The Outsiders Chapter 2

It was early in the morning, and the skies were just beginning to brighten, as a few people in the camp began to come to life.

"Don't lie to me Walt, where were you last night?" Michael questioned while placing a hand on his son's shoulder, and pointing his finger at his face. "I woke up, and all of a sudden you and that dog had vanished. How many times have I told you not to run off, especially in the middle of the night? You were with that Locke guy weren't you? Weren't you?"

"No dad," cried Walt in return, moving free of his father's hand. "I don't even know where Locke was last night! I told you, I was off getting Vincent to stop barking at the jungle."

"Again!" Exclaimed Michael in a mixture of exasperation and disbelief. "This is the third night in a row, for which you've given me that same excuse. You'd better control that dog, or else…or else…"

"Or else what? You're going to ground me! Vincent keeps on being spooked by something each night, and I don't know what it is. Okay?"

"Okay…I guess. Next time, just make sure you wake me up. I don't want you wandering off and getting hurt or something. You understand?"

"Yes, father. May I go now?"

"Fine, go." As Walt walked off with Vincent in tow, Michael sat down on a nearby log, with a sigh. "Kids!"

Claire and Charlie sat in the sand, talking quietly, as the rest of the camp began to gradually come to life. This was always the best time to talk, without any interruptions or anything. It was always so peaceful, the only real noise being the soothing sounds of the rolling waves, breaking on the beach.

"Thank you for being here to talk to Charlie, since I got back from…you know," thanked Claire.

"Oh, it's been no problem at all. I like being able to talk to you like this each morning. This is always my favorite time of the day," Charlie responded. "Did you sleep well last night, even with that little guy in there kicking all the time."

"Oh, I slept fine," answered Claire, "just like a brick…a very pregnant brick that is," she said, laughing. "How about you? Did you sleep all right?"

"I guess. I just had the weirdest dream though!"

"Uh-huh. What was that?"

"Well, the two of us were of picking coconuts, well I was at least, for the reason that you were resting your back at the time. And all the while we were talking about who knows what. One minute you were speaking in English, and then another all that was coming out of you mouth was barking…like a dog's."

"Pardon? Did you say barking?" exclaimed Claire incredulously. "You aren't just joking around with me are you?"

"No, I'm entirely serious. Does this face look like I'm joking around with you," grinned Charlie, with his eyes twinkling.

"Wow! Barking! What will you dream of next Charlie," she laughed.

Walt trudged through the sand with Vincent healing at his side. Even though it was still early in the morning, it was already quite hot.

"Hey boy! You want to go for a swim in the water?"

Glancing up at Walt, Vincent's ears perked up at the word swim, and responded with a wave of his tail.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Walt. All of a sudden, Vincent caught sight of someone in the distance, and broke into a run.

"Whoa boy," cried Walt, "Heal…Heal!" But it was useless. Walt had to run at breakneck pace, just to keep from being pulled to the ground and dragged on the stomach by Vincent's leash. Vincent soon slowed to a trot, and wagged his way up to Charlie and Claire.

Looking up, Charlie used his arm to shield his eyes. "Hey there Walt! What's going on?" He asked.

"Nothing really," replied Walt. I was on my way to take a swim with Vincent, when he nearly dragged me all the way to you guys. I had to run just to keep up," he laughed. I guess he just wanted to say hi."

"I guess so," said Claire. "She smiled at Vincent's look of ecstasy as she found the sweet spot behind his ears. He's such a sweet dog, and he's so gentle too. Its as if he knows that he has too be careful around me because I'm pregnant." Claire giggled as Vincent rolled onto his back, tongue lolling out of his mouth. "I've got to say that there is, is just something familiar about this dog. Oh, well! Just call me crazy I guess."

Vincent just wagged his tail, and gave Claire his loopy doggie grin.

FLASHBACK:
The runt of the litter romped around with his other puppy playmates, having a great time. The nine puppies and their mother were all being held in the same kennel-like run at the animal shelter. Normally, it was only one dog per run, but since this was special situation with a mother and her puppies, all ten went in the same one.

Soon, one of the volunteers from the "Adopt A Friend" program walked into the housing facility, with a young blond haired woman.

"Come right this way Miss. We have a bunch of Yellow Labrador puppies who just arrived a few days ago," said the volunteer. "Now, you said that you didn't know for sure whether or not you were going to get a dog, didn't you?"

"That's right. My boyfriend and I are interested, but we don't know for sure when we'll actually get one." The young lady bent down to look through the wire fencing at the dogs in the run. Noticing the lady there, the little runt padded his way over to her, his tail wagging furiously. "Aw, they're just so adorable. Do you think that I could see one of them," the lady asked the volunteer.

"Why of course," she said, unlocking the run. "Is there one here in particular that you would like to see."

"How about the little guy who just came up to me," the young lady wondered.

Handing the little runt to the lady, the volunteer said, "even if you aren't going to get this guy, did you know that you can name him, if you'd like? None of the puppies here have received names from us yet."

"Oh, I can!" the lady exclaimed, as she held the little puppy in her arms, stroking his silky fur. "How about the name…Vincent." The lady giggled, as the newly named Vincent licked her on the nose, as if to say: "I like it."

As the little puppy was placed back in the run, the young lady told the volunteer, that she thought that she would wait, and get a dog later. The young Vincent watched as one of the ladies began to leave.

"Do you think that you can find your way out?" the volunteer queried. "Just go to the end of the building, an take a left. That should lead you to the main building."

"Okay," the young lady remarked. "Thank you for letting me see the puppies, and for being allowed to name one of them.

"Oh, it was my pleasure. By the way, what's your name?" asked the volunteer.

"Claire. Claire Littleton."
END FLASHBACK

Instead of taking the swim, Walt walked off into the jungle with Vincent. It was considerably cooler in the jungle. Vincent was panting heavily, so Walt headed for a nearby stream, down one of the well-made paths that had already been made since the crash.

He sat down on a log across from the stream while Vincent lapped up the water. He laughed as Vincent shoved his entire face in the water, bubbles from his nose popping at the surface.

Upon hearing a sudden noise, Walt spun around, startled, as Vincent let out a sharp woof. A bedraggled figure of a woman stepped out of the jungle undergrowth.

"Get me Hurley and Sayid, now!"

So that's chapter two! Hope you liked it. Please comment! I will try to get chapter three up soon.