Chapter Five: White Rabbit

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"I bet I can get up the tree and back down before you can even lift a foot."

"You sound sure about that."

Faith nodded and she looked up to the top of the tree where the fruit was dangling loosely. "I have no doubt in my mind actually."

"There's someone out there! Look!"

They turned at the sound of Charlie yelling and the sound of the scream that echoed after his voice cleared Faith of her confusion. She took off running towards the beach with Kate right beside her.

Charlie continued to shout and wave his hands as they passed. "I woke up, and it's just -- I don't swim!"

Jack ran past him, shucking off his shirt to toss it aside and Faith went in right after him, Kate halting to stop beside Charlie.

Faith matched strokes easily with Jack as he furiously let his hands cut through the water. A mile out they stopped, both looking around frantically as the waves crashed over them.

"See them?"

"No!" Jack took a deep breath and dove underneath the water as Faith continued to look around. The screaming had stopped and Jack popped back up, his arms empty.

"Jack, we need to –"

He dove under again and a few minutes later, he came back up, Boone in his arms. "Just breathe!"

Boone gasped for air as he leaned against Jack, chest heaving. "Did you get her?"

"What?"

"There was a woman -- I was trying -- Did you get her?"

"No." Jack panicked as he looked around. "Faith?" She was gone. "Faith!"

"Leave me and look for her!"

"No," Jack shook his head. "You're too weak now. Let's get to shore and then I'll come back."

"But Faith and the other woman!"

"No." He repeated firmly stroking slowly to pull them back.

Charlie and Kate met him as he handed over Boone and turned to go back. Kate let Charlie carry Boone up the beach as others came down to help.

"Jack, wait!"

"There's someone else still out there!"

"Look!" She pointed towards the ocean and Jack turned, eyes landing on Faith as she drug the unconscious woman up on the beach, drenched and breathing heavily.

Faith smiled gratefully at Hurley and Michael who came forward to take the woman from her arms, waving their concerned questions away. Faith looked up, her eyes catching Jack's and she nodded before she collapsed with a big sigh onto the sand, not even moving as the waves began to drench her.

"There's a Hellmouth…" Faith glanced between Giles and Buffy, confused look on her face. "… in Australia?" She smirked. "You're kidding right?"

Buffy looked at Giles then sighed. "We talked and we think you need a vacation Faith. Every day since Sunnydale, you've been going at full speed, we all have."

"I don't see you two taking a break."

Buffy and Giles exchanged another look. "Giles is returning to London next week. I've decided I'm taking Dawn to Rome for a fresh start while we look for other slayers. You can do the same thing in Australia and try to relax a little while you're at it."

"I get it. You're bailing on me."

"Faith, no…"

"It's five by five B. Don't worry about it." Faith snorted backing up. "Fine. I'll go to Australia and see if I can find any potential slayers." She focused in on Giles. "But don't expect me to pay for my plane ticket."

Faith ducked the imaginary swing and came up with a clean upper cut, repeating the move twice with each hand. She kicked forward then shifted to punch to her left, following it with a double kick. Faith kept her eyes closed, breathing in and out slowly as she leaned backwards to do a clean walk over, and she came back up on the balls of her feet with her hands still clenched.

"Joanna, the woman, she's going to be okay."

Faith opened her eyes and glanced over at Jack. "Good."

"That was impressive. What you did earlier today I mean." He chuckled and motioned towards her with his hand. "But don't get me wrong; what you just did was impressive too."

She brushed the dirt away from her hands, watching as a piece of grass fell between her index and middle finger. "Is there something you need Jack?"

He seemed hesitant but continued. "I never would have reached her in time."

"I know." Faith shrugged. "That's why I helped you… and Boone at least attempted to." She flashed him a shadow of a smile. "How is Boone? Talked to him today?"

"Not yet." Jack shook his head. "I was caught up in…"

"That's fine." She interrupted. "But you might want to say something sooner than later. He went out there with the intention of being the hero and ended up being the one that needed rescuing." She watched him. "That's not the sort of thing that gives a person bragging rights."

