time, if that were possible, and the night was ablaze with blood-coloured eyes. O'Neill was holding them off with his M9. As she watched he ejected the clip and reloaded in one smooth motion. That meant he was down to 15 rounds. Damn. It was the stairs or nothing. Taking a deep breath, Carter limped across the threshold and pivoted around on her good leg.
"Colonel!" she called urgently.
O'Neill turned his head, his eyes widening a little at the sight of the open doorway. Hastily, he pulled the pin from his second last grenade, counted under his breath, then threw it at the horde before launching himself through the opening. Carter barely had time to hit the symbol inside the doorway that she somehow *knew* was there, and then O'Neill was barrelling into her.
Several things seemed to happen at once. The grenade exploded and the creatures retreated, the sound of their screams ripping through Carter's mind. The heavy stone door slammed shut behind them with frightening speed...and O'Neill ran full tilt into her. Carter clutched at him, desperately trying to stop herself from going over backwards and taking him with her. His weight and momentum though, coupled with her own weakness, made it impossible to recover her balance. "Wait..." she just had time to say, and then they were both sailing downwards, with only empty air between them and whatever lay at the bottom.
**********************************************************
THE MANY SHADES OF NIGHT Part III: "In Wand'ring Mazes Lost"
Carter wasn't sure how long or how far she and Colonel O'Neill fell. It seemed to last forever but was probably only a matter of seconds before they hit the stone staircase. Then they were half-sliding, half-rolling the rest of the way down. Finally, battered and bruised, they came to a painful stop on a flat, rough surface, their bodies tangled together.
Once again, all the air had been driven from Carter's lungs. The pain she had felt earlier seemed to have multiplied a thousandfold, and grey and red streaks were spiralling across her vision.
Time passed, long moments in which she could hear only the frantic pounding of her own heartbeat. Then, finally, some air trickled back into her lungs and her vision began to clear. Not that it made much difference. She could see nothing in the darkness. It was as if someone had drawn a black curtain across her eyes.
Other sensations were beginning to filter into her consciousness. Dry, musty air. A hard stone floor under her scraped palms...and something soft beneath her. She frowned, and then realization hit her. She was laying on Colonel O'Neill. He must have twisted around during their fall, enough so that he ended up on the bottom, cushioning her body.
"Colonel?" Carter was vaguely surprised that her voice still worked. The way things were going, it was probably the only thing that still did. A remote part of her mind was telling her to get up off him, but she didn't dare move. The pain would rise up and slap her into unconsciousness if she did, she knew.
"Yeah."
Relief, so strong it nearly accomplished what the pain hadn't, swept through her. He wasn't dead. Of course, now that she thought about it, she could feel his heartbeat pounding beneath her.
"You all right?" he was asking. His voice sounded breathless, whether from an unseen injury or from the fact that she was laying on his ribcage, she couldn't tell.
She hesitated, then told the truth for the first time since her encounter with the creature on the field. "I...no."
"Can you move?"
"No, Sir." Her voice was a ragged whisper.
"Spine injury? Neck?"
This was becoming surreal. "I...don't think so."
There was a brief pause. "Hang on, Carter." Then he was reaching upward, patting at her body, as if looking for injuries. The first touch of his hands on her lacerated back, though, was enough to finally spur her into motion. She shot off him like a scalded cat, rolling painfully to one side with a yelp. "Don't!" she managed to say through the agony as she came to a stop on her side, her cheek resting against the cool floor.
"Carter?" She could hear him moving, sitting up cautiously, and she exhaled a sigh of relief. At least he hadn't been badly hurt in the fall.
"Hold on a sec," he said. "I'm going to find the light."
Carter blinked, bizarre images of light switches built into the alien walls flitting through her mind. What was he doing...?
In the darkness she could hear him rummaging around, running his hands across the floor. His fingers brushed her pant leg briefly then moved on. "Got it," he said. There was another sound and a small light came on. She blinked painfully at the sudden change in the dimness, then her eyes adjusted enough to see... Of course. The small flashlight fitted to his HK MP-10.
He trained it on her first, obviously making sure she was still alive. She squinted...and then the light was swinging away, moving around in a full circle as O'Neill scanned their surroundings. Carter held her breath, waiting for the sound of gunfire or the sight of red eyes in the darkness. There was nothing. Only smooth stone walls, a ceiling high above them, hidden in shadows, and a stone floor, made of the same stuff as the walls. Through them all ran lines of paler grey quart-like material.
And...
Maybe it was the darkness that had made her other senses more attuned or perhaps the utter silence was responsible, but she could hear...was that water? Yes. It was faint but unmistakable. The quiet murmur of running water. An underground stream perhaps?
Carter found herself dragging her body up into a sitting position, ignoring the pain. Now that there was the promise of water she was suddenly aware of the raging thirst tearing through her and the soul-deep need to lay down in icy water and quench the fire burning in her back and ankle. She had never wanted anything in her life quite so badly as she wanted water at that moment.
"Do you hear that?" It came out as a croak. O'Neill spun back around to face her and she could just make out the expression on his face, faintly lit by the flashlight. He paused, listening, then nodded.
"Water." He took a quick pace toward her and crouched down, staring at her face. Whatever he was seeing there, it obviously wasn't good. He put the gun down on the floor, the flashlight still lit, and reached out gingerly to grasp her by the shoulders. "How badly are you hurt?" There was worry and...something else...in his voice.
O'Neill's concern almost destroyed what little strength of will she had left. For an instant Carter's vision swam with unshed tears then she blinked them away and gave him a weak smile. "I'll live," she said, in as resolute a tone as she could muster.
"Carter..."
She shook her head slightly, cutting him off. "Look, I *will* be all right. I just...Can we find that water? If it *is* water, that is..."
O'Neill's gaze ran down her body, and something of her injuries must have been visible to him because a pained expression appeared on his face. "I'll carry you," he said simply, reaching for his gun and hers, and standing up.
The thought of O'Neill lifting her, touching her back for even an instant, made her insides spin. "No," she said firmly. "You won't." At the look in his eyes, she continued hastily. "It's...my back. That creature...cut it, I think." She continued hurriedly, not giving him time to respond. "And you're not slinging me over your shoulder either. Sir. I've made it this far. I can walk a little further." That said, she reached up with one hand.
O'Neill hesitated, then took it and pulled her up as gently as he could. Carter didn't scream, and she didn't faint. In fact, she thought the whole process of standing up went rather well.
The Colonel obviously didn't. He gave her another troubled look, then slung the guns over his shoulder so the flashlight would still light their way, and reached for her arm. "All right Major, you win. Let's go."
**********************************************************
It turned out that the underground chamber had a corridor leading away from it. And that corridor had two adjacent passageways leading off at right angles, and those had even more. The place was a labyrinth of stone hallways. O'Neill began gouging marks in the walls with his knife at each intersection.
