a/n: I'm back with the next chapter! Please keep up with the reviews! I love them, love them.

Two points to the reviewer who guesses my top two fav characters (even though I love them all)!

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Disclaimer: nothing is mine

17. The Second Task

Shannon, Charlie, Sun and Claire settled down next to Hurley, who was sitting next to Arzt on a beach towel.

"Hey, you made it!" Hurley exclaimed. He gestured towards an empty jar he was holding. "Want some peanut butter?"

Claire shook her head. "No, I only take extra smooth and creamy."

"Suit yourself. Charlie, dude, why are you wearing that hat?"

Charlie looked confused. "Hat? What hat? Oh, you mean this hat. Just trying to protect myself from the sun."

"Oh, okay." He nodded in understanding. "But if you want an, erm, uh, more...masculine looking hat I think Sawyer might have a few that he'll trade you for."

"Oh, I think that one looks fine." Claire looked at Sun, tugging on her ear. "It looks fine, Charlie."

Hurley glanced back and forth between the two women, trying to figure out if there had been some kind of exchange. "Uh...are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She scratched the back of her head, tossing Sun a wink. "Real fine."

Before Hurley had time to ask, the sound of Kate banging on the haliburton with the gavel silenced the crowd. The woman cleared her throat, giving them all a charming smile.

"Now," she began, "how long you are able to hang on will be added to your score. For instance, if someone...let's say, Walt, is only able to hang on for five minutes, the score of 5.00 points would be added to what he already has."

"Is there a time limit? Because I have something to do already."

Kate was liking Michael less and less as time went by. She frowned. "The time limit depends on your own strength. Now, any other questions? Yes, Sawyer."

"Are we allowed any time for breaks?"

She shook her head. "No, that would make you lose momentum. Anyone else? Walt?"

"Yeah, do we get to play a game after this or go to the bathroom? Because I gotta go." The kid danced around vigorously.

She blinked. "Uh...I don't know. Anyone else have anything they need cleared up? No? Okay, John, why don't you take it from here."

Locke stepped forward into the clearing, just as his infamous theme music began to play (you all know what I'm talking about; every time he's around or something freaky happens it plays). He crossed his arms, shifting his weight as he gave them a dire stare.

"I'll time you with this stop watch that Sayid left behind," he explained. "When you can't hold on any longer, just drop to the ground and step over to the side. Kate will be recording the times. I will shout them out each time someone drops out...literally."

His eyes wandered over to Boone. "And cheating is not allowed."

A small, "Oooooooooh," passed over the crowd as Locke sat down in one of the chairs that had been lugged out there. (The freaky music was still playing. If anything, it was getting more intense!)

"When I say go," the old-yet-young-man continued, "reach up and grab the branch nearest you. On your mark, get set..." He coughed into the back of his hand. "Sorry. Go."

They all scrambled madly for a branch. Walt hung from one just below Sawyer's, as Michael reached for the same one that Jack was holding. Boone seemed to find a branch quite easily. In fact, Shannon was wondering if it had even been there before...

Time passed slowly. Fifteen minutes. Sixteen. Seventeen. The crowd was deathly quiet. Sawyer was getting very red in the face as Walt swung back and forth. Jack and Michael seemed stressed, but Boone looked perfectly fine.

"Wow, your face is so red, Mr. Sawyer!" Walt exclaimed. "It's like a tomato! It's like ketchup! It's like a red hot chili pepper! It's like"-

"I get the picture," Sawyer snapped, shooting Walt a glare.

Walt's face grew serious. "It's like...blood."

"Cut that out!" The red-neck bristled. "You're just trying to distract me!"

"Are you accusing my son of cheating?" Michael cocked one eyebrow higher than the other.

"Maybe I am," Sawyer challenged.

"I'm getting sick and tired of you messing with my boy," the raft-builder continued, his face now growing red. "You need to learn to mind your own business."

"Wow, Dad!" Walt breathed. "Your face is so red! It's like a tomato! It's like ketchup! It's like a red hot chili pepper! It's like...blood."

Sawyer grunted, his fists clenching around the branch tightly. Walt took notice.

"Don't worry Mr. Sawyer. I know that you can hang on," he reassured him. "You're the strongest wimpy person I've ever met."

