RECLUSIVE

by Teedus

Michael Flashback about his time off the island after his escape. Season Four - Episode Three

INT. MONITORING ROOM (FLASHBACK)

Beep ... beep. The sound of a heart monitor fills a small room partially lit by a dim lamp on a bedside table. A door next to a wheelchair in the corner of the room opens and a MAN and WOMAN step past the threshold wearing white doctor's coats under casual clothing. They look tired and disheveled.
They reach the end of a bed where a body lays wrapped in a wool blanket. The MAN grabs the chart hanging off the frame and flips through a page; he then hands the chart to the WOMAN.

WOMAN His vitals appear to be stabilizing.

MAN His heart rate is a little elevated, I want to watch that over night.

WOMAN His toxin levels are all within range.

MAN Let's keep the drip running overnight. We might have a late call.

WOMAN I'll get someone on it.

MAN Put Jason on it, I want hands open.

She pulls out a pen from her coat pocket and begins to write on the chart.

WOMAN And the results on the boy?

MAN Kevin should be prepping them.

The WOMAN places the chart back onto the frame.

WOMAN What are you thinking?

MAN (Beat)
This could be it, Monica.

MONICA And the boy?

MAN We'll have to wait on him for that.
But once he comes to we can progress with our work on Billy.

MONICA You really put a lot of faith in that connection, don't you?

MAN After everything we saw, you still have your doubts?

MONICA I'm a woman of science and there is a logical explanation for what happened with Billy.

MAN You of all people should know that science can only go so far.

MONICA But what we're talking about is genetics and the basic concept of evolution. Nothing more.

MAN I have faith.

WOMAN In what?

MAN Something more than what's in front of our eyes.

WOMAN You'll never let that go will you,
Harry. Thus this debate should be best left to time.

They turn and walk out of the room, closing the door behind them. The body on the bed lays stiff and lonely. But suddenly, the eyes on the dark face shoot open: MICHAEL.

Tap ... tap. MICHAEL's fingers slowly move. He begins to wiggle his toes, he shifts his legs, he turns his body. In time he slowly sits up and throws back the covers.
As he feels the textures on his face he notes their smoothness - his beard has been shaved off and his hair is shorter and matted.

VOICE (Whisper)
Dad!

MICHAEL applies pressure to his head and strains his eyes.

MICHAEL Walt?

He pulls out the heart monitor and I.V tubes and tries to stand but falls flat on the floor, dizzy and weak. He begins to crawl towards the door and lifts himself onto the wheelchair propped next to it.

WALT (Whisper)
Dad!

MICHAEL opens the door and rolls out into the hallway.

INT. HALLWAY

Fluorescent lights hang overhead in an otherwise damp and dark hallway. At the far end of the corridor, a light shines through a window onto the opposite wall. MICHAEL rolls towards it.

When he reaches the window he grabs the ledge and uses his upper body to stand. He looks through the glass and into a bright room where HARRY injects a fluid into an I.V tube next to a bed where a BOY lays unconscious: WALT.

MICHAEL bangs on the window.

MICHAEL Walt! Get away from my boy!

HARRY turns and lifts a walkie-talkie from his back pocket.
He speaks into it. When he finishes, a door in the distance opens and heavy footsteps clamor along the concrete floor.
Two young MEN turn the corner; MICHAEL falls onto the floor and tries to push himself away from them.

MICHAEL (CONT'D)
What are you doing?! Who are you?!

MAN Michael - calm down. We're here to help you. My name is doctor -

MICHAEL The hell you are! Where am I?!

The lights overhead begin to flicker.

MAN Michael, you have to calm down.

MICHAEL What's wrong with my son?! What are you doing to him?!

One of the lights bursts and glass rains down on the floor,
scattering all over the place.

WALT Dad!

MICHAEL looks around.

MICHAEL Walt?!

MONICA enters the corridor and pushes past the men. With a needle held carefully in her hands, she approaches MICHAEL and sticks him in the arm. MICHAEL thrashes, but soon the room blurs and he passes out.

CUT TO:

LOST

INT. MONITORING ROOM (FLASHBACK)

MICHAEL wakes up lying back in bed in the monitoring room. He tries to lift himself up but his arms and legs are bound by straps. Suddenly, the backside of his bed lifts and forms into a sitting position.

HARRY You're awake.

HARRY speaks from the edge of the bed with MICHAEL's chart in one hand, and a remote in the other.

HARRY (CONT'D)
I'm sorry about the restraints Michael, but we need you to remain calm.

MICHAEL What are you doing to my son?!

HARRY We're trying to help him.

MICHAEL Help him? Why? Who are you people?

