Chapter 46
The late afternoon sun was blazing down through the canopy and Jack could feel the sweat rolling down between his shoulderblades, trickling down his back and pooling around his waistband; his jeans were uncomfortably sticky on his skin. Ana puffed beside him; the heat took its toll on her by sapping her energy; she was gamely trying to keep up and Jack slowed his pace some to make it easier on her. Why would they be in such a hurry anyway? They couldn't catch the others, their best hope would be to meet them on their way back.
Ana smiled as he slowed; she really was having a hard time in the heat. Los Angeles was hot, sure, but as anyone who has been to the American Southwest can say, it's a dry heat. The humidity was harsh and even after two months in it the moisture made it hard to breathe and sometimes she felt like her lungs were sponges, soaking up the water in the air and drowning her. "Thanks," she puffed as she caught up, taking his hand. She could do that now, because they were together. Kind of.
Jack grinned at her, glancing down at their hands; he liked that she felt comfortable enough to do that. "You out of shape? I heard a lot of huffing and puffing back there."
She threw him an offended look. "I'm from L.A., Jack. We actually have air there."
Jack looked askance at her. "I thought you had smog. Isn't the air in L.A. brown?"
She chuckled and shook her head. "Not every day." Grinning saucily she peeked aside at him; she jerked her head back down the trail she said, "You sure you're not out of shape? Cause I heard a lot of huffing and puffing back there."
He squeezed her hand, chuckling; she leaned her head against his shoulder and they walked quietly for a few minutes. Jack finally spoke. "You know why I was in Australia, Ana, what were you doing there?"
"Vacation." She said it automatically, though it wasn't exactly true; she had darker reasons for being there. Jason had been haunting her in Los Angeles, everything made her think about the baby, and Danny, and what she had done; she needed to see some new scenery, some new people, anything to get her mind off of...everything. And she thought that her mother was suspicious of her; she hadn't used her own gun, of course, and it wasn't implausible that he'd been shot over a drug deal or something, but she wasn't her mother and a police captain for nothing; she was sharp and didn't miss things. Except for the baby; she hadn't suspected anything about that. But it would be better for her to get away from her mom, now, until she could get things straight enough in her head to keep it hidden.
He didn't think she was quite telling the truth but he didn't press it. "Lucky you, it's been extended." He smiled at her, and she grinned back, squeezing his hand a little. "Yeah," she said, looking into his eyes. "Lucky me."
He wanted to kiss her but he didn't; they needed to at least reach the pass before dark and he wasn't sure how far away they were and if he started it would lead to something else and they would never get anywhere. They could wait until they made camp for the night. I hope, he thought to himself, grinning.
"Hey, Jack." He stopped dead as the bearded man stepped out of the jungle in front of them; he instinctively reached for his gun- he had given Kate a spare he had brought along, just in case- but the man said, "I wouldn't do that, Jack. I ain't alone." A dozen rifle barrels poked out of the bushes and glaring angrily at the man Jack put his gun back into his sweaty waistband. The bearded man smiled and said, "That's better. We're just here to talk."
"Where's Michael?" Hostility was coming off of him in waves and Ana watched the two of them warily, ready to jump if she needed to.
The man cackled harshly. "Don't you worry about Michael. He ain't your concern anymore. If I were you I'd worry more about her." He nodded at Ana, who paled as her stomach churned under his gaze. "There's somebody on this island that wants a word with her. Or six." he cackled again as Ana turned white beneath her skin.
Jack was worried about her; he could feel her tense and when he looked at her he felt sick; she was looking so wan and pale he was afraid she was going to pass out. He jumped when she spoke; her voice was tiny and hoarse as she said, "Tha's not possible. He's dead."
The bearded man smiled. "Not here, he ain't. You better watch yourself." He looked back to Jack, sneering. "But I didn't come here to give you advice. I want something."
Barking out a laugh, Jack sneered. "I'm not doing anything for you." He pulled Ana a little closer, trying to shield her; he didn't like the way the man's eyes were roaming over her body.
"Well, I think you might. 'Cause if you don't we'll take her." he nodded at Ana, and Jack felt her legs tremble. "And before you say we won't, you know we will if we want to." He smiled nastily at the resigned look in Jack's eye. "So here is what I want from you. We want him."
Jack was confused. "You want to be a little more specific?"
The bearded man smiled at the sarcasm. "The carpenter." He grinned. "Think about it Jack. It'll come to you. But he has to come of his own accord, you can't make him do it. It has to be his choice." He eyed Ana once more, then started to fade into the jungle. "We'll be waiting, Jack. And watching."
