Author's Note: Half-way done! Thanks to everyone who's read the story so far, and I hope you've enjoyed Sawyer and Juliet's first week!
Day Seven
Juliet woke up to a pillow being tossed on her face. "Time to get up, Sleeping Beauty," Sawyer said from across the room. "Me, you and Miles are heading out in about twenty minutes. I have to run and talk to Horace, but you better be ready when I get back."
She grunted in assent as he left the room. She sat up slowly and swung her legs to the floor. It was the seventh day here, she remembered- one week left. With each day that went by, it seemed less and less likely that they'd find Locke in time. She would never say so to Sawyer, but she suspected he was thinking the same. And if Locke didn't come back, what would she do? A week ago, her course of action seemed obvious. But every day spent here, it was becoming less and less clear.
She shook her head in frustration and took a shower to relax. She then met Miles and Jin in the living room. "Do you know why James left in such a hurry?" she asked them.
"Yeah, he's gone to get the code for the security fence from Horace," Miles said, flopping onto the couch. "He said yesterday he wanted to expand our search more. If you ask me, he was getting pretty desperate. I think the fact that we only have one week left is getting to him."
"What if we do not find Locke?" Jin asked, sitting next to Miles on the couch. His face was full of anxiety.
"Well, that's the big question, isn't it?" Miles said. "Do we stay here and keep playing hippy? Do we leave? How do we get back to our own time?" His questions hung in the air, unanswered. Juliet was relieved at least to see she wasn't the only one concerned about what the next week would bring.
Juliet, Miles and Jin sat in silence, contemplating, when Sawyer returned. "Why the long faces, kids? Juliet and Miles, you should at least be happy – you get to spend the day with me." Sawyer grinned broadly. Juliet couldn't help but smile at his faux-narcissism, though Miles just rolled his eyes. "What is it about him that the ladies just love? I'm a wiseass too," he grumbled. Juliet instantly erased her smile, hoping that Miles comment was not directed at her.
"Come on, let's go," Sawyer said to Miles and Juliet. "Watch out for old Danny boy," he instructed Jin, who nodded in confirmation. The three of them picked up their Jeep at the motorpool and then drove out into the jungle.
"Miles tells me where's going beyond the fence today," Juliet stated.
With a quick glare at Miles, Sawyer said, "Yep. That's why I was talking to Horace this morning. Got the code for the fence and convinced him to let us borrow some rifles. Those handguns we've been toting around all week aren't going to cut it out here."
Juliet was faintly surprised that he'd managed to get all that out of Horace. But she'd learned firsthand he could be quite persuasive when needed, remembering that night at the dock a week prior. "Was Horace okay with it?" She asked.
"He didn't seem thrilled, no. And he said we're operating independently of the Dharma Initiative and they can't be held responsible if anything happens to us out here."
"Oh great," Miles piped up. "It's good to know that if we're eaten by polar bears or smashed into trees by a smoke monster, the Dharma Initiative isn't liable."
"For what it's worth, the polar bears should all be caged on the smaller island at this point," Juliet told him.
"I'm sure there are still plenty of other things that could kill us out here," Miles remarked.
"Stop being so optimistic, Miles," Sawyer said, as they pulled up next to the fence. "We're here," he announced. He climbed out of the Jeep and entered the code, causing the fence to whir and then fall silent. Sawyer got back in and drove through the fence, parking the vehicle just on the other side.
"I thought we weren't supposed to bring the Jeep outside the fence," Juliet said to Sawyer, who was re-entering the code and bringing the fence back online.
"I'm just bending the rules a bit," he winked at Juliet. "If we run into the monster or the Others out here, I don't want our getaway vehicle behind the fence."
"Yeah, that'd be like one of those nightmares," Miles agreed, "where you'd be fumbling to enter the code and you'd screw it up and they'd be bearing down on us…"
"Exactly," Sawyer said.
"Alright, let's get going then," Juliet said, handing out a rifle to both man and slinging her own over her shoulder. She and Miles headed out toward the jungle. "You coming, James?" she asked once she noticed him lingering behind.
"I'll catch up with you in a minute," Sawyer said, kneeling down next to the Jeep's wheel to fumble with his laces. "My boot's laced up wrong. Go on ahead, I'll fix it and then meet up with you."
Juliet stared at him for a second, suspicious, but then followed Miles into the jungle.
They spent the day hiking through the jungle. At one point, their hopes were raised when Miles insisted that he heard Bernard. But after a thorough search of the area, they couldn't find him. After that incident, it was a quiet day and they were unsuccessful at finding any other sign of their people.
Near the end of the day, they took a break by a stunning waterfall that Juliet had never seen before. It was a welcome reminder that the island could be a place of beauty, and not just hopelessness and frustration. "Even after three years here, I've never seen this waterfall before," Juliet commented to the other two men. "It's beautiful."
