Looks sheepish for how long it's taken to update
I'm guessing a sorry won't cover it, huh? But I am sorry! Here's that next half of chapter 19. Just one more and an epilogue to go y'know? Not far now!
Hope you like!
Disclaimer: Me no owny!
Chapter 19 (part 2).
They found the room with the other captive children easily. Eko had opened the door and swept them both up into his strong, protective embrace and that was how Sawyer, Michael and Walt found them.
Walt grinned widely and waved at his fellow youngsters towering above him in Eko's grasp until they both wiggled, as politely as possible, to be put down and began an intensive, entirely whispered conversation in a huddled group.
"Well, at least someone's havin' a good time…" Sawyer murmured from the doorway, hitching a thumb at the circle of kids and Michael and Eko both turned to face him, not entirely sure if the Southerner was likely to turn tail back out of the door and have another crack at strangling their prisoner.
As if he sensed as much, Sawyer leaned off the doorframe and raised his hands in the gesture of surrender, eyebrows leaping up his forehead, before brushing past them both to sit leaning against the far wall of the small room.
And they waited. Patiently and un-patiently alike. Michael pacing, tugging as his stubbled beard. Eko standing stoic and motionless, like a great statue guarding the children. Sawyer drummed a knuckle against the hard, cold concrete floor until the skin, drawn taut across the bone, broke drawing a crimson smear of blood, and he moved onto the next knuckle to start the process again.
They weren't kept waiting long, however, and all three men sprang to attention, up to his feet in Sawyer's case, at the sound of the steel door at the other end of the corridor outside opening and then locking again behind the two sets of footsteps that exited.
Nora was left inside then, and perhaps that was a good thing, Sawyer thought. He wouldn't be responsible for his actions next time he came face-to-face with her and not four men nor four hundred would be able to hold him back and keep his hands from her throat, that was for sure!
Locke was the first to enter, looking tired, more worn than the conman had ever seen the seemingly indomitable hunter ever before in their whole crazy time on 'Twilight Zone Island'. His arms cradled rolls of paper and beneath his armpit a leather bound presentation folder of some kind took residence. Sawyer guessed that they'd been scavenged from one of the other rooms along the length of walk way constituting the bizarre length of pseudo laboratory come hatch.
Sayid followed behind. A little slower and more comfortable than Locke's quick step. His dark brows furrowed as he gazed down at his own maps, stolen from the French woman, Rousseau, once more as he too entered the suddenly crowded room. He tugged at his lower lip with the fingers of his free hand, hunching his shoulders and back in both concentration and against his companions' curious stares.
Silence continued as neither of the pair made any move to explain what had happened or why they both looked so studious and serious.
Mike and Eko shared a glance at each other but it was Sawyer, ever the diplomat, who broke through the thick quiet first. Finally and brashly.
"I'm goin' back!" he stated to them all and no one had to even ponder about what exactly he was talking about. His voice was staunch enough for them to know immediately what he meant. "I'm gonna get outta these tunnels and run all night if I damn well have to an' I'm gonna kill every last sonofabitch who even dares think they're gonna lay a hand on my woman!" he was growling now. Snarling out his words through fury clenched teeth. Anger re-awoken coursed through his body like ice-water and hate mingling with the blood and adrenalin already in his veins.
All of their faces watched him now, wondering what he would do next, wondering what he would snarl out next. Even the children and one of them, the little girl (Emma did Ana say her name was?) slipped her hand into his, stopping it from it's continuous clenching and unclenching.
"Ana's okay…she's strong." She smiled vacantly up at him, as if she had just woken from a dream…or was still underneath its vestiges from the glassy look in her eyes. Was she seeing something that he wasn't? "That's why Alex chose her."
Sawyer opened his mouth to make some sarcastic remark, not caring that the girl was all of eleven years old, but Locke interrupted him, his eerie smile returning at what was possibly the most inappropriate time. It drew Sawyer's eyebrows together into a bemused frown.
"I don't think that Ana-Lucia would appreciate being given the title of 'your woman', James…but I had an inkling that you'd want to go back because of her." His tone was bright and cheerful, as if he and Sawyer were merely discussing the weather.
