Chapter 8
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Jack, Mike and Sayid followed Ben deeper into the jungle. No one said anything, each focusing on not falling over tree roots and worrying about what was to come. They didn't walk for long, soon coming out to a large open space, with holes dug in random places and around a dozen men scattered around with shovels. Ben continued to walk, the three others stopped, unsure what to make of what they are seeing.
"Over this way guys. Grab a shovel."
Mike glanced at Jack, Sayid staring intently at the new surroundings. They slowly walked forward, each grabbing a shovel without talking. They followed Ben into the centre of the area.
"So, we are digging. For what, it doesn't matter. Each of you are to go to a mark on the ground and dig until we tell you to stop." With that, he turned his back and walked away. Startled at their new role, the three men started digging. They picked marked spots which were close together, making sure they could keep an eye on each other.
They dug for hours, under the scorching sun, feeling they back of their necks begin to burn. They worked through lunch, watching as the other men stopped and watched them while eating. It was late afternoon before Mike had had enough.
"I want to see my son."
The men laughed at him, adding to his anger. He stopped digging completely, throwing down his shovel. Jack and Sayid stopped to look at him, silently urging him to stop.
"Pick it up."
"I want to see my son. Now."
"Michael," Ben had reappeared from nowhere, "please pick up your shovel. I want this to be civilised, but you're making it difficult."
"I want to see him now."
Ben didn't respond, but pulled at his belt. Mike flinched slightly, thinking he was getting the taser, but instead Ben smirked and pulled a radio to his mouth.
"Code 3."
The other men smirked, seemed to know what this meant, Jack, Sayid and Michael had no idea. But Mike was not deterred.
"I want to see Walt now."
"No. Keep digging." And Ben walked away, leaving Mike confused at the sudden departure. A shovel appeared at his hand. He looked over, Sayid had picked it up and handed it back to him. He took the shovel and walked over to where Jack was digging and started there, as did Sayid. They needed privacy.
"Mike, you need to keep calm."
"I want to see Walt."
"We know that Michael, but we need to keep calm and controlled," Sayid didn't look at him as he spoke, instead focussing on the hole he was digging.
"But I need to se..."
"We know. We know Mike, but we need to think before we act. Doing what they say will protect Walt. Not doing what they want... I don't know what will happen. What has happened," Jack said this quietly, glancing over at the men sitting down, sensing Mike look at his face, "do we know what Code 3 means?"
"No. Obviously it was said to made us wonder," Sayid still didn't look up, "I do not doubt we will soon find out."
Another hour passed, Ben was walking back over to them, Sayid knew this without looking up.
"Shovels down, we're leaving for the day. Follow me." And he walked away, leaving the three men to walk behind him.
Back through the jungle seemed longer than in the morning, as they were tired and hadn't eaten. Soon they were approaching the open space that held their cage. Jack could feel his body getting heavier, looking forward to sitting down. As they turned, they walked along the side of the low building, soon coming out to look at their cage. Just as Jack felt his body relax slightly, he looked closer, seeing Sawyer lying on the ground.