They saw no sign of the creatures. In her more lucid moments, Carter theorized that the inhabitants of the city might have built this place as a refuge from the monsters roaming the surface of the planet. When O'Neill reminded her that it obviously hadn't worked, she stopped theorizing and concentrated on walking instead.
It was becoming increasingly difficult. Now that the adrenaline had faded and they were no longer running for their lives, there was nothing to mask the pain. She wasn't sure which hurt more -- her ankle or her back. Shafts of fire burned their way up her leg with every step she took and it felt as if all the bones in her ankle were grinding together.
"What happened to your leg?" O'Neill's voice broke the silence.
"I...twisted my ankle."
She could feel his eyes upon her, even though she couldn't see them in the semi-darkness. He was scowling, she knew. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"
"We were busy. And besides...I know how you feel about cliches, Sir."
There was a brief pause, then a short, sharp laugh, which quickly faded. "So, I can't carry you because that would hurt your back, but meanwhile you're walking around on a twisted ankle. Are you sure you don't want me to 'sling you over my shoulder', as you put it?"
Carter felt herself smiling a little, albeit unwillingly. "No, Sir," she said. "I'd rather walk."
She thought she heard him mutter something about annoying, stubborn females, but the echoes were louder in this corridor, so perhaps she was mistaken.
**********************************************************
"So, are you going to tell me what happened back there?"
Carter dragged herself back out of the sea of misery she had fallen into as they continued down the endless passageways, towards the ever-shifting sound of water. "Sir?" she said questioningly.
"What did you hear that spooked you? How did you know we should get out of the plaza when we did? And what do you know about these bugs?"
He was trying to take her mind off things, she could tell. Still, she welcomed the distraction. She had moved beyond agony as she walked. Everything was slowly going numb, her body growing more distant with every passing moment. It was only the sheer mindless routine of putting one foot in front of the other that kept her moving at all.
"Major!" O'Neill's voice drew her back. Her mind had drifted off again. What was he saying? Oh yes...
She told him, unaware that her speech was becoming slurred and her sentences unfinished. She told him what she had heard and sensed in the plaza, and what she remembered, or *thought* she remembered about this place. And then she fell silent, concentrating desperately on remaining upright.
It must not have worked, because the next thing Carter knew, she was on her knees, swaying slightly. She couldn't remember falling, and that realization scared her. Her hands were trembling uncontrollably and she had broken out in a cold sweat. "Colonel..." she tried to say, reaching out for him...
His hand met hers, his grip tightening around her fingers. "It'll be all right, Sam," he said. "Just hang on, okay?"
"'Kay," she managed to say, and then he was hoisting her up, pulling her into a fireman's lift over his shoulder. He tried to avoid touching her injuries, but he must have brushed her back with one hand because cold fire lashed across her once more...and darkness rushed up to claim her.
**********************************************************
THE MANY SHADES OF NIGHT Part IV: "A Universal Darkness"
Carter was dreaming. But it wasn't her... Some part of her that was still Samantha Carter recognized what was happening. Jolinar. It was one of Jolinar's memories, not hers. And then the dream swept her away and she could only watch...and remember.
The System Lords had found her. They were coming. She had to escape. They hadn't sent an Ashrak. No, this time the entire population of this world would suffer for what she had done. These people had given her sanctuary and for that crime they would all die... She had to leave, to try to save them with her absence...
The dream changed, moving forward in time. Now the people of...Hejira...that was its name. The people of Hejira were dying, fleeing their homes in terror of the darkness that the System Lords had unleashed on them.
The Ammita. Devourers of Souls, and Dwellers in Amenta, the place where the sun sets. Genetically engineered nightmares, constructed by one of the first Goa'ulds and designed to destroy whatever world they were set against. Innumerable, unstoppable...except by...
And then there was only terror, screams in the night...and darkness. Nothing but endless, undying darkness.
**********************************************************
Carter awoke, the scream still echoing in her ears. She opened her eyes, blinking in the dim light, and frowned. Shadows were swirling by her, curiously distorted, and... something was clutching her tightly around the knees. Instinctively, she lashed out with both feet, trying to break its grip, reaching for the gun that should be there...
"Hey, cut it out!"
Carter stilled as recognition flooded over her. Colonel O'Neill. Her body went limp with relief. She was safe.
She was also upside down. She was draped over his shoulder like a sack, she realized, her upper torso dangling behind him while he held onto her by one arm and both legs.
"What happened?" Her voice sounded frighteningly weak, even to her own ears. She found herself clutching at his belt with her free hand, trying to stave off the dizziness that was threatening to send her back into oblivion.
"You passed out. I carried you. And you just kicked me. Sweet, Carter."
"Sorry." She wasn't sure if she managed to say it out loud, or just thought she did. Whichever, it didn't seem terribly important just now. Her mind was more occupied with the fact that the pain had returned...although it didn't seem to hurt quite as much as before. Or perhaps she was just getting used to it, she mused ruefully. And there were other questions burning in her mind.
"How long was I out?"
"'Bout 15 minutes. I can't see my watch right now." The Colonel sounded breathless. She couldn't blame him. It couldn't be easy carrying her like this. And he had an injured arm...
"You could put me down," she suggested in a small voice, shutting her eyes so she wouldn't see the ground trailing by above her head.
"And have to haul you back up in a few minutes when you pass out again? Nuh uh, Carter. You can just stay there for a while."
Okay. She hadn't been entirely sure she *could* continue walking if he put her down and, short of kicking him in the side again, there wasn't a great deal she could do about the situation. Besides, the Air Force frowned on its personnel kicking their commanding officers. Carter shook her head. Her mind was wandering again, just like it had when...
The memory made her tense and O'Neill tightened his grip on her, growling. "Stop squirming. You're not making this any easier..."
"Sorry, Sir." Her voice was a little steadier now. "But I think I have an idea how to kill the Ammita."
"The what?"
"The...the creatures. I think I know how we can kill them."
O'Neill lurched slightly then came to an abrupt stop. "Great," he said. "I've got some good news too."
"What?"
"I've just found the underground stream." As he spoke, he stepped backward out of the ankle-deep water he was standing in and reached up to lower her to the ground.
Carter only had time for the quick thought: "This is going to hurt..." and then O'Neill had pulled her off his shoulder and deposited her in a sitting position on the stone floor.
She was right. It did hurt. But she didn't pass out, which was quite an accomplishment, given the circumstances.
"You okay?" O'Neill sat down beside her, panting slightly.
"I'm still conscious, Sir," she said, essaying a faint smile.
"Good. Stay that way." He turned and reached behind him, picking up his HK and aiming the flashlight on her. "All right. Let's take a look at your back."