"Well aren't you the all seeing-eye." Sawyer snorted beneath his breath. He ran his free hand, the other still held comfortingly by Emma, through his bedraggled hair, sweeping it out of his eyes and away from his face so that he could better turn his glare upon the bald man to his left.
Locke's smile lanced sideways into an almost smirk before he wagged a finger in Sayid's direction.
"Why don't you show him the maps, Sayid?" he queried enigmatically and Sawyer suddenly came to the conclusion that no matter how hard he tried, he was never going to be able to figure out John Locke. Ever.
Their Iraqi companion glanced up from his maps, as if being interrupted in the middle of a daydream, but he nodded dutifully and beckoned for Sawyer's attention with a brief wave of the hand not smoothing down his beard.
"Do you recall that Shannon and I were unable to discern the meaning of this particular map?" his dark eyes flashed up to meet with Sawyer's and, upon noticing the blank seriousness there on the usually dimpled and grinning face showing that the Southerner was in no mood for questions or recollections, he hurried on, clearing his throat as he did so. "I understand them now. I know what exactly they are a map of-"
"The tunnels!" Locke injected excitedly, drawing a slight glare from Sayid, disgruntled at being beaten to the punch-line.
"Indeed." He muttered. "I assumed as much when Nora was leading us here. I vaguely remembered the layout from somewhere and when I looked over this map again, I understood immediately." He paused, gripping Sawyer's shoulder as he peered down onto the yellowing paper and he dared a triumphant grin. "We can make it back to the other hatch, our hatch, by morning…if we leave now and if we run the majority of the distance."
Sawyer stared down at it blankly for a long, extended heartbeat, before trailing the black line upon the page that linked the Hawk and the Swan together. He tapped his finger upon their new destination. Once. Twice. Almost as if doing so could warn the people there.
And suddenly he nodded. Drew back. Patted Emma on the head before freeing his hand from her clasp and staring at all of their faces.
"Well, alright." A semblance of his usual cocky grin ghosted across his features then and he nearly became the Sawyer that they all knew so well. "When do we leave, General?"
Sayid returned the blonde man's smile with one of his own before his mouth once more became a grim line.
"There is a possibility, from what Nora told us, that we could run into her companions on their way back from attacking them beach…" he let his comment lie until Sawyer had nodded his comprehension. "We cannot risk taking the children that way."
Again Sawyer nodded, turning his eyes to Eko and Michael but it was, once more, Locke who broke into the silence unannounced.
"I found more maps." He stated plainly. "In the desk draw in another room, along with some information about what they are trying to accomplish here with the children-"
"Were." Michael corrected with a growl, holding Walt closer to him subconsciously perhaps and Locke blinked pale blue, squinted eyes at him in surprise until he shook himself from his silence and nodded.
"Yes, yes. Of course. Were. What they were trying to do. Anyway, it seems as if there are more of these buildings, these underground complexes dotted all across the island…two of which in particular Sayid and I find quite…interesting." His tanned, scarred hands placed his own maps beside Sayid's and a forefinger smoothed across it to tap on an outward jutting peninsular of land to the left of their current position. "The Gull." He announced proudly, glancing up at Michael in particular as he spoke. "The closest hatch to where we are now and, judging from it's proximity to the ocean, I'm betting it's the harbour."
"Using their vessel will give you safe passage back to the beach, Michael. All you need do is follow the coastline." Sayid added and the father sent a considering look over his shoulder to Eko, asking silently the other man's views on the idea. Could they chance it? Was it a good idea to take the children out on the sea?
"You're sure it'll be safe, Man?" Mike queried and Sayid nodded again.
"It is the safest way for you to return. What with the Others travelling by land. On the sea there shall be no risk or worry of you coming into contact with them. It may take you a few extra days to make it back to the beach but it is, by far, the less perilous road to take." The Iraqi concluded and Michael's face became more sure, more certain as he nodded his approval.
"Whatever gets us home safely, Man."
"Alright then," Sawyer barked over them. They could tell that he was desperate to be on the more, heading back towards Ana. "Daddy Cool and Shaft get stuck babysittin' Alvin and the Chipmunks here," he waved a hand in the direction of the three children for emphasis. "So that leaves me, Action Man and Elmer Fudd here to get our skates on an' head back to the-"
"Actually Sawyer…" Locke interrupted once more suddenly, halting the blonde man in his stride, already pacing towards the exit anxiously. "I'm not going with you either. Any of you."
