All eyes remained fixed on Hurley as they all sat around in what could only be described as a sort of waiting room. There was no table, just several stuffed chairs scattered around the room. Eloise Hawking stood to the front while Richard remained standing in the back, leaning against the wall and looking, in Miles' opinion anyway, like a kid that just found out there is no Santa Claus.
All of them except Richard took seats while Eloise stood before them and began explaining. "Mr. Paik has been searching for his daughter ever since she left Ji Yeon with her mother and then disappeared on the Ajira flight. It seems that Sun had a controlling interest in Paik Industries and left her interest in the company in a trust fund for the benefit of Ji Yeon. It also has very specific terms that prevent Mr. Paik from getting his hands on that interest."
"So what does he want with us?" Sawyer asked.
"He needs Sun Kwon declared legally dead, and to do that immediately he needs her body. All of you were declared dead and now he's discovered that you are, in fact, alive and living under assumed identities. Naturally, since Kate and Frank supposedly disappeared in the same Ajira flight as Sun, Mr. Paik believes that his daughter may be alive and in hiding. He is a ruthless man and you don't know what he's capable of doing to get the information that he wants, which at the moment is the location of his daughter."
"Sun and Jin died when the submarine blew up. There's no way to recover the body even if we did know the way back."
Eloise shook her head slightly at Kate's words. "Do you expect Mr. Paik to just believe that?"
"So what do we do? Hide for the rest of our lives?" Everyone turned to face Richard as he spoke so he continued. "Or does the answer lie in why Hugo Reyes is here?"
"Dude, I just came here to tell you all that I'm fine and I don't need saving." Hurley sounded annoyed and he glared at them all as he spoke.
"But it sounds like we do, so will you help us?"
He turned to Kate and smiled. "Yeah, I'll help you. You see, I need your help as much as you need mine because Mr. Paik isn't just after you guys, he's after the island."
"And why is Mr. Paik after the island?" Richard asked.
"Because the heart of the island is the source of life, death and rebirth," Eloise answered. "It's also a powerful source of energy, which is the main reason Mr. Paik wants the island. Electricity is a highly sought resource, after all."
"He wants to use the island like a power plant?"
"Yes, Kate, he does. He wants to harness the energy that is at the heart of the island."
"What's so bad about that? Hell, the world needs renewable energy right?"
"There are things that you don't understand, James. Things that very few people understand about the island." Eloise sighed and sat in an empty chair. "But I shall try to explain. Richard, you may want to take a seat because this could take a while." She waited as Richard moved forward, taking a seat next to Miles before continuing. "At the heart of the island is a light, and that light is part of every living thing on this planet."
Sawyer clucked his tongue and shook his head. "And here I thought maybe we were going to get science."
"Oh but there is science, Mr. Ford. At least, there is scientific data to back up what I'm telling you – or did you think the US Army landed there because of dumb luck?"
"So there is an explanation for the island and what happened?"
"There is an explanation for how the island was located and even for some of the things you experienced, Kate, but there are a good many things for which I'm afraid I don't have an explanation."
"So why don't you tell us what you do have an explanation for, Eloise."
She gave an irritated sigh. "Or perhaps I should start with telling everyone what occurred after they tried to detonate the bomb at the Swan site."
Richard leaned back in his seat and stared at the wall behind Eloise, refusing to make eye contact. "Sorry," he mumbled after a few seconds.
"Forgive me if I give you the Quantum Physics for Dummies version, but it's far shorter. All around us is electromagnetic waves. Radio waves, microwaves, infrared...they're all different frequencies along the electromagnetic spectrum. Each of us is giving off electromagnetic waves on the infrared spectrum, and the light that we see by is the visible spectrum of electromagnetism. The pockets of what the Dharma Initiative called 'exotic matter' are sources of particular frequencies of electromagnetic waves.
