She woke everyone up, striding into the camp, rifle loaded by her side. She looked wild. Her long hair was nappy and un-brushed. Her eyes were wide and far away, lonely and tired. There was something else in them…something unsettling. Everyone stared at her as she walked past our tents, waking everyone in alarm.

"She's got to be the French chick," Sawyer confirms. Danielle Rousseau.

"Calm down everyone. It's alright," Sayid calls, running up to her. She's stopped now and is staring at Claire, holding her newborn baby boy, who has started to cry.

"Danielle?" Sayid asks. "Danielle? What are you doing here?"

She looks away from Claire, staring Sayid right in the face. "The Others are coming," she says.

"Who is coming?" Sayid asks her. But I can tell by his tine that he already knows who.

"Our ship went aground on this Island sixteen years ago. There were six of us, my team, six. At that time I was already seven months pregnant. I delivered the infant myself. The baby and I were together for only one week when I saw black smoke. A pillar of black smoke five kilometers inland. That night they came, they came and took her…Alex. They took my baby. And now, they're coming again. They're coming for all of you.

"Who's coming?" Jack asks her again.

"The Others," she says, impatient, her French accent strong, but interrupting. "You have only three choices: run…hide…or die."

Michael and Jin have set up giant logs of wood as leavers to move the raft to the shoreline. It's huge, the raft. I'm impressed at how amazing it is. Everyone from camp is here, helping. For the moment we've put Rousseau's warnings to the back of our minds. The raft is the most important thing right now.

"So, listen," Michael shouts to us. "On my count, I'll do 1-2-3—lift and then push, okay? Got it? Okay, c'mon. Once we get it down to the water line, we'll drop it and load it up." He runs to a leaver, grabbing it. "Alright. Ready. 1-2-3! Lift!"

With all of my might (mostly through my good arm) I start pushing on the leaver. The raft inches forward slowly, but it moves. "Push! Push," Michael shouts. "C'mon guys, push, push! Use the levers, use the levers! Good, good. 1-2-3, lift!"

We lift again, but this time, the raft grabs momentum on the sloping hill towards the shore. But the bunching sand stops the momentum, jerking the raft to a stop, causing the mast to fall off with the force of the impact. Everyone moves away from the raft, not wanting to touch it and make the situation worse.

"I can't believe this!" Michael shouts in frustration. "Can't believe it."

"What are you looking at me for?" Sawyer yells. "It's not my fault!"

"You missed a lever!" Michael accuses.

"Because you couldn't keep the raft going straight!"

"I couldn't keep the boat going straight? Everybody's attention—,"

Walt cuts Michael off. "Dad! Look," he shouts, pointing towards the north. A pillar of black smoke is rising up into the sky.

Jack, Locke, Sayid, Hurley and I are standing around Rousseau, who is sitting in the sand, loading her rifle.

Jack is questioning Rousseau. "How many of them are there?"

"I told you all I know," she insists.

"There has to be more you tell us. How did you know?"

"You have a bigger problem," she says, aiming her gun. "I can vanish into the jungle, but I'm just one person. You have forty people. Where will you hide them?"

Jack and Locke exchange a look. I know what they're thinking: the hatch. Jack had said yesterday that we could potentially use it as a shelter.

"Tia—," Jack starts.

"No, Jack," I say. "Absolutely not. We don't even know if it's safe!"

"Know if what's safe?" Hurley asks.

"You don't wanna know," I tell him. "We're not doing this, Jack."

"Maybe we should ask her opinion," Locke says, nodding to Rousseau. Her face holds a look of confusion.

Against my protests, Jack and Locke have taken Rousseau and Hurley to the hatch for the first time. I'm extremely pissed that I'm being ignored, but the only reason I conceded was because there's no way we can get this open by tonight.

"Dude. Whoa," Hurley exclaims as we break the tree line.

"What is this?" Rousseau asks, jumping into the hole and caressing the side of the cylinder.

"We were hoping you could tell us," Jack says.

"I have never seen anything like it," she says, amazed.

"Uh, question," Hurley says. "How do we know we can all, like, fit in there?"

"No handle on the outside, means there must be another way in," Locke says. "Another entrance means space."

