Jack was shoved painfully into the chair and he winced at the bruises in his sides. He looked up as Tom strode around the chair and the door to the room slammed shut tight. In the bright lights from the ceiling, everything had an unearthly glow and Tom's face was shadowed and menacing.
"We have a problem," Tom began to pace back and forth very slowly in front of Jack, whose hands weren't tied. He sat there breathing heavily, watching Tom go back and forth. "Some of our people have been getting sick."
"How?" Jack asked, suddenly worried.
"The button that one of your people forgot to press was insuring us against it, but since someone decided to be risky, hundreds of people's lives are at risk," Tom stopped and stood in front of Jack.
"What are you talking about? The button wasn't real," Jack shook his head.
"Oh it was real," Tom laughed. "When it wasn't pressed it released a dangerous amount of electromagnetic energy that acts a lot like radiation. In a word, most of the people on this island are suffering from radiation poisoning."
"Why aren't we sick?" Jack demanded, suddenly terrified. He imagined all the survivors, including Sayid, suddenly violently ill without a doctor.
"These compounds are made of thick concrete walls lined with lead and opposite poles which bounced the radiation off of us. Unfortunately, some people were exposed and are now being held in cells. They will die before the end of the week."
"Everyone who survived the crash," Jack said, his voice barely audible. He was speaking more to himself, his heart wrenching. "They'll all die."
"Yes," Tom sighed but not sadly, almost contently. "They will."
"What would fix it? This has happened before hasn't it?" said Jack quickly, looking up at Tom. "You can't tell me that all the years this place has been here and not once has that timer gone down to zero? Why weren't you watching it, why didn't you have your people there?"
"Because it was part of our experiment. We didn't think a jetliner would crash and the survivors would pry it open!" Tom was angry and turned away from Jack. "Because of your nosy friends, this whole island is in danger!"
"What is this island?" demanded Jack, his anger rising. He could barely stay seated as his eyes bore into Tom who continued to pace. "What is this place?"
"As long as pitiful people like you and your friends are here, it's nothing! If the radiation doesn't kill them all, they'll die off anyway. Then we'll have this compound up and running again."
"You kill people for it," suddenly Jack was on his feet. "You let people die!"
"We are the future!" Tom suddenly gripped Jack's shoulders and shoved him back into the seat, shaking with fury. "We are all that stands between the world and destruction!"
"YOU'VE DESTROYED ENOUGH!" Jack screamed.
"No," Tom suddenly calmed, the redness falling from his face. He straightened up and seemed to exhale deeply. "No, we haven't. Not nearly enough to change the course of history. See, while you were out tramping through the jungle looking for hatches and wires and life, we were watching. We know what the world is like now, we see everything. You were lucky to crash here of all places."
"And why is that?" asked Jack, his heart pounding so hard he was sure it was audible.
"Because we are the world's last hope," said Tom.
Jack didn't understand but didn't have time to ask another question. The guard had opened the door and hurried to Tom, whispering something to him. Tom nodded and the guard pulled Jack up, pushing him out the door and down the opposite hall away from his cell.
"Where are we going?" asked Jack as he was pushed along.
"You have work to do."
……………………………..
The sun was rising as Sayid began to prepare to leave. He had packed enough water for a few days and some food, but was mainly concerned in everyone else he was leaving behind. As he hurried to meet Jin at the boat, he stopped outside a tent where John and Charlie sat.
"How are your legs? Any feeling?" Sayid asked, bending at the entrance.
John shook his head, breathing heavily and wiping his brow. His arms were covered in what looked like red burns. Charlie was asleep sitting up, sweating profusely through his t-shirt.
"I will find Jack, and bring him back," Sayid promised John who looked desperate. "Everything will be okay."
Giving them one last glance, Sayid hurried down the beach. He could see where the boat was tied off, and where Jin sat weakly on the beach with Sun, waiting for him. As he approached they both stood, Sun helping a trembling Jin to his feet.
"He can't go," Sun pleaded with Sayid, practically keeping her husband standing. "He is almost as bad as everyone else!"
