SG1 Halloween story

[tenaya]

For your entertainment:

ONE FOR THE MUMMY
By The Were-Bunnies

"It's about the candy, Teal'c."

Jack threw the dregs of his coffee into the campfire, swirling embers up into the windy night. Clouds skittered across the two full moons as the shadows of the surrounding forest danced macabre around the foursome.

Drawing up his jacket collar against the cold wind, Daniel contradicted Jack. "Are you saying the traditions of Samhain have no significance? This holiday goes back to Druidic prehistory. In their beliefs the veil between the living and the dead was drawn aside, and passage between the two is possible. The practice of giving candy was begun to appease the dead to prevent their stealing from the living."

"What appeased me was a king size candy bar. Abba-zaba, Teal'c, that's all you need to know."

"Are they not a Swedish pop group?"

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "Jack? What did you do if they gave you an apple instead of candy? You weren't one of those kids that t.p.'d their house later?"

Jack stared at him steadily, then transferred his attention to his 2IC. "So, Carter, what was your favorite part of Halloween?"

"Dressing up, sir."

"Right, little girls love dressing up. As what, a princess?"

"No, sir. Evel Knievel. I put cards in the spokes of my Schwin and buzzed the preschoolers." Carter grinned at the memory.

A strange screeching howl pierced the night. Multiple voices joined in.

Jack looked around at his team. "I'm betting that's the herd of horned bunny critters we saw earlier. The ones with the shimmering tail thing."

"You've lost the last seven times we played this game, Colonel."

"Then I'm overdue for a win." Jack rubbed his palms together in anticipation.

The howls got shorter and shorter until there was a loud staccato burst of sound, like the end of a fireworks display, then sudden silence. Daniel stood and stretched the muscles in his lower back. "And on that note, I'm just gonna go..." He made vague finger waves in the direction where they'd dug the latrines.

"You want Teal'c to go with you? You know...for protection in case those bunnies stampede?"

"No, I think they all just exploded. I'll be fine. I'm not planning on being long." He set off into the shadows, his flashlight swinging rhythmically back and forth, sending small fingers of light into the pitch darkness.

The last statement of their interrupted conversation continued to disturb Teal'c. "Major Carter, I am surprised General Carter would have permitted you to emulate a wicked personage even for amusement."

"Wicked? What... oh no, Teal'c. Evel Knievel was a motorcycle stunt rider. He jumped his bike over buses and canyons."

Teal'c regarded her and cocked his head in puzzlement. "To what purpose?"

Jack raised a hand. "I got this one covered. Because they were there, Teal'c."

A thunderous crack interrupted them, followed by a yell abruptly silenced.

"Daniel!" Carter shot to her feet.

"Dammit!" Jack grabbed his flashlight and started after him, followed by his other two teammates.

As the trio passed under a large tree, the foliage morphed into a mass of leathery wings taking flight. The night air was filled with wheeling and circling bats blotting out the moons overhead. The inky black on black creatures emitted a keening wail like a banshee. Carter swung up her flashlight, and the beam of light arced over them, highlighting the flapping mass, which flew away as one, leaving the skeletal fingers of the tree pointing an accusation at the sky.

"This way," urged Teal'c as he caught sight of Daniel's abandoned flashlight.

"Daniel!" Jack's shouts went unanswered as their flashlights frantically scoured the surrounding area for their missing teammate.

"Here!" Teal'c's voice was sharp with tension. He carefully knelt down next to a ragged fissure in the forest floor.

"Where the hell did that come from? It wasn't there earlier." Jack looked around, rechecking their position.

Carter peered over the edge. "Daniel?" Her voice echoed hollowly back at them.

Jack issued clipped orders. "Carter, go get some rope. Teal'c, we need to drag a log over this hole. None of us need to go tumbling in after him."

***

The pain in his wrist broke through the dark fog masking Daniel's consciousness. As he awoke, he slowly became aware of a crushing grip around his right wrist and a feeling of vertigo from a rocking motion. As he fought his way past the disorientation and nausea, he realized he was being dragged.

