In the End
Chapter Nine
Disclaimer: "Spooky" was written by Buie/Cobb/Shapiro/Middlebrooks
(http/ "See You Soon" was written by Coldplay, and the chapter title comes from the German promo.
Author's Note: I finished this at three something in the morning and was way too exhausted and this was way too long for me to spell check. I'll spell check sometime when I'm actually aware of what I'm writting. Please forgive.
Chapter Nine: All Of Us Are Lost
"You sure you want to be eatin' that?" Sawyer asked Rebecca, who was picking berries from a nearby bush.
"They're good," Rebecca informed, "want one?"
She handed out a ripe berry to Sawyer, who turned his nose up at it.
"IT's not going to kill you," Rebecca said, "and you could probably use something to eat. The vitamins-"
"Give it here," Sawyer said bitterly, grabbing the berries from Rebecca's hand before she could give him a lecture on vitamins and nutrition.
Rebecca smiled in defeat as she watched Sawyer eat, and took a sip of water from her bottle.
"So what do you want to do?" She asked him. Go back to camp?"
"And get my face pounded in?" Sawyer retorted. "No. I ain't goin' back until I can throw a punch again."
Rebecca rolled her eyes.
"Must be tough," she commented.
"What's that?"
"Being the bad guy," Rebecca crossed her arms, "looks like a lot of work."
"And I go to bed tired every night," Sawyer added on with a simper.
"Glad to hear your efforts don't go to waste," Rebecca said with a laugh.
A bird called from nearby, and Sawyer let himself take in the morning atmoshpere, which was like heaven compared to what he was used to in the winter. Even in Tenessee it was hardly ever above forty in Janurary, and the thought reminded Sawyer that today must've been New Year's day. Had he been back home, he'd probably be passed out with a hangover waiting for him in some girl's apartment, whose name he most likely wouldn't have known.
"So what do you want to do?" He heard Rebecca ask again, bringing him out of his riverri.
"Find the kid," Sawyer replied.
"Maybe we should just-" Rebecca started desperatly.
"Someone has to!" Sawyer said, louder than he meant to, startling Rebecca.
He met Rebecca's eyes for a split second and then quickly diverted them to the ground in embarrasment from his outburst. Sawyer thought that Rebecca would try to argue, or at least protest going out any further, but none came.
"Come on," Rebecca said quietly, "I think we were going this way."
She pointed to the path ahead of them, and didn't speak another word as she let Sawyer lead them back out into the jungle.
At the Caves
While Alex was finishing up dressing Jack's wound, Kate was soaking up the last of the blood left over from the blonde's. She hadn't wanted to go see Jack, or at least ask how he was doing, but Kate hadn't been able to bring herself to do either. Kate was blaming herself for Jack's troubles. Alex was right, no matter what Jack did or said to her, she was the bad guy. She hurt him first, and that was all that mattered. If it hadn't been for her stupid second thoughts-
"How's it going?" A caring voice asked from above her.
"With who?" Kate said lightly.
"I was going to ask him," Claire said, pointing down to Kate's patient, "but now that I think about it..how are you doing?"
"I'm fine," Kate lied.
Claire sat down oposet Kate, and took a washcloth from a pile some of the castaways had gathered.
"Whatever," Claire said, and looked up at Kate with twinkling eyes.
They both laughed, each knowing Claire could see right through that lie.
"How's Jack?" Claire asked, glancing towards Jack's unconsious form a few feet away.
"He should be coming around anytime now," Kate said sadly, ringing the blood out of the washcloth and into a bucket of water.
Claire nodded, pouring some water onto the washcloth and laying it down across the man's forehead.
"Any idea who this guy is?" Claire asked curiously.
"No clue," Kate replied.
"Well, let's see," Claire said mysteriously, and dug into the man's pocket.
Kate raised an eyebrow, surprised at seeing the noisy side of Claire.
"His name's Richard Blaire," Claire informed, reading from a driver's liscense picture, "he's thirty-eight and from Canada."
"Canada, really?" Kate asked, sounding suddenly interested. "Let me see that."
She grabbed the photo from Claire, as if convinced that she was lying.
"Why so excited about Canada?" Claire asked curiously.
"I lived there for awhile," Kate explained, "not where he did though."
She handed back the photo.
"So how are things going with you and Jack?" Claire asked after a short pause.
"Okay," Kate said without bothering to think of excuses or lies.
Nothing ever went wrong with a simple 'okay'. Kate heaved a sigh and looked at her hands.
"Something wrong?" Claire asked her.
