Behind the Smoke

There are stories we are told from we are very young and tucked up in our beds. We'd be told stories of the brave and powerful, stories of the smart, and the stories of people who love another so purely that they would willingly die for the other without a moment's hesitation. Romeo and Juliet, Lancelot and Guinevere …

… Jack and Kate.

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Part One

JACK

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The sky was a peculiar, blinding violet colour. That was all Jack could note when he awoke on the grimy jungle floor. His body was just lying there, as if thrown from a tree. His head felt fuzzy and as he reached to his neck, he notices a lump forming just above it. Great, he thought to himself, a concussion, another thing to add to his list of island injuries. Maybe that was the cause of the skies discolouration, it was strangely familiar however; it was just like at the docks when the others had them captive. The sky had flashed a weird violet and a great, mechanical noise filled everywhere. What could possibly be happening now? Jack questioned. How did he get here, lying on the floor – he couldn't remember, another side effect of hitting his head. Trying to stand up he looked around him, hoping he wasn't too far away from the beach, and their camp there. But, his hope was gone, for when he looked around nothing he saw was familiar. The trees all looks the same way, the grounds were just the same as always – he couldn't think of where to go. He was in a clearing - that much was obvious, there were no discernable land marks that he could see; it was just another ordinary clearing.

Jack looked himself over. What he saw shocked him. Living on the island for the past 3 years meant he wasn't always able to wear pristine clothes but, he was filthy. More than the ordinary mud, his clothes, tattered by years of living on the island were covered in what looked like pitch-black ashes. He tried vigorously to get rid of the dust, but it clung to him. Giving up, he tried to decide what to do next, it was then he noticed in his hand a small rounded pebble. Adam and Eves pebble, or at least one of them. He had the white one stored in his hand, but strangely he'd lost both pebbles when he left the island originally. He was becoming more worried as to where he was and how he'd got there, nothing was making sense. The sky was purple, missing pebbles had appeared and a curious dust was covering his clothes. If it weren't for the fact his head was pounding, Jack would have believed he was dreaming.

"Jack" amidst many whispering voices echoing in the word, Jack heard his name being called softly. It was surrounding him, the noise. One minute the voices were to the left of him, the next minute, they were to the right. Dizzying, jack twisted himself around and around trying to find the faces behind the voices. They were getting closer, and louder, Jack couldn't see anything other than the green jungle normalness. He wanted to run, but he couldn't decide where, and then, one voice rang louder than the others:

"Hello Jack."

Jack whipped his body round to stand face to face with his father's body. He was in the same suit he used to see him in. The suit he was to be buried in. He was smiling, not looking a day older than when Jack had last seen him 3 years ago. He was becoming more convinced that he was inside a very realistic dream, and as his father started wandering aimless into the uninviting jungle – Jack didn't know what to do about it.

"Come on Jack" his father called back to him, there was a monotone drone to his fathers voice when he spoke. It was like his body was possessed and the voice was of someone else. It made Jack apprehensive, but, with the logic that no harm could come to him if he was dreaming made him swallow his reservations and wander with his dead father into the jungle.

They travelled for what felt like a long time, the scenery was always moving past them, but it never looked any different – Jack didn't feel like he was in the island jungle. His 'father' hadn't spoken a word since they'd left the clearly, he just moved forward, like a robot, towards a destination that look way out of sight to Jack. Jack tried to start a conversation, but, how do you start a conversation with the walking corpse of your father who died over 6 years ago. He asked him about where they were going, and he got no reply. He asked who had sent him and again, Christian gave no reply. Finally the trees seemed to be thinning out, there was more light now and Jack could see before him, features that seemed different. The rocks jutted forward and he recognised the family location of the caves. It was here that his father stopped and turned to face him. He nodded towards the caves, a signal for Jack to enter.

It was hard to see where he was walking, the day light was being blocked out, and there was no other source of light. But, Jack kept walking forward, hoping to reach whatever his father was trying to show him. Eventually, without hitting the walls too many times, Jack reached a familiar place. The sun shone through a small opening in the caves ceiling, there was a trickle of a waterfall in the background and before him were the two ledges where he'd originally found Adam and Eve. Yet, before him was only one body and if he judged correctly Eve was missing. His fathers voice hit him from behind and he faced him again. The old mans face was out of focus, his eyes were looking into nothingness and he was chanting nonsense.

"Only worth living if…. Death…. Find … will destroy….her….love….never lose….give up….don't stop." As he continued he only became crazier and more violent in his address. He was shouting so loudly, Jack thought the ceiling would give in on then both, but it held strong. There seemed to be no end to his fathers ranting, until he stopped suddenly. It startled Jack, and then Christian look right in his eyes.

"Find her Jack."

With that his father disappeared, leaving Jack alone, confused and useless. Jack took the pebble in his hand and turned back to the body of Adam. He placed the pebble in the corpse's pocket – where it belonged. He looked over to where the body of Eve should have been and his memory clicked into place. He knew what had happened.

