Chapter 91
They descended the mountain in the darkness and as they reached the bottom Locke called a halt; he could see that Sara's energy was waning, she had only slept a couple of hours. They all sat quietly; Sara stared at the stars, amazed at how bright they were, how close and clear. That was something else she noticed about the island; the air here was clear, free of pollution and human toxins, it was pure and clean, like the world must have been in the beginning. She was gradually getting used to it, but a deep breath still gave her a dizzy spell sometimes.
Locke figured Kate and Sawyer had probably reached the hatch by now; they would probably stay there until morning. Or knowing them, afternoon. They could camp here, no problem, let Sara get a good night's sleep so she could keep up in the morning when they pushed on to the Red Site.
Wings fluttered by him in the darkness and he frowned as he heard a couple of owls hooting in the trees. They were bad omens; owls were harbingers of death. An uneasy lump formed in his stomach and he wondered whose death they were calling for. He reconsidered making camp, but changed his mind; he was just being silly, jumping at an old superstition.
He got a fire started while Jack amd Sara collected some wood while Ana went off into the woods to get some fruit; she wasn't as good at climbing as Kate but she could still get up into the smaller trees. She found one that she could scale in the dark, and clenching her flashlight between her teeth, she started to scoot up the long thin trunk.
"Hello, Officer." She froze and glanced down; Jason stood below her, leering up with his deformed face. "Fancy finding you out here alone."
She swallowed her fear and sneered back. "What do you want?"
He ran his hand idly down the trunk of the tree and the bark became cold beneath her; she shivered as he said, "Just droppin' by for a visit. Why don't you come down here so we can chat?"
She didn't want to but some invisible force pushed on her until she slid down the icy trunk; her feet hit the ground and she backed away from him quickly, before he could touch her with his cold hands. "What do you want?"
He gazed at her, idly, then said, "What's your buddy Locke up to? Where are you going?" Her heart thudded as he took a step towards her.
Ana was still backing away as he advanced; she said, "We're going to some site in between the mountains. He doesn't know what it is."
Jason laughed. "Oh, he knows. He's been there. Not physically,of course, but you could say he's had a vritual tour." He stopped and stared at her for a second. "He didn't tell you? Hmmm."
Anger flared up at his smug expression and Ana snapped, "Well, what is it then? Why don't you tell me?"
He chuckled and advanced on her again; she put her hand on her gun and he shook his head. "Bullets won't kill me, Officer Cortez. Not this time. You're gonna have to rely on something besides a gun." He winked one ruined eye at her and she swallowed the bile that rose in her throat. "For a change."
Guilt and remorse flooded her at his words, though she knew it was silly. She fought down the urge to scream for Jack; she had to handle this on her own, and she steeled herself before looking Jason in the eye and smiling coldly. "So I can just beat you to death? I have a club, too." She fingered the log hanging from her belt.
He smiled, still advancing as she backed up into the trees. "No, no, no, Officer, it's nothing you can touch, or hold in your hand. Brute force won't help you; I guess you are shit out of luck." He lunged at her and she ducked away, running towards the camp.
Something snaked around her feet and tripped her up, as she fell she glanced down and saw a dull gray tentacle wrapped around her ankle and she screamed, kicking at it. It unwound and Jason was in front of her, leering down at her with his ruined, bloody face, and he grinned as she sprang to her feet, backing away slowly. "What do you want?"
His face grew angry and his eyes gleamed as he shouted, "I want you to fall on your knees and beg my forgiveness! I want you to kiss my feet and say you are sorry for what you did!"
Her knees were quaking but she laughed in his face. "Never. Fuck you! You're not even real- I brought you here! I made you!"
He sneered, "Oh, I'm real. Wanna see?" He lunged at her again but she was ready; as she ducked to the side her fist caught him under the chin; she gasped as it sank through his face, like he was made of smoke. He laughed at her expression and said, "Reality is all relative, Officer." His hand shot out and grabbed her around the throat and it was real; she clutched at his steel hand as it closed her windpipe, clawing at him as her eyes started to gray out.
She could see dimly; the world was fading and strangely silent; her heart was breaking for Jack, she never got to tell him how she felt, and she felt a tear roll down her cheek as she thought about his hands on her face, his lips on hers; as she started to black out a beautiful white angel came floating out of the darkness behind Jason's head. She was dying, and the angel was coming to carry her away; it came closer and her fading eyes smiled as she saw it; then suddenly she was on the ground, gasping for air as her eyes slid back into focus; her 'angel' was a giant owl, pecking and flapping around Jason's head as he waved his arms wildly, trying to ward it off. She stared in amazement for a few seconds, then leapt to her feet and ran for the camp, calling for Jack.
-----
Vincent led them directly to the hatch door on the plateau; Sawyer went first, pushing Kate behind him. She smiled at the gesture but moved up next to him, taking his hand. "Together, James."
He grinned and touched her cheek. "Right. Not real used to this 'together' stuff yet." They started walking down the dark corridor, but as he held her hand Kate cold see, the hall was illuminated in front of her.
