A/N: Wow. Hah. Sorry for the long ass wait. I really wanted to write, especially after last week's killer episode (a Jack flashback taking my "favorite episode of season 2 thus far" spot? I must have the sickness :D) yet I kept being lazy. Alas. But, w00t! Protective!Sawyer canon, which makes writing this a lot easier. I was hoping not to stray too far into OOC-land so that was a welcomed thing to see on-air.
There's a rerun next week, but Sawyer's episode is right around the corner so we're looking good. Just remember that as of last week, this story has gone "AU"-ish. And yeah. I'll likely update again next Wednesday to tide us over, then I'll attempt to go back to Sunday updates.
Yehaw. Enjoy.
---
Kate squinted her eyes against the sharp flood of white light. It took her vision a few seconds to adjust, and once she wasn't blinded by the brightness, she took a step into the room. The door (which she noticed was at least a foot thick and made of solid steel) started to swing shut, and Kate moved to the side to avoid getting hit. When it clicked shut, a wave of panic raced through her body. She stared at her reflection in the stainless metal for a moment, afraid to try the handle. (What if she was locked in?)
A chill ran down her spine and Kate turned her attention to the room. Procrastinating the door issue would work for now. She brought her hands up to hug herself, rubbing her bare arms as the cool, clean air dove into her skin. Luckily, she'd had enough sense to change out of her wet clothes and into cargo pants and another one of her assorted tank tops, but the atmosphere in here was downright frosty. A soft humming hinted at a working ventilation system, at least in this room.
Obviously, this place was important, and Kate finally allowed herself to digest what she was seeing. The room, spotlessly white (and not only from the radiant lights but also from the walls, which- unlike the solid stone of the other rooms and tunnel- were upheld with an immaculately white paint job, like one you would find in a brand new house), was about as large as the main quarters, although organized in a much more orderly fashion. White counters were stationed next to the door- housing a large sink- and along one of the side walls, neatly topped with metal instruments and the occasional text book. Cabinets, white with glass fronts, hovered over all the counters, and Kate could see that they were all filled with what looked like different equipment.
Ahead of her, a white table was pushed against the wall and a large, square object was placed on its top, hidden under a metallic cover.
The wall at the far end was lined with metal shelves, packed side to side with what looked like glass containers (and though there was no light directly over them, the shadows they cast within themselves hinted that the containers actually contained things.)
The crisp clean smell reminded Kate of a hospital, but the room resembled a miniature laboratory if anything. Letting out a breath she hadn't intentionally been holding back, Kate glanced at what she assumed was the light switch again. Her eyes lurked up the ceiling lights, wondering how they'd automatically turned on when she'd pushed the door open. Right over her head, next to what appeared to be a smoke alarm, a small white plastic box held a red light bulb, which was currently lit.
(Some weird type of motion sensor?) Kate pondered this a moment, her gaze washing over the room again. It looked so out of place when compared to the rest of the chamber they were occupying. Or, hell, when compared to the other hatch... Most of these things were obviously much more modern... So someone had to have been keeping this place up in the recent years.
As she pushed these thoughts from her mind, the dull silence made Kate realize that the noise which had drawn her to the door was now gone. She stepped further into the room, running her hand over the nearest counter top, when the door behind her suddenly opened.
"Well now. Was wonderin' where you ran off to." She shot Sawyer a look over her shoulder, her expression hardening when she noticed the cigarette he held between his lips.
"I thought you were asleep," Kate explained in a tone that was rather accusing. She turned towards him and crossed her arms. "And since when are you smoking again?"
He flashed her a dimpled smile as he twirled something in his hands. (A lighter, Kate guessed with a sigh.) "Since the goods are back in stock, sugar. Found a lonely pack lyin' on the desk just beggin' me to light their fire." He winked at her suggestively and she rolled her eyes in return.
"As if you need to add on to the list of things that're aiming to kill you," Kate commented, watching him light the cigarette and puff out a cloud of smoke.
