Chapter 2

"Val? Hey Valerie?" a friendly voice called from the distance. Valerie turned and saw her friend, Jacob, running her direction. He was out of breath and she could see a little sweat rolling down his face. He must have run all the way from class to catch up to her.

"How's it going, Jacob?" she said giving a friendly smile and wave.

"Ah, it's going," he replied trying to catch his breath.

"Breathe, Jacob, breathe."

"Very funny. Are you heading home?"

"Yeah, my last class was cancelled, so I'm gonna go. You?"

"Nope, unfortunately, I still have College Writing left."

"Ok, then I guess I'll talk to you later." Valerie turned around and began to walk. She couldn't wait to get home and fall right back into her large comfy bed. She had the worst nights sleep. A nightmare kept her up all night. A strange nightmare about her father.

"Uh, Valerie?" Jacob called again.

Turning around once again, Valerie replied, "Yes, Jacob?"

"Um, I was, um, wondering, if you would, um, maybe want to go, um, get something to eat, um, this weekend?"

Now Valerie knew the reason why he was sweating. Jacob was asking her out. How cute, she thought. She knew how much effort it took a guy to ask a girl out and she found it adorable. Giving another sweet smile she said, "Sure. Call me on Friday."

Not another word was spoken between them, but somehow, Valerie knew the instant she turned around, Jacob's heart was shoved back into his chest.

Valerie was home thirty minutes later. Her house was warm and welcoming, as it always was on a chilly fall day. Running up to her room she threw on a pair of sweatpants and sweater before running back downstairs. As she stepped into the kitchen, she began singing softly. She was hungry and needed something to eat before she fell asleep. Searching the refrigerator she saw nothing appetizing and decided to check the cabinets. Sometimes her mother would hide cookies in there.

Closing the fridge, Valerie turned and nearly fell over. Her mother had been sitting in the kitchen the entire time, silent as a mouse. Valerie felt like she had aged another 23 years.

"Mom, are you crazy? You scared me to death."

Then Valerie noticed that her mother looked like the one who was scared to death. Her face was pale and her eyes red and puffy. Enclosed tightly in her hand was the phone.

"Mom? Mom, what's wrong?"

As if she just entered the room, Valerie's mother acknowledged her daughter. Slowly she looked up and stared hard into her eyes. Those eyes, so much like her father's, now they would be the only thing that would remind her of him.

"Your father, he--, he's dead."

"The 'Others'?" the Nigerian man cried back. "Where, are you hurt?" Sawyer watched as he began checking her more closely.

"No, I'm fine," Valerie replied releasing her arm from his grip. "It was only two and they were the dumb and dumber of the group."

"Did you see a little boy with them?" Michael found himself shouting over and over again. "10 years old?"

"What is he talking about?" Valerie asked Ana already annoyed by their new visitors.

"The 'Others' took his son," Ana responded with the same sorrowful voice as before. "They don't know why."

"Did you see him?" Michael asked again.

"No, I'm sorry," Valerie said looking down at her feet feeling sorry for the man. "They wouldn't leave him with those two."

"You seem to know an awful lot about them, sugar," Sawyer added still rubbing at his wound. Michael, Jin, the Nigerian, and Ana Lucia all looked at him coldly. They all knew Sawyer was accusing her of being one of the "Others" and Michael and Jin figured that was not a good idea. Valerie pushed past Ana and the Nigerian and made her way quickly towards Sawyer. She stopped only inches from him and Sawyer could not believe what he saw.

She was beautiful. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Sure Kate, Shannon, and even Claire were hot, but they were not beautiful like her. Her childlike eyes were delicate but he could tell they saw so much in this world. And now they were looking at him and he was hooked. The perfect brown color was like two drops of chocolate and he wanted to lick it. She was shorter than him, by about three inches, but she carried herself like she was taller.

"What exactly are you saying?" her voice was so low Sawyer had to lean in a bit to hear her.

"I'm just saying it's kind of odd that you escaped two without so much as a scratch," he added, hoping this would not land him back in the cell. "Just a little curious on how you did it, that's all."

"You really want to know?"

"I asked, didn't I? I mean, you just seem a little . . . weak to take on two men by yourself."

Michael and Jin shook their heads. They had a feeling this girl was hiding more behind those childlike eyes than she was leading on. The Nigerian and Ana Lucia were also a bit anxious. Valerie only smirked at Sawyer, a smirk he got so often from Kate.

"Well, I did this to one of them," she whispered right into Sawyer's ear. He can't argue that it felt good, but he wasn't expecting the next thing. Valerie placed both her hands on his shoulders and pulled him close. Sawyer expected another whisper, perhaps even a kiss, but instead he got her knee slamming hard into his groin. The entire island could most likely hear the gasps from everyone's mouth. Sawyer groaned as the pain shot through his entire body. He was instantly on the ground, bending over in so much pain. Michael and Jin couldn't help but laugh a little.

"And this to the other," Valerie added right before kicking Sawyer hard in the stomach. More gasps echoed while they watched Sawyer wriggle in pain on the sand. And as Valerie walked away with her head held high, the Nigerian man shouted, "Alright, let's go."

Michael and Jin walked over to help Sawyer. Lifting him off the ground, Jin threw his arm around his shoulder for support with Michael doing the same on the other side. As they began following the others, Sawyer scoffed and said, "She wants me." All he got in response was a snicker from both Michael and Jin.