LOST: Rp4

Late 1954

Zoe had been trekking through the jungle after another flash had sent them into another unknown timezone.

"Where are we going?" Zoe asked John.

"To see if we can find any of our friends." John replied. "And then we need to find Richard."

It was dark, and Zoe felt uneasy travelling through the jungle at night, especially when they were unsure where and when they were. Ethan could be out there again as well as the many other horrific monsters. Zoe shuddered at the thought of Ethan, and she knew instantly the nightmares were never going to disappear now. Her face had gone back to being pale now, she was frightened.

"How are we supposed to find them? With no concrete trails. We don't know when the next flash will be." Zoe questioned.

"We better hope we find them before it does then." Locke responded unhelpfully as the continued through the jungle. They had only advanced five more minutes through the jungle when Locke stopped suddenly, and Zoe instinctively listened. She could hear desperate cries in the distance, and a harsh, authorative voice. She immediately picked out Sawyer's voice.

"Sawyer!" Zoe whispered. Locke gave her a piercing look, indicating her to be quiet. It was clear from his shouts, combined with pleading screams of a woman - Juliet? And the sharp orders of a stranger, that they were in trouble. Before Locke could stop her, Zoe ran through the jungle towards the commotion. She wasn't going to let more blood shed. She couldn't handle it. She ran into the clearing, and gasped in horror as she saw two men with a firm hold of Juliet, her arm held out forcibly as another stranger prepared to chop it clean off. To her surprise, Jo was there too, but she was being held up at gunpoint too. Another man held a gun threateningly at Sawyer, and Zoe lurched herself in his path between Sawyer and himself protectively before she thought of what she was doing. She met his cold, dark eyes, and she looked him up and down, she noticed a label on the clothes he wore, identifying him as 'Jones'.

"Leave them alone!" Zoe hissed threateningly at the stranger.

"Step aside silly girl, I have enough bullets to kill all four of you." Jones mocked, smiling smugly.

"Five." Zoe spat back. Jones went to look all around him, but Zoe clicked her fingers at him, distracting him.

"Do you really want to be responsible for killing an innocent child?!" She demmanded to know, pointing her finger at her stomach. "This baby has already lost its father. A caring, noble man. You going to kill its mother too, and himself? He doesn't deserve that." Jones looked lost for words, he was thinking, and trying to think fast. Zoe had noticed the two other men were named Cunningham and Mattingly. Mattingly was preparing to chop Juliet's hand off, while Cunningham was holding it down. Before he could reply, or his two men react, still waiting for Jones to give the command to go ahead with hurting Juliet, stones whistled through the air, knocking Jones and Mattingly over. Juliet reacted instinctively, grabbing Mattingly's gun and hitting Cunningham with it, causing him to stumble backwards. Meanwhile, the man holding hsis aim at Jo was distracted, and Jo skillfully kicked his wrist and his gun flew across the jungle floor, rendering him weaponless. Zoe grabbed the gun and threw it back at Jo, and she caught it greatfully, and held her aim at her original captor. Mattingly kept a firm hold of his gun and got back to his feet, and launched himself towards Sawyer.

"No!" Zoe screamed in defiance, but before Mattingly could cause any real injury to Sawyer, a knife whistled through the air, narrowly missing Zoe and hit Mattingly in the back, killing him instantly. Sawyer grabbed at Jones's gun, and Juliet aimed hers at Cunningham has Sawyer aimed his at Jones, the men both surrended, but were looking wildly around them for the source of the culprit who had just killed their friend. John Locke stepped into the clearing and retrieved his knife.



1977

Zoe was curled in a tight ball, Charlie in her arms when she woke up. She panically checked him over, but like she was assured, he was safe, and unharmed. Zoe exhaled a sigh of relief. She had crashed not too far from a flowing stream or river, and she heard voices. She instantly picked out Jack's and Kate's. She held Charlie close to her chest and walked towards the noise. To some stoke of luck, she found her large backpack and baby satchel along the way.

"It's about time." She muttered under her breath, referring to things going well for once. "Better not rely on that too much though." Zoe had to stumble slightly down a steep slope, and found Jack checking Kate's forehead, which appeared to have some sort of injury, as it was bleeding slightly.

"Jack! Kate!" Zoe shouted to them, and they looked up at her as she had shouted to them, announcing her presence. "Are you ok?"

"We're fine." Kate shouted back, and Zoe came level to them.

