Stranded Memories

Rating: PG-13 for language

Disclaimer: I own crap. They wouldn't even give me the bloody Lost poster at Disney, and that ruined my day. FOX owns all OC characters and OC related thingys… and ABC owns sobs all Lost related things… even my Charlie…

Summary: Little things can push people over the edge. That very thing happens to Seth Cohen. When something happens to him that sends him into a crashing situation, who knows how he will survive. Seth-centric. Lost/OC Crossover.

A/n: I don't know how long this chapter will be, but it will have a tribute to my Spanish class in it.

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"The Greatest Birthday Gift"

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"Every stone here sweats with suffering, I know that. I have never looked at them without a feeling of anguish."

"The Stranger" by Albert Camus

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One week. Give or take a few hours. It had been a week since the abduction. One week since I had seen or heard from anyone, or anything. One week since Charlie died. One week since I had last seen Claire.

One week since Seth Cohen pretty much disappeared off of the face of the earth.

I sighed. They had pretty much forgotten that I existed. I had no clue where I was, but wherever I was, it was old. I had a little bit of guava everyday at around four and that was it. That was all that they acknowledged my existence.

But I figured out their game. They wanted me to go insane. Small room, all alone, one week, anyone was bound to go insane, but I hadn't. And the random information that I learned in tenth grade Spanish class that I never thought would ever be useful, was.

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"Raúl, pay attention," Sra. Jacobs snapped at me. I always daydreamed in Spanish class, since I knew I was never going to use it. I just took it because I had to. Paco, I hated that name, but I was cursed with it, it was the Spanish name that I picked my freshman year.

I sat up slightly, and pretended to pay attention to something about conjugating the subjunctive form… or something like that. Once again, if you could get the basic gist of what you needed to say across, you'd be fine.

But as always, I began to zone out, and the next thing I remembered was her going over how to say, "to be bored" in Spanish. Aburrirse. Like I'd ever need to know that!

Then she moved on to explain that in the true translation, it means "to bore one's self, because it was a reflexive noun. What happened next happened in every Spanish class.

"So," she stated, "It is impossible to use that and actually mean what you think you're saying, or your brain wouldn't be working, because as long as you're thinking, you won't be bored, it is as simple as that."

Now I began to pay attention, the little off task things that she talked about were always interesting, and the one reason that I didn't drop out of the class.

"Now they did these tests on these people that were prisoners of war. They locked them in a room… six by six that is nothing but white walls, and left them there for a few hours. The ones that fared the best were the ones who kept their minds active."

And when would I ever use that? I began doodling on the piece of paper. "So what are some ways that you think the people did to keep themselves from going insane?"

There was a bit of a silence, I looked around, people looked happy that they were getting out of actually doing Spanish.

Then Luke raised his hand. Oh this should be great. Let's get the water polo players opinion on everything…

"Pepé?" she asked.

"Play a game in your head, like baseball,"

Sra. Jacobs laughed. "That is to keep yourself from being brainwashed Pepé, but that would probably work." I laughed inwardly. I swear, was that all the guy thought about, chicks and sports. "Anyone else?"

Marissa raised her hand. "Carmen?"

"Write a story in their mind, like come up with everything and just think it up, like watching a movie," she said, although not sounding so sure that she had the correct answer.

"Good," Sra. Jacobs smiled. "Anyone else?" No one else had their hand raised. "Oh come on guys…" Still nothing. I watched her as her eyes scanned the classroom, and then landed on me. "Raúl?" she asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

I remained silent for a bit, thinking of what I could say. I could hear Luke whisper something to one of his buddies, but I tried to ignore it. "Pretend that they're somewhere else, that they're not trapped somewhere that they couldn't get out of. Someplace where they're happy and safe?" I said, ending it sounding like a question.

The room was silent for a bit, just looking at me. They were as shocked as I was when it came out of my mouth. "Good Mr. Cohen," she said, before proceeding on. Everyone just continued to stare at me. It kinda displayed what life was like for me in Newport, and the more I thought about it, the more I agreed with the thought.

Pretend that I'm somewhere else, not trapped in a world I couldn't get out of. Someplace where I felt happy and safe.

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The memory stuck with me, and that was how I remained sane.

It was dark, and cold. I didn't know where I was, but it was old, and underground. I could feel that we were underground, well I was underground. I didn't know if Claire was here or not.

My eyes, by now were adjusted to the darkness, and I could see faint outlines. I had gotten myself situated in a corner, far away from the door (at least I thought it was a door) of where I was. I could no longer feel my hands; I had loosened the ropes that had my hands bound tightly in front of me, but not enough. It wasn't like there was any way I could escape.

Once we had arrived at wherever here was I could feel myself being turned so many directions, I remembered them.

