October Sky: You are definitely not insane. Unless we both are.
Chapter 10: Beyond Imagination"You gonna be okay man?"
Charlie nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Go get some sleep. You look like you could use it."
"Me? Dude, you look like crap."
" Thanks Hurley. That's very helpful."
Hurley laughed and shook his head, "Seriously man, if you need me. You know where to find me."
Charlie waved him away and turned to walk into his hut. He stood in the doorway and looked into the dark space. He suddenly didn't feeling like being alone so he grabbed a blanket to spread out on the sand outside.
As he settled onto the ground he found himself watching the rest of the camp. He could see Shannon and Sayid talking quietly down the beach and his heart panged as he watched the way Sayid tried to comfort his wife. Kate and Jack were sitting a few yards away but he couldn't hear what they were saying. He imagined that they had found some way to comfort each other though, as they always did. Walt, Michael and Sun sat around one of the fires and Charlie watched as Hurley joined them, saying something to make them all laugh.
He laid back and stared up at the stars trying to remember the names of the constellations. He couldn't remember. Claire had always been so good at that. She could look up into the sky and point one out, tell the whole story of how it came to be.
"That one's Orion."
Charlie looked over as she sat down to join him.
"That one I actually knew."
"No you didn't."
"Okay, maybe not."
Charlie reached over and grabbed her hand, threaded her fingers through his. She smiled and lay down next to him resting her head on his chest. Charlie kissed the top of her blond head and smiled.
" The kids are missing Claire."
" I know. That's why I'm here."
"I don't know what to do. I promised you I would take care of them and I feel like I've failed."
"You haven't failed Charlie. They're great boys because of you. And they'll be fine."
"How do you know that?"
"I just know."
Charlie sighed and Claire turned around to look up at him, "I miss you Charlie."
"I miss you too." He shook his head, "Most of the time I don't know what to do without you."
"You have the boys."
Charlie nodded, "And now they're missing."
Claire pursed her lips as if thinking. She sat up and looked at him seriously, "I know you don't understand right now. But they have to do this. It's not something that should be stopped."
Charlie sat up, "What does that mean? I don't understand. Locke tells us that we shouldn't look for them; you tell me that they have to do this? Do what? Where are they?"
"You're asking the wrong questions Charlie."
"Then what should I be asking?"
Claire just smiled and shook her head, "Do you remember when we first met?"
Charlie's shoulder's sagged, "How could I forget?" He laid back down and closed his eyes. Claire watched him and then bent over to kiss him on the forehead. Before she pulled away she turned her head and whispered in his ear.
"Blessed are the meek…"
Charlie's eyes shot open, "What does that mean?"
She didn't answer but started to shake his shoulder. She was trying to say something but he couldn't hear it. She continued to shake his shoulders even harder.
"Charlie!"
He blinked twice as Kate's face came into focus. He stared at her in confusion, "Claire?"
Kate looked down at him sadly, " Charlie, wake up. The sun's coming up. We're ready to leave."
"Oh right." Charlie shook his head trying to remember the dream, "Yeah, I'm coming."
Kate walked away looking back at him in concern and Charlie sat with his arms on his knees for a moment. He was trying to remember something. Something Claire had said. It was important…. But now it was gone. He stood up and walked toward the group of people on the beach.
"All right guys. Let's go find our kids."
Meanwhile…
" Do you think maybe we could stop and take a break at some point?"
" Is this getting too hard for you?"
"Well, we've been walking all night long, we haven't eaten all day and the sun is getting a little hot. So yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, I'd like a break."
Adam turned around, "Fine then, if you're going to continue to complain then we'll take a break." He sat down and leaned his back against the trunk of a tree.
James rolled his eyes, "You wanted a break just as much as I did."
Adam ignored him, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. A picture of Nadia flashed through his mind and he wondered again where she was or what had happened to her and the other boys.
"You did this you know."
He opened one eye and answered dryly, "Did what exactly?"
"Something you did that got us stranded God knows where in the freaking forest."
"Oh right. This is my fault. I made that light appear in the trees. I created those voices. I whacked you over the head with a log and dragged you into the forest. Just for kicks."
