Chapter 3: Hope
Kate continued to run though the night going faster at some points than others but never fully taking a break. Shinning brightly in the east the sun began to rise slowly. Breathing in the cool morning air Kate slowed down to a walking pace. This area seems a little familiar to her. It hit her as she crossed a small brook; this was the jungle right off Hurley's golf course. The adrenalin rush kicked in at this realization. Like she had done her whole life Kate once again picked up and ran; but this time was different, it wasn't out if fear, yet determination, it wasn't for enjoyment, she had a goal and it wasn't for herself, she ran out of complete concern for any other. There was a new hope in here heart, Kate's mind began to clear; although the memories of her time at the camp where engraved deeply in her mind. Kate's mind flashed-back to what had happened in the hut only days ago.
Suddenly Kate was brought out of her deep sleep. Sawyer and Jack were thankfully in the room still. What had woken Kate up was the entering of two men. One of them walked straight toward Kate and began to release her from the bar and unbinding her feet, not saying a word the whole time. The other keep a gun out rotating pointing it at each of the prisoners.
"Hey what the hell do you think your doin bucko?" Sawyer asked harshly in a rather loud voice. "Kate?"
"Sawyer…" was all Kate could say before she was pushed through the hut doors and out into the night air.
The cool night air brought a small sense of relief to Kate it was nice to be outside again and to breath in the sea breeze. The two men directed her to a smaller hut about 50 feet away from her original imprisonment. Once reaching the hut Kate was forced inside while the two men remained out of doors. The man she still knew as Henry and Miss Clue sat inside on the dirt floor. The hut was lit by a candle or two in the center of the floor. Oddly enough this almost seemed like a cozy place, like a fort or teepee a child would create themselves growing up. Kate sat down slowly. She wanted to be familiar with her surrounding so she took a look around quickly; it was juts the three of them, the hut was dim due to lark of lighting, and the dirt floor felt cool on Kate's bare feet. Kate stared at Henry looking him straight in the eyes. She wanted more than any thing to blame this all on him so cast her worries, her fear, and her pain on his shoulders. But she couldn't all she could do was blame herself. Kate saw this as her fault, she had opened herself up in the few months they had been on the island; she had allowed herself to trust. She had become to comfortable, to dependant on others; before the crash Kate would not have stayed in one place for more than a week or two but she had been here for two months and had let herself fall into the ways of leisure. She herself had changed great deal and as a result she was a prisoner. Kate had always escaped capture or avoided it completely. She had felt too safe for to long, she had trusted too much with out thinking of the consequences, she wouldn't make the same mistake again.
"Good evening Miss Austen." Henry said in a very mysterious tone that sent chills down Kate's spine. Kate continued to glare at him not saying a word." Let's just cut straight to the chase now, shall we? Miss Clue here has some questions she would like to ask you." Henry said with a twisted smile that thought a person to believe he was friendly. Kate had personally not spent a lot of time with Henry when he was staying in the hatch but she had seen enough of him then to know there was a difference now. He was no longer a scared prisoner who had to seem to lose his way; he was now a controlled, fearless leader, who knew what he was doing. She also knew that he addressed her in formal fashion as to throw her off and to make the others seem like friendly polite people, but Kate had been around fakes her whole life she knew a lier when she saw one.
"Hello Katherine, as you now know my name is Miss Clue, and I do have so questions if you don't mind me asking." Miss Clue also spoke and an eerily calm voice. Kate responded with silence. Her glare had switched from Henry to Miss Clue when she had addressed her, she looked he directly in the eyes as if to say try me.
Miss Clue proceeded to talk to Kate despite her silence. "Have you ever seen any thing here on the island that you have also seen off the island?" Immediately the black horse came to Kate's mind. Not wanting to let them have the advantage by giving them what they wanted, she responded with simple question of her own.
"Why am I here?"
"You didn't answer the question Katherine."
"Neither did you Miss Clue." Kate noted in a straight forward yet rather cocky tone.
"Have you ever seen something that didn't quit belong here while with other people?" Kate thought of a million things at once, there was the column of black smoke she saw with Locke, the horse with Sawyer, the polar bear she had seen with some of the survivors in the first few days after they crashed, the hatch and the fact that she thought Wayne was on the island inside Sawyer.
"Yes, you people." Kate said in an almost serious tone.
Henry interrupted their little answer their little question and answer session for a moment.
"Have you ever been in love Miss Austen?"
Kate thought of her first love off the bat, Tom but was surprised when Sawyer popped into her mind as well. At once she cleared her head so she wouldn't be pulled into any word games. Afraid of these thought and memories Kate did the best thing she did besides run, she lied.
"No." Her answer was short and sweet, she kept her face expressionless. Henry took her vagueness as an opportunity to dig a little deeper into her heart.
"Well Miss Austin that's a shame. Love is such a very powerful thing." Henry stated with that same eerie smile on his face. "Even the memory of love is a lasting force." Henry's words where draw out to make an impact but it didn't effect Kate a great deal until she pulled out a little toy plane. "The memory of love is not only powerful, but persuasive, it brings out fear, fear of lose. It's very daunting for something that doesn't really exist except in your mind, isn't it?"
He sat the toy down in clear view yet just out of reach from Kate. Kate's stomach twisted and turned, she wanted to cry, scream and run all at once. She tried to not give away how much seeing this hurt her but it was clearly evident. The little toy airplane in front of her was Kate's last reminder of hope. Some one had believed there was good in her and that was Kate's last reminder of that. If that plane was gone so was that hope, that the future may be brighter. "Now Kate I believe Miss Clue still has a few more questions for you." Henry said starting to use the same expressionless tone Kate had been using all along. He drew the plane back into his pocket. " Katherine, this is important; have you ever felt like you were being watched?" For all it took Kate rose her gaze from the spot where the plane had been to look directly at Miss Clue. Her eyes where dry from not blinking as to hold back tears. She would not give it that easily.
"No." Kate lied.
Kate's recollections ceased as she neared her destination. She would not go to the hatch, no one that would be there would help her. She ran along the familiar paths. She was running to the one person on the island who she knew she could count on to help her, the one person she knew she could trust. She was met with many wondering eyes on her as she ran across the beach. The words people were calling out where like a foreign language to her ears, Kate had one goal in mind. Her eyes met his tent and her legs began to slow down. There had been a friendship between them since the first days of the crash, he was one of the dependable people on the island. As she neared his tent he walked out drawn out by the ruckus.
"Sayid… I need…" was all Kate said before she passed out due to exhaustion.
