In the End
Chapter Seventeen
Thank you: A big thank you to Crazyhorsegirl88 for helping me sort out the kidnapping scene. Actually, a lot of it was really her idea.
Chapter Seventeen: Ghost
For the second time that morning, Jack woke up with a smile, and this time it was able to linger on when he saw that Kate was still beside him. She was still sleeping, probably exhausted from the nightmare. It really had bothered her, which bothered Jack even more.
Jack watched as Kate breathed slowly, much more calmer now than the night before, and smiled again. She looked so peaceful. Outside the sun was rising, and Jack knew he should be waking her up, but he was reluctant to pull her out of her slumber. A soft groan escaped from underneath him, and Jack was saved from his debate by Kate's self-awakening.
"Hey," she said with a yawn as her eyes fluttered open.
"Hey," Jack echoed.
Breathing in deeply, taking in the morning senses, Kate rolled over to face Jack. He was about to kiss her when he noticed her eyes were searching his, as if she were doing her own contemplating.
"I'm sorry about last night," Kate said, finally.
"You don't have to be sorry," Jack said, "it was only a nightmare."
Kate held his gaze, but didn't answer. Instead she rolled away from Jack, laying with her back facing him.
"It was so real," she whispered.
He knew Kate was counting on him to say something comforting, to make her feel better, but Jack was speechless. Another "it's okay" would receive a small nod, no doubt a lie. The situation would never be resolved, but merely pushed to the side, and this was certainly not the kind of situation that should be pushed to the side. Whatever Kate dreamt might be just a dream to him, but it really scared her. Jack started to think about that. When you're scared, you're supposed to confront your fears, so maybe that was the best thing to do here.
"Want to talk about it?" He asked quietly.
Kate shook her head.
"It was just.." Kate hesitated, "I just hope it doesn't come true."
She looked over her shoulder at Jack, who offered her a smile. Kate forced herself to return it, and returned her gaze to the floor.
"So," Jack began, feeling obligated to say something, "a new day."
Jack mentally kicked himself. What a horrible way to start a conversation.
"You never know what could happen," Jack went on, trying to make himself sound more cheerful, "running from polar bears, ghost ships, fighting off monsters.."
"That thing has been quiet the past few days," Kate commented, "think things are turning back to normal?"
Jack snorted.
"Normal," he repeated, running over the definition of the word in his head, "if you can call it that."
Rolling over, Jack placed his hands behind his head, trying to relax before his day was forced to begin. Once again the position of conversation starter fell on him, and Jack was blank. Noticing Kate was tensing up beside him, clearly uncomfortable with the silence, Jack blurted out the first topic that came to mind.
"Sometime we're going to have to check out some trails," he announced, "looking for..you know..bodies."
Today just wasn't his day.
"But it doesn't have to be soon," Jack added quickly, feeling bad about bringing up the rough topic, "and you don't have to help, if you don't want to. I mean, it might be dangerous, plus if you're uncomfortable with the whole dead people thing-"
"It's fine," Kate said, interrupted Jack's rambling, "I'll go."
Jack wanted to protest, the response had come a little too quickly for his liking, and he knew it wouldn't be the most pleasant of experiences, but that was also exactly why he wanted her to come. It wasn't a task he wanted to do alone, and even if he had the entirety of the camp with him, it wouldn't of been like having Kate there, which sounded disturbing considering what the job was.
"Okay then," Jack said, looking up to the ceiling.
A couple outside the caves greeted each other, louder than necessary, and a few groans responded. Jack chuckled to himself. Beside him, he noticed Kate was still distant, as if something were still on her mind. Suddenly, the topic Jack had been looking for all morning came to him. The thing that was on his mind. Jack readjusted so that he was laying on his side again, watching Kate as she stared down at the floor.
"Look, last night.." Jack stopped, hesitating to continue. What if she had just been talking in her sleep? What if she had just been so out of it, or so in the moment, that she hadn't meant it? Jack didn't want to be hurt, but he didn't want to keep wondering either. "Last night you told me that you loved me."
Silence. That was it. His fears were confirmed. She hadn't meant it. Maybe she hadn't even known she said it. And now..now he had brought up this subject, this really big thing, this life changing subject, that they were really in no position to talk about right now.
"I know," Kate said quietly, still staring down at the floor.
Jack was taken by surprise. Kate didn't sound regretful, but her voice sounded so small and soft spoken that Jack knew he shouldn't be jumping to any final conclusions. Beside him, Kate swallowed.
"I mean it," she said.
Jack's heart leapt. He felt like doing summersaults, cartwheels, dancing. Hell, he would've even discoed if he had the music. She loved him. She still loved him. Somebody loved him..A smile must've escaped his lips, because Kate raised an eyebrow at him. He hadn't even noticed she had looked up. Jack reddened a little in embarrassment, but refused to let it bother him. Now was his time to be happy.
"I love you, Jack Shepherd," Kate said again, this time more confidently.
And Jack knew she really did mean it. He held her gaze for a moment, and almost kissed her when he realized what she just said.
"Wait," Jack said suddenly, "how do you know my last name?"
Kate's eyes twinkled.
"I have my ways."
Jack smiled again, and kissed her. He had to lean down slightly, since even at a laying position, Kate was still a few centimeters shorter than he was. The fact that he never said "I love you back" didn't occur to him until later on.
"We have to tell Jack," a voice said from outside the caves.
