Ethan
Black Rock
Sawyer, Locke, Charlie

Ethan stared at Sawyer, and stopped moving out of the ship. With a soft voice, so as to not disturb Locke and Charlie, he asked Sawyer;

"Are you sure you want to wage a war with me, Sawyer? I'm more powerful than you know." Not particularly caring about Sawyers reply, he shrugged his shoulders, and turned around, marching out of the cockpit, through the narrow passageway, and out into the open air.

"I warned you."

He looked to his left, then to his right, smiling as whatever way they travelled, his plan would succeed, and that cocky Southern man, wouldn't feel so confident about wearing that smile. He had the physical advantage over Locke and Charlie, but it was just Sawyer he had to watch, at least until he made it into the thick foliage of the jungle.

Locke
Black Rock
Charlie, Sawyer, Ethan

Locke bit his lip, and looked at the floor, moving his arms to test his strength. There was no way he could put Charlie down now, and pick him up again without his body giving way to the extra weight. He exhaled deeply through his nostrils and gritted his teeth, slowing to a halt at the mouth of the jungle.

"Charlie, I can't put you down. If you're going to throw up, just… Just do it, but… Be careful." He said, leaning slightly to the left, out of Charlie's way.

"But after that, Charlie – you have to do as I say, and keep still. Because this is going to be a bumpy ride, I can't prevent that." He continued, risking a look at Charlie to see if he had yet emptied the contents of his stomach over his shirt and the floor.

"You'll be ok, Son – just need to think of a happy place. People say you should think of the Ocean, but you don't need to think of it, we're surrounded by it… Where are you most at peace?"

Sawyer
Black Rock / Jungle
Ethan (Locke, Charlie)

"Ya ought to warn me?", Sawyer mocked in reply to Ethan. "And for what that is? Ya tend to forget one thing here. I have the gun, I'll do the warnin'. Got that macho?"

Being so occupied with the sly smirks coming from his new enemy the Southerner lost sight of Locke and Charlie who were now tracking further into the darker parts of the jungle. Out of reach for him to lend a helping hand. Or gun in his case.

But at this particular moment he couldn't care less. Because all he had eyes and ears for were Ethan's movements. The other man's arrogant remarks, false pretences and malicious face of expression made the Southerner not just suspicious, but also extremely annoyed.

He wanted to pay the man back for his interference and cunning comments. But somehow his usually brilliant sarcastic remarks seemed lost on Rom. And shooting him was far too easy; Sawyer wanted his revenge to be fun.

For now all he could do was keep a close eye on Ethan Rom and possible hidden consorts in the jungle. So as Sawyer stepped out of the ship, following the other, he shot anxious looks over his shoulder and to his sides. Making sure he was always one step ahead of the malicious creature whose steps he was following.

Charlie
Jungle
Locke

Locke's soothing words and guidance seemed to be lost on the nauseous ex-junkie. He didn't have a fragment of focus left in his pained head. All he knew was that he didn't want to concede with his body's urge to throw up the remaining contents of his stomach. He was far out, but not far enough to not realise that when he gave in he was going to throw up over the man who was carrying him as well.

Catching the last of the hunter's words a small smile formed on his lips. By now he had fully regained the awareness of where they were at, and the clumsy ocean comment led Charlie briefly forget about his body's desire to puke.

"Where are you most at peace?"

It seemed such an easy question, yet he couldn't think of its answer. The places he once found peace were all destroyed by the impact of the drastic changes in his life. The British man no longer had a home with parents, or even his brother; no place he truly belonged. As a kid he spent hours and hours in church, but now he wouldn't want to set foot in one. Not without feeling guilty, knowing he was a sinner and his choir boy image was a mere act. And the once longed for over hyped stage was now the façade of what was going on behind it.

Closing his eyes in pain and disgust of what he had become Charlie remained silent. For his only answer, this very same island, would sound pathetic and unjust.

Ethan
Jungle
Sawyer

As Ethan began walking through the jungle, he could not help but let a confident smile spread across his face. From time to time he would stop to look at Sawyer, and shake his head as if Sawyer had just told him a hilarious joke. When Ethan had to strain to hear Locke and Charlie moving in front of them, he stopped at a small clearing, panting, and leaning on his knees.

"I have to stop a moment. I'm out of breath."

He sat down on a broken log, and brushed his hair aside, taking gulps of air, before looking at Sawyer, and grinning again;

"You're so cocky it's unbelievable. You think I came alone, Sawyer?"