"Have you seen anyone else?" Zoe asked aanxiously, talking in her normal tones. "Hurley...Sun...Ben...Sayid?" Jack and Kate looked at each other for a moment, a familiar spark that Zoe could always detect when they looked at each other. They turned back to face her.

"No." They replied in unison.



Late 1954

The dead body of Mattingly laid on the ground of the jungle. John and Jo had their guns aimed at Jones, Cunningham and the man who had threatened Jo, had been forced to kneel on their knees with their hands on the backs of their heads. Sawyer paced behind the captors with Mattingly's machete. Juliet looked over them with her arms folded while Zoe sat beside Locke on a log, his hand to his mouth in contemplation as he looks at the captured men. Zoe watched with intrigue, she had no idea who these men were, she didn't recognise them from the Others, and it appeared Juliet didn't either. But they didn't know what time they were in, so this could be either way before, or way after their time on the island.

"Who are these people?" Locke asked the obvious question

"Well, gee, I didn't have time to ask that, with Frogurt on fire and all." Sawyer muttered sarcastically, as he continued to pace up and down behind the captors impaiently.

"They attacked us on the beach." Juliet explained more helpfully. Locke studied the rifle he had snitched off Jones.

"This is a 30-caliber M1 Garand rifle. It looks new." He commented.

"Who cares about the rifle? Where the hell you two been?" Sawyer demmanded. Zoe's face paled incredibly instantly as her mind wondered to answer Sawyer's question. Before she could even try to reply, Locke answered it.

"If you've been going through what I have, James, maybe the more appropriate question would be, when the hell have I been?" Locke replied.

"What happened to your leg?" Sawyer began to question.

"I got shot." Locke explained simply.

"By who?"

"We can swap stories later. We told the rest of our group that we would meet them at the creek. If there's any chance of reconnecting with them, we'd better get moving." Juliet reminded them before John or Zoe could answer Sawyer's question. Sawyer seemed to notice Zoe's sudden look of distress, and mistook her fear.

"Fine, seeing as we have no rope to make sure these two don't try to kill us again. Guess we're gonna have to shoot 'em." Sawyer concluded.

"Quare non sunt vestitus eis?" Cunningham whispered to Jones. Zoe recognised the language immediately. Latin. She had learnt it years back during her years at boarding school in England. 'Why aren't they in uniform?'

"Tace!" Jones ordered forcibly back. 'Shut up!' Sawyer hit Jones at the back of his neck.

"What?" He snapped, his tone so savage it made Zoe flinch as she wasn't apying much attention to him. Locke stood up and took a step closer to the three captors while Zoe remained, still, where she was, she shivered slightly, for some reason sensing a significant darft of icy ambience.

"Cognoscitis qui sumus?" Juliet responded to the two of the captors attempt to try and speak in secrecy. Zoe smiled. It came as no surprise to her that Juliet would no Latin. It must be a trait required by the Others, Zoe theorized.

"What language is that?" Sawyer inquired.

"They're speaking Latin. That one asked why we aren't in uniform, and this one told him to shut up." Juliet explained in her usual casual, calm an aloof voice.

"And how is it that they know how to speak Latin, Juliet?" Locke asked, hinting almost as if to accuse her of something.

"The same reason I do. Because they're Others." Juliet replied noncholant. Zoe noticed Jones swallow.



In the jungle, Locke and Jo walked from behind, both carring guns. John was fiddling with the compass Richard had given him, flipping it over in his hand. In front were the three captured Hostiles, their hands clasped firmly on the back of their heads, which made Zoe a little nervous. It was too easy for them to run, they should have got some vines and used them as rope to tie their hands behind their back. But Zoe was too distanced to say anything. She walked in front along with Juliet and Sawyer.

"So who taught you Latin?" Sawyer asked.

"Others 101. Gotta learn Latin--language of the enlightened." Juliet explained.

"Enlightened, my ass." Sawyer smiled. He stole a sideways glance at Zoe. "Are you ok? You look awfully pale. What's wrong?" He asked with a genunine concerned voice.

"I..." Zoe mumbled. "Nothing, I just...nothing." Zoe stuttered.

"I suggest you talk to us. Once we get back to the creek and meet up with the rest of our people, there's gonna be a lot of anger directed at you for attacking them." Locke spoke to Cunningham.