"Might as well enjoy'm while I can then." His eyes went to the switch by the door and without any real reason behind the action, he flicked it on.
A low, yellow glow emitted from the far end of the room and they both turned to face it. A flat light panel that occupied the whole wall was now illuminated. It cast its golden light through the glass containers stacked along the shelves in front of it. Kate had to step closer to comprehend what she was looking at, and Sawyer muttered a "what the hell?" as he too made his way forward. The door whooshed shut behind them, but neither cared enough to look away at the moment.
All of the glass structures contained variously sized and shaped... things.
"I think... they're fetuses..." Kate thought out loud, closing the gap between her and the shelves before squinting into the closest container. A deformed looking figure with four limbs and a tail, scrunched up into a half circle, floated within the watery yellow substance of the jar. Kate let her gaze drift down the row. One of the creatures resembled a premature cat. Another almost looked... human. (No, she countered, taking note of the tail. A monkey?)
Sawyer gave a grunt of disgust behind her. "Well, I dunno 'bout you, Freckles, but I've had enough of Dexter's Laboratory for one day." She heard him turn and start towards the door, but a familiar clank stopped his footsteps. Kate turned around and spied Sawyer staring at the covered box atop the table. Some more sharp, metal-on-metal sounds proceeded out of it.
"Guess somethin' here's still alive," Sawyer stated, reaching for the square structure. Kate started towards him nervously.
"Maybe you shouldn't..." The words were barely out of her mouth before Sawyer had pulled back the metallic sheet. They were met with two copper orbs, glimmering curiously against a furry black background.
The wolf pup cocked its head in a mixture of confusion and amusement, one of its ears flopping over in a comical manner. Sawyer and Kate remained silent, unsure of how to approach this discovery. Getting bored with the lack of events, the animal turned around in its cage and proceeded to bat around an empty stainless steel bowl.
The noise seemed to snapped Sawyer back to reality. "Terrific." He sighed, exhaling a final lung-full of smoke before tossing his cigarette butt to the floor and stepping over it. Kate flexed her jaw, looking away from the young wolf and getting read to voice her disapproval, but a sudden onset of sharp beeps cut her off. Sawyer cursed and brought his hands up to his ears.
"Now what?"
Kate looked up at the flashing red light over the doorway. "I think you triggered a smoke alarm."
Sawyer snorted. "Yeah and I think this whole room is rigged and about to explode." He reached forward and grabbed her arm, swinging the door open with ease, and starting to pull her out.
"Wait," she tugged herself loose and went to the cage. "We can't leave him here." The wolf pup yipped over the booming alarm.
"Oh, yes we can." Sawyer started for her again but she dodged him and unhooked the cage door, pulling the black fur ball out before quickly walking around Sawyer and out the door.
Growling in frustration, Sawyer followed her and slammed the door shut. The beeping dulled instantly. They both waited, holding their breaths, until the sound stopped completely a few seconds later. Sighing, Kate started across the hall, the pup wiggling against her chest.
"Where the hell are you going?" Sawyer remarked, the agitation clear in his voice.
"I need some fresh air." Kate called over her shoulder as she peeled her backpack off an armchair. "We're going on a walk."
"Like hell you are," he started after her, but Kate turned and shot him a deadly look. He felt a nerve twitch in his neck, but he fought for control. "Fine," he snarled, fighting for some final say in the matter. "Just... be careful." He managed meekly.
Kate sighed but nodded softly before she turned and disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.
Sawyer resisted the urge to punch something. Instead, he dug into his pocket for another smoke.
Things just kept getting better and better.
---
Of course, his temper had cooled down about 30 seconds after Kate had left. Now he just felt restless. (And worried, but that fact he choose to ignore.) He had to occupy himself with something to keep from going after Kate, knowing that it'd only aggravate her more. She had a right to her space, but he was only giving her half an hour before stepping in.