Kate knew this would be one of the only chances she'd get to talk this out with someone who she knew would listen.
"It's just complicated," Kate said finally, "I hate admitting that I was wrong."
"Don't we all?" Claire laughed.
Kate forced out a small laugh, tired of the stuffy, stressful, and uneasy atmosphere that had taken over the caves in the past few hours.
"So what's up with you and Charlie?" Kate asked with equal curiosity, "are you two an item now?"
Claire smiled in memory.
"My grandmother used to say that."
Kate gave her a small smile in return, and then nudged Claire a little.
"So..?" Kate said in a 'girls at a sleepover' voice.
Claire's silence had Kate thinking, and she was hoping she was thinking wrong.
"Wait, you two haven't.." Kate glanced towards Alex, but Claire got the picture.
"Oh!" Claire exclaimed. "No! It's just..what was it like the first time you and Jack kissed?"
The question caught Kate off-guard, and she realized that no one had even asked her about the moment.
"It was.." Kate searched for the right metephor, "like the best thing ever."
She giggled to herself, and was surprised when Claire joined her.
"Poor Jack..he seemed so helpless," Kate added, glancing again towards Jack.
"Oh, so you kissed him out of pity," Claire said.
"No!" Kate said quickly. "It was just cute, that's all."
Claire let out a snort, which attracted Alex's attention. Alex rolled her eyes and turned back to Jack. As Kate watched, she noticed Alex's hand was closing in on Jack's, their fingers interwining as she gave it a squeeze, and Kate felt a pang of jealusy tug at her stomach. She told herself it was crazy, that Alex was only a kid and no way did she like Jack in that kind of way, but still..just the fact that Alex was there and not her..she felt like a bad..friend. That's what she was. A bad friend.
"Like the best thing ever," Kate repeated to herself, "if I could go back to that moment, I wouldn't change a thing."
She watched as Alex said something to Jack, and wondered if she was talking to herself out of boredom, or trying to revive Jack once again. Whichever the one, Jack just continued to sleep soundlessly, breathing up and down slowly, still looking at peace with himself.
"Just relive it?" Claire suggested, looking at Kate in admiration, like a sister would.
Kate smiled and nodded, and let her gaze hold on Jack a moment longer before speaking up.
"So how about you and Charlie?" Kate asked again, turning back towards Claire.
Claire smiled to herself.
"He kissed me," she said in a dreamy voice, "actually, it's more like he attacked me..with his lips."
Claire's face contorted in disgust.
"That sounds disgusting, doesn't it?"
Kate laughed.
"We were just waking back to the beach," Claire said with a far away look, "the setting was so right..like someone had planned for it to happen. We were just walking and suddenly Charlie grabbed me and..kissed me. It was kind of romantic and it's own weird way."
"I guess that's Charlie for ya," Kate said, grinning.
"Yeah," Claire nodded, "next he'll be wanting to play Driveshaft at our wedding."
"Ohh..a wedding!" Kate teased.
"A girl can dream."
Claire's cheeks grew red in embarrasment.
"Hey," said Alex, turnng around, "have you guys seen-"
Her eyes landed on the man Kate was tending to, and Alex stopped. The pupils of her eyes grew big and around, and Alex's breathing started growing heavier and heavier. Before Kate could ask what was wrong, Alex leaped, throwing herself on top of the man, and began choking him. Immediatly whoever the guy was was forced back to consious, and gasp for breath as Alex's fingertips grew tighter and tighter around his sweaty neck.
Claire screamed for help as Kate tried to pry Alex off, but Alex's grip was too tight. Kate felt herself being pushed aside, and could only watch as Sayid threw Alex back. The man gulped once more for air, and then his eyes rolled back into his sockets, sending him once more into a deep sleep. After seeing this, Sayid turned on Alex, but she was already halfway out of the caves with tears swelling furioulsy in her eyes.
As Alex ran out another figure stepped into the caves, looking after her. It was Shannon. Ignoring the current emergancy, Shannon turned to Sayid.
"Has anyone seen Boone?"
Though facing Sayid, the question seemed directed to any and all. Sayid turned and met eyes with both Claire and Kate, who shook there heads.
"Stay here," Sayid instructed to Kate, who nodded obidiently.
Standing up, Sayid made his way over to Shannon, and Claire and Kate watched as he had a conversation of whispers with Shannon, and then headed out.
In the Jungle
Alex tore through the jungle, not really concentrating on where she was going. All she wanted to do was get away.
4 months ago
Alex, Carrie, and Adam followed the blonde man through the jungle. Alex walked closely beside Adam, both of their hands over his wounds.