Sawyer eyed Zoe up and down, and was not convinced by her reply. He allowed Juliet to carry on the lead and took a firm but comforting hand on Zoe's shoulder and took her to one side.

"The rest of your people are either captured or dead." Cunningham replied in an American accent.

"What?" Locke asked in dismay, stopping Cunningham from walking. "What makes you say that?" Everyone stopped walking now, although Sawyer and Zoe were a little way behind, Sawyer consoulling her.

"Something is wrong, Zoe. You're as white as a sheet, and you're shiverring, but you're not cold." Sawyer interjected, feeling Zoe's forehead, which was more hot then cold. "Tell me what's up."

"Ethan." Zoe barely whispered.

"What?" Sawyer asked, and he sat Zoe down, and sat down beside her himself.

"Ethan." Zoe repeated, a little louder this time, but it was still a whisper.

"What about him?" Sawyer asked gently, frowning slightly. He was dead. What could he possibly do?

"I saw him...before...in the jungle. He had a gun. He was going to kill me." Zoe spoke quietly, another shudder rippled through her body, her voice slightly trembling as she recalled the event. Sawyer embraced her in a supportive hug.

"It's ok." He spoke softly, and reassuringly. "He's gone. It was just a temporary flash through time."

"But what if he comes back?" Zoe whispered fearfully. "What if we jump back to a time when he's alive? I thought I was safe..."

"Well I'm here now. I will protect you. I won't let anyone harm you." Sawyer promised warmly. "You and the baby." Zoe twitched a smile gratefully, but was not confident enough yet to speak, but Sawyer could read her face, telling him that she was happy for what he offered her. Meanwhile, Locke, Juliet and the captives were arguing.

"...That idiot shouted out, "Meet at the creek." We knew exactly where they were going. We sent a group after them." Cunningham accused mockingly, referring to Sawyer as he explained to Locke exactly why the rest of their friends were either dead of captured. Jones and the other, name unknown captive, both turned and glared angrily at Cunningham. Sawyer had obviously heard Cunningham referring to him, so he jibbed back them .

"Well, maybe I should've said it in my secret language." He huffed sarcastically. Juliet walked up to Cunningham confidently, but Locke tried to stop her, putting a hand on her, assuming she was about to go and attack them, but she stopped and started to speak in Latin, and Zoe translated in her head what was being said.

"Nos non sumus hostes vobis." Juliet spoke furiously, yet her tone still appeared calm, but the anger in the way she spoke was clear. We are not your enemy. Zoe translated in her mind.

CUNNINGHAM: "Itaque nos liberate." Cunningham replied shorly. Then let us go.

"What the hell are you sayin'?" Sawyer was growing impaient now.

"Juliet is trying to explain we aren't the bad guys, and Cunningham wants us to let us go." Zoe explained to Saywer. Sawyer gave her a quizzical look.

"You know Latin too?" He asked.

"Yeah. Learnt it at boarding school." Zoe explained. Juliet continued her conversation with the captive.

"Duce nos ad vestra castra." She requested polietly. Take us to your camp

"Take us to your camp." Zoe murmered to Sawyer quietly just so he could hear.

"Si placet." Juliet added.

"Please." Zoe continued quietly.

"Quare hoc faciam?" Cunningham asked.

"Why would I do that?" Zoe translated.

"Estne... Ricardus ibi?" Juliet asked. Is Richard there?"

"Ricardus Alpert?" Juliet repeated, looking over at Jones.

"Did you just say "Richard Alpert"?" Locke interrupted before Zoe could translate.

"John, please." Juliet sighed impaiently, so Zoe translated, Juliet continued in Latin, her voice remaining calm. "Duce nos ad vestra castra. Non necesse est alium mori. Si placet. Bring us to your camp. No one else has to die. Please.

"All right. Okay, we need to head east another couple of kilometers until we hit the ridge--" Cunningham began to explain, this time in English, but before he could say anymore, Jones launched himself at Cunningham, grabbing him by the head and twisted his head, snapping it instantly. Cunningham's body fell limp to the ground, motionless. He was dead. Zoe gasped in horror, clasping her hand over her mouth as Jones turned and fled into the jungle. Sawyer comforted her.

"Shoot him!" Sawyer ordered to Locke who was lifting his rifle and aiming at Jones, but hesistated, reluctant to shoot. He then lowered his weapon.

"Shoot, damn it!" Sawyer shouted.

