Seeing Things

Shannon sat in the clearing near the caves, Vincent's head resting in her lap. His expressive brown eyes looked up at her as she stroked his soft fur. "You're the only one who believes me," Shannon whispered as she moved to scratch his ears. Vincent licked her hand in response.

"Shannon?"

"Go away, Jack," she said. "Just leave me alone."

"Shannon," he began again, stooping down in front of her, "We're all under a lot of stress just being here, but you...you've just lost your brother, that's a trauma in and of itself. Sometimes, things like that, we can't absorb it...our minds play tricks on us."

"I said go away," Shannon's voice grew louder, "You've already made it perfectly clear that you think I'm nuts, you and everyone else, so just leave me alone."

"I saw something in the jungle once," Jack confessed. Shannon looked at him. "Something I knew wasn't... couldn't be real. I saw it because I was tired and pushing myself too hard. Sayid tells me you aren't sleeping. You need to sleep, Shannon. I can give you something..."

"No thanks. I hope you two enjoy discussing me," Shannon got to her feet and took the dog by the leash. "Come on, Vincent."

"Where are you going?" Jack called after her.

Shannon didn't answer. She trudged with Vincent along the well-worn path to the beach. There had been no sign of the "others" that the crazy French chick had warned them about, and Shannon couldn't see why she shouldn't take Vincent for a swim and sit in the sun for awhile. She was getting damn sick of the caves. It was depressing enough being stuck on this godforsaken place, but without the warmth and sunlight of the beach it was almost unbearable.

The beach was deserted. No Sawyer, of course. Who would've thought she'd miss him? All the other shelters had either been torn down or stood empty. It looked like a ghost town. "Cowards,"she told the dog, "We ran away like a bunch of cowards. For no good reason. Just the rantings of a lunatic who wanted Claire's baby for herself."

She unhooked the leash from Vincent's collar and let him go, flopping down on the sand. The dog happily ran in circles around her, then dashed off, headed for the waves. He came back every few minutes, dripping with seawater, to check on her, then went back to his play. Shannon watched him until he ran, tail wagging with excitement, past her toward the jungle. She turned to see Sayid walking across the sand, Vincent trailing at his heels.

"You just don't get it, you and Jack," Shannon snapped, "Leave. Me. Alone. How much clearer can I make it?"

Ignoring her request, Sayid sat down beside her. "Shannon," he said softly, "I know you are upset. I know what you think you saw..."

"Who. Who I saw, Sayid. I saw Walt. I saw him. He was as real as you are, sitting here."

Sayid sighed, running his hand through his hair. "That is impossible. You were here on the beach when the raft left. Walt was on the raft." His voice was tense, but his clear brown eyes showed nothing but kindness and concern.

"I know," Shannon's eyes filled with tears, "I saw Walt on the raft. He sent Vincent back to me. But this morning, he was in the jungle. You have to believe me. Maybe something happened to the raft. Maybe the raft..." Shannon couldn't finish the thought. What if Jin and Michael, and Sawyer were gone...dead, like Boone? What if Walt was the only one left? They would never get off this island.

Sayid put his arm around her and Shannon allowed herself to relax in his embrace. Maybe, just maybe, she could convince him of what she had seen, and he would help her search. They had to find Walt. He was out there, alone. They had to find him.. Minutes went by before Sayid spoke. "If it really was Walt, why would he just stare at you? Why wouldn't he come running to someone familiar, someone he trusted? Come back to the caves with me and get some rest. You have hardly slept since..."

Realizing he still didn't believe her, Shannon pulled away and stood up. "Yeah, I know, since Boone died," she bent and hooked the leash back onto Vincent's collar. "I haven't slept since Boone died and I wasn't even there...because I was with you."

Sayid looked at her, his face suddenly blank, "I will be at the caves, if you change your mind and decide to rest."

She watched him walk away. Sitting back down, she rested against the dog's warm side. Shannon hadn't meant to be hurtful. Even with everything that had happened the last few days, she had hardly stopped thinking about the evening she and Sayid had spent together. It wasn't because it was romantic, although it had been. But because it had made her happy, free to be herself in a way that she hadn't for a very long time. Then Jack met them on the beach the next morning and her whole world turned upside down.

After Jack took her to the body, after she forced herself, sobbing, to look at the shell that had once been Boone, she ran into the jungle and threw up, over and over again until it seemed there was nothing left inside her. She felt Sun's cool hand on the back of her neck and she let the other woman wipe her face with a cloth and lead her back to the caves. Everything after that was fuzzy.

Boone's burial, you couldn't really call it a funeral, was simply something to get through. She couldn't speak when Jack asked her and though she had heard Sayid's voice his words had only bounced around in her brain. Then she had turned away so as not to see dirt and sand cover her brother's body.

Finding out about Locke, stealing the gun, trying to shoot him, even lashing out at Sayid when he stopped her, it's no wonder they thought she was crazy now. Maybe she was. No. She was sure of what she had seen.

It was an accident, being in the jungle by herself. She hadn't tied Vincent's leash tight enough, and he slipped away. Not wanting to bother Sayid, or anyone else, she walked just a little ways into the trees calling for the dog. After a few minutes of wandering, she decided to return to the caves. Vincent would probably come back on his own, the way he always did for Walt.

Going back, she must have gotten turned around. Finding herself in an unfamiliar part of the jungle, she started to panic. She took a deep breath, telling herself she couldn't possibly be that far from the caves. Listening for the sound of water, she moved in what she thought was the right direction. That was when she saw Walt. She looked up and there he was, maybe fifty yards in front of her. She couldn't see anything but his head and shoulders, the rest obscured by foliage, but it was Walt. He was looking right at her, but didn't seem to see her. She heard a gasp, and realized that she had made the sound. Walt never moved. She looked around again, and when she turned back, he was gone.

She screamed. Her screams brought Sayid and Jack running. Sayid grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face him.

"What happened? What's wrong?" She stared at him. "Shannon! What happened?"

This time she managed to point in the direction where Walt had been just moments before. Finally, she found her voice.

"Walt. I saw Walt. Right over there."

Jack looked at Sayid and shook his head. Sayid nodded. Shannon pulled away from Sayid and looked at both of them. "You don't believe me," she said. "I know what I saw."

That was when it started. The condescending explanations for her delusion. You're tired, you're upset, your mind is playing tricks on you. She had heard all of that and more in the past twenty-four hours, from Jack, from Sun, and worst of all, from Sayid. She was sick of it. "Come on, Vincent," she said, getting up again and heading toward the jungle. If they didn't believe her, she would just have to prove it to them.