Sawyer's eyebrows leaped up his forehead, threatening to disappear into his hairline.
"Come again, Chief?" he chuckled humourlessly. "What? You ain't switchin' sides mid-battle now are ya?" he squared his shoulders to face the older man once more, bringing himself to his full height and anticipating Locke's next words. Surely he wasn't going to stay and join the Others now…was he? "You seemed mighty int'rested in them notes They made there…" he wagged a finger at the binder still secured beneath Locke's armpit, letting his accusatory comment, laced deceivingly with a joke, tingle in the air about them.
The children, who had previously resumed their hushed chatter in a huddled circle all paused, falling silent as the two men faced one another. Facing off.
And Locke had the good manners to look appalled by Sawyer's insinuation, nstead of grinning like a loony as he usually did.
"Don't be ridiculous!" he stated in what was as close to a scoff as John Locke came to giving. "I'm heading west from here. To the Eagle…or as Danielle Rousseau would call it, the Radio Tower." Pale blue eyes flashed from a creased, sun scorched face, meeting the darker, night blue of Sawyer's still dubious watch. "I'm going to get us off this island, James. I'm going to call for help."
-oOo-
She could feel the sweat trickling down her back in tandem with the panic that she was just managing to suppress so that it was merely a dull thrum in her body. She couldn't afford to let it overtake her now, overwhelm her when there was so much at stake. So many lives…
She shifted her knees, that were beginning to ache, against he silty ground of the cave mouth. Handgun raised and trained upon the bushes and scrub and trees surrounding them, fencing them in, cornering them in the darkness. Damn, but they could have really used a fire right then, but no one had any matches or a lighter or even the time to make one. They'd have to make do.
She tightened her grip on the weapon and swallowed hard, shooting a brief, sideways glance over at her companion on the other side of the cave mouth, levelling a rifle upon the same target that Ana was.
The night was still. Darker than they had seen it or noticed it to be before, although that was most likely only because of their nervousness, their expectation of what was coming for them. Who. And what was going to happen.
Kate nodded as she noted Ana's pensive stare and readjusted her hold on the rifle.
'My Dad, well, the man who raised me, not my biological father, use to take me hunting when I was growing up. I'm a better shot with a rifle than anything else.' The slight brunette had told Ana when they had been dividing up the meagre, too few weapons between them. Three hand guns'. Two rifles. That was all.
'I'm best with a handgun.' Ana had responded to Kate's offered personal information, ignoring the slight guilt that swelled in her heart when the memories of her shooting of Shannon swelled up to prove just how right that statement was. 'I was a cop before…this. Been on the force since I left school…my Mom died when I was little because of some stupid guy who chose to run with the wrong side of the law and I wanted to do something about it…so I became a cop.'
And Kate had nodded in reply, as Ana had done for her admission, as they passed out the remaining weapons to a couple of men who vaguely knew how to hold and fire a gun. It was their only chance after all…
"You ready for this, Chica?" Ana cleared her throat and called across the small distance of dimness between them suddenly, snapping her mind away from her distracting memories and fixing her gaze back out onto the shadowy jungle firmly.
And Kate snorted, shifting nervously in her spot.
"Nope." She responded in a deceivingly cheerful tone. She re-aimed her rifle though, contrasting her words with her actions. "But I don't think that's going to stop Them just because I'm not ready."
Ana-Lucia laughed at that and nodded her head in amused agreement. Touché, Katherine.
"How about you?"
"Nope." Ana echoed with a sideways smirk that Kate was certain the Latino woman had learned from Sawyer. "But I guess we're just going to have to deal, huh?"
"I guess we are…"
-oOo-
"So…" Sawyer drawled as he and Sayid shouldered their packs and weapons, ready for the journey ahead of them. "What's gonna happen to the Wicked Bitch of the West back I there?" he avoided the groups eyes as he hitched a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of Walt's old prison room and Sayid and Locke exchanged concerned glances. "Don't y'all worry none, Fellas. I ain't suggestin' we get trigger happy on her ass…but we can't risk havin' her runnin' round and messin' things up for us more 'an she already has!"
"And I don't think we should take her with us." Mike added, nodding in agreement with Sawyer's words. "I don't trust her around the kids."
