Just so you know, I don't own LOST or any characters besides Cherry and Eva.
J/K S/OC
Things are happening. The island was changing her, and she knew it. The question now is,can sheuse what she knows to help the others, before she needs someone to help her?
Seven Days in Paradise
"To Wake The Sleeping"
The sun was dimmed momentarily by the screen of thin clouds that passed slowly before it. Cherry glared around the camp. "No good lazy jerks..." She growled under her breath. Oh sure, they were all real eager to help, but when they heard the task Jack, Kate, and Sayid needed help with was going into the jungle to find a high point for the transceiver, everyone was 'otherwise engaged'. Boone and Locke were already in the jungle hunting, so they were excluded from her curses. But all the others were just good for nothing whiners.
She stormed, as best as she could, through the people, purposely kicking sand on Shannon's exposed belly as she lay, tanning. Cherry smirked and didn't look back as she heard the disgruntled beach bum shouting choice words after her.
"I'll come." Cherry announced, planting herself in front of Jack, who was quietly discussing their plan of action with Sayid. Jack glanced at her.
"Who are you?" The question in any other voice than his would no doubt have sounded harsh and rude. But Jack's gentle demeanor emanated his good intentions, and Cherry was rather not offended but drawn in by his soft, strong voice and deep brown eyes.
"I'm Sam Parker, and I'm apparently the only one with balls enough to help you guys."
"Oh, okay." Jack replied, taken aback by her anger, though it was not directed toward him. "Grab a bottle of water and a blanket. It'll be an overnight trip." Cherry nodded, and made her way to the other end of camp, to where she'd staked her claim of beach.
"Where you headed, Sam?" Eva asked. The kind old lady was sitting in the shade, making use of Cherry's knitting needles she said she'd found and given her.
"I'm gonna help Sayid and Jack set up the transceiver so we can get the hell off this island."
"Well, be careful sweetie. And don't let the doctor get himself hurt. We need him around here."
"I know, Eve, I know. Don't worry 'bout me, I'll be fine." Cherry crouched beside her once she'd packed her bag, and kissed the old woman's cheek, flashing her a brave smile before returning to Jack. Kate had appeared there, set with her bag as well, and the typical stoic expression masking her worries.
"This is Sam. She's volunteered to go with us. This is Kate." Jack introduced them.
"I know." Cherry replied, with a half grin.
The silence annoyed her, as they clawed and crunched their way through the brush up the shallow incline. No one had spoken for at least a half hour. So, she took it upon herself to lighten the mood, which she sensed was far too heavy and worried.
"So, Kate, you got a boyfriend in the real world?" She began nonchalantly, her voice startling her companions in the silence of the jungle. Kate glanced back at her with a smile before looking ahead and answering.
"Nope. How about you?" She asked, and Cherry smiled knowingly, noticing how Kate had turned the situation from being interrogated to being the interrogator. Don't judge a person by the answers, but by the questions. It told her a lot about Kate's personality.
"No, me neither, happy to say. Men just screw things up." Cherry commented, eliciting a glare of sarcastic displeasure from Jack. "Except for Jack, I'm sure. Speaking of, you tied down, doc?"
She heard Jack chuckle. "No, Sam, I'm not. I find that women just do more damage than they're worth." Cherry heard the smile in his voice, and she and Sayid burst into laughter, while Kate scoffed with a grin and punched him lightly in the leg. Jack mocked hurt and limped for a few steps. But their playful banter was interrupted by a loud crack of thunder that echoed through the air and seemed to shake the ground they stood on. Kate stumbled on the crevices of the ground in her momentary surprise and was thrown backward down the low slope onto Cherry, who toppled over under her weight, and they rolled down the hill over one another.
Cherry lay on her back, with Kate lying on one of her arms. Laughter was at the tip of her tongue. But it was quelled by an intense coldness that took her breath away. Suddenly, it felt as if she'd stepped off the desert island into a snowstorm. Even from the inside of her, she was chilled.
Jack and Sayid bounded down to them and knelt beside them. Kate stood, but Cherry lay there still. She felt as if she moved her limbs, they would break off. But, she saw Sayid's face over her, and she lifted her head to look up the hill between his legs. There, a large boulder had come loose from the mountainside and started rolling quickly down to them. Her eyes grew large, and she opened her mouth to speak, but there was nothing there. Sayid and Jack held her arms, and they lifted her up, her eyes still glued on the rock that was tumbling toward them. It grew larger and larger as it came closer and closer. The noise of it tumbling and bouncing off the hillside was deafening, but none of the others seemed to hear it.
