In Shallow Seas We Sail
Author's Note: Look, an update! I'm going to go ahead and let you know there won't be another one of these for probably about 2 weeks, but after finals, I'll update A LOT for you. I might even finish it during Christmas break. Wouldn't that be amazing? I'm so glad you guys are still hanging in there on this story.
For you all that can't remember exactly what happened so far, here's a recap of the last couple of chapters: Sawyer and the others went to get to coordinates from the freighter crew (Miles, mainly). Kate ended up warning Miles that he was going to die if he stayed on the freighter. Ilana warned that telling him may change things, so Sawyer flipped out and he and Kate had an argument outside the plane. Jack came to the "rescue" and punched Sawyer. Sayid and Jin had to break up the fight, and they proceeded back to the plane. Meanwhile, Juliet set out to find Jacob, to see if he could stop the others from coming back to the island. Ben caught her escaping, but myseriously let her leave. She found Alex in the jungle and was surprised to know that she remembered, but Karl did not. Alex told Juliet she was planning to kill Ben. Juliet was chased by the smoke monster, and had a vision that James' plane crashed on the beach. While trying to save him, he warned her that if she didn't go back to the barracks, they would all die. She woke up in the jungle where she started.
Everyone caught up? Let's go!
Enjoy,
Sara
*
Yesterday's gone
Tomorrow's here
Can't turn back now
I won't quit
The Secret
[20]
"How close are we?" Sawyer asked. He hadn't been able to keep still or fall asleep on this leg of the flight. Obviously, the coordinates that Kate relayed hadn't been too far from Fiji, and the flight there would, hopefully, take no more than a couple of hours. Sawyer had been glancing at his watch every few minutes since he'd heard this.
"Close," Illana responded, without turning toward him. She was seated in the first row, leaning forward to catch anything that Frank said from the cockpit.
Sawyer turned toward the window. He doubted she had any idea in hell where they were or how close they were. He could see only darkness.
Frank said something from the cockpit that Sawyer couldn't quite hear, but he knew it wasn't for him anyway. No one but Ilana had spoken to him since he got back on the plane, not even Hurley. Ilana had given him a tissue for his face.
They'd all seen what happened, and even if they didn't understand, he'd heard whispers of the story going around the cabin. Sawyer got angry with Kate because she saved Miles' life and He could've hurt her – that was Jack, of course, and he of all people should know that Sawyer wouldn't have done anything more to Kate. But Jack had to defend himself as well: he threw a punch before asking questions.
"You're doing this for you. If you were really doing this for her, you wouldn't be doing anything at all. You know she wouldn't want you to go back." Kate's words echoed in his ears, and that's why he said nothing to their whispers, their accusations. He knew he would trade anyone one the plane just to get Juliet back safely, and earlier that seemed only natural. Now, however, it sickened him. Juliet would never want that.
He turned away from the window only to see Kate staring at him. That's how she'd always been; he'd rough her up, call her out, and she'd still come back. Of course, he thought he'd changed since then. But then again, none of that had ever happened, had it? He glanced away from her.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be coming in for a landing shortly. Please fasten your safety belts," Frank announced. Though his words were said in a joking manner, Sawyer could hear a tinge of shaky, nervous anticipation – maybe dread – in his voice.
Sawyer's stomach flip-flopped, and he fastened the seatbelt around him almost in a daze.
"Where are we landing?" Sayid asked.
"The runway," Ilana replied.
"For the aliens," Sawyer murmured.
Sayid leaned forever, engaging in a hushed conversation with Jack. Sawyer took a breath and leaned against his seat. As he closed his eyes, he felt the plane begin to shake.
"What's going on?" Sun asked in a rushed voice.
"A little bit of turbulence," Ilana responded.
"My ass," Sawyer growled, "It's the damn island."
Much to his surprise, Sun nodded, "This is what happened last time," she said, eyes searching the rest of the cabin, "before they all disappeared."
"No one is disappearing," Ilana said. Her voice was more strained than usual.
"Maybe we all are," Kate said.
"Preparing for landing, folks!" Frank called.
Sawyer gripped tightly to the armrests and braced himself. He clinched his jaw to keep his teeth from clinking together. He could feel the plane's landing gear disengage under his feet and touch down on the rough runway. A terrible noise, like tires squealing on a wet road, filled the plane.
Jack said something; Sawyer could see his mouth moving, but he couldn't hear anything. Something snapped and the plane lurched. Sawyer held himself on his seat, but could see the others, caught off guard, lunge forward in their seats, grabbing at the seats in front of them, the people beside them. He felt as if they were spinning.
"Dude!" Hurley shouted from the seat behind him. Sawyer craned around in his seat, just in time to see the tail of the plane bend toward them, and then everything stopped.
*
Juliet pressed her palms against the hard earth and took a deep breath. "It was just a dream," she said aloud to herself, as if speaking it would make it true. "It was just a dream." She shivered; she'd been out longer than she thought: already, night had descended. She reached around her for her bag, and from it, pulled out a flashlight.
Finally, she pushed herself to her knees and took a look around. She was in the same place she'd fallen, at least she thought it was the same place. In the dim light, she could see trees were pulled from their roots. She was lucky she wasn't dead, at least.
On her feet, she could survey the damage more clearly. There was a straight line of destruction, leading to where she was standing and going no further. She pushed a hand through her hair, which had been pulled from its band and was now waving around her face. She stood still for a moment and was shocked by the overwhelming silence. Usually the jungle was alive with noises, especially in the night, but at this moment, it was still. She could hear only the brush of the breeze in the trees.
