Chapter Five (PX-321 – 1998)

The sand bit her face as she smacked the ground, causing her to sputter and her eyes to water.

"Rick!" Evie cried out again.

"Darn, how did you get in here?!" A voice that was definitely not her husband's answered.

Evie blinked to clear her eyes and flipped her thick dark hair out of her face. A pair of sharp eyes stared down at her from a hardened face, but the black barrel pointed in her general direction was what caused her heart to turn to ice.

An American, she noted distantly as she stared dumbly up at him from her sprawled position. She couldn't bring herself to answer his query.

"We don't even know where we are, how would we know how we got here?" A disgruntled British voice responded. Evie glanced over; it wasn't her brother, but the sight of the elderly gentleman did much to free her from her brain paralysis.

"Jack," a gentler voice interjected, "Bastet might have something to do with this."

Evie's head twisted to get a look at this new speaker. He was young, although old enough to be considered a man. His blue eyes stared thoughtfully at her and the old man from behind his glasses.

The one called Jack snorted, although he never moved his gun so that it wasn't focused on the newcomers. "Daniel, we don't even know that your Bastet was even here. Goa'uld like loud announcements of their arrival; Bastet would'a left awfully quick for a snake."

Evie bristled a little. "Bastet was represented by a cat, not a snake. I believe you are thinking of Amaunet."

"Uh… actually… no." Daniel shrugged. "We're actually literally talking about a snake. Well, I guess not literally but as close to literally as you can get."

Jack sighed, shifting his gun. Evie stared. That was a truly ugly weapon. Daniel glanced at his companion and his explanation picked up speed. "I mean, it's a race of creatures that kind of look like snakes – when they're not in human bodies, that is – and are trying to take over the world." He stopped, panting and nodding.

The elderly gentleman inched closer to Evie. "Did he just deluge at the mouth and go completely and utterly… bonkers?" he murmured.

She studied the young American with fascination. She had begun to believe that all Americans were like Rick or their traveling partners to Hamunaptra. How – refreshing – to be surprised. "I believe so," she replied in an undertone.

Jack, on the other hand, appeared to be very much the typical American she had come to expect. He tapped his fingers along the side of his ugly weapon, his expression completely and utterly bored. "Great. They've been initiated." He sighed. "Look, now that tea-time is over, can we get going." His sharp gaze swept the premises. "Look, Danny, I don't know what you thought you saw, but if you really did see a snake, I really don't want to stick around and see what it has in mind. So snag the civilians and let's get going."

Evie pulled back. "Snag? There's no need being high-handed." She eyed the hieroglyphs. Unfamiliar, though definitely fascinating. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Where's my husband?" A cold dread filled her and she almost choked on it. "And my son. What have you done with them?" She backed into the cold stone wall. "I'm not leaving without them. You can drop that idea right away."

"And I'm not all that fond of your manners," the elderly man told Jack. "The lady and I are not merely baggage that you can tote around at your convenience."

Daniel sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose beneath his spectacles. "Ja-ack."

"Fine." Jack smiled tightly at Evie and the elderly man. "Would you too please come with us. We're kind of on a tight schedule right now."

Evie shook her head. The elderly man back up beside her and gripped his umbrella firmly in his hand. "Not interested." He told Jack firmly.

Jack turned to Daniel. "See, I can do nice. It didn't work. Oh, well. Time to pick up some baggage." Faster than Evie expected, he dodge past the old man and swooped her up. Her stomach connected hard with his shoulder, knocking the breath out of her. "I get the lady."

Daniel groaned softly behind them as Jack strode away. "I'm… really sorry. If you could come with me, please, sir?"

Evie caught her breath and glared at Jack's back. "What do you think you're doing? You beastly… American!!! You brute! Monster!"

"I can add a few more colorful words to that list," Jack offered, his tone light, "between my ex-wife and the snakes, I've been called quite a creative selection of names."

"You're a beast."

"No, ma'am, just a soldier. Which, granted, is sometimes worse." Jack stopped short, halting Evie's next set of insults in mid-stream. The muscles of his shoulders shifted beneath her. "Daniel."

Evie glanced up to see the younger American halt as well, his hand hovering in the air in front of the elderly gentleman. "Should we call for back up?"

Jack shook his head. "That magnetic stream thing Carter was talking about is still blocking our radios. We have to wait till rendezvous to hook up with them." He hissed and put Evie down. His weapon made a clicking sound as he adjusted something Evie couldn't quite see. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Goa'uld?" Daniel asked tightly. He pulled a pistol out of his belt. Evie stared. It didn't seem to match his personality but the way he held it spoke of confidence and some level of experience.

She gulped. What kind of men had she discovered? "What's going on here?" she demanded, hating how her voice trembled. "What are the Goa'uld?"

