In the End
Chapter Thirteen
Author's Note: Remember, similar to the show, but not the same;)
Disclaimer: "I Know" is by Jude, who also either wrote, composed, or both, "You All Everybody". If you can find the song to listen to, that'd be wonderful, but since I don't know how to upload songs without having to type in a million email addresses, you can still read it without hearing it. In fact, it may even be easier that way.
Chapter Thirteen: The Code
Boone awoke with a groan, and rubbed the side of his head where he had been hit. Forcing his eyes open, Boone was momentarily surprised to find himself in the dark.
"You're in a closet," a voice informed him, "at least, I think that's what this place is."
A light flipped on, and tiny dots danced as Boone shut his eyes quickly to block the new light. The dots faded as Boone reopened them, and Boone shield his eyes, though the light was dim. Sayid's face appeared across from him. As his eyes adjusted, Boone noticed that neither he nor Sayid had been tied up, and Sayid looked unhurt. Of anything, Sayid looked positively bored.
"Where are we?" Boone asked, forgetting what he had just been told.
Sayid sighed.
"I don't know," he replied irritably.
Boone shifted his weight so that he was leaning on his right leg, and flinched when his arm hit against something sharp. Pulling his arm towards him, Boone saw that a cut had formed where the object had stabbed his skin. He put a finger over the cut to cease the bleeding, and looked over to the side. Boone gasped.
It turned out he was leaning against a shelf, a very tall shelf for that matter. A very tall shelf stuffed with food. Packaged goods filled the shelf, and generic brand canned drinks made up another shelf to the left of them.
"There's..food here," Boone said slowly, looking over at Sayid, who had an arm thrown over his knee with his chin rested on it.
"I know," Sayid muttered.
As he spoke, his eyes never left their spot where they seemed glued to what looked like a door. Boone's eyes lit up as he realized all the different brands of food around them, and wondered how Sayid could just sit there, not even taking notice to it. Without thinking twice, Boone grabbed a bag of chips, and tore it open. A few spare chips fell to the ground as the bag ripped, but Boone ignored them as he reached down in the bag, scooping up a handful of chips. He placed one on the tip of his tongue, and melted as the sweet taste of the chip hit him. It took him almost a full minute to eat the first chip, savoring the taste and flavor chip as though it were his last meal.
"Hurley's going to love this," Boone said with a laugh as he began stuffing chips into his mouth.
Remembering the drinks beside him, he reached over, and tore open a case of what looked like a store-brand of Coca Cola. He popped open a can, catching the fizz before it could dissolve, and handed a second to Sayid, who shook his head.
"You're choice, man," Boone shrugged, and lifted the coke in the air, "cheers."
In the Jungle
"Rebecca!"
No answer.
"Alex!"
No answer. Sawyer swore as he kicked at a walk. He was beginning to think that maybe he should stop going on walks with women: Sawyer was developing the tendency to lose them.
"Rebecca!" He called again. "Alex!"
This time, a muffled cry answered him, and Sawyer darted towards it, without looking to see which way he was going. As Sawyer ran the cries for help grew nearer and louder, and he was starting to think that maybe he was just hearing things when suddenly someone shouted at him, and Sawyer realized Rebecca was on the ground, not further than ten feet from him.
"Thank God," he muttered as he dropped beside her.
"Who's Alex?" Rebecca asked weakly.
"No one," Sawyer replied quickly.
Carefully Sawyer lifted Rebecca's head, placing it in his lap. He gently pulled the loose strands of blonde hair, now highlighted in red, away from her face, and when he saw the wound his heart fell. A slick cut ran across Rebecca's right cheek, bleeding a dark shade of crimson. Rebecca cooperated with him until he began using the bottom edge of his shirt to try and stop the bleeding.
"Don't.." Rebecca gasped softly.
Sawyer looked at her in concern.
"Use my jacket," she whispered.
"It's fine," Sawyer lied, "damn thing's faded anyway."
Truthfully he was fond the shirt, one that he saved from the wreckage that first week, but the thought of the blood staining it hadn't even occured to him until now.
"No," Rebecca protested.
