Chapter 102
The swinging doors opened up into a large courtyard, with trees and a flock of red and blue birds and a little splashing waterfall; there were a few benches scattered around and the path before them split, leading to five doors spaced along the courtyard wall. Hanso pointed to the first one on their left. "Each of these doors is a laboratory or other research room. There is time/space, magnetics, medical, and mathematical & numerology studies." His hand moved to each one in turn, though it slid past the middle door.
Jack smirked. "That's only four."
Hanso smiled. "Well, Jacky can count. Good for you." He pointed to the middle door; it was raised higher than the courtyard and a steel door with no knob or handle sealed it off. "That's the Tesseration Chamber."
Locke glanced up at him. "Tesseration Chamber?"
Jack gave Locke a strange look. "I thought you'd seen this before, John."
John was looking strangely at Hanso. "I have seen it. But he didn't tell me what it was."
"Discretion, John." Hanso chuckled, and led them to the first door on the left. A small bronze tag on the door said 'Time/space', he whipped his card through the automatic lock and it popped open with a soft hiss. He held his arm out to stop Jack from going in. "This is a dangerous area, boys. Don't touch anything." He removed his arm and Jack and Locke slipped inside the open door.
They were standing in the middle of the universe; all around them it was blackness, and as Hanso closed the door behind him a billion stars popped up out of the darkness, next to their heads, hands, under their feet, and Jack reached out to touch one, forgetting Hanso's warning. He couldn't touch it but it came closer, as if the whole universe magnified around them to just that one star. As it grew Jack could see the planets that surrounded it, the asteroid belt than ran between the third and fourth planet, the comets that were held in the confines of the galaxy. He studied the third planet; it looked like Earth but there were subtle differences, like Alaska was on the wrong side of North America and Hawaii was gone, and Austrailia was upside down.
Hanso nodded. "An alternate Earth. They exist, you know. There are alternate realities for every planet in the universe, though they are all contained in the universe. Strange, isn't it," he said, softly, his eyes gelaming with the reflected planets, "that there is infinite space that can hold infinite planets and their infinite alternates?" He leaned close to Jack. "There is another you, too Jack. Everyone has another them. But if you went to that planet, right now, there would be no you. Do you know why?
He had the idea that he might, but he shook his head anyway. "No."
Hanso grinned, looking a little crazy in the bounds of infinite space and time. "Because you are here. Every one of your others is here, now, in you. They all think that it is them who is living here, on this island, becuase that is their reality. Do you understand?"
Not really. "I think so." He gestured around, waving his hand past the alternate Earth, and it zoomed back out as the universe expanded around them. "What is the point of this?"
Hanso searched the stars until he found a certain one, on the other side of the universe from Jack. "This is Camelopardalis, the giraffe." he reached for the star and it zoomed in to its solar system. He scanned the seven or eight planets that ringed the sun and he finally pointed to a small, blue planet covered with clouds. Jack held his breath at the beauty of what he was seeing; the little planet swirled and shifted colors as the blue faded to gray then resurged to a bright blue again. "We located a wrinkle to this planet, and we sent someone there." He pulled on the planet and it swam closer until Jack could see details beneath the swirling clouds; a vast, neverending ocean, dotted with tiny hazy blue islands, and as it came closer he could even make out the waves crashing onto the blue sand shores. As he watched, a lone man , wrapped in furs and skins crept out of the sand and crawled to the water, dipping a bottle of some kind in it before scurrying back into the sand like a crab.
"Was that him?" Jack was a little horrified, but he kept staring at the planet in fascination.
Hanso shook his head. "No. That is a native." He grinned at Jack insanely. "That ate him." He pushed the planet away and the universe slid back into focus. "We have this so that we can track the people we send, call them back if necessary." He noticed the look on Jack's face. "It doesn't always work in time. Accidents happen."
Jack glanced at Locke, who had a sickly grim smile on his face. "Yeah. Accidents."
Hanso smiled and led them through the shifting, spinning universe to another door. He swiped his card and they walked into a large, starkly white room, and as Hanso closed the door it became unbearably white and Jack closed his eyes against the glare. There was a noise, an irritating subliminal ticking and as his eyes adjusted it became louder and louder until it stopped suddenly; then the silence was deafening as dead quiet filled the room. "This is the time chamber." His voice was unnaturally loud in the still room and Jack jumped a little. Hanso grinned at him. "Tell me, Jack, is there something in your past that you want to change?"
