Still Alive: Part 3
The ominous clouds had vanished – the rain ended. Suddenly, the sky was as richly blue as a twinkling sapphire, and the sun blazed down once more. Charlie, Jack, and Kate walked ahead of Buffy and Giles as they moved through the jungle, making their way back to the beach as quickly as possible. “Anything yet?” Charlie prompted for the tenth time in five minutes as Jack fiddled with the transceiver.
“You keep asking me if there’s anything,” Jack returned, slightly irritated.
“Well, pardon me for being a little desperate, but before the pilot was bloody ripped from the cockpit by something we can’t identify, he did say no one was going to find us unless we get that radio working. So, is there anything?”
“No.”
“Okay,” Charlie replied, not happy but satisfied Jack had given him an answer.
As Jack moved ahead of them, Kate asked Charlie, “What were you doing in the bathroom?”
“Hmm?” Charlie returned, his mind rapidly thinking up an excuse. “Oh, yeah, I thought you could tell. I was getting sick. Puking – my one tangible contribution to the trek.”
Buffy glanced up at the group ahead of them, consciously slowing her pace that she and Giles might be able to speak uninterrupted. “Giles, the guy wasn’t eaten – or even snacked on. His whole body was still intact except for the skin being ripped from his face. Oh, and there were some puncture wounds in his chest … possibly very large teeth marks. Know anything that might do that?”
Giles pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling absolutely useless without his reference books. “Honestly Buffy, I haven’t the slightest idea. I’m not familiar with any demons that large, with the exception of the pure demon the Mayor ascended to.”
“Well, maybe that’s what we’re dealing with – someone that ascended and hasn’t been killed … and, lucky for the rest of the world, has been isolated on this island.”
“It might be possible,” Giles acceded slowly, “but unlikely, I should think. From what I recall, the pure demon needs to feed immediately, but it isn’t so much the blood or flesh it requires, but rather the essence – the soul. It feeds the demon and sustains the transformation. After that, the ascended doesn’t require the same sustenance, but it requires … uh, well, it’s brand of food nonetheless. It seems unlikely there would be enough people on this island to feed such a monster’s appetite.”
“Unless it found a way to FedEx all its food here,” Buffy added.
“It likely would’ve died within weeks of the transformation,” Giles concluded. “Besides, based on your description of the pilot, an ascended demon sounds highly unlikely. There would have been no pilot left.”
“Well, not unless he’s a fan of Silence of the Lambs. Maybe the guy ascended into the pure Hannibal Lector demon.”
Giles looked at her oddly. “Andrew really needs to find his own place in Rome.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay, me being around Dorks R’ Us for entirely too long, but it’s a point, Giles. Maybe we’re dealing with a cannibal.”
“The size of King Kong?” Giles returned skeptically.
“Hey now, Mr. Movie Reference,” Buffy chastised, though she felt the beginnings of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. She certainly didn’t know what she’d do if Giles weren’t here. As her smile faded, she continued, “Okay, so what’s the game plan? Do we hunt or do we wait for it to find us?”
“I think what we need to do is try to get the transceiver working and send out a distress call. I think we need to wait for the rescue planes to find us. Buffy, we’ve no idea what we’re dealing with. As such, I cannot condone you’re taking a chance on finding this thing. We don’t even know what it is, let alone what will kill it. Judging by its size, it would probably take nothing less than an explosion similar to the one we created for the Mayor.”
“And look at us leaving the sticks of dynamite behind,” Buffy said. “Giles, look, whatever this thing is, it’s my responsibility to make sure it doesn’t hurt anyone – to kill it. We obviously know it’s of the demon variety, and that’s enough for me. We’re never going to figure out what it is or what’ll kill it if we don’t get a look at it. I’m going out tonight, and I’m gonna find this thing.”
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“Hey, we’re going through some clothes, sorting them. I see you found your bag. C’mon, you want to give us a hand?”