Carter's stomach tensed, but she remained still as he moved behind her and trained the light on her wounds. There was a long moment of silence, then: "Jesus, Sam."
Carter bit her lip. "That bad, huh?" Her hands had clenched into fists, she noticed, and she forced them to relax. Behind her, she could sense the Colonel's eyes on her.
"All right," he said at last, not answering her question. "Let's get your jacket off, Carter."
This was *really* going to hurt.
It did. The flak jacket and her khaki jacket came off relatively easy, but O'Neill had to use a length of bandage from his basic first aid kit, soaked in water, to help ease her black t-shirt away from her mangled back. The blood had begun to dry, cementing the shirt to her skin, but the bleeding began anew as he pulled the material away. After what seemed like a lifetime or two, she ended up with the shirt hanging around her neck, draped in front of her. Not that modesty was very high on her list of priorities at the moment. She was too busy fighting to stay conscious and *not* shoot Colonel O'Neill.
"God. Aren't you finished yet?" There was more than a little desperation in her voice.
O'Neill angled the flashlight a little higher. "No. Hold still." And then he began sponging the remaining dried blood away.
The first contact of water on her newly re-opened cuts sent a deep shudder through her and she bit her lip, tasting blood. She closed her eyes tightly against the tears that were welling up. "I will not scream," she told herself resolutely. "I will *not*."
"Talk to me, Sam," O'Neill was saying. "Tell me about the Ammita."
"Great," she thought. "I'm dying, and he wants to have a conversation." Still, anything was better than what was happening behind her. "All right," she said huskily. "They were genetically engineered by the Goa'uld. They use them as weapons, to bring rebellious planets into line. They... Damn it!" Carter stiffened, her fingernails cutting deeply into her palms as the Colonel reached what must have been the deepest gash, running along her right side and across her lower back. "Okay. That's enough! Just stop now." She was trembling, she realized, her body shaking uncontrollably. "Please Jack..."
"Almost done. You're doing great..."
Easy for him to say. The world was beginning to fade again.
"Hang on." O'Neill stopped his ministrations and reached into the medical kit for something. "Sam..."
"Yes?" It was an effort to form the word.
Another pause. "Never mind. Just...sorry."
Carter frowned blearily. What was he talking about? Sorry for what? And then he poured disinfectant over her back. This time she was unconscious before she hit the ground.
**********************************************************
The first thing Carter saw when she opened her eyes was Colonel O'Neill sitting beside her, staring out into the darkness, his M9 in one hand and her HK with its few remaining bullets on his lap. His own submachine gun lay on the floor between them, its flashlight illuminating the darkness.
She was laying on her side. Her shirt was back on and her jacket was draped over her, providing a little warmth in the coolness of the underground chamber. She was laying on something other than rock -- his jacket? Carter shifted gingerly and felt something pull on her back. Bandages and tape. Another quick internal inventory showed that he must have removed her boot, bandaged her swollen ankle, and somehow got the boot back on afterwards. The boot itself was loosely laced up, enough to provide a little support, but not tightly enough to cut off the circulation.
The pain... It wasn't gone...probably wouldn't be for a very long time...but it was manageable. Instead of stabbing into her with knife-like intensity it had faded to a dull ache. Now she felt as if she had been beaten all over with a blunt object, rather than sliced open by a very sharp one.
"Hey..." her voice was weak, but clear.
O'Neill turned and looked down at her, a smile lighting his face. He was wearing only his black shirt and the flak jacket over it, she noticed. A roughly tied bandage was wrapped around the upper part of his now bare arm. She glanced downward. She *was* laying on his jacket.
"Hey yourself," he said. "How do you feel?"
Carter glanced back up at him then took a deep breath. "Like a truck hit me. How long was I out this time?"
"About half an hour. This is becoming a habit, Major. Still, it made bandaging you up a whole lot easier."
"You should have hit me over the head to start with then, Sir."
"Next time, Carter."
Carter smiled slightly then cautiously levered herself upward into a sitting position. O'Neill reached out to help, steadying her with one hand. The pain in her back didn't increase markedly as she moved, and the bandages seemed to be holding. She flexed her right foot slightly...and found herself digging her fingernails into O'Neill's wrist as a shaft of agony shot up her leg. She gasped and for an instant the world spun dizzily again, then the pain faded back to a slow throb.
"Carter, do you mind?"
She turned to him, realizing she still had a deathgrip on his wrist. She was about to release him, was opening her mouth to apologize, when she heard it...
The dry rustle of old leaves.
**********************************************************
THE MANY SHADES OF NIGHT Part V: "The Evil Things That Walk the Night"
Carter froze. Instead of releasing Colonel O'Neill, her grip tightened around his wrist. He seemed about to protest again but she waved him to silence. He stilled, his gaze meeting hers. "What is it?" he mouthed in the semi-darkness.
She didn't answer. Her whole being was caught up in listening. And waiting. For an eternity there was only the sound of the underground stream and their own breathing. And then...there it was again. Distant, but growing closer. Leaves rustling. Bones crackling. The Ammita.
She reached for her gun hastily. Beside her, O'Neill was doing the same, no longer asking questions. They rose as one, Carter leaning heavily on him in order to pull herself to her feet. As soon as she was upright though, she moved away, freeing his gun arm and balancing herself with most of her weight on her good foot.
"Carter?" The Colonel's voice was no more than a breath in her ear.
She swallowed, then whispered softly. "They found a way in."
She saw him raise his M9. "Which way do we go?" he asked, almost conversationally.
Carter closed her eyes briefly, questing outward with her senses, even as her fingers slid her last clip into her own handgun. Part of her was tallying their remaining ammunition. A few bullets in her HK. None in his. One M9 each. One grenade between them. Their knives. Her memories.
And Jolinar's ability to sense the creatures.
Carter opened her eyes again and looked at O'Neill. "That way," she said quietly, pointing deeper into the labyrinth. The Colonel didn't pause, but merely took her arm and began to move in the direction she had indicated.
**********************************************************
The hissing sounds in her mind continued unabated. They had not grown louder, but neither had they diminished. The Ammita were somewhere in the darkness...hunting them. Chills crawled down Carter's spine, but she said nothing. What was the point? They were already moving as quickly as they could. The small flashlight was barely lighting the way, its glow beginning to flicker as the battery wore down. When it died... Carter's mind veered away from the thought.
They had moved in and out of passageways until they had both lost all sense of direction. Nevertheless, some instinct or memory kept Carter heading toward...what? There was something ahead, some undefinable goal driving her onward. But she had no idea what it was. Not for the first time did Carter find herself wishing that Jolinar's memories were a little more reliable.
