Ok, I don't know what is going on with fanfic.net but it won't led me upload anything.
So, like last time, I'll post the new chapter here!
This might be one of my favorite chapters yet.
Disclaimer: I make no profit from this. Ben and all of the other Lost characters do not belong to me. Izzi, however, is mine.
A/N-This is set in season 3 as the Others leave the Hydra to go back to their “home”. Some things from the TV show may stay the same, some may not
Chapter 21-Flames
Izzi panicked. It was the only logical thing she could think to do. They were going to burn her. First they threw her in a cage and now they were going to set her on fire.
She didn’t think things could get any worse until she saw Isabel led to the cages by two of the men from the village. One of them unlocked the cage and the other pushed Isabel in. Isabel threw them a cold look as they locked the cage and walked away.
“Don’t tell me they are planning to set you on fire as well.” Izzi pleaded.
“No, they saw me leaving to find Ben. Apparently, that isn’t allowed either.” She answered bitterly.
“What are they going to do with you?”
“I assume they’ll release me after…”
“After the ceremony?” Izzi finished for her.
“Yes.” Isabel replied.
“Ben was my last hope. God, I don’t even know where he is.”
“I’m sorry Izzi; I should have expected them to be watching me.”
“Stop apologizing Isabel. You’ve done everything you could to help me. It’s not your fault the whole damn village has gone insane.”
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Izzi sighed and threw herself to the floor of the cage. She looked over at Isabel who was sleeping. They had been in the cage for two days. She hoped they would let her go. She didn’t want her sister-in-law harmed because of her. It was dark outside and everything was at peace. Everything except for Izzi. Four hours ago Juliet had paid Izzi another visit.
Juliet had stood watching her for a long time before she spoke, “I hope you’re ready.”
“For what?” Izzi asked.
“You know what.” She said pulling that infuriating half smile of hers.
Izzi nodded, “You’re right, I do. I guess you will finally get your revenge on me after all.”
“You should have let Ben kill me when you had the chance. I bet you’re regretting stopping him now.”
“No, I’ll never regret that. I stopped the man I love from murdering a woman in front of his daughter and his people. I would never have forgiven myself if I let him go through with it. Now, do I regret not pulling the trigger when I had the gun in my hands? Maybe a little, but it wouldn’t have changed anything. Jacob would have found someone else to manipulate into doing his dirty work for him.”
Juliet chose not to reply.
“Do you ever think about it?” Izzi asked.
“Think about what?”
“When you were with Ben, when you were married.”
“Before or after he betrayed me?”
“Before. Do you ever miss it? Miss him?”
Juliet looked away, “Every day. I miss how he made me feel.”
“How was that?”
“Safe.”
Izzi moved closer to the bars of the cage. Juliet was still not facing her; lost in her own memories.
“I understand why you are doing this.” Izzi said quietly.
“What?” Juliet said finally looking at her.
“I understand. You were happy and in love. With Ben no less, and I know how that feels. Ben is the type of man who you can’t love a little or half-way. You have to love Ben completely. And what makes it even more difficult is that you love him despite who he is and the horrible things he does. You know that as well as I do. I can look at you right now and see that you never stopped feeling for Ben, not really. You hate him and love him at the same time. So, yes, I can understand why you would want to get revenge; some sort of vindication for what happened to you. I don’t blame you, I’m quite certain I would act in the same way if I had been married to Ben first only to be replaced. What’s funny is that I don’t even blame Ben for all this. Yes, he did play his part, but in truth I blame Jacob. He is the cause of everything. The hold he has on this island is sick.”
Juliet took in everything Izzi said. For a second Izzi saw something pass through her eyes, something very human and vulnerable that Izzi had never seen from her before. Then it was gone.
“This doesn’t change anything.” Juliet said in her usual cold voice.
“I know.” Izzi agreed.
“See you tomorrow.” Juliet taunted as she turned on her heel and hurried away.
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Ben ran. He had been running straight for days. Adrenaline drove him as he crashed through the jungle not bothering to cover his tracks or keep quiet. He had to get back to the village. He didn’t know why the others in the village were breaking custom and preparing the ritual for Izelle, but he did know he wouldn’t rest until he got there to stop it.
