Lost Project

Author note: Here's the second chapter... Hope you like it. Don't forget to leave me a review! Luv, Lara K.

Chapter 2 : Pilot part II

The sun was back. They had started to go through some suitcases to find some clothes. Jenn had found hers and Jack's luggage and was now going through unclaimed suitcases for medication and antibiotic. She was wiping some sweat off her forehead when she spotted Shannon, laying on a towel in a bikini, sunbathing. She got up and stand beside her.

"Do you mind moving?" she asked. "You're blocking the sun."

"Why don't you come and give us a hand with the luggage?"

"Why would we do that? Rescue is coming anyway."

The young woman sighed loudly. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Shannon, but it might take a while before they come. So if you want to sunbathe until they're here, be my guest. But use better sunblock if you don't want to turn into a giant red lobster."

She went back to the fuselage and was met by Boone.

"I'm sorry about my sister... She's... She's not the brightest person in the world. She watches too many movies and she's sure rescue will come soon."

"Don't apologize for her, Boone."

"I have to... She's my sister."

The sound of grunting and fist fight quickly got their attention. They dropped what they were holding and ran toward a crowd of people circling two men.

"What the hell's going on here?"

Nobody answered and she finally was able to see who the two men were: Sawyer and Sayid. She tried to get them to break it up, but nearly received Sayid's fist in her face. Jack, who had just came back with Kate and Charlie, took care of the situation.

"Hey ! Break it up!"

He was able to hold Sawyer off Sayid even though the Southern man was fighting back.

"I'm sick of this redneck!" yelled Sayid.

"Want some more?" answered Sawyer, still fighting off Jack's grip.

"Tell everyone what you told me! Tell them I made the plane crash. Go on!"

"If the shoe fits!" yelled back Sawyer.

"What is going on?" asked Jack letting Sawyer fall on the ground.

Sayid said something in Arab that, for sure, was an insult.

"What's going on?" still asked Jack.

Michael showed him a pair of handcuffs. "My kid found these in the jungle."

"And this guy was in the back row of business class the whole flight" said Sawyer, pointing at Sayid. "Never got up. Hands folded underneath the blanket. And for some reason, just pointin' this out, the guy next to him didn't make it."

Jenn sat down on the ground and watched her brother handled the whole thing. Not only were they stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere, but they were turning the experience into some kind of "Lord of the Flies" thing.

"STOP!" yelled Kate, getting everybody's attention. "We found the transceiver, but it's not working. Can anybody help?"

There was a long silence before Sayid finally said he could. It was welcomed by Sawyer distrust of Sayid.

"Oh, great! Perfect. Let's trust this guy."

"Hey!" said Hurley. "We're all in this together, man. Let's treat each other with res..."

"Shut up, lardo" was Sawyer's answer.

Jenn got up, fed up with Sawyer's attitude.

"Hey! Give it a break, will you?"

"Whatever you say, princess. This mess is all yours."

She sighed before asking Jack. "You found the cockpit?" He nodded. "Any survivors?"

He shook his head. "No..."

She closed her eyes. This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. Behind her Sayid was examining the transceiver, going through some technical stuff before saying that even though the battery looked good, the radio was dead. Kate asked him if he could fix it, to which he said it would take some time. They didn't have any time, Jenn thought.

"Doctor, that man with the shrapnel, I think you should take a look at him" said Rose, the woman Jack had performed CPR on.

Jack nodded and went to check on him while Jenn went back to her search for medication.

Finding her suitcases gave Jenn the chance of changing clothes. She traded her black dress and lone shoe for a comfortable pair of capri pants, a tank top and running shoes. She had put all the medication and antibiotic in a back pack that she had gave to Jack earlier when she had stopped to see if he needed any help with the shrapnel guy. The poor man's situation wasn't looking good. The night before they hadn't took The poor man's situation wasn't looking good. The night before they hadn't took the shrapnel out 'cause they thought that by now rescue would be there, but now... Jack had told her that at the cockpit they had found the pilot barely alive, but that he had make it long enough told them that 6 hours into the flight they had lost radio contact... That they had turned back to land in Fiji and that by the time they hit the turbulence they had been a thousand miles off course. Thing weren't looking good at all.

The transceiver was now working but they had to go on a hike to be able to catch a signal. Jack had asked her to go with Sayid and Kate in case they needed medical attention. He was going to stay at the beach and go through the medication to find some antibiotic that could be of some help for the poor shrapnel man. They were getting ready to leave when Shannon stopped them.

"I'd like to come with you."

"She's not going" said Boone, behind her.

"The hell I'm not!"

They started to bicker like a brother and sister, which they were.

"I'm going with you" she finally said.

"I don't know if that's a good idea" Kate told her, trying to be as nice as possible.

"What are you, two years older than me? And why couldn't I come when she's going?" she asked, looking at Jenn.

The young woman simply said. "I'm going in case they need some medical attention..."

Charlie joined them, looking quite cheery.

"You're going, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Yup."

Kate sighed while Sayid and Jenn were clearly uncomfortable.

