Walt plots to explore the forbidden tunnels; will he get away with it?

When Walt woke up in the morning that would be his third day at work in the mines, his thought was, "Be nice to Alex." Despite being chained at both hands he felt good physically, far better than he had expected a few days before, and Alex was responsible for that. He was content to lie face down until she came to release him. Then he started thinking again that this must not continue indefinitely. He had to keep his mind clear and plot how to escape, or help someone rescue him. His thoughts turned to the forbidden tunnels at the south end of the mine. Maybe the answers were there. Nevertheless, he should still be nice to Alex.

Once up, Walt was annoyed that his fingernails appeared to have visibly grown overnight, so he clipped them and his toenails with his new nail clipper. Was this going to be case every day now? But he had more important things to think about today.

While in the mines in the morning, Walt couldn't stop thinking about the tunnels that were off limits. However, he was too afraid to sneak a peek into them. Occasionally when he stepped into the main corridor, he could see or hear Alex in the central cavern. He couldn't risk being seen where he wasn't supposed to be by her, and still didn't want to do anything that might upset her. Instead, he just wound up extracting a decent amount of otherite ore.

In the afternoon, there was no sign of Alex in the mine tunnels, but Walt never drummed up the courage to visit the last tunnels. If only he could be sure she was not around, and possibly spying on him. He merely went about his work in a straightforward manner. When he was through for the day, he returned to his room as usual. But this time, as he entered his bathroom, he made a new discovery. A thin rope, which could have served for a clothesline, was strung across two walls, with what appeared to be a scrap of dark gray animal fur hanging from it. Upon re-entering his bedroom, he showed it to Alex, who had just arrived with their dinner, commenting, "Look what was in the room back there. Do you know that is?"

"Of course," was the reply. "Don't you remember yesterday that you asked for something else to wear?"

"What?" Walt unfolded the object all he could. The closest identification he could make was that it might be an Aboriginal loincloth, or a prop from an ancient Tarzan movie. "Are you serious?"

Walt grimaced as Alex's facial expression changed, indicating that her feelings had been hurt. He was trying to figure out why, as that was definitely not what he wanted, when he realized that the object in his hands somewhat resembled the bottom half of her outfit. He guessed, "I'm sorry, did you make this?"

Alex nodded silently, and Walt added, "Just a minute." He retreated back to the bathroom, and thought quickly. "Is this some weird attempt by the Others to mess with my mind? She'll be insulted if I don't try this on, but I'll look ridiculous. It'd be embarrassing to be seen like that by the other survivors. Wait a minute, if they saw me like that, it would mean I had escaped or been rescued. That's more than a fair trade. Just get this over with and compliment her." So Walt changed into his new loincloth. It covered enough to be decent both front and back, and that was it. However, it fit well, and was surprisingly comfortable. Well, that was probably because his shorts and underwear were disgustingly sweaty by now. He steeled himself, and re-entered the bedroom.

"Hey, this is really comfortable, and fits well. You did a great job."

"I'm talented." Alex's response was delivered with a fair amount of haughtiness. The flash of emotion first startled Walt, but then encouraged him. Anything to get her out of her usual no-nonsense demeanor had to be considered good. She continued, "That is made of boarskin. We conserve our resources as much as possible. It has been treated so that it absorbs perspiration well, and will last a long time."

Walt explained, "I'm just afraid I look rather silly."

Alex resumed her serious tone: "How you look is unimportant. What is important is that you don't overheat while working."

"There goes that logic again," thought Walt, as he sat down to dinner. "Can't argue with that."

Then Alex added, "Furthermore, I don't think you look silly. Athletic is a more appropriate description."

There was an unexpected compliment. It would be rude not to acknowledge it, but all Walt could come up with, "I suppose I must look better in this than Hurley or Arzt would, at least." Did Alex almost crack a smile with that remark? Wanting to continue the conversation some how, Walt added, "I suppose this will get all sweaty after a day like my other shorts, but I guess I can change every day."

Alex replied, "If you behave well, you can have another loincloth like that one. It would be better if you change those each day."

Now that was a prize worth working for, thought Walt sarcastically. Then he thought of an idea. "So, when did you make this one?"

"This afternoon."

