Okay, so I couldn't think of a song for this chapter. If anyone has a song that relates to the chapter in anyway, let me know.

Locke and the Key

Chapter 11

"Did you hear that?" Ewan's head whipped around to face the rest of the group.

Sayid eyed him curiously, "Hear what?" he asked. It was the most excitement they had had so far and Sayid was plainly interested. Anything was better than staring at his mud-splattered boots as he had been doing for the past thirteen hours.

"I heard him," Ewan was looking frantically about. "I heard--" He spun round in circles, turning at every little noise like a madman. "You didn't hear that?" Ewan turned to Sayid.

"I didn't hear anything," now Sayid watched Ewan with a more concerned eye.

"Sorry, then. Sorry," Ewan attempted to calm down as the group continued to trudge on. Strangely, he began to linger at the back of the group as opposed to leading it, as he had done for the past day.

Sayid trailed behind with him. "Care to tell me what you heard?" he asked discreetly.

Ewan's eyes wandered away, "I didn't hear anything. It was just… my mind." He rubbed his forehead with his palm and turned away from Sayid.

Sayid rested his hand on Ewan's shoulder. "You can tell me," he said softly.

Ewan brushed Sayid's comforting hand away and hiked up to the front of the group. Sun and Jin eyed him questionably as Sayid shook his head.

Suddenly, something made Sayid look back up again. Ewan was staggering up to lead the group and seemed to be having trouble walking in a straight line. He turned to Sun and Jin. Their faces were flushed and they were losing their energy. Sayid smiled wanly and announced to the group, "I think it would be best if we stopped to rest."

Ewan turned to him. "We don't need to rest," he said with a vicious glare.

"You look tired," Sayid said to Ewan. "We're all tired. We've been hiking for nearly five hours without food."

Jin nodded his head after Sun translated to him. The three of them gathered in a circle and made plans for a fire as Ewan pouted ten feet away. He growled and then headed over towards the rest of the group. His eyes dodged Sayid's as he grumbled, "What do I need to do?"

"Gather fire wood with me. Jin is staying here to look after Sun."

"Is that his excuse?" Ewan snarled.

Sayid ignored him and the two men trudged off into the jungle. Ewan led the way and Sayid followed closely behind. As he stepped over and around the plant life, Ewan tugged the wind breaker jacket over his head.

"Where did you find that?" Sayid broke the tense silence.

"The boat," Ewan muttered.

"Do you think it was your friend, Desmond's?" Sayid came to the conclusion Ewan hoped he wouldn't.

"Assuming he was in a solo race around the world, yes," Ewan snapped.

Sayid realized he had hit a soft spot as Ewan hung his head low and scoffed. The boy hasn't spoken about Desmond for awhile. Usually he just can't hold it in… Sayid frowned as he realized he had just referred to Ewan as a boy when he was probably the same age as Sayid. So why did Sayid feel older than him?

Perhaps it is because he acts so immature. Whining about everything, unhappy when things don't go his way. Or perhaps it is because ever since I've met him, all he can do is cling to that Desmond like a drowning man to a life raft. Whatever it is, it is plain to see he does not know as much as I do. It is good that he listens to my orders--

"You thinking about me?" Ewan smirked.

Sayid was too dumbfounded to speak.

"'Cause you really shouldn't be." Sayid's reaction proved to Ewan that his guess was right. "I'll tell you anything you're wonderin'." Ewan catching Sayid like that seemed to brighten up his mood. "These okay?" Ewan pointed to a bunch of twigs.

"They're fine," Sayid said softly. He bent to help Ewan pick them up. "How is it that you haven't spoken of Desmond lately?" Sayid tried.

"I don't wanna talk about him," Ewan muttered, his mood suddenly changing.

Sayid looked up worriedly. He watched Ewan's solemn expression as he carefully gathered the twigs. He was concerned with Ewan's actions lately. He seemed out of it and hadn't been acting like his normal self. What was it that had affected his mood? Sayid thought back, but couldn't find a climax point in their journey.

X x x

Soon, the four of them had been huddled around a warm fire for quite awhile. Sun had just finished sharing her thoughts on what the purple sky had been from. Sayid had been listening, Jin had been wrapping his arms around Sun to keep her warm and Ewan had been sitting there, pouting.

Finally, Sayid spoke up, "I think we should get some rest now."

Everyone nodded their heads at this idea and began to settle in for the night. Sun and Jin cuddled on the left side of the fire while Ewan followed Sayid to the right. Ewan wrapped the windbreaker around him like a blanket. Sayid folded his arms on the dirt and cradled his head in them. He laid with his stomach pressed against the hard earth and stared at the bushes in front of him. He knew it would be hard to get to sleep. Every little sound nature made kept his eyes wide open. And every little sound Ewan made--with his tossing and turning--made it even worse. After about forty minutes, Sayid couldn't stand it any longer. "Would you please stay still?" Sayid said irritably.

Ewan turned to face him and muttered groggily, "Sorry, mate." He eyed Sayid and positioned his body the exact same way. He realized he wasn't able to sleep either. "I'm so tired," he said, "But I can't sleep."

"I know the feeling," Sayid chuckled.

Ewan buried his head further into his arms and attempted to sleep once more. After five minutes, he figured it was useless. He turned to Sayid, "Today… today in the woods…" Sayid brought a look to his face that said he was ready to listen. "I heard Desmond. I know it's crazy, but I did. It's… I…"

"What did he say?" Sayid asked curiously.

Ewan sighed. "And I quote," he smirked, " 'Is anyone else with yeh, brotha?'"

"Hmm…" Sayid looked puzzled. There wasn't much more for him to say. He couldn't think of many comforting words at the moment.

Ewan hadn't expected him to. "I know… it's weird… I know," he smiled. He turned on his side to face Sayid. Ewan watched him, waiting for him to say something else and wrapped the jacket sleeves around his bare arms.

"Why don't you want to tell me about him?"

"Who?"

"Desmond."

Ewan smiled softly. "I dunno…" he lied. "I guess I just have… mixed feelings about the guy right now."

"And why's that?" Sayid asked.

Ewan didn't even realize who he was admitting this all to. He didn't even realize why. He just knew that he needed to tell someone. "I mean, I really wanna see him again… he's my friend and all that rubbish… but…" he seemed to be trying to find the right words. "Well, first of all, we lost his boat. How am I supposed to report that to him? And second of all, how am I supposed to greet him? A hug? A handshake? A hi? Am I supposed to tell him that I missed him or just say it's good to be back? I just… I don't know. And then… well the purple sky… we don't know what's happened over there. He could be hurt… or even worse. I could return there and he could be dead." Ewan nearly choked on the last word.

Sayid hadn't the slightest idea what to say. No one had ever been this open with him. He knew people thought of him as a good listener, but he never expected anyone to tell him anything like that. "I'm sure they're all fine," Sayid said softly.

"I hope so," Ewan smiled.

"Yes, they'll be alright," Sayid said.

"Thanks…" Ewan replied. "For listening."

"You're welcome."

So send some reviews my way. And guys... I don't mean to gripe but today we were talking about writing critisizm and let's just say... I haven't had some good critisizm in a long time. Matter of fact, I'm not even sure if I'm spelling the word right. So PLEASE if there was any part you felt was awkward or if you think Jin is totally out of character, let me know!

Also, I'd like to think hershygal and mindreader and J'amie L'amour for actually taking the time to review pretty much every chapter. I love you all!

Guess what? Lost is on tonight!! Did you see last week's episode with Desmond's wardrobe? That was pretty sweet. And I've started a new lost fic by the way. It's called Life is But a Dream. Check it out folks.

See yeh in anotha life, brothas