"Maybe we should rest," the blonde man suggested, and nodded towards Adam.
"I'm fine," Adam protested.
"He's right," Alex urged.
"No!" Adam hissed into Alex's ear. "I don't trust him!"
"Neither do I, but-"
"You should listen to your girlfriend," the blonde said.
Alex and Adam turned their heads at the sound of the safety of a gun clicking off. Subconsiously Alex raised both her hands, as did Carrie, though in pain Adam wasn't able to follow.
"Get on your knees," the man instructed to Adam.
Adam just glared, and to a protective step in front of Alex.
"I said get down!" He yelled, and swung the gun around, hitting Adam and knocking him down with ease.
Already crippled, Adam fell to a helpless lump on the ground. Alex screamed at the sudden attack, and foudn the gun now pointed on her. She quickly stole a glance to Carrie, who looked horrified.
"I've got 'em!" The man called to someone they couldn't see.
Someone turned out to be smoeones: two other men who looked just as rough and tough as the one holding the captive.
"Tigh him up," the blonde instructed.
A man wearing a blue overshirt, torn at the shoulder, nodded, and Alex's breath and pulse doubled. Blue shirt moved quickly and began bounding Adam's wrist.
"The girl too," the blonde told the second man.
Alex's heart leapt as the second man took a step towards her.
"No," the blonde said gruffly, "not her, the other one-" he locked eyes with Alex, who stood frozen by Adam's body, "I don't trust her."
"Isn't that why we should be tying her up?" The second man asked.
He had a French accent.
"No," the blonde, who seemed to be in charge of the hold-up.
Carrie whimpered and watched helplessly as her hands were bound.
"Knock her out," the blonde ordered.
Carrie was easily taken out with a fist to the head, and fell to the ground beside Adam.
"Get the noose ready," he instructed next, and the two other men exchanged unsure glances.
Alex's heard pounded against her chest. She wanted to do something, say something, fight back, but she was frozen in fear.
"Shouldn't we blindfold her?" Blue shirt asked, nodding to Alex.
"'Shouldn't we blindfold her?'" The blonde mocked, amused, waving the gun madly. "Fine, blindfold her. Just don't expect me to give you any favors later."
After hearing this Blue Shirt seemed relucant to his request, but decided to follow his original plan. Taking a black bandana out of his bag, Blue Shirt stepped forward towards Alex. She was surprised when he whispered an apology into her ear.
"Sorry," he said so that only she would hear.
The world went black after that, though Alex was still aware of her surroundings. She knew she was still standing and she knew that the two extra weights on the forest floor were now being lifted. Apart from that Alex couldn't see or know of anything else. The next few minutes were quiet, and only the shuffle of feet could be heard from nearby. Silence then followed, and the only sound alex could hear was the sound of her own heavy, rasp, breath. Then suddenly, a soft crack filled the air, and then so did a second. Alex let out an earpiercing cry, because suddenly, somehow she knew where those cracks came from. She was surprised to find that nothing was restraining her as she tore off her blindfold, and obviously so did the blonde.
"What the hell were you thinking!" The blonde yelled to Blue Shirt and the Frenchman.
Alex didn't hear the rest of his complaints as she looked around in a panic for Adam. When she found nothing but blood on the ground, Alex looked at the last place she wanted to, and cried out when she saw what was there.
At the quick and professional work of the men, the bodies of Adam and Carrie were already hanging from a try above her, dangling like an unfinished spiderweb. Tears flew out of Alex's eyes in pools of sorrow, and shaking, Alex brought a fist to her mouth and held it there to sease her cries.
Meanwhile, the blonde man was still yelling at the other two, but turned on Alex immediatly when he saw she was aware of what was going on. The blonde let out a curse and something hard slammed against Alex's head before she saw it coming. Her senses seemed to have completly died. The next thing Alex knew she was being woken up by a completly different blonde man, this one who looked relativly familiar and much younger. After that Alex's life changed in more ways than she could've ever imagined or foreseen.
In the Jungle
"Can I ask you somethin'?" Sawyer asked five minutes into their walk.
"Sure," Rebecca shrugged from behind him.
"Who's Rachel Collier?"
Sawyer swore he heard Rebecca's footsteps stop for a split second, but if they really did, Sawyer would never know.
"I've never heard that name before in my life," Rebecca replied cooly, continuing to walk behind him.
"Really," Sawyer said, "then why was it on your book?"
