Chapter 3: The Game
Jack woke up. He was sitting in a hard, metal chair with his face leaned forward resting on a steel table. The table was cold against his cheek. Shivers ran up and down his spine causing goose bumps to ripple on his arms. Slowly, painfully, he straightened in the chair. His eyelids were heavy and fatigue clouded his mind. Fighting against the exhaustion, Jack looked around, surveying his surroundings.
In the dim light, Jack could see he was sitting in a room fashioned like a basement. It reminded him of a concrete police interrogation room. The floor and ceiling were smooth and grey. The wall, too, was concrete. The whole room was cold and foreboding. To the right, embedded in the concrete was a mirror, relaying Jack's own image back at him. Oddly, Jack realized the room had no visible door. The air was cool and damp, smelling of mold and musk.
Then the memories came back. Flashes of pictures popped into his mind. Jack remembered the chamber, the water, his burning lungs begging for air. Then the blackness. He remembered blacking out first; Sayid was still struggling at the water's surface gasping for breath.
Sayid.
For the first time, Jack recognized he was alone. His throat became thick and his stomach twisted into knots.
A light powered on from above, bathing Jack in a pale white glow. The spotlight illuminated only the table and chair. Jack was on an island of light, surrounded by total darkness. He squinted up into the light, trying to see where it was coming from.
The light went off. For long seconds, Jack was temporarily blinded by a flash of red afterimage. Softer lights, scattered around the room, gradually came on. Before long, the room was alit in a mellow glow. The entire room could now be seen in detail.
There was a squawk, like feedback from a speaker. "Welcome," a voice echoed throughout the stone room. It seemed to be coming from all directions at once. "Are you ready to play?"
Jack thought the voice sounded excited, almost giddy. He tried to speak, but his throat was parched and his voice came out cracked. "Who are you?"
For a while, there was silence. It hung in the air and was almost tangible; a blanketing suffocating quiet. He'd begun to think he was hallucinating the voice when it spoke again. "My name is Howard. What's yours?" The voice was genuinely curious.
Jack was confused by the boldness of the answer and question. Having no other response he said, "My name is Jack."
"Okay, Jack, are you ready to play?" The answer came back immediately.
"Play what?"
"The Game."
Jack sat still for a long while. "Where am I?"
"The Gameroom."
"Where's Sayid?"
"I don't know anyone by that name."
"How did you find me?"
"No more questions." The voice was upset. "Now we play!"
Jack couldn't believe what was happening. This had to be a dream. "What if I don't play?"
"Then they'll all die," Howard said simply.
Jack's heart skipped a beat. "Who'll die?"
A bluish glowing light came on from the left. Jack hadn't noticed it before, but there was a screen fixed to the left wall, directly opposite the mirror. On the screen was a live image of Locke, Sawyer, Sayid, and Kate. They were in a similar stone room somewhere, each with their hands and legs bound. None of them were moving.
"They're just sleeping right now. But if you want to save them, you'll have to play," Howard said.
Jack scowled. "Play what?"
"The Game, Jack. I already told you that." Howard laughed. Or was it a giggle? Jack couldn't tell. "I'll give you one challenge for each of them. If you succeed, they live. If you fail, they'll die."
Jack realized he was holding his breath. Every muscle in his body was tensed.
"Are you ready to play?"
He had no other choice. "What do I have to do?"
"Just listen and play along."
The room plunged into darkness as the light shut off. Jack thought he could see movement in the shadows, but he couldn't be sure. In a minute, the soft lights powered back up. The monitor, too, came on again, showing the four castaways.
"You'll play first…," Howard stopped, considering the choices. "For the old guy." The monitor picture zoomed in on Locke.
Jack noticed that there were now two objects on the table in front of him. His breath caught in his chest. He wasn't comfortable with the fact that someone could get that close to him without him knowing. Howard had done this before.
The speaker squawked again. "On the table are two water jugs; a three and five gallon jug. On the wall next to the mirror is a faucet. Near the faucet, on the floor, is a scale. You have three minutes, Jack, to put four gallons of water in the five gallon jug and place it on the scale. I don't think I need to remind you of the consequences if you can't do it."
A three minute timer replaced the live picture on the screen. The green numbers were reflected in the mirror.
"Go." The timer clicked down to two fifty-nine.
Grabbing the jugs, Jack shot up from the chair and ran to the tap. The knob squeaked and cold water came spewing out of the faucet. It poured out and fell into an open drain situated in the ground directly under the stream.
Jack looked at the jugs. They were ordinary plastic containers, with no markings or measurements on the side. All he had was the three gallon measurement and the five gallon measurement.
He pushed the three gallon jug under the faucet and filled it about two-thirds of the way. Looking at it, Jack guessed it would be just about two gallons. Carefully, he poured the two gallons into the five gallon jug.
"Uh, uh, uh, Jack." Howard scolded. "It must be exactly four gallons. No guessing."
