A void within the filmy Heaven.
The waves have now a redder glow —
The hours are breathing faint and low —
And when, amid no earthly moans,
Down, down that town shall settle hence,
Hell, rising from a thousand thrones,
Shall do it reverence.
- The City in the Sea by Edgar Allan Poe
--
Do you believe in Destiny?
Chapter 2, Down that Town
--
Claret was crying. It blurred her vision and made her head ache. It wasn't very helpful when you were alone in a cold, dark jungle after surviving a plane crash. The ground was invisible as her legs drowned in the dark and she was dirty of dried blood and mud. She hadn't slept and she refused to stay at one place even though the night terrified her.
A loud howl pierced through the night and Claret started to sob harder "oh god, oh god… no," she started to run, or as long you can run when you can't see the ground.
Tripping and crying she stumbled onto the long green grass. Finally she'd found something else but trees and trees everywhere.
"Thank God," she cried and buried her face into the grass. She was shaking with every sob. Not even daring to let herself think of what could have possible been out there making that howl.
When the rain started to fall she looked up again, confused and saw the broken form of the cockpit.
"Thank God," she whispered again and stumbling she hurried over to the entrance
"Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?" she screamed over the heavy rain, crawling up into the front. It wasn't quiet, the sounds of the jungle were still everywhere around here. But the sounds that should come from living people were gone.
"Sir, you alright? Hey are you awake? Are you…" her words got stuck in her throat when she saw the deep cut across his belly, dried blood on his clothes. Her heart raced and she opened her mouth to scream:
"Hello there," she twisted around and fell from the cockpit down on the ground screaming in pain. She looked up and met the other man's eyes.
"That must have hurt," he said and titled his head to the side and put forward a hand. Claret took it and he helped her up.
"Thank you, thank you… I thought I was the only survivor, thank you…" Claret was shaking his hand wildly and he looked slightly panicked because of that.
"I'm not a survivor of flight 815," the man stated and tried to regain his hand from Claret's grip. Claret was still shaking it, like she was glued to him.
"What?"
"I'm not a survivor of flight 815, my name is Benjamin Linus and this is my Island,"
--
The rescue planes still hadn't come, some of the survivors were becoming irritated of the delay but still they refused to participate in sorting out clothes and food. The rescue boats would come. They were just late. It was a big world after all.
Some were getting anxious, worried, what if they wouldn't come? What if they had to be stuck on this damn Island for who knows how long? What if the food ran out? What if that growl the other night was some kind of dinosaur?
And then there were those who didn't know what would happen, rescue or no rescue, they couldn't sit around.
Lorraine Hume was one of those people, but Jack 'Wannabe Hero' Sheppard didn't seem to get it.
"I am fully capable on coming with you on this little mission for the cockpit," Lori said in a high voice, she knew that some of the survivors were rolling their eyes and that the most had doubt in their minds, because after all, what use had a blind chick?
"Well, you aren't going," Jack answered, he was tired and she knew that. But he was stubborn.
"Why?" there, she had him in her trap. Nobody wanted to be the mean guy, discriminating a blind girl.
Jack started to stutter and she could hear Bonnie let out a chuckle.
"Then I'm going with you," she had won.
"Excellent," Charlie said cheerful. Kate sighed and Lori knew what she was thinking.
"If you want to come, you have to know where you are going," he meant see.
"Believe me, I'll know," she knew she was looking directly at him, even though she couldn't see him and it made him uncomfortable.
"Fine," Jack said.
"Fine," Lori answered.
"I'm fine also," Charlie put in.
--
The night had gone on without many interruptions, just a few when Owen and Brian switched guard with Sayid and Margo - and Margo realized she wasn't a night person.
Wendy had spent half of the night thinking and the other half dreaming about what she'd been thinking. When the morning came and she still laid on the ground in an apathetic daze; she had been thinking about her brother and the fact that all she had to do to find him, was to ask all of the survivors what their name was – or identify the bodies.
Because one of them was called Hugo Reyes.
And that scared the living hell out of her.
----
Today was Saturday.
That meant for many children at her age, that their mothers or fathers would take them to the store to get candy, to go to the park or just spend the day at the house reading with their daughters or sons.
