Set in "All the best Cowboys have Daddy issues", short before Ethan tries to kill Charlie. What if someone else found Charlie? And what if this person knows more about Ethan?
I haven´t seen many LOST-episodes, it´s not on free-tv here yet. I haven´t seen "Raised by another", so I hope there aren´t too many mistakes. Also, english is not my native language - I hope you don´t have to laugh too much about my mistakes ;-)
Please review. Thank you!
I had followed them for a while now... always quiet and far away so he wouldn´t hear me... Ethan - I hated that man. I knew from the first moment I met him that he was evil.
And what he did now, was beyond anything that he had done before. He had killed people on the island before... but he´d never kidnapped someone...
I was only nine when the plane crashed on this island. Some of the survivers were good-natured, honest people that cared about me - but others, the people that gathered ´round Ethan were different. At first, I didn´t understand what they said, because I could neither speak english nor french, but within a year, I spoke both languages well enough to tell that Ethan was part of a group that had caused the plane to crash.
For many years, me and the people that cared about me, lived in fear. Ethan was the leader on this island. And his word was law.
Ethan stopped and turned around. Quick, I hid behind a tree. He couldn´t have heard me... but then I realized he wasn´t watching out for me, but for someone else. Two people were tracking Ethan and his hostages. They were close.
Ethan hesitated for a moment, then, without a word he hit the boy in the face, who went down, unconscious. The pregnant girl screamed, though she couldn´t see anything. Ethan gagged her, made her sit down and tied her legs. Then he ran towards the two pursuers.
"What do I do? Think, Teena, think!", I whispered and stared at the two hostages with throbbing heart. It started to rain, so I decided to take advantage of the noise that the rain caused and tried to help them.
I left the shelter of the tree and ran towards the girl. When I reached her, I tried to loosen the bonds that tied her hands, but they wouldn´t give in. Then I realized, that Ethan was coming back...
"Listen!", I said to the pregnant girl in a hurry. "I´ll try to help you. But he´s coming back! I will help you!"
Then I ran back in the jungle and hid behind a tree.
"They are coming for you, Claire.", Ethan said to the girl and pulled her up on her feet. "Too bad that your friend Charlie is now only an obstacle for us."
He removed the blindfold from Claires eyes and she screamed when she saw Charlie on the floor, still unconscious.
"Don´t hurt him.", she tried to say through her gag.
Ethan smiled. "No, it won´t hurt. I promise."
He then pushed her back to the floor, pulled Charlie up and lifted him on his shoulders.
Claire cried and tried to loosen her bonds.
Ethan reached for some vines that hung down from a tree and slung them around Charlies neck a couple of times. Then he climbed up a slope and then released Charlie from his shoulders - his feet didn´t reach the ground.
I gasped and closed my eyes. Pictures of the past passed in front of my inner eye and I swallowed to prevent me from vomiting. He would never stop to kill... never.
"Better I take those with me, they could be a good use again, don´t you think, Claire?", Ethan said to the girl and removed the handcuffs from Charlie. "You shouldn´t waste anything on this island..."
I opened my eyes again and looked for Ethan. He was already pushing the pregnant girl forward. The boy, Charlie, still hung in the vines, his face red and swollen.
I waited one more moment, then I ran towards Charlie and pulled out my knife. I was too small to reach the vines, so I climbed up the tree and tried to cut them from there... after some tries I managed to catch them and began to cut.
It seemed to take an eternity, but then finally Charlie fell and landed on the wet ground with a loud thud.
I jumped down and pulled the vines from his bruised neck.
"Don´t be dead.", I whispered and removed the blindfold. Then I felt for a pulse - nothing. He also didn´t breathe.
Desperate, I shook him. I didn´t know how to reanimate someone! I had never learned something like this.
Then I remembered the day when the plane crashed... some people had done something to my father, to make his heart beat again - but he didn´t wake up...
I pushed the thought of Fathers death aside and placed my hands on Charlies chest. Then I pushed down hard. Again and again.
"Come on!", I hissed.
Then, suddenly, Charlie opened his eyes and gasped for air. He sat up and grabbed my shirt. Confused and shocked he clung to me.
"It´s allright.", I said and tried to calm him down. "Breathe... it´s going to be okay."
After a while, Charlie calmed down and his breathing was more even. He released me from his embrace and looked at me, confused.
"Are you allright?", I asked. He didn´t react.
"Ethan, he did this to you - and he took Claire with him.", I then added, because I didn´t know what to say.
Charlie looked around in panic, but didn´t say anything.
"Listen, someone was coming for you... two people. A man and a woman. I will find them for you."
"Okay.", Charlie croaked and tried to stand up.
I helped to steady him. "Wait here! Okay. Don´t move!", I said.
Charlie nodded.
Then I set off to find the couple that I had seen earlier.
