Chapter Five Los Angeles – 2004: “This isn’t supposed to be happening.” Jack said out loud. “I stopped this from happening. I fixed everything.” “Dr. Shephard,” the nurse entered after him. “I’ll instruct the team you’ll be operating.” “I can’t,” Jack looked wildly at Boone. “I won’t. Not again.” He headed for the door. “Where do you think you’re going?” The nurse grabbed Jack by the sleeve to stop him from leaving. “That man needs you. If you don’t help him he’s going to die.” “He’s going to die, anyway.” Jack told her, as he yanked his arm away from her. “I tried to save him. I did everything I could,” he looked over at Boone on the examining table, “and nothing I did worked.” He ran from the room and out of the hospital like the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels. The Island – 2007: Back on the island three years in the future, Sawyer was also running with a very angry polar bear nipping at his heels. He was surprised at how fast the bear could move. He thought he’d be able to easily out run the bear and he was quickly finding out how wrong he was. The bear was gaining on him fast. Then the worst thing that could happen happened. He ran out of places to run. He was standing on the edge of a cliff with jagged rocks and water laying below. He turned back to the bear who had stopped to bare his teeth and growl at him. “All right, you son of a bitch.” Sawyer addressed. “Come and get me, but I’m not going down without a fight.”
He braced himself for the bear to rip him apart. Then something strange happened. The bear just turned around and left the way it had come. “What?” Sawyer stared at the departing bear in shock. “What the hell just happened here?” Why the hell did that bear just turn around and leave him alone. He had him dead to rights. He should have attacked him and killed him, then dragged him back to his cave and enjoyed the spoils of his victory. Did anything on this crazy island make any sense? He was still in a state of shock as he headed back to the beach to find Claire. While Sawyer had just escaped a narrow scrape with death, Claire was about to land herself in a dangerous situation of her own. She finally made it back to the beach and came to a stunned halt when she saw people were there. Thank God! They weren’t alone on this island, after all. She ran toward them. “Are you from flight 815, too?” “No,” Ilana told her. “We’re from flight 316.” “Look, you’ve got to help me.” Claire panted for breath. “My friend is about to be attacked by a polar bear and we’ve got to go and save him.” “A polar bear?” Ilana clearly didn’t believe her. “On a tropical island?” “I know it sounds crazy.” Claire told her. “But it’s true.” “And if we go with you,” Ilana asked. “Will your Dark Master be waiting there to kill us?” “My dark what?” Claire looked at her like she was crazy. “What the hell are you talking about?” “Do you think I don’t recognize you from the boat?” She asked. “That I didn’t get a good look at the bitch who shot my friend.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Claire told her. “I’ve never met you before.”
“Get her!” Ilana ordered. Claire turned tail and ran but she didn’t get far before she was caught by two of Ilana’s men who grabbed her. Sawyer was some distance away when he heard Claire scream. “Claire!” He began running in the direction he’d heard her scream. Tallahassee – 2004: “How did you know he’d be here?” Jin asked. He and Locke were sitting outside of a large estate in Florida. After they’d left Hawking, Locke had asked Jin to come with him here. It might buy Jin more time if he moved around. Besides, he didn’t relish the fact of facing this monster alone. “When Ben brought him to the island,” Locke explained. “He referred to him as the man from Tallahassee. Thank you for using your resources to track him down.” “Why do you want to see him?” Jin couldn’t understand it. “The man who put you in that chair.” “I don’t want to see him.” Locke replied. “But I have to see him.” “Why?” Jin still didn’t understand. “I need to find out why he targeted James’ mother.” Locke explained. “I need to know if the island was somehow behind it because it wants James for some reason.” “Why?” Jin still didn’t understand what was motivating Locke. “It happened years ago.” “Jin,” Locke reminded him, “the last time I saw you, you said the island was bad. I think you were right, but I need to find out just how bad it is. I made so many excuses for it and turned a blind eye to the things it did, because I wanted it to be good. Why did it let so many people die in the plane crash? Why did it want me to sacrifice Boone? Why did it let so many others die?” “Why did you?” Jin wanted to know.
