The window had been opened wide to try and get rid of some of the stuffiness, but if anything the air only seemed even more humid and close. The rain was coming down torrentially and clouds blackened the usually brilliant blue sky. There was a roll of thunder echoing off the surrounding mountains and rocky cliff faces. A quick flash of lightening followed.
The flash of lightening briefly lit up Benjamin Linus’ face. His eyebrows were drawn together only slightly and his large green eyes bored into the mahogany desk in front of him. His hands lay clasped on the surface. A few inches away lay the radio that he had been using to communicate with Ethan and Goodwin. He had been unable to communicate with either of them for almost four hours now.
And that could only mean one thing.
A tentative knock on the door pulled him out of his deep musings. His eyebrows relaxed and his eyes widened slightly. ‘Come on in.’ he called out after a moment.
The door opened and in stepped a tall, broad shouldered man dressed in a white vest and khaki trousers. His sheer bulk and heavy boots caused the floorboards beneath him to creak noisily. He crossed the room unceremoniously and stopped on the opposite side of the desk, his hands behind his back. His expression was set. Despite the humidity, not a single bead of sweat was visible on his brow or his closely shaved head.
‘You called for me, sir?’ he said in his deep voice.
Ben took a moment to enjoy the devotion and loyalty the man was showing, before leaning back and pulling his hands on the armrests of his chair. ‘Yes I did call for you Mr Keamy, and I appreciate your haste in getting here.’
Martin Keamy didn’t move a muscle. He continued to stare at the far wall behind Benjamin, his jaw set. Ready to do whatever Ben told him to no matter what. Keamy had always been a man of unquestioning loyalty, which was a trait Ben thought essential. Especially in this line of work.
‘I can’t get in touch with either Ethan or Goodwin,’ Ben said, looking at the radio in disappointment. ‘Which means they failed. Whether or not they’re still alive, I can’t say it’s particularly important. But what is important is that it won’t be long before the whole group is reunited.’
Keamy half nodded in understanding, but remained silent.
‘And as you know,’ Ben went on. ‘That this will just hinder our efforts. Especially now that John Locke knows about us.’
‘He doesn’t know the details though, sir.’ Keamy replied.
‘Right you are, Mr Keamy,’ Ben cocked his head. ‘However when he joins the others and tells them about what happened to him – and probably stick in a few white lies for good measure – it’ll make our infiltration a lot more… complicated, to put it lightly.’
‘Then what do you suggest, sir?’
Ben looked down at the radio thoughtfully for a moment. ‘I want you to organise a retrieval squad. I want the people on the list. I’ll trust you to decide the best course of action to how you actually achieve that goal, although you’re aware I wouldn’t appreciate a repeat of the last time, do you understand?’
Keamy blinked. A short and quiet rush of air escaped his nostrils. ‘I understand.’
‘Good.’ Ben smiled. ‘Well I’ll let you get on.’
Keamy nodded and turned and left the room without another word. He closed the door gently behind him and Ben listened to his heavy footsteps heading away. Ben leaned back in his chair and turned to face the window. Another roll of thunder sounded, followed by another flash of lightening.
Now would be a good time to check how sodden the cages got in this weather.
**************
‘Okay, I’m usually quite a reasonable kinda guy, but if you don’t tell me who the hell you really are, I’m going to pull off your fingers and stick them in your ears like a pretty little flower arrangement.’
Ethan only stared down at the ground, unresponsive to Frank’s threats. The pilot had been questioning him for nearly a full hour and was only just starting to get frustrated at not receiving a response. The others were spread out behind him, finishing off their breakfast of fruit that Juliet and Sidney had picked shortly after rising. While the two women had been gone, Frank had tried to
force Ethan to talk, but it hadn’t lasted long. Frank had never been a violent man.
‘He’s not going to tell us anything.’ Juliet said as she repacked her bag with water bottles that they had filled in a nearby stream. ‘We’re burning daylight by staying here, Frank. Just put his gag back on.’
‘Perhaps you should leave it off.’ Locke replied, eyeing Ethan. ‘Just in case he decides to change his tune and let us in on the big picture.’
‘I don’t think I want to be p-part of the big p-picture.’ Sidney mumbled. She was sitting cross-legged on a felled tree, picking at a mango but not eating it. Daniel sat beside her. He hadn’t said much since the previous night. He had a sickly, pale look about him. Most of them assumed it was from the chase.
