Disclaimer: The dream in this chapter belongs to the dude who writes the LOST series. I just adapted it to fit Kate.

Chapter 5

Cuore o Testa?

"What do you do when you want to hold on, but your instincts tell you to run? You're scared and confused. Should you follow your heart, or follow your head?"

Her body throbbed in pain by the time they reached the door to the room. She had her arms crossed tightly across her chest, finding it a struggle just to breath, just wanting to be alone so she could breakdown. That was something she refused to do in front of people. She'd done it in front of Jack before and the outcome of it wasn't good. She watched as the man unlocked the door, then stumbled in as he shoved her. She sunk down to the ground, shutting her eyes, listening as the door locked behind her.

All three of them looked at her, Jack rushing over to her. "Kate?" he asked softly, kneeling down beside her. "Hey? Are you okay?" He put his hand on her arm, looking at her, his eyes filled with concern.

Kate closed her eyes, trying to ignore him. She knew how he was looking at her. He looked at everyone like that when he was worried. But there was something different and she tried not to notice it. There was love in his eyes when he looked at her, and she couldn't stand it. "I'm fine." she replied, pulling her arm away, but regretting it. His touch made her feel so much better, but her head too over like it normally did and forced her to push him away from her. How she hated her head. It seemed to have more power than her heart did. It made sure to make her take the easy way out of everything, not matter how much her heart longed for something to grasp onto, that something being Jack. But it would just be too complicated. Sawyer would be mad. She wasn't good enough for Jack. She was barely good enough for Sawyer.

Jack looked slightly hurt, but nodded his head. He didn't know why he hadn't expected that. Kate wasn't the type to say when something was wrong. He just wished she'd tell him what happened. "Alright." he said. He patted her shoulder lightly then stood. "If you need me for anything, I'll be over there." He nodded over to the bed he'd chosen then walked over. There were only three beds and everyone had seemed to claim one while Kate was gone. If Sawyer didn't offer his to her before they went to bed, he'd offer his to her. He didn't want her to have to stay on the floor.

Kate watched him walk away then leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. She pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly, despite the pain she felt. Why did everything have to be like this? Why couldn't she just be there with Jack or with Sawyer? Not with both of them. It made things to hard. Eventually she'd have to chose between them though. Either that or they'd both just leave her. No matter how much she hated to think about it, she'd have to chose.

Jack watched her from his spot on the bed, shaking his head slightly. Why did she have to be so indecisive? It confused him. One minute she liked him more, the next she liked Sawyer, and the next she didn't know. And stubborn too. He didn't even want to get started on that. He loved her though. He loved everything about her no matter how much it bothered him. She wouldn't be Kate without any of those things. "Do you want to sit down on the bed?" he asked. "I can move."

Kate shook her head in response, leaning back against the wall more. She was fine right there on the floor. She didn't want him to have to give up just so she would have somewhere to sit. That wasn't very fair. She sniffled a bit and rubbed her eyes before simply lying down. Rolling onto her back, she stared up at the ceiling, trying to just clear her mind of the day already. Normally that was a weekly thing she did, but today was beginning to be too much to handle for her. Even running from the police wasn't as bad as this.

"Alright." Jack said, frowning again. "Just um…tell me if you want the bed. I don't mind moving." He sighed and looked at the wall, running his hand over his hair slightly. He wondered what time it was. He couldn't remember what time it had been when the got captured, but he figured it was around supper time now. He was beginning to get quite hungry and wondered if they'd even feed them. The only time anyone had ever come in was to take Kate and then to drop her off again. He hoped they at least got something small to eat though. As long as they gave him something edible, he didn't care what it was.

Time passed slowly, and unlike Jack had wanted, no one came to give them food. It didn't even sound as if anyone had walked by the room. He sat up straight as someone finally could be heard coming to their room. The door walked open and a teenage boy looked at them. He sighed boredly and put a tray on the ground. "Twenty minutes until lights out." he said before simply turning and leaving.

Jack looked at the food, sighing slightly. There wasn't much, but they'd have to find a way to split it. A little more than half a coconut and four bottles of water. At least they gave them each a bottle of water for now. He got up and walked over to the food, kneeling down beside it. Picking up the coconut, he slammed it down, cracking it into smaller pieces. He tried to split them up as equally as he could then looked at everyone.

