Chapter 6: Stranger on the Shore

"I guess you've finally come back so we can finish this." Sawyer stepped forward toward Zeke.

The bearded man ignored him and focused on Jack. "I thought we had a deal."

"We do have a deal. We've left you alone." Jack said defiantly. "What are you doing here?"

"You broke the boundary. Came over the line. The ship, Jack," Zeke said. "The ship's over the line."

"No, the line's deeper in the jungle. We're no where near it."

"Wrong, Jack. You seem to forget who's making the rules." Zeke became angry. "I will tell you where the line is, not the other way around. I'm sorry, but now you'll have to suffer."

"You're not coming anywhere near me." Jack stood firmly.

Zeke smiled coldly. "I won't have to, Jack. I'm going to kill someone in your camp."

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but stopped.

"See Jack, I could kill you. But to kill those around you, until you are the only one left, well, that's a fate worse than death."

"You can't do anything at the camp if you're here." Jack stared intently at Zeke.

"I already have someone there, Jack. Have you learned nothing? There isn't anything you can do." Zeke smiled, bearing black and yellow teeth.

"Sayid," Jack cast a sidelong glance at the Iraqi. "Go! Run for the camp!"

Sayid dashed to the left, blasting through a thick layer of flora. He was about to break into a full run when a flash of brown caught the corner of his eye. It froze him for just a second, giving the thick branch enough time to smash directly into the side of his head. A stabbing pain cut through his head and a flash of white blinded him. Sayid fell to all fours, struggling to stay conscious. Another smack to the head broke his resistance. Sayid collapsed onto his stomach, blood streaming from the side of his head.

Jack watched in horror as Sayid collapsed and stopped moving.

"You see, Jack, you can't win." Zeke seemed amused. "We have you surrounded literally and figuratively. If you had not broken the deal, I wouldn't have to punish you."

"I didn't break the deal!" Jack yelled. He strode forward violently, but quickly regained his composure. "You changed the rules."

"You should have stayed on the beach, Jack," Zeke said. "Then you would have been safe."

"You can't do this," Jack replied. "I won't let you."

"What are you going to do?" Zeke looked at Jack comically. "We have every advantage."

Jack was silent for a moment. Then he slipped off his backpack. "I still got one."

"What's that?" Zeke seemed curious.

Jack smiled coldly. "It looks like you don't know everything. It's dynamite. And it's just about ready to go off."

Zeke seemed genuinely surprised, but quickly hid his shock. "What are you going to do with that, Jack? Blow us all up?"

"Do you want to find out?" Jack took a step forward. "Now you'll do what I want or I throw the backpack right at your feet."

Zeke was silent for a minute. "What do you want, Jack?"

"Sawyer, take off your pack." Jack did not look away from Zeke.

"What do you mean, Doc? I'm comin' with ya," Sawyer said.

"Sawyer, just this once listen to me." Jack's voice rose in volume. "Please, just do it."

"Whatever you want, Doc." Sawyer placed the pack on the ground. "It was your plan, anyway."

Jack stared directly at Zeke. "Let him through and leave him alone until he reaches the camp."

"You know I can't do that," Zeke responded. "I'm not going to allow you to interfere."

Jack swung the backpack.. "You don't have a choice. Let him through, or I'll toss it."

Zeke stood still. Finally, he relented. "Okay, Jack. He can go through."

"Go Sawyer, go back to camp and see what you can do." Jack turned back to Sawyer.

"Jack," Locke spoke up for the first time, "I wouldn't look away."

But it was too late. In the blink of an eye, two raggedy men leapt from the underbrush. One twisted Jack's arm, ripping from his grasp the backpack; the other slammed into Jack's knees, sending him down hard. Another man came behind Sawyer and slammed the butt of a hunting rifle into his head. Sawyer grunted as he fell, blood coming from the side of his head.

A fourth man leapt from the trees at Locke, grabbing him from behind and holding a knife to his throat. "Take off the backpack, old man." The man's breath was hot. "And do it slowly."

