Chapter 26
Vincent hadn't come back yet and Michael was starting to get a little concerned. They had been walking for a couple of hours since they saw the giraffe; Locke had noticed a gravel path running under the jungle overgrowth and they were following it, making pretty good time though not going with any real haste. He shrugged and kept walking; Vincent was sure to show up sooner or later, he always did.

Ana was walking beside him, a few feet behind Jack who was watching Locke warily. She seemed a little preoccupied, and Michael finally spoke. "Weird seeing a giraffe, huh?"

Ana glanced up, grinning. "Yeah," she said, "Just a little." She hesitated, glancing up at Jack's back; since telling Michael about her baby they had become kind of friends, sharing the bond of lost children. She needed to tell someone about the...vision she had; it was driving her crazy. "I've been seeing a lot of weird things lately."

Michael glanced at her sharply. "Like what?"

She hesitated, looking at Jack again. She didn't want him to hear; Jack was the type who was intolerant of weakness and she didn't want to lose any more ground with him than she already had. " A..a gargoyle."

Micahel stopped and looked at her; she stopped too and rolled her head away in embarrassment. "A gargoyle." She nodded. Michael stared at her for another second, then shrugged. "You know what?" He said, throwing his arms up, "That isn't a surprise. Kate saw a horse. Sawyer shot a polar bear. We just saw a giraffe. So, no, you seeing a gargoyle doesn't really shock me all that much."

"Sawyer shot a polar bear?" She laughed.

"I sure did, Butch." Sawyer came up beside them, grinning. "Only took nine shots."

"Nine shots." She smirked, her hands on her hips. "What were you using, a pop-gun?"

Scowling, Sawyer shot back, "A nine, sweetcheeks. You try bringin' down a charging polar bear with a nine millimeter. That takes skill."

"Or a mental deficiency." Smirking, she glanced behind him. "Where's your girlfriend? She finally wise up? Move on to greener pastures?" Kate was trailing them, talking to Eko.

Sawyer sneered, his eyes savage. "Why, Cupcake, you miss my company? Got nobody to stomp on?" He held up both hands in front of her. "Well, I got both arms now, Butch. It ain't gonna be so easy to get your boots on me."

Jack appeared next to Ana, looking between the two of them. "Easy, Sawyer, what's going on?" Kate had noticed them too, and leaving Eko she ran up to Sawyer, putting her hand on his arm. She didn't want a confrontation; she'd been avoiding Ana like the plague for that reason. There was a fragile equilibrium between herself and Jack; they were balanced precariously on a flimsy raft, Sawyer pulling on her, Ana pulling on Jack, threatening to upset the balance and send them all spilling into the water to drown. Leave it to Sawyer, she thought, I leave him alone for a minute and he's starting shit.

Saywer glared at Jack, barely feeling Kate's hand on his arm. "Nothin', Doc. Me and Butch were just takin' a little trip down memory lane." Kate was pulling him, now, gently putting pressure on his arm. Glowering at Ana, he sped up, falling into step a few yards behind Locke; Kate glared at Ana before catching up with him and taking his hand.

Jack gave Ana a questioning glance; she sighed and shrugged. He shook his head at Sawyer and fell into step with her and Michael.

"What was that?" Kate gestured back at Ana. Sawyer was calming down; Kate could feel him unbend just a little and the tension leave his body.

"Nothin'. I just owe her a wrestlin' match." He smiled at Kate's raised eyebrows. "I can back out if you want. You know, if you don't want me rollin' around with her." He gave her a dirty little grin. "Or you can fill in for me. I wouldn't mind seein' you roll around with her."

She threw him a disgusted look. "Sometimes I wonder why I- OH!" Stopping dead in her tracks, Kate stared up at a huge stone arch with a steel gate covered with vines. Locke had stopped also, and was looking at it with curiosity; from the arch there stretched wrought iron fencing as far as they could see before the jungle swallowed it up. Everyone else stopped, gaping at the seven-foot-high wall. The vines and undergrowth covering the fence were so thick they couldn't see into it; Locke stepped up to the steel gate and pushed it. It didn't budge.

