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Jaye: Ahh, Chapter Ten! Celebration! (Throws streamers)
Chapter Ten: Bonfire Stories
Melanie looked up when she heard footsteps. Claire was there, looking terrified, and so was Sark. Sark had Charlie thrown over his shoulder, though it looked as if he were pained in doing so, as he had a bullet hole in his arm.
"Claire! Are you okay?" Melanie asked, concerned. Claire nodded, though she was looking at Carter, who met her gaze.
"Is Carter?"
Melanie turned back to Carter. "Are you?"
Carter smiled weakly. "Are any of us?"
Jack sat in the caves, watching over Sydney. She still hadn't awakened yet. He scanned her face, looking for anything that might give him a clue as to when she was going to wake up. He had heard of cases where the patients never woke up…or stayed in their comas for over ten years. He wondered what he would do if that should happen. He wondered also if he would still be on the island when she woke up – if she ever did.
Jack sighed, and glanced around the caves. It was quiet, he noted. Well, of course it would be since Kate, Sawyer, Shannon, Sayid, Jin, Locke, Michael, Vaughn, and a few others were gone. Off to search for the agents that had nearly killed Sydney and had killed Boone.
He felt a pang in his chest when he thought about Boone. Seeing the body had been horrible…and he had wanted revenge just as much as the next guy. But no…I'm the doctor. I have to stay here. Just in case anyone else gets hurt…This wasn't likely. They were more liable to get themselves murdered if anything.
He looked back done at Sydney. "You're lucky," he said to her with envy. "Sleeping all day."
Hours passed. Jack wandered about the caves, pondering over the fait of his friends. Each minute he grew more and more cross and uneasy. Thinking about Claire, Charlie, Melanie, and Carter was hard, but for him, thinking of Kate was harder. Out there…he had no clue what was going on, and it was frustrating. He needed someone to talk to before he went mad.
Leaving Sydney in the caves, confident that she would be okay since she was always sleeping, Jack made the trek down to the beach where he encountered Sun sitting alone in the sand.
"What's going on?" he asked her, sitting down beside her.
Sun smiled at him with effort, hugging her knees to her chest.
"It has been a long time," she said finally.
"Since Jin went out?"
"Yes. I worry about him."
"Oh…I'm sure…I'm sure he'll be alright."
"You worry about Kate?"
"Huh?"
Sun smiled again, this time much more warmly. Jack looked away and fidgeted with the sand.
"What do you think of Charlie?"
Jack was glad for the subject change, but it still wasn't an easy subject. "I…I don't know," he admitted sadly. "Lately things…they…they're not going so well here, are they?"
Sun laughed. "No."
"But…I think we'll see them again."
"You do?"
"Yes, I do. And Jin, too."
Sun looked at him gratefully. "Yes…"
"Jack! Jack!"
Jack looked up, seeing a breathless Ana-Lucia come running up. "What happened, Ana-Lucia—?"
"They're back," Ana-Lucia gasped. "Melanie, Carter, the British men, and the Australian women, they're back."
Jack jumped up. For the next few minutes he was a blur of motion shooting across the beach. He ran faster than he had ever run before. When he stumbled, he got back up and started running again. His mind was spinning so fast he couldn't order his thoughts, but soon, only one purpose became clear: To get there.
"Where are they!" he yelled over his shoulder to Ana-Lucia, who was struggling to catch up. Sun was further behind her, as was the slowly growing crowd of curious on-lookers who decided to follow.
"Up…There!" she yelled back, pointing. Jack didn't see anything at first, but then he saw the unmistakable form of Hurley and that of five others. His heart jumped with excitement and also of anxiety. He could see people on the ground. In his mind he pleaded: Please don't be dead. No more.
He skidded to a stop and looked down with mixed horror and relief.
Melanie sat with her legs crossed, looking exhausted but happy. Her head rested on Carter's shoulder. The boy looked sick. He was very pale and his clothes were soaked and bloody. But he was smiling. Next to him was Claire who had tears running down her face at the sight of him. Charlie sat beside her, looking the worst Jack had ever seen him, but his eyes were halfway opened. And then there was Sark, awake but detached-looking as he stared up at Jack.
