Part 212: Night Life

Walt based around the room where he was held prisoner. It was a simple room; a boring room. No chairs to sit down on, no beds, no magazines and no entertainment. He was scared, tired, hungry and bored. He wanted out and he wanted to go back to his dad and Yolanda. These men bothered him. What did they want with him? Why were they keeping him prisoner?

Then the door began to unlock it’s inner workings. Walt stopped and looked at it, afraid the blonde man was coming back. Then as the door opened, in stepped a new person. He was older man with white hair and a few scars on his face. The young black boy immediately noticed that he had a scar similar to his friend Locke. The old man also had a silver ball in his hand. He gently tossed it around his palm, like a tennis ball. “Hello, Walt,” the old man whispered.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“My name is Colonel Marcus Fender.” He sighed, “I run the Liberation.”

“What do you want with me?”

Fender then slowly held up the ball. He stared at it, like he was studying it. “You see this ball?” he asked, “Pure silver. Or at least we think it is.”

Walt blinked. “If it’s not silver, then what is it?”

“We don’t know.” The colonel sighed, “But it’s very valuable material. Imagine what people will pay for a metal that is hard enough to withstand bullets but yet light as helium. This ball floats like a balloon, Walt.”

The black boy didn’t say anything. He stared at the metal ball in the hand of the old man. A metal ball that floated like a balloon? He could only imagine such a fantastic sight. The colonel smiled and let his hand drop.

And the ball remained where it was, floating in air.

“WHOA!” Walt exclaimed.

Then the metal ball dropped hard and landed onto the wooden floor, making a slight crack in the float. Fender chuckled as he walked over to it and kneeled down, picking it up. “I am sorry to have lied to you, Walt,” the colonel smiled, “This is no more than a large paper weight. It could no more float than a tree could.”

“Huh?” the black boy winced, “Then . . .how did it float?”

“You made it do that.”

“No, I didn’t,” He immediately retorted.

“Walt, my men wouldn’t have brought you here, unless they knew you had abilities beyond those of normal men,” the colonel shifted toward the wall, “You have these abilities but you don’t know how to use them fully. All it took was a mental suggestion that the ball was lighter than air in order for you to imagine it as such.”

Walt blinked, “But . . .how?”

“I wish I could give you a concrete answer but I don’t have one. All I know is that there is some kind of amplifier underground that enhances our gifts. You have them. I have them. A handful of my men have them. My friend Cassandra has them.”

“How did I get these powers?” he asked.

The Colonel then burst out laughing. The black boy was confused about what he found funny. After he laughed for a few seconds, he paused and coughed. “Super powers,” he smiled, “Ah, the mind of a child.”

He walked closer to Walt and then crotched down to face him. The black boy stayed away from him, backed up to the wall. “These abilities are given by radioactive spiders or cans of waste. You are born with them. Your mind has reached a level where it can perform feats of interesting events.”

“I am a mutant?”

“If you need to think in comic book terms, sure,” the colonel studied him, “Now, where did you get your abilities? . . . . . no . . .not the mother . . .Daddy perhaps?”

“My dad has these powers?”

“If he does, more than likely he doesn’t know how to use them just like you. But it’s a shame about what has happened to him. Had I known that he also possessed potential, I would have ordered the men to take him and you.”

“My dad,” Walt started to cry, “He may still be out there. He was . . .screaming my name. And Yolanda, and Mr. Jin and Mr. Sawyer . . .he may still be alive.”

“That is possible but highly unlikely.” Fender stood up, “Besides, what good could he be now? We took his son and any hope of him joining us would be lost. There is nothing more powerful than the father’s need to protect his children. Well . . .the mother’s too but the one you spoke of . . .Yolanda . . .she is not your mother, is she?”

“My mother is in Heaven,” Walt cried with angry eyes, “Yolanda will be my mother now. She likes my dad and my dad likes her.”

“Not likely, boy,” the colonel tossed his ball in the air, “If you need parents, I will provide them for you. It would be wise for you to forget them.”

“I won’t.” Walt grunted.

“Yes, you will, in time.”

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?” the boy screamed at him.

Fender stopped as he opened with a disgusted look. “Want, boy?” he asked, “I would have thought you would have figured that out. I want you . . .and now that I got you, you will become a part of the Liberation. There is no stopping that now.”

Fender opened the door and closed it. Walt finally collapsed into his knees and started to cry. He wanted his father. He wanted Locke. He wanted Yolanda. He wanted anything but to be far away from where he was. Even though all of this, one thought still kept on hi mind.

He hoped Vincent was okay.


Fender walked a few more steps and stopped next to one of the many steel drums that aligned the camp, producing fire. He pulled out his cigar and gently lit it from the flickering flames. The colonel slowly leaned up and allowed the sweet smoke to fill his lungs, which he let out softly into the air. Fender then felt a twitch in the side of his forehead. Raising up to rub it, he wondered if that meant something was wrong. The last time this happened . . . .

