Chapter 76
They weren't going in the same direction; Locke was leading them away from the hatch, back into the jungle. Ana caught up to him as he stopped to take a drink of water. "Where you taking us, John?"
Locke smiled to himself; Ana was sharp and he'd been wondering when she was going to ask about the change in course. "We're meeting someone."
Her eyebrows arched as she asked, "Who are we meeting?"
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye as he took another drink. "Do you know what's going on here, Ana?" She looked confused and that answered this question. "Someone is trying to destroy this Island because they think it is bad, that it is evil." He paused, then asked softly, "Do you believe that?"
She shook her head; this place could work miracles. She looked at Jack, who was leaning against a tree, sipping water and staring at her; there was a miracle itself, that Jack wasn't over here, up in Locke's face, creating tension; he was relaxed and smiling, for God's sake. "No, John, I don't."
He smiled, capping his bottle and sliding it back into his pack. "Good, because faith is going to be very important soon."
Jack sauntered over, still smiling lightly; he grinned at Locke and said, "Faith is in pretty short supply here, Locke. Why don't you make a believer of me?"
He wasn't being sarcastic; it was in invitation, and Locke took him up on it, smiling himself as he rubbed his forehead and said, "Okay, Jack. I guess it's time for you both to know the truth." He motioned to the ground. "Sit. This may take a little while."
After they were all situated on the ground- Ana next to Jack, her hand lightly on his thigh- Locke continued. "Since this Island was created, ages and ages ago, it has always been a battleground between Good and Evil, Light and Dark. Two players, two sides; one white, one black."
Jack cocked his head, eyeing Locke. "And which side are we, John? The light or the dark?"
"It's all relative, Jack. They think we're the dark side, and so we are. But light, dark, they're just terms. We're right and that is what matters."
Nodding, Jack said, "Okay." Ana's hand squeezed his thigh as she smiled at him.
John paused, then scratched his head as he continued. "The Island does not belong to the real world. We are...outside of it, in another plane, but the tesseract, the portal, it has always been here, a connection to Earth that comes and goes at the whim of the Island."
"What about all of that surveillance stuff and the scanning; if the portal has always been here, why is all of that necessary?" Ana sat forward a little, eager to hear Locke's answer.
"I think, somewhere along the line someone learned to...control it, to use it towards their own ends. To draw in what it wanted and keep out the others, or kill them." He paused, sighing. "The tesseract itself is a contradiction; it is everything and nothing, past and future, good and evil, light and dark, it can give life and it can take it away, but the one thing it can't do is sustain itself; it must have an outside source of power. And that power is faith."
Things were falling into place for Jack; he nodded and said, "And who has the most faith? Children." He shook his head in disgust. "They enslave children to power the Island?"
John chuckled, shaking his head in return. "No, Jack. The children are free and alive; they are not slaves. It is their faith that makes everything here possible, they are happy, believe me. What would they have with us at the camp? Sand fleas, crappy food, a bunch of strangers bossing them around, pain and loneliness. No, they are better off."
Ana didn't quite agree. "They took adults from our camp, Locke. What about them?"
"The Others die too, eventually, though the experiments gave them a longer life expectancy, so they have to replenish their ranks; they take the good people because they have faith too. Every little bit helps."
They were quiet for a minute, then Jack said, "What about Walt, John? Don't you care about him? Do you really think he's happier without Michael?"
"Michael only tried to hold Walt back; the Island is giving him the oppotunity to use his gifts to their full potential." He grinned at Jack's dubious expression. "Walt is very special, Jack. He is the Dark Side. We are in control, for now, but if we lose, the Island is done." Glancing at Ana, he said, "It happened before. The incident they talk about on the film we found? The Light Side won and the Island was nearly completely destroyed." He paused, sighing. "Which brings me to the point. The new battle has been joined; we are at war."
"Against who?"
Locke hesitated. This would test exactly how far Jack had come. "W.L. George once said 'Wars teach us not to love our enemies, but to hate our allies.'" Jack was looking at him curiously, and he said, "Sawyer."
Snorting, Jack said, "Sawyer? He's going to destroy the island?" Then he remembered the log slamming into the tree line, leaving dark streaks on the tree trunks at a wave of his hand, and his chuckle faded. "Sawyer?"
Locke nodded. "Yeah. Crazy, huh? But he's the one."
Jack suddenly felt a little uneasy; he looked at Locke and asked, "Where are we going, Locke?"
Locke's voice was urgent and tight. "We have to stop him."
Ana piped up; she didn't care about Sawyer or Kate either way. "Why didn't you kill him when he was here?"
Locke gave her a disappointed look. "Do you really think any of us can kill him? Didn't you just see what he could do? And don't think that is all." He gave her a knowing look. "Only three things can hurt him now; Walt, Kate, and himself."
