Quick Note: Time for some answers. I DO know where this is going, believe me. Maybe I should also mention that throughout writing this story I have received a total of ONE review. Am I writing crappy? Or are you all heartless jerks? I thought last chapter might get something, but no...

Just for that, this is the last update before my summer holiday. Unless I write really fast and get another chapter done tonight. I MIGHT be able to update over the summer, maybe early January, but it won't be easy, cause I'll be in the middle of nowhere and I don't think there's an internet connection. Depends how hard I try and how much incentive you readers give me to like and be nice to you.


Chapter Nine

Kate sat quietly on the bed in her cell, watching the cell door intently. Two days, and she was no longer sure whether she wanted Daryl to come back or not. She did in a way, because she had promised herself that she would kill him if he did. She found herself looking forward to that, and the feeling scared her. Last time it had come upon her this strong, she'd killed Wayne.

She hadn't seen Russell since his warning Daryl would come back, either – she felt oddly hurt by this. Was he no longer interested in her? Although she thought the less interest they showed in her the better, Russ had, at least, been a spike away from boredom.

Her thoughts drifted. As usual, they drifted to the worst case scenario – Daryl would come back, with his mates, and she wouldn't be able to stop him. Unfortunately, for once the worst case was also the most likely.

Without warning, her mind snapped to a new, possibly worse thought – she hated when it did that. What if she was pregnant? What if he had...? Kate suddenly found the air thick, and almost gagged. She'd rather she had Sawyer's baby. At least it would have been conceived from love, not horror.

A noise at the door had her sitting up straight. She wasn't sure how she could kill someone with no weapons and no element of surprise and a smaller physique. She tensed, though told herself it was probably just breakfast. She assumed it was morning.

It wasn't breakfast, but it wasn't Daryl either. It was Russ, that lazy, sardonic smile aimed right at her. Feeling particularly hostile, Kate just glared at him. He sighed, and stepped forward, unlocking the door.

"Come on. I need you," he said. She stood up, pretending to submit – but as she came level with the door, she struck out with one fist. Feeling it connect with a satisfying thud, she started to run, but hardly even made it one step when she felt a powerful arm stop her. Struggling furiously, she wondered how someone who looked so laidback and easygoing got so damn strong.

"Now that isn't very nice," Russ commented, stopping her resistance completely. She swore silently when she felt him lock a pair of handcuffs around her wrists, behind her back. That would make things very difficult indeed. "Let's not try that again, right?"

"Stuff you," Kate growled, even as he pushed her forward. He clicked his tongue.

"Well, I hope your attitude changes soon. I need your help," he remarked calmly.

"I'm not helping you," Kate replied coldly.

"I think you'll change your mind," he asserted.

"What are you going to do? Torture me? Hate to break it to you, but that's already happened," Kate said bitterly.

"Sorry about that," Russ said as he led her upstairs, obviously confident he knew where he was going. She noticed he felt right at home on the giant boat. Not a good sign – for her, at least, or her chances of escape.

"No you're not," Kate said. He sighed, obviously aware that arguing wouldn't change her mind.

"I don't suppose you noticed my new rank the other day?" he asked suddenly. Kate had noticed, but hadn't thought anything of it, let alone remember it, so shook her head. "I'm now chief of On-Land Navigation," he continued proudly. "Which is something I've been striving for... for at least three years."

"Good on you," Kate said, only half sarcastically.

"You haven't wondered, by any chance, why we've kept you alive this long, have you?"

"I did," Kate admitted coolly.

"Well, it just so happens that we're all a little nervy about going deep into that forbidding jungle without proper knowledge of what's in there and how dangerous it is – knowledge that you have."

"Oh. I see. And what made you think I'd help you?" she asked.

"Well, there is the fact I could kill you anytime I like. But I prefer honey over vinegar. Help me today, and tomorrow, I'll let you talk to your redneck boyfriend."

