Title: Aftermath
Author: Ripki
Fandom: Flight 29 Down
Rating: T
Pairing: Melissa/Jackson, Daley/Nathan
Summary: A sequel to Desperate Measures
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AFTERMATH
From Oxford English Dictionary: aftermath - a state or condition left by a (usu. unpleasant) event, or some further occurrence arising from it
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I: Burying the body
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The man was smaller than Jackson had imagined. That was the first thing to come into his mind, when he looked at the body. He didn't think dead or reeking or disgusting, although those words were not far behind.
Just small. He looks so incredibly small.
Jackson hadn't seen the Asian, when he had still been alive, hadn't been in the receiving end of the man's gun or his later kindness, hadn't known him in any way or context, and Jackson didn't really know what to expect upon arriving to the clearing, where the big showdown had taken place just two nights ago.
It was nothing he could have prepared himself for. The man was laying on his side, almost huddled up, small and lifeless, looking so harmless that Jackson had a hard time believing that the man was - had been - a dangerous criminal.
To say that he was in a bit of a shock would have been an understatement of the century; he hadn't exactly seen a dead body before. Or buried one either.
But I am about to. That was why Jackson now stood with Nathan on the edge of the clearing, ready to step to the very place that everyone by unspoken agreement had steered clear of. We are - honest to God - going to bury a dead body.
A task no one wanted, but that had to be done nonetheless. They had avoided it as long as they could, but time was running out; the body was decaying fast in the humid climate. They couldn't just leave the body be and hope for it to disappear. First there was the common decency; the dead deserved to be buried. Many of the society's rules had already been broken on the island, and Jackson wanted to believe that they were doing this to uphold one of the most important taboos, but he doubted they would have forced themselves to do this, if it weren't for the threat it presented to their own lives.
Before long, the rotting human body would bring diseases, not to mention predators and other animals. They couldn't take the risk.
And perhaps, just maybe, the old saying out of sight, out of mind would be proven to be true. No one had talked about it, but the man's death weighted heavily on everyone's mind. Jackson couldn't even begin to fathom what Lex and Eric felt, for they had actually saw the man die. They all had their own nightmares, and not all of them were born from the death, but many of them were. Perhaps burying the body would bring them some much needed peace of mind.
He could only hope it would be so simple, but he doubted it. The healing wouldn't happen over night. Jackson knew they were all suffering from shock, from post traumatic stress syndrome or something a shrink could no doubt give a fancy name. They were dealing with the trauma in different ways: clinging to each other, withdrawing to themselves, snapping at each other, not wanting to talk, talking too much, not sleeping, being sluggish or too perky, lying through gritted teeth that everything was just fine and fooling no one.
"I can't believe we're doing this." Jackson didn't know if Nathan meant the physical aspect of the work; that they were really going to touch the rotting body, come closer to the disgusting smell. Or if he meant that he couldn't believe that they were in this situation in the begin with; burying a human body.
"Yeah, tell me about it." He glanced at Nathan, who was staring at the Asian, a look that was a twisted mix of horror and grief on his face. Jackson hoped that they would get the task done without puking their guts out.
He steeled himself and stepped forward, the putrid smell instantly worsening. They should had done this the minute they knew that the rest of the thugs had left the island, but well, they hadn't been exactly thinking straight at the time.
It was worse now - the smell, the man's bloated face, the army of insects swarming over the body, not scurrying away like the bigger animals had upon their arrival.
"Shit." Nathan had come to stand beside Jackson, and was covering his nose and mouth with his hand.
"Yeah." Jackson's voice sounded weak in his own ears, and he fought the urge to turn around and never return to the place. Let the nature claim the body and do what it wanted with it.
But it has to be done.
He ripped one of his t-shirt's sleeves of and tied it around his face, so it covered his nose. Nathan followed his suit and they ripped their t-shirts some more, getting pieces they could cover their hands with, and then wordlessly they started to examine the ground for a good spot to dig, a place where the earth would be soft enough that they could create a hollow in it with their hands. Of course, they had no spades or other tools, only the sturdy wooden branches they had brought with them.
There was already a small hole in the ground under a crooked dead tree, so they ended up deepening and widening it for a grave. They scraped the earth with their branches, kicked the soil away with their sneakers, sweating and panting in the hot forenoon sun.
Nathan concentrated on the digging, willing his mind of the horrid smell of death, of the sightless eyes of the man. A little while longer, and then all of this would be over. The hollow was almost deep enough. Just a little longer. Everything in him had repelled against the idea of burying the body, when they had first discussed it in camp, but he had volunteered to do it anyway. He owed it to Daley and Lex.
He hadn't managed to keep them safe, and the last thing they needed was the knowledge that the man - Jin - was still laying dead on the island. Nathan hadn't stopped the leader from taking Lex hostage, hadn't even gotten him back - he had just followed Daley - , but he could do this for them.
"I think it's deep enough." Jackson had stopped digging and was staring at the hollow appraisingly.
To Nathan, it didn't look nearly deep enough, but he wasn't about to complain.
They started to approach the body hesitantly, slowly, until Jackson said, "Let's do this fast."
Nathan took hold of the man's legs, and Jackson took hold of the man's hands, and then they lifted, and the man was dead, but he was still heavy, and they grunted and carried the body, and Nathan thought furiously do not puke, do not drop the body, do not puke, do not drop the body over and over, until they were at the hollow, and they both abruptly let go, and the man thudded to the ground.
The Asian was a small man, but still the hole was not deep enough. Nathan felt a surge of panic. Do we have to dig it deeper - do this again? The front of the body rose from the ground like a weird lump of dirty torn clothes and scuffed and mottled skin.
"Let's just cover it." Nathan felt a small twinge of remorse over his words (one should be respectful towards the dead, he had been taught), but the overwhelming urge to just to get it over with was hundred times stronger.
They covered the body with soil, and dragged some big stones over it. When they were finally finished, they stood looking at it, feeling exhausted and at loss of what to say. Nathan didn't feel as relieved as he had thought he would. He was strangely numb, bereft of any strong emotion.
I did it. He had buried the body, and he felt so much older than his sixteen years.
"Do you…want to say something?" Jackson sounded awkward, like he didn't know what the norm was now, when the man was in the grave. Nathan thought about the few funerals he had been to, the eloquent speeches about the deceased, and couldn't think of anything to say. He shrugged his shoulders.
"What was he like?" The question took Nathan by surprise. He looked at Jackson, but the other boy was staring straight ahead, unreadable expression on his face. Nathan opened his mouth to answer, but found that he didn't really know the man - Jin - at all, didn't know his likes or dislikes, why he had done as he had, who would mourn him if they only knew that he was dead.
But he remembered Jin's words. If I were you, I would hide in the jungle until this is all over. He remembered that the man had let them go. And for that deed alone, he deserved to be buried properly, with all the tears and praising speeches. Instead, he had to settle for what two teenagers could give him.
Nathan tried again and this time the hesitant words were heard. "I…he wasn't as bad as the others…he didn't talk much, didn't really do anything to us…he let us go." He felt a lump forming in his throat. "He told us to hide." Nathan wanted to believe that Jin had cared about their fate - maybe only a little, but still cared.
Jackson nodded, still looking rigidly ahead, but Nathan could see the silent tears that were dampening Jackson's cheeks. He understood and felt an answering wetness gathering in his own eyes. They were not crying solely over the burial, but over everything that had happened; what they had been through, what had been done to them, what they had been forced to do.
Some of the tears were for Jin, but most of them were for the carefree years they would never get back.
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Sorry for the long wait! I hope you are going to enjoy the sequel; more chapters are to come. As always, any thoughts and criticism are welcome.