It was Sayid's voice. He was talking loudly with someone right by the opening to his cave, so it was obvious they were trying to get his attention. An eye opened, but when Jack saw that Kate didn't look like she was planning on breaking the kiss anytime soon, he closed it, trying to push the voices out of his mind.
"Jack has enough on his shoulders," Shannon's voice said.
Wow, Shannon was defending him?
"Where is he, anyway?" She continued.
"Probably still sleeping, you know, with Kate."
Jack made a mental note to thank Hurley later for noting that.
"Jack!" Sayid called into the caves.
But he should've known it wouldn't of mattered. The kiss broke.
"You've got to be kidding me," Jack said, irritable.
"Ignore them," Kate said, placing a hand on Jack's cheek.
She tried to pull him in for a second kiss, but Jack was already getting to his feet, slinging the blanket away in frustration. Trust the island's problems to ruin his perfect moment.
"What?" Jack demanded, storming out of the cave.
The three who were talking, Hurley, Sayid, and Shannon, looked stunned, as if they never thought they'd see Jack angry.
"Uh.." Hurley finally began, glancing towards Sayid, "you know that thing I was worried about last night? Where I didn't know if I should tell or not?"
Jack sighed, and nodded, hands on his hips. Kate approached from behind him, flashing a fake smile. Why hadn't he thought of that?
"What's going on?" She asked.
"You see.." Hurley sounded still unsure of confessing, even as he went on with the story, "Charlie and Claire are kind of..gone."
Hurley stopped short. Jack stared at him in disbelief.
"What?" He finally said.
His mouth stayed agape.
"Claire had this dream," Hurley was now talking in a rush, sounding both desperate and apologetic, "something about her baby being alive and the Black Rock. Charlie was going to take her there."
This wasn't happening. Charlie wasn't that stupid.
"No," Jack said, shaking his head, "no..."
He began pacing the ground. This was a sign. Things were turning dark again.
"He said they'd be back by dark, but they weren't!"
It was the first time he had ever seen Hurley hysterical, and Jack couldn't say that he was fond of it. Once Hurley entered the banned of depressed psychos, there was no hope for anyone.
"Hurley, calm down."
Jack turned around in surprise at hearing Kate's voice.
"I'm sure they're okay," she said kindly, giving Hurley a smile.
Hurley calmed down a little.
Jack looked back at Kate in amazement and admiration. How was she so calm? Surely Kate knew the serious of the situation, that anything could've happen to Charlie and Claire. Yet she still was able to hold her cool, and even though there was a great chance of danger ahead of them, was able to calm down everyone else too. Jack inhaled deeply, and slowly let it out, using Kate's hope to guide him through his search party speech.
"Did they mention anything else?" Jack asked him. "Anything?"
"No," Hurley said truthfully.
Jack sighed. This wasn't good. There was no way of knowing if the two had already been to the Black Rock, at the place, or were still on their way. If one of them was hurt, venturing off in different directions without knowing anything definete would worsen things. Time would be wasting. Time was being wasted. They had to move. Jack turned to Sayid.
"Find someone else who's willing to go," Jack told him, "Locke, Danielle, anyone you can find. I've got to get the guns from the gun case."
"Jack.." Kate's hand fell on his shoulder as she spoke, "we got rid of the gun case two months ago."
Jack blinked. He honestly couldn't remember that happening. Rubbing his eyes, Jack tried to convince himself that it was only because of exhaustion.
"Right," Jack said quickly.
He offered no more, hoping that Sayid would leave before he'd embarrass himself any further. After exchanging glances with Kate, he did leave. Jack sighed in relief; it was only him and Kate now.
"Dude, why can't I go?"
Oh yeah, and Hurley. Jack realized he never considered that possibility.
"Do you want to go?" He asked him.
"No," Hurley admitted.
Jack managed a weak smile.
"We should be back before it gets dark," he told Hurley, sliding back into leader mode.
"Where have I heard that one before?" Hurley muttered underneath his breath.
Kate smiled at Hurley as he walked off, and turned to Jack. He looked around, not sure if he should ask what he needed to. But he knew time was running out, and Sayid would be coming back with their mystery guest any moment.
"Who has the guns?" Jack asked at last.
Kate stared at him, face first pale in surprise, then contorted into confusion, and then softened into concern.
"You do," she answered quietly.
"Oh."
Jack looked down to avoid Kate's eyes.
"Who uh.." he cleared his throat, "who has the rest of them? I know I don't have all of them."
"I think Alex has one," Kate said after thinking about it for a moment, "in fact, she might have two. And now that I think about it-" she smiled a little, "the entire Rousseau family might have up to four guns."
"And yet we're not afraid," Jack mused.
"And the daughter's psychic," Kate said with a wink.
Jack accidentally blocked Kate out as he realized what she just said. His eyes searched the caves, hoping to find Alex. Finally he spotted her by the waterfall, engulfed in a mean battle with her hair as she tried to untangle it, all while having to listen to some castaway that he was sure neither he nor Alex knew very well ramble on about something.
"Hold on," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder before approaching Alex.
"And so I ask the guy, why can't I borrow the book, I mean, it's not like he was reading it, and he says to me-"
"Can I borrow her for a minute?" Jack interrupted.
The man blinked.
"Sure," he said, and walked off, still ranting under his breath.
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"What's his problem?" He asked.
"I don't know," Alex said, "but you're a savior. Hold this."
