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Post by tigerlily on Mar 12, 2010 0:34:11 GMT -4
Jo rolled her eyes as Hurley and Jack fought over which direction to take to get back to the Temple. She knew they were both wrong; if there was one think Locke had taught her, it was how to navigate this island. She opened her mouth to speak but another voice piped in before she could utter a single word.
"You're both wrong." It was a man's voice, very familiar. Jo was stunned to see Richard Alpert step out from the foliage in front of her.
"Where did you come from?" Jack immediately interrogated him.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. The Temple is this way." He pointed in a direction Jo knew instinctively was wrong, but she followed behind him anyway, curious to see where he wanted to take them. She had never feared Richard; she had in fact always found him to be sympathetic and kind to her from the moment she arrived in the Others' village. Reluctantly, Jack and Hurley followed as well.
Before too long the hull of the Black Rock loomed before them. Hurley was the first to speak up.
"I thought you said we were going to the temple, dude."
"I lied." Richard responded smoothly.
"Why?" Jo asked, puzzled.
Richard's eyes pierced her. "Because everyone at the temple is dead. I just came from there, and... there's no survivors."
Jack looked properly horrified. "What about our friends? Sayid? Kate?"
"Chase?" Jo chimed in. She grabbed a tree to steady herself, and felt suddenly nauseous. She had left him behind. If anything had happened to him, it was entirely her fault. She wasn't sure she could handle having that on her conscious. Her heart felt heavy as she remembered how they had parted in such anger.
Richard tried to be reassuring, but he failed miserably. He clearly had something else on his mind. "I hope they weren't there. Maybe they made it out alive. All I know is, whatever you're looking for at the temple, it's not there." Without another word he set off for the ship.
"Where are you going?" Jack called after him.
"There's something I need to do," he responded.
"To do what?"
"Die."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the Black Rock, Jo watched, utterly speechless, as Richard opened a crate of dynamite and pulled out a single ancient stick. He explained to Jack that he couldn't kill himself, but that Jack could do it.
"Why do you want to die?" Jack asked. He sounded as confused as Jo felt.
Richard spoke patiently as he prepared the dynamite for its grisly purpose. "I devoted my life, longer than you can possibly imagine, in service of a man who told me that everything was happening for a reason, that he had a plan, plan that I was a part of, and when the time was right that he'd share it with me, and now that man's gone so... why do I want to die? Because I just found out my entire life had no purpose. Now if I light this myself it won't work, but you can light it for me Jack. I made the fuse long enough so you'll have time to get out."
"What about Carrie?" Jo spoke softly. "Isn't she worth living for? She loves you more than anything, Richard. I've seen it. If you do this, you're going to kill her as well." She vividly remembered how genuinely loving Richard and Carrie had been during her spell with the Others. She desperately hoped reminding him of it would be enough to change his mind - yet he remained intent on the task at hand and refused to meet her eyes.
"She wasn't supposed to come back," Richard responded solemnly. "I should never have gotten close. I only ruined her life. Carrie's a survivor; she doesn't need me. Please, just understand...this is something I have to do."
Strangely, Jack agreed in a completely emotionless tone. "If he wants to die, there's nothing we're going to do to stop him." He lit the fuse from the kerosene lantern and sat down on a wooden barrel across from Richard. "Now, let's talk."
Jo's eyes widened in disbelief. "What are you doing, Jack?" She felt faint again. "Jack!" she yelled. "What the hell are you doing?"
Hurley panicked beside her. "Jack! Dude, we gotta go, the guy's crazy, and I know crazy!"
"I've got to talk to him Hurley. You and Jo should just go. I'm not going without you."
"Jack," Jo pleaded, terrified of losing him. "Please!"
"Jo, I'll be fine." The fuse burned ever closer to the dynamite. Jo felt rooted to the spot, unable to tear her eyes away from the stick of dynamite even as Hurley tugged at her arm.
"Dude! Let's go!"
"I can't leave him," Jo moaned. But Hurley wasn't taking no for an answer. He pulled her roughly through the doorway and out of the ship, gripping her arm so tightly Jo had no option but to run with him. She was amazed by the strength of his grasp on her, and by his unnatural speed.
"Hurley, stop!" she yelled. "Listen! It should have gone off by now!"
He halted mid-stride, released his grip on her, and listened. They were surrounded by dead silence. Eventually they heard footsteps approaching. It was Jack and Richard, alive and unharmed.
Jo marched up to Jack and slapped him squarely across his face. "Don't you ever do that again," she hissed. She had never felt overcome with such rage before. "Ever."
The trek back to the beach camp was extremely uncomfortable for the unlikely quartet. Jo refused to talk to Jack, despite his constant reiteration that he knew what he was doing, that he couldn't have died in the Black Rock, that none of them could actually die. He apologized over and over again, but she didn't want to hear it. Attempting to bomb the Swan site had been the single scariest moment of her life; Jack had just blown that moment out of the water with his utter disregard for his own life.
As they rounded the treeline surrounding their old camp, Jo was astonished to see a number of familiar faces hanging around the camp, some of whom she hadn't seen since the chaotic events three years ago. Sun spotted them first and made a beeline for Hurley, who enveloped her in a great big bear hug. Jo was relieved to see that Mars had made it to safety, and hugged her close. As she greeted Rene, she saw Carrie run towards Richard with tears streaming down her cheeks while Ben watched awkwardly from a distance. Somehow, she wasn't terribly surprised to see him. At this point, she was fairly certain that nothing on this island could ever surprise her again.
She turned again to Mars. "Have you seen Chase?" She scanned her friend's eyes intently, eager for positive news.
"I'm sorry, no," Mars replied. "We couldn't find him, and it was just so chaotic..." she left her sentence unfinished, knowing it wasn't the answer Jo had been looking for.
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Post by Belle MacFarlane on Mar 12, 2010 3:56:31 GMT -4
Illana emerged from the trees, back into the beach camp, followed by Ben and Carrie. Carrie looked at Rene, who seemed relieved to see Ben was okay. She felt sorry for her.
Ben hesitated before walking into the beach camp. He glanced at Carrie, who squeezed his hand comfortingly. They were going to be much closer from now on. She knew it, and was certain that he did too.
Carrie caught up with Frank and helped him stoke the fire, and watched, smiling, as Ben approached Rene, who was fixing a tent, and asked her if he could help. She then looked over at Mars, who was sitting with Miles. They hadn't spoken yet. She knew Mars would speak to her soon. But it would be her, not Carrie, who initiated the much-needed conversation.
She then looked over at Illana, who was holding a bag, and crying. Illana looked over Carrie and Frank's shoulders at something in the distance. Carrie turned around, and she smiled - Jack, Jo and Hurley emerged from around the bushes, who she hadn't seen since they'd disappeared into the past.
Then, behind Jack, Jo and Hurley, was Richard. She stood up and went over to him, hugging him. She felt like she hadn't seen him in years, and had a feeling he had a story to tell her.
When they broke apart, Carrie looked over at Jack, Hurley, Jo, Miles, Sun, Frank, Mars, Rene and Illana, who were all greeting one another. Her eyes met with Ben's, who was standing apart from the group, on his own, by the fire.
