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Sawyer and Kate sat by a small fire looking into the embers, a couple minutes past before Kate broke the silence between them.
"Do you think they know what happened to us yet?" Kate asked rapping her knuckles against her chin.
"Yep," Sawyer said tossing a piece a twig he had broken into the fire, he didn't have to ask her who she meant. He knew her to while not know she was speaking of her parents, his had died several years back after which Uncle Sam and Aunt Diana, her parents, had taken care of him.
"We've got to get back."
"We will Freckles, we will," he looked up from the fire to see the doctor walk over to them carrying a couple airplane blankets along with a very pregnant blonde woman, who had already introduced as his sister Claire. "Well if it isn't Jacko and Mamacita."
She sat down and Jack draped one of the blankets over her shoulders then hand the other to Kate, who thanked him. They talked some and between them pieced together the events leading to the crash.
"The smoke could have been from the tail or the front, if it's the front then we could get the transceiver and signal for help," Jack said knowing this from the few flying lessons he had taken before.
"Which means we'll have to check it out in the morning," Kate said.
Jack was about to ask her what she meant by we when a rumbling howl was heard from the jungle behind them.
"What the hell?" Sawyer muttered standing up watching as trees wove as if by a violent gust of wind, but there was no wind. Kate, Jack and Claire also stood moving slowly forward toward the jungle.
"Did any body see that?" Claire asked as trees started to fall.
"Yeah," came the reply from a large man beside her, they knew to be called Hurley. A few of the survivors had moved to stand with their group as if the large the group the safer they would be.
Animal like growls and roars echoed from the jungle to the beach, the waving of the trees slowed and the sound soon stopped.
"Well that just bloody great, ain't it?" said a brit named Charlie, who was standing beside Sawyer, who was beside Kate then was Jack then Claire. Jack and Sawyer stood little ways in front of the girls as if to protect them from what was out there.
Jack stood looking out to the ocean when he heard someone walking over to him, he didn't look up since he knew it was Kate. How he knew he wasn't sure how but he knew.
"So you ready?" she asked standing beside him.
"You don't have to go, just point me in the direction and I can do it on my own," he said not wanting her out there with whatever it was that had made an appearance last night.
"Yes I do, you may need my help with it," she told him stubbornly.
"If Freckles is going then so am I," said a voice, obviously Sawyer's, from behind Kate.
"Alright then," Jack said turning to head toward the lifeguard named Boone, "grab a couple back packs and some water we'll leave in a minute."
Sawyer and Kate stood waiting at the edge of the jungle path way.
"Aww a brit tag-along," Sawyer said spotting Charlie behind Jack.
"Be nice for once," Kate told him in a whisper as they drew nearer.
"All set?" Jack asked, Kate nodded, "okay let's go then."
They left Charlie humming some tune, soon after starting Kate learned that Charlie was in a band called Drive Shaft. About an hour later it started raining.
"Is that normal?" Charlie asked but no one answered him.
Back on the beach it was also raining everyone ran for cover, except and older man who sat there like he welcomed it.
Claire sheltered under the wing looking out at the forest hoping her brother was alright. An elderly black woman named Rose stood behind her. She had been asked by Jack to keep an eye on Claire while he and his group were away.
Growling could be heard from the jungle while over the thunder, the trees swayed in a path as whatever it was moved.
"Jack," Claire murmured, Rose placed a hand on the young mother's shoulder.
"He'll be okay," she reassured her.
It wasn't long after that the group of four found the front of the plane; Jack entered the twisted wreckage first, followed by Kate, then Sawyer, and Charlie brought up the tail.
"Okay get the thing then get out, right?" Sawyer spoke looking up toward the pilots' courtiers at the nose of the plane, which was several feet of the ground.
"That's the plan," Jack said starting his climb.
The way up to the cockpit was steep and gruesome with dead bodies. Sawyer saw one of Kate's feet slip from its foot hold he place a hand out for her to push against. With Jack's help she pulled herself to the last row of sits. Jack tried turning the knob but it wouldn't budge.
"Can you give me the extinguisher," Jack said motioning to the wall near Kate.
Kate moved grabbing it then hand it to him, he moved to hit the door knob.
"Wait," Kate said and Jack stopped, she move to look at Sawyer and Charlie, who had almost reached them, "move out the aisle," which they did. Jack nodded to her then hit the knob, nothing happen so he hit it again, still nothing. On the 7th or 8th hit the handle came off and the door flew open a body which had apparently been on the door fell down the aisle.
"You okay?" Jack asked Kate, who'd given surprised yelp.
"Yeah, Sawyer?"
