okay, here's the other chappy i promised. and theres a little surprise in it for everyone who wants to know more about our fair heroine. and no i dont mean the stuff charlie snorts. thnmks for all the feedback :) i loves it, you know ;-)
eck, sorry about the musical cahpters for a minute there. i deleted one by accident instead of replacing it. (i cut a paragraph out of Complex Guy) so i hadda redo them all. sorry.
enjoy :)
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Lina made her way through the trees, along the path that was becoming rather well tread, to the caves. Once there, she looked around for the blonde girl. Lina found her sitting by the small water fall, staring into the rippling pool below. She had cleaned herself up some since the night before,a nd changed her clothes. But she still looked rather awful. Her face was drawn, and her eyes were glassy.
"Shannon?" Lina called, quietly, as she approached. The girl barely acknowledge her presence. Lina sank down, rocking back on her heels, to put herself at eye level with the blonde.
"Have you decided?"
"Decided what?" Shannon asked, not looking at her.
"What you want to do about Walt."
"What about him?"
Lina's brow furrowed in the beginnings of a flare of anger. "The fact that you saw him in the jungle last night maybe?" she hissed. Shannon shook her head.
"I must have been imagining-" she began, but Lina cut her off, her voice hard.
"Fuck that, we both know you saw him!"
Shannon then turned buring eyes on her, hot tears shimmering along her lashes. "I didn't see anything!" she shouted. Lina was momentarily stunned, but recovered, and opened her mouth to speak. Shannon practically lept to her feet, and rushed out of the caves, Lina hot on her heels.
"Leave me alone!" the blonde called, over her shoulder. Lina grunted, jogging a moment to catch her, and took hold of the woman's arm.
"Look, I know you're upset because no one believes you, but goddamit, you can't just pretend it didn't happen! Walt could be hurt out there in the jungle! Don't you care about that!"
Shannon hiccuped and sniffled once and then broke down into hiccuping sobs. She fell to her knees, and bent forward, blonde hair falling around her face. Lina sighed, and knelt beside the crying girl, rubbing her shoulders soothingly. Tactile reassurance was not her strong point. Indeed, she wasn't a huge fan of any kind of intimate physical contact; hugging and the like. She seemed to be doing it more and more, though. In fact, she'd had to actually hold Claire in her arms for most of the time Charlie was gone looking for Aaron, which had made her feel slightly creepy, and woefully inadequet. Living in such close proximity with people on this island was beginning to change her, she decided. Slowly, but surely. Next thing you know, she'd be part of a group hug. She fought back a shudder at that thought. It wouldn't do to have Shannon feel she was disgusting Lina while she was trying to comfort the blonde.
"I do care," Shannon insisted, when she had calmed down enough to speak again. She sniffled, and wiped at her eyes. Lina handed her a rag from her GSP to blow her nose with. "I just, don't want everyone to think I'm insane. You heard what Charlie said last night."
Lina nodded, her hand still on the upset girl's shoulder. "Yes, but Charlie is more worried about Claire getting uspet than about what you might have seen in the jungle."
"Sayid doesn't believe me either," she pressed, looking extremely forlorn over the idea. Lina felt sorry for the girl. She knew what it was like for everyont to think you're out of your mind. Her whole family, almost, had treated her that way when she'd told them their faith was not for her.
"No one believed Claire when she said someone was attacking her, remember?" Lina reminded Shannon.
"Charlie believed her," Shannon said, in an almost accusatory tone. Lina sighed.
"Well, I believe you. I know I don't count as much as Sayid, but still. Atleast, its something."
Shannon nodded. Not looking like it actually counted as anything at all. Lina tried not to be offended. She helped the blone to her feet.
"Maybe we can find something that will help Sayid believe you," she offered. Shannon looked wary at the thought.
"Like what?"
As if in answer to the question, Claire came hurrying up the path to the caves, on which they stood., holding the baby in the crook of one arm.
"Lina! I've been looking for you. There's something I need to show you," she said, her voice nearing panic. Lina held up her hands haltingly.
"Whoa, hang on, Claire. Breathe… breathe," she commanded. The Aussie girl glowered at her impatiently.
