Chapter 82
Locke didn't move at his usual blistering pace and Ana was glad; she didn't want to get too far away from Jack. Sawyer was going to kill him, she just knew it; she had this horrible feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn't think of anything else that could make her feel so...scared.
The change in him was unbelieveable; he was like a different person, without the tension and hostility the real Jack, the Jack he was supposed to be was allowed to come through. She'd always known he was in there, she'd seen him, hidden; to see him released and free was almost...magical, and the Island was the reason for it. It was magical. She didn't ever want to leave; nothing but misery and lonliness awaited her in the real world.
They stopped as a strange ripping sound echoed through the jungle, followed by a crash; Locke gazed back over his shoulder then glanced at Ana. She was staring, horrified, in Jack's direction. "We should go back, Locke."
Dusky light fell on them and three people walked out of the jungle, stopping a few feet away from them; Bluebeard, Frank Sawyer, and- her heart stopped as she saw him- Jason. He grinned at her, his ruined face made more grotesque by the shadows cast by the sunlight as he said, "There is no goin' back, Officer Cortez. Believe me."
Bluebeard stepped up to John and said, "Where are they?"
"Patience, Alvar. They are coming." He glanced a Frank, scowling. "He's useless. Why is he here?"
Frank snapped back before Bluebeard could answer. "I got as much right to be here as you. Hell, I been waiting for this for twenty-eight years, you been here, what a month?"
Bluebeard shushed him, ignoring the evil look Frank gave him, and turned back to Locke. "What's this plan of yours, John?"
Locke hesitated; it wasn't a plan with a lot of finesse; in fact it was going to rely on strength and speed more than smarts; glancing at the three men in front of him he was quietly thankful for that. "The key is to get to Kate; once we have her he'll do anything we say. Unfortunately that's also the tricky part. Sawyer is not stupid; he'll be wary and suspicious. You three hide; Ana, come here."she went, reluctantly, and he pulled a length of rope from his pocket.
"What are you doing, John?" she asked, eyeing the rope uneasily.
"Details, Ana. We have to distract him long enough for Frank to make himself useful and grab Kate from behind. But be careful, Frank. He won't have any qualms about killing you now." Locke sneered at him; he disliked the...man, if that was what he was.
Ana balked at having her hands tied; she didn't like being left defenseless, especially with what was about to happen. "I don't like this, John."
He looked her in the eyes for a second, then said softly, "I don't either, Ana. But as much as I like Kate and Sawyer, I hate being helpless and hopeless even more. You do too, don't you?" He looked at Jason, who was leering at her through his deformed face, and he said, lower, "I know what you want, Ana, and it doesn't have anything to do with him. He's nothing, a test; don't let him sway you away from your path. What you want, the family, the kids, it's all within your grasp. You want that, don't you? You want it with Jack, the way he is now, right?"
Her resolve was fading at Locke's words; he was right, Jason was nothing. "Yeah," she said, and a tear slid down her cheek. She did want that, with Jack.
Locke smiled and touched her arm; she recoiled a little from his unpleasant grasp and he said, "The Island is already giving you part of what you want. You can have it all, Ana, but the Island must survive. Okay?"
She nodded, and held her hands behind her back without a word. Locke tied them, tightly, and she grimaced. "I know, details."
John smiled and nodded, then he motioned to the three men. "Go, hide. Frank, be ready to move behind Kate and grab her, but watch him; he is dangerous. Get a gun on her immediately; that is the only thing that will stop him."
Bluebeard cocked his head, "Aren't you going to kill her anyway?"
Locke shook his head. "I think we should try to turn him first. If he won't listen to reason," he shrugged, "then he'll listen to something much less...pleasant."
Ana paled and worked quietly at loosening her bonds.
-----
Sara wasn't heavy but his arms were getting tired; every once in a while he would feel her lift just enough for him to shake out his arms a little; he didn't look back but he knew it was Sawyer, though he was sure it was at Kate's urging and not Sawyer's idea. He wasn't that nice.
She woke, finally, and as her eyes opened she seemed surprised to see Jack; after a second she remembered and her eyes filled up with tears. "Jack," she said, touching his face, "I thought you were dead."
He stopped, and as Kate and Sawyer caught up he set her down, gently, allowing her to get her balance before leting her go. Kate touched her shoulder. "You okay?"
Sara smiled through her wet lashes. "Yeah," she said thickly, "It's just so unreal, you know?"
Kate smiled. "You have no idea." Sawyer squeezed her hand and kissed her, quickly, though she could tell his lips wanted to linger. "You hungry? I have some fruit."
Sara realized that she was; smiling at Kate she said, "Thanks. For everything, you know, getting me out of the plane and all."
Kate unzipped her pack and brought out two mangoes which she handed to Sara, along with the knife from her belt. Jack watched them both and he was surprised to realize that he didn't really care about either one of them anymore; he wanted them to be safe, and unhurt, but he had no other feelings for them. He wanted Ana.
Sawyer was watching Jack closely, looking for any tells; he was busy staring at Kate and Sara, and Sawyer resisted the urge to blast his eyes out of his head for looking at Kate. He didn't trust Jack at all, even less so now that Sara was here. She was just another person for Jack to save; another reason for him to screw them over.