For Wendy, Saturday's meant that she had to be alone the whole day. She woke up a bit later than school days, went down to kitchen and ate the breakfast her mommy had prepared alone. And read the note that always said the same thing.
Mommy has gone out for a while, I'll be back tonight
Besos.
Then she would go to the living room, pulling out a book in Spanish or English and bury herself in it.
After reading, she'd get hungry and make herself dinner. Forbidding herself to feel sorry, to think that it was anything but normal, because it wasn't.
When she had eaten the dinner, she watched television until her mother, Carmen Reyes got home looking devastated but still trying and failing at smiling to her daughter.
"Sorry I'm late,"
And Wendy would pretend it was okay, that this didn't happen every Saturday - that her mother didn't go to the psychos' house.
It never was okay, not when you were eight.
----
Allen Harwood decided to erase the last pieces of hope he had and went to see if any of the dead bodies belonged to his daughter.
He barely remembered the plane crash, unlike many that remembered it all vivid he had lost the feeling of crashing, he just remembered the one thing. That thing was his daughter.
"Ha- have you…" he swallowed "found a little girl?"
Boone looked up and his face was full with sympathy but Owen, her face not full of anything close to sympathy managed to speak before him:
"We have found many little girls, you need to specify,"
Boone glared at her and Al swallowed again trying to force down the lump in his throat.
"Uh, she… she's blonde and she got these angel, golden curls – just like her mom and this, this amazing smile –"
"Nope, haven't seen her," Owen went back to look through ID's that had fallen out of people's pockets "we do have this body of a girl with brown hair and I guess you're pretty certain about the blonde part so… and it is a BIG jungle, she could be in the forest and –"
"What this emotional handicapped girl is saying is that we haven't found a body fitting your description, sorry," Boone interrupted.
"I'll pray for her," Rose who had just been walking by said with a smile and Owen whispered:
"She still thinks those in the back of the plane are alive, I don't but who knows your daughter might –"
Allen was long gone.
----
"Daddy, look - look clouds!" Ellie was practically jumping up and down her seat, pointing excitedly at the plane's window "clouds!" she shouted again with the innocent smile only a child could have.
"I see them," Allen smiled and turned the page of his paper.
"We are above the clouds!" she whispered and laughed, pressing her face against the window again.
After a while Ellie got tired of looking out the window and feel asleep against her father's shoulder. A pregnant girl walking by smiled at them and a stewardess left a candy bar for Ellie to have when she woke up.
Ellie woke up with a stir when the plane started to shake.
"It's only turbulence princess," Allen said when she grabbed his hand and kissed her forehead.
When the plane started to drop, the baggage fell out and front of the plane broke off, Al held his daughter the closest he could. He would never let her go.
But he did.
----
Florence and Kaylee were lost. But Kaylee still refused to admit it.
"How can you not be lost when you've never been here before?" Florence asked and carefully walked over a thick root on the ground. Adapting fast to the situation of being in a mysterious jungle without any signs of civilization (Kaylee didn't count as civilized in Florence's mind).
Kaylee didn't answer and her face was stubborn when she decided that walking left maybe was a better idea. Which it wasn't and soon she and Florence found themselves face down in some icky weird mud.
"Brilliant!" Florence grumbled and glared at Kaylee who was practically covered in green mud.
"Shut up,"
"You shut up!" Florence answered childishly and tried to make her way up from the mud.
Kaylee was tired, irritated, annoyed, upset - all the negative feelings. But most of all she was worried, she was worried to hell about Dominic and Kate, she was worried that she and Florence were the only survivors and she was worried that the rescue wouldn't find them.
She was worried about what would happen if they did.
Her eyes went dark and in a fast motion she took a handful of mud and threw it at Florence.
"No you shut up!" Kay screamed even though Florence had gone silent.
"Very mature," the Australian groaned but didn't throw anything back as she managed to get up on dry land. Panting heavily she laid herself on the ground and tried to get the mud of her face.
SPLAT! Florence yelled when another fistful of mud hit her on her head, dripping down her hair.
"Would you stop?" she cried.