James shrugged, "I wouldn't put it past you."
Adam laughed and shook his head, "You're ridiculous man."
"I'm ridiculous?"
"Yes. You sit there accusing me of something absurd. And just because you're jealous. It's pathetic."
James shot to his feet, "And why the hell would I be jealous of you? You're a freak."
Adam curled his hands into fist, "I swear to God, you better shut your mouth."
"No. Why should I? Everyone knows it. Your dad, Nadia, Jack. Why do you think Shannon won't let you within five feet of her daughter?" Everyone's afraid that you're going to get pissed off and them something weird is going to happen."
"And you're any different?" Adam stood up and faced the other man eye to eye.
James narrowed his eyes, "What are you implying?"
"Oh nothing. Just that I'm not the only one that leaves a trail of weirdness or whatever it is that you call it."
" Last one to the water's a rotten egg!"
"You're on!"
"Alright. Ready… set… "
"Hey, no fair. James got a head start!"
"Go!"
The three children ran laughing and screaming down to the waves. Nadia got there first and jumped in with all her clothes on. James and Adam followed her lead and dove into the waves. When Nadia came up out of the water she was laughing. She looked around for the boys but didn't see them. She waited for the next wave to pass but they still didn't come out of the water.
"Adam? James?" The eight year old began to get worried when suddenly something grabbed her leg and pulled her under. Her small shriek was muffled as she went under the water and when she came back up she was still screaming and spitting water. The boys were standing in front of her, holding their sides and laughing. She stuck her tongue out at them.
"Stupid boys." She looked out towards the deeper water, "I'm going to go swimming."
Adam acted as if her were going to follow her but James stayed behind, "We're not supposed to go out there without a parent." He looked towards the shore, "There's no one watching us."
Nadia rolled her eyes, "Who cares? It's not like we don't know how to swim. Besides, if I start to drown I know that one of you two will save me." She put her hand to her forehead and pretended to swoon.
James bit his lip, "I don't think it's a good idea."
Adam sighed, "Oh come on. You never want to do anything. You're never any fun."
"Fine. You go." James turned around and sloshed through the water back towards the beach. Nadia shrugged at Adam and they both began to swim further out.
James stood on the beach and watched them looking disgruntled. He was just about to go back out and rejoin them when that sudden familiar feeling caught in his throat. And then he saw it. It was just a flash really. But it was there. He turned and ran down the beach looking for the first adult he saw.
"Charlie!"
"Hey buddy. What's up?"
James gasped and pointed towards the water, "Adam and Nadia. They're swimming. Something's… something's wrong."
Charlie's eyes widened and he ran towards the water. James watched as he swam out to Nadia and Adam and dragged the two kids back to shore.
"We're fine. I swear." Adam glared at James.
"You know you guys aren't supposed to be out there alone."
"We were just having fun Uncle Charlie." Nadia did her best at giving Charlie her wide-eyed innocent look. Charlie sighed and ruffled her hair, "I know. But you guys gotta be careful okay? No more swimming today."
The three kids nodded and Charlie walked away. Adam turned on James, "I can't believe you told on us."
"Something was going to happen."
"Oh please. You're just scared of the water and you didn't want us to have fun without you. Maybe if you weren't such a baby you could have fun too."
Nadia bit her lip, "Come on you guys. Let's not fight. We can go climb that tree Walt was showing us the other day."
The boys ignored her and kept glaring at each other, " I am not a baby. I'm just not as stupid as you are. Something would have happened if you stayed out there."
"You're always saying that. 'Something's going to happen. Oh, guys I don't know if we should do that. Something's going to happen.' Nothing's going to happen. It's not like you can tell the future or anything."
James folded his arms over his chest, "What if I can?"
"Well then, you're some kind of freak or something."
"I'm not the freak. You are! I've seen some of the things that you've done. It's weird! You're the freak!"
Adam's eyes lit up on fire and without even thinking he swung his arm out and punched James square in the gut."
"Adam!" Nadia bent down to help James who was doubled over on the ground. She looked up at Adam and he recoiled at the slight look of fear in her eyes. He took a deep breath, stumbled back a little and then turned and ran down the beach.