“Because I wanted to be special.” Locke was disgusted by himself and his behavior on the island. “It made me think I was special. All my life I wanted to be special and it knew that and it used that to manipulate me.” “Now you know the truth,” Jin guessed. “You want revenge?” “No,” Locke smiled sadly. “I have no one to blame for what I did but myself. I let it use me. That’s on me. But the other people didn’t deserve what the island did to them. You don’t deserve to be separated from your wife. The island could have let Sun be on that plane with you, but it didn’t. Michael didn’t deserve to have his child stolen from him. It used us all for what we were worth and when it got done toying with us it let us go on our way.” “Maybe it’s not done toying with me,” Jin suggested. “Maybe that’s why it kept Sun. It must know I’ll try to come back to find her. Maybe that’s why it kept James. Because it knows you’ll come back for him.” “Not if Ms. Hawkings is right,” Locke reminded him. “And we all start dropping like flies.” He added. “I think it kept Sun to punish you for not cherishing the gift it gave you.” “What gift?” Jin didn’t know what Locke was talking about. “Ji Yeon.” Locke reminded him. “It gave you a child you willingly sacrificed when you went along with Jack’s plan so you could get back to Sun.” “I never thought about Ji Yeon.” Jin admitted. “I’ve never seen her. She wasn’t real to me and Sun is. All I could think about was Jack was giving me a chance to get back to Sun.” “And now because you went along with Jack,” Locke pointed out. “You don’t have Sun or your daughter. It’s the island’s punishment because you didn’t cherish what it gave you.” “You think the island is that petty?” Jin wanted to know. “I think it may be a lot worse than petty.” Locke revealed. “I think it may be just like my father. I thought my father was wonderful when I first met him, but he was using me because he wanted my kidney, and when he got what he wanted from he, he had no further use for me.”
“Is that when he pushed you out the window?” Jin asked. “No,” he sighed. “That happened later. The island has taken something from you the way my father did from me, and you’re going to try to get it to let you back in the same way I tried to get my father to let me in. My father used me again after he stole my kidney from me to help him get his hands on some money and it cost me the love of my life. And then he finally pushed me out a window because I’d become a nuisance to him and he wanted me to leave him alone.” “You think the island will do the same to me?” Jin wanted to know. “Yes, I do.” Locke didn’t try to sugarcoat it. “If I had just accepted what he’d done to me when he stole my kidney from me and let it go, I could have had a wonderful life. Because of what he did to me, I met Helen, but I didn’t cherish her. I picked my father over her when she warned me if I didn’t let him go she’d be done with me and I lost her.” “Like I put Sun,” Jin realized, “over Ji Yeon.” Then he shook his head in denial. “It’s not the same. I wasn’t given a choice between Sun or Ji Yeon.” “Weren’t you?” Locke asked. “If Jack was successful in resetting things, you’d never have come to the island and Ji Yeon wouldn’t exist. On some level you had to know you were risking losing your daughter by going along with Jack’s plan the same way I knew if Helen ever found out I was going along with my father’s plan I’d lose her.” “And it’s doing this to punish me.” Jin stared out into space as the horror of the situation struck him. “I just wanted to save her from the island. She came back because of me.” He looked over at Locke. “What about Sun? Why is it doing this to her?” “Because she chose did the same thing as you did,” Locke pointed out. “She chose you over Ji Yeon. She didn’t know if she’d ever be able to get back if she returned to the island and she did to get back to you.” “So,” Jin was filled with hatred for the island. “It’s taken Ji Yeon away from us and has made sure Sun and I will never be together again to punish us.” A
horrible thought occurred to him. “If I find a way back to the island, to Sun, will it kill us the same way your father tried to do to you?” “I think it’s very possible.” Locke admitted. “I think if any of us try to get back to the island it may kill us all.” “Then why are we doing this?” Jin wanted to know. “If there’s no hope, why even bother?” “I’m not just going to lay down and die.” Locke smiled. “I’m going to keep fighting, and maybe if I’m very lucky, I’ll win.” “And that’s why we’re here?” Jin still didn’t get it. “The best way to beat your opponent,” Locke instructed Jin, “is to know all you can about him. I think it’s too much of a coincidence that my father caused the death of James’ parents and then I turned around and manipulated James into killing my father. Of all the people on that plane, I think its James and I who have some kind of strange connection to that island. I don’t care what Hawkings said. I know I have a connection to that island, and I think my father is the key to finding out what that connection is.” “Do you want me to go in with you?” Jin offered. “No,” Locke looked at the place his father lived with trepidation. “I have to do this alone.” Los Angeles – 2004 Jack’s hand was shaking as he inserted the key into his front door. When he got inside, he went straight to the liquor cabinet. He slopped scotch over his glass as he clumsily filled it to the top. Then he brought the glass to his mouth, planning to down it in one gulp. Luckily, he caught his reflection in the mirror and realized history would start repeating itself for him if he took a drink. He would continue to drink until the alcohol didn’t give him enough of a buzz. Then he’d start taking pills. And he’d be right back to where he was when he headed back to the island. He flung the glass against the wall. “No!” He screamed. “I’m not going through that again. I’m not going back there.”