He had finally realized that Izelle mattered more to him than Jacob; than the whole island. He wasn’t about to lose her.
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Izzi was woken by the clang of metal against metal as the cage was opened. The two men from earlier grabbed her arms and hauled her out of the cage. Izzi looked back at Isabel as the cage was locked with her inside.
“Isabel, thank you for everything.” Izzi said as her eyes watered.
“Thank you Izzi.” Isabel replied sadly.
“Take care of Alex and tell Ben I love him please. Tell him I never stopped and I never will.” Isabel nodded as Izzi was led away.
Izzi couldn’t stop her tears from falling. She was about to die and all she could think about was how she left things with Ben. She had turned away from him and now she would never see him again.
When the men stopped she looked up and saw everyone from the village gathered in a circle. When they parted to let them through Izzi saw what they surrounded.
Izzi could have sworn she felt her heart stop. She looked up at a massive pile of wood. Branches were stacked high, neatly one on top of the other and a tall, thick log stood upright in the middle of it all. She imagined that this was exactly what the women of Salem saw as they were led to their demise.
Without realizing or even remembering how it happened Izzi found herself tied to the large log. Her arms had been pulled behind her back and tied tightly against the log. Ropes also criss-crossed her torso; there was no hope of escape.
Tears blurred her vision as she looked over the crowd watching her intently. She recognized every one of them. They were her friends, people she had come to trust during her two years on the island. And now they were here to watch her die. Izzi knew she shouldn’t have been surprised. When she thought about it, whenever something bad had happened to her, they had never tried to help her. From her library burning, to Jack kidnapping her to now; they had done nothing.
Izzi was trying in vain to loosen the ropes around her wrists when she saw Alex being led to the front of the crowd. She obviously wasn’t there by choice. Tom was standing beside her with one hand clamped tightly around her arm. Izzi looked at Alex and pulled at her ropes. The girl had been crying, from the looks of it for a long time, and they were going to force her to watch what was about to happen. At that moment Izzi hated them all for subjecting her young step daughter to this. No child should ever have to witness something so horrible.
Alex looked up at Izzi and made the sign for “I love you” with her hand. Izzi nodded and mouthed the words back to her. Alex had always been fascinated by sign language and Izzi had taught her everything she remembered learning in school. Izzi thanked Alex for that one bright moment before her own people killed her.
Izzi felt a tremor run through her as Juliet approached with a torch. She was followed by three men who flanked what looked to be a prisoner in between them. Izzi had to look twice to realize it was Jack. His wrists were handcuffed behind him and every few seconds he would try to get away from the men around him. The man behind him held a taser and if Jack got too out of hand he would use it. Izzi couldn’t imagine why Jack was being restrained, after all wasn’t he supposed to be new leader? Izzi found her answer when Jack saw her and started fighting against the men even more.
Jack had come for her.
Like with Juliet’s near execution; there were no words spoken. No explanation for what was coming.
Everything went silent as Juliet threw the torch onto the pile of wood. Izzi watched it, amazed by how quickly the flames spread. As she watched the fire, Izzi felt like she was standing beside herself watching as everything happened. She thought it was curious how she had been silent since they tied her to the log.
Izzi was brought back to herself as she felt the heat growing at her feet. She looked down and the now raging fire beneath her and finally began to scream.
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Ben approached the security fence and was about to run through it before he stopped himself. He turned toward a pylon and bent down to the keypad. He quickly typed in the override code before running through.
He hadn’t gone far when he saw Isabel sitting in a cage near another section of the fence. When she saw him approaching she stood up.
“Ben!” she said urgently.
“Where is she?” he asked.
“They took her.”
Ben didn’t stop to help his sister. He knew she would be fine for the time being. He stumbled past her, continuing on his quest to save Izelle.
Ben had come to a slight rise in the earth when he saw the smoke rising into the air. He looked down into the small valley below him and saw a large group of people. His eyes followed the direction they were all looking and the sight brought him to his knees.
He heard his wife’s screams as clearly as he would if he was standing right next to her. She called for him over and over again as the flames began to lick her skin.
“Izelle!!!!” Ben bellowed to the sky as tears fell down his face.
He was too late.
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THE END!!
No, just kidding, I wouldn't do that! More is coming, I promise!
