But Charlie was about to get one more thing to think about.
He broke through the vegetation that lead to the small spring where the survivors filled their water. But he was surprised to see someone bent over the water. She didn't appear to see Charlie.
Charlie almost opened his mouth to apologize, but then he realized she was very intently absorbed by what she was doing, so Charlie was unseen. He backed away from the clearing and stood behind a tree to watch her at work. He didn't know who the girl was. You'd think, after spending so many days on an island with these people, you'd know everyone. The girl seemed like she was in her teens. She had brown hair and blue eyes, and she'd been filling water bottles. But that didn't tell him who she was.
Charlie turned around to watch her once more, to see if he could identify the girl. But she was gone. He backed away from the tree and headed to the spring. "Hey, you!" Charlie dropped his water in surprise and turned to see the girl standing there.
"Oh, hello!" said Charlie. "Don't believe we've me. Name's Charlie, what's yours"
Charlie held out a hand.
"Emily Van Halen," said the girl, shaking Charlie's hand. She had an Australian accent like Claire's. "You look like you could use some help with those- should I"
"Please," said Charlie. He let Emily help him pick up some of the bottles, which belonged to most of the people who lived in the caves.
"So, Emily." said Charlie. "You here with your parents"
Emily stopped in her tracks. "My- my parents? Um, no. I'm not"
"Family?" asked Charlie.
"No... no family." she mumbled. Then she clutched her stomach. "Ow. Sorry"
"You all right?" asked Charlie. Emily doubled over. "Yeah, I'm..." but she turned around and vomited.
"AH!" yelped Charlie. "Emily... Emily, are you all right"
Emily couldn't respond. Her face was white as a ghost, and she couldn't seem to stop throwing up.
But as soon as it started, it stopped. "Emily!" cried Charlie, who didn't know the first thing about kids. For God's sake, he was a musician, not a pediatrician! "Are you all right? Do you want to see Jack"
"Who's Jack?" asked Emily.
"The doctor, he can help you." said Charlie. Emily gathered up her stuff. "Look. I don't need help from anyone. I'm just fine, okay"
She stalked off.
Charlie, however, didn't let her go that easily. That night, he said to the doctor:
"Jack... I need your help"
"Sure, Charlie. What is it?" said Jack.
Charlie pointed to a corner near some trees, where Emily was curled up, sleeping. She shivered.
"Yeah, do you know who she is?" asked Jack.
"Her name's Emily Van Halen. But she wouldn't tell me where she's from or who she's with. She didn't want to talk about her parents, but she said she's not here with anyone"
"Uh-huh," said Jack. "There's more, isn't there"
"Yes." said Charlie. "When we were walking back from the spring, she vomited"
"Did- did she seem sick at all?" asked Jack.
"No, I didn't suspect a bloody thing!" said Charlie. "And there's one more thing"
"What's wrong, Charlie?" asked Jack.
"She wasn't in the manifest"
The second he heard this, Jack called all the survivors together and asked them all if they knew Emily.
"She sat next to me on the plane!" said someone from the beach. "She introduced herself as Lucy, but I didn't talk to her much"
Jack glanced at Kate, who was standing next to him. She looked at the manifest in her hands.
"Lucy Van Halen." said Kate, pointing to a name. "An alias?"
But by that time it was late at night, and Emily was asleep.
"Let her sleep," said Jack to Kate. "She's probably dehydrated, from what Charlie said"
Kate nodded. Jack left.
Kate covered her with a blanket and gently stroked her cheek.
"We'll help you." she whispered to the sleeping soul. "Don't worry"
When Emily woke up in the morning, she was greeted by Charlie, who was holding out a water bottle.
"Here. Drink this"
Emily accepted the water. "Thanks. What's going on"
A man approached them.
"Emily," said Charlie. "This is Jack. Mind if he checks you out a little bit, just to see if you're okay"
Emily nodded weakly.
"Can you tell me what your name is?" asked Jack.
"Emily. Emily Van Halen."
"Drink the water please, Emily. You know, your name wasn't in the manifest"
Emily pushed back the blanket. "You know, I'm really feeling much better. You don't really need to"
"Nonsense," said Jack. "Sit down, you're still weak. How old are you, Emily"
"Look, doctor"
"Jack"
"Huh"
"Call me Jack. Doctor Shepard is my father"
"Oh," said Emily. "Right. Jack. I don't need your help, or anyone elses'. I'm just fine on my own, all right"
"We still need to know who you are," said Charlie. "Couldn't you please just tell us"
"Who were you on the plane with?" asked Jack.
