Part 128: The Ties that Bind Part 3

Mia gently stepped through the bushes, following Locke toward the Hatch. Eventually they made their way through the heavy foliage, and wound up in a small part of a clearing. Locke let the way over the fallen trees and rocks. Mia blew the sweat from her lips, slinging the liquid into the air. She preferred the coolness of the beach but the humidity was the least of her concerns. She had to see it. She had to see the Hatch.

Locke looked back at her, smiling. “You okay, Mia?” he asked.

“I’m fine, sir.” She said, gasping for air,” I don’t think I’ll ever be used to his humidity.”

“I understand what you mean.”

“Do you have any children, Locke?” The Lakota girl asked.

“Fraid not. Never had the time.”

“That’s a shame.” She sighed, “You would have made a great father.”

Locke smiled to himself proudly. He had just met the girl through extraordinary means and she was already complimenting him. He knew she was special. It was the right decision to show her the Hatch.

Locke then stopped walking and turned to his side. Mia looked at him, quickly noticing he was smiling. He then looked to his right and presented his hand out as if he was presenting her with a brand new car. Mia slowly moved forward. There in the middle fo the ground, among the undergrowth was the Hatch.

The gleaming silver container shined in the small rays of the sun from the overhead jungle canopy. Mia put her bag to the side and slowly kneeled down toward it. It looked old, like it had been there for some time. Even the glass window was glazed over, not allowing anybody to see inside. She reached over and rubbed it to the side, still not able to see anything. She then turned back to Locke, who was staring at her curiously. He had his hand on his chin, like he was waiting for her to say something. Mia looked back to the Hatch and whispered, “It has no handles.”

“Correct.” He replied.

“Then it must have some sort of trigger mechanism on the inside, which we can’t get to.”

“I’ve thought of that too.”

“Then our course of action left is to force it open.”

“I’m pretty sure no one on the plane brought a crow-bar.” Locke chuckled.

“Then what do we do, sir?” Mia said, anxious.

“I have a plan.” He pointed in the distance.

Mia turned and looked at a large pile of wood and plane debris. Then a young man appeared from the woods, with a large blanket full of wood. He flopped them down and looked them. He was then stunned by seeing Mia at the Hatch; he thought Locke would be alone. Mia could see the look on the young man’s face; it seemed to be a mixture of distrust and disgust. “What’s going on here, John?” he asked.

“Boone, I’d like you to meet Mia.” He smiled, “She is going to help us with the Hatch.”

Mia then stood up and walked toward Boone, extending her hand. “Nice to meet you, Boone.” She smiled.

Boone did not shake her hand. He then walked past her and started to head over to Locke. The old man immediately stood up, with an angry haze around his face. “Boone, that was rude,” he scolded him.

“Why the hell is she here, John?” he growled at the old man.

“I told you, she is going to help us with the Hatch.” Locke retorted.

“But you only met her two days ago. I had to earn your trust,” Boone grunted, “All to the point where you put that crap in my head and made me hallucinate.”

“I didn’t do that. The Island did.”

“WOULD YOU STOP THIS NON-SENSE ABOUT THE ISLAND?” Boone screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Are you finished?” Locke said, arms crossed.

Boone took in deep breathes staring at him. Mia didn’t say a word. She didn’t want this. She had no idea Boone knew about the Hatch, nor did she think it would create mistrust among them. Mia then made a motion like she was going to leave but Locke raised his hand and stopped her. The older man then looked back to the young man and whispered, “You are wrong, Boone. I haven’t know Mia for two days.”

“Huh?” he blinked.

“I’ve known her for longer.” Locke said in all seriousness.

Boone looked back to Mia who just shrugged her shoulders. The truth was Mia had indeed known Locke for longer, they met in her dreams. But she wondered how Locke would explain that to Boone considering he didn’t believe in the magic of the island anyway. Boone then looked back to the bald man and asked,” Where did you two meet?”