She didn't give Jack a chance to argue before shoving a hairbrush into his hands. Taking the scrunchy she had been holding in between her teeth, Alex quickly put up her hair, fixing it in a ponytail.
"This thing will fall out before noon," Alex complained, "I don't know why I even bother-" satisfied with her hair, Alex dropped her hands, "what did you need?"
Jack couldn't help but to notice that Alex looked better than she had been. She was really progressing in the recovering process, and Jack could truthfully say that he was proud of her.
"Charlie and Claire are missing," Jack said, snapping out of his daze, "and I was wondering if you could tell me if you've..you know, seen anything."
"Sorry," Alex said.
"Not even 'Jack trips over a log at a quarter 'till three'?" Jack said desperately.
"Nothing," Alex said, deep in thought, "actually, during the past few days, my mind's been acting weird. I haven't seen anything, or anyone, for that matter. Even my memory's been off. Yesterday I went down to the beach looking for Michael."
She met eyes with Jack. He didn't know what to say to that, so he just stood quietly, trying to think of something to say to her.
"I'm sorry," Alex said, shaking her head, "I shouldn't have.."
"No," Jack said quickly, "I'm glad you did."
He offered Alex a smile. She tried to return it, but failed.
"Was there anything else you wanted?" Alex said after another moment of silence drifted by.
Jack remembered the guns.
"Yeah," he said, "can I borrow a gun?"
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"For the search party," Jack added quickly.
"Oh," Alex said in a single breath, "can I go?"
"What?" Jack said, startled.
"If you're using my gun, shouldn't I be able to go?" Alex crossed her arms.
"We might be gone for awhile," Jack said, despite what he told Hurley before, "it's not safe out there."
"But you're still going," Alex pointed out, "and you're taking Kate, right?"
Jack shook his head.
"That's not point," Jack said, "it's dangerous. End of story."
"I'm not a kid!" Alex exclaimed, infuriated.
He really didn't want to argue about this right now, because Jack knew he wouldn't be able to hold up a very good debate. It was true, Alex had gone through more in the past four months than most people went through in their lives.
"Can I have the gun or not?" Jack said wth a sigh.
Alex grabbed her bag from the ground, digging to the bottom until she found the gun and thrust it into Jack's chest.
"There's only three bullets left," Alex told him, "I think Sayid's got the other gun. Shouldn't you have one?"
"Yeah," Jack nodded, making sure the gun's safety was off. He noticed Alex was staring at the gun, as if she didn't want to let it go. "Something wrong?"
Alex shook herself out of her daze.
"No," she said, clearly lying, "just..don't lose it, okay?"
"I won't," Jack promised.
Returning her gaze to the gun, Alex looked at it a moment later, before shaking her head again and grabbing her bag.
"I'm going to the beach," she announced.
Footsteps approached behind Jack as Alex left.
"What's with her?" Kate asked, appearing beside him.
"I don't know."
But after thinking about it, Jack realized he did know. It must've been Adam's gun he took. Suddenly Jack hated himself. He knew there were only a few items of reminder that Alex still had of him, and here Jack was, taking them away.
"We should probably get ready to go," Kate said, breaking him from his thoughts, "you know, get some water. Warm up stretches. Prepare the first aid kit."
Laughing, Kate gave Jack a slap on the back before making her way towards the waterfall.
(space)
A loud chirp awoke Sawyer that morning, welcoming him to another day on the island.
"Would someone shut that thing up?" Sawyer grunted hatefully.
"What am I, your animal catcher now?" An amused voice said.
The familiar campsite came into view as Sawyer's eyes slowly opened. Last night he remembered falling asleep against a tree, Rebecca in his arms, but now Rebecca was up, and Sawyer was flat on the ground, his head uncomfortably scrunched up against the bark.
"Did you know you snore?" Rebecca said. "Here."
Sawyer looked at what he was being offered: boar meat.
"Locke just finished cleaning it about an hour ago," Rebecca told him, "it should still be hot."
He tried to remember the last time he ate meat. It was before all this monster stuff began happening again, before Jack found out what happened with him and Kate. Before he and Kate even happened. His stomach growled in stubbornness, and he could feel his mouth water.
"Thanks," he said, taking the meat.
Rebecca gave it to him with her bare hands, but he was so hungry he didn't care where she had been storing it.
"Thanks for saving me some," Rebecca said, sounding hurt.
Sawyer was already halfway through the second piece. There were only four.
"You've got to be kidding me," Sawyer said through a mouth of food.
Rebecca laughed.
"Don't worry," she said, "I ate thirty minutes ago. You sleep late."
"No I don't," Sawyer said defensively as he tore into the third piece of boar, "you just get up early."
"How many times have I heard that before?" Rebecca muttered, rolling her eyes.
She watched as Sawyer literally tore apart the meat, like a dog who had been left alone with the 4rth of July barbecue grille.
"You're disgusting," she said, watching him in awe, "you eat like a pig."
"Sorry," Sawyer said, as unapologetic as you could get, "guess you missed the part where I've been living on berries and bananas for the past two weeks. I've had to eat like a monkey."
"Glad to see your attitudes finally caught up with your looks and behavior," Rebecca teased.
Sawyer glared at her.
"Do you even want me to get started on what you look like?" He challenged.
"From what I remember, I'm beautiful," Rebecca said exasperatedly, mocking Sawyer from the previous night.
"Cute," Sawyer mumbled, "would you had me that water?"
"It's old," Rebecca reminded him.
"I don't care."
