Chapter 2

The Diary of Katherine Austin

August 3, 1990----Age: 11 years!

MY BIRTHDAY! I think I'm about the only one who is excited about my birthday. Actually, I think everyone forgot. I woke up and ran downstairs, hoping to see a bunch of birthday presents, but I didn't see any. I saw Mom and Wayne how they usually are each morning: Eating cereal and reading the newspaper. I ran up to them and got a harsh, "You better get ready for school.", instead of getting a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Hopefully Tom will remember. It seems like he's the only one who cares about me anymore. Sometimes, we talk about running away together. Sometimes, I really want to…

Sawyer smiled. "Rough life," he said, closing Kate's diary. "I wonder where she is anyway. He hid the diary with his personal stuff and went into the jungle. He walked into the caves and thought he would ask Jack where she was. He walked into Jack's cave, only to find Jack and Kate in each other's arms.

"But…But…I love her," he spoke softly to himself.

He went into the hatch and got out a shotgun. Then, he waited.

Kate yawned. She looked next to her and saw Jack. It's so nice. This is defiantly what I want. She had to go to the bathroom, so she quietly crept out, not wanting to wake Jack. She got out and walked to the hatch. She went inside and ran into Sawyer—holding a gun.

"Uh, Sawyer, what are----"

"I hope you're happy, Freckles." He put the shotgun to his head and pulled the trigger. But just in the knick of time, Kate knocked the gun out of his hand. "NO!" she screamed. And the bullet went through the ceiling.

Jack woke with a start. Did I just hear Kate scream? He looked next to him and saw that she wasn't there.

"KATE!" he hollered, running into the jungle. This can't be happening. She was my dream come true!

He brusted into the hatch and saw Sawyer and Kate laying on the ground. Sawyer had a gun in his hand.

"What did you try to do to her?" Jack shouted at Sawyer.

"Nothing," Sawyer replied sharply.

Jack was about to sock him, but Kate stopped him.

"Stop it, Jack. He was trying to hurt himself."

Jack's face turned from anger to guilt. "I'm sorry," he said, clearly embarrassed.

"Maybe you two should talk," Jack said, looking worriedly at Kate.

"Yeah," Kate replied, giving him a 'don't worry' look.

Jack wondered around the camp and noticed something sticking out of Sawyer's "Private" bag. It said, "PRIVATE PROPERTY OF K…" and the rest was inside the bag. Sawyer's name doesn't start with a K… He pulled it out and saw the name "Kate Austin" written on the book. He took it inside of his cave and opened up to…

The Diary of Katherine Austin

August 4, 1990 – Age: 11

Yesterday was my birthday and only one person remembered. And he's not even part of my family! I bet you can guess who. Yes. It was Tom. As soon as I walked into his house that day, he sang "Happy Birthday." He gave me a present, too! It was a toy airplane. He had one just like mine. He said it symbolizes our friendship. Tom said that he wanted to make sure he could take care of me. Tom is my best friend.

Jack closed the diary. He ran over to his calendar of sticks and say that today was supposed to be August second! A little chilly for August, but this island is full of surprises.

Kate's birthday was tomorrow and he had to do something special. And he knew just what to do.

"Why, Sawyer? Why?"

"Sawyer would say no answer.

"Sawyer, please tell me. You're my friend. I don't want to loose you," Kate pushed.

"That's why," he replied.

"What? You wanted to kill yourself because I didn't want to lose you?" Kate was clearly confused.

"No. Before that."

"That you're my friend?"

Sawyer nodded.

"I don't understand," Kate said, hurt that he was upset that they were friends.

"Think about it…You're a smart woman. You should be able to figure it out." And with that, Sawyer walked out of the hatch.

I don't understand. Kate was on her knees, weeping, and saw the gun on the ground. Her memory flashed back to all the good times she and Sawyer had together. And then, she understood. Sawyer liked her more than a friend and he must have seen her and Jack together.

"But I can't!" Kate thought aloud. "I love Jack, but I don't want to lose Sawyer! What am I going to do? Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why can't I have a normal life?"

And then, Kate fell all the way to the ground and just stared at the ceiling. Her vision was blurred with tears and she closed her eyes and everything went blank.

When she woke up, she was Jack. He was saying something.

"KATE! KATE, WAKE UP! I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU!" Jack drug her up by her hands. "FOLLOW ME!"

Kate, still in a grog, followed him. After what seemed like hours of walking and talking, Jack stooped. "You ready?" he asked with an excited smile on his face.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Kate answered, wondering what Jack was doing.

They walked through some leaves and Kate gasped. It was another beach and a little picnic was set up. And to top that off, the sun was setting on the horizon, lighting the sky with hues of purples, pinks, yellows, and oranges.

"What is this about?" Kate, asked, confused and stunned at the same time.

"Happy birthday!" Jack hugged her.

"How did you know?" This was the first time in years that she had heard those two words.

"I have my ways…" There was no way that Jack was going to tell her he had read her diary.

