Author: Here is the next chapter- let me know what you guys think. Again, thank you to my beta reader , Jenny, for all her help with this chapter!

Chapter 21- Missing

With the flame of his torch lighting the way, Jack led the others back through the jungle. They moved quickly and quietly through the trees, eyes cautiously scanning the darkness for any sign of danger. Thunder bellowed above them, shaking the trees in its wake, and rain continued its heavy downpour.

Jack came to a standstill ahead of the otherswhen he stumbled across the familiar hole in the ground.

"Why are we stopping?" Kate called out to him, her voice raised to compete against the thunder rolling overhead.

For Jack, the worst part about being a surgeon was the unpleasant job of telling someone, sometimes a whole room of people, that their loved one hadn't survived the surgery. No amount of training can prepare a surgeon for the intensity of being in an operating theatre. Dealing with a patient's life is an enormous responsibility for any doctor, and with it, comes the duty to protect the life of that patient, by all means necessary. Knowing the patient's family are in the waiting room, praying for good news, adds to the immensity of the pressure.

But sometimes, with all the difficult decisions needing to be made during surgery, a surgeon can make the wrong one. And Jack knew all too well, one mistake is all it takes. There is no greater sense of failure for a surgeon, than looking down at a patient on the operating table, and knowing that one wrong decision led to his or her death. Then comes the hardest part—facing a waiting room full of people, looking them in the eye, and delivering the news that will tear their world apart.

Looking down at the empty pit, Jack was again faced with an overwhelming sense of failure; Hurley and Juliet chose to place their trust in him, and in the heat of the moment, he had made the difficult decision to leave them behind. Now because of his decision, they were gone. Instead of staring down into a pit, he felt like he was looking down at a patient on the operating table, having failed them.

Echoing in the back of his mind, were his father's words, "Because when you fail, Jack... you just don't have what it takes."

"Jack?" Kate's voice made him aware of the three people standing behind him expecting to find their friend's safe and sound. Closing his eyes, Jack cringed at the thought of having to look Sawyer in the eye and break the news that Juliet was missing.

Plucking up the courage to speak, he answered, "We're stopping because we're here."

Sawyer eyed his surroundings with uncertainty. "What do you mean we're here?" When Jack didn't answer, but continued to stare at the same spot on the ground, Sawyer's suspicions grew. "Hey, I asked you a question. And what are you gawkin' at?" Marching over to where Jack stood, he was taken aback by the sight of a gaping hole in the ground. "Son of a bitch…"

"What is it? What are you looking at?" Kate made her way over to the two men, with Miles following after her. The two of them were startled to see a pit, thick with mud and flooded with water, situated in the middle of the jungle bed.

Peering over the edge, Sawyer felt unexplainably anxious. "So, you wanna tell us why we're all starin' down a rabbit hole?" He couldn't ignore his gut feeling that something was wrong.

His mind spinning, Jack tried to think of possible scenarios that would explain the disappearance of his friends. He had quite clearly given the instruction for Hurley to wait for him to get back, so why were they not here now? Juliet was in no physical shape to have climbed out of the pit herself, and Hurley being the loyal friend that he was, would have waited. It made no sense.

"Jack?" Sawyer's voice distracted him from his thoughts, snapping him back to reality.

"The reason we're staring down this pit James, is because the last I saw, Juliet was down there," Jack admitted.

"What!?" both Sawyer and Miles responded simultaneously.

"When ya told me she dislocated her shoulder, did the part about her fallin' down a 10 foot pit just slip your mind?!" Sawyer yelled, his nostrils flaring.

Kate felt a pang of guilt. She had heard Juliet's cries for help, but had chosen to ignore them in pursuit of chasing after Sun. Or at least, that was who she'd believed it to be at the time. Only later, after nearly drowning in the ocean, did she discover that it had been Locke the entire time.

Leaning over the pit and waving his torch at the shadows, Sawyer searched for any sign of Juliet. "Juliet?! Juliet, are you down there?"

But just as Jack feared, Sawyer's plea was with nothing but a growl of thunder, its harrowing sound reflective of Sawyer's feelings towards Jack in that moment; the storm in the sky was nothing compared to the storm that was brewing within Sawyer.

Sensing the growing tension between the two men, Kate wandered farther out into the jungle in search of Hurley and Juliet, in hope of finding them before tensions between Jack and Sawyer escalated further. "Hurley? Hurley, where are you? Answer me! Where are you?"

"Hey guys, come check this out." Hearing Miles' voice, Kate turned back towards the pit to see him kneeling over on the ground.