"I'm gonna go talk to him," she said to Richard, knowing he'd know she meant Ben. "Make sure he's okay."
Richard nodded, and Carrie made her way over to Ben. As soon as her back was turned, Mars went to greet Richard.
She didn't say anything to Ben. She just stood with him, and turned around to watch the others. Jealously, Carrie watched Mars and Richard. They were hugging. She smiled to herself as she noticed Mars was much more into it than Richard was.
She thought she saw a disturbance in the water, just in the corner of her eye, but she looked and there was nothing.
Jack Shephard, the angry doctor.
Joanna Woodhouse, the torn doctor.
Hugo Reyes, the unlucky millionaire.
Sun-Hwa Kwon, the searching and searched-for wife.
Miles Straume, the sarcastic psychic.
Illana, the mysterious woman.
Mars McTavish, the treacherous sister.
Rene Shaw, the unbetrayed friend.
Benjamin Linus, the broken man.
Richard Alpert, the ageless figure.
and Carolyna Copeland, the headstrong loyalist.
It wasn't much.
But they were Jacob's team.
They were the good guys.
...weren't they?
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Post by lostali75 on Mar 12, 2010 12:31:47 GMT -4
Linear Timeline
René gathered some firewood before pulling together some tarps to help Sun with the shelter. Her eyes were bright red from crying.
"Rene, what's wrong?" Sun asked.
She shook her and wiped her cheek with her shoulder. "He doesn't deserve to die Sun, no matter what you people think, no matter how angry I am. He doesn't deserve it."
Sun's face distorted; eyes squniched, "Ben?"
"Yes, Ben." she cut herself short to avoid the tears again. Sun didn't say anything else. René looked over and saw Miles walking back from the graves where Ben, Ilana and Carrie were.
René tied off a tarp and wandered back down the beach into the water, dunked herself in when a small wave hit her.
***
Alt Timeline
Rene sat on the ground at the graveyard. She laid flowers on her husband Shannon's stone. "They've cut the budget again. The school is hemorrhaging money quicker than kids can drink kool-aid. Half the teachers don't care any more. "Dr. Linus seems to be pulling for some of them though. I don't know, so few of them care about the children. I wish knew the answer." The sky turned gray and a light drizzle began to fall. She stood up and opened her umbrella, "I'll see you in a couple of weeks." She touched the stone and walked back off to her car.
The next day in the lunch room Rene saw Ben Linus taking his lunch out from the fridge. "Sorry about the other day," she said.
"About what?"
She looked at the floor, embarrassed, "The coffee filter, my fault."
He smiled and nodded his head. "Don't worry about it, it's usually not you anyway." He looked around, "Did you want to join Leslie and I for lunch?"
René smiled, "No thanks, I uh, I think I'm going to get to know the new guy. Seems he'll be here a while," she looked over her shoulder at the substitute teacher in the wheelchair. Ben nodded his head.
"Alright then."
***
Linear Timeline
After a quick wash off of the dirt and emotional turmoil René went back to join Sun. They looked up and saw Ilana walk out of the jungle with her rifle practically dragged behind her. Carrie and Ben followed. The look on Carrie's face, René couldn't place it but what was more confusing was Ben had a rifle as well. A hundred questions burned her brain. He looked hollowed out, exhausted and somehow different.
Ben approached Sun and René and gently put the rifle down and asked if he could help any.
"You can help with the tarp," Sun said. Ben walked around her and grabbed a piece to lift it up. His eyes met René, she swallowed; it was hard and swollen.
"René," She didn't let him finish. She threw her arms around him and gave him a tight embrace.
"We'll get through this, we have to, we're family. I'm sorry."
He placed one arm around her waist and gave what little he had left, "Thank you."
Soon after, to everyone's surprise Jo, Jack, Hugo Reyes and Richard arrived. Knowing they were alive gave René an immense amount of hope. She thought Our chances are better than nothing.
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Post by tigerlily on Mar 12, 2010 15:35:47 GMT -4
Jo did what she could to fix Claire's shelter - she wasn't quite ready to join Jack in the shelter they once shared - but the pain in her shoulder made her wince. Jack noticed her pain and wandered over to her, carrying the miraculously preserved old medical kit from his shelter.
"You should take it easy, you're still healing," Jack remarked. "And it's time to change your bandage."
"I'm fine." Jo grumbled in response. Really, she just wanted to be left alone. She needed some time to absorb everything that had happened in the past few days.
"You know as well as I do that you're courting infection if you leave that filthy bandage on your shoulder. It's up to you." He folded his arms across his chest in a no-nonsense manner and waited for her response. Jo sighed heavily.
"All right, you win." She sat down on Claire's bed and allowed Jack to apply fresh bandages to her gunshot wound. She was surprised to see how quickly it was healing.
"I know why you're angry. And I'm sorry. But I knew what I was doing."
"What if you were wrong?" Jo growled fiercely. "Then what?"
Jack shrugged. "I knew I wasn't."
Jo had enough. They had been talking in circles like this ever since they left the Black Rock. "Listen, Jack. I have lost you so many times before. When I thought I was going to lose you again, and this time by your own goddamned reckless behaviour...I just lost it. Don't you ever put me in that position again, got it? We are in this together now, and I'll be damned if I lose you again." She glared fiercely at him, daring him to push her further.
"Got it," he answered softly. He tied up the clean bandage and reached for his medical kit. "When you're ready to forgive me, you know where to find me." He paused a moment to push a stray hair out of Jo's face before heading back to his tent.
Jo took the opportunity to be alone with her thoughts in the place where she always felt most at peace. She wandered over to the graveyard and sat by Boone's grave as the other survivors bustled about restoring the dilapidated shelters.
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Post by lostali75 on Mar 16, 2010 10:23:18 GMT -4
René sat down by the fire. "Interesting day," Frank said as he passed her a drink.
She chuckled and rolled her eyes, "That's putting it lightly." He rolled his eyes too. They stared as the timber cracked and coals illuminated. Miles soon joined them. He had some more bananas and peas that he offered.
"Thanks," René smiled politely.
"So, I'm Miles, by the way. With all the awesome crap that's been going on; were you one of his people?" He nodded towards Ben's direction.
René glanced up in the same direction. Ben sat looking over at Carrie and Richard talk. "I guess you could say I still am."
Mile's snorted. "Holding out hope," he said sarcastically.
"What?"
"Nothing, just something I heard, somewhere."
"Don't mind Miles René, he likes to push buttons," Frank said.
"Thanks for the grub, I'm gonna walk." She got up and began to wander the beach. She mixed glances with Jack. She hadn't seen him since he had beaten Ben before the helicopter came. She was trying to figure out Jo's fascination with him, she figured there was a history she hadn't been privy to. She rumaged a couple of tents and found a few books and other useful things that might come in handy.
She eventually reached Ben where he sat, "Hi."
"Hello René," he barely got out.
"Are you ok? What happened back,"
He looked her in the eye, "I really don't want to talk about it."
