I'm planning on uploading another chapter tonight, if I have the time. But, for now... Here's Walkabout. Enjoy!
Lyla awoke to the sound of barking in the middle of the night, coming from Walt's dog, Vincent. At first, she made an attempt to fall back asleep, but the dog's barking only got more aggressive. Eventually, she got up, realizing that the dog's barking wasn't the only noise at this point. She gathered around everyone else, as they made their ways towards the plane, where the mysterious noise was coming from. Lyla pushed her way to the front, so she was positioned next to Kate. The rummaging and growling coming from the debris continued. Everybody, clueless as to what the cause of it was.
"What is it?" Kate asked. Directing it at Jack, but also towards the group as a whole.
"Somebodies in there."
"Everybody in there's dead."
"Sawyer." Jack sounded confident in his accusation, but Lyla knew that there was no way those noises could come from any human. Not even Sawyer.
"Right behind you, Jackass." Everyone turned to look at Sawyer, who was standing only a foot away from Jack.
Jack reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a flashlight, shining it at the plane. He slowly made his way towards the plane, with Sawyer following close behind him with a larger flashlight. Kate and Charlie, joined the two, although they didn't provide any light. Both of them, concerned and curious by whatever was in the remains from the plane. Lyla stood back, next to Hurley. She tried to get a good look at the plane from where she was standing, but decided that she was going to keep a safe distance.
"Dude. Do you think that's the, uh, monster thing. You know? From the first few nights." Hurley asked her. Lyla shook her head, even letting out a small chuckle.
"Whatever that thing in there is, it's nothing compared to the 'monster'." Lyla didn't feel at ease though. The group still didn't know what was in the plane, or why it was in there in the first place. Suddenly, Jack yelled at everyone to run, but Lyla froze. A hand grasped hers and pulled her back, keeping her from being trampled by the boar that bolted out of the plane. She turned and saw that Boone had pulled her back. "Thanks." She smiled at him, in gratitude.
"They're gone." Sayid walked up from behind them. The survivors had started to return to the group, from where they ran off to once the boar came out.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Charlie looked around the group, hoping somebody would have an answer. Lyla recognized the animal though. They were boar. Her father taught her all about them.
"I think those were..."
"Boar." Locke finished her sentence. Lyla looked over to him, kinda surprised he knew since they weren't that well known. He shot her a bright smile, as if the boar raiding their camp made him happy. Nobody else seemed happy though. The thought of wild animals invading their camp in the middle of the night, didn't sit well with many of the survivors.
Morning arrive, and Lyla wandered around camping, looking for something to pass her by. First, she went over to where they stored most of the food, but it was all gone. She instantly felt nervous, the camp was out of food. They were going to be on this island for a long time. How were they going to survive?
"Dude... all the food's gone." Hurley came up behind her, with the same intention to eat, as she had.
"What are we going to do?" Lyla asked. She wasn't sure why she was asking Hurley though, he was probably just as worried as she was. Lyla waited for a response, but Hurley just moved past her. "Where are you going?" She was confused, by him leaving with no response.
"I'm going to find Sawyer." Hurley continued through camp, in search of Sawyer. Lyla hesitated at first, but was soon following close behind. After only a few seconds of walking, they spotted Sawyer kneeling next to his bag. He pulled out a can of peanuts, popping a few into his mouth and eating them. Lyla's eyes lite up, happy to know they weren't completely out of food. But, her excitement was short lived when she realized Sawyer wouldn't be too eager to share. "Do you think you could um... share some of those?" Hurley asked Sawyer. Obviously, not great at confrontation. Sawyer just laughed, placing the peanuts back into his bag, and zipping it up after. Choosing, to ignore Hurley's request. "What's your problem? Hand them over." Hurley charged for his bag, but Sawyer managed to pull it behind his back, out of Hurley's reach.
"How about no?" Sawyer retaliated. Holding the bag as far away from Hurley as possible.
Lyla tried pulling Hurley back, in an attempt to stop him from going for Sawyer's bag. "Hey, let's ask the others if they have food. Maybe, they'll spare some." She said, trying to reason with him. While, glaring across from him, at Sawyer.
"I'll always have some to spare for you." Sawyer smirked at her, but she rolled her eyes in response. Hurley, didn't seem too amused by him though, as he lunged for his bag again.
"There's other people here, or don't you give you a crap?" Hurley continued reaching for the bag, but Sawyer refused to give it up.
"Well if one of us wouldn't eat more then his fair share..."
"Oh that's bull, and you know it. You're not happy unless you're screwing everyone else over."
"Hey, I'm peachy, pork pie."
Lyla watched as the they continued their scuffle over the bag, with the peanuts inside. Lyla stepped froward to intervene again, but was thankful when Jack did first. "Guys, knock it off." He told them.