Juliet moved towards Ethan and hunched down beside him. ‘Can you at least tell us the way to the beach? We know you know where the other survivors are. John heard you talking about them.’
Ethan didn’t look up. He didn’t speak.
‘This is a waste of time.’ Sidney sighed heavily, tossing the piece of fruit off to one side. ‘You should have just shot him like the o-other guy.’
The others glanced to her in surprise.
‘Now Sidney.’ Juliet sighed.
‘You know I’m r-right.’ Sidney shrugged. ‘He’ll only off one of us the f-first chance he gets.’
Ethan looked up for the first time and smirked at Sidney. She shuddered under his gaze and looked away. Noticing the look and Sidney’s discomfort with it, Frank hauled Ethan up to his feet and stuck a finger in his face.
‘Don’t you look at her.’ He snarled. Ethan narrowed his eyes and dropped his gaze, reverting to his uncooperative state. Frank grabbed his arm and yanked him forward. ‘Which way?’ he asked Juliet.
Juliet shouldered her backpack and nodded to the left. ‘This way.’ She said, and began walking. Locke followed, tossing the remains of his mango and watched as Frank forced Ethan to walk with a shove. Daniel got up and waited for Sidney to pull on her backpack.
‘This is ridiculous.’ She muttered bitterly. ‘We’re going to get k-killed.’
Daniel took her arm, stopping her from following the others. ‘Uh, Sidney? Can I talk to you about something?’
Sidney frowned and shook her head. ‘Sorry Dan, but I’m just not in the mood to talk about w-weird light patterns. Maybe l-later.’ She followed the others, not listening when he told her that that wasn’t what it was about. He sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck before jogging to catch up with the departing group. He didn’t notice the auburn haired woman drop down from a nearby tree and silently stalk after them.
**************
Locke flipped open the suitcase that had been lying half buried in a thin layer of dried mud and peered inside. The others stood around him, watching and waiting for anything interesting he might have to say. Daniel was fidgety and he kept glancing nervously towards Ethan who was tied onto a large tree stump. Frank was also glancing to Ethan every now and then, but it was due to his impatience. Locke reached into the case and pulled out a hairbrush.
Sidney smirked. ‘I hate to break it to you Mr Locke…’
Locke smiled broadly at her. ‘Funny. You’re funny.’
‘Is there any reason to why we’ve stopped here?’ Frank sighed in exasperation. ‘Only I thought we were supposed to be trying to cover as much ground as possible.’
Juliet nodded. ‘I don’t think it’s wise to be standing around in such an exposed area.’ She gestured towards Ethan. ‘Who knows how many more of them there are.’
‘There’s been a lot of activity here.’ Locke replied after another few seconds of silent musing. ‘No less than maybe… four people.’
The others looked stricken. ‘Them?’ Frank asked, nodding back to Ethan. Ethan said nothing.
‘Not sure.’ Locke replied.
‘Hey, look here.’ Daniel called from off to one side. He stooped down and picked something up from beneath a pile of dried leaves and twigs. He showed the object to the others.
‘We’ll I think that’s the first good sign we’ve had all day.’ Frank half smiled, delighted at the sight of the crushed and empty Oceanic water bottle.
‘That means nothing though,’ Juliet shrugged. ‘It could have come out of the crash, along with the suitcase.’
‘Let’s take it as a good sign,’ Locke smiled, rising to his feet. ‘By the smell of the air, it seems like we’re close to the ocean anyway.’
Frowning, Sidney sniffed the air. ‘I can’t s-smell anything.’
Locke pointed ahead. ‘I say we carry on this way, and then maybe-’
‘It doesn’t matter where you go.’ Ethan croaked.
The group glanced around to him, surprised to hear him speak. He stared down at the ground, his mouth half twisted into a wan smile.
‘Excuse me, son?’ Frank asked, striding towards him. ‘You feel like talking now?’
Ethan chucked, rolling his head up to Frank. ‘You’re all idiots, do you know that? What do you really think is going to happen when you find the rest of them? You think you’re all going to live comfortably on the beach until the rescue boats turn up and offer you a happy ending? Huh?’ His eyes darkened. ‘This is
our island, and while you’re here, you’re
our property.’