She reached up and attempted to take off her jacket. Sawyer hadn't noticed it before, but now that he did he saw that it was a white athletic jacket, like the kind you'd work out with, and Sawyer briefly wondered if she was athletic. It was then that Sawyer realized that he really knew nothing about Rebecca's life, or at least her present one. For all he knew she had escaped from some crazy house before sneaking onto the flight. Hell, he couldn't even remember if she had actually mentioned being on the flight.
"Just..hold still," Sawyer said, putting a hand on Rebecca's, which had already stopped fidgeting with the jacket in pain.
Looking down, he noticed her fingers were scratched. When Sawyer finally brought his hand down from her face, he was relieved to see that the bleeding had at least momentarily slowed, but the wound still didn't look good, and he knew it must be painful.
"We've got to get you to Jack," Sawyer concluded.
"But you said-"
"Forget what I said!" Sawyer exclaimed. "I'm taking you to Jack, you're hurt!"
"It's fine.."
"Would you stop saying that?" Sawyer spat.
Rebecca closed her mouth, which was open and ready to protest, looking hurt, and it was obvious it wasn't from the wound.
"Sorry," Sawyer said truthfully.
"It's okay," Rebecca whispered.
Sitting back, Sawyer let out a breath he hadn't realize he had been holding. He took a moment to let his pulse die down, and then leaned forward again.
"Let's go," he said, getting to his feet.
This time Rebecca didn't protest. Sawyer put an arm around her shoulder, helping her to her feet.
"You okay?" He asked her before taking the first step forward.
Rebecca nodded.
"Okay."
Sawyer drew in a deep breath and let it out. He was never the comforting type, but when it was necessary, Sawyer knew he could be.
"All right then," Sawyer said.
Rebecca followed his first step forward with ease, though on the second she found herself wincing in pain. Letting go of Sawyer, she leaned forward onto the bark of a nearby tree. A moment of impatience came over Sawyer, but knowing arguing wouldn't help, he remained silent. At last, Rebecca nodded, and pushed herself away from the tree.
"Okay," she said, "I'm ready."
Sawyer nodded along with her.
"Okay."
Down the Hatch
"You don't know what you're missing out on man," Boone said, unwrapping a chocolate bar.
"I'm sure I'm not going to regret it," Sayid said dryly, and laid his head back against the wall.
Two hours since they had gone down the hatch and they were still stuck in the storage room, though Boone didn't mind. Besides food their were numerous other items piled in the room: clothing items in multiple stacks(Boone had already helped himself to one of the jackets, since the room underground was almost cooler than the world outside), boxes of notebooks(all blank) and pencils, and various toiletries(toothpaste and shampoo amongst them). Boone concluded that at least the man who had taken them captive lived down here, if not others as well.
"What's wrong with you?" Boone said before biting into the chocolate.
"What's wrong with me?" Sayid repeated, lifting his head up. "What's wrong with me is that I'm stuck down here, when there are a dozen other things that I could be doing with my time- stuck down here with you! The only way we're going to find a way to fix that machine is to get back to it, which we can't do when we're locked up down here!"
"So this is my fault then?" Boone said angrily.
Sayid didn't reply.
"Yeah, everything's my fault, I get it," Boone snapped. "And you know what, I have to live with that, so why don't you think about things before pointing fingers?"
Realizing that he was now leaning forward, Boone said back, letting out a bitter sigh.
"At least you've found the problem," Sayid said with a hint of sarcasm.
Boone glared.
"I knew we shouldn't of come down here," Sayid went on.
"Then why did you?" Boone exclaimed.
"Because I wasn't going to let your murder be on my conscious!" Sayid shot. "You're so careless in every decision you make!"
Boone looked to the side in anger, trying to block out Sayid's complaints and accusations, because he knew most of them were true, and he hated having to admit to his mistakes.
"And look where it's gotten us!" Sayid was saying. "I'm sure we'll be able to defeat the monster with-"
Sayid's arm came around quick, grabbing the first item from the shelf his hand landed on.
"-potato chips!" Sayid finished, thrusting the chips in Boone's face.
"You never know," Boone shrugged, "maybe all this time the monster's really been craving chips, and we were the substitutes."
Sayid scrawled.
