"You all have to calm down before I start talking," John demanded from his seat at the booth.
Sawyer, Jack, Kate, and Charlie were all chattering like birds after entering the hatch and shutting and locking the door from the inside. After John spoke they immediately all shut up.
Locke sighed and looked up at them.
"They had a list of everyone they were going to take from our side of the island," John began slowly. "Everyone who was taken was on that list."
"Taken?" Jack asked.
"The people from the tail of the plane went first and by the time they started on us, we had joined sides and it was harder to do. They got the list from the manifest but if you remember correctly, we've had the manifest all along. So I don't know which one they were talking about, but they chose names according to who the people they had already taken knew, and by whom they'd seen wandering in the jungle. It's my suspicion that possibly more survivors had landed in the jungle and were taken before ever reaching the beach and that they sent spies to find out who we were," he said, looking around at them.
"But did they know the plane was going to crash here?" Kate asked quietly. She was still shaking.
"No. When they saw it crash they immediately knew there would be rescue planes coming so they sent out a signal saying a plane had gone down several miles south of here…"
"They have a radio?" Jack burst.
"No. They had a transmitter that can only transmit to another island not far from here. But it died a few weeks ago during a storm and they haven't been able to get it working since," Locke looked very pale as he spoke. "Anyway, they had the list and I wasn't on it."
"Then why did they take you?" Charlie asked.
"The next person on the list was Kate," Jack looked at her and more color drained from her skin. "But when they found me, they scratched her off the list."
"Why Kate?" demanded Sawyer. "Why did they choose her?"
"I told you, I don't know," Locke was breathless. "But I went because I didn't want them coming back to find you. They realized they could use me for labor and hunting. But after a while I was too badly injured to help so they left me in the pit for a long time."
No one spoke, just listening to Locke.
"I don't know why Satine left this camp but she came into theirs as bold as ever. She fell in the trap door with me and said she was leaving to save you all. She told me she had nothing left on this island and wanted you all to survive without worrying about the others. She said her name was Kate and when they realized she was next on the list, they knew they had to keep her."
"She pretended to be me?" Kate barely gasped. She looked completely frazzled and was still trembling, as she stood there, filthy and bloody.
"She said if they let me go, she'd help them using her abilities," Locke looked around at them. "You cannot deny the girl did have some special qualities. Well whether she exaggerated them or not, it worked. They were going to let me go."
"You left her?" Sawyer asked incredulously.
"No. I tried to wrestle the gun from the other guy but it went off, hitting her. She was grazed on her side but deep enough to hurt her. Last I saw of her, she had fainted. They have to keep her alive, they need her for their plan," Locke looked near fainting.
"What plan?" Jack asked quietly.
"They believe half of their party is on the other side of the island. They had all been together but split up over a weapon which I believe is Walt," everyone's eyes widened, "and now the people on the beach want the inland and the people inland want the beach. But the people I know want this hatch in order to stage their battle from here."
"How do they know about it?" Kate whispered.
"They knew it was here before we did. But they couldn't get it open. So they gave up on it."
"Wait, so are they here by choice?" Sawyer demanded. For a moment it looked as though his hands were trembling but he pocketed them. "Or were they stranded."
"That I do not know," Locke sighed. "But what I do know is they're going to use her against us, possibly to get into our heads."
"She wouldn't. She sacrificed herself for us, why would she go against us?" Kate asked and Jack moved to put a hand on her trembling shoulder.
"She's injured and they have guns. She may have given herself up for us but when a gun is pointed at your head, you'll do anything," Locke said quietly.
No one spoke and for a moment Charlie looked extremely upset. Jack kept his hand on Kate's shoulder as she continued to shake. Sawyer had a hand on his face.
"If they're coming, we have to prepare," Jack announced a few moments later. "We need to get all the women and injured into this hatch and lock it from the inside. All the strong men will have to join us and…."
"We can give each a gun," Locke said from his spot. He had no color in his face. "If there was any time to use them, it's now."
"They have guns too, it doesn't make it any better," Sawyer snapped. He looked furious. "A shootoff will do nothing but kill half of us."
"What do you propose we do?" Jack spat.
"We have to try to save the kid," Sawyer said a bit more gently.
"If we go back there, they're going to come after us," said Jack, his face burning red. "If we try to save her, they'll kill us all."
"What are we going to let her die out there?" Sawyer shouted angrily, coming face to face with Jack.
"She sacrificed herself! She knew what she was getting into!" screamed Jack.
"Stop!" Kate pleaded weakly.
"She is risking her neck for us and you want to leave her with those lunatics? Didn't you hear, she got shot!" Sawyer was pressed up against Jack and they were nose to nose. Kate stood shakily and tried to move between them.
"They will kill us!" Jack said, enunciating each syllable.
"They'll kill her once they have this hatch and we're all dead! We'd at least have her on our side!"
"If you love her so god damn much, YOU go after her!" Jack shouted, spit flying from his mouth.
Sawyer stepped down and Kate was able to move between them, her back to Jack as she watched Sawyer's face. She could see that a million things were racing through Sawyer's head at once and that Jack had not only spoken the truth, but also rubbed it in his face.
"We'll plan," Locke said, breaking the horrible silence. "I would give it maybe four days until they plan to try to take the hatch."
"Would it be so bad to give it up?" suggested Charlie. "We could take all the really important stuff and move it out."
"This is our only source of shelter," Jack said plainly, avoiding Kate's eye. "We can't give it up."