He needed some way to turn off his mind and not think about Boone. He put on the television and sat down flipping channels, mindlessly, trying to find something he could get interested in so he wouldn’t have to think of Boone dying. He stopped when he saw a picture of Charlie Pace on the screen. “Charlie Pace,” the anchorman said, as a clip was shown of an old Drive Shaft concert. “During his time as a member of Drive Shaft had a number one hit with, “You All Everybody.” Fans of Drive Shaft are reacting with shock over Mr. Pace’s tragic drowning. Mr. Pace was found floating in the swimming pool at the hotel he was staying in. It’s believed he tripped and hit his head as he fell into the pool. Efforts to revive Mr. Pace were unsuccessful. Mr. Pace is survived by his brother, Liam, who was also a member of Drive Shaft. There is no word on when a memorial service will be held. Mourners have already begun to gather outside the scene of Mr. Pace’s death and are holding a candlelight vigil in his honor. Once again, former Drive Shaft member, Charlie Pace, was found dead earlier this evening.” Jack shut off the television. “No,” he shook his head in denial. “This can’t be happening. I fixed this. I save them. They can’t all be dying like they did on the island. I made it never happen.” He grabbed up his coat and headed out the door. “I’ve got to find a way to stop this from happening. I’ve got to find some way to fix this.” And he knew just who could help him. He had to go to Eloise Hawking. She had helped him before; she would help him, again. She’d find a way to make this stop before anymore of them died. He got into his car and drove to the church he met her in. On the way he happened to be driving by the hotel Charlie had been staying in where he died. He could see a crowd gathering with candles and he could hear someone playing, “You All Everybody” on a boom box. He rolled up his window and kept driving. When he got to the church he found it empty. Luckily, he remembered how to get into the hidden chamber below the church. He found Hawkings there waiting for him. “Hello, Jack.” Her demeanor wasn’t exactly friendly like it had been the last time he’d met her here. “It’s been a long time since we last saw each other. Thirty years to be precise.” “You remember me?” Jack wasn’t sure if she would.
“Oh, yes, Jack.” Her voice had an ironic tone to it. “I remember you. I knew you’d come to me when you realized that all those people who died on the island are dying here, but at an accelerated pace.” “We have to stop it.” Jack insisted. “We have to find a way to save them. I didn’t save them all so they could come back here and die, again.” “You didn’t save anyone, Jack.” She told him in no uncertain terms. “You didn’t reset anything. It was the island, Jack, it was the island. Why do you think you remember everything that happened on the island? It’s because it all happened.” “No,” he shook his head in denial. “I uncrashed the plane. I changed things.” “You changed nothing.” She told him. “On the island right now it’s 2007. The beach camp you and the other members of flight 815 built is still there. Remnants of Oceanic flight 815 still litter the island, because the plane crash did happen.” “If that’s true,” Jack threw back at her. “Then how did we all land safely in Los Angeles?” “Not all of you landed safely.” She reminded him with a sly smile on her face. “Did you, Jack? No, James and Claire and Sun, they didn’t land safely, did they? But you don’t care about them, they don’t matter, you only care about the ones you think you saved.” She patted him on the shoulder. “It’s all right, Jack. I understand. You see, you and I are very much alike. Family really means very little to us when it stands in the way of our destiny. That’s why when the time come, you’ll be taking my place here as keeper of The Lamp.” The Island – 2007 Ben and Caesar approached the temple. Harper was coming out of the entrance and came to a stunned halt. “Ben?” She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She thought they were finally free of him. “What are you doing back here?” “The island brought me back.” Ben declared. “To save you.”