"I appreciate what you did."

"I know."

"Jack!"

They turned to see Hurley making his way up behind them.

"Yeah?"

"Dude, we need your help… like as soon as you can."

Jack looked at Faith but nodded. "Be right here."

Hurley glanced nervously towards Faith. "Okay. Well… uh, hurry." He made his way back towards the beach and Jack let out a long sigh, rubbing at his face with the palm of his hand.

"They look up to you because there's no one else who will take the reasonability like you will."

"I didn't ask for it."

"No one ever does." She shrugged. "Sometimes it's just something you're born with."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"Maybe I do but we'll save that story for another time."

Jack smiled and pivoted to follow Hurley.

"Hey Jack."

He hesitated, stopping in his tracks, and turned his head.

"Boone would have died had you not been there." Faith smiled. "You saved him. That was impressive."

Jack nodded and she watched him go then began her exercises once again, concentrating as she punched and kicked at her invisible enemy as hard as she could.

"Everything alright?"

Faith stopped again and let out a growl of irritation before focusing on Locke coming up behind her from the woods. "Yo, Locke. What's going on?"

He glanced past her to see Jack leaving. "I heard about the commotion earlier."

Faith nodded. "Joanna went swimming and got caught by a riptide. Jack and I went out to get her. Turns out, Boone had already tried as well, pretty much the highs and lows of that story."

"So you saved the woman and Jack saved Boone."

"Yep, that about sums it up."

"I see." Locke shifted the backpack on his backpack. "I'm going out hunting. You want to join me?"

"Sure. Just let me get my stuff."

"Good. I'll meet you down by the beach."

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She came up behind them all huddled in Jack's tent: Charlie, Jack, and Hurley talking quietly. Faith inched closer, catching the end of the conversation.

"If people find out this is all we have left, they're gonna freak out, man."

"The boar's running low. What should we tell them about that?"

"You guys having a pow-wow?" She pushed aside the tarp. "If I join in, can I get a secret decoder ring too?"

The three of them jumped, each turning to stare wide-eyed at her and Faith smirked in response, moving to stand beside Hurley. "Or perhaps a backpack, I'd take one of those instead." She glanced down at the tiny collection of water bottles. "Ah, nice, we're running out of water."

"Maybe we can make one of those water-finding sticks."

Faith chuckled and nodded at Hurley. "Go find one and we'll wait right here." Smiling, she glanced towards Jack. "Locke and I are going out hunting for more boars. I suggest you hide the water somewhere, maybe ration it out. I'll look around while I'm out and see if there's any fresh water springs or waterfalls." She looked between the three of them. "Okay?"

Charlie and Hurley nodded and Faith focused back on Jack. "Now, about that backpack..."

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They had only gone a foot from the tent when Boone marched up, a look of determination on his face. He glared at Jack and stopped inches away from the doctor's face.

"I told you to leave me. Why didn't you?"

Jack tried to step around him but Boone quickly blocked his path again.

"Boone…"

"You're not the only one who knows what to do around here, you know that?"

"That's enough." Faith stepped in between them and shoved Boone backwards a couple of steps. "I saved Joanna because you weren't strong enough to do it. You were drowning; Jack saved your life, end of story. That's something you're gonna have to deal with but getting in his face isn't going to solve anything. If there's something you want to get off your chest, you need to say it to me. Understand?"

He backed up but nodded, shooting one more glare at Jack before he turned and made his way back down the beach.

Faith placed a hand on Jack's arm. "Backpack?"

He glanced towards Boone's disappearing figure. "You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, I did." She scoffed as they began to walk again. "Don't take on too much at one time Jack. You're gonna burn out."

They stopped near the huge luggage pile, Jack bending down and shifting through the bags.

"I'm touched to hear that you care."

"Well don't get used to it."