"No- no one, but"
"Know a Lucy Van Halen"
"Yes, but she's"
"Is she dead? Did she die in the crash? Or is she, perhaps, you"
"Dude!" said Emily. "I don't need your sodding help. Just leave me alone, all right"
"We just want to know your story"
"Yeah, well..." Emily stood up and turned around. "You couldn't take my story"
She left.
"So?" asked Saiid, approaching. "Any luck"
"She wouldn't tell us anything." said Jack.
"Nothing?" said Kate, who was standing nearby.
Jack turned. "Stubborn. You know how kids are at that age. Wanted to keep it all a secret"
"Where'd she go?" asked Kate.
Jack pointed. Kate turned and walked away.
She walked until she saw a person, leaning against a tree.
"Hey!"
The girl turned.
"Are you Emily?" she asked.
"Yeah," said the girl. "Who wants to know"
"My name's Kate," Kate said. She sat down beside Emily. "Are you here with your parents"
"No." said Emily.
"Family? An aunt, or a sister or something"
"No." said Emily.
"What were you doing in Australia?" asked Kate.
"Nothing." said Emily.
"Did you always live there? Or were you on vacation or something"
"I didn't always live there." said Emily shortly. "And if Jack thinks that I'm going to tell you anything, he's got another thing coming. I'm just fine, Kate. I don't need anyone's help"
"Hey, I was just asking." said Kate. "You don't have to tell me." She got up and left.
"Nothing?" asked Jack when she got back to camp.
Kate shook her head. "You were right. But I wish we could help her"
"Me, too." said Jack. "Thanks for trying"
"Hey, I wanted to help you." said Kate.
"Me"
"Of course." said Kate. She smiled.
Night fell, and no one had seen Emily since the morning. They were worried. No one knew what her deal was.
Jack sat beside the fire at about eleven or so at night, wishing he could fall asleep. Beside him on one side sat Charlie and Claire, who were talking. Sawyer sat nearby, reading a book. Saiid and Jack were sitting side by side. Kate approached and sat on Jack's other side.
"Seen Emily?" asked Kate.
"No," said Jack.
Leaves crunched nearby. Who was there? Saiid stood up to see, but then the bushes cleared and Emily came through.
"So you want to hear my story?" she said. She sat down against a tree and looked at them.
"If you're willing to tell us, yes." said Jack.
Emily looked into the fire pit.
"I'm from New York City," she said. "that's where I was born, and I lived there for a decent amount of my life. My mom, my sisters, my dad, and me"
Kate and Jack exchanged a glance. Sawyer put down his book and looked at the girl.
"And who's this?" he said.
"Shh," said Saiid and Kate at the same time.
"I was five when my dad left us," said Emily. "Right after Mindy- my little sister- was born. Hit my Mom real hard. She never saw it coming.
"When I was seven Mom got cancer. Just like that. None of us ever saw it coming. Sara did what she could to help us, since she was the oldest and everything... but nothing was enough. So Aunt Janie moved in with us." Emily gave a little snort. "She hated us kids. She believed in what she called 'discipline', but normal people call 'abuse"
Claire gasped a little. Emily kept going.
"Mom died when I was ten." She sniffled a little. She was starting to cry. "Aunt Janie didn't want us. She just dumped me, Sara, and Mindy in an orphanage one day.
"It's been foster homes all over the place since then," said Emily. "Some were okay. Some were really nasty. But I never lasted more than a year in any of them." she shook her head a bit.
"I was eleven when we got the call... I was living on Long Island with this family." she shook her head some more. "This guy called... he said he was my Dad. He was in Sydney, and Mindy and Sara were both on their way. He wanted us to be a family again, just like that." she made a little "pff" noise.
"So I came to Sydney." she was crying softly now. "My Dad's remarried. I hate my stepmother. She's a real... Aunt Janie, I guess you could say." she was still staring into the flames.
"When my Dad died, I wasn't about to stay with Annie- my stepmom. There was only one other person in my Dad's will that had custody of me. His brother that I never met. He lives in LA. I contacted him. He said he wanted me to live with him and his family. He'd call Sara and Mindy, too. I was excited. I'd finally be with my sisters again." she smiled, then went "pff" again.
"But now I'm stuck on a proverbial sandbar in the middle of nowhere telling the depths of my life story to a rocket scientist and a Warped Tour wannabe." she stood up. "I'm going to sleep. Thanks for listening, I guess"
She left.
Kate looked at Jack. He was silent. Saiid turned and looked at Sawyer, then nudged Claire to look.
Sawyer was crying.