Locke reached up, grabbing for the backpack strap. As his hand passed the knife, he grabbed hold of the other's wrist, bending back the hand and twisting his arm. Locke jerked the arm down, sending a jolt of pain up his attacker's arm. The man dropped the knife. Locke jammed his elbow back, hitting the man's ribs. Another elbow to the face sent the knife-wielder to the ground. Locke picked up the knife, readying himself for another attack.

"Put it down and come quietly." Zeke was breathing hard. "Or I'll have to hurt your friend." Two men were holding Jack, pinning his arms behind his back and immobilizing his legs. Zeke held a handgun, pointed at Locke.

Locke looked from Jack to Zeke. Shoulders slumping, Locke dropped the knife. Immediately, Locke was tripped from behind and his arms restrained.

Zeke motioned to some of his partners. "Dump their stuff into the river." Zeke walked in front of Jack. "I gave you the chance to be at peace, Jack. All you had to do was stay on your beach." He pistol whipped Jack in the forehead.

Jack slumped forward, unconscious.

"So what are we going to do with him?" Sun was talking with Ana and Charlie. Ray had been moved to a spot down near the water, where he was in plain sight to everyone.

"I don't know. People are going to start asking questions" Ana looked down the beach to where Eko was standing over the stranger. "I guess we wait for Jack."

"That's the stupidest thing I've heard." Charlie was nearly yelling. "Come on, Ana, you know he's one of them. Have you forgotten already what they have done?"

"Look Charlie," Ana replied. "I haven't forgotten anything. But Eko thinks we should wait for Jack."

"Who bloody cares what Eko thinks?" Charlie said.

"I do," Ana said firmly.

Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't think of a response. Then an idea came to him. "I know what Danielle looks like. Let's go see if he really was sent from her."

Ana and Charlie left Sun and walked down the beach. They reached the shoreline quickly.

"Has he said anything?" Ana asked.

"No." Eko shook his head.

"You said your name was Ray?" Charlie asked the man.

"Yes." Ray responded quickly.

"And you said Danielle sent you?"

Ray was visible annoyed. "Yes."

"What color is her hair?"

Ray was silent for a minute. "Brown."

"Long or short?"

"Long."

"What's her last name?"

"Charlie," Ana interrupted. "Let's not do this now."

Charlie stared wide-eyed at her. "If not now, when? After he's killed one of us?"

"I will not let that happen," Eko said.

"You think you can control them?" Charlie said. He moved up close to Ana; his face was inches from hers. "I've seen one of them so strong he dragged a pregnant woman through the jungle like she was weightless. I've been left for dead hanging from a tree. Ask Jack when he gets back, he'll tell you how strong Ethan was."

"Don't pretend to tell me about the others that live on this island." Ana's face hardened. "I was there when nine of the survivors were taken. I was there when one of them infiltrated our camp and killed one of us. I've been through just as much as you."

Off to the side, Ray turned to Eko. "You don't mind them arguing back and forth, making decisions, and never asking you for your input?"

Eko looked at the man and debated in his head whether to respond or not. After a few moments Eko said, "I am here to do something, they are here to do something different. If my input was needed, I would give it."

"Still, you'd think a man like yourself would get more respect around here. It's like you don't matter to them."

Eko smiled. "Right now that does not concern me."

Ana and Charlie finished their argument. She turned to Ray and Eko. "We can't do anything until Jack gets back anyway. But until then, don't let him move."

Eko nodded his head. "He will not move."

It was dark. For a second, the blackness is all that Jack knew. After a few seconds, he heard the regular breathing of others; his companions must still be asleep. Jack shivered, but it wasn't cold. The situation he found himself was too familiar. He rolled over, groaning as his shoulder hit the concrete floor. It throbbed, sending waves of pain down his arm and through his neck. His vision clouded and the darkness took him again.

Dragging a full grown human through the jungle was hard work. Howard plumped down onto a fallen tree and drank deeply from a canteen of water. He looked at his prisoner, the woman that Jack had failed to save. For a second, he felt sorry for her. He had no idea what they would do, but she was in for a rough time. They were known for their nasty medical experiments and other psychological torments. Pushing those thoughts from his mind, he drank again. The jungle around him was silent. That's how he knew they were near.