"Look!" she demanded, thrusting out her free hand. Lina took a moment to register what she was seeing. A green bottle. Full of papers. She slowly took it from her friend. A wine bottle.
"Is that everyone's letters?" Shannon asked. Claire looked at her, as if startled by her presence; like she hadn't realized the other girl was there. She nodded.
"I was walking along the beach, and it washed up on shore." Lina was turning the bottle over and over in her hands. "What should we do?"
"Huh?"
"Lina!" Claire said, sharply. The brunette snapped out of her revery. "What should we do?"
"I… I don't know," she stammered. It was true. This was proof that something might have gone terribly wrong with the raft. Something terribly wrong with Sawyer. She felt faint, having something so tangible in her hands like this. It was too real, so real it felt surreal. Which is really, very real. She wanted to chuck the bottle back into the sea and hope it sank straight to the bottom, that way she could pretend that she'd never seen it, and the awful knot in her stomach would go away. Shannon reached for the bottle, and Lina let it go, wiping her fingers on her shorts, trying to wipe the truth of the bottle away.
"I think we should show it to everyone," Shannon said. "They deserve to know."
Lina's head cleared instantly at that statement. Something in the tone of Shannon's voice. She shook her head emphatically.
"No, I don't think we should," she said. The two blondes looked at her confused. "I think everyone has a lot of hope invested in that raft, and this could have just fallen over board. There could be a million reasons for it to have ended up in the water."
"You really believe that?" Claire asked, her eyes clear and full of compassion. Lina held her gaze for a moment.
"No, I don't, but that doesn't mean I'm right in not beliving it," she insisted.
"Then, why don't we tell everyone about it, and let them make up their own minds?" Shannon asked, impatiently. Lina shook her head.
"I don't think that's a good idea. Especially after last night," she told the woman. "What do you think we should do with it, Claire?"
The little mother looked taken aback. "I don't think I should be the one to decide. You've got a lot more to worry about on the raft than I do."
"What do you mean by that?" Shannon asked, her brow furrowing. Lina shook her head. "If anyone, Sun is the person with everything riding on the welfare of the raft."
Lina latched onto that notion. "You're right," she said. "We'll take it to Sun, and let her decide what to do with it. It's her husband on that thing. Not yours or mine."
"But-" Claire began to protest. Lina layed a hand on her shoulder to silence the woman, shaking her head once. Then, she turned, and lead the way towards Sun's garden, leaving bits of her ever-crumbling hope along the pathway as she went.
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The line of people wound all around the book shop, and continued out onto the sidewalk for nearly three-hundred feet. Who knows what that is in meters? Its probably a lot, too.At the head of the line, sat a small, particle board table and a big cardboard display featuring cover art for the book: Darkest Offering. The fans waited eagerly for their turn with the author, who was very humble, and gracious, and delighted to take a moment to talk to each of them.
Lina waited eagerly for the line to move forward. She clutched the pen tightly in her hand, and could not contain the grin that spread from ear to ear. What a dream come true! Darkest Offering (which was the story of Lucifer and the human woman he fell in love with, which lead to Armageddon), had not done very well in the states, but it had exploded in Australia. So, in order to make it to the signing, she'd had to hop on a plane, which she hated, and zoom all the way from Alaska to Los Angeles, and finally Syndey. But it was so worth the trip. She didn't think she could be any happier than she was at this moment.
Another fan moved to the table, and handed off his book. He was in his mid-thirties, it looked. Wearing a suit, of all things; blue with pinstripes. She wondered if he was on his lunch break. His black hair was slicked back, and he looked very dapper, indeed.
"Who should I make it out to?" Lina asked, smiling up at him. He only half smiled back, his eyes dark. The look made her slightly uncomfortable, and she was glad, suddenly, that she only had to speak with him for a moment.
"Jezebel," he said. She smiled, and laughed quietly.
"Nice name," she said. "Is that your wife?"
He nodded. Then asked, "How did you come up with the plot?"
She shrugged, bobbing her head to one side. "It just came to me one day. What if Satan fell in love with a woman? What that would mean for Revelations and all that."