They had just rounded another corner, Carter's limp more pronounced now, when the light from the Colonel's gun flared one last time...and died altogether. They both came to a sudden halt as darkness fell upon them.
"Okay, this is bad." O'Neill's whisper broke the stillness. He reached out for her hand and she jumped. "Easy, Major. I just don't want to lose you in the dark."
"I don't want to lose you either," she said without thinking. There was a brief pause then his fingers tightened around hers.
"So, do we have a plan B?" he asked quietly.
Carter drew a deep breath. "We have to keep going. I... I think I can still find it." She took a cautious step forward, feeling him move with her.
"Oh good. Find what?"
"It. Sir."
"Ah. Good plan."
**********************************************************
It became easier once Carter shut her eyes and let her other senses guide her. Once she stopped fighting them and allowed the memories to wash over her, her sense of direction and purpose improved a thousandfold. Jolinar could have walked these hallways blindfolded, she realized.
Which was just as well...
The sounds were growing louder. The hunters were getting closer.
"You should have gone back through the Gate," she said suddenly, breaking the silence.
O'Neill didn't hesitate. "Without you? No way."
Carter swallowed then spoke again. "Colonel?"
"Yeah?"
"In case we don't get out of here..."
"Oh, I have faith you're going to find...er...'It'. And we *will* get out of here, Carter."
"But just in case..."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
A brief pause, then: "You're welcome, Sam."
**********************************************************
Carter didn't know how much time had passed. It felt as if an eternity had elapsed while they hurried through the labyrinth, toward...what?
The memories were coming faster now, becoming clearer as she neared her destination. She could remember Jolinar walking this same path with...someone else. Several someones. The Tok'ra had hurried through the dark passages in a desperate effort to save Hejira. And then...failure. Darkness had overrun the planet and Jolinar had barely escaped with her life.
There was something else too, some part of the memory that remained frustratingly elusive. Something that was tied to the sorrow and shame that threaded Jolinar's every thought. Something the Tok'ra did not wish to remember. Carter strained desperately to get past the mental block, to remember what...
Oh my god.
Carter must have halted without warning, because Colonel O'Neill stepped on her heel and let out a muffled curse. "A little warning would be good, Major..."
She wasn't listening. The memories had finally broken free and were sweeping across her mind, as if a floodgate had been opened.
It hadn't worked. The device. Jolinar's attempt to save Hejira. Both had failed. Her fault...all her fault...
After an eternity of chaos, the memories stabilized and settled on the labyrinth. It had not been there before Jolinar's arrival, Carter realized. It was not a natural formation. It had been grown -- by Tok'ra technology. And it wasn't a refuge. It was a weapon.
The entire underground complex was created for one purpose and one purpose only -- to destroy the Ammita.
It had failed.
Carter shuddered then became aware of Colonel O'Neill's hands, gripping her shoulders tightly.
"Talk to me, Carter!" he was saying. "Tell me what you're remembering."
With an effort she managed to shove the feelings of pain and loss away.
"I... Yes, Sir. Jolinar -- she came here to hide from the Goa'uld. She had...she had been injured in a battle, and needed time to recuperate. She planned to rejoin the Tok'ra as soon as she could. But the Goa'uld found her first. They ordered the Hejirans to hand her over. They refused...and the System Lords released the Ammita on this planet."
O'Neill pulled her back into motion, dragging her further down the corridor. "Go on," he said hastily.
"I...she tried to save them. She offered to surrender but by then it was too late. That first night, nearly a third of the population died. There was...there was blood everywhere. The children..."
Carter shuddered violently as the memories ripped through her, far too clearly now for her peace of mind. She could taste Jolinar's fear and regret, could hear the screams of the dying. Men, women...children. And all because of her. Only as the orange sun finally rose the next morning did the creatures retreat to the shadows...to wait for darkness to fall again.
"Don't lose it Carter." O'Neill's voice was an anchor in the darkness. "Why didn't these Hejirans escape through the Stargate?"
Carter shook her head, not caring that he wouldn't see it. "They couldn't, Sir. The Goa'uld kept the wormhole activated so they couldn't dial out. Like Sokhar tried with us..."
"All right. So what did she do?"
"Jolinar...grew this place. The entire labyrinth. Using Tok'ra technology, in the space of a day."
"I'll bite. Why?"
"As a power source. This isn't a normal Tok'ra tunnel. It's...I'm not sure, but somehow it concentrates power from...something. I don't know. Perhaps the electromagnetic forces of..."
"Carter..."
She shook herself slightly. "Sorry, Sir. The whole complex is some kind of power source for a device that would..." Her voice trailed off.
"Would what?"
"I'm...not entirely sure. The memories get confused at this point. All I know is that it would somehow banish the darkness and kill the Ammita. Only..."
"Only it didn't, did it?"
Carter shut her eyes against the blackness, a wave of guilt and misery welling up inside her. "No, Sir. Jolinar failed and everyone died. She only survived because the Tok'ra launched an attack which gave her enough time to open the Stargate and escape. And then...then she had to live with the memory of what she had done."
There was a moment of silence then O'Neill spoke again. "So this device...gadget...whatever...is the only thing on the planet that can save us, but you're not sure where it is, what it does, or how it works. All of which is academic because it doesn't work anyway."
It wasn't a question, but Carter felt obliged to answer anyway. "Yes, Sir," she said softly.
"Sweet. Real sweet."
**********************************************************
THE MANY SHADES OF NIGHT Part VI: "Leave the World to Darkness and Me"
The guilt was almost unbearable. Carter had been so sure she could save them both, that Jolinar's memories would somehow help her and Colonel O'Neill survive the night...
She was wrong.
She was acutely aware of O'Neill's hand in hers, lending her his support and strength as she limped painfully through the darkness on her swollen ankle. A wave of regret went through her. She was going to get him killed. She had led him down here to this labyrinth. It had seemed like their only hope at the time, but now...
"Cut it out, Major."
Carter jumped slightly. "Sir?"
The hand tightened around hers. "Quit beating yourself up about this. It wasn't your fault."
"How did you...?"
O'Neill laughed once, grimly. "Oh, I know you Carter. By now you're probably blaming yourself for not running fast enough back to the Stargate."
"I never should have brought us down here." Her tone was flat.
"From where I stood, we didn't exactly have much of a choice. We're still alive, thanks to you. Thanks to you, we got away from the bugs, at least for a while. And thanks to you we're not wandering aimlessly around in the dark. All of which makes you my new favourite person. So -- which way?"
As he spoke, O'Neill came to a halt at another intersection. Carter did likewise, wincing as she tried to ease the weight from her aching ankle. The pain had returned, the brief respite from the Colonel's ministrations fading away like a dream, leaving behind only pain that blazed up and down her leg and back like an inferno. As well, the rustling noises had been growing imperceptibly louder for quite some time now. It could only mean that the creatures had found their trail and were closing in once more. Carter shuddered then determinedly ignored the sound. Instead she turned her attention inward to the alien memories lurking just below the surface of her mind, waiting for the subtle pull which would tell her which way to go.
