By the age of fourteen, Kate had learnt how to look after herself. Whether it was attempting to defend herself and her mother from Wayne, learning to survive in the wilderness with her dad, or playing with Tom and the other boys, Kate did her very best to keep up with (and better) everyone she dealt with.
Her closest female friend was still Beth, who had yet to grow into her red hair, pale skin, and freckles. She had yet to grow particularly well socially, either, and when Kate finished classes she would often find Beth standing around the side of the building, not wanting to attract attention to herself as she waited to walk home.
On that particular day, Kate rounded the corner to find Beth, stood with two other girls she vaguely knew from some classes – they were not the kind of girls she would ever have expected Beth to mix with. Then she got closer and could hear what they were saying.
'Listen, you little ginger whore, you have that paper for me – plus ten bucks – or my brother will be paying you a visit.'
'But I have a math assignment due for tomorrow, I'll never be able to do both,' Beth was protesting, and Kate couldn't believe her ears.
'Then I guess you'd better make a decision. And it had better be the right one.'
Kate walked closer to the group, and spoke up, 'What do you think you're doing?'
'Piss off – this hasn't got anything to do with you.'
'That's my friend you're bullying. So I happen to think this has absolutely everything to do with me,' Kate said, defiantly, and she absent-mindedly threw her backpack down next to her, ready for whatever these girls were about to do.
'Seriously,' one of the girls was walking slowly towards her now, all attention to Beth quickly evaporating. 'You don't want to start this.'
'Don't I?' Kate asked, and without thinking, punched the girl in the face. 'I think it's you who shouldn't be starting anything. So back off, bitch.'
Kate had never been the kind of girl to swear, but thought in this instance it was appropriate. She would later decide it hadn't been such a good idea, as her opponent started to scratch at her, and pull her hair, viciously. When they finally were separated, Kate fully expected to find herself suspended. That is, until she realised it hadn't been a teacher breaking up the fight, but Tom, and a few other boys. She was lucky that she had him around for her – just as Beth was lucky to have Kate around.
No sooner did Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Alex leave the cell than Tom rounded the corner with two nameless Others, guns in hand. The four escapees exchanged glances, and Alex took a step away from them, towards the enemy.
'Run,' she said, not looking back at them. Sawyer moved to go, without asking questions, and Kate was surprised to see Jack follow.
Ignoring them, she stayed where she was, asking Alex, 'What will happen to you if we leave?'
'Run.'
'No,' Kate said, making the decision for all of them, she aimed her gun at the three people drawing ever closer, though they seemed to want to talk, otherwise they would surely have opened fire already.
'Kate…' Jack began, his voice giving away that he already knew the attempt he was about to make was futile. 'We have to go – Alex will be okay.'
'Where are we gonna go though, Doc?' Sawyer questioned, 'How're we getting out of this damn place without French Chick Junior?'
Jack wasn't given time to respond to this, as Tom and his henchmen were already stood in front of them. There was no running now.
'What are you doing, Alex? Are you helping the prisoners escape?' Tom asked, and Kate had the distinct impression that Sawyer was resisting the urge to say 'Well, duh'. Alex began her response, but all she could manage was a series of incoherent half-sentences. 'Hand over the gun, Alex,' Tom told her, calmly, quietly – creepily.
'Don't, Alex,' Kate said, stepping forward so that she was level with the teenager. 'He's in your head, don't let him in.'
'I don't think anything between Alex and I has anything to do with you, Kate.' Tom said, abruptly, his faux-friendly demeanour dropping slightly.
'I'm not just going to stand here, and let you bully a young girl into giving you her freedom.'
'She's not giving me, anything, Kate – except her gun. This is her home.'
And suddenly, Kate knew how to turn this around and put the situation in her favour. She turned to face Alex, Tom's presence now unimportant.
'Your mother is alive, I can take you to her.'
Alex looked between the three strangers standing around her, unsure.
'It's true,' Jack agreed, 'I've spoken with her.'
'Mad as a box of frogs,' mumbled Sawyer.
For the second time that day, Alex lowered her gun and looked Kate deeply in the eyes.
'Really?'
Kate nodded, 'Yes – you were taken from her when you were a baby. She's been looking for you ever since.'
The next thing Kate registered was Tom falling to the floor, unconscious – it seemed Alex had hit him over the head with her gun. One of his henchmen moved to aim at Alex, but as he did so Sawyer immobilised him by shooting him in the leg. Kate fixed her eyes on the only Other left standing.
'You want to try anything?' She asked, her eyebrows raised.
The Other leant down and began examining his comrades, and he replied, not looking at Kate, Jack or Sawyer – only Alex.
'Just go,' he told her, as if he was tired of fighting the same battle over and over.
Without another word Alex turned and walked off down the corridor, away from the direction Tom had come from. After a moment surveying the scene before her, and preparing herself for things to come, Kate followed with Jack and Sawyer trailing obediently behind her.