"Look, everybody can come. But we're leaving now!"

They walked through the crash site, passing by Sawyer who got up and followed them.

"Nice to see you decided to join us" was all Jenn said when he passed in front of her.

"I'm a complex guy, sweetheart."

The walk was hard and tenacious. Jenn was thankful for having packed an extra pair of running shoes 'cause the hike proved to be quite difficult. The sun was hot and there weren't lots of shade. Shannon complained a lot until they reached some kind of valley.

"Okay. Wide open space. Check the radio, see if we're good" said Sawyer from the back of the line.

"We're not gonna have reception" answered Sayid.

"Just try it."

"If we do" started Jenn, "we'll waste the batteries, right Sayid?"

The Iraqi nodded. Still Sawyer wouldn't let it go.

"I'm not askin' you to keep it on all day..."

"We're blocked by the mountain."

Sayid kept his cool against the redneck's verbal attack.

"Check the damn radio!"

It was too much for Sayid who exploded. "If I just check we might not have any juice left when we get to..."

He was interrupted by a loud grunt. They all stopped in their track and turned to the direction where the sound was coming from. Something was coming their way.

"Oh my God..." said a freaked out Shannon.

"What the hell's that?" asked Boone.

"Something's coming" was all Jenn could say.

"Coming toward us I think" muttered Charlie.

"Come on, let's move" said Kate, sprinting toward safety.

"I shouldn't have come on this hike!" screamed Shannon.

Sawyer and Jenn were the only one to stay behind. He took her by the arm and placed her behind him. Terror was making it impossible for the young woman to move. She just stayed still and bit her lower lip, looking through the high grass, trying to get a look at what was coming their way. She could hear Kate yelling her name, Shannon screaming frantically, but she couldn't move. Sawyer took something out of his back pocket... A gun! He had a gun! He aimed toward the grunting sound, waited then shot 9 times. Jenn took his hand in her and walk behind him as he moved toward what he had shot. It was a bear. The rest of the group came back.

"That's a big bear" said Shannon, trying to catch her breath.

"You think that's what killed the pilot?"

Following Boone's question, Kate and Charlie exchanged a glance at each other.

"No. No, that's a tiny, teeny version compared to that."

The beast was breathing heavily. Jenn approached it, still squeezing Sawyer's hand, and was shocked once she got a better look at it.

"Guys, this isn't just a bear. It's a polar bear. In the middle of the South Pacific."

Boone came next to her and look at the nearly dead animal. "That can't be a polar bear."

"It's a polar bear" answered the rest of them at the same time.

"Wait a minute" started Shannon. "Polar bears don't live in jungle."

"Got it genius" muttered Jenn under her breath.

They were all standing around it, trying to figure out how a polar bear could have live this far South.

"Well this one does" answered Boone, matter of fact.

"Did" said Sawyer letting go of Jenn's hand. "It did."

"Where did that come from?" asked Kate.

"Probably Bear Village. How the hell do I know?"

"Not the bear, Sawyer. She wants to know where you got the gun."

He looked Jenn in the eyes. "I got it off one of the bodies."

"One of the bodies?" Sayid found it hard to believe him.

"Yeah, one of the bodies."

"People don't carry guns on planes" stated Shannon.

"They do if they're U.S. marshal, Sweet Cheeks . There was one on the plane."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw a guy lyin' there with an ankle holster, so I took the gun. Thought it might come in handy. Guess what, I just shot a bear."

"Polar bear" added Jenn.

Kate frowned. "So why do you think he's a marshal?"

"Because he had a clip-on badge! I took that too. Thought it was cool." He produced a shiny star badge from his jeans pocket.

"I know who you are."

They all turned to Sayid.

"You're the prisoner."

"I'm the what?"

"You found the gun on a U.S. marshal? Yes I believe you did. You knew where it was because you were the one he was bringing back to the States. Those handcuffs were on you. That's how you knew there was a gun."

"Piss off!"

"That's who you are, you son of a bitch" continued the Arab.

"Be as suspicious of me as I am of you."

"You are the prisoner."

"Fine! I'm the criminal, but you are the terrorist. We can all play a part. Who do you wanna be, princess?" he asked Jenn.

Kate took this opportunity to take the gun out of Sawyer's hand and pointed it at him.

"Does anybody know how to use a gun?" asked the young woman, clearly shaking.

"I think you just pull the trigger" said Charlie, as if everything was normal.

"Don't use the gun, Kate. Please don't" pleaded Jenn.

"I just want to take it apart..."

Sayid looked at Jenn then said. "There's a button on the grip. Push that, it will eject the magazine." Kate did as she was told. "There's still a round in the chamber. Hold the grip, pull the top part of the gun."

When it was over she handed the part to Sayid before giving the empty gun to Sawyer. He grabbed her by the arm and whispered.

"I know your type."

"I'm not so sure."

He let out a chuckle. "Yeah, I've been with girls like you."

She looked him in the eyes before adding. "Not girls exactly like me."

