Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, yes, I don't own Lost, I am making NO money, blah blah, whatever. :tears:
A/N: Okay, this chapter will hopefully be a bit more actiony/adventurey. Last chapter was just dramatic, maybe even angsty. Er, probably angsty. This might be angsty too, though, and it will ALWAYS dramatic. I have, like, an impairment where I absolutely can't do ANYTHING without adding a bit of drama, as much as I suck at it! Haha, I always make drama cheesy. So... yup. Sorry if my style annoys you, I ask a lot of questions and such in my stories. Hope you still like, pretty please review:) My b-day's coming up; I WANT REVIEWS:D Thank you to everyone who reviewed already, you're the reason I continued! Um, okey dokey now, I'll shut up so you can start reading.


Charlie gazed up at the horizon. The sun sunk beyond the cobalt-blue water. It splashed pink and gold colors magnificently across the sky. The sun was disappearing, but not quite. The sun... a blood-red sun.

He sat on a black rock. That rock was different than the others. It was larger, darker. The black rock... why did it sound so familiar?

Waves lapped at his bare feet. He sighed. Claire had been over a few moments before.

"Are you alright, Charlie?" she had asked.

He had nodded, a hollow expression set on his face. His right hand - his gun hand - twitched and tapped anxiously against his leg. His other hand fingered the faint scar that was left around his neck.

"Are you sure?"

He had nodded... then shook his head. "Yes... but no."

Claire made to sit down with him, grunting and stretching around her bulging stomach, but he told her, "You should go."

Her eyes widened a bit. "Oh... oh, okay," she had said, her face flushed. She straightened back up.

"Claire, I - I'm sorry, I mean... I didn't mean... I'm sorry," he had stammered.

She had shaken her head this time. "No, I'm sorry," she said softly, sadly.

"Claire -"

But she had already left.

If only she knew. If only he could tell someone. If only he could make things right again. But no one knew and he could not tell anyone and he certainly could not make things right.

"You shouldn't be out here alone."

He could do whatever the hell he wanted. He wished it had been Claire come back to say that but it wasn't. It was Jack; he could tell without looking. So he didn't look. He had wanted to apologize to Claire. But it was only Jack, only the doctor hero.

He stared blankly out at the sea, wondering what was on the other side. Was it salvation or was this island his only salvation? Maybe he had been meant to crash there. After all, it was fate. The tapes on his fingers plainly told him that this was fate and he was too late to change any of that. Maybe Charlie was just in denial. Maybe he was just going crazy. Maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was just another victim of destiny. Maybe. When would he be sure?

"...Charlie?"

"I'm fine here on my own, thanks," Charlie said.

Jack crouched down.

Charlie swallowed and the corners of his mouth jerked. "You should go."

But Jack didn't leave. "Something wrong?" he asked. Charlie felt Jack's eyes on his hands. He clenched them into fists and brought them down to his sides. Jack pressed on. "What's bothering you? I can tell something's wrong."

Huh. Jack, he thought he knew everything. Well, Charlie had some secrets that he could still hide from him. But could he hide them from the others, Locke in particular? Jack thought he knew everything. Locke did know everything.

"I'm okay. I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

Bloody hell, he could be annoying.

Charlie shrugged and frowned. "Stuff." Hint, hint. Leave me alone, bastard.

Jack could tell he obviously didn't want to talk about it. Nevertheless, he blundered on. "Does it have to do with Claire? Ethan? What's the matter, man?"

The sun was setting. It was red... dark, dark red against the black, black sky. Red suns, black rocks, ebony skies, blue waves, dim stars, dark hearts. Something had cracked. Maybe it had been when he lost DriveShaft. Maybe it had been when he lost his brother. Maybe it had been when he lost his drugs. Maybe it had been when he lost Claire. Maybe it had been when he murdered Ethan.

Or maybe it had been when he had died and the secrets had eaten out his insides in their battle to make it out.

When would he be sure?

"Leave me alone! Just bloody leave me alone, it's not your business. Maybe I'd be fine if you'd all just go away!"

Jack didn't 'go away'. So Charlie did.

He leapt up and stormed off into the jungle, Jack still calling after him.

"Charlie, where are you going? C'mon, Charlie, don't go into the jungle after dark, it's dangerous! You don't know what's out there! There are still others on this island! Charlie! Charlie!"

-

"Murderer..."

Charlie spun around. What had gotten into him, running off into the jungle by himself? And it was just because Jack had asked him if he was doing okay! Someone or something was following him around the woodlands, whispering, and now, he told himself, he was going to die. Oh God, he was going to die? Shit, he was such an idiot!

"Murderer..."

Then he realized it wasn't someone whispering. It was the trees. The trees were whispering.

"Merciless killer, you deserve death as well as he did..."

Charlie tried to swallow his fear. It didn't work. It caught and made a lump in his throat. "I - I had to," Charlie choked out nervously, inwardly wondering why he was talking to a bunch of sodding plants.

"Charlie..."

His eyes wide, he stopped turning but the world didn't. Everything spun wildly around him. He felt dizzy and slightly nauseous.

"Keep our secret, Charlie, or the island will take from you what you took from it..."

Falling on his knees, he tried to still the constant lurching and reeling of the ground below him. He pushed his hands onto the sides of his head, doubling up. If only it would stop, if only he could make things right...

Then he heard soft sobbing.

And he knew whose voice it was.

"Kate?"

"One... two... three... four... five...!"

"Kate, it's me! It's Charlie, where are you?" He staggered to his feet, groaned, and held his stomach as the ground pitched beneath him. "Kate, it's alright... where are you? Can't you hear me?"

"Charlie?"

The sobbing grew louder. Charlie steadied himself against a tree trunk. He realized what he had done and jerked away but the tree did not speak. Relax, Charlie, trees don't talk. You were imagining things.

"I'm right here, Kate!"

"ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! CHARLIE, HELP ME!"

Charlie whirled on his heels and heard a violent crashing sound off in the distance then a mighty roar. The monster, the unknown, it was heading for her, for Kate! He had to save her, he couldn't let her die, he couldn't die, she couldn't die! No, why was this happening to him? Hold on, Kate, hold on...!

"CHAAAAARLIIIIIIIIIIIE!"

B A M ! C R A C K !

"Keep our secret, Charlie."

Suddenly, a stinging, hot pain stung the back of his head, spreading across his face and down his neck to burn the rest of him. His whole body went numb and suddenly he was hanging by his neck - he couldn't breathe! What was happening? He looked down and saw her. He saw his niece. He saw Megan.

She screamed.

Then everything dissolved and his world went black.

And he was dying. There were no maybe's.

He was finally sure.


OH NO! Poor Charlie! Haha. Cliffie. I'm so evil. Hope it's getting good, sorry if it wasn't as descriptive as the last chapter! Please review, constructive critisism is nice too. Thanks:)