"Ok," she shrugged her shoulders feeling quite depleted herself. "Need some company?" He gave his head a slight nod and she sat down. They watched the tide rise in as the seagulls flew high above some rocks off in the distance. "Spoken to Richard yet?" He shook his head no and glanced back down to Carrie again. "What was it like, off the island all that time? Couldn't have been easy."
"It was far from it."
"Something happen?" she jerked her head in Carrie's direction. "With Carrie?" René didn't want to ask the question but something masochistic burned and forced her to.
"Why?" he looked at her again.
She met his gaze and fell deep into that blue stare. "You know why Ben," she found a small rock and began to fiddle with it. "I don't know why I do this to myself." Ben sat forward, his elbows balanced on his knees. She looked at him again and back to the group gathered by the fire.
"I'm sorry I ever brought you here."
"You didn't bring me here Ben, I had a choice. You were doing what you thought was right."
"I can't,"
"Please, you don't have to say anything," she placed her hand on his arm, gave it a tap. "I'm going to leave you in peace."
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Post by Belle MacFarlane on Mar 17, 2010 16:04:07 GMT -4
Carrie stood away from the rest of the group, arguing with Richard in a low voice. Neither was interested in what the other was saying - Carrie was too worked up with jealousy over her own sister, and Richard was too angry at her jealousy.
The argument came to a close as Carrie gave in and waked off, knowing they both needed time to cool down. Richard tried to shout after her, but she ignored him and kept walking until she reached the shore.
"Go any further and you'll walk straight off this Island," came René's voice from behind.
Carrie sat down on the wet sand. "Sometimes I wonder if that wouldn't be such a bad idea after all," she sighed.
"I know what you mean," René grimaced, sitting by her. "But what's out there? Nothing. Not for me, at least. I mean, you have your daughter, your whole family out there. Me, I've got no one."
"You've got us." Carrie put her arm around René's shoulder comfortingly. "We're your family, René. Me, Richard, Ben, everyone on this beach. That's the same for me too. Sure, Lynny means the word to me, and I love my dad to bits, but I don't belong there. In the real world. With... skyscrapers and shops and television."
René laughed. "Those things seem like a distant dream now."
There was a pause. Absent mindedly, Carrie found herself watching Ben in the distance, who was harpooning fish. René noticed this, and cocked her head to the side slightly.
"Did something happen with him?" She asked.
Carrie's eyes snapped back to René. "What?"
"Off the Island, did something happen with you and Ben? I mean, I know about the time you saved his life, but..."
"No," Carrie denied truthfully. "That was the only time I saw him off the Island." René nodded, accepting this as a truth. "Why?" Carrie asked.
"He just... I don't know. He seems a bit fixated on you as of late."
"He knows," Carrie whispered, more to herself than anything. René looked at her, frowning. "He knows I know."
"You know what?"
"What?"
Carrie looked at René, unaware that she had been saying her thoughts out loud.
"You said he knows you know. What do you know?"
Carrie looked at Ben down the shore, then back at René. She seemed to recognize the look in her eyes. She got a look in her own eyes, like she knew what it was, just from Carrie's look.
"What?" René asked, hoping she was wrong.
"I... I can't..." Carrie tried to shake it off, looking back out at the ocean.
"Tell me, Carrie!" René was getting angry and desperate now. "Please, tell me."
Carrie looked back at René, a pitiful look in her eyes. "He loves me," she whispered, as if she didn't want to admit it. As if saying it out loud just made it more true."
"No." René shook her head, standing up. "No, no, you're lying. Tell me you're lying."
"I'm sorry," Carrie said, meaning it honestly and truly. "I'm so sorry, René-"
René suddenly turned around and ran off, heading towards the jungle.
"René!" Carrie shouted, running after her. "René, wait! René!"
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Post by fearandloathin on Mar 17, 2010 16:30:46 GMT -4
Linear TimelineZoe was with Sawyer. They had found Jin, who was at Claire's hide out. Zoe crouched down to sit comfortably next to Jin, he was out of it, and she gently woke him, managing to keep Charlie safe in her arms while she did. "Jin... Jin... wake up." She spoke softly. "Zoe?" He replied as he woke, looking drained. "How long have I been asleep?" "A while. Sawyer's making us tea." Zoe answered him, as she stroke Charlie's short, blonde curls. "You saw Sun, right? On the plane? Where is she?" Jin asked frantically. Zoe stared at him sadly. "I don't know where she is. Jack, Kate and Hurley were the only ones I saw when the plane crashed. But all she thought about was the prospect of seeing you again." Zoe explained. "And Ji Yeon is safe, back at home with her Grandparents." Just as Jin looked slightly more relieved, Sawyer made his way into the shelter. "Tea anyone?" He smiled, handing them each a cup. "Where's Locke and Claire?" Jin asked. "Ah, I dunno, they said they'd be back by sun up." Sawyer replied. For some odd reason, this made Jin panic, and he began to get up. "We have to get out of here!" He said frantically. Zoe stood up as Sawyer placed his hands on Jin's shoulders reassuringly. "Woah, woah. We're with Locke. It's ok." Sawyer assured. Jin stared at them both in disbelief and seriousness. "That is not Locke." He told them firmly. "Yeah, we know." Sawyer sighed. "But whoever he is, he says he can get us off this damn island." "I can't leave. Sun is here somewhere." Jin replied determinedly. "Fine. If she's here, we won't leave without her. You got my word on that." Sawyer promised. Before Jin could reply, although it was clear their was agreement in his eyes, the three of them heard footsteps approaching. "What's that?" Jin asked. "They're back." Zoe explained as they slowly exited the shelter to see Locke and Claire return with people from the temple. Claire eyed Zoe with baby Charlie, an odd expression on her face, that turned into a false smile that Zoe didn't notice. Kate's eyes met Zoe's and she smiled with relief. She ran over to hug her and baby Charlie. "Hi Kate." Zoe smiled. "What the hell happened to you?" Kate demanded. “I just needed to sort some stuff out. I was ok though. I’m fine.” Zoe assured her. Claire then approached them both. “He’s beautiful.” She complimented Zoe, referring to Charlie. “He reminds me of Aaron.” Her gaze then averted to Kate, and smiled at her. “Thanks, Claire. I can’t believe how grown-up Aaron is now. I bet you can’t wait to see him.” Zoe replied. Claire turned to look at her. “I really can’t.” Claire responded. “Alright everybody, listen up!” Locke interrupted as Zoe was trying to read between the lines of the odd stares Claire kept giving Kate. “I know that everyone is feeling tired.” Locke continued as everyone gathered around him to listen. “And it’s been a traumatic time for all of us. And you all have got a lot of questions, I know, and I will make myself available to answer them. But right now, we need to keep moving. We have to take advantage of the daylight.” “We want to know what happened to the people that stayed behind at the temple.” Someone spoke up. Zoe’s eyes surveyed the group to identify the voice. She held in a gasp. It was Cindy, the flight attendant from her first plane that had crashed on the island. She hadn’t seen her since she had gotten her orange juice on the flight. “The Black Smoke killed them.” Locke spoke truthfully, and with a look of regret. There were murmurs spread across the group matched with sad and sorrowful looks. The two children Zoe recognised from the tail section survivors teared up, and Locke bent down to their level to console them. Zoe watched slyly as Claire held Kate’s hand subtly. “Sounds like you had a hell of a night.” Came Sawyer’s voice as he approached Kate and Zoe. “Yeah.” Kate admitted with a heavy sigh, pulling her rifle over her shoulder. “Jack, Hurley? The rest of them? They make it out the temple?” Sawyer inquired. “Saw them leaving on my way back.” Kate explained as the three of them began walking and following the group and Locke wherever her was headed. “What about Miles?” Sawyer checked. “I don’t know what happened to him.” Kate replied. Sawyer bowed his head, he was worrying. Zoe placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure he’s fine, Sawyer.” She replied, trying to sound convincing. “So you’re both with Locke now?” Kate asked. “I ain’t with anybody, Kate.” Sawyer answered. Zoe glanced at him, unconvinced. ------------------------------- Alternative Timeline"I've got you a job." Zoe told Charlie as she joined him for breakfast. "Sorry?" Charlie asked dumbfounded. "I've got you a job. At my work. Soon, I'm not going to be able to work for a while, with a baby on the way. So, I managed to convince my boss I need an apprentice to train who can take over for when I go on maternity leave." "I still don't understand why you are doing this for me." Charlie shook his head. "Really, I'm not worth it." Before Zoe could respond, Charlie's cell rang. "Hello?" Charlie answered. "Liam! No, I'm not at the police station, I've been staying... at a friends. Yeah, I'm kinda in trouble..." Zoe sensing this was a private type conversation got up and left to go and get changed for work.
