The Prisoner (Part/5)
Recap: "So, what brought you here?" Charlie asked "What made you take that plane?"
"Family" Lucy muttered
"Family, eh?"
"Yeah, my aunt is ill, she's got cancer and she just needed someone there"
"So, what happened?"
"I had to get a flight back to university, it just so happened, that I had to make a stop to see my parents on the way back"
"And your aunt?"
"I crashed here, I don't know" Lucy murmured "I'm not sure whether she's dead or alive"
"That sucks"
"Tell me about it" Lucy smirked "So, why did you take that plane?"
"Family"
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"Couldn't you find my balloon?" Henry quizzed
"Yeah, we found it" Ana replied simply
"We did find your balloon, Henry Gale, exactly how you described it; we also found the grave you described…your wife's grave…the grave you said you dug with your own bare hands" Sayid sneered "It was all there…your whole story…your alibi…it was true; But still I did not believe it to be true…so I dug up that grave and found that there was not a woman inside, but a man"
Sayid pulled an ID card from his pocket, and took great delight in showing it to Henry.
"A man named Henry Gale" Sayid spat
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Henry's face noticeably changed. There was suddenly something more to him. It was hard to explain, but this Henry somehow gave Lucy the creeps. It wasn't long before Sayid lost his temper with the little prisoner, and returned him to his lonely prison.
"What do we do now?" Lucy asked Ana-Lucia who had begun making herself comfortable on the couch.
"We wait" Ana replied simply
"For what?"
"Answers"
"What makes you think he'll tell us anything more than before?"
"He's been found out, he has nothing to hide behind" Ana remarked.
Jack began to attend to John. Kate and Jack took a shoulder each
and guided John to the bedroom.
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"Mama, it's not forever" Lucy told her mother as she packed her battered leather case
"I know, I'm just sad that you feel you have to go so far to feel happy"
"Mama, I just need to get away" Lucy cringed; she hated explaining herself especially to her parents. Although they said nothing, she could see the disappointment on their faces every time someone mentioned a wedding.
"You know you could still stay with me and your Papa" Her mother told her "I still don't see why you want to all the way to Sydney"
"Mama, Aunt Hannah is ill, this way I can get a break and help with caring for her; I am a medical student after all"
"Aunt Hannah, was so looking forward to coming to America for her niece's wedding day; you know you're like a daughter to her"
"All the more reason for me to go, Mama" Lucy retorted
"It's just a shame that beautiful dress will go to waste"
Lucy began to get angry. She and her mother had discussed this too many times. She folded another t-shirt and placed it in her case.
"Mama, it's not going to waste, I've taken it back to the store" Lucy snapped "They gave me the money back, if that's what you're so worried about"
"Lucy child, of course we're not worried about that" Her mother mumbled, holding her child close "We're worried about you; about you're happiness"
"Then why do I feel like you and Papa are disappointed in my decision?" Lucy asked "I thought you'd rather I married someone I loved"
"Of course we do, child" Her mother replied "We're not disappointed, not in you anyway"
"Then please understand, I need to do this for me, before I go out of my mind" Lucy responded
"When does you're plane leave?" Asked her Papa
She and her mother turned to see her father in the doorway of her bedroom.
"Eh…Thursday, Papa" Lucy replied
"I'll drive you" He declared
"Papa, you don't have to do that, I can get a cab"
"Can't a father drive his own daughter to the airport these days?" He remarked
"It's not that, Papa, you're busy and I understand that"
"I'm starting to think you're trying to avoid us" Her father alleged
"Lucy, have we done something to send you away?"
"No Papa, I just can't stay here and dwell on the 'what-might-have-beens'" Lucy replied "Papa, understand I just need to leave it all behind, even if for a little while"
"I understand, my balismo bambini" Her father garbled "You just promise me that this isn't because of anything we've done"
"I promise, Papa"
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They placed John carefully on the bunk bed, and Lucy wandered in behind them. Kate stepped aside allowing Lucy the chance to assist Jack with John's injured leg.