"Left, Sir," she said after a moment's pause.
Without a word, O'Neill turned in that direction. Together they moved deeper into the maze.
**********************************************************
They had found it. At least, Carter *hoped* they had found it. The passageway they were in had finally come to a dead end. No more chambers or hallways branched off from it and the only path left was the narrow stone staircase, winding steeply upward.
There was a light, dim and distant, coming from somewhere above them. It reflected off the cascade of quartz-like lines that tumbled down the steps, embedded in the stone like a frozen waterfall. The walls, floor, and even the ceiling were thick with them. Memory stirred within her. Power lines. But... And then it was gone again, drifting back to some distant part of her mind.
Carter shook her head in frustration then slowly moved forward. Beside her, O'Neill released her hand and turned so that he could climb up the stairs sideways, guarding their backs.
**********************************************************
They climbed for...well, it wasn't exactly an eternity, but it felt like one. The cuts on Carter's back pulled with every step and her ankle hurt unbearably. But it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered except reaching the...whatever it was...and making it work. Succeeding where Jolinar had failed.
Unfortunately, she still didn't have the slightest idea how she would do that.
But then, she didn't have a choice. If she failed, Colonel O'Neill would die. They both would. She *had* to make it work. Somehow...
"OK, Carter. Here's the plan..." O'Neill sounded slightly out of breath. "You get the doohickey working and kill all the bugs with it. I'll cover you."
"Good plan, Sir."
"Hey, I like simple."
"Simple is good."
A thought struck her and Carter reached for her M9, handing it back to him. She sensed, rather than saw him hesitate behind her. "If you're covering me, you're going to need all the ammunition we've got," she said insistently. Another heartbeat passed and then his fingers closed over hers, holding on just a little longer than was necessary. Finally he took the gun and checked the remaining rounds.
"Thanks." For the first time that she could remember Colonel O'Neill sounded completely serious, with no hint of the usual, slightly mocking tone in his voice. "Major..."
"Yes?"
"Just...good luck."
Her breath caught in her throat and for an instant her vision swam. "You too...Colonel."
And then they were at the top and there was no more time for talking.
Carter blinked, her eyes adjusting to the increased level of light. They were in a small room. Large windows, open to the outside, ringed the chamber and starlight glimmered in the night sky, illuminating the room. Outside, Carter could just make out the nearby rooftops of other buildings, a short distance below.
In the centre of the room was a -- "console" was probably the best term. A stone pillar rose from the floor with no visible seams or joins. It could have been grown rather than built...probably was, given what Carter knew about Tok'ra technology. There was a curved round stone on the top of it, similar to a DHD's, and around it a ring of symbols. She already knew what they would be - the same runes Daniel had found in the plaza. The ones she had managed to unlock to get into this labyrinth. Now if she could just...
Carter moved hastily across the room, mentally sorting through Jolinar's memories, everything within her focused on the puzzle before her. She was only vaguely aware of the Colonel taking up a position in the doorway, his back to her and his attention focused downward.
They were coming. She could hear the Ammita now, not just in her mind, but on the stairs themselves, their razor claws scraping on the stone floor and their bodies brushing against the narrow walls. She had only minutes. Less, probably. The sound of O'Neill chambering a round in her HK was shockingly loud in the quiet of the night.
Carter reached for the dull grey stone on the top of the pillar. Now that she was closer she could see the same grey lines that she had noticed earlier. They ran along the sides of the pillar and branched out across the floor, disappearing into the staircase and down the walls. Memory crystallized. They *were* power lines. She just had to find the way to turn them on...
Carter hastily pressed the large stone in the centre of the pillar. Nothing happened. She tried twisting it. Again, nothing. Fear flooding through her, she stabbed at the symbols, keying in the same sequence she had used on the door in the plaza. She might as well have been shouting at it for all the good it did.
Gunfire shattered the night. Carter jumped, her heart racing and every instinct within her urging her to leave what she was doing and go to her C.O.'s side. She should be there with him...this was all wrong. Ruthlessly she quelled the impulse. She couldn't help him. Not that way. Their only hope lay here with this alien device.
A random memory surfaced and Carter dove to her knees, not even noticing as the movement sent a flash of pain shooting across her shoulders. She scrabbled desperately at the control panel that *must* be there, built into the base of the pillar, breaking her nails against the unyielding stone. And then she had it open and was plunging her hands into the morass of alien and Tok'ra technology inside.
Carter's previous efforts to access Jolinar's memories had always met with varying success. As she had told the others, a lifetime or two ago, she usually only got random thoughts and flashes. Part of her though, had always wondered if it were her own fears that were holding her back, keeping some internal barrier erect. Even when she had consciously reached out for the memories, there had always been a small piece of Samantha Carter that had remained aloof...separate. Safe. Now though... Now she gave herself fully and completely over to them, relinquishing her hold on whatever it was that made her -- her.
It was like seeing through a fog. Or through two pairs of eyes. A remote, distant part of her was still Samantha Carter...a person still desperately worried about the man across the room...one who felt a pang go through her as the sound of gunfire changed from that of an HK to an M9 and felt her breath catch at his grunt of pain...
The rest though...the rest was Jolinar. Tok'ra. Host and symbiote combined. The person responsible, at least in her own mind, for the death of every man, woman, and child on Hejira...and the one who wanted to stop the Ammita every bit as much as Sam Carter did.
Somehow...they melded into one. Something that had not happened even when Jolinar had first entered her body. Then, Carter had been too busy fighting what was happening and in too much shock to truly meld with the Tok'ra. But now... "So this must be what a joining is really like, she thought randomly. And then both sets of minds had focused on the device before them.
It was called a Luminar. It was an old and rarely used technology. It was difficult to build and even harder to control. Desperation though, had driven Jolinar to try, as it was driving both of them now. And now... Damn it. She still couldn't see what she had done wrong, all those years ago. It should work. Why wasn't it...?
Something that was purely Samantha Carter rose to the surface and the scientist in her took control of both minds. *Think logically* she/they thought. Forget your injuries. Ignore the pain and the fear. Eliminate what doesn't work. Be methodical. Her fingers flying, she began sorting through the crystalline filaments in the column, rewiring and adjusting the settings. Across the room, the gunshots continued, unabated.
There. It was done. Carter/Jolinar pulled her hands back, closed the panel hastily and threw herself at the top of the Luminar. Her hands flew over the symbols, keying in a complex sequence that once again ended with the circle quartered by a cross, the symbol of light out of darkness. Then she slammed the palm of her hand down on the round stone in the centre. This time, it moved downwards several inches before coming to a grinding halt.
