Fic: Wanderings (Stargate SG-1)
Wanderings - Stargate: SG-1 - Gen (Jonas Quinn) - Words: 795
Written for Stargateland's Spooky Tropes Challenge.
Summary: Jonas isn't afraid of the dark, just of what waits inside it.
Content Notes: None. PG
Author Notes: Takes place in season 6, with all the spoilers that entails.
Jonas had heard tales of ghosts that haunted the SGC, some told in jest and others spoken in whispers so they couldn't be overheard. There were similar tales on Langara, of people who died and still walked in the world, and though the stories from both planets were unfounded scientifically there was a different air to the stories on Earth. On Langara, it was always a sad story, someone who was lost or had a duty they couldn't fulfill - the story of The Wandering Child and his Mother was commonly told to children at nightfall. But on Earth, there was the suggestion of fear, that the ghosts were dangerous and frightful.
The ghost stories that Jonas heard the most in the SGC were those of tragic death, marines looking for revenge against the Goa'uld or battles that were recreated in the embarkation room in the dead of night with no one but the gate technicians to watch. Most of the time these stories were echoed with laughter, suggesting that the people who told them didn't believe in the ghosts tales they faithfully passed on. Even Sam, when Jonas had asked her if ghosts had been found on Earth, had told him that there were people who truly believed, but for the most part it was just stories to scare people. And Jonas had believed her, because Sam knew the answer to almost all of his questions about Earth.
Now, standing in the dark on level fourteen of the SGC, Jonas wasn't so sure.
The lights had gone off without warning, there were no emergency klaxons sounding, and the backup lighting that ran throughout the SGC was still off even though it had been more than a minute since he'd been plunged into complete darkness. Jonas held out one hand and carefully stepped forward until his fingers found the cool cement wall. Now that he was safely out of the way of anyone stumbling down the hall, or anything with more malicious intent, Jonas took a moment remind himself that he wasn't afraid of the dark.
He closed his eyes, not that having them open was making a difference in the darkness, and wished that he was wearing his radio. Most of the base only wore them when they were going off-world, and on the surface they carried portable telephones. Inside the base, almost every room and corridor had a telephone or an emergency alert button of some kind, so Jonas had followed the example of the rest of the team and chosen not to carry a radio for the most part. Deciding that he should make his way to the emergency button, which he could picture clearly in his mind at the end of the hall, Jonas started to slowly step to the right when he felt a cold hand pressed against the bare skin of his forearm.
Opening his eyes, and hoping that it was just someone else who was feeling their way along the walls, Jonas stared into the face he'd only seen a few times but would never forget. "Doctor Jackson?" Jonas asked, looking from Daniel's face, down to the hand that was pressing into his arm, and then back up again.
Daniel squeezed harder, the sensation not unlike that of frozen ice ripping against the skin, and Jonas jerked away and tumbled to the floor and curled into a protective ball. He was still clutching his aching arm when he heard his name and pushed himself up to find Sam kneeling next to him.
"Sam?" Jonas asked, pushing himself up as he examined the now well lit corridor and the small group of uniformed men who were paused in concern.
"Jonas, what happened?" Sam asked.
Jonas gasped when Sam's hand touched where Daniel's had, the pain now feeling like he'd pressed it against a burning hot surface.
"Jonas?" Sam asked again as she examined the red area on his skin.
Jonas thought about how Sam had said that people who believed in ghosts weren't taken seriously, and there was usually a good explanation for phenomena that was attributed to the supernatural, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her what he'd seen. He had watched SG-1 grieve for their lost member, knew they were still hurting even though they hid it better now, and he knew he couldn't reopen those wounds.
"I don't know, it was dark for a moment," Jonas finally said, still looking around to make sure that Daniel wasn't there.
"Let's go see Janet. Maybe you're coming down with something," Sam said, her hand resting on Jonas's shoulder to urge him away from where they were standing.