"Now these electromagnetic waves can transport energy across space, which is why Paik Industries is after the island. What you need to know is that if he does that, it will change the frequency of the island itself. That's what happened when Ben turned the wheel; it changed the frequency of the island. When those in the helicopter saw the island vanish, what actually happened was that the island moved outside the visible spectrum of electromagnetic waves."
She paused and Sawyer shook his head. "And what the hell does all of that mean?"
"Would you like to know what happened when you were experiencing the flashes, Mr. Ford? When you were moving through time?"
"Doubt I'm going to understand a word of it, but go ahead."
"The light – the heart of the island – is within every living creature. It's why even now, each of us is emitting electromagnetic waves. With enough time or the right exposure to the island, one becomes in sync with the changes to the island's frequencies." She smiled at Richard. "That is why John Locke disappeared but you and the others were unaffected. Only those that were...well, foreigners to the island were sent to different time periods in an attempt to modulate the electromagnetic wave frequency. Benjamin Linus was never meant to turn the wheel and be excised like that. He was more a part of the island than anyone because he had been healed by the island, so it was his removal via the wheel that threw the island, or at least the heart of it, into turmoil. John Locke's removal through the same mechanism countered that until the Ajira flight returned with Locke's body. That's why Kate, Jack, Sayid and Hurley were sent back to 1977, and it's why you all returned to 2007 after the incident at the Swan site."
"Because of a bad frequency?"
"Have you ever had a radio that wasn't quite tuned to the right frequency, so it was between stations? Well that's what happened between you and the island. It's why you experienced the nosebleeds and the headaches and, sadly, it's the reason Charlotte died."
"And what does this have to do with Paik wanting the island?"
"There are other pockets of 'exotic matter' scattered across the planet, all of them connected to the island. Most of these pockets are located in areas that have a lot of seismic activity – such as Los Angeles. When Ben turned the wheel, there was a wave of small but escalating earthquakes. If Paik Industries were to tap into the energy of the island, there would be earthquakes world wide and of a catastrophic scale, just for a start."
"Is that what would have happened if the island had sunk and the monster escaped?"
"Yes, Kate." She paused for a moment. "Thankfully you were able to shoot Locke and Jack was able to turn the light back on before anything serious happened to the rest of the world."
"I still don't understand why we're here," Richard said, standing up. "We came here thinking maybe Hugo and Ben needed our help, which they clearly don't, so-"
"I do need your help, dude. All of you." When all eyes turned to him, Hurley continued. "Like I said before, Ben and I get along good and all but I...I'm not used to being alone with just one other person and Ben's not handling it so well either. Besides, neither one of us really knows what we should do to protect the island. I mean, Richard has the most experience and-"
"I don't know anything, Hugo. Jacob kept me in the dark."
"But you kept your people together, and you made sure they were, like, ok and stuff after Ben and Locke were gone and there was no leader. You know how to make sure people survive on the island."
"So what, you want me to write you out an instruction manual?"
Hurley looked down and his lip trembled. "I was hoping you'd be willing to come back...just for a little while..."
"Then why didn't you-"
"You needed to hear what Eloise had to tell you first so you would understand what is at stake. I understand if you don't want to but...I really hope you'll help me."
"Of course I will." Richard managed a gentle smile. "I will come back to the island and help you and Ben."
"Thanks dude."
"What about the rest of us?" Kate asked.
"Mr. Paik has spies in Mittelos and in the Widmore Corporation, which is how he found you. It's also given him an idea of how to find the island and sooner or later he'll realize that he already has half of the equation in his possession," Eloise told them. "He has Ji Yeon."
"Aaron is the other half?" Kate voices trembled as she stood up. "Aaron's in danger and you're going on about frequencies and-"
"Kate, Aaron is fine," Richard said, going over to her and resting a hand on her arm. "I have people – people that I know I can trust completely – watching Claire and Aaron. Please believe me, they are perfectly safe."
