Chapter 10:
Nami stood next to Usopp as the two of them stared at the raging inferno before them. Claire was standing in front of the fuselage and reading off names from wallets she found in people's bags. The blonde haired pregnant girl was saying nice things about the dead and guessing why they were in Australia from things she found in their belongings.
"...from Texas. I guess, she was getting a connecting flight..." Claire was almost finished and the sun almost finished setting. The fire was burning bright and a few people were hoping that the smoke would be seen by a rescue plane or boat. After the boars returned for a second night, this service became a necessity, even if a few people thought that burning the bodies was disrespectful to the dead.
"Locke still isn't back yet," Usopp whispered to his orange haired friend. He could see that Nami was getting pretty sad over hearing about all these innocent people. She noticeably winced when Claire mentioned a brother and sister who were just little kids trying to get home to their mom. He tried to get her mind off of it by talking about the bald man he went into the woods with earlier.
Locke told him to head back to camp and when Usopp asked where he was going, the bald man responded that he wouldn't be back until he found some water. "Do you think-" Nami started but the sharpshooter shook his head.
"I don't think anything can kill that man," Usopp was still stunned the man survived after that monster was heading straight for him the other day. Back when they were alone looking for water, he asked if John had seen anything. The bald man looked at him like he had something to say, but the hunter wound up just shaking his head and kept walking.
Usopp was shaken by his thoughts as he saw something through the flames. His eyes were better than most, so he was the first to see the shadowy figures on the other side of the fire. "Is that-" he started loudly and took a few steps forward. Nami looked at her friend and then followed his gaze down the beach.
The man with the long nose started running towards the water so he could get around the blazing inferno of the fuselage. "Where are you going Pinocchio?!" Sawyer shouted after the teen who looked back over his shoulder with a wide stupid smile on his face.
"They're back!" Usopp called out and stopped on the beach between the fire and the water.
Claire had two more names on the list and she was a little annoyed that the teenager interrupted her service, but everyone started running down to the shore hoping to see Jack returning. When they got around the blazing plane's mid-section, their eyes widened at the sight of the group walking towards them.
The sun was on the horizon making the water and sky look beautifully orange. Both groups stared at each other for a few moments without moving. A small stretch of beach separated them. One group of around ten with more than half of the people either carrying or being carried by a stretcher. The other group of about fifty five standing in the dancing flamelight of the burning fuselage.
Claire saw something that made her heart jump and a smile tug at her face. "Zach? Emma?" She called over towards the two children she recognized from photos, huddled next to a woman's leg. The two children lifted their heads at the sound of their names and most of the people on the beach realized something. Those were two of the kids they just had a memorial for.
"More survivors," Sayid muttered in shock and started walking towards the group.
"Rose!" An old man in the smaller group was more daring than the others who were being extra cautious after the last attack. "Rose?!"
"Bernard!" The old black woman started running across the beach and finally the two groups merged as people ran to each other. The woman reuniting with her husband was such a joyous occasion that a few of the tail sectioners forgot about the prisoner they had with them for the moment and smiled.
Jack pointed towards the medical station so that the people carrying the stretchers would bring them over, but as he was pointing he saw something else. There was a man in a suit with his back to him, staring off at the woods. He rubbed his eyes and looked in the same spot, but the man was gone. What? Where did he... Jack spun around and looked to the swordsman who saw something last time, but Zoro was talking to Nami and Usopp while carrying their captain towards the medical station.
"What's going on?" Zoro asked with a motion of his head towards the plane.
"You've missed a lot," Usopp started in a heroic tone. "These huge beasts,"
"Boars," Nami corrected.
Usopp continued without pause, "...They were at least a thousand pounds..."
"Locke said over a hundred," Nami droned and Usopp began to sweat as he kept going.
"...Were in the fuselage eating the," he paused and waited for Nami to say it, but she didn't so he just said, "well, you know." Zoro nodded so Usopp continued, "I shot one with my new weapon!" He pulled it out again, glad to have another excuse to show off his invention. "And you missed a great meat dinner..."
"Meat," Luffy mumbled from the bed next to them while other people were laying down their friends.
"Stay asleep baka," Nami scolded him but it was unnecessary as he was still fast asleep. This actually concerned the three of them more than anything else that he didn't fully wake up at the sound of meat being mentioned. "What happened?" She turned to Zoro and waited for a response but the swordsman just shrugged.
"There are other people on this island," Zoro stated. The man sat down with his back leaning on the cushions his captain was on. It looked like he was just getting ready for a nap, but he was beginning to feel a little nervous, too much so to leave his captain alone in his state. "Be careful out there."
With that, Zoro's eyes closed and he passed out again. "You're an idiot too," Nami whispered as she stared down at Zoro's burnt up chest. "I'm telling Jack to put more bandages on him." She sounded angry but Usopp chuckled at the caring tone laced in her voice.
"Zoro needs his sleep, I'll stand watch here," Usopp offered. Nami nodded at him before walking back out of the tent to where the rest of the new group went after dropping off the other wounded. And if any of those dangerous-sounding people show up, I'll have these two to protect me.
He relaxed and started laughing, though his eyes darted back to Luffy and Zoro's bodies and the amount of injuries on them. I'm actually going to have to protect them, the realization dawned on him and his legs started shaking uncontrollably. "I'm brave, I'm brave," he whispered to himself, though it didn't help his courage much.
Outside the tent, a massive group of near seventy people were gathered. People were done celebrating the fact that there were more survivors. Shannon started in a very loud voice that exemplified how they were all feeling, "What do you mean there are other people on this island? They're trying to hurt us?!" The panic was spreading fast as the majority of the group were receiving this news badly.