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Post by lostali75 on Mar 17, 2010 17:23:27 GMT -4
René walked away into the jungle, Carrie not far behind. A heavy rain began to fall. "René, wait!" Carrie called out. "We shouldn't be out here, not now!"
"It doesn't matter anymore," René said back over her shoulder. Soon she tripped and fell onto the ground.
"René! STOP!" Carrie shouted.
René spun around and glared at Carrie. "I saw it. I know the look. After all I've been through here, waiting. Their dead, Eric, Adam, everyone. They're all dead. But you came back, HE came back. I thought Jacob had finally rewarded my loyalty to him, to this Island. But it wasn't enough."
"Please come back to the beach, we can work this through," Carrie pleaded.
"Why Carrie? Was Richard not enough? How," René threw her arms in the air, frustrated she let out primal growl. "I can't win, I'll never win. As long as I'm here," She trailed off and sat down on the wet dark soil as the rain poured down, she become more despondent. "I thought I needed him," she sighed.
"I'm sorry René. I never intended to hurt you nor do I now. I can't control what he feels," Carrie touched René's shoulder but René recoiled harshly and shook her hand away.
"Leave me alone," Carrie stood and watched her friend glaze over. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" René screamed.
Carrie hung her head and backed away and turned to make her way back to the beach.
René sat for a while, she didn't remember thinking about anything in particular. She watched the water as it bounced and paraded around the foliage. She heard light foot steps come her way as she continued to sit. "Go away Carrie!" she yelled.
"René, it's Ben. Come back to the beach." He stepped through the thicket and stood a few feet away from her. They stared at one another, the dense wetness streamed along their faces. He held out his hand to her and motioned for her to take it as he stepped even closer. She gently slipped her fingers into his and he lifted her from the ground. "We need to get back, it's important we stay together."
"Tell me it wasn't for not."
"What?"
She looked down at her hand, it shook with cold. She stepped back in his direction; tucked her hair behind her ear and whispered into his ear. "Just once, just one time I wanted it to be real and not this nightmare."
Ben looked at her, he knew something wasn't right. He put his hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze to try and reassure her; a modest smile pursed his lips. "We're going t,"
"Kiss me," she whispered, "one time. Just once...make me believe it was possible."
Ben didn't know what to think, René had always been his friend, he knew undoubtedly she was in a bad place mentally, perhaps more broken now than him. She touched his cheek with her fingertips as she began to cry. Ben leaned forward and very gently gave in. The action became potable as subtle as it was. Their lips parted and he took a step back almost unable to look her in the eye.
"Benjamin Linus," she let out a nervous chuckle. "I'll always love you, and I want you to know, it's not your fault."
"What's not my fault?" His brow creased in confusion.
She reached behind her back into her pants belt strap and pulled out a 9mm and cocked it. With a quick commitment she put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger.
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Post by Belle MacFarlane on Mar 17, 2010 17:44:35 GMT -4
"Where is she?" Ilana asked before Carrie had taken two steps into the camp. "Where did she go?"
"Inland," Carrie shrugged. "Couple of hundred yards. Don't." She stopped Ilana from chasing off into the jungle. "Don't go to her."
"What if he finds her?" Ilana asked confrontingly.
"I'll go," Ben said from behind Ilana. She turned around to see him standing there. He looked at Carrie, who nodded. He went off into the jungle, as Carrie made her way to the camp fire, and waited for them to come back.
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Carrie looked up as, after a long period of silence, Ben jogged back into the camp - René in his arms.
"René?" Carrie called her name, worried. "René!"
Quickly, Jo and Jack took her, and brought her into their tent. Carrie stood up and followed, panic rising up in her stomach. "What happened?" She asked Ben as she saw the huge bloody hole in her best friend's head.
"She shot herself," Ben replied monotonously.
"What?!"
"She's still got a pulse," Jack said. "Looks like the bullet just scraped the side of her brain."
"Oh my God," Carrie whispered, her hands over her mouth in shock.
"She needs air," said Jo. "Ben, Carrie, we need you to leave her. We'll look after her, don't worry. Go! Now!"
Reluctantly, the two of them left the tent. Carrie turned to Ben. "What happened?" She demanded. He sighed and began.
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Half an hour passed. Three quarters of an hour. An hour.
Then, there was panic from inside the tent.
"No pulse," Jo's voice announced. "Jack. Jack, there's no pulse! There's nothing we can do!"
Carrie knew how stubborn and persistant Jack was. Now she had every reason to ask her, as much as she hated herself for it.
"Richard!" Carrie called across the camp, where Richard was in an intense discussion with Ilana. He looked up at the sound of her voice. "Where's Mars?"
Richard frowned. And rightfully so.
"Why?"
"René's dying, you moron!" She yelled across the camp, walking towards him. "Jo says she's got no pulse, we need Mars!"
"She's gone to get firewood," he replied. "She'll be a couple of hours."
"Of course," Carrie muttered to herself as she turned around. "And why are you keeping tabs on her?"
Ben had disappeared. Carrie went into Jack and Jo's tent, and correctly found that Ben was in there too. René was coughing up blood.
"Look after her," Jack said to both Carrie and Ben. "Jo, go get more bandages from my old tent. I'll go get some water."
They left, leaving Carrie and Ben alone with René. She knelt down next to her. "Why?" She whispered.
