Lost and its characters belong to JJ Abrams and crew. I'm just borrowing for fun. Written in response to the Fanfic100 prompts – Blue
Lost – The Long Road: Going Home
By Mystic
Oct/Nov
May 2012
Kate woke with a start. Her chest pounded and she jumped up in the bed, feeling for her son and gasping when she couldn't find him. Her eyes darted around in the darkness and she felt her nostrils beginning to burn with the rapid intake of cold air. Outside the colors flashed every few seconds. Just blue. She rolled out of bed and listened to the sound of her feet stomping through the trailer as she made her way to the window and looked out.
A cop car sat across the lot. One of those undercover cars. The ones that had blue and white lights. The ones that made her nervous. At least, she thought to herself, they had light. The ones to worry about were the cars that came unmarked. The cars that came without lights.
"Sam?" She called quietly, listening to the silence. Kate peeked her head into the bathroom and saw the cold white walls illuminate with the cobalt color beating in through the windows like a pulse. "Sam."
She felt her body freeze as she opened each of the three closets before going back into the bedroom and searching the sheets for her son. Her hands came up empty and her eyes burned. There was a clock ticking inside her head. She knew the blue that blinded her every two seconds was a bad thing. She knew they had to leave.
"Sam!" Kate shouted, hearing her voice break with fear. Her legs felt like jello underneath her as she stepped back into the living room and saw him staring up at her from his spot next to the fridge. He held a cup of chocolate milk in his hands and he turned slowly, looking at the blue that lit up the curtains.
"Trouble," he said softly, his voice thick with sleep.
Kate rushed to him, grabbed the cup and placed it in the sink, turning to grab him by his shoulder and drag him into the back room. "Big trouble."
He reached for his bag as she reached for hers and they jammed their belongings into them. Kate glanced out the back window, where her car was stashed under a bright blue tarp near a trash mound. It looked like a piece of junk to begin with, no one questioned it sitting there.
"Why didn't you come when I called you?" She whispered harshly at him as he pulled a white sweater over his pajama top.
Sam shrugged his shoulders, watching her grab the suede brown jacket from the edge of the dresser. He picked up his pack, pulling it over his shoulders and gripping the straps as he watched her go out into the living room again. She peeked out the window.
"Katherine Austin," came a voice booming over a megaphone. "Come out with your hands in the air."
"Big trouble," Sam repeated his mother's words, sneaking up behind her, tugging at her jeans. "We gotta go," he urged, staring up at her with frightened eyes. Kate touched his head, nodding without looking and she let the flaps close.
She went into the back room and removed a section of the floor she'd pre-cut just after they'd rented the trailer. There was a crawl space underneath the trailer big enough for them to get out to and she'd remove a piece of the fencing that had been put around to hide the space. Kate planned. It's what she was always doing; protecting her son with plans.
The years she'd been on the run before, the most planning she ever did was to get the toy plane. Organizing a bank heist. Maybe the collecting of license plates. But Kate lived from day to day. Now she looked ahead. She planned. Sam threw himself into the hole and coughed, but quickly covered his mouth.
"You ok?" Kate whispered.
The boy gave her one thumb up and she nodded, pulling her jacket on and going into the hole after him. She yanked her bag through and led the way to the spot at the back of the trailer, looking through the holes before kicking out a section of the fence big enough for her.
Kate pulled her son out, wiping dirt off his face as she snuck across the darkness and the flashing light to a bush. The man's voice bellowed again and she heard a second car pull up. She wasn't much for praying, Kate had never gone to church, but she prayed now. Please, God, don't let them hurt my baby. Her eyes drifted to his, watching through the leaves of the bush.
"Come on," she whispered and he nodded slowly. They stood, crouched and ran across the darkness to the blue tarp. Kate pulled open the driver side door and shoved Sam through, watching him jump into the back and then duck down behind the seat. Kate started the engine, listening to it thunder to life as she winced.
There was shouting and she put the car into reverse, turning and lifting herself to see backwards. She'd come out around the backside of the dump and they wouldn't see her. Only, they already had. The first shot bounced off the hood and she held her breath, pressing her foot tightly onto the gas pedal.
The second dug into her gut and she screamed.
The car stopped sharply. Kate turned, pressing her hand into her side, feeling the blood starting to run through. She looked out through the windshield which was now cracked and she grimaced against the pain as she threw the car into drive and gunned it. She hit one man and clipped the back of his car before swerving onto the main dirt road. The car she clipped slammed into the second, knocking over a few officers.
They were slow in following and she watched the speedometer pass 100 miles per hour as she hissed through her teeth. She heard her son calling her but she didn't turn. She watched the road. Kate concentrated as hard as she could. She drove until the sun rose and she never looked back.