They exchanged a smile and Faith glanced over her shoulder, spotting Locke.

"It's been great, but I gotta bounce." She grabbed the backpack out of his hand and slung it over her shoulder. "And thanks for the water." Faith raised the bottle in her hand and shook it at him as she backed up towards Locke. "Pay you back Doc, promise."

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"Need to rest?"

Faith shook her head and took a swig of water, tilting the bottle towards Locke as she swallowed. "You?"

"No." Locke glanced around at the forest around them. "We need to find water."

"Yeah." She looked at him suspiciously. "We do. How'd you know about that?"

"Claire, the pregnant girl, she fainted while you were talking to Jack. Kate tried to get her some water and it was gone."

"Gone?" Faith frowned. "But I just saw Charlie and Hurley with…"

"Someone stole it."

"Great." She rolled her eyes and wiped at her forehead, twisting sideways to shove the bottle into her backpack and zip it up. "Just another person I'm gonna need to ass whoop."

"Another?"

"Boone." Faith chuckled. "He wasn't happy that he didn't end up being the hero today with Joanna."

"He's young, and has a lot to learn." Locke shrugged. "He'll get over it."

"He better." She turned away and motioned to her left. "We should go that direction."

"I have a better idea. Let's split up."

Faith glanced at Locke from over her shoulder. "You wanna split up?"

"We can search more ground this way and I know you can take care of yourself."

"It's not me that I'm worried about."

Locke grinned. "I'll be fine." He pointed in two different directions. "Take your pick."

"Fine." Faith eyed him but slowly nodded. "I'll go East."

"Can you find your way back here in about an hour?"

"Yep."

"Good." Locke smiled again then was gone, the tall grass shifting back from where he had pushed through.

She hesitated only a second before she checked to make sure her knife was fastened securely on her hip and she headed East.

"Faith, wait."

Faith gritted her teeth but halted her steps, and she pivoted to come face to face with Buffy. "What's up B?"

"I think this belongs to you."

Faith eyed the bundle of cloth in Buffy's extended hand and slowly moved to take it from her. She kept her eyes down as she unraveled it layer by layer. Faith frowned at the sight of the Jackal in her hand. "How did you…"

"I still had it since…" The blonde slayer shrugged as the sentence quickly died. "I had Giles hold onto it and it was in the chest of weapons we put on the bus. We thought you'd have more use for it then any of us."

Faith looked back down at the weapon, light reflecting off the blade. "You'd give this back to me even after all I've done to you? The Mayor gave me this, he wanted me to kill you with it and instead you ended up shoving it into my gut. It's more your victory trophy than mine."

"It's not a trophy." Buffy shook her head. "It's a reminder of how far you've come and how you've changed for the better." She looked at Giles and he nodded. "I trust you, we all do. You've earned it."

"This is definitely better than getting a gold star."

Buffy smiled. "Glad to hear that. We can still get you a gold star though if you want..."

Faith returned the smile. "This will do just fine."

Faith pushed the tree limbs out of her way and glanced around. She gripped her water bottle in her right hand and raised it to her lips.

Catching sight of something to her left, she lowered the bottle. She turned towards the figure that stood there and swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in the back of her throat.

The Mayor stood amongst the trees, his eyes locked on her and his hands hanging limp next to his sides.

"You're dead."

He said nothing and simply turned away, his steps leading him deeper into the forest.

Immediately, she sprung after him. "Hey!"

Faith burst through the tall grass, but he was gone. She looked around, turning in a full circle. "Where did you go?" She yelled. "Show yourself!"

She turned again and when she stopped, her eyes caught sight of a business suit disappearing into the forest. Faith ran after him, her pace picking up speed yet each time she came closer, he seemed to be further out of reach.

Faith tossed her bottle down as she ran. A grunt escaped her as she suddenly tripped on the uneven ground directly in front of her and went flying, tumbling down the side of the hill. Faith rolled with the momentum of her fall and reached out for anything to slow her down but her hands just met dirt and her body continued to roll.