He stopped and turned, showing Rebecca where the name was on the cover. His hand had been on the book throughout their walk as he waited for the right moment to ask. Rebecca didn't reply, but only stared at the page, as if it were something that had come back to haunt her.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Sawyer commented with a catty grin.
Rebecca looked unable to speak.
"I've always wondered why you were so quick to give up that book," Sawyer went on, "if it was just me, or if you were willing to pass it on to any old stranger who walked by."
Sawyer shut the book abruptly, making Rebecca jumped though the paperback didn't make a sound.
"Who's Rachel Collier?" He asked again.
Rebecca took a deep breath and begun to tell her story.
"Rachel Collier is.." Rebecca hesitated, and for a moment Sawyer thought she was going to back out of the confession, but then he realized she was just changing her wording, "I'm Rachel Collier."
Sawyer looked at her, unsure of rather or not to believe.
"Then who's Rebecca?" He asked, this time his voice wasn't as forceful as before.
Rebecca..or Rachel..looked down.
"Rebecca's my sister," she explained quietly, "we're identical twins. No one can tell us apart, not even our parents."
"Where's Rebecca now?" Sawyer said, unsure if he wanted to know.
"She died," Rebecca said, eyes glued to her shoes.
Rebecca was talking so low Sawyer had to struggle to hear.
"In the crash?" He asked inquisitivly.
"No," Rebecca said in the same soft, haunting, tone, "she was murdered in Sydney."
She looked back up at Sawyer, who was regretting to have ever brought up the topic. It was obviously a fragile subject for Rebecca, and of course there had to be a reason for her to go through the trouble of changing names.
"I'm sorry," was all Sawyer could say.
"Don't be," Rebecca said.
A moment of much needed silence passed before Sawyer felt it was a good time to ask the question he was itching to know the answer to.
"Why go through the trouble of changing names?" He wanted to know.
"My parents loved Rebecca," she began, "she was the perfect child. Perfect grades, perfect friends, perfect job..all my life I had to live up to her competition-" as she spoke, Rebecca seemed to be growing angrier and angrier with herself, "but no matter what I did it wasn't enough for my parents."
"So she died," Sawyer repeated, trying to piece the story together, "and you just switch identities?"
"I paid a man in Sydney to do it," Rebecca said, "ten thousand."
Sawyer let out a low whistle.
"My parents never would've noticed," Rebecca went on, voice shaking, "and they would've somehow made it my fault."
Sawyer wished Rebecca could lower the gaze. He had heard worse stories, but he knew to Rebecca- Rachel- it meant a lot.
"That's quite a story," Sawyer commented.
Rebecca finally looked down, ashamed.
"It's no big deal," she whispered.
Sawyer suddenly felt guilty for forcing Rebecca to confess, and felt that he had to make up for it somehow, so he decided to tell his own story. It wasn't as if he wanted to outdo her story, but he wanted to let Rebecca know that she wasn't alone in the world of bad lives.
"When I was eight my mom had an affair with a con-man," Sawyer began, "my dad found out about it, but that was after the guy had already skipped town with all our savings. My dad killed my mom, and then himself."
Rebecca's eyes softened with sympathy.
"I'm sorry," she offered sincerly.
"Don't be," Sawyer muttered bitterly, furious with himself for so easily being able to tell his story.
He hadn't it when another person could change him like that. At last Rebecca looked down, and bit her lip. Sawyer looked down as well, patiently waiting for Rebecca to say something else. Instead of saying something, however, she threw her arms around Sawyer, pulling him into a tight hug. Unsure of what to do, Sawyer returned the hug, and gently patted Rebecca on the back. When Rebecca finally pulled back, she was crying softly, and had to wipe tears from her eyes before speaking.
"You can still call me Rebecca," she said with a smile
"I like Rachel better," Sawyer replied, offering her a half-grin.
"I like Rebecca," Rebecca said, finalizing the argument.
They met eyes for a split second, and in that moment Sawyer considered another kiss. But just as he was about to lean in for one, Rebecca quicklly looked down, as if she was reading his mind and disagreed.
"We better get going," she said quietly.
"Yeah," Sawyer nodded.
They walked the next mile in silence until they found themselves standing in front of a tall cliff.
"That was quick," Sawyer muttered.
The two weren't even that far out.
"Well come on," Rebecca said, stepping onto the first rock, "I'll climb first."
"Are you serious?" Sawyer exclaimed. "That thing could fall and bury us in!"
"You're such a pessimist," Rebecca said, rolling her eyes.
Just as she said it, a good handful of dust fell to the ground beneath her, as if someone were throwing them a warning.
"Come on," Rebecca said again as she began to climb, "you want to find Walt, don't you?"
