An utterly crushed and despondent Michael collapsed back against a small pile of raft debris. For the past several minutes he had been attempting to paddle the remains back toward the island. He and Jin had selected a star in the southern sky to aim for, but the piece of log he was using made a poor oar, and they were not making significant progress against the current. Jin had bandaged and re-bandaged Sawyer's wound as his blood soaked through one strip of cloth after another. He was running low on pieces of what used to be their shirts. Sawyer had been drifting in and out of consciousness, and was in great pain while awake. The spirits of this trio were at an all-time low.

Michael cursed himself for making the decision to go on the raft trip with Walt. It was true that in the end Walt insisted on going even after Michael had suggested they stayed, but this was the parent's decision and responsibility. Ironically enough, Walt was correct to burn down the first raft. That action now looked like it saved four lives, at least for the time being. Actually going out on that raft was flat out too dangerous for a child. The kidnapping could not have been foreseen, but there were dangerous aquatic animals out there, not to mention the possibility of bad weather, including monsoons. Sure, the island was also dangerous, but the large group stood a much better chance of defending itself against any attackers. The raft crew should have consisted of adult volunteers, with more sailing experience. His obsession with getting off that island as fast as possible affected him to the point of making the worst decision he would ever make.

Why, fate had tried hard to keep Michael off the raft. He had become violently ill just two days ago. It looked like Kate may have deliberately poisoned him, but it was never confirmed. She had desperately wanted to go on the raft, for whatever personal reasons that weren't Michael's business. But Michael was fixated on the last raft spot coming down to her or Sawyer. He should have let them both go, and stayed on the island with Walt. The fourth spot could have gone to Sun, if she and Jin were ready to be permanently reunited. Or maybe one of those thirty-odd other survivors that always seemed to be confined to the background. Why hadn't he heeded those signs?

More than everything else in the world Michael wanted to see his son again. It didn't matter if they were stranded on that island for years, or even decades, or the rest of their lives. Anything was better than this. He so desperately wanted to show Walt what it is like to be an American, to coach him in baseball, or basketball, or football, to teach him to drive a car, how to fix things around the house, or a myriad of father-son activities. He wanted to share with Walt his interest in art, and had only just begun to do so. He recalled having similar feelings over eight years ago, when that horrid Susan cruelly yanked Walt out of his life, but the feelings were more intense now, as Walt's future currently appeared to be infinitely worse than whatever life he had been leading in Australia.

During those intervals when Sawyer was conscious, he kept thinking about Michael's words, whether Sawyer came on this voyage to be a hero or to die. Maybe the answer was both. Was he a hero? A failed hero? If his raftmates survived and Walt was rescued, they might speak of him in terms similar to Boone. Sawyer might have been a hero if he was better with a gun. Apparently he was too obvious in preparing to fire, and those evil fishermen were ready. Generally disgusted with himself, Sawyer lapsed back into unconsciousness.

Jin was a turmoil of emotions, but the overriding one was still guilt. Guilt for treating the wonderful woman he married so poorly, and guilt for attacking Michael, in front of his son no less, after wrongly assuming Michael stole that watch that Jin just insisted Michael keep just hours before. Jin felt so bad about that incident that he let Michael beat him up for burning the first raft even though Jin was sure Walt was the arsonist. Did two wrongs make a right in this case?

Jin interpreted many subsequent events as punishments for his misdeeds, although what had just happened to Walt and Michael was far worse than anything that had befallen him. He made a vow that he would go to the ends of the earth if necessary to reunite the pair. And after that, he would be completely honest in his relationship with Sun. She deserved to know the truth about her father; she suspected something was up with his business activities anyway, especially after Jin returned home with someone else's blood soaking his shirt. He would take her far away from Korea, probably America, learn English, and start a family and a new life there.

While he was thinking about how his life might be so different, Jin's wasn't sure he could trust his sensitive ears when they picked up the hauntingly familiar roar of a powerboat engine. When he was more sure of himself a few seconds later, he shook Michael's shoulders, and called his name. With great angst the pair wondered what was the crew's purpose this time. Were they going to be picked up, maybe dropped back at the island, or what was much more likely, the kidnappers had come back to finish the job?

Michael strained his eyes against the darkness of night. Looking in the direction of the sound, eventually a shape emerged out of the moonlight. It was moving toward them but erratically, and didn't look quite right. The seconds passed, and the shape that presented itself wasn't what he expected. It looked like a flatboat, with very little constructed above the deck, just part of a dashboard and the back of the cabin wall. But what was more eerie was the absence of anyone aboard. This didn't make sense; if there was some accident it was extremely unlikely that craft would make its way back here. The boat drew closer, and Michael couldn't trust his ears. He could swear he heard Walt calling, "Dad! Dad! Dad!" Could this be his son's ghost?

Michael trembled in anticipation as the boat now appeared to be headed on a collision course. Hoping against hope, he shouted, "Walt!" and immediately got another "Dad!" in response. The boat drew closer, and as it turned a little, and the truth dawned on Michael. By some miracle Walt had taken control of the boat, and his head and unexpectedly shirtless body that showed over the dashboard did not provide much contrast against the nighttime sky. What he couldn't know is that Walt was able to steer, he couldn't also reach the throttle and control the boat's speed. The next thing he knew Walt was yelling, "Help! I can't slow this thing down!" Michael steadied himself for a leap while Walt tried to just skim what was left of the raft.


… to be continued