“In Sydney,” he said, “We met at the Walkabout Station. Mia had gotten stuck in traffic and I was unable to go cause of a back pain. We both were there on the side walk, and we decided to share a cab ride back to the airport. On the way we discussed everything from her Grandmother to the beauty of photography.”

Boone stood flabbergasted. He looked back to Mia and she smiled, shaking her head. Even though she knew it was a lie, she knew why Locke was telling him. Boone reminded her so much of Seth; perhaps he knew of the magic of the island but could not accept it. It was difficult for some people. Locke slowly placed his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Mia didn’t have to earn my trust,” he smiled, “She already had it.”

Boone sighed lowering his head. He then walked over to Mia and extended his hand. “I’m sorry, Mia,” he smiled, “It’s nice to meet you.”

She smiled, shaking his hand and then placed her other hand on it as well. “It’s quite all right, Boone,” she smiled, “I understand why you wouldn’t trust me. But let’s worry about getting the Hatch and I promise you I prove myself. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” He smiled.

“Now, Mia, I need you to study the hatch,” Locke said, putting down his back pack, “While Boone and I get to work on our device that should help us to break it open.”

Mia wasn’t sure what she could find other than what they had already seen but she decided to give it a try. She scooted down and got onto the Hatch. She leaned over and placed her ear on the glass, then banged it with her fist. It gave the sound of a echo into a deeper chamber. She was afraid it was filled with something but it wasn’t. Which suggested it was either a long tube or it tapered off into a bigger chamber.

Boone and Locke began to assemble the parts they needed. Locke watched Boone as he started to tie the rope around the wood fragments he told him to do. But he could clearly see the younger man had his mind on other things. “How is Mandy, Boone?” Locke said.

Mia perked up, hearing the name of one of her own.

Boone smiled, “She’s great. We spent most of the morning together. I had no idea she is going to the same college I went to.”

“Is that a fact?” Locke smiled, with a small amount of glee.

“Yeah, it’s wonderful . . .and crazy! I’ve only met her for the first two days she was here but there is . . .an attraction I can’t explain.”

“Love at first sight rarely needs explanation.” Mia smiled, from the Hatch area.

“But I mean . .why am I attracted to her like this?”

“You recall what happened during your little . .hallucination, as you call it, Boone?” Locke smiled.

“Yes, It was so intense, I can’t ever forget.”

Mia listened in, very interested in what happened to Boone.

“You remember how you felt about seeing the supposed death of Shannon?” Locke asked.

“I felt relieved. I already told you this, John.”

“That’s true. But the Island also knew you were relieved. The moment you were able to let go of the problems with Shannon, the island gave you Mandy. It rewarded you for letting go of your pain.”

Boone stared at the man, wondering if it was true. He didn’t believe in the magic of the island; only the magic presented before him with Mandy. Could what he be saying true? He just shrugged his head, and laughed. “Maybe Mia is right, “he chuckled, “Perhaps it’s better if it is not explained.”

Mia smiled at the young man’s joy. Locke replied to her smile with a simple wink. The Lakota girl turned her attention back to the Hatch. There was nothing out of the ordinary that she could spot. She started to move the dirt away from the edges. Then she finally noticed something. There was a simple indented into the metal near the side of the hatch. It simply read 42. She then continued to move the dirt away and then she was able to notice even more numbers. “Hey, guys,” she said, “Have you seen these numbers?”

“What numbers?” asked Locke.

Mia motioned for them to come over. The two men walked over and stood behind her. She pointed to the part that had the metal indentions.

It read 4,8,15,16,23 and 42.

“I’ll be damned.” Boone whispered.

“Good job, Mia.” Locke said, patting her on the back.

Mia smiled, proud she was able to offer up another clue to the Hatch. She reached over and pulled out her backpack, getting her pad and pen. She quickly wrote down the numbers in their proper sequence. She wasn’t sure what they meant but she was going to figure them out.