Shannon lifted her sunglasses to glare at her brother. She’d found her bathing suit and was currently sunbathing on the beach. “No, not really. You’re just wasting your time. They’re coming.”
Boone shook his head, clenching his fists in irritation as he walked away. “Is that your boyfriend?” Claire questioned, sitting down beside Claire. She’d since told Xander she’d be okay if he wasn’t with her constantly. She could tell he was getting antsy, wanting to do something to help, but he refused to leave until she gave him the okay. All in all, she liked him. He seemed to genuinely care about her well being, which was more than she’d found in anyone else in a long time.
“My brother, Boone,” Shannon replied. “God’s friggin’ gift to humanity.”
“He’s just trying to help,” Claire said, slightly put off by Shannon’s comment.
“Yeah, well, it’s a waste of time. They’re coming.”
“Excuse me,” Michael interrupted, joining them on the beach. “Hey, have you seen my boy.”
Shannon ignored him while Claire glanced up, squinting against the sun. “No, I’m sorry, I haven’t seen him since this morning. Can I help you look for him?”
“No, no that’s okay,” Michael replied, certainly not wanting her to overexert herself. “Thanks anyway, though.” He walked away, trudging up the beach toward the jungle. Likely, Walt was looking for his dog Vincent. He yelled for Walt as he entered the dense foliage, stopping when he heard Walt calling for Vincent. He hurried toward the sound of his son’s voice. As he ran up to Walt, he scolded harshly, “Hey, what did I tell you, after everything that’s happened.”
“I thought that maybe Vincent would be around.”
“I told you to stay on the beach.”
“This is so close to the beach,” Walt argued. “I thought that this would be okay.”
“Don’t do that,” Michael snapped. “You listen to me. I mean what I say. Do you understand?” Walt offered his father a nasty glare, so typical of children being told they can’t do something when Michael glanced down and noticed the handcuffs in Walt’s hands. “What is this?” he demanded, reaching for the cuffs.
“I just found them.”
Worried, Michael glanced around them as he placed an arm around his son’s shoulders, guiding him back to the beach. “C’mon, let’s go. Back to the beach.”
“But Vincent!” Walt protested, struggling out of his father’s grip.
Michael grabbed his wrist, pulling him back toward the relative safety of the beach. “We’ll find you’re dog later. Let’s go, now.”
On the beach, Willow helped Xander sort through the luggage with Boone. She was folding some of the clothes when Boone walked away to grab a few more of the discarded suitcases littering the beach. Quickly, she said, “Any luck finding our case yet?”
Xander shook his head. “No. And that’s really the last thing anyone needs to see – stakes, holy water, cross bows. To these people, that’ll just …” Before Xander could finish his statement, he caught a glimpse of Boone and Hurley out of the corner of his eye. They were hauling a heavy black trunk up the beach, and Xander immediately recognized it.
They dropped the trunk in the sand. “Hey, let’s just open it here and see what’s inside,” Boone offered, noticing that Hurley was sweating and breathing heavily from the exertion. He grabbed a nearby rock, and broke the lock. Flipping open the lid, it took him a moment before his mind registered what he was seeing.
“Dude, what is it?” Hurley questioned.
Frowning, Boone reached into the trunk, pulling out a wooden stake. He held it up, a ‘what the hell?’ expression on his face. He handed it to Hurly as he rummaged through the case some more, finding holy water and a crossbow. “Now who the hell would pack stuff like this? Better yet, who the hell would even have shit like this?”
“Looks like someone likes their toothpicks extra big,” Sawyer commented, nodding toward the stake in Hurley’s hand. He saw the white tag hanging off the open lid. He yanked it off and crumpled it in his hand, shoving it into the pocket of his jeans before either Hurley or Boone noticed. He’d check out the name on the tag later.
“Dude, this is just weird,” Hurley said, tossing the stake back inside the chest. “Think we ought to find out who this belongs to? I mean, cuz then maybe we ought to think about tying them to a tree or something, you know? And, uh, keeping them there until the rescue planes come?” he added hopefully.