"It's not worth it," René replied chokily. "I can't win... it's always you..."
"No." Tears began pouring down Carrie's cheeks. "Don't."
"It's not your fault," René told her.
"Stay here," Carrie begged. "Please. You're the only one I can trust, René."
René moved her head slowly, and painfully, and turned to look at Ben. He was looking at her sadly, with an almost devestated look in his eyes, not saying anything. He didn't need to. Ben had always been able to hide or show anything without words. René gently touched Ben on the cheek, before her arm went limp and her eyes glazed over.
"René," Carrie whispered, hoping her friend had just lost consciousness. "René." She moved her head towards her with her hand. There was no denying it. René was gone. Tears rolled down from Carrie's cheeks, as she didn't try to hold in her sobs. She let them out, bawling her eyes out like a baby in front of Ben, but she didn't care. Her best friend was dead. She was allowed to cry.
She stood up and felt Ben's arm around her shoulder comfortingly. She hadn't seen him walk around René's body. She looked at him. There was such sadness in his eyes, devestation. But also empathy. He knew what it was like to lose someone close. She wrapped her arms around him, and cried into his shoulder. He didn't mind. He hugged her back. She could swear she felt one tear drop fall from his eyes onto her shoulder.
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Several hours had passed since René's death. Richard had tried to comfort her, but she shook him off. She wanted to be alone. Jo and Jack had tried everything they could, Mars had tried to shock her back when she'd finally returned, but to no avail. René was gone. And she wasn't coming back.
Thoughts and guilt ran through Carrie's mind as she sat alone by the campfire. She was so angry at herself. It was her fault. No matter what René had said on her death bed, it was her fault.
She didn't know why she did it, but Carrie stood up and made her way over to Ben's tent. She entered without announcing herself. Ben, who had been looking for something in his bag, stood up and turned around when she entered.
"Tell me," she ordered.
"What?" Ben frowned.
"She was my best friend," she said, taking a few steps towards him. "She was the only person whose relationship with me wasn't ruined by some treachery, or lies, or anger. Our relationship was pure. But then I... I had to realize it. And of course, I had to bloody tell her!"
"Tell her what?" Ben played the fool, hoping it would all wash over if he did. Just like he had so many times before.
"You know what, Ben!" She shouted. "Just tell me it wasn't for nothing! Tell me she killed herself for the truth, tell me she had a point in dying!"
"I... I can't," Ben said weakly. "I just can't."
"Yes you can!" Carrie screamed. "Three words, Ben! Three stupid little words, three damn syllables, just three! They would mean exactly the same if you didn't speak English, but they'd be so much easier to say, so just say them! Just admit that you can feel human emotion, admit why you've been so angry at me! JUST SAY IT!"
Ben looked up at Carrie. Neither of them broke eye contact. The longer they watched each other, the calmer Carrie felt. It was like a game of chicken - who would break the contact first. Who would break the silence.
"Please," she whispered.
Ben didn't say it. He embraced her. She hugged him back, and finally, he admitted it. He whispered in her ear what had been true for so long. "I love you."
They pulled apart only slightly, still so close they could feel each other's breath. Their lips met. Almost like it was instinct, connected by their devestation over René, they slowly fell onto Ben's makeshift bed.
They were just two lost souls. Clinging to each other in a storm.
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Post by tigerlily on Mar 19, 2010 21:23:07 GMT -4
Linear Timeline
Jo was sitting alone, staring into the fire and sobbing quietly when Jack joined her. He wrapped a protective arm around her.
“There’s nothing we could have done to save her,” he reminded her gently.
“I know,” she acknowledged sadly. “I just don’t understand any of this. Why couldn’t she be saved? Why did you and I survive a hydrogen bomb? Why did you and Richard survive the dynamite in the Black Rock? Yet all it takes is a single goddamned bullet to the head to take Rene away, when there are already so few of us surviving? It doesn’t make any sense, Jack! NOTHING here makes sense!” Jack held her tightly while she unleashed her emotions and cried openly. When she felt like she couldn’t cry anymore, she lifted her head from Jack’s chest.
“I need you, Jack. I can’t do this alone.”
“You’ve never been alone, Jo,” he responded simply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Jack collected the survivors for a sunset funeral, Jo noticed that Ben and Carrie were, oddly, nowhere to be seen. She thought it was strange, since they were the two people who had been closest to Rene and should probably be the first to lay her to rest. She forced them out of her thoughts as she approached Miles, who was sitting in Sawyer’s old reading chair, cutting open a mango. He seemed to read her mind before she even had a chance to open her mouth.
“Uh-uh, no way. I’m not telling you what her last thoughts were. Her anguish should be kept private.”
Jo remained unfazed. “I need to understand why she did this.”
“Why? You weren’t her friend.”
Miles’ words stung. She knelt beside him so that she could meet his eyes, and spoke with her firmest, no-nonsense doctor voice. “Look, Miles. We’ve all been through hell, and everyone that’s left now” – she gestured towards the graveyard, where the survivors were slowly beginning to gather – “…we only have each other. What’s done is done; the past doesn’t matter anymore. We are in this together, and we’ve just lost a family member. Now I need to know why this happened, and you are going to tell me.”
Miles glared fiercely at Jo, and shrugged. “She loved someone too much, and he could never love her enough.”
He didn’t have to say who it was; she already knew. She had seen the way Rene had always looked at Ben. She turned away from Miles and began to head towards the graveyard.
“You’re welcome,” he called after her. “By the way, I noticed you haven’t said two words to your brother yet.”
Jo spun around. Miles chuckled, getting a kick out of making her uncomfortable. “If you’re looking for family, he’s right in front of you,” he reminded her.
Jo shook her head. “The timing hasn’t been right,” she admitted. Inwardly, she cringed. She had spent the last three years trying her damnedest to forget that she shared blood with that manipulative liar.
“You haven’t asked about her, either.” he remarked rather cryptically.
Jo raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She had absolutely no clue what Miles was talking about.
“I watched her leave the island on the submarine, before we went to the Swan site. She was with my mom – and she’s safe.”
Jo suddenly felt overwhelmed with gratitude for Miles. She knew now that he was talking about her younger self, and the truth was she hadn’t wondered at all. In fact, she had been so wrapped up in Jack’s insane plan to blow up the Swan that she hadn’t considered anyone else’s welfare, not even her boozehound father’s. Miles’ words had finally cleared the fog that surrounded her and forced her to remember the family she had been silently watching from a distance for the past three years: Roger, young Ben, and herself as a toddler, playing happily with baby Ethan on the playground under Amy’s watchful eye. Tears stung her eyes for the millionth time that day. She jogged back to Miles and threw her arms around him in an impromptu hug. “Thank you,” she breathed into his neck as she clung to him. “Thank you!”
Jo kissed Miles chastely on the cheek before pulling away. The sun was setting, and she knew that Rene's funeral service would begin shortly. Nearly everyone already surrounded the empty grave that Ben had dug at Ilana's command, but Ben and Carrie were still missing. Jo left Miles and wandered over to the tent that Ben had adopted.