Back at the beach, Tony munched on the large banana. McKay had caught them some fish and he was cooking them. John checked his bow to make sure it was still in workable order. Marita then came over with a small plastic plate. She took a helping of food and a bottled water. She then got up and walked over to Eddie who was still slowly weeping. He had run out of strength to the point where he could not longer wail, just slightly wept. Marita put the food down near him. She reached over and gently kissed him on the head. “There is food here, Eddie, if you feel like eating.” She whispered.

“Okay.” He moaned.

Marita slowly got up and walked back over to Tony. She then embraced him, trying not to cry. Tony put his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead. They both knew there wasn’t much comfort they could give the boy; they just had to be there for him when he needed them. John looked at the crying boy. He had begun to look at Eddie like a little nephew; it pained him inside to see him suffering. But like his good friend, he knew there wasn’t much he could do. “Mommy,” Eddie cried.

Tony reached up and wiped the tear from his cheek. “Gentlemen . . .I have a big favor to ask of you.” He said.

“Sure, Tony,” John replied, “What is it?”

“Eddie’s parents are at the bottom of a lake. I can’t . . .I can’t sit idly by and let them rot down there. They deserve a proper burial. Tomorrow morning, I am going to ask Kate to lead us to this lake.”

“You need us to help retrieve their bodies?” McKay asked.

“I would do it myself but . . .we all know why I can’t.” He said, massaging his blindfold.

“You don’t have to ask this as a favor, Tony,” John replied, “Eddie is one of us. The difference between us and them, is that we bonded closer. We are a family. I’ll help out, for Eddie’s sake.”

“Yeah, I’m in too.” McKay said, pulling the fish off.

“Me too.” Marita agreed.

“Thank you, John,” Tony smiled, “Thank you everyone. I am proud to call you my friends.”

Before they could say anything, Yolanda then came over and brought Micheal along. The black man waved to the group. “Hello, everybody.” He smiled.

“Micheal, right?” John said, extending his hand, “Welcome to our little encampment.”

“It’s nice to meet you all. Yolanda was just telling me all about you.” He said.

“Excellent. The more friends, the merrier.” Tony smiled.

“Well, the reason I brought Micheal along,” Yolanda mentioned, “is that Micheal could use some coffee. Do we have any left?”

“Sure thing.” McKay said, taking the pot from it’s place near the fire.

Yolanda took the pot and poured Micheal a cup. He thanked her and then kneeled down, blowing the hot liquid. He then sipped him and smiled, with delight. “Oh, yeah,” he moaned with joy, “That is just what Daddy needs.”

Yolanda giggled at this joke. Marita smiled at her, glad to see her bonding with someone on the beach. The black woman then looked over to the weeping Eddie. She felt so sorry for him, not sure what words she could offer that her friends hadn’t offered already. “How is Eddie holding up?” she asked.

“He’s in the crying stage now,” John said, eating the fish, “he’ll probably cry himself to sleep.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Micheal asked.

“He lost both his parents in the crash.” Tony said.

“Aw, man,” the black man said in disbelief, “I can’t imagine what he is going through. I hope he’ll be okay.”

“Thank you, Micheal.” The blind doctor sighed, “He won’t be okay for a while but eventually, he will.”

“Anyway, thank you for the coffee,” he said, standing up, “Is there is anything I can do, let me know.”

“Actually,” Yolanda stood up, “Maybe Eddie and Walt could hang out together. It might help him to hang with someone closer to his age.”

“Yeah, that would probably be a good idea, “ Micheal smiled, “I’ll talk to Walt and see about it.”

“Thank you, Micheal.” She smiled.

“Thank you, Yolanda.” He said, holding up the coffee cup and walking back toward his raft.

The black stewardess smiled at the man as he walked away. She had been feeling alone because everybody was bonding around her. It finally seemed she was able to get the chance to bond with someone. A man who was successful, not to mention single.

She then sat back down, asking them what they were talking about. McKay explained to her what they plan to do tomorrow about Eddie’s parents.

She immediately volunteered to help.