The Barque of Heaven Page 14

  "Oooh, bath," Daniel moaned, and walked straight into the water. The pebbles twisted under his feet, threatening to dump him ass over teakettle before Carter reached out and hauled him back onto the mossy bank.

  "What are you eating?" she demanded, staring at Daniel's cheeks, which were puffed out like a hamster on a binge.

  "Nofing." Daniel shrugged her off and gave Jack an impish wink over her head, shoving in the last of the squishy red fruit he had plucked from a tree.

  "If that's chocolate, Jackson, you're dead."

  "Is not," Daniel replied loftily. "It tastes like a strawberry flavored banana. Best thing I've eaten in days-weeks, even. And I'm going to eat more. Lots more. Hey, gerroff! Get your own." He smacked Carter's grabby hands and danced away from her to snatch another fruit from a tree, pitched it at her and dodged away again to raid his own special tree-of-treats.

  Carter caught the fruit one-handed-deftly-professionally-messily. It exploded on impact, showering her with blue, honey-scented pulp.

  "Daniel!"

  He laughed at her, eyes twinkling over a red-smeared mouth, and ambled off along the river in search of more fruit. The ache of his legs and back seemed forgotten in the heady scents of the forest around them.

  Carter tried to shake the sticky pulp from her hands but merely smeared it further. She stared at the mess, and stuck her fingers in her mouth. "Mmm, yum. More, want more!" She cleaned the rest off her hands, then scooped up the pulp clinging to her t-shirt and vest and went in search of more.

  Jack watched Daniel and Carter rummaging through the trees like a pair of demented fruit bats and shook his head. Kids. Can't take `em anywhere these days. A warning bell was clanging in his mind, but it was far away and it stuttered and died as he caught sight of Teal'c: on his knees, enthusiastically digging into the dark soil with his knife.

  "T? What'cha doing?"

  "I am foraging, O'Neill. Foraging for supplemental foodstuffs that will keep our bodies nourished and our minds alert, so that we may excel in the challenges our quest presents us."

  "Ah....„

  Teal'c sat back on his heels, grabbed a protruding root with both hands and heaved. A black, oddly glistening tuber came free in a shower of soil. "Kenatak, " he exclaimed happily. He snapped the root in two and took a huge bite of the inner flesh, heedless of the stench rising from it.

  "Holy crap." Jack backed away as fast as he could, stomach rebelling at an odor like week-old fish left to rot in the sun.

  "Will you not join me, O'Neill? This is a feast fit for warriors."

  "Uh, yeah, thanks but no. God, no. I'm watching my weight." Jack fled into the water, thoughts of fish suddenly crowding his mind.

  Headache forgotten, he stared into the swiftly flowing river, his attention immediately captured by flashes of silver darting past him. Wading in knee-deep, Jack saw they were fish; sleek silvery-red bodies, letting the current take them downstream.

  "Mmm."

  Visions of grilled fish crusted with almonds and swamped in lemon filled his head, so vivid he could almost taste it. The fish were moving too fast here; what he needed was a calmer pool where they would leap onto his line. Downstream.

  "T. C'mon, let's follow the river, see if we can't catch us some supper."

  Jack splashed out of the water, gave Teal'c's pile of stinky roots a wide berth, and walked off along the riverbank. The aroma wafting from behind told him Teal'c was following. They caught up to Daniel and Carter, liberally smeared with the remains of a fruit fight and giggling like children, their packs and pockets bulging with plundered fruit.

  The narrow track alongside the river took them through the jungle for almost a kilometer. Here and there shafts of sunlight broke through the canopy in dazzling brilliance. Several times their approach startled small animals out of hiding, an angrily squawking, four-legged creature covered in bright green fur the most surprising. It scuttled away and was quickly camouflaged in the greenery.

  After forty minutes of walking, the bank became rockier and the ground began to slope downward. From ahead came a muffled roaring and the scent of water in the air was much more noticeable. Forced away from the river by increasingly huge boulders, the four slowed as the track switched in and around rocks and tree roots, becoming steep and slippery as the moist soil gave under their boots. Fine mists of water vapor drifted through the trees, gradually becoming denser as they descended into a gorge cut through the underlying rock by mil lions of years of the river's passage.

