Chapter 37: All Hope Shattered, Day 98-100

The sun came up and we continued our trek through the jungle. I stumbled over raised roots and rocks, falling twice and scraping my palms. Miles helped me up both times, to my complete surprise. Maybe he wasn't such a jerk after all.

"Are you feeling okay, Claire?" I asked, walking quickly to catch up with her.

"Yeah, just a bit woozy."

"How's your head?"

Claire held Aaron close to her chest, covering his head with a blanket. "It's better, just got a bit of a headache. At least I'm not seeing things anymore."

"Yeah? What'd you see?"

"Back off," Sawyer warned.

"Just making conversation."

"Let's make some time. I want to get a bit farther before we camp for the night." Claire and Sawyer brushed passed Miles and me, walking quickly. "We hope we can make it to the beach by tomorrow morning."

I stepped carefully over roots, walking passed Miles, who had stopped in a small clearing. "Are you okay?" I asked, pausing and turning to face him. "Miles?"

Sawyer and Claire turned back to us. "What. Hey," Sawyer said, standing close.

"Who are Danielle and Karl?" Miles asked, snapping out of whatever trace he had been in.

Claire looked from Sawyer to Miles. "You mean Rousseau? The French woman?"

I looked from Claire to Miles, confused. "What about them?"

Miles dropped to the ground, moving dirt and branches. "Oh my God," Claire said, turning away from the clearing. I looked down, seeing a face buried in the dirt. Feeling bile rise in my throat, I closed my eyes, trying to rid the images from my mind.

"Is this your French woman?"

There was a pause and I heard more rustling."Karl,"Sawyer said softly. I opened my eyes to see Karl's face in the dirt. I said a short prayer for their souls before turning away. "How'd you know they were there? Your buddies do this?"

"They're not my buddies," Miles said, standing up and brushing the dirt off his hands. "I didn't sign up for this."

"Can we just get out of here, please? Can we just go?" Claire asked and I agreed wholeheartedly.

"Yeah, sure. Once we get back to the beach, everything's going to be fine." Sawyer placed his hand on Claire's back and led her away from the bodies.

I couldn't move, my eyes wouldn't leave the bodies. After so much death on the island, I shouldn't be this distressed. But this time, it seemed saw them just hours ago, and now they were lying in the dirt, dead. "Come on," Miles said, grabbing my arm and gently pulling me away from the bodies.

Once we were moving again, he dropped his hand and stepped away, letting me walk alone. I lagged behind the rest of the group, keeping them in sight. How did I wind up here? I just wanted to be safe, to get home, and here I was, trekking through the jungle for the hundredth time.

"Let's take a break. Grab some water, sit down…" Sawyer said when we came to a small stream. I sat on a fallen log, resting my feet. Pulling my water bottle from my pack, I unscrewed the cap and took a drink, making a face at the warm water.

"Mind if I sit here?" Claire gestured towards the other half of my log and I nodded. "Good. I don't think I could walk another step."

Nodding, I smiled over at her, not wanting to say anything. I took another sip of water and leaned back on the log. "I'll be happy when we get back to the beach, even if it was nice to sleep in a real bed for a change."

"Yeah, I agree."

I looked around the clearing, not sure how I was feeling. Adam and Julie were dead, they had to be. "Sawyer, what happened to everyone else at the Barracks? They're all dead, aren't they?"

Sawyer looked up from his water bottle and nodded. "Yeah, they're all dead."

"Okay," I said softly, feeling tears well in my eyes. Everyone I cared about seemed to die. I need to stop caring about people; my heart can't take my more loss.

Five minutes later, Sawyer had us moving again, through the trees, over rocks and roots, across streams. Sawyer led the line and I came in second, Claire and Miles behind us. We were quiet; the only sounds were the sticks breaking beneath our feet. "Hey, do you need some help with the baby?" I glanced back, seeing Miles walking close to Claire.

"No, I'm fine, thanks though."

"Are you sure? I'm good with kids." I rolled my eyes, Miles would not give up.

Bushes rustled ahead of us and we all stopped, turning towards the sound. James cocked the rifle and aimed, moving Claire and me behind him. Someone burst through the trees. "Who the hell are you?" Sawyer asked as the man held up his hands in surrender.