Not far away, I heard them, as they climbed up the hill.
"Help!", I called. "I need help. Here!"
The man and the woman followed me.
"Wait a second!", the man exclaimed. "Where are you leading us?"
"I found Charlie. He´s injured!"
Then they reached the place where Charlie was waiting.
"Oh my god!", the woman gasped.
The man immediately made Charlie sit down and examined his neck.
"Ethan did this to him.", I said. "He hung him up."
The woman turned around and faced me. "Who are you? Were you with Ethan?"
"No! I... I live here. I saw what Ethan was doing."
"She saved my life.", Charlie whispered.
"Don´t speak.", the man said to him.
"We need to take him to the Caves.", the woman said.
"Claire!", Charlie said and then winced in pain.
"We will find her!", the man promised him. "But we need to bring you back."
"Do you know where he´s leading her?", the woman asked me.
"No.", I answered. "I know where his former camp was... but after, after my friend died, I never went back."
"You will have to tell us everything.", the man said and helped Charlie to stand up. "But first we have to bring Charlie back. You will come with us."
I nodded...
When we arrived at the Caves, everyone was shocked to see what happened to Charlie. Jack and Kate, as I had learned their names, tried to explain everything to them. Charlie was in shock and did nothing else than staring at the fire.
The other people shot nervous and curious looks at me and I wished I could just leave and go back to my home in the jungle.
Kate wrapped a blanket around Charlies shoulders and Jack came to me.
"Are you thirsty?", he asked me.
Scared, I looked at him and nodded.
"You don´t have to be afraid. Without you, Charlie would be dead."
"Will he be okay?"
"I hope so. I hope his brain isn´t damaged... has he talked to you?"
"Not much...", I said.
Jack gave me a cup of water.
"So, you said you live in the jungle? Who are you?", he asked.
"Our plane crashed many years ago.", I explained. "I was only nine when it happened... some people helped me to learn how to stay alive on this island. Ethan and his people killed many of them... because they found out that he was the reason why our plane crashed."
"What do you mean?", Jack asked.
"I think it was a bomb... I don´t know. I was too young to understand. And I ran away from them before I could find out the truth."
"How old were you when you ran away?"
"I don´t know - maybe 12? A woman cared for me... a french woman. She had teached me. She was very wise."
"And she died?"
"Yes, a while ago... I lost the sense of time."
"Do you know how long you live on this island?"
I shook my head.
"We found out that you are here for 16 years."
"Sixteen?", I asked and tears filled my eyes. "Sixteen years!"
Jack nodded.
"You can stay with us. But we need your help to find Ethan - to find Claire."
"I will try to help you. But he´s dangerous. He´s crazy. And his people are... killer."
"We will talk again tomorrow. Try to get some sleep.", Jack said and went to Charlie and Kate.
In this night, I couldn´t find any sleep. I had found a place at a tree, in the shadow where no one could see me. They were looking at me, but no one talked to me. Except the little boy, Walt. But his father called him back before we could have a real conversation.
I sighed and looked up in the sky.
Then I heard someone approach.
"I thank you."
It was Charlie. He sat down next to me.
"You´re welcome.", I answered.
We were quiet for a moment.
"I can´t remember what happened.", he said then.
"I think it´s better you don´t remember, Charlie..."
"But I have to find Claire.", he interrupted me. "Will you help me?"
"Of course I will. I´ll tell you everything I know."
Charlie looked at the floor.
"Will he hurt her?", he asked.
I didn´t know what to say... so I told him that I wasn´t sure.
We sat there for a while. No one spoke. I guessed it was best to leave Charlie alone, to let him ask the questions when he was ready.
"You live here since you were nine?"
"Yes."
"So you have no idea about movies, music, books!"
"I learned a few things from Estelle, but I guess you are right. I don´t really know about the world out there."
"How old are you?"
"Jack told me we are here for 16 years - so I must be 25 now."
Charlie frowned. "That sucks."
"Yes.", I said. "You are absolutely right."
"You don´t have to cheer me up.", he said, but a faint smile was visible on his face.
"Am I?"
"So, where do you come from? Before that happened?", he asked.
"Germany.", I answered.
"I guessed that.", he said.
"No way! I even can´t remember it! So don´t tell me I still have an accent."
"I stayed in Germany for a while, with my band, I´m in a band. Have been in a band...", he stopped and was lost in thoughts.
"What kind of music?", I asked.
"Rock!", his eyes brightend up a bit.
I smiled. "Sorry, never heard that kind of music in my life."
"Oh... you missed alot! I´m going to show you what rock is."
"Good."
"And you learned english from a french woman?"
"Right."
He smirked.
"What?"
"Nothing!!!"
And so we talked all night long - I knew Charlie was trying to distract himself from thinking about Claire and about what happened - but for me it was the first real conversation I had in years...
To be continued