"Jack! JACK!"
The limp form suspended above them was unmoving, silent.
Sawyer searched through his pockets, even though he knew there was nothing that would help. Charlie clambered up the tree trunk, feet scrabbling on the tree bark. He tugged on the ropes, but it was useless.
"They're too tight." He shouted down. Jack was still unconscious, blood staining the left side of his face black.
Charlie jumped to the ground, his feet squelching in the dark mud.
"What do we do?"
"We have to get back to the beach." Sawyer glanced around at the sky; mountains crowded in from the right.
"They should be that way. You stay here." Sawyer vanished into the jungle. Charlie bent down, fingers wrapping around a sharp piece of rock. It was no knife, but it would have to do.
He did not notice as a small whiff of black smoke drifted up from the mountains behind him, curling into nothingness.
They had not been in the jungle long when Sayid's group heard the gunshot. It split through the humid air, sending the unseen birds into a frenzy of screeches. The survivors were silent, heads turned towards the direction of the sound as the birds continued to scream. Motioning for them to stay quiet, Sayid advanced forward, feet silent on the leaf floor. The racket of the birds faded away slowly as he slipped silently through the trees.
There was a low moan of pain to his left.
Wary, he slid behind a tree, staring through entwining branches. A pale shape was huddled on the ground, hunched into a small ball. Long, wild hair fell down her back.
As Sayid emerged, the woman whirled around, grabbing at the rifle near her leg. Sayid froze as Danielle pulled off the safety pin, her eyes narrowed. Though her face was tight with agony, her aim was steady. Dark blood like oil leaked through her shoe. When she saw who it was the gun flicked to the left searching for the trees.
"Be silent." she hissed Harshly, eyes flicking through the dense greenery.
The Others…." The gun wobbled slightly in her grip. Something crashed toSayids right, and Michael appeared through the trees. He froze as the gun twitched to his chest. The rifle slipped down as Danielle wobbled, a spasm of pain twitching across her face. The she fell forward, unconscious.
Sayid rushed forward, with Michael following more cautiously. An inspection of Danilles foot showed that the injury was very bad indeed.
There was a bullet hole blown through her boot, dark blood still seeping through the raw wound. Michael watched as Sayid began to tear strips of his shirt.
"This is the French woman, isn't it?"
Sayid began the tourniquet, and did not answer.
"What should we do?"
"There's not much I can do for this." He tightened a knot.
"We need Jack."
Hurley glanced at his watch, even though it had stopped working several weeks ago. People were pacing restlessly, nervous. Sayid and Michael had not come back. Hurley glanced up quickly when he heard the rustling of branches, but it was not Sayid or Michael that emerged.
It was Sawyer. People watched him warily as he staggered forward, clutching at his side. Hurleygazed athim was narrowed, suspicious eyes.
He was breathing too hard to speak at first but eventually three words came out
"We found Jack."
"'We?'"
"Charlie…he's still with Jack" he bent over, wheezing. He missed the look that passed between Hurley and Shannon, who had come over the minute Sawyer had entered.
"Where are they?" Sawyer gestured with his hand, still clutching at the knife-like stitch in his side.
Sayid and Michael came through the jungle, carring the limp form of Danielle between them. As he gently lowered her to the ground, Sayid caught sight of Sawyer. He stood back up quickly.
"Where did you come from?" his voice was cold.
"He says he and Charlie found Jack." Hurley's voice had an emotion Sawyer couldn't wuite place. This timehe didn't miss the look that passed between Sayid and Hurley. Sayid continued to stare at Sawyer, who glared defiantly back,
"Where is he?"
Charlie had managed to hack through on rope when the group of people came from the trees. He scrambled down the tree, wincing as his tight muscles clenched painfully. Sayid quickly took his place up the tree, knife sawing through the rope in seconds. Two other men went to help, while others gathered round to watch, muttered fearfully. Sawyer stood at the side, and barely glancedover as Hurley moved beside him.
"Hey, how did you find him?"
