Symptom Recital
Summary: A look at the woman, everybody loves to hate
Disclaimer: Lost and its characters belong to J.J Abrams and ABC
Author's Note: Inspired by Dorothy Parker's poem Symptom Recital, some scenes are slightly reworked to fit with this fiction.
I hate my legs, I hate my hands,
I do not yearn for lovelier lands.
- Symptom Recital-
If she closed her eyes and allowed her body to relax onto the grainy sand, she could almost believe that she was sunning on a beach in Hawaii rather than Gillian's friggin' Island. After the torrential downpour Shannon had ventured deeper into the fuselage when her brother had left to play medic, in the bowels of the wreckage Shannon found her bags thrown from the overhead compartment. With the exception of a few cheap items and clothes shoved into a suitcase, Shannon never put her luggage where she couldn't see it. The last thing she wanted was someone pawing through her belongings. Besides, most of the time she packed only the essentials, and bought the rest. If she ever had too much for carry on, she'd simply find the dumbest looking male and sweet talk him into letting her carry-on extra luggage. A bat of the eyes, a soft voice, it never failed her.
With a sigh Shannon flipped off of her stomach, surprised to find the heavily pregnant girl sitting beside her. Shannon tensed immediately, she hated being surprised. But the girl immediately smiled apologetically, "sorry. I thought you were asleep. I didn't mean to wake you."
Shannon shrugged with an air indifference. "Whatever."
" I'm Claire, by the way." The girl said simply as she turned back to writing in a worn journal. " The beach is so crowded, I just wanted to get away. This seemed like the best spot…" Claire trailed off, biting her lip self-consciously. "… I can leave." Claire shifted and closed her book, ready to move.
" No, it's fine." Shannon said quickly, " I'm Shannon." Claire smiled happily as she made herself comfortable in the sand.
" American?" Claire asked after a moment or two. Claire looked at her, pen poised on paper. For a wild moment Shannon thought she was being interviewed.
" You could say that." Shannon frowned, the one thing she didn't want to talk about was her life. Her life invariably led to Boone, and thoughts of Boone would not do. " I haven't been there in a while."
" I've always lived in Australia." Claire said with a chipper note in her voice, Shannon wondered if the girl ever experienced any sadness. Shannon's stomach dropped as she turned to Claire, Shannon wondered if Claire had anyone of the plane, she doubted it. Judging by the lack of wedding band, or clinging boyfriend, Shannon guessed that the girl was travelling alone. Not that Shannon was one to judge a person's choices, hell, Claire probably had it right idea.
"I was there for awhile, France before that." Shannon offered simply, "Australia was nice. Good shops."
Claire nodded and turned back to her journal, Shannon watched as Claire wrote a few things down.
"Hey." Shannon looked up and saw Boone making his way over to the two. He bent down and looked at Shannon seriously, ignoring Claire. "We're going through some clothes, sorting them." Boone pointed to her bikini, he seemed exasperated by the fact that she found her things and his were still missing. "I see you found your bag. Come on, you wanna give us a hand?"
Shannon didn't understand why everyone was so eager to go through the fuselage and pick through things like they were all Robinson Crusoe. Didn't any of them realize that when the plane's came, that the families of the dead would probably be pissed that they went through their belongings. "Not really." Shannon said obviously, "you're wasting your time. They're coming."
Boone sighed at her reaction, and walked away almost immediately. "They're coming." Shannon repeated under her breath as she watched the survivors sort through the clothes of strangers.
"Is that your boyfriend?" Claire asked watching Shannon.
Shannon froze almost immediately, in normal families the question would be easy enough to answer, in her life that question held unimaginable repercussions. Her mouth ran dry, and she paused a long time before answering the blonde. "My brother, Boone, God's friggin' gift to humanity."
Shannon looked away, afraid that Claire could sense something that Shannon didn't want anyone to know. Dimly she wondered why she still called Boone her brother. After all, when her father died and Sabrina re-married again, didn't that make whatever legal document that deemed her and Boone brother and sister void?
Claire smiled at Shannon knowingly, almost sensing the need to change the conversation. "I used to have a stomach." Claire smiled ruefully and rubbed her stomach.
Shannon glanced at Claire's small frame that was completely overshadowed by that bulging stomach. "You know what it is?" She asked, for lack of anything else to say.
Claire's hands settled on the top of her stomach and looked down at the bump sadly. "Not yet." She whispered, staring at the mound, she turned to Shannon and smiled sadly. "I haven't felt the baby move since yesterday."
Shannon had no idea how to respond, and silence she knew would be far too rude. Even for her. She knew that she should say something comforting, a kind white lie. But Shannon usually avoided lies; they could be too confusing when called upon.