"What is it?" she asked, nearly slipping in the mud as she rushed over. "What've you found?" Kneeling beside him in the mud, she took the torch from his hand and hovered it over the ground. "Are these…?"

"Footprints," Miles finished. "Or, what's left of them."

Getting to her feet, Kate followed the trail of footprints that lead away from the pit. But in less than a few steps, the trail came to an end, having been washed away by the rain.

Back at the pit, Sawyer was looking to Jack for an explanation as to why Juliet was not where he'd said she'd be.

"Sawyer, I don't know what else to tell you…she was here."

"Well, she ain't now," Sawyer growled, his heart pounding inside his chest. Too many times he had found himself in this same situation where Juliet's safety rested in Jack's hands. "What I don't understand is why you left her alone down there in the first place?!"

"I didn't want to leave her, but I wasn't given much of a choice. She told me to go," Jack argued, not needing to be reminded of the fact he'd messed up. He felt bad enough as it was already, and Sawyer's judgment only made him feel worse. "And I didn't leave her alone. Hurley stayed with her."

Sawyer seethed at his remark. Jack could never admit that he was wrong. Never. Instead, he looked for excuses, just like he had done at the Swan site. But tonight there were no excuses he could hide behind. This was his fault.

"Yeah, and where's Hugo now?" Sawyer questioned, trying desperately to keep his anger under wraps. Just when he thought the night couldn't possibly get any worse, he found himself proven wrong.

Juliet was gone.

Jack shone his torch at the surrounding jungle. "I told Hurley to wait for me here."

"Maybe they went back?" Kate suggested, and she motioned to the muddy footprints. "There isn't a trail, but it's a good sign."

Sawyer's fist punched through the air in frustration. "A good sign? You ain't got a damn clue where they are or what happened to 'em, none of us do!" He knew Kate was only trying to help, but he was past the point of reason. "I swear to God, if anythin' happened to her…"

"James, let's not panic," Jack told him. "Hurley is with her, they're probably on their way back to the barracks as we speak."

"You better hope they are." The sincerity of Sawyer's words, reminded Kate of what he had told her the day of the incident. "If she dies, I'll kill him." Sawyer was a man of his word, but above all, Sawyer was not a man to be messed with. Kate knew all too well that his threats were not to be taken lightly. She just prayed they'd find Juliet and Hurley in one piece. Otherwise, Jack would most definitely suffer the consequences.

… ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

When they arrived back at the barracks, they were more than a little disheartened to see Richard standing alone at the rendezvous point.

Sawyer's face plummeted. His worst fears had been confirmed. He was about go charging over to where Richard stood but Kate pulled him back.

"Just hold off. For all we know she and Hurley could be inside somewhere. Let Jack handle this."

Clenching his jaw to stop himself from saying an unsavoury remark, Sawyer yanked his arm from Kate's grip.

"Richard," Jack began, walking over to greet him. "Is it just you who made it back? Where are all the others?"

Richard closed the distance. He glanced over at Sawyer before reverting his gaze back to Jack. "Ilana and I were the only ones to make it back, beside yourselves…"

"What about Juliet? Hurley?" Sawyer asked. "Have you seen 'em? Are they back?"

With a solemn expression, Richard shook his head. "I'm sorry, James."

Sawyer turned to leave. "That's it. I'm going back out there."

"James, wait," Richard called. "There's something you need to know. When I was on my way to meet Ilana by the creek, I came across something in the jungle."

"Came across what?" Sawyer asked, his brow raised in concern.

"I saw Hurley... with Ben."

Kate frowned. The very mention of Benjamin Linus made her skin crawl. "Hurley's with… Ben?"

Richard nodded. "They were talking. They were standing too far away for me to make out what they were saying, but Ben had Juliet in his arms. She looked unconscious… or something."

"Son of a bitch…" Sawyer's nightmare had become a reality. Juliet was with Ben.

Noting the panicked looked in Sawyer's eyes, Richard begrudged having to continue. "I'm afraid it gets worse. I was about to go to them, but Locke appeared out of nowhere. They talked for a while, I don't know what about, and then they left. I'm sorry, wherever Locke and Ben went, they took your friends with them."

Clearly distressed by the news, Jack raked his fingers through his hair. "Do you have any idea where they went?"

Shaking his head, Richard sighed. "No, but I can muster a guess. Locke has a camp on the beach. It's your old camp in fact. That's where he will have taken them."

Sawyer clenched his fists in attempt to relieve some of the building anger. "Dammit. Should'a known somethin' like this would happen. I'm goin' back out there. Gonna bring 'em back."

"No, you can't go after them, James," Richard warned him. "Don't you see? That's what he wants. Locke wants you to go after her, but you can't."

