Tracker, Chapter 30 (Skate, others)
Title: Tracker, Chapter 30
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Skate, Jana, others
Disclaimer: I don't own LOST
Summary: Set during S2, immediately post-WKD, Kate, Sawyer and several other characters go off into the jungle after Michael, learning secrets of the Island along the way.
Spoilers: Season 2
A/N: Tracker is an extremely lengthy, multi-chapter fanfic that I wrote during Season Two. I plan on posting a couple of chapters a day if I can, so please check back! By the way, blame kirvash if you get hooked on it. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 30
Michael checked out the right side of the Research Center and declared it kind of safe; they decided to stay there the night to investigate the reference room a little better since the laboratories on the left side were buried under a pile of rubble. Jack and Ana were both filthy, covered in dust and dirt, they had a hundred little cuts and scrapes from broken glass and flying chips of masonry. Ana wandered in the direction of the bunk rooms hoping against hope for a working shower; she was gritty and grimy and sweaty. But more than that, she felt a little dirty from Jack's touch; he hadn't said a word to her since the kiss, he hadn't looked at her. It made her feel guilty, like he was angry with her for some reason, like she'd done something wrong. Tension hung between them heavily and she kept glancing up at him trying to catch his eyes but he kept his head averted from her. She wanted to scrub him off of her, forget that it had ever happened but somehow she didn't think it was going to work that way.
She found the bunk room, three bunk beds were built into the walls, six little dressers lined up opposite them. The beds were made and tidy and it had a very sterile, spartan feel to it; there were no books or knick-knacks, no photographs or pictures on the walls. There was a door in between two of the bunk beds, Ana opened it, reaching in and flicking the light switch. She smiled; a bathroom with a sink. And a shower. She smiled even wider. Toilet paper. God, the comforts of home!
Jack was in the reference room with Locke, Eko and Michael; they were going through files slowly, most of them were filled with equations and figures beyond even Jack's comprehension. He made a mental note to himself to bring Sayid here sometime, maybe he could make sense of the jumbles of numbers and letters. The pages kept sliding out of focus and Ana kept sliding in. The kiss had shaken him because he didn't want to like it as much as he had. Since getting out of the cave-in he had avoided her because he was afraid if he even glanced at her he would lose his control completely. He glanced up, wondering where she had gone, thinking idly that she was a lot like Kate, she couldn't keep still. Kate. Had they come back yet? "Locke, have you seen Kate or Sawyer?"
Locke didn't look up from the paper he was reading; it was intriguing him because a certain word in the title sounded vaguely familiar but he couldn't quite place it. "No, I don't think they came back. Jack, listen to this," he read the title, "The Effects of Tessering on Organic Lifeforms; Physiological and Psychological.' He glanced up at Jack, who didn't seem interested; he was very distracted. "Jack, does that word, 'tessering', does it sound familiar to you?"
"Not really." Shifting from foot to foot, Jack glanced nervously at the door. "It's going to be dark soon, shouldn't we go look for them?"
Eko stood up, smiling. "I will go." He shook his head as Jack started to pick up his pack to come along. "No, Jack. I will go alone. I know where they are." He nodded to Locke. "The word sounds familiar to me, also. I will try to remember." Smiling at them both again, he left.
The pages were swimming in front of him again, as hard as he tried to focus; he kept seeing her arms rippling in the beam from the flashlight, feeling her hands against his chest. He stood abruptly; without a word he left John and Michael to their reading.
His feet carried him almost without his knowledge, he heard the shower hissing and he followed it to the bunk room. His hand reached out on its own and grabbed the knob to the bathroom; he willed it to stop, STOP! but it turned and the door swung open. Steam billowed out and he shut the door behind him; she was standing under the water staring at him, not looking surprised. Not moving to cover herself, either.
His clothes were off before he knew how and he had her, kissing her hungrily as their frenzied hands tore at each other. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him, grabbing onto his shoulders; he pushed her up against the wall beneath the showerhead, the water making them slick together as he frantically thrust against her.
The footing was slippery; he slid with every move and Ana reached above her and grabbed onto the showerhead to help him balance, pulling herself up. He groaned against her at the feel of her contracting muscles and thrust harder and faster; the hot water pouring onto him increased his pleasure and when Ana finally cried out he joined her with a deep moan, his knees wobbling a little. He sagged against her for a second, then she unlocked her legs and slid down, leaning against him lightly, barely touching. Their breath came in ragged gasps and Jack could feel his heart galloping wildly in his chest. He leaned into Ana, pushing her back against the cold tile and she gasped; after the hot water the tile was a shock. He caught her open mouth with his and kissed her leisurely, enjoying the sensation of the water and her wandering hands.