She finally collided with solid ground, letting out a strangled moan as she tried to recapture her breath flat on her back. She could feel the cuts and scraps all over her arms and down along one side of her face and she winced as she checked the rest of her body. Satisfied, no bones were broken and no other bleeding had occurred, Faith allowed herself to regroup from her position, blinking against the sun as it glared down at the island.

A muffled scream escaped his gagged mouth.

"Now, we've only done one of the five basic torture groups. We've done blunt - but that still leaves sharp, cold, hot and loud. Have a preference?"

He nodded and she smiled, pulling the gag out of his mouth. "Well, that great! It's always better with audience participation. May I take your order please?"

"I was your Watcher, Faith." Wesley whispered. "I know the real you - and even if you kill me, there is just one thing I want you to remember."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"You - are a piece of sh.."

She quickly shoved the gag back into his mouth with a shake of her head. "Guess you really didn't want to talk. I'll just have to try a little harder."

She turned her attention to a picture frame on the table beside them and kicked it, the glass shattering as it fell to the floor. Faith bent down and picked up one of the long glass shards with a cold smile.

"Just means we'll switch to sharp for a while."

"Hey!"

She blinked and squinted.

"Hey, you okay?"

A shadow fell over her and Faith managed a small smile. "I think so?"

"Up you go."

She grunted as Jack grabbed her hand and hoisted her upwards to her feet. Faith glanced around then gently pushed his hands away as he attempted to move them along her legs in order to brush off the grass and dirt. "Yo, I'm cool, thanks." Faith stepped away, looking around then she focused in on Jack. "What are you doing out here?"

"Someone stole the water we had earlier. I left to find more and I saw you lying here." He looked at her and stepped forward, grabbing her face to tilt her chin. "You're gonna need to get some antibiotics from me later, you have some cuts."

She winced as he tilted her face from side to side, fingers brushing along her scratches. "I'm fine Jack, really." Faith stepped backwards. "I thought I saw someone in a business suit come this way, lost my footing and over the hill I went."

"Business suit?"

"Yeah but he wasn't there." Faith shook her head. "He wasn't and he hasn't been for a long time. I must be seeing things."

"I'd label it as a hallucination." Jack shrugged. "I'm betting it's the result of dehydration and posttraumatic stress. You probably haven't been getting more than two hours of sleep a night for the past week and not getting enough to eat can trigger such responses."

"And if it's not? What if this is all some twisted Alice in Wonderland type Twilight Zone?"

"Then we're all in trouble. It's just being in this place Faith. The other day, when I was sitting on the beach? I thought I saw my father."

"Was he on the flight?"

"He passed away recently; I was on my way home from Australia with him. I guess I was just seeing something because I wanted to, not because it was really there." He glanced around. "Where's Locke?"

"We split up."

"You what?"

"We thought we'd cover more ground that way."

They turned to see Locke as he made his way over through the bushes, dragging a huge boar carcass behind him.

"Well, damn." Faith muttered with a smirk. "Looks like you did alright."

"Better than you it seems." He stopped and let the boar drop at his side. "I didn't find any water though."

"I'll keep looking." She nodded. "Pretty big sized boar you got there. Why don't you carry it back with Jack and I'll catch up in a bit."

"You don't need to be out here looking by yourself."

"Jack…" Locke shook his head. "Faith can take care of herself."

"But…"

"Just trust me on that."

Jack let out a long sigh but nodded, finally relenting. "Okay but as soon as you get back to camp, you come see me about those scrapes."

Faith smiled. She kept her hands behind her back, hiding her crossed fingers. "Promise."

"And you think I'd hurt you again?"

He scoffed at her. "Is this the part where you tell me you've turned a new leaf, found God, inner peace? We both know that isn't true. You haven't changed. You can't."

"Wes..."

