Forget Me Not
Chapter Four
"So when are we going to tell them?" Boone asked Locke as he carefully skipped over the stair on the ladder he broke the first day inside the hatch.
"Tell them what?" Locke asked some three or four feet below them.
Mornings had become a little bit more exciting for Boone once they finally began learning what all the computer system did, and how to control it. Surprisingly, it was Boone himself that became a master at the system's keys: figuring out codes, directions. The thing was amazing, and Boone had taken an errie pride into his new skills, and the fact that Locke couldn't do so much as to turn it on seemed to please him. He felt like he was trying to outdo his older brother.
"About this place," Boone said, looking down again, making sure that Locke skipped the splintered step that Boone had cut his hand on at least a dozen times.
"Why would you want to do that?" Locke said, as if secret underground hideaways on deserted islands were no big deal.
"You know what it does," Boone said, "what if we- find out something?"
"Then we'll deal with it then," Locke said, brushing off the conversation, "but until then-"
"I know, I know," Boone muttered, "don't tell anyone."
Often he wondered what the others would think if they knew that was keeping secrets for Locke. Then it occurred to him that he would probably appear as some corrupted, brainwashed kid, and suddenly, keeping the entire situation wasn't so frustrating anymore. Actually, the only frustrating part was dealing with the others once he got back to camp, in particular Sayid and then later on Shannon, who both sensed that Boone was up to something.
"So what have you been telling them?" Locke asked, and the thought of Locke possibly being able to read his mind made Boone shivered. "What we've been doing, I mean?"
"I told them that we've been exploring," Boone said, making sure than he himself skipped the blistered step, "I think I even told Sayid once that we looked around the Black Rock."
"Do any of them suspect anything?"
Boone began to wonder why it seemed that no one hounded Locke like they did him.
"Only Shannon and Sayid," Boone said regretfully.
He could only pray that he wouldn't wake up the next morning to find Shannon and Sayid's heads on sticks somewhere deep in the jungle.
"That may be a problem," Locke said, jumping to the surface of the hatch when he finally reached it, and helped Boone down as he did the same.
Boone couldn't help but to noticed that every since that first day when he hurt his knee, Locke had been extra careful around Boone, and he knew it was because if either one of them got into any serious danger, it would mean bringing Jack out here. Once down on the ground, Boone strolled right over to the screen, and turned it on with the six digit code. Then, like they were security guards of the island, the two stood back and monitored the screen for a while. After a few minutes of looking at jungle scenery, Boone minimized the screen and switched the location to the beach, where two solemn figures rested by the sea. Boone's eyes narrowed. It didn't take a rocket science to know that that was Sayid and Shannon. A rasp of coughs suddenly escaped Boone's throat and he groaned as he checked his empty pockets.
"What?" Locke asked, eyeing him.
"Nothing, I've just had this cold all night," Boone said truthfully, "I mean to bring some Tylenol Jack had out with me today, but I forgot."
"It's still early," Locke said, tilting his head back towards the tiny blue speck of sky, "why don't you head back and get those? Actually, I'll be fine out here if you just want to take it easy for a day."
"Nah, I'm cool," Boone said, staring intensely at the screen, trying to get his mind off the cold.
It worked for a few minutes as Boone tried and then failed at holding back another round of coughs.
"I'll-uh- get back as soon as I can."
Locke chuckled and nodded as Boone was back up the ladder in a record amount of time. He then sighed, and Locke realized for the first time that he was thankful that he hadn't discovered the hatch alone. Sure he was used to living life as an outcast, and had it not been for Claire's abduction, he'd probably remain one, but discovering something like this- it just wasn't something that one could handle on his own. Even someone like himself. However, one thing that Locke just could not understand was why Boone could work the- whatever you wanted to call it- and he couldn't. He had simply given up after two dozens tries, afraid that he might set off some kind of alarm, but now as he stood alone in front of the massive screen, curiosity got the better of Locke, and despite the infamous famous last words, he just couldn't help but to wonder 'what does this button do' as he keyed in the numbers '156' and pressed a random button to his left, and waited to see what happened.
