Chapter 35- Mounting a Rescue and a Metamorphosis
"Dad!" Ben-Ben shouted as the dust cleared.
"Jack, can you hear me?" Hurley shouted.
"I don't know what happened. Wee were just talking and it came down. It happened so fast," Charlie said.
"We gotta get help. Charlie, go down to the beach and get help. And we need to tell Hope!" Ben-Ben said as he tried to move some of the rocks with his hands.
"Okay, I'm on it," Charlie said, running to the entrance of the cave.
"And make sure you tell Kate!" Hurley shouted after him.
Hope saw Charlie run to the beach as she was gathering the last of her things. "Hey! Hope!" Charlie shouted, running to her and a frantic look in his eyes.
"We need help," Charlie said.
"What's wrong, man?" Michael asked.
"Charlie, what's wrong?" Hope asked, gripping his arms.
"It's your da. He's trapped," Charlie told Hope, his voice coming out slightly breathless. Hope felt the blood drain out of her face and felt slightly woozy as well.
"What?" Hope asked in a stunned voice.
"Our cave collapsed. We don't even know if he's still alive. We've got to go," Charlie said in a begging voice.
"Hey, Scott?" Michael turned to a man.
"I'm Steve," the man said.
"I'm Scott," another man said behind Steve.
"We got an emergency. Come on. Let's go. Grab a couple of guys," Michael ordered.
"We gotta go now," Charlie said.
"Come on. Let's go," Maichael said as they all went in the direction of the cave.
"Kate. Hey, we have to tell Kate about Jack," Charlie said as they stopped in front of Sawyer's place.
"Sorry, sport, you just missed her. Her and Mohammad headed into the woods about 10 minutes ago," Sawyer said, wringing out a wet t-shirt.
"Which way, Sawyer?" Hope asked.
"Don't sweat it, blue eyes. I know which way they went," Sawyer said, picking up another t-shirt.
"But-" Charlie started to say.
"I'll tell her. You just keep doing whatever it is you do around her," Sawyer said, walking away.
Hope all but ran to the cave, slightly out of breath. "Ben-Ben!" Hope nearly screamed, hugging her brother tightly.
"Hope, Dad's trapped. C'mon. We hafta start moving rocks," Ben-Ben said, lifting a heavy rock with a grunt of pain as it weighed down his arms.
Hope joined him, her fingernails breaking on each rock. "Hang on, Dad. We're coming," Hope said under her breath.
"Hey. Hey, wait!" Michael said, running to them, Walt and Vincent following him.
"We can't. Our dad's in there," Ben-Ben said.
"Let me check it out before you start moving things around. If it's unstable-" Michael started to say.
"How do you know?" Hope asked in a breathless sob.
"Eight years of construction work. Hey, Walt, get back, man. I don't want you or the twins near the rocks. And take the dog with you," Michael said, pushing Hope and Ben-Ben to Walt.
"Michael, you aren't our father. Don't tell us what to do," Ben-Ben said irritably.
"You guys should get Mr. Locke," Walt suggested.
"Locke's out in the jungle killing stuff. Who knows where he is," Hurley said.
"I think I do. I can go find him," Hope said, panting hard as Michael looked up at the roof of the cave.
"All right. This area here is load bearing. We gotta dig where there is no danger of the wall buckling in on us. So...All right here. We dig in here so the wall doesn't collapse. Four at a time, by hand, until we can find a shovel. We take shifts and go slow. Whoever isn't digging should be clearing the rocks that we pull out and bringing water to who is working. Okay? Let's move," Michael ordered, moving to another spot and everyone started to move rocks.
"I'm gonna go find Locke. He's probably in the place where I left him," Hope said, panting heavily as she took off running.
Locke was curing boar meat when Hope came running. "Hope? What's wrong?" Locke asked, setting his knife down. Before Hope could answer, Charlie came up to them, looking upset.
"Something wrong, Charlie?" Locke asked.
"Yeah. Jack. I guess me and Red, here, thought on the same page. He's, uh...There's been an accident in the caves. Jack's trapped in a cave-in," Charlie said.
"Is anyone trying to get him out?" Locke asked.
"Yeah. There's a bunch of people there now," Charlie said.
"Then why aren't you and Hope with them?" Locke asked.
"I thought that you might be able to help since Michael's taken over and doesn't want me there," Hope said.
"I understand her reasons for being here, but you didn't come here to tell me about Jack, did you?" Locke asked Charlie.
"I want my stash, Hope. I can't stand feeling like this," Charlie said, sounding as if he was going to cry and looking as nervous and twitchy like a sinner on Judgment Day.
"Come here. Let me show you something, Charlie. What do you suppose is in that cocoon, Charlie?" Hope asked, taking Charlie to a tree where a cocoon hung on a branch.
"I don't know. A butterfly, I guess," Charlie said, sounding confused.
"No. It's much more beautiful than that. That's a moth cocoon. It's ironic. Butterflies get all the attention. But moths, they spin silk. They're stronger, faster-" Hope started to say.
"That's wonderful, but-" Charlie interrupted.
"You see this little hole? This moth's just about to emerge. It's in there right now, struggling. It's digging its way through the thick hide of the cocoon. Now we could help it. Take my knife or Locke's knife, gently widen the opening, and the moth would be free. But it would be too weak to survive. The struggle is God's way of strengthening it. Now, this is the second time you've asked me for your drugs back. Ask me again and it's yours," Hope said, taking Charlie's drugs out of her pocket and holding them in front of him.