He spun immediately to Ana, grabbing her chin. "Are you okay?" She was pale and shaky; he wondered what in the hell the man had meant about someone looking for her; it obviously meant something to her, judging by her reaction.
She nodded, still trembling a little. "Yeah."
He didn't think she was quite telling the truth, but he didn't press it.
-----
They crossed the valley quickly and soon found themselves in standing before another ridge of high mountains; they turned north and followed the ridge, looking for the rock that marked the pass.
Urgency pushed at them; they had to cross this ridge before dark and that was about three hours away; nobody spoke as they saved their breath for the climb ahead.
Kate saw the rock first and she knew instantly this was it; it was huge, almost the size of a barn and as they drew closer she could see markings on it. She gasped as they came close enough to make out the marks.
They were carvings, etched deep into the stone; her eyes widened as she took them in, a masted ship thrown up on the rocks, a small ketch broken on the reef, a military transport plane, broken in half on the ground, a small plane lodged in the canopy. Her heart froze as she saw the next one; an airliner, broken in three, and carved clearly in the tail was the Oceanic logo.
Her eyes roamed over the stone, there were many carvings that she couldn't make out and she shuddered at the thought of all of the people those carvings meant. Sawyer and Eko were staring at it, too; Kate leaned against Sawyer, shivering in the heat, her mouth suddenly cottony-dry.
She reached up into her pack to get some water; the bottle she pulled out was almost empty, so she grabbed the other. It was completely empty. Sighing, she said, "We need to find water. I'm almost out."
Eko nodded. "There will be some on the other side of the pass. I would not drink the water in the valley."
Kate looked disappointed, but she opened her bottle to take a tiny sip. Sawyer stopped her, handing her one of his. She smiled and kissed him, and he pulled her aside a little, grinning. "I gotta show you somethin', Freckles," he said, and looking aside at Eko, he whispered, "Only you. Don't tell no one, okay?"
She nodded, eyes shiniing with excitement. "Okay."
He smiled and held up her bottle with its little bit of water in it. Closing his eyes, he held the bottle in his hand, and as Kate watched it filled with water like he was holding it under an invisible faucet.
She was staring at him in amazement when he opened his eyes; grinning at her he handed her the full bottle, holding her hand as she took it, still gaping at him. His eyes danced at her and he whispered excitedly, "Taste it."
She smiled; he looked like a kid waiting for his parents to open the gift he made them for Christmas. She lifted the bottle to her lips and took a sip, her eyes widening in surprise. It tasted like peaches. Her eyes flew to him and he grinned. "I didn't know what your favorite flavor is but I figured it wouldn't be mango."
She stared at him in awe. "Jesus, Sawyer, can you turn it to wine too?"
He shrugged. "I could try. Why, you up for another game of I Never?" He drew her to him, kissing her forehead. "I need to change one of my answers anyway."
She just looked up at him in awe. "You're amazing, did you know that?" Her heart swelled with love and she pressed her face to his chest, hugging him tight as he ran his fingers through her hair.
"Believe it or not, that ain't the first time I've been told that." He laughed to himself as she snorted in disgust against him. "Don't worry, Freckles," he said, chuckling, "This is the only time it mattered."
Sighing, she pulled away from him, taking another sip of the peachy water. It was like manna from Heaven. She grabbed his hand, impetuously, and brought it to her lips, kissing his fingers, flicking them with her tongue; she could feel him throbbing through them and she smiled as he groaned softly. "Kate, God Kate, stop." She did, kissing his lips instead, he groaned again as he tasted hers; peaches.
Vincent appeared beside them, growling, and Sawyer pulled his mouth from Kate's, scowling. "What did I tell you about buggin' me, Fido? You and me are gonna have a serious chat later." Vincent barked in Eko's direction and Sawyer sighed. "I know, I know. We're coming." In a low voice he whispered to Kate, "I wish." She rolled her eyes as Vincent studied him for a second; apparently satisfied he trotted off to join Eko, who was starting up the pass. Sawyer sighed and leaned his head against Kate's; kissing her one more time he took her hand and as they passed it she cast one more look at the stone, feeling slightly sick.
She took another sip of her water and grinned. "Hey, Tex."
He looked over at her, smiling, his dimples flashing at her; happiness flooded into her like sunshine and she smiled brightly at him. "Grape." He looked a little confused, and she touched his lips with her fingers. "My favorite flavor. Grape."
He laughed and pulled her to a brief stop to kiss her again; he could never get enough of her against him. "Mmmm. Grape. That's my favorite flavor too."
She looked surprised. "Really?"
Nodding as he kissed her again, he savored the taste of peaches on her lips. "It is now."
