Chapter Text
“Why does the hatch say quarantine?”
Jack held his torch to the sundered door, his gaze shifting towards John Locke and Kate who crouched beside him who looked equally confused. The three looked down into the seemingly endless pit, at least forty feet deep they decided, the only sign of life being the irreparable remains of a ladder.
Hugo jogged over from the thick herbage where he had stood previously.
“Why'd you do that- why'd you light the fuse, man!”
Locke shifted his attention from the depths of the bunker (?) to the man calling out to him,
“Why wouldn't I light the fuse?”
“Maybe because I was running towards you, waving my arms, yelling, ‘Don't do that!’”
Despite his obvious disapproval of the situation, he still joined the others in analyzing what was underneath the hatch they were so curious about. Before seeing that Kate was slipping into a crudely crafted harness.
“Dude, what are you doing”
“I’m going to see what’s inside.”
She stated firmly as Locke went to secure the other end of the vine to the sturdiest tree he could find that would still allow the length of it to reach the bottom of the bunker. He tied a bowline knot around the thickest section of the trunk and made sure it was secure.
“There could be something useful down there.”
Legs dangling over the edge of the opening inlet, Kate gave the vine one last tug to check its sturdiness before giving Locke a thumbs up.
“And Jack is okay with this? Can't we check it a bit more before we just toss someone down there, and tell everyone else beforehand?”
With that he turned to him for agreement on what he said.
“You’re right, we don’t know what’s down there yet and the rest of our group is still waiting for instructions on what to do tonight. We can investigate tomorrow morning.”
He handed Hugo his torch before reaching out to help Kate stand, but she didn’t accept it.
“You and Hurley can go back to the cave and tell the others what we’re doing, but I’m not waiting hours just to check this out.” Grabbing her flashlight and tucking it into her bag with the rest of her stuff she began descending, but was stopped when Jack grabbed the rope and kept tension on it to prevent her from going any further.
“Jack!”
Pushing off the wall of the shaft and lifting herself back onto flat land, she stood back up face to face with him.
“I’m going down and you have no right to stop me again!”
“Are you seriously still mad about the dynamite?”
“Obviously- we drew straws to decide who would carry it and you still went behind my back to do it.”
“Everybody wants me to be a leader ‘till I make a decision they don't like. I did it for a reason.”
As the argument was beginning to grow heated, John walked towards where the fight had started and cut in with his own opinion.
“Jack, you should consider it. The island wanted us to find this, it could be a good shelter for us and have supplies inside.”
“And what if there's something dangerous inside? Why don’t you go down?”
He turned his body towards Locke fully as he asked him.
“In case there’s something dangerous inside.”
He laughed.
Jack rubbed his temple and pointed to Hugo with a grim look.
“Watch them and make sure they don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone. I’ll come back and go down instead.”
As he walked away Kate and Locke both looked to Hugo, obviously going to disobey the orders given by the doctor only seconds ago.
“I’ll be really quick, it’s gonna be fine”
“Great idea, dude, go into the burning death hole anyways.”
“We blew the door so we could get everyone inside so they'd be safe.”
Locke said to convince Hugo.
“That plan is not gonna work. We'll never get everyone down in time.”
“We’re just going to see if it’s safe, it’ll save so much time!”
Kate got back into the position she was in before Jack interfered. John followed her by getting ready to lower the rope behind her.
“Say stop if you need to stop.”
She rolled her eyes at his comment before beginning to descend through the depth they were warned about. Hugo paced back and forth, becoming more nervous as time went on. He was stressed about the whole ordeal, especially since the door had the numbers engraved on it.
“Can you hurry before Jack gets back and sees this..”
“I think I’m low enough now, you can drop the rest of the rope.”
Catching herself from the short drop, she reached back for the flashlight. The light revealed the aged metal walls and pools of water scattered on the uneven ground, formed by age and neglect. Kate continued to walk down the hall after removing herself from the rope.
Only about two meters down was a door, she placed her hand on the knob for a while- unsure if it was worth it to open it and risk being met with something that could harm her. She decided she would prioritize vision while keeping the gun from the suitcase in her back pocket.
Twisting and pulling the knob, a man jumped out just as quick as the door had opened.
Kate fell to the ground before she was able to take out the gun, grabbing the strange man’s shoulders to push him off of her.
“Um.. is she supposed to be taking this long.”
“Sure she is.”
“I just don’t think this was a good idea, Jack is going to be back soon and he’s gonna hate me for letting you guys do this.”