"Maybe the island isn't so bad after all," Sawyer suggested, raising his eyebrows at her.
"We haven't even run into any trouble today." Miles added. The second Miles finished speaking though, they heard voices, whispering in the trees.
"You just had to say that, didn't you?" Sawyer sighed. They looked around, but there was no one in sight. "You got anything illuminating on the subject of whispers, Ms. Other?" Sawyer asked Juliet.
She shook her head, not really focusing on his question. Her Other instincts had kicked in, and she was scanning the jungle, ears perked for any sound. "We should head back before-"
She was interrupted by a horrifying and distinctive sound, crashing through the jungle. They looked at each other, the dire circumstances clear to all of them. "Run!" Sawyer shouted, and all three took off back toward the Jeep. They raced through the trees, the monster gaining on them. A tree was ripped into the air directly behind them, and the force sent Sawyer sprawling to the ground, dropping his rifle.
"Go, Miles! We'll meet you back at the Jeep!" Juliet commanded, running back to Sawyer to help him up. She grabbed Sawyer's hand and pulled him up quickly. "You ok?" she asked, pulling him along behind her.
"Just dandy!" he shouted, though Juliet detected an undercurrent of pain in his voice. There was no time to worry about it though. "This way!" she shouted, pulling Sawyer sharply to the right. "Lead it away from Miles and the Jeep!" She ran and turned at sharp angles looking for an appropriate hiding place, any fear squashed underneath her adrenaline. They ran for minutes until Juliet spotted a shallow cave hidden behind a large tree. "In here, James!" she shouted, throwing herself behind the tree and pressing up against the rock wall behind her. Sawyer came in right behind her, putting his arms around her and holding her tightly in the small space. They both remained motionless as the monster crashed around them. Juliet squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath as a nearby tree was ripped away. But as suddenly as the onslaught began, it passed. The roaring of the monster faded, replaced by the sound of birds. They remained silent for a minute longer, before Juliet choked out "I think it's gone." Sawyer let go of her, and she slumped to the ground. She leaned her head back against the rock and Sawyer sat next to her. They sat shoulder to shoulder for a few minutes, letting their racing heartbeats and ragged breathing calm.
"Just when I think I'm starting to get the hang of this place," Sawyer said.
"Don't become complacent," Juliet warned. "You never know what the island will throw at you."
"Well, since you've had my back, it's tended to work out okay," He smiled at her, and she let out a shaky laugh. "Come on, let's go make sure Miles is okay." He pushed himself up and offered her a hand. She gratefully took it and let him pull her up. Her adrenaline was wearing off, replaced by fatigue and anxiety as she looked around the jungle. It had seemed so peaceful and beautiful moments ago, but now it was a dangerous unknown again.
They retraced their steps to find the rifles that they'd dropped when Sawyer fell, and then trudged back to the Jeep. Miles ran up to them. "You're okay!" he said, relieved. Sawyer clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Glad to see you made it, Enos."
"You won't believe this," Miles said. "When I got back here, one of the tires on the Jeep was flat."
"What?" Juliet said, alarmed.
"Don't worry about it though. While I was waiting for you, I switched it with the spare."
"You did what?" Sawyer exclaimed, anger evident in his voice.
"I switched the tire! Why is that a problem? I figured it would be better if the Jeep could drive when we're being crazed by a murderous cloud of smoke!" Miles shouted back.
Sawyer quickly brought his anger in check. "No, of course. Makes sense. Let's get going."
Juliet studied Sawyer, suspicious of both his reaction and the quick change in his attitude. She suddenly remembered him crouching by the tire earlier in the day, fixing the laces on his boot. "You did this," she said to him, unbelieving.
"What? What are you talking about, Blondie?" He said, but wouldn't meet her eye.
"It was you, wasn't it? You let the air out of the tire," she accused, half-angry, half-amused.
"Why the hell would he do that?" Miles asked.
"Because I told Horace I was the mechanic on our imaginary ship. It's been driving him crazy all week whether I was telling the truth or not. He let the air out of the tire to try and force my hand."
Sawyer still looked adamant, but Juliet noticed a slight blush on his cheeks, which confirmed her suspicions. She stared at him until he looked at her. "Alright, it was me," he said peevishly. "And it was just a tire. I didn't break the engine or anything."
Juliet laughed. "You're lucky your sabotage didn't cost us our lives."
"Maybe if you would just tell me the truth, I wouldn't have to go to such extremes." He said, scowling at her. Juliet could tell he wasn't upset that he was caught, but upset that his plan had failed.
Miles shook his head. "I don't like my life being put at risk because you got a crush, LaFleur," he huffed. Juliet was taken aback by Miles words, and quickly looked away from Sawyer.
There was an awkward silence before Sawyer grumbled, "Can it, Genghis. Let's get going." As they piled into the Jeep, Juliet snuck a look over at Sawyer. She was pleased to see the blush on his cheeks had deepened.
