Part 191:Exodus Part 9
Out in the middle of the ocean, rested the homemade raft. Yolanda sat near the front, holding her hands across her arms and chest. She had no idea it would be so cold out in the ocean. Plus it had been such an eventful day. They nearly lost the rudder; making Sawyer reveal by accident that he has a gun. Jin had a unique bonding with Micheal and Walt learned how to work the rudder. Yolanda felt slow glad to be on the raft; but the remembered her promise.
She would bring all her friends home.
Then she felt a shirt wrap around her. She leaned up, pulling it close. Micheal kneeled down beside her, rubbing her shoulders. “You okay?” he asked.
“I am now,” she said, snuggling the shirt, “Thank you.”
“I wasn’t sure how cold it would be out here either.” He smiled.
“You did a great job building this boat.” She replied.
“We did. It was a group effort.”
There was an soft silence between them. Yolanda then looked the other way and smiled. Micheal rubbed his three day beard and looked out at the ocean. “What are you . .uh . . going to do when we get rescued?” he asked.
“Take a shower.” She giggled.
“I meant . . .after that . .”
She looked at her with her brown eyes. “No plans.” She whispered.
Micheal found himself enjoying the look on her face. He could already tell she was a woman who would value loyalty to the man she loved. The black man smiled slightly, remembering Mia and Marita; all the women of the Tail Section didn’t know what the meaning of the word Betray was. “You should come to New York.” He said, “Hang out with me and my boy.”
“I’ve never been,” she smiled.
“Never?” The man laughed, “I thought you were a-“
“Flight Stewardess?” Yolanda smiled, “Yeah, I’ve been to New York but I never left the airport. So, technically, I’ve never BEEN.”
“Then you have to come.” He smiled, “I’ll show you all the great places.”
“I’d like that.” She smiled.
Micheal almost felt like kissing her but then a beep interrupted his thoughts. He turned to see Sawyer staring at the grid. The black man stood up and walked over to him. Yolanda slowly followed. Micheal then tapped on the screen. “I turned it on a little while ago.” He told him.
“Sayid said every hour.” Sawyer reminded him.
“We're 15 miles out.” He protested, “We could be here for weeks. If that battery runs out-“
“The man said every hour.” The redneck hissed.
Micheal grunted and then walked to the other side. “Nothing.” The southern man whispered.
“Five minutes, no more.” The black man ordered.
“Aye, aye.” Sawyer saluted him,” You know what I like about you, Mike? You've got the patience of a saint.”
“Yeah? Why do you say that?”
He then pointed toward the sleeping form of Walt, “I've seen the way he talks to you . . . the way he runs around, does whatever the hell he wants. I'd have showed him the back of my hand a long time ago.”
“You would, huh?”
Sawyer shook his head. Yolanda took a deep breath. “Is that your daddy did, Sawyer?” she said, “Show you the back of his hand?”
He looked at her briefly and then said, “My daddy never got a chance to beat me. He shot himself when I was 8.”
Yolanda didn’t blink. In fact, the statement he just told her made a lot more sense to her. “I take it then that is why you want to die?” she asked.
“Excuse me?” he retorted.
“You fought tooth and nails to get on this boat, Sawyer,” she pointed out, “Why does a guy who only cares about himself want to risk his life to save everyone else? The way I see it, there's only 2 choices . . .you're either a hero . . . . or you want to die.”
Sawyer sighed. He turned his attention back to the radar screen. “Well, I ain’t no hero, darling,” he replied.
Before she could say anything else, a blip erupts on the screen. Micheal and Yolanda immediately look at it. Near the southern region of the radar, a small blip started moving toward them. The black woman nearly screamed but remained calm. “Is that what I think it is?” Sawyer pointed.
“Something is out there.” Micheal whispered.
Jin turned around and strained his eyes into the darkness. Yolanda kept her eyes on the screen. The beeping sound slowly made Walt wake up. Sawyer tapped the screen again. “It’s getting closer.” He pointed out.
“Hold on a sec.” Micheal ordered.
“I'm telling you, it's closer. I'm telling you, look.” The redneck grunted, “Get ready to fire the flare gun.”
“He’s only got one flare.” Yolanda quickly mentioned.
“Is it another ship?” asked the young boy.
“We don’t know yet, Walt.” The black woman replied.
Jin and Micheal were arguing about how dark it was so they couldn’t see anything. Sawyer turned around, disgusted that they hadn’t fired the flare yet. “Hey, Han! You and Chewy want to slow down a second and talk to us here?” he grunted,” We have to fire the flare.”
