Next three days were the worst since they had crashed ,no one knew what to do as Jack hung suspended between life and death. After all by some ironic twist of fate they all were laymen caring for doctor. So eager and terrified they took shifts clumsily changing his bandages, choking him with water ,battling with bouts of his fever .
Jack himself was oblivious to it all ,alternately in comatose like state or restless ,burning with fever, screaming for his father ,sometimes for Sarah or incoherently whispering medical terms,directions.
Submerged in his own nightmare he was laying on narrow bed inside the hatch. Outside the hatch people waited. Every day and every hour they came waiting for the news and they did it for all different reasons-some because of fear of loosing the leader, the doctor, some because of friendship or respect, some because of love.
Jack was floating ,visions of his life and his demons creating his own ride from hell interrupted only by short periods of half consciousness when physical pain and fever would come.
"Jack, Jack…you have to tell us what to do" a woman's strangely familiar voice pleaded as next wave of nausea and unbearable heat rocked him.
To do what? And to do what with what? He didn't know. And he didn't want to know. He was tired of being the one to always know
He slipped deeper.
Nothingness.
He was burning ,his entire right side pulsating with pain. "You failed Jack." his father's stern voice cut in. He couldn't breathe.
Hands were on him, soft feminine ones and other rough and strong.
Then blessed coolness came and before he faded back their words reached him.
"More towels, Sawyer, I need more and make them really cold." distressed woman's voice demanded.
"Geez, he's like electrical dryer, I'm not catching up with wetting these" another tired voice retorted
Blackness.