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Chapter3.
There was some kind of battle waging around him. Bullets were flying everywhere. Desmond wondered how he wasn't being hit; there were so many, it seemed impossible. Then he realised he was being hit. They were going right through him, but they weren't causing any damage. It occurred to him that when he experienced these… flashes, whatever they were, he wasn't in physical form. He'd never noticed that before.
It was nighttime on the beach. It should have been dark, but the scene was partially lit by the light of campfires. From what Desmond could see in the dim light, much of the sand was soaked in blood. The smell of the ocean, so vivid at all times, was completely masked by the smell of torturous pain. That indescribable scent filled the air, the fumes choking Desmond.
Scanning the area, he tried to figure out what was going on. He recognized several survivors of the crash. Fighting them were the people Desmond took to be the Others, as they were usually refereed to. With horror, Desmond realised that the Others were trying to take the survivors by force, just as they had so many times before. Never like this, though. This was all out war.
Looking around in terror, he noticed a large army helicopter on the beach, a short distance away. Before he could fully figure out what this meant, Jack ran past. Desmond heard him yell out something about rescue. That was all he needed to hear. They were finally being rescued.
He looked back at the battle again. It was spread out, all along the beach, as far as he could see. There seemed to be three groups, not that he noticed. The survivors, the others, and the rescuers. The survivors were struggling to get to the helicopter, but the were being held back by a line of gunfire. It was like there was a wall separating the survivors from their rescuers. Desmond felt sick. How had it come to this?
He watched helplessly as one of the Others picked up a child, and started to run for the jungle. The child was screaming for its mother, but there was no one running towards the sound. It was like he'd been forgotten. It was wrong. Everything about the situation was wrong.
Another young child was in the arms of a crazed man, being carried off, screaming. A young woman chased after them, pleading for the man to let her daughter go. Desmond could only watch in horror as the man turned around, and violently hit her in the face with the butt of the gun he was carrying. Her screaming stopped instantly, as she fell to the ground, blood quickly pooling around her. The child stopped screaming at the sight. It was as though her voice had been snatched from her. All she could do now was stare, pale, still. She stopped struggling. The man disappeared into the jungle with her. No one noticed.
Amongst the gunfire, Desmond suddenly saw two little girls running towards the helicopter. Though they were older, Desmond knew they were the same curly-haired girls from before. Kate and Sawyer's daughters. They were holding hands and crying, running together, trying to get away from the deranged man who was chasing them. The older of the girls was dragging the other along slightly. Any second, it looked like she would fall, and then it would be over. Desmond wished he could help.
Kate appeared just then. She yelled out to the girls to run towards the helicopter. She was crying, too. Desmond could hear her anguished cries over all the other sounds. He wondered why she wasn't going with the girls, why she wasn't making sure they were safe. Then he heard what she was crying.
Through the terrible cries, two words were discernable. Sawyer. Thomas. She couldn't leave until she knew her whole family was safe. Desmond couldn't stand to watch. He was so sure she would be struck down if she stayed where she was.
Just when Desmond thought all hope was lost for her, Sawyer appeared, holding their son in his arms. As Desmond watched, it was like time stopped for them. Kate looked like she was about to collapse from the relief. She ran over to Sawyer and hugged the two. It seemed to Desmond that time stopped for the family. Everything stood still in their world. But it was for a moment too long.
The Others were closing in on them again. They wanted Thomas. Kate and Sawyer started running after the girls, determined that they would all survive this.
Some of the Others appeared in front of them, blocking their path. One of them knocked Sawyer out, while another quickly grabbed Thomas out of his arms. Kate fought to get him back, but was knocked out before she could get near him. Now it was Thomas' cries that taunted Desmond. It was as though they were demanding to know why he was standing there, doing nothing. Desmond knew, on a certain level, that Thomas couldn't actually see him. But he still felt the weight of his unspoken accusation.
Desmond heard the Others say that they had all three now. He thought this meant Kate, Sawyer and Thomas. Then he saw two large men approaching, each carrying a terrified little girl. The children. They had them all. And Kate and Sawyer weren't getting up.
Bullets were still flying everywhere. Desmond could hardly see Kate and Sawyer anymore, as more people flocked to their position. From a fleeting glance, he thought he saw Sawyer moving. But Kate was very still, and Desmond had a horrible suspicion that she was bleeding.
The kids were all crying now. They were terrified. All Desmond could think was that someone had to do something, anything to save them.
Most of the group was running towards the helicopter now. He watched as Claire and a young boy he took to be Aaron climbed to safety. They'd escaped the Others clutches. Many of them had, apparently. Desmond was glad, but he wished they'd notice the kids. None of them did. Desmond wished, once again, that he could do something. But he couldn't, because after all, in this time and space, he didn't exist.
Just as Desmond was anticipating the worst, someone did appear, out of nowhere. Just as the Other were about to disappear into the jungle, taking the children with them, someone came running out, blocking their path, as though he knew exactly where they'd be.
Desmond was shocked to see himself, but only for a second. It made sense. He would be the only one who knew what happened.
Desmond got ready to see how he was going to save Kate and Sawyer and their children. Before it happened, however, he heard that strange rushing sound again. He was gone from the scene before he could see how it was going to end.
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