His mind went immediately to Ana, and he wondered where she was. Had she followed them anyway? Was she out there looking for him? His chest hurt a little at the thought of her and he resisted the urge to run out and grab her. What if she wasn't out there waiting? What if she was hurt? He had left her alone out there. He felt sick as he nodded. "Yes. And I'm going to change it now." He pushed past Locke and Hanso and tried to find the door. It had vanished; there was no exit, no way out. His worry over Ana flooded him; something was wrong. He's been holding her at bay in his mind and now that he let her in she was like a tidal wave, washing all of his anger towards her away and leaving the love and anxiety behind. "Let me out."
Hanso snorted. "Let you out? Where are you going? Back to her?" he winked at Locke, who smiled. "She's not out there, Jack."
He froze as cold panic seeped into his gut. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, your girlfriend has gone 'round the bend. Off her rocker." He smirked at Jack, whose heart was pounding so hard he thought his chest would explode from the force. "She's gone to save you."
"How do you know? You've been here."
"A little bird told me." He sighed, staring at Jack. "Fine, you want to change what you did? Here's your chance. But listen, Jack, you have to really, really want it." He walked to one of the blank white walls and slid his hand along it untiul he found a hidden panel and he pushed on it. The walls beside him slid open to reveal a glassed in booth; it looked kind of like a control center. He opened a small glass door and motioned Locke to go in. "When I close these walls I want you to think about what you want to change. Think on it hard, Jack, and want it."
Jack was worried; he wasn't sure. He loved Ana but he wasn't sure if they could ever be happy, really; even here on the Island it would always be something to come between them, though he was sure that it was all him. Ana had given herself over and he was the one resisiting. "What if I'm not sure?"
Hanso looked away, smiling, then looked back at him. "Then it won't work."
-----
Kate and Sara were inseparable for most of the journey down the mountain; Kate was filling her in on what had happened since they crashed, though she left out her...feelings for Jack, and the part about kissing him, though she sensed Sara had an inkling of it anyway. She also skipped over the horse and the boar; those belonged to her and Sawyer and no one else would ever know about them, at least, not from her.
Sara was dumbfounded by what she heard, and she realized, without much surprisse, that they were never going to get off of this Island and she agreed with their mission wholeheartedly as Kate told her about Eko and John. "My God, what is this place?"
Kate linked her arm with Sara's. "Who knows?" Her other hand went to her belly and she smiled. "At least one good thing came from it."
Sara sighed and looked away; she leaned close to Kate and whispered, "But how good is it, Kate? Look at what you have to give up."
Kate smiled, hesitantly, and glanced up at Sawyer's back before she whispered, "I'm not giving him up."
Sara squeezed her arm and smiled, then she reached down and touched Kate's stomach too. "How far along do you think you are?"
Kate grinned. "Only a few weeks at most." She scuffed her boots along the rocky path as they walked, sending little stones rolling down the incline, gathering speed before they rolled into something that stopped their progress until they bounced to the side and continued on their way. Kate felt like that, now, like she was speeding down the hill and she couldn't slow down, and she could see the obstacle in front of her and WHAM! she was going to slam into it, and that was okay, because she could bounce away and find another path. She scuffed her boots again and two stones rolled together, bouncing and popping as they went, but they didn't stray from each other, even as they hit the same blockage in their path; they bounced to the side together and continued rolling down the grade. She grinned as she kicked another rock and as it took a funny bounce it hit Sawyer squarely in the seat of his jeans. He turned, giving her a disgusted look as she and Sara both laughed, putting their heads together like schoolgirls.
He smiled to himself as he turned back around, hearing Kate and Sara continue their conversation. He was glad she had found someone else that she could lean on, depend on; even though they had only known Sara for a couple of days he could tell that she was...good. That she loved Kate already and she would be there for her when he...when he couldn't be. Kate giggled behind him and his heart broke again, at the beauty of it, at the beauty of her; he snuck a glance behind him, sure that she wouldn't be looking and he could watch her the way he liked best-well, second best- when she didn't know he was watching, when she was just Kate.
But she was looking; her eyes met his as he turned and she smiled, a sly, devilish, angelic smile. Their eyes held for a few seconds, then Sawyer broke the gaze to watch where he was going as he nearly walked into a tree, stepping aside just before his face hit the bark.
Kate and Sara both dissolved into giggles as he tried to regain his composure. "Somethin' funny, ladies?"
"Not as funny as it could have been," Kate said, and she nodded at the offending tree. "Getting attacked from every side now, baby."
"Cute. It's your fault, you know."
He was gazing at her with that intense look, the one that made her knees weak, and he brushed the hair from his eyes, making her stomach lurch; and suddenly it really did lurch and she turned green before Sara hurried her off to the side of the path behind a few scraggly trees.
