Days on the Island: 3, 9PM

I've been thinking a lot about secrets tonight. How we all have them…and for everyone that has one, someone else is determined to discover it. Secrets consume us, haunting us until we can barely take it anymore. They create bonds and they destroy lives. Secrets can bring us together and tear us apart. They torment us, forcing us into silence, forcing us to keep it all inside until the very knowledge of a secret has poisoned us. For every person that treasures a secret there is someone that wishes they could give it away.

I'm beginning to think this island is filled with more secrets than any of us could imagine. Secrets that could destroy us all.

I was sitting in the tent, watching Jack tend to Shrapnel Man when he started demanding to talk to Kate. Kate. What did he want with Kate? How did he even know her? He started going on about how we shouldn't trust her and she was dangerous. Jack didn't seem shocked by any of this.

"Who's dangerous?" I asked, sitting up, confused.

Jack didn't even look at me, he just asked the guy what she had done.

"What who did? Jack, what's he talking about?" I couldn't stop asking questions, but one look from Jack kept me quiet until he had sent Hurley after Kate and we were alone.

"Jack, what is going on? What does that man have to do with Kate?" He looked a little surprised as the seriousness of my voice. Hey, I wasn't all fun and games.

"Nothing," he replied, clearly not wanting to talk about it, but I wasn't giving up that easily.

"Jack," I said, using my very best 'don't give me "nothing"' voice that I usually reserved for leads that were holding out on me.

"Gwen, it's not my place to tell you." He looked so burdened, as if he carried the secrets of us all.

"Look, I'm a journalist. Snooping is my job. I'm going to find out sooner or later…and if I start asking questions someone else is bound to catch on."

Jack turned to me angrily. "Don't back me into a corner, Gwen," he warned, his voice dangerously calm.

I knew I should back down, let it go, but I couldn't.

"And don't shut me out. I'm not a child. I have a right to know what's going on. You can't-," I faltered for a moment as he looked away. "You can't take all of this on yourself."

Jacks sighed and was silent for a long moment, staring out at the moonlight glinting on the water. He finally looked at me, searching my eyes until he found whatever it was he was looking for. "This stays between us."

"You have my word," I said quietly, knowing this was bigger than anything I had imagined…and I have a pretty active imagination.

Jack handed me a folded piece of paper. "I found this in his jacket pocket. He's a U.S. Marshal."

There on the paper was a photo. A mug shot. Kate's mug shot. At least it looked like Kate. The woman in the picture looked cold and jaded, as if she didn't have anything to live for or anyone to care about. She wasn't the woman I had met here on the island.

I asked Jack what she had done and he said he didn't know.

"Something bad enough to run all the way to Australia…and be followed," he said.

I stared at the mug shot for a long moment before handing it back to him. "All of us are running from something," I said quietly. "Some of us are just more obvious about it."

Jack stared at me for a long moment before making a sound of agreement. He smiled sadly as he started to walk away.

"Why did you tell me?" I called after him before he got too far.

He turned and smiled at him. "Maybe I trust you," he called back as Hurley walked up to him.

Maybe he shouldn't. The last person that trusted me ended up dead.

At least now I know I'm not the only one hiding something…and I'm probably not the last.

Jack and Hurley are talking now. Hurley keeps glancing over at me so I assume Jack told him I know. I think he's just surprised I didn't weasel it out of him first.

I wonder if-…

Was that a gunshot?