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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jul 31, 2012 18:19:28 GMT -8
KATE
His attitude was beginning to get on her nerves and the impatience was apparent in her voice. "So why do you think he's a Marshal?"
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Post by Man in Black on Jul 31, 2012 18:26:30 GMT -8
JAMES 'SAWYER' FORD
"Because he had a clip-on badge," replied Sawyer, as if he'd already presented this evidence. He held it up. Even when he took it, he'd thought it was a silly-looking thing. Looked like it belonged at the bottom of a cereal packet. "I took that too. Thought it was cool."
"I know who you are," interjected the eye-racky, speaking with a calm authority. "You're the prisoner." Sawyer glared at him incredulously. "I'm the what?" "You found a gun on a US Marshal," continued Sayid, not batting at eye. "Yes, I believe you did. You knew where it was, because you were the one he was bringing back to the States. Those handcuffs were on you. That's how you knew there was a gun."
Sawyer knew he should've expected suspicion to fall on him...regarding anything, really. And he was a prisoner, just a deported one. He could very easily have been in those cuffs. "Piss off-" "That's who you are, you son of a bitch." He rounded on Sayid. "Be as suspicious of me as I am of you." "But you are the prisoner," retorted Sayid. "Fine!" snapped Sawyer. If they wanted a villain, he'd go right ahead and help them out. There was no point in defending himself. "I'm the criminal. You're the terrorist. We can all play a part." He looked at the blonde. "Who do you want to be?"
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jul 31, 2012 18:50:03 GMT -8
KATE
Things were rapidly getting out of hand and Sayid, who'd been the most level-headed one of them, had lost the self control he'd carefully been keeping.
Taking advantage of the first opportunity that presented itself, Kate grabbed the gun from Sawyer's hand as he turned toward Sayid and pointed it at him.
"Does anybody know how to use a gun?" Of course she knew but the more she could remove herself from any suspicions, the better.
"I think you just pull the trigger," Charlie quipped without missing a beat.
Sayid spoke calmly. "Don't use the gun."
Kate was careful to keep her eyes on Sawyer. "I want to take it apart."
"Oh," Charlie said.
Taking a cautious step toward her, Sayid gestured as he spoke. "There's a button on the grip. Push that, it will eject the magazine."
Kate did as Sayid instructed and the magazine fell to the ground. She started to lower the weapon and quickly raised it back up as Sayid continued.
"There's still a round in the chamber. Hold the grip, pull the top part of the gun."
Again, Kate followed his instructions. She picked up the magazine, handing it to Sayid and then held out the gun to Sawyer. This way, if the group needed the gun again, the two that were probably the most capable of defending them would have to work together as they were also the most liable to end them up in trouble because of their problem with each other.
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Post by Man in Black on Jul 31, 2012 19:23:23 GMT -8
JAMES 'SAWYER' FORD
He took the gun with one hand, and the other shot forward to grasp the flesh of her arm roughly. "I know your type."
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jul 31, 2012 19:38:47 GMT -8
KATE
Kate gasped in surprise as Sawyer yanked her toward him. "I'm not so sure," she said, keeping her eyes on the hand that painfully gripped her arm. She attempted to yank her arm free without success.
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Post by Man in Black on Aug 1, 2012 12:10:03 GMT -8
JAMES 'SAWYER' FORD
"Yeah," said Sawyer dismissively. His eyes leapt from freckle to single freckle. "I've been with girls like you."
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 1, 2012 19:03:17 GMT -8
KATE
Kate glared up at him. "No girl's exactly like me." She wretched her arm out of his grasp and angrily walked away, continuing on to the direction they'd been heading before the polar bear fiasco. She didn't care if nobody followed. She just needed to get away from that jackass and work off the steam.
Sayid was thankful it was over without having to step in. The man was a barbarian. "We should keep moving." He headed after Kate.
They continued on heading higher and higher for a good while until they'd reached another clearing.
Kate's anger had dissipated but she made it a point to keep her distance from Sawyer. She walked near Sayid and slowed her pace to match his, watching as he took out the transceiver.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 7, 2012 18:50:56 GMT -8
"Oh! Now's a good time to check the radio! Not before.. but now!" Sawyer said angrily, dramatically throwing his arms up in the air.
"We're up higher," Sayid said calmly.
"Yes, we are!" Sawyer countered sarcastically.
Sayid ignored Sawyer and concentrated on the transceiver. He turned the switch, hearing the click and watched the screen. "Bar," he said in surprise. "Hey! We've got a bar!" Sayid pressed the talk button on the side. "Mayday! Mayday!" The transceiver squealed in protest.
