Chapter 4 - Kate's Reverie

Jack wasn't thinking clearly. Why did that seem like such a strange question to him?

He stared into Kate's eyes with a concerned look on his face and touched her forehead. He examined her head, her face and her neck. He didn't find any injuries.

Kate repeated her question, never breaking eye contact with Jack, her heart pounding so hard within her chest.

"Jack, do you hate me?" She asked again sobbing. Her face was wet with tears. She was behaving like she was in shock.

Jack held her firmly by her shoulders attempting to stop the trembling in her fragile body.

"Kate, what are you talking about? Where would you get such an idea? Why would I hate you?" Jack quizzed her.

"He said you'd hate me." She whispered sadly, almost as if she were in pain.

"He? Who?" Jack asked facing her.

"Wayne! It was Wayne." She told him with a weak voice, eyes almost closed. She was slumping over, fainting.

"Kate! Don't! Talk to me!" Said Jack, trying to revive her.

But she didn't answer. Her body was dead weight in his arms. Jack panicked and checked her pulse. It was steady.

The drizzle began to change into hard rain again. The storm was resuming.

Jack took a deep breath. He needed to take care of her soon, but he was out in the rain and in the mud. It would be easier to take care of her back at the hatch but that wasn't an option right now. He had no choice. Going back to the hatch or the caves was out of the question. He had to find shelter soon!

He had no idea where Ana-Lucia and Sawyer were so that they could help him. Or did they need help themselves? The solution was to find a safe place to wait out the storm then he could get her back to camp.

He checked his backpack. He had some medicine, some fruit and water, a blanket and an extra shirt in it. They'd be fine. He just needed to get them out of the rain.

Jack placed his backpack on his right shoulder while gently holding Kate's body against tree. With his last ounce of strength he lifted Kate into his arms and walked away into the jungle.

He was searching for shelter trusting only his senses to guide them through the darkness.

XXXXX

"I never... sat on Santa's lap!" Ana said.

"No way, Lulu! Don't believe ya!" Sawyer laughed. "What don't you like about the good, old man in red?"

"He always gave me the creeps! With all of that talk about 'come here little girl, come sit here on my lap!" Ana embarrassingly confessed.

"You're crazy!" Sawyer said having fun with her.

The drinks were gone but the two of them continued talking and had been having fun for quite awhile. With the "I never" game, Sawyer found an easy way to found out about Ana-Lucia's private life.

"Oh no!" Ana-Lucia groaned feeling the rain coming again.

"Uh, it's about to start all over again! This bloody rain will put out our bonfire! Lets find a better tree for protection." Said Sawyer.

Ana-Lucia nodded but when they stood up a strange noise coming from the trees got their attention.

"What is it?" Ana-Lucia asked, instinctively reaching for the gun in the back of her jeans that wasn't there anymore.

"Don't want to stay here to find out!" Sawyer grabbed her arm and they started to run.

The noise gradually grew louder as if something was getting closer. They ran into the darkness without looking behind.

"Sawyerrrrrrr!" Ana screamed in despair but her voice wasn't loud enough for Sawyer to hear over the noise of the rain and the monster.

He continued to run away from her.

"Don't believe it! Damnit!" Sawyer muttered to himself when he realized that Ana wasn't behind him. "Ana-Luciaaaa!"

Ana noticed that the trees weren't moving anymore so she screamed his name again. "Sawyerrr!"

"Oh shit!" He moaned. "I'm coming, babe!" He shouted running in the direction of her voice.

XXXXXXXX

A branch whipped Jack's face and cut him and the blood made a thin trail down his face. The weight of his backpack and the body he was carrying were exhausting him.

He didn't know how much longer he could support her. He needed Kate to be ok. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her, especially if it was because he was weak.

His legs and arms were shaking and the rain just wouldn't give them a break. He needed to stop, at least for a little bit.

He dropped his backpack onto the ground and slowly sat down with Kate still in his arms. He didn't want to lay her on the wet ground so he placed her onto his lap even with the mud on his clothes.

Kate breathed heavily. Her body was soaked and shivering from the cold.

Jack breathed hard, too. Suddenly, he noticed a strange light through the trees. He hadn't noticed before, but it was coming from a rock, close to where they were sitting.

Jack sighed, confused. What could that strange light be and where was it coming from?

"I'm sorry for this." He said laying her gently back down on the ground, placing the backpack under her head as a pillow.

He slowly approached the rock never taking his eyes off of the light. Finally, when he was in front of the light he grinned. It was the entrance to a cave.

Jack climbed into the cave with some difficulty but he didn't hesitate upon seeing it. It was a beautiful and comfortable looking place, considering the circumstances.

The light was in a small cave that contained a small pond of fresh water.

Jack returned to Kate who was still the same. As if she could hear him Jack said excitedly. "You'll be ok, Kate! I found a place to protect us from the storm!"

To be continued…