"NEVER!" Kaylee screamed furious and threw another one.
"ARGH!" Florence let out a growl but before she managed to throw mud at Kaylee she fell face down. Kay chuckled and then screamed when Florence pulled her hair.
"Well isn't this hot, please ladies continue on, don't let me disturb you," a cheeky voice said from above. Florence let go of Kay's hair and she looked up and saw Dominic's blinding grin.
With one look at each other she and Florence threw what they had in their hands at him.
--
"Neat,"
"What's neat?"
Brian looked over his shoulder at the beautiful, pregnant girl that had walked up behind him. He tried to keep his eyes away from her belly and said in a cheerful tone:
"I found a surfing board!"
"A surfing board?" the girl repeated and laughed.
"Yeah, it says Kimika on it. I figured that since rescue isn't coming very soon I can at least have fun waiting!"
The girl's smile faded but Brian was just being honest.
"See you later…"
"Claire," her smile was completely gone and she looked down at the sand.
"Brian," he walked away from her, pregnant girls weren't really his thing.
--
Kate hated to worry but that was what she was doing, worrying and worrying. She was anxious and just hoped that Kaylee and Dominic were safe. He hadn't come back to the beach last night and even though he was very capable of taking care of himself – she worried.
"You look worried," Charlie said confirming Kate's thoughts.
"Yeah well," Kate shrugged "Of course I'm worried, with my brother out here somewhere,"
"I still don't understand why he would just trek into this jungle," Jack said in front of them and looked at Kate.
"To see if someone needed help of course," end of discussion.
"Jealous of not being the only hero Jackie?" Lori snickered from behind, still gleeful from proving Jack wrong. She was the only one who hadn't tripped yet and her pale face was the only one without dirt on it.
Jack's answer drowned in the rain that started to fall from the sky.
"Is that normal?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know," Lorraine answered him.
They continued their path in silence until Lori blurted out:
"I recognize your voice by the way Charlie,"
Kate rolled her eyes when she saw the huge smile forming on Charlie's face.
"Ever heard of drive shaft?"
--
"Hey I'm Hurley,"
"Wendy," Wendy smiled brightly at him, he seemed like a cool enough guy.
"Nice beret," Hurley sat down beside her on the sand, looking out at the sea. "Do you want a candy-bar?"
"Thanks," Wendy took a bite, it tasted weird "Is your name really Hurley?"
"Actually it's Hugo Reyes but everyone calls me Hurley… what? Ouch!" Wendy had darted up fast and dropped her candy-bar on Hurley's head. She stared at him.
"Uh…" she managed to get out with Hurley looking at her like she was mental. Wendy quickly looked around.
"BODIES!" Wendy yelled and Hurley jumped "DEAD BODIES! Yes, I need to help them…" she was pointing at Boone and Owen who were over at the plane wreckage trying to identify dead people "BODIES! Yes…. need to go…" she marched away the fastest she could.
"Dude, that chick is crazy" Hurley said and took the candy-bar.
--
"It's Ruby Tuesday by Rolling Stones. Don't you ever listen to music?" Owen asked irritated to Boone who was on the edge of screaming at her. They had been helping sorting out clothes, food and other things that might come in handy. Boone was just about to reply when Sawyer showed up behind them.
"Nice watch," he said and took it from the dead guy they had yet been able to identify.
"Hey!" Boone shouted.
"Thanks for the watch boys," Sawyer smirked at them and walked over to Rosalie who were sitting a bit further away. Boone started muttering for himself.
"Watch it!" Owen cried when she and Boone got covered in sand of Wendy having rushed over to them. Wendy was bright red in her face, looking over her shoulder before saying in a high pitched voice:
"HELP! You need help with that?" C'mon I can help! I'm a helper, real good helper… oh god…" she said very quick and looked like she was about to burst into tears, Owen decided to help her on her way.
"Hey Wendy," she said in a sweet voice.
And then there were waterworks.
----
"Mierda!" Wendy screamed when she dropped the plates, the broken pieces scattered over the floor and when she jumped up and down holding her left foot the porcelain bits cut into her right foot.