Kate watched as Sayid's expression turned curious confusion. "What is that?"
"Feedback."
Kate's knowledge of transceivers and the like was limited but she and most people knew that feedback was caused by something else interfering with a signal. She was at a loss as to what on a deserted island could possibly be causing the problem. "Feedback from what? What would do that?"
Sayid shook his head as he fiddled with some of the bottons. "I don't know."
Sawyer was getting frustrated. "I'll tell you what would do that. This guy not fixing the radio. This thing doesn't even work."
"No. No, no, no, no, it's not broken," Sayid insisted as his mind had already quickly determined the problem. "We can't transmit because something else is already transmitting."
Charlie felt a spark of hope at that news. "Transmitting from where?"
"What?" Shannon said in surprise.
"Somewhere close. The signal's strong." Sayid's voice held hope and a bit of hesitance. Something wasn't quite right about the situation.
Charlie face broke into a grin. "Somewhere close? You mean on the Island? That's great!"
"Maybe it's other survivors," Boone said, always cautious about looking at all angles instead of blindly choosing the optimistic one.
"From our plane? How would they even—" Shannon was cut off.
Sawyer eyed Sayid. "What kind of transmission is it?"
"Could be a sat phone, maybe a radio signal..." Sayid said distractedly as his mind still worked over all the possibilities.
"Can we listen to it?" Kate asked hopefully.
"Let me get the frequency first. Hold on." Sayid turned a couple of the nods slowly and carefully to try and catch the frequency.
"There's no transmission," Sawyer said in a snide tone.
Kate was really getting fed up with Sawyer. "Shut up."
"The rescue party," Charlie said excitedly. "It has to be." The sound of a woman's voice suddenly projects from the transceiver. "It's French! The French are coming! I've never been so happy to hear the French!"
Kate looked around the group. "I never took French. What does she say?"
Sayid shook his head. "D-Does anybody speak French?"
"She does," Boone said, pointing to Shannon.
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Post by Kristi Lynne on Aug 7, 2012 19:10:01 GMT -8
SHANNON
After the whole incident with the polar bear and who should hold the gun, Shannon was happy to just enjoy an uneventful walk. Until Sayid announced that the radio was now working so everyone was stopped and gathered around. She tried to follow the flurry of activity, finally realizing that the attention was on her.
"D-Does anybody speak French?"
"She does,"
"What?" she sputtered, registering that Boone had just volunteered her. "No, I don't!"
"What the hell are you talking about? You spent a year in Paris!"
"Drinking, not studying!" she countered.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 7, 2012 19:18:50 GMT -8
A male voice speaks from the radio. "Iteration 7294531." "Okay. What's that?" Charlie asked. The small spark of hope Sayid had felt fizzled out. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." Kate's brows furrowed in confusion. "'No, no, no' what?"
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Post by Kristi Lynne on Aug 7, 2012 19:22:37 GMT -8
SHANNON
"What 'no'?" Her hope of being off the hook was replaced by confusion over Sayid's sudden concern with the radio.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 7, 2012 19:32:17 GMT -8
"The-the batteries are dying!" Sayid said in frustration.
Kate did not waste time and got straight tot he point. "How much time do we have?"
Sayid frowned. "Not much."
Boone raised his voice in frustration. "I've heard you speak French! Just listen to this! Listen to it!"
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Post by Kristi Lynne on Aug 7, 2012 19:39:40 GMT -8
SHANNON
"I can't!" she protested. Like her basic grasp on French was going to be any help to anyone. Why did Boone have to put so much pressure on her?
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 7, 2012 19:58:15 GMT -8
Sawyer directed his annoyance toward Shannon. "You speak French or not? Because that would be nice." "Iteration 17294532" was heard over the transceiver. Charlie gave the transceiver an odd look. "That voice is weird. What is that?" "Come on. Come on, Shannon!" Boone tried to instill some encouragement into his voice. Kate was becoming frustrated along with the rest of the group. "Come on!" Sayi'd lips moved silently as he calculated. "Come on!" His encouragement was aimed as the transmission, waiting for the iteration to start again. If Shannon couldn't translate, he'd do his best to try and memorize the sounds and hope someone at the camp could make sense of it. The transmission begins again. "Il est dehors." is heard over the transceiver.
