Chapter Nineteen

"The only test of leadership is that somebody follows."

- Robert K. Greenleaf

Sayid felt Nadia pulled from him. He slid his hand up her arm and held her tightly, refusing to let go. "I have lost him," Nadia cried. "I have lost Steve."

There was a muffled sound of a scuffle, Steve's girlish scream, and then silence.

Instinctively, Sayid let go of Ana's and Nadia's hands and began to move toward the sound of the fray. "Don't leave, Sayid," said Ana, half an order, but half a plea. "Stay close." It was the first time she had humbled herself enough to ask for his help.

"No one let go," called Jack from near the front of the line. "Absolutely no one."

Sayid immediately stepped back in line, taking first Ana's hand. When he reached for Nadia and did not immediately grasp her, he felt a sinking sensation in his stomach that was the result of much more than fear. But soon he felt a hand slide into his own, and he could not mistake her touch. At the front of the line, Marcus readied his rifle; at the back of the line, Nadia grasped hers. No one else had a free hand.

"We have to move on," said Ana. "Before they come back for the rest of us."

"We can't see a thing," said Jack. "We have to wait here until the fog burns off. We can't stumble blindly in this jungle."

"Ana is right," Sayid said. "They will pick us off one by one if we stay here."

"It's madness, walking blind," Jack cried back.

"We move on," answered Sayid firmly.

"Who put you in charge?" asked Jack, more assertively than usual. "We stay."

"Would you boys quit the pissing match?" Kate asked. "Let's vote, starting at the front of the line."

"I agree with Jack," said Marcus. "We should wait until we can see."

"I'm with Sayid," answered Locke. "It's dangerous to move on, but it's more dangerous to stay."

Eko said simply, "Jack."

Jack reiterated his view, and then, Sayid suspected, he merely expected Kate to agree with him. But Kate said, "I'm with Sayid, too."

"I'm with Kate," answered Sawyer. "I mean, Sayid."

Ana came next. "It was my idea."

"You know my position," said Sayid.

Then, to his own surprise, he found Nadia agreeing with Jack. "We should move back a ways, and then sit in silence until the fog burns off."

"Five to four," said Marcus. "We move on. Now, I'm in front, so I have to lead. But this wasn't my idea, so don't assign me the blame."

The line began to move slowly through the jungle. Occasionally someone would smack against a tree and grumble, but they pressed on. The dark pilgrimage was made in silence, until Kate's voice rose into the air: "Why is it so cold?"

"The temperature has dropped at least ten degrees in the last fifteen minutes," said Locke.

"It is still dropping," said Eko.

"Did anyone bring warmer clothes?" asked Jack.

"It's a tropical island," said Ana. "None of us brought warmer clothes."

"I brought a blanket to lie on," drawled Sawyer. "I didn't think I'd need one to lie under. But Sayid and Jack have those thick sleeping bags."

The sleeping bags had been in the hatch, and although they certainly did not anticipate needing them to protect themselves against the cold, Sayid and Jack had both agreed they might come in handy for some other purpose: the roof of a makeshift shelter perhaps, or—if needed—the bed of a stretcher.

"We have to turn in another direction," insisted Jack. "It's growing colder. God knows where we are walking."

"Well, we all know there were polar bears," said Sawyer.

"Not all of us," replied Marcus. "Where is this island?"

No one answered, but Marcus turned them in another direction, and they began to walk again. The coldness did not abate; if anything, the temperature dropped still farther. And then, after about ten more minutes of walking, Sayid felt Ana pulled away from him. He grasped for her, but he did not find her. He shouted her name and was greeted only by silence. "I have lost Ana," he cried, and no one answered him, except Nadia, who said, "Ana is gone. Sawyer, did you see anything?"

Silence.

"Locke!" cried Sayid. "Marcus! Jack! Anyone!"

Silence.

Nadia drew closer to him. "Where is everyone?" she asked. "How could we not have heard them disappear?"

Then, in the distance, they heard the muffled sound of voices, including Ana's, calling for them. "Sayid!" "Nadia!" "Sayid!"

They even heard Locke ask, "How could we not have sensed them taken?"

"We are here!" called back Sayid. "Where are you?"

"Here!" the other eight cried, but the voices seemed to come from every direction.

Sayid and Nadia whirled about, holding hands, looking everywhere into the impersonal, gray shadow that masked the jungle. They kept calling out; they kept moving in what they thought was the direction of the voices, but they kept hearing them shift and call again from other locations. Eventually, the cries faded away altogether, and Sayid and Nadia stumbled into a clearing. There, the fog had not penetrated. An open field of grass stretched out before them. In the distance, Sayid saw a tall fruit tree.

"We make camp under that tree," he said to Nadia. "In the morning, when the fog is burned off, we look for the other eight."

Nadia nodded and they began walking. "We can see now. You do not have to hold my hand anymore," she said.

"Oh," he murmured, letting go. They began crossing the field to the tree, Nadia walking several paces ahead of him. They were about fifteen yards in when the feel of the earth beneath their feet changed. Sayid looked down at the grass below, and he saw between its browning blades an unexpected gleam. He was about to investigate further when he heard what sounded like the cracking of ice, and then he saw Nadia plunge downward into the unseen water below.