Left twelve steps, right thirty steps, right nineteen, left three, then we turned completely around and went straight three, right nine, left thirty-two. Then they stopped and I heard talking that I couldn't understand, before I blacked out.

When I woke up was when I found that I was somewhere. Obviously they didn't want me figuring out how to get out of wherever I was. And as if tying my hands together wasn't enough, they had tied my legs together at the ankles. I easily got the blindfold off, but the knots around my ankles were too complicated.

So there I sat, in my corner, unmoving, and staring at the rocks near me. I kept thinking about that Spanish class, and how it was going to save my life. I trapped myself in memories, letting them play in my head over and over again. That was what I had done staring at the rocks, all day, and all night.

The only way I knew what time it was was by illuminating the watch on my wrist, if it was still even working properly. Who knew what the island could have done to it? But it kept me hoping for something, if anything. But when my thoughts weren't focused on memories, or the time, they were anything but happy.

I kept seeing the mental image of Ryan dead and my mother crying all the time. And if not that, then Charlie hanging dead from the tree. The last one was the most disturbing, because it should have been me. If I could have convinced Charlie to run, he wouldn't have been dead.

Dead. Death. Die.

Three words that kept reoccurring in my mind. Ryan was dead. I saw Charlie die. Death was surrounding me. I could feel its presence making me feel guilty. I had caused two deaths, neither of which deserved to die.

I could feel the tears in my eyes once more. I didn't want to think about it, but every time I did, it made me want to break down, and cry. Two innocent lives and I was still alive.

I lifted both of my hands up and felt the place on my neck where Ethan had put the knife against me. It was little more than a scar now, but I knew it was there, even though I couldn't see it. My eyes wandered around until it stopped at the small bit of light coming in the room from the ceiling. That was where the door was, so it would have been even harder for me to get out.

Maybe it was a sign. Maybe that was the only way I would make it out of here, was if I died. The thought constantly ran through my mind. What if it would have been me instead of Charlie? What if I would have just listened to the rational part of me and stayed in Newport for a few days more? All the 'what ifs.' I knew none of them mattered, but that didn't make them plague me any less.

Suddenly, the light from above increased as the door opened. Normally this was just some water or guava, but it wasn't that. It was someone.

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I followed Aerin through the crowded Sydney streets. She never realized that I was following her until she turned around and saw me. "Are you stalking me?" she asked defensively.

Laughing slightly I shook my head. "I have no clue where I am or what I'm doing, and am in serious need of some help," I said, knowing that I was going out on a limb here.

I could feel her eyes piercing into me. She was studying me, just looking straight at me, before she walked closer to me. "You seem like a good person, a good kid," she said that last part with a smile. "But is it all an act, or are you truly that desperate for my help?"

Trying my hardest, I gave her the puppy dog eyes and she giggled. "You are pathetic Seth, you know that?" she said laughing, before grabbing onto my arm.

I didn't know how to react to that, as she began pulling me through Sydney. "Hi, I'm Aerin," she said, a tone of joking in her voice. "And I am going to be your tour guide of Sydney for the next…" She stopped and turned around to look at me. "How long are you going to be here?" she asked.

Shrugging I said, "I have no clue. I'm here for… however long I want to be here."

She went back to the joking voice. "Well, I'll be your tour guide of Sydney until you decided to leave… unless I get pissed off at you, then I will forget that you even existed, got it, good?" She laughed, pulling me along. "First things first, where are you staying?" she asked me.

Maybe this was a bad idea. "I don't know…" I said. Once more she stopped.

"So you came to Sydney, with no plans at all, just to come?" she asked, looking at me.

I nodded. "Damn Seth, you got balls," she laughed. "So you have no idea where you're staying, do you have any money on you?"

"Five hundred US Dollars," I answered, only causing her to laugh some more.

"And I thought you were going to say you didn't have any money either," she said, a trace bit of sarcasm present in her voice. She began pulling me again. The more she pulled me, the more I noticed that she was magnificent. The way the sun refracted off of her hair, her Australian accent, everything.

I shook my head to snap myself out of it.

Aerin was talking again. "Well, since you have nothing as of right now, except for five hundred USD, which will do you no good here until you get it exchanged… you can stay in my apartment…"

I was shocked. I just met the girl and she was inviting me to stay at her apartment. It was a bit hard to believe. Maybe she was a prostitute. Did they have prostitutes in Australia? Why else would she be so willing to invite me so willingly into her apartment.

"All it will cost ya is hmmm… a hundred dollars?" Oh, now she was charging me, she had to be. But she was too pretty to be a prostitute, not that I knew that any were pretty or not since I had never come in contact with one. Except Holly, but she was more of a slut than a prostitute.