"Your health," she shrugged, and handed him the half-empty bottle that had been laying in the sand.
As he downed the liquid, Sawyer cursed himself for his pride. The water was not only warm, but tasted awlful. It took everything he had not to spit it back out. Across from him, Rebecca giggled. Sawyer just glared.
"Thank God," said someone, approaching their camp from behind.
Sawyer turned and Rebecca watched as Sayid walked up to them. He wanted to yell at the man for interrupting their morning, but he remembered Rebecca was nearby.
"Charlie and Claire are missing," Sayid told them, "we need one more person for a search party. I haven't been able to find anyone else."
He couldn't believe it. Another day in the jungle was the last thing he needed. Sawyer planned to spend the next year on the beach, doing nothing. He should've known it wouldn't of been that easy.
"Please," Sayid pleaded.
The world had turned upside down. Now even Sayid seemed to be losing his demanding meanor. Everyone around him seemed to be falling in love or falling apart.
"You should go," Rebecca said, breaking the silence.
Sawyer's head spun around so fast that it began to pound.
"What?" He exclaimed.
Was she trying to torture him? Or maybe trying to get rid of him.
"They need someone to go," Rebecca explained, "what plans did you have anyway?"
"Well we'll never know, will we?" Sawyer shot.
Neither Sayid nor Rebecca were amused.
"Fine," Sawyer said with a grunt, "I guess I get absolutely no say in what I do around here."
Rebecca watched him sympathetically as he got to his feet, and handed him his bag. He kissed her, momentarily forgetting Sayid was there. Behind them, Sayid cleared his throat.
"We should get back to the caves," Sayid sounded slightly embarrassed, "Jack'll be waiting."
Sawyer reluctantly broke the kiss, and the last thing he got before leaving was a whisper from Rebecca:
"Be safe."
(space)
"Sayid!" Shannon called excitedly as she ran up to him on the beach.
Her face fell when she saw he was with Sawyer.
"I'll meet you at the caves," Sawyer muttered bitterly, and left.
Sayid glanced towards him as he went, thinking that Sawyer actually sounded a little jealous of the time Sayid was going to get to spend with Shannon before leaving. Shannon's broad smile brought his attention back to her, and just like that, the theories on Sawyer and worries of the hunting party were gone.
"Hello," Sayid returned.
Shannon leaned forward, kissing him, though she broke it quickly. She was clearly excited about something.
"You seem happy," Sayid commented.
He felt guilty, worried that whatever the reason for her happiness was concerned him spending the day with her. It wasn't very often that Shannon was happy or excited about something, so he knew it must be big.
"Yeah," Shannon said, "I was actually just about to go see Boone."
Sayid's face fell. The one time Shannon was in a good mood, it didn't have anything to do with him. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was hurt.
"And I'm going to tell him right out," Shannon continued, waving her hands along with the conversation, "I don't care how depressed he is, or whatever the hell he's going through, he needs a life. And I'm going to help him."
Sayid's eyes narrowed in curiousity.
"How are you going to do that?" He asked.
Shannon's eyes twinkled.
"I'm going to get him a girlfriend," Shannon announced proudly.
Sayid just stared at her.
"Like..setting him up?" Sayid said slowly, unsure of the idea.
A friend had done him the honor of setting him up when he was young. It didn't go well.
"Ever heard of a blind date?" Shannon said, grinning mischieviously.
Distantly, Sayid remembered the term, but something told him he didn't want to be reminded of the meaning.
"As much as I love your plan," Sayid said, putting his hands on Shannon's shoulders, "I'll be gone for the day."
This time Shannon's face fell.
"What?" She said, sounding heartbroken. "Why?"
Sayid picked his words carefully.
"Charlie and Claire may be in trouble," he explained, "we're going to go look for them."
Shannon looked as if though she didn't know what to think or say.
"I'm sure they're fine," Sayid added quickly, "it's just a precaution."
Shannon glanced towards the jungle, as if she expected to see something there. She then adverted her eyes towards the ground, and looked back up towards Sayid.
"How long will you be gone?" She asked.
When he saw Shannon's look of sadness, a look pleading for him not to go, Sayid regretted agreeing to go on the hike.
"We'll be back before nightfall," Sayid promised her. A thought suddenly came to him and Sayid gave Shannon a smile. "And then we can double date with Boone and his..new friend."
Shannon giggled and looked down to the ground as her face redenned.
"Trust me," she said, "Boone doesn't do blind dates."
Sayid chuckled.
"Then I wish you the best of luck," Sayid said, and leaned in for a kiss goodbye.
(space)
The four members of the search party were gathered at the caves, ready to go. Sayid's gun didn't have anymore bullets, and altogether they only had eight. Jack had wanted to give Alex back Adam's gun and take Sayid's(switching out the bullets), but he wasn't able to find her in time.
"We'll take the west trail to the ship," Sayid was saying, only ten minutes later, "if we're lucky, they'll realize their mistake and meet us on the path there."
"Since when does anyone on this island realize their mistakes?" Sawyer muttered.
Kate glared, and Sayid and Jack exhanged glances of annoyance.
"If not, when we divide into pairs when we get to the Black Rock," Sayid went on, ignoring Sawyer's comment, "one gun per pair. We'll divide up the bullets."
"Got your code of conduct for us to sign, Srg.?" Sawyer snapped, irritable.
Kate rolled her eyes, and glanced towards Jack, who didn't return her amusment.