Finishing his break, he grabbed the woman by her arms and began dragging her. He moved through the jungle for another hour and eventually emerged into a large clearing. Sitting down on the ground, he drank again. Now all he needed to do was wait.

A few hours passed and the day waned. Thick clouds above blocked out the moon and the stars, making the jungle utterly dark. Howard's eyes adjusted rapidly, but he still couldn't see very well. He was just about to take another drink when a voice behind startled him.

"Is she here?" The voice was gruff and deep.

Howard turned to regard the newcomer. Even after all the years working with him, Howard couldn't grow comfortable in his presence. Evil seemed to walk with him.

"Yes," Howard responded, his voice shaky.

The newcomer scratched his beard. His dark eyes pierced Howard. "Well, then, let's get this over with. What do you want for her?"

Howard shivered on the inside. "The deal was already in place."

"Fine then," the man tossed a small case at Howard. "That's it."

Howard opened the case and checked inside. "Okay. Take her."

Two men brushed past Howard from behind; Howard hadn't even known anyone was there. They walked forward and picked up the girl, carrying her between them.

Howard glanced back down at the case he had received. When he looked back up a moment later, all three men and their new prisoner had disappeared into the night.

"I don't think I like this, dude." Hurley was fishing with Jin and Libby. "We shouldn't just let random strangers walk into our camp. Of course, you can't understand anything that I'm saying."

"I don't like it either," Libby threw her spear into the water. "But until something happens, maybe we should believe him. He hasn't hurt anyone. And we can't exactly stop people from coming into camp. It is a wide open beach."

"Still I don't like it." Hurley threw his spear into the water. "Ethan was creepy enough."

Jin began saying something in Korean.

"Dude, no comprendo. I can't understand anything you say."

Jin stopped talking and pointed to his pile of fish on the beach. Four big flounders sat there. Then Jin pointed to where Hurley and Libby's pile of fish were, or where it should have been. They hadn't caught anything yet.

Libby laughed. "I think he wants us to stop talking and start fishing. The light is starting to fade."

Hurley looked down to throw his spear again when he saw something floating in the water a few yards away. He waded forward and picked it up. It was a backpack. Holes and deep gashes were ripped in it and water had flooded inside.

"Dudes," Hurley called over to Libby and Jin. "I think I know whose pack this is."

"Huh?" Libby waded over to where Hurley stood. "What did you say?"

"I found this backpack." Hurley turned around. Before he said anything, Libby and Jin both knew what he was thinking. "I think its Jack's."

Deep purples and oranges streaked across the sky, signaling the coming of dusk. The darkness on the island always came quickly, but today's light would not go away completely for another hour or so. Ana and Charlie had retired further up the beach, still arguing about the prisoner. Ray had sat down on the sand, watching the surf come in and crash on the beach. He hadn't spoken since his conversation with Eko, but he didn't need to. The other man had frequently grown pensive and his eyes were blank. Ray knew Eko was thinking deeply about his status in the camp compared to everyone else. Ray smiled. Hopefully, he will be able to figure out exactly what it is he wants, Ray thought. He only wanted what was best for Eko.

Ray looked down the shoreline. He froze. For a second, his mind went blank, then it began to scream at him. He shot up from the ground and began walking away. Eko was instantly on him.

"What are you doing?" Eko held Ray's arm, stopping him from moving.

"I have to go."

"I am sorry, you can't go anywhere." Eko held on tighter.

Ray turned and looked directly at Eko. "I have to. You don't understand." He began struggling with Eko. "I have to leave!"

Eko held the man in place. "Why so suddenly?"

Ray sighed and gritted his teeth. "Cause that man right there," Ray pointed down the beach to a tall, broad shouldered man walking toward them, "is coming to kill me."

Besides for the really long hiatus I took writing this story (due mainly to a busy school schedule) I usually like to update once a week to coincide with the production of the TV show. But this story is nearing its end and the next chapter is going to take longer to write. So, although I will try to update with the next chapter within the week, chances are that it will take me two weeks. I hope you will not lose interest in the story by waiting an extra week. I am confident it will be worth the wait.