I promised two chapters last week, but only delivered one. So, two chapters this week. This is Brittany's chapter. By the way, I normally write much longer author's notes, but since I'm not typing these right now, you only get short things.

Chapter 8: Jennifer and Henry

"Such language is not needed on this island," Ben scolded her.

"Sorry, but we're bloody stuck in a net," Brittany snarled, pushing back on the net.

They arranged themselves so they were facing each other, their faces inches apart. "Well, I did tell you not to touch the bottle," Ben blamed.

"Oh, so this is my fault? Maybe if you hadn't insisted on going on in the dark, I would have gotten sleep and known not to touch it!" she threw back.

"You're seriously not trying to pin this on me, are you?" Ben sneered, glaring at her.

"Yes, and I did," Brittany huffed, doing her best to cross her arms in front of her in defiance.

"You're worse than Alex," Ben mumbled.

"Good," Brittany sniffed.

"Look," Ben sighed, controlling his anger and annoyance, "we're not going to get out of here by arguing with one another."

"Then what do you propose we do?" Brittany asked, still mad at him.

"Help! Help me! Help! HEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLP!" he began shouting.

"Ouch, I had no idea you could be so loud," Brittany winced, covering her ears.

"Only in times of trouble. Danny was supposed to be scouting this part of the island. If we can get him to hear us, he can release us from our. . . predicament," Ben said carefully.

"Danny? He doesn't like me very much," Brittany stated.

Ben glanced at her, "he doesn't like anyone very much."

A snap of a twig brought their attention outside of the net. "Someone's here," Ben whispered to her. "I've never seen them before."

"Well I can't see them, your ugly orange shirt is blinding me!" Brittany hissed back.

"Do I want to know?" a curiously familiar female voice asked. Brittany tried to swing the net around to see who it was, but to no avail.

Another voice cut-in, a deep, Scottish voice said urgently, "what are you doing? Don't let them go!"

Brittany, feeling very alarmed indeed, asked frantically, "what do you mean 'don't let us go?"

She heard someone move, and gaped when she saw Tamara on the outside of the net. Behind her a tan, wild-haired, rugged man with a curious uniform watched her warily. "Brittany?" Tamara asked.

"Tamara?" she asked in disbelief. Then a happy feeling overtook her, Tamara was alive! "Help us!"

Tamara was about to cut the rope, when the man stopped her. Brittany had a growing feeling of dislike for this man. "Don't! She may be your friend, but one: the man she's with is a hostile, and two: I really don't want another one of you roaming around. I'll go insane."

Brittany glanced at Ben, who was staring at the man, an unreadable expression on his face. 'Ben, a hostile? That's funny,' Brittany laughed to herself.

She looked back at Tamara, and was astonished to see her in tears. "I can't. I'm really sorry, but I can't. I don't know what's happened to you. You may kill us, and I prefer living. Good bye."

She and the guy ran off, leaving Ben and her still in the net. Suddenly they disappeared from sight. "What happened?"

Ben shrugged, "it's the island," he replied nonchalantly.

"Hello?! How can you be so calm?! We're stuck here! My friend just left us here to die, and she just disappeared from sight! How is this not affecting you?!" Brittany shouted.

"Females, they just can't control their emotions," Ben smirked, as if he was talking to himself.

Brittany grit her teeth in frustration and anger, and pushed him; however, instead of falling to the ground as he would have done if he were on the ground, the net began to swing back and forth.

"I decided that I don't like you very much right now, Ben," Brittany declared quietly, turning around to her best ability.

"I'm not surprised. Not that many people do," he said quietly also, almost sadly.

"Tamara!" Brittany yelled. "I'm not letting you borrow my Harry Potter video game for this!"

She slumped to the ground as best she could, and said nothing else. She felt Ben sit behind her, his kneecap pressing against her spine. After taking a few moments to get back in control of her feelings, she turned to Ben. He was sitting with his eyes closed in concentration. She leaned in, and stuck her tongue at him, making a funny face. With no response, she concluded that he was meditating.

Sighing, she turned the rest of her body in order to face him, and leaned back against the net walls. His eyes snapped open, and he stared at her. Once again, as when she had first met him, she was absorbed by his eyes. The trance ended however, when he blinked and looked out of the net. "It's about noon," he whispered, looking at the sun.

"Wonderful," Brittany rolled her eyes. She noticed that Ben was smiling strangely, and was somewhat laughing. "What's so funny?" she asked, beginning to laugh herself. She always started laughing when someone else was, it was a curse.

