1 Disclaimer: Though I think we all know Lost isn't mine at all, I will clearly state it just for good measure... Lost isn't mine at all. There.
A/N: wow. Thanks so much for the reviews, you guys rule!
Chapter four:
Kate was out of breath. They were running up a hill,steep and thick with trees. Her legs hurt, sharp pains all down them and then back up mercilessly, but she wouldn't stop for anything. Sayid was ahead of her, almost at the top of the hill. She was sure this is where they had heard the scream come from.
Struggle, Claire. Get free so you can scream.. Let us know where you are... Sayid thought as he crashed through the remaining trees and came upon a grassy clearing. They were far above sea-level on the island by now, and the wind was whipping through the sharp-bladed grass, bending it to the north. He looked around. Which way should he go? He heard Kate come up from behind him, breathless. His own lungs hurt, and his sides were heaving with the effort to breathe. He wanted to call to Claire, but knew that she wouldn't be the only one who heard it. Was she gagged? Why had she chosen that moment to scream? He hoped it wasn't anything horrible, and that she was still alive.
"Sayid.. Where did they go?" Kate asked. He ignored her, intent on finding a trail. The grass was thin and brittle, easy to bend and be broken at the tips. He scanned the clearing with quick eyes and spotted an area of bent grass. Someone had been through this way, he knew. After approaching, he noticed that the grass was more bent in one are than the other, like someone had been laying down. A rushed inspection of the area confirmed this idea, and he saw where two people made off again, one set of tracks more lagging and torn than the other. Claire's? She had been hurt no doubt, if these signs were any indication. Why else would she have been dragging around like that? Unless it was to leave a trail. That might be it. Good girl, Claire.
He motioned for Kate to follow him as he bolted off through the clearing and into the woods on the other side. Was that a flash of color ahead of him? A shirt? He leapt over a small stream, stumbled on the uneven rocks, regained his footing, and was running again. He could still hear Kate behind him, keeping up. She was fast.
Suddenly he was yanked backwards by something. A branch had caught his shirt, and it tore, but got snagged again on the same tree. He slipped quickly out of it and flew onward.
Now he was sure he was catching up to them. He could hear muffled cries and see a glimpse of Claire's hair through the thick foliage. Suddenly he was on Ethan, dragging the smaller man to the ground. Even though he was out of breath and tired, Ethan was no match for Sayid. Though he got one good blow to Sayid's face, he was soon knocked unconscious. He got off Ethan immediately, leaving him lying on the ground with blood spilling out of his mouth, contrasting sharply with his pale white skin.
He ran to Claire, who had sunk to her knees once Ethan had stopped trying to drag her with him, attempting to outrun Kate and Sayid. He took off her gag, and noticed that her mouth was split and bleeding at the corners. Her face was bruised and tears streamed down from blue eyes.
"Sayid!" She sobbed. He noticed she still hadn't had her baby.
"Its alright Claire, we'll take you back..It'll be ok." He whispered, unsure of how to console her. She smiled in relief of rescue through her tears. Kate came through the trees and took in the scene, Claire alive and still pregnant, Ethan unconscious several feet away. She came to kneel beside Sayid and Claire, who were on their knees also. Suddenly Claire's face darkened.
"Charlie... He... Ethan.. I saw the whole thing..." She choked. Kate and Sayid shared a smile.
"Claire.." Sayid said softly, a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him.
"Charlie is alive. He's waiting for you back at the caves." For a moment nothing registered on her face, and then her expression was of disbelief and joy. She cried and smiled and laughed through her tears.
"C'mon. Can you walk?" Kate asked, helping Claire to her feet.
"Yea." She answered, standing shakily and then steadying.
"Kate?"
She turned around.
"What are we going to do with him?" Sayid motioned to Ethan.
"We cant leave him here to wake up, get help and overtake us." She reasoned.
"I have some things in mind I would like to see done with him. Definitely some satisfying techniques that would make him suffer for all he has done" Sayid muttered. He looked from Ethan's face and then back to the two women, who were staring at him, a little shocked from that comment. They weren't concerned for Ethan's well-being, they were just shocked that Sayid would so openly consider torture... Again.
"Sayid I don't think we should..." Kate pleaded.
"I know, I know Kate, I didn't actually intend to do that. I wont ever again." He looked up, and Kate couldn't help but notice his chiseled muscles and perfectly dark skin... She blinked and shook the thoughts from her head. Sayid checked Ethan's pockets for knives or any kind of weapons.
Claire spoke. "I wish you would kill him." Sayid stared at her. It wasn't something he would have predicted she would say.