She had never hung around women much, all her life she preferred the company of men. The male linear mind was much easier to understand and manipulate. When it came to men, Shannon always knew where she stood. But she couldn't trust women; a much older psychology professor who wanted her for more than a case study had said something about a displacement of trust issues. Couldn't trust others because she couldn't trust herself. Of course, Shannon chalked it up as talk to get into her pants, because almost after the unwanted psychoanalysis that's exactly what the man tried to do.
"Oh." Shannon offered she smiled at Claire, hoping that it would be enough. She breathed a sigh of relief as Claire smiled back.
"Thanks." Claire replied sincerely, seeming to understand what she had been trying to say all along.
"Well." Shannon shrugged, seeing nothing else to say to the woman. "Call me when it does." She said before flipping onto her stomach.
Shannon fell asleep almost immediately after the short conversation with Claire. By the time she woke up the sun's rays were hotter than before, and Claire was gone. Lazily she tilted her head up and watched the others on the beach.
A group of men were on the center of the beach, and Shannon could almost feel the testosterone levels rising as the men become louder and louder. Watching as a tall blonde man pointed an accusing finger at that Sayid guy, Shannon idly wondered how long it would be until the scene turned into a school yard fight.
Sayid seemed ready to walk away, and for a moment it seemed that everything had been resolved. But the blonde man shouted something at Sayid, which caused the man to lose it. Before Shannon could even make out what the blonde had yelled, Sayid launched himself at the blond and punched him squarely on the face.
Shannon sniggered as she watched Michael try to intervene and settle the dispute. Michael waved his arms comically, trying to stop the fight – like that would work. Shannon assumed that whatever was going onto between the two men was bound to happen sooner or later, might as well duke it out now than on the rescue plane.
Shannon supposed that if she were closer to the brawl the atmosphere would be quite serious, but from her distance everything looked like an action sequence from a silent film. The scuffle was quite humorous, and it looked like Sayid would win until the blonde man picked up a handful of sand and threw in it Sayid's face.
Before the fight could go much further however, it was halted by the newly arrived Charlie, Jack and Kate.
"Hey!" Shannon heard Jack yell, as the man walked over to the group. "Break it up! Break it up!" Michael aided Jack as they struggled to split apart the two men. After a few moments Jack succeeded in pulling the blonde off Sayid, but Michael had a more difficult time stopping Sayid from retaliating.
Bored from watching the scene sans audio, Shannon got up and walked over the group. Making sure to stand far enough away the she couldn't be involved if the fists started flying again. Getting closer to the area, the sounded became clearer over the roar of the waves.
She saw Boone nearer to the group than she, and he seemed eager to throw his weight into the conversation. She saw Boone look around and glare when his eyes settled on her. She could almost hear the dialogue running through Boone's head, questioning her right to join into the group when she hadn't moved a finger to help any of them. Whatever.
"… Can anybody help?" Shannon heard Kate ask the group. The brunette seemed to command everyone's attention, if Jack was the Alpha male of the group it seemed that Kate was the Alpha female. Not that Shannon cared, after all, Kate may want to be a head honcho on this forsaken piece of dirt, but in the real world, Shannon knew who would pull the strings.
"Yes. I might be able to." Sayid offered, still looking breathless and angry from the fight.
"Oh great!" The blonde yelled disbelievingly, looking around the group in protest. "Perfect! Let's trust this guy!"
"That's Sawyer." A soft voice whispered beside Shannon. Shannon looked over and smiled at Claire. She was surprised how quietly a woman that heavy could move. "I caught him going through bags." Claire continued frowning slightly, her eyes shifting to watch as the fat guy tried to intervene. "He said that they were his, but I doubt that he wears lingerie." Claire shrugged tearing her gaze away, as Sawyer insulted the fat guy. "I don't think he's a bad guy, just really defensive."
"He's been stealing stuff?" Shannon said incredulously, casting a look back at her bags. Needing assurance that they were still there.
"That's Hurley." Claire pointed at the fat guy, ignoring Shannon's question. "He helped me after the crash and gave me extra food, seems nice."
"He offered me some too. I never asked his name." Shannon shrugged uninterested, looking at Claire.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Shannon questioned, feeling slightly put off that she knew so little about her surroundings.
"You seem kind of isolated." Claire whispered vaguely, her attention caught as Jack stepped into the fight once more.
"I'm not isolated." Shannon protested her mind flitted back to that psychology professor and his damn defence mechanism/displacement theory bull. Shannon felt her resentment rise at Claire's statement; the girl barely knew her and was suddenly passing judgement? "I just don't care."
"Sure."
"Yeah." Shannon's narrowed her eyes, turning at the blonde. Sudden Claire didn't seem quite as naïve and friendly as she once did. "I don't need anyone." Shannon warned as Claire shrugged and turned back to the group.
No longer interested in the fight, especially since the conversation had somehow turned to something about transceiver's, Shannon decided to leave.
Shannon looked back and Claire and glared, who Claire to pass judgement on her? Looking back at her carefully laid out belongings, which were far away from the others, Shannon suddenly did not want to return to her spot.
