A/N – Hokay….so this one is sorta like Stargate meets 'The Ring' but it's not a crossover. I just borrow ideas. I just got done reading the original novel 'Ring' by Koji Suzuki, which is WAY better than the movie in my opinion. Anyway. This story is quite literally a Darkside!Sam story (Yeah, I like writing those…heheh.) and another attempt of mine at horror, a skill I'm ever trying to perfect, so comments greatly appreciated!!!
Chapter 1: Through the Window
"Ok…so who do you say used to run this place?" Jack asked as they stepped out of the Stargate into a huge, white room. SG-8 was close on their heels, looking a little less interested about their new surroundings.
Daniel looked up from his notebook. "Thor said this used to belong to the Asgard Skadi. Now in Norse mythology she was the goddess of winter…but Thor said they hadn't heard from her in a long time and assume that she was unable to transfer her consciousness to a new clone, for some reason, and she's stuck somewhere in whatever she'd been using to hold her consciousness."
"And they never bothered looking for her?" Sam asked, looking up from the scanner she'd just turned on.
"Well…Thor didn't exactly put it this way but she had personality issues. Skadi was, among other things, the goddess of vengeance, so we can only guess what an Asgard with a problem holding grudges would be capable of…" Daniel craned his neck to look up at the high ceilings, where translucent skylights let in shafts of pale gray light.
Jack sighed. "Ok, campers, our goal here isn't to go looking for old Scotty…"
"Skadi." Daniel corrected.
"Whatever. It's to check out and see what technology we can find. So…Carter, Daniel, you two go do your geeky things that you do and the rest of us will poke around. We'll give a shout if we find anything interesting." As his teammates headed off down the hall Jack turned to the leader of SG-8, Colonel Helson. Helson was a large man who was far too militaristic for even Jack's tastes. "Colonel, why don't you and your team go secure the perimeter."
Helson looked around dubiously. "What perimeter?"
"The one you're going to go find." Jack replied, waving his hands in a shooing motion. Helson gave him a dark look before signaling for his team to follow and heading off down one of the twisting, maze like hallways.
Jack gave Teal'c a relieved look. "Whew…I'm glad he's gone, he always puts me on edge. I don't know why Hammond had to send him…"
"Is Colonel Helson not a superior warrior?" Teal'c asked as they turned and started walking off down another corridor.
"Yeah, but we don't need one of those on this trip…" Jack grumbled. "We coulda done just fine on our own."
"Hey, Jack!" Daniel's voice crackled over the radio. "I think I found Skadi's library. Only…I can't figure out how to work it."
"How to work it?" Jack frowned at the radio.
"Yeah. It's a computer database or something, maybe Sam…" There was a sudden click and a humming noise. "Oh, wait, never mind."
"Have fun there, Danny-boy," Jack said. "O'Neill out."
He and Teal'c continued walking. The entire place reminded Jack of some elaborate labyrinth, and he found himself wondering how anyone, even an Asgard, could find their way around it. Hallways were continually looping back on themselves or turning sharply only to lead to a dead end. As they walked their boots kicked up little clouds of dust, and occasionally they would pass a window that looked in on a room which seemed to have no entrance. By the time they found their way back to the gate room, Jack had no doubt that Skadi had been slightly crazy, if not absolutely insane to work in a place like this. No wonder the other Asgard hadn't been too keen on checking this place out.
"How's the library coming, Danny?" Jack called over the radio, taking a seat on the steps leading up to the gate.
"I don't know…" Daniel replied. "I think I might need Sam's help after all. There's way too much stuff here for me to study in a couple of hours, and it looks like it's stored on chips but I can't figure out how to get them out."
"Ok, well I'm sure Carter'll be able to lend a hand. Otherwise Teal'c here can give them a couple good strong whacks with his staff weapon."
Daniel snorted. "Thanks, Jack, but no. I think I'd rather have Sam handle this."
"Suit yourself." Jack switched off the radio and grinned at Teal'c, who raised an eyebrow.
A few minutes later Jack's radio crackled to life again. "Jaaack!" Daniel sounded worried.
"What? Did you blow something up?"
"No…Sam's not responding."
"Maybe she's just got her hands full," Jack said, though he couldn't ignore the niggling worry that had started in the pit of his stomach. "Carter?" he said sharply into the radio. "Carter, come in." No response. Jack looked up at Teal'c. "T, did you see which way she went?"