"Oh peachy, nice call Freckles."
Jack move into the cockpit and helped Kate in.
"I'm fine, Charlie is fine by the way," he state clear a touch peeved no one had asked him.
Jack and Kate found a place to rest for a moment before pulling Sawyer in also.
"Okay," Sawyer said a bit winded, "know if you were a transceiver where would you hide?"
Jack moved to check the side the co-pilot would sit, Kate moved to where the motionless body of the pilot was still in his sit while Sawyer checked the compartments at the rear of the room. No one had yet noticed Charlie slip away.
As Kate reached over the body it gave a sudden gasp and jerk. Kate staggered back and Sawyer grabbed her arm to keep her from falling, Jack moved to the pilot, who coughed.
"Water," Jack said and Kate grabbed some from his bag and handed it him. He poured some of it into the pilot's mouth; he swallowed some and coughed the rest out.
"How many survived?"
"Least 48," Jack told him examining his head wound saying he probable had a concussion.
"How long?" he asked referring to how long they had been crashed.
"16 hours."
"We were about 6 hours in and the radio went died, so we rerouted to Fiji. When we hit turbulence we were least a thousand miles off course," the pilot said shakily. "Their looking for us in the wrong place."
Kate looked down; Sawyer placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.
"We've got a transceiver," pilot said moving to get up.
"You shouldn't move," Jack said pushing him back down.
"Under, it's under my chair," he said and Sawyer grabbed it handing it to him.
"Where's Charlie?" Jack asked.
Kate moved slowly to the door as the pilot tried to get the thing to work.
"Charlie?" Kate said looking around at the bodies but not seeing him. A door behind her opened causing her to jump; she turned to see Charlie looking at her.
"Yes?" he asked.
Kate looked at him quizzically but before she could ask him what he was doing in there a low growl could be heard outside the plane which trembled slightly.
"What the hell?" the pilot said.
"Kate," Jack said in a low whisper leaning out of the front room taking Kate's hand pulling her into the room with him, Sawyer and the pilot. Jack held Kate close to him as Charlie got in too.
"It's outside," Kate breathed.
"What is?" the pilot asked Jack held up his hand and everyone stayed quiet. Kate moved to Sawyer feeling strange that she liked being held by Jack even under the circumstances. Sawyer swallowed as shadows past the window, he held Kate a little tighter as a whining sound could be heard now.
Soon the shadow disappeared and all was quite. Jack moved to a fogged over window, rubbing it but the fog was on the outside. Kate moved to a window on the other side cupping her hand to see if it help but it didn't.
The pilot now out of his captain's chair moved to where a window had been broken out lean out it. He moved some large leaves out of the way, he pulled back placing the transceiver on his chair then leaned out even farther.
There was a growl again and the pilot yelled as something tried to rip him from the plane. His yell had cause Kate to scream, the pilot clung to the sides of the window. But the frame was torn from his grasp and he was pulled from the plane.
Blood stained the outside of the windows crimson and the pilot's screaming died with him.
"What hell was that?" Charlie swore.
The plane shock violently like something was hitting it, trying to get them out. Jack moved to grab the transceiver but the plane lost its purchase on a branch of a tree and fell to the ground this caused the four inside to also fall and knock the transceiver from Jack's grasp. Jack moved to grab it again.
"Jack, we got to go," Kate said and he starched farther, Sawyer pushed her out of the door. Jack grabbed it and ran out after him with Charlie behind.
Kate looked back at them as she ran ahead, suddenly Charlie fell and she stopped. Sawyer stopped and looked back to see him trying frantically to untangle his foot from a root. Jack also saw this and went back to him as he shouted for help.
"Run," Sawyer yelled at her before going to help the doc, he waved her off and after heisting for a moment she ran again.
She skidded in the mud before heading inside a network like tangle of roots of an ancient tree. Gasping for air she looked back in the direction she had come from but no one fallowed her, she whimpered softly.
"Jack!" she yelled, nothing. She gasped for air then screamed again, "Sawyer!"
She looked up as thunder boomed overhead, she whimpered as tears slipped from her eyes, 'no, please no ,' she thought frantically, she had never been more afraid in her life.
She looked in to the empty jungle suddenly remembering the story Jack had told her yesterday, though that seemed like years ago now. She took a shaky breath then start counting to 5 out loud.
"One," she stammered. The other number came out much stronger than the first and stronger still than the one before it.
She took a deep breath her fear ebbing now, she was about to still out of the cage of roots to go back when a sound of a twig breaking could be heard. She spun around to look behind then shock her head no, the sound of rustling wasn't coming from that way.