"This is a mistake," Sayid insists, and I'm relived someone is still on my side. "We don't know anything about these Others. We're reacting with no information, no intelligence. This hatch might even be theirs. Black smoke on the horizon doesn't mean they're—,"

"It means they're coming!" Rousseau insists.

"Yeah, we got that," Jack says.

"You booby-trapped your shelter with explosives," Locke says to Rousseau. "You have any more?"

"Dynamite, at the Black Rock, in the dark territory."

"Well, that's three reasons to go right there," Hurley says.

"If we're to make it back by sunset we have to leave within the hour," Rousseau says.

"Dammit!" I yell, frustrated "No, this is not happening! There is not dynamite just at our disposal. That doesn't just happen!"

"You're right, Tia," Locke says. "This doesn't just happen. We need a place to hide. We have a place, and a way to open it. This is a sign!" his eyes gleam with anticipation. "We have to open it!"

"So we're doing this?" Jack asks. "We're gonna blow open the hatch?"

Sayid and I exchange frustrated looks. I make a decision. "Fine. You wanna blow open a hatch with dynamite from the magic jungle? Let's do it. I'm dying to prove you wrong."

"So you're coming?" Locke asks.

"Yeah, I guess I am."

When we get back to the beach, Jack speaks to the other castaways. "Look, I know you're all scared. And I know everybody has a lot of questions. All I can tell you right now is that we do have a plan. We've got to go into the jungle to get some supplies. We'll be back in a few hours. In the meantime, do everything you can to help Michael get that raft on the water. And after that, go to the caves. We'll be back as soon as we can. I promise." He leaves his perch and is approached by this guy named Arzt. Arzt is the guy who collects bugs from the jungle, the one I thought my mom would get along with. I don't stay to listen, I go get my water and start to say my goodbyes to those going on the raft. I'll be leaving for The Black Rock before they leave because they're still repairing the mast.

"Hey, Tia," Charlie calls to me as I'm packing my water. "Did you write a message?"

"Message for what?" I ask. He's carrying a small stack of paper and a few pens and pencils.

"We're putting them in a bottle. Sending them off with the raft. So your family can get contacted for when we get rescued."

That's…actually a great idea. I nod my head and Charlie hands me a piece of paper and a pencil.

Who am I going to write to? Gran? Donny? Gil? I decide, reluctantly on the one person who I know can contact them all.

Donald Samuels Sr.
Sacramento, California.

Dad,

I left Gran. You told me to stay in Australia, but did you really think I would? Have I ever done anything you told me to?

I guess it finally bit me in the ass.

You know what you're going to do for me? You're going to find Gil. I know he's out of the Peace Corps now. You're going to apologize for everything you did to him, immediately. You're going to help Donny. Not just stick him somewhere so you don't have to deal with his problems. You're going to bring Gran home. I know she hates California, but she'd rather be there with me and the boys then stuck in Hell Down Under.

You know why you're going to do these things, Dad? Because for however long I've been gone, you've thought I was dead. And now that you know I'm not, you have a reason to honor what you actually have. To thank whoever you please that I'm still alive, just like you wanted me.

One more thing. I need you to find someone. Sabrina Carlyle. She runs a wedding company out of Los Angeles.

I want you to know that I'm free now. I know what it's like to finally be out of your grip. My involvement in your life is now my choice. You have to earn it.

Tia

I fold the paper, once in half and roll it into a scroll. I find Charlie talking to Locke and hand him the paper and pen. He smiles and puts it into a green wine bottle.

Message in a bottle. How adorable.

I head over to Michael, who's securing the spot for a new mast. "Good luck," I tell him, giving him a hug. It's so weird. I didn't know these people just over a month ago, and now, I depend on them for almost everything.

"Yeah, thanks," he says. "Hey, I'm sorry about Boone. I know I haven't said anything about it, but, he was a good guy. He didn't deserve what he got." Michael's eyes are solemn. "But he did deserve you."

I'm shock by his comment. Ever since Boone jumped him in the jungle a couple of weeks ago, Michael has been incredibly cold towards him. I'm touched by Michael's words, none the less. I can't muster up any words in response and just nod.