Jack had nothing to say; he couldn't speak. Ana-Lucia came up beside him, gasping. There were several long minutes of silence spent just staring at each other.
"Dude, are you okay?" Hurley asked, breaking the silence.
"We need to get them out of the sun," Jack said finally. "Come on, everyone help! Ana-Lucia, I need you to take a party into the forest and find Kate and the others. Tell them to come back."
"Jack…"
Jack bent down to Charlie.
"It's okay Charlie," he assured him. "I'm going to get you into the caves and –"
"Ethan's dead."
Jack started. "I know he is…"
"I killed him again."
"You…?"
Realizing that what Charlie was saying was just a result of shock, Jack set to work, ordering makeshift stretchers and such so that the group could be taken back to the caves.
Kate looked over at Shannon, who was trembling almost unnoticeably. "It'll be okay," Kate assured.
"Yeah," Shannon shot, "right. Like anything will ever be okay again."
Vaughn seemed to agree with her, but held a finger to his lips. "We have to stay quiet—we need the element of surprise on our side."
Shannon and Kate nodded. The three walked in silence. The main group had split into groups of three, and then staggered their formation. Vaughn could see Sayid, Locke, and one of the "redshirts" (A/N: Jaye: "Redshirts" are the extras, like Arzt or Scott and Steve or other unnamed people, in case ya don't know) to the left, a little farther up. He knew that Sawyer, Michael, and Jin were lingering a bit farther behind, to the right.
They had all agreed to stay within line of sight. They had also agreed that if anyone saw the fake agents, they would regroup and surround them.
Vaughn had only one thought. Revenge.
"Hey…Jack?"
Jack was sterilizing a needle to sew up Carter's now-clean wounds. "Yeah?"
"There's something…that I need to tell you," Carter said hesitantly. "Like, where I was."
Melanie, who was kneeling next to the plane seat being used as a stretcher, holding one of Carter's hands, tilted her head. This would be interesting.
"Go on."
"Well…I saw this…this tower."
"Hallucination," Jack supplied.
"Was it a hallucination if I climbed up it and got a radio signal?" Carter asked, somewhat annoyed.
"You got a signal?" Jack stopped, looking at Carter with eyes filled with hope.
"Yeah, for about thirty seconds. Then some git with a knit cap came up…and then…" he gestured to the bullet wound with his free hand.
"Did anyone pick it up?" Jack asked.
Carter nodded. "Like I said—for about thirty seconds. I sent out a mayday, and I got a copy from someone, asking who I was. I told them that I was a survivor of 815…and then no one answered, or if they did, I didn't hear it."
Jack looked mildly disappointed. Melanie just looked shocked. "A man with a knit cap…?" She asked hollowly.
"…Yeah."
Melanie's eyes watered. "He's the one that…that did this to you?"
"Yes…"
"He…oh, my God, Carter…" Melanie gasped. "Well…well, you don't have to…to worry about him now. He…he attacked us…and is a bit…a bit…dead."
Carter sat up, wincing. "He got you? Mel, I'm sorry…I should've been there to protect you…"
"Lay back down," Jack ordered firmly.
"No."
"Listen to him, kiddo," Hurley said, walking up and tossing Melanie a water bottle.
Melanie caught it without looking up, and then returned her attention to Carter's statement. "Don't worry, Carter, I was fine. Sark and Charlie—"
"Charlie," Carter shot. "Is he all you think about?"
Melanie looked taken aback. "What?"
"Eh…I'm finished for now." Jack stood up after finishing the stitches, and hastily excused himself, leaving the two teenagers to sort it out. Hurley followed, sensing that it probably wouldn't be fair to intrude on Mel and Carter's moment.
"It's always about Charlie, Mel," Carter said angrily. "Even before the crash! All you talked about was Charlie, and DriveSHAFT, and how much you wished that you could meet him, and all of that crap!"