He twisted to try to see through the utter blackness but without success. All he could hear was shuffling footsteps, eerie in the dark.

"Ow. Hello? You may not know this but you're hurting me."

A sharp jerk sent the pain upward into his shoulder, and he yelped and tried to gain purchase on the sandy floor. His body betrayed him, and Daniel realized he was along for the ride until his companion decided to stop or fate took pity on him and provided a change to his downed position.

"Please..." Another yank had him biting his lip hard. Resigned to the fact that talking was not going to help him, he concentrated on his other senses and realized with a shock he recognized the stale, decaying odor he'd been ignoring until now. It was the pungent, cloying smell of bitumen, myrrh, cassia and frankincense, but all that was still unable to mask the scent of rotted flesh beneath. Disbelief warred with a surge of terror. Those odors meant one thing and one thing only: he was the captive of a mummy!

***

Teal'c landed lightly beside Jack, who got a firm grip on his P-90. Carter's light picked up the twin tracks of heel marks that were the unmistakeable sign of someone being dragged away.

Jack started to follow the marks. Skittering noises and a telltale crunch of his boot on an insect shell had Jack hoping this wasn't a long tunnel. As he moved into the corridor, he said tersely, "Teal'c, you've got our six."

***

The slow deliberate footsteps were a torture all their own. Step, pause, step, pause. It gave Daniel just enough time to anticipate each brutal yank to his arm, to stiffen his body in preparation. As a result, his distraction kept him from noticing the increase in light until he was dragged down some sharp edged stone steps. He opened his eyes to see he was now in a large, damp room, with long, fine roots dangling from the gaps between the stone blocks. Flickering torchlight illuminated brief glimpses of gold and bronze amidst the crazy jumble of objects that were piled around the room's perimeter, but kept most of the items hidden in deep pools of darkness. Still, enough detail emerged that Daniel could discern this place was amazingly similar to ancient Egyptian tombs on Earth.

A sharp blow to the head stunned him. When he could focus his eyes again, he realized he had been pulled up on a platform, his head knocking against it as he had been dragged. From the cold, rough texture, he guessed he was on a stone altar about the same time he felt cold iron snap around his left wrist. With a roll of his torso, he yanked on both arms, but felt no give.

A figure, indistinct and hunched over, limped towards his left foot, its linen wrapped hand sliding down his body and over his leg. He tried to kick at the unwanted hand, but he was easily held down. As another iron shackle was locked around his ankle, Daniel could see in the uncertain light that his captor was indeed a mummy. Yellow and frayed linen wound around the entire body and a thin slit gapped over where the eyes would be. Not that desiccated eyes could actually see, thought Daniel as his other leg was shackled.

The mummy limped laboriously to a pile of stuff on a low bench and rummaged about. One part of Daniel's mind automatically took inventory of the cloth strips, jars, and tools he could distinguish there while he continued his attempts to free himself. The situation was all too bizarre and he hoped his teammates would find him soon or he'd wake up, vowing never to eat the prototype MRE of chicken vindaloo ever again, especially before bed.

The mummy straightened and turned, the warm flame light catching the gentle curve of a burnished bronze blade in its hand. As the creature paused beside Daniel, he could make out a small statue of Anubis seated along the papyrus-shaped handle. The shape and size of the blade, along with the Anubis figurine identified the relic as an embalmer's knife.

Daniel blinked, once then twice as his sluggish brain connected the dots. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, NO! No, put that down! This is not happening! JACK! TEAL'C! SAM! HELP!" He began to struggle against his bonds.

The mummy grabbed a fistful of Daniel's shirt and lifted, swinging the knife beneath his grip. The fabric parted under the powerful stroke. The mummy smoothed the clothing away, baring Daniel's chest and stomach to the cold, damp air. Daniel gasped as stiff, hardened fingers pushed the soft flesh of his flank as the mummy probed for landmarks. The knife blade was lifted high, the burnished bronze flashing.