HARRY places the remote and chart at the edge of the bed and grabs a chair sitting against the wall. He drags it next to MICHAEL and sits down.

HARRY We've been watching you and your son for a little over a week now.
We're a company named Reclusive,
and we're a subsidiary branch to a company named D.H.A.R.M.A.

MICHAEL thrashes around.

MICHAEL You're the ones that took my son!

HARRY Took your son?

MICHAEL On the island!

HARRY So you were really there?

MICHAEL What?

HARRY The island. I can't tell you what this means. We've been looking for it for quite some time now,
Michael.

MICHAEL Why?

HARRY We were hired to find it. People from D.H.A.R.M.A. went radio silent and we're looking for them.

MICHAEL Your people are insane!

HARRY Michael, there is something you need to know about your son.

MICHAEL What's wrong with him?!

HARRY Walt is in a coma.

Silence.

HARRY (CONT'D)
He was found on the boat in his current state. When you were found you were dehydrated and experiencing the effects of magnetic radiation.

MICHAEL Magnetic - what?

HARRY We were hoping you would tell us.

MICHAEL I don't know! What's causing Walt's coma?

HARRY Walt's brain activity is spiking.
It's too much for his body, so it's shut down to protect him. We're trying to control it and wake him,
but we haven't been successful. We need your help.

MICHAEL My help?

HARRY You are Walt's father and share the closest relation with him. His mother would have been a more suitable candidate, but unfortunately she died. With the connection to your son both emotionally and biologically, you could help us wake him up.

MICHAEL How?

HARRY It'd be as simple as just staying with him, talking to him.

MICHAEL (Beat)
Why are you helping us?

HARRY Because I'm a doctor. But to be fair, there is more. I won't lie Michael, we need your help getting back to the island.

MICHAEL And what, you think waking up my son is going to do it?

HARRY Yes. I can't tell you why, but you'll know if and when you commit to helping us. We don't have much time, so decide quickly. I'll be back in a couple of hours.

He stands and walks across the room towards the door.

MICHAEL Where are we?

HARRY places a hand on the doorknob and turns.

HARRY Portland. You and your son were found just outside our building at the harbour. You were taken in by Providence Portland Medical and discharged to us.

He opens the door.

HARRY (CONT'D)
Oh, and by the way, you and your son are famous; the soul survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. You've made the headlines.

HARRY walks out of the room and closes the door behind him.

EXT. JUNGLE - DAY (END FLASHBACK)

MICHAEL, JIN, BERNARD, SAYID and KEVIN walk through the dense jungle. The day is young and the humidity sticks to their clothing.

KEVIN Michael!

SAYID Keep quiet.

MICHAEL Let him talk.

KEVIN You have to convince them, Michael.

MICHAEL Of what?

KEVIN That I'm here to help your friends!

SAYID By attacking us? You said it yourself; Michael was bait so why should any of us trust a word you're saying?

KEVIN We are here to help. Michael,
please! After everything, you know you believe me!

SAYID He's desperate.

KEVIN Everything had to happen this way.
You can't do this!

A couple of yards out the jungle becomes thinner and an opening to a clearing looms at its edge. As they walk on, an image is drawn to MICHAEL's attention from the corner of his eye and he stops frozen in his tracks; a man whose skin is scorched stands a dozen or so yards out, eyeing him.

MICHAEL That's ... impossible.

SCORCHED MAN Leahcim, denraw erew uoy.

MICHAEL ... You're dead.

Everyone stops and turns to him.

SAYID What is it?

MICHAEL Can't you -

He turns back towards the SCORCHED MAN, but he is gone.

BERNARD Are you alright, Michael?

MICHAEL Yeah, it's nothing, sorry. I'm just ... tired.

They continue forward.

EXT. PERIMETER FENCE - DAY

CLAIRE and AARON, ROSE, and STEVE walk out of the jungle and arrive at a clearing. Bordering the treeline are tall posts at intervals of a dozen feet.

STEVE Where are we now?

ROSE Hon, I have no idea.

STEVE He told us to keep going North.
This has to be something.

CLAIRE I think this is where their camp is.

ROSE The others?

CLAIRE Kate mentioned a fence like this. I think we're at their camp.

STEVE What kind of fence -

The sound of rustling trees stirs them and they turn around,
tense.

STEVE (CONT'D)
Someone's coming!

SAYID and company step out into the clearing with weapons raised.

CLAIRE Sayid?

SAYID Claire! What are you doing here?
Where is everyone?

CLAIRE We got separated. Whatever is making people sick is spreading throughout the camp. Everyone is everywhere.

