So, I have finally got around to putting up Chapter 2, if anyone is even reading this fic. Trust me, this is fast for me.
Chapter 2: The Long Trek Back
"Miss," Snake called to the flight attendant. When are we going to land?"
"In about eight hours sir. May I get you anything else? Another orange juice?"
"No thank you. I'm fine." She then walked away to serve other people.
"Hey, Mr. Simpson," JT, who was sitting two seats in front of Snake, called. "Why is this plane ride taking so long?"
"You can't get to Australia in 4 seconds, JT," Snake answered.
"I bet I can invent a machine that will," said Toby, who was sitting next to JT.
"Toby, you are such a geek. Just stop talking," Manny said, sitting across from the two boys.
"Why don't you shut up, Manny?".
Snake tuned them out, which was not hard to do, due to the engine that was whirling behind him. He was looking out the window at the Atlantic below when the plane shook violently. Still looking out the window, Snake saw the engine falling down through the clouds to the water. Gripped with immense fear, he grabbed onto the armrests, wishing he hadn't agreed to go on this trip. The flight attendant said over the speakers, barely audible over the roaring noise, "Passengers, we will ask that you please remain calm. Fasten your seat belts and-" Static overtook her voice, adding to the already earsplitting screeches of the crashing plane.
Snake buckled his seat-belt and put on the oxygen mask that had fallen from the ceiling. The plane received another violent tremor. "Where gonna die," he could just barely make out somebody cry. He tried to tell them that it would be all right, but couldn't due to his oxygen mask and the fact that he didn't believe it himself. We are going to die, he thought
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Snake was awoken from the memory/nightmare by Jack shaking him. "We need to leave now if we want to get back before nightfall."
"Okay." Snake got up, brushed the sand off himself and started walking around waking up his students. He could see Jack doing the same thing to the other survivors.
Once awake, everyone hunted through the wreckage for their suitcase. The girl with long blonde hair who had been screaming yesterday bolted up to Snake, hysterical. She shouted in a rush, "Hazel! I can't find Hazel! She's not here!"
"She has to be here!" Snake called, and started rushing around, looking for the girl. He got everybody together and asked, "Has anyone seen Hazel?" Nobody had seen her.
"Come to think of it," a boy named Marco started, a horrified expression on his face, "I haven't seen Jimmy or Manny either! What if something happened to them? What if they are-" he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Snake calmed everyone down and took attendance. It turned out that Hazel Aden, Jimmy Brooks, Alex Nunez, and Manny Santos were nowhere to be found. Suddenly, the reality of the crash sunk in to the survivors like a dead bolt. Screaming and crying started up in a roar, echoing those from yesterday. Jack hurried up to the group to see what all the commotion was about.
"Four of my students are missing," Snake explained. He could taste the bile rising in his throat. "You don't think they're- they're-" he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Relax, Snake," Jack said calmly. "Right now they're thinking the same thing about you."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Just trust me, I know." Once everyone had calmed down enough so that he could talk, Jack cleared his throat, calling for attention. "My camp is on the other side of the island," he started once all eyes were on him. "If we leave right now, we may be able to make it back before nightfall. If not, we must find a safe spot to camp. We are going to have to go through the jungle. Be on your guard, it's a dangerous place. If you see or hear anything remotely strange, start running in the opposite direction, and find a safe place to hide. Now follow me."
"What do you think he expects us to see?" a boy named Craig asked the boy next to him, who's name was Spinner. "And do you think Jimmy is alright?"
"Honestly, dude, I have no idea what we're going to find in there. And as for Jimmy, I hope he's all right. I really do," Spinner answered. He then added, "so you're talking to me now?"
"Well, we will be stuck on this island together for who knows how long."
The two followed the others into the jungle. At first there were just a few palm trees scattered around, but after walking for a little while, the jungle became denser, the trees were closer together. Twisted vines and the dense underbrush made walking difficult.
The survivors stopped for lunch in a clearing. "Those fruits are good to eat," Jack said, pointing to the papaya trees above him. "And there was food on the plane, although not a lot, because only a small section of it landed on the beach. We are stopping for only 15 minutes, so eat quickly."
"He sure wants us out of here fast," Marco said. "Maybe he thinks whatever is in this jungle will attack."
"Oh please," replied Ellie, a girl with red hair in a long braid down her back. "Do you really think there is anything in this jungle?"
"There might be. I'm not taking any chances," he paused, then asked, "do you think the others made it?"
"Oh, they're alive."
"How do you know?"
"I can just feel it."
Jack was sitting on a fallen log, eating a papaya when somebody sat down next to him. He looked over and saw a girl with long blonde hair. "Paige, right?"
"Yeah, and you're Jack, the doctor?"
"Yes." They sat in silence for a couple minutes. "Is there a reason you sat down next to me?"
"Do you really think the others are alive?" Paige asked.
"I would bet my life on it."
"Well, are we going to go find them?"
"No. My main priority is getting you guys back to my camp."
"Well, how long is this hike going to take?" she asked.
"All day," was Jack's reply.
"All day? So you mean I'm going to have to walk through this hot and sticky jungle all day, plus you're just going to leave our friends out there to die?"
