DAY 154

Kate tapped her foot impatiently and glanced out the paned glass, waiting on Jack's return. The window was half open and it allowed the small living room to be filled with the early morning mountain air that carried a certain crispness to it. Jack was awoken and asked to attend to an emergency during the middle of the night. The tall man … Keamy didn't elaborate what the problem was when he knocked on the door at around midnight looking for one of the doctors. Jack volunteered, of course, preferring that Juliet sleep and rest.

So now Kate paced around nervously, one eye on the window and the other on Sawyer's reflection in the mirror in front of her. She didn't like the group being separated. In fact, she hated it. They were amongst strangers and that made them vulnerable.

And to further complicate matters, the last few weeks had been particularly hard. Always on the run and in perpetual fear for their lives. In each other's constant company and now sharing tight quarters that were more suited for three people, certainly not seven. They were getting gradually more curt and irritable with one another, the brutality of their desperate existence setting in.

He released a contented sigh before declaring, "I can get used to this. A roof over my head, warm meals … a bed to sleep on. Maybe we don't need to keep truckin' and we can settle here in Harmony."

Kate looked over to see Sawyer, stretched out on the sofa, his head pillowed on the back of his arm. She shook her head, she wanted to walk out of that room and keep walking for days and months until they were somewhere she felt safe.

With her brows drawn together in a frown, she stated, "That's not part of the plan Sawyer. We head North -"

"What plan? The one 'we' decided in the chopper ... while trying to outrun Shane? Yeah, I think we need to re-visit our plan, Freckles. Things have changed. We found a place and so far, the people here don't seem to mind our company -"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna dig in here. I'm leaving … so is Daryl." She said sounding edgy from worry. She folded her hands across her chest and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Who are you two? Lewis and Clark?" He paused for a second, taking in her defensive stance. He ran his hand through his hair and focused his eyes on her. He wore a hard look, almost as if he was angry before shifting it into that knowing look of his with its lazy smile.

"Why you always got to be on the run, Kate?"

The way Sawyer said her name hit a nerve, just as he had intended it to, of course.

For a moment there was no sound except the light fluttering clap of the blinds being lifted and dropped by a breeze.

Sawyer released a grin for finally getting a tiny rile from her.

"What's that supposed to mean James?" She asked, trying her best to not sound jarred.

Flicking a hand, he answered, "It means, I think the Doc is gonna have his hands full trying to keep you corralled, Freckles. I'm guessing that you're probably more of a wild filly than your ivy league breeding lets on." He smirked and gave a low hissing grin, "Yeah, I bet you had one foot out the door and was about to skip out on the Senator. He just happened to beat you to it."

Kate drew her head back, struck by what he'd said, and the truthful accuracy of his words . And the thought that he could read her so well left a sour taste in her throat.

Gritting her teeth, Kate bit back, "You don't know me. Because if you did, you'd know that no one 'corrals me', as you so delicately term it."

Sawyer smiled under the heat of her glare, "Consider this free advice, Freckles. Your boyfriend … the Doc. Now, he's the kind of guy who likes things orderly and smooth-running. He likes everything steady with no surprises. Yep, he's the sort of guy who likes to 'dig in' and not just run without a plan. So why don't you think about that a little?" Sawyer let out a loud yawn while he stood up, then shaking his legs awake to rid himself of that electrical pinprick sensation.

"I'm gonna make some coffee. You want some, Freckles?" He asked wearing his most charming grin.


The next morning, Alex practically leaped out of bed at the sound of her father moving about down the hall. Her mind still reeling from she what she overheard the previous evening, needing to know what Charles and Keamy were up to at Milton's. She tiptoed to her dresser to get some clothes. Alex felt around the bottom of her sock drawer and found her lovingly worn edition of "Through the Looking-Glass". The book was her favorite, the one her mother Danielle read to her regularly as a child. She opened it up and found the folded note and read the name of the Vermont town that was written on it. Her half-sister Penny made her jot it down just before she ran off with Desmond a few days after the plague struck. Penny had tried to convince her to join them, but Alex refused to leave her mother, father and Karl.

Alex kept a careful eye on her father while they shared their oatmeal breakfast in the too-bright kitchen. They ate silently until there was a knocking on the door. Alex prepared to rise from her chair, but her father gestured of her to remain seated. Alex placed her spoon in the bowl and listened patiently while waiting to hear a familiar voice. She was tense and without realizing it, she was nervously smoothing the tablecloth with one hand in a repetitive circle.

Her father stepped in with Keamy and Milton two feet behind. "Alex, can you please clear the table once you're finished? I will be in my study."

