Due to the force from having dropped from the height of the windowsill, Walt finds that he has plunged straight into mud up to his chest.

I asked for a soft landing but this is ridiculous.

Walt stands still for a minute, needing to get over the shock and letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. He reaches all around him, but his fingers find nothing solid to grasp. He twists and tries to reach the wall of the house, but finds he has jumped out too far to attempt to climb out that way. He tries to take a step forward, but is in too deep to move his legs. Straining some more, he finds that if he gets one leg forward a millimeter, the other goes backward the same amount since he can't get any leverage.

Crud. They outsmarted me.

Walt tries flinging handfuls of mud away from his body, but that process is hopelessly slow, and of doubtful utility as mud seeps back around him almost as fast he can throw it away. He rocks and twists, knowing from the science test he had to take he won't sink any deeper because his body has displaced a volume of mud whose mass is at least his own. While this creates a little space around his body and makes it easier to breathe, it is not nearly enough to pull his legs free. He tries swimming motions, pushing mud behind him to propel himself forward, but that initially goes nowhere. He has a little more success by digging his arms in deeper, and moves several millimeters, but soon his arms get tired from pulling them free every several seconds. In an act of desperation he pushes down on the surface, succeeding in raising his body a centimeter, but then finds he can't pull his arms out due to exhaustion.

I have to face it; I'm stuck, and too tired to get out now. This isn't so bad; it's actually kind of refreshingly cool. I need a few hours sleep, and then wake up when it's light enough to see what I'm doing.

A few hours later, Walt wakes up to the dawn sun's rays searing his face and chest. He yawns, and then remembers why he is finding it so hard to move. In the daylight he can see he is planted in the middle of a four-meter square patch of soil which has firmed a little during the remainder of the night.

I got to get out of here before someone sees me. I can do this; it's like when I was buried in the sand.

Walt does feel greatly refreshed and invigorated. He rocks and wriggles, and gets enough space in front of him to get his arms free. Then to his dismay, Bea and Ben stroll into view.

Bea: "What are you doing in my garden?"

Walt has to think fast. "I must have been sleepwalking, and I got stuck."

Bea: "You would have had to unlatch the window and climb out while asleep."

Ben: "And it took quite a good jump to get as far from the house as you did."

Walt can't explain himself. "So what happens now?"

Bea: "Clearly you have to be punished."

Walt: "I suppose."

Bea: "Can you think of an appropriate punishment?"

Walt: "No."

Bea: "Neither can I."

Walt: "So what are we going to do?"

Bea: "I think we'll come back in an hour or so and see if we've thought of something by then."

Walt: "Ummm …"

Bea and Ben leave Walt stuck in the mud.


Back on the beach, Michael is losing his mind. "WAAAALLLLT!"

Sawyer: "If he could hear you, he would have answered."

Michael: "You don't understand. They took my son!"

Locke: "Michael, you must calm down. Now the plan was for everyone to meet at the hatch and discuss this."

Michael: "That might work. We can organize an army."

Kate: "Careful, I'm sure some of us don't know anything about weapons. Like me of course."

Hurley: "It's you two dudes' turn to push the button."

Jack: "Let's just all go over there now and figure out what to do."

Everybody on the beach goes to the hatch.


After half an hour, Juliet comes by to check up on Walt. All he has been able to do is wipe most of the mud away from the part of his body above the surface, from his chest on up.

Juliet: "Good morning, Walt."

Walt: "Good morning, Juliet."

Juliet: "Are you … okay down there?"

Walt: "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

Juliet: "You seem rather immobile, and that might not be too comfortable."

Walt: "Naw, I'm used to this. I spent lots of days buried in the sand, often deeper than this, for many hours at a time after I burned the first raft."

Juliet: "That's awful."

Walt: "Turns out it wasn't so bad. It made me tough, so I can handle anything you people do to me." Walt beats his chest to demonstrate his toughness.

Juliet can't help but chuckle. "In that case, I'm glad you're all right."

Walt: "This actually feels better than the sand. The squishy feeling is cool. I can understand why some people take mud baths. You want to come in?"

Juliet chokes. "Maybe some other time. I have to go now. Bye."

Juliet and Walt wave good-bye to each other. Juliet heads for the building to which Ben asked her to go.


The group arrives at the hatch from the beach.

Michael: "They took my son! We have to go out and find Walt."

Lots of people exchange glances.

Sawyer: "So are we really going to have a go at finding Walto?"

Boone: "Shannon was always very good at finding Waldo."

Hurley: "Ooh, 'Find Waldo,' I loved those books."

