'Lost In Thought'

Chapter 1: "On the Right Side of Things"

It was a calm, sunny afternoon in the park. The grass was still and the sky a perfect blue. The sun shone brightly, excreting its rays of warmth on the people outside. There were small children on the swing sets, and their parents chatted with each other while watching over them. Others were walking their dog or jogging along the cement sidewalk surrounding the perimeter of the small park. Lucas was sitting on a small wooden bench away from all the others. He was alone, basking under the hot summer sun, contemplating whether he should leave or not. He couldn't take it anymore. Leaving seemed like the only option available. He didn't know if he would regret it or not, but that evening, Lucas was on a plane to Los Angeles.

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It had been one month on the island since the plane crash, but to the survivors it felt like a lifetime. Lucas was one of these survivors, who had flown from Australia to Los Angeles, or at least intended to. Sometime during the flight, they had crash landed on this seemingly deserted island. Everyone had panicked at first, but they seemed to be settling down now. Luckily, there had been some hope of escape recently. A raft was being built on the island using bamboo, wire, metal poles, and anything else that could be found in the general area that could be of use. A glimmer of hope flickered somewhere inside of Lucas. Deep down, he knew no one would be coming for them, but a raft might actually work. He helped some of the others gather the materials needed to build it. However, during the night, the raft had caught on fire and perished, no matter the efforts of those who tried to stop it. Instantly, the glimmer of hope subsided, and Lucas was left with only his thoughts.

Two days had passed since the burning of the raft. After some thought and consideration, Lucas decided that he would try to mingle and get to know the people around him. Mostly, he liked to keep to himself, but he couldn't take the loneliness much longer. He figured they would be stuck here for a while, anyway, so he might as well get to know the other occupants of this island before he became depressed and more alone. He got up and scanned the general area of the beach, where he spent most of his time lately. Some people were sitting on the sand, trying to take it easy, while others were busy accomplishing something they thought could be useful to their survival on the island. As he walked along the beach, he noticed a pretty young girl with blonde hair, sprawled on the sand and trying to get a tan. The person she was fond of, as Lucas had gathered recently, was an Iraqi man who was handling maps and papers of different sorts. He also noticed some people who had made (or were making) a kind of 'shelter' for themselves during rainstorms or harsh weather. Lucas kept on walking until he reached the opposite end of the beach, where the sun didn't shine as bright and the sand was much cooler. Here, he came upon a white male sitting in the sand, gazing out into the clear blue depths of the water beyond. He appeared to be in his mid-fifties, with a shiny, bald head. He looked calm and collected, from what Lucas could tell. The man was dressed in a dirty white t-shirt and a pair of worn out blue jeans.

"The name's Locke," the man said suddenly, glancing Lucas in the corner of his eye. He had a warm, smooth voice. It was startlingly pleasant.

"Well, nice to meet you, Mr. Locke Sir," Lucas retorted awkwardly, caught off guard by the sudden greeting.

"No need for the 'Mr.' and 'Sir' stuff. Locke is fine."

Lucas tried to think of something to say in return. He had wanted to meet other people, but he didn't know what to say to them when he initially got to know them. This was something he hadn't been expecting. Luckily for Lucas, Locke, as he called himself, wasn't done speaking. Lucas was grateful for this. He didn't want to make a bad first impression by making himself look like a fool for not saying anything.

"What brings you down to this part of the beach, young man?" Locke asked, trying to break the ice.

"I was just wandering around and wanted to meet some other people. I've been getting pretty lonely and bored over there all by myself. I thought it might be nice to come and see other survivors. By the way, my name's Lucas," he added, forgetting that he never introduced himself. "You can call me Luke, if you like," he added.

"Okay Luke, you're saying that you're bored on the island lately. Do ya' wanna come and help me with something?" Locke questioned, awaiting a response from the young man. Locke had not known what Luke would say. They had just known each other for about a minute or so, but it had been a perfect opportunity.