As he spoke, the mood in the jungle seemed to change and it became unbearably dark, darker then what was natural in the day. One by one, a flicker of light sparked, and then ignited into a torch, which circled both Ethan and Sawyer. His smile stiffened to a smirk, and then dropped.

"Welcome to the jungle."

Locke
Jungle
Charlie

Locke had lost the sound of Sawyer and Ethan not longer than five minutes ago, and could only assume Sawyer had had to deal with the man who was unrelentlessly force his way into this situation. Locke looked around him, not yet recognising their location, nor spotting any tracks; human or animal.

"Ok Charlie, I need a break, just a quick one. I'm putting you down a minute."

He shuffled to a tree and nudged Charlie against it, carefully lowering him down onto the floor, and stepping back from him, wiping the sweat from his face, and dropped to the floor, so he could be level with Charlie.

"Sawyer should catch up in a moment. I figured he might get... Delayed with Ethan. I'll make sure we get back to camp before nightfall though, I don't think Jack even sleeps these days, and I bet he'll be expecting some sort of accident." Locke said, smiling at Charlie and wiping the sweat from to young mans face.

"It's been what? Three days since someone was about to die? Jack should be ripe for the repairing."

Sawyer
Jungle
Ethan

Ethan Rom's words and motions to indicate he was out of breath were an obvious act. But Sawyer let him anyway, if only so he got the time to figure out what direction his two fellow castaways had disappeared to. For minutes his mind had been too occupied with Rom's actions, but right now he came to realise he lost the two he said to protect.

And he was in a part of the jungle looking unfamiliar. He needed Locke's hunting skills, but the man seemed vanished. And the only other guy with an obvious knowledge of the tracking routes was the one the Southerner refused to show he was lost.

Deep in thought Ethan's sudden words startled the already anxious American.

"What the hell are ya talkin' about!", he snapped in reply. Furious, as a sudden shiver ran down his spine. When had it gotten so chilly?

Darkness poured through the jungle, capturing the last rays of light and swallowing them whole. Until Sawyer could barely see Ethan; though the two men were separated by a few feet only. A sudden spark to his right caught the Southerner of guard and he impulsively took a few steps backwards. But there appeared a second light and a third; until it seemed he was surrounded by them.

"Sonuvabitch!", the Southerner exclaimed. His words were directed towards Ethan, though he was too busy trying to get a hold of the deceptive situation he gotten into to face the man he was talking to.

Desperately clasping the grip of the gun, he used both hands to keep a firm grasp on the metal that was slipping away from his fingers. Sawyer quickly spun around on his heels, trying to get all the little perilous lights in a clear shot at once. But by doing so he had none of them really under fire at all; giving The Others a far too easy opportunity to fulfill their ominous task.

Charlie
Jungle
Locke

The hunter's decision for a short break couldn't have come at a better time. The British man had used his remaining strength to hold himself back, trying not to throw up all over Locke. But the second he put Charlie down the former rockgod clung to the tree he was sitting against; holding on for dear life.

For a blissful second the jungle stopped spinning and the ex-junkie's stomach calmed down. At the same time his surroundings seemed to darken, the stinging light no longer blinding him, merely a nuisance increasing his already killing head ache. The British man finally dared to open his eyes, his face immediately changing from a painful frown to a slight greenish taint. Giving over to his body's desire Charlie turned away from John. Both arms wrapped around the tree's trunk, to prevent himself from sliding down and rolling onto the now very muddy soil behind it.

His watery eyes shut, catching his breath, the former rockgod kept his head bend down; low to the ground in case his body decided it hadn't endured enough for one day.

His voice hoarse he managed to speak a few words, still turned away from the other man.
"Who needs repairing? I am having a blast, this is just bloody..."

Charlie whispered a few more inaudible words before his sentence brutally got cut off. Once more clinging to the trunk of the tree whilst he threw up with tremendous force tears of pain and frustration sprang to his eyes.

Ethan
Jungle
Sawyer, The Others!

He watched in amusement as Sawyer spun around on his heel, watching as one by one sparks of light ignited into flowing flames from torches.

He casually walked in front of Sawyer, unafraid of the cool piece of metal he held in his hand. He swept his arm in an arc, gesturing to the flamed around him, though no faces appeared yet.

