Exodus 3.5 – Chapter 7

Fixing A Hole

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
And stops my mind from wandering where it will go
I'm filling the cracks that ran through the door
And kept my mind from wandering where it will go
And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong I'm right
Where I belong I'm right where I belong.

Locke continued down the corridor below the hatch. There were more markings on the walls portraying similar signs as the first ones. An all-seeing eye, a protector, fire, smoke. What was it trying to tell him, he thought, the answer has to be here! He knew that the island wanted him to open the hatch, all the signs were there. This is where I'm suppose to be, damn it! His flashlight flickered on the walls and on the floor in front of him. He could see a light at the end of the hallway. It glowed in the darkness that surrounded him. He could hear Jack's footsteps behind him and paused so he could catch up.

Jack saw Locke gesturing to him to follow more closely. He also saw that the older man was pointing to the end of the corridor. Jack could make out a faint light. He continued down the hall following Locke, illuminating him with his flashlight. There was a fire burning behind the bald man's eyes and it made Jack nervous. No, not nervous, Jack thought, damn scared. Locke had become unpredictable and foolhardy. Jack was one to assess a situation, go over the options, and then carry out a plan. Not, he thought, to just jump down a hatch and hope for the best.

"Jack!" The doctor heard Locke call his name softly. He saw him jerk is head towards the light and motioned for Jack to follow.

Both men came to the edge of the opening in the wall. They waited in the corridor and strained to hear any sound. The opening was silent. Locke turned is head, smiled at Jack and nodded. Jack nodded back and they both went around the corner and found something they did not expect.

It was a room. A large room lit by overhead lights. There were no other openings except for the door that the men had entered. Inside there were several crates, large 50 gallon metal drums, and several pieces of electronic equipment. The crates were marked "Rations" on the side and looked like they had been there for a long time. The drums were marked "Potable Water" and were starting to show signs of rust along the edges.

Jack surveyed the room. He went over to one of the crates and started to pry loose the slats. Inside were army-style ration cans and foil-wrapped tins. Food, Jack thought, real food – or almost real food. Digging through the crate he also found a box with no markings. He pulled off the top and inside were several small cellophane packages of small, yellow cakes.

"Twinkies!" Jack shouted showing the packages to Locke.

"What?"

"These are Twinkies!" Jack laughed and ripped open one of the packages. He popped the entire cake into his mouth and the cream filling started to ooze all over his face. He didn't think he had ever enjoyed something so much. He looked over at Locke, but the older man was not happy. In fact, to Jack, he looked almost angry.

Locke went over to the wall and started to pound on it. He kept moving around the perimeter of the room, pounding the walls as he went. He wore a grimace of total frustration. He started pushing the crates and the barrels around. They fell over with a crash and the contents of the crates careened onto the floor. "There's got to be more!" he pleaded under his breath. He walked to the middle of the room and screamed.

"There's got to be more!"

Jack was stunned. He had never seen the older man like this. Locke was manic – screaming and clawing at the walls.

"John! Settle down!" Jack tried to grab Locke's arms to quiet him, but he just pushed Jack away.

Locke looked at Jack with tears in his eyes "This can't be it, Jack" he motioned around the room. "This couldn't be it!"

Jack came up slowly to Locke's side. "What were you expecting, John?" The doctor motioned to the entire room, "We have food, water, a place to hide…"

"An Answer!" Locke bellowed "It promised me an answer!"

Jack shook his head in disbelief, "What kind of answer? Is this about the whole island -fate - destiny thing…" his voice trailed off.

Locke glared at Jack but said nothing. He turned heel and left the room. Jack grabbed some of the Twinkies and stuffed them into his pockets.

"Locke! Wait!" Jack's voice echoed down the corridor and he could see that Locke was leaving him behind.

See the people standing there who disagree and never win
And wonder why they don't get in my door
It doesn't matter if I'm wrong I'm right
Where I belong I'm right where I belong

Kate was pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. It was giving Sayid a headache.

"Kate! Please stop!"

She looked at him like she had forgotten he was there. She stood still and looked at her watch. She grimaced. And she started pacing again.

"Where are they, Sayid? They've been gone a long time." She started to pace faster.

The Iraqi had finally had enough. He stood up from the log he was sitting on, walked over to Kate and held her by the shoulders.

"Wearing a hole in the ground is not going to bring them back any sooner."

The sun was getting higher in the sky and the jungle was alive with the sound of birds and insects. Kate looked into the sky and stretched her back. This is taking too long, she thought, something's happened.

"I should never have let him go down there" she said turning to Sayid with her arms folded in front of her.

Sayid smiled and shook his head "I don't think you could have stopped him, Kate." He walked over to the hatch. "He was going down there to get Locke." He gave Kate a worried look, "Locke is not to be trusted."

Kate came closer to the Iraqi "Jack told me something before the hatch blew up…"

Sayid lifted his eyebrows in a question. "Yes…"

Kate looked down the darkness of the shaft "He said we were going to have a "Locke problem."

Sayid cupped his chin with his hand and thought about what she had just said "A Locke problem," he repeated, "What do you think he meant by that?"

Kate shook her head, "I'm not sure – but it had something to do with what they were talking about in the jungle."

"What were they talking about?

"I wasn't close enough to hear, but I heard raised voices."

Sayid started to pace now. His face showed concern. He knew that Locke was hiding something but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Locke was obsessed with the hatch and Sayid couldn't figure out why.

Both of them turned at a sound coming from the hatch. They heard hard breathing and a light was shining out of the shaft. On their knees, they leaned down to look. The beam of a flashlight was shining in their faces. Both of them put their hands up to shade their eyes from the light. All they could see was someone climbing up the shaft. They heard a foot as it hit one of the unbroken rungs.

"Locke – Jack? Is that you?" All that came back was the grunting of someone having a hard time climbing up.

The beam of the flashlight now shone into the afternoon sky. Kate and Sayid stood back as the figure pushed his way out of the hatch.

"Jack?"

Kate grabbed the doctor's arm and helped him up from the ground. Jack looked around and was confused.

"Where's Locke?" he asked Sayid, "He was ahead of me."

"Locke?" answered Kate "You were the first one out, Jack."

Jack turned and looked down the shaft again. "LOCKE!" he yelled down the hole. All he could hear was his own voice echoing in the chamber. He started to go back down the shaft, but both Kate and Sayid grabbed his arms.

"No, no, no" scolded Sayid "You are not going back down there." Jack tried to break out of their grip, but he was being held fast.

"B-but he was ahead of me….he left first!" Jack sat down on the ground and put his hand to his head as he shook it. "I don't understand" he looked up at the pair "Where did he go?"

Silly people run around they worry me
And never ask me why they don't get past my door
I'm taking my time with a number of things
That weren't important yesterday and I still go

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
And stops my mind from wandering where it will go