Chapter Eleven
The giant flame from the bonfire twisted and curled up towards the star-filled evening sky, though the tiny sprinkles of white amongst the midnight blue went unseen through the thick black smoke emitting from the smoldering palm fronds. The glare and the warmth from the blaze reflected on the group's tired faces.
Sara and Lauren sat side by side, Lauren fully clothed and occupying herself by setting her head on Sara's thigh and walking her Barbie through the sand. Her eyes drooped and every once in awhile, she would sigh lightly and pause to stare at the fire. Sara was running her fingers through the girl's hair, trying to keep herself from thinking too hard about what the person's message had been about.
Matt was sitting cross-legged, staring into the fire quietly as usual, Ecklie's jacket draped over his shoulders. The jacket's owner was sitting with his back to the ocean, his face emotionless and his lips pursed. He tossed another piece of wood into the fire and leaned back on his palms.
Catherine and Greg sat two feet apart, backs to the forest and fronts to the fire. Greg sat cross-legged, his elbows on his knees and his hands together as he stared into the flames. Catherine was fully dressed again, one hand supporting her head, her eyes drooping, and her frown grim as she sat in thought.
The dolphins could be heard jumping and clicking in the waves behind them, their calls mingling with the rush of water and the sound of night insects. They had stayed around, even after the group had left them and then returned in a morbid daze.
After discovering the message on the cave wall, the group had left the cave, grabbing up the materials they had brought in; Ecklie's jacket, the leaf beds, and a few of the emptied out coconut shells. The leaves were spread out next to the bonfire now, serving as a shield between the sand and their skin. The coconut shells were unused at the moment, and Matt was covered in Ecklie's jacket.
Ecklie's mud-covered clothes had been washed in the saltwater, and he was now dressed in relatively clean looking clothing.
"So…what do you think the message meant?" Greg asked, finally voicing the question that had gone unspoken through each of their heads.
"Pig, it could simply be somebody crazy who for some reason thought it would be funny to write with boar blood all over the cave wall." Sara offered, causing Lauren to look up at her and then climb into her lap.
"Or…it could be personal." Catherine said quietly.
"Oh come on Cath, personal? Who would go to the lengths of shooting down our plane only to call one or all of us a pig?" Sara said, pulling her arms around Lauren and continuing to rake through her hair.
"Maybe they were mad because we took a bunch of food and thought that we were pigs?" Greg offered.
Nobody said anything. They all knew their theories were weak, and if Grissom were here, he would be telling them to look at the evidence, which was also very weak.
"I'm going to go to bed…" Catherine said. "Maybe I'll dream something." She stood up and went to get a pile of leaves.
"Me too…" Sara sighed. "And you should sleep too Lauren. I can tell you're exhausted."
To answer, Lauren yawned widely and tried to stick Barbie in Sara's hair again.
"Oh no, not this time." Sara pushed the doll away and stood up, Lauren on her hip. Lauren sighed and set her head on Sara's shoulder.
"I'll be back in a bit. I just want to go see something…" Greg muttered, standing up and brushing sand from his shorts.
"Okay," Sara said, setting Lauren down on a pile of leaves and then laying down next to her herself. She closed her eyes, feeling comfortable despite Lauren twirling her little finger in one of Sara's curls.
As Greg walked off towards the waves, Ecklie hunkered down on his leaf bed as well, sighing.
"Before I fall asleep…" he mumbled. "I'd like to thank you, for…saving my life. I thought I was going to die. That's probably the third time in the last three days I thought I was going to die, but I'd like to thank you. Really,"
Sara and Catherine's eyes fluttered open and they looked over at Ecklie, but the man had fallen asleep.
"Hey, hey, Sara! I gotta show you something."
Sara groaned and tightened her grip on Lauren's sleeping figure.
"Shut up asshole…" she whispered, obviously still half-asleep.
Lauren opened her eyes and rubbed them, then looked over at Sara holding to her gently.
"Sawa, what's an 'asshole'?" she asked innocently.
Sara's eyes shot open and she released Lauren. "Oh jeez…did I say that?"
"Yeah, you did."
Sara looked up and saw Greg standing over her, his hands in his pockets, the fire glowing on his features, casting abstract shadows around his face. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, yawning.
"Greg," she said, stifling another yawn. "What do you want?"
"I have to show you something." He sounded eager.
"What?" She still felt groggy, and was put off to discover Lauren's Barbie doll tangled in her hair again. She worked at getting it out as Greg spoke.
"Something. It's a surprise."
"Fine…" Sara pulled the Barbie out forcefully like she had last time and handed it to Lauren. "You just go back to sleep, Lauren…I'll be right back" Sara stood up, massaging her scalp where some hair was pulled out.
