A/N: Well I'm back… mainly due to hersheygal badgering me about how she wants to know what happened in the tent and blah, blah, blah… lol! You know I love you Hershey! As well as anyone else who reviews, like orlandocrazy, my fellow Orly lover:D Anyway, I'll stop being all weird and emotional and just let you read on…
Disclaimer: I do NOT own LOST… I just write about it…
(Mr. Eko's Point of View)
Things on the island have become very strange… even more than before. I cannot help but feel that everyone stopped functioning when Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, Jin, and Bernard went after Kate. Everyone still eats, drinks, walks, talks but no one does anything. It reminds me how dependent we have all become on Jack as our leader… normally people would have turned to Locke but he's been locked up in the hatch for a long time. I don't think anyone really trusts him anymore. I'm not even sure if I trust him… because I know that what we found in the Main Hatch was slowly driving Locke insane. I tried my best to convince him that what he had been doing in the hatch is important but I'm not sure if he believes pushing the button is helping anything. Locke doesn't like to be tricked or look ignorant to something. It hurts his pride too much. Pride is something that I gave up long ago, once I saw my brother being shot by the men that he had called to help him. I no longer cared for pride or boastfulness or deceit… I just learned to see the truth in things.
(No point of view)
Several people's heads jerked towards the tent in panic. The baby continued to wail and there came other sobs from the tent. Something was definitely wrong. Several people rushed over and pulled open the tent flap, revealing the contents inside.
First there was Michael, holding a gun and looking sick to his stomach. In the crib was a frightened baby crying pitifully, probably a result of the noise of the gun. Libby was on the floor, clutching the arm of what appeared to be Ana Lucia. The last thing that the confused survivors saw was Ana Lucia, pale and bleeding from her abdomen. Libby turned towards the recently arrived people, head bleeding from a gash, and seemed to plead with them.
"She's dead… Michael killed her," was all that was said.
(Flashback… kinda…)
Libby's eyes fluttered open again after momentary unconsciousness. Before her she saw Ana Lucia rushing towards Michael who had his gun pointed towards the crib.
"Michael!" Libby screamed in horror. Before anyone could react however, Ana had raced in front of the gun in an attempt to grab it from Michael's grasp. He turned and on instinct fired the gun… twice. Ana froze sickeningly, eyes rolling back into her head. Michael made a gasping noise as she fell to the ground and landed with a heavy thud. Libby had rushed over to Ana at that point, ignoring the screaming baby, and stupidly checked for a pulse. Of course there was none. She had been shot in the stomach twice.
"Libby…" Michael hissed, looking revolted. Libby looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes.
"You're in with them… aren't you Michael? They wanted you to kill Aaron? Why?" Libby asked fiercely. Before Michael could reply however there were several people at the tent, peering in on them in fear.
(End flashback)
Sun hurried up last but all she needed to see was Michael to know what happened. Michael stared at the crowd blankly and then shook his head in denial.
"I didn't kill her…" he whispered softly. Libby gave a shriek of anger and lunged towards Michael, grabbing his upper arms in a death grip.
"You liar… you tell them what you did or I will!" Libby screamed, shaking Michael. Michael just stared back at her, mouth agape, and shook his head again. Libby stood seething for a while, until she reached up and slapped Michael with every ounce of strength she possessed.
"Libby!" someone called in the crowd but Libby just ignored them. She looked up, eyes streaming with tears, and began her explanation.
"Ana Lucia went outside to see what the smoke was all about," she began shakily. "I turned to the baby because he was crying and suddenly I… I was hit from behind. I came to not too long after that, but just in time to see Michael standing in front of the crib with a gun pointed straight for Aaron!" she exclaimed, anger creeping into her words. In an instant Ana Lucia was on him, trying to take the gun and… he shot her… twice." There was a silence before someone cleared their throat.
"But if this was true then why didn't Michael just finish his task with the remaining bullets?" they asked cautiously. Libby grabbed the gun from Michael's limp grasp and checked.
"There was only two," she said, showing the empty gun to the rest. This must have been enough for the rest of them because Michael was quickly grabbed and dragged away, probably to the hatch. Sun stayed behind with Libby, staring sadly after Michael.
"Michael thought what he was doing was right," Sun said softly and mournfully. Libby turned to the other woman and nearly laughed.
"How on Earth could that have been the right thing to do? Kill an innocent baby… a baby for Christ's sake!" Libby cried, waving her arms around. Sun glanced at her and paused for a moment.
"The Other's have his son… obviously what he told us when he returned wasn't true. He did find Them and they put him up to it… for the life of his son," Sun explained, looking back at the smoke that was still rising heavily from the jungle. Libby looked up at the smoke as well and suddenly the pieces fell into place.
"Jack… Kate! Sawyer, Bernard, Sayid…" Libby mumbled frantically.
"Jin," Sun finished softly. Libby was silent after that… disturbed by Sun's sudden despair.
"What do they want with them?" Libby asked, more to herself than to Sun. Sun just shook her head and continued to stare off into the jungle. Libby sighed and turned back to the tent to try and calm the baby and do… something with poor Ana Lucia. The woman who had willingly gave her life so that the little baby crying in the handmade crib could live.
……………………..
"Come on!" Sayid called, voice heavy with accent. The other three men were racing after Sayid, struggling through the thick terrain of the jungle.
"Where exactly are we going oh oober tracker'?" Sawyer called as he ran, ducking a low branch.