Sayid: "Finding Waldo? What does that mean?"

Shannon: "It was a children's game; there'd be these pictures on the pages of a book, and you were supposed to find this guy in a red and white striped shirt and glasses in a crowd."

Sayid: "I'm not sure that is relevant here. There does not seem to be a crowd."

Michael: "Forget about that; let's just start looking."

Locke: "Hold on a minute. These people are obviously very clever. If we just go out there without any organization, they'll just capture us."

Michael: "Then hurry up and form an army."

Desmond: "I actually have military training."

Sayid: "I bet I had more military training than you."

Sawyer: "I can shoot. No one would believe me if I said I couldn't."

Sun: "Jin, didn't you have to use a gun when you worked for my father?"

Jin does not want to admit that. "No, but I was encouraged by him to learn. I much prefer martial arts."

Claire: "I don't think nursing mothers are the best candidates for new military recruits."

Charlie: "Someone has to stay and protect Claire and Aaron."

Hurley: "I don't like guns dude. I could hang around Claire and Aaron."

Charlie: "I meant that I should."

Kate: "I don't know anything about guns. But I may be able to learn quickly; who knows?"

Jack: "This should be a volunteer force. But Michael, you're too emotionally distraught at the moment. You and Kate take over the button pushing duty like you are scheduled to. Clear your head. There aren't enough guns here to train everyone at once."

Michael grits his teeth. "All right, do it."

Michael takes a seat at the computer. It is Locke's and Boone's turn to rest as the emergency backup team. The rest go outside with some guns, and Desmond, Sayid, and Sawyer attempt to train Jack, Sawyer, Shannon, Jin, Sun, Charlie, and Hurley. Claire sits out the proceedings and watches.


Mikhail has been watching the proceedings from a monitor in the Pearl Station. He radios Ben: "Michael is now on button pushing duty."

Ben: "Thanks. Time to set the plan in action."

Ben locates Bea and they return to Walt.

Bea: "I've thought of a partial punishment for you."

Walt: "Oh goody."

Bea: "I want you to flex those massive biceps and pecs of yours and smile."

Walt could think of a lot worse punishments than that, and complies. Bea then quickly snaps a picture of him with a digital camera.

Walt is dumbstruck. "What did you do that for?"

Bea: "I wanted an adorable image for a new screensaver."

Walt shakes his fists: "I am not adorable!"

Ben: "Enough of that. It's time to get you out of there."

Tom shows up with a rope, tosses one end to Walt, and ties the other end around a tree. Walt tugs on his end, and doesn't get anywhere.

Walt: "Are you going to pull me out?"

Bea: "You admit you fail this test?"

Walt: "Test?"

Bea: "I thought you had the muscles and brains to extricate yourself with the aid of the rope. But I could have been mistaken."

Walt: "No, I'm not a wimp!" Walt flexes his muscles again, and then pulls on the rope. It is a major effort struggling through the deep thick mud. The spectators get a chuckle out of the floundering boy. After ten minutes Walt gets himself out up to his waist and can touch the grass outside the mud pit, but needs a breather. "This is hard!" Walt is panting heavily, and then quickly insists, "I'm not giving up!"

Bea: "Nobody said you were."

After a minute, Walt resumes his effort, and is standing on firm ground four minutes later, although completely covered in mud.

Walt grins: "Ha! I did it! And that was kind of fun."

Ben: "Fifteen minutes total. Interesting."

Walt: "Bea, I think you overwatered your garden."

Bea: "Looks like it had just the right amount. Funny that you should mention water. We have to get you cleaned up. Tom, if you would."

Tom: "My pleasure."

Tom goes over to a spigot to which the garden hose is attached, and turns the valve. Then he goes to the nozzle end of the hose and aims it at Walt. Tom pulls the handle, and a surprisingly strong burst of water smacks Walt in the chest and knocks him down. Walt gets up, and braces himself better. He turns slowly, letting the water blast all the mud away. In a few minutes he is clean, and lets the stream hit his back. He is mildly disappointed when it is over.

Walt: "That felt good against my back. Can you do some more?"

Ben: "No! It's not supposed to feel good. Now we can't have you escaping, and we have to do something about it."

Walt's mood turns a lot more serious. "Why do you want me?"

Ben: "There's something special about you, and we have find out exactly what it is you can do. This could have world-wide significance."

Bea gives Walt a towel to dry off with and a glass of orange juice. Then Ben continues.

Ben: "Now we're going back to the deGroovy Building and discuss what we're going to do with you."