"Don't have time for the meet and greet, kids," Jack held the weapon in front of him and nodded at Daniel. The younger man drifted to Jack's right and a little behind the elderly man. He shifted to watch their back. Jack pulled a pistol from his belt and glanced down at Evie, his brown eyes thoughtful. "Can you handle one of these?"

"Yes." The steel in his eyes froze her to her soul. "Will I need to?"

"Maybe. Hopefully not." Jack handed her the weapon. "If Daniel or I start monologuing about taking over the world or our eyes start glowing – shoot us." He grimaced. "Believe me, you'll be doing us a favor."

Evie shivered and accepted a clip from him. "Do I get know what we're facing?"

"Maybe later. We have to get out of here first." Jack glanced back at Daniel. "Danny, make sure Gramps is locked and loaded, okay?"

"I do not require firearms." The elderly man sniffed. "And my name is Dr. Jones, young man, and thankfully, I am no grandfather of yours."

Jack sighed. "Explain the facts of life to the Doc, would you, Danny? We really don't have time for this." He glanced at Evie. "Stay behind me and keep that pistol at ready. Shoot anything that moves."

"How… American." In spite of herself, she found herself smiling as she said it. How like Rick.

Jack shrugged. "Hey, it worked for John Wayne."

Evie blinked. "Who..?"

Sparks exploded on the stone next to her face and Jack cursed. He snagged her arm and yanked her down to the ground next to him. "Daniel?!"

"Not behind me. I don't know where they're at." Evie peeked past Jack. Daniel crouched against a wall, clutching one hand to his side, his other hand pressed against Dr. Jones' shoulder.

"Are you hurt?" she demanded, trying to shake free of Jack. Jack stiffened.

"Danny?" the soldier demanded.

"It's okay, Jack, I just got nicked. I'll be fine." Daniel pulled his hand back from his side guiltily. He checked the safety on his pistol and pulled it back.

Dr. Jones peered past Daniel's guarding arm. "That's an awful lot of blood for just a nick, son."

Jack sighed. "Daniel, if you bleed to death, we're going to have words."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I'll keep that in mind." He shifted his position slightly. "Did you see who was shooting at us? Was it Bastet?"

"I'm not completely convinced that you actually saw Bastet, Daniel." Jack shook his head. "And, no, I didn't see who was shooting at us. Or what they used. They could have been using blow-darts for all I know."

Evie let out a shaky breath. "And believe me, you don't want to underestimate the destructive power of blow-darts."

Jack cocked an eyebrow. "Personal experience."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you the half of it." Evie leaned against the wall, narrowing her eyes against the dark.

"I think you'd be kind of surprised about what we're willing to believe." Daniel nudged Dr. Jones forward and the two of them waddled closer. "So, Jack, what's the plan?" He pushed up his glasses. "Just for the record, I still think I saw Bastet back there."

Something clicked in Evie's head. "What did she look like?"

Daniel blinked owlishly behind his glasses. "Wha-?"

Evie motioned impatiently with her free hand. "Bastet. What did she look like?"

"It was kind of odd… actually." Daniel cocked his head. "She looked like a cat. Which, I guess, isn't so odd, considering that that is the image she is purported to have favored in Egyptian lore, but unless Goa'uld have started taking animal hosts..." He shook his head slowly. "I don't even know why I was so certain, but I just knew that I saw Bastet. A hunch, I guess." He paused. "Oh. And I could see through her. That was… kind of weird."

"What have I told you about drinking beer before a mission, Danny?" Jack's tone was light, but his eyes were cold.

"Nothing. I drink coffee, Jack."

"The two aren't exactly mutually exclusive, y'know."

Evie lifted a hand to halt the bickering. "I saw something similar."

Jack froze. "Just now?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean, not quite." She sighed. "Oh, dear, I'm not making much sense, am I?" She shook her head. "Before I came here – which I still haven't completely wrapped my mind around, you understand – I was at a dig down in Thebes with my husband, son, and brother. I found a sarcophagus with an inscription about Ra and Shu. I read an inscription on the sarcophagus and Shu rose out of it." She shuddered. "I could see through him too – and he felt – evil – somehow. It was awful. Then the world sort of faded away and was here." She rubbed the goose bumps forming on her bare arms. "And I have no idea where I am now or what happened to my family."

"I saw a cobra. And I got the same impression as the lady." Dr. Jones offered. He paused. "How fascinating."

"I guess. If you like horror stories." Jack grimaced. "Daniel? What's going on?"

Daniel shook his head. "I don't know, Jack. It doesn't sound like Goa'uld. But it definitely isn't good."

Jack stared at him. "Ya think?" He stood up slowly. "Alright, campers, let's get going. If they were going to kill us, they would have done it by now. I think we should leave before whoever it was changes their minds." He shook his head. "Something else to worry out besides snakes. Why can't I have a good day for once?"