"It was just a dream," she said again to herself. She cast a glance at the direction of the uprooted trees and shook her head. It hadn't been a dream; it had been a vision of some sort. Prophetic? She didn't know.
Her first thought was simple – she had to get to the beach. If there was a plane there, maybe she could save them, like she'd seen herself doing in the dream-vision. If there wasn't a plane there, well, she could rest easy, and she could make a decision from there.
However, the dream-vision was still fresh in her mind. James' face. His words. Juliet, go back to the barracks. Go back or we'll all die. She didn't know what it meant; she didn't know if it was true. Maybe it was some terrible trick of Ben's to make her go back to him. But maybe…maybe it wasn't.
She turned back the way she'd come and began to pick her way through the trees. She would go back, if not at the ominous command of her vision, at least to get some answers.
*
"Kate?"
Her name was the first he heard; Jack's voice. From his seat, Sawyer could see Jack's hand move from his armrest to the seat beside him.
"Jin!"
Sawyer couldn't see Sun, she was a couple of seats in front of him, but he hoped to God (if God existed on this island) that Jin was okay. Away a moment of silence, Jin groaned and said something in Korean. Sun replied; Sawyer could tell by her tone that everything was alright.
He could feel a dull ache somewhere behind his eyes, like he'd read an entire book with no glasses on, but as he blinked and attempted to move, the pain lessened. He moved his feet first, then his hands, and finally his head, working himself into an upright position. He could see the cabin, looking most intact. The yellow safety masks dangled uselessly above every seat.
He reached back to feel the back of his head but pulled back his hand quickly. It was sticky with blood. No wonder he'd lost consciousness. Dizzily, he unclasped his safety belt and staggered to his feet, looking behind him. The tail had formed a right angle to the cabin. He couldn't see Hurley.
"Sawyer?" Sayid asked, unbuckling his belt just the same.
"Hurley." Sawyer said. The other man was the nearest to the back, and all he could remember was the tail bending toward them…and Hurley's face. "Hurley?!" Sawyer called, pushing himself down the aisles.
"Dude," was Hurley's reply. Sawyer saw his face in the dim glow of the cabin.
"You alright?" Sawyer asked.
"Uh, yeah," Hurley said, pushing himself out of his seat. He turned, looked at the wall that had formed behind him, and took an involuntary step back. "Dude," he repeated.
Sawyer turned around and stepped over the pieces of luggage that now littered the aisle. "Is everyone okay?"
There were indistinguishable murmurs of assent, but Sawyer heard Jack's voice rising. "Kate? Kate!"
"I'm fine, Jack," Kate said softly.
"Ilana, Frank?" Sawyer asked as he headed toward the front of the plane.
Frank stepped out of the cockpit with a grin. "How's that for a landing?"
"Wonderful," Ilana murmured, the first joke they'd heard her make.
Frank pulled the emergency latch on the door and pushed it open.
"Grab your bags," Ilana commanded, "We will have to make camp for the night."
Once off the plane, Sawyer could feel the sand beneath his feet. He could make out the form of the plane, the tail reaching back toward the jungle and the fuselage toward the beach. "We missed the runway," he said.
"We didn't miss it," Frank corrected, "We just passed it. We ran out of runway, you could say."
Sawyer snorted a response. He couldn't say much; they were lucky to be alive.
"And now what?" Jack was saying to Ilana. Sawyer could see his hands moving, even in the night.
"We camp here for the night. Tomorrow we will find Jacob."
"And Juliet?" Sawyer interrupted.
"Perhaps we will find her as well."
"Perhaps?"
"If Jacob allows it."
Sawyer took a step forward, but Jin stepped in front of him. He placed a hand on Sawyer's arm. "We will find her."
"Follow me," Ilana said. The others gathered their few backpacks and made their way up the shore behind her to set up camp.
"Dude," Hurley was saying to Jack, somewhere behind him. The two were turned to face the ruined plane. "We got here, but now how are we going to get home?"
*
Juliet made her way back to the barracks slower than she liked, but the light from her flashlight wasn't the best for the hike.
As she reached the clearing, she could see Ben's lights were still on. She bypassed her own house and went straight to his. She let herself in without knocking.
Ben sat in the living room, another man with him. As soon as Juliet entered, Ben stood, alarmed. "Juliet," he said. "You're back."
"I am," Juliet said.
Slowly, the other man stood. He was dark-haired and dark-eyed. He smiled slightly at her. She did not return the smile.
"Are they here?" she asked, not removing her gaze from Ben's.
"Who?"
"James and the others. Are they here?"
Ben glanced at the other man. He gave a slight nod. "They are," Ben replied.
"You said if I came with you, you wouldn't hurt him!"
"I had to make changes," Ben replied.
"They crashed," Juliet said. "On the beach."
"How do you know?" Ben said.
"I saw them, when I was in the jungle."
Ben nodded, as if he knew exactly what she was talking about.
"Are they okay?" Juliet asked.
"We don't know."
"You do know!" Juliet said, her voice rising. "Are they okay?! Why did you bring them here!? What do you want with us?!"
"Juliet, I – " Ben began, but the other man stepped forward.
"Juliet, I believe I may be able to answer your questions," he said with a smile. He extended his hand, "My name is Esau, would you like to take a seat?"