disclaimer: i own no Lost-ness. Jake and Ari are mine. that is all.
and just a little side note: i'm gonna start titling chapters with songs, cause i think song titles are very expressive and, well, cool. anyways, i hope you like this chapter :)
Jake stares up at the stars, his hands folded over his chest. His feet are buried in the cool, night sand, and he finally feels at ease for once. He crosses his ankles and moves his hands behind his head.
"Hey," Ari says, sitting down next to him.
"Where've you been?" Jake asks.
Ari shrugs. "Around." He toys with the long, white shoelaces of his sneakers.
"For the whole day?"
"Why can't I be?"
"I don't know. It's just, kinda weird, you know?"
"Not really. I just wanted to look around." He pauses. "So, where's your mom?"
"I don't know. She didn't go with you?"
"No," Ari replies hesitantly. "I thought she stayed here."
Jake sits up, his hands covering his eyes. "Oh my God," he mutters. "Are you kidding me?"
"I'd say not. Should we go find her?"
"You have a flashlight?"
Ari pulls a small pocket-size one out of his pocket. "It's all I have," he says apologetically. "Sorry."
"No, that's fine," Jake answers absentmindedly, grabbing for it. "Let's go."
They trek through the darkened jungle, trying desperately to follow the narrow beam of light in front of them. Ari is constantly tripping himself up over his laces. Jake gets sick of it, sits him down, and turns Ari's floppy bows into double knots.
"They aren't coming out now," he tells him, standing back up.
There's a rustle not far from them, and Jake's wrist immediately flicks toward it. Nothing. There's another rustle behind him, and he whips around. Nothing there, either. But there's one problem. Ari was supposed to be there.
"Ari?" Jake asks uncertainly. "Come on, man, this isn't funny. Where are you?"
The only thing that answers him is the wind whispering through the numerous trees surrounding him.
"Ari, get out here!"
Bang.
Jake sits bolt upright, sweat running down his face. He glances around, panicked. Where's Ari? he asks himself. Where did he go?
As his heart slows to its normal pace, Jake realizes that it was a dream. Nothing more.
But it was a dream about something real.
He remembers all of that. It had really happened to him. It happened when he first came to the island with Ari and his mom. That first night.
It's still dark. He feels the cool ocean breeze rushing over him, and lays back down in the sand. It was only a dream, he tells himself. Only a dream. But his mind doesn't let him forget that last sentence. It was a dream about something real.
The next day, Sun takes Jake to Locke and Mr. Eko.
"Jake needs some help," Sun begins.
Locke stands up and dusts off his cargo pants. "What might you need help with?"
Jake stares at him. "Y-you have the gun, don't you?" he stammers.
Locke smiles. "I did." He holds up his empty hands. "Not anymore. Don't worry about that."
"What do you need help with?" Eko repeats Locke's question.
"Sun, um, said you could help me find some people…" Jake's voice trails off, unsure of whether or not to continue.
"She did? Well, Sun knows what she's talking about," Locke says, flashing Sun a grin, which she returns rather shyly. "Could you give us a few minutes to talk to Jake alone?"
Sun nods, puts her hand reassuringly on Jake's shoulder, and walks away.
"Who are you looking for?" Eko asks, patting a spot beside him for Jake to sit down. Jake does.
"My best friend, Ari, and my mom," he answers softly.
"How long have they been missing?" Locke wants to know.
"Since we got here."
"Do you know how long you've been on the island?"
Jake pauses. "Like, a few weeks, I think."
Locke raises his eyebrows. "That's interesting," he says, "we've been here for nearly two months."
"Really? Man."
"I believe we can help you find your friends," Eko tells him. "As long as you come with us, to show us where you think you saw them last. Do you know any of that?"
Jake pauses once again, considering what Eko just told him. He sighs. "Yeah, I think I do," he finally answers.
Locke stands up. "Well, then, let's get going, shall we?"
They walk through the jungle, Jake in the middle, occasionally giving faint directions, but otherwise just following Locke and letting his mind and eyes wander.
"How did you get here, Jake?" Locke asks.
"Boat."
"Did it sink?"
"Yeah. Crashed."
"Were there any other survivors?"
"A couple, I think. But they stayed away from us."
Locke turns to him. "Really," he mutters, more to himself than to Jake. "Why was that?"
Jake shrugs. "They were old. Like in their fifties, or something. Maybe sixties. And me and Ari are both sixteen. I guess they just thought we were more trouble than we were worth. At least, that's what my mom said."
Locke nods, and leaves it at that.
They walk more, an endless drought of words between them.
Jake screams at the gunshot. "Ari!" he yells. "Ari! Say something!"
Suddenly, he feels his ankles whip out from under him. He crashes to the ground face first. Someone drags him into the bushes. He's too shocked to respond. He keeps his eyes squeezed shut, afraid to look at what awaited him.
When he finally opens them, he is staring into two huge, terrified hazel eyes. Ari's eyes. Jake takes in Ari's whole figure. He's got duct tape over his mouth, and his wrists are tied behind his back. Jake examines himself, and realizes that he's in the same state as Ari.
He feels someone's hands grab his own, and his feet are forced forward. Ari walks stiffly alongside him. Jake's eyes avert downward, and widen more than he ever thought they could. Ari must've put up a pretty fierce struggle; a gun was thrust at his back, threatening to go off at any sudden movement.
After what seems like endless walking, they're stopped. The gun is taken away from Ari's back, and a guy, seemingly in his mid-thirties or early forties, stands in front of them.
"Gentlemen," he says, "welcome to your new city. Welcome to the City of the Damned."
Jake stops suddenly, almost causing Eko to run into him.
"What's wrong?" Eko asks.
"It happened here," Jake answers. He turns to Eko, his eyes wide. "It happened here."