And the sound of gunfire stopped...
**********************************************************
THE MANY SHADES OF NIGHT Part VII: "Shadows of a Starless Night"
It was Carter's fear for Colonel O'Neill, coupled with another nameless emotion, which broke the link between her and Jolinar. The Tok'ra's presence vanished without warning, returning to whatever part of Carter's mind she normally resided in. Carter felt a moment's sensation of loss and loneliness, and then she was herself again, leaning tiredly over the Luminar...which was beginning to glow with a faint silver light.
And...by the stairs...
For the second time since her arrival on Hejira, Carter found her body catapulting in motion before her brain had had quite enough time to process the command. She was racing frantically across the room, her right hand automatically going to her only remaining weapon, before she even had time to think. Knife in hand, she flung herself at O'Neill...and at the creature that was standing over him, its fangs buried deeply in his right shoulder.
Once again, time seemed to crash to a halt. Carter was still halfway across the room when she saw O'Neill's M9 drop from limp fingers. It clattered to the floor and he grimaced, reaching for something with his left hand. The creature raised one of its clawed legs in the air...
...And O'Neill stabbed upward with his left hand, starlight glinting off the blade of his knife. The Ammita screamed. Once again, the sound was taken up by a thousand other voices in Carter's head, but they were slightly more distant this time. And unimportant. All that mattered was getting this mockery of nature away from her Colonel.
Carter skidded to a halt, actually running into the Ammita, so quickly was she moving. Without hesitation she added her own knife-thrust to O'Neill's, feeling the shock go all the way up through her shoulder at the impact of the knife against its armoured hide.
There was no time for fear. No time for anything except driving the knife deeper into the creature's body, forcing the blade past the dull black surface, into the flesh beneath. She was shouting something but the scream of the creature was deafening, drowning out her own cry...
...And then it was over. The Ammita collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut, falling beside the Colonel, its teeth still locked in his shoulder. Carter found herself falling forward as well, her deathgrip on the knife hilt dragging her down with the creature, a clear fluid running down the blade and back over her hand.
"Get it off!" O'Neill's voice was strained and filled with pain. "Get it off me...now!"
Her breath coming in shaky gasps, Carter released the knife and threw herself at the creature's head. Two sets of glinting razor-sharp fangs, each at least four inches long, had met through O'Neill's shoulder, just above the collarbone and to the right of his throat. It was impossible to tell in the dim light if the fangs had hit anything important. Not that that really mattered. If the creature had struck a major vein or an artery, the Colonel would be dead in minutes and there would be nothing she could do about it. She would know soon enough. In the meantime...
Carter reached out for the creature's jaws with shaking hands, ignoring the shudders racking her body and the cold feeling of dread in her stomach. There was so much blood. Too much. It was flowing down O'Neill's shoulder and arm, mingling with the fluid still leaking from the Ammita. "Get it off," he whispered again weakly, giving her a desperate look.
Carter gritted her teeth, tightened her grip around the Ammita, and *pulled*.
Nothing happened. The creature's jaws remained locked around O'Neill's shoulder, almost like a bear-trap. At her effort though, the Colonel moaned, his hands curling into fists. "Damn it, Carter..."
"Hang on, Sir!" This time she threw her heart and soul into it. It seemed to take forever, but finally, inch by inch she managed to prise the Ammita's jaws apart. It took every ounce of strength she had, but at last the silvery fangs began to slowly disappear back into his shoulder and then out the other side.
The instant the fangs had cleared O'Neill's shoulder, Carter shoved the creature's head away and let its jaws spring shut with a snap. She had done it. He was free.
And they were coming.
A sound behind them made her turn. Carter froze. In the ever increasing light from the Luminar, she could see the first black shape emerging from the stairway. Close on its heels was another one and further back Carter could sense even more, their cries taking on a triumphant note.
Something touched her hand. Sickened, she turned away, dragging her mesmerized gaze away from the sight of the monster by the stairs. She looked down...to see Colonel O'Neill looking back up, his face clouded with pain, but his gaze clear.
"Run, Sam."
Disbelief, followed closely by anger, shot through her. After all they had gone through together? Did he really think she would leave him? Shooting O'Neill a caustic glance, she reached for his good arm. "Without you? No way." She pulled his arm around her neck, struggling to lift him.
"Damn it, Major. That's an order!"
The first creature was drawing closer.
This wasn't working. He was too heavy. "No. Now get up!"
He was trying, she could tell. But he was too weak, the blood loss and shock already taking their toll. Behind her, there was the ominous click of claws on stone. Carter's anger abruptly turned to rage, a white blinding fury that boiled through her.
"God damn you Jack! Move!" She was screaming at him, or at least thought she was. It was hard to tell. "On your feet, soldier! NOW!"
And then, by some miracle, he was upright, leaning heavily against her. Carter didn't know whether he had found some last reserve of energy or if she had suddenly found the strength to lift him herself, and she didn't care. Instead, she hauled his arm even further around her neck and half-dragged, half-carried him toward the nearest window. There was another sound from the monsters behind her, the scrape of clawed legs coiling against the stone floor, and then the rush of air as the Ammita leapt toward them...
And without any hesitation Carter threw her Colonel out the window and dived hastily after him.
**********************************************************
Carter hit something hard, her left shoulder and hip absorbing most of the impact. And then she was rolling out of control, the night spinning around her. She tried to dig her heels into the surface of...it must be a rooftop... to slow her descent, but it didn't work. Another heartbeat and then she was falling through the air again to come to a sudden, agonizing stop on a sandy surface.
Perhaps she was getting better at hard landings -- she'd certainly had enough practice since her arrival on this planet -- but she didn't lose consciousness this time. That wasn't to say it didn't hurt. Something warm was trickling down her spine -- the cuts on her back must have reopened -- and the pain in her left hip was rivalling that of her ankle. But she seemed to have moved beyond the agony somehow. There was obviously a point beyond which the human body was incapable of feeling any more hurt, and she had reached it. Besides...
Colonel O'Neill. He needed her.
With a groan, Carter dragged herself upright, noticing out of the corner of her eye the silver light pulsing out of the tower above them, as bright as a full moon now...and the stream of many-legged black figures pouring down the sides of the tower like an ebony waterfall.
Not good. Definitely not good. Biting her lip, Carter took a pace forward. "Colonel?" she whispered.
"Here." His voice was faint. Carter turned and limped toward the sound.
He was laying on his back a short distance away, pieces of tile from the roof they had tumbled off strewn on the sandy ground around him. Carter came to a swaying stop then sank to her knees beside him, laying an unsteady hand on his chest. "Colonel. Are you all right?"