Jack clenched his teeth until hard his jaw hurt. "This is impossible!" He threw down the jugs in anger. Taking a handful of water from the tap and rubbed it over his forehead and back through his hair. The timer read 2:01.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." Jack took a deep breath, blew it out sharply, and let his fear go with it. He was in control now. "Okay, Jack, think. Think logically."
He picked up the two jugs and stared long and hard at them. The sound of the water gushing into the drain pounded his ears. It was draining fast. His time was slipping away just as quickly. The timer was down to 1:40, but his mind was still blank. All sorts of math and calculations ran through his head, trying to find a logical way to solve the puzzle. Jack started with step one; the only possible step one. He filled the three gallon jug to the top and carefully poured it into a larger one.
1:20 left on the timer.
From that step, he ran through all the possibilities, all the options he had. Three gallons in the five gallons, two gallons of space left, nothing in the three gallon. Something clicked, and he had it. Two gallons of air in the five gallon jug. It was like a lightning bolt flashed in his mind. All of it fell into place perfectly.
But he only had on minute left. As fast and cautiously as possible, Jack filled back up the three gallon jug. Then he dumped what he could into the five gallon container, bringing the water level right to the brim. The five gallon jug was full and only one gallon remained in the three gallon container. Jack dumped out the five gallons and replaced it with the one gallon he had.
:40.
Jack felt his pulse beating rapidly as he filled up the three gallon jug again. He took a steadying breath; he would need unwavering hands for this last part. Everything had to be perfect.
:30.
The three gallon jug was full. As slowly as he could, he added the three gallons of water to the one gallon, combining them into the five gallon pitcher. Jack remained as composed as possible. If the slightest drop missed the container's mouth, he'd have to start over. He did not have time to start over.
:10.
The three gallon jug emptied, adding its full capacity to the one gallon held in the five gallon jug. That's it! Four gallons.
:07.
Jack placed the full jug down on the scale, a black square built right into the floor. He held his breath. There was a soft chirp from the scale and a green indicator light blinked once. The timer stopped. It read :04.
Jack let out the pent up breath and felt his knees wobble. His legs threatened to give out, but he fought the urge to collapse and remained standing. It was important to appear strong in Howard's eyes.
"Congrats," Howard said. The speaker conveyed genuine happy. "You won."
"Okay," Jack said, glaring at the mirror. He figured Howard was behind it, watching him through one-way glass. "Let us go."
"Come now, Jack." Howard was not happy anymore. "I explained the rules. You must play for each of their lives. Right now, only the old guy is safe." The monitor showed the live picture again.
Jack felt his anger boiling, but quickly pushed it back down. Howard was in control and Jack needed to have a clear mind. Unchecked emotion could kill him or one of his friends.
For a split second, Jack lingered on the word friend. It was an automatic thought, but it confused him. He knew he had to save his friends. At some point in the past, the survivors of the plane crash went from being just fellow passengers to being friends. He looked at Kate.
"Time for task number two," Howard said. "Go back and sit down."
Slowly, Jack walked over and sat down. The chair was hard and cold. His vision blurred and his pulse slowed. Immediately, Jack recognized the signs that he was coming off an adrenaline rush.
The lights darkened again. More movement in the shadows. Jack imagined leaping off the chair and grabbing Howard. He could force Howard to release them. To release Kate. Almost at once, he knew it wouldn't work. He was disorientated in a strange environment. Howard was in his element and moving rapidly with calculated precision. Plus, he had no idea if Howard was armed. Jack wouldn't have a chance.
The lights came back up. The jugs were gone, replaced with 21 tall glasses lined up on the table. Seven of the glasses were full, seven half-full, and the rest empty.
Great, more water. "What do I have to do now?"
Howard laughed. "Getting ahead of ourselves, aren't we Jack? We don't know who you're playing for yet."
Jack felt tense and was acutely aware of his own weariness.
"Um… how about…him?" The camera zoomed in on Sayid. "His life hangs in the balance." He laughed again. "This one's easy Jack. You need to divide these 21 glasses into three separate groups. Each group needs to have the same number of full, half full, and empty glasses. The timer starts at five minutes this time." The monitor showed 5:00. "Go."
Jack stated calm. He began with some simple math, but the answer didn't come to him. Mentally, he poured water back and forth from the glasses, trying to get each group in a multiple of three.
The timer clicked down to 3:30.
Jack had always possessed a logical mind, but he'd never really liked logic puzzles. Cursed under his breath, he swore that this challenge wouldn't take up the entire amount of time. He wasn't sure his body could handle another close call.
Not content to simply think anymore, he grabbed the glasses and began pouring around. Some full glasses he divided into two half glasses. Other halves he poured together to create a full glass. Two minutes later, he was unintentionally back at where he had started. He sighed and started over.
Jack dumped two half glasses into an empty one. He now had eight full, five half-full, and eight empty glasses.
As he looked at the 21 glasses lined up in front of him, he knew he was close. Something about the current numbers he had made sense. It had to be the right path. The timer hit 1:15.