Kate was inspecting the arch. "Locke," she said, pulling away some vines, "look at this." Wiping it with her sleeve she revealed another bronze plaque like the one they had seen on the stone marker by the beach. This one said:

Alvar Hanso Foundation

Dharma Project

Zoological Research Facility

They exchanged glances. "Well, I guess this would explain the polar bear and the giraffe," Locke said. "Let's get this thing open."

Jack and Sawyer joined Locke and they pushed against the steel door, grunting with the effort. It finally gave with a shriek and swung open, stiffly; they all walked in slowly, staring around in astonishment.

It looked like a city zoo; there were miniature habitats and open air cages with buildings attatched to them; there were paths and benches and garbage cans set at intervals along the walkways. Everything was overgrown with vines and bushes; this place had been deserted a long time and the jungle was on its way to reclaiming it.

They all filed in, silently, openmouthed. The path in front of them split in two; Jack glanced at Locke. "What do you think, John?" he asked.

Locke scratched his head, staring at the paths before him. "Well, we're here, Jack. We might as well check it out. We came for answers, right?"

Jack glared at him. "No, John, we came to save Michael, remember? Or is that not why you came?"

Locke studied Jack for a second, then smiled. "I told you before, Jack, when we opened the hatch. It's all relative. This may be the way we save Michael." He nodded at the split in the road. "You choose, Jack. You choose the path to take; either way you go it's your fate. Your choice doesn't matter."

Jack stared at him for a minute, hatefully; then he said, coldly, "My choices always matter." Without another glance he took the path to the right. Ana followed him, and after staring at Locke for a second, Michael joined them.

Sawyer was a few feet away, inspecting an enclosure that resembled a large birdcage. He wiped away the dirt and foliage from a sign on the front of it, reading out loud. "African Parrot- Language Enhancement." He glanced at Kate. "Why don't they just say they're teachin' the damn bird to talk?"

Kate rolled her eyes and watched Jack and the others disppear around a bend in the path; she glanced at Locke and Eko, who had already started down the left-hand walk. Sawyer had moved on to another enclosure, this one a large cage hung inside with netting that had rotted into moldy strings, giving it a haunted look. Rubbing the sign posted beside the cage, Sawyer said, "Chimpanzee-Intelligence Testing and Enhancement." Looking up he caught Kate watching him, and he smiled, gesturing to the cage. "I guess that explains how Jack got on the island, huh?"

She laughed and shook her head. "You are so mean sometimes." She nodded after Eko and Locke. "Come on, let's keep up." As she passed him, she grabbed his hand, pulling him along behind her.

Eko and Locke weren't going very fast; they were inspecting signs and cages as they went along. That invisible force still kept them apart; they walked on opposite sides of the path, reading out alternately as they checked out the cages. Kate caught them as they came to a very large caged enclosure; the gate into it was open, hanging off its hinges. There was a fake stone "cave" in the back of it, hidden in the shadows and Kate suddenly got a very bad vibe. Eko wiped the sign off and read out loud, "Jaguar- Strength Testing and Enhancement." Sawyer was walking towards the hanging gate, not paying attention; staring at the cave, Kate sensed it almost before it happened- a huge cat tore out of the shadows towards the gate where Sawyer was standing, suddenly frozen in shock.

Kate reached into her waistband for her gun; it wasn't there. She panicked, screaming at Saywer. "SHOOT IT!" Locke had his gun drawn, but Sawyer stood between him and the cat; he couldn't shoot without hitting him. Kate was frantic.

It happened in slow motion; the cat gathered its haunches preparing to leap on Sawyer; he threw his hands up, hearing Kate scream; Eko and Locke both started forward shouting; a yellow streak flew in from behind Sawyer and hit the cat in midair, knocking it to the ground. Sawyer unfroze and backpedalled frantically out of the pen as the cat freed itself from a snarling Vincent and leapt at him again; Vincent recovered and bit onto the cat's leg shaking it and snarling. The cat screeched and swiped at Vincent, knocking him away; Sawyer grabbed Kate and ran before the cat could come after them again.

