Chapter 7: The Island Struggle

Jack sat up, his head groggy. Wiping his eyes, he focused ahead of him. Everything was dark. Below him he felt the cold hardness of concrete.

"Hello?" he called out. His throat was dry. There was no answer. "Hello?" he called again.

"No use callin' for anybody, Doc." Jack recognized Sawyer's voice. "There ain't anyone here that can help you.

"It's just you and me?" Jack wiped his brow.

"Baldy's still out cold. They took Mohammad out a while back, hasn't been back yet."

"Where are we?" Jack tried to push himself up, but found his arms shaky.

"No clue. Except a small concrete room."

A thick door opened up, letting in a flash of bright light. Two men walked in, carrying Sayid between them. They heaved the prisoner into the room. Sayid hit the floor hard, collapsing limply. Wordlessly, the two men walked in and picked up Locke. Carrying him between them, they left the room.

Sayid rolled over and groaned.

Jack crawled over to where the other man lay. "What's wrong?"

Sayid was breathing heavily. "They have some sort of room. They wanted information on our camp. When I refused, they tortured me."

"What did they do?" Jack's eyes were beginning to adjust. He could see the wound on Sayid's head from the butt of the rifle. It had been reopened and some sort of powder was there.

Before Sayid could answer, his eyes rolled up into his head and he lay still. His chest rose and fell sharply, but Jack didn't seem concerned.

"That just ain't right." Sawyer was watching over Jack's shoulder.

"He should be okay." Jack checked Sayid's pulse. "Everything seems stable."

Sawyer squatted down besides Sayid. "They put salt in his wound."

"Huh?" Jack asked.

"The white stuff in his gash there. It's salt."

"What do we do?" Jack tried to stand up again. This time he was successful.

"Nothing much we can do, Doc. This room's pretty solid." Sawyer sighed. "Just sit tight."

Eko continued to hold Ray, his grip tightening as the frightened man fought against it. "I don't understand. Why would he kill you?"

"Just let me go." Ray's raised his voice. "I need to go."

"Hold on one moment." Without releasing Ray, Eko turned around and faced the approaching man. He was getting closer.

Ana had become proficient at blocking out Charlie's voice, especially when he continued to yell and shout. He was doing that now, but Ana wasn't listening. She was staring down at the beach, where Eko and Ray were struggling. She saw the other man approaching, but didn't recognize him. Ignoring Charlie, she began walking forward toward the conflict.

Eko looked up at the coming man. Behind him, Ray continued to thrash about, trying to break Eko's strong hold. "Stop." Eko held up his other hand, palm toward the man. He did not listen. His eyes were focused solely on Ray and his speed increased.

Ray fought against Eko, trying desperately to break away. He glanced toward the oncoming man and his heartbeat increased again. Ray saw Eko's stick, hanging from the loop on his belt. He slipped it out and swung hard.

Before Eko could react, the Jesus stick came down hard on the side of his head. The hit was far from enough to send him down, but the stab of pain momentarily froze him. His grip on Ray loosened.

Ray ripped his hand free and began sprinting down the beach. His pursuer sped up as well, quickly gaining on Ray. Eko spun around and began to run after the two men, but he could not catch up.

Ray continued to run. Then from behind, there was a push. He fell forward, slamming face first into the beach. Sand plunged up his nose and filled his mouth, choking him. He felt a heavy weight settle on him back, pinning him to the ground. The other man had sat down on top of him.

Two strong hands firmly held Ray's head down, pushing it into the sand. Ray began to struggle, but the hands were strong. He could not move his face out of the sand. His lungs began to burn and he desperately needed to breathe. White and red blotches of color began to cloud his vision and his head began to spin. The dizziness disorientated Ray and all fight left him. The hands pushed even harder and Ray stopped moving. He fought against his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Then, the weight lifted off of him and the hands stopped pushing.