Walt is sitting in the sand, petting Vincent. I know it must be breaking Walt's heart to know he'll have to leave him behind. I think about his kid, sitting in front of me. Former bad relationship with his father, dead mother. In a family aspect we're so similar. I sit down in front of him, on my knees. "I am gonna miss you, kid," I say.

"Yeah, you too," he says, stroking Vincent's yellow neck. "I'm sorry about Boone," he continues, echoing his father. I nod in response. "I'm giving Vincent to Shannon."

I'm surprised by this. "Why?" I ask.

"When my mom died, no one would talk to me, so I talked to Vincent. He's a great listener. If you ever need anyone to talk to, he'll be there for you." He looks up into my face, squinting from the sunlight. "He can keep you safe."

Those last five words confirm what I knew about Walt all along. He's a special kid who cares about people. All he wants is to be happy. I look at the yellow Labrador and I reach up to pet him. My hand cups the dog's face the same way Boone would hold mine. I turn back to Walt. "You're a great kid," I say, doing my best to hold back tears. "You take care of your father, okay? And I'll help Shannon take care of Vincent. Do we have a deal?"

He smiles. "Okay, deal." We fist bump our promises.

I make my way over to Jin, who is tying cords together. I have never really spoken to him before, regardless of him not speaking English. He sees me approach and I'm not sure what to say. I offer him my hand to shake. He grasps it. As he stares at it, his eyebrows squint. "Thank…you," he says. "Sun…thank you." I realize he's thanking me for looking after Sun. I smile, thinking there may be hope for the two of them yet.

"Take care of yourself, Jin," I say. "Stay safe." He smiles and pulls me into a hug, which startles me, but I sink into it, hugging back. When we part, he is still grasping my hand. He bows slightly. I smile then head over to Jack and company, who are waiting on me and Kate, who's decided to join our trek into the jungle for the dynamite.

"Hey, Charlie, have you seen Sawyer?" she asks him.

"No."

"Alright, let's go," Jack calls to her.

She says goodbye to Charlie and jogs over to us. Jack, Kate, Hurley, Locke, Rousseau, Arzt (who demanded to come because he claims to know a lot about dynamite), and I head out into the jungle, and for the millionth time since we crashed, I don't know what's going to happen.

We hike for what seems like hours. There is little talking, especially from me. I'm still so angry that Jack has ignored everything I tried to warn him about. I'm also not happy about being stuck on this expedition with Locke, who I'm sure could easily do something rash and get us all killed.

Rousseau stops us and reaches up a tree, grabbing a black piece of fabric hanging from a low branch. "Le Territoire Fonce," she says ominously.

"The Dark Territory," I translate, remembering from Sayid and Shannon's work.

"The Black Rock is not far," she continues. "This is where it all began. Where my team got infected, where Montand lost his arm. We must move quickly."

Thunder sounds above us as Arzt says "You know what? I'm going back."

"Hey, I thought you wanted to help," Jack says, grabbing Arzt's arm to stop him.

"Yeah, I wanted to help and that was before Montand lost his fricking arm."

"Well, what about the dynamite?"

Arzt looks at Jack contemplating, then says "Just be very careful with it," he says, turning around and walking away.

Pansy ass.

Not long after Arzt leaves, we're deep into The Dark Territory and it's started to rain. Soon, I'm completely soaked through. I hate being this wet. I can handle sweat and dampness, but soaking wet is just uncomfortable and gross.

We're crossing some rocks when we hear a strange noise coming from the east. It kind of sounds like "whop, whop, whop," over and over again. We stop in our tracks. It doesn't sound like The Monster, but out here in the Jungle of Mystery, anything could creep up on us.

I look through the trees and try to see past the rain. A figure is moving towards us. It's Arzt, running away from something. As he gets closer though, he starts to form a coherent word. "Run, run, run!" he shouts to us.

All of the sudden I can hear the noise of The Monster. I can't describe it. There's nothing like it. It's kind of mechanical sounding, but at the same time, it's not a machine. I want to run, but there's that part of me inside that's been screaming since day one: You need to see this. You need to figure out what this is. For Mom.

