Chapter Three: Taken

Boone and Locke were walking through a dark tunnel. While outside, the flashlight was dim from landing on the steel, but once the two had lowered themselves into the bunker, the light had grown unusually bright, lighting up the entire tunnel.

"Keep that light down!" Locke whispered.

"What good does lighting the floor do?" Boone shot back.

"What good will it do when someone up ahead sees the light?"

Boone shut up. They walked in silence until Boone stepped on something hard.

"Ow!" He hissed. "Damn!"

He stepped back- another handle.

"Why am I always the one to find them?" He muttered to himself.

Locke just grinned, and pulled on the handle.

"Stairs," he observed.

Boone began to step down, but Locke put a hand out to stop him.

"They might not be sturdy," he explained.

Bending down, Locke tapped on the stairs with the flashlight. He looked up at Boone and nodded. Slowly, they lowered themselves down the stairwell, which had no sides, and was really only three feet steep. Boone shone the light a little ways out.

"Great," he muttered, "another tunnel."

"I think we're in luck this time," Locke said, looking ahead.

"How?" Boone asked.

Locke looked down.

"Footsteps," Locke noted, seeing the scrapes in the worn floor, "and drag marks."

"Claire?" Boone wandered.

"I don't think so," Locke said.

Cautiously, they went further down the tunnel. It was dark beyond the flashlight, but it was obvious the tunnel opened up ahead. Just before the entrance, Locke began to move against the wall, motioning for Boone to do the same. He peeked into the open space, listening for any sign of movement. None. Carefully, Locke shown the light in a little ways. What he saw startled him.

It was Jack and Kate, slouched lazily against the far wall. Kate's head was leaning on Jack's shoulder. Both were bound at the hands, gagged, but not blindfolded. Boone saw his reaction.

"What?" He whispered.

"Jack and Kate," Locke said, still shocked.

Locke wasn't certain from a distance, but he had a good guess that Jack's face was bruised and possibly Kate's. He turned to Boone.

"Look," he said, "this is very important. It's likely that Claire's nearby. I'm going to unbound them, but I need you to take them back to the camp. I'll look for Claire."

"Are you sure?" Boone asked. "I mean, I can look-"

"Let's just help them," Locke sighed.

He took one last look back, then turned back to Jack and Kate.

"Jack!" He whispered. "Jack!"

Jack had never felt so sore in his life. Something heavy laid on his shoulder, which aced. Slowly, he came out of unconsciousness. What had happened. But then he remembered- Ethan. The kidnapping, and-

Kate.

What if something had happened to her? He was beginning to have painful, distant memories of finding Charlie hung. He's never be able to live with himself. Then suddenly, he heard a sound from far away. But it couldn't be. From what he remembered, he was far underground. The voice didn't stop. It begun to dig into his pounding head. He almost wanted it to stop..

"Jack!" The voice whispered. "Jack! Wake up!"

Very slowly, Jack's heavy eyes began to open in pain. He groaned. It was a moment before his vision became clear. An outline of a crouched body became more and more visible until he recognized who it was-

"Locke?" He groaned, trying to sit up.

Locke reached out to stop him. Someone else begun to untie his hands, but he couldn't tell who. The weight was lifted off his shoulders, but the pain didn't decrease. Pain shot through him as he tried to turn his head, and his vision darkened.

"Careful son," said Locke.

Jack couldn't tell who Locke was talking to.

"Kate?" He tried to ask.

He realized he didn't want to hear the answer. If Kate was dead, he'd kill himself. How could he of been stupid enough to lead her through the jungle like that? God, for all knew, they could've been eaten.

"Right beside you," Locke said reassuringly.

A huge brick of relief came off of him. Jack would've smiled, to at least let them know he was alive, but even his jaw was sore. He then remembered being hit, at least a few times.

"Now Jack, you need to listen to me," Locke said in a hushed voice. "I'm no doctor, but you need to try and work with me."

Jack started to nod, but had to stop.

"Try and look at me," Locke said, unsure of what he was doing.

Jack did, though his eyes seemed to only be able to open halfway.

"Blink a few times," Locke ordered.

It hurt, but Jack managed three blinks.

"Vision any better?" Locke asked.

Jack's eyes blinked rapidly a bit, but then his vision cleared a little, and then surprisingly, his vision was better. Where had Locke learned that trick.

"Do you think you can stand?" Locke asked, seriously.

Jack nodded.

"Okay," Locke said, relieved, "Boone, still think you can get them back okay?"

"Yeah," Boone answered.

So that was the other person. He should've remembered, knowing Locke and Boone had gone down the other path, but that seemed like days ago.

"Good," said Locke, "I'll go look for Claire."

Claire.. how could Jack have forgotten about Claire? What had happened to her? She could be down deep further, and with the baby..

"Good luck," Locke said.

Jack was sure Boone nodded. Put in the uneasy position of getting the two injured back to camp, Boone wasn't sure what to say, from what Jack could tell. Of course, Boone was the former lifeguard, he had to know something about medical care.

"So Jack.." Boone started unsure of himself, like he would any other conversation, "want to try to stand?

Jack tried to move, but couldn't. He felt furious with himself- he's was supposed to be the doctor, not the patient. How was the island going to survive if their only doctor couldn't even stand? He tried again. He wavered a bit, but Boone caught him. Jack blinked a few times, and realized his vision was almost fully cleared. Boone smiled.

"Good," he said to himself, "yeah. So.. I guess I better help Kate now.."

"I'm fine," came Kate's sore voice from the floor.

Any other time, Jack would've rolled his eyes, but it was too painful. Typical Kate, always trying to be brave. Determined to help now more than ever, Jack blink a few more times, hard, and saw the he could finally see clearly. The first thing he noticed was the damp area they were cramped in. The second was how exhausted Boone looked.

"Come on Kate," Jack said, gaining a little of his voice back.

"Jack.." Kate said hopefully.

"Yeah," he assured, "I'm here."

He looked at her, then Boone, who seemed more than willing to hand over the doctor job for a while.

"Look we don't need to to try and be brave here," Jack said, throat slightly sore as he spoke his first full sentence since gaining conscious. He glanced at Boone again. "Help me get her up."

Boone nodded, this was something he could do. They bent down, Jack still sore, and pulled Kate up. She wasn't as harmed as Jack, but had a bruise on the side of her face from where Jack supposed she was knocked out. She seemed severely sore, and exhausted. Guilt began to over him. Trying to shake it out, he spoke to Kate.

"Can you walk?" He asked.

"I think I twisted my ankle somehow," she said, barely audible.

"Let's.. get her out of here," he said, working the words out slowly to Boone, trying to forget about his own injuries.

Boone nodded. Jack placed one of Kate's arms around his good shoulder, and Boone took the other. Taking it slow, the three began to make their way out of the damp, closed in area.