"We can leave her here. Locked in one of the rooms." Locke put forwards with a shrug and a brief wave of his hand. "Her colleagues are bound to discover her when they return." But Eko was already shaking his head with a grim frown on his features.
"We should burn this place…so that the experiments cannot be continued by anyone. We should destroy it all!" he announced in his deep, baritone, booming voice, Zack and Emma standing as close to him as the could. They obviously felt protected by him.
Both Michael and Sayid murmured their approval and even though a brief flash of regret danced across Locke's face at the thought of destroying all of the research and notes before they had gotten the chance to read and understand them, he nodded. Grudgingly.
"Fine." He muttered, smoothing a hand over his mouth and jaw. "So we burn it. What about Nora? I do not want her blood on my hands if she gets caught in the fire before the Others return…or if the don't find her." He shrugged at them all, as if challenging them to come up with something, some better notion to relieve them all of their burden, but they all remained silent, drawing a newly triumphant smile across his thin lips…
…Until it was that Sawyer found himself grinning like a Cheshire cat, even chuckling to himself eliciting their stares of curiosity.
"You fellas remember that tree that she went an' climbed up 'fore we came down here…?"
-oOo-
Eko stayed behind to give them a head start before he lit the fire and closed the rusty, corroding door of the Hawk upon it. It did not take him long to catch up.
They made the journey back to the tunnel entrance in less time than their first, bizarrely. Nora most certainly had been stalling for time for some reason then. Possibly to ensure that none of them would make it back to the beach before the Others had attacked. They obviously had not wanted any chance of them interfering and Sawyer found himself hoping desperately, beyond all hope, that Nora's plan hadn't succeeded.
She screamed in fury when Sayid tied her to the tree. She raged and struggled and kicked and fought…until she tired herself out and the Iraqi man finally gagged her to keep her quiet.
Hate shone clear in her dark eyes as she watched them moving and talking quietly together. She glared at them and seethed in silence. Humiliated. The tables finally turned, she no longer held their attention. She no longer controlled them with her threats and taunts and jibes.
Locke was the first of their merry band to head out. Taking off in a westerly direction, uphill towards the mountains. He wished them all luck with a smile and a nod and to Sawyer he grinned.
"Keep a hold on that girl of yours, James." He stated and something akin to regret passed over his face like a dark cloud…but only for a moment. "Keep her safe."
And Sawyer laughed, hitching his backpack a little higher and hooking his thumbs through his belt loops.
"You got it all wrong, Chrome Dome." He snorted, flashing white teeth a the older man. "I'm goin' back so she can keep me safe!"
Locke departed still chuckling at the Southerner's words.
Michael, Eko and the children headed off next, with Mike embracing both Sayid and Sawyer, wishing them both speed and luck.
Eko merely smile and nodded to them and promised to keep them in his prayers, along with Ana and the rest of their community back at the beach.
The kids, standing in a line, hands clasped, only watched with glazed expressions until the two adults ushered them in their chosen direction to the east…towards the sea.
Only then, when Sawyer and Sayid were alone, save for the muffled struggles of Nora Hewmot in the background, sis the two one time enemies glance at each other.
"Boy. You better know where the hell it is that we're goin'…" Sawyer growled in mock gruffness. "'Cause I ain't got the damnedest!"
"Just you be concerned with keeping pace." Sayid countered, his features becoming amused, or as amused as the soldier could be, and together they re-entered the tunnels, leaving Nora alone in the night without a second glance or thought.
-oOo-
He strode out of the undergrowth amid the darkness and whispers like a king onto his battlefield, as if he owned it all and perhaps he did. It had always been Their island after all.
He was Agammemnon at the battle of Troy. Hannibal at Carthage. Alexander the Great staking his claim on the entire world…or just over them, the people that he wanted so desperately huddled and crowding together in the back of a cave.
They hadn't seen him yet. They didn't know where They were, where They were coming from. He watched in amusement as their heads turned every which way, listening fearfully to the sounds of hisses and whispers crescendo-ing around them.
"Leave the men!" he balled over the noise that was their strongest weapon. "Shoot them if they get in your way." His voice was deep and gruff and soared above the clash of sound around him. "Take the women…and kill Ana-Lucia Cortez!"
-oOo-
Sorry for the cliffhanger! ;p