The water suddenly went freezing cold and Jack yelped and jumped away, out of the icy cold blast. Ana had jumped too; she stuck her hand back under the water and grimaced. "No more hot water." She smiled up at Jack, who was still shivering. "Damn."
He smiled and glanced around. "Any towels? It's freezing." Her eyes wandered down below his waist and she smirked at him; he followed her eyes and frowned. "There's a perfectly reasonable medical explanation for that."
She choked back a laugh, it probably wasn't a good idea to hurt his feelings just now. She pointed to a cabinet below the sink; "Towels are in there."
Still frowning a little Jack grabbed them each a towel; they smelled musty and old. He dried quickly, still a little miffed, Ana laughed silently to herself as he wrapped the towel firmly around his waist, throwing her a little glare as he did. Jesus, she thought, men are so damn sensitive. The towel rasped across her skin, rubbing it pleasurably; a hot shower and a clean towel, what else could a girl ask for?
Jack watched her towel off as he dressed silently. She wasn't paying attention to him nad he saw a little grin play across her lips before she glanced over at him, flushing just a little. He smiled back and went to her, kissing her gently. "I'm going to let you finish up here," he said, cupping her chin, "I'll see you in a little while." He kissed her again, quickly, and left, closing the door behind him. Ana smiled to herself. Oh yes you will.
* * * * *
He was in the void again, the blackness so deep he couldn't see his hands. He couldn't move them, he tried to move again and again but his face was pressed up against something hard, like wood. He wiggled his fingers, his arms were stretched out from him tied to something. He struggled but he couldn't budge and the binds that held his hands burned as he writhed against them.
The bright white light beamed on again; he still couldn't see, but now his eyes watered from the glare and he struggled harder against his bonds, grunting with the effort, his face was still pressed painfully into something but his eyes were so blurred he couldn't make it out.
A shadow appeared in front of him, blocking the harsh light from his watering eyes. Something sparkled next to the shadow, brilliant spots of light danced inside the haziness and he thought it was beautiful. The shadow sharpened as it came closer, it was a man and he bounced something in his hazy hands that made the lights dance again. Sawyer smiled at them, his eyes still blurry.
A hard, cold voice echoed in his head. "Thirty-nine."
What? "What the hell are you talking about?" Sawyer's voice sounded funny in his own head and he realized he hadn't spoken at all.
"Thirty-nine lashes." The lights twinkled again. "Sixteen for love. Twenty-three for death." The shadow man cackled. "Sixteen for love, twenty-three for death." The shadow disappeared again and the light blinded him; he groaned and pulled against the binds on his arms but there was no give. Fire ripped across his back and he shrieked as the metal tips on the whip tore his skin. "One!"
"NOOO!" The whip sliced into him again.
"Sawyer!" He opened his eyes, they still burned from the bright light. Slowly they focused and Kate was leaning over him looking terrified. "Sawyer. Are you okay?" He couldn't speak yet so he just nodded weakly; his back was still burning and his head was pounding. He struggled to sit up, his mouth cottony dry he croaked, "Water." He looked around to get his bearings and saw they were on the beach, under the cliff.
Kate handed him a bottle, watching him with fear still in her eyes. "You were screaming again." He drank deeply, the dream receding just a little. "Are you okay?"
He nodded, then looked away from her, swallowing hard. "Give me back the letter."
Shocked, she stared at him. "What?"
"The damn letter, Kate. Give it back to me." His eyes blazed crazily.
She shook her head, fear gripping her heart. Why did he want it back? "Nope. We made a deal. Letter's mine." She tried to play it off, make him laugh. It didn't work.
He snarled at her. "The damn deal's off, just give me the letter. I don't need to see him."
Kate's heart dropped. Why was he saying that? He changed his mind, he wanted to be alone. He was giving up. "Why not?" She could barely choke the words out.
"Because he ain't dead. I just saw him." He looked her in the eye, daring her to contradict him.
"Just now. In your dream." She was gazing at him like he was crazy and it cut him to the bone. She didn't believe him. "Sawyer, you had a nightmare-"
"I told you I wasn't dreamin'," he hissed at her, getting angrily to his feet. "I saw him. He..." he gulped, the words stuck in his throat as he remembered the whip slashing into his skin,"...he was there." The cloud. He was the man he'd seen in the Black Cloud that day and now he had seen him in his memory. The bastard was still alive, and on this island and as soon as he got the letter from Kate he was going after him, to finally put an end to this suffering. "Now give it to me."
