Chapter Five: White Rabbit

Lucas hadn't realized, until screams began to sound from the beach, that he'd been asleep, or anything like it, but when they did he realized that there was an emergency, that he was needed, and that nothing had changed.

He ran to the edge of the water. He collided with Jake.

"What's happening?" he asked.

"There's a woman, in the water. I don't swim!" he said, his last words last as Lucas ran into the waves, still fully clad and threw himself into their mercy.

Out in the water, it was harder to see the tiny figure fighting for their lives. Lucas looked around wildly, listening for screams above the sound of crashing waves. He felt something nudge his foot, and dove down.

He emerged with Mouth in his arms, coughing and sputtering and obviously alive.

"Breath, kid. What are you doing out here?" he asked. Mouth coughed for a while longer.

"There's a woman out here. You have to save her, I'll be fine," he said. Lucas cautiously loosened his grip on the other man and grabbed back in alarm when Mouth began to slip back in to the waves. He looked back away from the shore and finally saw the woman again, flailing and screaming. He looked back to the beach, and felt the weight of Mouth.

He made his way back to shore.

"What was her name?"

Haley eyed Lucas cautiously. Time had passed, somehow. Lucas had gone back out in the waves to perform his second rescue and had come back alone.

"Joanna. She was on vacation in Australia."

"I didn't know her. It's been three days, and I never said a word."

"Luke..."

"No."

"You tried-"

"I didn't. I..."

Haley continued to speak, but Lucas was looking beyond her, back to the water. Haley followed his gaze.

"Did you see that? A man, in the water," said Lucas. Haley looked to where he was seeing an old man in a three piece suit, and saw nothing.

"How long's it been since you slept?" she asked. He left, and she resisted the urge to follow him.

Haley looked up in surprise when a shadow fell over her. The pregnant woman was standing over her, one hand on her back, the other on her rounded stomach.

"Hey. Haley, right?" Brooke sat down slowly beside her as Haley nodded, looking nervous for her sake.

"Yeah. Brooke?"

"That's me. What're you doing?"

"Sorting. Sorting the practical from the not so practical," said Haley, tossing a skimpy camisole into a pile. "How're you doing?"

"With the pregnancy, or with the whole plane crash thing?" she asked.

"Pregnancy."

"Good, good. Can I ask you something?" she asked.

"What, another thing?"

Brooke ignored her and continued.

"Are you a Gemini?" she asked suspiciously. Haley looked up in susprise, trying to remember the last time she'd flipped to the end of a magazine to read her personal hoaxy horoscope.

"Yeah," she said slowly.

"Thought so. Restless, passionate. Most people think it's crap and I totally did too but then I read this one that said I'd find a new path in life and it was the day I was graduating, it was so crazy..." Brooke trailed off when she saw the look Haley was giving her. "I could draw your chart. Or not."

Brooke found a hat in the midst of someone's belongings, and put it on.

"So what's your story?"

Jenny stared listlessly at the ocean. Being stranded on a desert island was less exciting than she'd imagined. It had been good for the first few days, with the boar fights and everyone screaming at each other, but they'd practically started a society already.

She tucked her knees into her chest, rested her chin on them and let herself think about ther mother.

But she was spared from such thoughts when she suddenly heard panic, and turned around to see her father, running toward the medical tent as fast as he was able with Brooke in his arms, clearly unconscious.

"What happened?" she asked in alarm. Her father glanced up at her and halted sligthly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, clearly exhausted by the weight he carried.

"She collapsed. Get Lucas," he instructed. Jenny ran off, glad to have a purpose.

She looked wildly up and down the beach. She was the redheaded girl tanning, her brother looking resentful about something, Cooper still busy with the radio. She sighed in frustration.

"Brooke just collapsed," she blurted out to the next person she came across. It was the blonde one. Jenny followed her as she ran back.

"Brooke? Can you hear me honey?" she asked. Haley heard her voice slip back into her childhood accent and was temporarily glad that Nathan wasn't around. Brooke stirred.

"She needs water," said Haley urgently. "And the doctor. Where's Lucas?"

"I don't know," said Jenny, backing away slowly. Haley glanced at her and felt briefly sympathetic before looking back to her charge.

"Water, Jake?"

She turned around to see him staring at the empty suitcase that used to contain Nalgenes and half full plastic bottles.

"There is none," he said, his voice low and scared.

"Is the girl in any immediate danger?" asked Keith. He, Haley, and Cooper were in consultation.

Haley and Jake glanced at each other.

"I don't think so."

"Good. I can go find water, you two can stay here and look after the camp," he said. Haley looked to where he was leaning on a crutch, his heavily bandaged leg.

"You're hurt. I'll go," she said tactfully.

"I'm fine. And I know where to look," he said, deciding and not leaving it up for debate.

In the jungle, away from it all, Lucas was being violated by his memories.

He knew they needed him at camp, and that what he was searching for was not to be found, but he couldn't stop. He felt so close.

Suddenly he was closer. He ran, through bush, through dirt. He slipped. His feet gave away he was falling, sliding.

He grabbed the rocky edge of the land as he fell, his feet dangling over the valley below.

Haley stared at Brooke as she listlessly tossed in her sleep like state and then back at Jake, who was doing the same. She silently left the tent and sought out Cooper.

"What the hell are we going to do?" she asked. He nodded toward the direction of the dark haired couple down the beach, slightly detached from the rest.

"What?"

"That guy has water," he said.

Dan looked up in surprise when the two approached.

"Where did you get this?" demanded Cooper, skipping past pleasantries.

"What's it to you?" he asked, looking annoyed by the shorter, younger man and the beautiful girl.

"Did you steal this?" Cooper stood his ground and attempted to look menacing while Dan walked closer.