“It might not be a ship, Sawyer,” Yolanda replied, remembering Seth’s warning.
“What the hell else could it be?” he hissed.
“A floating piece of junk or something.” Micheal agreed with her.
Walt looked at the screen. The blip was going the other way. “It’s moving!” he squeaked.
“Floating junk that knows how to steer, huh?” the redneck grunted again.
“We're moving. It doesn't make. . .”
“Look, are you going to give me the damn gun, or am I going to have to take it?”
Micheal turned to him, “What are you going to do? Shoot me?”
“It’s almost gone!” the little boy jumped up and down,” C’MON!!”
“Micheal, don’t.” Yolanda warned.
The black man grunted. He agreed with her; he didn’t want to fire the flare but he didn’t know if this blip was for real or not. He also knew he couldn’t take the chance that it wasn’t. He quickly turned around and hoisted the gun up into the air. “Please, God,” he whispered.
The gun fired the flare into the air in a steady stream of red haze. The moment it reached up into the sky, it burst in a flower bloom of magnesium. The group aboard the raft waited for a few seconds. The blip on the radar had disappeared. Micheal cursed and threw the gun down. Sawyer was upset but didn’t apologize for taking the risk.
Then the blip came back.
“IT’S COMING BACK!!” Walt jumped.
They start jumping up and cheering; trying to get the other people’s attention. Yolanda was skeptical; wondering if this was something Mia and Seth warned her about. The sound of a boat’s motor shot from the water. Within a seconds a flood light shined against them. Jin, Micheal and Walt leaped up down, laughing. Sawyer was so happy, he didn’t bother. As the boat got closer, they could see the occupants of the boat. A bearded man stood near the flood light, flanked by two men in army jackets. There was an older woman at the helm of the board. “Man, are we glad to see you!” Micheal called.
“What's going on? What are you folks doing this far out here?” he asked.
“We were, we were . . .the plane crashed. We were on the island for months, man.”
“A plane crash?” the bearded man smiled, “How about that?”
“We were on an island . . .oh, flight 815 . . .hey, where are we?”
“Well, it’s a good thing we found you.”
“Yeah, yeah, we survived and there's a whole group of people on the. . .”
“Well, ain’t that something.” He said.
Yolanda started to get worried. The tone of the voice in the man sounded fake.
“Yeah, it is,” the black man laughed.
“Only thing is . . .we’re going to have to take the boy.”
The laughter had stopped. Even Jin was able to tell something was up. Micheal blinked and Walt hugged onto him. “What?” he replied, “What did you say?”
“The boy,” the bearded man hissed, “We’re going to have to take the boy now.”
“What’s going on?” Micheal demanded, “How are you people?”
“Just give us the boy,”
Yolanda gently took Sawyer’s arm and tilted it for him toward his back; toward his gun. The redneck shook his head in agreement; something was amiss. He slowly let his hand rest on the gun’s hilt. Micheal pointed at him. “I ain’t give you anybody!” he screamed.
“Well . . .all right then.”
The two men then stood up. Sawyer quickly shoved out his gun but the older man turned the flood light off; making his eyes not adjust to the darkness. A gun shot echoed through the air and the impact of the bullet struck Sawyer in the shoulder. The redneck immediately went flying into the water. Within seconds, Jin dove into the water after him.
The men then jumped on the raft and made a beeline for Walt. Micheal didn’t hesitate to attack them to defend his boy. The man then swung his fist and connected on the back hand of the black man’s jaw; jolting him. Yolanda then immediately grabbed the radar screen and slammed it again the head of one of the men. Then another man grabbed her by the hair and shoved it to the side. She grunted as he jolted down and landed in the water.
Then Micheal was thrown from the raft. The two men quickly took the screaming boy onto the raft. As Yolanda shot up from the water, she saw the woman throw something onto the raft. The way the device looked and the few she actually saw as a flight stewardess in training; she knew it was a bomb. “MICHEAL, DOWN!!” she screamed.
The black couple quickly sunk into the water as the raft exploded in a mix of fire and bamboo. The shards rained down above their head. Micheal came up out of the water, just enough time to see the boat sailing away. “DAD!!!” Walt screamed, “YOLANDA!!!”
“WALT!!” Micheal screamed, starting to swim toward him.
“NO!” Yolanda echoed, joining the black man.
“DAD!! YOLANDA!!! HELP ME PLEASE!!!”
