Chapter 39
Sawyer craned over Kate as she and Eko squatted next to Danielle, looking at the crude map she was scratching in the dirt. The pit lay almost due east of them, it was a short distance across the island but the trouble lay in crossing the two separate mountain ridges that ran down the island like parentheses. Going around would take too long and time was pressing, though not quite of the essence.
Pointing to a space in between two of her scratches Danielle nodded. "This is the easiest pass in this ridge. After that you will cross the Other's Valley, I urge you to do so with the utmost speed. Do not get caught there after dark. On the other side of the valley is this ridge, you must turn north until you come here." She pointed to a mark in the soil.
Sawyer looked skeptical. "Um, how are we supposed to know that's the place? Is it gonna look like your map?"
Danielle didn't smile; staring at Sawyer she pointed to the spot and said, "At the entrance to the pass is a large stone. That will mark your path."
Sawyer rolled his eyes. "A stone? Do you know how many of those there are here?"
Danielle smiled at that. "I think you will know this one when you see it." Tapping her stick on a space over the second ridge she continued, "This is the clearing with the pit. Stay there for the night if possible." Kate and Sawyer exchanged glances; no way in hell were they gonna stay there.
Eko was studying the map carefully. "How long do you think this will take?"
Thinking the question over, she glanced at Kate, who had risen from her crouch, grimacing as she did. Her arm was sore; she could move it a little but it hurt if she did so she kept it in the sling, which had dried out overnight. Sawyer's hand went under her arm automatically, helping her up; she gave him a smile so sweet he had to stop himself from telling them all to piss on the hike while he took her back to the Zoology Center to put those bunks to some good use.
"It should take you until late this afternoon to reach the first pass; I suggest camping and going over the ridge in the morning. You must cross the valley and the second ridge before dark, then camp at the pit. I would do the same coming back. Keep going until you reach the beach, then follow it to us. We will leave a marker for you to follow."
"Three days." Eko nodded to himself, then glanced at Locke. "How long will it take for you to dig out the hatch?"
Danielle shrugged. "Three, four days." She stared at the ground, sadly. "I buried it very well."
Jack, who had been very quiet, spoke up. "Let's get going, then." Glancing quickly at Ana, he went to Kate and Sawyer, holding out his gun to Kate. "Here. I know you lost yours and I don't want you out there unarmed."
Kate smiled at him and Jack glanced at Sawyer, who seemed almost grateful; his arm tightened around Kate, but he just grinned and said, "You're just hopin' she'll shoot me on accident." He squeezed Kate and whispered in her ear, "Or on purpose."
Kate laughed and whispered back, "I'd like it either way." She brushed her lips across his, then turned to Jack. "Thanks for the loaner. I guess we'll see you in a few days." She started to pick up her pack, but Sawyer took it before she could, slinging it over his shoulder next to his. Her heart swelled; his simple act of carrying her things for her made her breath catch in her lungs; she couldn't breathe as love for him filled every niche and corner, threatening to expand until it blew her apart.
He grinned at her, then turned to Eko. "Whaddaya say, Ed? Ready to take a hike?"
Eko smiled. "Whenever you are, James."
Grabbing Kate's hand, Sawyer cast one last glance back to Jack; he smiled hesitantly, "Good luck, Doc."
Jack returned the smile, nodding at the three of them. "You too."
Without another word they melted into the jungle. Vincent followed them to the edge of the clearing the stopped, looking over his shoulder at Michael; barking at him once he lolled his tongue out in a grin then ran into the jungle after Kate and Sawyer.
"Damn dog."
-----
It wasn't far to the buried hatch; they made it there in a few hours, just as the sun was cresting in the sky. It was a plain clearing; the beach was just visible through the trees and Locke went down to the tree line and tied some cloth around a few trunks as a marker for the others. When he returned Danielle had already paced off an area 6 feet by 6 feet and Ana was sharpening sticks to loosen the ground and make it easier to dig out.
Locke was watching Danielle as she studied the area she had walked off. "How did you find this hatch?"
She stopped, her eyes glowing madly; staring at him she smiled tightly, taking a sharpened branch and stabbing it into the ground at an angle, turning and lifting it to churn up the soil. "We heard the numbers when our ship was a few miles away from the island." She stabbed the ground again, twisting up a chunk of earth. "We were on a science expedition, investigating the sea life in the area when we heard it; then we saw the island in the distance. It wasn't on our maps so we checked our instruments, they were fine. Our curiosity was aroused and we decided to see what it was." She smiled ruefully. "As we approached, something pinged on our sonar; something unusual; Robert and I were certified divers so we put on our wetsuits and prepared to investigate."
She paused, sticking the branch randomly into the dirt, her eyes far away. "I was seven months pregnant, then, but I had a specially made suit; and my doctors had assured me that diving would be fine as long as I didn't go below one hundred feet; we told the crew to wait for us and we dove into the water.