Miles stepped forward, his face showing recognition of the ragged looking man."Lapidus?"

"Miles?" The man said, obviously in shock.

"You two know each other?"

Claire and I stepped forward, peering at the man. "You guys gotta hide. Right now. Keamy's coming back. If he see's you, he'll kill all of ya."

"Oh no, not again," I whispered. Keamy was the man who shot Alex and killed Karl and Danielle.

"He's close. Go, no! Hide! Just hide!" Sawyer took my arm and Miles took Claire's, leading us away and into the trees. We ducked down, Sawyer in front, Claire, me and Miles behind him. Claire held Aaron close to her chest, hoping to keep him quiet until after the mercenaries were gone.

The leaves rustled again and four men walked through the trees. "Do you have the kit?" The larger man asked, and I recognized his voice. This was Keamy. I could barely see through the trees, only making out the figures of five men.

Aaron gurgled in Claire's arms and we all froze. I held my breath as the man who warned us began talking, trying to draw the murderers away. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was sure everyone around me could hear it. "We need to leave now," he said forcefully.

We all heaved a sigh of relief as they walked away through the trees, my heartbeat slowly returning to normal. "Oh thank God," I whispered, bringing a hand to my chest and closing my eyes. Maybe now we could get back to the beach.

A few hours later, we stopped for the night. I pulled off my sweatshirt and rolled it into a ball for a makeshift pillow. "All right, who can make a fire?" Miles asked, dropping a small pile of kindling in the center of our clearing.

Sawyer knelt down to the ground and began rubbing two sticks together. A spark flew into the kindling and soon, we had a nice roaring fire. "There's your fire," he said, rolling his eyes.

Sitting down near the flames, I wrapped my arms around my torso, taking a moment to think. Who would have thought I'd be here with Sawyer, Claire and Miles? I liked being at the Barracks with showers, food and beds. Why was it, once we had something good, it was taken away? Couldn't we ever get ahead? We were fine at the beach, and then the freighter had to come. We were fine at the Barracks and then they blew it all to hell.

I shut my eyes, crossing my arms across my chest. It was quiet in the jungle and the fire crackled and popped. Aaron's giggling and the sound of the wind in the trees slowly lulled me to sleep.

I woke the next morning to shuffling and a baby crying. "I have a restraining order," I heard Miles say. My eyes opened just in time to see Sawyer push Miles off his log.

"Claire? Claire!" I heard Sawyer yell and I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"What happened? Where's Claire?" I asked, watchingSawyer disappear into the trees, leaving me alone with Miles.

"She got up and left in the middle of the night. No, I didn't go after her."

"Obviously," I retorted, rolling my eyes.I looked towards the trees, wondering if I should go after Sawyer or stay with Miles. I didn't have the best luck when going into the jungle on my own, so I opted to stay, figuring Sawyer would be back soon. Miles and I stayed quiet and he kept poking at what was left of our fire.

He returned a few minutes later, carrying Aaron. "Hey Tinkerbelle, watch Aaron. We're going to look for Claire." Sawyer handed me the baby before walking off back into the trees with Miles.

Aaron started screaming again and I jiggled him, rocking him back and forth. "Shh, don't cry sweetie. I'm sure your mummy just went for a little walk. Don't worry," I said softly, trying to convince both of us.

Where could Claire have gone? Why would she have left Aaron?He cried again and Irummaged around near the fire for a piece of fruit. After picking off a small piece of mango, I held it up to Aaron's lips, letting the juice dribble into his mouth. "There baby. Is that better?" He quieted down and silence filled the clearing once more.

I rocked him back and forth, waiting for Sawyer and Miles to return. We walked the clearing, pacing back and forth. Finally, after nearly three hours, they walked back into the clearing. "No sign of her?"

"No. Come on; let's head down to the beach. Maybe she headed there." I bent down to pick up my sweatshirt and followed Sawyer through the trees. Not for one second didI believe that Claire left Aaron and headed for the beach. She had been such a great mum to him, she would never have left him alone willingly.

