Ah, I have two more new readers! I never thought my story would be so popular! Thanks for all the reviews guys, they mean a lot. I'm glad you've finally came out of hiding, fellowfigment, lol. Also, note that I've finally found a title. And it was all thanks to Sawyersgirl on the Lost-forums. The story's now called Shadow in the Dark. Here's the next chapter! Happy New Years everyone!!

Chapter Four

It took perhaps a second for what Kate shouted to run through Sawyer's mind. Then he grabbed Kate's arm and ran. He made them swerve to the right in hopes of confusing whatever was behind them. It didn't seem to work as they heard an eerie shriek from somewhere right behind them. Sawyer changed a look behind him and instantly regretted it. He tripped over a hidden tree stump and fell with a thud on his hurt arm, dragging Kate down on top of him.

'Dammit! Son of a bitch!' Sawyer cursed, trying to get up from the mud hole he fell in.

Kate, stunned from the sudden change in direction, took a minute to react. Then she was back on her feet, trying to help Sawyer up. He almost took her back down as he slid in the mud. She felt the ground shake under her, but she didn't look back. Sawyer finally found some footing and they took off running in the storm again. Kate could hardly see Sawyer in front of her, thanks to the sheets of rain that were now falling. She did notice that Sawyer didn't have his flashlight anymore though. That meant they were really running blind through the jungle now. A branch scraped across Kate's cheek and she bit down a cry.

She couldn't tell whether the thing was still following them or not. She barely heard the thunder over her own racing heart. She knew they would have to stop somewhere soon though, but she put that in the back of her mind. All she thought about was following behind Sawyer and running as far away from that thing as she could. She stepped on the back of Sawyer's shoe and almost fell down. Despite how tough of a bad ass he almost always acted, she could tell Sawyer was slowing down. His smoke-filled lungs and his hurt arm were dragging him down. She tried looking for a cave, a hole, something they could run to and hide from the thing. She couldn't see anything until a flash of lightning came. She looked frantically around and saw what she was looking for. Coming up in front of them was a huge tree that had fallen down. Beyond that she couldn't see anything for some feet. It had to be a drop-off, or at least that's what she hoped. She prayed it wasn't like the cliff she almost went over earlier. They were getting closer to the tree. Sawyer changed direction, about to run around it. She grabbed the back of his shirt and ran straight for it. He fell behind her, not sure what she was doing. She got a firm grip on his shirt and kept running. A few seconds later she tripped on the tree, falling on it hard. She nearly lost her breath as Sawyer tripped over it too. She grabbed his arm and rolled over the tree and immediately slid down what felt like a steep side. Sawyer tried to grab something, but everything was wet and slippery. They kept sliding for several more feet and then landed with a splat as they ended up in shin deep muddy water. They lay there, inches apart, their faces barely above the water. Sawyer was breathing too heavily to speak, as was Kate. They lay there and felt the rain beat down on their faces. Kate tried to catch her breath and raised her head, trying to listen better. She didn't think she heard any movement above or around them, but she wasn't sure. She tried to sit up and cried out as she felt a sharp pain in her left side. She remembered falling on the tree on that side, but she didn't know she had fell that hard. Sawyer raised his head, his left hand searching blindly for Kate in the dark. He touched her knee.

'All . . . right?' he began, but Kate hushed him with a "Shh!"

She hoped the thing wasn't anywhere around because it would have no trouble hearing her. She looked up, ignoring the pain in her side. Beside the storm, all she heard was Sawyer's heavily breathing.

'I think . . . I think it's gone,' Kate said in a low voice after a few minutes of silence.

'Great . . . but I uh . . . my arm . . .' Sawyer drifted off as he groaned.

'What? Why didn't you say something?' Kate asked, still ignoring her side.

She felt his hand on her knee and took it to guide her to where he was. She scooted over and grimaced.

'Well, uh . . . we were kinda busy. Or didn't you notice?' Sawyer asked.

'Smartass. Can you tell if it's bleeding badly?' Kate asked.

'Probably,' Sawyer said, lifting his arm up from the water. 'Sure as hell stings.'

'Let me see,' Kate said, reaching out her hand.

'And how the hell are ya gonna do that, sweetheart?' Sawyer asked.

'With your lighter. You can't tell me you don't have a lighter on you,' Kate said.