Sawyer rolled his eyes, and steped forward, yanking the rifle away from Locke and took aim and fireed. Jones hopped a bit, and continued running. None of them could tell if he was hit or not.

"Are you crazy?! What were you thinking? Why didn't you shoot him?!" Sawyer snapped.

"Because... he's one of my people." Locke spoke calmly, with almost pride in his voice.

Late 1954

Locke and Juliet followed Jones's trail, sure that it would lead them to his camp, and to his camp it did. From the cover of palm fronds above the valley, Locke, shaded his eyes with his hands to scope out the situation. Juliet, Jo and Mars joined him while Zoe hung back, talking to Sawyer.

"Yes, they are all down there, but I still don't think it's a good idea for you to go down there." Sawyer spoke anxiously. "You could get hurt, and considering your condition, you shouldn't risk that."

"I'm not ill Sawyer, I'm pregnnt." Zoe replied stubbornly. "Besides, I need to find out how to leave this island, Sawyer. For the baby's sake, ironically to your reason from preventing me." Saywer sighed. He knew it was useless trying to persuade her, there had been many circumstances before when Zoe had her mind set on something, and nothing would stop her from doing whatever it was that could have been a danger to her. There was a pause in their conversation.

"I wish you wouldn't leave." Sawyer suddenly admitted. Zoe tilted her head curiously.

"I have to." She replied finally. "If I could, I would stay."

"Well, we better go see what's going on then." Sawyer concluded, brushing past her to Locke's side, Zoe had trouble reading his face. Was it disappointment? She shook her head, confused. Saywer had never shown such a dedicated friendship before during her time when they had fiirst crashed. She joined the rest of the group under the cover of the palms.

"How did you know Richard would be here?" Locke asked, speaking to Juliet.

"Richard's always been here." Juliet replied calmly.

"How old is he?" Locke asked curiously. Zoe glanced at Juliet, intrigued to know the answer too.

"Old. Why are you so interested in Richard, John?" Juliet asked, now the curious one.

"I'm interested in him because he was about to tell me how I could save us." Locke explained

""Save us"?" Juliet inquired.

"Yeah. But before he could finish, we were interrupted by that flash of light. And I'm hoping we can pick up where we left off." Locke continued.

"I hate to bust up the "I'm an Other, you're an Other" reunion, but Faraday--the guy that's actually gonna save us--is being death marched into the jungle right now." Sawyer pointed out. Zoe watched nervously as Daniel Faraday was being marched into the jungle by a woman whom had a rifle trained on his back.

"Good luck with that." Locke replied.

"You're not gonna help me save him?" Sawyer responded, surprised.

"No. I'm gonna go down and finish my conversation with Richard." Locke replied surely.

"That's gonna get us all killed. You go rolling in there, they're gonna know we're here!" Sawyer replied, almost horrified.

"Fair enough. I'll give you ten minutes head start." Locke responded reasonably, and before anyone could stop him, he started off down the hill. Zoe sighed reluctantly, and got up to follow him. She felt someone grab her wrist, and turn her round, their lips meeting hers, full of force and passion that caught her completely offguard, and she surrended to the kiss almost instantly, it felt suprising mouthwatering, and her kisser tasted like forrest berries. She opened her eyes to meet the eyes of the culprit of the kiss. Her eyes widened in surprise as she met the eyes of Sawyer, but he turned away from her before she coould say anything to follow Juliet, Jo and Mars towards the direction Farraday and the woman holding him at gun point. Zoe watched him temporarily as he walked away from her before catching up wiyh John descending down the valley to where the Army camp was.

"Richard Alpert!" John shouted for him as he and Zoe now came in plain view to everyone in the camp. Their escaped captor, Jones, was down there, having his wounds tended to by a fellow Other dressed in military clothing. He spotted John and Zoe immediately.

"Hey. Hey!" He shouted at them, standing up and picking up his newly aquired rifle.

"I'm looking for Richard." Locke shouted to him calmly.

"Don't move." Jones ordered, aiming his rifle at both John and Zoe. A number of other Others followed cautiously as well, one of them covering Locke with a bow and arrow and another covering Zoe with another gun.

"Richard Alpert!" John continued to shout.

"On the ground now." Jones barked at him but Locke took little notice.

"Richard, I need to talk to you." John continued, walking straight past Jones. Zoe stood rooted in spot just a few feet away from Jones, more cautious for the safety of her baby. Jones turned to follow Locke.