“I’m sure she’s fine-”
The conversation was cut off by the sharp sound of a gunshot ringing out where Kate had just been exploring, Hugo and John looked at each other with wide eyes before rushing to lean over the entrance.
“Kate?”
“Oh man.. I told you the numbers were cursed- that’s why I didn’t want you to open the hatch.. What are we gonna tell Jack?”
“Hurley calm down! We don’t even know what happened yet.”
“Uh dude what do you think happened? We sent her into the hole and then heard a gunshot so obviously it wasn’t good.”
“Hey!!”
Both men looked down to the sound before realizing they wouldn’t be able to see her at the bottom anyways.
“Pull me up- hurry!”
Locke signalled Hugo to help him pull her out of the tunnel. When she finally surfaced they were met with a bite mark on her shoulder laced with red foam and her own blood running from the area. The size and shape of the injury looked like a human had caused it, which concerned and confused both of the people who were inspecting it.
“Dude what are we going to tell Jack now.”
“I think we should be more worried about getting her to camp.”
Locke helped her to walk back to camp as Hugo followed, clearly distressed that they would have to confess to not only disregarding Jack’s concerns but also proving him right.
They slowly made their way back to the caves, pushing through the overgrown forest flora. When they arrived at the familiar clearing they were greeted by a large congregation, everyone looking up into the night sky. People began to cheer and call out as they watched a plane fly overhead. Boone smiled from where he was laying. It turned out that even if he had to sacrifice a leg for it, he still got everyone off the island with his call.
While exploring with John, Boone and he had found the remains of a plane. During his investigation he managed to contact someone off the island but the plane collapsed when he was inside of it. Jack wasn’t sure he would be able to save him at first.
Jack noticed the three who were coming over, his expression lighthearted.
“I guess we didn’t need to go down there anyways.”
“You’re right..”
Kate straightened her posture and shifted her shoulder away from the rest of the crew. Locke decided to assist her in keeping this secret between themselves, why tell him now anyways and ruin the mood? She would probably be fine.
————————————————
The silence between the two men brought a thick atmosphere, even if it was awkward now they couldn’t just quit because of personal problems. The tension was only cut by the sharp sound of the radio’s orders.
“Suspects are two male Caucasians. Be advised, they have fired on police officers. One Lindon county officer is wounded.”
Shane switched into gear without saying a word or even sparing the other man a glance. Rick shifted his gaze to look out the window solemnly as the cruiser sped down the street, the green spring foliage becoming a vibrant blur; like paint smeared on a canvas.
“Unit 1 Unit 3, please. 18, 2 miles west of Interstate 85 and we'll patch in Lindon County Sheriff radio.”
“Roger that. We're 5 minutes out on the route 18 intersection.”
The car stopped beside another cruiser on the road’s bend before Shane and Rick jumped out of the vehicle, door slamming loudly behind them. They both grabbed a hold of the spike trap from opposing sides and laid it out across the road in trained synchrony before joining the other deputies with their guns cocked and ready to fire.
“Let's just talk about what happened.”
Shane clenched his jaw and looked to the side with angst.
“Not the time.. Focus on what we’re doing now.”
“But what are we doing? Rick, I just want things to be different.”
He looked at Rick with a somber expression.
“SHANE.. WE ARE OVER.”
Rick's eyes were rimmed red, and he tightened the grasp he had on his gun. Fuck. He was falling for his ragebait again. Shane knew damn well they weren’t a thing anymore- ever since he was caught with a side bitch. It broke his heart to give up on the years they spent together, but he knew staying with him would only hurt more. Sometimes Rick wondered what they could’ve been if Shane hadn’t betrayed him that night.
Now that he had yelled out he noticed the eyes of the other deputies drifting towards them. They were obviously curious in what they were arguing about, the embarrassment of the audience only worked to make Rick feel worse about the whole thing. Maybe Shane knew this and that’s why he chose to have this conversation now.
“Can we please-”
He was cut off by the assailants speeding past, effectively hitting the speedtraps which caused the car to roll down the hill, flipping multiple times before landing on its roof. The deputies aimed all of their guns at the men inside the car. The driver's door opened and one of the men came out armed.
“Put it down! Put the gun down!”
The man lifted his gun and began to fire, multiple shots were exchanged between the cops and assailants before Rick was hit in the chest. Shane ran over to where he collapsed.
“Rick!”
“I’m alright.”
“You scared me man… He got your new vest.”
“Can you believe that-”
He was cut off when a third unreported man came out of the car and shot him in the shoulder. Rick instantly collapsed onto the road.
“Rick! He's hurt! Leon! You get that ambulance down here, you tell them there's an officer down, you do it now!”
