Chapter 2.

In Loving Memory Of:

Boone

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of its characters. Lost was created by J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof.

"Charlie, Sawyer, let's go." Jack wanted to get a move on with the search, they had to find Claire.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'." Sawyer put his book down, grabbed his gun, andtucked it in the back of his pants.

Charlie stood without a word and joined the group.

Jack was ready and waiting. Each search member carried a backpack filled with necessities; water, food,and whatever else they needed. And each person was ready for whatever obstacle came their way. They were to split up in groups of three; Jack, Kate, and Sawyer and Locke, Charlie, and Sayid.

Sayid spoke in his thick Iraqi accent, "How long will this search take?"

Jack answered the best he could. "I'm not sure. It could take a few days; maybe two or three."

"What if one of us gets hurt?" Sawyer asked the question, knowing it would only scare the others.

"That's a chance we'll have to take."

From the moment Jack, Kate, and Sawyer broke through the first path of trees leading into the jungle, there was silence. No one wanted to speak, afraid that if they did, someone or something would jump out from somewhere. They had taken a path, hidden unless searched for. At the moment, Kate, the group tracker, was following a set of footprints. They didn't know if the footprints were theirs or even ifthey belonged to theothers on the island, but they followed anyway.

Locke, Charlie, and Sayid spoke on occasion, but Locke expected silence. He didn't want toscare anyone off; anyone, meaning…Ethan. They all knew that Ethan was well aware of them following. But Locke was the tracker for their group. He was the one who seemed to have experience. Theydidn't have atrail to follow, but Locke had his instincts.

"Where the hell we goin', Freckles?" Sawyer was being impatient. He was sick of going no where. "Looks to me like we're goin' in circles."

"I..." Kate didn't know what to say. She wasn't really a tracker, she was justgoing by what her father had taught her as a young girl.

"Sawyer, shut up. What do you know? Kate's doing the best she can." Jack thoughtit was time he finallydrew the line. "Why don't you try?"

"Why don't I?" Sawyer pushed Jack out of the way and walked in front, bowing his head and winking as he passed Kate.

"He was being sarcastic." Kate pointed out.

Sawyer didn't answer but got down on his hands and knees. He sniffed the ground beneath him and examined it carefully. He looked ridiculous, but he didn't care.

"Nice, Sawyer, nice." Jacktried to hide his smile.

Sawyer ignored Jack's comment and continued. He checked the surrounding area for any broken twigs or branches. He looked at the footprints on the ground and then checked the bottom of his shoe, Kate's shoe, and Jack's shoe. "These are our footprints." He pointed to the left. "This way."

Jack and Kate stood staring at each other, dumbfounded, sharing the same thought... Since whenhas Sawyer know anything about tracking?

Charlie leaned against the rough bark of an oak tree. He was thinking of Claire, her face, her smile. She couldn't stay out there for much longer. She was pregnant for God's sake. He wasn't going to give up and turn back, even if he was scared half to death.

He clenched his fists tightly by his sides. Why Claire? Why? She's so innocent. She doesn't deserve this…

Across from Charlie, Sayid sat on a large, discolored rock. Sayid was lost in thought as well. Nadia…He took a deep breath and let it out. Now with his new found feelings for Shannon, he rarely thought of Nadia, unless he was alone.

To the right of Sayid, sat Locke; silent and thoughtful, like the other two. He wanted Ethan. That man, that thing, was out to hurt people buthe meant to kill. Locke had been through a lot in life. And he wasn't a guy to get upset easily or that often. Hunting and tracking was his passion. It was what he loved to do.

"Let's go, men." Locke stood from his bent position. "We need to get a move on."

Sayid and Charlie followed Locke in silence. This was dangerous. Dangerous and yet…they were out there anyway.

Sawyer led them to a cliff. Asteep cliff.From where they stood, they could see the tops of trees.It looked like a green mat. It was avalley. There were small open patches throughout, where water holes could be seen.

Sawyer looked at Kate, whose eyes were wide, awe written plainly across her face. "Wow…"

A slight grin twitched at his mouth. "You like that, Freckles?"

"It's beautiful."

Jack shook his head. "Sawyer this isn't where we want to be. We're trying to find Claire."

Sawyer eyed Jack carelessly. "I followed those tracks here. How do you know she isn't down there?" He motioned down into the valley with a side sweep of his hand.

Jack didn't answer, but started to head down.

Locke had led the rest of the group to the very edge of a cliff. Down below, he could see Sawyer, Jack, and Kate. They were already on their way to finding Claire. She was down there, but where?

Sayid, Charlie, and Locke were lined up directly at the edge of the cliff. All three were ready to slide down.

From behind quick footsteps could be heard; the rustling of leaves, the breaking of twigs and branches.

Charlie turned to Locke. "Do you hear that?"

He nodded slowly. "Don't move."

But Sayid didn't hear Locke say not to move. He turned around quickly and was met by a man. The same man who had murdered some of the few people left from the crash. Ethan. Ethan, eyes crazed, mouth wide, slammed Sayid full force. Sayid let out a grunt and fell backwards down the cliff. The cliff above the valley.

A scream. Pain.

Jack spun at the sound of a breath taking cry, just in enough time to see Sayid crashing down the cliff. He hit rock, tree branch, anything that was in the path of his fall. "Sayid!"

From a distance Jack could see his face; a face filled with fear and torment.

Jack and Sawyer ran in the direction of his fall. They had to see if he was okay.

Locke had Ethan at gunpoint at the top of the cliff. Ethan wasn't going to stop there, though. He woudln't give in. Not this easily.He was going to get away even if he got hurt in the process.

His eyes narrowed and he growled. "You think you can hold me, don't you?" He sneered in Locke's face. "You're messing with the wrong guy, old man."

Locke jabbed the gun into Ethan's neck. He wanted to shoot, to take care of this thing so they wouldn't have to suffer any longer.

Ethan moved quickly, swiping the gun from Locke's hand. He ran. Hewas too fast for him to catch up. In a matter of seconds, he was gone. Out of sight. Locke would get Ethan Rom. There was no way he would let him go again.

Jack and Sawyer found Sayid. But the man that lay on the ground at their feet did not look like the man they knew as Sayid. His eyes were half open, but he was unconscious, his hair was stuck to his bleeding forehead. There were blood stains on his shirt, his arm was broken, and his body torn apart.

"Sayid!" Jack rushed to his side. "It's going to be okay, I promise. I'll get you out of this mess. I'm sorry this had to happen to-"

Sawyer cut him off. "Uh, Doc, he can't hear ya."

Jack ignored his comment and spoke words of encouragement to the unconscious man. Ethan would pay with his life.

Sorry it took me so long to get this up, but I had to rewrite it. Just when I had finished it, my computer wiped out all of my documents. Don't you just love computers? Yeah…well the next chapter should be up in a bit. Thanks for reading.