"What's this about, Carter?" Melanie asked, completely and totally confused.
"Are you serious?" Carter looked disbelieving. "I swear, Mel, that everyone's had to have seen it but you!"
"Could you just explain what the bloody—"
"Why don't you just go and ask Charlie?"
"I will!" Melanie snapped, standing up. "If you're going to be like that, then I'll just let you sulk to yourself!"
She turned and stomped off, leaving Carter angry with himself for being an arse.
"I don't know what the 'ell is problem is!" Melanie was now pacing back and forth in front of Claire, who had her head lying on her fist. Both were on the beach, as Charlie was in no condition for visitors at the moment, and Claire was a bit scared of the jungle at the moment. "He just out of nowhere starts going on about how I don't see something that everyone else does! Then he says 'Why don't you just go ask Charlie' all sarcastic like, and I don't know what the bloody 'ell he's rambling about!"
Claire sighed. "He likes you, you know."
"Of course he does! We're best friends!"
"No…I mean, he likes you," Claire elaborated.
Melanie stopped in her tracks. She searched Claire's face for a moment. "What?" She burst out laughing. "No way—nice try, Claire, but seriously—what do you think he was talking about?"
"Mel," Claire said gently, reaching for the girl's hands. Melanie looked at her unsurely, fear welling up inside her even though she wasn't sure why. "It's been a long day…for all of us." Claire stroked Melanie's fingers. "You know, when we first landed here, I thought everyone was afraid of me."
"Afraid of you?" asked Melanie, not understanding.
"Because of the baby." Pain flashed in Claire's eyes, and Melanie realized just how important this talk was to have Claire mention her baby. She never had before for what Melanie knew. "But…not Charlie. No…" she laughed quietly to herself. "Wouldn't let me out of his sight, you know, and for a while, I thought he was pretty weird." Melanie smiled at the joke. "But then…when things got hard…he was the only one that came through for me. He risked his life for me…twice, now, and do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because he loves me."
Tears rolled down Melanie's cheeks, unchecked, and splattered the sand. "You may think Carter's just a friend to you now, but he might want to be something more, like Charlie did."
"But…" Melanie choked on words. It all made sense. Carter had gone off to try to help her – to save her from this place – and all she would talk about was another guy. "I feel so stupid!" she shouted finally, more at herself than anything else.
"Hey, Mel…look at me. So did I."
And then the two women embraced each other, Melanie crying for Carter, and her parents and her friends she had lost and left behind. When that passed, she cried for the joy of being alive. "Thank you," she said to Claire, who also had tears brimming in her eyes. They sat next to each other and watched the sun set, going over the events of the past few days and hoping for a stretch of peace to follow.
Julian Sark opened his eyes and took a deep breath of fresh air. He sat up and took in his surroundings, turning his head toward voices that were growing closer and louder. He recognized them, hearing Jack and the large man named Hurley.
Then the group of two stepped into the open. They quieted somewhat when they spotted him, and only then was he aware that he was in the caves, in the "hospital" by the waterfall.
"How's your arm?" Jack asked, bowing his head slightly. Sark gave him a quizzical look, coming up blank for a moment. "Can't feel it yet? That should be fine, then."
He suddenly remembered getting shot, but couldn't complain. Whatever the doctor had done it had eliminated any pain he had felt previously. Looking straight at Jack, he said, "What do we do now?" He stared at the doctor until the man shifted under his gaze.
"Well first thing's first," Jack said finally. "You have to tell us what happened."
"Why not ask Mr. Pace?" Sark did not let it show, but the idea of repeating his encounter with –Charlie had called him Ethan – made him feel slightly ailing.
"Because Charlie's not awake yet, and Claire, Melanie, and Carter don't want to talk about it, and frankly, I don't blame them. So what's the story? What happened out there, Sark?"
Sark looked at the doctor threateningly. "You think I had something to do with this."
