Thanks for the reviews. I was really excited about posting that chapter (hence me not being able to wait twenty-four hours!), so I'm glad you enjoyed it. That said, I now have a new favourite… ;)
Chapter 11. Who Are You?
"Jack!" Kate called as she scurried alongside him, willing him to stop and talk to her, but he walked on as if she hadn't spoken, refusing to look at her even when she crawled into their shelter after him.
It was as if he couldn't stomach the sight of her; the next hour was one of the most torturous of her life as they sat in silence barely two feet apart, waiting for the rain to ease up enough for them to continue their trek. She wanted to say something to make him hate her less, to tell him that he was wrong, that she hadn't been trying to use him, or take advantage of his feelings for her, but her head was still such a mess that she couldn't be sure that that wasn't all their second kiss was. She liked him, more than she wanted to admit; the moment they'd shared hiding from the monster was everything she'd imagined it would be, maybe more; but she was still married to Kevin, and a part of her still loved him, even if he wasn't the same man she'd fallen for. She wished that that wasn't the case, that she could hate him for what he'd done, what he might still be doing; it would make moving on with Jack so much easier; but she couldn't, not when she was guilty of betraying him too. They'd been together for months and she still hadn't told him her real name; even if he was sleeping with another woman, she couldn't be sure that what she was doing with Jack wasn't worse since it went beyond a purely physical attraction.
"We came here to find Kevin, so let's just get it over with," Jack said in a detached tone when the sun began to return, creeping forward until he was clear of the opening. The rain had faded to a light trickle; not enough to cloud their vision or inhibit their movements, but enough to make them both cold and uncomfortable as they started in the direction they'd run from.
It wasn't long before the silence became unbearable again, the harsh sound of his breath setting her on edge as he seethed alongside her; she cleared her throat, determined to have it out with him once and for all so that there could be no more confusion. "I just want you to know how sorry I am, Jack – I never mean to hurt you like that," she began, tugging on his bicep in a desperate attempt to get him to acknowledge her, but he shook her hand off with a look of disgust.
"No, you meant to hurt Kevin," he agreed in an icy tone, still focused on the trees ahead. "You're just sorry that it backfired, and you got caught."
He didn't wait for her to confirm or deny this, picking up the pace so that he was walking a few steps ahead. She tried catching him up, but every time she reached his side he would take a few more exaggerated strides, leaving her behind again. He didn't seem to want anything more to do with her beyond fulfilling the promise he'd made their first night on the island, so eventually she gave up, trudging along tired and despondent in his wake.
"I really like you," she murmured, too softly for him to hear when he wouldn't give her an opening to finish. "I wish it didn't happen the way it did, but I don't regret kissing you. If things were different…"
There was no use talking to him when he was being so pig-headed; picking a branch off a tree, she stabbed angrily at the ground, wishing she'd never let Kevin talk her into coming to Australia. The whole thing was a disaster, from the plane, to Jack, to Ana Lucia. If they'd just stayed home, then none of it would've happened, and she'd still be happy, living in her blissful state of denial, believing that everything was perfect.
With nothing more to say to each other, and no desire on at least one of their parts to start, they didn't stop again that day, pushing on until well after dark. Even though they'd been walking for hours, and she was bone weary and desperate for the refuge of sleep, Kate didn't try to convince Jack to make camp, reluctant as she was to spend another awkward night with him in the jungle. He'd stopped trying to lose her by then, walking tense and protective at her side, but he wasn't any less surly or taciturn than he had been that afternoon when they set out.
They had one tiny torch between them, but it was too small to cut much of a swath through the darkness, so they lit two branches on fire, carrying them to illuminate their way. Kate had never been afraid of the dark, welcoming it as a source of cover while she was on the run, but she felt herself growing nervous as they crept deeper into the heart of the unknown; everything in the jungle looked different at night, the trees casting monstrous shadows ahead of them, reminding her that that thing was still out there, waiting to swallow them up.
"Jack," she whispered when something rustled the bushes nearby, making her start and almost jump out of her skin, "I'm not sure we should keep going like this. We don't know what's out there." She was more afraid of this place than she was of him, so she figured she could brave another uncomfortable campfire discussion if it meant not having to delve any further into it tonight. Who knew? He might even have calmed down enough to let her finish making her apology for the kiss.
He glanced over at her, taking in her taut expression, and nodded, thankfully willing to put aside their differences for now. "We'll stop as soon as we find a place big enough for a fire," he agreed.
With a grateful smile, Kate continued alongside him for another forty yards or so, until she caught sight of a warm orange glow, like an existing fire, off to one side. "I think… I think there's someone there," she told him, squeezing his arm; he looked at her quizzically, following her gaze.
"There's someone there all right. Give me that branch," he said when he saw it, his voice rising in alarm as he took it from her, tossing it onto the ground and stamping it out. He did the same to his own, his hand finding hers in the darkness as they crept forward, towards the source of the light.
When they were close enough to make out a group of twenty or so strangers huddled around a campfire, he stopped, signalling for her to be quiet.
"Who do you think they are?" she asked a moment later when she couldn't see any sign of Kevin among them; their clothes were ragged and dirty, like they'd been in the crash, but aside from that, there was nothing to identify them as fellow survivors.
"I don't know," he replied, ducking down a little lower in the undergrowth. "More of our people maybe. I wish I could hear what they were saying."
Doubled over so that he was almost on his hands and knees now, he moved closer, pulling her along with him. They were little more than ten yards from the gathering when, with one false step, her foot came down on a twig with an audible snap, causing the people around the fire to look up. Realising what she'd done, she cringed and covered her mouth with her free hand as she waited for them to react; panicked voices followed, and then the clearing went dark, as if someone had poured water on the blaze to extinguish it.
"Okay, that's not good," Jack murmured, letting go of her hand again as he straightened and began to retreat. "I think we should get out of here."
He started running back towards the path and she ran after him, feeling her way through the darkness until her hands came into contact with another body; she could tell it wasn't his, because she could hear him crashing through the jungle ahead of her, but she couldn't stop quickly enough to keep herself from slamming into it.
Whoever it was was stronger than her; after a brief scuffle, she found herself being dragged to her feet, her hands pinned behind her back as a sharp object was pressed into her jugular. "Who are you?" a female voice with a hint of an accent rasped, pushing harder when she didn't respond. Kate was afraid to move or speak, tears coursing down her cheeks as she wondered if this woman was going to kill her. It wasn't like she didn't deserve it, but that didn't make the experience any less terrifying. "What the hell do you want? Why did you take those people from our camp?"
She seemed to want an answer; Kate was trying to find her voice to tell her that she had no idea what she was talking about when a dim light clicked on in front of them, nearly blinding her as Jack's face came into view. He looked scared, but mostly confused, as he took in the scene unfolding in front of him, turning the torch back on himself so that Kate's assailant could see him properly.
"You," she heard the woman say, loosing her grip enough for Kate to let out the breath she was holding, but she didn't release her, her makeshift knife still hovering dangerously close to her throat. "You were on the plane."
Jack opened his mouth to respond, closing it again when another voice broke into the conversation, low and angry, but not directed at them. "Let her go, Ana – that's my wife."
Hee, hee… I'm jumping up and down in my seat thinking about the next few chapters. Hopefully I'll be able to turn the screw a little further and surprise you. I was gonna have Rousseau, but that seemed like too much of a digression, so I decided to move the plot forward again instead… ;)