Other than the cigarettes, Sawyer had also been pleased to find an old safety razor. So, armed with it in hand, he now stood in the middle of the small bathroom, glancing around from wall to wall and trying to place what felt so "off" about the room. As he pondered this a second, he realized the problem: there was no sink. A broken mirror hung on a wall, beside the cornered table, but there was no indication of there ever being a sink beneath it.
"Well, then..." He tossed the razor onto the tabletop and went to the shower. Letting a light stream of cold water run, he proceeded to wash his hands and spray some of the refreshing liquid on his face. Working off an automatically-tuned process, he was done shaving in no time. As he shut the shower off, something squeaked from beyond the doorway. Sawyer lifted his eyes, a grin spreading across his features as he realized Kate had barely been gone 10 minutes.
"Miss me already, huh Freckles?" He called out as he rounded the corner and made his way into the "living room." His smile quickly faded as he saw that Kate wasn't there. Huffing out a breath of agitation (at himself for being so easily affected by Kate's actions and at Kate for playing on this knowledge, even if subconsciously), he turned back towards the bathroom. A step in, and something hard hit him over the head, intentionally aimed atop his already-existent wound.
"God damn it," he stumbled and turned, tripping over himself and landing on the floor in the process. He looked up at the shadowy face of his attacker.
"That's for killing my dog," the man stated offhandedly, but there was a chilling undertone to his voice, He stepped forward, into the light, and Sawyer quickly assessed him. Tall, muscled but skinny, with shaggy dirt-blonde hair. He wore an old shirt, army pants and muddy boots. His crystalline blue eyes were deep and empty; eyes of a man-turned-mad because he'd been left to his own company for far too long. He lifted his hand and Sawyer noted the large metal pipe he held, and the blood (his blood) that covered its front.
It took Sawyer a moment to realize what "dog" the stranger was referring to. "Bitch was askin' for it," he snarled, pushing himself back up against the wall. He mentally cursed for not taking his gun back after Kate had put it away earlier. He liked keeping it tucked in the waistband of his jeans, just in case. "Now you're followin' in her footsteps," he continued, stalling. His eyes roamed the small room for anything he could use as a weapon. "Guess that thing they say about people bein' like their pets ain't too far off." Sawyer glanced at the razor on the table but there was no way he'd get to it in time. (Not that he figured it'd do him much anyway.)
"You don't understand," the man went on, unfazed. He took another step towards Sawyer, waving the pipe in the air between them. "I can't let you ruin the project."
"We ain't here to ruin no project, Johnny." Damn it. Sawyer realized his slip a moment too late. He glared up at the other man, hoping he didn't catch on. They stared at each other for a long second, then the man shook his head.
"It's too late. Now that you know I'm here..." He started to lift the pipe, readying for the inevitable attack, but stopped. Slowly, he turned his head to the doorway. Sawyer held his breath, wondering what was going on. Then he heard it.
Footsteps.
Kate.
---
"I bet you regret taking a dive into the water now, don't you?" Kate held the shivering pup against her chest, feeling the dampness of his fur soak through the sweater she'd wrapped him in (that was her second article of clothing ruined in the past two hours. She had to admit that was a record.) Her footsteps bounded dully off the rock walls and down the thick air of the tunnel. Upon entering the living room, she wrinkled her face in disgust as the tainted air settled in around her once more. Her attention drifted to the corpse of the adult wolf, and she froze when its lifeless golden-brown eyes stared back at her accusingly. A wave of nausea hit her and she took a step back, closing her eyes against the image and inadvertently tightened her grasp on the pup.
(If Sawyer had uncovered the wolf as some sort of sick joke, so help her...)
"Sawyer?" Kate allowed herself to look across the length of the room. Both the doors at the far end were closed. Since Sawyer hadn't taken a liking to the "lab" room, that left only one option. Sighing, she started forward. A loud thump caused her to stop, her heart rate beginning to race. Something was going on.