"Practice makes perfect." She looked up at him through lowered lashes and grinned slyly. "I'll bet this place has a shower."
His dimples deepened and his eyes snapped as he said, "Well, let's go then, Freckles. I mean, I hate to say it, but you smell like a dog."
Vincent looked up, obviously taking that as an insult; he woofed at Sawyer with disgust. Sawyer snorted, "Well you could use a bath too, Pigpen, and no, that ain't an invitation." Vincent gave him a withering stare and trotted off further into the darkness.
"He's right," Kate said, snickering at Sawyer's dark look. "You don't smell so hot either. I think 'cesspool' would be a good way of putting it."
He opened his mouth to retort but a little gold ball came fluttering out of the darkness; as he landed gently in Kate's hand he whistled in relief and began hooting urgently at Sawyer. "What? Why would we help them?"
Kate watched them, holding her breath; they could only be talking about Jack and the others, and she knew what was coming. As Kotori flitted away back down the dark tunnel, Sawyer turned to her, smiling grimly. "Ana and Jack are in trouble. We...I can help them, Kate. Should I?"
He loked genuinely perplexed, as if he had never been faced with this kind of dilemma before; well, she thought, he probably hasn't, not really. Helping people had never been tops on his list of priorities. "What do you think is right?"
Vincent was sitting between them, watching Sawyer's expression change as he tried to decide what would be best for him, for Kate. His brown doggy eyes turned to Kate; she was gazing at Sawyer with hope and encouragement, and she was rewarded as he sighed and said, "I guess we better go."
"Yeah. I guess we'd better." She smiled at him, that dazzling, knee-knocking smile that made his stomach drop into his toes; he felt right, like he'd done something good. He had chosen the right path, and suddenly, Kate was right. They could change the future. His heart lifted and he grabbed her, kissing her with a force that surprised her a little, though she kissed him back with the same intensity.
He broke away, grinning, and pulled her back towards the entrance as Vincent ran ahdead of them, woofing happily. A little blue and red bird was waiting for them and they trotted up the mountain, following it as it led them into dangerous territory.
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Jack was talking to Sara next to the now-blazing campfire; he was getting worried about Ana and his mind was only half on his conversation, and when he heard Ana scream his name he leapt to his feet as she came tearing out of the trees, falling into his surprised arms. "Ana? Ana, are you okay?"
She looked back at the trees in horror and fear as Jason came striding out, smoky tendrils flaring out behind him like black flames; he was glowering at them and he stepped up to Jack, grabbing him by the throat as he shoved Ana aside. "Hello, Doc. Nice to see ya."
Ana started to come at them but Jason spun on her, still holding Jack clamped in his fist. "Let him go, Jason. He doesn't have anything to do with this."
Jason grinned."Well, yes he does. See, I know you love him. So, I'm gonna kill him, right here in front of you." Ana glanced at Jack, he was staring at her in surprise and she smiled weakly as a slow grin spread across his face.
It didn't last long; Jason's hands were like ice and Jack could feel the cold spreading through him, numbing him until he couldn't move or speak; he was frozen, and all he could do was watch. Ana was getting panicky; she didn't know what to do. "What do you want from me?"
Locke was frozen, watching in fear as Jason slowly drained the life from Jack; he didn't dare move, and there was nothing he could do anyway, only Ana could stop this. Sara was staring on helplessly, too; she could see the color fading from Jack's face as the cold started to overtake him.
"Stop!" Ana shouted, pointing her gun at him in desperation; Jack was vanishing before her eyes and she didn't know what she was supposed to do. She almost squeezed the trigger; then she stopped and smiled at him, her eyes brightening as the answer came to her. "I made you. I brought you here. I can end you, too." She pointed the gun at her head and cocked it.
Jason nodded coolly as Jack's eyes widedned and he tried to scream; his voice was frozen in his throat and nothing came out but a dry whisper. Sara and Locke both started for Ana but she squeezed the trigger and they stopped; Locke was casting around madly for an idea. "Ana, what are you doing?"
She smiled at him sadly. "He's killing Jack. I can't live with that on me when I can save him. I brought Jason here; I own him, he's my responsibility." She stared at Jack, her eyes shining with tears. "This is the new me, Jack, the one you created. I'm going to take responsibility for my actions. Please believe this is the right thing." She whispered, smiling, "It will all be fine." He was staring at her, his eyes pleading with her to stop, but she slid her eyes away from his and looked into Jason's ruined ones; she said, coldly, "This is what you really wanted from me. So here, you win."
He laughed and she stopped, bringing the gun down just a little as he said, "I'm not in your head Cortez; you need to aim that sucker a little lower." He eyed her bosom with lust and she paled a little, then lowered the gun over her heart, pushing the barrel against her breast. He nodded and she swallowed hard.
"Don't do it, Ana," Locke finally found words. "You don't have to do it."
She gazed at Jack who was deathly white; his lips were blue and she panicked; she had to quit stalling. "Yes, I do John." Her gaze swung back to Jack and she smiled, etching every detail of him into her brain. "I love you, Jack."
She pulled the trigger.