Kate stopped walking in the middle of the corridor. He pushed her a little, and she stumbled forward, feeling slightly numb. Surely this was proof Sawyer was alive. Her thoughts stampeded around, and it seemed like only a few seconds later Russ stopped her outside a door.

"Deal?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. She swallowed guiltily.

"Deal."

He opened the door and ushered her inside. She stepped in to find four other people in there, none of whom she recognised. Russell introduced her curtly.

"My second, Derrick, assistant, Colin, Second Navigator, Paul, and ship's Captain."

Kate noticed he didn't give her a name for the captain, and assumed it meant she wasn't on any kind of friendly terms – though she would have guessed that anyway. The man had a hard, chiselled face, and thick brows hanging above dark, cold eyes. There was also a certain trace of something similar to fear in Russell's snappy salute when he introduced the captain.

The short wiry man she now knew as Paul, the navigator, pulled out several maps and laid them on the table. As he did this, Russ carefully uncuffed Kate, and she just managed to prevent a gasp of relief. The ache in her wrists wasn't too bad, but her shoulders were stiff as well.

"Do you recognise this?" the navigator asked. Kate studied it for a moment, completely blank. Then it was obvious to her – at the same moment she saw the captain give Russ a cruel, mocking smile.

"Is it the island?" Kate asked. Russell smiled, and the captain frowned. She tensed slightly, picking up a current of dislike within the room.

"Yes. Can you tell from these where you camp was?" he asked. Kate looked over at them again, not wanting to fail under the hard scrutiny of those black eyes. But then something else triggered – where your camp was. As if it wasn't there anymore. Swallowing slightly, she gazed hopelessly at the wavy lines and notations.

Then something caught her attention. A ridge of land, like a peninsula, coming out from one corner. She'd seen that ridge before, only from a different angle. She scanned down, and something else caught her mind – after a moment, she had a sudden memory of Sayid showing her the maps he had stolen from Rousseau. That section there was the so-well-named TerritoireFonce – the dark territory.

She was too far south then. She let one finger trace up the coast, now able to detect the difference between certain lines, sensing which meant a high drop down to the ocean, or the subtle change in contours meaning a beach.

Three beaches in a row, then a headland – she could see it, in her mind's eye, that headland standing out in front of the setting sun every night. How many nights had she seen that sunset?

Her finger came to rest on the centre of the middle beach – the captain's frown grew more intense, but Russ smiled, and the navigator nodded respectfully.

"You ever used a map like this before, girl?" he asked.

"No," she admitted. Not since high school, at least, but she didn't think that was relevant.

"Very good work then. Exact," the navigator said. She felt a surge of pride, swallowed by shame – why was she helping them? Because she wanted to see Sawyer? Was that a good enough reason for what could be seen as a betrayal?

"There are other people on this island, aren't there?" Derrick asked. Kate nodded. "Do you know where they are?"

This, at least, she had no compunction about telling them – if they were going after the Others, that was fine by her. She studied the map again, trying to turn the flat paper into a scene. A long way north, she saw something that she definitely understood.

"They sometimes live here," she said, pointing at a miniature island of the shore of the big island. The Other's own Alcatraz. For the first time, she saw something positive in the captain's demeanour – a shift backwards, so he was no longer staring at her so hard. Kate tried to locate the Other's main home, the Barracks – she'd seen a map of it before, so she'd thought it would be easy enough. But this was a map of the coastline, with few markings on the actual island.

"There's something else, about... here," she guessed. It had to be relatively close to the shore to be close to a submarine – she hoped. She had the impression that failure wouldn't be seen as acceptable in this company.

"That's all for now," the captain said, the first words she'd heard him say. They sent chills down her spine, and she couldn't meet his eyes. Russ jerked his head at Colin, who came forward to lead Kate back to her cell. As she was going, she heard Russell's voice.

"...See dad? She's useful. Take her on land with us, she can point out landmarks, Paul can map them..."

The voice faded as the door closed, but Kate's mind was stuck on the idea of getting back to solid land. And then escaping.