"You are the only one not sick, other than Aaron," Sayid said to Sun confusedly.
"Then I will go," she said, looking at Jin who was barely conscious.
"You are in no condition to help," Sayid shook his head, hoisting his bag onto his shoulder. "It is dangerous what I am doing. If Hurley is right, the Others are hostile and have taken drastic measures…"
"I am all that is left," Sun snapped, sitting Jin down on the beach. "It is either me or you sail alone."
Sayid looked at the strong, determined woman and then to her ailing husband who was now laying back on the sand. Sun was pregnant, and he didn't want to risk her life. But she was right, there was no one else to help him manage a sailboat.
"Okay," Sayid nodded. "Let's get Jin back to the tent first."
………………….
When Penny awoke the sun was higher in the sky and she supposed it was around noon. She was stiff from sleeping curled up and extremely itchy because she had been lying on the forest floor. Her arms were covered in bug bites and she knew she was filthy.
What do I do next, she wondered? She supposed she would just walk the beach, looking for any other kind of civilization. She would have to stick close to the trees in fear of seeing another person in khaki clothing. She remembered last night, felt the soreness of her leg and the increasing pain in her arm.
Setting off, Penny headed back towards the beach. The jungle was fully alive with the sounds of birds and animals. She was amazed at how loud it sounded as she reached the shore.
Walking north, she wondered if it was possible that she was on a deserted island where savages lived. She knew it was probably impossible that it was deserted, with today's technology of satellites and digital imaging, but wasn't it possible there was an island closed off to the rest of the world? How else could it be that there was no other life on this island? Those people had sounded so cruel and viscous, maybe it was some kind of secret laboratory.
She had walked for only an hour when she found herself weak with hunger and thirst. She had no idea what fruit was safe to eat, and wondered how long it would take her to starve. Penny continued to struggle down the beach for another half mile before collapsing to her knees, shaking.
Slowly she looked up. Her heart seemed to tighten in her chest. Coming around the peninsula of rocks was a white sailboat.
…………………………………………………
Sawyer was standing, leaning heavily against the wall above the mat where he'd spent the past five days. His side was killing him, but he felt better than he had five days ago. He looked around the room and could see the other people lying sick, some dying. They didn't get the medicine Sawyer had, and for this he felt slightly guilty. What had made him so special that he deserved to survive out of all of them?
The man beside him looked a lot like Jack which when he had first seen him had scared the daylights out of Sawyer. But the man had thinning, grayer hair and looked thinner. He had a large scar running up his chest almost to his Adam's apple, and hadn't woken up in a day. He breathed shallowly and everytime he got an injection would whimper quietly until it was over. Sawyer tried to imagine this man's life, and wondered if anyone missed him.
But something strange had happened during the night. When several of the dead had been removed, others had come in. But these people hadn't had surgery like Sawyer had. They were covered in burns, their arms spotted with red blotches and their eyes bloodshot and watering as they were laid weakly on mats. There were about ten of them, and three had been taken out during the night, dead. The others lay motionless, looking as though they were withering away.
Sawyer was pulled from this memory when the door opened. Being the only person standing in the room, when the door opened Jack's eyes went directly to him.
"Sawyer!" Jack exclaimed, practically jumping over people. The guard tried to grab Jack back but he was out of reach and had gotten to Sawyer, looking him over. "Are you okay?"
"Man, I'm glad to see ya," Sawyer couldn't help but smile and gave Jack the smallest, shortest hug. Jack realized how odd this was of Sawyer but pushed it away. "Is Kate okay?"
"Yeah, I think," Jack saw the guard weaving between the bodies and coming towards him. "She was shot, but they won't let me treat her."
"I heard about your escapade," Sawyer said with a sly grin as the guard reached Jack and seized his arm.
"No chit chat. You're here to assess. The ones who will die, put a red X on their heads with this. The ones who have a chance, leave alone," the guard handed Jack a large red marker. "We don't have enough supplies to keep them all alive."
"How can I determine that?" Jack demanded, gripping the red marker. "I don't have any kind of tests."
"Do your best," snapped the guard, looking at Sawyer. "Sit back down."
