Chapter Nine: Drawing The Line

Jack hadn't seen Kate all day. He hadn't bothered looking for her; after all she was a grown woman. He wasn't her keeper. Still, he was surprised; they had planned on going out to look for Violet some more. Maybe she had decided to try searching on her own. It would be like Kate to do that - if she wasn't patient enough to wait for me. Jack sighed, and noticed as the sun was beginning to set. If she was out there, she should have made it back by now. They had both agreed that searching after dark would be dangerous, especially alone.

"Penny for your thoughts, Jack?" Jack turned and saw Locke settling himself near the fire. Jack casually shrugged.

"Nothing John." He replied as calmly as he could. He had never been a big fan of John Locke; the two men were polar opposites. Jack was a doctor, a man of science, where John seemed to believe he possessed some strange connection to the island itself, in almost a religious way. Jack couldn't understand it, no matter how hard he tried.

"Any luck today?" Locke asked with the serene expression he always seemed to wear. Nothing seemed to faze John Locke. Jack puckered his brow.

"Luck?" He questioned.

"Finding Violet." Locke replied. "Did you have any luck?" Jack sighed and looked toward the jungle.

"We didn't look today John." He said, beginning to feel annoyed with Locke's presence. Locke raised his eyebrows.

"You giving up on her, Jack?"

"I don't give up on anyone!" Jack found himself yelling, and he felt like yelling even more when Locke stared up at him, emotionless. Jack exhaled deeply.

"No John," he said through clenched teeth. "I did not give up on her. I'm not going to give up on her until we find her. I didn't look for her today because Kate wasn't around." Locke smiled a little.

"Kate's really taken with that kid, isn't she?" He asked, staring off toward the ocean. "She would have been angry if you had gone looking for Violet without her."

"That's why I didn't go, John." Jack was really beginning to get fed up. Where the hell was Kate? He turned to walk away to see another man he wasn't fond of coming his way. Sawyer.

"What's up doc?" Sawyer asked with his sarcastic grin as he went to pass. Jack stared at him.

"What happened to your eye?" He asked, noticing the purple bruise forming around his right eye. Sawyer seemed to turn a little red, as though embarrassed.

"I walked into something." He lied. "Where is that girlfriend of yours anyway?" Jack laughed a little.

"Who, Kate?" He sighed. "Well Sawyer, to be honest, I haven't seen her since this morning. She went off into the jungle to get breakfast, and I haven't seen her since." Sawyer seemed nervous for a moment, if that were possible.

"You're telling me she didn't come back?" He asked, narrowing his eyebrows.

"No, she didn't." Jack paused. "Is there something you want to tell me, Saywer?" Sawyer eyed Jack, then Locke until he finally threw his arms up in the air, and breathed out angrily.

"It ain't my fault the woman's a spitfire, and a stubborn one at that." He said in too loud a voice. Jack shook his head.

"I'm not following,"

"Look, I may have mentioned to her a chance encounter I had with the Others a few days ago. She got royally pissed and took off."

"Did you tell her exactly where you met up with them?"

"Hell, I don't know. I didn't give her specifics, but she's a smart woman." Sawyer jumped back with Jack whipped around to grab his backpack.

"Where do you think you're going, boyscout?" Sawyer asked, raising an eyebrow. Jack turned to face Sawyer seriously.

"You're gonna take me to that place." Jack said authoritatively. Sawyer stared at him.

"Doc, I ain't sure that's such a good idea. They told me-"

"I don't care what they told you! If you know where I can find them, I want you to take me there! We have to get Violet back, and Walt." Jack began walking toward the jungle. "We'll find Kate along the way."

"I'll come with you," Locke said standing. He ignored Jack's eyes rolling. "I know how to track, I'll be able to get us back once it gets dark." Jack didn't argue; he knew it was true. He only nodded, and the three men set off into the dark jungle.

Everything was dark, and the burlap sack was scratching her face as she forced herself to breath through her nose as calmly as she could. She could feel the ropes burning into her wrists, as she sat on a cold rock, hearing nothing but the sound of feet walking through the mud around her. Kate wanted to curse out loud; she couldn't believe she had let herself be caught by them, by the Others. After Sawyer had told her of his chance encounter with the Others on this very hill, she set out with every determination she would find Violet, and bring her back. It had been like they were expecting her, as they had grabbed her from behind without so much as a warning. She feared for her life, but hoped instead that they would take her back to wherever it was they were holding Violet, giving her a chance to get Violet out, but nobody was moving. She had been sitting on this rock for more than an hour, without any sort of hint as to what was going on.

They're going to kill me. She thought to herself. What good am I to Violet if I'm dead? She thought bitterly to herself as she struggled against the ropes that bound her wrists together.

"Hey!" She tried shouting again, hoping it wouldn't earn her another kick in the ribs, but she would get answers, even if she died with them.

To her surprise, she didn't receive a kick in the ribs, but she did hear footsteps approaching quickly. Somebody grabbed hold of the burlap sack and tore it from her head, causing Kate to blink up in surprise. Her captor was a large man, who looked very strong, but older. His gray beard was long and tattered, as were his clothes.