"No…not personally. But others might," Jack admitted, taking a seat next to the waterfall. "No offense, but you haven't done a very good job of letting us know who's side you're on. We need to know to protect ourselves."
"If I do not tell you, will you send me off to be tortured again?"
The message was clear enough. Hurley mumbled something like, "Dude..." and Jack sighed.
"You deserved that."
"If I hadn't run, do you think that agents Bristow and Vaughn would have spared me? I am evil to them, even though I have proved myself before."
"Well…maybe that's true…but that still doesn't excuse what you did to Charlie."
Sark fell silent. In the absence of speech, Hurley tried to seat himself comfortably on the ground amongst the rocks, grunting and cursing whenever one pierced his bottom.
Finally, Sark gave in, and began to explain what had come to pass over the past day, starting at when he had outsmarted Sawyer and lost him in the forest. Jack frowned through that part, but when the story extended and Sark explained how Charlie and Melanie had nearly died in the hole, his eyes widened. Sark told of the bearded man he had killed, and of the trek to the shore. He explained the lay of the cave and what they had to go through to get down. He retold how he and Charlie had run in to rescue Melanie, and how the battle inside had turned out. All through his retelling, Jack was silent, and remained silent for several minutes after he finished.
"That can't be true," he said finally.
"Why not?" Sark asked him, curious.
"Because Ethan…died…already."
"Yes, Mr. Pace made that clear enough. And as I told you, when I meant to shoot him, it was as if the bullet dissolved into the air in front of him."
"You could have just missed," Jack supplied. Sark gave him a look.
"I could have missed?" he repeated.
Hurley whistled low, and under his breath he said, "Whoa. Dude…that's not cool."
"No, it isn't."
"Duude…"
Ana-Lucia ran through the jungle, arm banging painfully against her side. Her breath came in rapid spurts, her eyes watering from getting whacked in the face so many times with the large, sharp leaves that hung down from trees and grew in around her, suffocating the forest floor. She had several cuts on her face by the time she stopped to rest and listen.
At first she heard nothing but birds, but then, faint voices reached her ears, and she turned toward them. She knew it would be unwise to try to make her way over to them; they could mistake her as an agent and shoot, so she cupped her hands to her mouth and yelled, "Kate!"
After a tense pause, a female voice answered.
"Come out in the open!"
"Kate, it's me, Ana-Lucia!"
Another pause.
"Just come out so we can see you," replied Kate. Ana-Lucia obliged, not about to argue. She fought her way through the thick underbrush until she stepped into a clearing, shaded by a netting of giant tree braches at least a hundred feet above her head. She smiled when she saw Kate standing across from her, the rest of the "hunting party" leaning against trees or sitting behind her.
"Sorry about that," Kate apologized.
"No worries! Now you have to come back."
"What?"
Half of the hunting party groaned and the other half looked relieved. Ana-Lucia scanned their faces, getting ready to burst. Her smile grew broader and she took in a deep breath.
"They're back!"
"Who?"
"Claire, Charlie, Melanie, Carter – " she counted on her fingers, "Sark…They're all back and alive!"
The party exploded in shouts and cheers, and in all the commotion, Kate was the only one who didn't look in high spirits. When the cheers had calmed down, Ana-Lucia tilted her head as Kate pulled her aside. Sayid had taken control of the party, leading them back toward the beach. The only ones that didn't immediately follow him were Shannon and Vaughn, each of them looking disappointed.
"Who…who else did you say? They're all alive?"
"Yeah. Claire, Charlie, Melanie, Carter, and Sark. Why? What's wrong?"
Kate couldn't let her dismay surface, but inside, she felt as though a bomb had gone off. All this time she had been hoping that Sark wouldn't return…it was hard for him to be here, bringing back even more troubling memories. She knew it was terrible to think, but it would have been better for her and for everyone else if he had…hadn't…come back.
"Nothing! I'm glad! So, how's Claire?"
Shannon and Vaughn hung back, watching the others file out of the jungle.
"Do we really have to leave?"
