Locke agonizes over Walt's fate and leads another trip to the hatch; Jack attends to the raft crew.
Locke was stunned at the news concerning Walt, and spent a sleepless night thinking about it, and whether he could have done anything to prevent it. Was he wrong to encourage Walt to develop his "special" abilities? Had the Others seen this, and decided that Walt was worth kidnapping because of this? Locke was being overcome with a sense of guilt. The person he had spent the most time with, Boone, was dead, and he would most likely be still alive if Locke hadn't been around. Still, Locke had yelled at Boone to get out that drug-smuggler's plane before it fell, and Boone ignored him. At least Boone was a grown-up, and responsible for making that foolhardy decision to try to use that plane's radio when in such a precarious position. But Walt was just a child; only too eager to be influenced by a man he found much more interesting than his own father. Locke had always liked children, and having even indirectly contributed to Walt's misfortune would be too much to bear.
Then again, there was no proof those Others wanted Walt for some special abilities. Maybe they just wanted all children they could get their hands on, like they apparently took Danielle's baby, Alex, and were apparently after Claire's baby, Aaron. Maybe they still wanted the latter, but Walt just happened to be an easier target at the time. Possibly they didn't want Walt to leave the island, and this was their last chance to nab him.
Locke recalled Walt's last words to him: "Don't open it." Walt didn't refer to the hatch by name, but there was no other possibility. The hatch could well be dangerous, but Locke had to investigate it. In case it was, it would probably be best if only a few people went down with him. That probably would not be a problem; only Kate and Jack had expressed any interest in doing so. But it would take a long time to clear out the debris with such a small number of people. In any event, Locke was certain that the answers he needed would be found in the network of tunnels below the hatch.
As the sun rose in the morning, Sawyer was trembling. Jack observed that Sawyer was feverish, and rummaged around for some medicine that might help. He located some antibiotics and a mild sedative and injected Sawyer with him. Sawyer soon faded off into a blissful state of unconsciousness. Jack changed the dressing on Sawyer's shoulder wound. If nothing else happened, Sawyer would probably recover but would need a long to do so. Jack then turned his attention to Jin. Physically, at least, the Korean had taken the events rather well, and should be fine in another day. Michael, however, was showing many signs of shock. In a state of semi-consciousness he was mumbling about those horrible Others had taken Walt, and that how he had to find him. Jack wanted to Michael to rest comfortably, but under these circumstances it was no surprise that that wasn't happening.
All at once Michael sat bolt upright and shouted, "I have to get Walt, now!"
"Easy does it, Michael," Jack tried to calm the anguished father down.
"No, I have to get him now!"
"You're in no condition to do so, yet. If you want to save Walt, you have to be in good physical shape. You can't help him by collapsing all the time, which is what will happen if you try to do anything remotely strenuous today." After a few more minutes of arguing, Michael did in fact collapse, and finally admitted he needed to rest for a full day.
Jack was too busy attending to Sawyer, Jin, and Michael, so this day he did not join Locke, Kate, and Hurley on their trip to the hatch. The present medical emergencies would have to come first, but in a day or two the patients should be sufficiently recovered not to need the doctor's full time attention.
As the trio approached the hatch, Kate asked, "So which tunnel do we investigate first?"
Locke answered, "I think it's best to try to clear the rocks first. At least see if it's possible without extraordinary effort. It might take dynamite to break through or around that heavy metal door we saw, so I'd like to start with the other alternatives. Navigating that underground river upstream would be extremely difficult without a power motor. We could probably travel downstream, but the return trip might not be feasible."
Turning to Hurley, Locke said, "I know you have no intention of going down the hatch, and I'm not going to ask you to. But it is important that someone remain above ground to give warnings, in case those Others approach, or there is an imminent storm. We need someone to look after the rope ladder, and perhaps hold it steady while we climb it. I think you are admirably suited for this job. Do you think you are up to it?"
When Hurley hesitated, Locke added, "I have a feeling what we find down there will give us answers to Walt's abduction. Wouldn't you like to be a part of that?"
Hurley was tormented by mixed emotions. He was both convinced that evil lay below the hatch opening, but was desperately curious to find out everything he could about it. Letting the small role in possibly finding out about Walt be an excuse, Hurley finally relented, and "Sure, I'll do it. We need to arrange some kind of signal. I can whistle pretty loud."
"All right then," said Locke, pleased that he had been able to convince Hurley to be a reliable ally. Since three whistles is such a common signal, why don't we make it four?"
"Fine," replied Hurley. A second later, Hurley was thinking, "No, four is one of those numbers!" "Would you mind making it five?" asked Hurley.
Locke didn't want to lose Hurley at this point, and agreed to the change. He retrieved the rope ladder from the bushes where it had been hidden, and descended into the darkness. Kate followed immediately after, with Hurley holding the ladder steady the whole time. Locke and Kate quickly proceeded to the rockslide with the aid of a flashlight. Once there, Locke removed his backpack and pulled out some rod-shaped pieces of metal that would serve as levers to move the heavier rocks. He and Kate first removed the lighter ones, and placed them along the edges of the corridor. Kate had a flashback of performing a similar activity when Jack and Charlie had been trapped in a cave-in.
"Do you suppose there's a chance of a cave-in here?" she asked.
Locke poked the walls with a piece of metal. "These have been very well built. I'm sure our construction worker Michael would agree with me if he ever came down here. But there are no guarantees in life. If you'd like to turn back, I won't stop you."
"No, I'm going to do this," insisted Kate. She still had a strong sense of desiring to prove herself to the rest of the survivors, and that she wasn't just some common criminal on the lam. She had to convince everyone that she had something useful to offer. She and Locke started using the levers to move the heavier rocks, but it was not going too well. After a couple hours of strenuous activity, Locke announced,
"We need longer levers for this work. I'll have to see what I can find from the salvage. Still, we have made decent progress today."
It would take more than statement to convince Kate. Already she was impatient, and was considering trying to convince Locke that they should take some dynamite to the heavy metal door. But she would stand a better chance if she convinced Jack first, and then when all three were three it would be two against one. Furthermore, she really was exhausted, although she would not have admitted to anyone else. The pair climbed back up the ladder, put it away, and returned with Hurley to the caves less than half an hour before sunset.