They looked at him, stunned; Locke especially.
‘We didn’t ask to be b-brought here.’ Sidney frowned.
Ethan shot a look at her. ‘Didn’t you?’
‘That’s enough.’ Juliet grimaced, looking sickened. ‘Someone gag him again.’ Frank got the gag and approached him.
‘You’re doing exactly what he expects you to do.’ Ethan grinned. ‘Group together. Group together like cattle. Make it easier for us. You’ll be sorry you even got on that-’
He was cut off by a sudden ear-piercing feral scream that made them all jump in surprise and seemed to make the air shudder around them. Too startled by the sudden invasive sound, Frank fumbled with retrieving his gun and dropped it to the ground. Juliet grabbed her own gun instantly and tried to fire, but the safety was on. She struggled to release it.
A figure shot out of the undergrowth, apparently nothing but a mass of fiery auburn hair and dishevelled clothes. The figure sprinted towards Ethan with almost unreal speed, a thick stick raised high by thin arms. Frank managed to retrieve his gun but the woman was already beating down on Ethan with the stick. Ethan’s screams were almost drowned out by the sick
thumps as each blow hit home.
Unwilling to wait for Juliet and Frank to organise themselves, Locke and Daniel ran forward and tried to wrestle the woman to the ground. She shrieked and clawed at them, catching Daniel’s cheek and drawing blood. Giving up on her gun, Juliet ran into the fight. Only with the three of them could they haul the woman off Ethan’s now limp and bloody body, retrieve the bloodstained stick and pin her to the ground. They all got covered in blood in the process.
‘What the
hell!?’ Frank yelled, now holding his gun and pointing it at the writhing woman. He looked to Ethan. Blood pooled around him and he didn’t move. ‘Sidney, check if he’s still alive.’
Sidney hesitated, her expression twisted into one of horrified disgust. Eventually though, she moved over to him. She felt for a pulse, getting blood all over her hands. ‘He’s duh… d-dead.’ She reported.
The woman continued to buck and scream beneath Juliet, Locke and Daniel. Quickly, Frank moved forward and made his presence known with the gun. ‘Lady, you shut the hell up right now or I’ll blow you away.’
The woman stopped abruptly, her wild green eyes settling on the gun in Frank’s hand. She became still, breathing heavily. Tentatively, Daniel moved away but Juliet and Locke kept a hold on her arms.
‘You get that thing out of my
face,’ barked the woman. ‘I did you a
favour!’
She pulled herself out of Locke and Juliet’s grips and got to her feet. Her clothes were hanging on her and she was covered in dirt. She was gaunt but her arms were muscular. She looked in no way like she could be affiliated with the crash or Ethan and Goodwin – although it was more than a little obvious that she had some history with them.
Warily, Juliet and Locke allowed her to stand without holding onto her, although now Juliet was also pointing her gun at the strange woman. Frank made no move to lower his weapon either.
‘While he was alive they could have found you at any moment and when they had found you, you would have had no idea what hit you. You’d be dead before you knew it.’ Her voice was hoarse. There was a large scar across the right side of her throat. ‘Plus… he had it coming.’
Frank glanced back quickly to Ethan. Sidney was sat beside him, watching the scene unfold silently. ‘So you just decided to cave his head in?’ Frank frowned.
The woman scowled. ‘He had it coming.’
‘Who are you?’ Locke asked, the only one of the group who looked moderately amazed and not horrified with her sudden, violent arrival. ‘Are you with Benjamin Linus?’
The woman whirled around on him, her teeth bared. ‘How do you know Benjamin Linus?’ she demanded.
Locke raised his hands and Juliet cocked her gun as a warning. ‘I heard the name. Ethan and Goodwin mentioned the name, that’s all.’
The woman eyed him suspiciously and then returned her attention to everyone. ‘The rest of your people are half a mile that way,’ she gestured over her shoulder. ‘There are over forty of them. I suggest you get to them and prepare yourselves before they find
him.’ She grimaced at Ethan’s body. ‘Not that you’ll be able to protect yourselves.’ With that said, she began to head away.
‘Stop right there.’ Juliet barked, taking a step after her. ‘I will shoot you.’
The woman glanced once at Juliet and narrowed her eyes. She turned fully to her. Juliet saw the blood splatters up the front of the woman’s dirty clothes and felt her stomach flip over. The silent stand off lasted only moments. Juliet lowered her gun.