O'Neill shook his head slightly. "Broken leg." His voice was slurred and his breathing was laboured. He was clinging to consciousness by sheer force of will, she could tell. He coughed once, winced at the movement, then blinked up at her. "Situation?"
"They're still coming." She glanced back. The Ammita would be on them in seconds. "The Luminar -- it's on, but it hasn't worked. I don't know why. I'm sorry, Sir." Her throat tightened. "Can you move?"
"No." It was a faint whisper. His hand touched hers. "Not your fault. Just go...please."
Carter shook her head violently, tears threatening to obscure her vision. She didn't bother to answer. Instead she moved hastily behind him and lifted him by the shoulders, both arms locking around his chest. Then, every muscle straining, she proceeded to drag him away.
She managed maybe a dozen paces before her legs finally gave out and she collapsed without warning, still holding O'Neill close against her. Gasping for air, she looked up...and her breath caught in her throat. All around them, the shadows were full of blood red eyes. The Ammita had encircled them in those few seconds and were closing in. Carter bit her lip, racking her mind desperately for a plan. A way out. A weapon. Anything...
A movement close at hand drew her horrified gaze away from the advancing creatures. O'Neill was reaching an unsteady hand into a pocket, withdrawing a small round object. Their last grenade. He turned his head to the left, meeting her eyes. Their gazes locked.
And then there was no more need for words. With one quick movement, O'Neill pulled the pin and tightened his grasp on the grenade.
Three seconds.
A lone tear trickled down Carter's cheek as she reached around him with both arms, adding her grip to his. His other hand came up to cover hers, his fingers curling tightly around her own.
Two seconds.
Carter bent her head slightly, resting her cheek against the Colonel's, and closed her eyes.
One second...
**********************************************************
THE MANY SHADES OF NIGHT Part VIII: "Light Out of Darkness"
When the explosion came, it wasn't what Carter had expected. She had closed her eyes, her arms tightening around O'Neill, resigned to the knowledge that, if she had to die, then at least it wouldn't be alone. And that they would take some of the creatures with them... The last second ticked by while both held onto the grenade and to each other, and then...
White light. Blinding her, even through tightly shut eyelids. A shock wave that blasted through her body like a cannon, leaving her stunned and shaken in its wake. Sounds. An explosion that was somehow silent and thunderous at the same time, followed by a high pitched scream of a thousand alien voices, united in a single cry of absolute agony. And then...
Silence. Complete and overwhelming silence. For the first time since their arrival on PJ2-838, the sibilant rustling in Carter's head had stopped. Only the echo of the scream remained, and even that was fading.
She was trembling, she realized distantly. Her entire body was shuddering violently and she couldn't feel the ground beneath her. An eternity passed and then slowly, reluctantly, she opened her eyes...
...and flinched. The night was ablaze with silver light, as if the sky itself had caught fire. Vague shapes swam through the illumination -- the Hejiran ruins? -- and everything seemed curiously distorted and flat, as if her depth perception was not working properly. There were no colours save for a multitude of grey, white, and silver.
Whimpering slightly, Carter rolled over onto her stomach and reached a hand forward through the silver light. Her fingers curled into the material of Colonel O'Neill's jacket and she almost sobbed in relief as she felt the steady rise and fall of his chest. He was alive. They both were.
Somehow.
At her touch, O'Neill stirred and opened his eyes. Carter dragged herself forward, meeting his gaze. She could see a little better now, she realized. Her eyes must be adjusting.
"Carter?" His voice was weak.
She nodded and resisted the impulse to drop her head down onto his chest and hold him close. "I'm here, Sir."
He blinked, trying to focus. "OK. Pretty sure we're not dead. Hell wouldn't hurt this much."
"No, we're not dead." It came out as a cracked whisper.
"That's good." He closed his eyes and let his head fall back slightly. "Why not?"
"The...Luminar must have taken a while to gain enough power to destroy the Ammita..." Her voice trailed off and she looked back up, staring out into the night that no longer held any darkness. The realization of what she had done was slowly sinking in. The Ammita were gone. There was no sign of them. Only a blizzard of dark ashes, swirling in the night wind, remained. "Whoa."
"What?"
Carter swallowed. "The device -- I think it destroyed them all. They just...burnt up in the light." Her voice grew small at the thought of all that power she had unleashed. Even now, the Luminar was burning above them like a new sun. She couldn't even see the top of the tower, so brightly was the Tok'ra device shining. A faint memory darted through her mind. The Luminar would burn for a thousand years, the memory said. Hejira, or at least this part of it, would never know again darkness in that time. "This is going to play hell with the ecology," Carter thought randomly.
O'Neill stirred slightly and she glanced back down at him, feeling more than a little overwhelmed. "And this?" he asked. He was staring at the grenade, its pin still irrevocably gone.
Carter blinked. It should have gone off. They both should have been killed. Unless... "Maybe it was something like an EMP. But an electromagnetic pulse wouldn't have..." She stopped as O'Neill waved his hand weakly, letting the grenade fall to the ground.
"Carter. Please."
Incongruously, a ghost of a smile touched her lips. "Sorry, Sir."
"S'okay, Carter. Promise I'll listen to the whole explanation back on Earth. Cross my heart. But first..."
"But first we have to get there."
"Yeah. First we have to get there."
**********************************************************
It took some doing. At first Colonel O'Neill had insisted that she head back to the Stargate without him, but she had refused to leave him. After a quick but vehement argument, he had given in, although it was probably only his ever- growing weakness that had led to his surrender.
She had bound his wounded shoulder, as best she could. Unfortunately, O'Neill had used all the supplies from their field medicine kits earlier on her, and she had had to use her jacket as a makeshift bandage. Still, it had seemed to help a little. Despite this though, it had been all that he could do to climb upright, even with her supporting most of his weight.
The broken leg didn't help.
The journey from to the Stargate seemed to last forever. Carter's world once more narrowed to a single goal -- putting one foot in front of the other. She had draped O'Neill's left arm over her shoulders, gritting her teeth as it pressed against one of the cuts on her back, and half-dragged, half-carried him through the alien streets, step by painful step. The lack of shadows and colour in the night made navigation difficult, and the pain from her injuries quickly became all-encompassing. After a few minutes' travel, Carter began to count seconds under her breath, distantly wondering just how many she would reach before her strength gave out altogether.
Finally, though, they passed beyond the crumbled walls encircling the city. The Stargate was just ahead -- which was just as well. O'Neill was growing heavier with every passing moment and her legs were threatening to buckle beneath his weight. Gasping, she came to a wavering halt beside the DHD and reached out a hand to steady herself. Just a little further...