Fender then turned around and immediately saw Pristine running toward him. “COLONEL!” she screamed.

“Pristine, “ he jogged toward her, “Is Fishman all right?”

“I’m afraid not, sir,” she pointed behind her, “Its happening again.”


Fender followed Pristine back toward his cabin when contained the entrance to the Awakening Room. Belmont, Frakes, Texas and a few others soldiers were gathered around. Belmont moved aside to let the colonel see what was happening.

Fishman was on the ground, convulsing. A white foam leaked out of his mouth in spurts. The colonel looked at him with utter disgust. “How long?” he whispered.

“Twenty three minutes,” Belmont whispered.

“That is four minutes longer than the last one.” Frakes replied, looking at a piece of paper.

The Colonel then took out his cigar and threw it down. “DAMN IT!” he screamed.

“Frakes, put him out of his misery,” Belmont ordered.

The soldier sighed, pulling out his sidearm and a silencer. After he screwed it onto the barrel, he pointed it toward the face of the psychic and pulled the trigger. The silenced wisped echoed through the air. Without being ordered to, Texas leaned down and grabbed the man’s ankles; dragging his lifeless body into the darkness of the night. Frakes then unscrewed the silencer and walked over to his second and first in command. The Colonel’s face was red, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. “FIVE!” he yelled, “Five of them! And . . .not one can reach it.”

“Permission to speak freely, sir?” Frakes muttered.

Fender turned to him, rubbing his face. “What is on your mind, soldier?” he asked.

“Sir, with all due respect . . .maybe it is not meant to be reached,” he said, “I mean . .that is the fifth psychic that had reached into that thing and come out a blubbering vegetable. We tried to reach it and we got nothing. We got our own unique abilities, sure but maybe we shouldn’t bite off more than we can chew.”

“He has a point, sir,” Belmont whispered.

The Colonel looked at them both more angry than ever. “I’ve been on this island longer than any one of you.” He hissed, “I haven’t come this far . .TO GIVE UP!”

Frakes and Belmont said nothing.

“Now there are other people out there with abilities just like Fishman. Fortune Tellers, tarot card readers, premonitoners, clairvoyants, you know! We just have to find the right . . .one.”

The Colonel then stared into the darkness and then turned around toward the bunker. He then thought of Mia, and his dreams about her. He wondered; had the person he had been seeking been delivered to him? He felt it was time for their talk after Fishman’s failure. “Belmont, come with me,” he ordered.

The blonde second-in-command followed his superior officer. They walked through the center of the outpost and arrived the bunker. The guard standing by went ahead and unlocked the door. Belmont was surprised as the colonel walked in first. He quickly followed him.

The group of survivors stood up to look at the old man. He scanned them all and then his eyes fell on the Lakota girl. Mia looked up at him; feeling a weird vibe from him. John gently placed his hands on her arms in a protective glare toward the older man. Fender ignored him. “I need to speak to you,” he told Mia, “in private.”

“Like hell you will,” John grunted.

“I wasn’t asking you,” the old man retorted.

“Do you plan on torturing her too?” Jack stepped up.

“Not that you have any say in the matter but the answer is no.”

“Well, you are not getting any more of our people,” the doctor hissed at him.

“I was being polite,” Fender approached him, placing his hand on his sidearm,” If I wanted to speak to her in private, I could have just as easily gunned down the rest of you and not given a second’s thought about it otherwise. You willing to test my resolve, prick?”

“Enough!” Mia said, “There is no reason to use scare tactics on my friends. I will go with you.”

“Mia-“ John tried to say something but she turned around and immediately kissed him before him he could.

As they parted, she let her hand gently trail his cheek and then turned around; walking toward the exit. The colonel eyeballed John for a few seconds and then followed her out. The door slowly clicked shut. John immediately walked over to barred windows. He walked Belmont and Fender walk toward the other cabins with Mia in the middle, holding her arms. The archer began to grip the bars, making a metal clinking sound. Tony walked over and placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Easy, John,” he whispered, “They could have killed her but they didn’t. He wants her for some reason and whatever that is, it will keep her safe.”

“It better,” he gritted his teeth, “Cause if either one of them hurts her . . .there will be no place on God’s green Earth they can hide from me.”


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Out in the jungle, the three friends were fast asleep by their fire. Barbara rested on her arm, like she had learned to do many times in the cage. Jilly was asleep by the fire, the first she had had in nearly a month. Kellye was propped up against a tree with the rifle in her arms. She knew she shouldn’t sleep but she was exhausted from the running they had done earlier in the day.

