"Sayid!" Sun shouted down the hole, Jin standing above her. "SAYID!"

"He can't hear me," she said to her husband in Korean. "I think he may be hurt. I need to help him."

"No!" Jin said in Korean, his eyes flashing. "You're not going down there."

"Then you go!" she shrieked.

Jin, nodding, bent and hopped into the hole.

……….

Sayid looked up and down the large piece of wood. The swan was drawn perfectly, as though someone had seen it so many times it was memorized. Pushing hard, Sayid found the block moved easily and fell down, cracking at the bottom of the tunnel.

He stepped over it and froze.

Something was moving up ahead. Small pinpricks of light were shining through illuminating the wet floor and walls. But there was a shadow moving in front of it. Sayid shone his flashlight straight ahead, his heart pounding.

What if it's an animal? Then he's trapped and could be hurt. But he had no choice, he couldn't turn back now.

Going forward he suddenly froze.

………………

"There's a good chance Sawyer will die, or is already dead," Jack began.

"How can you say that?" Kate gasped, pulling back from him.

"Because it's reality! If we get out, there's no point wasting time looking for him if he's dead we have to accept the facts," Jack said desperately.

"I'm not accepting he's dead until I see it myself," said Kate, praying she'd never have to see it.

"Kate! It might be our only chance!" he was desperate now.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" she demanded.

"I wont watch them kill you," he suddenly spat, his anger exploding over the surface. His eyes blazed and Kate stepped back a bit, frightened. "I won't watch you die."

"But you'll give up on Sawyer?" she shouted angrily.

"IS THERE A PROBLEM?"

A voice boomed from behind the door. They both turned to look at it as the lock turned and the door swung open, causing them to squint at the bright light coming in from the hall.

"Keep it down," snapped a guard wearing khaki clothes and holding a rifle. "Don't make me separate you two."

The door shut again and Jack turned to Kate again.

"We can't stay here. They're going to kill us eventually they wont keep us forever," he sounded almost manic.

Kate stared long and hard at the door. In her heart she knew there wasn't much chance Sawyer would survive but she couldn't give up on him. What if he lived and was stuck here after they escaped? As horrible as Sawyer was sometimes she felt like leaving him behind was like abandoning all hope.

"Okay," she whispered, looking down. "What's your plan?"

……………..

Sawyer awoke again, this time the pain beyond excruciating. He let out a small moan and turned over, sure he would vomit but he didn't. His stomach was empty, he hadn't eaten in days. His entire body ached with such force it felt like it was on fire. Looking around he saw he was in a different room but with just as many people and bodies. It was darker now, and not that many people were bending over those lying on mats on the ground like Sawyer was.

"Are you awake?"

Sawyer jumped and slowly turned his head. Alex was standing over him and quickly bent.

"I stole you more antibiotics," she whispered.

"You know what you're doing?" Sawyer asked as he watched her fill the needle.

"I hope," she gave him a hopeful look.

Great, he thought, I'll overdose. He let her inject him with it, not having the energy to fight. When she was done she didn't go right away. She stayed and just looked at him.

"Is it true?" she asked curiously. "What they say?"

"Is what true?" Sawyer grunted. He didn't even care to ask where Jack and Kate were, or what had happened. He was too out of it, his mind spinning with pain.

"That you killed everyone on the plane?"

Sawyer's eyes grew wide.

"What?" he demanded, wincing at the pain when he raised his voice and reverted to a whisper. "What are you talking about?"

"They say that you killed everyone except the two you're with and then made them walk across the island. They say you're crazy," she whispered.

Reaching out a hand Sawyer wanted to grasp her shirt tightly and tell her that was all bull but found he couldn't and dropped his hand again. Looking helplessly at the ceiling he gritted his teeth.

"Am I going to die?" he asked through gritted teeth

"No," she whispered.

"Why are you helping me?"

Alex didn't answer and just put the syringe into a basket beside the mat where other used things were.

"Maybe I want out," she hissed, looking around the room. "Maybe you're my only way out."

"I won't be running out of here anytime soon," Sawyer said sarcastically. He couldn't even find it inside himself to be mean. His entire body felt like it was broken. "Hey kid."

Alex looked at him sadly.

"Are my friends okay?" he whispered.

"I think so," she said, glancing at the door again. "I saw them yesterday. The woman had been put in a room where the bodies were kept though. I don't think they even know if you survived the surgery."

"Tell them," suddenly Sawyer panicked. "Tell them not to leave without me!"

"They can't leave," she shook her head. "They'll be killed if they try."

"Tell them that," Sawyer was in pain but needed to say this. "You have to tell them not to try anything stupid because they will."

"I thought he was a doctor, isn't he smarter than that?"

Sawyer let out a low laugh.

"You'd be surprised, kid."

For a while Alex stayed and they sat in silence. She promised that next time she visited she'd give him something for the pain but right now the supplies is being watched carefully because it's scarce. That was why so many people died, because there weren't enough antibiotics to go around. But with Alex stealing them for Sawyer, his chances improved.

Finally she stood.

"Will you come back?" Sawyer asked quietly.

"I promise," Alex replied.