"Shut--your--mouth!" Jones shouted impaiently, cocking his rifle at Locke's back. Locke raised his hands to show surrender. Suddenly, Richard appeared before them.

"That's enough! Who are you?" Richard interrupted them all, looking between Jones and Locke as he approached from one of the tents.

"My name is John Locke." Locke sighed.

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" Richard asked preplexed.

"Jacob sent me." Locke replied knowningly. Richard and John regarded each other for several moments.

"Put the gun down." Richard ordered Jones.

"What? Richard, you can't seriously trust him." Jones protested. Richard walked over to Jones and slapped the rifle out of his hands, and it fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

"I said... put the gun down, Widmore." Richard spoke coldly, reminding him of his place. Zoe gasped in horror. Right before her, was Charles Widmore. The man who had destoryed her home, family and friends.

"Your name is Widmore? Charles Widmore?" Locke spoke thoughtfully more then asking Jones. oe couldn't believe it. Charles Widmore. Here. There were obviously way in the past then, judging by how young he looked. Anger still spread through her veins. The slaughter of her life in L.A wouldn't have happened yet. She could shoot him right now and stop him.

"What's it to you?" Widmore snapped angrily.

"Nothing. Nice to meet you." John replied. Zoe hesitated, and reluctantly followed John and Richard into the tent Richard invited them inside to, to discuss the situation at hand. Zoe started to argue with herself in her mind why she couldn't personally hurt Widmore. Locke handed Richard the compass he had given him in the previous time shift, and Richard began to examine it. Locke took a sip from a world war 2 era canteen, and then handed it to Zoe to drink from as they sat together, waiting for Richard to realise it really was his compass.

"I gave you this?" Richard checked.

"Yes." Locke confirmed.

"After you were shot in the leg and I... wandered out of the jungle to patch you up?" Richard continued.

"That's right." Locke confirmed again.

"Then why don't I remember... well, any of this?" Richard asked bemused.

"Because it hasn't happened yet." Locke answered simply.

"I'm not sure what you're expecting me to say, John Locke." Richard chuckled lightly.

"I expect you to tell me how to get off the Island." Locke explained.

"That's very privileged information. Why would I share it with you?" Richard asked curiously.

"Because you told me that I had something very important to do once I get there. And because I'm your leader." Locke responded with pride.

"You're my leader?" Richard responded, doubtful.

"That's what you told me." Locke responded.

"Look, I... certainly don't want to contradict myself, but... we have a very specific process for selecting our leadership, and it starts at a v--very, very young age." Richard explained.

"All right. All right. What year is it right now?" Locke inquired.

"It's 1954." Richard responded. Zoe's eyes widened in surprise. Technically, she wasn't even born yet. She smiled to herself. Imagine if she had her baby now, and they shifted back to 2005. Technically, her baby would be older then her.

"All right. May 30, 1956--2 years from now--that's the day I'm born--Tustin, California, and if you don't believe me, I suggest you come and visit me." Locke suggested smiling at Richard, and then perked his ears up as the familar high-pitched humming sound prevaded the Island.

"Oh, no." Zoe whispered.

"Oh, no." John spoke immediately after.

"What's wrong?" Richard asked.

"It's about to happen again. You need to tell me now, Richard. How do I get off the Island? Please! Tell me!" Locke begged desperately. The humming transitioned into a low, deep rumbling, growling louder and louder as the scene bathed into white light. The light enveloped everything before subsiding. Locke and Zoe were left standing alone. Everything had disappeared, including all the tents and camping equipment, and the Others. Just up the slope, where the tent that had Charlotte and Miles, wrists still bound together behind their backs had been held were there and appeared ok. Locke shook his head after turning several times, and folded forward, putting his head into his hand. Not too far away, Juliet, Sawyer and Faraday recover from the flash. Faraday spotted Charlotte and rushed over to her

"Charlotte! Are you ok?" He asked her with pure concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Charlitte replied, looking relieved. Faraday toucged ger arms and began untying her. Sawyer walked over to Zoe.

"Are you ok?" He asked her anxiously, Zoe had gone back to the familar chalky flush on her face. Zoe turned to face Sawyer and smiled warmly at him.

"Yes, I'm ok thank you, Sawyer." She replied.

"Good." Sawyer responded satisfied.

"Sawyer?" Zoe spoke.