When I thought about Holly, my thoughts immediately went to Summer. How could I have ever liked her? And Ryan, god, talk about… betrayal. I was glad that Aerin didn't notice the anger that quickly flashed across my face.

"Aren't you afraid that I'm really some psycho murderer that will kill you in your sleep?" I asked.

That made her laugh even harder. "Seth, I am a third degree black belt, and a light sleeper on top of that, besides… who could someone as cute as you be a psycho murderer?" She giggled and began to pull me along. I blushed slightly, or I think I did.

"We're not to far away. I'm Aerin Jenkins," she added. So she did have a last name. Prostitutes didn't have last names.

"Seth Cohen."

"Cute," she laughed, pulling me into a building and up some steps. All the way to the top.

"Home sweet home," she sighed, putting the key in the door, and opening it up.

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My attention was drawn back to the commotion by the latch. Someone had been pushed down and now was lying in a crumpled ball under the hatch. I would have moved it I couldn't, but I couldn't. My muscles were stiff, and with my ankles bound, any movement could cause tripping, not to mention to unnaturally low ceiling.

As quickly as the figure had crumpled up, it uncrumpled and tried to stand up just as I heard the latch close and lock. How many times had I heard that sound? It was just one of the sounds that I had become so accustomed to. The figure began banging on the door quite loudly while sobbing.

"You can't do this to me!" She shouted through the sobs. It was definitely a girl. She was pounding on the hatch with obviously bound hands. I could see blonde hair, and a slim figure. My first thought was Aerin, before I realized that that Aerin wasn't there.

Then again, it could have been the solitude finally getting to me.

She continued banging on the hatch. "I WAN'T MY BABY ETHAN!! GIVE ME MY BABY!!!"

Once she stopped crying, I realized who it was. Claire. Claire was alive. I felt relieved not only that she was unharmed, but that there was someone else here that wasn't just me.

"It won't work," I said, my voice cracking. I hadn't spoken in a whole week, unless I spoke in my sleep, which was highly unlikely.

Claire was startled and turned around quickly. The first thing I noticed was that she was no longer pregnant. She looked right through me.

"Who's there?" she asked, sounding quite scared.

"Who do you think it is?" I said, my sarcasm coming through.

She walked over to me. Claire must not have been bound at the ankles, because she walked pretty gracefully.

"Seth?" she asked.

I laughed. "The one and only." My comic relief was slowly coming back when I wasn't surrounded by so many people. Normally it was the opposite, but it was comfort not only to me, but obviously to Claire as well.

She came over and sat next to me and began sobbing. "Seth… Seth…" she cried. I could feel her body leaning on me, as if I was her only form of support. I would have put an arm around her if I could. I knew that she loved Charlie, but she needed someone. I couldn't just let her cry.

"They took James, and killed Charlie, and they killed you too…" she sobbed.

The poor girl was making no sense. James must have been her baby, and Charlie, the thought made me want to puke again, and me? "Claire, I'm not dead. I'm right here."

"I know," she said, still crying. It was only then that I realized that she had probably been alone too. Or worse, with Ethan. I felt so greedy, so self centered, like a piece of shit. Claire had gone through something worse than me, and all I could think about was myself.

I decided to try to take her mind of something. "Claire, can you feel your fingers?" I asked her.

"Uh-huh," I heard her mumble through the sniffles.

"Could you possibly untie at least my hands, and I'll untie you…" I could see her nod slightly. I felt her body leave as someone began to fumble at the knots around my wrist. After a few minutes of Claire grunting and still sobbing, I felt the familiar feeling of the ropes around my wrist leave. "Thank you," I said quietly.

I moved my fingers around to try to get feeling back in them, and flinched with pain with each small movement. She tapped me on the shoulder. "Could you… could you untie me too please," she said, still sounding distressed, but no longer sobbing openly.

"Sure," I said, flinching each time, but her knots were easy. I didn't tell her about my legs, but she had already situated herself right next to me, her head on my shoulder. She began crying.

"Is he really gone?" she asked me. I knew almost immediately who she was talking about. I didn't know how to respond. Oh yeah, the guy that you obviously love was hung from a tree by the same guy that took your baby from you. That would just be a wonderful thing to say.

Out of instinct, I put my arm around her, and she leaned into me even more. "I don't know…" I answered, knowing it was a lie. There was no way that Charlie could have survived that. There was no way. The though itself was beginning to bring tears to my eyes, but I didn't allow them to fall.

"How can you say that?" she snapped. "You saw him Seth; he was hanging from a tree. You heard him gag, you heard Ethan laugh. He's gone Seth." She began sobbing again. The tears fell now. She had refreshed it all in my head. Charlie was dead.

"I'm sorry," I mused to myself, hoping that she hadn't heard it.