He nodded again, his eyes seemed to harden somehow. "I see."
She finished signing and handed him the book back, and offered her hand for him to shake. He took it firmly, and his color seemed to rise at her touch. An angry, red blush covered his face and neck, and he suddenly squeezed her hand painfully. She felt her knuckles rub together. She opened her mouth to protest, tugging at his grip, when he reached into his jacket and pulled out something that glinted in the flourescent light of the shop. Her protest caught in her throat, and she choked on it, as his arm came towards her.
"In the name of God!" he shouted. She yanked backwards with all her wieght, kicking out her legs for more leverage. Her chair toppeld over backwards and her feet hit the table, flipping it towards him. He did not let go, but was pulled back with her as she went down, sprawling over the edge of the wood.
The guards jumped to action, pulling the crazed man off her. He continued to shout and struggle towards her as they attempted to subdue him. "She's evil! Satan's whore! A witch! A black, dirty thing! Whore! Evil!"
Several of her non-homicidal fans rushed forward, helping pull the man away and helping her to her feet. She was shaking, and could barely stand. Lorne Bacchus, her agent, had been speaking with a news crew off ot the side about footage they planned to take of her and a small interview after the signing. He hurried her out of the store, past the news crew (who had somehow managed to get their camera up and going). He lead her past all the waiitng fans, out the front door, where another news crew was shooting footage of the fans lined up outside.
Lorne pushed her gently into the waiting limo, which had been parked out front since she'd arrived in it. When the fans began to protest loudly, Lorne held up a hand to silence them.
"Ms. Panevino has just been attacked by a deranged man. She apologizes for any disappointment, and-"
"Lorne!" she shouted from inside the limo. "I just want to get the fuck out of here!"
Without another word he slid into the car, and told the driver to take them to the hotel.
"That's right the hotel. And then I'm getting the fuck out of this country," she said, her voice shaking.
"Lina, be reasonable. I don't think that, with what just happened, you should be getting on a cramped airliner for twelve hours," he said soothingly. He was probably right, but she didn't care. She was going home. Now.
"He called me evil, Lorne."
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Sun was on all fours, digging in the garden as usual, when the three other women approached. Lina could not bring herself to speak.
"Hi, Sun," Claire said quietly. The Korean woman stood, a smile flashing on her face, but fading as she took in the serious expressions of the other three.
"What's wrong?" she asked, walking towards them, brushing the drit from her hands. Claire shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, bouncing her infant distractedly.
"I, um… I found something, out in the water," she said. "And I told Lina and Shannon about it… and, you kn-…we thought you should know."
Claire glanced back over her shoulder at Shannon, how after a moment's hesitation, reluctantly proferred the bottle. Sun gazed at it silently.
"It's the messages, from the raft," Shannon explained.Sun took the bottle. Lina felt her chest squeezing at the look of fear in the older woman's eyes as she looked from one to the other of them.
"We thought," Claire informed her. "That you should decide what to do."
Leaving Sun with the weight of the decision on her shoulders made Lina feel more guilty than she ever had in her life. She could not, not matter how much she tried, turn back and offer her support in the matter. She mentally berated herself for her cowardice as she walked aimlessly through the jungle. She was not watching where she was going when she suddenly heard a frantic, "Hey! Look out!"
She stopped in her tracks, and saw Hurley not two feet away from her. Wow, she must really have been out of it not to hear him trundling through the underbrush. Not the least reason for which, was that he tended to converse with himself when it seemed no one was around. He looked white as a ghost.
"Are you okay?" Lina asked, tilting her head to the side. He nodded.
"I'm good… I just.. you know..didn't want to run into you," he said. The shaky quality of his voice told her there was something amiss, but, while Hurely was a terrible liar, she didn't have the slightest clue what he was lying about.
"What's wrong, Hurley?" she quieried. He opened his mouth, lifting his hands as if to tell her nothing was wrong, but stopped. She was giving him The Eye; the you-better-not-think-of-bull-shitting-me-cause-I-see-through-you-like-a-greasy-hamburger-wrapper eye.