"JACK!! No, please, no! I don't want to be a mummy! STOP!"

A large shape pelted out of the darkness and hit the mummy hard with a body slam. Teal'c had hold of the mummy's knife arm with two hands, his faced grimacing with the effort to keep the blade from swinging down towards Daniel. "O'Neill! I can not hold him!"

"Give me an opening, T!"

Teal'c held on to the arm but pivoted away from the creature. The rapid report of three quick shots from Jack's P-90 thundered in the small room, causing soil to fall from the ceiling. Daniel watched in horror as the mummy exploded into dust and chunks of dehydrated flesh. Teal'c stared, stunned, as he was left holding a now bodiless arm. He lowered it, staring at the hand that still gripped the knife.

Jack and Sam rushed forward. "Are you okay?" asked Jack, brushing the detritus from Daniel's bare stomach as he peered about looking for damage. Sam swung her flashlight over the shackles as she examined them.

Daniel's head fell backwards. "Thank you, thank you!" he breathed in relief.

"What the hell was that?"

"It looked like a mummy, preserved using the methods similar to those of the New Kingdom."

Jack stared at Daniel. "And is that a method that usually enables them to come back to life?"

"No, of course not. Maybe there's a sarcophagus nearby."

"Ya think?"

"We're either going to need a key or a hacksaw, sir."

"Key, huh?" Jack stared down in revulsion at the pile of dried body parts, dust, and linens. "I guess it's too late to check his pockets?"

Flashlight beams danced around the room. "Found it," Carter said, lifting up a heavy iron key from a niche in the stone altar.

Daniel sighed in relief; he would be free soon.

Jack leaned towards the altar. "So, Daniel. 'I don't want to be a mummy?'"

Daniel grimaced in embarrassment. "It had an embalmer's knife, Jack. I thought it was about to slice me open, start the embalming process while I was still alive."

"That would be bad, all right. I wonder why it'd want to do that? It's kinda ironic, don't you think?"

"How's that?"

"For centuries, archaeologists have been collecting mummies, and now this mummy was collecting an archaeologist. Think of it, you'd have been the first mummified archaeologist."

Daniel smiled at Jack's attempt to amuse him. "That's an honor I'm more than happy to pass up."

"Good choice, Dr. Jackson." The last shackle was unlocked, and Jack helped Daniel to sit up. "Steady," he advised, holding his friend until he stopped swaying.

Teal'c moved closer to lend his assistance. He was still holding the mummified arm.

"Put that down, Teal'c. You bring that thing back with us, it'll be creeping all over the SGC!"

"That only happens in bad horror films, Jack." Now that he was safe, Daniel felt secure enough to tease his friend.

"I don't care," Jack said firmly, "Nothin's gonna steal my trick or treat candy!"

Teal'c let the mummy's hand drop. "If Halloween candy is to appease the dead as Daniel Jackson said, should we not give it willingly when we have disturbed their resting place?"

"I do have a chocolate bar left from dinner." Daniel pulled the candy reluctantly from his pocket.

Jack snapped his fingers. "Hey, maybe that's what old Band-aid Boy wanted."

"Jack?"

"He wasn't after you. He was after dessert."

Daniel placed the chocolate bar carefully on the altar.

"Seems like a waste of good chocolate." Carter shook her head sadly.

"Just think of it as a scientific experiment, Sam."

The four teammates stood and looked at it expectantly for a moment. The chocolate bar remained whole. No specter took a bite.

Jack announced, "There you go. There's your treat. No stealing any more archaeologists now."

"Maybe he'd rather have the trick, O'Neill."

"No can do, T. He's been t.p.'d already."

Daniel shook his head and started to walk off. "Jack, I can't believe you compared an ancient ritual to your boyhood misdemeanors."

Jack followed him out. "What'd I say? It's not like we tried to dress him up in Carter's Evel Knievel outfit."

"Sir!" Carter hurried to catch up.

Left alone in the tomb, Teal'c cocked an eyebrow as the mummy's hand twitched on the floor. "It is about the candy."

THE END

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