She spots MICHAEL.

CLAIRE (CONT'D)
Michael? What - what are you doing here?

SAYID (Nodding to Kevin)
He came with him on the boat. And his people are invading our beach.

CLAIRE But aren't they here to help us?

KEVIN We are!

SAYID hits him over the head with the rifle. KEVIN falls to the floor unconscious.

MICHAEL Sayid!

SAYID They're not here to help anybody.

He steps towards the fence. ROSE and BERNARD approach each other and kiss, happy tears streaming down their cheeks. JIN and MICHAEL take care of KEVIN.

INT. BLACK ROCK - DAY

BEN wakes up tied to a post inside a room in the BLACK ROCK.
LOCKE is sitting on a barrel a few feet away, sharpening a knife. BEN looks down and sees a trail of powder leading away from his feet to one of the barrels.

BEN John, what is this?

LOCKE Good morning.

BEN What are you doing?

LOCKE I've tied you to a post and made a trail of gun powder that leads back to one of these barrels.

BEN You don't have to do this, John.

LOCKE continues sharpening his knife.

LOCKE Even just a spark could set it off.

The ship creeks.

WALT John.

LOCKE turns and faces WALT.

LOCKE Hello, Walt.

BEN That's not Walt, John.

WALT It's time.

BEN Time for what?

LOCKE turns and steps towards BEN.

LOCKE It's time you start answering my questions.

BEN Or what? (Looking down at the gun powder) Are you going to blow me up, John?

WALT If he lies to you once, you know what to do.

LOCKE I know.

BEN And how exactly will you know that I'm lying?

WALT steps further into the room.

WALT I'll know.

EXT. PERIMETER FENCE - DAY

SAYID tampers with the keypad which activates and deactivates the fence. MICHAEL is with him.

MICHAEL Hey man, what are you doing?

SAYID I'm trying to deactivate the sensors.

MICHAEL What do they do?

SAYID (Beat)
They kill you.

MICHAEL How long do you think it will take?

SAYID I don't know. I don't have my tools with me so I don't even know if I can do anything.

MICHAEL And what's beyond here?

SAYID stops and sighs.

SAYID Do you want me to get through, or would like to keep asking me questions for which we do not have time for?

MICHAEL Sorry.

He turns and starts walking down the hill.

CLAIRE Michael!

CLAIRE approaches.

MICHAEL Hey Claire.

CLAIRE I have to tell you something.

MICHAEL Sure, what is it?

CLAIRE It's how we got here. Your son helped us.

MICHAEL Walt?

CLAIRE Yeah.

MICHAEL That's not possible, Claire.

CLAIRE No, yeah, I know. I'm not really sure what happened out there, but whatever it was, it was pretending to be Walt. I thought you should know.

MICHAEL (Beat)
Thanks.

CLAIRE Sure. Hey, have you heard anything about Charlie or Desmond? Sayid said they haven't come back yet.

MICHAEL (Beat)
No, nothing. Sorry.

CLAIRE That's okay.

She turns and walks away.

VOICE Leahcim!

MICHAEL turns to the source of the call and spots the same SCORCHED MAN standing in the clearing past the sensors. The MAN smiles and then bursts into flames, turns to ash, and falls to the ground. MICHAEL grabs his forehead in pain.

INT. OFFICE - DAY (FLASHBACK)

MICHAEL is sitting in a leather chair inside a large office decorated with dozens of plaques, metals, and antique furniture. HARRY is sitting across from him behind an oak desk. A large window next to them provides a view of Portland Harbour.

HARRY I'm glad you've decided to help us,
Michael.

MICHAEL I'm helping my son.

HARRY Of course.

MICHAEL I want to make a deal.

HARRY What is it?

MICHAEL If I agree to help you, I want to know that my son is being taken care of.

HARRY I'm not quite sure I understand.

MICHAEL I'm going back with you.

HARRY To the island?

MICHAEL My friends are there. There's about forty people that need to be rescued and I owe them.

HARRY Forty people survived the plane crash?

MICHAEL Yes. And I want to know my son is being taken care of while I'm gone.

HARRY (Beat)
Consider it done. We'll get them all off the island and take care of Walt.

MICHAEL Just like that?

HARRY We're here to help, Michael.

He leans forward and slides a manila folder across the desk.

MICHAEL What's this?

HARRY Read it.

MICHAEL picks up and opens the folder. Inside is a picture of a young boy and a report on his health conditions and family history.

MICHAEL Who's Billy?

HARRY Billy is a special boy; like Walt.
He's the one we need Walt to talk with once he wakes up.

MICHAEL What's this boy have to do with anything?