"And I have people watching them as well," Eloise told her. "They are safe. I would never let anything happen to Aaron. I would think you would at least respect me enough as a mother to believe that."
"You sent your son back to the island knowing that you would kill him. Why should I believe you give a damn about Aaron?"
"My son had a part to play and there was nothing I could to change that."
"How do you know that?"
"Life is a series of circles, dear. Every event in your life until the moment you left the island the last time was already determined because you, yourself, set the chain of events in motion when you decided to return to the island on the Ajira flight."
"So now what? Are we still living some circle?"
"Not that I'm aware of. Which isn't to say that you aren't, but I'm no more aware of it then you were. I only knew what was in Daniel's journal when he died. I knew that all of you would decide to return to the island in 2007 because he noted that you had returned to the island. He made notes about a lot of things." Eloise stopped talking and just stared blindly at her own hands for a moment.
"I'm sorry." Kate reached out and put her hand over Eloise's. "I had no right to say what I did, and I can't imagine the pain that you've felt all these years. If you say that Aaron is safe, I believe you."
"Thank you dear." Eloise smiled, then patted Kate's arm and turned away.
"That still leaves us with the question of what the hell we're supposed to do?" Sawyer asked, clearly getting irritated.
"The other pockets of light around the world that are connected to the island all need guardians. That's kind of what I need you guys for. To watch over the other lights." He turned to Kate before she could object. "There's one in Australia, not far from where you and Claire and Aaron live. It's not like you need to stand guard 24 hours a day. Just be close enough that you can tell if something's wrong."
"Let me get this straight. You want us all to move to be close to some pocket of energy so we know if something's wrong with it? How would we know if something's wrong with it?" Frank asked, finally speaking.
"That's why I kinda need you all to come back to the island with me. See, all those pockets are connected to the one on the island, and all of you have enough connection to the island that if you just come back and drink some of the water from the pool, you'll be able to sense if there's a change in the frequency."
"And what if we don't want to do this?"
Hurley looked down at the floor for a moment, then back up before answering Sawyer. "It's your choice, dude. You don't have to do it if you don't want to, but...I really hope you will do it. If not, you already got a taste of what will happen when the island started to sink."
"Damn it, Hugo, after all that we went through to get off that island..."
"Like I said, it's your choice. At least come back with me for dinner. One last roast boar, for old time's sake?"
"I'm in," Miles said, standing up.
"Yeah, me too." Frank stood up and stood next to Miles. "I've certainly got nothing to lose."
"All right, I'll come back and have one last dinner on the island." Sawyer turned to Kate. "What about you, Freckles?"
"We can leave at any time?"
"Yep. You can leave and come back here anytime you want, I promise."
"I don't know...I promised Claire-"
"It's ok, Kate. I understand. Eloise can have her driver take you to a safe place until you can catch a flight back to Australia but I really think you'd be safer coming back to the island. Just for a little while."
She turned to Eloise. "You'll make sure Claire and Aaron will be safe?"
"I will."
"You know, what I don't get is, if you were helping Ben get Jack and Company back to the island, why not just have them use the doorway here? Why crash a plane and kill innocent people?" Miles asked.
"Jacob said that the Ajira plane was the only way it would work to get Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid back to 1977."
"That's not how I'm going to do things, guys. I'm not willing to kill innocent people. I hope you all know that."
"I never thought for a second that you would hurt anybody, Hugo." Sawyer came closer and rested a hand on Hurley's shoulder. "What do you say we get going?"
"Everybody ready?"
Kate nodded. "The sooner we get back there, the sooner we can leave, right? I'm ready."
"Come on then." Hurley went over to the wall and pulled back a drape to reveal a wooden door.
"That's it?" Richard laughed a bit. "Plain old wooden door, huh?"
"Yeah, plain old wooden door. You know, hiding in plain sight and all that," Hurley said as he opened it. "Everybody hold hands, like when you were in kindergarten. Just as a precaution."
"You have got to be kidding me," Sawyer said.