Teal'c pointed to a hallway to their left. Jack immediately stood up and hurried down the hallway. Teal'c followed. After a few sharp twists and turns they came to a long stretch with what looked like control panels lining the walls. As with everywhere else, the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust and looking down Jack could see by the tracks in the dust that Sam had indeed come this way.
"O'Neill." Teal'c pointed to something lying on the ground. Walking over they found Sam's vest and jacket lying in a pile next to her P90. The control panel on the wall nearest them was open, as though she'd been working on it.
"Carter?!" Jack called, looking around. He was thinking of a million things to say to Sam when they found her, top on his list 'don't scare me like that' closely followed by 'don't you know not to just set your weapon down?!' But before he could say those things, however, he'd have to find her, and that was proving to be a problem.
Teal'c, meanwhile, was frowning at the ground near the entrance to yet another twisting passage. Jack looked at him curiously and Teal'c pointed. "It would appear that there was an altercation."
Jack followed his friend's gaze and saw an area where the dust had been churned up. Leading away were two sets of prints from standard issue boots, one smaller and one larger. The smaller looked to be just the size of Sam's, and Jack had a nagging idea of who the larger set might belong to.
They followed the footprints and couldn't help but notice where the smaller ones suddenly turned into long streaks, as though Sam had been knocked off her feet and dragged down the hall. Jack's heart was pounding painfully in his chest.
"Danny, get back to the gate room now and get SG-8 in there with you!" Jack shouted into the radio. He didn't give Daniel a chance to respond before switching off the radio. Teal'c had gone ahead of him through a set of swinging doors, and just as Jack shoved the radio into his pocket he heard Teal'c call his name.
"O'Neill!"
Jack burst through the doors. At first his mind didn't quite register the scene before him. But slowly, as though his eyes were getting used to dim indoor lighting after being out in the bright sun, it all dawned on him. Sam was sitting against one wall, her eyes wide and tears streaming down her cheeks, desperately trying to rearrange her ripped clothing. Teal'c stood on the other side of the room, holding Colonel Helson against one wall with one hand. Helson's cheeks were flushed and his clothing, too, was rumpled and out of place.
As it hit Jack just what he was seeing he let out an almost inhuman roar and ran forward, shoving Teal'c out of the way and hurling Helson against the wall. It didn't matter that Helson was twice as big and probably twice as strong as Jack, it didn't matter that more blood ran down his face with each blow of Jack's fist, all Jack wanted was to smash the being before him into an unrecognizable mess.
"O'Neill-!" Teal'c's hands pulled Jack off Helson, who slumped in an unconscious heap at the base of the wall.
Panting, Jack turned and looked at Sam, who was huddled in the corner with one hand over her face. Teal'c released Jack and they both moved over to Sam, crouching next to her. Teal'c reached out to touch her shoulder but Sam flinched away.
"No…don't…" she whispered, and Teal'c lowered his hand.
Jack sighed, taking a few deep breaths to stop his voice from shaking. "Look…Carter…we need to get you back home."
Sam nodded, and to Jack's surprised reached out and grabbed his hand. She squeezed his fingers then looked down at herself, muttering something about her clothes. Jack asked Teal'c to go get Sam's jacket and the Jaffa nodded before silently getting to his feet and walking out of the room after shooting a distasteful glance at the still unconscious Helson.
As the doors slid shut behind Teal'c, Sam let out a small whimper and scooted closer to Jack.
"God…I'm sorry, Carter, I never thought…" Jack choked on his words and settled for giving Sam's hand a squeeze. His radio crackled to life.
"Jack?" It was Daniel. "Jack what's going on? Where are you? Teal'c, Helson and Sam are still missing too."
"We're all here, Danny," Jack said, using his free hand to operate the radio. Sam was still clinging desperately to his other hand. "I can't say we're all OK but we'll meet you by the gate in a few minutes. O'Neill out."
Teal'c returned a few minutes later and Sam pulled her jacket on over her ripped coat. Jack took her by the arm and helped her up while Teal'c tied Helson's hands and threw him over one shoulder. Sam took a tentative step towards the door and winced.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked, putting a hand on her back.
"Sore." Sam whispered, then shook her head and continued walking.
When they neared the Stargate they could see Daniel sitting on the steps. He leapt to his feet as they walked over.
"What happened?!" The archaeologist cried, his eyes widening when he saw the distressed look on Sam's face. The other members of SG-8 were nearby too, though they were staring at their leader who was still thrown like a sack of potatoes over Teal'c's shoulder.
