Words of Reassurance
"Has she gone?"
"Maia Rutledge? Yes she has, she's probably arriving now...then."
The two figures stood in silence in the centre of the blank featureless void for a few moments before one spoke.
"Was it wise...safe, to send her?"
"She should be fine," replied the second figure, "and anyway, it was necessary. The fate of the boy is as important as any of the others - Tom Baldwin, John Locke, Dennis Ryland...it is important that he does not lose faith in his father, or in his fellow companions. It was just an irritation that only one could be sent, the powers of that island and what it harbours match even the limits of our technology. She'll be fine."
"And her memory will be erased afterwards?"
"Of course."
Walt lay in the oppressive darkness of the cold, metal room listening to the sound of his own breathing. It echoed throughout the cramped space sounding wheezy and desperate. He closed his eyes against the surrounding blackness. He was afraid. More than afraid, terrified. How long had it been since they had left him here? A few hours? A few days? What if they never came back?
Maia blinked repeatedly as her eyes adjusted to the sudden dark. After a while, she made out the shape of a boy in the corner of the room. "Walt!" she hissed.
Walt started and backed away, so he was pressed up against the furthest wall. "Who's there?" he whispered.
"I...my name's Maia, Maia Rutledge."
"Well, where...where did you come from, how did you get in here?"
"It's a long story. I've been sent to tell you something." Maia crawled across the dirty metal floor on her knees and sat next to Walt. He stared at her suspiciously.
"Are you one of the Others?"
"No," she replied. "I've just been sent to tell you that everything will be alright - in the end."
"How can you say that," Walt exclaimed. "I'm stuck in a cell on some creepy island, away from my Dad, away from Vincent, away from everything."
Maia took one of Walt's hands in both of hers and looked him in the eye. "Walt, everything might not be great at the moment but...don't lose hope, don't lose your faith."
"You're starting to sound like Mr. Locke now," Walt commented.
"Your Dad - Michael, he's coming for you, and these people - the Others, they're not going to hurt you. Trust me." Walt was about to reply but Maia's hands had left his; she had gone, as if she'd never been there at all.