"Let's go," Sayid said, standing up from where he had been sitting on the ground.
(space)
The dream was still on Boone's mind. He was still having trouble wrapping his mind around it, wondering if it was really worth the trouble to see if it was true. During every waking hour since the dream, the numbers ran through his head, the code. Boone debated about rather or not to tell Sayid, and if he should be telling Locke about what they found. It the occured to him that Locke probably had been going back to the hatch everyday, only to find a crashed computer and tunnel..he could be underneath them at the very moment.
Tearing off the end of a hanging tree limb, Boone made his way down the path towards the cave. He wasn't used to having time to spend doing whatever he wanted, so the time was mostly spent walking around, or catching up on sleep. Locke hadn't even spoken to him in three days.
"I couldn't find Alex this morning."
Boone stopped at the voice. Danielle.
"I think she went back to the caves," Danielle continued.
"I'm sure she's fine."
Locke.
"I worry about her," Danielle confessed, "this island's not safe, especially for a sixteen year old."
Locke chuckled.
"I'm sure she's fine," he repeated, "she seems to have a good handle on things."
Danielle heaved a sigh. Obviuously she thought different.
"She knows she's your daughter," Locke went on, "she'll never just abandoned you."
"Why wouldn't she?" Through the trees, Boone could see that Danielle was looking up at Locke, her eyes sad. "I did the same to her."
"But do you regret it?" Locke asked wisely.
There was a short pause before Danielle's answer.
"Of course."
"Have you told her that?" Locke said.
Danielle hesitated.
"No."
"I think you should," Locke said.
There was another short pause.
"I also think you should be with her at the caves, instead of out here with me," Locke added with a smile, "not that I don't want you around."
A small smile crept on Danielle's face.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
Boone wished he had walked away then. In fact, he wished he had run when he first heard the conversation start. He wished for nothing more at that moment to be somewhere, anywhere else on the island than where he was standing right now. Danielle leaned up, and gave Locke what Boone thought for sure was supposed to be a quick kiss of thanks, but instead, it depened. Maybe Locke was reading her wrong. Truthfully, Boone didn't want to know. When he was finally able to pull himself out of one of the most horrific shocks of his life, Boone ran, and didn't stop until he reached the caves.
(space)
"So, think this is it?" Charlie asked Claire.
The two hiked all day and night, constantly taking wrong turns. Charlie was exhausted, and he knew Claire was too, but she refused to stop for anything except a couple of water breaks Charlie forced on her. Finally, after hours of travel, they were standing in front of what they were sure had to be the Black Rock. After all, it was a huge ship with Black Rock written on it in huge, bold, letters.
"Yeah," said Claire happily, taking a step towards the ship, "it must be. I kind of remember it too."
"Genius," Charlie commented, "remembering a place you've already been to. Shame you can't remember how to get there though."
Claire glared at him.
"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Charlie said, examining the ship. "How do you think we're going to go about geting ourselves in there?"
Claire studied the ship a moment longer, and then smiled.
"Follow me."
(space)
Jack was thankful for the days' cool, overcast, weather, knowing conditions could be worse. He knew Sayid was well-trained in this search and rescue stuff, and Kate herself was proved to be something of a traker, but without maps or compasses, Jack's level of anxiety rose. You can never be too careful. Jack snorted when he remembered the gun that was tucked into his beltloop, knocking against his leg with each step he took. If that wasn't a safety hazard, he didn't know what was.
He could at least feel safe knowing Kate was walking beside him, where, if something were to happen, she'd be right there under his protection. Not that Jack didn't think Kate was capable of taking care of herself, he just liked knowing he could too. It helped his anxiety greatly.
"Sawyer and Sayid don't look too happy to be here," Kate said, glancing towards the two men walking in front of them. "I think they miss their girlfriends."
Jack laughed.
"I'm sure that's it," he said lightly, "I think Sawyer's just planning the easiest way to smuggle out some rum from the ship."
As they both laughed, Jack stole a glance towards Kate, watching her. He knew he still owed her an "I love you", and wondered if she was worrying about that. Was she afraid she didn't love him? Jack wanted to reassure her now, tell her what he needed to say, but he knew this wasn't the right time. Definetly not with Sawyer there, at least.
"It should be just up ahead," Sayid informed them.
"How the hell do you know that?" Sawyer inquired. "Thought you lost your maps."
Kate smiled at Sawyer's comment. If it bothered Sayid, he didn't show it. At word of nearing the ship, Jack remembered something Sayid said earlier.
"So does this mean we're spliting up?" Jack asked.
"Maybe I should go with Sawyer," Kate said quietly, before Sayid could reply.
Jack looked at her in surprised.
"What?" He said, slightly hurt.
"Do you really want to hear those two arguing the entire time?" Kate said. "We'll never find Charlie and Claire."
Jack could see her point, but he still didn't like it. Even though Sawyer assumingly was with his own girl now, Jack wasn't sure he could fully trust him.
"Then I'll go with Sawyer," Jack offered, though he wasn't too keen on that idea either.
The familiar wreckage of the Black Rock came into view as Kate shook her head, taking an immediate dislike to the suggestion.
"I don't want to have to carry Sawyer back in a body bag either," Kate said.
She grinned at Jack.
"I'm sure your fist knows Sawyer's face pretty well by now, huh?"
"Unfortuently," Jack said dully.
"You go with Kate," Sayid called back to them, interrupting their argument, "I'll go with him."
