Chapter 31 to a LOST Love

"Oh, shit," Sayid breathed into her hair. The impact of Boone's death hit him like a sledgehammer. He never really liked Boone, but still…the island was going to kill them all, one by one…

Sighing, Sayid pulled away from Alex and looked into her eyes. Instantly she understood… "I guess we'd better take him back with us, huh?" Alex asked quietly.

Sayid nodded and sighed again. He stood up and walked over to Boone's body. "Alex," he said. "Come grab his shoulders and hoist him on my back."

Getting up, Alex wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and wiped that on her jeans. Crouching down, she touched Boone and instantly recoiled. He was covered in blood…his body was so mangled and torn up, she could hardly even look at Boone, much less touch him.

"Wait," she said. "We have to swim across the lake with him. If you do it by yourself, you'll drown."

"Ah," Sayid said. "Well…then we'll have to do it together. We'll carefully lower him down the rocks and into the water and we'll go to land together, alright?"

Alex nodded, wiping her eyes again. She bent down over Boone's forehead and gently kissed it. "I'm so sorry, Boone," she whispered. Then she hoisted up Boone's shoulders and they ducked through the low passage until they came to the opening. Sayid dropped Boone's legs and lowered himself onto a few rocks. He turned back around and grabbed Boone's legs again and Alex followed him. Alex stood on a few rocks above Sayid and they gently made their way down the rocky path one step at a time, lowering Boone down as carefully as they could at the same time.

Finally, Sayid stepped in the water and they picked up the pace a little. Eventually, all three of them were in the water. Alex put Boone's arm over her shoulder on one side and Sayid did the same on the other. Then they kicked off the shore and swam, requiring great effort, to the opposite shore.

Within a minute of entering the water, the two suddenly saw Charlie burst up ahead through the trees, looking around for them, breathing heavily. He stopped, panting, at the waters' edge and continued to scan around for them. Suddenly, his gaze found them in the water and he immediately snapped to attention.

"He...Hey! Hey!" Charlie cried out, waving to them. "What are you…oh, God…" he breathed. He had seen Boone's body they were dragging and he froze instantly. "Oh, God…" He put his hands on his head in utter shock and frustration before dropping them.

Sayid, spitting out a mouthful of water, called out to Charlie, "Charlie! Stay there and help us when we get there!"

Charlie nodded. "Oh…oh…okay! Okay," he said, still unable to believe they had found Boone's body.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to both the swimmers and Charlie, they reached the shore line and dragged Boone out of the water, his arms still around their shoulders. The two were breathing heavily from the exertion; Boone was quite heavy. They laid him down on the pebbly beach and Alex sank to her knees in exhaustion. Sayid remained standing, but bent over and put his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

"Guys," Charlie asked. "Is he…?"

Without saying anything, Alex simply nodded her head, her wet hair waving back and forth like dead tendrils. Sayid, too, nodded his head once.

Suddenly, Alex looked up. "What about Shannon? Who's going to tell her?"

"We don't even know where Shannon is, Alex," Charlie said smartly. "How the hell are we 'sposed to tell her that her brother mysteriously died when we don't even know where she is?"

"Ok, ok, Charlie!" Alex shot back. "Sorry! I was just asking! Good grief…"

"Enough, guys," Sayid said tiredly. "We have to take him back to the others."

"Oh, great," Charlie said sarcastically. "More blood on my t-shirts…Locke's, Alex's, and now Boone's…shit!"

"Alright then Charlie, if you're such a wuss, I'll do it," Alex said angrily. Bending down to grab Boone's shoulders, she tried to hoist him back up. Charlie, letting Sayid catch his breath, bent down and scooped up Boone's legs. He looked apologetically at Alex, begging her to forgive him with his eyes. Looking back into his eyes, Alex sighed and nodded slightly, all forgiven.

They headed off into the woods back to the beach, carrying Boone's body much like they did Locke's. They just hoped that Locke wouldn't share the same fate Boone did…