A/N: Greetings all. I've decided to do a massive overhaul on several of my stories. So this is the revamped version of 'Shadows in the Mist'. I've given it a new title, cause it's a virtually new story. I hope ya'll enjoy it.

What a blind person needs is not a teacher but another self.---Helen Keller

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters. Don't sue me--all you'll get is about $7,000+ in college loans.

Chapter 1: Day of Destiny

Noise. Screams and shouts, crackling fires, crashing waves. Too much noise combined with too many smells for Fiona to compute all at once. She opened her eyes, knowing it would do no good, but even the blank nexus that replaced her sight was better than the total blackness behind her eyelids. Fiona's hands shot out automatically, feeling the area around her, fingers and tactile senses telling her what her eyes could not. There was sand beneath her, and she could hear waves above the shouts. 'A beach,' Fiona realized. 'I must be on a beach.'

Somehow, that realization did not comfort her any. Fiona wasn't sure why, but she was certain that she was not supposed to be on a beach. The blind woman sat up slowly, testing her limbs, before rising to a crouch. She brushed her hands through the sand in the area surrounding her in a vain attempt to find her cane. When her search failed, Fiona pushed herself up to her feet. She didn't know where she was, but she had a feeling that she couldn't just stay there.

Her arms stretched out at waist level, Fiona took a tentative step forward, then another. After a couple of steps her hands hit an odd-shaped twist of metal. Memories flooded back to her as she ran her hands along the metal carefully, walking parallel to it. The metal was warm to the touch, and Fiona's fingers had to tread lightly to avoid sharp edges.

After making her way around the first obstacle, the blind woman continued up the beach, dragging her feet in the sand to avoid tripping on debris. She headed out from the crash, trying to keep the loud sounds of the engines to her right. Fiona could feel strong winds pulling at her, though she wasn't entirely certain as to what the source was. She suspected that one of the engines was still running, a suspicion that gave her all the more motivation to keep moving.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the ground, and Fiona dropped into a crouch, ducking her head into her chest. She could feel the heat of various fires around her, and could only hope that she wasn't walking towards an inferno. As though to confirm her fears, the next piece of metal that she touched caused Fiona to jerk back her hands as soon as she brushed against it. The burning metal renewed the danger she was in by simply walking around. The plane had crashed, and it was obviously in pieces…Fiona was going to need help if she was going to stay safe.

The blind woman stood still as she tried to figure out what to do. A couple of people jostled past her in their own shock and panic, but the third time she felt someone brush past her, she reached out and grabbed their arm. "Excuse me," she said quietly, her voice somewhat raw from the smoke. "Can you help me?"

Sayid looked first to the stranger's hand on his arm, then into the young woman's face. She was petite, standing just below his shoulder, and wisps of her dark hair were escaping the braid that ran down her back. She was young, only in her early twenties, and she spoke with an odd, almost whimsical accent that he couldn't quite place. For a moment, he stood there confused, unsure of what she needed, as she didn't appear to be injured, except for a gash across her right temple. Wide green eyes stared blankly past him, and suddenly he realized that the young woman was blind.

"What do you need?" he asked. Fiona smiled almost sheepishly.

"I can't…find my way out," she answered awkwardly, hoping he would understand. She wasn't entirely sure of what she asking to begin with; let alone how to phrase it. All she knew was that she couldn't stay where she was.

"Ah," Sayid answered after a brief moment. He glanced around the surrounding area, getting a grasp on the girl's predicament. "I understand." Her hand was still on his arm, grasping it with just a bit more pressure than was necessary, as though she was afraid that he was going to abandon her suddenly to figure out the maze of debris alone. He gently took her hand and intertwined her arm in his, patting her hand in reassurance. "Don't worry.

Fiona placed her left hand on his arm to stabilize herself a little bit more. Sayid led her slowly through the minefield of debris until they reached a spot that was relatively clear.

"Here we are," he said at last, releasing her arm, but still holding onto her hand as he looked around to double-check the area. "This area is fairly clear. You should probably stay put so that you don't get hurt."

Fiona opened her mouth as though to protest, but after a moment of hesitation closed it and nodded instead. "Alright." Sayid released her hand and turned to start walking back towards the crash.

"Wait!" Fiona's sudden call made him turn back towards the blind woman. "What is your name?"

After a moment's pause he answered. "Sayid. And you?"

"Fiona. Fiona Harper."

Time passed, as it always did. Fiona sat in her spot, listening to the intense bustle behind her. Many were still caught up in their individual states of shock, each dealing with what had happened in their own way. Fiona sighed. Somehow, once she had realized what had happened, the entire ordeal did not seem to faze her much. Perhaps she had simply endured enough in her life to harden her against disaster. Or perhaps it was just easier not to panic over things when one couldn't see them.

Someone came up behind her, and Fiona turned and tilted her head. She waited as they came up beside her. She suspected that the individual was male, and from the sound of their heavy shuffling, she would wager a rather large male.