"Mmm?" Sawyer responded.

"Tell me about that kiss..." She asked curiously.

Aboard the plane, Carrie watched as Jack, then Hurley, came onto the flight. Jack stopped to talk to Kate, before going to sit down in the row behind Carrie.

"That should be everybody," said the flight attendant.

"Hold up!" Came a familiar voice. "Wait, please!" Ben entered the plane in a rush. He was badly beaten and his arm was in a sling. "Thank you for not closing it."

"Oh, that's okay," smiled the flight attendant. "Go right on in."

"Thanks," Ben replied. He started making his way towards his seat. He frowned slightly when he caught sight of Carrie, having had no idea she knew how to get back. Hurley caught sight of Ben and jumped up in a panic.

"Wait!" He exclaimed, panicking. "What's he doing here?!"

"Hurley, hey-" Jack stood up and tried to calm Hurley down.

"No, no! He can't come!" Hurley refused.

"If you want to get back, this is how it's gonna have to be."

"No one told me he was gonna be here," Hurley said.

"Who told you to be here, Hugo?" Ben asked coolly.

"Is everything okay?" The flight attendant interrupted, confused.

"Yes," Jack replied. "Yes, everything's fine. Right?"

"Yes, Jack," Hurley said, still obviously worried about Ben's presence. "I'll be fine."

The flight attendant looked at Jack. "Are you Jack Shephard, seat 8C? Security found this while screening your cargo." Carrie watched as she handed him an envelope. "Now if you two don't mind taking your seats, we are gonna be pushing back for takeoff."

Ben and Jack both went back to their seats, Ben sitting opposite Jack. He glaced at Carrie before sitting down. "What's that, Jack?" He asked, referring to the envelope Jack was holding.

"Nothing." Jack shook the question off, before looking back at the people in Coach. "And the other people on this plane - what's gonna happen to them?"

Ben looked at Jack. "Who cares?" He asked coldly.

Carrie looked back at the people there, wondering the same thing as Jack.

Timeflash: November 2004

Jo took a quick headcount to make sure they were all accounted for.

"Everybody's here," she said to Chase, who stood by her side. "We're okay." She met Chase's eyes and she felt that familiar tingle of electricity. This experience had brought them much closer, and she had almost forgotten all the animosity that she had previously felt towards him. Right now, he was her only constant, and she remained close by his side.

They were an odd group. Surprisingly, Jo and Juliet had revived their old friendship as well. Sawyer assumed the leadership role, and Jo had to admit to herself that he seemed better suited for it than Jack ever was. Jo and Zoe talked quite a bit, and Jo tried to allay Zoe's fears by convincing her that if they did stumble upon Ethan, there were enough of them to take care of the situation. Mars and Locke kept largely to themselves, and Miles annoyed everybody.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jo saw Charlotte collapse to the ground and blood began to pour out of her noise. Her body shook violently in the throes of a seizure. Jo and Chase were at her side immediately, closely followed by Juliet, and Faraday hovered over them. She remained unconscious for a full ten minutes.

"If there's something that you want to tell me, Daniel, now would be a good time," Jo spoke up. "Did you know that this would happen?"

Faraday fidgeted nervously. "I thought... I thought it might. I think it's neurological. Our brains have an internal clock, a sense of time. The flashes... throw the clock off. It's like really bad jet lag."

"Really bad jet lag doesn't make you hemorrhage, Daniel. You wanna tell me why it isn't happening to the rest of us?" Juliet responded, giving Jo a knowing glance. Faraday clearly knew more than he was letting on.

"I don't know, but thank God it's not," he replied evasively.

The group took turns watching over Charlotte while the others simply waited to see what would happen next.

Miles was the one who spotted her open eyes. "Hey! She's waking up!" he called out. Jo and Faraday were by her side in seconds.

"Daniel," she moaned. "Oh, my head. What happened?"

"There was another flash. You passed out. How do you feel?" he asked, his voice dripping with tenderness.

"A bit dizzy, but... I'm fine," she replied. Jo checked her pulse and found a healthy heartrate. The color was beginning to return to her face. "She's going to be okay," Jo declared as she and Faraday helped Charlotte to her feet.

Miles interjected with his customary sarcasm. "Hooray. Everything's back to normal. Now what?"

Sawyer seized the reigns with his newfound sense of authority. "I'll tell you 'now what.' We're going to the Orchid."

