Chapter 10: Searching, Swimming and Suitcases
He ran away from his tent. He couldn't stand it no longer. It was driving him nuts, cause she wasn't around. Someone had to go looking for her. He ran to Jack.
"Jack, why ain't anyone looking for Claire?" Jack saw he was upset and thought it was time to tell him.
"Sawyer, I'm forming a search party already. Boone is coming, and probably Locke and Kate too. We don't need anyone else." Okay, he shouldn't have said that, Jack thought. He saw that Sawyer was getting angrier.
"Son-of-a-bitch! I'm coming! I'm not staying here, sitting on my lazy ass! They're gone! Claire's gone!" His voice broke. He missed her.
"Okay Sawyer, you can come, but we have to leave as soon as possible." Jackass let him come. Good, he thought. Pack my stuff. He ran back to his tent, grabbed his stuff and went back to Jack.
"Rambo, found anything yet," Sawyer asked Locke. They were searching for a while now.
"No James, I haven't fou… Wait a minute." Locke picked something up. It was small. It must have been white once, but it wasn't anymore. It was dirty. Locke showed it to him. It had an 'L' on it.
"Wait a minute, that belonged to the has been." Locke nodded in agreement.
"It's a trail Sawyer," he said. "Someone's leaving us a trail." Locke smiled, and so did Sawyer.
Everything was going ok, until the trail didn't match the tracks anymore. Jack thought they should split up, and Locke disagreed. Jackass got his way.
"Okay, we'll do it like this," Jack said. "Me and Kate will follow this path. Locke, Boone and Sawyer will follow the other one." Sawyer chuckled.
"No way in hell Doc," he said. "I'm coming with you. Don't want you to do something else than searching, right Freckles?" Jack and Kate quickly agreed. They didn't want him to tell about the skinny-dipping.
"Okay," Locke said. "I know you can track Kate, so that won't be a problem." Freckles could track? Okay, that was new to him. But whatever…
They said their goodbyes and split up.
Frustration. That was the word for what he was feeling. They couldn't find anything. And they were searching for a while. Who knows what Ethan could've done by now. Oh Claire, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault. I should've protected you. I send Ethan after you. My fault, it's all my fault.
He saw Jack fall. Jack was on the ground. But there was someone else there. Ethan! Sawyer hid behind some bushes and saw Ethan attack Jack. Sawyer slowly approached Ethan, he tried to be as quiet as possible. He grabbed a rock, silently. He threw the rock at Ethan, hitting him on the head, while Jack was looking around curiously.
Ethan wasn't harmed! How was that possible? Sawyer was sure that the rock hit him, and hard. This wasn't happening. This wa…
He never finished that thought. Ethan noticed him. Well, at least he left Jack alone for now. Jack couldn't fight. He was probably the boy that always got hit. Sawyer was always the one on the other side. He knew how to fight. Another thing Aaron helped him with, defending himself. But he had no time to think now. He had to get Ethan, get him to tell where Claire was.
He punched Ethan in the stomach, and ducked Ethan's punch just in time. Sawyer hit him again, but this time he wasn't fast enough. Ethan was faster. A lot faster. Sawyer got hit. He fell on the jungle floor. It was cold, muddy and rocky.
Ethan was after Jack again. Sawyer slowly got up. That hurts, he thought. Son-of-a-bitch! He jumped Ethan, causing them both to fall. Sawyer was back up first. He put his foot on Ethan's chest. Jack stood next to him.
"Where are they." Sawyer asked. "Where are they, you son-of-a-bitch?" Then Ethan threw them both on the jungle floor. Jack was immediately unconscious, and Ethan came after Sawyer.
"Don't go after them, or I'll kill them." He hit Sawyer in the face. Sawyer tried to get up, and look at where Ethan went, but everything went black.
When he woke up, Kate was there. And she was lecturing Jack. Something about fighting. Then he heard his name.
"What's up with me Freckles," he asked. "I'm okay. Ethan, that son-of-a-bitch, he was here. He caused this." Kate looked at him, and the look on her face said she didn't believe him.
"Sawyer," she said. "Ethan was not here." That was weird. Sawyer saw him, and Jack too. How could he not be here?
"He was here Kate," Jack said. "I saw him too." Kate sighed, still not believing them.
"Do not make up excuses. I know you two were fighting." Jack and Sawyer laughed.
"Kate," Jack said. "Why would I do that? We don't do that, right Sawyer?" Sawyer agreed.
"Yep," he said. "Freckles, believe us. Ethan was here. He said that we shouldn't go after Claire and Charlie, or he would kill them." Kate believed them now, so she helped the guys up and began looking for tracks. They followed the tracks for a while. But then…
There was a very familiar figure, hanging from a tree. It was Charlie.
"Quick," Jack said. "Kate, climb in the tree and cut the rope. Me and Sawyer will lift him." Kate put her bags on the ground and climbed up. It was difficult, but she made it. Then she cut the rope. Charlie almost fell, but Jack and Sawyer managed to slowly lay him down.
