It's a short one I'm afraid.
CHAPTER 6: DEFEND OR DIE
Desmond was restless. He and Jin were now alone in the eerie silence of the caves. He knew this place had once been home to his friends but to him it signified danger. Jin was silent now, a short distance away scouting out possible areas which thier attackers were most likely to come from. A lovely way to past the time until they fought for their lives, thought Desmond. They had agreed to wait in the caves for an hour and then follow the majority of the group to the Others homes. Sayid had provided them with a map of the island which showed which way they should go, Desmond hadn't bothered to ask where he'd found it. He had enough mysteries to deal with. Namely the fact that a woman who was with the boat people - who he was now waiting for to attack! - had a photo of himself and Penny. Where had she got that photo? He knew that Penny wasn't with that bnoat so how did they get the picture. Probably from Mr Widmore, he answered himself. But why?He forced his mind away from the thought and the millions of questions that would inevitably follow and dragged his brain back to the current day and matter at hand.
The caves were eeriely quiet. Jin had only said a few words in broken English about the best ways to defend the caves, and Desmond had heard Jin speaking to himself about Sun when he'd thought Desmond wouldn't hear him. Locke, Danielle and Sawyer had taken off on a trek probably more dangerous than his own; Desmond was already doubting whether he'd ever see them again - and the fact he's heard Sawyer shouting that Locke's plan (whatever it was) was stupid was less than encouraging. He had mixed feelings about Locke. He'd heard that Locke had killed the woman - Naomi - up by the radio tower, that he'd somehow known she was a traitor. So that should give him a reason to trust the man, yet how had he known? Desmond's thoughts pulled in another direction again - Charlie. Claire was now distraught and Desmond was feeling guilty. The man had died thinking his death would mean everyone else would get rescued. Desmond had seen resue in the starnge flashes he'd been experiencing since the hatch had imploded, yet this one hadn't happened. Charlie was dead and instead of rescue they were facing near certain death. Desmond shook himself mentally and fought to concentrate. His army experience had taught him to stay focussed, but since when did the army live on an island full of hatches and polar bears with a magic button to save the world? Granted the hatch was gone now - also courtesy of Locke - but that wasn't the point really.
Glancing at Jin, Desmond saw the man was starting to relax, clearly thinking that they may be out of danger; maybe the people from the boat were gone? Desmond doubted it. He got the feeling that they were being lulled into a false sense of security. As he watched, Desmond saw his silent partner suddenly tense up. His faced, relaxed just seconds sooner, was now alert and watchful. Desmond wondered what had changed; he'd heard nothing. Jin montioned Desmond to stay quiet and quickly runs over to him. Desmond shrugged his shoulders to show his confusion. Jin stayed silent for a few seconds, clearly trying to find the right word.
"Boat." Said Jin, looking at Desmond to make sure he understood the message.
"How close?" Asked Desmond. Jin looked blank. "Um, where were they?" He asked slowly, hoping Jin understood him. They couldn't afford to waste time.
In reply Jin pulled out his gun and took of the safety. At the same time he put a finger to his lips to tell Desmond to stay quiet. "Attack quick." He whispered. "Then run there." He pointed to a sucluded spot hidden just outside of the caves.
Desmond looked at Jin in shock. Was he serious? They'd be killed. Desmond opened his mouth to reply but Jin was already moving forwards - right into the path of danger. Mentally cursing the man, Desmond pulled out his own gun, checked the chamber was full and began to follow Jin, trying to make as little sound as possible; it was difficult with the rocky floor. While Desmond was struggling to go quietly Jin was walking in a crouch; gun poised and silent as a jungle cat hunting it's prey. Desmond got the feeling Jin had experience in this type of thing but knew now was not the time to swap life stories.
Jin stopped so suddenly Desmond nearly fell into him. He turned and faced Desmond, once again motioning for silence, before indicating for Desmond to listen. Voices. There were at least 2 people very nearby. Sadly they didn't have a chance to listen in on the enemy; the shadows of their enemy appeared on the wall of the cave. Fighting a mounting fear at the sheer stupidty of what he was doing, Desmond copied Jin by pointing his gun at the cave opening, waiting for the shadow to be swallowed up by the appearence of it's owner. Before Desmond realised what was happening three men appeared in the opening, Jin reacted quickly, firing two shots and then pulled Desmond into the shadows without before they could be spotted.
In that same breath Desmond and Jin found themselves looking down the barrel of a shotgun held by a young woman with dark hair. Behind her, half hidden in darkness stood an angry looking man with a handgun also pointed at them. By the time Desmond and Jin had registered this unexpected turn of events three man - the one's Jin had shot at - had appeared scowling at the woman's side. In contrast to the men's expression, the young woman was looking at them with clear amusement.
"Now what kind of welcome is that?"
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