Hello! It's another chapter of my story. I hope you'll like.
Warning: character death.
Chapter 6
Jack could hardly believe what Rose was saying. He couldn't find words to express his feelings. Now everything made sense. He must've been blind not to notice the symptoms. Her feelings of nausea and fainting, her mood swings.
Finally, he asked overwhelmed "Why didn't she tell me?"
"I suppose she wasn't sure of your reaction," she stated. Jack blinked in surprise.
"I thought we knew each other and she shouldn't be afraid of my reaction," he sounded deeply hurt.
"Try to understand her, Jack. She crashed on this island, she went through a lot and now she's expecting a baby. It's a whole new situation for her, don't you think? She knows this place isn't safe for living, let alone rearing a child. Just recall what happened to Claire. And then it's you. I'll bet you have never talked about having kids. She wanted to tell you, I know it."
Jack was shaken. He really didn't think about it this way.
"You're right, Rose. Maybe I'm too overwhelmed to think straight." Jack admitted.
"You should drink something." He rummaged in his backpack and offered her a small bottle of water.
"Thanks, I needed this." Rose said and took a couple of quick gulps of liquid.
"So what do you think of the idea of becoming a father?" she asked him after she had finished drinking.
"Frankly speaking, I'm terrified." he told truthfully. "I've never thought about having a child. I was married once…"
Rose said nothing.
"One day, my wife announced that she might have been pregnant so she did the test but it turned out she wasn't. I asked her if she wanted to talk about it and when she refused, I must admit I felt relieved. I thought I wasn't ready for such responsibility. But now I think I was a conceited asshole spending all his time in his job, and who didn't even notice he was loosing his wife." Tears were shining in his eyes.
Rose was clutching the necklace she was wearing.
Jack continued his story. "Soon after this she left me for some other guy and I didn't even have the courage to fight for her. I felt awful. But after the plane crash I felt different. When I met Kate I realised I've been given a new life, a second chance. She laughed with me and she cried with me, she saved me many times even if she didn't know it. She is the only person I can always count on. She makes me whole. And now when the woman I love is expecting our baby, I'm sure I won't make that mistake again. I want this child more than anything else in the world and I'll do anything I can to get them out of there alive." He glanced toward the place where Kate and Bernard were.
He got up and started walking in that direction when Rose spoke up. "Jack. Just one more thing…"
"Yeah?" he went back to her.
"Give me your hand," she ordered.
Jack obeyed and did what she wanted. She took his hand and dropped there two round shiny objects.
"What's this?" Jack was curious.
"These are mine and Bernard's wedding rings. I want you to take them."
It was a total surprise for Jack.
"Rose, I can't…"
"Yes you can. We won't need them anymore," she said looking straight into his eyes. "I hope they'll bring you and Kate as much happiness as they brought us."
Jack was stunned. Tears of anguish filled his eyes.
"Thank you." he whispered gratefully.
Rose only smiled. "Good luck. And the baby will be fine," she added.
He stood up and started digging. As soon as he swept a large rock, the walls began to shake uncontrollably. Jack prepared for a new cavalcade of rocks and ducked his head.
Kate didn't know what was happening. She was talking to Bernard when suddenly the walls tumbled down. Fortunately, this time it was much weaker. As soon as it stopped, she sighed with relief.
"It's over. I hope it won't happen again. I don't know how much longer this cave will last." she said. Bernard was silent. Immediately she spun around to see what's wrong with him. Bernard was lying there, strangely quiet. She bent over him. He had problems with breathing and she could see that he had also problems with staying conscious.
"Bernard, breathe deeply and look at me. Don't close your eyes," she said. But it was obvious that the end was coming.
"Tell…Rose…I…love…her…" he whispered with effort and then his eyes closed.
Kate was crying hard.
"Don't do this, Bernard. We need you here. Rose needs you! Please." she begged but he didn't hear her. She dropped the flashlight.
She covered her face with her hands and wept. How could it happen? Two hours ago he was talking, moving, living and now… She couldn't imagine what to tell Rose. As she sat there crying, another wave of dizziness swept over her and she felt that she was falling to the ground. The last thing she registered was a distant sound and a ray of light coming through the collapsed passage.
It turned out that these shakings didn't do much further damage. Both Jack and Rose were okay. After checking on Rose, Jack went on digging. The only thing he was thinking about was Kate. He had to get her out as the cave might collapse any minute. He pushed against a rock with all his strength. Luckily, it moved and he could see a small gap. He removed rock by rock. He worked quickly. A couple of minutes later the passage was large enough for him to get through it.
"Kate!" he yelled and he slipped inside.
First, he saw a flashlight lying near. He took it and swept the ground. The view was horrific. There were two figures lying on the ground. He lurched to Bernard. He checked for pulse but soon he realised that there was nothing he could do to help him. Then he went to Kate. He nervously took her hand and checked her vital signs. For a moment everything stopped, it was as if the time was running in slow motion. He felt his heart thumping in his chest. Then he felt her pulse low but steady. He was relieved, he felt as if somebody lifted a giant weight from his shoulders.
"Kate, wake up. Open your eyes, Kate." he gently stroked her cheek.
She gave out a soft moan. She tried to open her eyes but her eyelids seemed extremely heavy.
"That's it, open your eyes, Kate and look at me." Jack told her.
She recognised that voice, it was Jack. She used all her strength. First, she saw a light. She blinked rapidly. Then she opened her eyes again slightly and saw him. He was looking at her lovingly. She noticed that he was crying; he didn't even hide it. She smiled at him.
"Hey."
"Hey," he replied through his tears. "You're alright?"
"Yeah, I think so," she shifted to sit up.
"Wait, I'll check you first," he motioned for her to lie a bit and scanned her for any injuries.
"Okay, you're not hurt beside some scratches. Do you think you can walk?"
"I'll try." With a groan she pushed herself upright. He could see that she was still weak and she wouldn't make it on her own.
"Come on. Through that hole," he took her by the hand. When they approached it, Kate stopped abruptly.
"Jack, Bernard…" she traced off dropping her gaze. Tears started forming in her eyes.
"Yeah, I know. We can't help him now." he hugged her. "Let's go, we don't have much time." he helped her through the passage.
When Kate was on the other side, she noticed Rose crying quietly.
"Rose…" she whispered.
Rose raised her head and looked at her sadly.
"Rose, I…" Kate didn't know what to tell her.
"I know about Bernard." Kate was surprised. "I knew that he had survived the crash. We had this connection. I always felt it and now…it's gone. I'm glad though you were with him."
Suddenly, Kate swayed and everything went black. Jack managed to catch her as her legs gave up.
Just then another eruption struck. Jack knew they should get out as soon as possible. He glanced at Rose.
"Go, Jack. Save your family." she told him.
"I won't leave you."
"I'll be right behind you. Take care of them." Their eyes met. "Now, go!" she shouted.
Jack took a better hold on Kate's limp body and started running toward the exit. Pieces of rocks were flying everywhere. Finally, he saw a light in the distance. He sped up. The walls began to crack and it was obvious that only few seconds were left. They made it through the opening at the last moment.
Kate came round. Then, there was a terrible crash and the whole cave collapsed. It was the last thing she saw before falling into unconsciousness again.
Next update on Sunday. I'm waiting for your reviews.