HARRY It's about the connection that he and Walt share. They have the same ability to tap into unexplored regions of the brain. Think of your son and Billy as living members inside the chain of evolution.

MICHAEL (Sceptical)
So what you're trying telling me is that Walt's an evolved human being?

HARRY Is it really so hard to believe? If they were to connect with one another they would be able to tap into any memory, share any experience. Together they would be able to find the island for us.

MICHAEL Why can't you find the island?

HARRY The island is protected by .
something powerful. We can't just go out and land there, we need to know exactly where to look and exactly what we need to do to get in.

MICHAEL closes the folder and places it back onto the table.

HARRY (CONT'D)
Billy is autistic, Michael - the effects from a failed connection between his father and an overuse of his abilities. We want you to meet him, spend a little time with him, and make him more comfortable around you so that once he meets Walt, he can feed off your connection.

MICHAEL I want to see my son.

HARRY After we spend time with Billy I'll take you to his room and you can stay with him as long as you'd like. Right now Walt needs some rest.

MICHAEL He's been resting for a week.

HARRY We've recently taken some blood from Walt for analysis and in effect had to supply him with a suppressant that's made him a little tired.

MICHAEL (Beat)
What am I supposed to do with Billy?

HARRY Just spend time with him, be a friend. But you need to be patient with him. Though Billy's mental condition is suppressing his abilities, he isn't weak.

MICHAEL What do you mean "weak?"

HARRY Come with me.

INT. MONITORING ROOM B

MICHAEL and HARRY enter a brightly colored monitoring room littered with children's toys, a TV playing cartoons, and a bed covered in coloring books. BILLY is sitting on the floor in front of the TV when HARRY approaches him.

HARRY Hello Billy.

BILLY continues watching the TV.

HARRY (CONT'D)
I brought someone here to meet you.
His name is Michael. Can you say hello to him for me?

BILLY Hello Michael.

MICHAEL Hi Billy.

HARRY Michael's here to spend some time with you, Billy.

The light overhead begins to flicker.

HARRY (CONT'D)
There's nothing to be afraid of Billy, Michael is a nice person and he won't do anything to hurt you. I promise.

The light stops flickering; MICHAEL takes a seat beside him.

MICHAEL What are you watching, Billy?

BILLY Power Rangers.

MICHAEL My son used to watch this. His name is Walt.

BILLY I know.

MICHAEL You've met him?

BILLY shakes his head.

HARRY I'm going to leave you two alone for a bit.

He turns and walks out of the room. The door clicks and locks.

MICHAEL So Billy, what would you like to do?

VOICE (Whisper)
Dad!

MICHAEL looks around.

MICHAEL Wa -

BILLY grabs MICHAEL's hand. He holds it tightly and stares him down. The light overhead begins to flicker once more.

BILLY Shh...

MICHAEL What are you doing?

BILLY They're watching us.

MICHAEL stops and looks towards the corner of the room where a camera sits on the wall pointing towards them.

BILLY (CONT'D)
Pretend you can't hear him.

MICHAEL How did you -

BILLY Because I hear him too.

INT. BLACK ROCK - DAY (END FLASHBACK)

LOCKE is sitting on a barrel. WALT is standing behind him and BEN is tied to the post in front of them.

WALT It's time, John.

LOCKE stands and approaches BEN.

WALT (CONT'D)
You know what to ask him.

BEN John, please -

LOCKE I'm going to ask you a couple of questions.

BEN That's not Walt, John. You shouldn't be trusting him!

LOCKE The first question: I want to know who the original inhabitants of this island were.

BEN looks from WALT to LOCKE.

LOCKE (CONT'D)
Answer the question.

BEN Is that what's going on?

LOCKE Answer the question!

BEN looks at WALT. He smiles.

BEN Alright. I'll play your game, John.
(Beat) The original inhabitants of this island were normal people just like you and I, but who excelled,
evolved, into something more.

LOCKE Evolved how?

BEN In most, it was their brains. Their potential to use more was brought forward. Like you already know,
this island is a special place,
John.

LOCKE And the others?

Silence.

LOCKE (CONT'D)
What happened to the others?

BEN The others developed a parasite within their bodies. They couldn't handle evolution.

LOCKE What kind of parasite?

BEN One that would consume their identities over time. One that killed many more. It's the same one that's infecting your people.

LOCKE turns to WALT.

LOCKE Is he telling the truth?

WALT Yes.

BEN begins to laugh.

BEN Don't you know who you're talking to, John?

EXT. JUNGLE - DAY

DANIELLE walks a few paces ahead of ALEX and KARL as they trek through the humid jungle.

