The next morning was bright and sunny. Figures. The headaches were gone, but I was stone bored. After doodling some of Sawyer and Charlie (the finished product was giving me trouble, for some reason), I decided to get up and walk around.
A shout made me turn. The Oriental man, Jin, was attacking an African-American man I hadn't met yet. I took a deep breath, and got to the two as fast as I could. I wasn't just going to sit back and watch this time.
I darted in-between the two as soon as I saw an opening.
"Stop it!" I cried, standing in front of the African-American man. I thought that Jin was going to knock me aside for a second, making me tense. But Sayid and Sawyer had come out of nowhere and grabbed Jin.
Sayid handcuffed Jin to a piece of the fuselage. I helped the other man up, who told me his name was Michael. I was checking him for any bad wounds when Sayid roughly grabbed my arm.
"Hey! That hurts!" I protested as he dragged me away from Michael. "Ow! Sayid, let me go!" He finally did, and I brushed myself off before fixing him with an angry stare. "What was that for?" I hissed. The look on Sayid's face quickly silenced me, however.
"That was not a very smart thing to do," Sayid said. His demeanor was calm, but I could sense a tightness in his voice that indicated anger.
"But—" I began. Sayid cut me off. His eyes were like angry thunder.
"He could have hit you," Sayid explained, "and what would you have done then? He's stronger than you; you would have been overpowered easily." I flushed, but didn't break eye contact with him. I learned early on that looking down while being scolded was weak.
"I could have taken care of myself," I tried to argue.
"Never get between two people who are fighting. Leave that to an—" Sayid started to say. The second I heard the last half of what he was saying, anger shot through me.
"An adult?" I finished. "Because obviously, I can't do anything! Of course, what was I thinking?" My voice was rising. Sarcasm spilled out of my mouth before I could stop it. "I'm not good enough, right? Because I'm just a kid!" I shrieked, and stormed away.
God, I hated it. I hated being disregarded and brushed aside, just because I hadn't turned 18 yet. I was seen as little, inferior. I was seen as incapable, more stupid, a worthless piece of dust whose opinions didn't even matter. That type of thinking made me move out of my parent's house the second I got their consent. I wanted to show them and the world that yes, I could be responsible, I could be smart, and I could be an adult.
And just when I was getting good at being independent, I got landed here, where I was viewed as a little kid once again. The lifestyle that I had fought so hard to escape just kept coming back to me. Nothing had changed.
Angry, hot tears stung my eyes as I walked heedlessly into the jungle. I found a small clearing not too far away from the beaches. After a minute of trying to regain my composure, I lost it and finally broke down.
I heard a twig snap and jumped. When I looked up, Jack was standing near me.
Crap, I thought, wiping my face hurriedly.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked. Embarrassment crept up my cheeks at Jack catching me sobbing like a little baby. I sniffed as he helped me up, and quickly thought up a lie.
"I'm sorry, it's just…" I swallowed, wiping my eyes again. "It's a lot to handle, the plane crashing and my parents, and all. But I think this will be the last time I'll break down like this." Jack nodded. I was convincing when I wanted to be.
I walked with Jack towards the beach, musing. "Jack," I said quietly, "tell me the truth. If I gave you an opinion, or advice, would you listen to me?" I regretted the question as soon as it was out in the open. "No, I'm sorry, that's a stupid question," I mumbled.
Jack was about to reply, but we had come to the beach. I murmured a quick goodbye and beat a hasty retreat. I listened as Jack talked about finding some caves further inland that were located near a freshwater source. He was talking about how we had the choice of moving from the beach to the caves, or staying where we were.
I was torn. The caves were further inland, so they were probably cooler than the beach. And they were near water, too. But what if a rescue party came and we were all inland? Not to mention there was that strange monster in the jungle.
I was leaning against a tree, chewing my lower lip and thinking, when Jack walked up.
"You coming?" He asked. I thought for a second more, then shook my head.
"Nah," I said. "I'd like to stay here." Jack looked unhappy.
"The caves are safer," he tried to convince me. I smiled.
"In this situation, I'd like to retain as much control as possible," I explained. Understanding flit across Jack's face. He gave me a slight smile, and left.
I sifted through my bag, and found one of my most precious possessions: my iPod. I drew better while listening to music, and it also helped me calm down. I had to be careful, though. If I ran out of battery, I had nothing to charge it with.
More than ever, I wanted to be back home. I sighed, and closed my eyes.
"Marie! Get up, you'll be late!"
I opened my eyes. The familiar blue-and-green plaid pattern of my wallpaper stared back at me. I sat up slowly, looking around. My room, I was in my room! My guitar, my desk, my piles of books, everything. I was even in my bed.
"Marie!" I recognized the voice of my mother this time. I glanced to my right: my alarm clock read 7:00 A.M. What day was it?
I got out of my bed, walking down the stairs. I trailed my fingertips across the mahogany banister. My house smelled like cinnamon, a familiar scent that made my heart warm.
I turned a corner, and found my mother in the kitchen. She was cooking something—pancakes, probably. My mother made the best pancakes. She turned to look at me, blue eyes questioning.
I got my blue eyes from her. My light brown hair and my freckles came from my dad, who had probably gone to work already.
I was overwhelmed to see her again. I dashed forward, hugging her tightly.
"What do you want?" My mother cried, smacking me lightly with her spatula. I stepped back, smiling widely. "Look at you! You're not even dressed yet, and school starts in 20 minutes!"
"But Mom, you won't even believe my dream! It was so real, and I was on this island—" I hastily began telling her, but I was interrupted by a strange, grating, metal-like noise. The noise was exactly like the monster's noise, the one from the island. "What was that?" I whipped around, looking out the window.
"Nothing. The neighbors just got a new pet, that's all," my mom replied. I turned back to her, raring to tell her about the island.
I choked when I saw her. My mom had turned into a blackened, bloated corpse. She looked like she had been out in the sun for a few days after she died. Or…
…in the fuselage.
I woke up screaming.
Claire had burned the fuselage a couple days ago. Boars had gotten at the people inside, so we had to rid our camp of it or risk boar attacks. There was no way the bodies of my parents hadn't been burnt.
But every time I closed my eyes, I saw the rotted corpse of my mom. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night.
