"Indefinite Dangers"
By: Xenolith
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Drama, AU
Spoilers: Up to "Walkabout", but the name of the French lady is revealed from the episode "Solitary", but there are no direct spoilers from "Solitary", which makes this kinda an AU…
Pairings: Charlie/Claire
Warnings: Violence
Description: Charlie and Claire are trapped in a mudslide and a murderer appears on the island.
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Arg.
A/N: I love Charlie/Claire, so, here's my dedication to them!
Chapter I
It was going to rain… Claire could sense it. Her blue eyes turned upwards to the sky, peering behind the dense canopy hanging over her head, staring at the dark clouds rolling overhead. She then glanced back at the young lady a distance away. Lynn. She had decided to volunteer on the trip and trek with them into the forest on the hunt for a food source. Claire looked over to her side and saw Charlie a few feet away sifting through a bush, searching for traces of anything edible. He hissed as a branch sliced his finger and then started shaking his hand vigorously, hoping to cast the pain away. He glanced over at Claire and smiled uneasily.
"I don't think we're going to find anything around here…" He muttered, crestfallen. He then started to root around another bush… a dead looking bush.
Claire sighed and nodded. She took a few steps towards the dejected musician and looked up a nearby tree for any potential fruits. "I think you're right… This place is barren. I just hope the other group finds something…" She suddenly felt a raindrop fall onto her forehead. She blinked her eyes and looked at Charlie who was busy glaring at the shrub. "I felt a raindrop..."
Charlie tore his eyes away from the plant and shrugged. "I haven't felt anything…"
Just then they were blinded by a torrent of water. They heard Lynn scream in surprise and the woman spun around to stare at them through the dense downpour. She yelled out to them, but they couldn't hear her over the roaring shower. Charlie threw his hands over his head, even though it provided little shelter, and then ran over to Claire, who was mouthing 'I told you so'. Charlie then grabbed her hand and started to lead her back down the path towards the beach.
Claire was freezing already. The raindrops felt like cold steel against her skin. Her hair and clothes were already plastered to her quivering body and her eyes were blinded by the rain. She was comforted by the warm grip Charlie had on her hand. She smiled and glanced over at him.
Charlie was beginning to panic. He had glanced back to see if Lynn was keeping up. She was gone. 'Where is she?' He thought and then briefly wondered if he was leading Claire in the wrong direction and Lynn had gone down the right path towards the shore. He shook his head. 'No… we passed that rock before… this is the right way… Where'd Lynn go then? …Damn monsoon. We never had these problems in England…'
Charlie's eyes then spotted a dark opening in a rock face to his far right, shrouded between a few leafy plants. He nudged Claire and motioned towards the cave. Claire looked over at the cavern. It would help them wait out the storm. She nodded in agreement and then Charlie led her to the shelter. The both ran into the grotto. It was immediately quieter than the deafening torrent outside. Claire shivered involuntarily. She was freezing. The cold water in her clothes wrapped around her like a blanket and chilled her to the bone. Charlie noticed her shaking and instinctively wrapped his arm around her shoulders, hoping to warm her up. "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned for her health.
Claire nodded slowly, assessing her condition. "Yea… yea, I'm fine. Just a little cold." To tell the truth, she felt cozier with Charlie's arm around her, but she didn't want him to let her go.
Charlie held her closer to him. He then glanced outside at the solid wall of falling water that was cascading from the top of the cave. He frowned. "I hope it stops raining soon… The other group might still be out there."
Claire nodded and then looked at Charlie with her crystal blue eyes. "Do you think Lynn's going to be alright?"
Charlie looked uncertainly back out at the monsoon. He had a sinking feeling that Lynn was lost somewhere out there. But he nodded. "Yea, she'll be fine."
Claire didn't hear the conviction in Charlie's voice, but smiled anyway, feeling better by just being held in his embrace. But her solace didn't last long.
They heard a horrible rushing sound, like two tractors in a tug-of-war match. Claire froze and paled, terrified of the noise. Charlie looked around, trying to figure out what it was, but just as quick as the noise came, so did darkness.
End of Chapter I
A/N: I'm putting "Fantasy Island" on hold for a while, since my ability to write it has seemed to slip away, so, I am working on three other fics in the mean time. I hope you like this one!