- Flashback –

The every similar greenery brushed past them, grazing their skin as they ran in fear of their lives. The noises behind them were echoing through the tree, the explosions, the gunshots and worst of all the screams. Each new scream pierced right into Jacks heart as he ran with no intention of turning back; in his hand he held the most important thing in the world and its protection was his only thought right now. His hand was gripped onto a shaking smaller hand, Kate's hand. He needed to get her safe, he needed to protect her from the vicious monsters who'd come attacking them in the night.

Jack didn't know anything about the people who'd marched into their camp. There had been no sound of anything new on the island; the intruders had snuck up behind them. Before the remaining survivors of Oceanic 815 could defend themselves, they were gunned down mercilessly. When Jack heard the first explosion, he left his tent to see Kate coming out of her own tent, just along the beach. Without a second thought he'd grabbed her hand and ran into the camouflaging jungle avoiding the bullets. Now as he ran with her, he was praying that others had the same idea as him, he hoped that some were safe; as many as possible had survived again.

The noises quietened the further they got away, until they stopped altogether. They stood in silence for a long time, neither knowing what to say to the other. Kate looked at Jack's face, silently asking for some answers. Jack was scanning the jungle looking for somewhere they could go. Noticing Jack wasn't going to stop; Kate also tried to figure out where to go next.

"Jack, I don't have a clue where we are. We're lost."

"No, I just need to find which way is West."

He squeezed her hand gently, bringing to her mind that he was still holding it. She let go awkwardly, not knowing how to react.

"What are we going to do?" She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"Those people, whoever they are, aren't just going to stay at the beach; they're going to search the jungle. We need somewhere to hide. We need to keep walking, if we get to the caves we can hide in there."

It was all becoming too much for Kate, she'd become so comfortable in her island life. There was peace and a friendliness she'd never known before. It was killing her to think that it may all be over.

"Jack… I can't do this again, I can't run any more." Her tears were starting to fall and her resolve was cracking. "I could hear them being gunned down like cattle. They were screaming and we kept running. I know we had to, but, they're there – our friends, they're dying and there isn't anything we can do to help them." She sobbed, in crumbled her body as she fell to the floor weakened. Jack sat beside her, cradling her in his strong arms. He ran his hand over her hair, kissing the crown of her head, they way he used to when she was upset. He whispered into her ear that everything was going to be okay. Jack didn't know this for sure, but, what he did know was that he'd give everything to make sure she was safe.

"I'm going to make sure every things okay!" She looked up at him, so similarly to just before their first kiss. She was searching his eyes, seeing if he was telling the truth. Her large glittering eyes were pulling him in; he could drown in the tears that fell from them. Her head leaned closer to his, like an old memory.

The jungle shook. Literally. Jack jumped to his feet with Kate's hand in his again. The haunting, vicious and mechanical sound was ringing through the trees. The smoke monster was close, and he was looking for something. Kate toughened up in an instant, she was so brave and Jack swelled with pride for her.

"We need to run."

They headed off deeper into the jungle, without knowing where they were going, it was incredibly dangerous! They were trying to escape the monster, but no matter how fast they ran, it wasn't far behind them. It was looking for them! Wherever they ran, it followed them.

"Jack it's getting louder."

"Just keep running Kate!"

Jacks mind was racing, where could they go now? He looked to the beautiful woman beside him, her whole body showing how scared she was.

"Jack I –"

"We're going to be fine, don't give up."

It happened too suddenly, a large banyan tree before then was completely pulled from the ground. The shock it sent through the ground through both of them off their feet. Jack fell to his left and Kate to her right. Getting himself to his feet, Jack looked for Kate, but as he turned to find her – his vision was blocked by a large, black smoke cloud – the monster! It was the closest he'd ever been to it, terrified he tried to back away. Inside the smoke were flashes of light, like the flash of a camera – it was as if the monster was capturing him on film. As the smoke filtered around him, slowly circling him, trapping him inside, he could see Kate's petrified face. He wanted to scream at her to run, he knew he was going to die now, he could see it in her eyes – she thought so too.

"Don't …" she whispered through tears. "Don't go"

The smoke came ever closer to him, he could feel it touching his skin, caressing like the licking of flames. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath, this was it. With one swift movement he felt two arms wrapped around his waist, a tiny body clung onto his.

"I'm not leaving you." She whispered into his chest. The tears were dripping onto his shirt leaving a mark. But, he didn't care, he pulled her closer, encasing her in his arms.

"I love you." He told her what she always knew, one final time.

Then darkness came.

- End Flashback –

He knew what had happened, how could he have forgotten? So the smoke monster had finally got him, but, what did that mean. Where was he, what was he? Jack couldn't figure out whether he was dead or delirious. He could feel himself breathing, he could feel the pain in his forehead – he couldn't be dead could he? And what had happened to Kate? He had too many questions and no way of getting any answers.

His father walked up behind him again, a drifting phantom coming and going. Jack looked at him in frustration.

"What am I supposed to do?!" His anger was getting the best of him, and his father's vacant, uninterested expression was only fuelling his rage.

"WHAT CAN I DO!" he shouted, losing his control.

His father breathed deeply, he smiled.

"Find her."