Chapter 84
It took an hour for Locke's voice to come back, he sat apart from the others as they stayed in the clearing, recovering. Jack sat between Ana and Sara, his head bowed over his pulled-up knees. Ana's hand was on his thigh, possessively, and he refrained from telling her the truth about Sara; she was agitated enough, and he didn't want to upset her more.
Sara was in shock; her face was pale and drawn and she looked a little sick. Jack felt bad and he said, "Sara, are you okay?" He felt Ana's hand tighten on him, and he glanced at her, shaking his head, and her grip relaxed.
Sara nodded, but she wasn't really. It was all too much to take in at once; Jack was alive, and she had somehow crashed on the same Island as him; there were a bunch of crazy people here and they all had guns; one of them could heal people and create explosions and lightning with his hands, and she had the sinking feeling that this was all just the tip of the iceberg. She thought briefly about her students, back in Chicago; they had been reading Lord of the Flies and Sara felt eerily like she had been dropped into the center of the book, only instead of children playing at savagery, there were adults who had sunk completely into it. "What in the world is going on here?"
Jack laughed but it was bitter. "Who knows? I'm as lost as you." He glanced at her, sighing. "Sara, how did you end up here? This place is not for you." He didn't expect an answer, and he didn't get one, she just looked at him, sadly. "It's dangerous. Maybe we should take you back to camp."
Ana didn't say anything but she agreed wholeheartedly; she didn't like the something between them and she wondered what Jack was hiding from her. How did her know her? The bond between them was too much for just-
It struck her, suddenly, and her eyes narrowed; blonde hair, blue eyes, Sara. Damn. "You're his ex."
Jack flinched a little; he glanced at Ana. She was staring at him, a little hurt and a little scared; he could see that she considered Sara a threat, and that made her dangerous. He put his hand softly on Ana's and kissed her; he felt her relax as he said, "Yeah. Sara is my ex-wife. I don't think you two have been introduced. Ana-Lucia Cortez, Sara Shepard."
Sara blanched. "Preston." Jack glanced at her and she looked away. "Sara Preston. I got married a...few weeks ago."
"Congratulations." He didn't sound like he meant it.
"Thanks." The silence strained between them; finally Sara said, "Well. I guess you want to know what else has been going on at home?"
He said yes, but he wasn't really listening; Ana's hand had slid further down his thigh and it was now resting uncomfortably close to him and he couldn't think about anything else. Vaguely he heard Sara talking about his mom, how she wasn't doing great and he felt a distant tug of sadness but Ana's exploring fingers kept him rooted in the present, in the reality they existed in. He fought down a groan as she squeezed him, gently, and only supreme effort kept him from flinging her to the ground and taking her in front of Locke and Sara. His eyes glazed over as he felt the button on his jeans pop open and her hand slide inside; he snorted, laughing, trying not to moan aloud and Locke looked over at them and grinned; he could see Ana's hand and part of Jack's face, and he nodded. Good girl, Ana. Jack tried to stifle another groan as Ana's fingers touched him and he looked aside at her, warningly; she grinned and removed her hand.
"...so thankfully your mother has someone staying with her." Sara noticed that he wasn't really paying attention, and her heart sank; she was happy for Jack, though, glad that he had found someone who made him happy. I know I never did, she thought. Not really.
He tore his eyes away from Ana, his heart still beating wildly, and he said, "Who is staying with mom?" His eyes were slightly glazed and she knew that look; she had been married to him after all. Her cheeks flushed a little and she waved it off, turning her head. "Never mind, it's not important." She kept her eyes averted, and Jack felt a little guilty, and he looked apologetically at Ana as he stood, stretching. Time to move on; the atmosphere was getting a little stuffy.
As Jack rose, Ana and Sara looked at each other, their eyes meeting; Sara gave Ana a small smile, and said, softly, "Congratulations to you, too."
Her eyes crinkled as she smiled back. "Thanks. He's a great guy."
Jack peered down at her. "I can hear you, you know."
She gazed back up at him, taking his hand as he pulled her up. "I know you can."
He offered his hand to Sara, and Ana didn't care; Sara wasn't going to be a problem. She hoped.
Locke rose also and came over to them; he was moving slowly and painfully after being thrown against the trees. "Are you all okay?" He seemed genuinely concerned and Jack nodded after a second.