‘Who are you?’ Locke asked, moving forward and lowering one eyebrow curiously. ‘If you’re not with them,’ he gestured to Ethan’s bloody body. ‘And you weren’t on the plane…?’
The woman eyed him unsurely. She swallowed, causing the thick puckered scar on her neck to twitch. Her hair was matted. Her hands looked rough and dirty. ‘It’s not important who I am.’ She replied, starting to back off. ‘The important thing is that you warn the others. You don’t want to end up dead like me.’ She began to walk away.
‘But you’re not dead.’ Locke pressed, taking a step after her.
She stopped and glanced over her shoulder again, her eyes moving between each of them. Her gaze lingered on Juliet the longest. She turned again. ‘I’m Lara Larunda.’ She replied. ‘I’ve been here for about fourteen years now. Nine of those years I spent in locked in a room on my own.’ She paused, seeming to drift off for a moment. Just as Locke was about to speak to try and bring her back around, she blinked. ‘They’ll do the same to you too. The lucky ones will be killed outright.’
‘That’s a load of bull.’ Frank snorted, but his expression was worried. ‘Why the hell would they want to
kill us? The rescue boats are going to be here any day now and…’
Lara smiled quite broadly. Her whole face lit up and that was what silenced Frank. Then she laughed. It was a creepy sound, and Sidney visibly shuddered. ‘No, no they’re not.’ Lara laughed. ‘They’ll never come. Tell the others. Maybe that will get them out of the open and somewhere a little safer. Although it’ll probably be difficult to hide forty-plus people.’ She turned for the third or fourth time to leave, and was stopped again.
‘You would have to come with us.’ Locke said.
‘What?’ Sidney snapped, unable to stop herself. She hushed her voice after glancing warily to Lara. ‘Are you
kidding? She’s…. she’s c-crazy.’
‘They won’t believe a word we say,’ Locke explained with a shrug. ‘I mean, they’re not going to believe us if we turn up with stories of monsters and people with intentions to kidnap us and have no proof. We need to take Ethan’s body and… and Miss Larunda here.’
Lara visibly flinched. She mumbled something that no one caught. Then she shook her head quite vigorously. ‘No.’
‘I agree.’ Frank nodded, eyebrows raised at Locke. ‘What the hell are they going to think if we drag a dead guy and a crazy woman out onto the beach?’
‘Um… I don’t think it’s nice to call her
crazy when she’s right there…’ Daniel suggested, shifting on his feet and dabbing at the cuts on his cheek with the back of his hand.
Frank rolled his eyes. ‘Dan, I don’t think that this is exactly the time to be worrying about being
polite…’
‘John’s right.’ Juliet said, taking everyone by surprise. ‘They won’t believe us. They won’t
want to believe us. I know I wouldn’t. Taking Ethan back will prove someone killed him, but not who. They might think it was us who killed him. We take Lara and she can back us up.’
‘What makes you think they’ll believe
her?’ Frank cried. ‘She’s a crackpot!’
‘
I’m not crazy!’ Lara suddenly screeched, making them all jump. They all stood in silence and stared at her for a moment.
‘Oookay then…’ Sidney mumbled with her eyebrows raised.
‘Will you come with us?’ Locke asked Lara, his tone sincere. ‘You don’t have to stay. Just tell them what you told us.’
Lara backed away two steps. ‘I’m sorry.’ She said quietly, and then turned and disappeared through the trees.
After a moment, Frank replaced his gun in his belt. ‘Well I guess we better get going.’ He gestured to Ethan’s body. ‘What about him?’
Locke rubbed the back of his head, disappointment obvious on his face. ‘He’s coming with us.’
**************
Keamy checked the bullets in his gun before tucking it safely away in the holster on his hip. Then he stooped to place his backup weapon – a nine-inch long hunting knife – in the sheath attached to his shin. He rose and flexed his leg, checking that the straps weren’t too tight or too loose. It was fine. He crossed the room and pulled open his locker. He doubted that he would need the Kevlar vest but it would be stupid not to take it. As he removed it from its hanger he heard the door open behind him. He sighed but didn’t turn around. He didn’t have to.
‘You know what your dad will say when he finds out you’re hanging around here again, Alex?’