"He's one of them?!" Sawyer asked with a menacing look on his face, looking around like he wanted someone to tell him to kick the tied up man's ass.
"Calm down," Ana Lucia tried shouting but the entire group was talking over each other and it was impossible to get their attentions. She had the huge black man watching over Goodwin and he seemed capable enough to handle him. "People!" nothing was working and she saw Emma and Zach clutching on Cindy's legs again.
"How do we know they aren't here to help us?" Charlie asked loudly.
"They kidnapped three of us on the first day!" someone else yelled back at the rockstar who didn't want to believe it.
Kate turned to Sayid and asked, "You think this is what the French woman was talking about?"
The Arab man didn't have an answer for her and he was as confused as everyone else. Sayid tried asking the large African man more specifics on what went on, but the man looked at him and didn't respond. Sayid thought the guy must be a mute or something.
"Where is the pilot?" Cindy called out.
"That's what I want to know!" Neil, or Frogurt, shouted. "Is he hiding or something?!" Seth didn't show up to the memorial service and everyone was wondering where he was.
"Jack, what should we do?" Hurley asked the doctor who was walking towards the medical tent.
"I don't know, why are you asking me?" Jack had more important things to worry about. He gave the people on the other side of the island immediate treatment good enough to last until they got back, but the rest of the medicine was here, this is where he had to operate on Donald's leg.
"But the Others," Charlie said and stepped in front of the exhausted doctor whose head was pounding. "They could come back!"
"Well," Jack didn't have an answer for him and a bunch of people were looking at him.
"This is all your fault," someone pointed at Libby who was shocked by the accusation the tall blonde girl threw her way. Shannon continued screaming, "They didn't bother us at all before, but now that we have one of them prisoner, they're going to come after us!" A lot of people started shouting things in agreement and disorder was growing among the survivors.
"Calm down," Sawyer growled at a skinny man next to him who was shouting at the top of his lungs.
"We're out of water, the pilot is missing," Neil was counting off his fingers and the third thing he was worried about he shouted at the top of his lungs, "and people are coming to kidnap us!" Sawyer got in his face to yell back at him, when the whole beach suddenly became silent.
BANG!
"Enough!" the huge crowd of people looked over to see Jack standing up on top of a piece of metal wreckage. He had the marshall's gun in his hand and had just used the last bullet after Kate suggested he do it during the arguing. He was taller than the rest of them where he stood and everyone could see him on top of the platform. "It's been eight days, and we're all still waiting. Waiting for someone to come, but what if they don't? What if we're stuck here with those people?" Everyone stared at him as he stepped down and walked towards Neil, then looked at Sawyer, then all around at the people gathered. "We have to stop waiting."
The doctor continued in a more assured tone, "These people, were on this island before us. They know what they're doing, and we're on their territory, but we want to fight, with each other?! We were all heading for LAX, and you're about to crucify them for what? Being in the back of the plane?!" He stared at Shannon who looked down at the floor. Jack shook his head and more people were feeling ashamed, though the Tailies were pretty relieved Jack was there. The doctor continued, "We can't do this. Every man for himself is never going to work."
Charlie was just pointing a finger at the Hispanic woman who led the group to them, and he looked at his shoes, disappointed in himself. Jack kept going and everyone was listening to him. Shannon looked up at the man taking charge in the place of the ever-missing pilot. "We need to start figuring things out if we're going to survive here."
"I found water," a voice shouted from behind Jack. Everyone turned and saw John Locke walking towards them from the treeline. The bald man was covered head to toe in dirt as he'd been in the woods for a long time now. He was heading back when he heard the gunshot, and he ran as fast as he could back to the beach. Looking around, he was stunned at what went on here while he was gone. "It's a small hike up in the valley."
"Great," Jack told the man who appeared out of nowhere. "We'll take a group in at first light." He looked around at all the terrified faces and knew he had to mention the people who attacked them. "I know it's scary. These, Others, they're hiding out in the woods, and we know nothing about them," he paused and looked over at Goodwin with a glare, "at least not yet."
He spun around to make eye contact with more people. "If you don't want to come get water tomorrow, and you're not building fires, then find something else to help out with! Last week most of us were strangers, but we're all here now. And God knows how long we're gonna be here." He paused and let the realization dawn on a few people who were desperately clinging to the hope that a rescue boat was still looking for them.
Michael held his son close to him. Sawyer glared at the doc, but didn't say anything. Kate looked at the doctor whose wound she helped stitch shut on the first day. Nami hugged her arms to her chest and wished she could get off this island already. Jack looked around at them all, and he continued, "But if we can't, live together. We're gonna die alone."
Goodwin was sitting up with his back against a tree. He was tied up to the trunk and his mouth was gagged, but he started mumbling as he saw the figure approaching him. The tall form stood in front of Goodwin for a few seconds and then bent down to his knees.
Ethan frowned at the man who was sent to spy on the tail section. They made eye contact and Ethan whispered, "You failed." His hands shot up and grabbed Goodwin by the sides of the head, snapping his neck quickly. I couldn't set him free and risk him getting caught and tortured. He would have given me up. This was the only way, he tried convincing himself as he snuck back into the shadows, going to disappear and get back to bed before the sentries watching the outskirts of camp saw the corpse of the captured prisoner. Ethan walked back towards his tent and his face showed no emotion despite the fact he just killed a friend. There was only one thing on his mind, Claire, you're mine.
A/N The tail section and main group get together a lot quicker than last time! Luffy is still badly injured, but so is Zoro. The Others' existence has been revealed, but before Sayid can get some information out of Goodwin, he's "taken care of." Ethan is still in the camp, and he's planning on taking the pregnant girl. What will happen next?! Haha, hope you enjoyed! Leave me a comment below, and until next time, see ya!