ALEX How do you know that he's there?

DANIELLE Because I know.

KARL (To Alex)
That's reassuring, don't you think?

ALEX Shut up, Karl.

KARL Are you still upset with me?

ALEX You let him take ... Ben.

KARL To save your life.

ALEX I would have been fine.

KARL How do you know that?

They continue walking forward.

ALEX How long until we're there?

DANIELLE Not long.

EXT. PERIMETER FENCE - DAY

MICHAEL sits alone at the edge of the treeline. Above him, at one of the posts, SAYID continues tampering with the keypad.
JIN approaches MICHAEL and hands him a bottle of water.

MICHAEL Thanks.

JIN You're welcome.

MICHAEL Hey, you've learned some more.
That's not bad, man.

JIN smiles and sits next to him.

JIN Walt?

MICHAEL Walt's fine, he's fine.

JIN Good.

MICHAEL Sun?

JIN shakes his head.

JIN I don't ... know.

MICHAEL I'm sorry man. But I'm sure she's alright if she's with Jack.

JIN tries to smile.

SAYID Could I get your attention!

Everyone turns and faces SAYID.

SAYID (CONT'D)
I think I have done it.

BERNARD What does that mean?

SAYID It means we can go through to the camp.

BERNARD You mean their camp? Why would we do that?

SAYID Because they've abandoned it.

ROSE You want us to hide in their camp?

SAYID We will be safe there. We've got a fence that guards ourselves.

STEVE It's a fence that you just hacked through in less than an hour.

SAYID We can disable all but one of the boxes and keep guards at intervals.
We will be much safer here than anywhere else. We have to keep moving forward.

BERNARD How do we know that the fence is really disabled?

SAYID considers this response. He then heads towards KEVIN who is sitting near him and lifts him up.

MICHAEL Sayid, don't!

SAYID throws KEVIN through the fence. KEVIN falls to the ground, but nothing happens. He is safe.

SAYID A little trick I learned from John.

EXT. PERIMETER FENCE - DAY (LATER)

Everyone is on the other side of the fence, waiting for SAYID who resets the sensors. MICHAEL is standing a few feet behind him with KEVIN.

KEVIN You saw something.

MICHAEL What?

KEVIN What did you see?

MICHAEL Nothing.

KEVIN You remember what we told you?

MICHAEL I remember.

As he continues watching SAYID, an image at the treeline catches his eyes: the SCORCHED MAN.

MICHAEL (CONT'D)
Son of a bitch.

The SCORCHED MAN turns and runs off into the jungle. MICHAEL begins to chase after him.

JIN Michael!

MICHAEL runs past SAYID and into the jungle. JIN chases after him but SAYID quickly turns up the sensors.

SAYID Jin! No!

JIN stops just outside the sensor's range.

JIN Michael!

SAYID Let him go. He'll be fine.

EXT. JUNGLE - DAY

MICHAEL runs through the jungle chasing after the SCORCHED MAN. He wends his way between trees and thickets, tall grass and fallen logs. Ahead, the MAN stops and turns; he smiles at MICHAEL.

SCORCHED MAN Redeal eht, redeal eht wollof.

MICHAEL Wait!

The MAN turns away and runs towards the clearing ahead;
MICHAEL continues after him.

EXT. FIELD - DAY

MICHAEL pushes his way through brambles and enters a field laden with short grass and rolling hills; the SCORCHED MAN is no where in sight. He moves past the treeline and farther into the open field; mountains loom in the background and the sky grows dark and ominous.

MICHAEL Where are you?!

A bolt of lightning rains down and craters the ground next to him. MICHAEL jumps back, falling onto the grass. Again,
another bolt of lightning blasts down and MICHAEL instinctively rolls away from the newly formed crater. He then stands and runs back towards the jungle. BAM! Another bolt hits next to his feet and knocks him down. A heavy thunder rolls across the sky and sheets of rain pour down onto the field.

The SCORCHED MAN appears behind MICHAEL.

SCORCHED MAN ?Leahcim, rebmemer uoy od

MICHAEL turns.

SCORCHED MAN (CONT'D)
!Meht pleh ot ton erew uoy.

MICHAEL What do you want?!

The MAN snaps his fingers and a bolt of lightning rains down towards MICHAEL. As it reaches the top of his head, it's redirected towards the SCORCHED MAN who takes the blast head on. The MAN then dissolves into a calm of black smoke that roars and billows away into the jungle. MICHAEL is left standing alone in the rain.