She dialled the coordinates for Earth with trembling hands. It was becoming increasingly difficult to think and several times she had to shake her head to clear her blurred vision enough to press the next glyph. Finally though, it was done. There was a moment's pause then the Gate opened with its familiar roar. The vortex faded and at last there was only the wormhole, rippling serenely before them. Escape. Safety.
Home.
Carter barely retained enough presence of mind to send the signal to open the iris. Long moments dragged by while she waited for confirmation, and the Colonel grew heavier and heavier in her arms. At last though, the signal came and she staggered forward, dragging him across the last fifty feet.
Forcing her legs to take those last few steps was probably the hardest thing Carter had ever done. Grey streaks were dancing across her vision and a cascade of sound was roaring in her ears by the time she reached the Gate. Nevertheless, some last streak of stubbornness kept her moving. There was the familiar feeling of disorientation as she fell into the wormhole's embrace, the incredible chill as she reformed on the other side...
...and then she was falling once more, darkness swirling around her. She barely noticed when she crashed to her knees onto the solid metal ramp of the SGC.
**********************************************************
Lights. Voices. An excited babble of noise. And something important. Something she had to wake up for...
With an effort Carter managed to unglue her eyes. She blinked dazedly up at the world spinning wildly around her. People -- Daniel, Teal'c, Janet, General Hammond, and others -- were all swimming in and out of view.
Memory returned. She was laying face down on the ramp in the Gate room, the wormhole still activated. She must have only been unconscious for a moment or two. An overwhelming sensation of relief rose up inside her. They had made it. They were home.
Doctor Frasier was pushing people aside, calling for two gurneys and bending to check Carter's pulse. Carter ignored her, turning her head to look for Colonel O'Neill, wincing at the pain the movement caused.
He was still beside her, laying where she must have dropped him as they had emerged from the Stargate. Blood was seeping slowly from beneath the jacket she had tied around his shoulder and his broken leg was bent awkwardly beneath him, but he was conscious. And alive.
Carter shut her eyes briefly, allowing that realization to wash over her. Somehow, beyond all expectation, they had beaten the Ammita and had survived the night.
Amazing.
"Carter." O'Neill's voice was weak but still clear.
Her eyelids fluttered open again and she turned to meet his gaze. "Yessir?"
He gave her a faint smile, a ghost of his normal jaunty grin, but a smile nonetheless. "Good job back there."
She smiled back weakly. "Thank you, Colonel..."
...and then somebody touched her back and agony rose up like a tidal wave, seizing her by the throat and dragging her back down into senselessness...
**********************************************************
The next time Carter awoke, she was laying on her stomach in a hospital bed in the sickbay, an IV in her left arm and a headache pulsing around her temples. She blinked at the dim lights, frowning. What...?
"You just missed Daniel and Teal'c" O'Neill said matter of factly.
Carter twisted around, turning her head towards the sound of his voice. As she did, the familiar ache in her back returned. This time though, the pain was dull and muted, as if it belonged to someone else entirely. Her frown deepened as she tried to make sense of...well, everything.
O'Neill seemed to read her mind. "Painkillers," he said, raising a hand that also had an IV in it. "Wonderful invention."
Well, that explained the headache.
The Colonel was laying on the bed next to hers, his lower right leg encased in a cast and his shoulder bandaged. He was pale and a few bruises were beginning to appear, but overall...
Overall he looked like hell. "Are you all right?" she asked, wincing at the grating sound her voice made.
"He would be if he would get some rest." It was Janet's voice. Carter jumped slightly -- she hadn't heard the Doctor come in. Janet gave her a brief smile then reached out to check her IV. "And you too. From what I hear, you've both been through hell."
Yeah. Literally.
Carter swallowed, trying to get her voice into some semblance of working order. "Any...permanent damage?" She braced herself inwardly, half-dreading the reply.
"You're both going to be fine. There's nothing that won't heal, given enough time." Janet moved toward O'Neill, checked his bandages briefly, then stepped away. "Colonel, maybe now that you know the Major is all right, you'll let yourself to get some sleep," she continued severely.
Carter's eyes flew to O'Neill's and, for an instant, their gazes locked. Something unspoken flowed fleetingly between them then vanished. The Colonel looked back at Janet and gave her a half-sheepish shrug. "Whatever you say," he said, grinning tiredly.
The Doctor shot him a look, sighed, then turned to go. "Good night," she said quietly. And then she was gone, dimming the lights slightly behind her.
Sleep sounded good. Better than good. Carter had never felt quite so tired. Nevertheless...
She kept her eyes open, focused on the man across from her. He was already relaxing, his eyelids closing and the tension ebbing from his frame. Carter smiled slightly, allowing herself a moment of sheer wonder and gratitude that they had both managed to survive PJ2-838 after all.
"Carter?"
She glanced back at O'Neill. His eyes, dulled with exhaustion and pain, were open again. "Yes, Sir?" she said softly.
"I..." He paused, then went on in a different tone of voice, giving her the impression that he had been about to say something else entirely. "Carter," he said, "If anyone ever asks...you didn't throw me out the window. I jumped."
Her smile widened. "Yes, Sir." She was still smiling when she finally drifted off to sleep.
THE END
avalon99@telusplanet.net
fanfic at http://members.dencity.com/avalon_online/
Woman: "Don't tell me you know how to make a bomb out of a stick of chewing gum..."
MacGyver: "Why, you got some?"
Story Notes: The Many Shades of Night by Sharon Nuttycombe (avalon99@telusplanet.net)
fanfic at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/6300/
Sam/Jack Action/UST. PG-13 Posted: January 28, 2000
Please archive wherever appropriate. Any feedback is much appreciated.
SUMMARY: Carter and O'Neill are trapped alone in an ancient alien city with a horde of savage creatures after their blood.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: To Linda Campbell, for all the research and Beta reading, and for insisting that I *would* write a Stargate story. Ha! Jedi mind tricks don't work on me! Er...okay, I guess they do. :)
DISCLAIMER: SG1 isn't mine, and neither is the Stargate. It's probably just as well. After all, where would I put it? Oh, and the Ammita aren't mine either. The ancient Egyptians invented them. I just...embellished.
fanfic at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/6300/
Sam/Jack Action/UST. PG-13 Posted: January 28, 2000
Please archive wherever appropriate. Any feedback is much appreciated.
SUMMARY: Carter and O'Neill are trapped alone in an ancient alien city with a horde of savage creatures after their blood.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: To Linda Campbell, for all the research and Beta reading, and for insisting that I *would* write a Stargate story. Ha! Jedi mind tricks don't work on me! Er...okay, I guess they do. :)
DISCLAIMER: SG1 isn't mine, and neither is the Stargate. It's probably just as well. After all, where would I put it? Oh, and the Ammita aren't mine either. The ancient Egyptians invented them. I just...embellished.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]