The cold water engulfed Kali's body as she dived down into the depths of the sea, desperately trying to find any sign of Sawyer. There was barely any light, making it impossible to see. She reached out left and right, just hoping to find the older man, when there was an explosion of light above her. She gasped when she saw a piece of the raft plummeting towards her, as she swam to her right, narrowly missing getting hit by what she assumed was part of the mast. She could the flickering light on the surface and realised the raft must have somehow caught on fire. She was distracted when she spotted something out of her peripheral vision, and quickly kicked her legs out and pushed herself forward. Kali could feel relief flood through her veins when she saw it was a person and raised her arm out to grab them. Pulling the body closer to her, she could see it was Sawyer, his blond hair floating in the water, his eyes closed. Beginning to panic when she realised he was unconscious, she began to swim to the surface, having to use both her arms to keep a hold of him. By this point, she was desperate for air, but Sawyer's large weight was keeping her down. Her head felt like it was going to explode from the pressure, as she kicked her legs harder. Just when she thought she was going to pass out, she broke through the surface, gasping for air.
"Sawyer? Sawyer?!" She panted, making sure to keep his head above the water.
Still, he wouldn't wake up. She could see blood seeping out of his shoulder, realising that the bullet had made a direct hit. She whipped her head around, trying to find something to hold onto, as she could feel him slipping from her grip. Her gaze fell on a small part of the mast, as she dragged him towards the floating debris. She hauled him over the mast, trying to turn him onto his side, as she leaned forward to try to see if he was breathing. With a sigh of relief, she watched as his chest rose and fell. He was only unconscious. She gripped onto the collar of his shirt as she leant her forehead close to his, a smile on her face.
"Walt! Walt!" A familiar voice yelled, as Kali's head snapped up.
"Michael?" She yelled, using the mast to push herself up and scan the water surrounding her.
She spotted him in the distance, his arms flaying about, using up all his energy screaming his son's name.
"Michael! Mike, come this way!" Kali exclaimed, but Michael didn't seem to hear her.
"Wal…Walt! Wa…" Michael blubbered, as the water rose over his mouth.
"Dammit" Kali cried, as she pushed off from the mast and began to swim towards him.
By now her legs felt like they were on fire, and the resistance from the water was getting harder to push against. She was panting for air when she finally reached Michael, who's head had drifted under the surface. She reached down and pulled him back up, as he spluttered and spat the water out of his mouth. She looked back to see the mast had floated further away and knew she wouldn't be able to make it back there in one go. She scanned the water and saw a small part of the raft was still just about holding together and began to swim over to it. She wrapped her arm around Michael's body and dragged him with her, his head lolling against her shoulder. Luckily, it wasn't much of a swim, and she was soon able to push him up onto the debris. She was about to push herself up too, but her weight made the bamboo tip over, almost sending Michael back into the water. The movement made Michael jump, his eye shooting open, a panicked look on his face.
"Michael…help me up…" Kali stuttered, gripping onto the bamboo with cold hands.
Michael looked down at her, then back at the raft, seeing how she was already weighing it down. In response, Michael grabbed onto the other end of the raft and pulled himself onto it more, now only his legs were hanging off. Kali frowned at his action as she raised her arm up and placed it over the top of the debris, as exhaustion started to kick in.
"Help me" She exclaimed, holding out her hand for Michael to take.
He seemed conflicted for a moment, before looking away from her. Kali realised in horror what he was thinking and thrust her hand closer to him.
"Pull me up, Mike" Kali insisted.
"It's not big enough for both of us. It'll break apart" Michael replied, as Kali gritted her teeth.
"I can't keep swimming for much longer…" She trailed off, her legs already slowing down as they kicked in the water.
"I have to find my son…I can't do that from the bottom of the ocean" Michael stated, as Kali's eyes widened.
"Michael, please" Kali begged, as the water splashed against her face.
"You wanted to die. You wouldn't have come on this raft otherwise" Michael shook his head, refusing to look her in the eye.
