Exhaustion weighed like lead on his body as Jack trudged across the beach, heading for the distant flickering lights of the beach camp. His feet sank into the soft sand, so he kept stumbling forward onto his knees. Standing up for the fourth time, Jack glanced up suddenly.
A dark shadow was flitting towards him, the beach whispering as light treads skimmed over the surface of the sand. Jack watched with narrowed eyes, but then he relaxed when he saw who it was, a rare smile appearing on his face.
Kate emerged from the darkness, face tense. Jack felt alarm rising in his stomach when he saw the dark, shadowy bruise on her face, stretching across her cheek. Her eyes flicked nervously to the jungle as she came closer. A small smile twitched at the corner of her mouth, as though by reflex.
"Jack, there's-"
The forest to the left of them screamed. They both jumped back, staring as the trees seemed to uproot themselves, a horrible metallic roar echoing acoss the flat sea. Jack heart was beating in his throat as a tree thudded onto the sand, the bark torn from its trunk, roots spearing into the air like twisted claws. The ground thundered as something huge moved through the trees.
Then it stopped.
Jack realised he had instinctively moved in between Kate and the jungle. He stepped back quickly. She didn't need his protection. He looked at her, and saw she had gone pale.
"What's happened?"
The pencil thin torchlight flickered as Jack scanned the burn on Sawyers chest. Kate was sitting across from him, eyes dark with some private emotion. Sawyer himself was asleep, oblivious to his company, chest slowly rising and falling with his breaths.
"It's not bad. I've got some antibiotics that would clear up any infection easily. Actually, this is a pretty good job. I'd be impressed if..." he paused, sniffing. His brow wrinkle in confusion.
"Has someone already put hydrogen peroxide on this?"
Kate shook her head. "No, I don't think so."
Jack leant closer. There was no mistaking that smell.
"I think whoever did this put peroxide on the wound."
Kate opened her mouth to speak, but shut it as someone came across the beach towards them.
Sayid hurried up beside them. "So you are back." he said to Jack, eyes black in the faint light.
"Sure looks like it." he said tiredly.
"Did you find Locke?"
"No. I found something else. A jeep."
Sayid stared at him blankly. "A Jeep?"
"Yep. And this one was full of guns." Sawyers eyelids opened at a crack at this, and gazed with sudden interest at Jack.
No one noticed. His eyelids flickered shut quickly as Kate turned towards him. But her eyes were unseeing, her thoughts apparently elsewhere. Sayid was still interrogating Jack.
"What type of guns?"
Jack winced slightly as a headache began.
"Hand guns. Same type that was in the case." His eyes flicked over to Kate. She stared at him levelly, eyes resolutely blank.
Sayid paused, allowing Jack a chance to cut in. "This couldn't wait till morning, could it?" Sayid regarded Jack for a moment. Then he nodded and slipped out into the darkness. Kate stood up slowly, brushing the sand of her trousers. As she passed him, she laid a hand lightly on his shoulder.
"Its good to have you back, Jack."
Then she left, leaving Jack alone with the sleeping Sawyer.
Kate sank onto the damp sand, weariness sinking into her bones. Relief had swelled inside her, replacing the fear for the moment at least. She had been scared that Jack would run himself into he ground, so determined to find Locke that he would forget about himself. It had nearly happened before, with Charlie...
Her thoughts slipped away as sleep crept through her exhausted brain, and her eyes slid shut.
Charlie rolled over, wincing as he yet again rolled onto the hard metal object that kept poking into his back. Angrily, he sat up and tore the offending item- a wristwatch- out of the sand and hurled it across the beach. It landed with a soft thud, inches from Michaels head. The black man snored and rolled over.
Charlie sighed and lay back down, though he knew it was hopeless. This was one of those nights that would not let him lie peacefully. With a soft groan he sat up, rubbing his head irritably. Maybe a toilet stop would help settle him.
Though somehow he doubted it.
He stood up carefully, making sure he didn't wake Claire or the still unnamed baby. Hands in his pockets, he drifted towards the edge of the jungle.
As always, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled anxiously as he stepped into the trees. And, as usual, small wisps of memory began to drift at the back of his brain, infuriatingly out of reach. He knew what the memories were of. When he and Claire had been taken by Ethan. He could remember nothing but small flashes, pinpricks of knowledge that were next to useless.
He shook the thought away as he took a couple of steps forward, but he didn't dare go out of sight of the beach. He looked around, and was just beginning to unbutton his fly-
Something snapped behind him.
The sound was soft, barely registered. But it made Charlie freeze where he stood. He glanced back fearfully, eyes scanning the trees. He could see nothing in the gloom.
An iron hand clamped to his mouth, the other crushing his neck. Charlie's yell was muffled, too soft to wake even the lightest of sleepers. The hand around his neck tightened, cutting off all his air. Wrenching in the terrifyingly strong grip, Charlie's bulging eyes stared at the beach, searching frantically for anyone who was awake, who could help. But there was no-one. He clawed at the hands, but they were to strong...
He began to weaken, vision clouding. As he slumped into darkness, he had the sudden clear memory of being strung up by his throat, vines twisted around his neck...
Charlie collapsed in the mans grip, body limp. The attacker watched him closely, eyes narrowed. Wiping a trickle of blood from his ear, he began to drag Charlie away.
Sawyer woke up with a start as he rolled onto his stomach. Searing pain lanced through his chest, and he sat up with a snarled curse. The pain receded slowly to a dull throb. Grumbling, he rubbed his face tiredly. Something made him pause.
His hands smelt strange. The scent was familiar, though he couldn't place it...
The thought was quickly forgotten as he saw Kate and Jack walking along the beach, both wearing backpacks. His eyes narrowed as they met up with Sayid, Michael and a group of other people Sawyer didn't care to know. They disappeared into the Jungle, fading rapidly into the green.
Walt walked passed, Vincent loping just ahead of him.
"Hey, Tattoo!" Walt stopped and looked curiously at Sawyer, eyeing the dark number on his chest.
"Where's the scout club off to?" he jerked his head in the direction on the forest. Walt shrugged rather moodily.
"I dunno. Dad said it was something about a car and some guns, but he wouldn't tell me anything else." he walked after his dog, leaving Sawyer alone with a bemused expression on his face. He glanced at his hands, and the smell suddenly snapped into his mind, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.
It was gunpowder.
Jack's path was difficult to follow. Most of the trees looked the same, and he hadn't had anything to mark his path. Kate had been able to follow his trail, with some difficulty.
"Does this place look familiar?" she asked as they headed past a small creek
"You mean does this group of trees look different from the rest of them?" Kate glanced at him, then saw that he was teasing her, a small grin on his face. She elbowed him gently in the side, then they continued up the steep slope.
Jack let Kate drift ahead of him, turning back to the small group of people behind him. He would have preferred if it had just been Him, Kate and Sayid (though him and Kate would have been even better). However, word had gotten out. Michael wanted to come and see if there was anything salvageable for his boat, while the others were just curious. Charlie had said he was coming, but had not appeared when they were set to leave. Jack glanced back at Kate, who had stopped suddenly.
"Jack..." He quickly came up beside her. His eyes widened in shock.
The jeep had been thrown onto its side, long gashes torn into the rusted metal. The front was twisted grotesquely, until the bonnet was flipped to the inside of the car. From Jacks position, he could see the glove box was open, gaping wide.
Empty.
Um...If your reading this and haven't reviewed yet, can you please? Just so I know you're there