I notice that Locke hasn't moved either and has his hand starched out in front of Hurley. The sound of the monster is getting nearer and Hurley says "Dude, we've got to book,"

"Wait," Locke tells him. "It's headed the other way."

Indeed it is. The ticking, mechanical sound of The Monster is headed in another direction, away from us and the direction of the rest of our party. When it's completely gone, the rain stops and Locke, Hurley and I head toward Jack, Kate, Rousseau, and Arzt. They're coming out of the cover of Banyan trees as the three of us approach.

"Uh, where's Arnzt?" Hurley asks.

"It's Arzt, you idiot," he says, coming out of a Banyan tree that's further away.

"Dude, I thought you were dead."

Arzt ignores him. "Can we just, please, go get the dynamite, please?" he says, dropping his hands to his side.

About thirty minutes later Rousseau stops walking and stares at something in the west.

"Why are we stopping?" Locke asks her, standing ahead of me.

"Because we're here," she says. "This is the Black Rock."

I walk out of the trees. In front of me sits a giant, old ship. Like right out of a pirate movie. The words "Black Rock" and "Portsmouth" are etched across the back in faded gold. It's overgrown with vegetation and there's a tree fallen on top, but, yeah it's a pirate ship…in the middle of the jungle, nowhere near the shore.

"How exactly does something like this happen?" Hurley asks.

"Are you on the same Island as I am?" Rousseau responds.

"I guess that explains it," he says.

Jack, Kate, Locke, and Rousseau start moving towards a broken hole in the side of the ship. "Hold on, wait, hold on," Arzt says. "What are we a couple miles inland? A tsunami probably swept it here, huh, right?

But Rousseau isn't heading for the hole. She's started walking away from us. Jack notices this ad starts calling to her "Hey, hey, where are you going?"

"The explosives are in the hold of the ship," she says to him

"Rousseau, wait."

"I did what you asked," she says. "You need dynamite, you don't need me."

"Let her go, Jack." Locke says and Rousseau walks away.

"Who's going to lead us back?"

"I'll lead us back," Locke says.

Jack mutters something inaudible. "You heard her," he says to us. "The explosives are in the hold. Let's go."

But Arzt stops him. "Whoa, whoa, hold on. I came here to tell you how to handle dynamite, not explore some ghost ship, you think I'm go—,"

"Alright, just stay out here," Jack says.

"Uh, I'm going to stay out here and hang with Arnzt," Hurley says.

Jack looks at me. "What about you?"

"You're kidding, right?" I say. "I'm here only to prove a point. Go get your dynamite, but I'm not touching any of it."

Jack nods and he, Kate, and Locke head inside.

I go stand plenty far away from the ship, leaning against a tree. Arzt and Hurley sit on the ground. Arzt starts to complain about something, but I zone out.

Why did I come? Was it really just to prove a point. I could have stayed behind, helped get the raft into the water, said my goodbyes a proper way. Instead I came here to…what? I'm not going to stop them. That much is clear.

As much as I hate to admit it, I want to know what's in that hatch. Does it belong to Ethan's team? These Others? Or is it something bigger? What is it that Boone died for? Does the Beechcraft even have a connection to the hatch? Or is this all just John Locke, using us for his own fun and games. I think about how he stopped Sayid from locating Rousseau's transmission. How he didn't run when The Monster was so near. What is it with this guy? There's more to his story than his hunter exterior, I'm sure of it.

I hear Arzt over to my left. "And then my 3rd wife, she says, get this, she says, 'I didn't sign up for this.' Now you tell me, what the hell is that even supposed to mean? What, am…am I boring you?"

I look over. Hurley's eyes are far away as he answers "Huh?"

"You know what?" Arzt says to Hurley, bringing him back to reality. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that I'm not cool enough to be part of your merry little band of adventurers."

"What?" Hurley asks him, confused.

"I know a clique when I see it. I teach high school, pal. You know, you people think you're the only ones on this Island doing anything of value. I've got news for you. There were forty other survivors of this plane crash. And we are all people, too.

"Okay," Hurley answers, still confused.

"It's not just the teenagers in high school. You know, the gym teachers? You think they let me sit with them in the cafeteria? No. They do not."

What is this guy's deal?

"Dude, this is all in your head," Hurley tells him.