"Paige, it'd be foolish looking for them with all of you here. I'm going to bring you to my camp and then organize a search party." For some reason, Jack thought, watching Paige stomp away, that girl reminds me of Shannon. He shrugged it off and went back to eating his papaya.
True to his word, Jack stood up after 15 minutes. He called for everyone to pack up and follow him back into the jungle. They did as they were told.
The survivors walked for hours. They talked very little, and slowly, the sun started sinking above the dense green canopy.
Spinner sneaked up behind Toby, and lunged at him. Toby screamed at the top of his lungs and started freaking out.
"Spinner," Snake scolded, "I'm warning you."
The sun had almost sunk below the horizon when Jack motioned for them to stop.
"What is it?" Snake asked, walking up to the doctor.
"Shh. I hear something behind us. We have to walk faster, pick up the pace."
"What do you think it is?" Snake asked, worried that something dangerous was going to attack them. The survivors stared into the dark trees, listening for what Jack had heard.
"If we're lucky, it may be a pack of wild boars. Or maybe even a polar bear. If it attacks, we're very close to my camp. If we run, we may be able to make it before it catches us."
"Wait just a second. A polar bear?" Craig asked, a confused expression on his face. "Don't polar bears usually live in…well…polar regions?"
"Well, it appears some like to live on tropical islands," Jack answered quietly. He didn't want to make a noise until he was sure what the mysterious creature was. "We found that out the hard way."
After a couple of minutes fast-paced walking, the survivors heard a loud noise behind them.
"Was it just me," Spinner started, "or did that just sound like an elephant?"
"Spinner, please. Elephants don't live on tropical islands."
"Well neither do polar bears."
"What else is on this island?" Sean asked Jack. He then added mockingly, "Are there monsters in the jungle too?"
When Jack didn't answer, JT cried out, "There are actually monsters?" The sudden loud noise spooked whatever was behind them and it crashed through the jungle towards them. Jack started running as fast as he could. He called behind to the others, "Make sure you follow me! And run fast!" He didn't really need to tell them that, because they were already sprinting for their lives.
"Great!" JT yelled, through gasps of breath, "We survive a plane crash just to be devoured by a mysterious monster!"
The creature was crashing its way through the jungle at a frightening speed. The survivors couldn't run any faster, the vines and plants were too thick. The animal had almost reached them, when, from out of nowhere, a gun went off and whatever was chasing them cried out in pain and limped away. Everyone stopped running and turned around. A man was standing there, holding a shotgun. He had somewhat long blond hair, and a dark look in his dreary green eyes.
"Sawyer," Jack said to the man, "thanks for saving our lives."
"You're welcome, Doc," the man named Sawyer drawled. "But may I ask who all these people are? I find it very strange that you go off into the jungle looking for the Others and just happen to find a whole band of people. Ever think they might be the Others?"
"I know they're not, Sawyer. Their plane crashed on the other side of the island."
"Oh, another crash?" He then noticed that the majority of the group were teenagers. "This is just perfect. More useless children. Better guard them well, don't want them getting captured, like that pathetic Walt."
"Sawyer!" Jack called out. "That was uncalled for."
"Yeah, sure Doc. I bet you want me to apologize now huh? Sorry Walt! Oh and sorry Michael too!" Sawyer yelled, and it echoed in the now pitch black jungle.
"Sawyer, if you don't shut your mouth-"
"What are you going to do?"
"Umm…shouldn't we keep walking?" Snake stepped between the two men.
"What?" Jack turned around. He had almost forgotten that the other survivors were there. "Oh, right, yeah."
"Hey Jack, remember, keep an eye on them. Don't let them wander off."
"We can keep an eye on ourselves, thank you," Sean said coldly.
"Oh, we have another bad ass on our hands," Sawyer said, slowly walking over Sean.
Jay then walked up, crossing his arms threateningly. "We're not children. Oh and you're probably the one who will try and kidnap us. Better be cautious of you."
"Make that two." He was standing right in front of them now. "It looks like I have some competition for the title of the Island's bad ass."
"Sawyer," Jack called, stopping him before he got out of hand. "What are you going to do? Beat them up?""We can take him," Jay declared, taking a menacing step towards Sawyer.
"Jay," Snake intervened, "back off."
"What are you going to do Baldy? Put me in detention?"
"Guys, we're very close to camp," Jack started, sick of the tension. "Soon you'll all be able to eat real food and get some sleep."
"You go and round up your troops, Doc." Sawyer started walking in the opposite direction.
"Sawyer, where are you going? The beach is the other way."
"See you in another life, huh, brother?" Sawyer called over his shoulder, and then disappeared into the dark jungle.
Jack stared at where he had been, pondering what the con man had said. That is exactly what Desmond had told him in the stadium. He decided it was just a coincidence and shrugged it off. But then he remembered something he had told Snake the night before. 'Trust me, there are no such thing as coincidences on this island.' He decided to think about it later, though, because what he had to focus on right now was getting the survivors back to the beach. It had already been dark for a long time now, and since they were so close, he didn't want to make camp out here in the jungle. "Everybody," he called for silence. "We have to start moving again." He then walked off into the jungle, the others following him without question.
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So there, it's done. I can't believe you endured that torture...Tell me what you think of it...is it bad? good? if you say good I'll give you cookies!