Contrary to popular belief, Shannon wasn't stupid. She was sly. She knew the moments when she was supposed to act stupid, smile, or speak her mind. She knew what smile to use, which way to wear her hair, and what clothes suited her best. Those were the things that living with Sabrina Carlyle taught her. Shannon knew many things, but she didn't understand them.
For years Shannon didn't understand why her step-brother cared so much about her well being, or why her step-mother hated her so. She didn't understand how Boone could almost smother her one moment but then ignore her the next. When she had finally figured out the violent emotions Boone held for her she hadn't been too surprised. Originally she had tried to ignore those emotions, move on and move out. But he was always there stifling her, he would never leave her.
After her father's death, Sabrina became the sole benefactor of the Rutherford fortune. If it had not been for a small proviso in the will to set aside money for Shannon, she knew that Sabrina would not have hesitated to throw her out to the wolves.
That her father could forget his own daughter so quickly, was one of the main things she did not understand.
Scattered on the beach were bodies that had survived the crash but had died afterwards. Living only to feel the grains of sand beneath them before death took them away. For reasons unknown to her Shannon walked along that section of the beach, passing various people as she went. Hurley tried to speak to her on his way to Sayid, but she brushed him off – just as she knew she would.
In the back of her mind, Shannon knew that something was wrong. That the rescue opp should have arrived hours ago, should have attempted to contact them already. Someone should have come. Ready to return to her original spot on the beach, away from whatever she failed to find, Shannon sighed and turned around. Only to discover that she almost stumbled on a dead body.
How she had missed the body in the first place she didn't know, but there it was, staring back at her, open eyed. Bile rose in her throat as curiosity got the better of her; she shadowed the sun from her eyes as got a closer look at the man.
"What are you doing?"
Shannon looked up, startled to see Boone sitting beside her. He looked at her with open distaste and a strange curiosity.
Shannon closed her eyes, and sniffed quietly. Calming down she looked once more at the body before turning to Boone. "I was mean to him."
Boone looked at her as if he couldn't believe what he heard. "What?"
Shannon looked at Boone, slightly upset that he couldn't remember the man. That after everything, Boone still didn't understand her. "He's that guy from the gate…" Shannon said slowly, she clenched her jaw remembering everything she had said to him. She hadn't realized how close they had come, how lucky they were. How impossible it all was. She hoped that her words were not the last said the man. "He wouldn't let us have our seats in first class. He saved our lives."
Boone sighed for a moment, before speaking again. "Come on, Shan, we're trying to clear some of the wreckage; you should help out. You're just being worthless over here."
Shannon stared at Boone in disbelief, she couldn't comprehend that he didn't get that she needed help now. She didn't understand how it was that he could be so in love with her, and yet not understand her at all. "I'm being what?"
Boone turned to her, his face turning red and defensive. "What do you want me to say! You're sitting on your ass, staring at bodies."
"I've just been through a trauma here, okay?" Shannon retorted, silently pleading that Boone would understand, that he would shut up and leave her be.
"We've all been through a trauma." Boone retorted, "the only difference is, since the crash you've actually given yourself a pedicure!"
Shannon turned to him, tears in her eyes for a completely different reason. "You know what! It is so easy to make fun of me. You're good at it, I get it!" Shannon yelled back, as Boone was already talking over her. They both knew that this wasn't about the crash, or the body, but about a night that was best left forgotten.
"Yeah, well I wish I didn't have to waste my time making fun of you. I wish I never had a reason and, yeah, it is easy, Shannon."
Shannon hated that smug tone in his voice, every day it would creep into his voice while he lorded something else over her. She got the memo a long time ago, she knew that in the long run despite whatever love her father held for her, Boone would also be the favoured child. Boone would always come out on top. "Screw you! You do not have the slightest idea of what I am thinking." Shannon found it difficult to speak; the rage and tears were making everything much harder than it had to be.
Boone continued talking over her, "I have a much better idea than you think I do."
That damn smug tone. "No, you don't!" She shouted, she knew Boone inside and out, she knew exactly what buttons to push, that was the benefit of being the black sheep of that happy family crap. Boone knew nothing about her, he never did.
"Okay, Shannon!" Boone said standing; he waved his arms and shrugged. Only pretending to be interested in her thoughts. "Then what are you thinking?"
Shannon paused, she hadn't meant for the conversation to get this far. She searched the beach for a moment, catching sight of Kate and Sayid. Shannon vaguely remembered Hurley mentioning a hike before warning her about walking along the beach. "I'm going with them." Shannon motioned over to the other two preparing for the trek. "On the hike," she added unnecessarily.
"Oh yeah?" Boone scoffed, almost laughing in disbelief.
Shannon stood up resolutely; she looked Boone right in the eye. "Yep. I'm going." She smiled, almost daring him to stop her.