Boone closed the case, searching for a tag that might identify the owner. “Nothing,” he stated.
“Good,” Xander muttered to Willow as they watched Boone and Hurley. Neither one had noticed Sawyer rip the tag from the luggage. “They can’t find anything.”
“But it’ll definitely raise suspicions. They’re going to wonder who it belongs to,” Willow replied, placing another folded shirt aside.
Xander sighed. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I mean, the planes will be here soon, right? Then we can just forget this whole nightmare ever happened.”
“Is life for us ever that easy?” Willow muttered.
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“I saw you take the tag of that trunk.”
Sawyer glanced up from the book he was reading, comfortably nestled back against the sturdy trunk of a tree and out of the sun’s blazing heat. He saw Sayid standing, arms crossed, before him. “Did you now? So what the hell’s it to you if I did or didn’t?”
Hurley had told Sayid what he and Boone found in the trunk … wooden stakes, crossbows, and holy water. It stood to reason that whoever the trunk belonged to would be a bit off their rocker, and it would be best to keep a close eye on whoever that person was until the rescuers arrived. Earlier, Sayid had seen Sawyer snatch the tag, and now, after finding out the contents, he was extremely curious as to why. “If it’s yours, I think you’d best do some explaining. What the hell could you possibly be doing with a trunk full of wooden stakes, holy water, and crossbows?”
“Gee, I don’t know Sherlock. Maybe someone’s huntin’ vampires. Couldn’t really say though, since it ain’t mine in the first place.”
“Then if it wasn’t yours, why take the tag?”
“Curiosity killed the cat. There wasn’t nothing on it anyway. No name, no nothing. I tossed it somewhere on the beach, but you’re welcome to go find it.”
“I don’t trust you,” Sayid replied, none to willing to leave a man he considered psycho at the moment.
“Join the damn club,” Sawyer muttered, turning his attention back to his book.
“Where’s the tag? I know you didn’t toss it.”
“Hey,” Sawyer began, standing and tossing aside the book. “You want a damn interrogation? How about this one? How do we know you ain’t like the rest of your buddies, huh? How do we know we can trust you? Hmm, it ain’t like it takes that much to put two and two together. Arab plus plane crashing, except I think your sense of direction was a little off. Ain’t no big monuments here to crash into.”
Sayid punched him, sending Sawyer back a few steps from the unexpected blow. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, glaring over at Sayid. “Buddy, you messed with the wrong guy.” He lunged for Sayid then and the two men came to several blows before people noticed what was going on. A group stood watching, uncertain of what to do as Michael instructed Walt to stay where he was before pushing through the people and trying to pull the two men apart. Xander attempted to help Michael, but he was roughly thrown aside. “Hey guys, c’mon!” Michael shouted.
“Hey, break it up!” Jack yelled as he and the group returned to the beach to find all hell breaking loose. “Break it up!” Jack grabbed Sawyer and pushed him back while Michael held onto Sayid. Giles helped Xander to his feet while Buffy glared at Sawyer, somehow knowing he’d been the one to start this. The last thing they needed to do now was fight amongst each other.
“What hell’s going on here?” Buffy demanded, glancing between both men.
“Tell everyone what you told me,” Sayid snarled. “Tell them I crashed the plane. Go on, tell them!”
“The shoe fits, buddy,” Sawyer growled.
“Hey,” Michael began, tossing the cuffs at Jack. “My kid found these in the jungle.”
As Jack caught the handcuffs, Sawyer muttered, “Convenient. Wanna guess real nice who was wearing them when the plane went down? This guy was sitting in the back row of business class the whole flight, never got up – hands folded beneath a blanket. And for some reason, just pointing this out, the guy I saw next to him didn’t make it.”
“Thank you so much for observing my behavior,” Sayid snapped.
