Chapter 1 - The Running Man
Desmond ran. He could feel the searing heat of the jungle all around him, but still he ran. Driven by the fear of certain death he sped on in a daze. Countless thoughts raced through his mind.
Where am I going? Who were those people? That guy from the stadium, how the hell did he get here? The button, what’s going to happen? Soon his mind was turned to the burning pain throughout his body.
I can’t go for much longer, not in this heat. Soon the world around him began to spin, the ground beneath him seemed to shake, his vision blurred, a ringing filled his ears.
Its over, we’re all dead, he thought as his world was engulfed in black. He fell with a thud, his head slamming against something that definitely wasn’t the jungle floor, he just didn’t stay conscious long enough to realise it. . . . . .
Chapter 2 - The Discovery
Desmond woke. Light blinded his eyes.
Am I in Heaven?, he wondered. Looking around he realised he was still very much alive, trees still surrounded him, it was as hot as ever.
Did they fix it?, he thought. He didn’t care. He was still alive. He was free of that bloody hatch. A smile crept across his face. It was short lived as he discovered he couldn’t get up, he hadn’t the strength. Instead, he lay there on the floor, gathering his thoughts. He couldn't think straight, his head throbbed, the jungle around him still spun slightly, blood stained the ground from the gash to his head. Wiping the sweat and blood from his face Desmond eventually struggled to his knees and reached for the backpack he‘d taken with him. Looking inside he was relieved to see that the drink was still intact. Hauling himself against a tree he pulled a bottle from the bag. He sat studying it for a moment, Dharma Initiative Apple Cider. Pop, the bottle opened and he took a long swig. It was warm, but booze was booze to him at this point. Finishing it, he then tossed it away and it smashed. He laid his head back against the tree for a moment before realising. He stood up, puzzled. Walking to the shards he stomped on the ground. There was something solid under the soil. Something metallic. Frantically Desmond cleared away the dirt and was faced by an all too familiar sight. In front of him was a steel hatch with two handles bound by chains and right in the middle a stencilled DHARMA confirmed to Desmond what he had found. He pulled at the chains. Not a chance could he open it that way. He grabbed his bag and searched through it. Grinning he produced a pistol and a box of ammo. He began to load his weapon when he was stopped by a strange sound behind him. He quickly spun and looked around at the trees. No movement. Must’ve been a bird, he muttered to himself. He turned back to the hatch and took aim at the chains only to see a blur of black flying past him, making the same ticking type noise he’d just heard. He stood up, concerned. He looked around, the birds in the trees around him flew off suddenly. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it. He gripped his weapon tightly . . . . .
BOOM! Something exploded behind him and he turned to see dirt flying everywhere. An ear piercing hoot filled the air. Desmond stood terrified as trees were uprooted all around him, what the hell was going on?
CRASH! Another tree was blown to pieces, showering Desmond with more dirt. Something big was coming towards him. Another hoot, closer this time. Turning he fired rapidly at the hatch, snapping the chains. The noise was getting louder, the explosions getting closer. He pulled at the handles. They were heavy. Summoning all his strength Desmond hauled the hatch open, then, without so much as looking inside, he grabbed his bag and plunged into the darkness below . . .
Chapter 3 - Going Underground
The air in the shaft whooshed past Desmond as he fell, the light at the top got weaker and weaker. Reaching out in desperation Desmond grabbed hold of a rung on the ladder and his free-fall came to an abrupt halt. He felt as though his arm was going to rip off as he held on for dear life halfway down the pitch black shaft. Wincing back the pain he managed to get a grip on the ladder with both hands. The pain eased. The panic subsided.
It’s been some day! He laughed to himself. Slowly he began to make his way to the bottom. He reached the base of the ladder and searched around for his fallen bag in the dark. The booze will definitely be ruined now, he thought. Searching through it he produced a torch which thankfully wasn’t broken. Shining it on the walls around him he saw a door with the familiar eight sided, black and white symbol stamped in the middle. Scanning it he saw what looked like a man with a bow and arrow along with the token DHARMA stencilled in the centre. He spun the wheel on the door, it screeched and grinded before opening. Stepping inside cautiously he noticed a small set of stairs going down in front of him. It was cold and deathly quiet. There were lights running along the roof but most were smashed and apart from the occasional flicker, none were on. The path ahead was forked. A dim light illuminated the path to his left. The walls were concrete, much like The Swan. Desmond slinked round to the left corridor, hugging the wall as he moved. Turning off the torch, he moved towards the light. He stopped as he reached a door on his left. He turned the handle. Nothing. It was locked. At the end of the corridor was an octagonal room, the source of the weak light. There were filing cabinets lining the walls, papers scattered on the floor and a desk with a computer resting on it in the middle. Desmond moved in. He treaded carefully towards the computer. It was on, but the screen was blank but for a blinking green cursor. He pressed random keys, nothing. He then saw there was an
EXECUTE button. The sight of it made him feel uneasy. He pushed it hesitantly. For a second, still nothing, then all of a sudden a DHARMA logo appeared on the screen - the same one he’d seen on the door. Under the symbol were the words
Station 2 - The Hunter. The screen then flashed to a login sequence. A password was needed. Desmond typed anything he thought might work. Dharma, Hunter, Station, DeGroot, Hanso. No luck. He looked around the room. The roof had the logo on it, the picture of the man suddenly made sense. Desmond picked up some of the files on the floor. It was a list. He recognised the Latin, but couldn’t translate it. Scanning the list he could make no sense of it -
Ursus maritimus, partis, vulturius. The list went on for ages.
What did all that mean? He left the computer room behind and made his way warily to the other corridor. Shining his torch he saw a large door at the end. Moving down the corridor carefully, turning only to make sure there was no one or nothing behind him, he reached the door and spun the wheel, yet more screeching and grinding. The room inside was pitch black. The torch was weakening. He searched the wall and found a switch. He flicked it and the room was filled with light. Desmond’s eyes burned at this new brightness but he soon noticed he was in a massive room filled with cages. Some were big, some were small, all of them empty. He made his way down another few stairs and read the labels on the cages. The words were familiar. The largest of the cages was labelled
Ursus Maritimus. This time it was translated. Desmond was shocked at what he read -
Polar Bear. He scanned the other cages - vulture, snake, there was even an empty fish tank. Suddenly there came a laugh from behind him. Desmond froze.
“Hell Des, I never thought I’d see you again.” Came a familiar voice.
Desmond turned, disbelieving. He almost choked on his words,
“Kelvin?” . . .
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