i'm really sorry that last chapter was wicked short! come to think of it, it doesn't even deserve to be called a chapter. it was a writer's block blurb, i guess. i don't know. never mind. a note to Richard Starkey: thank you for the jig hehe i hope you like this chapter!
Jake stirs uneasily as he slowly regains consciousness. He hates panic attacks. He hates that he is the only person in his family to ever have them. It could've been his sister, or his mom, or someone other than him, but no, it just had to be him. A lot of things had to happen to him. He had to crash on this island, although his mom and Ari did, too. He had to lose his mom. He had to lose his best friend.
He sits up and rubs the blurriness out of his eyes.
"Jake," a voice sings out tauntingly, "where are you?"
Jake's heart rises to his throat. He can't talk; he can barely breathe.
"C'mon, kid, your friend wants you to come out, yeah he does."
Did they have him? If they did, then Jake felt that he had to give himself up. But what if they didn't? What if they were just saying they did?
He begins to move. He starts off walking briskly, keeping his eyes down, dodging any stray leaves or branches that would crack under his sneakers and give him away. When he feels that he's far enough away, or that they're too close, he breaks out into a sprint.
They begin to run after him, and they run so fast it's like they're on steroids or something. Jake is convinced that they are. Another possibility to him is that they're not human. Either one will work for him.
He runs desperately through the jungle, constantly tripping himself up by stumbling over his untied sneaker laces. He doesn't care; he just wants to get out. He just wants to find a way out. He just wants to leave.
He wants to scream, but his mouth won't open. His brain commands him to stop, but his legs won't listen. He keeps running, eyes wide and nervous. He can't trust anyone. Not now. Not anymore. Not after them.
He glances behind him every so often, just to make sure they aren't following him. Sometimes he thinks he can hear their voices whispering, lulling him to come back, that everything will be better if he comes back.
He's getting more exhausted every second. He begins to gasp, trying to get every ounce of air into his lungs that he can. He can feel his hands shaking uncontrollably. They're cold and sweaty.
His sneakers skid to a stop as Jack grabs him by the shoulders.
Stupid dreams. They're never good for anything. Ever since he got on the island, Jake has never had a good dream. He used to have tons of them back home. No matter how hard he tries, he can't convince his mind that he's still home, so he's tortured nearly every night by nightmares varying in their amounts of fright.
"Did you find anything yesterday?" Sun asks, sitting down next to him.
"Yeah, but Locke didn't let us stay. He said we can go back today," Jake tells her.
"Oh, well then you'd better eat some breakfast," she says, handing him a mango and a bottle of water. "You'll want to keep your energy level up."
"Thanks," he says, taking them from her. "Do you know where Locke is? Or Eko?"
Sun pauses. "They were walking down the beach a little while ago, but I don't know where they are now. Why, did they tell you when they were going to leave?"
Jake shakes his head. "That's why I want to know where they are."
"Don't worry," she says, putting her hand on his, "they wouldn't leave without you."
Jake glances down at her hand on his. She is amazingly like his mother. It scares him a little, but he finds comfort in it as well.
This makes him remember that they never found anything out about where his mom was. This thought also scares him. He and Ari never found a trace of her. There was nothing. Nothing at all.
"What are you thinking about?" Sun asks.
"What? Oh, um, nothing, really," he stammers. "Just…stuff."
"Stuff can become a lot easier to bear when shared with other people," she tells him, smiling a little.
The smile does it. Jake places his entire trust in Sun, knowing that she won't tell a soul what he's about to tell her. At least, he hopes she won't.
"So, this door has a guy getting electrocuted on it?" Jack asks skeptically.
"That it does. And Jake clearly remembers it. It's just like the quarantine sign on the hatch," Locke answers.
Jack turns to Eko. "What do you think?" he asks.
"I think that the boy is missing a lot in his life," Eko says slowly. "He wouldn't lie about something like this."
Jack is silent.
Locke rolls his eyes. "What, Jack, do you think he's one of the Others or something?"
Jack is silent.
"Jack! He is not an Other! Why would you think that he is? What has he done to make you think that, Jack?"
"We can't trust anyone here, John. We can't trust anyone who isn't on the manifest."
"We trust Danielle, don't we?"
"Well, that's different. She--"
"She tortured Sayid," Locke interrupts, "until she figured out that he wasn't going to hurt her. Jake hasn't done anybody any harm. What, do you want Sayid to interrogate him or something?"
"I'm just saying that--"
"If you place your trust other people, they will place their trust in you," Eko tells him. "If you have no reason to suspect them, then don't. You'll be saving yourself a lot of anxiety."
"We're going to help Jake find his friend," Locke says, "whether you like it or not."
They walk out of the tent.
Jake feels like Sun is his therapist or something. He is comfortable telling her anything. He has laughed with her, something he hasn't done since he and Ari were separated. She is his lifeline here.
Eko and Locke walk up to them. "Hey, Jake," Locke says, "ready to go?"
Jake nods. He stands up and brushes the sand off his jeans. "Thanks for listening," he tells Sun softly.
"You're welcome," she says, smiling. "I can't wait to meet Ari and your mother."
On that note, the trio make their way back into the jungle