She turned startled by Charlie, who had appeared seemingly from nowhere. Before registering who he was she pushed at him on reflex, and he started to fall also on reflex he grabbed her arms and the both fell, her on top of him.
"Where's Jack," she asked after hitting the ground "where's Jack and Sawyer?"
"I don't know," he said over the rain.
"Did you see them?"
"Yeah they pulled me up again, but we got separated," he said, Kate looked up at the sound of movement and chuckling.
"Heck Kate" Sawyer laughed, "I know it's been a long time," he was interrupted by more of his own half suppressed laughter, "but now isn't…" he broke into more laughter giving up on his joke. "Oh God I can't even keep a straight face," he laughed as she stood up.
"Where's Jack?" she asked.
"I don't know," he told her between deep breaths as he tried to calm the laughter.
"We have to go back," that got him to shut up.
"You serious?, Kate there's a monster quality to this all," Charlie said getting up.
"Then stay here," she said walking back, Sawyer moving quickly after her to be followed be a stammering Charlie.
Kate walked in the lead, then a jumpy Charlie and Sawyer watching rear in case it came back, the rain had stopped now.
"You know my name is Charlie, right? I mean you only shouted for Jack and Sawyer," he said but she ignored him seeing something shining on the ground in front of her.
She knelt down and carefully picked it up out of the mud, rubbing some of it away. It was the wings and shield that had been on the pilot's uniform. Charlie knelt beside her looking at it and Sawyer stood looking over her shoulder.
"Ain't that the pilot's?" Sawyer asked his southern drawl ever present.
Kate didn't answer she was looking into the puddle before her. It reflected what was above them and it looked like tree branches but there was something else, something human shaped. Kate looked up at the trees and slowly stood staring at it. Sawyer and Charlie looked up know, seeing body of the pilot.
"What the…" Charlie trailed off.
"It's the pilot," said a voice and Jack stepped out of the trees. Kate took a couple steps towards him. She had the urge to hug him and tell him she was glad he was okay but she didn't.
"Did you see it?" she asked instead, he shook his head.
"Any of ya got any thoughts on how he got up there?" Sawyer asked glancing back at the pilot. The others shook their heads. "Great."
The group heads back to the camp and during the trek Kate gives Charlie some encouragement saying that she didn't see him as a coward. Charlie couldn't help but recall, rather shamefully, his use of heroine on the plane shortly before crashing and his retrieval of the tiny bag earlier on the trip.
"You said your father was in the army," Jack said to Kate as she walked beside him. "Would you know how to repair this?" he asked holding up the transceiver.
"Sorry to say no, I know how to use it, but not fix it."
The arrived back at the beach just after noon Jack told the rest they had found the transceiver but it had been damaged in the crash. He asked if anyone might be able to help. A man of Iraqi nationality known as Sayid stepped forward.
"I may be of assistance," he said he accent evident, Jack smiled hopefully to him and hand him the transceiver. The meeting soon broke up afterwards.
"So what's the plan now?" Sawyer asked jogging over to Kate, who was walking fairly quickly down the beach.
"Your plan, no idea. Mine though, I plan to go wash up and change," Kate said heading off around a bind of the shore to secluded place, Sawyer tagged along.
"Then my plan is to make sure none of the guys try spying on you then."
"Whatever," Kate said knowing she wouldn't be able to stop him from trying to protect her from the other guy's less than innocent intentions.
"But for some reason I don't think you would mind if Jack was watching," he teased having caught her glances at him on the trip to and from the front of the plane.
"Shut up Sawyer," she said moving the tree line, he fallowed, "stay," she pointed at the ground. She then walked down to the water, Sawyer stood with his back leaning against a tree watching her.
"Did you know that there is a man watching you from the trees?" Sun said she had forgotten her husband's, Jin, instructions not to speak to anyone. She didn't believe that this would matter since she didn't think the young woman understood her, but when Kate look at her she could not help but try to explain.
"Him," she motioned to Sawyer, who for fun looked away from them, "thought you should know," she said in Korean.
"Thank you," Kate replied also in Korean, this made Sun blink at her a bit surprised, "he is my cousin and decided he would accompany me."
"I didn't expect you to know what I said," Sun said, "my husband won't be too happy to know I spoke to someone."
"The secret is safe with me," she smiled reassuringly and Sun returned it.
"Thank you, I'm Sun."
"Kate."
The two talked for a bit longer before Sun left saying Jin would be wonder what became of her. Kate changed and walked back to the Sawyer.
"Thanks for the heads up," she commented.
"I said the men, watching out for the women is on you."
