Disclaimer: I make no profit from this. Ben and all of the other Lost characters do not belong to me. Also, all song lyrics belong to their respective companies. Lyrics are italicized.

A/N-I had to change the ending of this chapter. I just didn't like how it came out and it really didn't work with the story line. So here is the new version!

Lyrics: "Just Like Murder" by Maktub

Chapter 7-Just Like Murder

"You've changed for the better you say

Three words in a sea of regret

We used to think along the lines of something similar

And now it seems that we've forgotten why we share this earth

Is my saying something I have yet to know, cause when the truth goes into hiding I dread its return"

M'Lynn ran for her life. She prayed that Ben didn't come after her. She ran barefoot through the jungle not bothering to keep her bearings. All that mattered was that she get away.


"Forget all the promises made cause it doesn't seem to make a difference anyways

Your mind is darkening like the sky and when truth gets loose, people fall down someone gets hurt in the heat of the moment"

Hours later M'Lynn finally felt like it was safe enough to stop and rest. She found a stream and knelt next to it. As she was drinking she noticed a reflection in the stream. A large pillar of black smoke was gathering above her.

M'Lynn stood and looked up at the smoke. She had never seen anything like it. It seemed to move of its own accord and she could swear it was watching her.

Suddenly it flew at her all at once and engulfed her. She tried to scream as it swirled around her but the smoke began to suffocate her. M'Lynn heard voices coming from the smoke.

"Leave her." One said.

"She needs to know." Came from another.

"She's not meant to know yet. Let her be."

"They'll find her and then she'll be dead."

"He doesn't want her dead, he will protect her."

"No! She will only be safe if she leaves the island."

"She can't!"

"She must!"

Outside of the fog M'Lynn heard another set of voices.

"She went this way. Come on!" She heard Richard call.

The voices in the fog began to speak again.

"They're coming! Let her go!"

"You must run!" one of them told her. "Now!"

M'Lynn listened and ran. She could hear Richard and his men coming after her but she didn't look back. As she ran, the strange voices kept playing in her head. One thing they said stood out in her mind.

'She will only be safe if she leaves the island.'

She no longer had a reason to stay on the island. Her family was long gone and Ben had tried to kill her. She would be crazy to go back to him and give him another chance. She really had no other choice. She would have to leave.

M'Lynn changed her course and made way for the village.


"I see your face but its not like yesterday

And we feel the same but you tell me different

And I hope you'll stay ya

Cause when you take your love from me I swear its just like murder"

"We lost her." Richard told Ben as he walked into his house.

"How could you possibly have lost her?" Ben asked.

"She was there, right in front of us and then she just wasn't."

"You know this island better than anyone and you're telling me you can't find one scared, defenseless woman?" Ben asked dangerously.

"You are the one who failed to kill her like you planned. Don't take out your frustration on me."

"This is M'Lynn; she's not trained to move about the jungle. This should be easy."

Richard sat down across from Ben, "Are you really the only one who hasn't seen the transformation M'Lynn has made in the past few weeks?"

"What do you mean Richard?"

"Ever since you forced her to dig that grave she has been different. She's become tougher, more resilient. She's not meek little M'Lynn any longer. I thought she was becoming more of the kind of woman you'd think you need. You of all people should have appreciated this change in her."

Ben shook his head, "M'Lynn didn't need to change anything for me to appreciate her."

"What I don't understand Ben is why you were going to kill her. You say you love her, you act like you love her, so why?"

Ben looked towards the bed he had shared with M'Lynn, "Every night she would wake up from these nightmares. They truly terrified her. I would hold her and try to soothe her, saying that it was only a dream. I would say these things as she shook in my arms, I'd say them and try to ignore the fact that she was screaming, 'Please Ben don't kill them.', as she woke."

"It is normal for her to be affected by the Purge. I don't see that as a reason to kill her."

"Do you think I wanted to kill her?" Ben yelled as he stood. "I would have given anything not to be given that task."

Richard looked up at Ben, "Are you telling me that…"

"Yes, that is precisely what I am saying. Jacob ordered me to kill her. He said she was a distraction, one I didn't need."

"Did you ever think that maybe Jacob was testing you?" Richard asked. "Maybe telling you to kill the woman you love was a test of your loyalty."

"Then I guess I passed." Ben said with guilt.

"No Ben, not a test of your loyalty to Jacob, but to M'Lynn."

Ben's eyes grew wide and he fell silent. Richard stood there with him. Finally after many minutes had passed Ben spoke, "Find her, please."


"I see you're back at it again but all the twists and turns of fate can not destroy the enemy friend your mind is darkening like the sky when the truth gets loose it seems to never ever want to die"

M'Lynn watched the men move supplies from the submarine to the dock. They moved quickly, like they were in a hurry. She saw Ethan, one of Ben's new recruits, exit the submarine. Ethan had shown up one day out of the blue. Ben introduced him as the camp's doctor. In truth he was quite a brilliant surgeon, very young, just out of school. M'Lynn found it funny how Ben explained he brought Ethan to help the camp but that Ethan was very rarely around. He could be seen frequently boarding the submarine on its journeys.

M'Lynn noticed all of the men had left the dock save Ethan. She looked around her to make sure she wasn't being watched and took off.

"Hi Ethan!" she called as she walked towards him at the end of the dock.

"Oh, hi M'Lynn. How are you?" he asked and she saw his cheeks blush. For whatever reason M'Lynn had discovered that Ethan had a small crush on her. She guessed it was a combination of him still being very young and that she, in his eyes, belonged to the boss. It didn't matter why; she was going to use it to her advantage.

"About to set off?" she asked him.

"Yep. Just stopped by to drop off some supplies, then we're off again." Ethan answered as he looked down at the clipboard in his hands.

"Where did everyone go?"

"I sent them home to pick up whatever they needed. They should be back in a few minutes."

"You know," M'Lynn began as she moved closer to Ethan, "I've never seen the inside of the sub. I bet it's terribly interesting."

Ethan glanced up at her, "Would you like to see inside?"

"I'd love to." She said with a smile.

'That was too easy.' M'Lynn thought to herself as she and Ethan climbed down the ladder. They could hear the men coming back to the dock as they reached the bottom.

"What's back there?" M'Lynn asked.

"Come on." Ethan said. "This is where everyone sleeps." He explained as he motioned at the small beds lining the walls.

"How interesting. Which one is yours?"

"This one right here." Ethan said as he turned his back to her and patted a bunk.

M'Lynn took her chance. She grabbed the gun sticking out of his waistband and hit him hard in the back of his head with it. Ethan fell to the ground, unconscious. M'Lynn could hear the men coming back down the dock so she worked quickly. She hefted Ethan up into his cot to make it look like he had fallen asleep. She finished just as the first of the men came down the ladder.

"Let's get going boys!" one of them called as M'Lynn moved further to the back of the sub.

"Where's the boss?" another asked.

One of the men walked back to the cots and saw Ethan, "He's taking a nap. We have our orders. Get this sub moving." He said and walked back up to the front.

M'Lynn knew if she was found she would be killed, or worse, taken back to Ben. She found a small corner cupboard that she just barely could fit in to. She squeezed into it and prepared for a long journey. She knew she was taking a huge risk but in the end it would be worth it. She would be off the island and safe.

"When you take your love away from me I swear, it's just like murder."