"Oh really? And why can't I?" Sawyer questioned, his eyes ablaze.

"Because he will use her against you. I've warned you about this before."

Grimacing, Sawyer shook his head, "Is that supposed to convince me to stay here? Cuz so far it ain't."

He turned to leave, but Kate caught his arm. "Don't go back out there. It's not safe. We should at least come up with a plan."

"Listen to me," Richard ordered, his voice assertive. "Juliet will be fine. Nothing will happen to her while Ben's around. He won't let it."

Jack didn't seem so sure. He remembered his time at Hydra Station when he held a piece of broken plate to Juliet's neck. Ben had seemed perfectly happy to let her die.

"Yeah and how can be so sure?" Sawyer questioned. Clearly, Jack wasn't the only one in doubt. "The man let his own daughter die to save his ass! What makes you think he'll give a damn about Juliet?"

"I know how you're feeling," Richard empathised, slowly stepping towards him. "But you have to trust me James. You can't go after them. You can't give Locke what he wants."

"You ain't got a damn clue how I'm feelin', Richard, so quit actin' like you care," Sawyer scoffed.

"I loved someone once."

Richard's words shut Sawyer up. He had spent three years getting know Richard, and Sawyer knew him to be a very private man. For him to make such a personal revelation took everyone by surprise.

"She died, a long time ago now," Richard continued, his tone subdued. "So yes, James, I do know how you're feeling. And I will do everything I can to make sure you never have to know what it's like to lose the woman you love."

Sawyer found himself nodding, finding reassurance in Richard's words.

"We should go inside, give us a chance to talk things over," Kate suggested. She motioned to Jack's peeling yellow house.

Richard was surprised in himself for revealing something so close to his heart. He had decided long ago to leave his past where it belonged, in the past. After all, a painful past was better left buried. Composing himself, he started walking in the direction of Jack's house. "Ilana is waiting for you inside. There's something you all need to see."

…. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Standing in the center of the living room was Ilana, her gun pointing at Sayid bound to a chair, hands tied behind his back and a gag shoved in his mouth, muffling his cries for help.

"What the hell?" Jack stumbled backwards, his gazing switching back and forth from Ilana to Sayid.

Ilana swaggered forward, a smug smile clinging to her face. "I found him in the jungle, and I wanted answers." The pride was deep in her voice.

Sawyer stared at the familiar face currently being held hostage in Jack's living room, and a ton of questions flooded his mind, some of which he couldn't help but voice. "Was it him? Did he help Linus escape?"

At this, Ilana's smug smile dropped, and she pursed her lips. "He keeps denying it. But I can tell when someone is lying, and Jarrah most certainly is."

When Oceanic 815 crashed onto the island, Kate remembered Sayid being one of the first people she befriended; she admired his positive attitude and his determination to find rescue, when others like Sawyer made no effort to help. Despite being a man conflicted by a history of violence, Sayid had saved their lives on countless occasions, firmly proving himself as being one of their strongest allies. She refused to believe the man she knew, her friend, was a traitor, and seeing him be treated like one was upsetting.

Expressing her disapproval, Kate shook her head. "This isn't right. He shouldn't be tied up like this."

Jack looked directly at Ilana. "She's right. Let the man talk."

Reluctantly, Ilana removed Sayid's gag. He coughed before adjusting in his restraints. "Thank you," he managed to say, his voice weak with exhaustion.

Unlike the rest of his friends, Sawyer wasn't so easily convinced of Sayid's innocence; it was common knowledge that Sayid had a history with the republican guard. Violence was second nature to the man. Whether people liked it or not, Sayid was a threat. The blood stain on Sayid's white vest only reaffirmed Sawyer of that fact.

Sayid was dangerous.

Taking charge of the situation, Sawyer strolled over to the man. "So Sayid, do you wanna explain to the rest of us why you were out in the jungle in the middle of the night?"

Sayid looked helplessly at Sawyer, hoping for some support, but he wasn't about to receive any. "I know what it looks like, but I swear, I had no hand in his escape."

Sawyer circled Sayid like a predator circles prey before it attacks. "Oh really? Then where have you been all day?"

Sayid looked to Jack, his eyes pleading intervention, but Jack's response was no more helpful than Sawyer's.

"Answer the question, Sayid."

Sayid hung his head. His friends had forsaken. "I saw Ben leaving the infirmary," Sayid explained, his voice raw. "So I followed him out into the jungle. When he realised I was following him, he ran away."

Jack pulled out a chair and sat in front of him. "Why didn't you come and get one of us, tell us what was going on?"

"Because there was no time. If I had gone to get you, he would have disappeared. I saw my chance and I took it."