She knew what he was going to do. "No, Sawyer. I'm not letting you go. It was a dream."
His head was pounding. God damn her. His anger kicked up a notch and he glared at her, his eyes blazing. "Freckles, I don't wanna go through this again!" He was almost shouting at her and as she drew away his rage kicked up another notch.
He was going to come after her, after the letter; she could see it in his eyes. The power driving him was stronger than her and she started getting desperate, he would catch her if she ran and force her to give it to him, and if he got it he would be gone. Cold resignation filled her heart- she had to do it for him.
She pulled the letter out of her pocket and held it over the fire. Sawyer's eyes widened and he threw her such a look of hatred that she nearly dropped the letter into the flames. "Don't you dare do it," he hissed at her; she wanted to cry.
"Give me your gun." He just glared at her and she lowered the paper closer to the fire. She couldn't bear to look at him; he was glowering at her and she could feel the waves of hate and betrayal radiating from him as he pulled his gun from his pants and threw it at her.
She wanted to scream she was sorry because he looked so hurt underneath the hate. I'm doing this for you! she wanted to tell him, instead she picked up the gun and rose slowly, holding it on him.
He smirked nastily at her, eying the gun. "You know what, Freckles? I don't think you'd do it." He stepped towards her and she cocked it, still holding it steadily on him; her eyes were cold.
"I wouldn't kill you, Tex. But I sure as hell could injure you enough to keep you from following me." He believed her. She backed away, towards the jungle. The look on his face was killing her; hate and hurt. She stopped at the edge of the trees and stared at him. "I'm doing this for you, Sawyer." She turned and disappeared into the trees.
He stared at the jungle for a long moment, then he hollered after her, "I was doing it for us." His voice died on the wind.
He dropped back down by the fire; he couldn't follow her in the dark, and anyway, he didn't want to. The nightmare returned to him and his back flared in pain as he groaned and lay back on the sand, closing his eyes.
"James." He sat up quickly, startled; Eko was standing in front of him, smiling.
"Now ain't a good time, Ed." Sawyer growled, laying back down, his heart pounding along with his head.
"On the contrary, James. Now is the perfect time." He sat down by the fire, ignoring Sawyer's glare as he sat back up. "Where is Kate?" He didn't answer; the look on his face told Eko all he needed to know. "Ah," he said, nodding. "The letter."
Sawyer glanced up sharply. "What do you know about it, Shaft?" he snarled.
Eko just smiled serenely. "I told you before, James, I know many things. And I have been sharing them with you." He nodded his head towards the jungle. "And Katherine." The silence grew and Saywer was wondering if he was just gonna sit there and stare at the fire all night when he spoke again. "Jesus had brothers, well half-brothers, the true sons of Joseph. One of them was named James." That caught Sawyer's interest, though he tried not to show it; Eko noticed anyway and continued. "James and his brothers did not believe that Jesus was the son of God; they teased him and ridiculed him, though that did not hurt him as much as their lack of faith." He was listening openly now, and Eko smiled at him. "After the resurrection, James became a believer, like so many others; he felt the divinity of his half- brother, whom he used to tease so mercilessly but who always forgave him no matter how harshly he was treated." He paused, looking at Sawyer, who was leaning forward, listening raptly. "I tell you these things because there is one passage written by him, James 4:14," he smiled to himself, "that you should take to heart as if you had written it." He leaned in close to him, holding Sawyer's eyes as he recited the passage. "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." Sawyer was wide-eyed, his gaze held by Eko's. "Think about the path you are choosing, James. Life is brief and joy is fleeting. Right now you have the chance to hold both in your hands; do not throw it away on a ghost."
Sawyer's eyes fell. "But he's alive. I saw him."
Eko smiled, and touched Sawyer's shoulder giving him the familiar shock. "The ghost is not him. It is you." Smiling, he stood. "Goodnight, James. If I see Katherine should I send her back?"
Sawyer gazed into the jungle where she had gone. He wasn't ready to give it up completely yet, but running off into the jungle was senseless. He glanced at Eko and nodded. "Yeah." Eko smiled broadly.
"Ah, Cowboy," he said, smiling up at the stars. "Joy is fleeting, but it is still joy." He winked at Sawyer, "Enjoy it while you can."
Sawyer smiled back, thinking about Kate; rolling her eyes at him, laughing, shuddering and gasping beneath his hands. "I will, Ed. Believe me, I will."