"John, can you wiggle your toes for me?" Jack asked, as he looked through his bag for the correct equipment.
John wiggled his toes, and Lucy watched on.
"Good, now try the other one" Jack commanded.
John did as was requested, but with more difficulty and pain.
Jack continued to inspect John's leg, putting pressure on certain points; making Lucy feel like a spare part.
"Is it broken?" John questioned
Jack looked pensive for a moment as he pressed an area just below the injury, which caused John to wince in pain.
"Without an x-ray, you're just going to have to do with my best guess" Jack replied
Kate re-entered the little room.
"How are you holding up?" She asked Locke
"That depends on Jack's best guess"
Lucy helped Jack by wrapping John's leg with gauze.
"There's a small fracture; probably hairline" Jack informed "This should help with the swelling, until we can put a splint on it"
"How long 'til I can walk?" John asked
"You're going to have to keep off it for a while; there's a wheelchair back at camp" Jack replied
"No" John snapped "I-I don't need a wheelchair"
Lucy heard this and looked at Kate.
"We took a pair of crutches from the fuselage when we moved down the beach" Lucy pointed out.
John nodded.
"Okay, I'll be back soon" Kate replied.
Kate left and Ana's head appeared around the edge of the door.
"Lucy, can I borrow you?"
"Er…Jack?" Lucy asked
"Go on"
Ana's head disappeared and Lucy followed her. John watched them leave.
"He could have escaped" John said simply.
"Sorry?"
"Henry…during the lockdown…I was hurt…he could have escaped" John winced as Jack pressed down on his wounded leg. "But he came back to help me, why would he do that?"
"He didn't come back to help you, John, he came back because he thought his story would check out"
Ana lead Lucy inside the little metal prison, where Henry Gale was tied up. Sayid was questioning him. Lucy looked at his beaten face, and felt a little sorrow. 'This is it' she thought 'Our decent into savagery'
"He was dead already" Henry told Sayid, who remained expressionless "Four months ago I was part of the search party; Henry Gale was hanging out of the basket, neck broken"
Ana and Lucy motioned to Sayid, who signalled to both of the girls, to remain silent.
"So he was already dead?" Sayid quizzed
"Yes"
"Then you buried him and left a grave marker?"
"Yes"
Sayid kept Henry's eye contact as he pulled out a twenty dollar bill from his pocket.
"You really should have checked his pockets before you did that; I assume Henry Gale did not have any paper on which to compose his thoughts, so he had to improvise…There wasn't much room for that" Sayid began to read aloud "Jennifer, well you were right; crossing the pacific isn't easy. I owe you a beer. I'm hiking to one of the beaches to start a signal fire. If you are reading this I guess I didn't make it. I'm sorry. I love you, Jenny. Always have; always will. Yours Henry' So tell me, how did Henry write a note to his wife with a broken neck?"
Henry began to panic. His voice filled with fear; Lucy didn't blame him, Sayid had a fearful temper and Henry had felt his wrath before.
"It wasn't me…I didn't kill him…you don't understand" Henry babbled
"How did you know his wife's name?" Sayid demanded "Did you interrogate him?"
"Please listen, I'm just a…" Henry pleaded
"How many of you are there?" Sayid interrupted
Henry looked around the prison, with eyes full of fear and pleading.
"If I told you about them…Y-you have no idea what he'll do"
"He?" Sayid picked up
"You mean their leader…" Ana chimed in
"The guy with the beard?" Lucy added
Henry's eyes met Lucy's, causing her to instantly drop them. His looks filled her with guilt. Henry made a noise, that could a have passed for a nervous laugh.
"Him…he's no one; nothing"
"Where are your people?" Sayid barked in questioning.
"I can't…"
"How many of you are there?" Sayid interrupted
Henry became more desperate for someone to believe him.
"You don't understand" He said
Rage filled Sayid, who pulled a gun from his pocket.