“Save me?” She laughed at the notion of that. “Since when have you ever thought of anyone but yourself? Were you thinking of me when you got Goodwin killed because he was a threat to your plans for Juliet?” “Everything I did was on orders from Jacob.” Ben insisted. “And every order I gave came from Richard, because he claimed that was what Jacob wanted.” “What is this all about, Ben?” Harper just wanted him gone. Seeing him was a constant reminder of what he did to Goodwin. “You can’t trust Richard.” He told her. “Because of Richard, Jacob is dead.” “What do you mean Jacob is dead?” She demanded to know. “Richard took Locke to see Jacob.” Ben explained. “And John killed him. He said there could only be one leader on the island and that leader was going to be him.” “That doesn’t sound like Locke.” She eyed his suspiciously. “No, it doesn’t.” Ben agreed, “Unless someone put the idea into his head. From the moment he came back to the island he tried to undermine Jacob’s authority and Richard let him. He tried to make the people down at the beach lose faith in Jacob, and still Richard took Locke in to see Jacob, when he’s refused for years to let me see him.” He added. “I think it was all a plan between Richard and John to wrest control of the island away from Jacob. I think Richard knew what Locke planned to do and that’s why he took him in to see Jacob.” “Richard is devoted to Jacob.” She defended Richard. “Why would he do something like that?” “Because Richard wants to be leader,” Ben told her. “Richard has despised and plotted against every person appointed as leader and you know it. When Eloise was leader, he brought me here without asking her permission and claiming it was what Jacob wanted. When Charles was leader, he gave me information so Charles would be exiled from the island. And when I was leader, he started putting forth Locke to take my place.”
“But Locke is leader,” Harper reminded him, “Not Richard.” “Is he?” Ben shot back. “You know as well as I do Locke is very easy to manipulate. Richard has supported Locke as new leader since the moment Locke met him, and that gives Richard a great influence over him. Locke doesn’t know what he’s doing, but Richard can guide him to do what Richard wants done.” He added, “In a situation like that, who is really the leader?” “Why are you telling me this?” Harper wanted to know. “What do you really want?” “I want to be leader, again.” Ben told her. “But it won’t be like last time. This time I won’t be taking orders that might not have even come from Jacob. We don’t know the orders Richard gave me were even from Jacob. He wouldn’t let me see Jacob and talk to him. Everything he had me do might have been what Richard wanted, not Jacob.” He added. “Harper, I know you have no reason to trust me, but I believe I’m the only one who can stop Richard from destroying everyone on this island. I know everyone is afraid of Richard because of what he is, but I’m not afraid of him. I can take on him and John and win. But we don’t have much time. Richard could be here at any minute, and we have to be ready and waiting for him when he arrives.” Sawyer heard Claire scream again as he grew nearer to the beach. “You people are crazy.” Claire struggled to break free of the two men holding her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “You and the one you follow think we’re stupid.” Ilana told her. “But he’s the one who is stupid if he thinks he can get away with what he’s done.” “Get your hands off of her.” Sawyer ordered as he ran on to the beach. Claire broke free of her captors and ran into the relative safety of Sawyer’s arms. “Are you okay?” “Now that you’re here,” She told him. “These people are crazy.” “Let me guess,” Ilana sauntered up to him. “You are the one who needed help from the polar bear?”
“I thought they’d come and help you.” Claire told him. “They’re not from our flight. I don’t know who they are.” “But we know who you are.” Ilana told him. “I saw you both on the boat, and now you’re going to tell us where he is or you will both die.”