"Maybe," Jonas said, pausing at the end of the hall to look one last time. There was nothing there.
Written for Stargateland's Spooky Tropes Challenge.
Summary: Jonas isn't afraid of the dark, just of what waits inside it.
Content Notes: None. PG
Author Notes: Takes place in season 6, with all the spoilers that entails.
Jonas had heard tales of ghosts that haunted the SGC, some told in jest and others spoken in whispers so they couldn't be overheard. There were similar tales on Langara, of people who died and still walked in the world, and though the stories from both planets were unfounded scientifically there was a different air to the stories on Earth. On Langara, it was always a sad story, someone who was lost or had a duty they couldn't fulfill - the story of The Wandering Child and his Mother was commonly told to children at nightfall. But on Earth, there was the suggestion of fear, that the ghosts were dangerous and frightful.
The ghost stories that Jonas heard the most in the SGC were those of tragic death, marines looking for revenge against the Goa'uld or battles that were recreated in the embarkation room in the dead of night with no one but the gate technicians to watch. Most of the time these stories were echoed with laughter, suggesting that the people who told them didn't believe in the ghosts tales they faithfully passed on. Even Sam, when Jonas had asked her if ghosts had been found on Earth, had told him that there were people who truly believed, but for the most part it was just stories to scare people. And Jonas had believed her, because Sam knew the answer to almost all of his questions about Earth.
Now, standing in the dark on level fourteen of the SGC, Jonas wasn't so sure.
The lights had gone off without warning, there were no emergency klaxons sounding, and the backup lighting that ran throughout the SGC was still off even though it had been more than a minute since he'd been plunged into complete darkness. Jonas held out one hand and carefully stepped forward until his fingers found the cool cement wall. Now that he was safely out of the way of anyone stumbling down the hall, or anything with more malicious intent, Jonas took a moment remind himself that he wasn't afraid of the dark.
He closed his eyes, not that having them open was making a difference in the darkness, and wished that he was wearing his radio. Most of the base only wore them when they were going off-world, and on the surface they carried portable telephones. Inside the base, almost every room and corridor had a telephone or an emergency alert button of some kind, so Jonas had followed the example of the rest of the team and chosen not to carry a radio for the most part. Deciding that he should make his way to the emergency button, which he could picture clearly in his mind at the end of the hall, Jonas started to slowly step to the right when he felt a cold hand pressed against the bare skin of his forearm.
Opening his eyes, and hoping that it was just someone else who was feeling their way along the walls, Jonas stared into the face he'd only seen a few times but would never forget. "Doctor Jackson?" Jonas asked, looking from Daniel's face, down to the hand that was pressing into his arm, and then back up again.
Daniel squeezed harder, the sensation not unlike that of frozen ice ripping against the skin, and Jonas jerked away and tumbled to the floor and curled into a protective ball. He was still clutching his aching arm when he heard his name and pushed himself up to find Sam kneeling next to him.
"Sam?" Jonas asked, pushing himself up as he examined the now well lit corridor and the small group of uniformed men who were paused in concern.
"Jonas, what happened?" Sam asked.
Jonas gasped when Sam's hand touched where Daniel's had, the pain now feeling like he'd pressed it against a burning hot surface.
"Jonas?" Sam asked again as she examined the red area on his skin.
Jonas thought about how Sam had said that people who believed in ghosts weren't taken seriously, and there was usually a good explanation for phenomena that was attributed to the supernatural, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her what he'd seen. He had watched SG-1 grieve for their lost member, knew they were still hurting even though they hid it better now, and he knew he couldn't reopen those wounds.
"I don't know, it was dark for a moment," Jonas finally said, still looking around to make sure that Daniel wasn't there.
"Let's go see Janet. Maybe you're coming down with something," Sam said, her hand resting on Jonas's shoulder to urge him away from where they were standing.
"Maybe," Jonas said, pausing at the end of the hall to look one last time. There was nothing there.