"It feels wrong, somehow." she continued. "But I don't care. After what he did to Charlie... And kidnaping me... I don't want to be scared that he'll do it again, looking over my shoulder.. Not being able to sleep. He hung Charlie, Sayid." She stopped talking and stared at him.
He wanted the man dead too. But somehow he felt he would regret it. If he killed Ethan, they might never find out about him or any more about the island. But he didn't dare leave him in case what Kate had mentioned came true and he got more men to catch up with them. They had an idea of what he was capable of, and he didn't like it.
"He's coming with us."
"What?" Kate and Claire said in unison, Kate's passionately opinionated voice mixed with Claire's Australian one.
"Sayid I don't think it's a good idea." Kate came up and stood beside him.
"Well right now it's our only reasonable option."
"I don't want him traveling with us. Its almost a two day trip back. You cant carry him, and he sure as hell isn't gonna remain unconscious the whole time. We've underestimated him too much. I'm scared to bring him." Kate finished.
Sayid sighed.
"So am I. But I can handle him, Kate. Trust me."
And she did.
Charlie sat watching the daily activity at the caves. They were a little society now, with their roles and duties they had either been assigned or automatically taken to. He didn't have one. He sat, staring at the jungle, all day. They would come back. He had to believe that. If he didn't...He was sure he would just break into little fragments of himself like shattered glass of a mirror that lay on the floor, reflecting, in little pieces, what he once was.
His neck still hurt a little. The outer wounds had healed, but the soft tissue area under his cheekbone and the muscles in his neck were all still sensitive. Jack came to check on him twice a day. He didn't get up much. Sometimes, but not often. Now, this mid-morning, Jack came and sat beside him.
"Any day now Charlie." The doctor said. Charlie nodded slightly in acknowledgment. He hoped they would come back. With her. He had faith in Sayid's promise.
"Neck still hurting?" Jack asked casually. No response. It didn't really require one, thought Charlie. He was still going to poke and prob.
"Let me see..." He took two fingers and lightly touched Charlie's neck, feeling for the right muscles. Charlie closed his eyes and winced slightly at the pain.
"I'm sorry." He said, and he lightened his touch.
"Well, the torn muscle is healing very well. It will still be sore, and eventually, in a few days, maybe a week at the most, you'll only feel like you have a stiff neck. But there will be no lasting damage. Your very lucky, Charlie." Charlie managed a small smile and eye contact.
"Thank you." He mouthed at Jack, who clapped his shoulder and got up.
Come back to me Claire... He thought as he looked to the jungle.
Ethan's wrists were bound. He was gagged, and at night they tied his feet. He wasn't going anywhere. They were a day from camp. Claire couldn't wait. She wanted to get back... especially before she went into labor.. She had to see Charlie. Her eyes filled up every time she thought about it, knowing how close she had come to losing him.
Now as the second evening came and darkness fell swiftly, they made camp. It was eerie in the jungle at night. Every sound seemed to be magnified and warped. The trees all looked foreboding and even the wind seemed to be a warning. Claire curled up and used her arms as a pillow, and was asleep almost immediately. Sayid tied Ethan's ankles roughly. Ethan just stared ahead, never making eye contact. Creepy. He gave Kate the chills. She stared at him from where she sat, watching him sneer at nothing and stare into the darkness. It was as if he was willing something to come out of the dark patch of air he stared at. Something dark and wild. He was like a snake-charmer. She wished he would close his eyes. She wished he wasn't with them. But she guessed it was better than knowing he was loose on the island.
She wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes. Before long she felt someone sit beside her.
"It's alright, you know."
She opened her eyes to find Sayid, still without his shirt, sitting beside her.
"What?"
"Ethan's hands and feet are bound. Quite well, I made sure of that. He's not going anywhere."
"I guess. He just always looks like.. He knows something we don't, you know?" She said. Sayid looked over at him, staring into the jungle.
"Your right. We'll do something. So none of us are worried about him ever again. Once we get back to camp. And we will. I was not gentle when I tied those ropes. They are tight." He took her cheek in his hand.
"Try not to worry. Try to sleep. We'll be back by this time tomorrow." He said, barely above a whisper.His voice was slowly soothing her into sleep. She closed her eyes and he smoothed her hair with his hand. She leaned her head against his bare chest, and his arms wrapped around her tenderly. This felt so natural, to be holding Kate in his arms, he thought. Her head rested on his shoulder and her breathing became even and deep. She was asleep. It wasn't long before he, too slipped into darkness.
The noise was faint at first, then became louder. It was Claire that heard it first. A crashing sound, and a great echoing growl. She sat up strait and listened. It was the ting they had heard on the first night on the island. Before she could call to Kate or Sayid, she heard Ethan speak, though not to her.
