Chapter 36: Changing the Rules, Day 96-98
Locke called a meeting. We had no idea why, only that he wanted us in his living room in fifteen minutes. So we all arrived, Claire and Aaron, Alex, Karl and the French woman, Sawyer and Ben, me and Adam, along with everyone else. It was late and all I wanted was to be back in my house, curled up with a book.
Sawyer and Ben were glaring at each other and Claire kept giving me sly smiles across the room, glancing from Adam back to me. I shook my head, smiling and feeling my cheeks blush bright pink. Charlie would have been able to keep her from teasing me about the situation.
As soon as the thought finished, I bit my lip. I missed Charlie. It had only been a few days, and I hadn't thought about him much. When Boone died, he occupied my every thought for days. Had we grown so accustomed to death that we barely paid it any mind?
I looked around the room again, taking note of everyone's facial expressions. Karl and Sawyer looked angry while Alex looked sad. No one was speaking and the silence echoed through the room.
The door opened and everyone's eyes looked up as Miles walked in with John Locke right behind him. "Thank you for your patience," he said as he shut the door behind him.
I glanced around the room and everyone's eyes were focused on Miles. He looked sweaty and actually surprised to be joining our little pow-wow. "I know it's taken me a few days to figure out our next move, but I didn't want to do anything until I knew more about our situation. You deserve to know everything I do… so no more secrets."
What secrets were there before? Oh yeah, why the people on the freighter were actually here. After thinking about it for a few days, I wasn't sure what I thought anymore. Charlie said one thing while Sayid said another.
"As you all know, Miles here and three of his people came to the island about a week ago." I glanced over at Miles and I couldn't tell his facial expression. He was either indifferent or annoyed. "I brought him up from the boathouse to share with us their purpose for coming here."
Miles looked over at Ben, "we're here for him."
"Umm, we kinda like knew that from forever ago," Hurley said, and I couldn't help but smile at his candor.
"Well all right then, problem solved. How soon do we turn him over?" Sawyer leaned against the door and for once I actually agreed with him. If we turned Ben in, maybe they would take us home.
"We can't turn him over," John said softly.
"Well, why the hell not?"
"Because once they have me, they have orders to destroy every living person on this island."
I gasped softly and Adam rested his hand on my shoulder. A few people looked as surprised as I did and when I glanced at Miles, he gave a small nod. "So what, he's one of us now? You're going to protect him? He tried to kill you, John," Claire said. I think she was the only person who still called him by his first name.
"Yeah, he won't even tell us who is spy on the boat is."
"It's Michael," Ben said to everyone's surprise.
"What?"
"My spy on the freighter. It's Michael."
Michael. He killed Ana Lucia and Libby, and turned in our friends to the Others. "Wait, you mean the same guy who killed two women in cold blood to set this little bastard free? And sold all of us out so he could get off this island? That Michael?" Apparently Sawyer's thoughts were echoing mine.
"Yes, James. That Michael."
Everyone was stunned, even though we probably shouldn't be. Ben let Michael off the island; it only made sense he would want payment for that, more than just selling everyone out.
The meeting dispersed a few minutes later and I walked back to my house alone. Adam had offered, but after our kiss the previous night, no matter how quick it was, I wasn't sure how I felt about him. My thoughts and feelings were so jumbled; I couldn't make sense of any of it.
Once back inside the house, I locked the door and curled up on the couch. I was tired and my eyes ached, but I couldn't go to sleep, I was too antsy. I wanted a friend, and I really didn't have anyone I could talk to. Charlie and Boone were gone, Claire was acting strange towards me and I wasn't sure how I felt about Adam.
This was a moment I wanted Boone. I needed his comfort, just like after I had seen James. Tears filled my eyes and I hastily wiped them away. I couldn't cry anymore for him. It had been almost two months since he died, twice as long as I had known him.
Somehow, I managed to fall asleep, my sleep plagued by nightmares. I woke up screaming once; sweat pouring out of my body. The nightmare scared me, more than any I had had since coming to the island.
I sat on the porch for most of the morning, sipping at my coffee and watching people roam around. Bryan and Julie waved, taking a walk around the main area; Claire dropped Aaron off at Locke's house before roaming around by herself.
After washing the dishes from breakfast and dinner the night before, I returned to the porch. It was quiet and peaceful, very good for my strange mood. I was relaxed, the nightmare slowly fading from my memory.
"Kalie, get to John's house." I looked up to find Sawyer running up to my porch with a gun. "Now!"
"What's going on?" I jumped up, knocking over my chair.
"Just go, now." He ran off and I stood there for a second before racing down the steps and sidewalk. I made it to the house just as they were locking the door.
"Sawyer told me to come over here," I said breathlessly. "What's going on?"
Locke took my arm, pulling me into the house. "Get in and sit down."