"I'm glad everything can be a joke for you," Sayid said, more calming than before but still sounding cold and accusing, "because we're going to die if we can't fix this, if we can't stop this thing."
Boone looked over to Sayid.
"No one's dying," Boone said flatly.
"And how are you going to go about making sure that happens?" Sayid inquired.
Just then the door flew open, and Boone squinted as the dark and damp outside atmosphere blended in with the dimness of the room. A rancid smell came floating in as the door open, and cough escaped Boone's throat.
"You," a rasp voice said, "get up."
A rifle was pointed at Sayid, who hesitated.
"I said get up!" The voice roared.
The rifle went back and then came down again. Boone was sure that Sayid was going to be knocked to the ground, but instead the butt of the gun slammed down hard against the floor, causing Boone to jump. Sayid didn't even flinch. He didn't make any movement towards standing either. Instead the man bent down, bringing himself face to face with Sayid. Boone notice that the man went out of his way of avoiding the light, squatting in the shadows. Placing the barrel roughly beneath Sayid's chin, the man with the rifle forced Sayid to look up at him. Eventually, their eyes met, each exchanging cold, hard, stares.
"Do you want me to kill you?" Sayid was asked, in a low, intimidating voice, though Boone was sure that he was more nervous than Sayid.
"Don't," Boone said suddenly, surprising even himself, "take me."
Sayid's eyes narrowed, and the man with the gun raised an eyebrow.
"I'll go," Boone offered again.
"What the hell would a want with you?"
Boone felt a little insulted. It was clear that this man thought Sayid was the stronger and most likely smart of the two, and probably a greater threat.
"I know more about this place than him," Boone explained simply.
The man looked like he was considering the offer, but quickly declined.
"Sit back down," Boone was told.
Boone hadn't even realized in the mist of things that he was standing. At the site of the gun shaking, threatening to turn in his direction, Boone silently obeyed, but just as he was almost on the floor, he remembered the situation being primarily his fault, and he felt the need to try and regain control of things. Swinging forward, Boone grabbed onto the rifle, and tried to wrestle it out of the man's head. However, the gunman was quick, and Boone found himself trapped against the wall, pinned by the rifle.
"Don't try anything," the man spat in his face.
The edges of the rifle were jammed into his throat before he was freed, and the man swirled back around to face Sayid.
"Let's go," he instructed to Sayid.
Sayid followed, seeming to have given up on his protest. Most likely, Boone thought, his own attempts at saving Sayid from who knows what gave Sayid time to conjure up some brilliant plan of escape. The door slam shut, catching Boone off-guard and causing him to flinch. He listened until the footsteps had faded into the distance before sinking to the floor, dropping his head into his hands.
In the Jungle
"So where were you?" Rebecca asked Sawyer.
They hadn't made as much progress as they had hoped, speaking that Sawyer had no clue where he was going and Rebecca's injury, though since Rebecca was now able to walk by herself, they were starting to pick up the pace.
"Looking for you!" Sawyer said. "What the hell happened to you?"
"That thing tried to get me!" Rebecca cried. "You didn't hear it?"
"No," Sawyer said, and looked down, watching his feet walk one by one as he thought, "there's something about that place we found I don't like."
"You're tellin' me," Rebecca agreed, "when I got back to the bottom and looked up again, it was like the cliff never ended. No way was it that high before."
"So what do you think we found?" Sawyer said. "Narnia the sequel?"
Rebecca snorted.
"You're running low on comebacks," she teased.
"You have the nerve to say that to the guy left beaten in the jungle?" Sawyer shot back with dry humor.
"That was nearly two days ago," Rebecca said, rolling her eyes, "God I figured you'd stop complaining about it by now."
Sawyer smirked.
"I never stop complaining."
He continued to watch his feet as he walked, but now he notice something odd. The ground was changing gradually as they moved forward, changing from the jungle green and brown to a hardened shade of sand, much like the floor of the caves. Curiously Sawyer stopped and looked up, noticing Rebecca had done the same. There was a very good reason the ground looked like the floor of the caves, because that's exactly where they were at. But not their caves. These caves were huge with a wide opening, and dozens of rock formations that decorated the center. Cautiously Sawyer stepped forward, ignoring Rebecca's hand on his arm, trying to stop her.