Jack fell into deep thought. He reached for a full glass, but pulled back. No, that's not right. It has to be...
With one minute left, he poured two more half glasses into an empty glass. Jack smiled. He was done. In front of him were nine full glasses, three half-full glasses, and nine empty glasses. He divided them into three equal groups.
Jack breathed a sigh of relief. The timer read :42.
"Again, you come through, Jack. Impressive time, too." Howard's voice boomed throughout the room. "Another one of your friends safe. You're a real hero, Jack."
"Let's get on with it." Jack was growing irritated. He didn't appreciate being toyed with. "Who's next?"
"Hmmm, an interesting question. Who do you want to play for?"
His mind screamed. Kate! You want to play with Kate! But he knew better than to answer that question aloud.
"Okay, if you won't answer, I'll choose again. Let's play for…him." The camera zoomed in on Sawyer.
Somehow he knows. I don't know how, but somehow he knows I wanted to play for Kate. He's toying with me again. This whole thing, its all one big mind game.
"No need to dim the lights this time, Jack. All your toys are already on the table, behind the glasses."
Jack parted the cups and found what Howard was talking about. He hadn't even noticed them before. It was two separate pieces of string.
He looked closer at the strings. They were unlike any two pieces rope he'd ever seen. One was longer than the other and thinner in places. The other was short and fat at one end, thin at the other.
"Those are two slow-burning fuses. Each one burns for exactly one hour. The fuses don't burn evenly, though. So halfway burnt isn't exactly thirty minutes. Here's the challenge. You need to time 45 minutes using those fuses. 50 minutes from now, you have to type in the code on this computer." A small portal opened in the wall in front of Jack and a desktop computer slid out on a platform. "That means you have five minutes to figure out how to use those two fuses to time exactly 45 minutes. The lighter is under your chair." Howard paused. "Ready, set, go."
The monitor began the five minute countdown. Jack watched the time decrease for a second, then retrieved the lighter. This task was different, harder. He couldn't experiment or use trial and error to figure it out. Ashes couldn't be made back into a fuse.
Again, he fell into his logical, analytical thoughts. One fuse would burn through in an hour, which meant if you lit both ends it would burn completely in half that time. All he had to do was form a way to time 15 minutes.
One fuse burning at both ends is half and hour. The other fuse burning at one end would be halfway when the first finished. Then… "Yes!" Jack shouted aloud. He had it. Jack spent the rest of the five minutes confirming his thoughts again and again. He still wasn't confident when the timer reached :05.
Taking a deep breath and hoping he was right, Jack lit both ends of one fuse just as the timer hit :00. Right away, he lit the second fuse at one end. Closing his eyes and sitting back, he rested as much as he could.
Half and hour later, the first fuse went out. Only a pile of ash marked what had once been there. Jack lit the second fuse at the other end. Now that, too, was burning at two ends. It would go out in fifteen minutes. And the total elapsed time would be forty five minutes.
The chamber was quiet and still. Nothing but the fire moved. It was oppressive and Jack fought the urge to shout or talk. The silence deepened.
The second fuse burned out. Jack ran for the desktop. He was about to begin typing when he realized he didn't know the code. Howard had never given it to him. Jack had only a precious minute to spare.
"What's the code?" he yelled. "You never gave it to me!"
There was no answer.
"You can't do this! I played the game, I followed the rules! What is the CODE?" Jack was screaming now, desperate to save Sawyer's life. His minute was almost up.
No answer.
"Think, Jack, think." He held his head in his hands. Howard's played fair up until now, even though he didn't have to. That meant he already knew the code. But what was it?
Jack looked at the computer screen. The green cursor was blinking. For a minute, Jack flashbacked to an earlier time.
"No, it can't be." Shaking his head, Jack entered the only code he knew. On the monitor, the computer screen relayed his keyboard commands: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42. He almost didn't believe it. Jack's finger hovered over the execute button. Closing his eyes, he pressed it.
The room remained still and silent. Then the computer retreated back into the wall and the portal closed.
"Good job, Jack." The speaker squawked. "You've saved three of your friends. Only one more to go."
By this time, Jack was angry. "Haven't you had enough fun? Let them go."
Howard laughed. "The game's not over yet, Jack. You can't stop now. Besides, the fourth task is easy."
"What is it?"
"It's a maze, Jack."
"A maze? How do I—," A loud grating noise cut off the rest of Jack's question. A door sized portion of the wall in front of Jack receded upward into the ceiling. Beyond was a rectangle of black.
"Enter the maze, Jack. You'll find what you most desire at the end." Howard paused, and then continued, "Be careful, though. It's a dangerous place, full of deadly traps and pitfalls. After all, I can't make it too easy on you." Howard laughed again, but this laugh was different. It was an evil. "You have 45 minutes to find the end. Good luck, you'll need it."
Jack took a deep breath, readying himself for Howard's Maze of Death.
"Go."
Jack stepped through the stone archway, into the darkness beyond. It was time to play one final game for Kate's life.