"Understand this…"
"Hey" Ana shouted
"You have three seconds to answer my question…how many of you are there?" Sayid barked "One"
"He'll kill me" Henry pleaded, his eyes begging for a person to fight his corner.
"I'll kill you" Sayid roared, as he pulled back the slide on his gun "Two"
"Sayid" Lucy yelled
"You can't do this" Henry cried "I am not a bad person"
"Three" Sayid barked
Ana pushed Sayid just as he pulled the trigger. He missed Henry, whose face was painted by trepidation.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ana bellowed pushing Sayid away from the prisoner
Jack appeared in the armoury.
"What happened?" He quizzed.
Lucy went to answer, but Sayid interrupted.
"He's a liar"
"It fine, just get him out of here" Ana ordered
Jack placed a careful hand on Sayid's shoulder and steered him out of the armoury.
"Jack, Jack!" Came a faint voice from the bunk.
Jack looked at John.
"I've got it covered, John"
John lied there feeling helpless. He hit the bunk above in frustration.
Henry looked at Ana and Lucy.
"Thank you" He breathed
"Shut up" Ana replied, as she and Lucy left and she locked the door.
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Lucy sat outside her tent, watching the world go by. She looked at the pure oblivion that was in each person. She knew that none, but a selected few, knew of Henry. Maybe that was a good thing; no need to cause panic over someone like Henry, after all he was harmless. She couldn't help but think that Jack was making a mistake not telling the whole truth. She watched everyone acting as if nothing was happening; Charlie and Eko working, Jin and Sun eating and Claire rocking Aaron. It seemed odd, it was like no one noticed they were stranded on an island.
"Hey" Jack smiled, sitting down next to her.
"Oh, hey" Lucy replied "And what brings you to my neck of the woods, so to speck?"
"Henry"
"Henry?" Lucy quizzed
"Yeah, I think it's about time we told everyone about our little guest" He answered
"What brought on that change of heart?" Lucy enquired
"Well, we know what he is now, I think the time's right"
"About time" Lucy joked
"What makes you say that?"
"I hate keeping things from people" Lucy explained "It feels like I'm lying all the time and I hate that feeling"
"Lying?"
"Yeah, lying, Jack" Lucy replied "You know that thing where you say something that isn't true…it's called a lie"
"Something you'd know all about then" Jack replied simply
"What makes you say that?" Lucy asked, with an undertone of rage
"Look, I didn't come here to argue" Jack muttered
"Then, why did you come?" Lucy questioned "Because I know it's not for the friendly banter"
"Maybe I did come for the friendly banter" Jack replied
Lucy raised an eyebrow.
"I need to tell the people, will you help?" Jack asked
Lucy smiled.
"I should've known"
"Known what?"
"That you wanted something, that's the only time I get visits"
"That's not true" Jack said defensively
"It is" Lucy returned "How would you know anyway?"
Jack rolled his eyes, and put his arm around her shoulders.
"I didn't think you'd want a visit from me, unless it was business" Jack explained "I never knew you cared"
Lucy face split into a grin and she pushed him away.
"Hey, I never said I wanted a visit from you; and I defiantly never said I cared"
Jack scowled, and then grinned.
"Oh, you know how to make a guy feel wanted"
"I know" Lucy joked "So…what do you want me to do?"
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"Lucy!" Called her aunt "Lucy, over here"
"Aunt Hannah, you made it, I was going to get a cab" Lucy explained as they embraced
"Oh I couldn't leave my favourite niece alone in strange place" Her aunt smiled "Wow, you've grown"
Lucy laughed. It was always the same with relatives, they always state the obvious.