"I'd rather stretch my legs," replied Sawyer.
The guard went to strike Sawyer but Jack grabbed his arm and shoved him away. The guard looked furious but seemed to think again before going towards Sawyer and resigned to walking back to the door and standing with his arms crossed.
"Can you walk?" Jack asked Sawyer, who was leaning heavily against the wall, holding his side.
"Doc, what happened to me?" suddenly Sawyer's eyes got serious. "What did you do?'
Jack didn't answer. If he told Sawyer what he knew, it could change a lot. Usually when people find out how close they were to death, it does something to them. As selfish as it sounded, Jack was hoping Sawyer would be noble and give Jack and Kate permission to leave without him.
"Your rib punctured your lung," Jack looked back at the guard who was talking quietly with someone just outside the door. "I had to fix it."
"That wasn't it," Sawyer looked very curious. "That kid, a girl, Alex. She's been helping me, giving me extra drugs and whatnot. She said you put something in me…"
His eyes went from yearning for the truth to sudden understanding. Sawyer looked down at his bare chest, where his scar remained bandaged, stretching across his abdomen.
"Do I need one of those red X's doc?" Sawyer whispered.
"No!" Jack burst, shaking his head. "No, Sawyer…I don't know how to say this but…"
"HEY!" the guard shouted. "Get movin!"
"It's okay, doc," Sawyer nodded, sinking down the wall so he could sit. "Another time."
As Jack moved away to begin checking out the people on the mats, Sawyer looked back down at his scar. Somehow, he knew he wasn't leaving here. Whatever Jack had did, it was the same as everyone else in here. Those who seemed to survive were moved out just as the dead were and didn't come back. Jack had done something because this place wanted him to, and now Sawyer was just another test subject.
Jack was nearing Sawyer again and just as he got nearer, the guard came over and took the marker from Jack.
"Enough," the guard looked around. Jack had marked only five people out of the thirty in the room. "This is getting us nowhere."
"Hey doc!" Sawyer said breathlessly, feeling increasingly tired. He hadn't been moving this much in a few days. "This one's a winner!"
Jack glanced at the guard and then went over towards the man beside Sawyer to whom he was pointing at. As Jack bent to examine this man, Sawyer leaned close.
"Get Kate out of here," he whispered as Jack realized he had already checked this man. He continued to fakely take his pulse as he looked at Sawyer with wide eyes. "And if you can, the girl." Jack nodded and went to stand but Sawyer suddenly gripped his arm.
"And do me a favor and blow this place sky high."
For a moment Jack stared at Sawyer, not believing it. He realized this could be the last time he saw him. Lingering a moment too long, Jack nodded and put one hand on Sawyer's shoulder. It took everything Sawyer had within him to look away as Jack straightened up and walked back to the guard.
The guard took Jack's arm and pulled him towards the door. As Jack walked out, he looked back at Sawyer who was still sitting against the wall and as Jack left, Sawyer gave him a salute.
…………………………………..
Kate looked up as the door opened and Jack came back in. She jumped up and ran to him. He hugged her tightly and found she was trembling. For a moment neither of them spoke and he just hugged her, a million thoughts racing through his mind.
"Did you see Sawyer?" she whispered, tears falling from her eyes.
Jack nodded and sighed as she stepped back a bit. He gripped her shoulders hard and hardened his face.
"He's dead, Kate. I saw his body," Jack whispered. Kate's eyes went wide and he felt her knees buckle. He caught her and they both sank to the floor. She was trembling terribly, her wound still open on her arm as she leaned into him, her hands over her face. He put his arms around her. "I'm so sorry."
"We're going to die too," she gasped. "They're going to kill us…"
"No they're not," Jack firmly held her against him, trying to keep his voice strong as he imagined Sawyer still sitting against that wall, and that haunting salute. "I won't let them."
"Jack," Kate leaned back, cradling her injured arm. Her eyes were wide and for a moment she looked like a little girl. "What's going to happen to us?"
For a moment Jack didn't say anything. Then he put his hand on hers, and held it tightly.
"We're going to get out," he reassured her. "I promise."