They continued the trek through the valley. Sayid and Kate in the front, followed by Boone, Shannon and Charlie and Jenn and Sawyer at the end.

'Can I ask you somethin' princess?"

"Ask anyway..."

"What was the deal with the whole hands holdin'?"

"The hands..."

"Yeah, when the bear came runnin' at us why did you stay with me? Why not run for your life like the rest of them? And why were you holdin' my hand like you were goin' to die if you didn't?"

"I guess I was scared. Look, I'm not really the damsel in distress type, but when I'm really scare I tend to become paralyzed. That's why I stayed behind with you."

He clicked his tongue. "You're only answerin' half of my questions, princess. The hands holdin'?"

She took him by the arm and whispered. "Listen, I was scared! You were the only one around..."

"So if it had been anybody else..."

"Well maybe if it had been Boone, I might have. Sayid and Charlie are not my type."

He flashed his grin. "So I'm your type?"

She sighed. "I admit it, I've got a soft spot for bad boy."

She continued to walk behind the rest of the group, a victorious smile spreading on her face. They finally reached a clear wide open space. Sayid took the transceiver from his backpack, softly unwrapping it from the piece of tissue it was in.

"Oh, now's a good time to check the radio. Not before, but now."

"We're up higher" was the Iraqis' answer.

"Yes we are!"

Sayid didn't listen to Sawyer's complaint and turned the radio on. He suddenly stopped once he heard the static and the whirring.

"Bar... Hey, we've got a bar!" He put the transceiver to his ear. "Mayday, Mayday!"

There was some feedback that made Jenn jump a little.

"Feedback? But feedback from what?" she asked.

"I don't know..."

"I'll tell you what will do that" started Sawyer. "This guy not fixin' the radio. The thing doesn't even work."

Sayid shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no, it's not broken. We can't transmit because something is already transmitting."

"Transmitting from where?" asked Charlie.

"Transmitting what?" asked Shannon.

"It's somewhere close..."

"Somewhere close?" cheerfully asked Charlie. "You mean on the island? That's great!"

"You think it's maybe other survivors?"

"From our plane, Boone? How...? Kate, Charlie, there's only one transceiver, right?"

"Yes..." started Kate.

"What kind of transmission?" asked Sawyer.

Sayid was bombarded with question. "I don't know. It could be a satphone, a radio signal..."

"Can we listen to it?"

"Let me get the frequency, Jenn. Hold on."

He turned some button, still it was only static.

"There's no transmission" finally said Sawyer, impatient.

"Shut up!" both yelled Kate and Jenn.

"The rescue party, it has to be."

They were able to catch something.

"That's French!" yelled Charlie. "The French are coming! I've never been so happy to hear French."

"I never took French" said Kate, excited. "What is she saying?"

"Does anyone speak French?" asked Jenn looking at the rest of the group.

"She does" said Boone, pointing Shannon.

The young woman was surprised. "No... I don't!"

"What?" asked her brother in disbelieve. "What are you talking about, you spent a year in Paris!"

"Drinking, not studying!"

"Iteration 1-7-2-9-4-5-3-1" said a robotic male voice coming from the transceiver.

They all looked at each other.

"Oh, no, no, no..." Sayid said, eyes stuck on the device. "The batteries are dying."

Question started to raised among the little group. Boone took Shannon by the arms, clearly mad.

"I heard you speak French. Listen."

"I can't" was all the young woman kept repeating.

"Do you speak French or not, because that would be nice" said Sawyer.

The robotic voice started again. "Iteration 1-7-2-9-4-5-3-2."

The voice in French started again. Shannon listen carefully.

"It's... It's repeating" she said with tears in her eyes.

Sayid nodded. "It's a loop. 'Iteration' it's repeating the same message. It's a counter. The next number will end 5-3-3."

And it did.

"Does anyone know what the hell he's talkin' about?" asked Sawyer.

"It's a running count of the number of times the message has repeated" stated Sayid. "It's roughly 30 seconds long, so... How long...?"

He started to count in his head. Shannon continued with her translation.

"She's saying... 'Please'. She's saying, 'Please, help me. Please, come get me'."

"Or she's not! You don't even speak French!" yelled Sawyer.

They all yelled at each other until Charlie reminded them of the battery. Shannon took the transceiver in her hand and put it to her ear.

" 'I'm alone now. I'm... on the island alone. Please, someone come. The others, they're...' " she stopped. " 'They're dead. It killed them. It killed them all'."

The static and whirring came back and the transceiver was once again dead.

"Oh my God..." was all Jenn could say.

"Sixteen years" suddenly said Sayid.

They all looked at him, perplexed.

"Sixteen years and five months. That's the count."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The message, Boone" answered Jenn, numbed. "It's a distress call that's been playing over and over again for the last sixteen years and five months... Is that right, Sayid?"

He nodded.

"Someone else was stranded here?"

"Maybe they came for them..." was Kate answer.

"If someone came why is is still playin'?"

"Cause they didn't came?" answered Jenn.

They all looked at each other, the terror even more present on their faces. Charlie finally said.

"Guys... Where are we?"

TBC