"We need to gather supplies. We need fresh water. The rain isn't enough. We need a constant source, something we can rely on. And fruit isn't going to sustain these people for long,"
The four of us were standing in a small circle. Jack stood to my right, arms folded across his chest as he spoke. Kate was beside him, and Hurley beside her.
"Well, I guess we could, like, go out into the jungle and look for stuff. There's gotta be a creek or something somewhere on this island," Hurley said, nodding towards the tree line. Kate glanced at the jungle, frowning some.
"We've been searching the woods for days, we haven't found anything," she said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
"Well we haven't gone in very deep. Locke's out there now, I'm sure he'll be able to tell us a lot more when he gets back. In the mean time, I think it would be a lot more efficient if a few groups of us went out and really checked out the surrounding jungle. We need to get a better idea of what's around us, what we can use," Jack said, glancing around the circle as he spoke. I nodded.
"Yeah…like Hurley said, there has to be some other source of water on this island, and I'm sure it won't take long to find if a lot of us go out there," I offered. Jack nodded.
"Right. So, let's go talk to some people and see who's interested. Kate, you and Hurley round a few others up, Abby and I will get started. We will head north. Send a few others our way when you can, I want to go now so we can get started on this as soon as possible," Jack explained, looking at Kate as he spoke. She nodded once, looking to Hurley.
"Come on."
The two of them headed off towards the beach. I looked to Jack. He smiled lightly.
"Ready?"
I nodded. We walked up the beach a bit more and into the thick line of palms. I followed just behind him, glancing around the forest. The sun dotted the jungle floor in sporadic bursts, giving the trees a golden glow. The wind blew lazily amidst the leaves, rustling in the branches as we passed. Birds whistled and chirped constantly, giving the jungle an eerie uncertainty. I quickened my pace slightly so that my stride was in time with Jack's. I glanced up at him briefly.
"So…you're a doctor then?" My cheeks burned before I had even closed my mouth. Jack chuckled, immediately picking up on my embarrassment.
"Yes, I am," he replied easily, "I was…am…a spinal surgeon. "
"Oh…that's neat. Did you enjoy it?"
"Yes I did. Some parts more than others," he added with a smile, looking in my direction. I grinned.
"I bet."
"What do you do?" he asked, reaching in front of him to brush a low hanging branch from our path. I ducked under it as he held it up.
"I was an artist. Well, I was trying to be, anyway. I worked at a coffee shop…it's not much, but I guess it pays the bills…for the most part anyway," I said, laughing lightly. He nodded.
"Art huh? What kind of art do you enjoy the most?"
"I like painting, mostly. I do some sculpture, drawing…I even write occasionally. Although I'm not that good," I added quickly. He grinned.
"I'm sure you're great."
I felt my cheeks burn again as I attempted to hide a grin. I looked up quickly, pausing midstride. Jack stopped immediately beside me, his expression suddenly stern and focused.
"What is it?" he asked quickly. I frowned slightly.
"Do you hear that?" I said in a low voice. Jack looked around, holding his chin up slightly. He froze.
"Is that…water?" He began walking quickly through the jungle, almost running through the underbrush. I hurried after him, struggling to keep up. Moment later, we broke into a small clearing. The wide mouth of a cave yawned before us, water trickling in and around its depths, becoming a small stream. Jack turned to face me, grinning broadly.
"Let's get back to the beach. We need to get people here as quickly as possible."
We turned around, heading straight back into the jungle. I struggled to keep up with Jack. In his excitement, he nearly ran through the trees, eager to reach the beach. We broke through the jungle and onto the sand, Jack Immediately approaching the nearest group of people, telling them about the cave we had found. We encircled the beach, telling anyone who would listen. Most people were nearly as excited about Jack, others were less enthralled with the idea of moving. They were still hoping for rescue. I was almost a little saddened by their faith.
Jack crossed his arms over his chest, frowning as we stood in the middle of the beach after circling around once. He rubbed a hand over his head, shaking it slightly.
"I just don't understand why everyone won't move to the caves."
"They just want people to be able to see us from the beach, I know they're all grateful that you found a stable water source, Jack," I offered, smiling slightly. He shook his head again.
"No one's going to rescue us, it's just false hope. There's no point in staying out here if it's just going to make things harder to survive. That should be our main focus now, not rescue," he said, running a hand over his chin as he spoke. I looked up at him, smiling sadly.
"I didn't say I agreed with them."
He looked to me, his eyes softening as he processed my tone. He smiled slightly, studying my face.
"Well…at least we can move closer to the caves. Unless you didn't want to. I didn't mean to assume…" he laughed uneasily, shifting his weight in the sand. Heat began to creep up my neck as I giggled. It was strange, seeing the man we had all unofficially dubbed out leader becoming uncomfortable. I smiled up at him.
"Yeah, of course. Moving to the caves is a good idea, I think," I said, trying to convey my assurance. His shoulders relaxed slightly in relief.
"Great. We'll head down there tonight."