"No you're not, Shannon." Boone grabbed her arms, trying to avert her as she walked away. Shannon shoved him away, slapping his hands. She quickened her pace as she heard Boone yelled her name in anger. Shannon broke into a run catching up to Kate and Sayid who were getting ready to leave.
"I'd like to come with you." Shannon said breathlessly, her heart pounding from either the short run or the fight with Boone.
Boone arrived before Sayid or Kate could even say a word, Boone immediately stated his disapproval. Talking to Kate and Sayid as if she wasn't there, as if she was a child to be reckoned with. "She's not going. She doesn't know-"
"The hell I'm not!" Shannon protested immediately. Boone still ignored her, facing Kate and Sayid.
"It's what she does. She always-"
Shannon stared at Boone in disbelief, how dare he try to explain her actions to a pair of strangers. "-You don't know what the hell I-" She raised her voice trying to speak over her brother.
" -really bad decisions which upsets the family which at the moment is me!" Boone continued in his damn infuriating tone.
Shannon caught Boone's attention, gritted her teeth and spoke to him as evenly as possible. "Shut up and stop trying to be charming." She turned to the two stunned on-lookers and smiled as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "I'm coming with you."
The woman, Kate, shifted impatiently. "I don't know if that's such a good idea-" She muttered, looking at Sayid for support. But the man remained silent.
"What are you, two years older than me? Please." Shannon scoffed, as if Kate could even try to keep her here. Shannon caught sight of Charlie, finally a person she knew would support her. "You're going aren't you?" If Kate and Jack had allowed Charlie to come with them on the first trip, and on the second trip then they had to allow other people to join in. It would be, like, a conspiracy if they didn't.
" Yeah, are you?" Charlie answered quickly, fidgeting with something in his pocket. He rocked on the balls of his feet waiting for her answer, which didn't take long.
" Yep." Shannon smiled at the Brit, knowing that Boone would be pissed as hell.
"Yep, I'm definitely going." Charlie assured, not even bothering to ask Kate or Sayid.
Kate sighed dramatically, catching their attention. "Look, everybody can come." She gestured to the camp, "but we're leaving now."
Shannon shrugged and immediately began to walk off, following an already disappearing Sayid. She smiled as she overheard Charlie say "You couldn't tell from that, but she's actually really nice." Shannon wondered he was talking about her or Kate.
The last time Shannon had been on a hike was in high school, when she was trying to impress some Neanderthal jock that she now couldn't even remember the name of. After spending years on beaches and cities, Shannon had forgotten just how much she hated the wilderness. Swatting the bugs that flew by her face, she huffed impatiently. At first she hadn't minded the walk, it was leisurely and she sure as hell enjoyed Boone's anger. But then Sayid had mentioned going to higher ground, and things simply got worse for her. It wasn't that she was unfit, but she simply hated any sort of exercise, preferring other means of losing weight. Luckily Charlie was in worse shape beside her. He looked pale and sweaty, but he was funny and provided jokes that kept her going.
Kate seemed to be made for long hauls, she hardly seemed affected by the uphill trek. Neither did Sayid. Boone seemed to do pretty well also, but then again he had a free pass to some of the best country clubs in the L.A.
Sawyer, the southern, had joined them only a few minutes into the hike. He had quickly moved to the front of the group and since then had been trying, and failing, to impress Kate.
Shannon knew Sawyer's type very well, which is possibly why she didn't trust him one bit. She knew a con when she saw one. Complex guy, her ass.
An hour of walking, melded into two, which melded into three. After a while, Shannon stopped looking at her watch, it only depressed her. They had reached the mountain range that Sayid wanted to scout; Shannon had to admit that she found the steepness of the large mound quite difficult. Luckily, both Boone and Sayid helped her with the climb.
Finally when they had passed that special area of hell, Shannon was thankful to be walking on flat ground. Even though the grass was long, and the bugs were especially vicious. She swore she saw a mosquito as big as her fist.
"Okay." Sawyer stopped the trek, gesturing around him. "Wide open space. You should check the radio, see if we're good."
Sayid looked at Sawyer calmly, hardly reacting to the obvious impatience in Sawyer's voice. Shannon had to give Sayid his props, if she had someone digging at her every few minutes she would have lost her temper long ago. Boone at least was a periodic pain in the ass, Sawyer was continuous.
"We're not going to have any reception here." Sayid said simply, staring Sawyer down.
Sawyer groaned, "Just try it!" He said evenly, expecting Sayid to back down.
"I don't want to waste the batteries." Sayid protested again.
"I'm not asking you to keep it on all day." Sawyer's voice began to rise, he seriously seemed to be pissed off.
Shannon grinned as Sayid made another excuse, this definitely seemed to be some sort of superiority conflict.