Jessie rubbed her eyes, half asleep. She looked at the food and smiled slightly, starving. Getting up, she walked over to Jack, taking what he handed her. She grabbed a water bottle and headed back over to her bed, putting everything down on it after she lied down on her stomach. "Thanks." she told Jack for splitting it for them. She looked at Sawyer and rolled her eyes. "You don't have a maid here to bring it to you, get up and get it yourself."

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "I'm getting' there, Sunshine." he said. "So howsabout you shut up and mind your own business, eh?" He stood and walked over to Jack, taking some of the coconut and a bottle of water. "You're quiet, Freckles…It's borin' without you talkin'…" he informed her, heading back over to his bed.

Kate shrugged slightly, also taking some food. She wasn't all that hungry, but she knew Jack would make her eat if she didn't take any. "Well it's quite nice without your big mouth." she replied to Sawyer after a few moments, then took a bite of the coconut.

"Little bit late of a comeback, dontcha think?" Sawyer said, rolling his eyes. "And a dumb one at that." He smirked slightly, just trying to get on her nerves. Frustrating people was one of his favorite things to do.

Kate shrugged her shoulders. "I don't care." she told him, her mouth half full. She swallowed then looked at him. "I'm tired and want to go to sleep and, most of all, I want to go home…Comebacks are the last thing that I care about, Sawyer." she informed him.

Sawyer put his hands in the air. "Well alright then." he said with a shrug before he put his hands back down. "Don't gotta get an attitude now, Freckles…"

Kate sighed deeply and shook her head. He just didn't know when to shut his mouth. Turning so he back was facing him, she continued eating in silence.

Jessie looked at Sawyer, frowning at him. "You don't know when to just drop it and leave someone alone, do you?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows.

Sawyer smiled at her, his dimples showing. "I know." he said. "I just don't care." He gave a nod and took a drink then looked back over at her. "What? There a reason your starin' or are your eyes just simply drawn to me for no particular reason?" He arched a brow at her, smirking as she shook her head and turned away. "That's what I thought."

Jessie shook her head slightly and leaned back against her pillow, finishing off her coconut. She licked her fingers, then put the outside shell and her bottle of water on the nightstand for now. Oh how Sawyer bothered her to all ends, not that she'd let it show. That's what he wanted. He wanted to know he was getting on her nerves. Hopefully, if she ignored him, he'd finally give up. Nah. She wasn't that lucky. "Goodnight, Sawyer." she told him, lying down so her back was facing him. He stared at the wall, waiting for the lights to shut off.

Sawyer smirked. "Night, Sugarpop." he said, lying down on his back, putting his stuff beside her's. He smiled to himself and closed his eyes, yawning a bit.

Jack rolled his eyes at them and stood up, looking down at Kate. "You sure you don't want the bed instead of me?" he asked her.

"I'm sure." Kate replied, closing her eyes, planning on just staying on the floor.

Jack nodded slightly, though obviously wasn't happy about her decision. "Well if you change your mind, wake me up." he said. He wasn't sure if he'd sleep tonight anyway though. Not in this place where they had no clue where they were or what was going on. Turning, he walked back over to the bed, lying down right as the lights went off.

Kate sighed inaudibly and snuggled against the cold wall, trying to sleep. She was exhausted after what happened earlier, so it didn't take her all that long to drift off. For about two hours she slept peacefully, before her head began to fill with odd dreams.

The creature stared into the darkness. The figure was dark, it's features indistinct but disturbing. Malevolent eyes, black pools of hate, glared from it's shadowy face. It wasn't moving, but it's attitude was threatening, like a snake coiled and ready to attack.

Just behind the monstrous thing, other, similar creatures lurked, half-visible and ominous, quite still, but poised to continue their horrible advance. And behind them weird, indecipherable symbols floated mysteriously. The signs looked like some strange language, impossible to translate.

They came quietly at first, so quietly that Kate did not so much hear their approach as feel it. She blinked hard, trying with all of her will to peer into the think haze that surrounded her, but nothing revealed itself.


Nothing.


Kate didn't know if she was in a pit or a locked room, or purgatory. All she knew was that she was about to learn something that she very much did not want to know.


Another sheet of dread draped itself over her soul, and her body nearly convulsed with the trembling brought on by the exquisite agony of unbearable suspense.


She looked around desperately. If she could just see what it was, maybe she could figure out what was after her. If only something would show itself. Even a terrible monster would be better than this awful waiting and wondering. At least then she would know what she had to fight, or what had come to destroy her. As terrifying as the idea was, ignorance was even more terrifying.