Kitori whickered softly down on Sawyer's shoulder, drawing curious looks from Jack and Sara; he chittered in his ear for a few seconds then fluttered off into the jungle. Sawyer glanced at Kate then said, "Well, we better move on, Doc. Seems like there's a welcome wagon waitin' on us." His eyes suddely flared and he grabbed Jack by the throat, his eyes snapping blue sparks as he growled, "Rollin' out the red carpet for us, Jackass?"
Jack was frozen as Sawyer held him by the throat; he could feel the electricity coming through his skin and it was somewhat unpleasant, as if he was being softly, gently electrocuted. He tried to struggle but he couldn't; terror immobilized him. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sawyer."
Sawyer shook him, hard; Kate started forward, but she was grabbed from behind; she screamed and Sawyer dropped Jack in terror as he turned around. Frank Sawyer had her, a gun pointed to her throat as Locke, Bluebeard and Jason materialized out of the jungle; Locke was dragging Ana behind him.
Jack stared in horror at Ana, who was clearly scared; Locke waved his hand at him. "Stay there for now, Jack. Ana's fine." His eyes fell on Sara and he looked quizzically at Jack. "Who is this?"
"Sara. She was in a plane that crashed a little while ago, didn't you hear it?" Jack hoped like hell that Sara wouldn't say anything to give herself away; he didn't think it would be a good idea for Locke to know who she really was.
Locke looked her over and his eyes rested on Sawyer, who was standing frozen as Frank Sawyer held the pistol to Kate's throat. Blue flames were shooting from his eyes and Locke shook his head. "Control yourself, Sawyer. Frank's got an itchy trigger finger."
Saywer turned his flaming eyes on Locke, and he quailed a little at the blazing blue orbs. "If anything happens to her, John, I will kill you. And it won't be pleasant."
Kate was terrified and she held her breath as Sawyer held his temper; she had no doubt that they would kill her if he tried anything. "James," she said, quietly, and as he turned to face her she almost cried; he was unsure and lost; he was scared.
He turned to Locke. "What do you want?" Locke didn't answer right away; he pulled the knife from the sheath on his belt and a zippo lighter from his pocket and smiled as he held them up together.
"We want you, Sawyer. We want your power, your force. You could rule this place, you and Walt, but you seem to want to be stubborn and destroy it." He flicked the lighter and a flame popped up; he held the knife edge over the flame, turning it slightly to get the blade hot.
"Don't you dare, Locke. I will fucking kill you."
Locke held the light still, looking up at Sawyer. "Join us. Come to our side, save this paradise instead of killing it." He was looking a little crazily at Kate.
Eko, help me, he thought. I don't know what to do.
It came to him; Eko's voice ehcoed through his mind. Do what you know is right, James. Katherine knows it too.
He smiled grimly at Locke. "No. This place is evil, John."
Locke shrugged sadly and went to a terrified Kate; he held the knife up, and said, "Where should I put it first, Sawyer?" He waved it over her bare arm then jabbed the still-hot tip of it into the fleshy part of her bicep, twisting it just a little as she tried to jerk away. He pulled it out and she stopped struggling, panting as she gazed at Saywer, trying to draw strength from him.
He was staring back at her, tears in his eyes as he said softly, "I'm sorry, Kate."
She smiled at him through her sweaty strands of hair and replied, "Don't be, Cowboy."
Locke smiled at them. "Sweet." He flicked the lighter on again and held the knife over it, staring at Sawyer. "So, I guess that means you're still not giving in. Okay." He eyed the gaping wound in her arm, blood drizzling down and dripping from her fingertips; this time he laid the flat of the red-hot blade against her collarbone, holding it there as she screamed; when he pulled it away it had pieces of her flesh stuck to it.
Sawyer was about to explode; he couldn't take any more. Kate's screams were ripping him to pieces and the sight of her burnt flesh coming off on the blade of Locke's knife was making him spark like a roman candle.
Sara was horrified; she whispered to Jack, "Why don't you do something, Jack?"
He was staring at Ana, whose hands were still tied behind her; she looked terrified and he whispered back, "I can't."
Kate was panting harshly, the barrel of the gun moving along with her breath. "Doing good, James," she said, smiling a little as blood from her neck stained the front of her purple tank black.
He wanted to touch her, to heal her wounds and take away the pain he could see in her eyes. He could feel it, too, every burn, every cut, everything she felt he felt it too. It strengthened him, made him burn brighter, like an angry star; instead of weakening him they were building him up to a height they couldn't imagine. "Thanks, Freckles. You too."
Locke shook his head in frustration. "Sawyer, the only way this can end is with her dead." He held the blade to Kate's throat. "Unless you come to us. Save her, Sawyer, and save yourself. You can still have everything you've ever wanted, you can have what it is you desire so much."
The edge of the blade pressed into Kate's skin; he could see it creasing as Locke applied pressure. A thin trickle of blood ran from beneath the knife, and Kate was so scared her knees were knocking; she gazed at him with love and forgiveness and he exploded; he seemed to swell, to take up the entire glade with his presence. Everything turned a hazy blue as he screamed and the trees ringing the clearing burst into flames, exploding with the force of the heat.
The air tightened and drew around him as he shook, calling down the heavens; it blew out with a sonic boom that shook the ground beneath their feet and a shockwave knocked everyone to the ground. Sawyer ran to Kate and grabbed her, kicking Locke in the face as he passed; running into the jungle he stopped and let out a cry; Kate's throat was slit and she was gurgling helplessly at him, her eyes staring blankly at the sky.