They watched the sun setting, ate, laughed, and talked. It was getting darker, so Jack lit a "romantic" fire. They stared into each other's eyes and leaned into a kiss.

"Jack, this is the best day of my life…Mostly because I'm with you," Kate whispered.

"Likewise," Jack replied, and they leaned into another long kiss.

Suddenly, they heard a scream. It sounded like Hurley. They got up and ran down the beach towards the sound.

When they got to the camp, they saw Ana holding a gun up to Hurley. Jack was about to jump out, but Kate held him back.

"Wait," she whispered.

"Someone encouraged Jack to go to Kate…Was it you?" Ana demanded harshly.

"Why do you care!" Hurley exclaimed.

"WAS IT YOU!" she yelled above Hurley's small, nervous voice.

"Yes! It was me! Jack and Kate liked each other since day one and I encouraged Jack to take an extra step."

Ana lowered the gun.

"What, are you into him or something?" Hurley questioned.

Ana decided to change the subject. "I hear you're into Libby?" she asked, more than stated. "Well, I'll make you a deal. If you hook me up with Jack, I'll hook you up with Libby."

Kate and Jack looked at each other.

"Never," Jack whispered.

"Never," Hurley said stubbornly. "One, I would never to that to Jack, and two, I can hook up with Libby myself."

"Not if I can do anything about it." Ana reloaded her gun and walked off.

"What are you going to do?" Hurley shouted, but go no answer. Jack and Kate thought they saw a tear in his eye.

Jack was going to run out, but again, Kate stopped him. "Just wait…He needs some time alone," she said.

Ana and Libby could be heard in an argument farther down the beach and as soon as they heard it, Jack and Kate ran to help.

"Ana, why are you doing this?" Libby cried.

"I'm sorry, Libby. I've got to do what I've got to do," Ana responded unemotionally.

"NO!" Jack sprinted out of the bushes and tackled Ana right when she was about to shoot. He saw Libby tied to a tree.

"Jack?" Ana asked. "Why did you do that?"

"I wasn't just going to watch you kill her!"

"I'm going it for you," Ana replied, not sure of why Jack cared about Libby. She saw Kate come out of the bushes. "You," she said revengefully. And then she shot.

Kate screamed in pain as she collapsed on the ground, holding her arm.

"NO!" Jack shouted for the second time in that hour. He ran over to Kate.

Ana blew her gun and walked away. Kate started to turn pale. Jack picked her up and ran to the hatch. On the way, they ran into Hurley.

"Dude, what happened?" he asked.

"Ana…Hurley, I need you to go down there and untie Libby," Jack instructed.

"Right," Hurley answered as he ran down to the beach.

Jack ran into the hatch and laid Kate down.

"Jack, if I die, I just want you to know that I love you so much and I'm so gald that the plane crashed," Kate said in a rush.

"YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DIE!" Jack yelled, frustrated that Kate didn't have the faith to hold on.

Kate smiled and closed her eyes. Jack started to cry.

Get a hold of yourself, Jack. You have to heal Kate, he thought.

Jack got all of the supplies and started working on Kate. Now, for the bullet, he thought. He put some pain resistant medicine on her that he got from the hatch and started getting the bullet out. Kate winced.

Well, at least she's alive. He smiled a sigh of relief. After a while, he got the bullet out. He cleaned out the wound and wrapped it up. He let her rest and ended up resting right next to her. When he awoke, he found Kate still next to him. He put some antibiotics on her wound and then got a gun. He was going to get revenge. He went out to the beach and found Ana. He held up the gun, but he couldn't shoot.

"Jack, why do you want to shoot me? Now that Kate's gone, it's just you and me," Ana rubbed her hand over Jack's face.

Jack dropped the gun. "Kate's not dead!"

"Jack, when are you going to get over her?"

"I love her! And you're not going to change that!"

Jack walked away to go back to Kate. But what he didn't realize was that he had forgotten his gun. Ana picked it up and smiled.

Hurley ran as fast as he could through the jungle to get Libby. He replayed what Jack had said in his head. 'Ana. Hurley, I need you to go down there and untie Libby.'

Untie Libby? He thought. Ana? Ana that…Oh, I'll get her. But before he could finish his thought, he came upon Libby, tied up to a tree on the beach.

"Libby!" he cried out, running over and untying her. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Libby hugged Hurley tight before she answered, "I…I'm fine."

"Was it Ana? What did she do to you?" Hurley asked in a nervous rush.

"She…I…I was sitting on the beach, reading a book that I had found in the hatch when I felt someone throwing a black sack over my head so that I couldn't see. I could feel someone dragging me by my arms. When the sack was finally pulled off, I could see that I was pretty far down the beach. But before I even turned around to see what had happened, I was being tied to a tree. It was then that I found out who my captor was.

"Ana was standing in front of me, her hair matted and stinking to her sweaty neck and forehead. She was holding a gun up to me. Just before she was going to shoot, Jack jumped on her, saving my life," Libby explained to him.

Hurley hugged her tightly and told her, "I'll get her back…I really will"

"Please don't do anything you'll regret," she said. "Please."