"Stay out of this, metro." Sawyer said. Still defending his bag from Hurley. Sayid helped Jack, as the two break up the fight. Lyla placed herself between the two men, assuring that they didn't return to tussling over the peanuts. "What's going on?" He asked, looking between the two for answers.
"Jethro here's hoarding the last of the peanuts."
"My own stash. I found it in there."
"What about the rest of the food?" Jack questioned. Cutting them off from their bickering. The two of them went silent though, both unsure how to break the news to Jack, and everyone else surrounding them.
"There's no more food, Jack." Lyla informed him, focusing her attention to Jack. "We ate everything, thinking that rescue would be here by now." She looked around, and was met by the shocking and concerned expression on the faces of the other survivors. Everybody started mumbling to each other, and shouting questions that nobody had the answer to.
"Okay, everybody just calm down." Jack said, quieting the camp down.
Sayid stepped forward, facing the survivors. "We can find food." He reassured them. "There are plenty of things on this island we can use for sustenance."
Sawyer sat down in an airplane seat, resting on the sand. "Exactly how are we going to find this sustenance?" Suddenly, a knife is thrown into the seat next to Sawyer. Lyla covered her mouth in shock, and turned in anger towards the person who threw it. She was met by a bald man, with a cut down his face by his eye.
"We hunt." He said. Jack moved ahead, dislodging the knife from the seat.
"How'd you get that knife on the plane?" Kate asked.
"Checked it."
"You either have very good aim, or very bad aim, Mr..." Jack placed the knife back into the man's hand.
"Locke, his name is Locke." Michael said, bitterly.
"So, Locke. What exactly are we hunting?" Lyla asked him, still angry at him for almost hitting Sawyer with a knife.
"We know there are wild boar on the island. Razorbacks, by the look of them. The ones that came to camp last night were piglets, 100, 150 pounds each. Which means that there's a mother nearby. A 250 pound rat, with scimitar-like tusks, and a surly disposition, who's love nothing more then to eviscerate anything that comes near. Boar's usual mode of attack is to circle around and charge from behind so I figure it'll take at least three of us to distract her for long enough for me to flank out of the piglets, pin it and slit it's throat." He told her, and everyone else at camp. Almost everyone was surprised by this guy's knowledge about hunting, and by how he managed to check a knife onto the plane.
"And you gave him his knife back?" Sawyer turned to Jack.
"Well, if you've got a better idea." Jack shot back. Even though, he didn't seem confident about this idea either.
"Better then the three of you wandering into the magic forest to bag a hunk of ham with nothing but a little bitty hunting knife? Hell no, it's the best idea I've ever heard." Shockingly, Locke reveals a suitcase, full of knifes. Everyone's mouths dropped, as they stared at the multiple knifes in front of them.
"Who is this guy?" Hurley asked, breaking the silence. By saying the one thing, that was one everyone's mind. Lyla looked back at Jack, giving him a look of doubt because of him trusting this man. However, Jack just looked back, returning the same look she was giving him.
Lyla was sitting around the suitcases with Claire, sorting through them. They were gathering information on the deceased survivors, for the memorial that night. Lyla picked up a photo album, and started to skim through it. It was filled with pictures of a happy couple, and their plans for their upcoming wedding. Unfortunately, they were never going to have that wedding. "They looked so happy." Lyla said, gazing at pictures of them in a photo booth. Claire looked over Lyla's shoulder, looking at the photos as well.
"They were a couple rows behind me on the plane. I was so jealous of how in love they were." Claire told her, smiling down at the planner in Lyla's hand.
Lyla closed the planner, handing it over to Claire. "You should give this to Jack. He's the one holding this memorial, he should have this when he talks about them." Claire smiled at her, before getting up and making her way over to Jack. Lyla continued looking through the belongings, picking out things to use for the memorial.
"Hey, follow me." Boone said, looking down at her. He was standing in front of her, with his hand extended. Lyla took his hand, and he supported her as she stood up. He guided her a bit down the beach, and she couldn't help but notice the bright grin plastered onto his face.
"Where are we going?" Lyla asked anxiously. She laughed nervously, as they stopped in front of the tree line.
Boone stepped forward, and turned to look at her. "Well, I was going out into the jungle to get some mangoes. Then, I saw this." He walked towards the jungle, pulling a black bag out from behind a tree. He dragged it over to her, placing it in front of her. "I saw this, and your names on the tag."
"You found my bag!" Lyla jumped forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. She had spent hours looking for her bag, and couldn't contain her excitement now that she had it. "Oh my god, Boone thank you."
"It's no problem, really." He said, as the two pulled back from each other.
Lyla moved ahead, grabbing the handle on her bag. "I should take this over to my tent." She started pulling her bag down towards camp. "Thank you again, Boone." She said, looking back at him with a smile.
