CHAPTER TWO

Boone felt his face collide with the sand on the beach ground as he tripped. He turned back to see what the obstacle had been, and a small shout emitted from his mouth. He saw the form of Claire, her mouth smeared with blood. She was hacking dangerously, the amount of blood she was coughing up terrified Boone. She lay twitching on the ground. The blood was running down her neck, making contact with the collar of her shirt. Boone saw a figure approaching the vulnerable woman. Was it one of them? Boone couldn't afford to wait and find out. He scrambled to his feet and scooped Claire up into his arms, and ran. Ran as fast as he could. He had no idea where he was going; he knew he had to get Claire to safety. And find Shannon. But he didn't even know where to look.

Boone felt Claire begin go to limp in his arms. He panicked. Was she going to die?

"Don't you dare go out on me!" Boone shouted, as he ran. Although he had doubted that Claire could make sense of what he was saying, he felt her stiffen and wriggle slightly in his arms, in an attempt to stay awake. Boone swung his head around vigorously. He seemed to have run far enough out of the radius of the Others. He would be able to run faster without Claire, to make a better search for Shannon. He was terrified that he hadn't found her yet.

He lay Claire down at the of someone's tent; he could not tell whose it was. He laid her down carefully. Her eyes were tight shut, and she thrashed about as soon as he put her on the ground. Then she began to scream. The sight was horrifying. Claire mouth was wide; and her eyes were squeezed shut. Blood splattered out of her mouth as she screamed It flew onto her trousers and disguised her face. Her jeans were stained red as blood flowed fast out of her vagina. He did not take time to consider this, as he put his legs on either side of Claire's body in an attempt to hold her still. He pinned her wrists to the ground. She continued to scream and tried to get away from Boone's grip. Blood sprayed his face, but he tried to ignore it.

"Claire!" He yelled. "Can you hear me?" Claire didn't respond, she just continued to thrash. "Claire, it's alright! You're going to be okay! Calm down! It's Boone! You're going to be okay!" Boone felt Claire begin to slow down beneath his legs. Was she dying? Or was she calming down? Her screams began to quiet.

"Claire can you hear me?" She didn't respond. Boone began to panic. "If you can hear me, nod, or something!" Boone yelled. Claire moaned slightly. Boone sighed in relief. She was alive. "Claire, you're going to be okay. Just relax." Boone heard her mumble slightly. He leaned in closer, and put his ear an inch away from her mouth. He heard that she was repeating one word over and over.

"Aaron." Oh god. Where was Aaron? There was no way that a baby could survive out here on his own…

Just then, Boone saw Hurley charging past them. Boone moved off Claire and raced after him.

"Hurley!" He screamed. Hurley promptly turned to face Boone. "Have you seen Shannon?" Hurley shook his head. Boone's pulse quickened and his heart raced even faster. Where was she? "Well, could you watch Claire? I don't think they're coming out this far." Boone led Hurley over to Claire, and was relieved that she was rolling over. She's still moving.

"Dude." Hurley whispered, upon seeing Claire.

"Look after her!" Boone shouted after him, as running from the pair. He had to find Shannon. She had to be okay. She just had to.

He ran for all he was worth. Even though his felt his breath faltering, he could not stop. He scanned the ground, inspecting every body. Yet to no avail. He saw faces he recognised. Faces he knew would haunt him. But none of them Shannon.

His legs forced him to stop, as they fell to the ground. He hadn't even realised that he had been crying, as red streaks flowed freely down his face, the teas smeared with Claire's blood. He summoned all the breath in his lungs, and screamed.

"SHANNON!"

"Boone?" It wasn't Shannon's voice, Boone knew that, but still he clambered to his feet and gazed around for the owner of the voice. He saw a battered Sayid charging towards him. Sayid was bleeding profusely from a deep wound in his left arm, and was limping as he ran.

"Boone." He gasped, as he fell to his knees at Boone's feet, gasping for air. As Sayid looked up at him, Boone suppressed a gasp. Sayid face was tear-stained, as Boone's was. Yet Sayid was a soldier. He had been to war before. Why was he crying? Before Sayid spoke, Boone knew that he was about to receive information that he didn't want to hear. Dread filled the pit of his stomach, and his eyes prepared to cry even harder.

"Shannon." Sayid gasped. "She's gone."