"Sawyer-" she pleaded, taking a step forward but not daring to go any further.
Sawyer waves back to silence her. Then, all at once the flapping noise started, and Rebecca screamed as they were engulfed in a black cloud. The cloud dissolved as Sawyer swatted at it, and flew away with an ear-piercing, screech.
"Bats," Sawyer muttered under his breath.
"There are bats here?" Rebecca said, voice shaking.
"Apparently," Sawyer replied, talking more to himself than Rebecca.
As Sawyer looked around the seemingly empty caves, he had had no clue that Rebecca was doing the same, not until she let out a soft cry.
"Oh my God," she stated, covering her mouth with a hand.
Quickly jumping over the rock formations, Sawyer fought to get to her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder when he did. He looked down to see what was wrong, and stopped when he saw what had caught Rebecca's attention. On the ground in front of them were various items: a jacket, a thermos, and a book. After recovering from the shock of the find, Rebecca bent down to pick up the book. As she did, Sawyer's hand never left her shoulder.
"Wuthering Heights," Rebecca read, brushing dirt off the cover page, "interesting choice."
"Give it here," Sawyer said to her.
"What?" Rebecca said, putting a hand on her hips.
"I want to read it," Sawyer said through gritted teeth.
Rebecca threw the book at him.
"You're sick," she muttered.
Sawyer only smirked.
"Let's get out of here," he said, looking around, "this place gives me the creeps."
"It should."
Rebecca and Sawyer spun around. In front of them stood a man of at least forty, with short hair. He was wearing tattered jeans with holes in the knees, hiking boots, and a long, black t-shirt, much like the one Sawyer himself wore. To complete the look, the man also possessed a gun- a rifle, in fact- which was pointed right at Sawyer and Rebecca.
Down the Hatch
"I said, what's your name."
The question came for the third time, and for the third time, Sayid didn't answer. Instead he kept his lips pursed, and eyes straight, looking straight passed his captor. Though he could've easily fought back, Sayid had cooperating as he was tied to a chair in a room that had been to the left of the storage room, down a dark tunnel Sayid hadn't noticed before. He figured that the only way they were going to learn more about this place was the hard way, and they needed to know as much as they could. So far, his planned had failed.
"Tell me yours," Sayid replied without fear.
The man scrawled.
"Tell me your name!" The man demanded again, shoving the barrel of the rifle in Sayid's face.
"The gun doesn't scare me," Sayid told him.
The man let out an exasperated sighed, throwing his hands in the air.
"Tell me your-"
"We're on an island, there's no point in knowing my name," Sayid interrupted, "but if you tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."
The man sighed again, and turned back to Sayid.
"Callum," he replied, "my name's Callum."
"Sayid," Sayid said, "I'd shake your hand, but clearly that's impossible.
"Sorry," Callum replied hastily, "you can't get away."
"I won't try," Sayid promised.
"Yes you will," Callum said, "you'll try and get back to them, your people."
"How do you know who I am?" Sayid said curiously.
"I don't," Callum admitted, "I just know who you're apart of."
An eerie sense of dejavu swam over Sayid as he remembered a similar kidnapping by Danielle. He wondered briefly if she were back at the caves now with Alex, or if she was still out there in the jungle somewhere.
"What is this place?" Sayid asked him. "The food, it was still good, where did it come from?"
Callum sighed, running a hand through his long hair.
"The stuff in there," Sayid continued, "these books, computers, where did it come from?"
"I don't know!" Callum cried suddenly. "I don't know, okay? I don't know what's going on, I don't know what's happening!"
He was nearly in tears.
"God they left me.." Callum repeated this a few times before realizing he was repeating himself, "and now I have to do this, on my own."
"Do what?" Sayid wanted to know.
"I don't know!"
Silence.
"Maybe I can help you," Sayid offered after a short pause.
"You can't help me," Callum began, trying to calm himself down, "not unless you have the code. Not unless you're him."
"'Him'?" Sayid repeated.
"Him!" Callum cried. "The one with the code!"
"What code?"
"I don't know!"
Callum brought a fist to his mouth, biting down hard on it, seeming to forget the need to hold the gun on Sayid.