I collapsed onto a couch and watched as Ben pulled bookcases and furniture over to barricade the door. "What's going on?" Hurley asked, carrying Aaron into the living room.
"Get away from the window, Hugo," Locke said, helping Ben move the bookcase. Hurley moved quickly to stand by next to me, rocking Aaron back and forth to stop him from crying.
"How's Sawyer going to get back in?" I looked up at Locke, now wondering the same thing.
"He's not," Ben answered.
Hurley looked down at me and I shrugged. Now I was worried. What was going on? "Locke, what's happening?"
No one answered and thirty seconds later, I jumped as gunshots echoed through the barracks. "Oh God," I said, clenching my hands together.
I wanted to look out the window, but was terrified of stray gunshots. Instead I stayed on the couch, staring straight ahead and not moving. What could I do? What about Sawyer, Julie or Adam? Where were they? Were they okay?
Outside, I heard yelling and then an explosion, screaming as the house shook. Ben pulled guns from places I didn't know you could hide guns and disappeared with Locke down the hallway. "Open the front door!" Sawyer's voice sounded through neighborhood and Hurley looked out the window.
"Watch Aaron," he said, placing him in a makeshift cradle and racing out of the room.
"Hey baby," I said, trying to quiet him down unsuccessfully.
I heard a crash of glass and raced into the living room, leaving Aaron alone in his crib. "Oh my goodness, Claire! Is she okay?"
"Kalie, get back," Sawyer shouted, after handing Claire off to Hurley and climbing through the window.
Rather than hang around the living room with the 'warriors,' I followed Hurley back to the bedroom with Claire. He laid her on the bed and I picked up Aaron, trying to calm his crying again. "Easy baby," I whispered, rocking him back and forth. "You're mummy's going to be just fine. Don't worry."
All this commotion was getting to me and I wanted to scream and cry just like Aaron. The front door slamming jerked me from my thoughts and I tip-toed down the hallway and into the living room. "…they want to talk." Miles held out a walkie-talkie to Ben and I leaned against the doorframe.
"How many of them are there?" I watched Sawyer pat down Miles, checking for weapons or something.
They argued back and forth, commenting and Ben walked around with a rifle in his hands. "They have a hostage," Miles said, shaking the walkie-talkie at Ben. "It's your daughter."
Ben looked shocked and I stared at the walkie-talkie. They had Alex. I barely talked to the girl in the past few days, but she was close to my age and on an island where everyone was at least five to ten years older than me, that meant something.
"Hello," Ben said into the receiver.
"Am I speaking to Benjamin Linus?" The voice on the other end asked.
"That's right."
"My name is Martin Keamy. I'm an employee of Charles Widmore."
That name seemed to mean something to Ben and Miles, but the rest of us were confused. "Who the hell is Charles Widmore?"
"Later," Locke whispered.
"I want you to go look out your East window. That way we can talk face to face." Ben glanced at the window before walking over and pulling aside the curtains. "See me?"
"Yeah, I see you." I wanted to know what was going on, but I stayed frozen in my spot, terrified. Aaron was quiet in my arms and when I looked down, I noticed he was sleeping. How nice it would be to be able to sleep though this.
"All right Mr. Linus, these are my terms. You're going to step out the front door, put your hands above your head and walk straight to me. Once I have you in my custody, I promise no one else in that house will be harmed."
"You and I both know that once you have me, there's nothing to stop you from killing everyone else on this island." I looked from Sawyer to Miles, who had taken a seat. After surviving on a tropical island for nearly one hundred days, now we were going to die.
"What kind of guy do you think I am?"
One that was going to kill us was my answer, but I didn't think anyone wanted my opinion. Ben rattled off some facts about this Keamy person and I was shocked, even though I knew I shouldn't be. Ben knew things about people, and I couldn't help but wonder how, even if I didn't want to know.
"Get your ass out here right now, or I'm going to kill your daughter, Ben."
I gasped, shaking Aaron just enough that he woke for a moment before shifting in my arms and falling back to sleep. He was going to kill her.
Ben paused for a moment and he actually looked worried, which surprised me. "I'd like to present a counterproposal."
"I'm listening."
"You and your friends turn around and walk back to your helicopter. You fly away and forget you ever heard of this island."
"Tell your Daddy goodbye."
"Dad, they're serious." Alex's voice shook and I could hear the fear in her voice. My heart pounding in my chest and I shut my eyes, praying quickly. "They killed Karl and my mother."
"Alex, I have this under control. Everything's going to be okay."
"Please Dad," she screamed. "Daddy! Please…"
"You have ten seconds, Ben."
"She's not my daughter."