Jack looked down to Kate, smirking in defeat.
"Guess that solves it," he said cheerfully.
"You just go lucky," Kate said.
But she still didn't protest, Jack noted.
When they reached the front of the ship, Sayid stopped.
"You two go that way," Sayid said, pointing left, "search the exterior and surrounding areas, "we'll take the interior."
Sawyer didn't seem too thrilled about that, but Jack figured he hadn't remembered the large amount of alcohol the ship held. The group parted, and Jack took out the gun.
"So if you were Charlie," Kate said, sounding like she was enjoying herself, "and you found a ship sitting in the middle of the jungle, where would you go first?"
Jack was about to say something sarcastic about guitars and music, when he heard a crash from nearby. Both he and Kate stopped abruptly.
"Think that was Sayid and Sawyer?" She said, enthusiasm gone.
"I don't think so," Jack said in a low tone, "stay close."
He stuck the gun out slightly further as they crept around the edge of the ship, and only Kate's heavy and slow breaths could assure him that she was okay. A large hole in the ship came into view as they reached the vessel's rear, and Jack remembered blowing it through what seemed like years ago. Another small crash comfirmed it was the source ot the sound. Jack stopped, and turned to Kate.
"I'm going to check it out," he told her, "you stay out here-" he handed Kate the gun, "keep this, but be careful."
Kate took the gun, but shook her head.
"I'm going with you," she proclaimed.
"No," Jack protested, "I don't want you-"
"I'm the criminal here, Jack," Kate interrupted, "I mean, I've robbed a bank before. I know these situations. If anyone's going in, it should be me."
Jack decided to leave out the robbing the bank part. Hopefully, she'd explain later when she realized he didn't know about that.
"I've been kidnapped on this island more times than Boone and Locke have actually brought us back something to eat on all those boar hunts," Jack pointed out, "I don't even think I could begin to count the times. Whoever's in there, I probably know him anyway."
Kate looked doubtful.
"Most likely it's just a-" Jack thought quickly, "squirrel."
He was glad to see that made Kate smile.
"And I've got the hunting experience, right?" Jack gave Kate a half-smile. This time, Kate didn't protest. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, go find Sayid and Sawyer."
"What if you yell?" Kate asked.
The question caught him off-guard.
"Wait until I yell twice."
He said it lightly, but he meant it. Jack leaned in to kiss her, but Kate put a hand out to stop him.
"Please," she said, "don't make this like one of those sappy, going off to war movies."
Jack let out a laugh, and then forced himself to get serious. He took a few steps towards the whole, which served as an entry way to the lower deck of the ship. Before entering, he peeked in, looking around inside.The room was dark, damp, and clustered. Boxes were sprown about, as if someone were searching for someting. Jack had to duck as something was slung his way.
"Hello?" He asked slowly, unsure.
What a way to announce your presense, Jack.
"Who's there?" The voice was gruff, coming from the far side of the room.
Jack didn't answer. All his instincts were telling him to run for the door, but his muscles weren't listening.
"Who's there?" The voice said again.
A light was shone in Jack's eyes. So maybe the person wasn't so far away.
"Who are you?" The voice demanded.
Jack was too shocked by the presense of another being in the ship to responed. This definetly wasn't Charlie or Claire. The light lowered, and Jack could barely make out the outline of a man.
"Where are you from?" He was asked.
Jack finally found his voice.
"I'm.." Jack studdered, "I crashed here. Four months ago-" he remembered the new year, "five now, I guess."
There was a pause.
"What's your name?"
"Jack."
Had he had more time to think, he would've came up with a fake name. He was sure that's what Kate would've done.
"'ello Jack," the man stepped back, "I'm David."
The gruffness in the man's- David's- voice was gone. He actually seemed happy to see Jack.
"Welcome to my ship," he said, waving his arms towards the shelf-lined walls, "make yourself at home. You alone?"
"Actually-" Jack stopped. He wasn't sure if he wanted this guy around Kate. "Yeah."
"Grand," David said, giving Jack the wackiest grin he had ever see, "you wanna have a seat?"
He wanted to get back at Kate, but when David shifted weight, Jack could see a rifle leaning against a box next to him. At the sight of the gun he froze, and the situation took a turn for the worse.
"Problem?" David asked him.
Jack cleared his throat, trying to get a hold of himself.
"No," Jack lied, voice shaking a little.
"Drink?" He was asked next.
"I..uh..I don't drink," Jack told him.
In his mind, Jack was trying to think of the quickest and most efficient plan of escape. The only idea that came to mind was turning and running as fast as he could for camp, grabbing Kate as he went.
He heard something pop, and Jack watched as David took a large swig of what looked like rum. The guy reminded him of a pirate version of Sawyer.
"So where're you from, Jack?" David asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hands.
Jack had already told him about the crash, so he assumed he meant before that.
"The states," Jack replied.
He knew he couldn't trust the guy, and even if they were never going to get rescued, Jack wasn't about to give him directions to his apartment.
"America, huh?" David said with a snort. "Never met an American here. Met a nice French girl though. Real sweet, sixteen, maybe."
Jack's eyes widened in the dim light of the lower deck, which looked more like a basement than a ship. He had to be talking about Alex.
"What were you doing with her?" Jack suddenly felt the need to be protective, almost brother-like.
David shrugged.
"Just talkin'," David replied, "that must've been-" David looked up to the ceiling, craning his kneck; his eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head, "-a month ago? Before all this happened, anyhow."