Eddie stepped out of the bushes, zipping up his pants. He looked at his mom and her two friends. The little boy was happy to have his mother back. Eddie walked over and gently pet the head of Mr. Kangaroo, his magical friend. With hope, he led him back to his mother and hopefully tomorrow, he will lead McKay and Sayid to Tony, Marita, Jack and the others. He wanted the bad men to be gone. He wanted them to be a happy community again. Eddie knew, he just knew, his mom and Tony would hit it off. The waiting was making him unable to sleep. “Warbirds, Tango, XRay, Comanche?” a mechanical voice hissed.

Eddie then took the radio that was attached to his vest. He listened in. “Attention, Warbirds, this is Sparrow.”

Eddie recognized it as the voice of the man he shot earlier; the one his mother called Frakes. “Warbirds, there has been evidence to suggest escaped prisoners have confiscated one of our radios,” Frakes crackled over the walkie talkie,” Proceed to adjust your radio to the alternative frequency, code Alpha-8-1-5, enable.”

Eddie held up the radio. He proceeded to hear some beeps, proceeded by clicks. He studied the device but he couldn’t tell how to active the signal. The little boy realized that now the radio had become useless; he couldn’t listen in to what they were saying. Eddie turned and got ready to hurl the radio into the jungle bushes. “Eddie?” the radio clicked.

The little boy heard his name and stopped. “Eddie, you out there?” Frakes whispered, “Those beeps you hear were my men switching the alternate frequency. It’s just you and me. Let me know that you are out there.”

Eddie held the radio. He wasn’t sure if he should but he knew they were far away. If they were going to come for them, wouldn’t they have come by now? With a slight trembling hands, Eddie brought the mouth piece close and clicked the receiver switch. “Copy that, Sparrow.” He replied.

“Ah, good.” Frakes said in a pleasant tone, “I am glad you and I have the chance to talk, Eddie. I wanted to apologize for the unprofessional behavior I exhibited this morning. I thought that when you shot me, you shot my package. That is hard for a man of my stature to take. I over-reacted and I am sorry.”

“Understood, Sparrow.” Eddie replied.

“At any rate, as a sign of respect to such a young warrior, I am calling to give you some advice. I suggest that wherever you are, you start running. The Colonel has arrived and he is busy with other matters, therefore, we will come after you at first light.”

Eddie started to panic. Was Frakes telling the truth or was it a trick? “So my advice, Eddie,” Frakes chuckled, “You better run. Yes, you shot me and I respect your guts for wanting to save your mom. However, I still don’t like the fact that you shot me. So when I find you, you will regret it.”

Eddie was scared and then he thought about them keeping his mother in a cage, making her search for her own food like an animal. The thought of that made him mad. He wasn’t about to be afraid, cause he knew Tony wouldn’t be. The little boy brought the radio back to his lips. “You come near my mama,” he ordered, “And I will kill you, Sparrow.”

“Ooooohhhh,” Frakes laughed, “I am shaking, kid. I don’t think you understand anything about death. But I fully plan on teaching you.”

“I know more about death than you do, mister.” Eddie grunted.

“Do tell? Let me ask you this, boy? You got a boogey-man?”

“No,” Eddie told him.

“You do now.”

Eddie stared at the radio.

“I’m . . .gonna . . .find. . . you . . ..” Frakes whispered over the radio in a sinister voice.

“You better behave, Sparrow,” Eddie grunted, “or the Polliwog is gonna eat’cha.”

“The what?” the soldier coughed.

Eddie then turned off the radio and hurled it into the jungle. He then rushed to his mom and started to shake her awake. “Mom, wake up!” he commanded.

“Eddie, what?” she slowly got awake.

“We can’t stay, mom,” he assured her, “ We got to get moving.”

“Eddie, calm down, we are safe,” she assured.

“No, we are not,” Eddie said, “That man Frakes just spoke on the radio, saying he is coming for us at dawn. We got to reach Uncle McKay and the others survivors.”

“He said that?” Jilly said, reading his lips.

“Then . .we probably should go.” The older woman stood up.

“I don’t know, Barbara,” Kellye stood up, “It is not a real good idea for us to travel at night.”

“It’s okay,” the little boy picked up his toy kangaroo, “I will lead us there.”

“No offense, kid but how?” the soldier girl asked.

“I know the way,” he smiled.

Barbara stared at her son and was amazed the smile. It showed her something that she had not seen in her boy yet; confidence. It was enough for a mother to be proud of. And it was a sign that he knew what he was doing. If she couldn’t trust her own son, who could she trust? “All right, Eddie,” she smiled, “Lead the way,”

Eddie began to run in the jungle with his mother right behind him. Jilly quickly followed; making sure to keep them in sight. Kelley quickly grabbed a torch and began to run after them, cursing that this was a bad idea.