My jaw dropped and Sawyer looked at Ben with a look that was indescribable. I couldn't believe he would say something like that, especially with her sitting right there. Keamy started counting down. "She means nothing to me," Ben said, staring out the window. "I'm not coming out of this house. So if you want to kill her, go ahead and…"
I shrieked as a gunshot sounded from outside, a hand flying to my mouth. Miles and Sawyer stood to look out the window and Ben's jaw dropped. They killed her. He actually killed her.
Ben sat down hard, his mouth still open and his eyes wide. He didn't think they'd actually do it and yet… I stood up, still holding Aaron in my arms and placed a hand on Ben's shoulder. There was nothing I could say, nothing I could do for him. Sawyer and Locke discussed things, what to do, where to go. I squeezed his shoulder before moving to sit on the couch, rocking Aaron slowly.
"He changed the rules," Ben said with a flat voice as he stood up. He walked over to a bookcase and pulled it aside, stepping through.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Sawyer followed him just as a metal door descended from the ceiling, blocking him off. "Open this door!"
I glanced at Miles, the two of us just sitting still, nice and quiet. "What's going on?" Claire walked into the room followed closely by Hurley. I stood up and handed her Aaron who had just woken up.
"You all right, sweetheart?" Sawyer asked and I looked up in surprise. How much he had changed from when we first crashed.
"Yeah, I'm a bit wobbly, but I'll live."
"Well, I wouldn't be too sure of that," Miles interjected and I slapped his shoulder as I walked passed. He glared at me and I simply rolled my eyes.
The metal door opened and Ben stepped out. "Excuse me, James."
"Excuse you? What were you doing in there?"
Ben picked up the walkie-talkie and turned to address us. "Listen very carefully. I need all of you to do exactly as I say. In a minute we have to run from this house as fast as we can. At that moment, when I give the order, I want you to head straight for the tree line."
"You mean towards the guys with guns."
"No, we want to be as far away from them as possible."
The house started shaking and my heart pounded. An earthquake… we were going to die in an earthquake. Ben looked out the window, "okay, outside! Get outside now."
The men moved the furniture from in front of the door and headed out, Claire and I following closely behind. In front of us was a giant cloud of smoke. "What is that?" I whispered, hearing the screams from the jungle.
"What did you do?" Locke asked as trees were uprooted and the screams grew louder.
"Did you call that thing?"
A man ran from the jungle and Sawyer raised his rifle, aiming to shoot. Before he could fire, the cloud of smoke grabbed the man and pulled him back towards the jungle. "Oh my God," I whispered, my hands covering my mouth.
Someone grabbed my hand, pulling me back and when I looked, I found Miles dragging me away from the monster. "Fall back!" Locke yelled and soon we were all running away.
Once we reached the tree line, we stopped and Miles dropped my hand. I had to admit, I was a bit surprised to find him helping me. Locke lit a torch, lighting our small area of darkness and Sawyer stood guard. I stood next to Claire, not sure what to do or where to go. In my time on the island, I had never been this close to danger. I wasn't counting my short time with the Others, I wasn't there long enough to be worried.
A twig snapped and Sawyer raised his rifle, aiming to shoot. We waited in anticipation before Ben stepped through the tree line. Sawyer lowered his weapon, and we all relaxed, for a moment of course. "I'm sorry about your daughter, Ben."
"Thank you, John."
"That being said, you lied to me. You told me you didn't know what the smoke monster was."
"You can ask Jacob all about it when we go to the cabin."
I met Sawyer's eyes, completely confused. Who was Jacob? And what cabin were they talking about? "Hang on, Jacob? Who the hell's Jacob?"
"He's the man who's going to tell us what to do next," Ben replied.
"You know what? I'm done with all this. Never should have followed you wackos in the first place. I'm going back to the beach and Claire and the kid are coming with me. You good with that?"
"Yeah, I'm good with that," Claire replied trying to calm Aaron's crying once more.
"Kalie, you in?" I looked up in surprise at being addressed, my by given name no less.
I nodded, moving closer to Sawyer. "I'm coming with you." Turning, I nodded at Miles. He had lit a second torch and moved closer to us, ready to leave.
"Let's go," Sawyer said, turning and leading us away. "You too, Hurley."
We had walked no more than five steps when a gun clicked behind us. I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Hugo stays with us," Locke said, and Sawyer spun quickly, pulling his gun on Locke.
They argued and I braced for gunfire. "Put your guns down, I'll stay. Please." I looked up at Sawyer and then Hurley, wishing he could come with us, away from this place.
"Come on," Sawyer said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and leading us onward.
I glanced back at Hurley before we cleared the trees and he was gone.
AN: Here's chapter 36. Only one more until the end of season 4. Seasons 5 & 6 will be posted in a separate story Lost in Time, which will go up tomorrow afternoon. Season premiere is tomorrow night (SQUEE!) in the USA, so I hope you all watch.
Please leave a review on your way out and let me know what you thought.