"Not like this! Please, I…I don't want to drown" Kali cried, feeling tears beginning to well in her eyes.
"I'm sorry" Michael mumbled, scrunching his eyes shut.
"P-please, Michael…" Kali stuttered, as her grip on the raft started to loosen, as she slipped further into the water.
Michael placed his hands over his ears, trying to drown out her cries of help, as he heard more splashing. The weight pulling the raft down suddenly lessened, as Michael realised he couldn't hear splashing anymore. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw that Kali was no longer holding on. Oh God, what had he done?
"Michael?" A gruff voice called out, as he turned onto his back to see who had spoken.
"Sawyer!" Michael yelled back, as he saw the blond gripping onto the mast underneath him.
"Where's Kali?" Sawyer exclaimed, making Michael gulp.
Had he seen what had happened? No, he couldn't have, Michael thought. There was no doubt in his mind that Sawyer would already be swimming over to him, ready to kill him if that was the case.
"Where is she, Mike?!" Sawyer insisted, seeing that Michael still hadn't replied.
"I…I don't know, I think she went under" Michael replied, seeing Sawyer's face morph into horror.
Sawyer looked around the rippling water surrounding them, trying to see any sign of Kali, but found nothing. Without a second thought, he let go of the mast and dived into the dark water below. His shoulder exploded with pain as he used his arms to push himself lower. The fire from the explosion on the raft made it easier to see, but still, he couldn't find her. How long had it been since she had gone under? How quickly would a person sink? His mind was racing as he felt more and more pressure on his chest. His body was begging him to go back to the surface, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to go back up without Kali. He couldn't. A small object glittered underneath him, as he swam deeper to grab it. He frowned as he squinted to see it was a bullet. His eyes widened as he realised it must have been the bullet Kali kept with her at all times. Whipping his head around, he spotted a dark figure further down and dived deeper into the cold water. Raising his arms out, he grabbed the body and began to pull it up with him. He swam as fast as he could, knowing he needed air desperately. With a loud cry, he burst through the surface, pulling the body against his own. He pushed Kali's long brunette hair away from her face, letting her head rest against his shoulder. Thankfully, he spotted a piece of the raft close by, which was bigger than what Michael was floating on. He pushed Kali up first, watching as she flopped loosely onto the bamboo. He quickly hauled himself up a second later, kneeling next of Kali's unconscious form. His eyes widened as he looked down and realised she wasn't breathing. He leaned down to press his head against her chest, placing a hand in front of her mouth but found nothing. How long had she been down there?
"No, no, no…" Sawyer cried, memories of not long ago when Kali had died coming back to him.
He placed his hands on her chest, ready to start CPR when he looked up at her face and was shocked to see her eyes had opened.
"Kali?" Sawyer questioned, moving closer to her.
She laid there motionless for a few more seconds, as Sawyer frowned when he realised she still wasn't breathing. Her eyes were wide open, seeming to be looking at something, but Sawyer could see nothing but the night sky above her.
"Kali?" Sawyer insisted, touching her cheek lightly.
Kali? A soft voice cried from all around her, but she could see nothing but black. It was Sawyer, she was sure of it. She opened her mouth to call back to him but found nothing came out. Only water. She felt like she was drowning from the inside. She dropped to her knees, her hands going around her neck as she felt like she couldn't breathe.
"It's time to wake up now" A voice announced, with a Scottish accent.
She looked up to see the man from her dream standing in front of her, his hand outstretched.
"You've got a lot more work to do, Kali. A lot more people to save…" The man trailed off, a sad look in his eyes.
Kali slowly raised her arm out to touch his hand, frowning at how real it felt. She looked up into his hazel eyes and felt a strange sense of familiarity.
"You can save him too" The man informed her, making Kali frown.
"Sawyer?" She suggested, realising she was able to speak, no longer feeling like she was drowning.
"No. You've already changed him. C'mon Kali, you know who I'm talking about. He needs you now more than ever. You need to trust him" The man explained, making Kali frown deeper.