"Wendy Aurora!" Carmen Reyes shouted when she walked into the mess, putting her bags of food away on a chair and carefully stepping over to her daughter. Wendy was biting her lip and refused to weep.
"Well, we do not have time to clean this mess up now, your grandmother is expecting us and she will be very mad if we're late, now, go clean yourself up," as usual, her mother was ridiculous calm when she was freaking out.
Finally, after a long fight over Wendy's feet they were in the car. Her mother was driving because Wendy's feet were hurt and Wendy herself was praying that she would get out of the car alive.
The sun was high on the sky when they arrived at Grandma's and a limping Wendy got to endure many complaints about her life as they sat in the living room.
"So, what are you going to do with your life?" her grandmother Aurora that she was named after asked, looking up and down at Wendy as if to judge her.
"I'm going to be a traducer for mute and deaf people," Wendy answered, staring right into Aurora's eyes. She was not giving this fight up.
"That's no work!" her grandmother roared and Carmen cleared her throat.
"Perhaps you could get us some more tea mi amor," she said interrupting the death glare contest and nodded to Wendy.
Wendy limped to the kitchen, growling irritated as easily got the cups from the top shelf. She heard weird noise coming from outside but did not think of it until she heard someone swear. Trying to walk as fast as she could with her feet she opened the door to the back of the house, seeing the freshly new painted garage to her left – it seemed as the noises came from there.
She grabbed a knife from the sink and walked back outside to the garage. She thought of what to scream when she fast rolled up the door.
"HANDS UP!" she yelled and held the knife as a weapon.
BANG!
The man inside had in shock fallen of the chair and was now laying unconscious on the ground, he was wearing a yellow Hawaiian shirt and looked somewhat familiar as if she'd seen him in another life.
"Oh," she let out.
"Are you all right Wendy? Why are you in the – DAVID!" her mother screamed and rushed to the man's side, Wendy quickly recovered:
"Do you know this intruder mom?"
"Intruder? He's the father of my child!" Carmen screamed hysterically before realizing what she'd said "Oh no," she whispered.
"WHAT?"
----
"H- hi,"
Sawyer broke up in his long rant about finders keepers and looked up.
"Well if it isn't Barbie herself,"
"Sawyer give her a break," Rosalie said gently and pressed her lips together before nodding to Shannon who began to speak:
"Well… uh… my brother – they - they've found a body," Shannon stuttered and glanced at Sawyer who didn't say anything.
"It's an African American woman – they want you to identify her,"
All air disappeared from Rosalie's lungs and she closed her fist fighting back the tears.
"We haven't found a little girl though… so if you'd like to come and –"
"She'll come when she's ready," Sawyer snarled and Shannon darted away from them, tears in her eyes. He turned to Rosie, who refused to let any feelings show.
"I can carry you there – or do you want me to identify –"
"It's not her,"
"Of course it's not Queenie,"
--
"Are we there yet?" Charlie asked Jack, and Kate sighed irritated.
"I think Jackie-boy here is lost," Lori said in a taunting voice.
"I'm not lost," Jack answered stubborn.
"Jack, admit you're a little lost," Kate smiled at him and Jack actually managed to make a half-smile.
"I may not see it, but I know when someone's flirting," Lorraine pushed Jack to the side and climbed over the rock he'd been trying to get around for several minutes and she jumped elegant down on the ground.
Jack pressed down his anger and climbed after her and found himself staring at the form of the cockpit.
"Finally," Kate breathed and Charlie landed on the ground behind them when they started to make their way over to it.
"Yeah, don't worry about me," he muttered from the ground before he stood up and fell in line behind them.
"Do you think anybody's alive -"
"Yes," Lori interrupted Kate and rushed to the other side of the cockpit
"SOMEONE'S HERE!" she screamed and they darted after her. There was a woman laying in the wet grass. Her dark hair covered her face but her form on the ground was peaceful; almost like she was just sleeping which Jack after brushing her hair aside realized she did.
"How'd you know she was here?" he turned and faced Lori whose eyes were gazing above his head.
"I just knew," she answered and walked past them and climbed in to the cockpit.
"I'll stay here to wake her up," Jack told Charlie and Kate who both nodded and trailed after Lori. Jack started to shake the woman slightly.