EXT. TRACK - CLOUDY DAY (FLASHBACK)

MICHAEL is running the track behind Reclusive. The sky overhead is gray and portending to rain. With each step he takes, his breath becomes more rugged and tired. Sweat drips off his chin and onto the orange gravel and a roar of thunder echoes across the sky. A MAN in a track outfit catches up to him from behind. As he is level with MICHEL's speed, he steadies his pace.

MAN Mind if I join you?

MICHAEL (Heavy breathing)
No, that's fine man.

They continue running in silence.

EXT. TRACK - CLOUDY DAY (LATER)

MICHAEL and the MAN stop next to a series of benches where a towel and bottle of water lay at its base. MICHAEL grabs the towel and dries himself off before grabbing the bottle and drinking down the contents.

MAN That was a good run.

MICHAEL Yeah, I needed it.

MAN How are your legs?

MICHAEL Much better then when I started.

MAN Running is good for the body. It stretches the muscles, keeps the heart pumping.

MICHAEL Ruins the knees.

The MAN smiles.

MAN So they say.

MICHAEL I've never seen you around before.

MAN I'm more the man behind the curtain type, Michael.

MICHAEL You know who I am?

MAN Of course I do. I'm on the project.

MICHAEL What do you do?

MAN Unfortunately I'm not allowed to discuss that. Company rules.

MICHAEL I didn't think I was being kept out of anything.

MAN (Beat)
Well it's not that.

MICHAEL nods.

MICHAEL I'm going to go hit the showers.
I'll see you.

He turns and heads up the track.

MAN Michael.

MICHAEL turns.

MICHAEL Yeah?

MAN You've got to stop.

MICHAEL Stop?

MAN Helping them. You can't let them find the island, Michael.

MICHAEL Excuse me?

The MAN walks forward.

MAN I think you heard me just fine.

MICHAEL Who are you?

MAN Let's not worry about who I am.

MICHAEL I asked you a question.

MAN And I'm telling you you're going to stop helping them. You're going to take your son and you're going to get out of here.

MICHAEL And if I don't?

MAN Then I'm going to come into Walt's room in the middle of the night and snap his neck.

Silence.

MAN (CONT'D)
Now do as you're told and you and your son will be fine.

MICHAEL I'm going to get my friends off that island. I don't care what they want with it, and I'm not doing anything to help you!

MAN You had your chance, Michael.

The MAN steps forward and is then suddenly hit by a bolt of lightning. He slams into the ground, smoking. MICHAEL falls back from the force, shocked.

INT. BLACK ROCK - DAY (END FLASHBACK)

LOCKE, WALT and BEN are inside the BLACK ROCK. LOCKE is sitting on a barrel next to BEN who is still tied to the post. WALT is at the threshold of the room. Thunder roars outside and water drips into the ship from old holes.

LOCKE Where are they?

BEN is silent.

WALT You'll have to do a little better than asking him, John.

He points to the knife in his hand. LOCKE looks down at it;
BEN smiles.

BEN John, this is all a game. None of it matters.

LOCKE What are you talking about?

BEN Anything I tell you, what does it do for you? Do you think it clears your mind? Helps you understand anything that's going on? It doesn't. You'll never understand this place.

LOCKE Tell me where they are, Ben.

BEN They're dead. They're gone. I killed them all. We stole their identities, their camp, their technology. We became them.

LOCKE Why?

BEN Because they will never understand.
They will come here and study and eventually ruin all that we have worked for.

LOCKE And what have you worked for?

BEN Harmony, peace. But it's being challenged all the time. We're failing John, and it's because of them. What they did.

LOCKE turns to WALT.

LOCKE Is he telling the truth?

WALT That was the end of D.H.A.R.M.A.

EXT. BLACK ROCK - RAIN

DANIELLE, ALEX and KARL arrive at the BLACK ROCK.

ALEX He's in there?

DANIELLE Yes. The tracks lead this way.

ALEX What is he doing with him in there?

DANIELLE I don't know.

KARL What do you want to do?

ALEX We have to get him out of there.

KARL Yeah, but how? We don't have any weapons and lest I forget he's got a revolver.

ALEX We can talk to him.

KARL Seriously?

ALEX Well what else can we do?

KARL (Beat)
There's dynamite on the ship.

ALEX Yeah, and?

KARL We can use that.

INT. HALLWAY (FLASHBACK)

MICHAEL runs down a narrow hallway and approaches HARRY who stands waiting for him outside a door.

MICHAEL He's awake?!

HARRY Yes Michael. Come in.

HARRY opens the door and MICHAEL steps inside.

INT. MONITORING ROOM C

MICHAEL enters the room and runs to WALT's bed.

WALT Dad!

MICHAEL Walt!