Sawyer watched them go and started after them, but Vincent stood in front of him, blocking his way and growling softly. He hesitated as he heard retching from behind the trees and he turned away, guilt bubbling in his belly. It was all his fault, and when Kate emerged a few minutes later, pale and shaky, she didn't meet his eyes. Sara smiled at him, comfortingly as she helped Kate back onto the path. "Give me her water, Sawyer."
He jumped, kicking himself. How stupid could he be? He reached into her pack and pulled out her water, then he hesitated before handing it to Sara. "I can...make it bubbly, or cold, or whatever she needs. To settle her stomach."
Kate glared up at him, faintly."I'm right here." She glanced back at Sara, who was still holding her arm in support. "Do I want bubbly or cold?"
Sara grinned and Sawyer chuckled. "How about both, Freckles?" He closed his eyes and handed the bottle to Kate, who opened it and took a long, sweet drink. Her throat felt like sandpaper and her stomach was still rolling but as the cool, carbonated water hit it the rolling quieted and some color returned to her face. "Are you okay, Kate?"
She smiled a little wanly. "I think so. It's passing." She took a deep breath and smiled at Sara, who had taken her own water bottle and was using it to wet a corner of her other shirt; she was still wearing Kate's.
She handed Sawyer the dampened cloth and motioned towards Kate, and he smiled as he gently wiped her sweaty face with it, his fingers caressing her skin as he went, and Sara stood to the side and watched them, smiling. She'd seen the guilty look on Sawyer's face as they came back; when her sister had been pregnant her husband had been the same way; it was a first real look at what the woman they loved was going to have to go through in order to have their child, and she had discovered through her sister that the best way to make them feel better was to make them feel useful, as if they could make up for the women's pain and suffering by helping them to not suffer so much. It was working; his eyes were shining as he kissed Kate gently on the forehead and hugged her tight. "I love you, Freckles."
He was squeezing her hard and her stomach was protesting violently. "I love you too but please stop crushing me SAWYER!." He let her go and jumped back, like he was afraid she was going to puke on him as she hollered and gulped hard; she looked at him with disgust as he came back, looking a little sheepish.
"Sorry." he grinned apologetically. "Reflex."
Kate forgave him instantly as she looked into his blazing, smiling blue eyes. "Had a lot of experience with women tossin' their cookies around you?"
He grinned, flashing his dimples at her. "Well, yeah." One eyebrow raised as she looked at him and he added, hastily, "But not for the same reason. Usually alcohol."
Kate smirked. "Or the company." Payback time. "I felt like throwing up every time I was around you too." She glanced at Sara, who was smiling softly at them. "Sometimes I still do."
He rolled his eyes. "Of course. Well, " he eyed her belly, smiling gently. "I'll gladly take the blame for the last one."
They grinned at each other and she went into his arms, sighing as they enfolded her, keeping her safe and happy. She kissed him, softly, and as they pulled apart he said, "I don't ever wanna hear another crack about morning breath."
She shook her head, half-smiling. "Sometimes I wonder why I love you."
He grinned, taking her hand and pulling her close against him. "Freckles, I wonder the same thing every single day."
-----
She was close to the base of the mountain; she could see the green hills in front of her and she drew up, easing off before she exited the trees. She hadn't seen or heard either one of them and she stood on the edge of the jungle, trying to decide what she should do. Her best guess would be if they had already left the hatch they would be going towards the Foundation and she would be behind them. It was better that way, she knew that they wouldn't move fast and she could catch up easily.
The question was what to do; getting to Kate wouldn't be easy with Sawyer around, so how could she draw him away? She didn't think he's be willing to leave her alone for long, if at all, so it would have to be a powerful decoy.
She had an idea forming and she turned to go back into the jungle, in the direction from which she had come, and he was there.
Frank lenaed casually against a tree, scraping his fingernails as Ana brought her gun up and pointed it at him. "Put your gun away, Cortez. I'm here in peace." He stood up and walked towards her and she cocked the gun. "I'm here to help you."
"Help me?" She was a little skeptical, and he smiled, making her skin crawl.
"Yeah. I mean, I'm helping myself too, but what do you care? As long as you get what you want." He jerked his head in the direction of the Foundation. "He's been thinking about you, you know. He wants to come back for you but they won't let him leave until the job is finished." He winked at her. "You know how to finish the job, don't you?"
"Yes." The knowledge that Jack wanted her quelled the murderous, insane urge, but she had to kill anyway; Kate had to die so that she could live. "How do we do it?"
