On a seemingly uneventful night, the waves beat against the sandy shore. All was quit, all was peaceful. The soothing sound of the ocean was suddenly cut by a crackling snap. Several more snaps followed. Screams met the crackling sounds after several minutes. People rushed out of the tents and lean-tos. All of the camp was ignited in flames. Everyone rushed out. Jack was the first one out. He looked over the crowd that had formed. They were all in shock staring in shock at the flames. Quickly he looked from head to head making certain that everyone had gotten out safely. "IS ANYONE MISSING?" Jack called out o the crowd. None of them seemed to hear, it was the chaos of the crash all over again. "QUIET!" Jack shouted and the crowd silenced. "IS ANYONE HURT OR MISSING?" He called out. Fortunately, no one had been badly injured. Everyone seemed to be there.
Charlie's head snapped around in every direction. Desperately he searched for Claire. "CLAIRE?! CLAIRE?! WHERES CLAIRE!?" He shouted. Pushing his way through the densely packed crowd, Charlie ran up to Jack. "I can't find 'er...Claire's gone..."
Jack put one hand on Charlie's shoulder. "She's going to be okay." Jack reassured him. The crowd had now dispersed and re-formed right in-front of Claire's blazing tent. Charlie and Jack pushed through to the front of the crowd. Jack's head searched for a possible idea.
"...I'm going in." A strong voice stated. Kate emerged from the group and stood directly in-front of the tent.
Sawyer pushed through the crowd as fast as he could. "...No your not!" He snapped at her. Sawyer reached out and put a tight grip on Kate's shoulder. "It's to dangerous." He said squeezing her shoulder a bit tighter. Kate resisted him and yanked back but, his strength was to strong.
"I agree...you're not going in." Jack spoke up.
Kate pulled out of Sawyer's grasp. "Yes, I am." She snapped at them both. Showing no fear, Kate burst into the tent. The flames were high and met the tips of the trees. Smoke pored out of the tent as Kate pulled back the melting, plastic, tarp. Putting her hand over her mouth, Kate choked a bit. "CLAIRE...CLAIRE IF YOU CAN HERE ME PLEASE DO SOMETHING!" Kate had to raise her voice as loud as possible in the dense, smoke filled air. The fire was loud and created an ear shattering popping sound. Kate hopped that if by any chance Claire was conscious, she could hear her.
"Over here!" Claire choked desperately holding Aaron. "..He wont...He wont wake up..." Claire sobbed. Her face was black with soot, she was mildly burned, her tears cleared pathway through the thick ash on her face.
Kate walked over to Claire. Putting her hands on Claire's shoulders, she tried to usher her out. "He's going to be fine Claire, I know it...but, you need to get out of here right now. Can you do that for me?"
"mmhmm,.." Claire mumbled softly. Stumbling over some ruble and ashes she made her way out of the tent. As soon as she reached the beach a crowd of people crowded around her. A loud crack, louder then all others interrupted the reunion. None of them thought anything of it, at the moment.
Jack and Charlie made there way over to Claire. "Are you okay?" They both asked in sync-risen.
Claire gave a small nod the tears still rolling down her blackened cheeks. "...b..but..Aaron...He...he won't wake up. " She sobbed.
Gently Jack pulled the child from Claire's grasp. Claire pulled Charlie into a hug and watched in desperation as Jack tried to resuscitate the infant. The young child burst into whaling tears as Jack handed him back to Claire. "He'll be fine Claire, I promise" Jack said reassuringly.
A small smile wiped across Claire's lips as she worked to silence her darling son. Smiling, she looked up to Charlie who smiled back at her.
Sawyer stepped quickly out of the packed crowd. "...Wheres Kate?" He snapped. Everyone looked around. Desperately he looked to Jack then Claire. "I said...Wheres Kate!?" He snapped.
Jack looked at Sawyer then to Claire.
"...She was right behind me..I thought she was coming..." Claire stammered nervously. Like the spark that ignited the flame they all came to the same conclusion. The snap. The bamboo supports of the lean to must have snapped and trapped Kate inside.
Without a word Sawyer barged back into the tent. As soon as he made it inside he spotted Kate. Diving to his knees, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. "Stay strong freckles...Dammit...Stay strong." He whispered softly. Rushing out of the smoke filled hut, he sprinted out with a severely burnt Kate lying in his arms.
"BACK AWAY GIVE HER SOME SPACE!" Jack shouted. None of the tent's were still standing but, the area where they stored they're food was still standing. "BRING HER OVER HERE!" Jack shouted leading Sawyer to the small hut, filled with food. In one steady motion of his arm, Jack knocked all of the food off the make shift table.
Sawyer laid Kate down gently on the table. His eyes held sadness and desperation.
Jack looked back to the flustered crowd. "I NEED BLANKETS, WATTER AND ANY MEDICAL SUPPLIES YOU CAN FIND!" Jack shouted. In the passing minutes many people ran over giving whatever the could find. Once jack had enough supplies, he did his best to keep the crowd at bay. Several people had put out the fires and Kate was the only one who had sustained any major injuries.
"Is there anything I can do?" Sawyer asked desperately. Every time he looked at Kate, he could feel his heart sink into his stomach.
"...Yeah...If she wakes up while I'm treating her burns...just try and keep her calm" Jacks voice was filled with pure terror. He worked quickly rationing his supplies and treating her burn, after burn. Once he was finished treating all of the burns he checked her lungs. "She'll be fine..."Jack said uncertainly.
Sawyer looked at Jack, tears in his eyes. He sat down behind Kate, pulling her up onto his lap and running his fingers gently through her hair. "come on freckles...you can pull through this.." He whispered sweetly into her ear. The late night soon transformed into early day, Sawyer was still with Kate. Kate now had a mild fever as her weak body struggled to fight off infection. The early day transformed into late day, then into early evening. Sawyer knelt behind Kate, gently patting her head with a cool rag. He hadn't left her side once. Softly he began to run his fingers through her hair softly.
Kate's eyes slowly fluttered open. She looked deep into Sawyer's eyes. "...I love you" Kate's voice was raspy and harsh from the smoke but, her words...they were the most sincere thing she had ever said.