Chapter 4: Fear

Boone's word rang through each and every one of the rescue teams' ears, as the sonorous sound of the beast advanced on them. It cut through the trees as if they were grass, and it was heading straight for the camp. They all knew it would be a good idea to start moving if they wanted to live but their bodies remained stock still, not wanting to co-operate with their screaming minds.

"Move, now!" Locke shouted over the sound of the heavy rain and thunder. This snapped everyone back to reality, everyone that is except Kate.

The only thing running through her head was of the mutilated corpse of the pilot. How he had hung there from the tree, his flesh ripped from the bone, his body slowly decaying. She wondered if that was how she would end up once the creature got to them.

Through the haze of her foggy mind Kate thought that she heard her name, but she couldn't find it within herself to reply.

"Come on Freckles," Sawyer said as he dragged Kate to her feet. She was still stunned however, and did not respond, her mind was still with the pilot.

"Let's GO!" He said, more forcefully this time, grasping her arm tightly.

This snapped Kate from her stupor and she followed Sawyer's long stride.

"Gonna need this," he muttered as he swept his pack off the ground and onto his back, like the others had done, before grabbing her arm once again.

The sound of the beast was coming steadily closer to their makeshift camp and the three men ahead of them picked up the pace.

"Let go of me Sawyer," Kate said and jerked her arm free of his grasp, "I'm going to get my bag."

"Nuh uh Freckles, this ain't no polar bear," Sawyer said

Kate's eyes flashed dangerously. "I'm going to get my bag, Sawyer," she said, slowly.

"Dammit Kate, leave it and let's go NOW!" Sawyer snapped and grabbed her, dragging her away before they lost sight of the three entirely.

Kate protested and tried to get out of Sawyer's iron grip but when the crashing of trees advanced upon them she gave up and began to run in earnest. There was no way in hell that she was going to let herself become monster chow.

They picked up the pace, trying to catch up with Jack, Locke, and Boone, but it seemed that they were further behind than they had originally thought. The rain was beating down heavily, making it hard for them to see where they were going and it also didn't help that it was still nighttime. The ground was slick and mud splashed up about their legs, thoroughly soaking them and causing their jeans to stick to their legs like a second skin. It was getting far more difficult to run, exhaustion was creeping up on them.

Kate's lungs were burning, aching. Her legs began to tremble but the adrenaline fueling her body allowed her to push on. Though it was raining it still felt as if she was on fire, her face flushed, sweat trickling down her back. Focused intently on her task as she was, Kate failed to notice the root jutting from the earth. Her foot caught underneath it and she stumbled, crashing abruptly to the ground. All the adrenaline left her and she knew she couldn't go any longer; she didn't have the strength to pull herself up.

"You alright Freckles?" Sawyer asked, nearly tripping over Kate's kneeling form.

"Leave me here Sawyer," Kate said, though it was so quiet Sawyer could barely hear her.

"What was that?" Sawyer asked again, not believing that he had heard her correctly. He didn't think she would give up that easily.

"You go catch up with the others," Kate said, a little louder this time. "I can take care of myself, I'll be fine"

Though he couldn't hear the beast, Sawyer knew that it wasn't far behind.

"Dammit Freckles! Do you want to get eaten? There is no way I'm leaving you here! Your death isn't going to be on my conscience!" Sawyer yelled as he grabbed Kate around her slender waist and hauled her to her feet. "Either you're coming with me or neither one of us are going anywhere." He said stubbornly.

Kate complied begrudgingly but it took all she had to get steady on her feet again. Even with Sawyer holding her around her waist, she was feeling woozy, and if Sawyer were to let go of her she might just end up back on the ground.

Sawyer could feel Kate moving unsteadily in his arms. He knew that if they continued to run like this they would be snack food for the beast but if they didn't keep moving they'd both be dead for sure.

"Come on Kate," Sawyer said quietly as he wrapped his arm around her waist, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible because it was obvious that Kate wouldn't take his help readily. He knew Kate was tough, but she wasn't that tough: she was only human, after all. Sawyer could see that she was worn out and knew that at least part of that was his fault.

"I can walk myself, Sawyer," Kate grumbled, shrugging out of Sawyer's grasp, "I'm not an invalid."

Kate took a few staggering steps without Sawyer's assistance then promptly closed her hand around the nearest tree before she could fall again. She wouldn't let herself look like a fool in front of Sawyer, not any more than she already had.

"Sure you can do it yourself, Freckles. That's why you can't even walk a few steps without falling," Sawyer said gruffly, although there was a hint of concern in his voice, "Swallow your damn pride and let's go."

Kate had told herself that she'd never depend on a man again, and depending on someone as pigheaded and chauvinistic as Sawyer was out of the question entirely. But to get out of the jungle alive she'd need to; if she ever wanted to see Jack again Kate needed Sawyer's help. It was just this once anyways; she'd never have to do it again.