"Move!" She shouted, but they just looked in confusion at her. "Get out of the way!" She shrieked, but they acted like they didn't understand. She herded Jack and Kate to the left, away from the path of the boulder, dragging Sayid behind by his wrist. But, the rumbling of the rolling stone passed behind her, and suddenly, Sayid's wrist was no longer in her grasp. She stilled, her face in terror, and slowly turned. Sayid lay on his stomach on the grass, his arms reaching out toward her feet, his fingers clawing at the grass. The boulder left a sickening trail of blood on the grass, after it had passed over his legs, and taken them with it as it crashed off into the trees.
Cherry bolted upright, sending an ear piercing scream from the bottom of her lungs into the air. Jack, Kate and…Sayid stood over her.
"It's okay, Sam. You just got knocked out." Jack cooed. Cherry stared into the face of the Iraqi whose maiming she'd just witnessed.
"But you…Sayid…I saw you. The boulder it…" She trailed off, unable to comprehend that what she had seen wasn't real.
"What boulder?" Sayid asked, concerned.
"I could've sworn I-" She started, but was cut off by another loud crack of thunder. All four of their faces turned up the hillside, and witnessed the bolt of lightning dance from above the treetops and strike the rocky mountain. A large chunk of rock was loosened, and it toppled over its jagged edges down toward them.
"That boulder…" Cherry whispered to herself as Sayid picked her up by her arms and started herding them all to the left. "No." She whispered again, realizing what would come of this situation if something wasn't done. So, she spun around Sayid and gave him a great shove. Despite his own strength, he was hurled forward into Jack and Kate. Cherry looked at the boulder, her eyes widened. It was already so close. By the time her brain sent the message to her legs to jump out of the way, it would have rolled over her.
So, in her shock, she stood still, knowing any effort to save herself would be futile. But, the boulder was only about three feet away, and rolling remarkably fast, when she felt a great blow to her back, plowing her over to the left, out of the path of the boulder. The wind was momentarily knocked out of her as she lie face first in the dirt, with the weight of another person on top of her.
"Sam!" She heard Kate call, and she was rolled over onto her back. Her eyes struggled to focus, and the blurry image of four faces standing over her came into clear view. She smiled faintly, seeing Sayid standing on his own two legs, alive and well, if not a bit concerned. And the new face, the face of the man who'd tackled her, not so gently, out of the path of certain death. His hair hung around his face as he leaned over her, framing his expression of fear and concern. He huffed and puffed from exertion, staring intently at her, waiting to know if she was really okay.
She grunted as she attempted to sit up, and felt four different pairs of hands on her, helping her. She blnked a few times in shocked disbelief before she cracked her neck and stretched her back.
"Whew. Close call." She quipped nonchalantly, eliciting scoffs of amazed delight. "I believe I have you to thank for that gallant rescue."
He grinned triumphantly, and Cherry noted the dimples that appeared. He opened his mouth to speak, but Kate's voice was heard instead.
"What're you doing out here, Sawyer?"
"I'm savin this girl's hide, what does it look like?" He scowled at the other three, who were looking suspiciously at him. Cherry furrowed her brow. He'd just saved her life and they were questioning why he was here? "Okay, so the Michelin Man guilted me into helping out. He has a way with words. And, it looks like it's a good thing I came." He said, turning his eyes onto Cherry, whose gaze was glued to him. "What's your name anyway, sweetheart?"
"Cherry." She answered immediately, grinning.
"Cherry?" Jack repeated quizzically from behind her. Sawyer watched her eyes widen in fear.
"Uh, I mean Sam. My name is…Sam." She covered, but not very well. Both Jack and Kate silently resolved to question her about that when they returned to camp.
"How did you know? About the boulder?" Sayid asked quietly from behind Kate, in a hushed tone that showed his amazement and confusion. Cherry just looked at him for a moment.
"I'm not sure. I saw it all…and then I woke up and it hadn't happened. Yet."
"It was probably just a weird coincidence." Jack said quickly. "We've got to get the transceiver up to the top of that hill quick before it starts pouring on us. You okay to keep going?" He asked Cherry, who nodded.
But, as they climbed above the treetops, the sky was not as dark and clouded with storm clouds as the thunder they'd heard and the lightning they'd seen had indicated. It was, in fact, a clear, blue sky, with not a cloud in sight. They stood upon the summit of the steep hill, while Sayid fiddled with his gadget. There was silence among the group for that time, in which each thought individually on the occurrences of the day, and the clear sky which defied the sounds they heard, but none voiced their concerns or suspicions. A lot of strange things had happened on this island. It was probably just a fluke of weather. There may be a storm in the distance, or on the other side of the mountain, where they could not see the full expanse of the sky. But what about that strange prediction Cherry had made?