* * * * *
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Skate, Jana, others
Disclaimer: I don't own LOST
Summary: Set during S2, immediately post-WKD, Kate, Sawyer and several other characters go off into the jungle after Michael, learning secrets of the Island along the way.
Spoilers: Season 2
A/N: Tracker is an extremely lengthy, multi-chapter fanfic that I wrote during Season Two. I plan on posting a couple of chapters a day if I can, so please check back! By the way, blame kirvash if you get hooked on it. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 30
Michael checked out the right side of the Research Center and declared it kind of safe; they decided to stay there the night to investigate the reference room a little better since the laboratories on the left side were buried under a pile of rubble. Jack and Ana were both filthy, covered in dust and dirt, they had a hundred little cuts and scrapes from broken glass and flying chips of masonry. Ana wandered in the direction of the bunk rooms hoping against hope for a working shower; she was gritty and grimy and sweaty. But more than that, she felt a little dirty from Jack's touch; he hadn't said a word to her since the kiss, he hadn't looked at her. It made her feel guilty, like he was angry with her for some reason, like she'd done something wrong. Tension hung between them heavily and she kept glancing up at him trying to catch his eyes but he kept his head averted from her. She wanted to scrub him off of her, forget that it had ever happened but somehow she didn't think it was going to work that way.
She found the bunk room, three bunk beds were built into the walls, six little dressers lined up opposite them. The beds were made and tidy and it had a very sterile, spartan feel to it; there were no books or knick-knacks, no photographs or pictures on the walls. There was a door in between two of the bunk beds, Ana opened it, reaching in and flicking the light switch. She smiled; a bathroom with a sink. And a shower. She smiled even wider. Toilet paper. God, the comforts of home!
Jack was in the reference room with Locke, Eko and Michael; they were going through files slowly, most of them were filled with equations and figures beyond even Jack's comprehension. He made a mental note to himself to bring Sayid here sometime, maybe he could make sense of the jumbles of numbers and letters. The pages kept sliding out of focus and Ana kept sliding in. The kiss had shaken him because he didn't want to like it as much as he had. Since getting out of the cave-in he had avoided her because he was afraid if he even glanced at her he would lose his control completely. He glanced up, wondering where she had gone, thinking idly that she was a lot like Kate, she couldn't keep still. Kate. Had they come back yet? "Locke, have you seen Kate or Sawyer?"
Locke didn't look up from the paper he was reading; it was intriguing him because a certain word in the title sounded vaguely familiar but he couldn't quite place it. "No, I don't think they came back. Jack, listen to this," he read the title, "The Effects of Tessering on Organic Lifeforms; Physiological and Psychological.' He glanced up at Jack, who didn't seem interested; he was very distracted. "Jack, does that word, 'tessering', does it sound familiar to you?"
"Not really." Shifting from foot to foot, Jack glanced nervously at the door. "It's going to be dark soon, shouldn't we go look for them?"
Eko stood up, smiling. "I will go." He shook his head as Jack started to pick up his pack to come along. "No, Jack. I will go alone. I know where they are." He nodded to Locke. "The word sounds familiar to me, also. I will try to remember." Smiling at them both again, he left.
The pages were swimming in front of him again, as hard as he tried to focus; he kept seeing her arms rippling in the beam from the flashlight, feeling her hands against his chest. He stood abruptly; without a word he left John and Michael to their reading.
His feet carried him almost without his knowledge, he heard the shower hissing and he followed it to the bunk room. His hand reached out on its own and grabbed the knob to the bathroom; he willed it to stop, STOP! but it turned and the door swung open. Steam billowed out and he shut the door behind him; she was standing under the water staring at him, not looking surprised. Not moving to cover herself, either.
His clothes were off before he knew how and he had her, kissing her hungrily as their frenzied hands tore at each other. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him, grabbing onto his shoulders; he pushed her up against the wall beneath the showerhead, the water making them slick together as he frantically thrust against her.
The footing was slippery; he slid with every move and Ana reached above her and grabbed onto the showerhead to help him balance, pulling herself up. He groaned against her at the feel of her contracting muscles and thrust harder and faster; the hot water pouring onto him increased his pleasure and when Ana finally cried out he joined her with a deep moan, his knees wobbling a little. He sagged against her for a second, then she unlocked her legs and slid down, leaning against him lightly, barely touching. Their breath came in ragged gasps and Jack could feel his heart galloping wildly in his chest. He leaned into Ana, pushing her back against the cold tile and she gasped; after the hot water the tile was a shock. He caught her open mouth with his and kissed her leisurely, enjoying the sensation of the water and her wandering hands.
