01; [lobby]

[not_a_savage]

The prospect of leaving the island was more than a welcome one. When he heard the news of an outsider with a satellite phone Jack would have quite literally leaped to the occasion. Unfortunately the sand providing uneven footing hindered his movement considerably as he pushed himself up from a sitting position to stand. After leaving the beach to

Comments

[notaredshirt]

Boone had been here for about a month at this point, and while yeah, it was still kind of weird when he thought about it, he had mostly accepted the fact that he was dead and this was some kind of weird afterlife. Admittedly, most people seemed to think whatever this place was they definitely were still alive and well back home, but when you entered the place by smashing into the floor, covered in blood and pretty badly banged up, it seemed to be a pretty likely conclusion.

Still, there were worse places to be then El Dorado, afterlife or no, and in a lot of ways, it was a step up from the island. He wasn't sleeping in a cave or in a tent made out of wrecked airplane materials for one.

So when he strolled into the lobby, he was feeling pretty good. He didn't exactly have a lot to do around here, but that was okay. It still felt a little bit like a well deserved vacation, and he wandered by the familiar lounge chairs and other landmarks without breaking his stride.

But there was something unexpected in the lobby today, or more like

[not_a_savage]

Reception desk or not, Jack found himself not nearly as concerned about courtesy as he had moments before. What looked at him was a ghost from the past, and one that he could have sworn he would never see again. The face of the other man was familiar and his distinct blue eyes seemed to look right through Jack.

He took two steps back while holding out a hand at arm's length. Jack has seen his share of weird, but first a hotel and now visions of Boone? This couldn't be random. Jack wanted to look at this shadow of Boone with a stern look of skepticism and he mostly succeeded except for the unmistakable expression of guilt that passed across his features.

"What is this?" he snapped, doing his best to keep his emotions in check. "You're not real."

[notaredshirt]

Okay, fair enough. He held up his hands in a way that he hoped conveyed something along the lines of 'don't flip out, it's not like I'm going to turn into a polar bear and come at you or anything' and tried to keep his own response in check. He knew first hand how weird it was to end up here seemingly randomly, and he didn't want to freak him out any more then he already probably was, especially since his being here meant he'd probably had some horrible accident on the island, even if he didn't look all that banged up.

And he definitely caught the flash of guilt, but didn't really know what to make of it. It wasn't like Jack had been the one to tell him to go investigate the beechcraft or anything.

"I'm pretty sure I'm real. Sorry."

Sorry you're stuck here, sorry I'm kind of freaking you out, sorry you're quite possibly dead back home. Sticking to a one word statement just seemed easier.

[not_a_savage]

Boone's hands helped a little, but Jack continued to hold out his own just to be safe. It wasn't like a gesture could really fend off much, though it did serve the purpose of non verbally telling this apparition to come no closer.

"If you are who you say you are, what were you doing when I first met you?" Asking a question specific to their own shared experience seemed like such a cliched tactic and only one he'd ever seen in the movies. It was a start and Jack wasn't sure what else to do. As much of a relief as it would be to have Boone alive again it seemed far more likely that someone was playing mind games.

[msattentionspan]

Faith had been heading back into the mansion when she saw the guy standing around looking half-way confused, but not quite new. She had to assume that someone else had given him the rundown of the place, mostly because she didn't want to be that poor sap.

Shaking her head, she moved through the lobby, planning on just cutting across and heading to Angel's room, trying to figure out if that Sophie girl was going to give her another odd look or not. However, she was too curious for her own good and she stopped, tipping her head to the side, "You figure things out here? Or... am I gonna regret stopping to ask?"

[not_a_savage]

"I just came from an uncharted island to a hotel that puts the Venetian to shame," he said wryly, "I'm not sure I'll ever get it figured out." Jack reached down to brush off some of the sand off his upper leg. It's not much, but it doesn't hurt to take the little steps to be presentable.

"Have you ah, been here long?" It's only after it leaves his mouth that Jack realizes how much that sounds like a bad pickup line.

[msattentionspan]

It was kind of cute, especially considering she's heard every different variation of a pick-up line, but mostly Faith didn't think this guy was trying to hit on her. Unless he was really having a crappy day, because hitting on the first girl you meet after being kidnapped wasn't the smartest thing to do.

"It's been a while. Bit over a few months and it just keeps getting more interesting each day." Except it wasn't, but she wasn't going to let him in on the excruciating boredom that had been settling in her chest.

[not_a_savage]

"A few... months?" Jack had learned some things from Boone, but their conversation had gotten understandably sidetracked. So much had happened since he had last seen Boone alive and well and the entire situation was a shock to both of them.

"I don't mean to be rude, but, ah, do you live here?"

I will be slow but I'm here!

[sexycuzimbroken]

Nate was on his way...somewhere. He didn't have a specific destination in mind so much as wandering around and getting a better feel of the place. Sure he had been around for a little while, but he was still getting used to things. He also wasn't getting out as much as he should have to meet new people.

When he wandered through the lobby on his mini-quest, he stopped when he saw the confused looking man. He looked much the way Nate had felt on his first day. He also noticed the sand and couldn't help but raise a brow.

Not that he'd probably be of much assistance with any questions the young man would have, but he could be polite and welcome him at least.

"Did I miss the beach excursion?"

I am SO slow back! Ugggh

[not_a_savage]

It shouldn't have been a surprise that someone commented on Jack's attire and what was currently stuck to it. The thing was that this whole damn situation was a surprise. Jack suddenly felt a bit self conscious and shifted his weight to his back foot out of habit.

"You're not missing much," he answered. "Unless there's some other trip to the beach that I don't know about."

ditto?

[sexycuzimbroken]

Nate just shrugged. "I'm not really a beach kind of guy anyway."

He couldn't help but notice the man seemed to be a little out of it. "Are you okay?"

[not_a_savage]

"I'm -" Jack stops himself before saying "fine". It's the classic lie that no one ever believes.

He starts over. "I'm a little shaken up, but I guess that's to be expected. It isn't every day you're taken from what you know to... this."