She nodded, her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth. She wondered how long they would be occupied and whether she would have enough time to sneak over to Milton's house that was located on the far side of town. Quickly she began to wash the dishes so she could sneak out unnoticed.

Alex knew Mr. Milton Mamet to be an odd sort of guy. He grew up in Harmony, went away to college and taught science somewhere before returning unexpectedly to his hometown. Alex didn't really know or care why. But now she did care, so curious to find out why her father had taken him in as a confidante.

Around the corner she peeped at the front yard of his house. She darted to the side of it before dipping into the shadow around it. With a growing sense of dread, she edged along the side of the home until she was in the back. By her feet, she spotted the basement window and to her pleasant surprise, it was partially open. She bent down, inched forward on her elbows and squeezed herself through the tight opening.

After tumbling down onto her behind and knocking over a few half empty paint cans, in the dim, she was able to just make out that she was in the boiler room. Alex roughly swiped at the cobwebs that were stuck to the side of her face. She was grateful for the little light that was peeking through the dirty glass. A minute passed. She waited in breathless silence before she dusted herself off, working up her courage to continue her investigation.

The still calmness of the house, its gloomy silence, put her in a great state of unease, but she continued into the next room. It was hard to see, the only light visible coming from a single small rectangular window and dusty screen above. She dug into her pocket, took out her flashlight key chain and found herself in an unfinished room, surrounded by concrete. To her right, there was a chair that resembled one that you would find at a dentist's office, the notable difference being that this chair had leather straps or harnesses attached to it. The back of her neck prickled with goose bumps.

She bumped into the edge of a table and looked down. There were stacks of notepads and file folders. She lifted one up and began to flip through it, her head becoming dizzy from the pages of notes upon notes, words like "patterns", "behaviors", "specimens", "test subjects", "cure" jumping out at her.

Heart pounding, she gingerly placed it back down onto the surface and continued to make her way through the expanse of the room. She had dull consciousness of a shadowy movement, so she lifted her flashlight to rest on some shelving along the far side of the wall.

For a moment she stood in perfect stillness, submerged by the terror she was experiencing.

This isn't possible, she told herself, it's not real.

She averted her gaze from the shelf of fishtanks containing the floating heads. She forced herself to look back and was able discern some of the gruesome faces of a few of the local townsfolk she had grown up with … Dr. Sims the veterinarian, Charles the gardener … Dr. Rom! And, and … Karl?!

Tears sprung to her eyes … Karl … Karl.

Oh what has daddy done?

They bobbed in the water lifeless, yet animated, their eyes covered by that peculiar gray haze and their mouths opening and closing by reflex, ironically much like how an actual fish looks while ventilating.

She slapped away at the tears that were trailing down her cheeks, she had seen enough and knew she should go, but her eyes could not move from the heavy steel door in the corner of the room. She lasered her flashlight on it and walked closer to find a large padlock dangling open from the hasp. The voice in her head told her to leave and that whatever was behind that door was certainly worse than what she had just seen.

She removed the lock and reached for the handle. The door was heavy and required strength she didn't expect to need to use, slowly she dragged it open to be met with an overwhelming and nauseating odor of something dead or rotting. She pinched her nose shut.

The sound of chains began to clink violently followed by moaning.

Startled, Alex jumped back and with an unsteady hand she she directed the lumens light towards the direction of the sounds. She didn't realize it but she had shut her eyes and was now debating whether to open them when an abrupt pitch of her heart made her realize that it is was Danielle chained to the wall.

Momma!

Alex was overcome. Re-experiencing the grief of losing her mother all over again. Her father had told her that she was buried in the local plot and each week visited the burial site that was marked with the small wooden cross. He lied to her … her father was a monster.

But it wasn't her mother, she corrected herself. It was just rotting flesh that once served as the vessel for her soul. Alex kept reminding herself of that fact. That wasn't her mother.

Chained next to Danielle was Nancy, Keamy's wife, also in an advanced state of decomposition. They had both perished on their way home from the bible retreat.

Near the women, Alex saw human bones and flesh, clearly the remains of those whose heads were floating in the room next door. The thought that her father was behind this, that he had fed Karl's body to his mother made her want to wretch.

How could Daddy do this?

He never approved of Karl, but to think that level of depravity lurked in her father's heart and mind sent shivers to her core. She backed out of the room, pushing the door closed. Her mind was flooded by her father's words over the past few months. How he was obsessed with the idea that Biters were not truly dead, that their spirits were still there, they were simply sick and needing of help.