"Who are you?" She inquired, as her eyes slowly fluttered shut.
Her eyes suddenly shot open, as she let out a scream, sitting bolt upright. Her eyes searched around manically, as she saw Sawyer kneeling next to her, relief on his face.
"Hey, it's okay. You're okay" Sawyer told her, pulling her against his chest.
"W-what happened?" Kaliasked, as Sawyer wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"I don't know. I dragged you out of the water, you weren't breathing and then…your eyes opened, and you started mumbling things" Sawyer informed her, as she gripped onto his other arm, needing an anchor.
"What things?" She frowned.
"Gibberish mostly. You said my name" Sawyer stated, with a small smile.
"Just your name?" Kali questioned, as she pulled away to see his smug expression.
"Well…no. Your brother's, Michael's…Desmond, I think…who's that?" Sawyer inquired, as Kali shrugged.
"Did I say anything else about Michael?" Kali inquired, her interest more on what she might have divulged about her encounter with the other man, than some random name.
"No, just more gibberish. Why?" Sawyer asked, as Kali looked across the water to see Michael looking at the pair.
"…No reason" Kali exclaimed, her eyes locking onto Michael's dark ones.
"Jin!" Sawyer shouted, standing up on the makeshift raft, clutching his painful shoulder.
"Jin! Come on, man!" Kali yelled, standing next to Sawyer.
"Shouldn't you two be saving your energy?" Michael suggested, from where he was sitting on his own makeshift raft a few metres away.
"Well Jin's still out there in the water, so if it's okay by you I'm going to keep shouting a while" Sawyer stated.
"Feeling guilty?" Michael mumbled as Sawyer's head snapped round to look at him.
"What?" Sawyer questioned, genuinely confused.
"You made me fire the flare" Michael pointed out, as Kali glared at him.
"Oh, so this is my fault?" Sawyer scoffed.
"You really want to talk about guilt, Michael?" Kali warned, as the older man shut his mouth and looked away.
"Walt's fine. Probably wrapped up in a blanket, drinking hot cocoa-" Sawyer began, as Michael cut him off.
"You better take my son's name out your mouth right now!" Michael exclaimed.
"Would you two stop it, already?!" Kali shouted, as their raft suddenly bumped into something, almost throwing Kali and Sawyer into the water.
"What the hell was that?" Sawyer questioned, crouching down and pulling his gun out.
"I see you managed to hang onto your best friend there" Michael scoffed, from where he was kneeling on his own raft.
"Sawyer, pass me the gun" Kali exclaimed, as something bumped into their raft again.
"Why?" Sawyer asked.
"Because I think Michael's going to keep talking" Kali responded, giving Michael a cold look.
Before Sawyer could comment on the tension between the two, something burst through the water's surface nearby. Kali's jaw dropped as she saw the unmistakable outline of a fin and realised what creature was trying to attack them.
"It's only a shark" Sawyer stated, kneeling down.
"Oh, I feel so much better now" Kali said sarcastically.
"Well, we all know why the shark is hanging around. Your shoulder" Michael announced.
"He has a point. You should let me have a look at it" Kali suggested, reaching out to touch the wound.
"It's fine. I'm fine" Sawyer insisted.
"Sawyer come on" Kali sighed, but Sawyer simply turned around, shielding the wound from her touch.
"Look, I don't want to know how bad it is, okay? There's nothing that can be done about it right now" Sawyer explained.
"You're such a twat sometimes" Kali grumbled, crossing her arms.
"Oh, says you! You almost drowned an hour ago!" Sawyer exclaimed.
"Yeah, trying to save you idiots!" Kali retorted, seeing how Sawyer's eyes widened.
"Wait…you pulled me out of the water?" Sawyer realised, as Kali looked away from him.
"You and Michael. I…I guess I must have passed out afterwards" Kali shrugged, as Sawyer raised his arms up in annoyance.