She looked down from him from a few feet up.
"I'd like to know where the kid learned how to climb cliffs," Sawyer shot.
"Baby," Rebecca teased.
Sawyer scrowled, and grabbed onto the hardened dirt above him. Ten minutes later they were at the top the mountain, which was more like a hill and not that steep at all. After catching their breath, Rebecca and Sawyer looked up to the newfoundland, and gasped at what they saw.
If this is a mountain, Sawyer thought, it had a funny way of describing itself.
Not a single tree was on the plain. Dozens of mini streams took their place, zigzagging through the inch-high grass which was a greenish- blue color. Not a single inhabitant(animal or human) was excistant.
"I know this is bad timing," Rebecca whispered to Sawyer, as if afraid someone would overhear, "but I have to go to the bathroom."
Sawyer looked at her, incredilous.
"What, you expecting me to pull one of those Port-A-Jon things out of my magical purse?" He said sarcastically.
"Could you?" She pleaded.
Sawyer rolled his eyes.
"I'll be back in five minutes," Rebecca promised, and lowered herself to the edge of the cliff.
"You're climbing back down that thing?" Sawyer exclaimed.
"Were you expecting me to fly off?" Rebecca said with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe your magical purse could spare me a pair of wings."
"Cute," Sawyer said with a huff, "can't you just..find somewhere up here."
Sawyer couldn't think of a more embarrasing situation.
"Sawyer!" Rebecca cried, glancing behind him at the treeless plane.
"What!"
Rebecca rolled her eyes again, and started down the mountain.
"I'll be back in five minutes," she said again, "promise."
Sawyer sighed, and threw himself down near the edge of the cliff, secretly thankful for the opportunity to rest.
"I'll be back in five minutes," Rebecca had promised.
She was just going to be somewhere near by, Sawyer reminded himself, maybe a few seconds away. Nothing could happen that close. She'd be back in five minutes, she had promised him that, and it's not like this was some cooked up plan to leave him. Rebecca didn't seem like that kind of person.
But five minutes passed and Sawyer now found himself pacing the ground, glancing over the cliff every now and then though quickly turning back, afraid to see Rebecca's scrowling face glaring back up at him.
Five minutes turned to ten, ten turned into fifteen, and fifteen turned into a timd, stressful, half hour. Within that thirty minutes Sawyer had sung every oldies song he knew. Of course, once he started singing them he couldn't get it out of his head. The current song playing in his head was "Spook". Why? Sawyer had no clue, he hadn't even heard the song in ten years. He was surprised he even remembered the lyrics:
If you decide someday to stop this little game that you are playin'
I'm gonna tell you all that my heart's been a-dyin' to be sayin'
Finally Sawyer made up his mind, and decided to go look for Rebecca. Carefully he threw a leg over the side of the cliff, and then scurried down, almost sliding twice.
"Rebecca!" He called once he reached the ground.
No answer replied except the chirping of birds. Sawyer couldn't help but to wonder why he heard them down here and not up there.
"Rebecca!"
A million thoughts ran through his head as the song pounded against his brain. This was his fault. He had let her down. And yet at the same time he was mad at something other than himself. Not Rebecca. Not even necessarily God. He was mad at the general idea of friendship. Friendship had never quite worked out for Sawyer. Hibbs(if he could even be considered a friend), Michael, Jin, Walt, and now Rebecca..what was the world trying to say? That he didn't deserve happiness?
Just like a ghost, you've been a-hauntin' my dreams
"Rebecca!" Sawyer called again, placing his hands parallel his mouth in hopes of creating a louder, more echoey sound, like he had seen done in movies.
So I'll propose... on Halloween.
The echo effect worked, but once again no response was heard. Sawyer began to panic.
"I'll be back in five minutes."
Rebecca's promise repeated in his mind again and again against the bass of the song.
Baby, love is kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you
Sawyer took off running through the jungle, calling Rebecca's name over and over again, and jumping over logs that seemed to appear from nowhere at the last moment each leap. He didn't remember them from the trip earlier.
"Rebecca!" Sawyer called again.
This time he received a reply, an annoyed 'hmph' as someone slammed into him.
Ah, spooky, yeah-uh!
Quickly recovering from the impact, Sawyer stepped back to see who he had run into. In hopes of seeing Rebecca, Sawyer was disapointed to come face to face with Sayid, the last person he wanted to see right now. Besides Jack, of course.
"The universe hates me," Sawyer muttered.
"Why does the universe hate you?" Sayid asked curiously.
"Forget it," Sawyer said, and side-stepped Sayid.