David was beginning to remind Jack of Charlie, back when he had been a drug addict.
"All this?" Jack repeated.
David's eyes lit up.
"Things change, man," David said, slurred, "people come and go. Things happen. Things happen to you. You see things. Bad things. Things are found. Things die-" he stopped after 'die', eyes so wide, they were almost out of their sockets, and focused tightly on Jack, "they die, Jack. But I didn't die. I ran. I should've ran years ago-" he let out a snort, "-I'm not even sure which side I'm on anymore. I'm not even sure who I am. What I am."
Jack's face contorted in confussion. Did this guy even know what he was talking about? Forgetting the gun nearby, Jack decided that it was time he started asking questions.
"Where are you from, David?" Jack inquired.
David leaned back a little on the seat he was sitting on, which was really just a wooden create turned upside down. He rocked back and forth, taking the create with him.
"I'm from here," David said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "this is my ship. My ship. I own it. I..it's my ship."
"But.." Jack remembered the date on the side of the ship, "this ship's from the 1800s. It's not possible."
David leaned forward in his seat, a little too close for Jack's liking.
"I know," he whispered, "but I didn't die. I know it."
Jack stood up apruptly, making David jump.
"What the hell are you-"
"Jack?" A voice asked from behind them.
Dammit.
He definetly didn't want Kate in here now. This guy obviously wasn't right in the head. David stood up, and their distance apart became only centemeters. Reaching behind him, David grabbed the gun, and brought it forward, holding it with an unatural grip.
"I thought you said you were alone!" David hissed.
"I-" Jack studdered, quickly thinking.
"Get over there!" David demanded, waving the gun towards the far wall.
Jack didn't budge.
"Move!"
Using the gun to prod him along, David ushered Jack to the far side of the room. It was only then that Jack realized he was now in the shadows, where Kate would be unable to see him. He watched, furious, as David squinted towards the light, to where Kate's shadow was.
"Get in here!" David's gruff tone was back.
He was relieved when Kate didn't obey, but then became nervous: what if David planned to hurt her?
"Where's Jack?" Kate demanded, hands placed firmly on either side of the walkway into the ship.
"Get in here."
"Where's Jack!"
Jack tensed as David stepped closer to Kate, closing in the space between them. He could tell Kate was uncomfortable, and he didn't like the way he was approaching her. Jack didn't like the fact that David- or it could've been any guy, really- was approaching her, and he didn't want to just charge at the guy, not when he had a loaded gun. Looking around desperatly, Jack searched for something, anything, that could help him. Then he noticed a box of marbles laying next to him: black and white marbles. Why they were there, Jack wasn't even sure he wanted to know. David spun around at the sound of the first marble hitting the floor.
"You wanna come out?" David yelled to Jack.
He did. Stepping out of the shadows, Jack watched as Kate's face first softened in relief, and then grew in conern. She subconsiously took a step towards Jack. The gun was immeditaly pointed into her face.
"So what are you two, like a couple?" David smirked. "That's real sweet. Honestly. I love to see a young couple in love. But you know what, it doesn't matter here-" his eyes grew wide again, "-not now. And now..now-" David shook his head, "what the hell did you do?"
Jack found himself growing more serious with each word David said. David was breathing hard now.
"And if it happens to you too.." David's eyes were glued to the ground, boring into the floorboards of the ship. He looked up quickly, eyes dashing in between Jack and Kate. "Are you two in love?"
Jack and Kate exchanged glances, unsure of what to say. Finally, Jack nodded, and Kate followed.
"Yeah," she said quietly.
Now more than ever Jack wanted to get Kate away from here, or at least be able to make sure she was okay. Slowly Jack reached for Kate's hand, but David caught him.
"Tie her up," David commanded.
The gun was now pointed at Jack, who was startled, frozen. David reached into the darkness, and pulled a wooden chair out into the light. Bending down, Jack watched David in confussion, wonering what he was doing, but when he realized it, he was even more confused. David was untying his right shoe. Jack kicked at him, but David was stronger than he expected, and held his foot down with a fist.
At last he stood up, holding the lengthy shoestring in his hand like he had discovered a secret chemical. Jack's shoe now felt slightly lighter, and wider. Was he really planning on tying Kate up with a shoestring? As if he had read Jack's mind, at that moment, David threw down the shoe string. Kate flinched beside him as David stomped his foot down, and with his foot, and squished the string until it was embedded into a lose floorboard. He then grabbed a box nearby, and leaft through it. Jack and Kate were too confussed to try and play out any plan of action. Spinning back around, David thrust a long, sturdy, piece of rope into Jack's hands. He waved the gun towards the chair.
"Tie her up," David said again.
"No."
That was really all Jack had to say. This guy was insane. If Kate wasn't here, Jack would be convinced that he was seeing things. David had no motive to do what he was doing, and there was no way he was going to obey.
"Tie. Her. Up."
Now the gun was pointed at Kate. Jack was furious at himself for not seeing that coming, and for not being able to do anything. He had just stood there, frozen, like an idiot. One voice in his head even reminded him that Sawyer would've jumped on the guy already. Hell, David would probably be dead by now. The tip of the gun was now pressed into Kate's cheek. Kate glanced quickly at Jack, eyes full of fear. Still she nodded. Jack quickly shook his head no.
"You better listen to your girl, man," David said.