"What does the code do?" Sayid asked calmly.
Sayid didn't think that Callum was really meaning to hurt anyone. He was just trying to solve some big catastrophe and was panicking. One thing Sayid knew was that Callum didn't need to be taken over the edge right now.
"It..it'll make everything stop," Callum said hesitantly, "we'll have to start all over, but at least it'll stop."
"What will stop?" Sayid asked.
"The deaths," Callum shivered, "the attacks."
"The monster," Sayid said in realization.
The gun was immediately at his face again.
"What do you know about the monster?" Callum demanded.
"Nothing," Sayid lied quickly.
He wouldn't even know how to begin explaining what he knew about the monster. Underneath the binds, Sayid's wrist began to ache, and he locked his fingers together in attempts to stop the pain.
"You probably don't know any more than I do," Callum said, pacing the floor, "but the code..I need that code."
"Maybe I can help you find it," Sayid said in a last desperate attempt for freedom.
Callum studied him, and for a moment he was thought that he had a deal, a light of hope that grew as Callum untied them, though he was only being set up for a let down. Grabbing him by the shoulders, Callum forced Sayid to his feet, not even bothering to give instructions this time. With the barrel of the gun Sayid was led back to the storage room, though Callum pulled him aside before throwing him back inside.
"Tell him nothing of what I told you," Callum hissed, and threw open the door, shoving Sayid back inside.
At the Caves
Jack's eyes threatened to close as he fumbled with the medicine bottle. After searching, Jack had found something that would help him stay awake, but he lacked the energy to even open it. Frustrated, Jack threw the bottle back on the makeshift table of medicine, and rubbed his face with his hands, closing his eyes hard for a peaceful moment of rest.
"Giving in, Doctor?" A voice teased from behind him.
"Alex!" Jack said in surprise, turning around.
Throwing his arms around her, he pulled her into a brotherly hug, and then momentarily pulled back.
"You're awake," Alex commented, studying Jack, "and you look good. The wound doesn't look bad at all."
"Apparently I have you to think for that," Jack smiled, "when did you go to med school?"
"Oh I didn't tell you?" Alex said playfully. "I didn't really drop out of high school, I was accepted early into Harvard."
"That's amazing," Jack said, "especially considering that Harvard's a law school."
Alex blushed.
"Yeah, well I missed college day," she said, "think they'll take trapped on a not so deserted island with polar bears and a monster on the lose as an excuse?"
"Hey, now at least you could use 'polar bear ate my homework'," Jack joked.
Alex laughed.
"Alex?" A quiet voice asked from the side.
Alex and Jack turned to find Danielle standing at the entrance to Jack's cave.
"I'm going to go with John back to the beach," Danielle said, "I'll be back in fifteen minutes."
"Okay," Alex nodded.
Jack raised an eyebrow as Danielle left.
"You two seem on good terms," Jack observed.
Alex shrugged.
"Things happen."
Alex crossed her arms, and found herself running out of things to say. It was such a relief for her to be back at the caves, with Jack and the rest, though after her recent run in with Kyle, and being rescued by her mother, Alex realized she was becoming clingy like a child would. She might as well have been on the ground, hanging onto her mother's feet and begging her not to leave.
"So you found Locke," Jack said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yeah," Alex replied, "actually, my mom found Locke-" she almost laughed when she saw Jack's look of concern, "it's a long story."
"Well, I'm glad your back," Jack said, "but I've got to-"
Jack seemed reluctant to continue. Alex laughed, knowing what he was trying to say.
"You look like you're about to fall off your feet," Alex said. "You better get some sleep because I'm not going to carry you back when you collapse on the way to the beach."
"Looks like you were taught well at that med school," Jack chuckled.
"Passed the exams with flying colors," Alex said with fake pride and a laugh, "night Jack."
Jack looked at her in confusion.
"It's only morning," he protested.
"Night Jack," Alex repeated with a laugh and a grin as she left him in the caves.