Sayid grabbed him by the arm, stopping him.
"Who were you looking for?" Sayid asked.
Sawyer was surprised to hear that he sounded concerned. Sayid usually wasn't the one to meddle in Sawyer's problems.
"No one," Sawyer replied impaciently.
"You're awful worried to be looking for no one," Sayid commented.
"Glad you like to be observant," Sawyer shot, frustrated at not being able to think of a better come-back.
His mind was still focused on Rebecca, and Sawyer knew that if he had had a gun with him, he would've pulled it on Sayid. And that was another thing that was going through his mind. Why wasn't he armed? Was he really that stupid?
"Whose Rebecca?" Sayid asked.
He decided that torturing Sawyer with mind games must've been one of Sayid's favorite new hobbies.
"She's just a friend," Sawyer said through gritted teeth.
Sawyer wondered if that was even true. Were they friends? Or even maybe more? His heart dropped when he realized he may never know.
"What happened?" Sayid wanted to know, this time sounding more sympathetic.
"We were looking for Walt and she disapeared," Sawyer explained, sounding impacient, "and if you'd leave me the hell alone I'd might be able to find her."
"Maybe you should go back to the caves," Sayid suggested, stopping Sawyer again as he tried to leave.
"And get myself murdered?" Sawyer said with a snort. "Or have you forgotten Saint Jack's hellbeant on revenge?"
Sayid didn't reply.
"Forget it," Sawyer muttered, "I didn't ask for your help."
"I didn't offer it!" Sayid called after him as Sawyer sat out for a third time, as if he needed that point to be made.
Sawyer continued his running until he found himself in a familar jungle area, and kicked at the ground harshly when he realized he was back at the caves. Why had he let himself run that far away? No way Rebecca had come back here, and he had no clue where they were before or how to get back to it. Knowing he had no other choice now, Sawyer ducked his head under the cave entrance, and entered the main cave.
Once inside he was surprised to find most of the cave cleared out. Soon though, he realized why. The smile of blood was heavy in the atmoshpere, lingering as he walked through the caves like a burnt candle. Sawyer was thankful when he didn't see anyone he recognized, and was also thankful when no one asked him how he had managed to get so beat up. All he received as he walked by were looks, and Sawyer had always received those looks. He snarled at the castaways as they followed him with their eyes, and they turned away like wimpering puppies. Sawyer chuckled to himself.
Having nothing else to do, Sawyer refilled a bottle of water, emptied it back into the small pool, and then refilled it again. He repeated this process a good number of times before noticing the two bodies occupying the back of the caves. Curious, Sawyer headed that way.
"Dude, you might not want to go back there."
Sawyer jumped at the sound of Hurley's voice.
"Why's that?" Sawyer said, glancing behind him.
"Alex just tried to choke this guy to death," Hurley said.
Sawyer figured Hurley was probably supposed to keep the subject quiet, but was itching to tell someone. Still, at the knowledge of Alex commited such a vicious act, Sawyer found himself wishing he had stayed back at the caves. In the past few weeks survivors had unintentionally divided themselves into groups, and one of those groups had been the former rafties. Of course, now the only two left were Alex and himself, unless they found Walt. Maybe if he had stayed, he thought, he somehow could've stopped her.
"Is that so?" Sawyer said with a hint of sarcasm, and continued to make his way to the back of the caves.
One of the bodies in the cavesSawyer didn't recongize(though he could make out red fingerprints on the man's neck), but he stopped in his tracks when he saw that the other was Jack. Jack was sprawled out on a cot put together by suitcases and cushions from the seats of the plane. A bandage had been placed on his forehead, though it didn't seem to be doing its job. Blood leaked out of the cotton in slow oozes, and Sawyer wondered if anyone was planning to come by and change it. Jack's face was paler than usual, and he was breathing in slow breaths. He was clearly out cold. Sawyer raised an eyebrow, and then turned to the other man.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Sawyer spun around in surprise, and found himself facing Alex, who was hurrying to put something into her bag behind her back. Her cheeks were puffy and her eyes were swollen, as if she had cried to the last tear.
"I could ask you the same," Sawyer retorted.
"I..I.." Alex studdered, "I came to see how Jack was doing."
She quickly crossed over and walked towards Jack. When she reached him she felt his forehead, only to bring her hand back quickly.
"What happened to him?" Sawyer wondered outloud.
"He hit his head on a tree," Alex explained.
Sawyer snorted and Alex glared. Alex carefully removed the bloody bandage from Jack's forehead, and Sawyer swore he saw him flinch in his sleep. Alex replaced the bandage with some cotton and tape that was set on a suitcase nearby.
