Chapter Four: My Own Two Feet
Jack winced in pain, quickly drawing back his foot from the tree root. Dang it. He cautiously pulled himself out of the burrow, sitting down on his knees, and briskly surveyed the woods around him. He waved his hand behind him and whispered into the hole, "Looks like no one's around. Come on up Kate." He stretched his arm out under the tree and waited patiently for Kate to grasp his hand.
"Kate…you comin'?" Jack asked gently after no one responded.
"Yeah, just…just give me a moment. Are you sure there's nothing out there?" Kate asked shakily. She sounded terrified. He was too, but he was trying his hardest to hide it; for her.
"Yeah, I'm positive. But it's okay, just take your time." He said warmly.
Jack waited a moment then felt a warm, smooth hand grab his. He pulled Kate slowly out of the hole and looked her straight in the eye when she emerged at the top.
"Hey, you. It's about time." Jack said jokingly.
Kate smiled and playfully pushed Jack over, causing him to sit on his badly sprained ankle. Jack recoiled in menacing pain. Kate's demeanor changed instantly and she kneeled beside him, putting her hands on his shoulder.
"Jack? Jack!" Kate said frantically.
Jack's eyes fluttered open revealing a surprisingly blurry and close up version of Kate.
"Yeah?" he muttered.
Kate's whole body relaxed. He could see it and feel it as the grip of her hand on his shoulder loosened and she closed her eyes in relief. She sighed and asked, "What did I do? Did I break something?"
Jack smiled and shook his head, "No, I think I might've sprained it when we were running. My adrenaline was pumping so much that I don't think I even noticed it until I relaxed and started climbing up that hole." He finished with an edge in his voice. Kate looked at him with concern and asked, "Do you think it's bad? Can you walk on it?"
"I don't know. Um…guess I could try." Jack said reluctantly. He wasn't looking forward to going through that aggravating pain again, but what use was a doctor that couldn't walk on his own two feet? He had to at least give it a try. Kate helped him to his knees and put his arm over her shoulders. He lifted his right leg and placed his foot on the ground, channeling all of his energy into lifting his whole body up with his good leg. Jack tried to not force his weight on Kate, but he couldn't help not to. She pushed back against him and soon he was standing with one foot firmly planted in the mud and other hoisted above the ground a few inches.
"There we go…" Kate said soothingly.
"Hello? Hello up there? A little help?" Charlie's voice echoed through the tunnel, "Please?" Jack and Kate chuckled at Charlie's disparity and slowly made their way to the burrow.
"Hey Charlie. Whad'ya need?" Jack asked.
"Oh, I don't know…I'm just holding a crying baby in my arms and I'm stuck in this creepy, black… hole. Nah, I don't need anything…It's actually a bit cozy down here."
"Ok, ok…chill out. We need to get you two out of there…Aaron first." Kate said, nipping the argument in the butt.
"Ok, alright. Here, let me toss him up there for you." Charlie joked.
"Jack, lean against this tree," Kate led him to the trunk and propped him up on an abnormally large root, "I have an idea." She briskly walked to a nearby tree and tugged on a vine hanging from the forests canopy. Kate gave it one last energetic pull and it snapped free from the branches. She dragged the vine back to the burrow and slowly sent it down the hole.
"Here ya go Charlie. Keep a good hold of Aaron."
Jack avidly watched as Kate began to pull Charlie and Aaron up the tunnel. It didn't look easy, but she managed to get the two of them to the top safely without dropping them. Charlie made sure Aaron was ok and they decided it was time to head back to camp. The walk back was silent, besides Jack's occasional grunts of pain.
"Jack, are you sure you don't need help?" Kate asked tenderly.
"Yeah, I'm positive." Jack said unwillingly letting another grunt escape.
Being a doctor he knew he should probably use the help that was offered, but he was extremely stubborn and didn't want to appear weak when he was supposed to be the strong one on the island. Nonetheless, he tenaciously refused all of the proposals made by Kate and even Charlie. The walk was quite boring, besides a few heated arguments between Kate and Charlie over random subjects such as shoe colors, leaf shapes, and the best way to teach a cat to do tricks. At the moment they were passionately immersed in an argument over who could make a better elephant noise. Charlie was midway through a demented elephant roar when they emerged from the jungle onto the beach; he immediately stopped in his tracks and gasped at the surprise that lay ahead of them.
The beach was empty. Not a single footprint was in sight. No tarps, no airplane seats, no blankets, not even a grain of sand was misplaced. Not a single trace existed that suggested that there was even a plane crash. The three of them exchanged confused glances and continued scanning the beach for anything; a book, fruit, a shoe. Nothing.
A twig snapped behind them. Jack and Kate spun their heads to follow the noise. Nothing. Kate looked back to the beach, but Jack kept looking into the immense span of trees. What on earth was going on? He turned back to the beach and the second he opened his mouth to say something to Kate, a sharp pain erupted on the back of his head. He heard Kate scream as he fell to the ground and his world went black.