What's shakin' bacon. I know I'm supposed to be working on 'Just In Case' but I've hit a rather large bump in the road.
Ethan: More like a speed bump surrounded by potholes…
So I just did a few one shots. I have plans for more because I'm seriously bored out of my mind in history, I drew all over my arm in pen today making a pretty tattoo! But anyways, I made like almost a series
Ethan: If you call two a serious
Of One-shots, that aren't that happy, because I've got to stop making Jack and Kate kiss in every single story. The next one I write might be up as early as tonight, then I might write one more (You know what about CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88) This is where I laugh evilly.
Ethan: (joins in the evil laughing) >:)
We've got to do that more often…
And remember it's DARK! D-A-R-K! So I apologize to all those people in advance who are gonna be like "WTF you made sad fic, I don't like it, SCORN! FOR SHAME!"

The Sickness

The wind wafted gently through the air, lightly caressing everything it passed in a calming, but damp coolness. It came directly from the salty ocean, carrying with it the mist that evaporated from the burning dictator of a sun. On days like this though, it was more then welcomed. Everyone's spirit seemed to need cleansing, with Boone's death upsetting everyone, and then Claire's baby being born in the same day, it was very unnerving.

They were all changing. Not just physically, a little weight loss, a little muscle built nor intellectually. Sure they had learned many things while being marooned, like where the fish gathered in the morning, to which passion fruit where ripe and ready to eat. They had also changed socially, being stranded with less then fifty other people made you close friends, but even closer enemies. Each day everyone was becoming even more ruthless, ready to scorn their closest friends until the sun went down.

In Kate's right state of mind, she knew that it was only a matter of time, whether it be days, weeks, months or even years, before each and every person had turned on each other. In her opinion they were already halfway there; the only thing stopping from an eruption was the social aspect of the castaways, it seemed to assuage the urge to an all out free-for-all. But whatever the mind doesn't use, it doesn't remember. Soon enough they would all be savages, each having a downfall from socialite to troglodyte in their own way.

Shannon sat on the beach, day and night, never rising from her spot, never lifting a finger. Sometimes she'd be crying, other times she'd simply be staring out to the ocean, a look of longing on her face. Most of the castaways had given up trying to inveigle to come back to the shelters.

Claire had showed off her new baby to Shannon, but received nothing more then a mere smile. Locke had brought her Boone's bag and offered her his apologizes, but she didn't even utter a thank you. Kate had thought to go talk to her once, had actually worked up the strength to try and keep up her end of the conversation, but as she approached, she saw that familiar glint in Shannon's eyes; the one her eyes usually gripped, the one that pleaded to be left alone.

Only Sayid had never chosen to leave her side. He would once in a blue moon, to take care of a few things, or to retrieve Shannon some food when it was never brought to them. Kate grinned weakly as she watched Shannon and Sayid, their tattered clothes and mussed hair blowing in the fluffy wind. She marveled at the loyalty he held for her, and then shook her head. This had to be much more then loyalty, this was a description of pure love.

The wind gusted pushing the blue tarp in front of Kate's face, obstructing her view of the couple. It had picked up quite a bit in the last few minutes, indicating another immanent storm approaching with the overcast of grumbling gray clouds. It was hard enough to make the coconuts knock together in the nearby trees, keep them in a rhythmic motion, but it still felt light as a feather to the touch of her skin, lingering long enough just to give her tickling goose bumps.

Something stirred in the back of the tent and once again Kate's eyes were drawn away from Sayid and Shannon, it was for the best anyways, her mom always told her to mind her own business. Turning her head to peer over her shoulder, she saw Jack begin to wake from his slumber. The few days that had passed after Boone's untimely demise, Jack didn't get much rest, he still placed blame on Locke for not telling him the truth to begin with.

So Kate had given Jack a few days to do the right thing, to let it blow over with Locke, but he chose to hold a never ending vendetta against him. Staying up most of the night, not giving his body the time it needed to replenish his blood supply. She was surprised to see Jack being one of the first to loose hold on amity, she thought the doctor would be last to go. In a pitiful attempt to save him she decided to take matters into her own hands, drugging his juice so that he could get a few moments rest, maybe when he woke up from dreams of his home and family, he'd be more like himself.

She felt a surge of guilt jolt through her as he groaned painfully, his eyes struggling to keep open, all bloodshot and beaten. She briefly remembered the last few sentences he said to her before he passed out, something along the lines of, What did you do? Followed by a weak, O…Okay, before his body gave out and collapsed into a pit of synthetic slumber.

He started shifting his weight and pushed to get to a steady sitting position, "Hey," Kate greeted as she moved over, grasping his arm gently she helped him up. Sitting next to him in the sticky silence quickly grew more uncomfortable as the guilt boiled inside of her, "How are you feeling?" she asked, unable to stand the unkind stillness any longer.

"I feel like I need an aspirin," he grunted truthfully has his hand came to his incarnadine eyes, protecting them from the weak sliver of the retreating sun that had the strength to press between the tarp flaps.

"The last thing you need is an aspirin," Kate remarked as she glanced over Jack's weakened condition, his body was pallid and shaking with weak convulsions, "One of those could put you out of business for some time."

"Oh and a sleeping pill wouldn't?" he questioned harshly. Kate turned her gaze away from him, awaiting another lecture, "What if you'd put in the wrong amount?"