"You sure you don't want to clean that first?" Sawyer asked.
He didn't want to have to deal with the guilt were Jack to die because of him withholding this information. Not that Jack could die from something as small as that, but knowing Sawyer's luck, he would've.
"I know what I'm doing," Alex said, sounding agitated.
Alex finished redressing Jack's wound, and reached for a bottle of water that had been laid beside the other medical supplies. Uncapping it, Alex poured out some of the water onto Jack's forehead, concentrating carefully as she did.
"What, is that supposed to help bring him back or something?" Sawyer asked.
He was interested to know where Alex had learned all of these medical procedures.
"It's to help keep his fever down," Alex replied.
"Oh," Sawyer said quietly.
Finding himself bored Sawyer let his eyes wonder around the caves until they fell on Alex's bag, and Sawyer recalled her suspicious behavior earlier.
"So what's in the bag?" He asked, speaking louder than he had before.
Alex's shoulders flinched slightly, but she quickly recovered, tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear. Sawyer couldn't help but to notice that Alex's hair had grown a good two inches longer than its length when he had met her.
"Nothing," Alex said, studdering for the first time since she had entered the caves.
"Really?" Sawyer said, stepping forward.
He picked up the back before Alex could make a grab for it.
"Well let's just see about that," Sawyer smirked.
Sawyer unzipped the bag while pulling it out of reach as Alex continued to swipe at it. Digging through the contents, Sawyer thought for a moment that he was about to meet embarrasment, until his hands landed on a familiar object: a gun. Sawyer pulled it out.
"Well, well, well," Sawyer said with a malicious grin.
Alex stared at the gun as if Sawyer had just taken a golden treasure from her.
"What do we have here?" He went on.
Remembering what Hurley had told him earlier, Sawyer glanced back towards the blonde man across from the unconsious Jack.
"I heard about your little incident," Sawyer said, "wouldn't of expected that from you. Of course, you were the one who took a man and his girlfriend captive and blew up a freakin' ship."
"It was a raft," Alex corrected, "and I only set it on fire."
"But you robbed a ship," Sawyer pointed out.
The fact silenced Alex, but Sawyer caught her as she stole a glance towards the blonde man. Her eyes were filled with pure hatred. Sawyer began to peice the story together.
"You were going to use it on him, weren't you?" Sawyer said slowly.
Alex didn't reply.
"You were going to kill him in front of Jack," Sawyer went on, and then snorted, "gawd I didn't think anyone was that stupid."
Alex's cheeks redenned in emberrasment, but she still didn't say anything. Sawyer found himself furious, furious that he had no idea what was going on in Alex's head.
"Why?" Sawyer finally asked. "Why do it? Why take this innocent life?"
The term 'innocent life' struck a nerve with Alex.
"He killed him!" Alex finally exclaimed. "He took us captive and then he killed him!" Tears formed in Alex's eyes as she continued. "And it's all my fault!"
Alex turned away, covering her face with a hand. Unsure of what to do or say, Sawyer remained silent.
"I should've seen it coming," she went on quietly, "I should've stopped them. I could've stopped them. God why did I have to be so stupid?"
Once Alex finished insulting herself, Sawyer decided that it was in his position to say something.
"You're not stupid," he said, "I'm sure there was nothing you could've done."
Anyone who had heard about the scene wouldn't of believed it, because kindness and reassurance was something that rarley came out of Sawyer's mouth. Even Sawyer himself was surprised at what he was saying.
"You don't know that!" Alex cried.
Sawyer felt himself take a step back in surprise of the outburst. Now he was completly uncertain of what to do, so as much as he hated to, Sawyer knew he should get out of there.
"Me and someone else were looking for Walt," Sawyer began, "she went missing too. I should probably head back out."
"Walt's dead," Alex whispered.
Sawyer caught himself before he fell to the ground in shock. Swallowing hard, Sawyer was determined not to let his ego fall now.
"What about your mom?" He asked, voice shaking a little, after a few moments of silence.
"Still missing," Alex replied quietly, back still turned from him.
"How about we go look for her?" Sawyer offered. "And Rebecca too."
"Who's Rebecca?" Alex asked, clearing her throat and turning towards Sawyer.
Sawyer sighed.
"I'll tell ya on the way out."
Taking a last look at the man whose life he was sure he just saved, and then the one he had ruined, Sawyer handed Alex back her bag and began the walk out of the caves.