"What happened to our deal?! You said no putting your life in unnecessary danger!" Sawyer cried.
"And saving you is unnecessary danger?" Kali scoffed, with a roll of her eyes.
"Yes!" Sawyer replied.
"Would you two stop arguing like a married couple for five seconds?!" Michael shouted, leaving the two to glare at each other.
Kali wasn't sure when it happened, but at some point, she must have fallen asleep. The exhaustion of the day having caught up with her, she guessed. She woke up with a start when she heard Sawyer letting out a bloodcurdling cry and looked up to see him with his finger's rummaging in his bullet wound.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Kali gaped, as she saw him pull the bullet out with once last scream.
"You got a band aid?" Sawyer inquired, starting to shake.
"You are…unbelievable!" Kali grumbled, as she crawled closer to him, worried he would fall forward into the cold water below.
"Guess you shouldn't have saved me then" Sawyer replied, as Kali gritted her teeth.
"You could at least say thank you" Kali scoffed, as Sawyer placed his hand against the bullet wound that was now bleeding more.
"You almost died, Kali! I'm not going to thank you for risking your life…again!" Sawyer yelled.
"Well you better get used to it because there is no way in hell, I'm letting you die. Ever!" Kali retorted.
"Right back at you!" Sawyer exclaimed, slowly realising how ridiculous the argument was.
"…Seeing as you've now definitely shoved millions of germs into that wound with your fingers, you gonna' let me look at it now?" Kali asked, as Sawyer reluctantly nodded.
Sawyer turned slightly, his back still turned to Kali, as she leaned over and ripped his shirt open further. She sighed when she saw how much blood was seeping from the wound, the trauma of Sawyer rifling around in his shoulder making it a hundred times worse. She needed something to stem the flow of blood, something tight. She looked down to Sawyer's jeans and noticed he was still wearing his belt. Kali reached down to touch the belt buckle, when Sawyer's other hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"What're you doing?" He exclaimed, as Kali realised her hand was hovering over his crotch.
"Well, I thought now would be perfect timing to jerk you off…" Kali trailed off, with a roll of her eyes.
Sawyer looked at her with wide eyes, mixed in with confusion and something else that Kali couldn't put her fingers on. She realised with a blush her hand was still hovering just over his crotch.
"I need your belt, dumbass. To stop the blood" She clarified.
"Oh…" Sawyer mumbled, letting go of her wrist.
She leant further over his shoulder to try to unbuckle the belt, but from her position it was difficult. She pressed herself further against Sawyer's back, her fumbling hands not getting very far. The shark nudged the raft again suddenly, as Kali's hands drifted lower than she meant them to.
Oh god, did I just touch Sawyer's dick? I definitely did. No, no, inappropriate thoughts, now is not the right time. Shit, my hands still there…Kali's mind panicked, as she ripped her hands away from him. With an awkward cough, Sawyer reached down and easily undid the belt, handing it to Kali, refusing to look at her. Kali couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't done that in the first place. She watched as Sawyer squirmed, reaching down to rearrange his trousers, as Kali blushed wildly. She went to lean over him once again, pulling the belt around his shoulder and tying it tightly. Sawyer groaned in pain as she did this, balling his hands into fists. Kali was glad to see the wound quickly decreased in bleeding and began to think of something she could use to dress it. Before she could do anything else, Sawyer's eyes suddenly rolled into the back of his head, as he passed out on top of her. Kali easily caught him in her arms, letting his head rest against her shoulder.
"He alright?" She heard Michael shout over.
"Yeah, it's probably just the shock" Kali exclaimed.
"…Or the fact that all the blood in his body just went to one part of his anatomy" Michael mumbled, not loud enough for Kali to hear.