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Post by Kristi Lynne on Aug 7, 2012 20:01:47 GMT -8
SHANNON
As she was trying to make sense of the foreign sounds, she realized they were the same as previous words. "It's... it's repeating," she offered.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 7, 2012 20:10:37 GMT -8
"She's right," Sayid said, hoping it would encourage Shannon. How could a message be looping on a deserted island? Boone looked to Sayid for clarification. "What?" "It's a loop," Sayid explained. "'Iteration'—it's repeating the same message. It's a counter. The next number will end... '533'." "Iteration 17294533" is heard over the transceiver. Sawyer still didn't trust this guy. "Does anyone know what the hell he's talking about?" "It's a running count of the number of times the message has repeated," Sayid said distractedly as he mentally gathered the information. "It's roughly thirty seconds long, so... how long..." he trailed off as worked out the mathematics in his head. Again, Sawyer interrupted with a snide comment. "Don't forget to carry the one, chief." "Iteration 17294534" is heard over the transceiver.
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Post by Kristi Lynne on Aug 7, 2012 20:15:50 GMT -8
SHANNON
It was easy to hear the loss and desperation in the woman's voice, even if Shannon was struggling to decipher the exact words. "She's saying ... 'Please'," she began hesitantly. "She's saying, 'Please help me. Please, come get me'."
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 7, 2012 20:22:11 GMT -8
"Or she's not! You don't even speak French!" Sawyer accused. Kate was reaching her limit with this jackass. "Let her listen!" "Shut up, man!" Boone said. Shannon needed encouragement right now. He could see she was just barely holding on her self confidence in being able to do this. "Guys, the battery," Charlie said urgently. "The battery." "Iteration 17294535." is heard over the transceiver.
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Post by Kristi Lynne on Aug 7, 2012 20:27:09 GMT -8
SHANNON
She took the offered radio and held it up against her ear, trying to block out every other sound and concentrate. "I'm alone now. Uhm... On the island alone. Please, someone come," she translated, the words and the emotion of the speaker combined with the pressure of everyone's attention bringing tears to her own eyes.
"The others, they're... they're dead. It killed them. It killed them all...."
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 7, 2012 21:03:27 GMT -8
"That was good," Boone said quietly. Not only had she translated the words, she'd translated the fear and emotions of the message.
Sayid stared blindly in the distance as the shock the calculations he'd just solved overwhelmed him. "Sixteen years."
"What?" Sawyer asked.
Sayid looked back at the group. "Sixteen years. And five months. That's the count."
"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Boone.
"The iterations. It's a distress call. A plea for help. A mayday. If the count is right... It's been playing over... and over... for sixteen years." Sayid explained.
Boone looked as Sayid incredulously. "Someone else? Was stranded here?"
"Maybe they came for them." Even to Kate's ears, the words sounded devoid of hope.
Sawyer voiced what everyone was afraid to say out loud. "If someone came, why is it still playing?"
Charlie eyed their surroundings with a mixture of confusion and fear. "Guys. Where are we?"
The group silently contemplated the situation. Sayid was the first to break the silence. "We should be going."
The group followed Sayid, everyone in their own silent thoughts. Boone pulled himself from his thoughts when he realized their light was fading. "It's getting dark."
"Then pick up the pace," came Sawyer's smartass reply.
"Hick," Boone mumbled.
Sawyer glared at Boone. "Little louder?"
Sayid slowed and spoke to the group. "We should make camp."
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Post by Kristi Lynne on Aug 8, 2012 11:01:15 GMT -8
SHANNON
"What, here?" She was tired and hungry and just wanted to get back to the beach, not be stuck in the land of polar bears and tree-eating monsters and French women who'd been alone on this island for 16 years.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 8, 2012 18:02:38 GMT -8
"Yes, here," Sayid said in a matter of fact tone.
"I'm not stopping. You all have a nice cookout." Sawyer began walking again.
"Excellent," Sayid called after him. "Walk through the jungle in the dark."
Sawyer stopped and turned around. "Oooo, afraid the trees are going to get us?"
Sayid gave Sawyer a level gaze. "No, what is knocking down the trees will get you."
"Well, if you're so worried about me, how about you give me the clip back?" Sawyer said as he pulled out the gun.
Kate sighed. A part of her would have loved to see the jackass who'd made their hike miserable get eaten by whatever it was but then she'd only end up feeling guilty about it. "Put the gun back in your pants, Sawyer. Sayid's right, if you keep walking you're not going to make it to the beach."
"Yeah, why's that?" Sawyer asked, looking between the two that had gone to the cockpit. Charlie looked away, avoiding eye contact and Sawyer found that a little unsettling. He looked back at Kate.