"Really? Then you explain to me why Tia over there gets the best pieces of wreckage to build her shelter? And the Korean guy? Does he catch fish for everybody on the Island? No, he does not. And some of us have actually lost weight while we were here. Now, would mind telling me where you're hiding the carbs because I can't figure...,"

He trails off as Kate comes out of the ship with a flashlight, guiding Jack and Locke, who are carrying a crate with the word "explosives" stamped across the side.

"What the hell are you people doing?" Arzt shouts. "Wait, wait, stop, right where you are. Alright, I want you to put that down carefully." Jack and Locke slowly move the box to the ground. "Put it gently, damn it! Alright, now get out of there," Arzt says, motioning for Jack and Locke to move away. "Come away from there. C'mon, get out. Move away from it."

"What the hell are you doing?" Jack asks him, irritated as he moves away from the box.

"Shhh. Be quiet." Arzt tells him. "Do any of you have any idea what happens to dynamite in ninty-plus degree heat, huh?" He starts to open the crate with a pocket knife, prying open the top. "Any of you? It sweats nitroglycerin." Jack starts to move toward him as he takes the lid off, but Arzt yells "Whoa, hey, what you doing? Did I ask you to come closer?" Jack backs off. "Dynamite," Arzt continues. "Is nitroglycerin stabilized by clay. Nitroglycerin is the most dangerous and unstable explosive known to man."

He grabs a stick as he says this, removing one from the box that's covered in a white-ish gray substance, which is presumable the clay. "Hey, Kate give me your shirt," Arzt demands. She hesitates but Arzt yells "Now, princess, give me your shirt. I need to wrap the dynamite." Kate takes off her over-shirt and starts to move towards Arzt but he stops her. "Just throw it to me, right here." He catches is and starts soaking it in the wet puddle of mud beside his foot. "Okay, good, now back up. Just back up. Get out of my way."

Arzt starts to wrap the dynamite in Kate's ruined shirt. "Any of you ever hear about the guy who invented nitroglycerin? Probably not, because he blew his freaking face off. His lab assistant came into the room, saw that his mentor detonated, and he said, 'Huh, I guess this stuff does work.'". Arzt has finished wrapping the shirt and holds the wet bundle to the side. "Alright, we're not going to take any more of this stuff than we need because nitroglycerin is extremely temperamental, so we—,"

BOOOOOOM!

We're thrown off of our feet into the ground as Arzt explodes, pieces of his flesh falling on top of us. As soon as we can, we sit up and stare at where his body used to be, now just a giant black spot on the ground.

As soon as possible, Jack, Locke, and Kate stand up. Hurley and I are still on the ground, in shock. "Everybody okay?" Locke asks us.

"Are you serious?" I ask him, finally looking away from the spot. "Are we okay? Did you miss what just happened?"

"No, I didn't," he says frankly, moving toward the box, Jack and Kate right behind him.

I get up quickly and grab his arm, stopping him. I look up into his face, which is barely readable. "This," I say, looking straight into his hazel eyes. "Is your fault. Another life gone on your hands. Are you really gonna go through with this?"

Jack and Kate do nothing to break the tension. Locke stares at me back, his poker face breaking only slightly. "Yes," he says, and yanks his arm out of my tight grip.

Hurley has moved to a fallen tree and is sitting on it. He looks like he's in complete shock. I sit down beside him. "Are you alright?" I ask.

"That was messed up," he answers.

"Yeah," I agree.

"He just...exploded…right in front of us. He was just trying to help," he pauses. "This is because I came."

I turn to him. "What?" This is not his fault. It's less his fault than anyone's here.

"I'm kind of bad luck," he says hesitantly.

"Hurley," I say, touching his shoulder. "It was an accident."

But he's not convinced. "An accident, yeah."

Kate has backed off and is standing close to Hurley and I. Jack finishes wetting a tee shirt from his pack in the mud puddle and brings it over to Locke, who's staring at the crate. Jack lays the shirt on the ground and Locke grabs a stick from the box that's not covered in clay. Ever so gently, he lays it on the shirt. He grabs a string of fuse from the box and lays it down away from the dynamite. He and Jack are talking, but I can't hear what they say.