The water suddenly went freezing cold and Jack yelped and jumped away, out of the icy cold blast. Ana had jumped too; she stuck her hand back under the water and grimaced. "No more hot water." She smiled up at Jack, who was still shivering. "Damn."
He smiled and glanced around. "Any towels? It's freezing." Her eyes wandered down below his waist and she smirked at him; he followed her eyes and frowned. "There's a perfectly reasonable medical explanation for that."
She choked back a laugh, it probably wasn't a good idea to hurt his feelings just now. She pointed to a cabinet below the sink; "Towels are in there."
Still frowning a little Jack grabbed them each a towel; they smelled musty and old. He dried quickly, still a little miffed, Ana laughed silently to herself as he wrapped the towel firmly around his waist, throwing her a little glare as he did. Jesus, she thought, men are so damn sensitive. The towel rasped across her skin, rubbing it pleasurably; a hot shower and a clean towel, what else could a girl ask for?
Jack watched her towel off as he dressed silently. She wasn't paying attention to him nad he saw a little grin play across her lips before she glanced over at him, flushing just a little. He smiled back and went to her, kissing her gently. "I'm going to let you finish up here," he said, cupping her chin, "I'll see you in a little while." He kissed her again, quickly, and left, closing the door behind him. Ana smiled to herself. Oh yes you will.
* * * * *
He was in the void again, the blackness so deep he couldn't see his hands. He couldn't move them, he tried to move again and again but his face was pressed up against something hard, like wood. He wiggled his fingers, his arms were stretched out from him tied to something. He struggled but he couldn't budge and the binds that held his hands burned as he writhed against them.
The bright white light beamed on again; he still couldn't see, but now his eyes watered from the glare and he struggled harder against his bonds, grunting with the effort, his face was still pressed painfully into something but his eyes were so blurred he couldn't make it out.
A shadow appeared in front of him, blocking the harsh light from his watering eyes. Something sparkled next to the shadow, brilliant spots of light danced inside the haziness and he thought it was beautiful. The shadow sharpened as it came closer, it was a man and he bounced something in his hazy hands that made the lights dance again. Sawyer smiled at them, his eyes still blurry.
A hard, cold voice echoed in his head. "Thirty-nine."
What? "What the hell are you talking about?" Sawyer's voice sounded funny in his own head and he realized he hadn't spoken at all.
"Thirty-nine lashes." The lights twinkled again. "Sixteen for love. Twenty-three for death." The shadow man cackled. "Sixteen for love, twenty-three for death." The shadow disappeared again and the light blinded him; he groaned and pulled against the binds on his arms but there was no give. Fire ripped across his back and he shrieked as the metal tips on the whip tore his skin. "One!"
"NOOO!" The whip sliced into him again.
"Sawyer!" He opened his eyes, they still burned from the bright light. Slowly they focused and Kate was leaning over him looking terrified. "Sawyer. Are you okay?" He couldn't speak yet so he just nodded weakly; his back was still burning and his head was pounding. He struggled to sit up, his mouth cottony dry he croaked, "Water." He looked around to get his bearings and saw they were on the beach, under the cliff.
Kate handed him a bottle, watching him with fear still in her eyes. "You were screaming again." He drank deeply, the dream receding just a little. "Are you okay?"
He nodded, then looked away from her, swallowing hard. "Give me back the letter."
Shocked, she stared at him. "What?"
"The damn letter, Kate. Give it back to me." His eyes blazed crazily.
She shook her head, fear gripping her heart. Why did he want it back? "Nope. We made a deal. Letter's mine." She tried to play it off, make him laugh. It didn't work.
He snarled at her. "The damn deal's off, just give me the letter. I don't need to see him."
Kate's heart dropped. Why was he saying that? He changed his mind, he wanted to be alone. He was giving up. "Why not?" She could barely choke the words out.
"Because he ain't dead. I just saw him." He looked her in the eye, daring her to contradict him.
"Just now. In your dream." She was gazing at him like he was crazy and it cut him to the bone. She didn't believe him. "Sawyer, you had a nightmare-"
"I told you I wasn't dreamin'," he hissed at her, getting angrily to his feet. "I saw him. He..." he gulped, the words stuck in his throat as he remembered the whip slashing into his skin,"...he was there." The cloud. He was the man he'd seen in the Black Cloud that day and now he had seen him in his memory. The bastard was still alive, and on this island and as soon as he got the letter from Kate he was going after him, to finally put an end to this suffering. "Now give it to me."
