The holidays have come and gone, and now it's back to work. I'm so ready to start updating regularly again! I missed all of you guys! Thanks for all of the feedback. I don't get a lot, but what I do get, means the world to me :)
I've pretty much decided that anything by Within Temptation fits Annie's life in this story perfectly. Especially "Memories", which I think I'm going to make her song. Ben's is "Far From Home", and Annie's is "Memories". Just some extra info :)
Disclaimer: This has already been disclaimed.
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Blurring. Flashing. Lightning. Running.
Screaming. Whirring. Panting. Drumming.
Always. Never ceasing.
Run. Run, you must get away!
Her eyes moved rapidly from underneath her eyelids. Her cheeks were hot and red, and her entire body was sweating, making her otherwise curly red hair limp and straggly.
Her heart beat like the drums in her dreams. The drums of people who were always chasing her but who she never saw. They were invisible, all around her. In the trees. The dirt. The wind. No escape.
No escape! Run!
RUN!
Annie's back arched as she tried to sit up, finally succeeding in pulling herself up and draping herself over her bent knees. She felt like vomiting. Hot, sticky, panting, out of breath. It was still dark out and it pressed all around her, making her heart race more. How could she still be so affected, after all these years? Twenty long years spent alone in a jungle from hell, with only her dreams to visit her.
Blindly, she reached out to find her weathered canteen and uncorked it, before pouring all of its contents over her head. The warm water did nothing to appease the heat, but it did wake her up.
The drumming in her ears stopped and she was able to hear her surroundings. Through her dazed mind she heard the faint snap of a twig. Her eyes opened wide and she stood up, reaching for the rifle by her side and pointing it in the direction of the noise. Her body hummed with adrenaline and fear.
"Who's there?!" She practically screamed, not concerned with being quiet. She unlocked the safety and had her finger on the trigger. She caught sight of a moving shadow and her finger locked around the trigger. But before she could pull it, a voice stopped her.
"Be quiet, Annie."
The woman felt immense relief when she recognized the voice. Slowly, the newcomer stepped closer, a rifle was in her hands also.
Annie's voice returned to normal as she squatted back down on the ground, laying her rifle aside, just close enough that she could grab it if the need arose. "A bit early to be comin' around, don't ya think, Danielle? I could've shot you."
"It's a good thing I stopped you then, no?" The woman sat down beside her, but kept the rifle in her lap.
"I would offer you something to drink, but my canteen's empty."
Danielle only nodded her head in response. It was still too dark to make out too many of each other's features, but Rousseau's curly brown hair was evidence enough, as was her French accent.
Annie sighed into the silence, finally beginning to feel calm again. Her heart was not thrashing wildly about her chest anymore. "What brings you around, Rousseau?"
"I was checking my traps."
"This early?"
Danielle nodded. "Couldn't sleep. And by the sound of it, you couldn't either." Annie cocked her head and the woman explained. "I heard you call out. I came to see if you were alright."
"Thanks," Annie whispered very quietly, she doubted the other woman could hear her, but it seemed she did because Danielle dipped her head in acknowledgment. She was grateful that Danielle never asked her what her dreams were about. Sometimes she wished she could just tell someone, but then, she was glad that no one knew. It was best that no one knew what she dreamed of in her deepest sleep. The nightmares of her past, present, and future. The nightmares of all the horrors she had witnessed.
"The survivors were holding a man in one of the hatches. He escaped yesterday." Danielle's statement was so jarring that Annie's heart slammed in her chest. The memories of the previous day flooded her mind. Rousseau continued. "He was captured in my net. I recognized him. I tried to convince them not to take him, but they wouldn't listen." Danielle sighed. "He was the man who stole my Alex."
Annie sucked in her breath. She had often heard Danielle speak of her baby Alex, the most precious thing in her life, that had been stolen from her in the dark. But she had never wanted to believe-
"Are you alright, Annie?" Danielle asked in concern. She must have heard the woman's reaction to her statement.
"The man who stole Alex...I know him too," Annie admitted. "His name is Benjamin Linus."
Rousseau never showed any sign of emotion, no reaction, but in the husky dawn, Annie could just make out the faint lines of surprise on the woman's weathered and worn face. "Benjamin Linus? You're Benjamin Linus? The one who-"
Annie stopped her from saying anything more and nodded. "That's the one." She looked down and began to idly peel at her fingernails. It was a habit that she had always had, and it was fiercely put to use whenever she was nervous, anxious, or uncomfortable. It took her several more seconds to speak, and when she did, she sounded as if she were choking on her own words. "I saw him yesterday."
"You what?"
Her head shot up. "I saw him. For the first time in twenty years, I actually got to see him." She turned away from Danielle's piercing eyes. "It was nothing like what I expected."
"You told me if you ever saw that man again you would kill him."
Annie nodded. "I did. But I...let him go."
"But-" Danielle furrowed her brows. "After everything he's done. To you. To Alex...Why?"
"A momentary lapse in judgment." She stood up, leaving the rifle behind her. She trusted Rousseau. "I saw him again, and I just couldn't. Not then. I hate him. I hate him! He will die."
Danielle frowned. Not because she didn't approve, but because she saw how agitated the woman before her was becoming. She stood up and reached out for her. It was as if Annie was startled from some sort of dream the moment Rousseau touched her arm. "Annie. He's not worth the anger."
Her jaw was clenched. Her eyes flashed green. She was angry. The very thought of Ben brought shivers of rage up her entire body. But then, just as quickly as it had come, the anger dissipated. "You're right. Of course you are."