"Yes, Shannon. We can't stay here alone."
"But you're a CIA agent!"
"And it's nearly dark."
"Don't you care about what happened to him?"
"I know how you feel about your brother…"
Shannon recoiled, feeling tears well up in her eyes as she stared at Vaughn.
"No you don't! She didn't have a frickin hole shot through her head!" she shrieked.
"Don't you care about the others? They're back – we should – "
"No! I wanted to do this! And if I have to kill them both myself I will!"
Vaughn sighed, fighting to keep his emotions under control.
"Shannon, you can't kill them alone. We can set out again tomorrow…but right now, we need to follow the others and go back to the beach, where it's safe."
"Safe?" Shannon shot, finding this ironic. "Where are any of us safe? Safety died with the plane!"
Carter stared at the rocky ceiling of the cave. He was furious with himself for telling Melanie off like that. It wasn't her fault that she was totally oblivious, was it? She didn't know how much it hurt him to see her swooning over some other guy that made him look like no competition.
He wished that she would come back, so he could apologize. He wished that Jack would let him go down to the beach so that he could apologize. He wished that he could walk so he could get to the beach. He wished the plane had never crashed, and they could all be back home, living their merry little lives.
But what good were wishes here? They'd get him nowhere. He had to decide his own fate, not rely on some unseen force to grant whatever little thing popped into his head. That wasn't going to happen. He had to make it work himself.
He started to sit up, but gasped out in pain from the bullet wound. He lay back down, feeling miserable. Well, fate can wait one more day…
Claire and Melanie were sitting on the beach, talking, when Jack came up and kneeled in front of them.
"Hey, I just thought you should know…" he started slowly.
"What happened?" Claire asked, looking anxious.
"Nothing. Well, something, but nothing…Charlie's awake. He's going to be fine. A little traumatized, but otherwise fine."
"Oh, thank God!" Claire sighed. "Can we go see him?"
Jack shrugged. "Don't see why not. But—just don't talk really loud, because he's been complaining about a horrible headache."
"Okay!"
Melanie jumped up, elated, but not wanting to seem too eager. She was still mulling over the new idea that Carter liked her. He liked her…But she still couldn't help but feel excited for Charlie.
She and Claire and Jack made their way across the beach and made the hike to the caves in near silence. They were all uneasy since the sun was beginning to set, and in the twilight the jungle seemed even more mysterious and dangerous than before. A bird taking off from a high branch made them all twist their heads and jump. It was a tiring feeling, and one that left them reflection on just how much had changed.
Despite a few stumbles, they made the hike fairly easily, a wide grin spreading across Melanie's face when she saw Charlie sitting up, waving them over.
"Hi Charlie!" she whispered, trembling in exhilaration. Claire echoed her greeting, her face soft and relaxed, her eyes brimming with thankful tears. It was an emotional moment. They all stared at each other's grimy faces, knowing that they in turn shared an experience that no one else would ever understand.
"Hey Mel," Charlie said, sitting up slowly. "Got a bloody massive headache."
"That's what Jack said."
"How are you fairing, kid?"
"Okay…good, I mean." Melanie wasn't sure why talking was so difficult and awkward now. She hadn't had any troubles with it before. Maybe it was just because talking normal was so…not normal, given the current circumstances.
Charlie seemed to understand this. He nodded his head and conversation fell away, leaving the three of them standing around each other, just savoring the peace.
Which, of course, on the Island, didn't last long. Jack came up to them, looking sorry to break their circle as if he understood – which of course, he didn't; he still doubted their stories – and said, "I think we should head back to the beach. Sark and Carter are already there…there's a bonfire being set up for tonight."
"Wha – what do you mean?" Charlie wanted to know. Jack smiled slightly.
"Well, everyone is pretty interested to hear what happened out there, you know."
"Everyone?"
"Yeah…we called them back when you showed back up today. Like I said…they want to know as badly as I do."
Jack started to leave, and Melanie and Claire helped Charlie to his feet. "Oh yeah," said the doctor, turning back around. "John caught a boar today."