"It's just. . . this is the first time I've been caught in a net with a woman before," he admitted.

"So, you've been caught in one with a man, then?"

"No, the whole experience is new to me."

"Well, don't be getting any ideas, I hardly know you," she teased.

He stopped chucking then, and his mirth faded. "I would never take advantage of a woman. What kind of man do you take me for?" he asked, offended.

"Whoa, no need to be offended. I was just joking around, sheesh. Relax Ben, take some deep breaths, try some yoga. Though, don't try it in here, it could get a little painful."

"Your friend, Tamara, she's very devoted to that Scottish man," Ben pointed out.

"Yeah," was all Brittany said.

"I wonder why. She left you, her only friend out here, caught in a net with a man she hardly knows. She puts a lot of faith in his decisions."

"Are you trying to tell me something, Ben?" Brittany asked.

"Only that maybe we should start trusting one another."

Brittany looked at him, he was staring right back at her, expressionless as always. "Alright," she sighed, "what else can I do?"

Ben smiled, pleased with her answer. "Could you possibly move your foot? It's prodding my ribs."

"Oh, sure thing," she replied, moving her foot.

"Thanks," he said in relief.

"So, why did the Scottish guy call you a hostile?"

Ben cleared his throat, and paused, thinking of what to say. "I'm not sure how he knows about me, or us, but it seems that he's been on this island for quite a long time. He was probably one of the people to push a button on this island. His partner must have told him all of the tales of the island, which are all exaggerated."

"So, why then hostile?"

Ben paused again, "awhile back, a group of people who belonged to an experiment company known as the Dharma Initiative, came to this island. They were experimenting on a number of things, but they could never make peace with the people who had originally lived here. As you can imagine, battles broke out, and people were hurt. One day a massive purge took place, and the original inhabitants were able to live peacefully once again. Now, new people have emerged on this island, and hear the old stories, and think us the evil ones. But tell me Brittany, how are we evil when all we want is peace, and quiet?"

She looked down, unable to answer. Ben suddenly perked up. "HELP!" he shouted.

"What is it?" Brittany asked, standing up too.

"I heard someone," he told her. "Over here! Help us!"

"Hello! Two people who are about to strangle each other are in dire need of your assistance!" Brittany shouted to the jungle.

"Well, that's one way of calling for help," Ben smiled at her.

An Iraqi-looking man, and a filthy woman stepped out of the jungle. "Oh no," Ben quietly groaned.

"What is it?" Brittany whispered.

"It's Sayid, he's a torturer. He's also one of the plane survivors."

"And her?"

"She's been on this island for sixteen years, we've agreed to disagree and we go our separate ways. Though, we are in her net. Follow my lead," he whispered quickly to her. "Help!" he shouted to Sayid.

"Don't believe a word he says," the woman told Sayid. "He's one of them."

Brittany marveled at how Ben had made himself look and sound scared, and desperate. Realizing that it was up to her sell the act they were showing, and wanting to him up one, Brittany made herself look pitiful and frightened.

"I have no idea what she's talking about. She's crazy," he panted.

"How long have they been up there?" Sayid asked the woman.

"Since last night," Brittany whimpered with a hint of accusation.

Ben glanced at her, and gave her a quick wink. He looked back at Sayid, and begged, "please just cut us down. My name is Henry Gale. This is my wife, Jennifer," he indicated to Brittany. "We're from Minnesota."

Sayid looked uncertainly up at him. "Please," he begged again.

"He's lying," the woman stated venomously.

Sayid paid no attention to her. He pulled out his knife, and said, "I'm going to cut them down."

"Don't," the woman demanded.

"Thank-you," Brittany whispered to him.

"You're making a serious mistake," the woman growled.

Sayid grunted, and finally cut them down.

Brittany yelped when Ben landed on her arm. "My arm, Henry!" she shoved him off of her.

"Run," he whispered in her ear, before rolling off of her.

Sayid helped them out of the net, saying they were okay and alright. He grabbed Ben's arm, but he slipped out of the grip and began to run. Brittany, who was stunned by the pain in her broken arm, saw that he was running, but before she could follow, Sayid grabbed her tightly.

The woman, on the other hand picked up a crossbow and took aim. "Danielle don't!" Sayid shouted at her.