Another thump sounded. It was coming from the bathroom.
"Lemme outta here, damn it!" (Wait, that was...)
"Sawyer?" She took another step, voicing her suspicion. The thumping increased in urgency.
"Kate! Get the gun. There's someone here..." She would've passed this off as a game, but the haste in his voice, backed by the fact that he'd actually called her Kate, brought about an even greater uneasy feeling. She made her way to the door and glanced down at the knob before wrapping her hand around it. She jiggled the handle and confirmed that it was indeed locked.
"Hang on, I'll get you out of there." She shifted the weight of the (now sleeping) animal to one arm and reached into her pocket. When she'd gone out earlier, she had realized that they'd carelessly left the key in the outside door. It seemed that now they were paying for it.
"Kate, listen to me. Get the gun. He might still-..." A dull ding cut him short and Kate glanced around the room. Her eyes fell on the door that led into tunnel. Or more so, on the man who was now standing in the door.
"It's the only way," he stated, pocketing something that he had previously aimed towards Kate. And with nothing more than that, he turned and disappeared into the shadows beyond the light of the room.
"Kate!" She turned back to the door, slide the key into the lock and turned gently. Something gave off a sharp click and she stepped back as Sawyer pushed the door open. She was able to note that he had shaved, and that a steady stream of blood was oozing down the side of his head, before Sawyer placed his hands on her arms and regarded her steadily.
"You okay?" She nodded.
"Your head..." But Sawyer stepped away and looked around the room, cutting her statement off.
"Where'd that son of a bitch go?" He made his way to the sofa that housed his backpack and started digging through it for his gun.
"He went out the tunnel," Kate stepped after Sawyer, readjusted the warm mass in her arms. "Said something about this being "the only way" and he-..."
Ding.
Both their eyes traveled to the wall behind them, where what Sawyer had previously assumed was the busted vent stood centered. Only now did he notice the small, rectangular box stationed over it. Only now that it was accompanied by the bright red number that was beaming down at them from its perch.
42:00
Kate stepped back, aligning herself with Sawyer as they stared at the counter.
"Reckon that's a smoke alarm too?" Sawyer asked, his voice lacking real humor. He checked the clip of his gun and swung his pack over his shoulder with a wince. "Come on, we're gettin' out of here."
Kate glanced around the room, making sure she had everything, before nodding. She took the lead but Sawyer's voice stopped her.
"Ain't ya forgettin' somethin'?" He drawled and she shot him a confused look. His eyes were planted on the bundle in her arms.
"Sawyer, I told you before. We can't just leave him."
He laughed and strolled past her. "No way we're takin' a damn wolf with us, Freckles."
Ignoring him, Kate followed. "It's just a little wolf, Sawyer. And let's not forget you killed his mother. We owe him."
"Oh, I think I've repaid my dues. His daddy's the nut job who had the pleasure of acquainting his handy dandy metal pipe with my head." Sawyer spared her a glance. "And who's apparently aiming to blow us off the face of this rock pile."
"All the more reason we can't just leave this innocent animal here to die." She smiled, basically telling him that she would have the final word in this matter. Sawyer sighed, allowing her the victory for now. Turning back around, he continued to make his way down the tunnel with Kate at his heels. Another ding floated after them as they reached the entrance. Sawyer looped his fingers around the handle and gave it a tug. Then he laughed.
"Houston, we've got ourselves a big ass problem." He stepped back and leaned against the stone wall. Kate fought against a newfound feeling of dread, knowing that if she gave in, it could consume her whole. She stepped up, pulled the door handle and bit her lip when it didn't move. As her hand reached into her pocket for the key again, her eyes washed over the door, and the wave of dread that hit her then couldn't be avoided this time around.
"There's no keyhole," she stated drily, her gaze locking on Sawyer's. He merely smiled.
"Yep." A chuckle. "On the bright side, looks like we don't gotta worry 'bout Wolf Care 101 now."
Another ding was his only answer.