Sawyer had been typically irritating the entire climb, and now that Sayid concluded there would be no signal here, and they had begun their trek back to camp, he was not showing any signs of relenting. It was perfectly clear the other four wished for silence to ponder as they walked, but Sawyer would not grant them such a pleasure. He chatted, seemingly to himself, about anything and everything. Asking them random questions and getting no answers, but he did not let it hinder him. Even the usually carefree Cherry was feeling her patience wear thin. The enchantment she'd felt when first laying eyes on his handsome face and hearing the southern twang in his voice was quickly dissipating.
Thankfully, Cherry was able to tune him out for a while, and escaped this jungle wasteland by letting her thoughts wander back home. Where there was real food, real bed and blankets, running water…and family. But the memory of home that pervaded was not a happy one as she'd wished.
"Is it back?" Cherry asked, wringing her hands as she abruptly stopped pacing the hospital room upon hearing the door open, yielding the doctor, with a clipboard in hand.
"Well, this test was inconclusive, but I would feel better if you took the drive up to Midland to get an MRI."
"Oh, God." Cherry sighed, plopping with a crunch onto the seat covered in sanitary paper. Her mother, who'd been standing quietly near the wall, set a hand on her shoulder.
"Cherry, baby, don't worry yet. It might be nothing."
"I told you not to call me that!" Cherry snapped.
"Fine. Sam. Calm down." Her mother demanded, irritated at her daughter's immediate pessimism, and her sudden and tiring sensitivity to the name she'd called her all her life.
"I could die." Cherry sniffled in exasperation.
"Sam, I don't want you to stress about this, it could just make things worse. There might not be anything at all, but I want you to get some more extensive tests as a precaution." Dr. Seward cooed in the doctor voice Cherry knew so well.
Cherry breathed deeply, with her mother's hand rubbing soothing circles on her back, and slowly nodded, knowing deep in her that this was the end.
They'd made it back to camp within the hour, and were rewarded with a helping of fresh boar Locke and Boone had returned with. Their excursion had taken most of the day, and the sun was about a half hour from being completely hidden under the horizon. Cherry strolled over to the space she'd claimed as her own, to find Eva there, knitting, as usual.
"Ah, I see you've come back in one piece."
"Didn't I say I would?" She grinned deviously.
"And the others?"
"They're all fine. Sayid had a close call. I guess I did, too. But a guy named Sawyer followed us and sort of saved me."
"Oh. Sawyer, you say? Saved you? H'm…strange."
"Why is that so strange?"
"You haven't heard about him?" Eva asked incredulously, and Cherry just slowly shook her head in naivety, so Eva enlightened her on Sawyer's deeds. Cherry's brow furrowed deeper and deeper as she listened to Eva's surprisingly extensive knowledge on the Southerner.
She had no idea the things people were capable of just by looking at them. His charming looks were deceiving. He was a liar and a cheater and a horrible person. Cherry realized just how little she knew about the people she was in such close proximity with. Any of them could be rapists or pedophiles or murderous psychopaths. So, she resolved to learn a bit more about everyone. There were only, what, like 44 others besides herself and Eva. It wouldn't be too hard. That way, she could determine if anyone was a real threat, and in that case, distance herself from that person or persons and if need be, alert Jack of the situation. He'd know what to do in that case. Everyone, herself included, would be safer and sleep a little better at night, considering.
Good plan, Cherry, she congratulated herself, feeling good already about the deed she'd do. But not tonight, she thought, snuggling further under the sparse airplane blanket. She was just going to forget about what had happened earlier, with the blackout and the boulder. Perhaps when the sun rose, she would have an answer. After all, tomorrow's awhole new day.
Just an idea I had and ran with. It is finished, and has seven chapters. Though they're pretty long, I think. Tell me what you think about how I portray the chatacters, the plot, suggestions...anything.
To come: Seeing things in the jungle, confrontations with everyone's favorite Southerner, and more on Cherry...er...I mean Sam's tragic past.
Reviews will be greatly appreciated and heavily rewarded.
PS Can you believe Boone is dead! I was soooo sad. I was in suspense the entire episode. Is Boone going or are they going to pull a fast one and kill Clairein childbirth? I'm glad she had her baby and he's fine. : )
Good things,
-Austin B.