"You and your killer curls…" Greg muttered shaking his head and taking the lead. Sara followed narrowing her eyes at Greg.
"Greg, what is this about? Really, I'm exhausted and I've been having nightmares about giant pigs."
"I told you, you'd see."
Greg was walking away from the fire and along the beach. Sara sped up, feeling chilly with the sea breeze blowing around her. The dolphins were gone.
"Just around this corner…" Greg mumbled, holding back an overhanging branch which Sara walked under. What she saw once she turned the corner caused her mouth to drop and her eyes to widen.
"Wow."
"Cool, huh?" Greg said, smiling and stepping up next to her.
"I have never seen that many stars."
The night sky looked as if it had been sprinkled with sugar, the millions of stars twinkling down at them, surrounding a large white crescent moon off center.
"Is that the Milky Way?" Sara asked, pointing at what resembled a thin white film or maybe white smoke stretching across the sky.
"Yep," Greg pointed in the moonlight at a group of stars. "And that is the Crux Australis constellation."
"The what?" Sara raised an eyebrow at Greg.
"The Southern Cross constellation. Made up of the stars Alpha or Acrux, Gamma or Gacrux, Delta, Beta, and Epsilon. A navigational tool, part of the Australian flag, etcetera."
"I don't see it."
Greg stepped behind Sara and pointed his arm across Sara's shoulder, so that she could easily follow his finger.
"There, the four stars Alpha, Gamma, Delta, and Beta form a cross and you can tell it's the right constellation when you see Epsilon, which is a smaller star not part of the cross, but midway between Alpha and Delta. Do you see it now?"
"You smell like B.O."
Greg shrugged. "You don't exactly smell like a basket of roses right now either you know."
Sara blushed, though it was hard to see with only moonlight illuminating their surroundings. "I think I see it…is it kind of on its side?"
"Yep, you've seen it. Do you want to know where home is?" he asked, his voice becoming softer.
"Umm…sure…"
Greg grinned and stepped up to Sara's side.
"Alpha is the one below Epsilon, you see it?"
Sara nodded. "One of the brighter ones?"
"Yep, that points south, meaning—"
"Meaning that home is in that direction." Sara finished, pointing to her left.
"Right…home is that way."
Greg's grin was gone as he and Sara gazed north.
"I don't think we'd ever be able to see this many stars back in Vegas." Sara said softly, turning her gaze upwards again, taking in the marvel.
"Definitely not," Greg stated.
"Hey, what about those two other cross looking things?" Sara said, pointing higher in the sky to the right.
"Those?" Greg followed her finger. "Oh, the one closest to the true cross is called the Diamond Cross. And the further one away is called the False Cross. You can tell the difference because the true cross is the smallest and brightest, and the Diamond and False Crosses have no Epsilon star."
Sara took a long look then turned back to the Southern Cross.
"When did you become an expert on constellations Greg?"
Greg shrugged, "I was in Astronomy Club during middle school, as a sort of hobby. And when I found out we were going to Australia, I did a bit of refreshing."
"Hmm…" Sara mumbled, for lack of a better answer.
"So…do you have any hobbies?"
Sara smirked, "Uh, no. No I don't."
"Not one?"
"I listen to the police scanner."
"That's not a hobby, that's part of being a workaholic and insomniac at the same time."
Sara's smirk turned into a smile and she looked back up at the sky. Greg looked back up too.
"Did you see that?" Greg suddenly declared, pointing upwards.
"What?"
"Shooting star!"
"I missed it."
"Just wait…I'm sure another one will show up…"
They held their breath for a whole thirty seconds, before Greg's hand shot out again.
"There!"
"I see it!"
The sparkling star shot across the sky, and faded out after five seconds of sparkling.
"Wow…" Sara sighed. She folded her arms across her chest as a small smile showed.
"Make a wish." Greg said.
Sara looked at him with an eyebrow cocked, "What?"
"Shooting star, close your eyes and make a wish."
"Um…all right."
Sara took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, thinking. What to wish for, what to wish for? So many things…the most obvious would be to get them off of this island. Or maybe another would be that Lauren and Matt's parents were still alive. Or even better, that she woke up and this had all just been--
Suddenly she felt something touching her left cheek, turning her head, and two seconds later before she could do anything, she felt something on her lips, another set of them. Startled, Sara opened her eyes to find Greg there, pulling away.
"Uhh…I, Greg, I don't…I…" She was at a loss for words. She wasn't even sure of what had occurred it had happened so fast. "What was that?"
"I believe…that was my wish."
"Umm…Greg, I'm…I'm not, I'm not…ready. I'm not ready for a relationship, right now."
Greg shrugged and turned away. "No worries. I just wanted my wish."