"Mommy?" Sam called. He pressed his small hand into her cheek and watched her eyes shift underneath the lids a moment before they snapped open.
"How long was I asleep?" She snapped.
"A few hours," Sam informed her with a frown. "You ok, mommy?"
Kate shook her head. They'd pulled into a gas station. Sam had paid and pumped while she pulled gauze out of her glove compartment and tried to stop the bleeding. They'd been driving for two days. Driving in the direction of California. She got the impression Sam knew where they were going.
He knew this time they were going to get there.
"Mommy!" He shouted in her ear, his voice breaking.
Kate shook her head, watching the clear skies ahead of them on the road. "Sit down, Sam."
"You're not ok," he told her, pressing himself firmly against the seat. His white sweater was stained with dirt and his knees were rubbed raw. "You're not ok, mommy."
"No, I'm not," she spat. "Shut up and sit back."
He crossed his arms over his chest and took a long breath. "You have a fever," he told her.
"I know."
"You have to go to a hospital."
"I know!" Kate shouted, turning to see him flinch in his seat. "Sam," she breathed. "Sam, I'm not mad."
"Yes you are," he replied weakly.
"I would never…" her words left her as she watched him shift himself farther from her. Kate felt her bottom lip quiver. They'd just had the time of their lives. They'd just gone to Disney World. It was the most normal day she'd ever been able to give him. No cops, no look outs, no danger. Just a fucking mouse.
Sam lowered his head. "I know."
"I'm scared," she admitted.
"I know."
Kate gripped the steering wheel, watching the sign that passed letting her know she was closer to Jack now than she'd been in five years. "We're going to see daddy. Sam."
"I know."
"No, listen to me," she touched his shoulder, watching his face scrunch up in fear. What was he afraid of? Kate recognized that face. Recognized herself. She'd never… not Sam. "I'm hurt, you know that, but it's bad. Really bad, and we have to see daddy."
Sam turned his head, lifted a hand to hold hers.
"This is serious." She touched her side, feeling it pulse with pain underneath her fingers. "He's probably going to have to take me to the hospital." Kate swallowed. "If he does, you probably won't see me for a long time."
"Mom," Sam whimpered.
"No, listen." She turned to face him harshly. "You might not see me again."
"Mommy," he cried.
Kate swallowed, turning back to look at the road, following the blue sky ahead. "You'll stay with your father. He'll keep you safe, Sam. He loves you."
"Mommy, no." Sam shifted in his seat, his mouth falling into a frown and his eyes glowing red. "No."
Kate listened to him cry. He pleaded with her. He begged her not to go away. Kate fought the urge to sob. She fought the urge to slap him. She hated that the thought was even there. He told her they didn't have to see daddy. Ever. She could go somewhere else. She could get better somewhere else. Someone else could fix her.
Sam hiccupped his requests after a while, after his eyes had dried of tears and all that was left were dry heaves and snot. He screamed at her until his voice was sore and the sun had set, turning the blue sky black. Sam pleaded until his eyes drifted to sleep and that's when Kate looked at him.
His body slumped against the door, his mouth hanging open, his eyes pressed shut and his nose running freely. She pulled over into a parking space in front of a large unfamiliar building, watching the street for cops. She undid the lock on the seatbelt and lifted him to her chest. Kate cleaned his nose, watching him sniffle and sigh.
"Ok Sam," she whispered, pushing the door open and stepping out. She glanced at her jacket, thrown in the back seat, but left it, taking the car key and shoving it into Sam's pocket.
Kate leaned against the car a moment, pain radiating from the bullet hole in her side. She took a long breath and went towards the building, pushing the front glass doors open. It was nearing sunset, no one would think anything of a mother and son arriving home, she hoped.
The elevator hummed under her feet and she found herself dozing. Her head burned and her chest felt like it was empty as she watched Sam breathing against her. She licked her finger and wiped dirt from his nose, swept hair from his face and stepped out of the elevator on his floor. His door was the only one without a welcome matt.
She knocked, her breath caught in her throat. What would he say? What would he do? What would he look like? Kate felt her heart hammering against her ribcage and she listened to the footsteps inside quicken when she pounded a second time.
Jack.
Kate swallowed hard, shifting Sam in her arms. Jack. I'm sorry. Jack. I love you. Jack. I didn't mean for it to turn out this way. Jack. I didn't want to be gone this long. Jack. I need your help. Jack. I know. Jack. God, I'm sorry. Jack. Jack. Jack. Her mind felt numb as the door pulled open and he stood there staring down at her.
Staring down at his son.
"Hey, Jack."
End Chapter 8