"Well, that don't explain the blood on your shirt?" Sawyer asked, folding his arms. "Whose is it, cuz it ain't yours?"

All eyes were on Sayid.

"It is Ben blood…"

Sawyer raised an eyebrow. "Well, this is an interesting development. I thought you said he ran away?"

"He did run away," Sayid protested. "At least, he tried to. But I ran after him and took him down. We fought, though he managed to get away…"

"Wait, so you're tellin' us that little Benny Boy beat you in a fight? I find that kinda hard to believe."

Sayid leaned forward in his chair, tugging against his restraints. "I'm telling you the truth!"

Sawyer looked him dead in the eye. "Well I don't believe you. And unlucky for you, I ain't exactly in the best of moods, considerin' the person I care about is out in the damn jungle with the man you helped escape. So why don't we just skip the part where you protest your innocence and lets cut to the chase. Tell me why you let him go, and tell me what Ben wants."

"Listen to me Sawyer, I tried to kill him when he was just a boy. I hate the man! So why in God's name would I want to help him now?"

"I don't know, Sayid, you tell me."

"I am sorry about what happened to Juliet and Hurley, but I had no part in Ben's escape. You have to believe me." Realising he had no salvation in Sawyer, Sayid looked helplessly to Jack and Kate in one final attempt to gain their support.

"Sorry, but you lost my trust when you shot the kid and ruined everythin' I had," Sawyer added, his eyes dark.

"I say we lock him up," Ilana urged, looking to Jack for approval.

"No," Jack stated. "Sayid is my friend and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt."

Both Sawyer and Ilana glared at Jack, their eyes wide. "Give him the benefit of the doubt?" Sawyer questioned, the anger seeping through his words. "The guy ran off into the jungle for half the night? I don't think he should be let off the hook that easily."

Sawyer turned to Kate, expecting her to side with him on the matter, but Kate couldn't deny the surge of sympathy she felt for Sayid. They had turned on him too easily. His story was plausible. So, why was everyone so keen to point the finger?

"Sorry Sawyer, but I'm with Jack on this," Kate said.

Sawyer turned to Miles, hoping for his support, but Miles shook his head.

"I'm sorry man, but I don't remember Sayid being in the room when I was knocked out."

"So what? He's free to go?" Sawyer couldn't believe this! He had seen Sayid snap a man's neck with his legs, and he was expected to believe that Sayid lost a fight to the likes of Benjamin Linus. "Two of our friends get kidnapped by the one guy who is trying to kill us, and now your gonna let Sayid go, no questions asked? Unbelievable…"

Jack tried his best to ease the situation. "We want Juliet and Hurley to be safe just as much as you do, James, but I don't believe Sayid had anything to do with this. Like he said, he hates Ben, so why would he help him? I'm willing to trust him. I think he's earned that much."

"This is unbelievable…" Ilana muttered, clutching her forehead. "Jarrah is a traitor, Jack. Why can't you see that?!"

"I'm sorry, Ilana, but last I remembered, your job is to protect the candidates, and Sayid is a candidate. So, I would untie him if I were you." Jack turned his attention to Sayid. "Sayid, you're free to go back to the house."

Ilana reluctantly untied him. "This is a mistake. I can feel it." She threw his binds to the floor and stormed out of the house.

With his hands free, Sayid tended to his reddened wrists. "Thank you for believing me."

Jack bowed his head. "We've been through too much for me to think you'd betray us."

"That means a lot." Sayid nodded gratefully before walking over to the door. "Goodnight."

Once Sayid left the house, Kate turned to Jack. "So what do we do now?"

Jack studied the faces in the room, his eyes scanning them from left to right; Kate, Miles, Sawyer and lastly, Richard. They were supposed to be a team. The only way they stayed alive was by working together, trusting each other.

Their group was like the human body in that sense; a fascinating group of organisms working together to form an almost indestructible, unbreakable force. A tight unit of cells working together to survive. But from within, a silent killer loomed, sneaking up on the body like a thief in the dead of night. Cancer. A deadly disease that goes unnoticed, hiding in the darkness, spreading its poison, tearing the body apart from the inside, and turning the body against itself.

Having a traitor in the group was as a dangerous as cancer, because their team was based on trust, and a traitor in their midst tested that trust. Without trust, a sickness would spread through their camp like cancer, and the group would turn on each other. And as Jack well knew, a group divided, always fails. Until today, he would have gladly trusted these people with his life. But now, he wasn't so sure.

"One of us is a traitor," Jack said. "And tomorrow I will find out which one of us it is. But tonight, we go back to our homes, lock our doors, and trust no one… because tomorrow, we fight."