"Just check the damn radio!" Sawyer seemed to be losing his patience with each passing second. Even Shannon had to admit, that Sawyer did have a bit a point. But then again, she didn't know anything about technology.
"If I just check, we might not have any juice left-" Sayid's explanation was cut short by a loud roar in the jungle. Shannon froze, immediately thinking of the sounds from last night and the trees that were bowed down by whatever made that noise.
They all stood still for a moment, each of them looking in a different direction to spot whatever made that roar.
"My god." Shannon whimpered, the strained silence finally getting to her.
"What the hell is that?" Boone whispered, not expecting an answer.
Kate licked her lips, still facing the jungle. Her eyes darting around the foliage. "Something's coming."
The roar shifted to a strange sound of grunting and growling that reminded Shannon of childhood trips to the zoo. The grass began to shake and bend and if more than the wind was pushing it.
"It's coming towards us, I think." Charlie said, his voice sounding quiet next to the loud rustle of the tall grass.
"Come on, let's move." Kate said suddenly, her voice strong.
Shannon stood transfixed on the moving grass. "I shouldn't have come on this tr-" She whispered, hating Boone for pissing her off.
Just as Kate turned to walk away, Shannon saw a flash of white fur close to their group. Immediately she screamed, everyone broke out into a panic and ran from their spots.
Shannon saw Sawyer fall behind, but she wasn't about to protest his stupidity. Kate stopped her run, "Charlie!" She suddenly called out.
Shannon looked behind, and sure enough, Charlie had disappeared.
"Kate, no!" Sayid protested as Kate ran back to their position to search for Charlie. Almost immediately the three of them followed her.
Suddenly multiple shots rang out through the air, Shannon shoved her arms over her head immediately, ready to start screaming. Everybody stopped their movements and turned back towards the source of the sound.
Sawyer stood calmly as anything, his handsome face looking both shocked and angry. A steel gun hanging loosely off his hand.
On the ground near him was a large furry white bear.
"That's… That's a big bear." Shannon stammered, unable to believe what she was seeing, the fear she held quickly dissipating.
"Think that's what killed the pilot?" Boone suddenly asked, Shannon looked at him quizzically wondering about what he meant.
Kate and Charlie looked at each other, surprised by Boone's question. Charlie shrugged and looked at Boone, his tone surprisingly calm and light. "No. No that's a tiny, teeny version compared to that." Charlie gestured what he meant with his fingertips.
"Guys, this isn't just a bear." Kate finally spoke, addressing the fact that no one else wanted to point out. "It's a polar bear."
Boone walked over to the bear, inspecting if as if he were 'friggin Hercule Poirot. He leaned in and touched the fur before jumping away. "That can't be a polar bear." He said looking rather bewildered.
"It's a polar bear." Kate and Sayid agreed, as Boone walked back over.
"Wait a minute." Shannon bit her lip, unable to believe what they were saying. "Polar bears don't usually live in the jungle."
Charlie looked at her and smiled, "spot on."
Shannon smiled at his support as Boone merely rolled his eyes. Shannon huffed, as if what he said was so original.
"No, polar bears don't live near this far south." Sayid reasoned, Shannon wondered if anything shocked that man.
Boone pointed back to the bear, "this one does."
"Did. It did." Sawyer drawled, a slight hint of pride in his voice. The gun glinted in the afternoon sun, catching everyone's attention once more.
Kate turned to Sawyer, looking rather offended. "Where did that come from?"
Sawyer's eyebrows raised a notch, as if he couldn't believe Kate's question. "Probably Bear Village," he yelled gesturing at the dead animal. "How the hell do I know?"
Kate sighed, and rolled her eyes perfectly. "Not the bear, the gun." She said slowly, her eyes locked onto the metal object.
Sawyer shrugged casually, "I got it off one of the bodies."
"One of the bodies?" Sayid repeated disbelieving.
Sawyer's jaw tightened as he turned to the man, "Yeah." Sawyer's voice grew dangerously low. "One of the bodies."
Coldness spread in the pit of Shannon's stomach, as she understood Sayid's disbelief. Shannon looked at Sawyer, suddenly quite aware of another reason she should not trust him. "People don't carry guns on the planes."
Sawyer turned to her and grinned sarcastically. "They do if they're U.S Marshals, sweet cheeks." His voice had a humorous tone to it. "There was one on the plane."
Kate's face whitened, she looked rather ill as she whispered. "How do you know that?"
Sawyer shook his head at the inquisition, his blonde locks reflecting the sun. "I saw a guy lying there with an ankle holster, so I took the gun. Thought it might come in handy." His perfected sarcastic tone grew more apparent with each word. "Guess what! I just shot a bear!"
"So why do think he's a Marshal?" Kate questioned again, still looking pale.
Sawyer flipped a square object out of his pocket, he held it up for them to see. "'Cause of the clip-on badge." He said, still affronted. "I took that too, thought it was cool."