"Why are we going to the Orchid?" Zoe asked him, shivering as she remembered the grisly scene of Keamy's death.

"Because that's where all this started, and it's probably where it's going to stop." He glanced meaningfully at Locke, who nodded his approval.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jo stayed by Locke's side, trying to uncover the real reason Locke was so intent on returning to the Orchid. She and John had very little to say to each other since Boone's death, mostly because she had avoided being alone with him at all, but under the circumstances she knew that re-establishing a friendly relationship with him could possibly provide more answers. He was surprisingly open with her, and told her that he intended to bring Jack, Sun, Sayid, Kate, Carrie, Desmond and Hurley back to the island to correct their mistakes.

Jo's felt a sudden surge of longing when he mentioned Jack. She was certain that she would never see him again, and had tried not to think about him, but Locke seemed to be certain that they were alive, and would somehow return.

"How do you plan to convince them to come back?" she asked him. She knew Jack too well. It was going to take some serious persuasion to get him on board. Unless...the thought struck suddenly, and filled her with hope. Unless he came back for her?

Locke and Jo stopped short when they spotted the beam of light emanating straight into the sky ahead of them. The rest of the group lagged behind them, and they had a few moments alone before they caught up. Jo gasped. She stole a glance at Locke and knew from his expression that he knew exactly what they were looking at.

Miles and the others ambled up behind them. "What the hell is that?"

Locke answered him decisively. "Whatever it is, we better stay clear of it."

Saywer spoke up. "Beach is this way. Now you wanna take the scenic route?"

Faraday chimed in. "John... do you know when we are?"

Locke avoided an answer. "We need to keep moving."

"That beam of light was coming from the hatch, wasn't it?" Jo said to Locke.

Locke nodded but said nothing more. After a few moments they heard voices ahead of them. Sawyer and Jo volunteered to investigate. Zoe paled slightly, imagining another encounter with Ethan. Jo motioned for Chase to stay with Zoe as she and Sawyer tread very softly towards the voices. Sawyer cocked his rifle in preparation for whomever they might meet. Straight ahead of them, they saw Claire on the ground, giving birth to Aaron while Kate coached her. Sawyer was gazing at Kate sadly. Jo recognized the longing in his eyes; it was the same feeling she had for Jack.

She whispered to him as he lowered his rifle. "Sawyer, this is the night that Boone died. Chase is with us, and Juliet. We can save him..."

"No," Sawyer interrupted her harshly. "We can't interfere."

"It's not your decision!" she exclaimed. "We have to try!"

Before they could take another step, the now-familiar white light began to build to a blinding crescendo and the low-pitched humming filled their ears. Jo and Sawyer shielded their eyes and crouched to the ground, overcome with pain. Kate and Claire melted away before their eyes.

Days on the Beach - get your answers here...


It had been a few days since René had been startled awake from her dream. She couldn't get the phrase out of her head. Eum para et crede. She said it over and over again. What put her more on edge was that as soon as she had told Richard about it he disappeared off into the jungle for further answers. "René, there's no concern. Don't worry. I'll be back in a few hours" Richard assured her. That was three days ago. She laid in her tent avoiding people's questions, pondering what possible answers Richard would come back with.

Vanessa came running into René's tent. "Sorry to intrude. You wanted to know when he was back." René quickly got up and flew out of her tent. Richard motioned for her to come his way and join him at his tent. She did her best to act nonchalantly to not attract too much attention to her already jittery behavior. She looked back at Vanessa, "Thanks, by the way." René said as Vanessa smiled back.

René didn't wait for Richard to even sit down before lighting into him. "Where the hell did you go? A few hours?" Richard stayed calm and washed his face up in a bowl of water sitting on his desk and patted himself dry with a towel.

"I wish I had an answer for you René." He looked her straight in the eye and said it with a dead-pan depressed tone. René stepped back, slightly jolted and dismayed. Richard shook his head. "I'm very sorry, but I didn't find out what I was hoping to."

"So you know something then?" Her forehead creasing with inquisitiveness.

Richard stared at her, gears turning behind his dark eyes. He found it best and easiest to not say anything at all. René took the hint all too well. She just slumped into his chair. "I'm sorry René." He knelt down beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I really wish someone else got the dreams. Someone, more apt to not question their current situation."

"Did you ever think that's maybe why you get them?" He raised his eyebrows, hoping she would see the bigger picture.