"Hey, wake up," he said with a tender voice, lifting her eyelid.
"NO!" the woman bounced up and pushed him away falling again as she did so.
"Hey, hey calm down!"
"I WON'T CALM DOWN YOU PSYCHO!" the woman cried and looked around, Jack was standing a safe distance from her watched as she started to remember.
"Oh, right, plane crash," she shifted her seat on the ground blushing about her outbreak and shivering of the cold she turned her gaze at Jack "you – you are another survivor?"
"Yes," Jack responded.
"Are you sure?" she asked with a grimace.
"Uh… yeah pretty sure,"
"I've been alone out here forever," she whispered "I… I woke up in the middle in the jungle and then I found – I found this," she waved her hand at the cockpit clenching her teeth together like she was trying to hold back tears – or word.
"I'm Jack," Jack put a hand on her shoulder meeting her eyes "I'm not the only survivor, there are over forty at the beach –"
"Beach?"
"Yeah, that's where the middle part broke off,"
"Has anyone found us?" the woman looked hopeful and Jack hated to crush it.
"No… but we're here to get transceiver, so that we can get help… Kate, Lori and Charlie are inside right now and we should get in, some cover from the rain,"
"There are dead bodies in there," a tear fell of her face, or it could have just been the rain.
"Then we stay here,"
"Thank you," the woman smiled "I… I didn't say my name; it's Claret, Clary Thimbleberry,"
--
"Isn't this cozy?" Montgomery Zidler said and blinked at Margo.
"If being crushed to death underneath this little chair is cozy, then yeah it is Zidler," Margo smiled back and tried to get her feet underneath the seat with the rain falling down hard above them.
"Well, look at this as an adventure!" Zidler exclaimed cheerfully, earning an angry glare from the Koran couple a few feet away, as if being happy was forbidden.
A silence laid itself between them and even though the rain sounded like bullets Margo started to drift off only to be rudely awakened by a loud howl. She yelled and grabbed Zidler's shirt, looking out at the jungle. A clashing noise; just like the night before was heard.
"Isn't that blind chick, Jack, Kate and Charlie out there?" Zidler asked.
"Yeah," Margo answered.
"Just asking,"
--
Bonnie actually prayed that the rain was going to stop soon; Shannon and Boone were driving her mad. Not that she wasn't happy for being recognized, she just hoped it would be someone else than those two. She remembered meeting Shannon when they put up that contest and she was actually glad after that. Thinking she was never going to see her again.
She thought wrong.
"You are Bonnie McQueen!" Shannon shouted for the millionth time and Bonnie took a step away from her as she moved closer.
"I think we've already established little beauty queen's name here before," Sawyer sneaked up behind them, he had actually walked through the rain over to the space underneath the plane's wing.
"Shut it Sawyer!" Shannon shot back.
"Get lost Sticks," Sawyer said and Shannon with one last admiring glance walked over to Rosalie and started to complain.
"I can handle fans," Bonnie said, catching back Sawyer's attention.
"Never said you couldn't,"
Fox was sitting quiet by the entrance underneath the wing. He held his hand under the rain and felt the droplets; he used to do that a lot when he was a child. He tried to count them.
"Hi," someone said and Fox looked up.
"Hey," he answered the pregnant girl, feeling embarrassed as he took his hand in, three hundred and sixteen drops.
"I'm Claire," she said and sat down beside him, holding a hand on her belly.
"I – I'm F- Fox Edwards," he stuttered hoping she wouldn't make a conversation with him. He was worried she would ask questions about the plane, questions he didn't know the answer to.
"You were talking in your sleep last night," Claire said after a moment of silence.
"What?" Fox blurted out and Claire nodded smiling.
"Yeah, it kept me awake, but don't worry I didn't really want to sleep…"
"Was that why that guy Brian poured water in my face while I was sleeping?"
"Yes," Claire laughed and together they watched the rain falling, her hoping for rescue and him for something else.
--
Kate was helping Lorraine, but Lorraine refused to acknowledge it as they barely managed to get up to the door to the pilot's cabinet.