She called out before she reached it. "Ben, are you in there? Have you seen Carrie? We're about to begin the service, don't you..."
Jo lifted the flap to the tent and stared in disbelief. There, entangled on Ben's bed, were Ben and Carrie. Clothes were strewn all over. When Ben saw Jo he quickly covered himself and Carrie, his eyes wider than Jo had ever seen them.
"What are you doing?" he demanded. "Get out!"
"Oh my God." It was all Jo could blurt out. She covered her mouth with her hand in utter horror and fled from the tent.
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Post by Belle MacFarlane on Mar 23, 2010 16:57:17 GMT -4
Carrie froze for a moment as Jo ran out of the tent. Then she sat up and hurriedly began pulling her clothes back on. She had to catch up with Jo before she did anything.
“Where are you going?” Ben asked.
Carrie looked around at Ben. “I have to catch up with Jo,” she said urgently. “Before she... before she tells anyone what she saw.”
As she pulled her top on, Carrie raced out of the tent, and caught up with Jo, who hadn’t gone far.
“Jo,” she panted as she caught up with her. “You can’t tell anyone what you saw. Please.”
“What the hell were you doing?!” Jo asked incredulously.
“Burning the Bible,” Carrie replied sarcastically. “What the hell do you think we were doing?”
“I don’t understand.” Jo shook her head in disbelief. “I thought you hated Ben?”
“I did,” Carrie admitted. “But I was wrong, I was so wrong about him. I... I think I love him, Jo.”
Jo stared at her in shock. “What about Richard?” She hissed.
“I don’t know,” Carrie half-sobbed. “I don’t know what I want anymore.”
“It’s not about what you want,” Jo told her. “It’s about who you want. Who do you really love, Carrie?”
“Who do you really love?” Carrie echoed in reply. She hadn’t been too familiar with Chase, their roles within the Others had been totally different, but she did know of Jo’s being torn between him and Jack.
Jo looked at Carrie. “We’re about to start the funeral,” she said simply, nodding towards where the whole camp was gathered, bar Carrie, Jo and Ben.
“Meet you there,” Carrie said. “I’ll go get Ben.”
Jo nodded, then turned and made her way towards the grave. Carrie shared a distance glance with Mars, before jogging back to Ben’s tent.
“Ben?” Carrie said softly, entering the tent. Ben looked up at her. He’d been sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into space, now fully dressed. She sat by him.
“What do you read?” She asked conversationally. He looked at her, frowning, no doubt wondering what she was leading the conversation to. “My favourite’s Pride & Prejudice. You read it?”
Ben shook his head no.
“It’s about this woman,” Carrie explained. “Elizabeth Bennet. Set in a time when marriage was only for money. Nobody believed in love. Except Elizabeth. She rejected any man she didn’t love, no matter how rich he may be. And then one day, she meets this seemingly wonderful man. His name’s Mr Darcy. He’s rich, clever, handsome, everything you’d want in a man. Except right from the first impression, he seemed so... miserable. And proud. Nobody liked him. He made mistakes, he was cold, nobody believed there was any good in him at all, especially Elizabeth. She believed he never had good intentions in what he did, she believed lies other people fed her about him. As he fell more and more in love with her, her hatred of him grew stronger. Then one day, he writes her a letter. He explains why he did what he did, he redeems his bad deeds. And from then on... she starts falling in love with him. She sees the good in him, she realizes all the bad things he did, were with good intentions.”
“What happens to them?” Ben asked, looking at Carrie.
“They go for a walk,” she shrugged. “They apologize for their pride and their prejudice. We don’t hear him say it, but the next day Elizabeth tells her sister that she and Mr Darcy are engaged. They promise to be the happiest couple in the world, and live happily ever after.”
There was a pause as Carrie finished talking. Ben broke it eventually.
"Why are you telling me this, Carrie?"
Carrie looked him straight in the eye.
"It's a story," she said simply. "Think about it." She stood up, as Ben did so too. "We're having the funeral now," she explained, "are you coming?"
"Yeah, yeah of course," Ben nodded.
Gently, Carrie kissed him on the lips. "It's not the end," she whispered in his ear. "I just don't know where I'm going."
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Carrie and Ben arrived at the empty grave, everyone gathered around it, and Rene's corpse lying next to it, covered by a tarp. Carrie suddenly felt a huge pang of guilt in her stomach. Ben's feelings for her were the reason Rene had died, and Carrie had only encouraged them. They were late for her funeral because they had been 'previously engaged'. She felt horrible. As if it would erase what had happened, Carrie slid her hand into Richard's as she reached his side, looking up at him.
"Where have you been?" He whispered to her.
"Not now," she whispered back.
Carrie stood with Richard solemnly, her hand securely in his, as Jack and Ilana lowered Rene's body into the hole in the ground.
Ben stood solemn, his head hung as he refused to make eye contact with the others. He knew he would be blamed, eventually, especially by Jack, of René's death. He pushed it to the back of his mind.
"Ben," Ilana said, "Did you want to say something? Everyone said you knew her best." Ben glanced up at Richard and he looked away from him.
He looked up, his eyes bloodshot; afraid to speak. This was different than any time before. "Thank you René. For teaching my daughter, for being our family." His voice almost cracked and he cleared his throat again, "I'm sorry I couldn't give you what you wanted," he knelt down and palmed a handful of dirt. He couldn't bare to say any more, he gently ground the dirt and it floated down over her body.
Richard was next to step up. He spoke briefly too, before placing another handful of dirt over the corpse. Trying to regain some form of dignified posture, Carrie stepped up next.
"René was my best friend," she said emptily, trying to hold in her tears. "I told her everything, she was the one person I could talk to about anything. Every suicide has its reasons, and it's my fault she's dead. I was too confident in being able to confide in her, I was stupid enough to tell her the one thing she didn't want to hear from me." She glanced up at Ben, then at Richard. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, René. I'm sorry for telling you your worst fears were true, I'm sorry for being so selfish. You will always be my real best friend. I love you."
Carrie picked up a handful of dirt and let it fall onto René's body, before stepping aside. As Jo stepped up, Carrie couldn't handle it anymore, seeing René's corpse lying there, realizing what everything in her friend's life had lead up to. She wrapped her arms around Richard's torso, and into his shoulder, she cried, for what felt like the millionth time that day. Unquestioningly, Richard held her close. His hug was so much warmer than Ben's.
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Post by lostali75 on Mar 25, 2010 18:28:27 GMT -4
TimeLine2/Flash-Sideways/Alternate Universe
René wandered around her classroom and observed her students as they worked on a still life. She enjoyed teaching the AP art class. Even though school had cut the funding sufficiently, as Ben Linus had pointed out, she did what she could for her students. The bell rang for lunch, "Just a reminder that your outside projects are due next week. have a good weekend!" She reminded them as they filed out the door.
She headed down the path to the teacher's lounge when she ran into John, the substitute who was staying awhile. "Join ya for lunch?" he asked with a big smile.
"Sure," she smiled back.
"Didn't pack yours today?" he said as he pointed to her empty hands.