His wild notion supported by the fact or, rather, strange coincidence that Danielle and some of the dead missing mothers would trickle their way back to Harmony, wandering aimlessly until finding this destination. Charles was convinced that it was volitional, that they had found their way home because there was a remnant of their human selves somewhere, their memory still intact.

Alex just assumed that some of the women had escaped the initial attack and were on their journey home when they succumbed, so it was only by chance that they were swallowed into a traveling hoard and found themselves outside of Harmony.

Slam!

Alex heard the sound of a door upstairs close. She felt the vibrations of footsteps overhead. The steps would pause and move and circle about. There were muffled voices.

Alex panicked. She had to move! Now!

Clutching her flashlight, she darted back to the boiler room, hoping that she would be able to climb up and pull herself through the window she had used to come in.


Exhausted, Jack opened the door to the small house. It was quiet and he wondered where everyone was. The patient with acute abdomen had kept him up the whole night. Jack suspected peritonitis and prescribed vigorous intravenous rehydration, but he knew that he would have to perform a laparotomy to be certain. He walked into the kitchen and looked out the window to see everyone sitting in the backyard, everyone but Kate.

He walked down the short hallway and peeked his head into the small room where the women slept. He found her on the top bunk, flat on her back, eyes open, but deep in thought.

"Hey."

Kate responded with a tiny but relieved smile, "You're back. How did it go?"

Jack described the night's events, keeping it brief, not feeling in the mood to talk "shop."

Standing next to the bunk with his elbows resting on the wooden frame, he asked Kate, "How was your day?"

Their eyes locked briefly, searching, trying to read one another's thoughts.

She didn't want to tell Jack about the earlier exchange she shared with Sawyer that morning and that his words were still eating at her. The veracity of them unnerving her in a way she couldn't describe. She had spent the whole day reflecting on her life and, in particular, her marriage to Brian.

How she had agreed to his proposal because it was expected of her, yet also because she had been running away from past pain and romantic disappointment. How her role as his wife was to help mold and form the façade of a distinguished Senator that he was expected to present to the world. She was selected because she was suitable, well-bred and intelligent. In the beginning, he had played a game making her believe that he was infatuated with her, laying on the charm that could make anyone cave in. There was never any love or anything close to resembling it, but their relationship seemed cordial and pleasant enough to work.

But no sooner was the ring on the finger than she was hit with the full on realization of what her purpose was to him. She was his property, any interests or life she had before were to be relegated aside. His career, his ambition ... that was all she was supposed to care about now. She suspected all along, her gut telling her it would be a grave mistake, but she ignored her instincts.

And standing before her, was a man that her heart and mind told her was right in every way and yet she still had this restless inexplicable urge to not settle in, to run.

"It was okay." She rolled her head so that she was staring at the ceiling again. "Jack? Do you want to stay here?"

Jack watched her a moment. Something in the remoteness of her voice made him stare at her measuringly. He knew she didn't want to stay, that she had a need to keep going until she found what she was apparently looking for. He just hoped that she wanted him there with her when the moment arrived. Kate had a hidden side to her, a place where she would retreat. He saw it in the beginning when he met her and then after the incident with Shane.

Kate was unexpected, so different from any woman he had met before. She made him feel that he was the only man she would possibly allow to penetrate the brittle armor she used to protect herself and then there were moments he didn't feel that way at all - feeling like he was just as shut out, like everyone else. Despite her beauty and air of sophistication, around her friends she had a sort of small-town friendliness to her. She was generous and always the first to volunteer to help. He loved Kate, loved everything about her. There was nothing he could do about it now except hope that she wouldn't hurt him one day or, worse, lose her.

He considered her question before answering. "If you're asking whether we should stay or leave. I'm inclined to leave. I haven't been able to pinpoint why, but I feel like we're not supposed to stay." He paused and rubbed the back of his head, a sadness coming to his eyes. "But then, I don't really trust myself anymore, Kate. After Rick … I'm not sure if I have what it takes to make the right choices or decisions for all of us."

A lump caught in her throat, "I'm so sorry Jack. It's my fault. If Brian hadn't dumped me on you … Rick would still be alive." A tiny choke came from her lips, she was on the verge of crying for Rick and Juliet again.

Jack placed his hand on her upper arm and rubbed it soothingly, she felt its warmth through her thin cotton shirt.

"Kate, you don't know that, we all might have died on that freighter. Rick… is not your fault, Kate. Don't ever think that."

A tightness came across her lips, she wanted to find the truth in his words … but she wasn't sure it was there to be found.