Kate gave Sawyer a level gaze. "Trust me."
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 11, 2012 19:40:10 GMT -8
A few hours pass and it is now evening.
Fairly clear night sky with thousands of stars.
The hike group sits around a bonfire.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 11, 2012 22:37:54 GMT -8
Sayid glanced around for items to use for his demonstration. He grabbed a rock and placed it on the ground for the group to see. "This is Australia," she said, pointing to the rock. "This is us," he said, indicating the torch he held.
"Nice stick," Sawyer said sarcastically.
Sayid ignored him and continued. "Two days ago we take off from Sydney. We fly along the same north east route every commercial airliner bound for Los Angeles does. Now the pilot, he said he lost communication with the ground, correct?" he asked, looking at Kate.
Kate nodded. "Yeah, 6 hours in. He turned around and headed for Fiji."
"So, we changed course," Sayid continued. "Regrettably, no one knew we changed course. The turbulence hit. We know the rest." Sayid put the torch's fire out.
"The pilot said we were over a thousand miles off course," Kate added.
"Yeah, but, they'll find us," Charlie said optimistically. "They have satellites in space that can take pictures of your license plate."
"If only we were all wearing license plates," Sayid said dryly.
Charlie frowned. "Well, aren't you the pessimist."
"Basic photography," Sayid explained. "- point and shoot. Satellites can shoot, but they must be told where to point."
Charlie's shoulders slumped. "Oh. Bollocks."
"Okay, really enjoyed the puppet show," Sawyer said in his ever present sarcasm. "Fantastic. But we're stuck in the middle of damn nowhere. How about we talk about that other thing? You know that transmission Abdul picked up on his little radio? ,The French chick that said, "They're all dead." The transmission's been on a loop for … how long was it, Freckles?"
"16 years," Kate answers, barely suppressing a scowl as he doled out nicknames.
"Right. Let's talk about that." Sawyer looked at the group.
"Well, we have to tell the others when we get back," Boone said.
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Post by Kristi Lynne on Aug 12, 2012 5:49:35 GMT -8
Shannon scoffed. "Tell them what, exactly?" "What we heard," Boone insisted.
"You didn't hear anything. I'm not a stupid translator," she argued.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 12, 2012 10:08:50 GMT -8
"No one's going to tell them anything," Sayid said authoritatively. "To relay what we heard without fully understanding it will cause a panic. If we tell them what we know we take away their hope. And hope is a very dangerous thing to lose."
Nobody argued with Sayid's point. "So we lie," Kate said simply. Just another thing to keep from people.
The group was silently contemplating the day and the return to camp. Kate laid down and watched the fire, soon drifting off to sleep.
After everyone else had drifted off, Sayid laid down to relax. His eyes eventually closed of their own accord though he remained alert. He immediately awoke when he felt someone take the magazine. Sayid sat up and looked at Boone. "What are you doing?"
Everyone stirred and looked over.
Boone held the gun. "Standing guard. You heard what they said is out there."
Sawyer was livid that the pretty boy managed to best him by taking the gun without him waking. "You took my gun off me, boy?"
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Post by Kristi Lynne on Aug 12, 2012 14:31:00 GMT -8
Not that she'd been sleeping soundly anyway, but she was awake enough to roll her eyes at Boone's bravado. "Please, you've never even held a gun," she groaned. "He doesn't believe in guns. He goes on marches."
Boone countered, "I don't go on marches."
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 12, 2012 14:36:51 GMT -8
"Give it back to me," Sayid demanded.
"Yeah, give it to Al Jazeera, he'll protect us," Sawyer said sarcastically.
Charlie give Sawyer a 'you're an idiot' look. "Al Jazeera is a network."
"I'll keep the damn gun," Boone said defiantly.
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Post by Kristi Lynne on Aug 12, 2012 15:20:58 GMT -8
SHANNON
"We should give it to her," she declared, pointing at Kate.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Aug 12, 2012 15:36:18 GMT -8
KATE
Kate stood quietly in the background, observing, and was surprised to find herself the center of attention.
"Yeah, Kate should hold the gun." Charlie waved an arm toward her.
Sayid looked at her and nodded. "Fine with me." He looked back to Boone expectantly. "Well?"
Kate looked at the gun Boone held out to her and slowly took it from him. The irony of the group choosing her to hold the gun was almost laughable. She carefully tucked the gun into the back of her jeans and sat back down by the fire, prepared for a restless night.
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