"It was so clear, and beautiful. The floor was flat and sandy; we didn't see it right away as it looked almost like a large piece of coral, but as we swam nearer we could see that it was a hatch of some sort; Robert went closer and lifted the lid; it opened easily, and he went in." She had stopped poking the ground; the stick hung loosely in her hand as she stared into space. "I followed him; it was an airlock. We closed the hatch and Robert hit the valve; the water flooded out, leaving us in front of a door." She glanced up at Locke, suddenly jabbing the pointed branch violently into the soil. "It was unlocked also."
Locke was nodding. "An underwater entrance." Looking at her, he asked, "What happened then?"
She shrugged, churning up more dirt; behind her, Jack and Ana were standing close to each other, poking their sticks into the dirt, laughing and twisting up chunks of earth. "We went in."
John waited for her to continue; when she didn't he rubbed the back of his head and glanced at the ground. "What was in there?"
She shook her head, smiling, a mad light in her eyes. "You'll see for yourself. Soon enough."
-----
The noon heat was taking its toll even on Vincent, who padded softly beside Eko, his tongue hanging out limply while he panted. Kate and Sawyer walked behind them, hand in hand; Kate suddenly said, "So your birthday is April twenty third."
Sawyer had been thinking about her in various states of undress; he didn't catch the question. "What?"
"The day I was arrested in the bus station. April twenty third. You said it was your birthday." She peeked up at him, laughing. "That makes you an Aries." Arching her eyebrows she gave him a knowing look. "That's the Ram, you know."
He gave her a wicked grin. "Well, you certainly do."
Rolling her eyes at him she smirked, "It just means you like to butt heads, butthead."
He bumped his head gently against hers, grinning. "I thought that was your move." He rubbed his temple, grimacing. "I think it still hurts from the first time you did it." He cocked his head to the side, as if he was considering something. "You know, Freckles, you really hit me a lot."
"Only when you deserve it, Tex. So yeah, I do hit you a lot." Grinning, she pretended to punch him in the gut; he bent double, holding his stomach. "What we haven't had in a while is a good tackle."
Sawyer straightened, cocking his eyebrows at her in surprise. "I thought we'd been doin' a lot of that lately."
She laughed happily; Sawyer's knees went weak. He couldn't get over how she had protected him during their confrontation with Frank; how she had comforted him after. How she had let him take her, as if she knew that he needed the release and she wanted to give it to him no matter what it cost her. His hands wanted to be on her, suddenly; he stopped and pulled her face to his, kissing her deeply as her hand slid behind his neck, dragging him closer.
She pulled away, flushed and breathless; smiling, she said, "What was that for?"
Loud, crashing, griding roars echoed through the jungle; Kate grabbed Sawyer and started to run but Eko caught him by the arm and stopped him. "Stay, James."
Kate tugged on Sawyer's arm, trying to pull him away; he turned to her, shaking his head. "It's okay, Freckles." He kissed her, then stared into her scared eyes. "I promise, Kate. It's okay. Please go over there." he pointed to a copse of trees a few yards away. She shook her head, terrified. He touched her cheek, caressing it as the clanking roars came closer. "Please, Kate," he whispered. "I can't stop it."
Giving him one last terrified look, she turned and ran into the trees, staring through the trunks at him with dread as he and Eko stood their ground.
Eko touched Sawyer's arm, cautioning him. "Look into it, James, but when I say you must look away, do you understand? There are some things you are not meant to see."
Sawyer nodded, tense with fright. He was terrified, not just of the Cloud itself, but of what he might see in it; as Eko's fingers left his arm he glanced back at Kate, who was gripping the tree trunks like they were bars of a cell; tears rolled down her cheeks and Sawyer wanted to comfort her, assure her that it was all right. He felt strangely sure himself, then, as if Kate gave him the strength to take anything.
The Cloud flitted through the trees, shaking and cracking them as it rolled to a stop in front of Eko and Sawyer. It pulsed with electricity; Sawyer stared into it, images flashing through his mind as it roiled and grumbled at him; they were all Kate, every one- smiling, laughing, crying, gasping against his shoulder, holding him as he cried, her beautiful face when she shuddered against him in pleasure; he couldn't have torn his gaze away if he wanted to.
They changed; it was him, tied to a wooden cross as Frank lashed him with the whip in the white light, being carried through the jungle by shadows, a hand touching the bullet wound on his shoulder as it burned and disappeared.
They changed again; Eko shouted, "James! Now!" and he caught a glimpse of something so beautiful he reached his hand out to touch it, but Eko's sharp voice snapped him out of it. "James! Look away!"
He hesitated. The vision was too good to turn away; his hand slid into the cloud and he stiffened with shock as his hand disappeared into the smoke. Really disappeared; it was gone.
Kate started to run forward but Eko turned to her, "No Kate, stay there!" He spun back to Sawyer, who was still gazing into the Cloud, entranced by what he was seeing. Eko grabbed him and jerked him back, pulling his hand from the shadows; it was still attatched and none the worse, but he felt a horrible sense of loss as the Cloud shifted and roared away, taking the vision with it.