He didn't stop running until he reached the shade of the trees. Bending over and resting his hands on his knees he tried to think, tried to clear his head. But James' word kept running through his head. Freak. Freak. He hated that word. Didn't exactly know what it meant but he hated that word. It made him different. And he didn't want to be different.
The rage swelled inside him again and his foot connected with the nearest tree. He grimaced in pain and then kicked it again, "I am not a freak."
The tears welled up in his eyes and a rob rose in his chest. He began kicking the tree even harder. "I wish it would just go away. I wish it would just go away. I would you would just go away." He didn't know who exactly he was talking to, maybe imagining that the tree was James or one of his little brothers or even just some manifestation of every doubt he had about himself. Whatever it was, he saw it in that three and he continued to pummel it until his foot started to bleed. "I wish you would go away."
And then, as if it had been listening, the tree gave one last gasp, waved it's branches and then disintegrated into dust which fell at Adam's feet.
He stared at the place where the tree once stood, now just an empty whole in the ground, even the roots gone. An intake of breath behind him made him freeze. He was afraid to turn around. Afraid to face the person who had seen what he had done.
James watched him with an indescribable expression. The two boys just watched each other for a moment and then James cleared his voice.
"Nadia wanted to know if you wanted to come tree climbing with us." He shuffled his foot in the ground, unable to look his friend in the eye.
Adam felt a surge of gratitude, "Yeah sure." He took one last look at the ground and then joined his friend.
The two boys walked side by side through the forest, one thankful for the silence of friendship and the other thankful to learn that he was not alone.
They hadn't said a word to each other since they had stopped for a break. Just continued to walk through the woods, Adam leading and James following at a distance.
He looked at the back of Adam's head and part of him wanted to say something. He wasn't exactly sure what there was to say though. Or rather, he knew what he could say but wasn't exactly sure how to say it. When they were younger it just would have been understood, the way young boys understand each other. But somehow in ten years something had changed and now they only understood each other as strangers.
Suddenly Adam stopped and looked up.
"You hear that?"
James cocked his head to listen. There was a noise. Some strange whirring noise. It was getting louder by the second.
"It sounds like something's…"
"Falling."
Suddenly a shadow fell over the forest and something massive shot overhead rustling the leaves of the trees. Adam and James both ducked as it passed overhead.
As soon as they thought it was safe they stood up and stared at each other.
"What the hell was that?"
Adam shook his head and was about to open his mouth when there was a large crashing noise in the distance, somewhere to their left. They turned to look when suddenly there was another crashing noise to the right. They stood in silence for a minute waiting to hear something else.
James could feel his heart racing in his chest. He swallowed but it caught in his throat when a woman's scream tore through the air.
"What the hell is going on?"
They turned and sprinted through the trees towards the scream. Adam felt like he was running into certain danger, some unknown. And then he realized something as he ran through the trees. He stopped suddenly and James almost ran into him.
"What are you doing?"
Adam looked around, " Something's wrong."
"Obviously. There's someone screaming out there."
"No, I mean. Something's… different."
James looked around, "I don't know what you mean."
Adam pointed at one of the trees, "I know that tree."
"Personally?"
Adam rolled his eyes and spun around, " We're close to the camp now. Why is there no path?"
"Man, you're probably all turned around. Come on." James started walking again and Adam followed, pausing every once in a while to look at something in confusion. He didn't notice when James stopped abruptly and he plowed right into him.
Adam stopped himself from falling and then noticed what James was looking at. They had reached the beach. The beach, which should have been littered with huts and campfires, people milling around and talking.
But there were no huts. There were no campfires.
There were people though. About fifty or so. Running around in chaos and confusion. There was one young woman just standing there in a pink jacket screaming hysterically. A man in a suit ran around frantically trying to help people. A pregnant girl was on her hands and knees groaning in pain.
And in the middle of it all were the burning remains of commercial jetliner.
Author's Note: Gasp What the heck?
Okay, if you're confused, you probably have a right to be. But don't worry. I do have a point here. It all comes together in my own mind. The next update should be up shortly. Please read and review.