There was no talking on this part of the hike, no one said a word. I carried Aaron, Sawyer carried his rifle and Miles stayed in the back of the procession. "Here, I'll carry him," Sawyer said after another hour. "He must be getting heavy."

"Yeah, sure." I handed him the baby and shook out my arms, falling into line behind Miles.

"Whoa, long time no see," Miles said from ahead of us.

I glanced back at Sawyer before heading through the trees. "Who you talking to up there, Genghis?"

I froze when I walked through the trees. Kate and Jack had their guns pointed at us, and when they recognized us, the guns were lowered. "Where's Claire?" Kate asked, looking from Sawyer to Aaron and back again.

"We lost her. She walked off into the jungle in the middle of the night. We looked for her for hours, but she was just gone." Jack bent over and Kate sighed. I knew they were disappointed, upset, angry even. But they couldn't be more worried than I was. Claire didn't know what was in that jungle. Especially with those mercenaries roaming around. "I was hoping she went back to the beach."

"She didn't," Jack said, shaking his head.

I paced the area, finallysitting down across from Miles on an old log. Jack and Sawyer argued, not anything new. I rolled my eyes at the argument, wanting to jump up and scream at them to stop. Arguing isn't going to solve anything. "What's with you and getting off the island? You're like a broken record or something…"

"Stop it," Kate interrupted. "What… you fighting each other now?" She took Aaron from Sawyer's arms, rocking him like I had before.

"Look, I put Sayid and Desmond on that chopper. It was my call. It was my responsibility. I'm going after it whether they're on it or not. Head back to the beach."

"Jack, no…" Kate walked off after him and I stood, stretching out my arms and legs. Apparently it was back to the trail again.

"That son-of-a-bitch is stubborn. Wait up; you don't get to die alone. Kalie, go with Kate back to the beach." Sawyer cocked his gun and headed off through the trees, following Jack.

We stood there; in the trees for another minute before Kate started off towards what I assumed was the beach. The trip was short and I soon saw the water and sand we had called home. "Sayid! What are you doing here? Jack thought that you…" I heard Kate call his name, but I didn't actually believe he was there.

When I walked over the sand dune, I saw was standing in the sand and we surrounded him. "I know what Jack thought, that's why I'm going after him." I wanted to hug him and cry, but now was not the time. "How far ahead is he?"

"I… I dunno. I left him about an hour ago. I can track him. Look, you are not going to catch up to them unless I go with you." Sayid looked skeptical and I couldn't say I blamed him. Although, this was a trek into the heart of darkness, right up Kate's alley.

"Let's go," he said and I shook my head.

Sayid turned to me with a sigh. "Go, pack a bag and hurry back. You need to be onthat freighter. Go, Kalie."

"Be careful," I said, quickly hugging his neck. He nodded and Iraced off towards my tent.

We were leaving, finally leaving this bloody island. I should be excited, happy, overjoyed, but I'm not. I was leaving my life behind. The past 100 days changed me, whether it was for the better I had yet to find out, but I was leaving them behind. Wasn'tthis what I wanted from the beginning? Sure, but I never thought it would actually happen. I had come to terms with living on this island.

"Kalie, what are you doing?" Juliet asked from behind me. I was kneeling just outside my tent, folding clothes and stuffing them into my pack. I grabbed my journal from under the mattress and pushed it on top.

"I'm packing a bag with some clothes and my things. Who knows how long it's going to take until we're back on dry land and I don't want to wear the same thing day after day if I can help it." I folded another shirt and stuffed it into my backpack.

There was a long, extended pause. "Yes, but some of those aren't your clothes."

I shook my head and blinked back the tears I knew were coming. "No," I said softly, looking up at them. "Some of them are Boone's."

"He was your boyfriend?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes." I really didn't have a problem with Juliet, not anymore. Yes, she worked as a spy for that bug-eyed idiot, but she also helped us. And she seemed to want off this island as much as we did.

"What happened to him?"

I took a deep breath, "his leg was crushed in a fall. Jack tried to save him but…" I trailed off and glanced towards Juliet.

She nodded and offered what I took as a sympathetic smile. "Well, finish packing. We'll be down by the water."