“Hey, you don’t think I saw them pull you out of line before we boarded?”
Sayid lunged for Sawyer again, but Michael and Buffy held him back before he could reach him. “Bring it!” Sawyer taunted.
“Yeah, Sawyer like that makes a whole lot of sense!” Buffy snapped, turning on him. “The guy didn’t move the whole flight, but he crashed the plane. What’d he use … magic?”
“Guys, stop,” Kate interceded before Sawyer could reply. “This isn’t helping. Look, we found a transceiver, but it’s not working. Can anybody help?”
“Yes, I might be able to,” Sayid offered, finally calming somewhat after the altercation with Sawyer.
“Oh yeah, great, let’s just trust this guy,” Sawyer replied.
“Hey,” Hurley barked, “we’re all in this together, man. Let’s treat each other with a little respect.”
“Shut the hell up, lardo.”
“Hey, give it a break,” Jack said, glaring at Sawyer.
“Sure, whatever you say, doc. You’re the God damned hero.”
“So, you guys found the cockpit?” Boone questioned as Sawyer shrugged out of Jack’s grasp and walked away. Jack nodded and Boone continued anxiously, “Any survivors?”
“No,” Jack replied flatly glancing over at Kate and Sayid, who was currently looking over the transceiver in his hand.
“Duel-band military spec,” he muttered, almost to himself. Then, to Kate, Jack and Buffy, he continued, “Chances are the battery is good, but the radio itself is dead.”
“Do you think you can fix it?” Kate asked.
“I’ll need some time, but yes, I might be able to,” Sayid replied.
Before they had a chance to speculate further about the radio, Rose joined the group, searching for Jack. “Doctor! Doctor – the man with the shrapnel, I think you should have a look at him.”
************************************************************************
“That guy’s a jackass.” Xander took a seat on a boulder next to Sayid. Strange how, as he thought of it briefly, boulders were becoming more and more comfortable with each passing hour. Who knew? Boulder chairs – the wave of the future.
Sayid glanced up from the transceiver as the man with the eye patch sat down next to him. He thought he remember his name was Xander. “Some people have problems,” Sayid murmured as he continued working on the radio.
“Some people?” Xander questioned. “As in you and me, I’d say no. As in him, I’d have to vote for a resounding yes.”
“How is the pregnant woman doing?” Sayid asked, not really wanting to discuss Sawyer. He’d already thought of several things he could’ve done to thank Sawyer for his derisive remarks and suspicions, and that brought back too many memories he cared not to think about. He was done with that life, Sayid reminded himself. It was his past, and he’d made a promise to himself when he deserted.
“Who? Claire? Okay … or, um, as okay as she can be. She hasn’t felt the baby move. She’s scared.”
“That’s understandable,” Sayid replied. “I think we’re all a little frightened.”
“So, hey, where’d you learn to do all that? With the radio thing and fixing it?” Xander asked, nodding toward the transceiver.
“I was a military communications officer.”
“Really? Cool. Another military guy,” Xander replied without thinking.
“You were in the army?” Sayid questioned.
“Well, you know … not technically. There was this one Halloween we all got turned into our costumes, and I was military guy. As a bonus, I still remember all the training, and …” Xander’s voice trailed off as Sayid finally looked at him strangely. And he realized what he was saying. Damn it! He could keep his mouth shut around a really attractive woman and keep from looking like a fool, but he decided to go stupid around this guy? What the hell was wrong with him? The sun – that was it. The sun was frying his brains. That was the only explanation. “Ah, yeah, well, long story. You uh, gotta live in Sunnydale to get it. So, uh, yeah, anyway, what were you? Army? Navy? Marines?”
“The Republican Guard,” Sayid responded.
Awkward silence descended over them before Xander finally said, “Oh, uh, yeah, well, that’s … great. Yeah. So, um, hey, just give a shout if you need help with that thing there.” Xander stood.