Lyla went out into the jungle to clean, and change into fresh clothes. She scrubbed her body down with a wet cloth she got, before coming out here. After cleaning, she threw on the white tank top and dark wash blue jeans, she had gotten from her bag. Once clothed, she made her way back towards the beach but surprisingly met up with Charlie on the way. "Oh, hey there, Charlie." She greeted him, sitting down next to him on the dirt.
"Hi. Lyla, right?" He quickly stuffed something into his back pocket, clearly startled by her sudden presence.
"Yeah, mind if I sit?" Lyla asked.
"Of course. Please, sit." He patted the dirt next to him. Lyla sat down beside him, pulling her knees up to her chest. "You found your suitcase didn't you? You're lucky." He said, taking note of her newly changed clothes.
Lyla nodded, smiling as she played with the intentional rips on her jeans. "Actually, Boone found it this morning."
"I still haven't found my blood guitar. I've searched everywhere." Charlie sounded disappointed, but his smile never lingered from his face as the two spoke.
"I'm sure it'll come up." Lyla assured him, but when she looked over at him, his attention was now focused at something behind her.
"Hi." Shannon entered. It didn't take long for Lyla to notice the star struck look that was on Charlie's face. "Are you doing anything?" She asked, directing it towards Charlie.
"No. I was just, um..." Charlie stuttered, clearly mesmerized by Shannon's beauty. Lyla stood up, grinning at Charlie. She realized this was her cue to leave, as the silence between the three got awkward.
"I have to go back and help Claire now, but I'll see you around." Lyla said to Charlie, before moving past Shannon, towards the beach.
She went back to the beach continue helping Claire sort through the belongings from the dead to use for the memorial. The process was long and depressing, but it was worth it. Most of the people helping gather personal belongings were silent, but Claire and Lyla made small talk. They discussed the other passengers that didn't make it, and both wondered about how their lives would be if the plane hadn't crashed. Lyla reached forward, looking at a picture that was lying on the sand. The photo was of a little boy and his two parents, in front of what Lyla assumed to be their house. Her thoughts immediately went to Claire, and the baby she was most likely going to have on the island.
"So, how's your little man doing?" Lyla asked. She looked over at Claire, who put down the list of passengers so she could place her hands onto her stomach.
"He's a kicker." Claire told her, laughing at her own comment. "Wait... you think he's a boy, too?"
"I was just..." Lyla stopped herself, as she noticed Claire's smile fading. "Yeah. I think it's a boy." Claire's smile returned, as she rubbed her stomach. Eventually, the two went back to organizing the memorial service, that they were now in charge of leading. They were just about ready for the service, when suddenly, Sawyer approached them. He had a stack of wallets in his hand. Lyla's face instantly lit up, since she clued in as to why Sawyer was here.
"Hey, uh..." Sawyer greeted. He stood in front of them awkwardly, being that he wasn't use to giving.
"Hey." Claire said, cutting him off in an attempt to make him feel more comfortable.
"These were, um... I found these the other day when I was... Aw hell, just, just take it." He handed the wallets over to Claire, and left the area in a hurry. Almost, like he didn't know how to do the right thing. But, Lyla liked that he still made an effort. She watched him leave, smiling to herself as she thought about what he had just done.
"Well, there's something I never thought would happen." Claire said, interrupting Lyla's thoughts. Lyla watched as Claire sorted through the wallets, pulling out photos and pieces of identification from them. She even noted that the wallets still had money left in them.
"Yeah, me either."
It was time for the memorial service, the fuselage was burning and the whole camp was gathered in a group, facing Claire and Lyla. Lyla was standing next to Boone, who was holding a torch up for them to see what they were reading. Hurley was also holding a torch, positioned next to Claire. The two girls took turns reading off the names and as much information as they could get on the passengers who didn't make it. Lyla couldn't help but notice Charlie sneak into the group, about half way through the service. She eyed him down suspiciously, eager to learn what he was hiding. Her eyes wandered around the crowd of survivors. Finally, allowing it to settle in that these people were going to be in her life for along time. Her thoughts were cut off when she felt Boone's hand on her shoulder.
"Everything okay?" He whispered to her.
"Yeah, I'm okay." She nodded, realizing that she must've zoned out, and missed her cue to read. "Um, Harold, seat 23C. All we found was his boarding pass, which only had his name on it. I wish there was something more on him. Rest in peace, Harold." When she's finished, her focus drifted to the burning fuselage. Let's hope Jack was right, this fire seems like our last chance of getting rescue.
This chapter was more me trying to build a friendship between Claire and Lyla. I know it's a slow progress, but I promise it'll speed up. I have a lot planned, and it's coming up. You'll also be seeing a flashback of Lyla's past in one of the upcoming chapters. Anyways, please review and follow so you'll be notified if the next chapter will be uploaded later tonight, or tomorrow.