"You know that, uh, hatch?" he asked. She shrugged.
"Not really, but go on."
"You don't know?" he asked, surprised. She shook her head.
"No, I've got better things to worry about than Jack and Locke and you and kate playing in a hole in the dirt."
He looked at her like she was crazy. "You wouldn't say that if you'd seen it, man," he informed her. She rolled her eyes.
"Well, I haven't seen it. What about it has you so upset?"
He shook his head. "They put me in charge of then.. uh…"
He glaced around, to make sure they were alone. Lina lifted an eyebrow.
"They put me in charge of the food," he continued in a whisper. Linahad soe many questions at that statement, she had trouble settling on one.
"And… why is that bad?"
"Because I don't want to do it!" he shouted. Lina lifted a hand in defense.
"Okay okay, jeez!"
"Sorry," he said, blushing.
"If it upsets you that much.. just don't do it. I'm sure they can find someone else, Hurley."
He nodded, his eyes suddenly far off, as if his mind were somewhere else. "Hey, Lina?"
"Yeah?"
"I like you," he said, suddenly looking her square in the eye. "You're a good friend."
She smiled, confusedly, and tilted her head to one side. "You're a good friend, too, Hurley."
He gave her a quick half smile, before heading off into the jungle, rather slowly and carefully. She watched him go for a minute, wondering what he was going to tell Jack, and then changed her direction, and headed for the beach.
Some time later, she emerged from her new shack, intent on finding a quiet place, a bit away from camp, where she could clean herself up in the ocean. The sun was setting, so it would be completely dark in a matter of moments. Thus, she could bathe in peace. She was constantly worried about someone accidentally coming upon her while she was washing, being that she was too paranoid about sharks and jelly fish and other nasty things to venture out deeper than her thighs.
She passed Jack, offering a polite nod of acknowledgement. She waved to Charlie and Claire. As she passed a group of people sitting around a fire, she noticed they suddenly fell silent, and all their eyes were upon her. She stopped and looked from one to the next, realizing that Steve was among them. She stalked over to where he sat.
"What is your problem with me?" she demanded. So much for subtlety. He stood, and sqared off with her.
He expounded with arms thrown wide. "You barely speak to anyone, but that asshole who stole everyone's things. Then, you take over his stash when he leaves. Do you expect us cow to you like you're the boss?"
"Cow to me?" she scoffed. "I'm friends with the guy, and I moved into his tent when he left. What's wrong with that?"
"Where's all the stuff he stole?" Steve demanded. Lina held up her empty hands.
"There isn't anything. He gave it all away before he left, remember? Jack has everything, not me, dumbass!"
Steve's face colored in the fading like, the angry blush almost concealed by the fire dancing off his skin.
"You're up to something," he accused. "I've seen you."
"Seen me what?" Lina demanded.
"Out in the jungle with that guy, Hurley. I saw you two. You're all up to something with that thing out there, aren't you? What is it? What's in there?" His voice rose louder with every accusing question, a sneer distorted his face.
"I don't fucking know! I've never been out there!" she shouted at him, wanting nothing more than to pile all her frustration and anger from everything that had happened the last two days right on him. She wanted to tear his freaking head off.
"Then, what were you doing in the jungle?" one of Steve's campfire-mates piped up. She glared down at the woman.
"Going for a walk, is that a crime?"
Steve gave a increadulous snort. She turned back to face him, and contemplated fully for a moment what would happen if she just shoved him into the fire. Luckily, she never had the chance to find out. Suddenly, Jack was there, all diplomacy and "hey, come on guys." Hurley was there too, and took her by the hand, leading her away. She dragged her feet, fuming back over her shoulder at Steve, whom Jack was scolding for starting rumors. She tried to tug her hand free of Hurley's, but he held fast, stopping to look back at her.
"I need your help with something, okay?" he told her. She fought with herself, trying to hold onto the urge to go back and set Steve ablaze, but in the end reason won out over crazy-talk, and she followed Hurely towards the hatch. Whatever the fuck a hatch was anyway.