"Know why? Because you're sick. It goes right down to the roots rotting your soul. That's why your friends turned on you in Sunnydale, why the Watchers' Council tried to kill you. No one trusts you, Faith. You're a rabid dog who should've been put down years ago."

She stopped as she looked around, dipping a branch into the fire she had made, and Faith nodded in satisfaction at the makeshift torch as it began to burn.

She moved to head back deeper into the forest when the sound of water running met her ears. Faith ran into the clearing on her right and found herself at the mouth of a cave. She gripped the torch, checking her knife then entered, studying the plant roots that hung around her as she walked.

She had gone only a few more steps when she caught sight of the huge natural spring located in the back of the cave.

Faith waved the torch around, the flames lighting up the area and her eyes narrowed at seeing items from the plane crash, even a part of the plane to her left.

A coffin was to her right.

He passed away; I was on the way home from Australia with him.

She bent down at the stream, scooping up a handful of water and took a sip. Faith nodded. "This will do just fine."

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"Someone had to take responsibility for it. It would've never lasted!"

Faith stepped through the clearing and shoved aside the tall grass, looking immediately to the large group all centered near Jack's tent. She began to move towards them, throwing the torch into the large campfire as she passed.

"Leave him alone!"

Faith stopped in her tracks, spotting Jack glaring at Charlie as Sayid separated him from Boone. Jack moved around them and placed himself in the middle.

"Every man for himself is not gonna work. It's time to start organizing. We need to figure out how we're gonna survive here."

"And how can we do that without water?" Charlie questioned.

"I found water." Faith paused as they all turned to look at her. "There's a fresh water spring not far from here, in the valley. We can get more at first light and if you don't come along then you can start doing more here to contribute."

"She's right." Jack nodded back at her. "We're gonna have to work together, we're no longer strangers, and there's no telling how much longer we're going to be stuck here. If we can't live together ... we're gonna die alone."

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"So, how does it feel?"

Boone continued to stare out at the ocean, not even glancing towards Sawyer. "How's what feel?"

"Taking my place at the top of everyone's most hated list. It sucks, don't it?"

"Somehow I think Boone could shove someone off a cliff," Faith spoke up as she came up behind them, "And you'd still be disliked more than him, Sawyer."

He threw her a sharp look but said nothing, merely grunting as he tossed his cigarette to the sand in front of Boone and walked off.

Faith watched him go and leaned to scoop up the cigarette, placing it between her lips as she took a seat next to Boone.

"Ignore that hick. He's just doing what he does best."

"Being an asshole?"

"Sawyer thinks that if he gets under your skin with words, it won't come down to blows." She shrugged and took a pull off the cigarette, sighing as she let out a long stream of smoke. "Keeps running his mouth and he's gonna find that one of us does like coming to blows."

"Is that you?"

Faith smiled over at Boone. "Maybe."

He chuckled, shaking his head and looked back towards the ocean. "Everything I did today, I just ruined it."

"You tried, that's what matters." She tossed the cigarette and leaned back. "Nobody died, everyone's fed and we found water." She glanced around, waving at Walt as he went by, dog towing him down the beach. "Need to talk about it?"

"I don't want a lecture."

"That's not what I asked."

"No." Boone shook his head. "I don't need your help."

"Suit yourself." Faith stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "But ignoring the problem won't make it go away. Karma always comes back around to bite you on the ass." Faith spotted Locke and she nodded at him as he paused to wait on her.

She jogged to meet up with him. "Going out hunting again?"

Locke smiled. "Sure am, you coming?"

"I can't let you go off by yourself, you know that." Faith smiled back. "You need me to watch your back in case there's trouble."

"Then let's go."

He escaped into the forest and Faith watched him go, eyes darkening as she made sure her knife was securely fastened to her hip.

"The truth Faith? The truth is - no matter how much you suffer, no matter how many good deeds you do to try to make up for the past - you may never balance out the cosmic scale. - The only thing I can promise you is that you'll probably be haunted - and may be for the rest of your life."