"Kate, you're quite the stubborn one. I thought my people warned you a few times to keep your mouth shut." The man said in a steady voice, his eyes never leaving hers. Kate refused to look away. She had to be tough, if she wanted to get to Violet.

"Where is she?" She asked quietly, as she shook with fear and anger. "Where's Violet?" The man chuckled.

"Honey, you know I can't tell you that." He laughed a little. "Cute kid, though. She must have had some attractive parents."

"Don't you touch her!" Kate yelled out as she struggled against her ropes. The man grabbed hold of her arm tightly, as Kate winced.

"Don't you be yelling! We don't want anybody to hear you." The man said. Kate stared at him levelly, glaring at him as bravely as she could.

"What are you doing to her? Where are you keeping her?" She asked. The man looked up and nodded at somebody from behind.

"We're done here, Kate. I have a meeting to attend." The man said as he turned to leave.

"Don't you walk away from me! Where is she? Is she okay? What have you done to-" The cloth muffled her speech as somebody gagged her from behind. Tears leaked from her eyes as the man walked out of the clearing, through some bushes and out of sight. What was going on? As she stared around at all the people, some holding rifles, she noticed a young girl, who did not seem as hard and cold as some of these monsters. She stared at Kate, as through struggling with something deep inside of her, a secret of sorts. The girl looked familiar in a way, but Kate couldn't place it. It didn't matter, not now. She had to find Violet. She had to hope these people would take her back with them, so she could find Violet, and get her out.

"Alex! Bring her out!" Kate heard the old man yell from beyond the bushes. Kate felt her heart leap into her throat as everybody stood, holding their guns up, watching Kate. But it was the young girl who approached her slowly with the burlap sack. She pulled Kate up from the rock, and gently placed the sack back over her head. She began pushing her toward the bushes where the man's voice was coming from, and before she pushed her forward through the bushes, Kate heard the girl's voice quietly in her ear.

"Violet's fine." Before Kate could turn and question the girl, she was pushed into the arms of who she guessed was the old man. He pulled the sack away from her head, and as Kate adjusted her vision once again, she saw Jack, Sawyer and Locke standing there with guns, and now shocked expressions on their face. Kate nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a pistol press into her neck.

"Now Jack, I'll ask you once more for you and your group here to lay down your weapons and go on home. This is our island, and the only reason you're living on it is because we let you. So you play by our rules." The man said quietly as Jack stared at him daringly.

"Where the hell is Violet? And Walt? What have you done to the kids?" He yelled, and Kate felt the pistol press harder against her neck. She let out a small gasp.

"Jack, don't make me kill her. The kids are fine. We're taking good care of 'em. Now, put down your weapons Jack." The man cocked the pistol and Kate stared at Jack desperately. Oh Jack, put down the gun, don't let them kill me! I need to make sure Violet's okay! Jack hesitated for only a second, as he, and Locke and Sawyer gently placed their guns on the ground. The old man took Kate with him as he collected the guns on the ground and backed up.

"Nice doing business with you gentlemen. Don't let this happen again." The old man smiled and pushed Kate forward roughly, as she fell into Sawyer's arms. The old man ran into the jungle, as Sawyer untied the ropes from around Kate's wrists, and pulled the gag out of her mouth.

Kate looked at Jack, who wouldn't look her in the face.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a quiet voice. Kate breathed out, realizing how shaky her breathing was. She was still a little shaken up. She managed a nod.

"Then let's get out of here." Jack turned and led the way down the hill they had ascended and Kate tried to follow, turning her head every few seconds to see if she could catch any glimpse of which direction the Others had headed, but once again, it seemed as though they had disappeared into thin air.

"Jack, wait up." Kate called from a distance once they were back on the beach, safe from the Others. Jack turned and stared at her with daggers in his eyes. Kate sighed.

"Hey." She managed. He raised an eyebrow at her and looked away.

"Hey." He said in a low voice. Silence ensued as Kate hesitated. She could feel the coldness radiating from Jack - he was angry at her for running off on her own, something they had both decided would be a bad idea from the start. She swallowed.

"Jack, they told me Violet was fine." She said, breathing out slowly. Jack raised his eyebrows at her again, with a bit of a smile.

"What, and you believed them? Kate, they're liars! How can you be sure they didn't just say that to keep you away from them?" He asked. "Do you think they want you to find her, Kate?" Kate swallowed hard and stared at him with wide eyes, forcing herself not to cry.

"Jack, I have to believe she's alright! It's the only thing that keeps me going right now. It's the only thing that makes me keep looking, keep searching. I know you hate me right now because I took off to find her, but I had to! You have no idea how important it is to me to bring her home!" She screamed out, surprising herself. Jack only looked at her.

"Kate-"

"I'm sorry, Jack, I'm sorry I ruined our chances of finding her and Walt, but I had to. You have to understand that, I just had to!" Kate felt the tears on her cheeks now, and ashamed, she turned from Jack and ran down the beach toward her tent, hearing nothing behind her. She felt alone as silence followed her.