"But…"
"We need to gather all the strong men together and get them ready. Locke, when you're feeling better you can teach them all how to hold a gun," Jack's voice shook as he looked around at them.
With that, he left.
"Mom, where are we going?" Satine laughed as he mother led her out of the car by the hand, still blindfolded.
"Just wait!" she said loudly. Satine could hear crowds around her and she knocked into several people, apologizing. She could smell something, like the ocean but she wasn't sure because of the smog in the air.
"Okay, ready?"
Satine nodded and pulled off the blindfold.
Before her, sitting in the dock was an enormous cruise ship. They were in the harbor after six hours of driving and now before her people were boarding this giant craft.
"Mom," she whispered. "We can't afford this."
"I'll use everything I have to give you a wonderful birthday," said her mother sweetly, putting an arm around her daughter. "Think of it as one last fling before we admit our defeat."
Satine knew he mother meant well but just one ticket on this cruise would be mostly everything they had left and even if they charged it, they'd never be able to pay it back. But she looked down and saw her mother had two tickets in her hand as she hurried back to the car to unload their things.
"Mom," Satine said softly, coming up beside her. "I know you want to do this for me but seriously, don't. I'd appreciate a quiet dinner alone with you. I don't want you to do this."
"It's done," she said, holding up the tickets and handing Satine her bag. "Paid for and everything. Let's just enjoy it."
"But mom…"
Her mother spun after shutting the trunk and handing the keys to someone to park it. Facing her mother, Satine almost felt afraid.
"I don't want to hear any more about it. Be grateful, Satey. After this we have a long road ahead of us. We both need this one last thing."
Satine could see the desperation in her mother's eyes. It was a look of completely loss, as though she knew that immediately when she got back from this cruise they would be completely poor and have to move. Satine knew her father would move out and her and her mother would be left alone to fend for themselves, neither having a job or credentials. They had lived their lives in luxury and suddenly it would be gone.
"Come on," her mother smiled at her and linked their arms. "All aboard!"
Forcing a smile, Satine followed her mother aboard the ship.
Her eyes snapped open and once again she was in that horrible canvas tent. This time she couldn't move. The pain was so severe every little movement made her eyes water. Looking around desperately she saw a knife lying on the small makeshift table across the room. If she could get it, she thought painfully, she could cut out the stitches. They were causing the horrible infection and pain, and she knew they had to come out.
Slowly she raised herself up. The cry of agony swelled within her and she bit her lip so hard it began to bleed. Slowly she lowered herself to the ground. Sweat poured from her skin, the fever making her so dizzy it was hard to stand. Slowly she limped forward, the table looking miles away.
Finally she felt her hand land on the table and she felt for the knife. The cold handle of it gripped within her fingers and as she raised it, something hit her so hard in the head it sent her falling backwards into the canvas side.
The scream that erupted from her echoed far and wide. She felt suddenly dizzy from the pain and as the knife was wrenched from her hand, she passed out again.
"We need to talk," Kate stood before Jack as he knelt on his bed, putting things into his bag.
"About what?" Jack asked nonchalantly, nervously zippering it and placing it aside.
"Jack, you're jumping into things," she said, kneeling in front of him. The firelight cast their shadows against the cave wall. Everyone else was asleep. "I know you want to protect us here, but you need to think about it."
"There's nothing to think about. If they're going to attack us we have to think about how we're going to defend…"
"No," she stopped him. "You want to leave Satine to fend for herself. She's 18…"
"Kate," Jack suddenly looked up at her. "They wanted to take you."
She looked at him and could see his hands were now shaking.
"They would have taken you…and we never would have seen you again," he whispered, his voice trembling. "I…I couldn't risk that."
"We have everyone ready to fight. No one could have…"
"They took Walt right out of Michael's hands," he hissed, moving closer to her. He was practically shaking and she saw his eyes were shining. "No matter what we did, they would have taken you."
"Jack, nothing happened to me. Nothing is going to happen to me. We're going to fight and we're going to win," she said, her hand reaching his shaking arm.
"No," he breathed heavily, looking at her as though struggling to hold back tears. "You're not going to fight."
"You think I'm going to sit back here with the women while the men go out and fight? Since when have I ever let that happen?" she demanded, looking offended. "I'm just as capable…."
"I am asking you," he spoke slowly and carefully, his voice shaking so bad it was hard to get the words out. "I am asking you for once…to just give in and stay behind."
"You're out of your mind," she shook her head and sat back on her heels. She went to stand and her grabbed her arm.
Slowly, very slowly she lowered herself back down before him. He was panting, and she knew he was crying. Everything that had happened was closing in on him. They would have to fight for their right to survive on this island and Jack knew it was all on him to lead everyone through it.
"If something happens to you," he whispered, looking at her with wide eyes. "I'm better off dead."
Kate wasn't sure what to do. She felt her head swimming and knew his hand was on her arm. The pain running through him seemed to transfer to Kate and for a moment they just looked at each other in the silence.
"I am asking you," he began, his whole body trembling. She put her hands on his and he had to take a deep breath. "I am pleading with you to stay. I need to know that when I come back you'll be here."
"Jack, Satine is out there. I need to find her…"
"Kate!" he looked ready to collapse. "Promise me…"
"I can't, Jack," she whispered.
"Please."
His eyes bored into her and she felt sick.
"I promise," she whispered, leaning forward.
He kissed her with everything he had and when he stopped, he let out a small smile before hugging her.
"Thank you," he whispered.
Kate just nodded.