"We just woke up here. Must have sleep walked." Even to him the story sounded extremely unlikely. Hurley watched his doubtfully, then pointed up to the newspaper still in Jacks mouth.
"What do you make of that?"
Sawyer said nothing.
Claire was bored. Her son was sleeping, and she felt too anxious to try to do seomthing. Instead, she paced, back and forth across the sands. There were only a few people left on the beach. She glanced over as a man tried to talk to Jin, saying something about Monsoons. Jin waved him away, returning back to the boat. The man gave up and headed away, muttering darkly under his breath.
Voice drifted from the Jungle, and she watched as a small group of people moved into view, a limp form carried between them.
At first Claire thought it was Kate, but when she looked closer she realized it wasn't. The face was harsher, older, and smeared with dirt. The woman's eyes snapped open, and she stared at Claire. Her eyes flicked to the sleeping bundle in Claire's arms, and a strange emotion flicked across her face. Then her eyes unfocused and slid shut, and she was carried away.
The smell of wood smoke drifted through Jacks dreams, nudging him into reality. His mind was blissfully blank, still fogged from sleep, although his head ached terribly. The small scuffling sounds of someone moving close by drifted to his ears. Opening his eyes, he saw Sun, moving quietly nearby. Behind her was a breathtakingly beautiful sunset, the sky boiling with unimaginable colours.
Jack opened his mouth to speak, but only a dull croaking came out. Sun jumped, then hurried over as Jack tried to sit up. He was lying in one of the airline seats, which had been tilted back. A thin blanket covered him, barely keeping away the evening chill.
Jack took the bottle Sun handed him, voice rasping harshly as he spoke. "What happened?"
"Sawyer and Charlie found you in the Jungle. Hanging up." Jack put the bottle down abruptly and tore the blanket away.
The deep brand scorched into his chest was still blistered and raw, though thin scar tissue was beginning to form.
"How long was I unconscious?" he demanded.
"Three days. Sayid was worried that the blow to your head would be too bad, and that you wouldn't wake up."
Jack was silent, fingers brushing over the painful bump on his head. Then a horrible feeling of dread crept over him.
"Where's Kate?
Charlie adjusted a string on his guitar, watching as Claire gently held her little boy. Charlie still couldn't believe how small he was. The baby gave a small unhappy whimper as Claire rocked him, small eyes squinting. Claire kept rocking his, and he eventually fell into a deep sleep. Claire glanced up as Charlie sat down beside her, placing his guitar to the side. Her smile faded quickly, and a small frown appeaered on her face as she looked past Charlie's face, towards the forest. Turning, Charlie saw a thick plume of dark smoke gushing into the sky, black against the deep red sky.
The world was made of black and white in the twilight dawn. Grey rain fell in a cloudy drizzle that was almost fog, the trees turning into ghostly shadows.
The hatch, forgotten now that Locke was gone, remained unopened. The small window on its surface was dark….
There was a scrabbling sound from the innards of the concrete, fingernails scrapping against the surface of the rock. Fingers pressed on the glass for a mere second, then disappeared. Something thumped inside, and the hatch began to open, metal hinges groaning as the mouth of the hatch opened wide.
Bleached hands clawed at the edge of the hole, and a drawn white face emerged from the darkness. Pupils shrunk to pinpricks as the faint light burned their eyes. Muscles stretched taunt in thin arms as the woman dragged herself from the earth. Weakly she collapsed beside the hatch entry, icy rain pinpricks on her bare skin. A worried murmer came from darkness, echoing beyond comprehension. She rolled onto her stomach and reached into the blackness, hands groping for another set that lay just beyond the edge of the grey light.
Light flared inside the hatch; shouts boomed in the hollow space beneath her, and she leapt back just as a gunshot cracked inside the black, a bullet snapping past her ear. Small droplets of blood spiraled in its wake, dripping into the mud. In terror the woman ran, flitting like a ghost through the trees.
Inside the hatch was silence, only the hollow plik of rain drops echoing in the hollow space.
Fingers thudded onto the edge of the rim, straining as someone began the hunt