Brittany's breath caught in her throat as she watched Danielle release the arrow, and hit Ben in the shoulder. "Be-Henry!" she yelled, catching herself in time. She elbowed Sayid in the side, making him let her go. Brittany ran to Ben, who was breathing heavily.

"Ben?" she whispered, placing a hand on his forehead.

His eyes fluttered open, "don't tell them anything," he gasped before passing out.

Sayid joined her, he checked the wound. "You could have killed him," he accused Danielle.

Brittany turned to Danielle, "you scumbag!" she spat.

Danielle rose an eyebrow to the insult and replied, "if I wanted to kill him, I would have killed him."

"You shot this man with no provocation," Sayid scolded.

"He is one of them," Danielle insisted.

"One of who?" Brittany asked, acting confused. "Who is she talking about?" she asked Sayid.

"No one," he replied.

Danielle shrugged, "tie him up. And her."

Brittany glared at her, "I'd rather not be tied up thank-you. I just spent a day and half in a net."

"Can I trust you to follow me?" Sayid asked her.

"I go where he goes," she gestured to Ben.

"You should take him to your Doctor. He's no good to you dead," Danielle declared, tying him up herself.

"And then what?" Sayid asked.

"You'll talk to him, Sayid. As I recall, that is what you do." Sayid glared at her. "But know this: he will lie. For a long time, he will lie. Both of them will," she added, looking at Brittany.

Sayid picked Ben up and swung him carefully over his shoulder. "Follow me, Jennifer," Sayid told her, and walked off.

Brittany gave a final glare to Danielle, and followed, watching Ben anxiously.

They walked silently for awhile. As time pressed on though, Brittany needed answers. "How far is your camp? Is he okay? Will he make it? Is your Doctor going to be able to help him? Are we there yet? How much farther? Is he dead? Why aren't you answering me? IS HE OKAY!?" Brittany shouted.

"Mrs. Gale, please calm down. Your husband should be fine. The arrow hit his shoulder, not a life-threatening wound. My camp is just around the corner. However, I'm not taking you to my camp," Sayid said, laying Ben on the ground.

"Then where are you taking us?" Brittany asked him, confused.

Sayid smiled, and knocked her out.

Consciousness slowly came to Brittany. She opened one eye, her vision swam before her. She groaned, and closed it. "So, you're finally awake," Ben's voice waved through her skull.

Gritting her teeth, she opened her eyes and looked around. She found herself in a small, dark room. A single light was on, though it was dim, giving hardly any light at all. She was propped up against a cement wall, and was facing an armory-looking door. Her head suddenly started pounding painfully, and she ducked holding her head. "Oh, my head," she moaned.

"Yes, you do have a rather nasty bruise on your forehead, though it seems you were the lucky one," Ben spat.

She looked up at him then, and realized that he was bleeding horribly. His face was covered in cuts and bruises. His orange shirt was torn open, and a bandage was placed on his arrow wound. Brittany could see that it was already being soaked through with his blood. "What happened to you?" she asked in disbelief.

He looked away, as if he was ashamed, "well, while you were out cold, my friend Sayid decided to get what information he could out of me. As you can see, he didn't believe my story, which isn't good for us."

"What's our story?"

"We're married and from Minnesota, you don't work. I recently sold my business which is mining nonmetallic metals. We crashed here on a hot air balloon with a smiley face on top. It was my dream, and you thought it would be neat so you came along. That's how you broke your arm, when we crashed. Do you have it memorized?" he asked her.

She nodded, "so he just. . . attacked you?"

He shook his head, "apparently, he is a torturer, and I was his victim. He was going to interrogate you when you woke up, but after seeing me, Jack wouldn't let him."

"Jack?"

"The man I had originally came here to see. He's a spinal surgeon, he's also the one who patched me up," Ben looked at his shoulder.

"Did this just happen to you?"

"Yes actually it did, they pulled Sayid off of me, and closed the door. Shortly after, you regained consciousness."

"They?"

Ben rolled his eyes, he was starting to get annoyed with all her questions, "John and Jack. John Locke is a very mysterious man. His father conned him into giving him his kidney, and then left him in the dark. John then tried to stop him from hurting other people, but his father pushed him out of a window. John became paralyzed and eventually crashed here with the other plane survivors. However, something amazing happened."

Brittany leaned in close, Ben was great at telling stories. "John regained the ability to walk. How, is a question I am determined to get answered."

Brittany sighed, and realized that she was sitting on a cot. Ben was too. "Oh, well at least they gave us beds."

