By Sinking815
September 16, 2006
A/N: So I know this chapter's a little on the short side, which really isn't fair after making you all wait patiently for about a week for me to update, but what I plan next didn't really mesh with what happens in this chapter. I'll have it up tomorrow though, probably in the afternoon sometime and I know that one will be longer for sure. And I'm only going to tease a little by saying, it's the moment some of you have been waiting for… ;) As always, please read and review.
Chapter 27: Playing With Fire
"If you hurry, you can make it to the treeline."
Alex let the small gap she was peering through narrow to nothingness, and turned to face the group behind her. It was sort of amusing, she thought, surveying the four very different expressions watching her, how there could be so many reactions to one comment. Forcing her eyes to Kate, she ignored the mens' stares. For some disturbing reason, she felt as if Henry staring back at her through their eyes.
"I can take these," she said, raising a durlap bag with a Dharma logo stamped on it in black. "And distract them long enough to let you make your getaway."
She risked a peek back out into the night. The moonlight streaming across the thatched roofs of the multiple huts and sparkling off the waves to her right may have instilled a moment of tranquility and peace within her. But tonight, the beauty of midnight was lost on her. Her thumping heart had absolutely no appreciation for it.
"How do we know you won't alert them to come after us?"
Alex turned back to face her interrogator, his brown eyes wide-open and staring, but she felt as if they were narrowed at her with the suspicion she heard in his tone. She opened her mouth to reply, but Kate cut her off.
"Sayid," the other woman said, her head tilted slightly, a tone of warning in her voice. "Alex isn't one of them." She paused and glanced to the girl watching her gratefully. "She let Claire go."
Sayid didn't answer, just moved past her and looked out into the night as Alex had done a moment before. The teenager watched him, not offended in the slightest that he needed to confirm for himself what she had just told him. His dark hand eased the wooden door shut and he fixed her with a hard stare before turning to regard his companions.
"Do you think you're fine to walk?" The question was aimed at the doctor.
Jack looked up surprised, finding Sayid's eyes and then Kate's. He saw the worry in both of them, one eyes with the consequences of what would happen if he lagged behind, the other reflecting unguarded concern for nothing but him. The truth was, he didn't know himself. His legs still felt wobbly underneath him, the only thing holding him from the ground her hand locked with his and the slight support of her shoulder. That was the first time he allowed himself to recognize her stance, one he'd seen multiple times before. The stance that had told him and many others he knew to back-off. Shaking of the pride he felt swell inside him, threatening to irritate his sore ribs, he nodded with more confidence than he felt, and voiced a hoarse, "Yeah."
"Then we should get going," Sayid commanded, and as if he was just strolling out of his own house, he pushed the door wide and stalked into the yard.
Sawyer moved to follow the soldier, his hands still firmly clutching the rifle in front of him. As he passed Jack, he offered him his trademark smirk and quipped, "Don't sweat it Doc. You get filly's legs on us and I'll haul ya back to camp myself."
Jack scrunched his face, somewhat confused as to whether he should be gladdened by Sawyer's offer or wary of it. Before he could respond, Sawyer shook his looks, the dimples in his cheeks deepening and evident even in the murkiness of the hut.
"Awww, c'mon Doc. You know I owe ya one."
And with that, the Southerner stepped out into the moonlight, the silver glow glinting off the barrel as he walked. He stopped by the other silhouette and turned to face them, waiting.
"One?" Kate teased, smiling after him and tugging Jack out of his trance. "I'd say he owes you about nine."
They retraced his footsteps, Jack doing his best to not lean into her too much for support, Alex following a safe distance behind them. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt winded walking the twenty yards they had gone, the air he sucked in burning in his chest. He hoped no one saw the wince he couldn't control, and knew he had failed when he felt his arms fall across a pair of broad shoulders and a pair of narrow ones.
"Take it easy," he heard her whisper at his side, and the tunnel vision threatening to have its way with him released its relentless hold. Once the world stopped spinning and widened around him, Jack allowed himself to focus on their voices.
"You should come with us," Kate was saying.
"No, I can't," Alex replied, shaking her head and holding out her hands as if that would prevent the idea from coming closer. "My place is here."
"We could take you to your mother," Sayid said. "She's been looking for you."
Jack felt Kate stiffen a little under the weight of his arm, and it was only a few more seconds before he felt the cold draft hit him from nowhere. Well, not nowhere, he knew as he watched the first expression of anger crease the features of Alex's face. The voice that came next made that chilliness penetrate to the bone.
"My mother died when I was born," she said. "Now I suggest you go."
They all exchanged glances, unsure and mystified of the sudden change in her mood. It was like playing with fire, something Jack knew would never end well if they decided to tempt it.
"Well, thanks for all your help," Kate said.
And with that awkward good-bye, the four took their leave.
Her knees locked, her muscles tense with rage, Alex stood and watched their backs retreating into the jungle. The Iraqi worked his way ahead of the slower moving trio, glancing back every now and then to watch her with his wary eyes. He needn't have worried. She was glad to see them go.
When they were safely hidden within the gloom of the jungle, Alex turned on her heel and strode back to the only glowing hut in the compound. The bag of test kits swung heavily against her side, knocking her thigh with the rhythm of her gait. The beginnings of grief at the loss of yet another ally started to weigh on her mind, but she didn't dare risk another glance back. Instead she squared her shoulders, straightened her back, and strode forward with more deliberately than she'd done before.
It was better this way, she told herself. If they had stayed, she'd have lost their friendship anyway.