The very first reaction was the system shutting down, which Locke knew from watching a million classic movies and television wasn't good. First went the tiny dots as Shannon and Sayid's date faded into darkness along with the green tree graphics around it, ending with the ocean and the sky. Locke frantically keyed in every number code he could think of from '815' to '007'. He didn't know which had done it, but a small beep rang through the hatch, followed by the screeched of silent meddle and a thud. And then, darkness.
(Space)
"Hey John," Boone said, nearing the hatch's entrance, assuming that Locke could hear him below, "any idea where everyone went today? I just got back from the caves and man, the place was like a ghost town. For a second I thought that they had all gotten rescued and had forgotten us. You don't think that would happen, do you John? John?"
No noise came from the hatch at all. Setting his bag down, Boone walked up to the entrance to the hatch, and bent down before realizing what was wrong: the door was sealed tight.
"Dammit," Boone said, slapping the glass, "John! Locke, can you hear me!"
A muffled shout came from somewhere distant that seemed much further away than twenty feet. A better idea came to Boone. After escevating the top part of the hatch, Locke suggested that they'd begin to dig around the hatch. Now an empty moat surrounded the surface of the hatch, standing a good fifteen feet from the ground. Carefully, Boone lowered himself down into the ground, letting his hand scrape against the mud as he did. Once on the ground, Boone felt his way around the outside of the hatch. He banged against the side wall.
"Locke!" He called again. "Can you hear me?"
The same muffled cry replied, only this time, a little closer.
"What happened?" Boone shouted next.
No audible reply.
"Are you okay?" He said, praying for an answer.
None came.
"That's it," Boone said, making up his mind, "I'm going to get Jack."
A round of muffled replies came from deep inside the hatch that almost amused Boone as he imagined Locke beating himself up over trying to find a way out of the hatch. He knew he had been gone for nearly an hour- the emptiness of the camp had distracted him- but Boone guessed that if Locke had been down there that long, he would've already tried to find a way out.
"I'll get you out of there," was his final promise to Locke before Boone raced off towards the caves.
(Space)
"Sayid!" Boone shouted, running as fast as he could towards the spot where he had see Shannon and Sayid on the beach before.
For once, his curiosity and jealousy had helped him.
"Sayid!" He called again, a huge wave of relief rushing through him as he felt the soft sand fly as his feet pounded against the forest floor.
Sayid and Shannon sat in the sand just to where the waves would brush up against their ankles. They said facing each other with a love-sick look in their eyes that made Boone sick.
"Sayid!" Boone said a final time before catching himself as he almost collapsed to the ground, out of breath.
For a moment Sayid looked like he wanted to kill Boone, but then he realized that his reasons must be more serious than just jealousy if Boone was interrupting them for a second time.
"What is it?" Sayid said immediately, jumping up.
"Locke," Boone finally managed to get out, "in the jungle- I need your help."
"With what?" Sayid asked curiously, but his only answer was Boone turning, leading Sayid into the jungle.
(Space)
"We've been out here for twenty minutes," Sayid complained once things had calmed down, "where's Locke? And how did you know where we are?"
"Wild guess," Boone replied dryly.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with what you two have been doing out here everyday, does it?" Sayid said, making his own wild guesses.
"You'll see," Boone said, growing impatient with himself as he realized that he had taken the long way around.
The second reason he was in such a bad mood was because of what he was having to do. How were you supposed to explain a hidden hatch buried on an uncharted island? Better yet, how were you supposed to explain why you kept it secret?
"Why did you stop?" Sayid asked, glancing at Boone when he stopped ten minutes later.
Boone took a deep breath.
"Because this," Boone said, exhaling drastically, "is what we've been doing for the past eight weeks.
Stepping aside, Boone gave Sayid a full view of the hatch, and the Iraqi's awed face was pricelessly. Shannon, however, was anything but awed.
"What the hell is that thing?" She said, shaking, looking at the hatch in pure horror.
Sayid jumped a little and even Boone was a bit surprised that Shannon had actually kept up with them. Neither had noticed that she had followed.
