Chapter 9

"Hey, look at that!" one of the people below cried out, pointing to a spot slightly above the platform where Kate and Sawyer hid. "Have you ever seen an uglier bird than that? Ha ha …."

While the 3 of them were laughing among themselves and it was apparent that they did not see herself and Sawyer on the tree, Kate's knees went weak with relief. Luckily she was lying flat on her stomach, hence there was no risk of toppling off the platform.

After what seemed like an eternity, the 3 of them finally left the vicinity either to continue their search elsewhere or return to the hatch. Kate crawled cautiously over to Sawyer, who had been abnormally quiet throughout.

He was still lying on his side curled up with his eyes closed. "Sawyer, Sawyer, are you awake?" Kate whispered, not daring to speak too loudly in case those people were still nearby.

Sawyer closely flickered his eyes opened slowly. The pain in his stomach has lessened, but the throbbing in his shoulder is now attacking him with full force. And he felt weak all over and feverish, coupled with a massive headache too, probably from the blood loss and the damn bullet in his shoulder, he reckoned.

He tried to sit up, wincing when the action jarred his injured shoulder. Kate put her arms behind his back, ready to support him if he falls. After the initial wave of dizziness passed, Sawyer managed to sit fairly steady on his own, his left arm cradling his injured right.

"Looks like Tarzan and Jane have found themselves a nice home eh?" he chuckled, but stopped himself immediately when it sent waves of pain through his head and shoulder.

Kate didn't miss the grimace on his face though. Earlier she had felt that his hand was a bit warmer than that due to the topical heat when helping him to sit up. She leaned over and touched his forehead with the back of her hand and was not surprised to find that he indeed has a fever now.

"Missing old doc eh?" Sawyer said when he saw Kate's worried expression. "Pity he didn't leave behind his surgical knives and those anti-biotics." Kate remained quiet and looked away from him.

"I'll go get us some fruits, you must be hungry…" Kate muttered more to herself before she started scrampling down the tree agilely.

Sawyer watched her leave. He knew that Kate wasn't too keen to help him remove the bullet, remembering her reaction when he mentioned she had to help him do the job earlier. She probably is not as tough as she looks, he thought to himself with a smile.

Knowing that the bullet has to come out before he succumb to lead poisoning or whatsoever, Sawyer braced himself for the task. Shifting to a better position and trying to ignore the pain in his head, he turned to look at the bandage Kate had wound round his shoulder. It is now completely soaked with blood, and the rest of his shirt has turned crimson too.

He removed the bandage gingerly with his good hand, and stopped to catch his breathe for a while. The blood loss was making everything around him sway dangerously, and tilting his head to see the wound behind his shoulder isn't making things any more pleasant either.

After his breathing stabilize a little, Sawyer lifted his good hand again. He reached across his shoulder and felt the wound, gasping when the action shot needles of pain into his whole arm, right up to his fingertips. Knowing that he could not stop now, he immediately dug his fingers into his flesh. It was not easy as the bullet was rather far in, and he could not see its exact location. Blood was pouring out of the wound profusely now with his every movement, and he was sweating with the pain and effort, trying his best to keep away the cloud of darkness threatening to envelop him.

Finally his fingers felt the offending piece of metal, and he pinched it carefully before removing it out of his shoulder slowly, not daring to lose it now.

When Sawyer had the bloody bullet held securely within his palm at last, he let out a long sigh and sat with his head hung limply down. His head was still throbbing mercilessly, and the fever made him feel extremely cold. The shoulder wound, though devoid of the bullet now, still felt like it was being attacked with nails and needles. And he could imagine the amount of blood flowing out thorough his body now, judging from his light-headedness.

From the corner of his eye, Sawyer caught sight of the water bottle that Kate had fed him with water earlier. It was a welcome sight. He got to his feet slowly and walked towards the half-filled bottle which was lying at the edge of the platform. Everything had started to sway dangerously the moment he got up but he managed to get his hand on the bottle without mishap.

Just at the moment, the huge bird which had been resting on a branch in the tree shrieked suddenly and flew up, flapping its large wings all around, sending leaves and twigs falling onto the platform. Startled, Sawyer turned his head abruptly to see what caused the distraction but it was a bad decision. His head, already swimming earlier with fever and blood loss, could not take the sudden movement. The whole forest started to sway in front of his eyes and before he knew it, his foot stepped onto thin air and he found himself plunging from the platform 20 feet towards the forest ground.

TBC….