The three of them managed to find a piece of the pontoon of the raft as the sun began to rise. It was much sturdier and after a manic swim, they were able to safely climb on top. There was a strange silence between the group, as the tension could practically be cut by a knife. Kali kept an eye on Michael while Sawyer slept behind her, the clear lack of trust obvious on her face. She frowned when she saw he began to sob a couple of hours later, hiding his head in his hands. Sawyer pushed himself up from where he had been laying against the pontoon, meaning he was almost pressed against Kali's back now. The younger girl decided she needed to get off the makeshift raft soon.
"You alright, Mike?" Sawyer questioned, noticing the crying man.
"It's my fault. All of this…it's all my fault. I never should have brought him on the raft. I never should have…" Mike trailed off, his eyes snapping up to Kali's.
"How about that" Sawyer announced, as Kali turned her head to look at what Sawyer was pointing at.
"The current brought us back. We're home" He stated, when she saw the island not so far away.
How the hell did it bring us back so fast? It's a miracle that we weren't…oh for God's sake, why is he touching my hip now. Maybe he wants some payback for last night. No, this is not good. He's sitting way too close-
"Kali. Let's paddle" Michael insisted, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Um, yep. Right, let's do that" Kali stuttered, licking her dry lips.
It was an uncomfortable trip back to the island, as Sawyer gripped onto Kali's hip as he leaned down to push them closer to the island. He definitely knew what he was doing, there was no doubt about it. Even Michael seemed to find the touch suspicious, as he raised at eyebrow at the blond's movements. Once they finally made it back to the beach, Kali was the first one to push up from the pontoon, desperate for some space. They stumbled over the rocky beach, Sawyer and Michael both falling onto the sand, exhausted. Kali helped Sawyer up first, hiking her arm under his good shoulder and pulling him upright. He gave her a grateful nod, as he took a few steps forward to survey the beach. Michael was surprised when Kali thrust a hand in front of him, signalling for him to take it.
"Are you going to tell him?" Michael inquired, reluctantly taking her hand in his own.
The moment their hands touched, Kali pulled him up roughly, so their faces were very close. She had used so much force Michael was worried for a second she might have dislocated his shoulder.
"No. Because unlike you I don't want someone's death on my conscience" Kali spat out, bitterly.
"Kali, I…I'm so sorry. I was scared…" Michael stuttered as Kali gripped his hand painfully hard.
"I should thank you, Michael. You've really cleared things up for me. I'm done. Saving you, saving everyone on this damn island. It's time I thought about myself for once" Kali explained, as her nails pierced into the skin of his hand.
"What…what does that mean?" Michael questioned, feeling true fear.
"It means I don't forgive, Michael. And I sure as hell don't forget" Kali hissed, as she shoved him onto his back.
"Everything alright?" Sawyer called over to them, having just turned around to see Michael on his back, with Kali looming over him.
"Everything's fine. You just slipped, didn't you Mike?" Kali suggested as Michael nodded nervously.
In that moment, he saw Kali differently. Maybe he was really seeing her for the first time. She was dangerous, maybe even the most dangerous thing on the island.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Wow, so there's a lot to unpack there. Oh Michael, just wait until you meet Kali's brother, then you'll really see what a dangerous person looks like. Please leave a review:)
scripturient3201: We'll be finding out just how manipulative Kali's brother can be in this season, as we find out how he's connected to the Others. They really do have a weird relationship, don't they, haha?
kz4valentina: Aw, I'm glad you liked the chapter so much! There will be a lot more Sawyer/Kali interaction's coming up soon, as they continue to get closer. Hopefully, you'll like this chapter just as much:)
DrLexieSloan: Oh my God, thank you so much! It'll never happen, but anyone making anything out of stories would be a dream come true. This review really made me smile:)
stxrsoforion: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you think it's well-written, as it can be really difficult sometimes with fanfics. Kali and Sawyer's relationship is defintely one of my favourite's. I've tried to not make Kali too much of a Mary Sue, which can be hard when you love your OC's, haha. But yeah, I've tried to give her lots of flaws, it makes her a lot more interesting. I really appreciate all your kind words:)
billieshade: Thank's for the review! I love a good cliffhanger, haha.