Ana tumbled down into the water, grappling with the unknown man she just tackled. They fought as the surf rolled in, blasts of water hitting them full force. Ana continued to fight, but the man was unnaturally strong. He was able to pin her to the ground as the water flowed over her. Ana kicked upward, her knee catching the man squarely in his stomach. His breath left him and he relaxed his grip on Ana. She was about to push him back when two large arms gripped him in a reverse bear hug and hauled him skyward.

Eko threw the man out of the water and onto the beach. The man tumbled uncontrollable after he hit the sand. Eko reached down and helped Ana out of the water. They raced over to where the man lay.

"Who are you?" Ana bent over him, coming face to face. "We'll find out one way or another. You might as well just tell us."

The man stared at Ana, his dull grey eyes belying no emotion. He reached up and grabbed his head. In one quick motion, he snapped his own neck. He fell back and lay on the sand, instantly dead.

"Damnit!" Ana shouted.

Eko turned and walked over to Ray. The man had managed to roll over and was still grasping for breath. "Are you okay?"

Ray just nodded.

"Are you ready to tell us everything now?" Ana had come over.

Ray nodded again.

"Good." Ana reached down and helped him up. "Let's get to it then."

"I hate this, just waiting here." Jack sat back against the hard wall. Every muscle in his body ached.

Sawyer was sitting against the opposite wall. "Can't say I don't agree, Doc."

The stone door grated against the floor as it was opened. Jack shielded his eyes from the light with his hand. Beyond it, he could only see one silhouette.

"I think it's time we got outta here. What do say, Jack?" It was Locke's voice.

"Locke?" Jack stood up and walked over to the doorway. "What... what's going on?"

Jack's eyes adjusted. Locke had splatters of blood on his shirt and pants and he was carrying a knife he didn't have before.

"I think I know where Kate is."

Jack looked up. "Where?"

"Here, in this facility. She's in another holding room."

Sawyer came over to the doorway. "Let's get going then."

"Here." Locke handed Sawyer a second knife. "You might need this."

Jack went back into the concrete room and slowly awoke Sayid. He opened his eyes and sat up woozy. "What is it?"

"We're out, Sayid. We need to move." Jack helped the man to his feet.

Sayid slowly moved away from Jack. His legs were shaky, but he could hold himself up. "Then let's go."

The four moved out of the room and into the concrete hallway beyond. Locke was first, leading the rest throughout the corridors. Jack caught up and lowered his voice so only Locke could hear him. "Are you alright? What did they do to you?" He looked again at Locke's bloodstained shirt. "What did you do to them?"

Locke continued forward and did not look at Jack. "Some things are best kept to oneself. Let's leave it at that. She's right over here."

Locke walked up to a door and opened it. Light from the hallway flooded into the dark room. Jack entered first.

He slowly made his way forward, blinded by the darkness. He held his hands out in front of him, feeling for the wall ahead. Suddenly, he was hit from the side. A fist impacted on his jaw, sending him stumbling sideways. He grunted as he regained his balance.

"Jack?" It was her.

"Yeah, it's me." He rubbed his jaw. "Nice shot." His eyes adjusted to the darkness and he could see her. She seemed unhurt. "Are you okay?"

She raced forward and hugged him tight. "What took you so long?"

Jack grunted as his shoulder was compressed. "I got hung up."

"Hey, if you two could get past the pleasantries, we need to get outta here." Sawyer was a step into the room. "It's cold in here."

Kate let go of Jack and looked at Sawyer. "What are you doing here? Come back for me?"

Sawyer laughed. "Naw, I heard there was gonna be refreshments."

"We really do need to be going," Locke said from the hallway. "It isn't going to be long before--," he was interrupted by a loud beep.

Everyone remained quiet, listening for it again. A second later, it came.

"That sounds familiar," Locke said. "Like it's from our hatch."

Jack looked at Locke. "No, Locke. Don't even think about it."