Sayid's eyes narrowed distrustfully, "I know who you are." He said slowly. "You're the prisoner.
Sawyer raised his eyebrows, all humour gone. "I'm the what?" Sawyer questioned, his voice low, almost a growl.
"You found the gun on him, the U.S. Marshal." Sayid reasoned calmly. Shannon almost rolled her eyes at Sayid's logic, it looked like Sayid thought he was Hercule Poirot as well… Not that she even read Agatha Christie or anything…
"Yes, I believe you did." Sayid continued, pacing back and forth. "You knew where it was because you were the one he was bringing back to the States." Sayid accused, seeming quite satisfied with his conclusion. "Those handcuffs were on you, that's how you knew there was a gun."
Sawyer glared at the man, "that's all-"
At Sawyer's denial, whatever rage Sayid had been holding back was breached. "That's who you are, you son of a bitch!"
Sawyer seemed more amused by Sayid outburst than threatened. "You're as suspicious of me as I am of you." Sawyer seemed almost proud that he was distrusted.
"You are the prisoner." Sayid retorted, his dark eyes narrowed.
"Fine!" Sawyer yelled, pointing to himself. "I'm the criminal. You're the terrorist." He threw his arms in the air and turned to Shannon, her back straightening immediately. "We can all play a part. Who do you wanna be?" He questioned, staring directly at her.
Shannon looked away, as Kate, with surprising agility, snatched the gun out of Sawyer's grasp. Sawyer's gaze locked onto the brunette, a smirk forming as Kate pointed the gun at him.
Shannon licked her lips, suddenly quite nervous about Kate's actions. She wished she had paid more attention on the beach so that she would know exactly what kind of freaks she was stuck with.
After a tense moment, Kate finally asked if any of them knew how to use a gun. Her gaze and gun never wavering from Sawyer's face.
"I think you just pull the trigger." Charlie mimicked, bending his index finger. Shannon glanced at Charlie nervously, completely unnerved that he could be so calm.
"Don't use the gun." Sayid warned, an action which surprised Shannon. Sayid took a few tentative steps towards Kate before she answered.
"I want to take it apart." Kate explained, looking rather haggard that no one seemed to believe her.
"Oh." Charlie shrugged, sounding almost let down.
"There's a button on the grip." Sayid suddenly pointed out. He watched Kate's every move. "Push that, it will eject the magazine."
Grip? Magazine? Shannon questioned silently, she looked at Charlie who also seemed confused by Sayid's words. But, for a girl who knew nothing about guns, Kate was very accurate in her job. Kate pushed something, and what Shannon guessed was the magazine dropped to the ground. The metal piece conspicuous on the green of the grass.
"There's still a round in the chamber. Hold the grip, pull the top of the gun." Sayid added, now watching both Kate and Sawyer.
The bullet dropped out of the chamber, falling slowly to the ground. Shannon observed Sawyer as he watched Kate, looking quite amused at her antics. Now that the gun was taken apart, she handed a piece of the gun to Sayid and the rest to Sawyer.
As she handed the empty gun back to Sawyer, the southerner grasped her wrist rather than the gun and pulled her towards him.
Shannon breathed in sharply, unaware of if she should do something. She looked at Charlie who shrugged and whispered, "she can handle him."
"I know your type." Sawyer smirked, eyeing Kate knowingly. Shannon knew that look well, that arrogant condescending looking.
"I'm not so sure." Kate replied evenly, not at all set off guard by Sawyer's actions. In fact she looked as if she had been expecting it.
"Yeah, I've been with girls like you."
Kate narrowed her eyes, and smiled dangerously. "No girl's exactly like me." She seemed to hint as she pulled away from Sawyer. Who simply chuckled at her reaction and pocketed the gun.
Kate walked off, and after an uneasy moment, everyone followed.
Shannon was pleased when the finally left the long grass, the grass seemed to purposely harass her. Always scratching her legs, or hitting her face. Whatever humour the group originally had about the hike, was lost after the polar bear attack.
A bit more uphill than before, Shannon found it more difficult to breathe, the air seemed especially warm and thin. When Charlie stopped for another break and offered everyone a drink of water, Shannon bent over and while pretending to re-tie her shoes she took a puff of her inhaler.
Boone scoffed beside her, as she straightened up. "Guess, only unpopular people need to breathe." He remarked coolly, watching as she tucked the inhaler back into her purse.
"Not a word." Shannon warned as the group began walking again, "not a word."
After a bit more walking, Sayid began to slow down and survey the area. He seemed to be looking for an area to test the transceiver. Taking the transceiver out of his backpack, Sayid held the transceiver carefully.
Catching site of Sayid's actions, Sawyer rolled his eyes and remarked, "Oh, now's a good time to check the radio. Not before, but now." Sawyer reasoned sarcastically, tapping his foot impatiently.
Sayid ignored the Southern's tone, "We're up higher." He explained casually.
