Jack and Ana-Lucia sat tending to the campfire on the beach. All of the other survivors had retired for the night, leaving the two to talk. The topic of conversation was the same as several nights ago – the safety of the other survivors. Each felt responsible for their respective groups of people, as they had emerged as the leaders on the island.
"So…" Ana-Lucia started. "You know what you asked about the other day?"
Jack started at the sound of her voice. He had been deep in thought about the day's events with Kate. "Um…. what do you mean?"
"You know! Armies! Training armies!" Ana-Lucia exclaimed.
"Oh right!" said Jack, now realizing where she was coming from.
"I think they're getting closer." Said Ana-Lucia, on a more serious note.
Jack had just opened his mouth to say something, when the two heard the shuffling of feet behind them, followed by a rustle in the trees. They jumped up, turning to face the jungle behind them, but saw nothing.
"We have to do something about this Jack. Pretty soon we're going to have to face them."
"Well what's your plan of action?" Jack said, in a slightly agitated voice.
"Prepare for a battle! Take them by surprise. They won't expect us to be ready for them!" Ana-Lucia had obviously thought about this a lot.
Jack was silent for a moment, pondering this idea. He wasn't a violent person, and wanted to refrain from fighting for as long as possible.
"I guess we don't have a choice." Jack said finally. "I don't want any more people getting hurt. We'll tell everyone in the morning." Jack headed off, pausing beside the sleeping Kate for a moment, before continuing to his own tent for the night.
All of the remaining survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 were gathered on the beach looking up at Jack, who was standing on a sand dune in front of them, which acted as a sort of stage. Most of them knew why he had called this meeting. It was a topic that had all of them getting more and more scared every day: The Others.
"By now I'm sure that you've all heard about the meeting in the jungle a few days ago. We met with a man whose part of a group of people living on this island. They don't want us here, but they've set down some rules, and they've told us to stay away from them. No matter how much we try to stay out of their way, they seem intent on hurting us. They're closing in on our camp, and pretty soon they're going to strike. We have to be ready for them, we have to fight back!" Jack's speech was met with a cheer from the crowd. He beamed at them, glad at the response he was getting. "Now I can't force you to go into battle, but anyone who would like to fight is more than welcome! I know there are at least 30 of them, maybe more, so the more people we have on our side the better."
After the meeting, Jack was approached by nearly all of the survivors at one point or another, expressing their wish to join the army. It seemed that everybody wanted to fight to protect themselves and each other. Jack started training later that day, as there was no time to lose. Everyone was trained in the use of the weapons that were available. Luckily, there was an extensive supply of guns in the hatch. For the training, Jack had enlisted the help of some of the survivors who had experience in that sort of thing. Locke for his incredibly accurate knife skills, Ana-Lucia because of her career in the police force, and Sayid for his war experience.
After a week of training, Jack felt confident in the army that the survivors had created. The random assortment of people who had been brought together by an accident made a surprisingly skilled and efficient team. The sun had just set, and Jack was sitting by the fire with Kate.
"I'm really impressed with what you've done." Kate told Jack. "You've really trained everybody well."
"I'm afraid I can't take all the credit. Everybody has been working together really well."
"At least now we stand a chance. I can't stand thinking about what could've happened already, with them watching us all the time." Kate shuddered.
"I have a feeling that they're going to attack soon. And when they do, it's going to be unexpected." Jack had wanted to tell Kate this for a long time. "If anything happens, I just want you to know…"
Kate looked into Jack's eyes, wondering if he was going to say the words she had been longing to hear ever since she met him.
"I…. I love you Kate." Jack couldn't believe he had finally summoned up the courage to tell her! Now he awaited her reply, just hoping that she felt the same way.
Kate felt as though her heart would burst with happiness. He loves me! She thought. He feels the same way! Kate realized that Jack was nervously awaiting a response from her.
"I love you too Jack."
Kate and Jack looked deep into each others' eyes, as something disturbed the peacefulness of the jungle behind them...
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