Sara frowned, and looked apologetic, "I'm not ready. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry. I got my wish anyway, I didn't want too much just yet. So what did you wish for?" Greg asked her, throwing her a sideways glance.
"Er…nothing yet…I didn't have time to decide."
Greg smirked. "Well, I'm tired. I'm going to go to bed. You can stay until you spot another shooting star and you can make your own wish. G'Night."
Sara paused as Greg walked away.
"Goodnight!" she called after him after a moment.
She turned back around and sighed. What had just happened? Had that really just happened?
Sara sighed again and shook out her hands to release excess anxiety, and in an attempt to get rid of the goose bumps covering her arms. She gazed upwards at the Milky Way and the Southern Cross, and then, just beyond the Northern tip of the cross, another shooting star soared past and disappeared just as quickly has it had come.
Sara huffed through the side of her mouth and folded her arms.
"Make a wish Sara…"
"Sawa,"
Sara turned over and let out a sigh, still sleeping.
"Sawa…"
"Uggh…"
"Hey! Sara!" It was somebody else's voice.
Sara opened an eye and spotted somebody's bare foot.
"What, Catherine?"
"Breakfast."
"Breakfast?" Sara sat up and spat some sand out of her mouth. Her mouth was very dry and her tongue felt swollen. The morning sun was blaring down on her face, which stung slightly. She was probably sunburned. "I'd prefer something to drink…"
"Just leave it up to Mr. Survival," Catherine muttered, bending down and handing Sara a coconut shell full of water. "He stole Ecklie's shirt, tied it to his waist, and went walking through the forest. The shirt sucked up tons of water."
"And Ecklie sweat…" Sara grimaced, looking at her reflection in the water.
"It tastes fine, just so you know." Catherine said. "Drink it and you'll feel better."
"If I die from this my ghost is going to haunt you for the rest of your life…" Sara muttered jokingly, tipping the water up to her mouth and drinking. She paused after a sip and looked back into the cup.
"Feeling queasy?" Catherine asked. Sara responded by drinking the rest.
"Nope."
"Good."
"What did you say about breakfast?" Sara asked as Lauren climbed into her lap.
"Mr. Survival, again," Catherine stood with her hands on her hips, a look of fake disappointment on her face. "Look at what he's done," Catherine pointed at the bonfire and Sara turned to look. Greg was sitting there, poking at something in the flames with a stick.
"What?"
"He's making us lobster!" Catherine said, smiling.
"Oh…lobster huh?" Sara said, not nearly as enthusiastic. She tried to conceal a lip curl as she turned back to the bonfire.
"What, don't you at least eat fish?" Catherine asked, her smile fading.
"Well…not really…"
"Sara, this is a life and death thing here. It's just one lobster tail."
Sara swallowed, gazing into the flame.
"I don't eat animals." she said quietly.
"Sara, maybe you should consider becoming a lacto-ovo-pesco-vegetarian." Greg muttered, poking the flames again.
"I don't eat animals!"
"Do you drink milk?" Greg asked.
"Yes."
"Do you eat eggs?"
"Yes."
"Do you eat fish?"
"No."
"You're already a lacto-ovo-vegetarian! Add the 'pesco' and you're all set. Besides, these things don't even count as fish…they're crustaceans."
Sara still looked uncertain as Greg began to push out a couple lobster tails wrapped in a giant leaf.
"I…"
"One bite?" Greg prompted, walking over to other side of the bonfire and pulling the tails out further with the stick. At the edge of the fire pit, Greg reached in and pulled the food out further. He pulled the leaves away revealing the two delicious tails.
"Greg, that looks delicious, even without any butter. I'm starving." Catherine said, bending down in the sand next to Greg and picking up one of the tails.
"One bite, Sara." Greg repeated.
"I can't."
Greg sighed then picked up the second tail and handed it to Matt who was standing patiently by his side. He then took out the second pair of tails and handed one to Ecklie, and then turned to Lauren and Sara.
"Here you go Lauren," Greg said, holding out the lobster tail.
"What is that?" Lauren asked, peering cautiously at the food.
"It's called lobster."
Lauren's lips curled, "I don't like it."
"Not you too!" Greg cried, hanging his head, "Has Sara poisoned you?"
"No." Lauren said simply.
"Hmm…"
"Greg, don't worry. We'll just go find some more coconuts to eat."
"Okay, don't do anything stupid like get shot by the crazy pig-man, okay?"
"Okay," Lauren responded as Sara stood up. Lauren grabbed the woman's hand and they walked away to the forest.
"Okay Lauren…do you know how they got those coconuts down from there?" Sara asked the little girl who was staring up at the palm tree, wide-eyed.
"No…" she whispered.