"Sure, I'd gladly help," Luke said at last, with the slightest amount of nervousness in his voice mixed with an eager and excited tone. The truth was that he was a little scared of going to help this guy he just met with whatever it was he wanted, especially with nobody else knowing about their little escapade. However, he was anxious to find out what it was Locke had in mind.

"Great," Locke replied. "Follow me."

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Locke led the way, past the beach and into the jungle. There were trees all around them, green and fresh with life. Their branches fell low surrounding them, as if they were reaching out for something just out of their grasp. The sun was blocked out, only a few rays of its golden existence visible in the green wonderland, illuminating only the surrounding area. It felt damp and the tiniest bit gloomy. Luke followed the strange man warily, twigs and fallen branches snapping beneath his feet. It seemed like they had been walking a long way now and Luke was getting anxious and restless, not to mention tired.

"We're almost there," Locke announced, as if he were encouraging Luke to keep going.

After a few more minutes, they came upon a small clearing. They pushed past the remaining leaves in their way, which opened up to reveal a small area where the trees seemed to widen out, making it a perfect space for what they were now looking at. A large cabin made of solid oak wood was built right in the middle of the enclosure. It could almost be referred to as a house, due to its large size, complete with a window and a door. The front of the cabin faced the right side of the two men. Lucas stood in awe when he first noticed its presence.

"I was out hunting about a day ago when I came across this place," Locke said. "I tried to open the door, but it is locked shut. The window is much too small to go through, so I need your help to open it."

"How could I help?" Lucas asked questioningly, still thinking about what to make of the cabin in the jungle.

Locke expected the question sooner or later.

"I took a further look around and I noticed a pile of large logs lying over there. They were probably extras when the place was being built," Locke said in response while pointing to the right side of the cabin, north of them. "Luke, together we can lift one of the logs up and strike the door with the butt end, hopefully knocking it down, so we can get inside."

First, Lucas was confused. Apparently Locke had wanted them to charge at the door with a big log. He had seen it done in old movies, where lots of knights used the same technique to break down its enemy's door, infiltrating the opposing castle. He never thought it would work on a cabin in the jungle, with only two men. The very thought itself was outrageous. His second impression was that Locke was crazy. Why would he want to go through all this trouble to get in the cabin? It probably wouldn't provide much of anything helpful to them. It had long been deserted, from what he could tell. But a little spark inside of Luke wanted to find out if anything was inside, too.

"Okay, show me where the logs are, Locke. I'll help you."

"Great," Locke said. "They're over this way."

Luke followed him past the cabin until they reached the pile of logs. They found a large and heavy one and dragged it back to the cabin. They looked at each other, then at the hut, and finally down to the log. They both reached down and wrapped their arm underneath it, Luke closer to the front and Locke grabbing the rear. With a small grunt, they hauled the log up. Luke glanced back at Locke.

"Ready?" he asked.

Locke nodded. He was unsure of whether his plan would work or not, but all he knew was that they had to get inside the cabin. There was something inside. He didn't know exactly what it was yet, but he knew it was important.

"1"

Locke was ready, holding the log up at his waist. He was intent on making this work.

"2"

Luke held the log in position as he felt the rough bark on his sweaty palms. He tightened his grip, ready for the sudden impact ready to come.

"3!"

Both men charged toward the cabin door, log in hand. Instantly, they felt a sudden jolt as the large oak trunk hit the doorway of the large cabin. Luke had braced himself. Locke watched intently. At once, the hinges broke away, the lock was broken off, and the door fell off. They dropped the log and glanced at each other. Locke had a big grin on his face, obviously happy and relieved that his plan had succeeded. He gave Luke a look that seemed to say 'Go on in,' which he complimented with a nod of his head toward the cabin. Luke was wary. He didn't want to be the first to go in and he didn't know what would be inside, but Locke seemed to insist on it. Reluctantly, Luke went first and Locke followed close behind. He walked to the entrance and gasped as he peered inside.

There were hundreds of human bones scattered on the floor of the cabin.