She chuckled, "Already in the fridge. Ben taught me that long ago, grab your space or lose it."
"I'll have to remember that," he pushed himself along. When they reached the room it was mostly empty. John grabbed a table as René wandered to the fridge. Leslie was nit picking through his lunch and complaining as always.
Ben came in, looking mildly pleasant as always. René watched as he slipped by the table and went to grab his own food. "Join us Ben?" René asked expecting a familiar answer.
He looked back over his shoulder, "Sure," he hinted a small secret smile. René's eyes glistened and John smiled at the company. Ben sat down and took a deep sigh.
"Weekend is upon us, any big plans?" John asked the two of them. Ben paused, his sandwich half in his mouth as he made some sort of muffled sound. René giggled.
"Sorry," she looked at John as she took a sip of her tea. "I think I might catch a movie, work on painting or two. You?" her eyes motioned back to Ben now that he finished chewing his food. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Not sure yet," his eyes drifted.
"Let me know if your free," René smiled again, "I could always use friendly company." She quickly diverted back to John, "How about you?"
John sat back and waved his hand emphatically as he described picking out wallpaper patterns with his fiancé. "So Ben, I really think you should take René up on that movie offer," John egged on.
"Strictly, non...date...like and all," René blushed, she felt her ears redden.
"I'll call you," Ben said as they continued on with the short lunch.
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Post by Belle MacFarlane on Mar 26, 2010 3:54:20 GMT -4
Carrie sat between Jack and Sun as Ilana told them about Jacob telling her they were 'candidates'.
"Candidates?" Jack echoed. "Candidates for what?"
"To replace Jacob," Sun explained. "She said I was one of them. And so are you, and so are Hurley, Jo and Carrie."
"Well, that's great," shrugged Frank. "So what do we do now?"
"I don't know," Ilana replied, sounding defeated.
"Then who does?" Jack asked.
Ilana explained about Jacob telling her Ricardus will know what to do next.
"Who's Ricardus?" Hurley frowned.
"He is," she replied, turning to Richard. "So, Richard. What do we do next?"
Richard laughed. "I have no idea what we do next." He looked at Jack, "you didn't tell your friends that I was trying to kill myself when you found me? Does that sound like someone who has a plan?"
Carrie looked between Jack and Richard, shocked. Why had he tried to kill himself? Had he planned to just abandon her?
Ilana, too, was rather confused, but for a different reason. "But why would Jacob say you knew what to do if-" she began.
"Because everything he has ever said is a lie," he shrugged.
Carrie frowned. For the last 8 years of her life, she had been told to listen to Jacob, and Richard had been one of the people who encouraged her to do so. "What are you talking about?" She frowned.
Richard looked at Carrie for a few moments. "You wanna know a secret, Carrie? Something I've known a long, long time?" He strode around the campfire and crouched down between her and Jack. "You're dead," he said.
"You mean that figuratively, right?" Hurley asked.
"No," Richard said, standing up. "I mean literally. We are all dead, every single one of us. And this, this, all this, it's not what you think it is. We're not on an island, we never were. We're in Hell." He went and picked up a firetorch and lit it. "So, I'm not interested in what Jacob said. In fact, maybe it's time to stop listening to him, and we started listening to someone else, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do."
"Richard." Carrie said his name with a warning tone in her voice. "Think about what you're doing here."
"No," he said. "I'm not gonna sit here, wondering what to do, hoping that Hugo here will talk to Jacob, who will then lie to us and make us think he's told us something when in fact he's said nothing." With that, he turned around and left the camp.
After sitting in stunned silence for a few moments, Ilana and Carrie both jumped inot action, and grabbed their guns.
"What are you doing?" Jack interrupted.
"Going after him," Carrie replied shortly.
"Why?" He asked. "I mean, you heard him he doesn't know what we need to do now."
"He does," Ilana replied certainly, "Jacob said so."
"Listen to me." Jack put on his best I'm-a-handsome-doctor-who-was-a-leader-on-this-Island-for-108-days-therefore-I-know-everything voice. "He thinks that we're, we're in hell. If he cared about what Jacob said, he wouldn't be talking about, about listening to someone else."
"I'm sorry, what?" Carrie said in a mockingly surprised tone. "He's not crazy! Trust me, Jack, I know crazy, I lived with my mother for 16 years. She was a lunatic. Richard's nowhere near that, he's just... lost his way."
"Well then, if he's not crazy," Jack rebutteled, "he must know what he's doing."
Frustrated, Carrie and Ilana went and sat back down around the fire.
"Wait, you know who he meant?" Jack asked.
"Ooh, this should be interesting," Ben commented.
"He's talking about Locke," said Sun.
Jack frowned. "Locke is dead," he said, rather sensetively.
"If it's any consolation," Ben told him, "it's not exactly Locke."
Jack looked up at something behind Carrie, before standing up and walking over to it. She turned around and saw Hurley, satanding by the ocean, talking to nobody in Spanish.
"Bueno," she heard him say, "sí, te puedo ayudar, pero, yo no sé como encontrarlo." He paused, as the ghost he was talking to said something, then he glanced at Carrie.
"Hurley!" Jack jogged up to him, "what's he saying?"
"What's who saying?"
"Jacob. I saw you talking to him."
"I'm not talking to Jacob."
"Don't lie to me," Jack told him, annoyed. "Please, if you know something anything that can help us figure out-"
"It's not Jacob, man!" Hurley interrupted.
"Then who is it?"
"Sorry, Jack, but this has nothing to do with you," he replied. He returned to the campfire and sat down by Carrie. "Dude," he said to her, "we need to talk."
"Shoot," she said, looking up at him.
"Not here," he murmered. "It's private."
Carrie looked around the camp as Ben told Frank that Richard didn't age. "Okay then," she said. "Hablar me en Español." Speak to me in Spanish.
Hurley frowned. "¿Hablas Español?" You speak Spanish?
"Sí," she replied. "¿Con quién estabas hablando para allá? Yes. Who were you talking to back there?
"Su nombre es Isabella," Hurley explalained. "Es... la esposa de Richard." Her name is Isabella. She's... Richard's wife.
Carrie looked at him in utter shock. "¿Esposa?" His wife?
"Si te sirve de consuelo, ella está... muerta. Ha sido muerta por 150 años." If it's any consulation, she's... totally dead. Has been for 150 years.
"No significa que no puede decirme." she replied bitterly. "¿Es eso lo que querías hablar conmigo?" Doesn't mean he can't tell me. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?
"Más o menos." Hurley paused. "Ella necesita para encontrarlo. Ella me dijo que tú y yo tenemos que seguir sus huellas. Eres bueno en el seguimiento, ¿no?" Sorta. She needs to find him. She told me you and I have to follow his tracks. You're good at tracking, right?
"Sí." Yes.
"Ella me diho que tú y ella son los únicos que pueden convencerlo de que regrese." She told me you and her are the only ones who can convince him to come back.
"¿No dijo nada más sobre mí?" Did she say anything else about me?
"Uhh..." Hurley hesitated, clearly unsure whether to tell her or not. "Sí, sí lo hizo." Yeah, yeah she did.
