Chapter 96
The sun had barely cleared the edge of the earth when Locke had them up and moving through the jungle. He led the way while Jack and Ana stayed close on his tail; after their litle confrontation their trust in him had diminished to the point that they never took their eyes off of him if they could help it. Sara trailed them by a good distance, at least, as far as she dared; Locke kept turning to look at her and she knew if she tried to run he'd kill her.
She was still tired; she hadn't dared to sleep, and as she lay motionless on the ground she'd heard the mournful hooting of an owl and smiled to herself. They would come for her, she was sure; they had to. They were good people and they knew she was too; they would come for her, if she could just keep Locke from doing anything crazy until then. So she kept her eyes on the ground and close enough to keep him satisfied, and she listened for the sound of the cavalry coming to the rescue.
Locke kept an eye on Sara; he was still sure that she was on their side, that she was there to pass them information. Not that she had learned anything valuable, but what if he'd taken her to the Foundation and she'd told them all of its secrets? He shuddered at the thought; he was going to kill her as soon as he could figure out a way to make it look like an accident since he didn't want to piss Jack off anymore than he already was. He was curious, though, to know how she was passing them the information; they hadn't had that much contact since she'd joined them. He guessed Sawyer could be reading her mind or something; shrugging his shoulders he figured there were way too many possibilities for him to really know unless she told him. He made a note to himself to try to get it out of her before he killed her.
Jack and Ana were alert, both of them setting aside their joy at being together to deal with the problem at hand; Locke. He was getting dangerously out of control, hell, he already was. He'd killed two people directly, and one by 'accident' and he'd shown no compunction against torture and murder to get what he wanted. The Island had possessed him, taken him over; his desires had gotten the best of him and now he was owned by them, controlled by them, and that made him dangerous; he'd do anything to save the Island, and no one was safe.
Ana stayed close to Jack, and she kept glancing back at Sara; she didn't trust her either and it had nothing to do with Jack. It was just a vibe, a feeling that Sara was bad for them; she wondered if Locke was going to do anything about her. She smiled coldly to herself. Jack loved her, and she was happy, but there were people out there who wanted to take it from her, destroy it before they even had a chance to really enjoy it, and they had to be stopped.
They tramped slowly through the jungle as the sun rose higher and black clouds rolled in, blotting it out as the air grew wetter. Sara was slowing them down as much as she could and Ana helped inadvertently by suddenly grabbing her chest and falling to her knees; Jack went to her immediately but she croaked, "I'm okay. Locke." He smiled at her, admiringly, and turned his attention back to Locke even as he offered her his hand to help her up.
The skies opened up and sheets of rain poured down on them like huge buckets were being emptied from heaven; Sara squealed and started to bolt for cover, not that there was any, but she noticed everyone just standing in it, then trudging on after Locke.
Already soaked to the skin, Sara gave up and started after them, her feet sucking into the mud with every step. She was still exhausted and scared, and suddenly the jungle was full of whispers; whispers all around her, and she couldn't understand them, they swirled around her and she was jerked back into the jungle as Locke, Jack and Ana all spun around, guns out. She was gone, and Jack shook his head. "Damn."
The whispers faded away and the rain stopped as they were left standing in the clearing; Jack glanced at Ana's drawn gun and thanked God she hadn't shot anybody. They all looked at each other, then Locke shrugged. They just saved him having to kill her anyway. They all kept walking, but Old Jack glanced back one more time, looking with some remorse at where Sara had been standing.
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Vincent led them to a point where their trails would intersect and they sat back in the trees, waiting for them to pass. Kate sat against a tree trunk, lazily picking at a piece of grass as the morning sun warmed the jungle; she watched as Sawyer hovered around, restless and worried. Things were coming to a head, he could feel it, and soon. The stakes were high, it was life and death; Locke wasn't playing a game, and as he looked at Kate, lying against the trunk, her arm cocked over one leg as she twisted a piece of grass in her fingers he thought, I'm not playing a game, either. I'll kill anyone who touches her.
She was gazing at him, or rather, through him, and he smiled at her faraway, peaceful look; the sun was shining on her, casting her in a golen halo, and he stared back, mesmerized by how damn beautiful and natural she was, how unworldly and yet of the earth at the same time.
Her eyes slowly focused on him as he gazed at her and she smiled as he cocked his head at her. "What are you thinkin' about, Kate?"
"You." Her hand rubbed gently across her belly. "Us." Sawyer smiled but it wasn't real and it faltered a little; Kate noticed and she said, "What?"
He couldn't tell her the truth; he couldn't be the reason for the happy light to vanish from her eyes, not yet. Not until he had to; he wanted to enjoy every second with Kate, happy and content and his. "Nothin', Freckles. I'm just hungry."
Her eyes lit up and she bounced to her feet, unzipping her pack and pulling out her fruit bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "Great. Me too. I'll go get us something."
"What? You can't climb trees anymore, Kate. You gotta be careful."
