Part 273: Time and Time

Libby wandered the beach area as the morning started to become in full swing. The therapist looked at everybody, noticing the trend that had fallen before her. The cliques; everybody had their own little groups and they huddled together. It was natural in any type of settings; military, schools or whatever. Libby wondered what clique she had fallen into to. Was it her fellow survivors of the Bunker or was it Hal’s little group he had formed involving her, Karleigh and Dutch? In the end it probably didn’t matter. Libby had finally found Hal. He was down by the beach and he appeared to be talking to Mia and John.

Libby walked up to them. John then shook the hand of the police officer. “Thanks, Hal. I knew we could count on you.” The archer smiled.

“Thanks for keeping me in the loop.” He replied.

“Morning, Libby,” Mia said as she and John began to walk away.

“Wait, you don’t have to leave on my account.” She retorted.

“It’s nothing personal, “ the Lakota girl laughed, “We have a few other people to go chat with. Hal can fill you in.”

Libby watched the young couple walk up the beach, hand in hand. The strawberry blonde turned to the man by her side. “What’s going on, Hal?” she asked.

“Have a seat, Libby,” Hal said, crouching into the sand himself.

Libby crossed her legs as she sat down, facing the cop. Hal rubbed his chin and then looked to her. “A group of us left earlier this morning,” he said, “They were following a hunch that there is an area of this Island that the Liberation used as a . . port of some kind.”

“Port of call?” Libby followed up.

“Possibly. They believe that a boat or plane called the Rogue will be there. They are going to secure us this vessel.”

“Believe?” the therapist raised an eyebrow,” They don’t actually know?”

“That’s right. It may simply be an unfortunate goose chase but they are willing to take the risk,”

“I hope they find it.” She sighed, “Thank you for telling me.”

“I trust you. You deserve to know.”

Libby then twisted around and sat closer to Hal, putting her head on his shoulder. The cop was a little taken back by her instance cuddling. But as his goose bumps faded, he slowly put his arm around her. Libby closed her eyes and smiled. “Did you see the sun rise this morning, Hal? It was a lovely mix of orange and yellow.” She said, making small talk.

“I never miss it,” he whispered.

Libby paused for a second. There was a sense of sadness in what he had just said. Libby leaned up so she could look at him. “You never miss a sunrise? Ever?” she asked.

“No,” he slowly looked down, “Cause I know . . .my boy is looking at it to.”

Libby gently rubbed his arm, as he thought about his son.

“There was a game we had played when he was young,” Hal said, trying to hold back his tears, “One morning we were off to see my mother. She lived faraway, so we had to get up early to get there at a decent hour. Ian . . .said he didn’t want to go outside cause it was still dark. I told him not to worry, cause at 7:30 am the sun was gonna rise. I knew that because I had seen it in yesterday’s paper.”

Libby smiled at Hal sharing this warm memory with her.

“Sure enough when seven-thirty came around, the sun was up. Ian was so happy. He kept saying, When’s it coming up tomorrow? When’s it coming up Tomorrow? For the next year or two, I made it a habit to know when the weather man would say the sun would rise in case Ian ever asked.”

“Oh, Hal, that is beautiful,” the therapist smiled.

“You think so?” he said, wiping a tear, “Some of my friends back at the precinct thought it was disturbing. That I was obsessing over my dead son.”

“It’s not obsessing. You are remembering the good memories, as any parent would.”

Hal smiled at her sensitive attitude. The cop then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you, Libby,” he smiled, “I haven’t opened up to much of any one until you came along.”

“I am glad I was able to be here for you, Hal. I think . . .in a way, you’ve been good to me too.” She said, taking his hand.

She shifted back over to him, sitting side by side. “Now tell me about Ian,” she grinned, “I want to hear what kind of boy he was.”

Hal smiled as big as he smiled before. He always enjoyed sharing his memories of his lost son.



The afternoon was fully encompassing the jungle; by the indication of the familiar jungle heart. The group that had made their way toward the Outpost had finally arrived. Sayid kneeled behind the bushes, scanning the area of the compound with his binoculars. Jack rested behind him with Locke and McKay. Sawyer was leaning against a tree, with Kate and Shanna nearby. Tony stayed with Marita, holding her hand as they leaned in. “Any sign of movement, Sayid?” Tony whispered.

“No,” he said, lowering the binoculars, “I see nothing.”

“Then what the hell are we waiting for?” Sawyer hissed.

“Just being cautious, Sawyer,” Jack shot him a glance, “Or have you forgotten about our prisoners we left behind?”

“You guys took prisoners?” asked Shanna with wild eyes.