Down the hatch
Once again Sayid and Boone were left in the storage rooms, almost in the same exact positions as earlier. Sayid hadn't told Boone anything about what Callum had said, not because of the threat, but because he didn't really see the point, especially considering they didn't know how long they'd be down there. Sayid watched as Boone unwrapped a third chocolate bar, and huffed in disgust. Boone took a bite out of the candy bar, exasperatedly expressing the relieving taste of the chocolate, and then grabbed another bar from the box
"Come on," Boone said, waving the chocolate bar in front of Sayid's face, "you know you want it-" he took another bite of his own bar, "it's really good.."
Growling, Sayid grabbed the unwrapped chocolate from Boone's hands, and began tearing the plastic off. Boone smiled triumphantly, and continued eating his candy. Sayid stared at the candy bar before taking the first bite, and he had to admit, it was good. The taste of the chocolate melted in his mouth, and he was about to take a second bite when the door once more opened. This time, instead of coming in, Callum threw someone in the storage room with him. The body slammed into the walls and rolled onto the ground where it remained, unmoving. Sayid and Boone leaned forward over the body to see who it was as the door closed. Boone was the first to confirm the identity, in just as much surprise as Sayid.
"Sawyer?"
Sawyer groaned at the sound of his name, rolling his head to the side. His eyes opened lazily, though when he saw who he was looking up at he jumped back, almost hitting the wall. At last Sawyer was able to speak.
"Where the hell am I?" Sawyer said, looking around the place in horror.
Boone glanced towards Sayid and sighed:
"You explain it to him."
At the Caves
"''Afternoon," Kate greeted Jack as he stepped out of his caves, "you look good."
"And it seems to be the talk of the day," Jack smiled, "did you get any sleep today?"
Kate rolled her eyes.
"I wish," she sighed, "you wouldn't believe-"
"Someone help me!" A woman cried from nearby.
The entire population of the caves turned to see a blonde woman running towards them, a nasty looking a cut covering her right cheek. Pushing her way through the crowds, the woman finally made her way to her destination, which appeared to be Jack and Kate.
"What's wrong?" Kate asked her, grabbing onto the woman's arm to steady her.
"They took him," the woman sobbed, "he..he took him!"
"Who took who?" Jack asked urgently.
"Sawyer!" The woman gasped through a round of unsteady breaths before collapsing in Jack's arms.
Down the Hatch
Sawyer sat in shock of the story he had just heard from Sayid and Boone. Together the two had confessed the finding of the hatch, the finding of what was inside it, and the many months that followed.
"You've got to be kidding me," Sawyer said at last.
He squinted to something sitting beside Boone on a box he had failed to notice.
"And is that chocolate?" He said in disbelief.
"Yeah," Boone said happily, "want some?"
"Hell yeah," Sawyer said, lifting himself up from his slouching position against the wall.
Sawyer took the chocolate from Boone and ate it hungrily. Having not eaten in days, Sawyer was starving, and at remember his lack of nutrition, his stomach began to ache. His head was throbbing as well, and that only began the multiple list of injuries Sawyer was suffering from.
"So you two have been sitting around, watching us like we're some damn experiment for months?" Sawyer said in disgust as he chewed the candy bar.
"Locke too," Boone added.
Sayid glared at him.
""That's sick," Sawyer said, "and now we're just stuck down here?"
"Unless he decides to let us out," Boone nodded.
Sawyer sighed and looked around, observing the room, and his eyes widened as they landed on a spare plank of wood on the ground.
"I've got an idea," he pointed to the wood, "give me that."
Sayid looked behind him at the wood, and handed it to Sawyer without question.
"We're breaking out of here," Sawyer declared.
At the Beach
Shannon's eyes scanned the jungle anxiously. She hadn't seen Boone in what felt like days, and Sayid had gone missing as well. The thoughts of starting a search party had occured to her, but she wasn't sure to ask. As if he had read her thoughts, Locke emerged from the jungle, chatting happily with Danielle. By the time she reached Locke Shannon was out of breath, and she was embarrassed to have to have Locke walk her through the breathing process as other members of the beach camp watched.
"What's wrong?" Locke asked her once she had regained a steady pulse.
"Boone's missing," Shannon said, "and Sayid hasn't been back."
Locke and Danielle exchanged glances.
"How long have they been missing?" Locke asked.
"Um.." Shannon thought quickly, "I don't know."
Shannon heaved a sigh, angry with herself.