"Yes, we are." Sawyer drawled sarcastically, watching the black transceiver.
Carefully pressing a few buttons, a low static noise filled the air. Sounding strange next to the sounds of wildlife that Shannon had gotten used to.
After a quiet moment, Sayid looked up, suddenly excited. "Bar. Hey! We got a bar!"
Shannon and the others moved closer to Sayid. All of them desperate for the damn thing to work.
Sawyer merely groaned at their reaction, not believing that the transceiver would work. Shannon wondered why he even came.
"Mayday, Mayday!" Sayid spoke, holding the transceiver up to his mouth. He waited a second for a response, but all the transceiver emitted was a strange feedback.
"What is that?" Kate breathed, leaning in closer to the transceiver.
"Feedback." Sayid sighed, looking rather dejected.
"Feedback from what? What would do that?"
"I don't know!" Sayid shrugged, looking down at the transceiver, as if only looking at the thing would solve the problem.
"I'll tell you what would do that." Sawyer sounded oddly pleased, he pointed at Sayid. "This guy not fixing the radio. The thing doesn't even work."
Sayid glared at Sawyer before replying. "No. It's not broken." He said slowly, looking at the area around him. "We can't transmit because something else is already transmitting."
The group quietened, Kate immediately looked around the area. Shannon wondered about Sayid's tone, wasn't another transmission a good thing. Didn't that mean that someone was coming for them.
"Transmitting from where?" Charlie asked, his normal jovial tone now serious.
Shannon turned to Charlie, who seemed to understand something she didn't. In fact, they all seemed to understand something she didn't. "What?" She pressed, a panicky feeling coming over her.
"Somewhere close, the signal's strong." Sayid answered, his eyes still transfixed on the feedback.
"Somewhere close?" Charlie repeated, he smiled coming to the same conclusion Shannon did. "You mean on the island? That's great!"
Sayid frowned at Charlie's conclusion, and immediately Shannon understood what was wrong, if something was already playing than it was blocking their transmission. Damn it. Shannon sincerely hoped that Charlie was right.
"Maybe it's other survivors." Boone offered, looking almost hopeful himself.
"From our plane?" Shannon rolled her eyes, "how would they even-"
"What kind of transmission is it?" Sawyer broke in, cutting Shannon off. He looked rather intrigued at the notion of rescue.
"It could be a satellite phone." Sayid muttered, focusing on the transceiver. "Maybe a radio phone?"
"Can we listen to it?" Kate asked hurriedly, Shannon swore that Kate looked almost worried over what they might hear.
"Let me get the frequency first." Sayid breathed, turning a few dials. "Hold on."
Sawyer laughed at the tension of the group, "there's no transmission."
"Shut up." Kate warned, looking at Sawyer.
"The rescue party." Charlie grinned, he turned to Shannon, "it has to be."
Shannon sucked in her breath as a woman's voice came through the transceiver. With the exception of a bit of static, the voice was quite clear. Shannon's stomach dropped when she heard what was transmitting, immediately she realized that the transmission was not from a rescue operation. After all, the rescue party would have been either American or Australian, it seemed impossible that the nationality be French.
"That's French!" Charlie yelled excitedly, almost jumping. "The French are coming! I've never been so happy to hear the French!"
Sayid laughed as well, Shannon shrugged at her previous thoughts, if Sayid and Charlie both thought it was from a rescue mission than it must be. Perhaps they had landed over international waters.
"I never took French." Kate smiled, even though she still sounded worried. "What is she saying?"
"Does anyone speak French?" Sayid enquired, looking around the group.
Shannon clenched her fists as thoughts of Paris came back to her. The last thing she needed was to screw up a transmission translation, not only would she be worthless, she'd also be stupid.
Before she could stop him, Boone pointed at her. "She does."
"No, I don't!" Shannon hissed, was Boone trying to set her up for failure? "What? I-"
"Shannon, what are you talking about?" Boone protested, his eyes widening at her denials. "You spent a year in Paris!"
"That was drinking, not studying." She retorted, hoping the subject would dropped. The last thing she need was for him to bring up St. Tropez.
The electronic voice of the transceiver continued, interrupting Shannon again, spouting off random numbers.
"Okay, what's that?" Charlie asked, pointing at the transceiver.
Sayid abruptly pleaded with the transmitter, "Oh, no. No-no-no-no-no-no-no!" He began to tap a few button and dials, obviously concerned about something.
"No-no-no, what?" Kate's voice was almost hysterical at Sayid's reaction.
"The batteries are dying!"
Kate looked at the transceiver and then at Sayid, "how much time do we have?"
Sayid looked up at Shannon, "not much." Shannon shook her head, there was no way he could guilt trip her into translating. No friggin' way.
Boone turned to her, looking panicked and worried. "I've heard you speak French." He pleaded, "just listen to this. Listen to it!"