"You really thought you could get away treating people like this, James?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in expectation,

"You tread through Our jungle, through Our home, and the only reason you are alive now, James, is because I'm keeping you alive. It's people like you that start to grate on me. Ungrateful. Sarcastic. And more of all, James…" He continued, taking another pace forward to Sawyer, and putting his hand on the gun, forcing it to point to the floor,

"Wrong."

He smiled one final time at Sawyer, and then one by one, The Others emerged from the jungle, surrounded Sawyer with their torches and sheathed knives.

Locke
Jungle
Charlie

Locke watched with uneasiness as Charlie uncontrollably threw up the remaining contents of his stomach, clutching the tree for dear life. Pinching the skin between his eyes in exhaustion, he turned from Charlie, giving him privacy as he struggled with his digestive system. He scouted the land, picking up the odd leaf and sniffing it to gain some sense of what surrounded them and if it could be put to use.

Walking further up, he felt a distinct change in the weather, something unnatural in the way the light seemed to disappear, and the birdsong drawn to a halt so suddenly. He kneeled on the floor, and bent over, suddenly feeling as queasy as Charlie, the effects of the poison finally starting to leave his body. Trying hard to ignore these feelings, he drew circles continuously in the dirt, forcing himself not to be sick; there'd be time to fret over himself when Charlie was safe in Jack's hands.

Standing up, he wiped his mouth and returned to Charlie, and bent over to look at him.

"Charlie?" He said softly, picking a leaf off the boys shoulder, "You want to get moving? I think I'll need one more pit stop, but it's up to you, do you want to make one more pit stop, or shall we try for camp right away?"

Sawyer
Jungle
Ethan and his comrades

The metal was slipping from in between Sawyer's sweaty fingers, but he didn't allow the gun to fall away from his grasp, knowing it was all he have to defend himself against the deceitful Ethan and his jungle buddies. He might not be able to shoot all the son of a bitches down before they would hurt him, capture him, or God knows what their plan was, but only one bullet would be enough to get revenge on the man who seemed to be the criminal mastermind behind this dangerous jungle hide and seek.

When Rom started to talk the Southerner turned around again, his weapon, his only defence in the land of the unknown, aimed in the direction the voice was coming from. His frame was slowly bend and tense, strings of hair falling in front of his eyes and sticking to the sweat on his forehead. But with clenched teeth he remained focussed on that one sound in front of him. That one voice he wanted to end. His heartbeat started to rise, his breathing became uncontrolled, if only he could stop that voice, everything would be fine.

It wasn't until the second time that Ethan mentioned his name that Sawyer became even more aware of the peril situation he gotten himself into. Locke had been right before, the other man did know their names. No one had ever dared to call Sawyer by his real name, James; no one who held his life dear that is. And as far as the Southerner was aware, not one of his fellow castaways knew his birth name. So how come that this stranger did?

"What did you call me?", he hissed in between his teeth, not really expecting an answer from the man who's arrogance was no walking away with him, and not getting one either.

So surprised by this sudden course of events Sawyer did not even protest when he felt a slight tug at the gun and his perfect aim at Rom was now a perfect aim at his own right foot. But as tens of people started to emerge from the darkest corners of the jungle, their torches casting eerie shadows over the uneven ground, madness came over the Southerner. And with one final piece of willpower left, not giving a shit about the consequences of his irrational action, he forced his hands to move upwards. With a single snap of the index finger of his right hand he shot Ethan, who he was now standing face to face with, straight in the chest.

Charlie
Jungle
Locke

When he heard Locke's footsteps, indicating the man was returning to his side, it seemed as if Charlie's stomach had finally calmed down for real. No more urge to throw up the contents that were already scattered on the jungle soil, and surprisingly enough no more surreal images of the trees spinning around.

Turning around so he faced the hunter he really listened, for the first time since they had left the Black Rock, to the man's query.

"Whatever you want mate", he answered; finally releasing the tree trunk of the firm embrace.

Realising he didn't need the bark anymore to keep himself from tumbling over the former rockgod got a little cocky. Thinking that maybe he didn't need to be carried anymore. He could use his own two feet to move further towards camp. That way he could prevent any further inconveniences when his stomach had a sudden urge to release some tension.

Not notifying Locke about this change of plans Charlie placed his hands next to his side and used some force to push himself off the ground. Unfortunately he only managed to stay of the floor for a few second before his legs gave away from under him and the British man found himself back where he had left off.