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-Chapter 25-
Dead Man Talking

Locke looks to Hurley and gestures his arm forward. "Lead the way, Hugo."

Hurley timidly steps outside the room and squeamishly meanders around dead bodies on the floor. They fade slowly into the darkness of the hallway leading to Sayid's body.

Claire watches them from the door, then suddenly leaves to follow.

"Claire! Where are you going?" Kate yells, running out the door after her.

Sawyer raises an eyebrow and looks to Jack. "Kind of curious myself to what a dead man's gonna say to another dead man," he says, also heading out the door. "Take care of the girl, Doc. I'll be back here soon enough."

Kate catches up to Claire and grabs her by the shoulder to slow down her pace. "Hey, wait for me; there's something I need to tell you."

Claire trudges forward and stays focused on Locke ahead of her. "I already know, Kate."

"Know what?"

Claire pauses in step and looks back with a piercing stare. "I know that for the past three years you pretended to be Aaron's mum." Her expression lacks the warmth she once had as a mother. She's thankless; bitter, perhaps. "While you were raising him, I was here and all alone."

Kate's caught off guard by her quick rant. "I'm sorry," she says. Her throat tightens as the shame of living a lie revisits the back of her mind. "Aaron's safe, Claire. He's with your mother in Sydney," she assures her.

Claire shakes her head and keeps walking. "No, he's not. He's here, on the Island again. Locke will lead me to him."

"Oh, O.K. You'll see him soon then," says Kate, responding cautiously and pretending to go along with it. Her last remark gives Kate a clear impression that her time alone on the Island has made her delusional.

They keep walking, and soon catch up to Locke. He's stooped over a body after spying a pair of leather hiking boots. "Hello, Claire, Kate," he says while sliding the boots off the stiffened corpse. "I don't think he'll be needing these anymore." He loosens and kicks off the uncomfortable dress shoes he was wearing. "And I certainly won't be needing those. I must have been wearing them for my funeral."

Claire looks down at the dress shoes and back to Locke. "Did you really die, John?"

Locke's memories are still vague to what happened after leaving the Island. He shrugs his shoulders while tightening the laces to his new boots. "I remember moving the Island then seeing a bright light. Afterward, I was in a place where I saw people I knew had already died. Then I woke up back here." Locke stands while proudly admiring his new pair of shoes, perfect for hiking the Island jungle. "My conclusion is; none of us can die until we finish what we came here for."

"Oh ya?" a voice echoes from behind them. The sound of footsteps grows louder as Sawyer approaches from the darkness. His jaw clenches and loosens from chewing a toothpick. "Why don't you ask Sayid what he thinks about that?"

"James." Locke smirks, and is glad to see Sawyer has decided to join the group. "That's exactly what I plan to do."

Hurley peaks in the next room and flips on the light switch. "Dude, I think we're here." He points to a bed with a sheet covering a dead body. They each enter and congregate around the bed. Sayid's right arm hangs loosely over the side. Blood from his abdominal bandages seeps through the sheet. His face is covered, but his dark curly hair protrudes from the top.

Kate cringes as Locke pulls the sheet back. The color of life has drained from Sayid's face. His eyelids are shut; he looks peaceful, but has obviously been expired for days. Locke sighs a look of disappointment and gently places the sheet back over. "I'm sorry each of you had to see that."

Sawyer grunts and pulls the toothpick from his mouth. "So now that all of us know Moamar's gone to be with Allah, what's your grand plan now, Lockee?"

Locke massages his bottom lip while thinking of his next move. He despises his leadership being questioned, but remains calm and collected. His usual preference is one or two recruits at a time; but the days of Boone and Walt are over. He'll have to win everyone's trust in the long run.

He sees an empty backpack on the ground, and begins filling it with supplies from shelves in the room. "James; the plan is the same as it's always been." He slides the straps to the top of each shoulder then tightens the buckles to secure it to his back. "In case you haven't noticed, each dead body out in the hallway has blood in the nostrils, which is a phenomenon we have seen here before. The last time I fixed it, I had to go straight to the source."

Sawyer flips his bangs back to clear his eyes. "The Well," he says, placing the pick back in his mouth. He and Locke are the only ones in the room to experience the flashes, the nosebleeds, and the wild cross-Island adventure in finding it. "That Well you went down was at the Orchid. The source this time is the Swan."

"Then there must be another Well," answers Locke. "And this time, all of us must go. Saving the Island is the reason I brought everyone back. Now, who here is willing to go?" he pleads.

Sawyer slowly raises his hand to volunteer. He glances to Kate to watch her reaction. "Juliet's gone. I've got nothin' else to live for."

Locke smirks. "James, if you follow me, you'll get to see Juliet again; I promise."

Claire raises her hand. "Will you bring me to Aaron?"

Locke nods. "Claire, if you follow me, you will have your baby back. I promise."

Kate raises her hand. "I'm coming."

Hurley raises his. "I'm in dude."

Locke uses his thumbs to pull on his backpack straps like a farmer wearing suspenders. "Alright; looks like we all have a journey ahead of us."

They head for the door, but Locke holds out his hand to keep them from leaving. "Not so fast," he says. "I said, all of us must go." He points back to Sayid. "We need to bring him too."