Disclaimer; I don't own Lost or characters, review please
"Any luck?" Kate asked standing next to Sayid.
"Yes and no," Sayid said, "yes, it is working, no I can't get a signal."
"Anyway to fix that?"
"Possible, if we go to higher ground we may get a signal,"
"Okay, how high exactly?" Kate asked, Sayid motioned to something behind Kate. She turned looking up, her gaze traveled up to the top of a mountain.
"Right," she said softly then turned back to him, "I'm going with you."
"That isn't necessary."
"Doesn't change the fact you got yourself a hiking buddy," she said determined just as Sawyer walked over.
"Best make that two," he said, motioning to Kate then himself as he said, "where she goes I go."
"Protective of her aren't you."
"Yeah you could say that," he said as Kate rolled her eyes.
"Alright then grab some supplies, we leave in an hour," he then walked off.
Kate left to tell Jack, who was getting water for the other survivors from a stream. He advised her not to go, but she wouldn't listen so he told if whatever it was showed up again to run and he wished her luck.
She, Sawyer and Sayid meet up about 15 minutes early and were about to leave when the lifeguard Boone showed up with who she thought to be his sister.
"I'd like to go with you," she said.
"No, she doesn't," Boone snapped out.
"Like you know what the hell I want."
"See she normally tried to make rash chooses to piss her family, namely me," he said trying to smooth it over.
"Oh shut up Boone," she turned back to them, "I'm going."
"I don't know if..." Sawyer started, but she glared at him and decided, for once, to not say anything.
"You going?" Shannon asked Charlie, who'd just walk over.
"Aw yeah, are you?" he asked after a brief hesitation.
"Yes."
"Defiantly," he smirked reflexively
"Alright but no more, you three get a backpack and supplies we may be out overnight," Sayid said just wanting to get on with the journey.
About 40 more minutes the three new members of the group showed up and the left. They walked through a clearer part of the jungle filled with tall almost 5 feet grass when someone spoke.
"Can we get a signal here?" Boone asked when they stopped for a moment.
"No," Sayid told him simple as he waited for a few of the others, Charlie, Boone and Shannon, to catch their breath.
"Why?" Boone asked.
"We in a shadow from the mountain," Kate spoke for Sayid.
A soft growl could be heard from deeper in the forest towards their left. A thudding sound, like something was running at them, could be heard.
"Bloody hell."
"Oh God," Shannon said.
"Is that the thing from last night?"
"Sounds smaller," Kate replied.
"Let's not stick around to find out," Sawyer said and they started running.
"This was a bad idea," Shannon said as they ran.
Sawyer turned to look over his shoulder; he saw a large white bear charging after them. He stopped and pulled a gun out of the side pocket of his bag. Kate knew Sawyer wasn't beside her now so she turned to see him standing there aiming at the bear as it drew closer.
"Sawyer!" she yelled about to run back. Sayid grabbed and held her back.
Several shots rang out in succession and the bear dropped sliding forward about a yard. Kate broke out of Sayid's hold and hurried to Sawyer, who was making sure it was died.
"Give me one reason I don't kill you," she snarled after reaching him.
The other four walked over to them and the 6 stood in a semicircle around the bear.
"Is this what killed the pilot?" Boone asked.
"Maybe a tiny little, itty bitty version of it," Charlie said.
"Tiny," Shannon said looking from Charlie to the rather large polar bear.
"What is a polar bear doing on a tropical island?" Kate said, the others blinked at the bear as if they just notice it was a polar bear.
Jack sits down by Claire having finished checking on the injured; neither said anything for a while when Claire broke the silence.
"So are you worried about her?" she asked looking over at him.
"Her who?" Jack asked as he kept looking out at the sea.
"Oh come on Jack. Kate."
"I'm worried about all of them," he said telling a half truth.
"Yes, but you're more worried for though, aren't you?" she persisted.
'But why, I've known her for only a day,' he wondered when Claire jumped giving a tiny squeak of surprise, Jack turned to her.
"He kicked," Claire smiled rubbing her stomach.
"He," Jack repeated also smiling as Claire took his hand a placed it on her swollen stomach so he could feel.
"It can't be a polar bear," Boone said knelling beside the dead bear.
"It's a polar bear," Sayid and Shannon said together, this made Shannon blush some but the others didn't see.
"Yeah but they don't live in the tropics," Charlie pointed out.
"Well this one did," Sawyer told him.
"Where did that come from?" Sayid asked Sawyer.
"A bear village, how the hell should I know?"
"Not the bear, the gun," he clarified
"Oh, off one of the bodies, guess he was security or something."
"You took it off a body," Boone said.
"Yeah, thought it may come in handy, and guess what I just shot a bear," he pointed to the bear with the gun he still held.
"We should keep moving," Sayid said walking off putting an end to any further conversation.
After about ten minute Sayid pulled out the transmitter and began to turn a couple knobs on it.
"We're high enough?" Charlie asked.
"Yes I believe so," he turned a knob a little more and static began to filter from a speaker. He stopped and looked at, "we got a bar," he said softly then held it to his ear as the rest of the group grew closer to him. "Mayday," he repeated into it.
A high pitched sound, like from a microphone that was too close to the speakers.
"What is that?" Boone asked.
"It's feedback but from what I'm not for sure," Sayid said then paused, "but it may be that we can't transmit because something else already is transmitting."
"From where?" Sawyer asked.
"Close, the signal is strong."
"Maybe there are more survivors," Boone said.
"From our plane, how would then have one," Shannon argued.
"What kind of transmission is it?" Sawyer asked.
"I don't know. Could be a radio or a sat. phone," Sayid speculated.
"Can you tune into the signal?" Kate asked.
"I'll try," Sayid said turning a knob slightly.
"Must be the rescue party," Charlie hoped. A French woman's voice could be heard now. "The French are coming. I've never been so happy to hear French," he said happily jumping around talking about rescue and French foods and snails.
"That's not a rescue party," Shannon said.
"Do you speak French?" Sayid asked her.
"Some, it said something about other, dead and it killing them," Shannon said.
"Oh no, no" Sayid said look at the transmitter.
"No?"
"What no?"
"The battery is dying," Sayid said.
A male voice could be heard, "Iteration 17294532."
"That weird," Charlie stated.
"It's on a loop. Next the number will end in a 3," Sayid said.
"Freckles, you speak French. What's she saying?" Sawyer said over the woman.
"Iteration 17294533," came the male voice. Then was the woman again and everyone one staid quiet listening.
"I'm alone on the island now. The others are dead." Kate said part of it letting Shannon finish.
"It killed them. It killed them all."
No one said anything and all that could be heard was the man's voice.
"Iteration 17294534."
"16 years."
"What?" Sawyer asked Sayid.
"The message is almost 30 seconds long, repeating," he looked up from the transmitter. "It's been repeating for 16 years and 5 months, if it is repeating then they must still be here."