They hug.

MICHAEL (CONT'D)
Are you okay? How are you feeling?

WALT I'm fine.

MICHAEL Are you sure?

WALT Yeah. I just woke up and I'm fine.

MICHAEL turns to HARRY.

MICHAEL How is he?

HARRY It's like he said Michael;
everything appears to be fine.

MICHAEL And his brain?

HARRY He appears to be in control of everything. You did it.

MICHAEL I did it?

HARRY You've been spending your time with him. I told you all he needed was to be with you.

MONICA And I told you there is a logical explanation for everything.

MONICA enters the room.

HARRY And what have you found?

MONICA Nothing. All his stats came back clean.

HARRY But you won't stop looking?

MONICA There's more tests to run. Michael,
we need to talk with you.

INT. HALLWAY

MONICA We want to give Walt some time with you, but we need to bring in Billy soon if we're going to find your friends.

MICHAEL And they're just going to talk?

MONICA That's all.

MICHAEL And that's all you need to find the island?

HARRY More of less, Michael.

MICHAEL (Beat)
What exactly are you doing with Billy? Why are you watching him?

HARRY Billy isn't in control of his powers like Walt. He doesn't always know what he's doing so we have to keep watch over him.

MICHAEL He seemed fine to me. What exactly happened to him and his father?

HARRY I'm not at liberty to discuss that,
Michael. You know that. What did Billy tell you?

MICHAEL (Beat)
Nothing.

MONICA So do we have your consent?

MICHAEL What? Yeah, just let me tell him what's going on.

HARRY Take your time.

EXT. JUNGLE - RAIN (END FLASHBACK)

MICHAEL walks through the jungle in the pouring rain; thunder roars in the sky above. As he walks on, a cry echoes on the wind.

VOICE Help!

MICHAEL looks around.

VOICE (CONT'D)
Help!

MICHAEL Hello?!

VOICE Please, help me!

MICHAEL Where are you?!

VOICE I'm over here!

MICHAEL spots the direction of the call and heads off running towards it. As he runs through the jungle, the voice becomes clearer to the point where MICHAEL spots the distress;
DESMOND is lying in a pool of quick sand.

MICHAEL Desmond!

DESMOND Get me out of here!

MICHAEL looks around. He spots a vine tree near them and runs over to it. He pulls off a long vine and runs back to DESMOND, throwing one end into the pool of quick sand; he grabs it and MICHAEL begins to pull him out.

Inaudible whispers ring above the wind. The SCORCHED MAN appears behind MICHAEL and throws him away from the pool of quick sand.

SCORCHED MAN !Denraw erew uoy.

MICHAEL What do you want?! It's too late!
I've already helped them!

The SCORCHED MAN dissolves into a calm of black smoke and towers over MICHAEL. It lurches forward towards MICHAEL but is rebounded away by an invisible barrier that surrounds him.
The black smoke tries to wrap itself around him, but the barrier once again prevents it. The smoke, defeated, roars and glides off into the jungle. MICHAEL turns; WALT stands a few feet away.

MICHAEL (CONT'D)
Walt?

WALT You're alright.

MICHAEL You're not here.

WALT No, I'm not.

MICHAEL Then -

DESMOND Michael!

MICHAEL turns. He quickly runs to the vine on the ground and wraps his hand around it. He pulls tightly and slowly steps back, pulling DESMOND out of the quick sand. DESMOND pulls himself away from the pit and drops near MICHAEL, out of breath.

MICHAEL Are you okay?

DESMOND I'm fine. Thanks, brother.

MICHAEL Where are Hurley and Sawyer?

DESMOND I don't know.

MICHAEL They just left you out in the jungle?

DESMOND Yeah brother, they did. (Beat) Can I ask you something?

MICHAEL What is it?

DESMOND Who were you talking to a minute ago?

MICHAEL turns back to WALT, but he is no where in sight.

MICHAEL (Beat)
No one.

INT. BLACK ROCK - RAIN

BEN It looks like you're done, John.

LOCKE Excuse me?

BEN How do you expect to continue with this "interrogation" without your prophet by your side?

LOCKE My what?

BEN The boy. Walt.

LOCKE turns; he looks around the room but WALT is no where to be seen.

LOCKE Walt?

BEN He's gone, John; some other important business to attend to.
You're alone, again.

LOCKE turns back to BEN.

BEN (CONT'D)
Now how ever will you know if I'm lying? You still can't see what's going on, can you?

LOCKE Then why don't you just tell me?!

BEN This has all been a test.

LOCKE A test?

BEN A test by Jacob.

LOCKE Jacob isn't real.

