A/N: Things get a bit dark in this chapter.

Chapter 3

Unable to take any more of the stillness, Kate slowly eased herself out of Sawyer's warm embrace and got to her feet. She paused a moment at the entrance of the tent to look at Sawyer's sleeping form, so peaceful and relaxed, so unlike him when he was awake. Just then he stirred and for a second Kate thought that he would completely awake but all he did was mutter something about paying someone five grand to see something again. A smile pulled at Kate's lips as she thought of all the possibilities of what Sawyer could be referring to. Deciding to continue her musings outside, she took one last look at Sawyer before stepping out of the tent. Kate walked a ways down the beach and found a spot to sit a few feet from the huge signal fire that Sayid was still crazy about keeping lit. There she stared out into the ocean for about the tenth time that day, as still and as silent as a cat in the dark.

She didn't what it was about the ocean that made her just want look at it for so long. Maybe it was the peacefulness. Maybe it was the calming noise it made when the waves washed up on shore. Whatever it was, it drew her to the beach from her very first day on the island.

The beach was where she did most of her thinking. It was one of the few places in her life where she was able to find peace within herself and with a past like hers, that was a feat that she cherished. Staring into the pristine waters seemed to make almost everything fade away. The key word was almost. Almost everything went away. Almost all her worries washed away with the waves. She wished that it could be all, but it wasn't going to happen. Not now or ever.

As she sat there she examined her relationship with Sawyer. They had been together for about a month now and it was the most exhilarating month in her entire life. While half of the survivors often made up stories about them behind their backs, teasing ones of course, she and Sawyer had decided to let them think what they wanted and just offered small grins when asked about their "fling" as some would say. Many doubted that the two would stay together long, seeing that Sawyer could be such an annoying bastard at times. Kate had even heard Charlie and Hurley exchange bets as to how long they would remain a couple. But it was a month later and she thought she saw Charlie moodily hand over one of Claire's jars of peanut butter to Hurley the other day.

It had been a long time before Kate had felt like this toward anyone. A very long time. It seemed to her that Tom was now a lifetime away although in reality it was only 3 years ago. When she had arrived on the island, she couldn't have cared less about Sawyer since his cocky one-liners were often met with hostile glares and comebacks. And, well, he was just plain selfish. Then when Sawyer left, it was as if someone had pierced her heart with a bullet. It was at that moment that Kate realized that she had fallen for him. She never even got a chance to say good-bye and that just tore her apart. After Sun had showed her the bottle with all the messages of the survivors, it dawned on Kate that Sawyer wasn't coming back and she began to look to Jack for comfort. The doctor was kind and gentle and could give her the love and care she needed. But with Sawyer she had an adventure, something unlike anything she had ever embarked on before and she loved the thrill of it. Don't get her wrong; Jack was a really great guy and Kate had even felt something for him. But that was long ago. Now they loved one another in a different way, each respecting the other's choice to move apart.

As all these things ran through her mind, Kate heard something move behind her. She twisted her head around, searching for the source of the sound. But all she saw was Sawyer's tent with him fast asleep inside it and the dark jungle. Thinking that it was just the wind rustling the trees, Kate turned back around, sighing with relief. But a few seconds later she knew that she had let herself off the hook too early.

A strong, heavy hand suddenly clamped over her mouth, catching her completely off guard. Almost instinctively, Kate lashed out, swinging an arm behind her. She felt it come in contact with something soft and the person holding her immediately let go, whimpering in pain. Kate, as fast as a bolt of lightning, sprung to her feet and turned to face her assailant.

They were a savage looking bunch, their clothes in rags and their faces gaunt and hostile. In their hands were clubs fashioned out of what looked like tree branches.

Kate was terrified. These must be the dreaded Others everyone was scared senseless about. And they were standing right in front of her. Damn.

Before they could shut her up, she began screaming at the top of her lungs. "HELP!"

Alarmed, one of the Others, a huge hulking figure with a long scar running down his face, quickly scooped Kate into his arms and took off at a run.

"HELP! HELP!" Kate continued to scream until something hard hit her in the back of the head. She felt a sharp pain echo through her head and she thought she heard a familiar voice yell her name. It was desperate and frightened but she wasn't sure exactly who it was. Kate tried to respond but the pain got to her and then...nothing.

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Sawyer eyes itched to open but he refused to give in. It can't be morning yet, he thought, irritated. He let out a long sigh through his nose. Slowly, with his eyes still closed, he moved an arm around to drape it over Kate's shoulders. But his arm came in contact with nothing, just air. Suddenly, he was wide awake, his eyes flying open in a second. He looked around the tent but saw no signs of Kate. His gaze met a group of shadows outside. There seemed to be some sort of struggle. Then he heard a scream that made his heart bang furiously against his chest.