"Yo, you're the blind chick, right?" Fiona lifted her head and "looked" in the direction of the voice. She wasn't sure who would have told the man about her, but someone must have pointed her out to him. Perhaps it was Sayid, she thought briefly.

"Well, I am blind, and I suppose one could call me a 'chick' if they so desired," she answered dryly. "My name is Fiona."

Though she couldn't see it, the man before her nodded. "Ri-i-ight. Call me Hurley." There was a beat of uncomfortable silence before Hurley seemed to recall why he was there.

"So…we've got chicken or lasagna."

Fiona tilted her head up, her brow knitted in confusion. Whatever she had expected to come out of Hurley's mouth, it hadn't been that. "Sorry?"

There was another moment of uncomfortable silence. "Oh, right. Sorry. Uh, meals, you know…from the plane? They're not cooked, but they can't be worse cold than they were heated."

The blind woman nodded in understanding. "No, I suppose not." She took a deep breath, pursing her lips in thought. "Chicken sounds good," she said with an amused smile. Hurley nodded, and she could hear the crinkling o aluminum as she lifted her hands palm up. Hurley awkwardly placed the meal in her hands, carefully balancing a set of plastic silverware on top. He straightened and turned to leave.

"Thank you, Hurley," Fiona said kindly, genuine gratitude in her voice.

"No problem. Enjoy," Hurley answered, before going off to continue distributing food. Fiona sighed and felt the edges of the container in her lap carefully before ripping off the aluminum covering.

Fiona shivered as night fell on the beach, her short sleeve shirt doing little to protect her from the cooling air. She could smell burning wood and smoke behind her and to her left; at least one bonfire was burning. With a sigh, the blind woman rose to her feet, too stubborn to wait for help. Fiona had had enough help for one day; something in her needed to achieve this one little thing on her own. Slowly, she began to make her way towards the fires, hands spread out as before, dragging her feet in the sand to try and avoid tripping.

The blind woman tried to remember the path that Sayid had used to lead her from the crash earlier, but almost immediately she could tell that debris had been moved and that the terrain was not as it had been earlier. And unfortunately, sand was sand, and it all felt the same under her feet. Nonetheless, Fiona managed to make her way a good distance up the beach towards the other survivors.

The closer she got however, the more difficult her path became. Smells and noises increased around her, confusing her sense of direction, and there were more obstacles in her path than before. As she paused to get her bearings, a familiar voice caught her ear, and she turned too quickly. Her foot caught on a piece of metal on the ground, and she fell to her knees, managing to catch herself on her palms.

Fiona knelt there for a moment, on her hands and knees, a sob catching in her throat. All of the stress and shock of the day was starting to catch up with her, and she pounded a fist on the ground in frustration. She hated this. Fiona Harper was too independent and too used to being able to take care of herself to have to depend on strangers for her basic needs. She just couldn't stand the possibility of having to be led around by the hand like…like a blind person.

A scoffing huff left her throat as Fiona pulled herself to her knees. She brushed the sand from her hands before running her hands over her hair, smoothing back some of her runaway wisps. Taking a deep breath, she swept her fingers over her face, rubbing away the tears that threatened to escape. Carefully, Fiona rose to her feet, prepared to try again. She could do this, she told herself. She had survived worse. She could do this.

As she readied herself to set out again, a call stopped her before she began. "Fiona!" The woman turned in the direction of the voice, recognizing its owner.

"Sayid," she answered as the Middle Eastern man approached her.

"You shouldn't be wandering around alone," he chided gently, mentally smacking himself for forgetting about the young woman. He took her arm and led her to where he and Charlie had been sitting.

Fiona smiled at him softly as he introduced her to Charlie and sat her down next to their fire. Perhaps she could do this after all.

The trio sat around their fire quietly, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. Fiona could practically feel Sayid brooding beside her, and she could understand the man's worry. It seemed as though someone should have found them by now.

Suddenly, Fiona leapt to her feet and spun around, facing the wreckage and the jungle. She took a hesitant step towards it before pausing, Sayid standing behind her. "What is it?" he asked in concern.

There was a moment of silence before the blind woman answered him. "There's something out there."

Before Sayid could ask her what she meant, a great crashing sound came from the jungle. Many survivors stood or looked at the jungle in fear as something knocked down trees in the jungle and an eerie roar filled the air.

Fiona knelt in the sand, one hand pressed palm down in the sand, feeling the ground vibrating from the creature's movements. She tilted her head, trying to discern what the creature could possibly be. Finally she stood in frustration; not only was the sand a poor conduction for the pulsations that told her where the creature was, but it didn't sound or move like any jungle animal she knew of. When Sayid started to move past her, Fiona stuck out her hand and took his arm lightly, following him a little closer to the others.

After a few tense moments, Fiona sighed in relief; the creature was moving away from the beach. It took a minute more before the rest of the group realized that they were safe, at least for the time being. As they made their way back to their respective fires, there was a sense of unease among the group. There was something not quite right about this island.