Shane turned back from Leon and focused his attention on comforting Rick. Despite his efforts at keeping him awake he faded out of consciousness.
————————————————
Jack leaned against the doorframe, he looked cleaned up in his #9CADC7 scrub and white notched-collar coat. Inside the room Kate was propped up against the sterile backboard of the hospital bed, looking up from wherever her gaze was fixed before she gave him a once-over.
“They let you get back to work that quick?”
“Yeah. I got the clearance this morning… How are you doing?”
“I’m alright, just headaches.”
She gave him a smile before rubbing her legs and frowning. Jack could tell she was lying but didn’t press any further for now. It had only been a couple of days and her symptoms hadn’t gotten any better. She reported pains and dizziness and they assumed it might have been some sickness caused by being in contact with something on the island, maybe a plant?
“Have you checked on Claire recently?”
“Yeah.. Aaron is healthy and so is she.”
“Code Blue, Room 267.”
He looked at Kate with slight worry
“I apologize. I have somewhere I need to be- I’ll be back.”
Jack walked out of the room with the type of speed Kate had never seen in him before. She had definitely seen him be fast but it’s a different type of quick when he’s saving a life.
—
“How’s his breathing?”
Beginning to prepare for intubation, Jack assessed the patient’s current condition. The man was unconscious and bleeding from his shoulder; Shot on the job they said. He had worked on many cases like this so he was familiar with the routine. Jack moved with a trained precision that was almost robotic.
“Keep an eye on his pulse, BP is dropping.”
“Pulse is low but still present.”
The RN first assistant beside him monitored the patient’s vitals. She was new to the hospital but had been in the same line of work before, her name was Sara. Apparently she worked as a prison doctor at Fox River Penitentiary even though she was overqualified.
"He's stable again."
Jack felt proud, his first operation back was successful. He looked at his patient and turned to leave the room, his family would be notified about what happened and he didn't have to worry about it anymore.
————————————————
George Cooper lounged on his sofa beside the main couch where George Jr. sat. He flipped through the channels before landing on the News.
“Holy moly, didn’t they done crash three months ago?”
“Oh God bless their hearts, I hope they’re all okay”
“Now that is plumb-crazy. Pass me one of ‘em beers, would you Mary?”
Mary looked over to him from behind the counter separating the kitchen from the living room.
“George… Now this is your third one today!”
“C’mon Mary! We’re living in high cotton right now- all them people on.. What was it.. Flight 815 got saved.”
She shook her head but still pulled open the fridge and grabbed him a bottle of ice-cold Lonestar. After popping open the cap, he took the glass and gave her a smile.
Mary decided to settle on the couch beside her son and watch the news with them.
“40 survivors from Oceanic Flight 815 were found on a deserted island after receiving a message through the transceiver in the cockpit of another plane which had also crashed on the island..”
Mary signaled for George to turn the volume up a tad, crossing one leg over the other and resting her chin on one hand as she watched.
Sheldon strolled out of the bathroom and down the hall to where the majority of his family was seated; Missy was in the dining room where she was finishing her bowl of cocoa puffs.
The News continued to play, and for a change he decided to stick around for a while and watch.
Sheldon immediately brightens up when he finds a great opportunity to bring out some learning.
“Fun fact: Did you know that the aircraft has-”
“Shelly! Not the time.” Mary barked at him.
“But-”
“Just sit and watch for a while, it’s a blessing that they were found.”
“Well actually-”
“Sheldon. Sit.”
Mary left her spot on the couch to grab the phone that was loudly interrupting the TV.
“George, turn it off, this is important!”
She motioned for him to come over, and he reluctantly scooted off of his armchair and joined her beside the phone.
“Is this George Cooper?”
“Yeas it is.. Who’s this?”
“We have you as the emergency contact for ‘Rick Grimes’”
“That’s my brother.. What happened?”
“He’s currently in the ICU at the PPTH. We contacted you to ask if you’d be able to provide temporary care for ‘Carl Grimes’ and ‘Judith Grimes’.”
George and Mary turned to each other with wide eyes, Mary covering her mouth in shock at the sudden news and request. They didn’t have much space with what they had now, adding two more children wouldn’t work unless Meemaw took some of the responsibilities.
“Y-yeah.. We can do that.”
When the phone call finally ended the room was silent besides the low sound of the TV that George hadn’t actually turned off but instead just reduced the volume, the sounds of various voices acting as an ambience.
Missy and Georgie shifted in their seats. They weren’t close enough to the phone to pick up on the details of the call even though they had tried.
"Kids.. we gots to go... now."