Then out of the mists, they almost began to show themselves. A sweep of fabric here, a deepening shadow there. Eyes that did not glow, but were starkly visible nonetheless. Kate covered her face with her hands, but peeked through her fingers, as she had done when she was a child watching a horror film.


The things were all around. Not people, not creatures, just...things. Kate wanted to run, but she had no idea which way to go. And, astonishingly, as much as she was impelled to flee, she felt an even stronger urgency to follow them into the impenetrable mist. She stepped forward, almost unable to believe her own actions. They were leading her, she knew it. They had come for her, and they were taking her to a place that was prepared for her. Kate gasped for air and held her hands before her like a sleep walker.


As she stepped cautiously forward, she heard something that sounded almost like whispering. The deeper into the fog they stepped, the louder the whispering became. It sounded almost like speech, but it was no language Kate had ever heard, or imagined.


Kate had an indefinable feeling that she had reached her destiny, and stopped walking, although nothing she could see indicated that she had traveled more than a few inches. But she could feel that they were showing her something and when she thought about what they might want her to see, her trembling redoubled, her body jerking as if she had stuck her tongue in an electrical outlet.
And although the fog did not seem clear, Kate somehow began seeing through it. She now felt that she was in some dark underground chamber of some kind. Before her, the walls were covered with drawings and carvings. Odd shapes. Strange.


The terrifying figures closed in, surrounding her. They pressed in close but were as horribly indistinct at that proximity as they had been from the start. Perhaps they were wearing robes, Kate thought. Perhaps not. It could be that their bodies were simply flowing and malleable, like cloth.


They were all observing her with their malevolent glares, but one of them seemed to be staring at her in the most meaningful way, as if trying to communicate something profound. Was it's Kate's imagination, or was this one a man? A man with dirty blond hair, and familiar features? How could it be? She couldn't see the others clearly enough to determine even if they were human, much less male or female. But this one was different.


Looking deeply into Kate's eyes, her held something high over his head. Fearfully glancing upward, Kate saw it was a flat circle about a foot in diameter with an intricate design in the middle. She realized that the thing was a talisman of some sort. It seemed to be made of highly polished wood. The man said nothing, but continued to hold the object high with both hands, seemingly willing Kate to understand it's meaning.

Kate snapped awake before she could finish the dream. She sat up quickly, her eyes darting around the room as she gasped for breaths. She was drenched in a cold sweat, her body shaking just as hard as it had been in her dream. She stood and looked around, then quickly stumbled over to Jack's bed, worried that whatever the things in her dream were would be there and get her along the way. Not bothering to wake him up, she quickly scrambled up onto the bed and leaned forward over him, burying her face in his side. She clung to his shirt, beginning to calm down. He seemed to make her feel much safer.

Jack yawned and opened his eyes, glancing at her in confusion. He shifted slightly, though it was hard to go anywhere with her holding onto him. "Here…You can have the bed." he told her, yawning. He went to move, looking at her again when she held onto him tighter, wrapping both of her arms around one of his. "Kate?" he asked, putting his hand on his arm. He found it odd that she was clinging to him. Normally she wasn't like this. As a matter of fact, he never seen her like this. He wrapped his arm around her, trying to get her to stop trembling. "You're okay…" he whispered, sitting up and tugging his arm loose. He wrapped both of his arms around her, looking down at her. "What happened?"

Kate calmed down slightly, resting her head on his shoulder. She took a few breaths then closed her eyes. "It was just a dream." she said quietly, not sure why a dream like that had got her so worked up. She had nightmares all the time and was normally fine. This dream felt different though. It felt very real.

"One heck of a dream, Kate." Jack said, keeping his arms around her. "You okay? You can have the bed if you want…I'll sleep on the floor."

Kate frowned. She opened her mouth for a moment, but then closed it again. Pausing, she opened her eyes. "Could you…I mean…Just for tonight…Would you…" She was cut off by Jack.

"If you want me to stay here with you, I will." Jack told her softly. "Is that what you're trying to ask me to do?"

Kate hesitated, then nodded slightly, frowning. She was being weak and she knew it. Why was she being too chicken to even sleep alone? She hadn't needed to anyone else to sleep in the same bed with her since she was sixteen and had run away to Tom's house, terrified her step dad was going to kill her. Sniffling, she closed her eyes as Jack lied them down.

"Night, Kate." Jack said quietly, closing his eyes. He held her close, beginning to drift back off.

"Night, Jack." Kate whispered back. She snuggled against him. For once, her heart was overpowering her head.