(cue music, "See You Soon" by Coldplay)
Locke helped Danielle as she jumped over a small riverbend. She didn't need the help and Locke probably knew that, but she found it flattering that he offered. The two had made a mutual decision to return to the caves, as Danielle knew Alex would be worried about her. Neither figured Kyle would've been able to make it out this far on his own anyway, what with the leg injury and all
So you lost your trust
And you never should have
And you never should have
Kate never knew of Sawyer coming back to the caves, but was thankful that she was able to spend time alone with Jack, or rather, the unconsious Jack, without the risk of anyone seeing. She held his hand tightly as Alex had done earlier, praying over and over again silently for some kind of response from him. Kate had hoped that maybe by bringing herself to sit by him like she should be doing, the good deed would wear off into hope of maybe getting Jack- the fully consious Jack- back.
But don't break your back
If you ever see this
But don't answer that
In last attemps to revive him, Kate reached for a washcloth, wettened it with cold water, and dabbed it gently against Jack's burning forehead.
In a bullet proof vest
With the windows all closed
I'll be doing my best
I'll see you soon
Claire had been one of the brave ones to have gone back to the beach, beliving in Charlie's philosphy that the monster couldn't be underwater, and wasn't sand built on water? Looking up, she noticed Charlie aproaching her with a full bottle of cold water. Despite the fact that she had seemed him do this many times before, Claire still smiled and accepted the water gratefully.
In a telescope lens
And when all you want is friends
I'll see you soon
Sun sat on the edge of the shore, letting a handful of sand seap through her fingertips. She smiled as she did this, though she didn't know why, and tossed the remaining sand into the ocean.
So they came for you
They came snapping at your heels
They come snapping at your heels
By the middle of the day Sawyer and Alex were a good ways out into the jungle. Sawyer couldn't help but to remind himself that out here in the jungle was probably the only place he was welcomed, though of course, he only had himself to blame for that. Too bad he couldn't admit that earlier.
But don't break your back
If you ever say this
But don't answer that
Shannon sat by herself in the caves, staring at her hands. She had wanted to go with Sayid to look for Boone, but of course he had protested. She couldn't help but to wonder if Sayid made her stay simply because he hated the tension between the three of them when they were together, assuming they find Boone. She hoped they'd fine Boone. Shannon really had no idea what was going on in his life right now, but now that there was a change she may never see him again, Shannon found herself wanting to be apart of his life..again..only this time she was determined to make it work- just not in a romantic way.
In a bullet proof vest
With the windows all closed
Sayid had hurried into the jungle as soon as the word that Boone had gone missing had gotten around the caves. He knew Shannon was worried about him, though he was probably just still looking for Locke.
"Boone!" He called to the jungle.
"I'm up here!"
Sayid stopped in his tracks, and looked up to a tree above him, where Boone sat on a thick branch.
I'll be doing my best
I'll see you soon
"You're in a tree," Sayid commented curtly.
"Yeah," Boone said as he began to climb down, "that thing came back-"
He jumped to the ground.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time."
Sayid raised an eyebrow.
In a telescope lens
And when all you want is friends
"There's something you need to see," Boone said quickly after that.
"Shannon's worried about you," Sayid told him.
I'll see you soon
"I know.." Boone said, sounding guilty, "but it could be important."
"Maybe we should just go-"
"It's about the hatch."
And oh, you lost your trust
And oh, you lost your trust
An hour later Kate still sat in the caves, sleep threatening to take over Kate's wary body. Determined to fight it off, Kate checked on Jack once more, and when she did, her heart leapt with joy: Jack's fever had decreased tremendusly, and along with that, he seemed to be breathing easier, in a more steady rythm. Closing her eyes, Kate said one last prayer..
No, don't lose your trust
Author's Note: Okay, so us Coldplay fans know that there's a little more to the song but I'm tired of writing this stupid chapter. Plus I think the site might've gotten the lyrics wrong. Please tell me if they did. I think the song's pretty much in it's complete form though. Oh, and that part right there was so not meant to be slash. It's not my fault that's how the lyrics go. Yeah, long chapter. I'd say don't get used to it, but you never know. And sorry for the Alex flashback repeat, but Whirldwid-2005 guessed this AWSOME plot that wasn't in my original draft about the blonde man being the same person, and I had to show that flashback. Thanks to Whirldwind-2005 for letting me use that plot, and thanks to all of you for reviewing! You guys rock!
Coming up next, on "In the End":
Finally there's Jate! And you see what's up with the hatch, and some of the missing persons and the castaways unite..I think.
Thanks again!
Until next time..
October Sky