"You mean we're having a barbecue?" Melanie laughed, feeling happy for the first time in several days – almost a week. It was a great feeling.
Charlie was able to get back down to the beach with his guitar, though—despite his refusals—Melanie carried it for him, strumming most of the way.
So now he sat, playing softly, so that his headache wouldn't murder him. He kept fudging the chords, which was pretty bloody annoying, but he got over it quickly because Claire came and plopped herself down next to him with a makeshift plate full of boar meat. "Happy Christmas," she smiled.
He returned the smile, and for the first time in a while, he felt like everything was going to be okay.
Melanie stood off to the sidelines, not wanting to ruin Charlie and Claire's moment, but not sure if she was ready to go over to talk to Carter yet. She saw him sitting by himself, staring blankly at the waves, but quickly averted her eyes when he looked over.
Thankfully, Ana-Lucia walked past at that moment, and Melanie was able to run up to her. "Ana! Ana-Lucia!"
Ana-Lucia stopped, looked over, noted Melanie's presence, and smiled warmly. "Hey, kiddo, how's it going?"
"Fine," Melanie said. She paused as Ana-Lucia raised an eyebrow. "OKAY—not fine! Not fine at all!"
The whole story spewed out, from them finding Kate and Charlie to her conversation with Claire, only a few hours ago. "And now, and now I don't know what to do!" she cried softly. "I mean—Carter's been my BEST FRIEND for so long, and if we start…if we get closer than that, and it doesn't work out, then it'll never be the same! I wouldn't be able to stand it if I lost him!"
Ana-Lucia, who'd listened carefully, nodding and sighing at all the right times, thought this over for a moment. "Well, Mel…what do you want? I mean, if you want to get closer to him…he obviously is totally in love with you, you could see it in his eyes the first day…then you should go for it. Worry about the consequences later…if you like him, then…"
Her eyes strayed to Jack, who was laughing and very blatantly flirting with Kate a few yards off.
Carter was sitting by himself. Again. But this time, he didn't feel so alone, for some reason. He could see that he wasn't the only one sitting alone like a total moron. Sawyer was lying on the beach about a hundred yards off, messing with a sheet of paper. That agent guy, Vaughn, he was by himself. And the terrorist git, Sark. Not that anyone was really willing to go over to him anyway. He had scared—and scarred—too many of them.
Carter didn't notice someone behind him until the person coughed. He turned his head slightly, noted who it was, and then turned back, scowling at the waves.
"All right then," Charlie said, sounding a bit hurt. He sat down next to Carter, even though he wasn't welcomed at all. There was a moment where neither of them said anything.
"Look, mate," Charlie finally whispered. "I'm not trying to take Melanie away from you, okay? I have Claire. I love Claire."
Carter glared at him. "You might not be trying…but you took her away before the crash. You know, she sat up and cried her eyes out to me on the phone for hours the day that your stupid band broke up?"
Charlie looked pained. He didn't like it when people insulted DriveSHAFT, but he would suck it up in this case. "She's really brave," he continued.
Carter sat in stony silence.
"She wouldn't give up. She tackled that knit cap guy when he started shooting at us. She really missed you."
Carter bit his lip. Maybe Charlie wasn't so bad after all…but no, he was Public Enemy Number One. No forgiveness, no mercy, no prisoners.
"I'm sorry, for whatever I did," Charlie shrugged, standing back up. "Oh, God, that was not a good idea…"
He swayed for a moment, then fell over, groaning, "Oww…"
Carter sighed. "Fine. Stay if you have to," he said shortly.
After Charlie had stopped his groaning, he grinned a little. "Thought that would work," he said.
"Oh you're so clever." Carter caught himself smiling, and forced his expression back, only making his face look worse. Charlie laughed, knocking him on the shoulder.