"You still don't understand, do you Jack?" Locke spoke over the sound of another beep. "I have to do this. We don't have much time."

"If you're going to go, then go. The rest of us are getting out of here." Jack helped Kate exit the room.

"Then I'll find my own way back." Locke smirked. "I have to go push that button. We can't let it countdown."

"Fine," Jack said shortly. "You do whatever it is you think you need to do."

"I'll go with him," Sayid said. "We should not go off on our own." He looked at Locke. "Which way is it?"

Locke looked at Jack. "As best I can tell, the exit's that way." He pointed back down the hall. "That means the control room is probably this way."

Sayid and Locke split from Jack, Sawyer, and Kate.

"Are you feeling alright?" Jack asked Kate.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

The stone corridor ended ahead of them, turning to the right. The three turned the corner. Ahead, the steel exit door could be seen, marking the end of the hallway. But between them and the steel door stood a man.

"I'm afraid you can't go anywhere." Zeke stood with his hands on his hips. "Except back to your cells."

Sawyer stepped forward. "You two turn around and find the other exit. I'll handle this."

"Sawyer, you shouldn't do this," Jack said.

Sawyer held up his hand to stop Jack from continuing. "Yes, I should. Take her outta here."

Jack stepped back, pulling Kate back with him.

"You can't let him do this." Kate was adamant. "He'll get hurt, or killed."

Sawyer laughed up ahead. "You afraid for me, Freckles? I'll be fine. Gotta come back to you, after all."

"Come on." Jack pulled Kate a little firmer. "Let him do this." They turned around and ran back down the corridor.

Sawyer walked forward, coming closer to Zeke. "I'm glad you've decided to do this. It's about time we finish this."

"What do you think you're going to do, huh? Hurt me? You should turn around and get out of here now, while I'm giving you the chance."

Sawyer threw the first punch.

"We're getting close." Locke ran around a corner, Sayid right behind. The beeping had increased in frequency, signaling the countdown getting lower.

"We might not be close enough," Sayid answered. "The beeping is getting much faster."

"We'll make it." Locke ran faster. Both of them sprinted past an open room. Locke skidded to a halt. "Wait, Sayid. It's in here."

Locke ran into the room and sat down in front of the computer. His fingers moved like lightning, finding the keys on the keyboard. The timer was down to :10.

Sayid stood at the door. "Quickly, Locke. Somebody is coming."

Locke hit the execute button, sending in the code. The timer froze at :02, then began cycling back. Locke breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could completely catch his breath, Sayid came inside the room. "Someone's coming, Locke. We must move."

Locke stood up from his chair and moved over to the doorway. He readied his knife at his side.

Jack and Kate ran through the maze of stone corridors, trying to find someway out. They turned a left and raced down the hallway. At the end, there was a ladder leading upward.

"Okay, you go up first." Jack said.

Kate nodded. She began climbing the ladder. Jack was close behind, grimacing as he put weight on his injured shoulder. Soon they reached the underside of the hatch. Kate reached up to push it. Just as the hatch began to move, she froze and stopped pushing.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"Hold on," Kate said. "Be quiet for a second. Someone outside is talking."

Kate listened intently.

"Blow it," it was a deep voice.

"Are you sure? We'll lose everything," a second voice answered.

"They escaped and are roaming around inside. We can't let them get away with anything?"

"Isn't boss still inside?" The second voice was worried.

"He'll get out. Just do it."

"Fine. I'll set the timer for two minutes."

The first voice grunted. "Do it and let's get outta here. The blast is gonna level everything around here."

Kate listened as two sets of footsteps faded into the distance. She looked down at Jack. "We need to go back."

"What? Why?"

"They're going to blow up the hatch. We need to warn the others."

"Blow up the hatch? I don't understand," Jack said.

"There is no time to explain." Kate started down the ladder. "Just go down. We need to get back to Sawyer, Locke, and Sayid. And we don't have much time."