Part II

Claire was the first to hear them coming.

"What was that?" she squeaked, staring up at the door to the hatch.

"What was what, love?" Charlie asked, putting an arm around her.

"You didn't hear that?"

"Uh…no."

"Its okay, Claire. We have all been through a lot today. Sometimes stress can make you hear and see things that aren't really there." Sun said, trying to sooth the Aussie woman's nerves.

"No! I'm not imagining things! I-"

Just then, there was the unmistakable thump of someone walking onto the hatch.

Everyone immediately fell into a panicked silence.

"So," Locke said in an amused voice. "They found us."

"Sawyer!" Kate tried to say, but all that came out was a gasp.

"s-STOP!" she finally managed to yell in a strangled voice.

The Southern man stopped running and leaned over, putting his hands on his knees, panting.

"Whatever it is, Freckles, make it quick, because we've gotta keep moving if we want to stay alive."

Kate gasped for breath. So this is what Shannon must feel like when she gets an asthma attack. She thought.

"Sawyer, I don't know about you, but I can barely stand. I really need to lie down for a while. I mean, look at us: we can even breathe properly."

The man shook his head. "We rest, we die."

Kate felt like crying. All the exhaustion, emotionally and physically was taking its toll. All that hurt and frustration piled up in her and tried to force itself out in a sob.

"I can't run forever!" Kate said in a trembling voice.

Sawyer regarded her with sympathy. "You have to."

Kate turned away. "You can keep going if you want to-"

"Hey!" Sawyer said angrily, stepping close to her and whipping her back around to face him. "I'm not going anywhere without you, you understand me? Even if I was to drag you the whole way, you're coming with me. I'm not going to let you stay here and die, Kate." His voice was forceful, and he looked mad.

But Kate knew better. She knew that Sawyer used anger to cover-up his other emotions. She could see the concern for her written in his icy-blue eyes.

The tears that she had been struggling to keep back burst forth, letting out all her misery and making her vulnerable.

Surprised, Sawyer stood for a moment looking helplessly at her. Forcing himself to snap out of it, he pulled Kate into a hug. She sobbed into his chest, her arms around his neck.

When her sobs calmed into hiccups, Sawyer leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"We can stay here for the night, okay?"

Kate nodded and allowed herself to be lowered to the ground.

No more running. She promised herself. If the others are coming, let them come. I'm not alone anymore.

Walt sullen surveyed the hatch. There was no handle on the door, no other way to open it but by pure force.

The boy grinned maliciously. He liked using force.

Climbing onto the hatch, Walt tired to look through the small glass window. Seeing nothing, the ten year old knelt down and placed his left hand on the cool metal for support.

The second his palm touched the hatch, a blinding white light blazed out of the window, searing into his eyes.

Just at that moment, the metal suddenly became hot, burning the boy's hand and raising angry red blisters.

Howling in pain, Walt stumbled backwards, cradling his burned hand against his chest.

A voice suddenly boomed from the hatch.

"No evil shall pass."

"W-what?" Walt stammered, gazing at the metal contraption in horror.

"No evil shall pass. This is a sanctuary for the good. Be gone, or be eliminated!"

Slowly, the others realized the commanding voice wasn't coming from inside the hatch. The hatch itself was speaking.

Screaming in terror, the others and their leader ran away, bowling each other over in the insane effort of getting as far away from the talking hatch as possible.

The small group huddled together inside the hatch. They could hear the muffled sounds of the others as the stalked around their hideout. The person on the hatch had stopped walking.

Five of the survivors of flight 815 prayed or cried silently. Locke was as cool as a cucumber.

Then, something happened they had not expected. The same brilliant white glow that had greeted them at their arrival suddenly flooded the inside of the hatch, shooting upwards out of the small window like a beacon.

Everyone closed their eyes against the blinding light, but Locke forced himself to keep his open, gazing around the hatch.

What he saw amazed him.