The caves and areas nearby were teeming that morning with literally happy campers. It felt wonderful to feel the fresh air (possibly even ocean air, if one were to be so daring) against such deprived bare skin, save for your feet and about three inches above the ankles.
It was a mystery as to how long this happiness was going to be allowed to continue, to all except for three.
It became apparent to the rest of them, when the trio came staggering into the campground. Boone and Locke were each supporting one of Jacks arms over their shoulders, the rest of his body dragging between them. His head hung limply forward against his chest.
Claire was the first to spot them.
"Oh my God!" She said, cradling Aaron in her arms. "What happened to him?"
"I'd rather not tell it twice." Locke replied simply, brushing past Claire. If she was offended, she didn't show it, but merely followed them into the caves.
It didn't take long to get the attention of the onlookers. They put Jack down, propping him up against the wall. His head fell onto his shoulder.
"Bloody Hell!" Charlie exclaimed, drawing everyone else's attention to the beaten man sprawled on the cave floor. "What happened to -?"
"We found Jack tied to a tree in the middle of the jungle, in a seemingly catatonic state." Locke announced to the hushed spectators. "But we realized he could talk, as if he'd been aware the whole time."
"We wanted to carry him back to camp, and he went ballistic." Boone ran his finger along a long scratch-mark on his cheek. There was blood under Jack's nails.
"For the moment he's unconscious." Locke put in, shooting a confirming glance down at the seemingly lifeless man. "No one can tell what state he'll be in when he wakes up, but I have to ask you all to have your wits about you. He's not himself."
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One thing that became apparent as Kate and Sayid cautiously made their way through the 'swamp' was that the further they got away from the caves, the less boggy mud they were squelching through, and the more their feet came into contact with hard, solid ground.
Neither of them spoke for a long while, but the silence was eventually broken by Kate.
"Sayid, does this seem a bit too… dry to you?" She asked the question they had both been mulling over since their surroundings had started to become less rainforest-like.
"I was thinking the same thing." Sayid replied. Of course this came as no surprise. "The ground here bears no comparison to the ground back at the caves. It's barely damp, and after seven days of rain…" He trailed off, frowning as he tried to invent an explanation. "Of course it's possible the trees could have acted as a barrier against the rain, collecting it in their branches and…"
"No." Kate shook her head, brows furrowed into a knot. "A whole week of non-stop, hurricane-style rain, it's been dry for less than 12 hours, there's no way the ground could've dried out this fast."
Sayid nodded in silent agreement. The ground was still damp, and at some points they would even feel the mud squelch between their toes, but it had nothing on what it should be like.
"This is insane." Kate continued as they neared the wall of foliage that obscured the beach from sight. Not a single drop of water clung to the leaves. "At this rate the beach will be -"
Kate couldn't finish. Sayid had just pushed the bushes aside, revealing the beach. Gasping didn't even seem appropriate; how was this possible? It wasn't possible, she was sure of it. It must be mirage, how else could this be explained?
"As dry as a bone." Sayid finished her sentence for her. They cautiously stepped through the bushes and onto the beach, as if it was all a trick and they would sink into the sand the minute they stood on it, as they should have. But no, their weight was supported by solid layers of the driest sand they had ever seen. And not only was it dry, it was warm. Hot, even, as though not a speck of water had touched it. It felt like it had the morning before the storm, Hot, Sunny and incredibly dry.
"This is impossible." Kate finally managed, absentmindedly toeing the sand to make sure she wasn't imagining things.
"We've got to go back and tell the others." Sayid said, turning away from the beach as if it confused him just to look at it. "Jack should know about this."
"But…" Kate couldn't think of anything else to say. She wasn't even sure why she was arguing. Maybe it was because this just didn't seem like something you blurted out, or the sort of thing that you spent two minutes looking at then walked away from. Then a thought occurred to her. "Sayid… the storm did happen, right?"
"Yes." Sayid replied without a moment's hesitation. "You must remember that stranger things have happened on this island, but we really do have to tell the others."
Finally, Kate nodded and they both turned around and began to make their way back to the caves. Kate's question of her mental health was put to rest as the mud began thickening the further away they got from the beach, but the question of the beach itself kept burning bright in her mind. She just hoped Jack would have the answer.