Author's Note: I decided to split this into three parts instead of two. Hope it works out this way. As always, reviews are much loved.
Wandering through the jungle was not safe when the sun was high, but walking through after dark was a plea for trouble. Kate wasn't even sure where she was going. Her feet simply wandered along with her mind, and the darker her thoughts became, the faster she began to run. Twigs and leaves flew past her, cutting her bare shoulders and leaving a thin trail of blood across her cheek. Kate didn't even feel it.
She didn't know what she was running from. There were police on the island, no feds, no authority but that of nature itself, but Kate felt as if the hounds of Hell itself were after her. So she kept running. It didn't matter where or how long it would take, she just had to keep running and don't stop. Never stop.
Whachya doin' with that there pistol, Katie girl...
Whisperers. There were whispered all around her. The air was saturated with voices from the past, voices Kate struggled so desperately to forget. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. The rules of the real world didn't apply here. They didn't even belong. If the Island truly meant a second chance, why was it doing this to her?
Kathrine... Oh God! Kathrine, what did you do...
Voices. Too many voices. All so angry, accusatory, and treacherous. They mocked and tormented her with memories she should have never been forced to endure in the first place. They didn't let up, so Kate ran faster and deeper into the jungle.
Suddenly there was a gust of wind, and Kate was forced to stumble to a halt as she felt that wind literally steal the breath from her body. She gasped for air, listening intently. But when the wind was gone, it seemed to take the ghost-like whispers with it. Only one sound remained in the air, and it took Kate a moment to realize that for once it wasn't just in her head. Someone was humming.
Walking slowly, she made her way through the bushes and trees before finally realizing where she was. She was surprised that the unknown humming reached her ears first, but a wistful smile touched her lips when she saw the waterfall and pond. Lit by the light of the full moon, it looked different than the first time she saw it. The water shimmered, reflecting the stars, and the entire clearing had a sense of surrealism to it. The sight was truly breathtaking.
Kate couldn't help but feel a wave of sad nostalgia wash over her. There was only one other person who knew about this place, and he was not likely to share it with her ever again. It occurred to her, that she never told anyone else about the waterfall, not even Jack. Kate suspected that even when she hadn't considered it, she'd always thought of this place as something that belonged only to her and Sawyer, like a privet little secret they shared. Jack didn't need to know. No one else needed to know. It was a place just for the two people who didn't belong.
She slowly circled the edge of the pond before nearing the rocks, which were always wet from the splashes from the waterfall on their left. She regarded them sadly, almost seeing the ghosts from just a few weeks ago laughing and diving from those rocks into the cool water. Just for that one afternoon, she'd been happy.
The soft humming returned, as Kate finally realized that the sound was coming from just at the very edge of the waterfall where the pond water was only a few feet deep but the sprays still reached the ground. Sawyer was sitting on one of the rocks, much more calm than he was on the beach. He looked somewhat like one of Rodina's statues, Kate mused, at the same time recognizing that he had been the one humming. She wanted to talk to him, but Kate was honestly not sure if he'd calmed down enough to even begin to listen. Mere hours had passed, and Kate didn't know if she should be the one to start any conversation or let him have his space and come to her when he was ready. But what if he'd never be ready? What if he's lost to her forever?
In the end, she decided to give him his space. Kate turned to leave, but his voice reached her before she could even move. "He took my name, didn't he?"
"What?" she wasn't sure if she'd heard him correctly. Kate slowly turned to face him, and was surprised to see that Sawyer was looking directly up at her from his place on the rock.
"He took my name," the southerner repeated, "jus' like I took his."
"How did you know?" Kate was genuinely curious.
"Been wracking my brain for the longest time," he admitted, pushing himself from the rock and shoving his hands in the pockets of the jeans. "First time it hit me, thought maybe ya mighta lied from the start. Thought maybe ya always knew, an' jus' didn' bother ta tell me."
"I never lied to you, James," she said insistingly.
"Sure ya have," he shot back roughly, and she visibly flinched, "but not about this. 'Cause when I actually stopped ta use my head, I realized I ain't Jack. I can always tell when yer liyin'. So what else could it be? And then it hit me. My name. When I told ya my real name, ya looked like ya got hit in the gut with a bowlin' ball. Musta meant only one thing: ya heard the name before."
Kate nodded. He was right of course, and even though she didn't understand everything, Kate didn't dare to ask him. While she could usually read him so well, at the moment, Sawyer was too volatile. Kate had never been afraid of him before; no matter how angry he got, his anger had always been internalized. Of all the people on the island, Sawyer hated himself the most. At least, that's what she would have said a few hours ago.
"Couldn'ta been that hard really," he shrugged. "An eight-year-old kid's not gonna miss his name or social security number till it's time for him ta drive. Franks Sawyer was a wanted con man, but James Ford? No one knew who the hell he was. Made it the perfect identity theft. Betchya he didn't even care who's name it was he stole. How damn sick is that?"
There was silence between them, as Kate waited for him to say something. She felt like she was standing on needles, waiting for him to explode at any moment, even if he looked a lot more calm than she expected. What scared her the most wasn't his anger, but her inability to predict his actions. He was simply too shocked and hurt to think rationally, but where she could usually foresee his reaction, Kate felt as if she was walking into something completely blind.
"How old were you?" he asked finally. Sawyer was sure he could do the math, but his mind was simply too overloaded to even attempt the simple arithmetic.
"Six... sixteen," she replied, slightly confused by the question.
"Sixteen," he repeated, as if saying it made it more real. "That woulda made me 'bout twenty five."
"He was... he was my step-father," she began, talking quickly, "and..."
"What'd he do?" he asked, interrupting her, "Musta been somethin' bad, for ya to shoot the guy."
No... any question but that, her internal voice cried out, but she couldn't make a sound. Please, James, don't make me answer it... Kate's head shot up instantly, and her wide eyes stared directly at him. She didn't need to utter a single sound; the terrified look on her face told him everything. Unlike her, he'd never lost the ability to read her reaction, and at the moment the she may as well have been screaming in pain. Except that's not how Kate was. She didn't scream: she simply went numb.
"Oh God," his hand covered his mouth, and if Sawyer thought he was going to be sick earlier at the beach, that was nothing compared to the nausea he was feeling now. Sawyer shook his head in disbelief, running a hand through his blond strands. "He did that to a sixteen-year-old kid... I'm sorry."
The words were whispered so softly that Kate almost didn't hear him. Her questioning gaze scanned over his face searching for any sign that she'd misheard him, but he couldn't meet her eyes.
"Wha.. what?" her voice was beginning to break. No matter how hard she tried to hold herself together, Kate was fighting a loosing battle.
"I'm sorry," he finally looked up at her, his own voice stronger and more determined. "I was twenty-five. I shoulda gotten ta him sooner. I'm sorry, Kate."