If he could be sure Alex would be occupied, Walt would have time to explore the forbidden tunnels in safety. "So if I do another good job tomorrow, you'll make me another one?"

Alex was oblivious to Walt's ulterior motive, and welcomed the appreciation of her handiwork. "That is the idea." she replied.

Walt wanted to continue the impression of his warming up to the new attire, and asked, "So do you have two of those outfits?"

"Actually, I have four."

Two would be enough for him, but he would have to keep up the impression for some time to hide the fact that he wanted some time he could be sure of being alone in the mines.

When it was time for bed, Walt asked if he could just be chained by one foot this night. If he needed a back rub he could still turn around, but had gotten used to the work by now and didn't really need one. Alex complied expressionlessly and left him in the darkness. Walt felt better about his sleeping arrangement, having regained a small amount of control, and plotted how he would explore those tunnels the next day.

The next morning went much like the previous one, with Walt making a great effort to accumulate otherite. An hour after lunch, he decided to go for it. He wheeled the wheelbarrow to the twenty-first side tunnel, and chipped out some ore. Then, with still no sign of Alex, he walked quickly and silently down the end of the main corridor. His heart pounding with excitement, he entered the twenty-second tunnel to the left, and fifty meters later reached a plain solid wall at the end, like the other side tunnels he had seen. Trying the last tunnel on the left, he found the same.

But when he sped to the last tunnel on the right, thirty meters down the passageway was blocked by many large rocks. It would take a very long time to break them into small enough pieces to move and clear the path. The humming sensation in Walt's head was quite intense here. Returning, Walt noticed that this tunnel had a rougher floor than the rest, and that his feet hurt. That wouldn't stop him from looking into the next-to-last tunnel on the right as one looked south down the main corridor, though. At the end of this tunnel, the humming in Walt's head had become a very loud buzz, and there was a heavy metal door with a wheel on the front, like some bank vaults. Walt couldn't budge the wheel or the door; evidently some key was needed to open it. He thought of listening through the door, and could make out sounds of some kind of machinery.

Thrilled at his discovery, but unable to do anything about it now, Walt quickly returned to the wheelbarrow. There was no sign of Alex or anyone else. Then he noticed that he was completely drenched with sweat; even more so than when he was mining. He proceeded way back to the fifth side tunnels, gulped down some water, and resumed his work there. He had gotten away with it. Now he just had to put up a good act.

The evening went as Walt anticipated. Alex had made him another loincloth, and explained, "It works best if you change before going to bed; you don't want to sleep in what you've perspired in all day."

"Uh, thank you; I'll do that." Walt was going to agree with everything to get the day over with as fast as possible. However, Alex noticed him limping. "Guess I walked around more today than usual," was Walt's explanation. "Also, I think I stepped on some small stones."

Alex told Walt that he should be more careful; there wasn't that great a need for speed in the mining. Then she said he needed his feet massaged. Of course the reason was that he be fit for work the next day. Walt sat on the edge of his bed, and when Alex began to rub his right foot, it tickled and Walt involuntarily kicked her.

"Ouch!"

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to, I couldn't help it."

Alex replied, "I'm sure you didn't. Now sit back." Within seconds a manacle was clamped around Walt's right foot, with both the chain attached to it and his right leg stretched tight. He sighed, but knew a chain was inevitable. Now when the foot rub tickled, Walt's foot couldn't move much.

After a few minutes, Walt's left foot got the same treatment. He was hoping Alex would unchain his right foot first, but that didn't happen. He started to worry; had she or the Others suspected or found out about his unauthorized excursion? In case they hadn't he had to act like nothing was up, so he lay back and clasped his hands tightly together across his stomach, and acted like he was enjoying the foot massage. The thought of his hands and feet being chained simultaneously was unpleasant. However, Alex appeared not to notice. She methodically completed her task, and left when Walt appeared to be asleep.

As a matter of fact, Walt was too wound up to sleep, but relieved that his act held up. There was a possibility that suspicion had been aroused, so he would have to play it cool for a while. Over the next four days, he acted like he had totally accepted his situation; mining at a good pace and never approaching the forbidden tunnels or giving any other indication that he had been up to something. At the end of that time, eight days in the mines and ten days after the launch of the raft, he figured his father and friends would be looking for him by now. He had no way of knowing they had just completed a tour of the island, but not without some injuries.