"I've done the before, Jack," she shot back, then immediately bit her tongue, that didn't seem like one of the best things to say at this very moment. As the seconds passed she could literally feel the trust they'd built amongst each other, crumbling like a squashed cookie.

"I didn't mean it like that," Kate replied after a minute, "But I'm not incompetent Jack, I can do things for myself."

"Like drug people?" Jack countered with a stern tone.

Kate sighed, she wasn't going to get through Jack, at least not at this very moment she pushed herself off the sandy ground and gave Jack a somewhat angry look.

As she bent over to move out of the tent, one of Jack's hands shot out and grabbed her wrist callously, she turned back to look at him, a movement of angry seemed to sweep through him, "Where is it?" he growled.

"Where's what?" she asked unsure of what he was referring too, she looked directly into his eyes, then down at the hand clamped on her wrist.

"Where is it?" he demanded strictly, "I'm not playing games Kate," he warned.

She looked into his eyes and saw something had changed in him; a new emotion had almost usurped him. She could see his skin glisten with sweat, and the veins in his neck pump with rage, "Jack," she told him calmly, hiding the terrorizing fear expertly, "I don't know what you're asking for."

"Kate, I swear to God," he told her as his ashen face reddened with rage, so much so that it was almost purple in color.

"I don't know," she told him, her fear starting to break through its containments. He stared her down for several minutes until her eyes began to water and sparkle in the weak light, "I don't know," she repeated.

Looking as if he'd just been hit with a sack of bricks, Jack quickly released her wrist. He analyzed his hand, then glanced up at Kate's red wrist that she cradled gently in her hand, "I'm sorry Kate," he told her, his voice sounding distant at times, making his mind seem on vacation.

"It's okay," she assured, "I know it's not your fault, you haven't really been yourself lately," she excused.

"Yeah," he nodded in agreement, "Still that was no reason to go off on you," he stated, "You were just trying to help. I didn't hurt your wrist did I?"

"No, no it's fine," she told him and to prove her point flopped her wrist around every which way.

"Alright," he said with a weak smile, "I'm going to go get a drink of water," he told her as he rose from his spot and headed to the opening of the tent.

"Jack?" Kate called to him before he left. He stopped at the doorway waiting for her to continue, "What were you looking for anyways?"

"The key from around my neck," he told her calmly, wearing a grin to relax her, but all it did was frighten her more, "I don't know where it is."

Kate leaned over and picked something off the ground and handed it back to Jack, "It fell off while you were sleeping, you toss and turn a lot," she informed.

He chuckled as he reached for the necklace, "I'm not an easy sleeper," he told her as he tied the ratty, grimy string around his neck once again, "After I get a drink, maybe I'll get some natural sleep, I'll be fine in the morning again," he disclosed with a smile.

Kate smiled back forcibly and watched as he left the tent, thunder rolled in the air and the ocean waves seem to be hurling themselves in pillars at the discombobulated shore. Kate looked out and saw the black skies bullying the gray waters around, Sayid was frantically trying to barter with Shannon to come inside their tent before the rain started while she sat simply not listening to a word he said. Kate knew Shannon wouldn't move, and then Sayid would try to carry her off, but Shannon was one of those spoiled rich kids who could almost change their density into a pound of wet cement when it came to being pressured to go somewhere they didn't wan to.

Barking could be heard in the distance as Kate stuck her head even further out of the tent. Walt stood with Michael beside him, both trying to calm Vincent as he growled at them ferociously, the golden hairs on his back standing on end as his pearl white teeth glinted. Michael pushed Walt behind him as Vincent seemed to bark louder and louder, as drool dripped into the sand below him.

Kate moved further back into her tent, grasping her knees close to her chest she waited as the rain struck the ground like pennies being dropped from the Empire State Building, they hit the sand and left an indent. With one last look Kate noticed Sayid trying to carry Shannon back to a shelter as lighting struck only a few yards down the beach.

Danielle was right there was a sickness and it was coming if not already here. Some of the survivors were already infected should could tell it, Jack was, Vincent was, Shannon was. They had all clearly had their downfall from grace, she wondered silently who would be next, if Claire's baby boy would turn feral, or would it be Sawyer, making him even worse.

It didn't really matter, because faster then a blink of an eye, or slower then the pace of a snail, they were all going to catch it. Charlie was going to hurt Claire, Claire would forget about her baby, Sayid was eventually going to stop caring about Shannon, Hurley would stop making jokes, Sawyer would stop with the wise cracks, and Locke would loose what was left of his sanity, which she wasn't looking forward to, especially since he had all those hunting knives stole away somewhere. But on that note, it probably wasn't a good idea to give Jack the key to the case back.

Kate laid her head gently on an airplane pillow and stared at her wrist which was beginning to swell in size. She had lied when she said it felt good, but there was no need to upset Jack further.

Incensed yelling interrupted her trail of thought and she could instantly recognize it as Jack and Sawyer, probably butting heads about something meaningless and trivial, but now that they were infected (Jack at least), everything seemed worth fighting for. In a few minutes they would start to fight, and if someone didn't stop them it would probably be the death of one of them. The first notch out of forty-four. They would drop slowly, only those immune to the sickness would be spared. And Kate hoped to God silently, that she wouldn't be one of them.

I hope you enjoyed my anger and darkness. See y'all again real soon
Ethan: Yeah here!