Jack didn't answer. Not breaking contact with Sam he walked over and dialed the gate then punched in the iris code. He motioned for everyone to go through the gate, then he slowly guided Sam through.
Hammond hurried down to the gate room to greet SG-1 and SG-8 as they came through. He knew something was up, however, the minute three members of SG-8 and Daniel walked through, all looking ashen faced. Teal'c followed and dropped the bound and semi-conscious Colonel Helson rather unceremoniously on the floor.
"What's going on here?!" Hammond demanded, glaring at Teal'c.
Teal'c looked down at Helson. "He has committed a most grievous crime, GeneralHammond."
Hammond was about to ask what crime that was, but Jack walked through the gate then with Sam. The answer to his question was written all over her face and in the way she carried herself. Hammond had seen it before and he felt a sympathetic pain in his heart that was quickly replaced by a cold anger.
"Airmen, take Colonel Helson to one of the holding cells!" He barked, then turned to Jack. "Colonel, take Major Carter down to the infirmary."
Jack nodded and silently obliged. Sam kept her eyes on the floor, refusing to look at anyone as they walked down the hallways and to the infirmary. Janet was tending to Sgt. Siler as they entered, though as soon as she spotted Sam she hurried over.
"What happened?" Janet asked, her eyes wide as she gently touched Sam's shoulder. Sam shuffled away from Jack and towards Janet, her eyes still on the ground. Janet tilted her head to one side, trying to catch Sam's gaze. "Sam? What happened?"
Sam just shook her head, sitting down one of the beds and hunching her shoulders. Janet turned to Jack.
"Colonel? What happened?" her voice was firm, accenting each word.
"Colonel Helson…" Jack found his voice raspy and had to clear his throat. "He…uh…Carter was alone and checking out some techno-doodad and he must have snuck up on her or something." He closed his eyes for a moment as the memories flooded back.
"And?" Janet's voice quavered.
Jack suddenly knew what it was like to not want to look at anyone. Eyes half lidded, he focused on Janet's shoes and said quietly, "He raped her, Doc."
"Oh…Sam…!" Janet turned to her friend, putting a hand on her arm. Sam sniffed and leaned her head on Janet's shoulder.
Jack looked up, blinking furiously against the burning in his eyes. "I would have killed the sonofabitch but T pulled me off him."
"Colonel," Janet said quietly. "I'm going to have to ask you to step out…I need to run some tests."
Sam looked up then, suddenly for the first time since they got back, and met Jack's eyes with a desperate, almost frightened gaze. "Don't…"
"I'll wait outside." Jack assured her, gesturing towards the door of the infirmary. He gave Sam an encouraging look before turning and walking to the chair just outside in the hall.
Janet turned to Sam, keeping a comforting hand on her arm. It was hard work to keep her emotions at bay, but as always she managed. Sometimes she thought it was easier before, when she was just working at a hospital, because she didn't develop such a personal relationship with her patients. And yet here she was now, having to treat her best friend as just another rape victim. Her strong, resilient best friend who always looked out for her and Cassie.
"Sam…" she said with a sigh, gently brushing Sam's hair back off her face. Sam's skin was cold and clammy to the touch.
Sam looked up at Janet, her bright blue eyes full of tears. "Why do I feel so…wrong, Janet? What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing's wrong with you, honey," Janet said, trying her best to sound comforting even though she felt like screaming. "We're going to help you feel better, I promise."
Sam just shook her head, her hands tightening painfully around Janet's.
Janet sighed. "I need you to lie down, ok? I promise this won't take long."
Sam nodded, laying back against the pillows, shaking slightly.
"I'm going to kill him!" Jack roared, pacing around Daniel's lab while the young archaeologist looked on. "I'm going to kill him slowly and painfully. But first I'll castrate him with a rusty butter knife and shove his – "
"Jack." Daniel cleared his throat loudly. "I think the best thing we can do right now is take care of Sam, and I think you're going to be the only one she'll let near her."
"Why?" Jack stopped pacing and stared at Daniel.
"I don't know. Maybe it's because she trusts you, maybe because she saw you attack Helson, I don't know."
Jack looked up at the ceiling. "God! Why did this have to happen to her?! What'd she do to deserve it?"
"She didn't do anything." Daniel murmured. "She knew this would happen to her eventually, though…She always said…"
"Carter knew?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I mean, she expected it to happen to her off-world. Think about it, Jack," Daniel raised his eyebrows in a sorrowful expression. "So many of the cultures we encounter view women as nothing more than objects to be used. It's always a risk that Sam was aware of. She just never expected it to be from one of our own people."