  Rounding a bend in the trail Carter stopped abruptly, the men piling up behind her. Awestruck, they stood on a mossy ledge, captivated by the waterfall that fell in a glittering rain from the river above to a deep green pool a hundred feet below. Curtains of mist brushed past them, seeping into their clothing and causing muddy rivulets to run down their necks and arms. All around them screeches and calls of unseen birds and animals rose up to near deafening volume. Thick foliage clung to every possible part of the rock; trees and shrubs glistened with spray. Rich, earthy scents assaulted them from all directions.

  It was Paradise. Whether it contained any serpents was yet to be seen.

  "Wow."

  "Well said, Carter."

  "No, really. This is... wow."

  "A most gratifyingly impressive sight."

  "That's what I meant. Wow."

  "You know what I see?" Daniel coughed, vapor catching in his lungs. "A bath."

  "Oooh." Carter stared at the inviting green water.

  "With a running shower."

  "Last one in is a stinky Goa'uld." She turned on her heel and raced off down the path, Daniel limping only seconds behind. Teal'c grinned broadly at Jack and loped off.

  Jack gaped after them, a dozen protests sticking in his throat. He shook himself. The haze in the air made him feel as if he were underwater. Helplessly, he looked around at the deserted trail and with a surrendering sigh he plucked another spray of bell-shaped flowers from an overhanging branch.

  "Kids," he muttered fondly, and ambled after them, sucking the nectar as he went.

  Daniel passed Sam in their breakneck run down the path by simply crashing through the undergrowth, leaping, skidding and tripping his way until he emerged onto a wide, grassy bank stretched along one side of the pool. He shoved his boonie off his head and relaxed his shoulders, letting his pack and vest slide to the ground.

  Oh, he felt so dirty. His skin itched and crawled with grit. Sweat left stinging trails down his bruised back. He couldn't tear his eyes from the green water, enticing him in with a promise to soothe his aching muscles and tired feet, to wash away all his cares as easily as the grime clinging to him. He stripped off his t-shirts in a flash, glasses tangling and thrown aside with them. Pants fell to booted feet. He struggled with the bootlaces, his fingers somehow clumsy and uncoordinated. The obstinate boots wouldn't come off and he tipped over, landing on his butt and rolling around until, with a mighty heave, they came away. He flung them aside with an inarticulate yell, pants, bandages and shorts followed, and then he was up and sprinting into the pond.

  The clear, cold water snatched at his legs, tripping him and sending him plunging headfirst into the green depths. Daniel pulled himself down and down with strong sweeps of his arms, eyes wide and mouth open in a delighted grin. The water caressed him, its gentle grip leeching away all the pain and anxiety of the past couple of days. Finally, he coasted to a stop and hung suspended, looking down at shoals of little fish darting along the weedy bottom. Gently, the little air left in his lungs brought him up to the surface. He rolled onto his back and sucked in breaths of the sweet, rich air.

  Sam splashed past in a mad flail of pale arms and legs, headed for the far side of the pool. Daniel raised his head a little and spied Teal'c cruising through the water with massive breaststrokes, submarining underneath for meters at a time.

  Jack was wandering along the water's edge, half dressed and following his team with a slight frown.

  "Jack! Get in here. It's wonderfu
l."

  Daniel's words were lost in the deep pounding of the waterfall striking the rocky pile at the base of the drop. Another curtain of spray obscured Jack and Daniel turned away, distracted by Sam hurling clumps of weed at Teal'c's head. Teal'c retaliated with a huge wave of water, leaving her laughing and sputtering. Daniel grinned and swam quietly up behind them.

  Ducking under, he grabbed at Sam's legs and yanked her down, then surged off to seek shelter behind Teal'c before she could counterattack. Teal'c looked so good with a wide smile on his face, green pondweed curling around one ear. Still grinning, Daniel got a huge splash in the face. He choked and swallowed, then launched himself at Teal'c's hands, slipping and sliding as they batted and splashed and tumbled over each other. Sam joined in, alternately swatting at Daniel and trying to help him dunk Teal'c. More often than not, Sam and Daniel went under or found Teal'c's big hands heaving them away to crash down in fountains of water. They surfaced again and again, gasping and laughing and charging back until a coordinated attack finally brought the big man down and the water closed over his shiny head.