She turned to him, starting to say something smart about how she could take care of herself, but when she saw his face she stopped, and her heart melted; tender concern and fear were written plainly across it and she smiled gently, going to him and putting her hand on his arm. "I can't stop doing things, James, just because I'm..." she couldn't quite bring herself to say the word yet, it was too unreal, "just because. At least, not yet." She kissed him gently on the nose. "You'll get your chance to take care of me. I'll need you soon enough."
"Okay, Freckles," he sighed, "I just worry. Especially now." His eyes met hers and held them. "The stakes are higher now, Kate. Be careful, please." He kissed her, his lips sad and soft and she brushed her fingers across his cheek before dashing off into the trees.
He watched her go, holding his smile until she disappeared, then his face fell and he sagged a little, grimacing as Vincent woofed reprimandingly at him. He looked aside at the dog, his chest hurting so much he couldn't breathe and snapped, "What business is it of yours, Lassie? I'll tell her eventually."
Vincent stood and faced Sawyer angrily, his eyes snapping and his hackles raised; he growled, deep in his throat and bared his teeth. Sawyer glared back. "Don't threaten me, Vincent. I know you love her, but you see how happy she is? How can I take that away? She'll know soon enough, and I'm sparin' her that pain as long as I can." The truth was, he couldn't bear to know that he made her unhappy, that he took that glow and spark from her. He knew the longer he waited, the worse it would be but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Vincent growled again, and Sawyer snapped. "What the hell do you know about it, anyway? You're a dog."
He stopped growling and sat on his haunches, looking curiously at Sawyer; he began to change, to shift, and as Sawyer gaped at him, he burst open and bright white light spilled out through his skin, blinding Sawyer with its brilliance. A pair of silvery wings unfolded from the light and an angelic face and for a brief second Sawyer saw heaven and it was beautiful, then the wings folded back in and the light retracted, pulling Vincent back together until with a soft zip he was sitting, his tongue lolling out as he laughed at Sawyer's dazed expression. "Okay. So you're not just a dog."
He woofed and a white light glowed in his eyes before Kate came trotting back into the clearing, a smile on her face. "Guess what!" he grinned at her; she was a little breathlass and sweaty, and she was glowing as she held up two oranges and two peaches. "There's a little grove back there, and what's left of a hut." She held up the fruit to him, grinning. "At least they aren't mangoes."
He smiled, taking one of the peaches. "Amen to that." It was heavenly; the peach nectar tasted like ambrosia on his tongue and Kate watched him with joy, and a sense of purpose; she had to get used to taking care of someone, and Sawyer was the perfect one to practice on.
They ate quietly for a minute, enjoying something different; Kate gazed at Sawyer and he smiled at her, and they were the only three creatures in existence.
A blue and red bird flew by, squawking loudly and Sawyer jerked out of his Kate induced haze, smiling grimly. "They're coming. Are you ready?"
She nodded, excitement building in her gut. They melted back into the trees and a few seconds later Locke came into view, followed by Jack and Ana, then trailing, Sara. Sawyer closed his eyes and waved his hand and suddenly black clouds rolled over them; he waved his hand at Ana and she suddenly fell to the ground, clutching her chest. Jack went to her but she waved him away, saying something that made Jack turn his eyes back to Locke; Sawyer smiled to himself. They didn't trust the bastard either.
He snapped his fingers and the skies opened up, dumping rain on them, and Sara squealed, looking for cover; not finding any she stood, defeated, then started to follow the others. Sawyer held his hand up to his mouth like a megaphone and he whispered into it, just nonsense stuff; the whispers magnified and swirled around Sara and Sawyer waved his hand, jerking her backwards into the trees before the others could turn around.
As she flew backwards into his hands he put one around her mouth, stifling her scream; she saw Kate and relaxed as Locke moved off, followed by Jack and Ana. Sara smiled sadly as Jack glanced back one more time, then Sawyer removed his hand from her mouth, smiling apologetically. "Sorry. Hope I didn't scare you too much."
She shook her head, grinning. Already she felt happier, more alive, safer and she said, "Just a little. Locke was scaring me more." She drew a deep breath and let it out shakily. "Thanks for coming to get me. I swear, I thought he was going to kill me last night."
Kate put her hand on Sara's shoulder. "Yeah, we heard. Are you okay?"
She nodded, smiling. Something was different about Kate, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Yeah. Somehow he figured I was telling you guys stuff and he went nuts. Jack saved me, though."
Kate hugged her and Sara knew; it radiated from her like the sun. Sara was happy for them but she didn't say anything, just hugged Kate back with unexpected force. "Are you okay?"
Kate pulled back, laughing. "Never better, Sara." She gazed over at Sawyer, who was smiling gently at her and she beamed. "So, where were they going?"
Sara smiled. "I guess I get to pass on some information anyway." Kate smiled. "The Foundation."
Kate and Sawyer exchanged glances and Kate said, "The Foundation? The Alvar Hanso Foundation?"
