It was another ordinary day for the thirteen survivors.
Or at least as ordinary as can be for people stranded on an
island after a plane crash. Sayid was working quietly on his
maps while a quiet Shannon looked on, twirling her hair around
her finger flirtatiously. Boone and Locke were a few miles away
searching for food (and who knows what else). Kate and Sawyer
were taking a nap on the beach, Jack was ruffling through his
duffel bag, looking for ointment after he'd cut his hand with
a knife. The others-Michael, Walt, Hurley, Charlie, Sun, and
Jin were on other parts of the island, doing their own thing
and not bothering anyone.
Suddenly, a noise made Sayid stop working on the maps and
cock his head. "Shannon, do you hear that?"
"I hear the leaves rustling...and my heart beating," she
smiled coyly.
"No, listen; it sounds like a-"
Before the last word escaped his lips, he grabbed Shannon
and the two of them ran to find the others. He finally maneged
to find Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Charlie and struggled to catch
his breath. "There's a plane! I can hear it!" he panted.
Jack listened with the others and then whoops and hollers
of joy followed.
"We're finally gonna get off this damn island!" Kate
shouted as she shielded her eyes from the sun.
Sure enough, a small white plane flew overhead, and the
crew yelled and waved their arms in the air frantically. It
was the first sign of any help since the plane THEY had been
on crash-landed. Now it looked as if their rescue had finally
come.
"No, wait! Where's it going? It can't just fly right over
us and leave!" Shannon screamed.
"If somebody knew we were here, you'd think that plane
was just here to taunt us, dude," Hurley glanced at Jack,
grimacing.
But as Jack watched closely, he could have swore that he
saw something fall from the plane. Something big. Something
that was meant to land on the island. Something that would either
help them or harm them.
TWO DAYS LATER
Charlie kicked at the sand, half out of boredom and half
out of anger. "The whole time I saw that plane overhead, you
know what I was thinking?"
Hurley looked out towards the water before looking back
to his friend. "Claire?"
"Yeah. I bet I was the only one wondering about her. I
wouldn't have got on that bloody plane until I found her,
either."
"Maybe you wouldn't have had to. Maybe she would've come
back."
"It's kind of funny. We get stranded on this Hell and
suddenly everyone has to help each other, but the minute we
even think we're about to be rescued, it's every man for
himself," Charlie laughed bitterly.
"If you'd stayed to look for her, dude, I'd be right there
with you," Hurley said.
"Thanks, Hurley. Well, I'm going to call it a night."
"Okay. Dream of peanut butter, dude."
When Charlie had gone, Hurley sighed. As much as he HAD
wished the plane would have rescued him, he was like Charlie.
He would have wanted everyone to be there, too, safe and sound.
These people had become family to him and if there was one thing
he knew in life, it's that family is always there for each other.
As he started to get ready for bed, however, he thought
he heard a voice say something from behind him. He turned around,
only to find the jungle-like territory behind him. "Hello?"
he called out. "Charlie, is that you, dude?"
The only thing that answered him was silence for a minute
before he heard what sounded like singing; a woman singing.
"Come out, come out wherever you are," Hurley sang back
in reply, figuring it was just one of the girls, probably drunk.
Once again, nobody answered, but as he lay on the sand
and covered himself with a blanket that Locke had made out of
leaves, he wasn't sure if he had heard that voice before. It
sounded awfully different from Kate, Shannon, or even Sun's.
She hastily wiped the tears from her eyes and jumped down
from the tree. She hated being here and hated herself even more
for hiding when she heard a voice. She hadn't been scared in
years and she wasn't about to start now. Slowly and carefully,
she made her way towards the shore and the sleeping man. When
she saw him clearly, she noticed that he was shivering. He had
a blanket of leaves draped over him to his waist, but a breeze
had sent a chill through the air. Gently, she grabbed the cover
and puled it up over his shoulders. He looked so calm, so
peaceful. So...okay with his situation. He had heard him talking
to someone earlier and she could tell instantly that he was
a gentle soul. Kneeling beside him, she gently placed the back
of her hand on his cool cheek and began to softly sing.
"Life guardians plenty
Take me back
To the place we left
Where my worry melts
All the secret things that we feel
In our life guardians plenty."
Before she could sing anymore, she heard a dog barking
in the distance and decided it was time to go to sleep herself.
Charlie was just about to drift off when he heard a hushed
voice he knew all too well.
"Dude; Charlie, man wake up!"
Charlie raised his head and looked up at Hurley, who looked
both ecstatically happy and terrified. "What is it, Hurley?
Why aren't you asleep?"
"Dude, when you left earlier, I thought I heard someone
in the woods, right? Well, there's a woman out there, man! I
didn't see her, but I heard her. She was singing. She was singing
to me and she touched my cheek, man! I know she did."
"Hurley, have you been eating those berries again? An
unknown woman touched your cheek and sang to you?" Charlie sat
up, half-amused at this point.
"I know it's totally whacked, man, but I'm telling you.
It was weird, but kinda nice. I haven't had a woman touch me
in a while...my mom notwithstanding."
Charlie chuckled. It was one of the few times he had laughed
since he had been on the island. "Hurley, go back to sleep.
There's nobody else here except us. You were dreaming."
"It felt too real, man." Hurley placed his hand to his
cheek as if he could still feel her touch.
"Look, if you really think there's someone else here besides
us, get Locke to help you find her. You know how he loves to
discover. Him and Boone; they'll find her. Otherwise, go back
to sleep."
Aggravated and more confused than before, Hurley shook
his head and walked off. Maybe it WAS a dream. But if it wasn't
Charlie was never going to hear the end of it.