For Shannon, days and nights blurred together into one giant blob. Not that she really had any way of telling what time it was or how long she'd truly been locked up for. She could only judge by how little food and water she now had left and her sleeping patterns. If she had to guess, she'd say she'd been there for about three days.

She was tired and dirty and the room smelled. She could tolerate being stuck on some crappy island in the middle of nowhere. She could deal with her brother's death. She could live with the fact that she'd slept with him. But she would go crazy if she had to spend any more time trapped like an animal.

It didn't help that the food was gone. Now, she could go days without food. And she'd stretched out what she'd been left for as long as she possibly could. But it was the water that worried her. She was down to less than a quarter of a bottle.

They had to bring her more, right? Why keep her if they meant to let her die? Why give her any provisions to begin with?

Those type of thoughts led to the even more maddening guessing of just exactly who "They" where. The Others? The French lady? The hatch guy? Walt? Or even the other survivors?

She tried to dismiss that thought, though. Sayid would never let anyone lock her up like this. He loved her. He wouldn't let them.

But what if he was outnumbered? What if everyone was worried that she had lost it and was a danger? She had, after all, shot at Locke. If Sayid hadn't tackled her, she would have shot somewhere potentially more fatal. And telling everyone about seeing Walt probably wasn't her smartest move. Maybe they holed her up somewhere in the hatch because they thought she was certifiable and didn't want to offend all the non-crazy people.

If it was someone else on the island, she wouldn't be opposed to locking them up. She certainly wouldn't want to be sharing space with a nut-job.

The only thing was; being left with only herself as company was really going to drive her around the bend. She'd always been alone in the real world. But however alone she felt, she could go find other people to be around. She could kill the loneliness for a time.

But this… this was just a constant running of her thoughts. How long would death take to come after she finally ran out of water? How did she get wounded… was that something that had been done to her by her captors? Did anyone know she was gone and were they looking for her? They went on and on and she wished she really was some dumb blonde, like people assumed, so that the thoughts in her head would stop tormenting her

What was worse were the Hellish nightmares invaded what little sleep she got. A mysterious door would open to reveal the oft talked of Others. In her mind, they were all naked and looked so savage. They'd pull her out, kicking and screaming, and start tearing at her skin, yanking her bones from her very body, waving her insides in front of her eyes. Then she'd actually get a good look at them and it'd be Jack, Kate, Charlie, Locke, and all the others. And every time, she would actually be happy to wake to find herself in her little prison.

She had just woken up from that dream, rubbing her chilled arms, when a fading light slowly filled the room. Her eyes, accustomed to the dark, hurt. She shut them, partly to kill the pain and partly out of fear and she jerked to a darkened corner of the room.

She willed herself to calm down. The last thing she needed was to have an asthma attack. She let her eyes open a slit and gazed outside. She could see the jungle past a few streams of vines that cling in the doorway. After being stock still for more than a few minutes, curiosity got the better of her. She had to go, even if it meant her death. She had to try to leave at the very least.

Crawling along the wall, she hesitated before reaching the opening. She took a deep breath and pushed herself onto her feet and moved outside. She grabbed at the door and shut it so she could see better. Whatever that place was it was so covered in vines and lined by bushes and trees it just looked like a random, large rock. After looking to the left and right and seeing no signs of anyone, she started to move into the jungle.

That's when the whispers started. Shannon's eyes widened and she skittered back to the door, but couldn't figure out how to open it since there was no handle. "No," she whispered, tears starting to form. She didn't want to die. Not on this island. Not without telling Sayid she loved him too.

"This way," was whispered louder than the indiscernible whispers." She stiffened and looked ahead to where minutes ago nothing but foliage had been. A finger over his lips and his other arm extended, pointing the way he wanted her to go, stood Walt.

Thanks so much for the reviews. I always feel iffy when I'm writing for a fandom that I haven't and you guys made me feel that much less. :) So, just… thanks a mill!

Review Responses:

Marina Biva – Sometimes, AU's are our only hope! Hehe. I'm excited and think everyone will like where I'm headed now that I have an idea. lmao.

Only Memories – I wasn't really mad about her death at first, since I was spoiled as all hell, but actually seeing it… I was bawling the last half of the episode. :( I'm gonna be a bit like the "Lost" writers and keep you guys hanging for a bit about the who's and what's, but part of the fun is to get to keep guessing, right?

Xlostangelx - (hugs and hands property deed) Welcome to Denial-ville.

Oenone – I know! Is it wrong I hope he goes completely psycho and kills her? I knew having MR on the show was gonna be nothing but trouble. (grumbles)

Siri's gurl – Lol. Usually I'm the first one to be all "okay, get over it, it's a TV show", but this time it was personal! (hands Denial-Ville property deed) they're goin' like hotcakes. You know, I don't hate them so much right now, 'cause I'm still so in denial I'm like "maybe she's not really dead. People survive gunshot wounds to the stomach all the time, right? RIGHT?"

lost fan – Yay! I'm like crack...er… yeah. Heh. I'll try and update at least once every other day or so…. I'll TRY. ;)

friendsqueen216 – Thanks!

mickEmousina - (blushes) Thanks!