"When did you find it?" Sayid said, taking a step towards the hatch as he got over the shock of it.
"That night when we all went out looking for Claire," Boone said, remembering, "I was going to go back to camp, and Locke tossed me his flashlight, but it slipped, and landed on something hard instead. So we started uncovering, and found this patch of metal."
"And the lies began," Sayid said coldly.
"Yeah," Boone said quietly.
"So what, is Locke in there?" Shannon said, trying to hide her fear of the unliving object. "Better yet, what's under there."
"That I don't think I can explain," Boone said truthfully.
"How about we go get one of Jack's guns and make you," Shannon said sharply.
"Shannon," Sayid scolded, skeptical about going that route.
"Look," Boone said, trying to avoid any explanation, "the important thing right now is getting Locke out of there."
"He's right," Sayid agreed, "we'll blow it up."
"What?" Shannon and Boone exclaimed at the same time.
"Anything can break with the right amount of force," Sayid said, bending down beside the hatch, thinking, "dynamite if we can get it. Grenades if we can't."
"Alex used up all the grenades."
The three spun around to find Kate approaching them, Danielle right behind her. Suddenly, Kate stopped.
"What the hell is that?" She said with forced calmness- a skill that she had learned from Jack- staring at the hatch.
"We're trying to find out," Sayid informed her, "what are you two doing here?"
"We were looking for-" Kate stopped, looking to the side, "Jack and Alex."
Just as she was saying their names, the two walked into the scene, totally unaware of any of the unusual events going on. Jack was reaching behind him, adjusting the pack on his back, and Alex was taking a sip of water when they both noticed the group of people watching them.
"Kate," Jack greeted, "what are you doing out here?"
"I was just about to ask you the same," Kate said, eyeing him.
"Alex um-" Jack glanced at Alex for an answer.
"I found something in the jungle," Alex said, covering for him, the tail section of your flight."
Sayid's eyebrows narrowed.
"And you didn't think that anyone else should know about this?" He said, a bit angry with the assumption.
"Looks like we're not the only ones keeping secrets," Jack said, waving towards the hatch, "what the hell is going on?"
"Locke's trapped down inside that thing," Boone said, trying to explain it to make it sound like this was all Locke's doing.
"You knew about this?" Kate said, turning towards him.
Boone looked down towards the hatch, trying to think of some kind of lie.
"So how are you going to dig your way out of this one?" Shannon suddenly spoke up. "Going to think up another eight year lie? Leave us all in the dark."
"Shannon," Sayid said, catching her arm before she attempted to pummel Boone.
"What about you?" Shannon said, turning to Danielle in fury. "Did you know about this too?"
Danielle seemed surprised to be addressed by Shannon, whom she had hardly spoken a word to.
"I've never seen it," Danielle said sincerely, "or anything like it."
"She's lying!" Shannon shouted suddenly, and turned to Sayid, desperate to find someone who would hear her out. "Come on Sayid, sixteen years out here- not one boat, ship, plane- and now this? She's been lying to us from the beginning."
The line brought a sense of dejavu to Sayid, making him shiver.
"Why don't you and Alex go back to camp," Sayid said, ignoring her.
"Yes," Danielle said, glaring at Shannon, "I think that that's a good idea."
"What?" Alex cried. "No, no way. I'm in this as much as you guys-"
The others just stared back at her.
"Jack-" she said, turning to him hopefully.
Jack looked at Danielle, and shrugged.
"If your mother says so, "Jack said, and though it was obvious to some that Jack regretted saying it, Alex never saw it.
"What? It wasn't 'if your mother says so' last night when we went out for the tail section!" Alex cried in protest.
"That could've been a life and death situation," Jack said, turning away from her.
Jack had never once given thought to how difficult it was to raise a child, or at least not a teenager, and he now had a great feeling of sympathy to every parent out there. He didn't want to put Alex in any kind of danger, but it didn't really matter to Jack one way or another if she stayed or went. Though Jack didn't know the Rousseau family very well, he had a feeling that the two could carry out an argument or debate for days, and he wasn't all that hyped about being caught in the middle. At this point, he wasn't sure who would be harder to deal with in this situation: Alex or Danielle.