"From who? Who exactly would I be stealing from, anyway?" he asked. Cooper raised an eyebrow, and Dan gestured carelessly.

Haley looked and saw Nathan, reading a book in one of the airplane seats and scowled darkly. Cooper caught her upper arm.

"Do you see the water?"

"No. So what?" she asked in annoyance, fuming.

"Then we will get nowhere. Wait. A rat will always lead back to its hole."

Haley stared at Nathan feeling that in this case, his words were oddly appropriate.

A hand slowly extended over the edge of the cliff. Lucas grabbed it not sure if he was awake or dreaming, if the hand was even tangible. He took his chances and let it pull him back up.

Keith collapsed as the tall blonde man rolled back onto safe ground.

Lucas' laughter, loud and maniacal, filled the air.

"What are you doing out here, Lucas?" asked Keith later, once he'd built a fire.

"Honestly? I think I'm going crazy," he admitted.

"You're not. Crazy people don't know they're crazy. They think they're getting safer," he said calmly.

"How is everyone?"

"Thirsty. Scared. Needing their leader."

"I'm not a leader," said Lucas immediately, remembering the man who'd told him this so often.

"Yet they all look to you as one," said Keith meditatively. He stood and began to extinguish the fire.

"Where are you going?" asked Lucas.

"To find more water."

"I'll go with you," he volunteered.

"No. A leader can't lead if he doesn't know where he's going," said Keith, grabbing his bag and vanishing into the jungle.

"Hello?"

Jake moved instantly to Brooke's bed as he heard her slowly awaken.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Tired. What happened?" she asked in confusion.

"You passed out."

"Where's Lucas? I'm thirsty," she said, sounding disoriented.

"We're working on it," he promised. She half smiled and glanced out onto the beach.

"When are we going to be rescued, Jake?" she asked. Jake didn't know the answer, but felt the need to soothe her.

"Soon," he promised.

Haley and Cooper silently followed Nathan into the jungle. She held her breath as he stopped, dropped to his knees and pulled back some leaves to reveal a slight hole in the ground. He rummaged through it and pulled out a packet of cigarettes.

Taking her chances, Haley ran toward him and tackled him.

Nathan looked up in surprise when the small blonde arrived on top of him, holding his wrists to the ground, holding her body off his. He raised an eyebrow.

"Well hey, Wildcat. Been waiting for this," he said.

"What?"

"Made this birthday wish five years ago. Not with you, though. Nice surprise."

"Where's our water?" she demanded in disgust. He raised an eyebrow, captured her wrists in his hands and easily flipped them over.

"That's better," he said. Haley squirmed beneath him, unable to shift his weight off her.

"Get off me," she said.

A moment later Cooper ran out of the jungle and pulled Nathan away and held him against a tree.

"Where's the water?" he asked menacingly.

"I don't have your water," he said in annoyance.

"Dan said..."

"I sold him the last of my water. Traded him for a fish he caught," said Nathan.

"You gave away the last of your water?" asked Haley skeptically.

"Water's got no value here, Wildcat. It's gotta rain sooner or later," he said. Cooper left, shaking his head in annoyance, and Haley followed him.

"Hey." Haley turned around as Nathan tossed somehting at her, and caught it reflexively. She looked down to see the badge he'd stolen from the Air Marshall.

"Just thought if you're going to be the new sheriff in town, might as well make it official."

Haley met his eyes once more before he left and gaze him a look that was both tortured and pitying.

Nathan frowned at the look in her eyes for a moment but then remembered her, above and below him, and smirked.

Lucas looked around in amazement as he found a clearing in the jungle. Water poured out of the walls, the area was cluttered with suitcases, abandoned belongings. He took a quick drink from the fountain of water.

Instinct made him turn around. He recoiled when he saw a long, elegant expensive coffin. He flipped it open expecting to find a body several days dead, with a face that he knew better than any.

But it was empty.

"Brooke?"

Brooke heard her name being whispered urgently, but was unable to open her eyes.

"Brooke?"

It came again. Slowly the image of Mouth formed in front of her. He dropped two half full bottles of water on her table before a strong hand gripped his arm and dragged him out of the tent.

"Found out theif."

The castaways formed a group around Mouth, huddled on the ground. Jake scowled down at him.

"Why'd you do it, kid?" he asked in disgust.

"I had to do something. Lucas was gone, it was just sitting there..."

"Had to be the hero, huh?" asked Cooper in disgust, moving forward. Haley looked on, torn between her anger and her sympathy.

"Leave him alone."

Everyone looked to the commanding voice that sounded. Lucas was standing on a piece of the fuselage several feet above them, a torch in his hand, back after his day's absence.

"A woman died this morning. He tried to save her, and now you're going to incriminate him? We have to work together, people. We're going to have to live together because if we don't we're going to die alone."

He let the impact of his words settle in before continuing.

"I found water, in the valley. I'll take a group at first light. If you don't go, find some way to contribute."

He dropped down and offered Mouth a hand, and pulled him up before pushing the crowd to go sit by himself.

Haley slowly wandered down the beach ignoring Brooke and Jake in the medical tent, Nathan's eyes.

She found Lucas staring at the water.

"So where were you today?" she asked, her lips curving into a smile for the first time.

"Looking for something," he said.

"That's all the answer I'm going to get, isn't it?" she asked. She walked forward and looked out with him, to the stars in the sky, the waves of the ocean where one of their own had died.

"I want to tell you what I did," she said eventually. She looked up at him, and noted he was almost smiling as hell, and that she was the only person to have the affect on him.

"That's okay," he said slowly. He looked at her and met her gaze. "I don't think I want to know."

The memory of the long, tiresome day, of Nathan, of searching gone, they stood together and let their minds be stilled.