They go back to the building in the primitive fake village where Walt was initially interrogated. This time they go to Room 8, where Ethan is waiting with some rope. An old-fashioned looking computer sits on a table in front of a large mirror. Ben sets his plan in motion which starts with the Others letting Walt amble near the computer.

Ethan: "Don't touch that!"

Walt: "I just wanted to see if there were any good video games on it."

Ethan: "Just sit down."

Walt knows what is coming, yet the hypnotic suggestion from Bea is still in force, so he doesn't mind too much. He sits upright in a chair in the middle of the room, with his arms neatly on the armrests. "You're too predictable. You need to work on developing your imagination."

Ethan is steaming, and ties Walt's wrists and ankles to the chair more tightly than before. Walt figures he won't be able to escape, when Ben's walkie-talkie buzzes.

Ben: "That's Juliet; she wants to show us something in Room 4."

Ben, Bea, and Tom start to leave Room 8.

Ethan: "We can't leave the kid alone with the communications computer!"

Tom: "Ethan! Don't tell him what it is!"

Ben: "Ethan, didn't you tie Walt up securely enough that he can't escape?"

fEthan checks the knots. "Of course I did!"

Ben: "Then there's no problem. Let's go."

The Others all leave, and Ben locks the door for effect. They go to Room 4, where Juliet is waiting.

Juliet: "So what is this great plan of yours?"

Ben: "Just watch." Ben pushes a button, and panels slide apart to reveal a one-way mirror. They can see Walt in Room 8, but he can't see them.

Walt thinks, Communications computer? Maybe I can chat with someone, if I can get there. This chair isn't as heavy as that other one with the dopey logo on the back. Walt leans back, and jerks his body forward, and the chair moves forward a centimeter. He thinks that is too slow, and tries jerking his body at an angle forward and to the right. With the right rear chair leg as a pivot, the left front leg of the chair moves several centimeters forward and to the right. Walt then throws his weight forward to the left, and the symmetric reaction takes place, leaving him closer to his goal and facing it straight on. He gets into a rhythm, twisting his body and making a surprisingly good pace.

Ben explains: "I have studied our subject and can predict what he will do. He will contact his father, and convince him to come here. Then we will use Michael to bring whoever we need here."

Juliet: "But why did Walt have to be tied to the chair? Why couldn't you just leave him in that room and let him access the computer normally? It would go a lot faster. He won't be able to reach the keyboard like that."

Ben: "There are two reasons. One, if we didn't tie him up, he might suspect that we want him to communicate via that computer. And two … it's so much fun to see him squirming tied to that chair. Look at him go!"

Bea: "Besides, he's enjoying it. You can see him smiling."

As Walt gets closer to the computer and one-way mirror, Juliet can see a grin on Walt's face.

Juliet: "Okay. He looks ridiculous, but this isn't the first time. But how can he type? The arms of the chair are well below that table."

Ben: "He's very clever; he will think of something. He might knock the keyboard so it leans against an arm of the chair, or he might knock the keyboard to the floor and type with his toes."

Walt gets as close as he can to the computer. He tries to reach the keyboard with his fingers, but comes up well short. Then a brilliant idea strikes him.

Ethan didn't tie my upper body to the chair. I can type with my nose!

Walt leans forward and types out "hello" with his nose. There is no "enter" key, but there is one labeled "execute" in its place.


Michael is despondently staring at the computer screen in the Swan Hatch when he hears a beep, and sees the word "hello" printed on the screen. A cursor is blinking on the next line.

Can that be Walt? They said if anyone uses this computer for doing anything other than typing in the numbers something bad will happen. I'll get in big trouble if anyone finds out. But I have to know who this is.

Michael glances around, and sees Kate going into the bathroom to take a shower. Locke and Boone are asleep in the bunks. Michael then types "Hello, who is this?" and presses "execute."

Walt is excited to see a reply. Great! Someone's out there! But who … I better use an alias for now. With his nose, Walt types, "the waltinator, who are you".

Michael can't believe his eyes. Is this a trick? But it might not be. I have to find out. He types "Michael", and then holds his breath.

Walt types: "dad/", and grimaces that he didn't get the question mark right because he couldn't hold down the shift key at the same time as the key with the slash and question mark. Question marks are more common; they should be the lower case thing on that key.

Michael types: "Is that really you Walt?"

Walt types: "yes it really is. i was kidnapped for real. ethan is a fraud."

Michael types: "Why aren't you using capital letters and proper punctuation? My son would write properly, and he should type faster than you are."

Walt types: "excuuuuuuse me. i'm tied to a chair and have to type with my nose and can't reach the shift key and another key at the same time."