I didn't notice when she walked away, leaving me to look over the pile of clothes in the tent. The floor was strewn with a conglomeration of my clothes and Boone's. I pulled one of Boone's shirts over my head and wrapped my arms around myself. I missed him, so much. But now I was leaving, leaving and I wouldn't be coming back. His body was here, Shannon's body was here… I would never be able to visit their graves like I could my brother's.

Everyone once in a while, I would think of something that I needed to tell him, but I couldn't.

After picking up the pack, I followed Juliet down the beach. I stood off to the side, watching out over the water. Covering my eyes with my hand, I smiled as theZodiac came closer to the island and ran up on the sand.

Juliet and a few others helped pull it onto the sand and Daniel walked off. "Kalie! Come on!" Juliet called to me and I jogged over, wondering what she wanted.

"What?"

"Get in. You can go on the next run." She gestured to the raft and I stared down at it, thoughts racing through my mind. I could get on, get as far away from this island as I could and be done. All I had to do was climb in and I would be safe.

"I'll wait for the next one. There's one last thing I want to do." I forced a smile and walked off, away from the raft and away from Juliet.

I walked quickly up the sand and over to a small clearing where several makeshift wooden crosses were stuck in the sand. Grass had covered the mounds now, after all it had been at least a month since anyone new had been brought here. Kneeling down next to one of the mounds, I picked at the grass. "Hey," I said softly to the cross. "We're actually getting rescued. Can you believe it?

"I wish you were coming with us. I'm going to meet your mum; I wrote her a letter and I want to hand deliver it to her. Yes, yes you told me she was awful, but I'm still giving it to her." I glanced over my shoulder at the water, keeping an eye out for the raft. "Another guy was interested in me, Adam." I smiled as tears filled my eyes. "He was killed. These mercenaries shot and killed him. Charlie died too and Claire's gone missing.

"Everyone I love dies. My mom, James, you, Charlie, Adam… I can't do this anymore." I wiped the salty tears from my eyes and brushed back a lock of stray hair. "I love you and I'm sorry we're leaving you here. Maybe we'll come back one day."

Standing up, I kissed my fingers and lightly placed them on the top of the cross. "Bye, Boone. Bye, Shannon."

I turned away and walked away from the cemetery, my heart feeling lighter than when I entered. The beach was quiet; everyone was waiting by the water's edge for the raft to return. I walked up to where Juliet was standing and raised my hand to my eyes, blocking out the sun.

The explosion was felt all the way to the beach. I spun in the sand, my eyes wide with fear. I looked out towards the ocean and saw the fireball, the remnants of our only way off this God-forsaken island. "Was that…?" I asked Juliet, already knowing the answer.

She nodded, obviously as speechless as I was. "Oh goodness, Sun… Jin…Desmond…" I trailed off; my eyes wide open as I stared at the black smoke.

I collapsed into the sand, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. My jaw fell open and I stared at the curling smoke, traveling high into the sky. What were we going to do now? Our only hope of rescue… our boat… what was going to happen to us now?

Rather than stay in the sand and feel sorry for myself, I stood, brushing the debris from my jeans. I walked up the beach towards our pantry and collapsed onto a log near Miles and the redhead… Charlotte. "So, the freighter's gone huh?" Miles said, looking up at me over his can of peanuts.

"Yeah," I said softly, looking out towards the water. "It's gone."

I placed my arms on the table, resting my head on top and closing my eyes. This was all just an awful nightmare. I would open my eyes and be at the airport, waiting for my flight to board. Just an awful, terrible nightmare.

A loud hum pierced through the atmosphere and I stood up quickly, looking around the camp. Everyone else had the same idea; we were all looking around. A brilliant white light flashed through the sky. I squeezed my eyes shut and grabbed my head as a blinding pain throbbed behind my eyes.

When I opened my eyes again and looked around, everyone was as confused as I was. I blinked, thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me. Our camp was gone.

AN: There we are. The final chapter. I can't believe it's over! I hope you enjoyed it, and the entire story. Seasons 5 and 6 will be told in a new story, entitled Lost in Time. I'll have the first chapter posted tonight, right before the season premiere. Please check it out and let me know what you think.

Thank you for reading and for leaving your reviews.