  Victory, however sweet, came at a price, and their high fives and whoops of triumph turned to outraged yells as Teal'c surfaced and dunked them both.

  Daniel popped back up and shook the water from his eyes. He tipped onto his back and floated. Water muffled the sounds around him and he drifted, now and then catching a vague recollection of something important, only for it to dissolve and float out of his grasp again.

  How long he remained in limbo this way, he didn't know and didn't care. A bump against his foot made him finally straighten up. Jack lay sprawled on the rocks by the waterfall, sunning himself like a leopard, all loose, lethal grace in his limbs. He cracked open one eyelid and smiled down at Daniel, waggling his toes in the water.

  "Hey, Danny."

  "Hey, Jack."

  Daniel pulled himself out of the water and draped himself facedown next to Jack.

  "We should get moving," Jack said, apparently not able to move a muscle himself.

  "Mm hmm." Daniel tried to stay awake but his eyes were already shut, sound around him receding into a long, dark tunnel of blissful sleep.

  An incessant, low chorus of insect calls eventually brought Daniel back to consciousness. Content in the warm sun, he sighed deeply and turned his head on his forearms. On a large boulder next to him, Jack lay sprawled likewise on his front, his brown eyes gazing sleepily at Daniel. A stone's throw away, Sam and Teal'c were chatting quietly, their bodies now dry.

  "I feel so much better," Daniel yawned hugely.

  "Hey, c'mon. I'm hungry."

  "Perhaps you would care to sample one of the delicious roots I found, O'Neill. Daniel Jackson has already tried one on our walk through the jungle." Teal'c rose gracefully to his feet and extended an assisting hand to Sam.

  "Daniel will eat anything you give him-this is a proven fact, Teal'c-so don't get too excited." Jack scrunched his face up at Daniel in disgust.

  "Well, the smell of them reminded me of the stew Sha're's Aunt Tatti used to make," Daniel smiled. He stooped and filled his canteens with the sweet water, the others following suit.

  "And you enjoyed it?" Sam grimaced. They dressed slowly and sloppily, leaving belts and holsters undone, jackets trailing from pack ties.

  "Jeez, no-Uncle Tus used to hide in our house every time she made it. The stench of it floated over half the town."

  Teal'c gave Daniel a look of wounded indignation and pushed past Sam, taking the lead along a narrow trail that led away from the waterfall.

  Nuts and fruit hung in abundance from the trees they passed. All four snagged handfuls and ate as they walked. Jack declined the fruit and happily stuffed himself with soft, round nuts, leaving a trail of peeled coverings in his wake. Gradually, the roar and mist of the waterfall receded and the jungle seemed to swallow them completely, wrapping them in a noisy green blanket of foliage. Overhead, birds trumpeted their calls and little yellow-furred creatures that could well be primates shrieked at the human invasion and pelted the four with leaves and sticks.

  They walked for quite a while, conversation and consumption of wild food gradually petering out, and the serenity they had all basked in at the waterfall faded away, replaced by an unsettling feeling that something was amiss.

  Gradually Jack's pace slowed. He watched the others pull ahead of him with a frown. This wasn't right. They were missing something.

  "Hey." His voice sounded muffled and was lost in the squawk of a fat orange bird overhead.

  "Hey!"

  Carter, Daniel and Teal'c stopped and turned to look at him.

  "Something's wrong," Jack said vaguely, struggling to voice the uneasiness inside him.

  "What?" Daniel asked.

  "Well, if I knew I'd say, wouldn't I?" Jack snapped back.

  "Did you leave something back at the pool, sir?" Carter asked. She was still clutching a half eaten fruit in one hand.

  "No, don't think so." Jack glanced down. Kit, boots, pack, weapons. Surprisingly, the fingers curled around the trigger of his MP5 were white with the pressure of his grip. Shivers of warning crawled up his spine.

  "We need to find a... thing." He glared at the others, who were gaping at him unhelpfully.