"We'll find them," Locke promised her before turning to Danielle, conjuring up some plan of action as Shannon nodded, though part of her was reluctant to be optimistic.
Down the Hatch
The door to the storage room crept open. Unlike earlier, the room was now dark, and the three captives inside quiet. Footsteps stepped into the room, and a hand reached for the light.
"Now!" A voice hissed.
A piece of wood came down hard on Callum's head, and the last thing he remembered was seeing numerous colorful stars before hitting the ground.
In the Jungle
(Cue music: "I Know" by Jude)
Sawyer walked through the woods ahead of Sayid and Boone, who weren't even out of the hatch by the time he had exited the clearing. He was anxious to get back to Rebecca, and anxious for all this drama to finally come to an end.
At the Caves
The castaways at the caves watched as three of their missing fellow survivors returned, all looked exhausted, especially Sawyer, who stumbled into the caves, ignoring the looks he was getting. As he walked through the caves, he met eyes with Jack, who watched as he walked by, though didn't make any move to start up a fight, something Sawyer was grateful for. He needed a break. Sawyer heard his name being called from nearby, and looked around, though he couldn't find the source. The voice sounded so familiar, though at the same time so distant. Maybe he was only imagining things..
"Sawyer!" A voice cried.
Rebecca threw herself at hm, wrapping her arms around his shoulders despite his obvious pain. Then, before he knew what was happening, he was kissing her, right there in from of everyone. And yet, he didn't regret it.
You've got such a pretty smile.
Across the caves, Kate watched with Jack as Sawyer kissed this woman she didn't know, and felt a pang of jealousy, but not because of not being able to be with Sawyer, but because of their happiness.
It's a shame the things you hide behind it.
As she watched she had missed Jack's departure, and ran after him, catching him on the path at the last minute, just before he'd disappear into the jungle. She grabbed Jack's hand, spinning him around, and forced a kiss upon him, remembering Claire's tale of her and Charlie's first kiss. She was grateful when Jack didn't back away too quickly, and personally thought he had perfect timing for breaking the kiss.
Let um go give it up for a while...
They stood together in silence for a few moments, looking into each other's eyes, Kate's arms still around Jack's neck.
"Are you sure-" Jack began.
"Yes," Kate cut in immediately.
Jack looked slightly taken aback.
"I want to be happy," Kate said, offering Jack a small smile.
Jack looked at her for a moment, unsure, and then let out a laugh.
"You think I could make you happy?" He said, struggling not to laugh as he grinned.
He wasn't laughing at her, but more like laughing in triumph, in happiness.
Let um free and we will both go find it.
Kate nodded.
"Yeah," she said softly, "I do."
Jack held her gaze for another moment before pulling Kate into a hug, holding onto her, never wanting to let go.
At the Caves
I know there's no where you can hide it.
Alex sat with her mother in the caves. For the first time in the past week, she had taken off Adam's sweatshirt, and was finding herself actually laughing, enjoying herself, something just a few hours ago she thought she'd never be able to do again.
I know the feeling of alone.
A few skeletons still lay in her closet, and though it would take a while to move through all the old boxes first, Alex was confident in trying to move passed the past.
I know that you do not feel invited,
But even as she was confident in this, things would creep up, reminding her of things, of people. She remembered the man with the leg, and realized that he wasn't even at the caves anymore. They had let him walk free. It was then that she noticed her mother was watching her, waiting for her to reply to some question. Alex forced a fake smile, and laughed though she wasn't even sure anymore what was being talked about.
But come back, come back in from the cold.
At the Beach
Sayid's eyes scanned the beach, searching for Shannon. He smiled as he spotted her, sitting outside of her tent, a mirror in one hand and makeup brush in the other.
Step away from the edge.
He knew that Shannon was savoring her supply of makeup, and only used it when she felt anxious or worried. Wrapped up in carefully applying the mascara, Shannon didn't notice Sayid on the beach until his face appeared on her mirror, smiling from behind her. Spinning to a stand, Shannon threw her arms around Sayid.
Your best friend in life is not your mirror.
Sayid placed his hand on the makeup, and carefully sat it on top of the mirror on the ground, keeping his eyes on Shannon, who smiled the whole time. She then leaned forward, kissing him until the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted them.