“Didn’t have no choice in the matter.” The redneck grunted.

“All right, we will proceed down in two by two cover formations, the first thing we will check is the underground cell, to confirm our prisoners are still there.”

“We’re one short on those numbers, Mohammed,” Sawyer grinned, “I suggest I watch over Kate and Shanna.”

“Not surprising,” McKay grunted.

“Fine, whatever, “Tony replied, “ Sawyer, you got first and Kate with Shanna will follow you.”

“I was hoping for the other way around, Co-Cheese,” the redneck grinned.

“Sawyer!” Kate squeaked, “Let’s secure the compound, then you can make jokes.”

“Fine, fine,” he grunted.

Sayid then emerged from the woods and began to walk toward the compound with Jack by his side. Locke and McKay emerged next, then followed by Tony and Marita. Sawyer pulled out his shot gun and kept it trained on anything he could see; Kate followed behind, taking Shanna by the hand who was nervous simply being there.

Jack pulled out his side arm and followed Sayid toward the bunker. The Iraqi turned the corner and then felt alarmed when he noticed the protruding door, with the blasted off door handle. The doctor beside him was alarmed as well; seeing how it was obvious the soldiers had managed to get the shotgun they left behind. Locke and McKay approached from the opposite side. The Australian was the first to reel from the smell and sight before him. Locke paused for a second, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. They had found two of the prisoners.

And they were dead.

“Is that smell what I think it is?” Tony said.

Marita buried her head in his chest. Locke slowly kneeled down. “Gun shot wounds,” he whispered, “From the smell and the flies buzzing around them, I’d say they’ve been dead two maybe three days.”

“There is only two here,” Sayid mentioned, “Where are the other two?”

“Why would the old man kill two of his comrades?” Sawyer asked.

“McKay, you might want to go check on the jeep,” the blind doctor mentioned.

McKay then turned and ran toward the area he knew to be the garage area. Sayid then motioned for Sawyer and Jack to check the other parts of the compound, in case Kreegan and the other soldier were still there. Locke then turned to the remaining people. “Why don’t we head toward the control room until they get back?” the old man suggested.

“Good idea, “ Tony motioned, “ Kate? Shanna?”

The small group made their way to the control room where Mia had communicated with Watchman the whole time of their ordeal. Locke stepped in first, coughing from the musty smell. A few dead leaves had swept in from the wind while they were away. Tony walked in and Marita directed him toward a chair. Kate walked in with Shanna less than two inches from her. The brunette thought it was amusing that a few hours ago they were arguing over two men and at the moment, due to the spookiness of the compound, the redhead was not leaving her side. “Are we safe here?” Shanna immediately asked.

“We’ll know in a few moments.” Tony replied.

Shanna looked around and found a place to sit, next to one of the bigger monitors. She sat down and looked at the keyboard, marveling at how much of an antique it was. “Kate sat there,” Locke smiled, “She talked with Watchman and helped to save our lives by stopping Fender.”

“She told me.” Shanna smiled, proud of her friend.

Then everybody jumped when they heard McKay yelling. Locke peered out the door and saw the Australian calling for the other men. The older man was able to hear what his friend was saying as did Tony. “They are gone,” the blind man whispered, “McKay said the jeep is missing.”

“So much for a leisurely drive to Broadway,” Marita sighed.

“They might be trying to get to the Rogue ahead of us.” Kate said, a little bit alarmed.

Within seconds, Jack, Sayid, Sawyer and McKay walked up to the control room. Locke looked to the men with concern. “Any sign?” he asked.

“Besides the missing jeep and the food stores that have been raided, not really.” Jack said.

“The older man and one more soldier are no longer here. Clearly they are trying to get to the Rogue before we do.” Sayid said.

“All the more reason we should leave now.” Sawyer said.

“Agreed,” Tony stood up, “Kreegan and his partner will have the jeep. He may have enough gas to get where he needs to go; he may not. But we have to make our way now and hope he doesn’t warn the Rogue that there is a group of survivors on the Island.”

“So much for a good night’s sleep.” Kate rolled her eyes.

“Hey, if you need a place to sleep-“ Sawyer grinned.

“DO NOT . . .finish that sentence.” The brunette warned.

“Oh, suki, suki, now. She’s playing hardball.” The redneck walked behind her.

The group then began their journey yet again but this time it was toward the direct path of the Broadway area. The dirt road was a little muddy due to recent rains. The friends stayed with each other, huddled together for security purposes. McKay led the way with Tony and Marita behind him. The blind doctor felt safe with his Australian companion.

Hopefully the journey will be uneventful.