"Where's Charlie?" Kate asked Lori.
"Don't ask me," Lorraine answered, feeling her way to the door and opened it.
She and Kate screamed as a body fell out, shaking with fear they both heaved themselves in, closing the door behind them, entering the broken, dirty room of the front of the plane.
"You – you go look for the transceiver and I'll – I'll check if anyone of them is alive," Lorraine breathed and Kate didn't ask how she could check it without seeing.
Lorraine started to feel her way over the main pilot's face, feeling his mouth –
"OUCH!" she shouted when the man bit her.
"What?" the pilot said.
"You bit me!" Lori had to keep herself from hitting him "You bit me!"
"Are… are you survivors?" the pilot asked and turned his gaze to Kate who was nodding.
"We… we lost communication…"
"We are here to find the transceiver –"
"Water," the pilot's voice was hoarse and he lifted his hand, Lori gave him a water bottle but she was still angry and muttered under her breath.
"The transceiver is in the top shelf," the pilot said.
Kate found it and smiled to Lori who didn't see it but let out a sigh of relief.
"C'mon, let's get out of here, there are many survivors waiting at the beach…"
"Survivors?" the pilot smiled.
"Yeah survivors over forty -"
A loud growl and howl pierced through the windows, the cockpit started to shake and Lori screamed. Then it went silence.
"What… what was that?" she asked and the pilot made his way over to the broken window looking out.
"I… come back –" Lori whispered, having an uneasy feeling.
"I – I see something –It's NO!"
The pilot was dragged out of the gap, dark red bloods scattered over the windows and at Lori's face. The cockpit shook and stumbling, she and Kate fled for their lives.
--
The good thing about rain was that it hid her tears. Wendy had been unable to find any shelter and was sitting on the wet, icky sand drawing in it with her finger.
Suddenly the drops stopped falling on her head; she looked up and saw two grinning people.
"The Korean couple kicked us out," Zidler laughed and he and Margo sat themselves next to Wendy, holding the jacket over them, barely getting any shelter at all.
"Why so sad gorgeous?" Zidler asked Wendy who had gone back to moping.
"I'M NOT SAD!" Wendy yelled and they dropped the jacket on her of shock.
"You usually think cute people are nice," Zidler whined to Margo when Wendy rushed off and the rain drowned down on them.
"Don't go down that town," she answered.
--
"JACK!" Kate screamed when she and Charlie darted out of the cockpit. She couldn't see him and an uneasy feeling told her that whatever it was had gotten him too.
"Where's Lori?" Charlie asked as they stood in shock for a while on the trampled grass.
A roar interrupted whatever answer Kate may have had and they hurried into the jungle.
"JACK!" Kate yelled again as she saw him and Claret running fast before them, Claret stumbling and crying.
"WHERE'S LORRAINE?" Jack screamed over the heavy rain as they ran.
"I – I don't know!" Kate cried but stopped when Jack started to run back.
"JACK!"
"RUN KATE! TAKE CLARET AND RUN!"
"NO!"
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Charlie shouted and helped Claret on her feet, she was shaking hard of fear.
The jungle was getting darker, the rain colored it all a sinister blue and as they ran for their lives everything became a blur. The rain was hitting them in the face and with pounding hearts they only had one thing on their minds.
What would happen if they stopped?
----
"YOU NEVER TOLD ME I HAD A BROTHER?" Wendy screamed at her mother who was for once in her life ashamed.
"You must understand –"
"NO! I REFUSE TO, I have the right to know I HAVE A BROTHER!" she was blind with rage, red in the face and her brown hair started to fall out of its ponytail.
"Please…"
"Where is he?"
"Qué?" her mother asked confused.
"Don't qué me mom, where's my brother?"
Her mother swallowed, her hand lingering on the table in their living room. A tear ran down her face.
"He's on his way to Australia, in Sydney…"
Wendy picked up her cell phone.
"What are you doing?" her mother asked.
"I'm ordering a ticket to go get to Sydney," she answered, now calm not an emotion showing in her face.
"What? No you can't! Are you thinking you'll see your brother?"
"Hello My name's Wendy Reyes and I would like to book a last minute flight to Sydney, Australia," Wendy said into the phone ignoring Carmen.