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"No, Lorne, I'm leaving. I don't care if I never sell another book on this whole freaking continent again! I'm so outta here, you wont even be able to see me for the dust in my wake, got it?" she fumed, storming about her hotel room, tossing clothes and various rick rack into her suitcase. The man huffed quietly, sulking in the middle of her one-woman whirlwind.
"You're sure I can't change your mind, Lina?" he asked, plaintively. She stopped, and looked at him silently, in a way that he instinctively knew meant to let it go. He sighed. Alright. I'll change your plane ticket then, and arrange for someone to pick you up in LA."
He took out his Blackberry and started beeping and booping away unhappily. It only took her a few minutes to finish packing. She stood infront of him, tapping her toe impatiently as he worked on her flight plan. She picked up her bags and headed for the door.
"I'm going to the airport, call me when you get a flight," she called over her shoulder, leaving him alone in her disheveled hotel room. She waived off the bellboy in the lobby when he tried to help her with her bag, and hurried out to her limo, which she had insisted wait there for her, despite Lorne's protesting.
"Leaving us, Miss Panevino?" the driver, a young man named David, asked. She nodded, pulling open the door herself.
"As fast as my legs can carry me," she said sharply. Glancing over she noticed a young man with mussed blonde hair, and a blue and white striped shirt under a grey hoody, staring at her limo longingly. She huffed, slipping into the car and slamming the door.
"Trust me, guy, it ain't all this cracked up to be," she muttered. About ten minutes later, Lorne called her cellphone, and let her know her information.
"Flight 815, straight to LA. But, you're not in first class," he warned. She knew he was hoping that might sway her, but honestly, being in coach for the next week couldn't make her stay in Australia one second longer than she needed to. Nothing could be worse than what had happened to her that day.
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In the pantry, Lina stuffed things into the dufflebag Hurley had given her. She was doing so blindly, not noticing what she put in the bag. She took a few Apollo bars out of the canister on top, and then pushed it aside to get at whatever was behind it. She stopped. There were three boxes, each a different flavor, of individually wrapped, hermetically sealed, generic fruit pies. She reached for the middle box, and prayed silently.
It had rained that morning, and the air was sticky and humid, though the wind off the ocean provided some comfort. Sawyer was napping beside her, in his customary way, and Lina was readng his water warped copy of Moby Dick. A group of about three people, all women, walked past them, imbroiled deeply in conversation.
"Chocolate, that's all I want," one said. The others laughed.
"Yes," the shortest of the group conceded. "But, everyone misses chocolate. If you could have one thing, what else would it be?"
"More chocolate," the first woman said simply. Their voices fading out as they walked on.
"You know what I'd like?" Sawyer piped up suddenly, startling Lina. She slapped at his arm with the book, but he remained unaffected.
"What?" she asked. He smiled, his eyes still closed, and licked his lips.
"Apple pie," he said grandly. She giggled at him, causing him to crack one eye open. "That's funny?"
"Not in itself… its just such a Southern thing to say," she explained. He smirked.
"Okay, then, Miss Refinement," he drawled. "What would you want?"
She took a breathe, thought a moment, and finally said, "Something really bad for me… full of additives and preservatives and nitrates. And MEAT," she said the last with a dramatic growl. "Probably hotdogs… mmmmm."
He laughed at her, and she amired how it sounded, so light and free, as if for that moment he'd forgotten to hate himself and everyone else.
Back at the beach, she walked among the campfires, silently handing out goodies, as if she were Kris Kringle's little sister. Everyone smiled, and thanked her, and there was much talking and laughter to be heard in the camp that night. When she came upon Steve, he glaced at her before dropping his gaze sheepishly to the sand.
She silently held out a crinkling bag of potato chips. He reached for it, and she barely overcame the urge to drop it just out of his grasp. As she walked away she sighed, there was no point to perpetuating bad blood. Especially on the island.
After a good portion of the food was handed out, Hurley and Lina joined Charlie and Claire at their campfire. And for a time, they forgot they were trapped in the middle of nowhere, and just enjoyed a nice campfire and pleasant company. Even if Charlie did smear peanut butter across Hurley's cheek. It was good.