"I like what you've done with your hair" Lucy said, as she stroked her aunt's braids
"Well, I fancied a change" She replied simply "It was something different; you know me, I'm a sucker for anything unusual"
"That's why I love visiting you" Lucy grinned "You're not like everyone else"
"I'm not sure if that's a complement or an insult" Her aunt joked "It can't be that bad at home"
"It is" Lucy explained "They're so disappointed; Aunt Hannah, I feel like I've let them down"
"Oh Lucy, you've not let anyone down" Her aunt hugged her "You did what was right for you, and I admire that…it's good quality don't let anyone tell you anything different"
"But…"
"No buts, no one can tell you how to live your life"
"Is that why you ran away?"
"Lucy…I never ran away, I went my own way" She answered "I did the right thing for me, my parents didn't like it at first, but they accepted it…it's every parent's dream to see their little girl get married, but you should only do it for the right reasons"
"Aunt Hannah?"
"Yes"
"I'm glad I came to stay with you"
"I'm glad you have too"
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John strode up to Ana on his crutches.
"Jack not back yet?" John asked
"Nope, he's telling everyone at the beach that we've got one of them" Ana answered "Something tells me people have a lot of questions about our houseguest"
"I want to talk to him"
"I don't think that's on today's program" Ana replied
"Well, all due respect, Ana-Lucia, but I don't care what you think"
Ana starred at him.
"5 minutes" John requested "I earned 5 minutes with him"
Ana looked at John for a moment, before standing up and unlocking the armoury. John entered carefully on his crutches. Henry watched his every step.
"What's your name?" John asked, the prisoner "Your real name?!"
"Why don't you just keep calling me Henry?" The prisoner replied "I've gotten used to it"
John looked at the small man; and knew there wasn't much point in pursuing this subject.
"Did you get caught on purpose?" John questioned "You and your people have been here for God knows how long, and you get caught in a net…"
"God doesn't know" Henry said meekly
"Excuse me?"
"God doesn't know how long we've been here, John; he can't see this island any better than the rest of the world can" Henry explained "May I ask you a question; what possible reason could I have for putting myself through all this?"
"Maybe your people were looking for this place"
"This place?" Henry looked confused "This place is a joke, John"
"What are you talking about?" John queried
"I crawled through your vents, I stood at your computer as the alarm beeped…and you know what happened; the timer went all the way down to zero, and then some funny red pictures flipped up in its place; they looked like hieroglyphics, but I'm no expert" Henry told John, earnestly "Then things got real interesting; there was a loud clunking and a hum like a magnet…a big magnet; it was really very frightening…and you know what happened next?"
Henry looked deep into John's eyes.
"Nothing happened, John, nothing happened at all; your timer just flipped back to 108" Henry maintained eye contact with John "I never entered the numbers; I never pressed the button"
"You're lying" John accused
"No" Henry replied "I'm done lying"
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Lucy began walking towards the forest. She was on hatch duty soon and she didn't want to be late. She didn't much like the idea of a lecture from John.
"Hey" Jack shouted "Where you going?"
"Hatch duty" Lucy explained.
Jack jogged to catch up
"What…without me?" He joked
"Well, I didn't think it was your turn"
"It's not, but I thought you might be able to use the company"
"Okay" Lucy answered, raising her eyebrow
"What?" Jack asked, catching her eye
"Nothing" She replied with a smile
Jack beamed at her and placed his arm across her shoulders.
Sawyer smiled to himself as he watched Lucy and Jack heading towards the jungle.
"Get a load of Doctor Giggles and Lil' Bo Peep" Sawyer smirked as he nudged Kate.
She spun around to take a look. Jack was making a joke and Lucy laughed. Kate shrugged.
"So?" She replied
"I was just saying" He explained "What…you jealous?"
"Of what?"
"Lil' Lucy and the good doctor"
"Why would I be?"
"Well I thought y'all had a thing"
"Well, you thought wrong, we're friends"
Sawyer rolled his eyes and pulled out a book. He knew it wasn't worth arguing, he never won anyway.
Lucy and Jack walked towards the hatch laughing. Kate's eyes followed them until they were out of sight. Kate couldn't help but feel a stab of envy, she watched the smiling faces.