"Look, we're all grown ups here, there's no chance of catching cooties so just everybody hold hands."
Kate couldn't help but smile at Hurley's words. "He's right, you know. Come on, let's all hold hands." She grabbed Sawyer's hand with her right and Hurley's with her left. "All right, children, do as Hurley said and get going."
There was a bit more grumbling but once they had formed a line and everyone was holding onto someone else, Hurley walked through the door and the rest of them followed, exiting in a stone cave lit by torches. The sound of running water could be heard nearby.
"Where are we?" Frank asked as they all looked around, their eyes adjusting to the dark.
"The tunnels," Richard answered.
"Yeah, this will lead us to the statue." Grabbing one of the torches, Hurley led them to some stone steps that took them up inside the foot of the statue where they squinted as sunlight shone through the open roof. "Hey, Ben, you here?" There was no answer and Hurley sighed. "You guys can stay here if you want, I'm going to find Ben and see about fixing us all dinner."
Richard had walked over to the tapestry and was running his fingers over the finished cloth, so Miles joined him.
"You've never been in here before, have you?"
"I've been in here, it's just...different with Jacob gone."
"I guess it would be strange, coming back here now. You know if you want to talk or...hell, I don't know...just, tell me if there's anything I can do."
"I will." He managed a slight smile. "And thanks. I appreciate it."
"Any time. That's what friends do, right?"
"I'm going outside, get some fresh air," Frank announced, heading for the opening Hurley had gone out.
"Me too," Sawyer said. He went out with Kate behind him.
Richard turned to Miles who was still standing beside him. "I'm going out there too; there's nothing in here that I need to see and I would like to see Ben again."
"Come on then, let's get some fresh air and see what trouble Ben managed to get himself into while Hurley was gone."
"What makes you think Ben did anything?"
"Are you kidding? He's Ben; it's sort of a given that he did something."
Richard just chuckled and followed Miles outside. Hearing the ocean waves, feeling the sand and the salt spray, he closed his eyes and smiled. It felt like home, but it also felt like something was off. "Hugo? Ben?" He looked around and started yelling louder. "Hugo! Ben!"
"There was no sign of either of them when I got out here," Frank said. "I figured Hurley went off to get Ben. Let's not assume the worse."
"Something ain't right," Sawyer said, turning to Kate. "Freckles, you go back inside the statue and wait there." He looked around at the rest of them. "You should all go wait in the statue."
"What about you?" Kate asked.
"I left Hugo behind once, I ain't doing it again. Most likely he and Ben are wandering the jungle trying to catch a damn boar but I have to be sure. I'll be back." He looked at Richard. "You in?"
Richard nodded. "Yes, I want to find them too. The rest of you should go back inside. If we're not back in half an hour, go back through the doorway to Eloise."
Frank nodded and began guiding Kate back towards the statue. "I'll be sure Kate gets back."
"I'll search too."
"Miles, we don't-"
"Hey, three pairs of eyes can see more than two pairs, right?"
"Yes, but if we get killed we need you to find us and tell Frank and Kate what our last thoughts were so they know what happened. You can't do that if you come with us and get killed yourself."
Miles cringed at Richard's words. "Ok, that is just...morbid."
"Get back to the statue, Enos. Ain't nobody going to die out here."
Miles knew he wasn't going to win the argument so he sighed. "Fine, I'll go wait in the statue but if you aren't back in half an hour I'm coming looking for you."
"Fair enough," Sawyer told him. After Miles disappeared into the statue, he turned back to Richard. "Any idea where to start looking?"
"The footprints head towards the jungle here," Richard pointed, "and we used to have good luck hunting boar in this area so it's likely Ben went there if he was trying to catch one for dinner."
"It's a starting point at least." Sawyer took his handgun out of his belt and checked it, then put it back. "Let's just hope we don't need that."
The two men headed off into the jungle, looking and listening for any trace of Hurley and Ben.