Chapter 45
As they reached the bottom of the pass they picked up their pace; they had to cross the valley and the other pass before nightfall. Kate had been running things over in her mind and something was nagging at her. She caught up to Eko, who was walking a few yards ahead of her through the trees and said, "Eko, something has been bothering me. You said that Frank was trying to draw Sawyer out, make him go to Them; but this morning when They could have taken him they didn't. Why?"

Eko didn't slow his pace. "They cannot take him. He must go to them willingly."

Kate considered that for a second, then said, "But he did go to them willingly. When..." She couldn't say the words, and Eko nodded.

"Yes, but that was different. He went to them for you, to save you. He must go to them for himself, for his own selfish reasons. It weakens him." He looked over at her, frowning. "And they want him weakened. That is why they use Frank Sawyer to entice him. And that is why you must stop him from going. At all costs."

"Why do They want him weak? What the hell is going on, Eko?" None of this made sense, and Kate was terrified for Sawyer; they were going to keep throwing Frank at them and she wasn't sure she could keep holding him back.

Eko sighed sadly at her. "I cannot tell you those things yet, Katherine. You and James will learn in time. Please be patient and trust me."

Kate looked down at their moving feet; dread settled in the pit of her stomach at the idea of him going to Them again. "Eko, I'm scared for us. I don't think I can keep him from going eventually."

Eko smiled. "Oh, Katherine, he will go eventually. But he must be ready. That is what this is about, you know, this fool's errand we are on. It is to prepare him for what lies ahead."

She was quiet for a second, then she asked in a tiny voice, "What lies ahead?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that.

Turns out she didn't, as Eko said, softly. "Death and Redemption. Darkness and Light." Her heart thudded to a stop. "It is always darkest before the dawn, Katherine. And the dawn is a new day."

Sawyer and Vincent were behind them, talking as Sawyer threw sticks for him to fetch. Vincent couldn't get enough of it, and Sawyer was getting tired and bored with the game. "Enough, Rover, " he said, as Vincent brought him the stick for roughly the millionth time, "Can we do something else?"

Vincent dropped the stick and woofed softly, wagging his tail. Sawyer rolled his eyes and said, "I don't know. What games do you know?" Vincent perked up his ears and wagged his tail frantically as Sawyer shook his head. "Ones that don't involve me throwin' anything." The dog's tail and ears drooped dejectedly. "Why don't you amuse yourself for awhile?" His eyes had wandered to Kate and he just wanted to watch her; he loved to oberve her when she didn't think he was looking and she was absorbed in her conversation with Eko.

Vincent was trotting next to him, now, woofing up at him every five seconds; it was getting annoying because he was trying to concentrate on looking at the back of Kate's jeans. "What?" he finally snapped, and as Vincent yipped at him, looking hurt, he said, "I don't know, Rover. Use your brain for somethin' more creative than fetchin' sticks."

Vincent grinned and barked; Sawyer looked at him with disgust. "Don't you worry about what I use mine for. And quit tryin' to see that anyway. It's none of your damn business." He looked even more disgusted as Vincent chuffed and growled a little. "No, I don't try to look at yours! Believe me, dog-on-dog is not my thing." The thought was revolting and he shivered a little. "Ugh. You're a dirty, dirty dog."

Vincent stopped short, his grin gone, and he sniffed the air; his hackles rose and he bared his teeth at the jungle to their right, growling deep in his chest. Everyone froze and turned to look; Eko motioned Sawyer to him. "James. Come here now."

Sawyer joined him and smiled at Kate, who was staring fearfully between him and the trees. Touching her hand gently, he whispered, "Freckles, go hold Vincent." She looked into his eyes and finally nodded, going to hold the growling Vincent by the collar.

Sawyer turned his attention to Eko. "It is time for you to learn something else. Are you ready?"

He nodded, glancing back at Kate. Everything he did was for her; he could face anything if she was there beside him. "Yeah, Ed. I'm ready."

Eko smiled. "Okay. What is in those bushes is your enemy. It wants to hurt you. To hurt Katherine." He smiled as Sawyer automatically tensed at the mention of Kate; this would be easy. "I want you to be angry, James. Angry at the enemy." He gave him the chance to build his anger at the thing that threatened her. "Are you full of fury? Can you feel it?"

"Yes." He snarled it; his anger had grown swiftly and with it had come electrical pulses through him; he felt like he had been touched by a live wire.

Eko nodded, tensely. The bushes rattled again and Vincent's growls grew deeper and louder, more visceral; Sawyer said, "It's the cat. From the Zoo."

Kate tensed when he said it and gripped Vincent's collar tighter; she pulled her gun and cocked it, but at the sound Eko turned to her and shook his head. "No, Katherine. That will not be necessary."

Suddenly it came screaming out of the jungle at Sawyer and he reacted instinctively, throwing his hands up; the cat hit his hands with a screech and Kate screamed as its paws slashed at Sawyer, trying to claw him to pieces, but then blue lightning forked from his hands, electrifying the cat as it touched him. It was held in place as the sparks coursed into it; Sawyer froze, horrified, and the lightning died out, dropping the cat at his feet.