"That's right... come closer this way.. What nice timing !" He muttered to the thing as if he wanted it to come upon them.
"Sayid ! Kate ! Wake up !" She called loudly. They were up in an instant.
"No. Not again.." Kate whispered when she heard the noises. They were too close now.
It wasn't going to pass them. It was after them. Sayid told Kate to run, and went to Claire's side. He took her arm and pulled her to the side, running to the left of the approaching monster. It was terrible not knowing what he was running from. Was it an animal? It sounded like one. But what was it? Was it even real? Yes. They weren't all imagining this giant creature. He ran, wishing he could go faster, but Claire was doing her best. She was struggling to go even at this rate, and he knew he would have to seek somewhere to hide. Running wasn't going to work. Claire couldn't outrun it if it chose to pursue them, and he wasn't about to leave her to fend for herself. They both stumbled over a sudden dip in the ground, as they couldn't see it ahead of time in the dark. Sayid was suddenly afraid that they might run strait off a cliff or run into a trap of some kind.
It didn't sound like it was right on their tails, so he stopped and listened. He realized he was gripping Claire's arm too tightly, and let go. She grabbed his hand again, afraid to be separated from him in the dark. He understood. She didn't want to be lost in the jungle alone. When he was sure there was nothing after them, he doubled back the best he could in the dark. There was a moon bright in the sky that sometimes shone through the canopy, so he could make out basic shapes and tree outlines, but not well.
He was back at where their camp was. No Kate. He called for her, not very loudly, and she stumbled out of the trees, out of breath.
"Thank god." She said, and she embraced Sayid in relief.
"It chased me... I just kept running. Then I tripped and fell. When I got up..." She took a breath. "It was gone."
"Where's Ethan?" Asked Claire, who had let go of Sayid.
They looked around, only to find he was nowhere to be seen.
By daylight, they were sure that he had vanished. Sayid found the ropes he had been tied with and found them frayed and cut.
"Cut. With a knife.." He muttered, turning them over in his hands.
"Doesn't surprise me." Kate said.
"It surprises me..I checked him for knives or anything he could use to cut with thoroughly."
"Now he's out there again. Probably getting the other men." Claire said through clenched teeth.
"Don't worry. He wont re-capture you. We're very close to the caves now. Maybe only a half day of walking. Lets go." He told the two women. So they set off. Sayid in the lead, Claire in the middle, and Kate brining up the rear. The day was bright and sunny, and the heat was bearing down on them as they trekked through the jungle. They came upon a small clear brook that ran down a hillside and out of sight. It was here they took a break and re-filled water bottles. Claire wasn't at ease, though, even by this peaceful place, and Sayid got them back on the trail within several minutes.
Charlie was too hot. He hadn't had a drink in ages, and he knew he was getting dehydrated. The sun was too much. As much as he didn't want to move, he leaned over and reached for a water bottle. It had been sitting in the sun for a few hours, so the water was warm, but it slid down his parched throat and he felt refreshed anyway. He let some of the water trickle onto his face, dumping half of the contents over his forehead. He blinked away the water that ran into his eyes and took a deep breath.
His neck felt better today. He could apply some pressure without feeling like his windpipe was closing in. Perhaps he could take a nap. Was Claire alright? She had to be.. He didn't want to think of some of the things that could happen to her out in the jungle, and with those men. Sayid and Kate should have been back by now. They should have brought her back to him. It had been to long. Maybe they too were captured, and dead now. All because of him. All because Sayid promised to bring her back to him. If this was true he couldn't stand it.
Charlie closed his eyes. He could feel the sun burning his skin. It was going to be real sore later. Probably going to get skin cancer from all the sunburn he was getting out here. He didn't care. Somehow that seemed of very little importance.
"Charlie!"
Claire? He opened his eyes, ready for the disappointment that would come when he found out he was going insane, hearing her voice. But no. There she was. He was up and running, running toward her. She was alright. She was here, and she was in his arms. They were both crying without realizing it and holding each other tighter and tighter. Sayid and Kate were smiling at the two. People were coming out of the caves and from their chores to see the commotion. Jack was open-mouthed. Sayid smiled at him and nodded. Ethan was still out there, and they were no safer. They still hadn't found out the secret of the island... But in that moment, none of it mattered. Charlie and Claire were still oblivious to the crowd of onlookers that had gathered around them.
"I got you back!" Charlie cried, his face buried in her hair. "Oh, god I got you back. Don't let go, Claire, and don't ever give up...Ever..."
"I never did Charlie! I never did!"
The End
A/N: hope I got some good Sayid/ Kate in that chapter... This was so fun to write and thanks again to my reviewers!