The couple struggled to swim as fast as they could but within a few feet they knew they couldn’t close the distance with a motorized boat. Yolanda looked back to see their raft in flames and Jin with Sawyer where lost in the darkness of the ocean. She turned to then see the disappearing boat off into the horizon of the ocean.
She was alone with Micheal, screaming his son’s name.
She would bring all her friends home.
Then she felt a shirt wrap around her. She leaned up, pulling it close. Micheal kneeled down beside her, rubbing her shoulders. “You okay?” he asked.
“I am now,” she said, snuggling the shirt, “Thank you.”
“I wasn’t sure how cold it would be out here either.” He smiled.
“You did a great job building this boat.” She replied.
“We did. It was a group effort.”
There was an soft silence between them. Yolanda then looked the other way and smiled. Micheal rubbed his three day beard and looked out at the ocean. “What are you . .uh . . going to do when we get rescued?” he asked.
“Take a shower.” She giggled.
“I meant . . .after that . .”
She looked at her with her brown eyes. “No plans.” She whispered.
Micheal found himself enjoying the look on her face. He could already tell she was a woman who would value loyalty to the man she loved. The black man smiled slightly, remembering Mia and Marita; all the women of the Tail Section didn’t know what the meaning of the word Betray was. “You should come to New York.” He said, “Hang out with me and my boy.”
“I’ve never been,” she smiled.
“Never?” The man laughed, “I thought you were a-“
“Flight Stewardess?” Yolanda smiled, “Yeah, I’ve been to New York but I never left the airport. So, technically, I’ve never BEEN.”
“Then you have to come.” He smiled, “I’ll show you all the great places.”
“I’d like that.” She smiled.
Micheal almost felt like kissing her but then a beep interrupted his thoughts. He turned to see Sawyer staring at the grid. The black man stood up and walked over to him. Yolanda slowly followed. Micheal then tapped on the screen. “I turned it on a little while ago.” He told him.
“Sayid said every hour.” Sawyer reminded him.
“We're 15 miles out.” He protested, “We could be here for weeks. If that battery runs out-“
“The man said every hour.” The redneck hissed.
Micheal grunted and then walked to the other side. “Nothing.” The southern man whispered.
“Five minutes, no more.” The black man ordered.
“Aye, aye.” Sawyer saluted him,” You know what I like about you, Mike? You've got the patience of a saint.”
“Yeah? Why do you say that?”
He then pointed toward the sleeping form of Walt, “I've seen the way he talks to you . . . the way he runs around, does whatever the hell he wants. I'd have showed him the back of my hand a long time ago.”
“You would, huh?”
Sawyer shook his head. Yolanda took a deep breath. “Is that your daddy did, Sawyer?” she said, “Show you the back of his hand?”
He looked at her briefly and then said, “My daddy never got a chance to beat me. He shot himself when I was 8.”
Yolanda didn’t blink. In fact, the statement he just told her made a lot more sense to her. “I take it then that is why you want to die?” she asked.
“Excuse me?” he retorted.
“You fought tooth and nails to get on this boat, Sawyer,” she pointed out, “Why does a guy who only cares about himself want to risk his life to save everyone else? The way I see it, there's only 2 choices . . .you're either a hero . . . . or you want to die.”
Sawyer sighed. He turned his attention back to the radar screen. “Well, I ain’t no hero, darling,” he replied.
Before she could say anything else, a blip erupts on the screen. Micheal and Yolanda immediately look at it. Near the southern region of the radar, a small blip started moving toward them. The black woman nearly screamed but remained calm. “Is that what I think it is?” Sawyer pointed.
“Something is out there.” Micheal whispered.
Jin turned around and strained his eyes into the darkness. Yolanda kept her eyes on the screen. The beeping sound slowly made Walt wake up. Sawyer tapped the screen again. “It’s getting closer.” He pointed out.
“Hold on a sec.” Micheal ordered.
“I'm telling you, it's closer. I'm telling you, look.” The redneck grunted, “Get ready to fire the flare gun.”
“He’s only got one flare.” Yolanda quickly mentioned.
“Is it another ship?” asked the young boy.
“We don’t know yet, Walt.” The black woman replied.
Jin and Micheal were arguing about how dark it was so they couldn’t see anything. Sawyer turned around, disgusted that they hadn’t fired the flare yet. “Hey, Han! You and Chewy want to slow down a second and talk to us here?” he grunted,” We have to fire the flare.”
“It might not be a ship, Sawyer,” Yolanda replied, remembering Seth’s warning.
“What the hell else could it be?” he hissed.
“A floating piece of junk or something.” Micheal agreed with her.