"But to answer your question. I will go wherever you go, Kate."


Daryl was awoken by the light rapping sound against the glass of the window in the room he shared with Jack and Sawyer. Daryl sat up and looked towards the sleeping men, both in a state of heavy slumber. He pulled himself out of the bed and hesitantly walked towards the sound. He carefully pulled aside the curtain and peeked out to find Alex standing there.

"Open the back door!" She whispered.

Still disoriented, Daryl tried to ask, "What the hell -"

"Let me in and I'll explain everything. We have to leave. Tonight! This place isn't what it seems."

Shaking Jack's arm, "Wake up, man. Somethin's up."

Daryl's voice pulled Jack from his sleeping state, groggily, Jack lifted his head, "What?"

"Wake up Sawyer and the girls. Let's meet in the living room. And … don't light any candles or bring attention to us."

Jack placed his feet on the floor, uncertain why he was being told to do this. But it was Daryl telling him, so he'd wait, and against his natural impulse, ask the questions later.

Daryl went into the kitchen so he could let Alex in. She was fully dressed with a backpack strapped to her. He gestured for her to walk into the living room where they were beginning to gather.

It was dark, but a weak light emanating from a small lantern permitted Alex to look at the group, "You need to trust me. We need to leave right away. I'll explain it all later -"

Sawyer threw the hair out of his eyes, "Now wait a second, Lollipop. What's this 'we' you're talking about? I ain't going anywhere-"

She looked at him pointedly, "You and him especially." She then gestured to Daryl. "Are in the greatest danger. My father doesn't need you two. He only wants the doctors and the women. He won't let you leave. Please believe me."

Sawyer's head recoiled from this disclosure. He gave a quick sheepish look to Kate, whose green eyes were focused strictly on the young girl. So Freckles and Archer were right after all.

Jack interjected at that point, "If we agree and go with you Alex. How are we actually going to get out of here unnoticed? The town is guarded and barricaded 360 degrees -"

Alex spoke quickly, but passionately. "Don't worry, I have a plan. There are some underground tunnels that were used during the prohibition to smuggle moonshine. They lead to outside of town. I already have everything set up. There is even a car ready we can use to drive up to Vermont-"

"Vermont?" Sawyer and Juliet asked in unison.

Exasperated, Alex sighed, "I said I'd explain everything later."

Jack looked to Kate, the expression on his face asking: What do you think?

Kate nodded.


Daryl drove the Toyota minivan through the darkness. Taking side roads, they made it into rural western New York, while still trying to drive towards the Appalachian Trail. For now they knew they would have to stay off course as the trail cut through more populated areas. They needed to stay west and head north before moving east again. For a long while they rode in silence, until Kate spoke up.

Kate leaned on folded arms over the front passenger seat to talk to the young girl. "Why Vermont, Alex?"

She released a deep exhale, "My sister … Penny told me to meet her there. Right after the great plague came, Penny and her fiancé, Desmond, left to go to this place … he called it a … I can't remember. Just trust me, it's where we need to go."

Kate's brow rose in question, "What is up there? How do you know-"

With full conviction and solemnity, Alex announced, "If Desmond is taking Penny there. Then it's safe."

From the third row, Claire asked, "Alex, what did you mean when you said Harmony wasn't safe for us?"

At that point, through tears and body convulsing sobs, Alex began to recount what she had overheard the evening before and then carefully described today's gruesome discovery.

"And … and my father murdered Ethan Rom! The town's only doctor because … because he found out that they were doing these experiments. Can't you see why you had to leave? My father is crazy."

They all listened quietly, partially in shock. Almost in denial of the possibility that such seemingly benign people could actually be so depraved and dangerous. Sawyer blinked and wiped his forehead, absentmindedly he cupped his hand around his neck. The thought of his head bobbing in a fishbowl was enough to make him squirm in his seat.

Kate spoke up, "I think we should listen to Alex. And go to Vermont."

A loud exhale and then a growl came from the backseat, "Are you kidding, Freckles? After all the shit we've been through and all the times I said we should stay put, like the camp, like the cabin and you were all, 'no it's not safe, we have to leave', you're gonna listen to Short Round over here? We just met her, we know nothing about her and you're gonna take her word for it just like that? You're -"

Juliet gritted, "That's enough James. Kate was right about Harmony."

Claire piped in, "Sawyer you're going to wake Aaron. Quiet down please."

Sawyer looked at Juliet and he was about to continue, but he saw an expression in her eyes that told him not to. Juliet was correct and Kate was right about Harmony.