"I think it's obvious that we're heading towards the smoke," Bernard huffed, having a more difficult time than the young men as he was getting close to sixty years old. Sawyer rolled his eyes but remained silent. Jin, of course, ran without speaking either… he hardly said anything as it was whether it was Korean or English. Suddenly Sayid came to a standstill which caused everyone else to halt painfully.
"What now commando?" Sawyer growled in annoyance. Sayid ignored the comment and continued to glance around in confusion. "What? Do you want me to stop by the nearest gas station and pick up a map or something?" Sawyer barked sarcastically. Sayid whirled around to face him and finally spoke what was troubling him.
"Have you not noticed how quiet it is?" he whispered. Sawyer glared at him but then it also hit him that there wasn't any noise… at all. The whole jungle was dead silent… no birds, no bugs, no water trickling, none of the noises that had been there previously. A deafening, stifling silence settled in and consumed the four men.
…………………..
Jack stared in horror at the fire that was now sporting bright green flames. In the distance he thought he heard gunshots… but it had to just be his mind playing tricks.
"What do you want with her?" Jack barked, motioning to Kate. Zeke howled with laughter and he gave Kate a light shove.
"You still don't get it? Well they let anyone get through doctor school these days don't they?" he barked and grabbed hold of Kate's elbow roughly.
"This is our hostage Jack. H-O-S-T-A-G-E. And we ain't gonna let her go until you meet our demands. So while you sit and plan just remember that Pollyanna here is at our mercy, which turns out to not be as kind as yours is." Jack felt fear grip his heart in a cold death grip. "We'll be seeing each other Jacko," Zeke chuckled and in an instant the fire was put out, leaving the world in darkness. Jack only just realized that the sun had set and how vulnerable he was at the moment.
"Kate!" he yelled angrily, running around as if hoping to find the thieves that took her. "Kate!" he cried one more time before his bad leg gave out on him. "Damn!" he shouted, nursing his now swollen foot. "Damn you Henry Gale!" he cried one more time before the darkness overcame him.
…………………….
Claire was just about to close her eyes when suddenly the hatch door opened above her. With a start, Claire jumped to her feet and eagerly ran over to the visitors, hoping it was Jack. Instead she was greeted with a horrifying sight. Michael was being dragged down, fighting and screaming all the way down. A little ways behind him a body was also being carried that looked vaguely familiar.
"What happened? What are you doing with Michael!" Claire demanded, horrified. Sun, who happened to be hoisting the body, saw Claire and immediately left Ana's side to go explain to the young woman.
"Michael… tried to kill Aaron. He has been corrupted by the Others," Sun said softly, nervously. Claire paled and immediately raced towards the opening.
"Stay with Charlie!" she shouted hysterically as she climbed out of the underground hatch and into the darkening evening. She had barely run a few steps however when she bumped into Libby who was carrying a large bundle in her arms.
"Where's my baby?" Claire shrieked, terror filling her. "Where's Aaron?" Libby instantly turned the bundle so that Aaron's sleepy face showed through.
"He's right here Claire," she whispered, eyes swollen from tears. Claire quickly snatched Aaron away from Libby and began to coo gently to him. Once Claire had calmed down she noticed how upset Libby looked.
"What's the matter? What happened?" Claire asked, softer now that she knew her son was safe. Libby shook her head, tears threatening again.
"Ana Lucia," she croaked out. "She's dead. Michael shot her twice when she tried to grab the gun from him," Libby explained, tears leaking through her puffy eyes. Claire gasped and then looked down at her peaceful child. If it hadn't been for Ana Lucia…
"Oh god," Claire replied in a hushed tone. She looked back up at Libby and felt tears forming in her own eyes as well. "Oh my god." Claire couldn't seem to find anymore words to say as she clutched Aaron close to her and cried. She just couldn't believe that such a selfless act was possible… especially from someone like Ana.
……………………
The four travelers broke into a small clearing where they thought the smoke had come from.
"Jack!" Sayid called into the darkness hopefully. The other three looked around in vain and then decided to call his name too.
"Hey hero! You alive?" Sawyer drawled into the night. No response… not from anywhere. Suddenly Jin tripped over something large in the ground and landed with a thud to the ground.
"Jack!" he cried in relief, quickly turning the still body over so that Jack's face was turned upwards. The other three hurried to where Jin's voice was coming from eagerly.
"Is he alive?" Bernard asked fearfully. Sayid leaned down and pressed a few fingers to Jack's throat, feeling for a pulse.
"Yes… he's alive," Sayid replied finally. The other three sat in silence until Sawyer did something expected… yet not expected. He reached over to where he assumed Jack's face was and smacked it as hard as he could with one hand, the sound making a resounding "thwack!" in the still night. It also caused Jack to yelp and start from his unconscious state with a sharp jolt.
"Sawyer," Sayid scolded… but he had to admit that it worked.
"Jesus Christ Sawyer what the hell did you do that for?" Jack shouted, rubbing his face. Sawyer shrugged and balanced on his heels thoughtfully.
"Well… I figured we didn't have time to play the Sleeping Beauty game… and I really didn't want to have to kiss you darling," he drawled characteristically. Jack reached up and punched Sawyer hard in the shoulder, knocking him down to the ground in sprawled heap. "Yup… he's fine!"
A/N: Well… there you have it. Will you call the chase of now Hershey? Lol! Anyway, please review:D