Walt looked at the screen. The blip was going the other way. “It’s moving!” he squeaked.
“Floating junk that knows how to steer, huh?” the redneck grunted again.
“We're moving. It doesn't make. . .”
“Look, are you going to give me the damn gun, or am I going to have to take it?”
Micheal turned to him, “What are you going to do? Shoot me?”
“It’s almost gone!” the little boy jumped up and down,” C’MON!!”
“Micheal, don’t.” Yolanda warned.
The black man grunted. He agreed with her; he didn’t want to fire the flare but he didn’t know if this blip was for real or not. He also knew he couldn’t take the chance that it wasn’t. He quickly turned around and hoisted the gun up into the air. “Please, God,” he whispered.
The gun fired the flare into the air in a steady stream of red haze. The moment it reached up into the sky, it burst in a flower bloom of magnesium. The group aboard the raft waited for a few seconds. The blip on the radar had disappeared. Micheal cursed and threw the gun down. Sawyer was upset but didn’t apologize for taking the risk.
Then the blip came back.
“IT’S COMING BACK!!” Walt jumped.
They start jumping up and cheering; trying to get the other people’s attention. Yolanda was skeptical; wondering if this was something Mia and Seth warned her about. The sound of a boat’s motor shot from the water. Within a seconds a flood light shined against them. Jin, Micheal and Walt leaped up down, laughing. Sawyer was so happy, he didn’t bother. As the boat got closer, they could see the occupants of the boat. A bearded man stood near the flood light, flanked by two men in army jackets. There was an older woman at the helm of the board. “Man, are we glad to see you!” Micheal called.
“What's going on? What are you folks doing this far out here?” he asked.
“We were, we were . . .the plane crashed. We were on the island for months, man.”
“A plane crash?” the bearded man smiled, “How about that?”
“We were on an island . . .oh, flight 815 . . .hey, where are we?”
“Well, it’s a good thing we found you.”
“Yeah, yeah, we survived and there's a whole group of people on the. . .”
“Well, ain’t that something.” He said.
Yolanda started to get worried. The tone of the voice in the man sounded fake.
“Yeah, it is,” the black man laughed.
“Only thing is . . .we’re going to have to take the boy.”
The laughter had stopped. Even Jin was able to tell something was up. Micheal blinked and Walt hugged onto him. “What?” he replied, “What did you say?”
“The boy,” the bearded man hissed, “We’re going to have to take the boy now.”
“What’s going on?” Micheal demanded, “How are you people?”
“Just give us the boy,”
Yolanda gently took Sawyer’s arm and tilted it for him toward his back; toward his gun. The redneck shook his head in agreement; something was amiss. He slowly let his hand rest on the gun’s hilt. Micheal pointed at him. “I ain’t give you anybody!” he screamed.
“Well . . .all right then.”
The two men then stood up. Sawyer quickly shoved out his gun but the older man turned the flood light off; making his eyes not adjust to the darkness. A gun shot echoed through the air and the impact of the bullet struck Sawyer in the shoulder. The redneck immediately went flying into the water. Within seconds, Jin dove into the water after him.
The men then jumped on the raft and made a beeline for Walt. Micheal didn’t hesitate to attack them to defend his boy. The man then swung his fist and connected on the back hand of the black man’s jaw; jolting him. Yolanda then immediately grabbed the radar screen and slammed it again the head of one of the men. Then another man grabbed her by the hair and shoved it to the side. She grunted as he jolted down and landed in the water.
Then Micheal was thrown from the raft. The two men quickly took the screaming boy onto the raft. As Yolanda shot up from the water, she saw the woman throw something onto the raft. The way the device looked and the few she actually saw as a flight stewardess in training; she knew it was a bomb. “MICHEAL, DOWN!!” she screamed.
The black couple quickly sunk into the water as the raft exploded in a mix of fire and bamboo. The shards rained down above their head. Micheal came up out of the water, just enough time to see the boat sailing away. “DAD!!!” Walt screamed, “YOLANDA!!!”
“WALT!!” Micheal screamed, starting to swim toward him.
“NO!” Yolanda echoed, joining the black man.
“DAD!! YOLANDA!!! HELP ME PLEASE!!!”
The couple struggled to swim as fast as they could but within a few feet they knew they couldn’t close the distance with a motorized boat. Yolanda looked back to see their raft in flames and Jin with Sawyer where lost in the darkness of the ocean. She turned to then see the disappearing boat off into the horizon of the ocean.
She was alone with Micheal, screaming his son’s name.
posted by Jason | 11:18 AM
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