“Did your costume come with a broken radio transmitter that needed repaired?” Sayid asked, amused.
“Ha, ha, funny,” Xander replied, chastising himself silently for being the biggest idiot in the world. “I’m telling you,” he began, trying to redeem himself, “you haven’t seen anything ‘til you’ve seen Sunnydale.”
“I imagine that would be difficult. It’s nothing more than a crater – a city leveled by an earthquake.”
“Uh-huh, so the papers say. Seeing as how we’re looking to get pretty cozy on this island with the whole not being rescued thing, I’ll tell you a story sometime.”
“You do that,” Sayid said, shaking his head at Xander’s oddities as he turned his attention back to the transmitter. The man must’ve gotten knocked on the head pretty good during the crash. That was the only explanation.
************************************************************************
Xander found Buffy on the beach, alone as she pulled her hair up in a ponytail. It had been a few hours since his rather embarrassing conversation with Sayid. He’d checked on Claire, and helped Boone go through some more of the wreckage. After seeing Buffy conversing with Sayid and Kate, he’d decided to check in with her on the progress of the radio. “Did he get it working?”
“Yeah, but we can’t do anything with it,” Buffy replied. “Sayid said something about not having reception. We’re going to have to head for higher ground if we’re going to get anything. So, here’s me going on yet another fun filled hike through the jungle. Did I ever mention how much I hate hiking?”
“How much higher are we talking?”
Buffy nodded toward the mountain that rose above the island. It was a little ways inland, and completely intimidating in its height. “About that high.”
“I’m going with you.”
“Xander, no. Look, we don’t even know what’s out there. You heard what happened. I shouldn’t have even told you and Will, but you have a right to know. I need you to stay here. I need to know you’re safe.”
“Look, you just told me not an hour ago that the planes are looking for us in all the wrong places. If this is our last ditch attempt for rescue, you’re not leaving me out. And I don’t want to hear the spiel about my safety. It’s no less risky for the rest of them. They’re just human too, but I don’t see you telling them to stay behind.”
Buffy regarded Xander silently for a moment. “Okay, fine, you’re in. We’re leaving in a few … Kate just went over to let Jack know what’s going on. He’s still trying to figure out what to do with that guy.”
“Do you think he’ll live?”
Buffy shrugged. “With that thing out there, our chances aren’t any better than his.”
************************************************************************
Kate stepped inside the tent, watching silently for a moment as Jack tried to stabilize the man with the shrapnel. “How is he? Can you do anything?”
“Pull out the shrapnel.”
Kate appeared confused, frowning at his words. “But you said yesterday that …”
“I know what I said, but that was yesterday. I was hoping he’d be at a hospital by now. If I leave him like this he’ll be dead within a day. If I open him up, and I can control the bleeding, and if he doesn’t go into sepsis, and if I can find some antibiotic, he might be all right.”
“That’s a lot of ‘ifs,’” Kate commented as Jack turned back to his patient. “I’m going on a hike, by the way.”
“Sorry?”
“Sayid fixed the transceiver, but we can’t use it – not from here, anyway. I just thought you’d want to know.” She turned to leave when Jack caught her by the arm, forcing her to look back at him.
“Kate, wait a minute.”
“You said we have to send out a signal.”
“You didn’t see what that thing did to the pilot. You have no idea … I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“And what makes you think we’re any safer here than we are in the jungle?” Kate returned. “If we’re going to get off this island, we’ve got to take a chance, Jack. From the looks of it, they’re not coming – not unless we contact them.”
“Yeah, Kate, I know,” Jack replied slowly. “Look, wait for me. I don’t know how long …” Jack’s voice trailed off as he glanced back at the prone man.
“Sayid said the batteries won’t last.”
“Okay, fine,” Jack said. “But if you see or hear anything, and I mean anything, run.”
After Kate left to find Sayid and Buffy, Jack approached Hurley who was standing alone on the beach. “Hey, I could use your help,” Jack said.