Eko nodded at Sawyer's astonished gaze; he looked at his hands strangely, as if they didn't belong to him. He turned to look at Kate; she was staring at him with fear and a little disgust; the cat was smoking from its mouth and nose and it smelled horribly of burnt skin and hair. Nausea washed over Sawyer and he held down the urge to puke as he moved away from the cat's smoking carcass. "What the hell did I just do?"

Eko stared at the cat for a minute, then said, "Why did you drop your gun earlier today, after the run-in with Them?"

Sawyer was startled; he hadn't seen that question coming; he thought about it. "I didn't like the feel of it in my hands. It felt...unnatural." Which should have struck him as funny; he loved the feel of a gun in his hands. But now the idea revolted him, he didn't want to feel the cold, clammy metal.

"Yes," Eko said. "it would. You have a natural defense, as you just saw, and the electricity and the metal guns do not mix. You don't need one, anyway."

Sawyer nodded. "What was that? How did I do it?"

Eko smiled. "Your anger, James, created a current, and that current has to flow somewhere. Practice focusing your anger and you will become stronger." He shook his head warningly, grinning a little. "That does not mean I want you to walk around being angry; you will have opportunity enough as it is."

Saywer smiled. "Gotcha, chief." He smiled back to Kate, who was still staring at the cat, gripping Vincent's collar. "Freckles, you can let go now."

She started, then looked at her hands as if she was just noticing she held Vincent at all. "Yeah," she said, letting him go, still stunned.

Saywer was suddenly concerned; he wanted to hold Kate but now he was kind of afraid to, what if he did that to her? God knows, sometimes he was angry enough at her.

Eko noticed his expression and smiled, gently. "You have to really want to hurt them, James. And no matter how angry she may make you, you would never really want to harm her." Kate was coming towards them and Eko leaned in and whispered, "She is the source of your power, James. Your love and hers combine to create a force that nothing can overcome. But beware; anything that separates you is a weakness, a chink in the armor."

Kate was beside them as Eko drew away from Sawyer's ear; Sawyer reached out to touch her and she flinched away, almost involuntarily. He was irritated for a second, but then he smiled and held his hand out to her. "It's okay, Freckles. I ain't gonna fry you, unless you tick me off." He let her fingers touch him; she sighed and leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "So you better stay in line."

She snorted against his chest; he felt tingly under her cheek, like his skin was still electrified. "You'll need more than a little fireworks display to keep me in line, Sparky."

He focused; he didn't really want to hurt her, but he could summon enough spark to give her a shock and touching her belly he shot her a little flare; she gasped and jumped away, looking surprised and a little angry. "What the hell was that?"

"Just keeping you in line." He grinned and she came back to him, warily, giving him a look of warning. He kissed her, and as his tongue touched hers he focused again and shot a little jolt across it; she didn't jump, but her eyes flew open in pleasure and she moaned a little. He pulled away, grinning. "Maybe that will keep you in line, then, eh?"

Eko came up to them smiling. "We must go," he said. "We are still in Their valley and we must cross the divide before night." He glanced at the sky. "We have about eight hours of daylight left, let's make the best of it."

Sawyer rested his head against hers. "Come on, Freckles," he said, taking her hand. "Let's make the best of it." He shot her one more jolt through his fingers and grinned as she glared at him. "No more I promise." He leaned against her and whispered, "Until later."

-----

Jack's fury had finally petered out after a few hours of hiking; now he was just disappointed as he trekked through the jungle, hoping he was remembering Danielle's map correctly. He didn't have any real hope of catching Kate and Sawyer; they had a day's lead and they were probably moving fast today since they were crossing the valley.

He was diappointed in Ana for her part in their argument; he was disappointed in himself, too, for the things he had said, especially about Kate. He didn't feel that way about Ana, it wasn't just sex to him; he liked her. As usual, his temper got the best of him and he took it out on the one person he shouldn't.

He knew she was behind him; she hadn't said anything to him but he could hear her muttering curses under her breath; he smiled in spite of himself, most of them were probably directed at him and he could just imagine what she was saying. He suddenly decided to take the initiative; stopping abruptly, he turned to her but her head was down and she didn't notice him until she had nearly run into him. "Ana."

She stopped a foot from him and looked up, arms crossed angrily. "Yeah, Jack? What?"

He almost didn't do it; his temper flared at her attitude but he swallowed it and smiled at her. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean all those things."

She glared at him for another second, then her gaze softened and she nodded her head. "Yeah, okay." Looking away, she swallowed, then looked back at him. "Sorry. I didn't mean it either." She hesitated, then touched his arm, smiling a little. "I'm on your side, Jack, but I don't have to always agree with you."

"Yeah," he said, "I know." He grinned. "I have the doctor's natural aversion to a second opinion."

She smiled. "Well, we may have a problem then, 'cause I like to give out second opinions. Sometimes third."

Jack chuckled, cupping her chin in his hand. "Well, we'll have a lot of making up to look forward to." It was a declaration of sorts, and Ana caught it; they were moving from sex to something more, and suddenly she was glad. She was ready to let Danny go and move on.

She looked up at him, almost breathless; grinning playfully, she stared into his eyes. "So...wanna make up now?"

His answer came instantly. "Oh, yeah."