"Mi amor, what are you going to do? Find your brother Hugo and everything will just be happy?"
"Yes I can hold on a minute," Wendy continued.
"What will you say to him… if you even find him? Are you just going to say; Hey, my name is Wendy Reyes, I'm your long lost sister…"
"Yes, a flight to Sydney, yeah I'm travelling alone…"
"He won't know you! He will never know you as his sister," Carmen Reyes cried.
"Flight 757 it is," she hung up the phone and turned to her mother "When I meet him, I will tell him everything and then he will hate you too,"
Her mother stared at her, sadness and shock in her eyes as Wendy grabbed her purse from the table and left the room. Her mother put her hands over her face.
"Adiós para siempre" Wendy whispered and closed the door after her.
----
The rain was still falling and it looked like it never would stop. Wendy's gaze trailed the beach line until it landed on Hurley, who was taking cover under a big leaf that didn't do much help. She couldn't help but smile and made her way between the survivors over to him.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey dude," Hurley looked up at her and she sat down and he shared his leaf with her and they both smiled because none of them got any cover from the rain.
"Sorry for freaking out earlier," Wendy said and broke the silence.
"That's alright. We're all a bit freaked after all that's been going on,"
Wendy nodded and they sat there in silence for a while and watched the rain hit the water. Her thoughts trailed away as a small flower of happiness spread in her stomach. She was sitting next to her brother. But he didn't know that she thought and the happiness died. He never knew she existed. They had both been hidden away from each other with reasons unknown and it hurt, that what her mother had said was true, they weren't like real siblings. But still, wouldn't it be so simple to just say; hey, my name is Wendy Reyes; I'm your long lost sister.
"Hurley," Wendy said in a shaky voice and made her decision.
"Yeah?" he said.
"I'm… I'm your… you're a really good guy Hurley,"
--
"It has stopped raining," Charlie confirmed the obvious and suddenly the jungle wasn't as threatening as before and when some grey light managed to get through the branches.
"Hey – hey Kate where are you going?" Charlie shouted after her.
"To find Jack and Lori," she answered over her back and walked fast the direction they had came from.
"I'm… I don't want to go back there," Claret whispered holding onto the much shorter Charlie.
"Uh… yeah…Kate, we'll head back to the camp all right? Is that okay with –"
Kate disappeared when she rounded a tree trying to hold back the tears. With whatever it was that had attacked them, what chances did her brother have in this jungle?
"Hey wait!" Kate swirled around and saw a scared Claret and Charlie stumbling towards her, Kate nodded as a thank you and they continued their way over big roots, stones and the wet ground.
They came to an opening in the forest and Claret walked over to the puddle in the ground. She bent over and took up the shiny pilot ensemble from the ground. Her fingers brushed away the dirt from it and she tilted her head to the side. She tried to make sense of it.
"What –" then she screamed and they all looked up and saw a body; torn to bloody pieces dangling in the branches above them. Small drops of blood fell on the ground and Claret dropped the ensemble.
"Bloody hell," Charlie whispered.
"Bloody hell indeed," Lorraine said courageous as she and Jack came out from the black trees, him supporting her.
"Jack!" Kate breathed happy to see them safe.
"Who in earth could have done that?" Charlie asked.
"Not who - what," Lorraine responded "And the answer is quite simple isn't it?"
They waited for her answer and she smiled, her dull unseeing eyes turned directly at the pilot's body.
"Monster,"
--
Author's Note: Introducing the new characters; Montgomery Zidler (the charming wizard) submitted by Dance in the Moonlight and Allen Harwood (the wonderful but broken father) submitted by kab16. Thank you for your characters!
Yeah, I said it wasn't going to be exactly character centric, but this chapter definitely focused a lot on Wendy Reyes. I am again going to thank you all for your AMAZING characters that I just can't wait to dig into more!
Male OC submissions are still open until the third chapter, then they're going to close. Even if you've submitted a character or characters you are free to do so again!
Please tell me what you thought of this chapter, I got so happy from your last reviews and I can't wait to hear suggestions and your thoughts.
Namaste.