“Okay,” Hurley replied, turning to look at him.
“Good, I need help going through the luggage. I need any kind of prescription medications you can find, especially things ending in –myacin and – cillin. Those are antibiotics.”
“Sure, dude, I’m on it. But hey, what’s this for?”
“The guy in the tent. He’s going to need it.”
************************************************************************
Boone stopped beside his sister, watching Shannon for a moment as she stared out into the ocean, completely oblivious to his presence. “Hey, you know you could actually do more if got on your feet once in awhile. Sitting here isn’t helping.”
Shannon glared at him. “I’ve just been through a trauma here, okay? Don’t you understand that? I don’t want to sort through bodies and wreckage. I just want to go home.”
“We’ve all been through a trauma,” Boone snapped. “Do you think any of us want to be here, staring at dead people and going through their belongings like grave robbers? None of us want this, but unlike you, we’re trying to make due. We’re trying to get by the best we can until the rescue planes come. We can’t all just sit here, painting our nails.”
“Whatever, Boone. Go play Captain Red Cross. It’s so easy for you to look down your nose at me, isn’t it? She gave you everything, but what did she ever give me, huh? So what, you take me on as your charity case when I never asked for it and think you can just stand there and make fun of me like you’re so much freaking better?”
“Shannon, this isn’t about my mother, and I never sided with her. You know that, but you still throw it back in my face. And you know what? I wish I didn’t have to make fun of you – I wish I didn’t have to get on your ass about helping out instead of being worthless, sitting here and doing absolutely nothing aside from working on your tan. So yeah, Shannon, you make it real easy.”
“Fine,” Shannon snapped, coming to her feet. Her eyes flashing, she glared at her brother. “You want me to do something? Fine, I’ll do something.” She nodded toward the group heading out into the jungle. “I’m going with them. I’m going on the hike.”
“No, you’re not,” Boone said, hurrying to catch up with her as she stormed off. “Shannon, you can’t even live without curbside service. What the hell makes you think you’re going to walk up a mountain?”
“Watch me,” Shannon replied. “I’m coming with you,” Shannon told Sayid, Buffy, Xander, Kate, and Charlie.
“The hell she is,” Boone said. “She’s not going. She just makes really bad decisions that upset her family, which, at the moment, is me.”
“Shut up, and stop trying to be charming. Look, I’m coming with you whether you like it or not.”
“Uh, you know you really shouldn’t be going if you’re just doing it to prove a point to your brother,” Kate said, a little annoyed. “Look, it’s a long hike, and I don’t want you going if you’re not really up to it.”
“It isn’t as though I’m a cripple,” Shannon snapped, irritated by the implication in Kate’s voice. So, Kate thought she was too much of a princess to do anything? “I can put one foot in front of the other.”
“Gee, Shan, I bet people have had hard time with that one seeing as how you’ve been sitting on your ass since the crash,” Boone said.
Shannon ignored him. “I’m going,” she reiterated.
“Guys, look I don’t care if the whole damn camp comes,” Buffy interceded. “But we’ve got to get up there and back before dark. Let’s move.”
“Agreed,” Sayid muttered as they began to make their way through the jungle.
On the beach, Sawyer watched the group heading for the jungle. He glanced down at the crumpled tag in his hand. Buffy Summers. Well, he sure as hell wasn’t going to figure out this puzzle by staying on the beach. Without another thought, he joined the group, coming up from behind beside Buffy. She glanced at him, surprised to see him, not to mention a little peeved. After the heated fight between Sayid and Sawyer, this really didn’t seem like such a good idea. “So, you decided to join us?”
“I’m a complex guy, sweetheart. Get used to it.”
“Lucky for me I won’t have to. Moving up there now,” Buffy replied, taking long strides to reach Sayid and Kate at the front of the group and putting as much separation between her and Sawyer. For some odd reason, she got the feeling this guy was watching her, and she didn’t know why.
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