Back away come back away come back away...
Shannon turned, embarrassed, to find Boone standing their, looking equally embarrassed. Relieved to see him alive, Shannon threw her arms around him, though quickly let go, remembering Sayid was there.
I am here and I will be forever and ever and i...
Together they sat down, and naturally, Shannon began interrogating them. In the middle of her questioning, Shannon mentioned smelling something oddly sweet, and was left in the dark as Boone and Sayid laughed at what appeared to be some inside joke.
I know that there's no where you can hide it.
Sawyer and Rebecca laughed as they ate in the caves, recalling the faces of those around them as they had surprised everyone with that kiss.
I know the feeling of alone.
They were relieved to be back, and had agreed on staying at the caves for the night. In the morning, they'd move back to the beach, and go from there.
Trust me and don't keep that on the inside.
Elsewhere in the caves, a gun was grabbed, bullets were loaded, and feet were soon shuffling down the paths to the caves in what felt like slow motion, one after the other. The feet stopped before reaching the beach, and the barrel of the gun peered through some bushes. The gun moved slowly from left and right until it found its target on the beach.
Soon you...
A finger pulled around the trigger tightly, and pulled. The target went down with the shot, and screams erupted from the beach. People ran in different directions, panicking. The eye of the killer lingered on its target and the few who had been brave enough to stay and help it, until finally the gun was brought down, and the killer was welcomed into what would soon become the chaos of the next few days.
You'll be locked out on your own.
Boone looked around the beach, the smell of gunpowder heavy in the atmosphere. Shannon was clinging to Sayid, who was desperately trying to calm her down. Leaving the two alone, Boone stepped towards the commotion, and spotted Locke watching the scene as well, which he found odd, since Locke had been missing for days. Yet here he was, alive and well at the scene of the crime.
You're not alone..
That night, Rebecca found sleep a difficult thing, unlike Sawyer, who was snoring away across from her. Every time she closed her eyes, she'd hear the monster, or see the man who had kidnapped Sawyer, or remember the fear of being alone in the jungle. Desperate for something to do, Rebecca spotted her book laying beside Sawyer on the ground. Reaching over, she picked it up, and opened to the front cover. There on the page her name was written- her real name. Every now and then Rebecca wondered if that person- Rachel Collier even excised anymore, if she could exist. Then the thought was shaken out of her mind, and Rebecca reminded herself that there was no Rachel Collier anymore. She was dead. Forcing herself to look away, Rebecca open to the first chapter, and as the pages turned, something fell out of the book. She picked the object off the ground, and frowned in confusion when she saw what it was: an envelope dated 1978, with a letter carefully tucked inside.
You're not alone...
Sun sat on the beach, unmoving in the panic of the caves. Someone was shouting for Jack, while others continued sobbing and scurrying around, unafraid to go to in the jungle and unafraid to stay all the same. But Sun wasn't afraid. She just sat there, letting the world move around her, and letting whatever was meant to happen, happen. She wasn't sure she cared either way.
And don't say you've never been told.
I'll be with you till we grow old...
Till am old grown and i'm cold..
That night Boone sat in the caves, writing in a notebook. His mind was elsewhere, and he wasn't entirely sure what he was writing. When he looked down, Boone saw that he had been writing a conversation:
What is it?
I'm not sure.
I'm not further beyond the grown..
I'll be with you till we grow up young..
Like a dog you can always come home..
How can you not know?
I don't think I'm him.
You're him.
Pick up a bone..
Look around town baby down town
Don't throw me to the pound..
Look around look around...
What is it?
Suddenly a thought occured to him, and Boone wrote it down:
6 43 45 91 82 63?
There was a pause, and then slowly, the answer came.
That's it.
That's the code.
Author's Note: Creepy that is, huh:-p All I have to say is, in the words of Jin, everything's going to change. Big time. Oh, and the skipped time after the murder will be explained next chapter. Thanks so much for the reviews! You guys rock!
Coming up next, on "In the End":
Who was murdered? Who was the murderer? Will Rebecca read Sawyer's letter? And will this change their relationship? All of this and more, coming your way!
Thanks again!
Until next time..
October Sky