"I wish you hadn't done that, Locke," he said, and he was serious; he hadn't wanted Kate to die. Watching Locke torture her had made him sick; only by keeping his eyes on Ana, terrified and tied up, could he stop himself from trying to make Locke stop. Ana was the prize; he had to keep his eyes on her and hopefully the ends would justify the means.
"I had to, Jack." He winced as he stepped closer. "You see the power he has? That power is because of her; without her it's gone. He's vulnerable."
Jack nodded. "So we go after him now?" He wanted to get this over with, be done with it.
Locke shook his head. "No, his fury will drive him for a while. Do you want to go up against him as he is?"
He groaned a little as he moved and Jack grinned. "No, I think waiting might be better." Locke gave him a sarcstic smile. "So what do we do now? Wait here?" He glanced at Sara; she was staring at him in horror; he was talking about going after someone to kill them as if it were nothing. She was wrong; he had changed and not for the better. "Maybe we should take Sara back to camp."
Locke shook his head. "No, that will take too long. We're going to the new hatch."
-----
Sawyer came back to find Kate sitting on a rock, talking to Vincent and Kotori; she glanced up as he came through the bushes and smiled. He was momentarily stunned by how damn beautiful she was, with the sun streaming down on her and her skin still red in places where he had healed her. His heart still thudded crazily when he thought of how close he had come to losing her and he went to her, quickly, drawing her up against him and kissing her as Kitori fluttered angrily off of her shoulder.
He was warm and sweaty and she pressed herself closer, molding her body to his; his tongue traced hers softly and she shivered, then drew back, catching her breath. "You didn't kill anyone did you?" She hoped he hadn't.
"No, Freckles," he said, chuckling in her ear, "But I beat the crap out of Locke."
He sounded so proud of himself that she had to laugh; anyway, he had tortured her so she couldn't feel sorry for Sawyer kicking the shit out of him. "Was everyone okay?"
He shrugged; he hadn't really paid attention. "I guess. They were all standin'." He kissed her once more, delighting in the feel of her soft lips and her softer hands, then said, reluctantly, "Come on, Kate. We need to get in somewhere, figure out what we're gonna do."
Kotori suddenly chirped madly then fluttered away into the forest, his little bronze wings shining in the sunlight. Vincent woofed after him, and Sawyer said, "Where's he goin'?" He barked a couple of times, then turned his back and started towards the chapel. "Okay. We'll be right behind you."
Kate looked at him quizzically and said, "Taking directions from Vincent now?"
Sawyer grinned, grazing his lips against hers. "Well, he is a pretty smart dog." He glanced in the direction the little owl had gone. "Hootie went to spy for us, and we're goin' back to the chapel." He suddenly looked very tired and Kate was exhausted too; it was still early in the day but they both felt drained; as if ten years had passed instead of a few hours. They sagged against each other, and Vincent woofed; sighing, Sawyer pulled himself away from her. "The master calls," he whispered, and she smiled, leaning against him as they melted into the jungle.
-----
Sara was walking slowly behind the others; she wasn't used to the heat or the humidity and it was wearing her down and she was just plain exhausted anyway. She was among strangers; her joy and finding Jack was tempered by the knowledge that he wasn't really Jack, he had become something else, and she wondered if it was the Island that had done it to him, or was it her? They had barely spoken since the divorce; he really was a stranger, the man she knew was from another life even before the crash.
Jack wasn't paying attention to her at all; he was wrapped up in Ana, and Sara felt a small flash of jealousy. She couldn't complain, though, she had left him, abandoned him, and she had no one but herself to blame, though she thought things might have been different if she'd had this Jack instead.
She didn't like the way things were going; Kate and Sawyer had saved her, and been nothing but kind and compassionate, and now she was with the people who had killed Kate and were going to try to kill Sawyer, and she hated herself, suddenly, for going along just because it was Jack; she didn't know him anymore and he didn't want to know her. She wished she had some way to warn Sawyer, to tell him that they were going to come after him again, to tell him she was sorry about Kate.
A little gold ball whickered over her head and she glanced up, catching sight of it as it slowed and dropped into her hand. She stared at the little owl, and smiled; she had seen it with Sawyer before. She glanced up at the others; they all had their backs to her, ignoring the fact that she was there and she smiled grimly, holding the little bird cupped in her hand, whispering to it. Chirruping softly, Kitori blinked his cool blue eyes and flew away as Sara grinned to herself. She had a purpose. She was here, with Jack, for a reason.