She knew what he was going to do. "No, Sawyer. I'm not letting you go. It was a dream."
His head was pounding. God damn her. His anger kicked up a notch and he glared at her, his eyes blazing. "Freckles, I don't wanna go through this again!" He was almost shouting at her and as she drew away his rage kicked up another notch.
He was going to come after her, after the letter; she could see it in his eyes. The power driving him was stronger than her and she started getting desperate, he would catch her if she ran and force her to give it to him, and if he got it he would be gone. Cold resignation filled her heart- she had to do it for him.
She pulled the letter out of her pocket and held it over the fire. Sawyer's eyes widened and he threw her such a look of hatred that she nearly dropped the letter into the flames. "Don't you dare do it," he hissed at her; she wanted to cry.
"Give me your gun." He just glared at her and she lowered the paper closer to the fire. She couldn't bear to look at him; he was glowering at her and she could feel the waves of hate and betrayal radiating from him as he pulled his gun from his pants and threw it at her.
She wanted to scream she was sorry because he looked so hurt underneath the hate. I'm doing this for you! she wanted to tell him, instead she picked up the gun and rose slowly, holding it on him.
He smirked nastily at her, eying the gun. "You know what, Freckles? I don't think you'd do it." He stepped towards her and she cocked it, still holding it steadily on him; her eyes were cold.
"I wouldn't kill you, Tex. But I sure as hell could injure you enough to keep you from following me." He believed her. She backed away, towards the jungle. The look on his face was killing her; hate and hurt. She stopped at the edge of the trees and stared at him. "I'm doing this for you, Sawyer." She turned and disappeared into the trees.
He stared at the jungle for a long moment, then he hollered after her, "I was doing it for us." His voice died on the wind.
He dropped back down by the fire; he couldn't follow her in the dark, and anyway, he didn't want to. The nightmare returned to him and his back flared in pain as he groaned and lay back on the sand, closing his eyes.
"James." He sat up quickly, startled; Eko was standing in front of him, smiling.
"Now ain't a good time, Ed." Sawyer growled, laying back down, his heart pounding along with his head.
"On the contrary, James. Now is the perfect time." He sat down by the fire, ignoring Sawyer's glare as he sat back up. "Where is Kate?" He didn't answer; the look on his face told Eko all he needed to know. "Ah," he said, nodding. "The letter."
Sawyer glanced up sharply. "What do you know about it, Shaft?" he snarled.
Eko just smiled serenely. "I told you before, James, I know many things. And I have been sharing them with you." He nodded his head towards the jungle. "And Katherine." The silence grew and Saywer was wondering if he was just gonna sit there and stare at the fire all night when he spoke again. "Jesus had brothers, well half-brothers, the true sons of Joseph. One of them was named James." That caught Sawyer's interest, though he tried not to show it; Eko noticed anyway and continued. "James and his brothers did not believe that Jesus was the son of God; they teased him and ridiculed him, though that did not hurt him as much as their lack of faith." He was listening openly now, and Eko smiled at him. "After the resurrection, James became a believer, like so many others; he felt the divinity of his half- brother, whom he used to tease so mercilessly but who always forgave him no matter how harshly he was treated." He paused, looking at Sawyer, who was leaning forward, listening raptly. "I tell you these things because there is one passage written by him, James 4:14," he smiled to himself, "that you should take to heart as if you had written it." He leaned in close to him, holding Sawyer's eyes as he recited the passage. "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." Sawyer was wide-eyed, his gaze held by Eko's. "Think about the path you are choosing, James. Life is brief and joy is fleeting. Right now you have the chance to hold both in your hands; do not throw it away on a ghost."
Sawyer's eyes fell. "But he's alive. I saw him."
Eko smiled, and touched Sawyer's shoulder giving him the familiar shock. "The ghost is not him. It is you." Smiling, he stood. "Goodnight, James. If I see Katherine should I send her back?"
Sawyer gazed into the jungle where she had gone. He wasn't ready to give it up completely yet, but running off into the jungle was senseless. He glanced at Eko and nodded. "Yeah." Eko smiled broadly.
"Ah, Cowboy," he said, smiling up at the stars. "Joy is fleeting, but it is still joy." He winked at Sawyer, "Enjoy it while you can."
Sawyer smiled back, thinking about Kate; rolling her eyes at him, laughing, shuddering and gasping beneath his hands. "I will, Ed. Believe me, I will."
* * * * *