Shannon looked at Boone, biting her lower lip to keep from crying, the pressure of the group finally getting to her nerves. "I can't!"
Sawyer grabbed her arms, almost shaking her. "Do you speak French or not?" He yelled, letting her go. "Because that would be nice."
Ils sont morte. The French words filled the tense air, immediately snatches of memories from Paris drifted into her head. They are dead, Shannon translated immediately.
Rather than more French, the voice on the transceiver switched back to the numbers it had spouted off before.
Charlie shook his head, "That voice is weird." He stated, looking to Sayid. "What is that?"
Sayid and Boone turned to her at once, speaking in unison. "Come on!" They urged her, Shannon closed her eyes and tried to block out everything but the French.
After hearing a few more familiar phrases of French, Shannon opened her eyes. "It's… It's repeating." She said tentatively, looking around her for support.
Sayid smiled at her encouragingly, "she's right. It's a loop." He explained, once more becoming Hercule Poirot. Shannon wondered if Sayid knew anything about the detective. "The duration - it's repeating the same message. It's a counter."
Ils sont morte, the transmission repeated. They are dead.
Sayid was quiet and seemed to concentrate on the transmission. "The next number will end five-three-three…" He said quietly, holding up the transceiver as the numbers he predicted rang out.
"Does anyone know what the hell he's talking about?" Sawyer asked, amused by the intense look of concentration on the Iraqi's face.
Sayid turned to Sawyer, Shannon was thankful that he was so patient. Her nerves were on the edge, ready to break and Sayid had much more pressure on him. "It's a running count of the number of times the message has repeated." He explained calmly, looking at Sawyer. "It's forty-thirty seconds long so…" Sayid frowned as he tried to calculate in his head. "How long…"
"Don't forget to carry the one, sheik." Sawyer drawled, adamant that Sayid was wrong.
Shannon ignored Sawyer's ribbing as she focused on a new set of lines that came out through the transceiver. Shannon breathed deeply, preparing herself. "She's saying, 'Please.'…" Shannon focused on the ground, trying to ignore Sawyer's groans. "She's saying, 'Please help me. Please come get me.'"
"Or she's not!" Sawyer protested, as Shannon began to panic. "You don't even speak French!" He reminded them, looking at her in disbelief.
"Let her listen!" Kate pleaded, hitting Sawyer in the side.
"Shut up, man!" Boone yelled as Shannon's breathing began to quicken.
Charlie began to fidget again, unable to keep still. Charlie rocked back and forth, sounded panicked. "How's the battery? The battery!"
Sayid passed Shannon the transceiver, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore them all as she place the transceiver against her ear. As she heard the voice, and rapidly began to translate, Shannon began to shake. She never was able to deal under pressure.
" 'I'm alone now. I'm…" Shannon stuttered, trying to keep her voice from breaking. "On the island alone. Please, someone come." Tears spilled out of her eyes, as what she had feared became true. There was no rescue mission coming for them. "The others, they… They're dead. It killed them. It killed them all.'" She finished whispering, taking the transceiver away from her ear. She held it in her hand and once again felt oddly displaced.
"That was good." Boone said bracingly, patting her back and looking impressed.
"Sixteen years." Sayid suddenly spoke, Shannon turned to him still sniffling.
"What?" Sawyer questioned, his voice seemed to have lost that sarcastic edge in the face of Shannon's translation.
"Sixteen years. And five months, that's the count." Sayid elaborated, looking quietly into the distance. Shannon expected Sawyer to say something rude, but the southerner simply stood quietly with a far away look on his face.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Boone asked, looking at Sayid.
"The iterations..." Sayid explained, pointing to the transceiver still in Shannon's hand. "It's a distress call. A plea for help, a mayday." He sighed, glancing at Boone patiently. "If the count is right … It's been playing over and over for sixteen years."
"Someone else was stranded here?" Boone guessed, asking the obvious question that preyed on their minds.
Kate bit her lip, and looked at Sayid hopefully. "Maybe they came for them."
"If someone came…" Sawyer retorted, looking away, "why does it still play?"
Shannon looked around her, watching the trees branches bend and wave in the warm afternoon wind. Despite the warmth, Shannon shivered as she realized just how lost they really were.
"Guys." Charlie cut in, looking around the jungle as well. "Where are we?"
No one seemed able to answer Charlie's question, in fact no one seemed able to say anything. Kate cleared her throat self-consciously, "we should get back to camp." She reasoned, "it's not safe out here."
"It'd be safer if we had a gun." Sawyer muttered under his breath, he turned to Shannon as the other's got a bit ahead. "Nice work sweet cheeks." He drawled before quickening his pace to catch up to Kate.
Shannon slowed down her pace so she was at the back of the line, she cast one last look around the field before she felt ready to leave. After this, Shannon deemed, there was no way Boone could call her worthless.
- Finis-