"Right." Jack slumped against the wall, looking distraught.
"How is Sam?" Daniel asked timidly.
"Doc Fraiser's got her on some drug to make her sleep." Jack said, not looking at Daniel. "Otherwise Carter just sits there looking lost. She wants to get out of here but Doc isn't ready to let her go yet."
"Did the tests come back?"
"Uhuh. Carter didn't catch anything from him, luckily for both of them because I would have killed him even more painfully if she had," Jack accentuated this by pounding one fist on the wall. "And as far as we can be certain she's not pregnant. She's all up to date on those shots they give to prevent that sort of thing."
Daniel nodded. "I guess that's good…"
"Too bad there isn't a shot Fraiser can give her to stop the mental pain." Jack muttered.
Sam opened her front door and stepped inside, greeted immediately by her cat as it rubbed itself against her legs.
"Hey, Quark," she murmured, bending down to scratch the tabby's head. As though Quark sensed Sam's distress, she mewed quietly and rubbed against Sam's hand, then trailed after her owner as Sam walked into the kitchen.
The house was quiet. Part of Sam was very happy for that. She'd needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of the base, needed to get away from Janet who was always asking how she felt, needed to get away from Daniel who was constantly looking at her like he was afraid she might break any minute.
Sam poured herself a glass of water then went into her living room. She found a tape of some show she'd recorded a while ago and popped it into the VCR before stretching out on the couch. Quark hopped up and curled up on her stomach and Sam lightly stroked the cat's gray fur. She had the remote in one hand but wasn't sure whether she wanted to watch anything.
Instead she closed her eyes, letting her thoughts wander to the dark place that she'd been avoiding the past week. There was pain there. She could still see Helson's face, glistening with sweat, his expression one of lust and utter apathy for anyone but himself. A dull pain and sick feeling swelled in her stomach. She felt Quark shift under her had as though disturbed.
Sam could remember wanting to go out late with her friends once when she was a teenager and hearing her father telling her to be careful, to stay close with the group so something bad wouldn't happen to her. She felt guilty for not listening to his advice, even though she'd been thousands of light years away.
Before she realized it Sam had drifted off to sleep, her mind still running over the haunting memories until they blended together into one sickening mix. She was awoken suddenly when Quark let out a meow and leapt off her to go streaking into the other room.
"Quark?" Sam sat up. Her attention was caught, however, by the television, which was turned on now, it's screen blue. A faint chill ran down Sam's spine. She must have accidentally turned it on in her sleep. Maybe that's what had startled Quark.
Eager to get rid of the blank blue and the silence that now seemed to fill the room, Sam pressed the play button and the VCR whirred to life.
She remembered vaguely that this was some episode of National Geographic, or maybe Nova. Something about string theory that she'd noticed looked interesting. The screen went black and Sam stared at it, waiting for the show to start.
Instead a red line formed on the top of the screen and the color began to leak down, almost like some liquid was being poured over the blackness. Sam frowned, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. The red continued until it completely covered the screen and bathed the living room in a bloody color. Sam's finger hovered over the remote button, but something kept her from turning it off.
Suddenly there was a flash and abruptly the scene changed. Sam could see a pair of hands working and pulling at something, but the colors were like a negative so it was hard to make out what was going on. The hands were pulled away. The redness once again spread over the screen.
The visuals were, for some reason, accompanied by a pounding sense of panic in Sam's chest. Something that seemed to be coming from the TV just like sound or light normally did.
The image on the screen now was a blank wall with cracks in it. Sam could hear a faint throbbing coming from the speakers and as it got louder she recognized it as a heart beat. The image panned over to a window, then zoomed in. The window became an eye, staring unblinkingly out at Sam.
It then zoomed out and Sam realized with a shock that the eye was her own. Staring back at her from the screen was her own face, gaunt looking and almost skeletal. She was standing outside and as she watched it began to rain. The rest of the scene was in black and white but the rain was in harsh color; a deep blood red the same as the color that had covered the screen before.
The Sam on the television stared back, the blood rain matting her hair and running down her face. She began walking forward, the image shaking and flashing like aged film. The Sam on the screen suddenly held out both hands.
They seemed to pass through the screen. The real Sam let out a shriek and suddenly the screen went black. Then words began to form on the blackness, handwritten and barely discernable.
Too much play, too much fun, too much lust and the monster will come.