Crimson
Disclaimer: Hail to the creators of Lost! I'm narcissistic enough to worship myself, but in this scenario, it's just not true.
Summary: After an encounter with Cerberus leaves Kate injured and alone, she makes a deal with something she really shouldn't...
Rating: I'll put it as Teen, because I don't think there'll be anything really explicit... it is now getting darker, and (many) character deaths are guaranteed.
A/N – This chapter can be defined by the words, torture, agonising, and a real bitch. Seriously. I spent days on this – writing, deleting, writing some more, crying, reading... God. I absolutely HATE this chapter, thus it's atrocious length.
I will do everything in my power to make the guessing of next character to die as difficult as possible. Be warned. And it is happening... incredibly soon. Didn't plan that, but then, who am I to argue with the muse?
Chapter twenty-five
Everyone had been delighted, if a little mystified and possibly scared, when the pallet drop had appeared several months after the crash. Two months later, the same thing had happened again. Less questions were asked. Now, after approximately six and a half months, there was a third. Juliet was overseeing the retrieval of food goods, to make sure people didn't go wild. Basically, they would transport everything to the beach, where people would take as they would. They couldn't ensure anything more concrete.
Suddenly, David who-once-was-a-hairdresser took a step back in astonishment. He whistled through his teeth, and Juliet took a step closer.
"What is it?" she asked. He chucked a rounded object towards her. Blinking in surprise, she located the Dharma symbol and the words Easter Confectionary. A smile tugging at her lips, she gave David a thumbs up.
It was a chocolate egg.
A few survivors were eager to have some sort of Easter celebration. Jack wasn't interested. In fact, Jack was barely conscious enough to comprehend what was actually happening. Several of the myriad of cuts and scrapes all over his body had become infected. He knew it wasn't bad, or deep – it would just take a few days for him to get through. Also, the bruises were swelling, making movement difficult. He felt like it was wasting time he needed to be using to help Kate.
He was practically running the camp through Juliet at the moment. Serious problems she consulted him on, and he made a half-hearted attempt to solve it. Normally, in a moment of crisis, whenever Jack wasn't able to help, Sayid was. For the first time, he wasn't. Neither was Sawyer, who people had actually looked up to, and everyone had respected his intelligence. Nor, for that matter, was Kate, who was very good at breaking up the fights that everyone got into.
Jack felt so alone. He probably wouldn't have been able to cope if it hadn't been for Juliet. She kept him in the loop, and didn't question his decisions, when he finally found the energy to make them.
He made up his mind even before he had recovered. He'd clean himself up and go south, find Rousseau. He could say he just wanted to tell her about Sayid – maybe she'd offer some information. On the other hand, she rarely offered anything.
So he'd probably have to press, just a little.
Juliet had never been one to follow orders. And so while Jack was sick, she did everything he needed her to do for the camp, but she also made her own preparations. She was going after Kate.