"Hey guys," Boone spoke up over them, "Locke's still down there."
"All right," Jack said, "here's what we'll do. Danielle, you mentioned some kind of explosives at the Black Rock, right?"
Danielle nodded.
"Good," he said, "Sayid, Boone, and I will go out for those. Kate, I need you to-"
"I'm coming with you," Kate said, interrupting him.
"What?" Jack said, and then shook his head. "No, Kate, it's too dangerous."
"I've been through just as much as you have out there!" Kate argued, and immediately regretted it at the hurt look on Jack's face.
Everyone- well, almost everyone, there knew that that statement lacked truth.
"I'm sorry," Kate said, hoping that Jack would believe her, "what I meant to say was, if there's anyone here who knows what their up against it's me, you, Sayid, and Danielle."
"I'm not going," Danielle said, making everyone turn towards her.
"Why?" Jack was the first to say it.
"You'll have too many with your group," Danielle said, obviously lying.
"Then who will lead us?" Jack said, growing slightly worried.
He and Kate had both been to the underground areas around Black Rock, but never actually to the thing.
"How about Boone?" Sayid suggested, causing Boone to look up. "Since he seems to be the Black Rock expert."
"You've been there too," Boone pointed out.
"That was over a month ago," Sayid said, "and I ended up being unconscious that night."
"What about you two?" Boone said, looking at Jack and Kate.
They both shook their heads.
"Fine," Boone agreed finally, sighing.
"New plan," Jack said, "Kate, me, you, Sayid, and Boone will go to Black Rock and get the explosives. Alex, you and Shannon need to distract everyone at camp."
"How do we do that?" Alex said, accepting the mission.
"Tell them that Locke's missing," Jack said, "and if we're not back at camp in five hours, take a group- a small group- out and pretend like you're searching for him. Shannon, you'll need to do that."
"What makes you think that I want to do that?" Shannon said, disgusted and clearly not having a good time.
"Fine," Jack said, "Alex, you do that."
"All right," Alex nodded, "but how do I convenience them that Locke got himself lost?"
Jack thought about it. Good point.
"Tell them that he got hurt then," Jack said, "and Boone's missing-" he turned to Boone- "if you don't-"
"No," Boone said, shaking his head, "sounds realistic to me."
He sighed drastically and Shannon rolled her eyes.
"And Danielle," Jack said, turning to her, "I need you to help to help Sun with anyone who gets hurt but please, try and get everyone to stay out of trouble while we're gone."
Danielle nodded, and filed out, with Alex storming off behind her.
"Have fun," Shannon muttered to Boone as she made to leave as well.
"Like you care," Boone said, annoyed with her behavior, "you just can't help yourself, can you?"
"Come on guys," Kate said, "we don't need this right now."
"How about you just-"
"Shannon," Jack said before Sayid could get to it.
"You know what," Shannon said, "I changed my mind. I want to come."
"What?" Boone said, and snickered. "You won't make it five miles."
"You want to bet?" Shannon challenged.
"Yeah," Boone said, "I do. I bet my dinner that you can't make it this trip without you getting into some kind of trouble."
"Your on," Shannon said, only inches from Boone's face.
Sayid pulled her away.
"We should get going," he said, and looked up at Jack who nodded and led the group into the jungle.
Jack could only hope that his plan went as smoothly in reality as it did in his head.
Author's Note: Okay, the wait was soo not my fault! The site was down for two days, and I couldn't get on. That with a touch of writer's block. hm..only two returning reviewers? I'll still keep writing this though! Thanks for sticking around and reviewing guys!
Coming up next on "Forget Me Not":
Who will win the bet? Will Jack's plan work? Who will get hurt? Will Locke be saved? What will the results of blowing up the hatch and going to Black Rock be? I can tell you that for our two leaders and a third party: not good.
Thanks again for reviewing! It means a lot to me that you guys are still reading!
October Sky