Kate snagged his arm and they skidded behind a cage, slipping into the building behind it and shutting the door. They were plunged into darkness; the only light came through the tiny crack between the door and the doorjamb. They could hear the cat snarling outside, and Sawyer leaned against the door listening; he jumped out of his skin when the cat flung itself at the door, screeching and clawing. Kate huddled against him, panting raggedly, his arm around her shoulder as he listened to the cat, snarling and growling. It flung itself at the door again, shaking it, and Kate gasped a little and pressed herself closer to him. The cat hit the door one more time, and Kate heard a soft snick through the door between screeches.

The cat grew bored finally, and left, its growls and snarls fading as it moved away. Sawyer sagged against the door, feeling Kate sigh with relief and lean against him; he tightened his arm around her shoulder. "I hate cats."

Kate laughed shakily, her breath finally returning to normal. "I love dogs. I hope Vincent is okay."

"Yeah," Sawyer said softly. "Old Rin-Tin-Tin deserves a milkbone for sure." He sighed, straightening. Reaching for the doorknob, he leaned down and kissed her softly. "Let's go see how he is." He turned the knob and pushed; the door wouldn't open. He grabbed the knob with both hands and jiggled it violently. "The damn door is stuck," he said, kicking the bottom of it. Kate pushed him aside and tried. Rolling his eyes, he snapped, "Oh, right, like I don't know how to open a door?"

She tried to look through the tiny crack, pressing her face to the door, and she sighed, suddenly remembering the tiny snick she'd heard. "It's a latch," she said, wearily, turning to Sawyer and leaning against the wall. "The cat must have jarred it loose when it hit the door." She smiled at him; he could just see her in the tiny beam of light. "We're locked in."

"Great." He slid down the wall, sighing. Kate heard him mutter, almost to himself, "I hate cats." She giggled a little and Sawyer looked up at her; she was still standing by the door, the beam of light from the crack illuminating half of her, leaving half in the shadows.

"Hey, Sawyer," she said, and he could feel her eyes on him as she moved out of the light, coming to him in the darkness. "We're alone..."

Kate couldn't see him but she could feel the heat radiating from his skin as she drew nearer. His voice reached her through the gloom, and she sensed his smile. "It's dark..."

"We're locked in..."

They were inches apart; the electricity between them snapped and popped like a livewire though they couldn't see each other. Kate could hear his harsh, ragged breathing; Sawyer could hear her heart pounding. He reached for her and she came to him, drawn like a magnet; finding her lips he kissed them leisurely, teasing her gently with his tongue. His hands went to her waist, squeezing it softly, then they slipped up under her shirt and lifted it over her head. His head lowered to her throat, nibbling and kissing his way down; one hand slipped behind her back and in one deft move unclasped her bra; she gasped a little as he pulled it from her, dropping it to the floor. His mouth took advantage; Kate moaned and grabbed his hair trying to pull him closer, he could feel her quivering beneath his lips as his other hand slipped down even further. She felt the button of her jeans pop open, then his hand slipped into the waistband. While his fingers were exploring her, Sawyer kissed her again, hard, feeling her tense and moan against his mouth. She shuddered, spasming a little and he gently lowered her to the floor, stripping her jeans from her in one smooth motion while she went to work on his shirt, unbuttoning it as fast as she could.

Sawyer released her for a second and took his own clothes off quickly; he couldn't bear to leave her for an instant. The light from the door was falling across her again casting half of her in shadows; he felt a sudden pang of dread but it passed quickly as she pulled him down to her. He groaned softly; the feel of her body, her skin pressed against his drove him to insanity; he couldn't wait any longer to have her.

She was ready for him; as he sank into her she sighed, wrapping her legs around him as he rocked against her, slowly, then with more urgency. He increased his pace even more when she dug her fingers into his shoulders, straining against him; he felt her tighten, then release and she cried out as he followed her over the edge.

He didn't move for a minute; his vision was swimming and he leaned his forehead against hers, feeling her panting breath against his face. Her skin was sweaty; Sawyer kissed it, savoring the saltiness on his tongue and lips., then he kissed her, long and sweet before he finally moved away, lying his head on her shoulder and nestling his cheek against hers. The light was falling across half of her; she was smiling and peaceful; he wondered if the part of her in the shadows felt the same.