Chapter Fourteen:

Beautiful Strangers

"What do I owe the honor, Sawyer?" Abigail spoke up from the place she'd been sitting for almost a whole day. He untied her from her restraints.

"Don't want that thing outside to choke when it comes in."

"Good to know where your heart is."

"It'll always be that thing before you, sweetums."

He grabbed her hand and led her to the corner he was standing in all by himself.

"Never though you'd be a heroic one in the bunch."

"What are you talkin' bout? Did you not get it the first time? I'm savin--"

"Yeah, I know saving the monster from choking." She rolled her eyes. "You couldn't bare to see me filleted." She couldn't help but chuckle.

"I give up trying to get--"

Abigail broke his sentence with a kiss. Forcing her lips on to his. He didn't stop her until he had enough and he realized what they were doing. He grabbed her arms and threw her back into the cave wall. She moaned in pain.

"Ow."

"Sorry but I'm not in the mood."

"Why is it we only get to play around when you want to?"

"Don't tell me you're going to try and save these people." She smirked. "It's not going to happen."

"These people."

"Oh! Don't tell me. They are your friends. Trust me. If they were your friends why would you go out of your way to save me?" She leaned forward brushing her lips against his. "If I'm such a potential danger. Why is it that you can't keep your hands off of me?"

He grabbed her by the throat and pinned her up against the wall. He leaned in towards her left ear. "Shut up."

Her legs dangled from below her. She struggled to respire and to get out anything. "See you can't stop touching me." She kicked him in the groin sending him to his knees. She leaned in towards his ear now. "Don't cause a commotion now." She blew into his ear as she talked. She helped him to his feet.

"I thought you wanted help."

"No I said I needed help."

"Is there a difference?"
"I need you."

"What for, to beat me up? No offence but I'm not willing to help after that."

"Sawyer." She sat as she slapped him a little on the cheek. "I need to get away from this island." She looked around. "And so do you. It seems like they've already been infected."

"Infected?" He said grabbing her arm that slapped him. "You're just as crazy as that damn French woman."

"No." She shook her head. "Look, your friend over there." She pointed to Charlie. Who was sweating. "He's not sick?"

"That's one person. It could be anything."

"You're friend Locke, he's seeing things on the island? He believes that this island is beautiful." She shook his head. "He's not right in the head."

"And how do you know who's right and who's wrong? How do I know that you're not infected?"

"My grandfather." She lowered her voice. "He was infected by the disease. That's what made Rousseau shoot him."

"You don't make since, how can you be one of Rousseau's team members when she came here, and one of the Others?"

"They kidnapped me. When I was running from Rousseau." She looked back at Charlie and Claire. "They thought I was the soothsayer."

"The what?"

"It's what they call the child. They believe that they have some sort of power to see into the future."

"A psychic? You got to be kidding me. You're making this up."

"No I'm not."

"Then you're insane, muffin." He said pulling out a cigarette from his pocket and put it to his lips. He flicked open his lighter and lit the end of it. He had found the cigarette in a suitcase that Jack had found and was using for medical supplies. How ironic.

"That's why they took Walt. His father can tell you. Walt is different from other kids."

"And now how, missy, do you presume the others knew that?"

"They didn't, at first. They sent someone to spy, I believe you knew him as Ethan."

"You knew this Ethan guy, right?"

"Yeah. Sinister." She nodded. "But he protected me."

"He protected you?"

"Yeah, he protected me. He kept me from the others, the ones far worse then he was."

Sawyer gave a look of concern. "Worse?"

"Ethan, was the person who snatched me in the woods."

"So you just said, alright fine I'll go with it?"

"I had to, Sawyer, I was six. I knew that I had to get away from that crazy French lady."

"So you spoke French then?"

"A little bit. The others taught me how to speak English. I haven't talked French in 16 years."

"I see. Everything is coming out in the open."

"Well I figure, if either one of us get eaten we'll know the truth." She sat down on the hard dirty ground of the cave. Sawyer followed sitting across from her.

"How long do you think this will take? For the monster to get bored."

"Well, we usually hide out for a few hours, and it looses interest. But you guys, are new prey I suppose."

"Alright, now what's that black floating crap that's sorta Foggy?"

"I've never seen that."

"Never?"

"No. I've been around this island and I've never seen that before."

They both paused. Silence filled the space between them. They exchanged brief looks before she spoke up.

"I know you don't exactly trust me. But if you want to go to sleep I'll wake you up if something happens."

"Eh, I'm not sure about that, firecracker. Just 'cause we had a decent chat doesn't mean I'm gonna rely on you."

"Likewise. After all you did shoot me. I'm not looking to become your best friend."

"So I guess that's how it's gonna be then."

"Yeah. Waiting 'till dawn. Maybe then we can get somewhere on this island. Possibly even build another raft. If Michael is up to it." She sat back alongside the wall. She then released a heavy sigh. Within moments her eyes started to flutter close. She had a long day of being shot at and tortured.

He watched her as she closed her eyes. He threw the cigarette that he had been smoking out to the side of him. She's so beautiful. But I don't trust her. I don't trust her as far as I could throw her. She can act like we're friends, but it's not going to work. She's nothing to me. He couldn't help but stroke her cheek tenderly as she fell deeper into her slumber. I can't fall again. Not like I did last time. I promised myself I'd never let her do this to me again. She's a liar, Sawyer. She's a liar. A con artist better than you could even imagine. She's better than you. And that's scary. She's one of them, Sawyer. Don't fall for her. Not to mention she's manipulative. Though then again, I ain't a saint. She's just like me. Gets things the way she was raised, stealing and conning. What a pair we'd make in the states. He couldn't help but replay the messages in his head that she was pure evil. She was a manipulative woman, which might even end up killing him. But he couldn't bare to move his hand away from her skin. She was.. So beautiful.