He didn't say anything, instead he stared blankly into space. "So, I guess now instead of being captured in a net together, we're locked in a room. You and I just don't have very good luck together."

Ben smirked at her. "Remind me never to go on a mission with you again."

"No problem there," Brittany smiled. "So, where are we?"

Ben looked around, "I believe that we are in a Dharma station called, 'The Swan.' Its use is to control the electromagnetic activity on the island, by pushing a button every one hundred and eight minutes. We happen to be in the armory."

"And in the armory we'll stay if they don't believe your story."

"They probably won't, sooner or later they'll discover the truth, and then. . .that will be the end of us," Ben said casually.

"Well, what can we do to stop that from happening?" Brittany asked.

"We can hope that we live long enough for our people to realize we're not coming back. Then they'll send us a sign or something, eventually we'll be rescued."

"I don't like being rescue," Brittany pouted. "I like doing the rescuing."

"I'm not one for being helpless either."

"So, what do we do?"

"We sit, and wait," Ben sighed, closing his eyes.

She studied him, he was very vulnerable looking now, beaten to a pulp as he was. His torn shirt revealed pale, smooth skin, and some chest hair poked through. Brittany felt her heart quicken a beat, but shook off the feeling.

"You're staring at me," Ben stated, his eyes still closed.

"Just wondering if you're in pain," Brittany shrugged.

He opened his eyes, "excruciating."

Before she could reply, the armory door opened. A tall man with short, black hair, and a scruffy beard walked in. He was wearing a tan t-shirt, and jeans. His eyes were wide, and Brittany thought, a little crazy looking. He smiled at her when he saw she was awake. "Hi, I'm Jack," he greeted.

Ben looked at him fearfully, Brittany knew it was an act, but was astounded at his ability. "I wanted to look at your wound," he said to Ben. "If that's alright with you?"

Ben nodded slowly, looking at him suspiciously. "This is my wife, Jennifer," he indicated Brittany.

"Hi there, Jennifer. Are you okay? I know Sayid had to knock you out, he said you were becoming hysterical. Are you in any pain?"

Ben looked at her expectantly. "My arm was broken when we crashed, but Henry was able to put it in a sling. My head aches horribly though," Brittany cringed as another pain-filled pound echoed throughout her head.

Jack frowned, "I have some aspirin you can take."

"Much appreciated," Brittany smiled.

Jack smoothed Ben's bandage on, and stood up. "Come with me and I'll give it you," he told her.

She glanced at Ben. "Go ahead honey," he grinned. Jack smiled at her, and turned to go.

Brittany rose an eyebrow at Ben's name-calling, and followed Jack. He shut the door behind him, and locked it. "It's over here."

Brittany looked around, there was a kitchen to her left, which was were they were headed, and to the right she saw a dome-shaped room. "What's that?" she asked Jack.

Jack looked and shrugged, "we don't know."

"Where are we?"

"In some hatch, I'm not the expert though, the guy who was running this place left when we came. Here you go," he handed her a pill and a glass of water.

"Thanks," she said gratefully. Swallowing the pill, she looked around some more. "That's a lot of food."

"You're very curious, just like your husband," Jack pointed out.

She shrugged, "that's probably the reason we were married. We both wanted to find out what it was like."

Jack laughed, "if you need anything, please, let me know."

"Sure thing Jack," Brittany smiled.

Jack's face became serious. "Henry told us that you crashed here from a hot air balloon, is this true?"

"Yeah, why would he lie?"

Jack shrugged, "just precautions. Things have happened to us, we can't be too careful. So, what did you do back in Minnesota?"

"Well, Henry and I married right out of college, and he was already very rich to begin with, so I didn't have to work."

"What did he do?"

"He sold his nonmetallic metals mining company," Brittany said proudly.

"And so you both decided to just go hot air ballooning?"

"Well, it was Henry's idea, and I being the ever supportive wife, decided to tag along. Someone's got to keep an eye on him," she smiled.

"I'm sorry for what Sayid did to you, and Henry," he added.

"It wasn't your fault. At least you stopped him when you did. Who knows what he would have done to my poor Henry?" she sighed, laughing on the inside.

Jack nodded, "well, I better put you back in there before anyone comes in."

"Right, thanks again Jack."

"Anytime Jennifer."

He put her back into the armory, and closed the door behind her. She sat back down on her cot, and sighed. "Welcome back," Ben greeted.

"I'm bored."

"He likes you, you know," Ben declared.

"Who does?"

"Jack."