He actually sounded like he was enjoying himself. Jack was disgusted. But the gun was digging dangerously into Kate's skin, now pressing hard enough against it to leave a mark. Jack relucantly took the rope. As soon as he did, David grabbed Kate's arm, and shoved her into the chair. The weight of Kate's body caused the chair to slide back a little, almost flipping back.
"Go ahead," David said, ushering him towards Kate with the gun.
Jack briefly wondered why Kate wasn't doing anything, but she wasn't superhuman. Even Kate had the right to be afraid, especially in these kinds of situations. Glancing towards her sympathetically, Jack swore he even saw a flash of terror on Kate's face, but it was erased too quickly to be sure. With a deep breath, Jack stepped behind the chair. Slowly, Kate's hands appeared behind the back of it. Jack was expecting for Kate to take action at any moment, but she never did. Maybe it was because the gun was still pointed at her.
"Get on with it!" David exclaimed impaciently.
Jack closed his eyes, and picked up one of Kate's hands. They were ice cold. He gave it a squeeze, and rubbed his thumb soothingly on it as he brought the rope around, and place it on her wrist. Kate flinched at the touch. Jack remembered long ago when he first was trying to get Kate to move to the caves. The theory that it was the clausttraphobia of the caves that drew her away had come across him, and Jack was considering it now. It was the fear of getting caught. Of losing her freedom. Being tied up was pretty much the equivalent of being locked up in a cell. No wonder she was too in shock to say or do anything.
"I've seen studies that say the guy's most likely to crack quicker if it's his girl on the line," David said with a crule smirk, "guess it's true, huh?"
That was it. With a swift, strong, force, Jack brought his hand around, preparing himself for the impact of his knuckles cracking against David's jaw. Instead, David caught his fist, catching him off guard. He pulled Jack's arm back with his, causing a muscle in his shoulder to pop, and then threw him backwards. Jack dropped the rope in surprise of the defense. David grabbed the rope from the ground in one quick movement, and hurridly began tying up Kate. The process only took him seconds, and David wasn't as gently as Jack. His hands were clearly rougher as well. Before Jack could get to him in time, David stepped in front of Kate, and swung a fist around, smashing it right into the skin where the gun had been, oposite of the cheek Jack had hit.
Kate's head snapped to the side, and Jack heard a small cry of pain as her cheek slowly began turning dark shades of red.
"That was from you're boyfriend," David said with a snarl.
Looking up, he grinned at Jack.
Suddenly all his senses came back to him. Outraged, Jack darted forward, but before he got his chance, Kate kicked out in fury at David. But just like Jack's fist, David caught her foot with ease, and threw both Kate and the chair back, sending them crashing against the wall. Jack was grabbed against his will, and thrown out into the jungle. In the mist of the fight, Jack had almost forgotten where he was.
David stormed back inside as Jack was recovering, heading straight towards Kate. He brought his hand around, and Kate prepared herself for another blow. But instead of hitting her, David ripped off the sleeve of her shirt. She realized what he was doing a moment to late, and was only able to give out a small cry for help before the cloth was stuffed into her mouth. And then it was dark. Too dark. Pitch black. She had heard something rolling over the floor, as if it were being pushed, but was unable to see anything before the hole that provided the entrance to the ship was covered. And it left Kate and darkness. Kate hated the dark, and hated being trapped. She was afraid for herself, but even more afraid for Jack, who was now out of sight. Kate screamed for him, and then she screamed again. And again. And again. Jack's named echoed off the walls, repetivly bouncing from one end of the ship to the other. Not once did an answer come. She felt her eyes begin to water in fear for him, and Kate hated herself for being so week. Had this happened back when she was on the run, she could've taken the guy out in no time. But now..she had froze.
A flicker across the room caught her attention. Kate stopped screaming. The only thing audible now in the room were her deep, slow, breaths, which she faught to control. There was a second flicker, and Kate realized that what she was looking at was an image of something. The image flickered again, this time clearer. Kate's eyes grew wide when she was able to see what it was: a man. A man leaning against whatever had been pushed up against the hole. His head was rolled to the side, chin against his chest. He wasn't breathing.
"J-Jack?" Kate said, voice unsteady.
The man didn't answer. Something flickered in the darkness above him, and Kate nearly screamed. A noose appeared in thin air, and a rope appeared around his neck. Or maybe Kate just didn't notice them there before. Either way, there was a man sitting in a chair across from her, dead, with a rope tied around his neck. A man who was not there before. By now, Kate wasn't even able to scream. The cotton taste horrible in her mouth against her rough breaths. Closing her eyes hard, Kate prayed she was seeing things, but when she opened them, the image was still there. Kate tried to scream, but no sound came, not even a muffled one. The image flickered again, and then it was gone.
Author's Note: I am soooo sorry that took so long to get out! I just haven't been able to get on. So I hope the longitivity of this chapter made up for it. Oh, and it's almost 4:15 in the morning, and I really don't feel like spell checking all of this, so please bare with me until I'm able to. If there's any major mistakes in here, however, please let me know. Now let's talk length. Would you guys rather me make this story as long as I can, like a full-length fic(20+ chapters), or go ahead and cut to the main ending climax? It can work either way. Thanks sooo much for the reviews! You guys rock!
Coming up next, on "In the End":
So just who is this guy? Callum could tell you. Alex could too. And a Locke/Danielle relationship? Not exactly, but a small enough one for some to freak out over. Oh, and you'll see what the results of Shannon setting Boone up are.
Thanks again!
October Sky