"For what?" she asked quietly.

"Killing Charlie…" I said, almost as quietly.

"You didn't--" but she was cut off by the hatch opening up again. Someone jumped down into the little pit type thing we were being held in.

I could see his face illuminated perfectly. It was Ethan. I never wanted to see his face again. Ever.

He grin was full of malice as he walked over towards us. He looked at me. "Awwww, aren't they so cute?" he said, before grabbing my arm and pulling me up onto my feet.

"What are you doing?" Claire asked, her Australian accent really coming out now.

Ethan ignored her and pulled me over. I fell immediately since I couldn't use my feet too well. He laughed. "Thought I forgot about you, didn't you Cohen?" he asked, dragging me over and standing me up. For such a skinny man, he was abnormally strong.

Claire shouted some obscenity that I heard before I was pulled out of the hatch by two pairs of strong hands. "I'll be back Claire," I said, before I saw one of them take a knife out. My heart skipped a beat, but he kneeled down and cut the ropes between my feet. I felt relieved that they weren't going to kill me.

Ethan pulled himself up out of the hole and looked at me, before I felt the blindfold being slipped over my eyes.

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They led me through the corridors, but only this time, I didn't black out. My mind was racing so much that I barely had time to think about where they were leading me or counting the steps or anything.

Then we stopped. I felt myself being sat down onto something cold and hard. Every muscle in my body tensed up. The blindfold came off and I looked around. But I was blinded by a bright light. I moved my right hand up to my eyes to block the light, only for it to be forced back down.

I felt it being strapped to whatever it was, the same of my left hand. I began moving, trying to get out of whatever contraption it was that I was in, but it didn't working. Still, I didn't stop fighting until Ethan or someone hit me hard across the face. I my head moved to absorb the force of the blow, but it still stung.

Immediately out of instinct, I moved my hand up to comfort I, but I couldn't. Shit.

"Did that hurt Seth?" he asked mockingly. "It's only the beginning. You think you can meddle with my plans and not get in trouble for it?"

Suddenly out of nowhere, a punch aimed at my stomach hit it. It felt like someone… well punched me in the stomach. I shouted in pain. The pain stayed and spread, never fading. If possibly getting more intense. I tried to wriggle free some more, but it only caused more pain and laughter (from Ethan and his goons). "Have you had enough?" Ethan said, his voice full of malice.

I didn't answer. Any answer I would have given would have been the wrong one. I was a bit relieved that they couldn't hurt me too much sitting down, then again, they could hurt my head, or break a few ribs, permanently damage my stomach, kidneys, liver…

Once again I was stopped by another biting pain from my shoulder. It was never going to stop, was it?

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Time moved by slowly, every bone in my body ached. I could barely walk as they drug me back to the pit-type thing. They were literally dragging me. They had beaten the shit out of me, and saying that, was jut an understatement.

I could feel blood seeping from my lip, but that was it. Everything else was a dull pain or just numbness. They pulled the blindfold off of me and I found myself free falling down the short fall and landing hard. I groaned in pain. The door closed and I closed my eyes.

I could hear Claire coming over to me. "Seth?" she asked me.

I didn't respond. I couldn't respond. It hurt too much. "Seth, are you okay?" she asked, touching my shoulder, but not shaking me. I groaned slightly, just to let her know I was okay. I could hear her breathe a sigh of relief.

We sat in silence for some time, and I could feel the consciousness leaving me. I broke the silence.

"What… what time is it?" I asked her, trying to get some sort of communication or I would black out. I opened my eyes to look at her worried face. Whether it was the fact that I was so out of it, or that she really did, she looked a LOT like Aerin.

Her grip on my arm change as she looked at my watch. "Four thirty…"

"What day, Aerin?" I asked. I didn't see the look of shock on her face from when I called her Aerin, but she answered anyways.

"September 22nd," she said.

I laughed, even though it hurt every time I laughed, but the irony in the situation was just so funny.

"What?" asked Claire.

"It's my birthday… my eighteenth birthday…" I said, my voice scratchy. My eyes were getting heavier and heavier and I could hear Claire saying something in the background, but it sounded miles away as my eyes closed.

"Seth… Seth… don't die Seth…" was the last thing I heard before the world became silent. Silent and dark.

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A/n: I just noticed before I posted this that we had exactly 35,000 words, and that was kinda cool!

alexis -- eyeroll Pish. Wait, did I just pish? GAH!

Keks -- I'm in a pishing mood so… PISH! Never say the "R-word" because the R-word means rescue… AHHH I TYPED THE FORBIDDEN WORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pumpkin Muffin -- Haha. It'll be a while until it ends. And you're crying. Awwwness. I've been saying awww a lot. Pish.

GOAT!!!