I suppose that just did Sawyer in. It was too much for his weary brain to handle. In a flash, he swung his body in the child's direction. The impact made Walt swing back and forth like a little pendulum.

"What do you think you're doing!" Michael cried. "You're cheating!"

"I'm not cheating!" Sawyer protested. "It was an accident! Sorry, short-round."

"Oh really? Then I guess that this isn't cheating either!" Michael pried a loose chunk of bark from the tree and threw it at Sawyer's head. The red-neck barely managed to duck it. "Sorry. My mistake."

"Guys, guys, calm down!" Jack intercepted. "We're grown men and one boy here. This isn't any way for us to behave."

"This doesn't concern you!" Michael shouted, letting go with one hand and pounding on Jack's knuckles.

"Wow, this is crazy," Charlie breathed in the audience, squinting. "It's more entertaining than WWE!"

"You watch WWE?" Claire asked incredulously. "I didn't know that." She grinned, rubbing her hands together. "I can't wait until The Cage of Pain this spring! It's gonna be insane!"

"Hey, do you guys notice anything weird about Boone?" Hurley asked, cocking his head to the side.

Shannon threw her hands in the air. "I've been saying that for years!"

"No, I mean, like, do you notice anything weird about him right now?"

Charlie paused thoughtfully. "He's very still."

"Yeah, but look at his hands." Hurley pointed with his finger. "If you look really closely, you'll see that it looks like..."

"They're moving!" Claire frowned. "But, that can't be."

Hurley chewed on this for a moment. "Maybe he found a Magic Pebble, and he's using the Pebble to stop time so he can get off of the tree and relax when he needs to, and then get back on again when he starts time again."

Shannon rolled her eyes. "I should have known that something was wrong with you when you were eating the invisible peanut butter."

"It's not invisible," Claire protested, lifting the jar and licking her lips. "It's real."

Charlie nodded in agreement. "It's the best bloody peanut better I've ever tasted."

Shannon scooted closer to Sun. "Okay."

At that moment, Walt dropped to the ground with a small plop. He snapped his fingers as Locke shouted out, "19.45!"

All of the Walties roared. Claire and Sun held up a banner they had made that said, "Walt, Walt, he's our kid! If he can't do it, we lose our bid!"

Walt went over to the side, beginning to pancake to his favorite song. "I'm a nice dude, with some nice dreams!" he cried. "See these ice cubes, see these ice creams?"

"Walt!" Michael shouted, as Kate regained order with her gavel. "You will not rap that song!"

"Okay." Walt dejectedly plopped down on the ground, heaving a sigh.

Shortly after this uprising, Sawyer let go. He crossed his arms, facing the audience.

"21.32!"

"Ain't any of you gonna say anything?" he shouted.

There was a loud roar of mirth. Sawyer thrust his chin out, feeling proud. "Now don't cry," he began, but he was interrupted by Locke.

"21.48!"

The red-neck whirled around, dismayed to see that the reaction was not for himself; but for Jack.

"This just sucks," he muttered under his breath, going over to sit by Walt. "Nobody cares if I win or lose."

Walt patted him on the back. "Don't worry Mr. Sawyer. You're the most noticed ignored person I know."

Before Sawyer could reply, Jack came over. He shook his head. "This sucks. We were the first ones to claim Kate's heart. Boone wasn't."

"And Michael isn't even trying to win!" the hillbilly exclaimed. "There's something funny going on."

At that moment, Michael dropped. Shannon and Hurley held up a sign: "Michael, Michael, he's our man! He joined the contest so watch his son, he can!" (Shannon did admit that it sounded a bit like Yodah-grammar, if you know what I mean)

"23.05!"

Shortly afterward, Boone fell (23.10). Surprisingly, all of the women swayed (Claire actually fainted a little).

"He looks so...cute!" Shannon breathed, squinting.

"Oooh, and debonair!" Claire added. "Kate is so lucky to have a guy like that competing for her."

"And muscular!"

"And the way the sun glints off of his hair..."

"You really think so? I think he's ugly." Charlie scowled. He wished the sunlight would glint off his hair.

Kate cleared her throat. "All right. We'll all come back here in about fifteen minutes for the results and the description of the Third Task."

TBC...

Heheh, the long awaited Second Task! So what did you think? Worth the wait?

Please review!

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