"C'mon, have some boar. If you close your eyes and just pretend you have a nice bun, it's almost like eating a cheeseburger…without any cheese, so I guess it'd be a hamburger then, wouldn't it?" In the end, Charlie managed to lead him over to the great bonfire that was now blazing ferociously, the flames pulsating reaching high above their heads. At first he felt somewhat awkward as he picked a spot on the sand, biting into the meet that had been handed to him. Only then did he realize how absolutely starving he was. He tried to think back to the last time he had eaten meat – anything, as a matter of fact – and ended up giving up and just eating to his heart's content. There was plenty of food to go around, for the boar the bald hunter guy had brought back was quite large.
"Hungry?"
Carter looked up, wiping the corner of his mouth and freezing with the back of his hand pressed against his face as Melanie met his eyes. At first he felt remorse toward her, but then glanced around at all of the happy people gathered by the roaring flames and sighed, giving in. Dropping the barriers he had surrounded himself with for so long.
"Does it seem that way to you?"
Melanie laughed and plopped herself down beside him. She noted he looked different. Definitely thinner. And his eyes were different. Still thoughtful, but deeper…and a little more aware of things that normal boys his age wouldn't be. It was a sad transformation, really, but she supposed she looked the same. At least he still sounded the same, and over time as they opened up and spoke to each other as friends, he didn't seem so different. They shared food, sitting close to each other. After a while Hurley came to sit down next to them, and they had fun just talking and being…happy.
After the blaze had subsided into a crackling pit and shadows moved in around the group of survivors, Jack stood up, clearing his throat. He was slightly aware that the stragglers on the beach joined the circle, Vaughn walking stiffly and sitting heavily down on the sand, his arms on his knees. Sawyer filed in next, kicking sticks out of his way and spraying the other survivors with sand, survivors that retorted got even more sand on their dinner. Sark came in last, avoiding eyes and sitting down next to Rose, which Jack thought strange, but pushed it from his mind.
"Ah, first of all…I think we all owe John something for bringing in the boar," he said lamely, uncomfortable in front of all of the people staring at him. "And…uh, I think we all know and are glad to see Charlie, Claire, Melanie, Carter, and…uh…Sark back," – Sawyer huffed as Sark's name was mentioned. Kate stared at the flickering embers as if transfixed – "And speaking of that, I think you're all as interested as I am to know what exactly went on out there."
Nods of agreement. Jack turned his eyes on Claire. "Claire?" He called her to the front. "I…you don't have to speak if you don't – "
"No," Claire shook her head and gave Charlie's arm a squeeze before standing, "it's okay." She took a deep breath and focused on the friendliest face she could find – Charlie's – and found the strength to begin. "I was angry. I went out into the jungle to…just be by myself. I heard someone behind me and…I…saw Ethan." Claire made a feeble hand gesture as gasps shot through the gathering. "I know it sounds…ridiculous…but…he's the last thing I remember before waking up in a cave. My – my wrists and legs were chained. I could see…I could see Carter on the ground below me. I couldn't see anything but an opening above me. I started screaming for someone to find me…and then I heard Charlie's voice coming from the hole. It sounded like he had fallen through or something…and then I heard shouts and I yelled for them. He answered me once and then I think I spoke to Melanie before…before he came back. Then I remember being rescued…and you'll have to have the others fill in the blanks from there."
"I'll go next," said Carter suddenly, surprising everyone.
He sat up a bit straighter with Melanie's help, seeing as he couldn't stand. "I found a radio tower—don't get excited, I got shot before I could give out a location—and this man with a knit cap came up, shot me, and I guess dragged me off to the caves that we were in. " He said all this with a rather bland expression, as if the events he were recounting were nothing more than reporting the weather. "And then…I…I don't remember much from then. I mean, after being in that cave for so long I wasn't sure whether…whether it was real or not." Now his words seemed to fill with suppressed emotion, enchanting all the islanders around the fire so that no one, not even Sawyer, made a sound. Only the breath of the trees mixed with the crackling of the subsiding blaze could be heard when he paused for breath. "Just lying there…but I do remember Ethan…and…some of the things he said. Most of it, though, I don't know if I was dreaming or not…but he was angry and scared about something…I don't know what it was." He shrugged feebly; embarrassed that he had gone so far. He allowed himself to lean back and relax against Melanie, trying to avoid the shocked stares of the other survivors. "And then…I woke up here. That's it."
