Chapter 12

Sayid wiped the sweat from his brow, as he swung the ax down. Over and over, he chopped more aggressively than necessary. As he split the wood, his mind was flooded with thoughts of the girl who did not return from the hunt. It was now 15 days after the crash and Lauren had been gone for 8 days. After Locke and Michael returned with the boar and saw Lauren had not made it back, they formed a search party. They tracked her to a hilltop, and found blood covering the grass. Though they hadn't found a body, the group assumed the worst. Sayid wanted to keep searching, but the others were convinced she was dead. Sayid finally landed the ax in the last log of wood. He collected the wood under his arms and made his way back to the beach camp to feed the signal fire.

Sayid brushed the dirt from his hands and turned away from the fire, to see a woman he had never seen before walking into their camp. She had long scraggly brown hair, with a small twig stuck in the ends. She carried a rifle, and Sayid's guard was instantly up. He approached the woman slowly with his hands raised submissively. The other survivors gathered around her, all riled up with fear. Jack came forward, with Kate and the baby close behind him, but Sayid spoke first.

"Who are you?" He questioned.

"My name is Rousseau, Danielle Rousseau."

"What are you doing here Danielle?" She wasn't looking at Sayid, her eyes were locked on the infant in Kate's arms. "Danielle?"

"The Others are coming," the woman finally stated. The survivors murmured, not understanding the warning. After a moment of this, Danielle went on, "our ship went aground on this island, 16 years ago. There were 6 of us. By that time, I was already 7 months pregnant. I delivered the infant myself." Her eyes darted back to the baby. "The baby and I were together for only one week, when I saw black smoke. A pillar of black smoke five kilometers inland. That night they came… They came and took her…. my Alex. They took my baby… And now, they're coming again. They're coming for all of you."

"Who's coming?" Jack demanded.

"The Others!" She repeated through gritted teeth, emphasizing how serious she considered this to be. "You only have three options, run… hide… or die."

The group erupted in chatter, some rushing to pack their things and others just screaming at Jack for answers. Charlie yelled from across the beach but the group was too abuzz with anxiety to care. Sayid stole one last glance at Danielle, before jogging over to Charlie. When he reached the edge of the camp, Charlie pointed towards the southern horizon. There a pillowing bloom of black smoke was stark against the pale blue sky. Charlie called for Jack to come look and soon all three were all staring at the smoke across the island.

****Flashback****

Sayid stood at attention as his commanding officer made the rounds. Flies buzzed around Sayid's face but he didn't swat at them, he stayed perfectly still. Today was an honor, Sayid would receive a medal for his outstanding service to the Republican Guard for the battle in Basra. Even his brother, Omer, had arrived for the ceremony. Internally, Sayid was horrified he was being celebrated for the atrocities he had carried out, but another part of him thought, at least someone's recognizing your hard work. What actually happened was top secret to others, they just thought Sayid a war hero. But Sayid knew the truth. So many innocent lives…

His Muqaddam stepped forward and pinned the gold and red medal on Sayid's chest. He said some words about his service to Iraq and the honor he brought to his country, but Sayid barely listened, his head filled with the screams of his victims.

After the ceremony, Sayid found his older brother and greeted him with a hug.

"Well done, Sayid," Omer said in their native tongue.

"I just did my duty," Sayid said, trying to keep his tone light.

"Better than others apparently," he responded brazenly. Sayid stared at his brother.

"Good men died in Basra, Omer."

Omer shrunk from Sayid's chastisement then replied, "Just take the compliment, Sayid," before walking away. Sayid was left standing in a crowd full of people, all congratulating each other on a murder well done; he muttered a prayer for his soul before turning on his smile and following his brother.

****Flashback Ends****

"Do you think she's lying?" Charlie asked.

"She seemed pretty convincing," Jack remarked.

"What are we going to do?" Charlie's voice was filled with terror.

"I don't think we need to do anything," Jack responded in doubt.

Screams erupted from the far side of the camp. Sayid, Charlie, and Jack ran over to find Sun kneeling over a bleeding and unconscious Kate, the baby nowhere to be found. Jack scanned the area and yelled, "which way did she go?"

Sayid pressed his hand against Jack's chest, stopping him from walking forward. "Kate is injured, Jack. You have to stay for her, I'll go." Jack started to protest, but Kate groaned behind him.

"Where… where's Aaron?" She mumbled, pressing her hand to where the blood emanated from her head. When nobody answered her, she stood up and stepped closer to Jack and Sayid. "Where is Aaron?" she demanded, forcefully.

"She took him," Sayid finally admitted.

Kate started forward, but Jack's arms snaked around her waist pulling her back. Kate thrashed against his grip, sobbing. She pulled at Jack's arms but they didn't budge. She punched her fists against his hands, but he didn't let go.

"Somebody save my baby!"

****Passage of Time****

Sayid ran along the trail Danielle had left. She headed south for a while, but then zig-zagged back and forth, trying to shake her pursuer. After a mile of running Sayid stopped for a moment and took a sip of his water, thankful for Jack, who had found fresh water near some caves. Thunder rolled through the sky, and Sayid looked up just as it started to rain. The rain drops splattered against his face as his shoulders sagged in frustration. He wasn't going to find the trail again now.

He looked around the area for a few minutes, carefully analyzing every detail of the jungle floor. But the rain moved things as he examined them, changing the picture with every drop. Sayid turned to head back to camp, when Kate and Jack stumbled through the forest.

"Kate! What are you doing?"

"He's my responsibility," she responded. Her eyes were red from crying, and streaks of blood had dried across her forehead, she was in no state to be out here, but Sayid was not going to argue with her. She had made it this far. He nodded in response.

"Which way did she go?" Jack asked, clearly already having had this argument with her.

"Her trail ended here," Sayid pointed to the ground, "but it started raining and I haven't picked it up yet."

"You lost it?" Kate yelled.

"It's raining."

"Find it again," she demanded.

"Kate… your head-"

"Don't worry about my head, Sayid, just find the fucking trail."

Sayid turned to look around as thunder boomed again. The wind in the trees picked up and it sounded as if the group was surrounded by whispers. Kate's head whipped around, and Jack grabbed his flashlight. Sayid's eyes darted from tree to tree, searching for the source of the whispering. The voices swelled without truly saying anything, thunder cracked, and it was over. The trio had their backs to one another, all scanning their surroundings.

Eventually, Jack said, "We need to get out of here."

"The smoke, Sayid… What about the smoke?"

"We can try, but her trail led southwest, the smoke was due south."

Kate held out her hands, beckoning Sayid to lead the way. Sayid reached into his pack and retrieved the compass he had made. It pointed south, and he followed its bearing. The group walked through the rain for a while until Kate stumbled and Jack forced her to take a break. She protested, but Jack insisted that it would only be for a moment. Jack examined Kate's head and Sayid took a swig of water, when they heard a twig snap behind them.

The group turned around and saw a blonde woman, soaked from head to toe, limping forward, carrying a baby. Sayid squinted at the figure, and realized it was Lauren.