Sawyer watched her go with strange appreciation. He was practically dead here, stuck without any kind of choice as to what to do. He couldn't move let alone get up and try to escape. In his mind he feared Kate and Jack believed he was dead and would leave without him. He could never escape on his own.

It was the first time Sawyer had admitted vulnerability to himself and he hated it. He closed his eyes with the pain and drifted back to an uneasy sleep.

……………………..

Penny didn't know who it was and didn't want to know. From the instinct in her gut she felt this was not someone to mess with.

Turning she ran as fast as she could in the other direction. Glancing over her shoulder she saw he had started down the beach. She flew up the beach and saw an opening at the beginning of the jungle and ran through it, running among the trees until the path ended in a strange stone staircase set into the earth. She went down it into a small circle lined with stone. On one end was a large opening with carved designs into pillars above an opening of only about five feet by four feet. Without even looking back she hurried inside the darkness.

From the light that was shining through the entrance she could see it was a short tunnel. As she came out, she realized she was in some kind of temple. It was a large room carved completely of stone. In the center was what looked like a roughly made throne and on each side broken torches. Along the walls were hieroglyphics, none of which made sense. There was light coming through several small holes in the upper walls, shining long streams of sunlight onto certain spots on the floor. The entire room had a musty, dirty smell to it and it was cooler than outside in here.

There was scuffling and she sprinted to a doorway just off the main room, fearing he was right behind her. She entered a smaller room with many chains along the walls and a large stone table that had fallen and was now at a slant.

She dove behind it, pulling in her legs and sitting against the wall to hide herself. She couldn't believe she was hiding from someone. Was this Fiji? If it was maybe she could find some police to help her. But then again hadn't they passed Fiji a while ago? She couldn't remember and all she knew was that right before the boat smashed into the rocks they heard that strange recording over the transmitter.

She suddenly stopped breathing when there was the sound of bare feet walking into the chamber she was in. She held her breath in the darkness, listening with all her might. Slowly the footsteps entered and stopped at the doorway. For a moment she could see this stranger scanning the room and then she heard him turn and leave.

The breath escaped in a long whoosh and her heart rate began to slow again. But she wasn't about to move. She had no idea who this person was or whether they would wait for her.

Looking down at her hands in the dark she thought of Richard and Georgia but mostly of Desmond. Perhaps this had been his fate, to get lost and run for his life. She had tried so hard to reach him and now knew she never would.

Penny cried behind the stone table, hiding in the dusty darkness against thick stone walls of ancient writings. She cried for Desmond and her baby, and for herself. She had no idea where she was or what to do from here and just wanted to be home.

Silently she stood after a long time and walked to the doorway. Peeking out she saw no one and went back into the main chamber. The sunlight streaming through the holes cast shadows as she walked. When she reached the long tunnel and looked up and made sure no one was there and climbed back up.

Back outside in the jungle she peered around. He could be anywhere. But she needed to get back to the beach. Maybe a rescue boat was on its way.

She hurried back to the beach and scanned it up and down before coming out onto it. Slowly she walked out and suddenly stopped when she saw another shape lying on the sand many many yards from the eaten Captain. This time she knew who it was as she approached ands tood over him.

"ROBERT!"

………………………………………….

Sayid looked down at the disheveled form of Desmond sitting against a stone wall at the end of the tunnel. Behind him was a block made of broken stone as though it had been put back together.

"Desmond!" Sayid breathed, bending beside him.

But Desmond didn't respond. He was looking wildly around, his hands clasped in front of him as though he were praying. His face was pale and gaunt, and he looked disoriented and as Sayid looked at him he saw Desmond's hands were burnt badly.

"How long have you been down here?" Sayid asked, not sure if Desmond could hear him. "Can you hear me?"

There was what sounded like a gust of wind coming up the tunnel. Looking at the block he was sure he could move it. Standing back up he put both hands on the block and pushed hard.

"No!" Desmond cried.

But the wall crumbled and fell forward. Past it was what looked a long tunnel of pipes and wires. Sayid had been down there before with Jack looking at the magnet.

"Is this….a passage to the hatch?" Sayid asked. "How did it move?"

"No, no, no," Desmond seemed to be rocking back and forth, his burnt hands clasped in front of him. "Shouldn't have done that, no no no."

There was no point in trying to drag Desmond along. So he left him and crawled forward as the tunnel became narrower. He hurried forward past where the magnet was. He found his fillings didn't hurt this time, and his one silver ring from the army didn't tug on his finger. The magnet seemed to be gone.

The wires and pipes were melted and cracked. The water was up to his wrists as he crawled forward and finally found the square of light.

………….

"Someone's coming!" Charlie gasped, grasping Locke's arm. In his head he imagined some kind of monster coming out of there.

Sayid stood up and pulled himself out of the hole.

"SAYID!" Charlie burst, jumping up and running from the bathroom.

"Are you alright?" Sayid asked, looking past Charlie to John lying on the bathroom floor. He entered and bent before him. "Are you hurt?"

"I can't walk," John said, his voice steady.

"Okay," Sayid suddenly saw the shadow behind the shower door. "Is that….?"

"Eko," Charlie looked down. He hadn't really thought about Eko dying and didn't want to.

"That tunnel leads out of here. It's our only way out," Sayid said, looking down at John and wondering how his leg got cut.

There was a slight rumbling and they all froze.