Michael is heartbroken at the thought of his poor son and kicks himself for his last comment. He types: "Sorry. Where are you?"

Walt types: "about 20 km nne of the beach."

Michael types: "north-northeast, but km?"

Walt thinks, stupid American can't learn metric. He types, "about 12 miles for you."

Michael types: "I'm coming for you."

Ben of course has been monitoring the conversation on another terminal, in Room 4. He figures that's enough for his plan to work.

Ben: "Okay, that should do it for the first part of my plan. Let's not neglect Walt any more."

The Others enter the hall and walk towards Room 8. Walt hears the footsteps and types: "i have to go." He then manages to push a "clear screen" key.

Michael types: "WAAAAAAAALLLLLLLT!"


Kate exits the bathroom and blinks. "Michael, were you typing on that computer?"

Michael is nervous, and surreptitiously clears the computer screen, blocking Kate's view with his body. "No, of course not."

Locke wakes up. "What's going on?"

Michael: "Nothing. Look, since you're up, why don't you take over. I can't sit here any more."

Locke: "Let's see how the weapons training session went."

They all meet inside right after Michael types in the numbers in response to the beeping and Kate goes outside to ask the others back in. There is no evidence of an instant message session on the computer.

Locke: "How did the training session go?"

Jack: "There is good news and bad news. There was some improvement, but we used up almost all the ammunition."

Shannon: "Oopsie."

Boone: "How much do you have left?"

Sayid: "There is this rifle and this one clip, with eight bullets left."

Hurley backs off, wanting to avoid more contact with the numbers.

Michael: "Give that to me!" Michael grabs the rifle.

Jack: "Mike, we're not prepared for an attack yet."

Michael: "I can't wait. It's my right! They took my son!'

Desmond: "Michael, will you listen?" Desmond puts his hand on Michael's shoulder, and then shudders.

Michael: "You crazy, man? What's that about?"

Desmond: "Sometimes I get these visions, brief flashes of moments in time. I see you … tied to a post."

Michael: "You mean you see the future?"

Desmond: "It's hard to describe. Sometimes I see the past."

Michael: "But I've never been tied to a post. Come to think of it, Walt said the same thing a long time ago. Something about being tied to a tree, and was it 'like father, like son'? When is this going to happen to me?"

Desmond: "I can't tell."

Michael: "Forget it, you are crazy."

Locke: "Michael, this isn't a productive attitude."

Michael: "You can't stop me. They took my son! It's my right!"

Sawyer: "You are really getting annoying. I say we let Rambo here go off on his own so we don't have to listen to him any more. Who's with me?"

Sawyer raises his hand, and then Michael does likewise. Kate, Sayid, Shannon, Hurley, Jin, Sun, Charlie, and Claire follow suit.

Claire: "Look, Aaron is raising his hand too. I wonder if he understood us."

Recognizing the overwhelming vote, Boone goes with the majority, and then Desmond, Locke, and Jack.

Michael remembers the directions of going north-northeast from the beach. "Just a minute, Desmond, you got a compass?"

Desmond: "Sure, I'll get it." Desmond goes into a storeroom, and hands Michael a compass – the kind used to draw circles.

Michael: "Not that kind of compass! I mean a magnetic one, so I won't get lost."

Shannon: "Why do they call both of those things compasses when they're completely different objects?"

Sayid: "I think it's because they're both associated with circles."

Desmond finds a magnetic compass for Michael.

Michael: "Thanks man, I'm out of here."

Michael leaves to everyone else's relief.

Sayid: "I'm not sure that compass needle was pointing north."

Desmond: "It probably wasn't. There are magnetic anomalies on this island, but it should be consistent."

Sayid: "So it doesn't matter where it points, as long as Michael realizes it always points in the same direction."

Desmond: "Yes. It would only matter if he had a specific destination in mind."

Locke: "I don't see how he could. There's no way he knows more about this island than I do."

Sawyer: "Good. Then just leave him be."

Hurley: "I think it's lunchtime."


Walt tries to push himself away from the computer, but jerks backward too far, tipping over on his back. He manages to keep his head up so he doesn't hurt it hitting the floor. The chair cracks in several places.

Ben: "What were you doing?"

Walt knows he is caught: "I wanted to see if it would play 'Grand Theft Auto'."

Walt shifts to get more comfortable, and the chair breaks apart more. He finds he can slide his feet off the ends of the chair legs, and the chair arms break enough so that he succeeds in freeing himself. Walt feels a great sense of accomplishment.

Walt: "How about that! You can put that in your test result book on me."