"HELP! HELP!"

Kate.

Bolting up from the tarp that had been laid out as a bed, Sawyer made a dash for the entrance of the tent, grabbing a flashlight as he went. Outside, Kate's abductors were darting off into the jungle with her body slung over one of the people's shoulders. Oh shit.

"KATE!" Sawyer took off at a mad run, not caring that the people who had just run off with her could be the Others, not caring that the jungle wasn't the survivors' territory but theirs. He didn't care about any of that. No. All he cared about was Kate and his promise to keep her safe.

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He was walking in the jungle. Nothing too significant about the day. Blue skies, a light breeze sweeping across the island. It was perfect, really. Although he didn't really know what he was doing in the middle of the jungle.

Then, he heard a scream.

"HELP!"

It was a woman's voice and it was coming from outside the jungle. Alarmed, he started running through the trees, trying to locate the sound of the voice. He reached the end of the jungle and came upon a cliff. He heard the yell again.
"HELP! HELP!" It was more frantic now.

He looked over the edge of the cliff and saw, to his horror, the woman in danger.

Kate.

She was hanging onto a vine but barely.

"Kate!" he yelled. "Just hang on, okay?" He laid down on his stomach and extended his hand. Kate attempted to reach for it but their hands just wouldn't meet. He tried again, this time bringing himself more over the lip of the cliff. She grasped his hand and when she did he could feel the warmth spread throughout his whole body.

"Hold on! I got you!"

But Kate grip wasn't strong enough. "I can't!"

He could feel her hand slipping from his and his arm strained to support her weight.

"Don't let go, Kate! I got you!"

But she couldn't hold on any longer. Kate released her grip on his hand and plunged down and down and down...

Jack awoke with a start, panting. It was a dream, he thought. All a dream. But then he heard the exact same scream from his dream echo through the night. Oh god. Jack sprang to his feet and fumbled around his tent for a flashlight, cursing as he did so. Finally he found one and, throwing back the tarp entrance of the tent, ran outside in a frenzy.

Following the sound of the screams, he darted into the jungle with the terrified shouts of the survivors behind him. Flicking on his flashlight, Jack barreled through the darkness with just a thin ray of light to guide him. He jumped over fallen trees and ditches. He squeezed through tight passage ways in the trees, collecting scratches and scrapes along the way. Then he saw someone in the distance, running as furiously as him. Jack put on a burst of speed and quickly caught up to the person. Throwing himself forward, Jack tackled the man just as he was turning around to see who was following him.

Pinning the man to the ground, Jack shone his flashlight in his face to reveal his identity. Two piercing blue eye bore into him and a snarl adorned the face. An extremely pissed off Sawyer glared at Jack, panting heavily.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled. "Get the fuck off me!"

Jack immediately jumped off Sawyer and stood up. Sawyer scrambled to his feet and, without warning, took off running again.

"Hey! Sawyer, wait!" Jack bolted after him. "SAWYER!"

But Sawyer wouldn't stop. Jack had no choice but to tackle him again.

"What happened, Sawyer?" Jack demanded once he had him secured.

Sawyer looked at Jack with angered incredousness. "You're askin' me what happened, Doc?" he said, pointing at himself. "Now let me ask you. What the fuck was that about, huh?"

"Sawyer, I didn't know who you were. I couldn't tell from a distance."

"Yeah, well you didn't have to pull a blitz on me, damn it!"

"You could've been one of them!" Jack was reaching the end of his patience. Why couldn't Sawyer just cooperate with him for once in his life?

"Oh, yeah?" Sawyer snarled. "Well thanks to you, Sheriff, the real Others ran off with Kate slung over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes! You should be real proud of yourself now, huh? Helped out our little mystery friends, didn't you? Don't know how they'll thank you. Probably send you one of Kate's eyeballs as a present for your-"

But Sawyer never got a chance to finish his sentence because Jack's fist connected with his jaw.

"Shut up, you bastard! You think I asked for this?!"

Recovering from the blow, Sawyer kneed Jack in the groin. The doctor grimaced and released Sawyer who staggered to his feet, clutching his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Sawyer lunge at him and in a second felt a heavy boot come in contact with his stomach. Jack rolled over, winded. But before Sawyer could inflict further harm, several pairs of strong hands grasped him from behind and hauled him away from the doctor.

"Sawyer!" said Locke's commanding voice. "Take it easy!"

Sawyer let out a sigh that came out sounding more like a growl and jerked himself from the iron grips that held him. Breathing a bit heavily, Jack got to his feet and raised his eyes to look at Sawyer. The man shot him an icy look before turning and storming off back to the beach. No one tried to stop him.