He turned, his expression unchanging, towards the teenage girl in the doorway. Her hair was tied back tightly and she was dressed in khaki combat trousers and a similarly coloured vest. On her back was a tattered rucksack. Keamy eyed her, feeling annoyance rising.
‘What do you think you’re doing here anyway?’ he asked, removing his shirt and putting on the Kevlar vest.
‘I’m coming too.’ Alex told him, her blue eyes gleaming.
Keamy chuckled as he fastened the straps on his sides. ‘You’re kidding me, right?’ He glanced to her, already knowing she wasn’t but wanting to rile her up. ‘You think your daddy’s gonna let you come along with us?’
‘He doesn’t have to know.’ Alex replied, raising her chin. ‘You could use me. Send me into the camp. They wouldn’t suspect a sixteen-year-old girl. If I was caught I could just say I was on the plane or something. It would make your job a hell of a lot easier.’
‘If it were up to me I’d use you for target practice.’ Keamy replied as checked the sight of his gun. Tucking it away once again, he turned a steely gaze on her. ‘When are you gonna get it into your ditzy little head that you’re no soldier? You’re just a goddamn kid. A goddamn
brat.’ He zipped up his rucksack and picked it up, swinging it on his back. Alex stared at him, jaw set, as he walked towards her. He towered over her, but she stood her ground. ‘This isn’t just running around out in the jungle, sweetheart. You think you’re capable of dragging an eight-month pregnant woman through the jungle? At gun point, if it’s necessary?’
Alex swallowed, visibly shaken, but she tried to hold her own. ‘Yeah. Sure I could.’
Keamy grimaced and pushed her aside forcefully, causing her to hit the open door quite hard. ‘Get out of here, kid.’ He headed away down the corridor, not looking back to her. ‘Scram before I tell your daddy on you.’
Alex scowled after him, her teeth gritted. He disappeared through the heavy steel doors that lead out to the cages and she could hear him ordering around the other ten soldiers that were already suited up and ready to go. Frustration knotted her stomach as her eyes fell upon the weapons locker, that Keamy had appeared to leave unlocked.
Alex blinked, hesitated, and then dodged to the locker. She got a 9mm handgun and a box of ammo. She knew they would be heading north. She would give them a five-minute head start, and then she would head after them. By the time they realised she was there; it would be too dangerous and too late to send her back. And even though Keamy hated her, he wouldn’t risk her getting killed. If she died under his supervision, he received a fate a lot worse than hers had been.
So Alex stood by the doors and listened for them leaving.
**************
‘How many did she say?’ Frank asked, grunting at the weight of Ethan’s body on his shoulder. ‘Forty?’
‘Something like that.’ Juliet replied, but she sounded distant, obviously deep in thought.
‘I wonder if they’ve been getting terrorised by black smoke and people with dart guns.’ Sidney mused, brining up the rear of the group with Daniel. ‘If not we’ll have some cool stories to share.’
‘Do you want me to take him a while, Frank?’ Locke asked, falling into step beside the pilot.
Frank cast him a distasteful glance. ‘No. Thank you.’
‘I think we should, uh, approach with caution.’ Daniel suggested. ‘If they have been…
terrorised… then maybe they might be on edge.’
‘We’re aware of that, Daniel.’ Juliet replied a little sharply. ‘I think everyone’s aware of the situation.’
Sidney narrowed her eyes. ‘He was only saying.’
‘Yeah well he didn’t need to.’ Juliet mumbled, glancing around to try and figure out where they were. ‘I’m well aware of how the people at the beach might respond.’
‘What crawled up your arse and died?’ Sidney scowled.
‘Sidney-’ Daniel started.
‘No, there’s no need for that attitude.’ Sidney snapped. Locke glanced back to her with a curious smirk. Annoyed, she scowled. ‘What?’ she demanded.
‘Nothing.’ He shrugged. ‘Your speaking is improving.’
Sidney blinked at him. ‘What the hell are you-’ She was cut off with a
thunk and she fell backwards like a knocked out cartoon character. Daniel and Locke instinctively ducked, Frank dropped the body of Ethan without any care and he and Juliet pulled out their guns.
‘Wait!’ Locke cried, holding up a hand.
Juliet fired twice, her expression grim and determined. In the bushes, someone yelled out in surprise - a male voice. Then a female yelled; 'Sawyer!'