  "A thing... a thing to do... a thing so we can... leave."

  The crawl up his spine turned into a cold shock that swept his skin from crown to toes.

  "The 'gate address! The password. We need to find them. Crap-the time! How long have we got left?" He peeled his hand off his gun and clawed at his watch. Three hours, twenty seven minutes to go. They'd wasted hours wandering the forest and playing in the water. The realization hit him like a physical blow. "What the hell is wrong with us?"

  The others wandered closer and he saw the confusion on their faces. Saw them suddenly get it and saw them come back to themselves.

  "How could we forget?" Daniel muttered, aghast. "We could have been trapped here forever. Oh, no-like the Goa'uld."

  "There is something unnatural at work here, O'Neill." Teal'c had his staff half-lowered, as if expecting an attack at any moment.

  "It must be the valley-or the water, even," Carter said. "Everything seems clearer here." She tossed the fruit and wiped her hands.

  "Okay, the further from the water, the better we are. And we're heading who knows where." Jack looked about, trying to retrieve some sense of direction.

  "Up. We go up out of this valley entirely, get a fix on our position." He stared at the others, still trying to shrug off their enforced forgetfulness. For even Teal'c to be as badly affected as the rest of them-it was unnatural.

  "Move!"

  They leapt away from him like startled sheep, sprinting along the path they were already on, then turning into another that inclined through the trees roughly in the direction of the Stargate's little plateau, Jack nipping at their heels and chivvying them along.

  It took nearly half an hour of clawing along faint animal trails weaving up through the jungle before they broke out into a small clearing on the rim of the valley. The muted rumble of the waterfall drifted from far below. The sun lay low over the treetops on the far side of the river gorge.

  Teal'c pulled his binoculars out of his pack and planted them against one eye, turning slowly to survey the jungle. "There." He pointed out the direction of the Stargate, sun glint ing off the chevrons through the surrounding trees, some three hundred meters away. "Perhaps the information we require will be somewhere visible and out of range of the influences that impaired us near the river."

  "I hope so." Jack stood nearby, legs braced against the adrenalin-fuelled reaction from the run up the slope. He looked carefully at Teal'c, following the look of consternation on his face, to the hand pressed to the Jaffa's belly. "Junior acting up?"

  "It begins to revive now. It has been similarly affected by this unnatural lassitude."

  "The Goa'uld must have installed some kind of neural transmitter here to confuse whoever comes through.
It must dull the higher cognitive skills and stimulate the pleasure seeking zones of the brain," Carter said, likewise subdued.

  Jack glanced at Daniel, who was staring out over the forest canopy, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. He took Daniel's lead and looked down. The treetops stretched on in an endless sea of green.

  "Hey, I think there's something shining down there."

  The others turned to follow Carter's pointing finger. Far down in the valley, a glint of refracted light sparkled up at them. Down on the valley floor but well back from the river, it was approachable from where they stood if they went straight down through the trees.

  "I can see no other likely place for that which we seek," Teal'c said quietly.

  Jack sighed; going down meant climbing back up again. "Let's get this done, then. Stay close, all of you." Taking point, he led the way into the trees.

  Descending through the tangle of growth was as laborious as toiling up had been. Exposed tree roots caught at their feet and thorny bushes with leaves that stuck like Velcro to hands and clothes snagged them at every step.

  When the slope finally leveled out, the underbrush thinned too, leaving the team standing on mossy ground amid the widely spaced tree trunks. Twilight was full upon them, mak ing it difficult to see in the gloom. Daniel switched on his flashlight and flicked the beam through the trees. After turning a one hundred and eighty degree arc the light caught something that gleamed back a fiery orange.

  "Watch yourselves," Jack ordered quietly, bringing up his gun and thumbing off the safety. Carter and Teal'c followed suit, spreading out to flank Daniel as he lit the way to their goal.

  Fifty meters through the trees they came into a clearing. The forest pulled back to reveal an unexpected sight: a couple of dozen large glass globes suspended by invisible means in mid-air. Each gleamed in a different color-red, orange, green, yellow-all shades of the spectrum were brought to life as three more flashlights joined Daniel's.