UNEXPECTED
She couldn't believe her eyes. One of the first survivors she had come to know was hanging, limp from a tree in front of her. All her muscles went and she didn't move until Jack's voice snapped her back into action.
"You gotta cut him down."
Jack ran forward and tried to hold Charlie up to take the pressure off his neck while she climbed up the trees to cut the vines holding Charlie up. Still numb with shock, she yelled at Jack to push him in her direction. Slicing wildly at the vines, a fierce anger burnt in her heart for what Ethan had done. As she cut the last strands Jack attempted to hold him up but Charlie fell to the ground with a large thud. He was even heavier than usual because he was soaked from the rain. She jumped down from the branches and knelt by Charlie's side as Jack tried to give him mouth-to-mouth. She grabbed Charlie's hand, whether to find a pulse or just because she was scared he was dead she did not know. She could not prevent a little cry escaping her lips as one of the most caring people she had ever known lay before her in the state he was in. The possibility that he was gone suddenly became stronger than ever as Jack began to pound harder and this time tears leaked out of her eyes.
She couldn't watch this anymore. The sound of Jack pounding was too much. It looked like he was going to break Charlie's ribs. She got up and as she looked away, she wept. While being on this island the misfortune of the situation had caused her to shed some tears but she had not cried like this. The sound of Jack beating on Charlie's chest as he yelled for him to breath behind her was unbearable. This wasn't going to work. Charlie was gone. She turned to look at Jack but it hurt her more to watch him go through this. She ran over to him and grabbed his arm away to prevent him hitting Charlie anymore.
"Jack. Jack! Jack he's not- Jack stop! He's not coming… back."
At these words she fell to her knees with grief and tried to console Jack. She knew how hard this was for him not to be able to save Charlie. From the moment they landed on this island Kate knew that the forty-eight survivors were not going to stay as a forty-eight. There was no way of keeping everyone alive. But she never thought they would lose one in such a brutal way
Her heart ached with pain at the fact that possibly the sweetest person on the island was to be one of the first to go.
Jack didn't seem able to accept it either and much to Kate's dismay began pounding on his chest harder than ever. As much as it hurt, Kate would rather they leave Charlie than watch Jack try to bring him back anymore. She couldn't hold it in anymore. Of everything she expected, this was not it. She cried. Cried and cried. She was crying so hard it hurt her throat.
Behind her she heard a loud crack and a deep asp for air. Hardly daring to believe what she had heard, she turned to see Jack cradling Charlie who was wide-eyed and gasping for breath. Kate rushed over and although her tears didn't stop, they were for a completely different reason.
They were tears of joy.
Thinking someone is dead for at least five minutes is a long time but suddenly see them alive, see the beautiful colour in their eyes, see their skin move away from the pale look, was more joyous than anything Kate had experienced on this island and it was at that moment that she realised how much she valued his life.