Jack tried to rescue him, he really tried. But it was done. Ethan killed Charlie. Sawyer looked at Kate. She was crying, and trying to pull Jack off Charlie.
"Jack," she cried. "Let him go! You can't help him anymore. He's gone. Let go!" She pulled again.
As if it was a miracle, Charlie began to breathe again. Sawyer forgot he was covered in dirt and hugged Kate. When he let go, they both laughed, Kate through her tears.
"Come on," Jack said. "It's getting darker. We have to get him back to camp." They got up, scared but okay.
When they got back to camp, Sawyer went to his tent and read "Watership Down." He had nothing better to do then read 'bout a bunch of bunnies, how pathetic.
He missed her so much. There, he admitted it. He missed Claire. A lot. It was growing worse every second. He couldn't stand the thought she was away. He hoped she was alive and well. And the baby too.
When it got too dark to read, he left his shelter. Kate found him, restlessly wandering the beach.
"We'll find her Sawyer," she said.
"My name is not Sawyer! And if we'll find her, how? Like we found Charlie? Maybe even worse!" Kate looked at him. She couldn't help him, so she left.
Sawyer went back to his tent. He tried to sleep, but every time he tried, he got the same nightmare.
He was in the jungle, all by himself. He was looking for Claire, but he couldn't find her. But then he saw something in a tree. It was Claire. She was dead. Hung, and stabbed. He turned around, not able to look at it. There was Ethan, laughing at him, saying it was "all his fault". And Ethan wouldn't stop.
Then Sawyer would wake up, gasping for air, and sweaty. He didn't get a lot of sleep that night.
When the new day finally started, Sawyer got away from his tent. He had to do something, something to get his mind away from Claire.
He saw Kate in the jungle, so he followed her. It gave him something to do.
Suddenly, a rock hit his knee. That hurts, Sawyer thought. A lot. Geeze, who did that?
"Son-of-a-bitch," he said, walking to Kate. "Me Kate. Me throw rock." Well, his sarcasm was back. But if that was a good thing? Kate didn't knew. She walked with him for a while. She didn't knew where he was heading, but she followed him anyway. Just so he wouldn't do anything stupid, like getting eaten by a polar bear.
Then they arrived at the waterfall. It was beautiful, with a really big lake. Both Sawyer and Kate knew this place already. Skinny-dipping…
"Sawyer," Kate asked. "Why are you here?" He looked sad.
"I haven't told you this, but me and Mamacita went skinny-dipping here a few days ago. Almost busted by the Doc." Kate smiled, thinking of her experience with this lake, as Sawyer began to take his shirt off. When he was done with that, he threw away his shoes and went into the water.
"You're coming Freckles," Sawyer asked. "Gotta soak my soar knee." She smiled, took some clothes off and went in the water. They played in the water for a while, like little kids. Then, they went to a higher point, so they could jump in the water. Sawyer took a dive, while Kate jumped in.
It was all very nice, until they saw the bodies. And the case. Sawyer took the case, thinking there must be something interesting in it, in particular about Kate.
"Sawyer," she said. "You're not just going to use this to get your mind of Claire." He took it anyway.
He got tired of it, tired of playing games for a stupid suitcase. All he wanted was Claire back, unharmed. So he gave the case to Jack when he asked.
Then Boone entered his tent.
"Sawyer," he said. "Can I have my book back?" Sawyer sighed, and gave the book to Boone.
"Thanks Sawyer," Boone said. "But eh, Locke asked me to take you somewhere. You're coming?" Sawyer got up.
"Now you're Rambo's messenger boy? Oh, what the heck, I'll go. I'm bored outta my mind anyway. Tired o' reading 'bout the bunnies." Boone chuckled. The book was dropped off at Boone's place, then they went into the jungle.
They walked for a while, and then found Locke, who was putting some leaves aside.
"Welcome James," Locke said. "I hope you can help me. This…" he revealed a hatch "… is it. I don't know what it is. I was wondering if you know something." Sawyer looked at it closely.
"It's a hatch. But there's no handle." Locke smiled.
"I knew it was the right thing to do, to ask you." Sawyer didn't understand it. He only saw what was obvious. Locke was definitely a weirdo. Sawyer looked at Boone. They shared a knowing look.
"Listen, Indiana Jones, you ain't fooling me. Don't use this to get my mind of Claire. I know that hatch of yours is weird, but that's it." Boone chuckled at the Indiana Jones part.
Sawyer left. That hatch thing wasn't interesting. What was interesting, is figuring out how to get Claire back.
The next time Sawyer saw Boone, he was all upset. Saying stuff about Shannon dying, though Barbie was just flirting with Aladdin.
"Boone," Sawyer said. "Listen to me. What did Locke do to you?" It was just a gut feeling Locke had something to do with it.
"He hit me, tied me up, and put stuff on my head. It must've caused hallucinations." Yep, Locke was definitely a weird guy.
"Boone, just calm down and stay away from Rambo. Let him have his hatch and be done with it." Slowly, bit by bit, Boone calmed down.
"Thanks Sawyer," he said. Boone smiled, and walked to Shannon and Sayid.