Old Jack was creeping up and New Jack fought him down; he kept his voice calm as he said, "Then why are we going after him? If we can't hurt him."
"Because Kate can. And we can hurt Kate." Jack was horrified and disgusted but it was almost a reflex; deep down he realized that he wanted to keep being the new person he was, and if Kate had to suffer to keep it that way, well, she had chosen her side the minute she had left him behind on the path to the caves.
Ana watched him struggle with the idea and she smiled as he shrugged. "Well, if we have to. But only as a last resort."
Locke shrugged; it was all relative. "Sure, Jack," he said, and Ana caught the gleam in his eye as he finished, "Only as a last resort."
-----
Sawyer was practically dragging Kate through the bushes as they retreated towards the chapel; he felt like they would be safer there and the sooner they got inside, the better. He wasn't too worried about them getting their hands on Kate, not with him there, but if it was Walt again he didn't think he'd be able to stop them; he was still weak and tired from earlier.
He heard her curse behind him as she stumbled a little; he realized how fast he was going and slowed down a little. "Sorry, Freckles, you okay?"
"Yeah," she said, a little breathlessly catching up; the little bronze owl chittered beside her shoulder and Sawyer looked behind them as Eko and Vincent came tearing through the brush, both of them panting as they stopped.
Eko panted for a second, then said, "I am glad to see you are on the move already. I sent Kotori to you hoping you would move out."
Kate smiled as the little owl landed on her finger. "Kotori?"
He hooted a few times at Sawyer, who smiled. "He says the Hopi woman who made him and gave him her spirit named him Kotori, because it means 'spirit of the screech owl' and that is what he has."
Kate smiled and kissed Kotori on the head. "Yes, you do." Hooting happily he flew off, landing in a branch a few yards away, singing his little bronze heart out. Vincent looked jealous at the attention and he growled sulkily until Kate reached down and scratched his ears. "You too, Vincent. You're a brave dog." He wagged his tail and kissed her, dripping slobber across her cheek.
Sawyer dragged his eyes away from the happy, smiling Kate and turned to Eko. "What's going on?"
"They are coming for Kate, James, and they are not going to be nice about it. So, listen to me, and listen carefully. There is a glade up ahead with a cave next to a stream. Hide in there, as best you can and don't come out no matter what you see; remember what lies in the balance."
Sawyer nodded but he was icy inside; what were they planning for Kate? "What then?"
He smiled sadly, and placing his hand on Sawyer's arm, he said, "That is something you have to figure out on your own, James. But before we part, I have two things to tell you." He glanced at Kate, who was leaning against Sawyer almost without realizing it. "Both of you. First, you are both good people, don't ever let anyone tell you differently, because goodness is forgiving evil and you both have done that, over and over. And you must keep doing it, James, you must continue down the path you have started."
Sawyer nodded; he knew he had to do it. "I will. I want to." As long as Kate was there.
"Good. Second, this is so very important, James, for you to get what it is you want. Dreams do come true, if you wish hard enough; you can have anything you want if you are willing to sacrifice everything else for it."
"I don't know if I am," he said, nervously, pulling Kate closer to him.
Eko grinned, and he clapped a hand on Sawywer's shoulder. "The time may come when you will be, James. Just remember my words." He motioned in the direction of the cave. "Now, go, and don't come out, no matter what. Hurry!"
Sawyer grabbed Kate and they ran until they found the cave; she stared at the waterfall and stream, shining in the starlight and said, "Wow."
Dragging her inside the cave he said, "You can admire the scenery later, sweetheart, Get in there." He pushed her into the darkest recess he could find and covered her body with his; They would have to go through him to get her.
Just as they backed into the shadows torches flared in the clearing and they could see a pair of khaki pants walking into it; the cave opening hung so low they couldn't see his face. A voice called out to them, "Sawyer! Kate! Are you here?"
Sawyer started forward but Kate stopped him. "It's Locke," he said, but Kate shook her head.
"Eko said no matter what, Sawyer. He's not on our side." Neither of them noticed she didn't call him James; Sawyer nodded and leaned back against her, shielding her from everything as Locke's legs came closer, calling them again.
Eko's voice drifted in to them as he said, "They are not here, John. I sent them back to camp."
Locke laughed and it was harsh with distrust. "Why would I believe you? The fact that you're here tells me they are close."
Eko's words were soft and melodic as he said, "I cannot help what you believe, John. The fact is they are not here." He was quiet for a moment, then he said, "What are you doing, John? You are going to torture her to get to him? This is what the Island has done for you?"
"The Island has done more for me than you can imagine, Eko." His voice was cold and Kate shivered against Sawyer's back, giving him goosebumps too. "Now, are you going to tell me where they are, or am I going to have to shoot you?" It was deathly quiet in the glade; only the click of a gun cocking broke the silence and Kate and Sawyer strained to hear something, anything.
Nothing.