The Others are impressed, but Ben has to maintain a serious tone.

Ben: "That computer is not a toy, and this is not a game. Now we're going to have to punish you again, not only for disobeying, but also for breaking our property."

Ethan: "I think it may be time to take him to Room 23."

Juliet: "No, he's just a kid!"

Bea: "I have a better idea."

Bea discusses her plan quietly with Ben, Tom, and Ethan. They move away from Walt and Juliet, so Walt can ask quietly.

Walt: "What's with Room 23?"

Juliet: "You don't want to know. I know you want to leave, but it will be easier on you if you cooperate for now."

Walt: "I don't want to cooperate. It's still fun trying to escape, and they aren't allowed to hurt me."

Juliet: "Well, please be careful. If you get caught again, you're going to Room 23."

Ethan and Tom recover the rope used to tie Walt to the chair, and then take Walt to the basketball court.

Walt: "Are we going to play more basketball?"

Ethan: "We have something else in mind."

Ethan and Tom force Walt against the support pole for the basketball backboard, and tie his hands with his wrists crossed behind his back around the pole.

Walt rolls his eyes. "You're tying me to a pole? Can't you think of anything more original than that?"

Ethan grunts. "You're really getting on my nerves."

Tom: "Let's show him something a little different."

Ethan and Tom tie a long piece of rope around Walt's ankles, and then wrap it around his legs and the pole many times, spiraling up neatly all the way to his waist. Then they tie that end of the rope in place, and step back to admire their work.

Walt: "What? I can't move my legs at all." His back is pinned to the pole, but he can bend his arms a little, and feels some slack in the rope binding his wrists, giving him encouragement.

Tom: "Is that a problem?"

Walt: "No, the Waltinator is one tough dude!"

Ethan snorts, and remarks to Tom, "He sure does look ridiculous."

Tom: "If you think he's ridiculous now, just wait for what's coming."

Ethan and Tom go away. Walt tries to rub the rope against the pole like he did when Locke tied him to a tree a month before, but the pole is smooth. He pulls and twists his hands, and feels the loops in the rope giving a millimeter at a time. The effort is tiring, and he needs to rest after a few minutes when Bea arrives, carrying a large paper bag.

Bea: "I have determined your punishment. My inspiration comes from a book we recently read at the Book Club, 'The Scarlet Letter'. Do you know what that's about?"

Walt: "No."

Bea: "A girl is forced to wear a dress with a large red letter 'A' sewn into it to show her town that she is guilty of adultery."

Walt frowns: "So … you're going to make me wear a dress with something written on it?" That would be terrible.

Bea: "I thought of that, but there are a couple problems with that. Can you?"

Walt: "Sure, I'd just take it off. I could probably tear it off even if you guys handcuff me again. You can't keep me tied up all the time."

Bea: "Yes, and you would also overheat. Therefore I shall write something that you can't take off."

Walt: "What do you mean?"

Bea silently opens the bag, and takes out a can of white paint, an inch-wide paintbrush, and a screwdriver. She pries open the lid of the can with the screwdriver, and swirls the paint with the brush. Then she neatly prints the letters B-A-D in large block letters across Walt's bare chest. She dips the brush in the can again, and writes B-O-Y beneath the first word, across Walt's abdomen.

Walt is alarmed: "What are you writing?" Walt cranes his neck forward to try to read the upside-down and backwards letters from his perspective. "What is that, 'yob dab'? No wait, that's backwards, 'boy bad,' no, 'bad boy.' What! Bad boy! You're kidding!"

Bea: "No I am not. But if you find that too objectionable, wash it off. This is the same paint Tom was using when you acquired that symbol on your back. It will dry in an hour, and if it is still there, it won't wear off for four days."

Walt pulls hard with his hands, and feels the ropes give a millimeter or two more, but it is still not all that close to enough. "But I can't reach that to wash it off!"

Bea: "Then that shall be a constant reminder of how you misbehaved last night and today for the next four days." Bea snaps the paint can lid shut, and puts all the items back in the bag. "Oh, one more thing." She snaps another picture of Walt, and then walks away. "Some day we'll look at these photos in an album and laugh. See you in an hour."

Walt: "You're crazy! You can't do this to me!"

Bea: "Don't tell me what I can't do."

Walt: "Hey, that's John's line."

Bea walks out of sight, leaving Walt alone. He resumes his struggle, twisting and straining his arms, and slowly makes progress. Despite his humiliating position, he finds exciting the uncertainty of whether he can free himself in time to avoid having to walk around with the writing emblazoned on his body for four days.