'Yeah, yeah, I got one,' Sawyer said, sitting up and reaching into his pocket with his other hand.

He pulled out the lighter and pushed down on it. Nothing happened. He pushed down on it three more times until it finally lit up. He moved it closed to his other arm. His bandage had been torn off. His shirt sleeve, along with the rest of his arm, were covered in blood.

'It's bleeding alright. Did he put stitches in it?' Kate asked.

'Oh, you know Doctor ER. Pulled out all the stops to save little ol' me,' Sawyer said.

'Yeah, even after what you told him,' Kate said, looking at him.

Sawyer was silent and didn't return her gaze, looking at his arm instead.

'I think you yanked out half of the stitches,' Kate said, turning her attention back on his arm.

'Feels like I pulled them all out,' Sawyer muttered.

'You've lost a lot of blood. I've got to wrap it in something. Maybe that'll stop the bleeding until we find someone.'

'In this weather? It would be better if you just left me, freckles,' Sawyer said.

'Shut up or I will,' Kate threaten.

'And how would you pull that off? That didn't sound like a cry of happiness you let out a few minutes ago,' Sawyer said.

'I'm fine,' Kate said.

'Of course you are,' Sawyer said, looking at her and smiling.

'Here, freckles. Grab a hold to my shirt and hold onto it when I pull,' he said, switching his lighter to his other hand.

Kate obeyed him reluctantly and Sawyer tore a strip of the bottom of his shirt off. Kate took the strip before he could do anything else. He put the lighter in his good hand and then moved his hurt arm closer to her. She rolled up her soaked jacket sleeves and started wrapping up his arm. He grimaced every now and then when she made sure it was wrapping tightly. He cried out when she tied it tightly.

'Watch it, sweetheart,' he said.

'You'll live,' she told him.

'Yeah, well, if I don't, why don't you say we kiss and you make me better?' he asked, smiling that sly dimpled smile of his.

Kate rolled her eyes and tried to get up. She cried out again and stumbled backwards. Sawyer jumped up and caught her before she fell.

'What was that you said about being fine?' he asked in her ear.

'Just help me stand and shut up,' Kate said, noticing how close he was to her.

'Whatever you say, Princess,' Sawyer said, smiling.

Kate grabbed Sawyer's good arm and steadied herself.

'Let me see your lighter,' Kate said.

'Yes ma'am,' Sawyer said, handing it over to her.

Jackass, she thought. She held up his lighter, hoping it wouldn't go out. It had stopped raining hard though. The lighter only flickered dangerously, but didn't go out. She looked up and saw nothing but a muddy wall. About seven feet behind her it was the same and off to the sides. The "wall" reached up to about eight feet. She didn't know if this hole was man-made or accidental, but the water had risen while she had mended Sawyer's arm. It was now right at her knees.

'Do you think you could lift me up?' Kate asked.

'S'pose I could. Gotta be careful though. Don't want to hurt that pretty little side of yours,' Sawyer said.

'Will you lift me up or not?' Kate asked.

'Anything for you, sweetheart. How the hell am I gonna get out though?'

'I'll send down a tree limb and help you climb up,' Kate said.

'You must be stronger than you look or you're just gonna leave me here to drown in the mud hole from hell,' Sawyer said.

'Maybe I am then,' Kate said. 'Just give me a boost.'

Sawyer smiled and sloshed his way to her. She gave him his lighter and he put it in his pocket.

'I'm hoping you won't fall on that sweet ass of yours in the dark,' he said as he bent down and cupped his hands.

'Just yell if your arm starts to go out,' Kate said, ignoring the comment and put her foot in his hands and stood up shakily.

She heard him grunt in pain as he lifted her up. She started feeling around for something to grab a hold to. When he had lifted her as high as he could, her head was about two inches over the top. She held onto a branch from the fallen tree and pulled herself up. She winced as the ground scraped the jacket across her side.

When she was over she could hear the storm in full force again. There were no other trees collapsing though, no growling or stomping. The rain had slackened off a few minutes ago, but now it had became bullets once again. She felt around for another tree branch or something that would help her. Her fingers came across something rubber. Her hand stopped as what she touched went through her mind. Something rubber? In the middle of a jungle? She searched around it and found what felt like shoelaces. It then hit her. It was a shoe. She looked up, squinting in the rain. There was a flash of lightning and she saw someone standing above her. It was the same person she had been running after . . .