"¿Qué te dijo?" What did she say?
"Ella dijo que estás bien. Ella dijo que te dijera Richard está bien que ustedes dos estén juntos. Él necesita el amor de nuevo." She said you're okay. She said to tell Richard it's okay for you to be together. He needs to love again.
This was all Carrie needed to hear. As soon as Hurley had mention Isabella, she immediately thought that Richard must still love her - after all, he hadn't mentioned her. Ever.
"Bueno," she nodded. "Vamos entonces." Okay. Let's get moving.
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Post by lostali75 on Mar 30, 2010 8:37:57 GMT -4
Flash-Sideways
René walked back toward her classroom. She began to fiddle with her hair to put it up before she forgot and ended up scrubbing paint out of it that evening. When she got to her room Principal Reynolds was at her desk fiddling with her trinkets. "Can I help you?" she chided at him.
He looked up with sinister smile. "René."
"What do you need?" she asked as she began to get out the supplies for the next class.
"We've had another round of budgets come through and I had to cut back the funding on the Art Club field trip."
She stood crisp, hands on her hips and glared at him. "How much?"
"All of it," a wry smile popped in the corner of his mouth. She wanted to smack it off of him.
"You're a real piece of work you know that."
"I do what I can for this school,"
"Bullshit. Students will be here soon. Get out of my class."
He walked toward her in what could be misconstrued as threatening but he knew just where his boundary lay. "You know of anyone that could do a better job, go ahead, point him out," he said as he looked down on her.
"Just leave," she walked around him and finished setting out the paints and canvases.
"Oh," he turned just as he reached the door, "Just a reminder about code of conduct with fraternization." She looked up at him, confused.
"What are you rambling on about? Because if the kettle wants to call itself black, I'll go there." Before she could finish two students came through the door to make their way to the tables. "Have a great day Principal Reynolds," she smiled sarcastically. "Jackass," she mumbled to her self.
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Post by Belle MacFarlane on Mar 30, 2010 11:27:36 GMT -4
Carrie and Hurley made their way through the jungle, following the tracks Richard had left. Carrie had just lost the track when she heard Richard's voice shouting through the trees.
"Does the offer still stand?" He shouted over and over again.
"This way," Carrie told Hurley. They followed the direction Richard's voice had come from. He was standing in a clearing, by some stone benches, with his back to them. They entered the clearing, and Richard turned around when he heard them coming through the bushes.
"What offer, dude?" Hurley asked casually.
Richard looked between Hurley and Carrie, annoyed that they had followed him. "What the hell are you two doing here?" He asked. "Did you follow me?"
"Well... kinda," replied Hurley. "Carrie followed your tracks."
"Get out!" Richard shouted. "Didn't you hear what I said? I don't know anything!"
"You really think that's why we're here?" Carrie argued back. "Why I'm here?"
"Dude, just calm down!" Hurley told Richard as he kept arguing at them.
"Why did you follow me?!"
"Your wife sent us!" Carrie interrupted.
Richard froze stock still, staring at them both. "What did you say?" He asked, not quite believing what he was hearing."
"I said your wife sent us," she repeated calmly. "Isabella."
Richard frowned, looking at Hurley. "Is this true?" He asked.
"She wants to know why you buried your cross," Hurley told him.
"How- how do you know about that?"
"Because she just told me."
"What do you mean, she just told you?"
"Isabella saw you dig it up, man. She's standing right next to you."
There was a pause. Carrie and Richard looked at each other, both knowing what the other was thinking. Carrie knew she was the jealous type, but for some reason she wasn't now. Nor was she angry at Richard for not telling her about Isabella.
He was scared, and confused, he didn't want Carrie to know about Isabella. He didn't want her to know he was still in love with a woman who had died 150 years ago. A part of Richard wanted Isabella to be there, because he did still love her - but a part of him didn't, because no matter how much he may still love Isabella, he loved Carrie more than anything in the world.
"A veces a las personas les toma un poco," Hurley said to the invisible Isabella. Sometimes it takes people a while.
Slowly, Richard turned his head to look in the direction Hurley was looking. "I... I don't see her," he said, looking back at Hurley.
"She's right there," Hurley told him, smiling slightly. "She says your English is awesome."
Richard turned again to look towards Isabella. "¿Estas tú... realmente aquí?" He asked, tears appearing in his eyes. Carrie had never seen him cry. Are you... really here?
"She wants you to close your eyes," Hurley said. Richard looked over at Carrie.
"It's okay, Richard," she said. "Really."
Richard looked down, and closed his eyes. There was a pause as Hurley listened to what Isabella had to say.
"No fue tu culpa que yo morí, Ricardo," he repeated. It wasn't your fault that I died, Ricardo.
As Richard started to cry, Carrie's heart broke. She yearned to hold him and comfort him, but she knew she had to wait.
"Te extraño," he sobbed. "Yo haría cualquier cosa para estar juntos de nuevo." I miss you. I would do anything for us to be together again.
Carrie felt tears in her own eyes. Richard was still in love with this woman... even after 150 years. She knew Richard would question their own relationship now that he had had this visit from Isabella, but Carrie was determined that they would see it through.
Richard opened his eyes and looked up again. "Is she gone?"
"Yeah," Hurley replied.
Richard looked down at Isabella's cross, which he held in his hand, and placed it around his neck. "Thank you," he said, more to himself than either of them.
"Yeah, you got it," Hurley said, rather awkwardly.
Richard looked up at him, sensing something was wrong.
"She kinda said one more thing," he said. "Something you had to do."
"What?"
"She said you have to stop the Man in Black. You have to stop him from leaving the Island. 'Cause if you don't... todos nos vamos al infierno." We all go to hell.
Carrie frowned slightly as she saw a figure in the distance. It was miniscule, but Carrie recognized from the lack of hair that is was him. Locke. Or... not Locke.
"Richard," she said, sounding more scared than she thought she would. "He's there."
Richard turned around, and looked in the direction she was, and recognised the figure of Locke.
"We gotta go," he said, quickly ushering Carrie and Hurley into the protection of the jungle coverage.
As they walked back to the camp, Hurley walked a bit further ahead, sensing that Carrie and Richard needed some alone time.
"I'm sorry," Richard said after a few minutes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."
"It's okay," Carrie replied, taking his hand in hers. "I know that some things are best left in the past."
"It's madness, I... I still love her. She's been dead for 150 years, and I still love her, and yet... I still love you. I don't understand it. I don't know.... I don't know if I can anymore, not since Isabella..."
"Yes you can," she told him, making him turn to look at her. "Hurley told me."
"What? What did he tell you?"
"He said, 'ella dijo que estás bien. Ella dijo que te dijera Richard está bien que ustedes dos estén juntos. Él necesita el amor de nuevo'," she quoted. She said you're okay. She said to tell Richard it's okay for you to be together. He needs to love again.
"You really think we can get through this?"
"Yeah," Carrie replied confidently, looking at him. "Yeah, I do. Remember what I said before, Richard. I will always be on your side, through everything. And I mean it."
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