Kate swallowed, knowing that there was no way to explain it in a way that anyone in the car could understand, but she felt that this was where they were supposed to go.

Daryl looked to where Kate was seated, the light pinks and greys of the early dawn allowing him to better read her face. His eyes met Kate's for an instant before announcing, "You can make that three votes for Vermont."


They were able to ciphen gas here and there along the ride, but at some point the minivan began to putter on its empty tank. It was time to abandon it and continue on foot. Kate helped to unload the car and when she tried lifting Jack's pack, she nearly threw out her shoulder. She opened it up to see that it was weighed down with handguns and boxes of ammunition.

Jack's going to kill himself carrying this much weight, she thought to herself.

Furtively, she looked over her shoulder to see Jack helping Claire with the baby. Quickly, she grabbed six or seven boxes and stuffed them into her bag.

They decided to stay off the road and resume their trek in the forest. Along the way they spotted signs of humans: clothes, garbage and tattered hiking gear. Perhaps they were too preoccupied when they stopped to forage through the stuff that was left behind. They looked for canned food, supplies ... anything.

And then that is when they heard the tell-tale sharp sounds of branches snapping behind the nearby thicket. Before they were able to fully realize it, they found themselves surrounded by clusters of Walkers.

Daryl began shooting arrows to the right, "Let's break through over there and make a run for it!"

The rest of them joined in, shooting and taking down Walkers, trying to open a gap that would allow them enough space to make an escape.

When they saw their first opportunity they bolted. Through the chaos, Kate found herself alone in the rear. Fortunately, her shooting skills were coming in useful, but the weight of her pack was slowing her down. And that is when she was jolted backwards, nearly toppling over. Using her peripheral vision, she saw Walkers clinging steadfast onto her backpack, and there were more encroaching in the near distance. With frustrated panic and regret, she knew that she would have to unstrap and abandon it if she was going to survive.

So she did. And she ran.

Once it seemed that they had created enough distance from the swarm, the group huddled, out of breath and ... scared.

Jack wheezed, "I didn't see that coming." His eyes were wide and the others nodded in agreement.

"We have to go back." Kate announced. "I have to get my pack."

Jack shook his head no, "It's okay, Kate. We'll make do. You can borrow clothes from Claire, Juliet and Alex. It's too dangerous to go back there."

The women nodded in agreement.

Her eyes welled up then, "It's not the clothes that I care about. I was carrying our ammo."

Everyone looked at her incredulously. Panic and fear overtaking their somber expressions.

Jack immediately ripped off his pack and started rifling through its contents, as did Daryl, Sawyer and the others. Collectively, they counted approximately four boxes worth of rounds.

Jack winced and looked pained as he hunched over and rested the flat of his palms on the tops of his thighs, "We don't have enough ammo." His voice sounded defeated. If it were anyone but Kate, he'd be losing his shit at this moment.

Kate was overcome with a pressurized guilt. She looked at everyone before resting on Jack, "I'm so sorry. I was trying to help ... your bag was so heavy ..." She trailed off, not finding any additional words to offer as an explanation. She fucked up.

Containing his frustration and bitter disappointment, Jack announced, "Let's wait and see if the hoards of infected disperse. We can go retrieve it then."


A few hours later, after re-tracing their steps, the group found their way back to the location where they were ambushed. And as luck would have it, the Walkers, for the most part were gone. Daryl began retrieving his bows from the skulls of the Walkers he had taken down while they looked for Kate's pack.

"I found it." Juliet called out and the rest moved to join her so they could leave. Jack unloaded some of the ammo from her pack and distributed the boxes among the group. There was no need for them all to be carried in a single place.

They were all relieved (and actually smiling), ready to move on.

They all heard a moan and looked in the direction of the sound. It was a lone pathetic looking Walker, so decomposed and ungainly as it dragged itself towards them. They backed away from it, surrounding it in a semi-circle while Daryl drew out his crossbow.

'That's an easy one', Daryl thought.

He shouldn't have been so cocky, he thought a second later ...

... when he saw how easily the bow pierced right through the paper thin rotted flesh

... when he heard Sawyer's scream

... when he saw Sawyer's open palm impaled by the infected shrapnel on the arrowhead.


A/N: Hi guys. So, here is the long awaited chapter. I hope you enjoy. Some of you may be asking about Harmony and why they were there for such a brief period. That was always my intention. Harmony served two purposes, to show the steady moral decline of certain people when thrown in this new environment and secondly, it served as a compass to point our Losties and Daryl in the right direction.

As always, your support is so appreciated by me. Please review, it's up to you guys if you want to continue reading this story.