Author's Notes: I got the idea for this short story after watching the special features for Season 4. There was a short video starring Vincent right before he runs by Jack in the pilot episode. You can see it on Youtube. I was unable to get the link up here so you'll have to search for it yourself, sorry about that. Just type "Lost so it begins" in the search bar and hit the first video in the list.
There was no more pain. He could remember there being lots of pain. Before that, he had been in a cage. It had been uncomfortable, but there were lots of good smells. There was something dead near his cage. Yes, that had been one of the better smells. But someone had put the dead thing in some kind of box. How inconsiderate. Master had sent him to that cage. It had not been fun, like Master promised. It was bumpy and loud. His cage rattled too much. Thankfully there had been that dead thing to smell. The bumping had gotten worse, much worse. There had been a sound like that of a screaming animal, but worse. It had it hurt his ears. There was a bright light... and now he was here. Outside, with trees, and birds, and water. He wagged his tail. There were some clothes on the ground which smelled very nice. Suddenly, he heard a whistle. The dead thing was nearby! He rushed through the undergrowth towards it. But it was not dead, or at least it did not look dead. It smelled like it, but only faintly now. It was a man, beckoning towards him. "Come here, come on." Said the man. He came, happily. "Good boy." Said the man. The man made a bunch of noises that he could not understand. Why did humans make so much noise? Suddenly, he knew he had to go find someone. Someone who this dead-smelling man knew. He trotted through the forest, towards this someone. He slowed as he came close. He could see the someone now. It was a man, older than Master, and he was hurt and confused. He could sense that in him. He stopped and looked at this man. He did not smell dead so he was probably alright. Yes, the man was alright, so he ran off, happy to complete his mission.
Jack got up slowly. The dog had run off, back into the bamboo. He groaned and looked down. He was bleeding, so he pulled a small bottle of alcohol from his pocket. How had that gotten there? Where am I? He thought. I... I can't remember... Jack began to run out from the bamboo, suddenly remembering where he was.
So it begins.