A long and strenuous pause followed the conclusion of Carter's retelling. Finally, Ana-Lucia spoke up, saying, "That was brave of you, kiddo," and Carter's eyes burned, wishing he could take back some of the things he had said. Melanie patted his shoulder. Finally, Sawyer snorted, tossing his hair to the other side of his forehead.
"So…Jungle-Stalker's still out there, is he?"
The comment earned him many sharp glances from several people, but he only laughed them off, refusing to submit to mangers. Charlie, however, smiled.
"Not anymore, he's not."
"How can you be so sure?" Ana-Lucia wanted to know.
"Well," Charlie began, eager to tell his part, "Mel and I set out to look for Carter and Claire when they disappeared. We walked for a long time…I think days maybe, but I'm not sure…and then we were walking across this clearing when I went and fell into a bloody hole!" Gasps from the crowd. "After Mel and…Sark…pulled me out – "
"Wait, you mean to tell me that that son of a gun went out to save you?" Sawyer scoffed, eyes narrowed toward the corner where Sark sat next to Rose.
"People can change, Sawyer," Rose said softly. All Sawyer did was laugh.
"Right. Tell me that when he tries to gut us all in our sleep."
Sark said nothing, but seemed taken aback and uncomfortable by Rose defending him.
"Anyway…" Charlie went on, "After I got pulled out of the hole we heard voices, and figured it was Claire." He took a deep breath, obviously trying to hold back the memories of hearing her voice echoing from the bottom of that dark, hopeless pit. He coughed into his fist and skipped past the conversation that went on between them, Claire holding his arm tightly, her eyes half-closed. "Uh…and then we ran into that sodding knit-cap guy…Sark shot him…and then we headed for the coast."
Charlie then went on to tell how the three of them had climbed down onto the treacherous slab of rock-shore, and then Melanie took over from there for a moment.
"I went into the cave and heard voices. Some guy was talking to another guy he called Rom. It was really Ethan…he threw me over by Carter…And then Sark and Charlie came in. Sark tried to shoot him once but it didn't hit him. There was a big fight…I was scared…and Charlie told me to take Carter and run. I didn't want to…but I did. Carter and I went to the place above the rock outcrop and…I don't know what happened next in the cave."
"I heard Claire," said Charlie slowly, entranced in the dying blaze of the bonfire. "And then…we overpowered Ethan – " His lip curled at the name, " – and locked him up."
"What does that mean?" Kate asked.
"The cave was a death-trap," said Sark, startling many. "That man drowned there after trying to kill us."
Silence met his words.
"But…" Claire started up again, "then we were okay. Somehow we made the hike back and ended up at the beach. All of us…you know, I really can't believe it, and never would have had it happened to someone else."
"Why us?" Charlie asked, triggering laughter as the party took up again.
"Charlie?" Claire called to him. Charlie rolled over to, their faces inches apart.
"Yes, love?"
"I…just thought of something."
"What?" Charlie sensed something in her voice, and frowned. "Claire, what?"
"There were two men in the cave."
"Yeah, Ethan and – " He froze, horrified.
"Sark didn't kill him, did he?"
"I…don't…know…"
It was too terrifying to imagine that they had made such a huge mistake. Too horrible to think that they were still in danger…but then again, as long as they wereon the Island, they would always be.
The trees whispered overhead, shivering in the cool night air.
END OF CHAPTER
Lils: Wow, this is like the longest chapter yet! Review please! This is so much fun!
Jaye: Actually, I don't really think that this is the longest chapter, Lilsers. Pretty close though. Review people, because we're working really hard on this, and it's depressing to see how no one is really reviewing a lot! (Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, because you all make us very happy!)
Lils: It's not Lilsers!