BEN Of course he isn't.

LOCKE Even if he was, why would he be testing me?

BEN That John, is the correct question.

KARL Locke!

LOCKE and BEN turn towards the door where KARL stands holding a stick of dynamite.

BEN Karl! Get me out of here!

KARL Shut up, Ben.

LOCKE Son, you don't know what you're doing.
That dynamite is very unstable.
Just put it down now, gently.

KARL We're getting him out of here.

DANIELLE and ALEX step into the room.

EXT. BEACH - RAIN

SAWYER and HURLEY hide in a thicket just outside the camp on the beach.

HURLEY How many are there?

SAWYER A lot.

HURLEY What do we do?

SAWYER I haven't thought that far yet,
rice cake.

The camp has been sieged by well over fifty people who load it with supplies from dozens of motor boats docked on the shore.

HURLEY They're setting up a camp.

SAWYER They're armed. Look, some of them are patrolling the beach.

A couple of men walk the beach with handguns.

HURLEY They stormed the beach with only a couple of handguns?

SAWYER We only had a couple of handguns.

HURLEY We had dynamite, too.

Dozens of tents are being erected. In the distance, HARRY and MONICA can be seen wheeling around a boy in a wheelchair:
BILLY.

HURLEY (CONT'D)
Who's that?

SAWYER Do they look like my friends? I don't know!

HURLEY Why would anyone bring a sick kid here?

INT. MONITORING ROOM C (FLASHBACK)

MICHAEL is sitting on a chair next to WALT's bed in MONITORING ROOM C. He takes the empty juice box from WALT's hand and places it down on the table next to him.

MICHAEL Do you want something to eat?

WALT No, I'm just a little tired.

MICHAEL Then get some rest.

WALT Dad, wait.

MICHAEL What is it?

WALT I want to talk for a bit.

MICHAEL Sure, little man. (Beat) So how did it go in there?

WALT With Billy?

MICHAEL Yeah. Did you two talk?

WALT Yeah, but it was weird.

MICHAEL It was? How?

WALT I don't know. It just felt funny.

MICHAEL What did you two talk about?

WALT Everything.

MICHAEL Did you talk about the island?

WALT A little bit.

MICHAEL Did you help them find out where it is?

WALT I don't know. I think so. They came in and told us we did enough.

MICHAEL What do you mean? You two just talked about it and they said that was enough?

WALT Yeah.

MICHAEL What else did they say?

WALT Nothing. That was it.

MICHAEL How was Billy?

WALT I don't know, fine I guess.

MICHAEL (Beat)
Walt, I need to ask you something important.

WALT Sure.

MICHAEL What happened out there? On the boat.

WALT You don't remember?

MICHAEL shakes his head.

EXT. OCEAN, BOAT - DAY (FLASHBACK)

The small boat that was secured by MICHAEL and WALT drifts out in the sea. MICHAEL is sitting outside on the starboard side, rocking along with the waves. WALT is inside the control room; the gas meter reads empty.

WALT How far out are we?

MICHAEL I don't know.

WALT The gas is gone.

MICHAEL We've been running on empty for a little while now.

WALT There's nothing around here.

MICHAEL Hey, don't worry little man, we'll find something. Can you pass me some water?

WALT looks around the control room. There are a couple of empty bottles lying around.

WALT I don't think there's any left.

MICHAEL What?

WALT The water's all gone.

MICHAEL What do you mean the water's all gone?

MICHAEL stands, but then quickly grabs his head.

WALT Dad!

WALT runs out of the room towards him.

WALT (CONT'D)
Are you okay?

MICHAEL Yeah, yeah I'm just feeling a little dizzy.

His eyes roll into the back of his head and then falls onto the floor.

WALT Dad!

WALT crouches and shakes him.

WALT (CONT'D)
Dad! Dad, wake up! C'mon dad. Dad!

MICHAEL doesn't move. WALT gets up and looks around the boat for anything that can help, but there is nothing to be found.
He goes back to MICHAEL and grabs hold of him.

WALT (CONT'D)
Dad ... please.

WALT grabs on to MICHAEL tightly. Suddenly, the horizon begins to blur and magnetic waves dance across the sky. The ocean rocks hard against the boat and a loud buzz stirs the atmosphere. WALT looks up at the disturbance. The sky then grows violet and the noise continues to get louder. WALT places his hands over his ears and begins to scream. The waves rock hard, the boat shakes. The violet sky begins to tear apart, slowly revealing the setting of a harbour. WALT falls back unconscious. Then ... nothing. The boat is moored in the harbour and the day is quiet and normal. The water is gentle and the sky is a deep blue.

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