0o0 Flashback 0o0
Annie awoke to the sound of one of the jungle birds caw-cawing somewhere high up in the trees. The very sound made her stomach clench in hunger. It was as if the birds were mocking her because she had no means of capturing them. Annie had no training in survival. It wasn't like she had planned to be out here this long without a fresh supply of food and water. She wasn't even supposed to have stayed in this bloody jungle for this long!
The woman stood up and stretched, allowing the bright sun to pour through the trees and all across her body, warming her almost instantly.
Annie's thoughts were plagued. The haunting thoughts never stopped. The worry and anxiety had no end. Continuous. Even when she slept, she could feel it wound up in a tight ball against her heart. She was afraid. What could have possibly happened to Ben to detain him for so long? Annie knew that whatever had made him make her leave the village had been terrible enough to be incredibly dangerous. Ben had actually looked worried. He never looked worried; it just wasn't in his nature. But something about what was going to happen that day had had him nervous.
For the first four days, Annie had tried to convince her mind that something had just happened to detain him. Maybe it was still unsafe and he was in hiding. But it had been six days now, and she doubted Ben would have just left her out here on her own. Something had happened, and that thought made her entire body shake. A large part of her wanted to venture back to the village, to see whatever lay behind that pylon fence, to know what had twisted Ben's gut so.
Was he even alive?
The more she thought about it, the more Annie feared the conclusion that her mind was already forming on its own. Something terrible must have happened to him. Maybe the hostiles had captured him. Maybe he was being tortured. Or...
Maybe he was dead.
Annie shuddered and then pinched her eyes shut as hard as she could to squeeze out the image of Ben's dead corpse laying cold and alone in the grass.
"Come on, Annie. Stop it. It won't help anything." She continued to whisper soothing words to herself until she had calmed down again. She pushed the thought of Ben aside and she focused on the present problem. She was all alone in this jungle. Ben had told her to stay by the tree and wait for him. But she couldn't stay forever. Her canteen was completely empty and her throat was parched. Add on top of that, the food she had packed was nearly gone, and even if she rationed it carefully, it would be all gone by noon.
Annie had to make a decision. Stay here and risk dying of hunger, or leave and risk missing Ben? There really wasn't much of a decision. As much as she wanted to stay, her stomach was aching something fierce. She doubted she would last long without fresh water. So, she shouldered her pack and her canteen and began the heated trek into the unknown and forbidden jungle.
She was too distressed by her current predicament to even really observe the beauty of her surroundings. She was looking for anything, anything, to eat. And she was constantly listening for the sound of any kind of flowing water.
It was about ten minutes into her hike when Annie got the feeling that she was being watched. She pivoted and glanced behind her, looking all around, but she saw nothing to suggest a threat. Annie continued on, but she couldn't quite shake the feeling that someone was still there.
Within a half hour, Annie had completely lost her bearings, she doubted if she could find her way back to the tree. She was truly alone.
Several yards ahead of her, she saw a vine that was wrapped tightly around a skinny, but incredibly tall, tree. When she walked closer, she saw that the green vine was covered with tens of hundreds of small, orange orbs. They looked similar to oranges. The outside appeared to be more like a shell. When she removed one from the vine, she found that it was leathery to the touch and nearly impossible to open.
The thought of food fueled her already weak body and she began to pound the strange object against a nearby rock. It took several tries, but eventually she succeeded in cracking the outer skin. When she peeled it open, she saw that it was a fruit, judging by the yellowy-brown fleshy material on the inside. It looked utterly disgusting and smelled almost rotten, but Annie didn't care. Her hunger called to her and she raised the fruit to her lips.
Just as she was about to take a bite, she heard a stick snap behind her and then a voice. "Don't eat that."
With a gasp, Annie dropped the fruit and looked behind her. Standing only five feet away was a woman. A woman with small, beady brown eyes, a mild complexion, and thick, uncombed brown hair. She looked fierce and frightening and was carrying a rifle in her hands.
Annie stood to her feet and grabbed the closest stick, holding it in her hands for protection, though she knew that she was no match when put up against a gun. "Who are you?" She demanded to know, her voice held a tremor and her hands shook.
"My name is Danielle," the woman responded. Annie noticed that the woman had a deep voice and a strange, yet recognizable accent. It was heavily French. "Are you one of them?"
"One of who?" Annie furrowed her brow.
"You are." Danielle replied simply and pointed her gun at her.
Annie dropped the stick in favor of raising her arms. "Wait. Stop!" Her heart beat wildly in her chest. "Are you a hostile?" She doubted calling the woman such an offensive term was the right choice, but she was too frightened to think.
"A hostile?" The woman asked in confusion.
Annie nodded. "I come from the Dharma Initiative." She pointed in the general direction of where she knew it was. "That's my home."
That seemed to get the woman's full attention. "Where is she?" Danielle stepped closer. Her gun pointing straight at Annie's chest. "Where is my Alexis?!"
"I—I don't know! But please. Just listen!" Annie was screaming frantically now. "Please! There's nothing left. Something...happened! I—I escaped. But my people...I don't know what happened to them!"
Danielle stared at her for several more seconds, seeming to try and judge whether or not this girl was telling the truth. To Annie's relief, the woman lowered her rifle. "What are you talking about?"
Annie felt her lip quiver and then she felt the tears flowing to her eyes. "Please—I don't know what to do..." She was pleading with this strange woman to help her. That's when the unconsciousness struck. She was exhausted, emotionally and physically, as well as dehydrated, malnourished, and frightened. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell to the ground. All went black around her.
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Love you all :D