Sara looked up at the trees, wiping more sweat from her forehead. It was mid-morning and the temperature was already stifling. Maybe she'd be used to it considering Las Vegas, but the humidity was murder.
"Well, Greg just shook the tree, right?" Sara said. It felt like she was talking to herself, even though she was obviously talking to Lauren. She stepped up to the tree, wrapped her arms around its trunk and shook it. Three or four coconuts fell from the top of the tree, and one of them fell on Sara's head.
"Ow…" Sara muttered, rubbing the back of her head as her eyes began to water. "That really hurt." Lauren was giggling hysterically, clapping her hands together.
"Oh, yeah, laugh all you want." Sara said cynically, though she smiled afterwards. "That really hurt."
"That was funny." Lauren laughed.
"Oh really?"
"Uh-huh." Lauren smiled and walked up to Sara. "Are we going to play doctor again?"
Sara chuckled that time.
"No, it's not that bad."
"I'm hungry."
"That's what the coconuts are for. Grab a couple."
"Okay…" Lauren bent down and picked up one of the nuts.
"Let's head back…" Sara said, picking up the other three coconuts and nudging Lauren gently along the trail.
"Do you know the coconut song?" Lauren asked as they walked.
"Umm…I think so…is it the one with three coconuts in a row or something?"
"The lime coconut song?" Lauren repeated. "It was on the radio."
"Oh. That coconut song."
"Yeah!" Lauren was smiling again.
"Yes, I know that song."
"Sing it!"
"Er…uhh…I don't think so."
"Aww, why?" Lauren's smile vanished and she began to pout as they walked up the slope that led past the cave.
"Because…I don't want to sing."
"Please?"
"Lauren, why?"
"Because I want to sing it."
"Then sing it."
"You too!"
"No."
"Sing it!" Lauren whined.
"Lauren, I don't want to."
"Sing it, please!"
Sara shook her head, and Lauren sat down in the mud.
"Lauren!"
"Sing it."
"No!"
Lauren then dunked the coconut in the mud next to her. Sara huffed and bent down by the little girl, her eyes narrowed.
"Do you really want me to sing it?"
"Yes." Lauren beamed.
"Fine." Sara picked Lauren out of the mud and set her on her feet. Then she began to sing soft and low. "Brother bought a coconut; he paid it for a dime. His sister had another; she paid it for a lime." She paused, then said "Lauren, you should know this part. I'm not singing it alone."
"She put the lime in the coconut and drank them both up. She put the lime in the coconut and drank them both up." they chorused softly, walking through the foliage before the cave. "Called the doctor, woke him up, and said Doctor, is there nothing I can take?"
"Doctor!" Lauren repeated in her off-key voice.
"To relieve this belly ache."
"Doctor!"
"Oh crap."
Sara stopped in her tracks, the coconuts toppling from her arms as she stood at the very edge of the forest. If she had taken one more step, she would have been back on the beach but something terrifying had caught her eye and caused her heart to stop.
"Uh-oh…" Lauren said, looking at the dropped coconuts. "Sawa dropped her coconuts…"
Sara pulled Lauren and herself over behind a tree.
"Who's there?" came a gruff voice from beyond the trees.
Sara's breath quickened and every soft exhalation she made sounded as if it were as loud as a freight train. Lauren turned to Sara and said, "Who is that?"
Sara held a shaky finger to her lips.
"I said who's there?" the man yelled. He sounded old, but not elderly. His voice was deep, and it flowed like syrup, thick and drippy, but it wasn't nearly as appealing.
Sara gulped.
"Hey, no whispering!" he snapped at somebody other than Sara, causing her to realize that the other's were hostages, or at least trapped. "Whoever is there, get out here now or I'll shoot the boy!"
Sara's breath caught in her throat, and she held the back of her hand to her mouth to hold back any noises of fear.
"Don't!" It was Catherine's voice, and she sounded heartbroken. "Don't shoot him! Sara! Get out here, please!"
Sara gulped down tears and picked Lauren off the ground. Trying to keep her knees as steady as possible, Sara staggered out from behind the trees onto the scene. Catherine, Greg, and Ecklie stood lined up next to the fire, looking at Sara, but facing a man that Sara wouldn't ordinarily label as anything more than a mere drunk.
He was plump, with a potbelly, dressed in faded jeans and tennis shoes. His shirt was stained with mud and the baseball cap he was wearing was worn around its rim. His cheeks were covered with heavy stubble, and his eyes were red and puffy. But what Sara was concerned the most about now, was the rifle he had aimed at Matt's head.
A/N: Sorry about the cliffie! But again, it's all pieces of a puzzle Greg/Sara was one piece, Matt with a rifle to his head is another piece.