Sawyer put his hand against the small of Kate's back, getting her moving and pushing forward. Reluctantly, Kate put her hand on his shoulder, then slid it around his neck, her other arm falling limp to her side. The two began to walk; moving slowly but steadily in the direction they thought Jack, Locke, and Boone had gone. Neither one of them spoke; the only noise was the sound of trees crashing far off in the distance. In all probability the beast had forsaken them and had taken another path.

"Great, just great! We're lost!" Sawyer said, just before tripping over a branch that was lying on the jungle floor. "This Island hates me!" Sawyer roared exasperatedly as he and Kate trudged aimlessly through the jungle, not having the slightest idea where they were.

Kate had long since stopped leaning on Sawyer for support; she had finally caught her breath and her legs no longer felt like they'd collapse at any given moment. Now she was just frustrated with Sawyer's constant complaining.

"Stop whining Sawyer," Kate said tiredly to the irate man before her, "The Island doesn't hate you. And we'll get back to the beach eventually."

"That's easy for you to say Freckles. Thanks to you, we're God knows where, with no food and little water." He said, obviously trying to blame Kate for all that had happened.

"Oh hell no! You can NOT pin all this on me! I wouldn't have had to stop if you hadn't tried to KILL me!" Kate shouted.

That got Sawyer to stop. "Tried to kill you!" He snapped as he whirled around to face her, "I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't been an idiot and woke me up!"

"Shut up Sawyer!" Kate nearly growled, getting up in his face, "This is not my fault. If you hadn't been yelling in your sleep I wouldn't of had to wake you! You almost woke the whole jungle!"

Sawyer's eyes went wide and he fell silent as he stepped back from Kate. His nightmares had always been bad but he had never made any noise as far as he knew. But then again, his dreams had never been as vivid as they had been earlier. The nightmares had been getting worse ever since they had crashed on this godforsaken Island. They were all the same though; dreams of his childhood intermingled with his life before. The sounds of bullets rang through his head constantly; he had heard far too many in his youth, in his life. His parents had been first; before them, guns had been used only for hunting and for the cowboys on TV to kill the bad guys. That all changed though; when his daddy shot his mamma then killed himself his whole life had changed. From there on in it was foster homes and maybe, just maybe, he could have stayed a boy longer if it hadn't been for them and their "love".

"Sawyer?" Kate's bemused and more than slightly anxious voice tore him from his thoughts.

"What did I say?" Sawyer asked quietly, his eyes glittering through the darkness that still enveloped them.

"What do you mean? You've been standing there like stone. You haven't said anything."

"Not now," Sawyer said harshly, slightly louder this time. "When I was dreaming, what did I say?"

"I don't know, it was all mumbled. You sounded like you were in pain though. Why, what were you dreaming about?" Kate said, cocking her head.

"Nevermind. It's none of your business," Sawyer growled angrily, "It's not important anyways. Let's just get moving."

"I think it is important," Kate said, looking Sawyer right in the eye, "And it is my business. Whatever you were dreaming about made you strangle me. So what was it about Sawyer, really?"

"Just drop it Kate," Sawyer hissed, turning away.

"Oh no you don't. Now I really wanna know what you were dreaming," Kate said teasingly, a smirk crossing her face, but she quickly sobered, "Did it have anything to do with your letter?"

Sawyer's face twisted in fury, his eyes dark and shuttered once again, and he spun around to face Kate.

"Don't you dare pretend like you know me!" Sawyer shouted, his face contorted with rage, "You don't know anything!"

Kate looked up at Sawyer in surprise; she hadn't expected him to react like that. Sure, she knew he'd be pissed, but this was beyond anger. She had apparently struck a nerve; there was no way he could just brush this off as nothing, not this time.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, Sawyer," Kate said in a clipped tone, "You can stay here and pout, I'm going to go see if I can find Jack, Locke, and Boone.

"Fine! I don't need you!" Sawyer yelled, "You can go and get yourself lost. Fall off a cliff, for all I care!"

"Well what do ya know, the old Sawyer's back. And here I thought you were beginning to become a better man. Guess I was wrong again," She replied scathingly.

Kate turned away once more and stomped further off into the night. She wasn't about to put up with any more of Sawyer's crap, not when she could be doing something more productive. A little voice in her head told her that she should be finding her way back to the beach, to safety, and to Jack. The other voice, evidently more sensible than the other, said that she should make camp and wait for daylight. There was no point in traipsing about in the dark, too many things could go wrong.

Kate's mind was caught in a tug-of-war but she continued walking, too engaged in her thoughts to notice where exactly she was going. Although the rain was no longer pouring it was still drizzling and Kate shivered involuntarily. Her shoes were completely soaked through from the wetness of the jungle floor and the cold had seeped into her bones.

Perhaps it was the rain or her lack of attention. Maybe it was because she was so hell-bent on getting back to the beach. Or possibly it was just fate. Whatever it was; Kate found herself falling, tumbling down a hill she had not seen.

Her scream of pain and terror echoed back to Sawyer and sent a shiver up his spine.

"Kate."