Part 302: Closure

The sand began to create their own piles as they were removing the holes that were being dug. Sawyer grunted as he continued to dig with the makeshift shovel. McKay still had his own survivalist shovel and continued to dig his own grave. The Australian coughed as he caught his breath. He then felt a towel drop on his shoulder. The outback guide looked up to find the loving face of his girlfriend staring down at him. McKay wiped his sweat and then crawled out of the hole. Taylor gave him a bottled water, which he consumed rapidly. “Sawyer,” he coughed, “That’s enough. Get out of there.”

“You sure?” he said, looking up.

“Yeah, it’s good,” McKay held his hand out and the redneck took it to help him out of the grave.

Sawyer paused for a second, as he reached down to his flannel shirt/vest. He pulled out his cigarettes and slowly lit up one. The redneck then turned to his female friend. She was carving out a chunk of metal from the wreckage. Natasha was writing on it, HERE LIES BERNARD AND ROSE. THEY WENT HOME. “That’s nice.” Sawyer said, blowing smoke into the air.

”He was nice to me,” Natasha sniffed, “I was just a rich slut but he didn’t see that in me.”

“Nobody does, Chicago.” The redneck mentioned.

Natasha paused for a second, then looked back at him; rubbing her hair behind her ears. “You’ve come a long way yourself, Sawyer,” she smiled, “I never would have imagined you digging graves for strangers.”

“Ain’t no strangers here, darlin, “ he said, flinging his cigarette into the air, “Besides, I had to dig this particular grave. If anybody deserves a Christian burial, it was her.”

Then Jack and Hurley came over the horizon carrying Rose, as she was wrapped in black tarp. John and Tony came over carrying Bernard’s body, wrapped in orange tarp and blankets. Once they found the graves, they gently placed them down into them. Mia stood by with Marita holding flowers. Sawyer and McKay began to place the dirt and sand back into their graves. “She wasn’t afraid,” Mia sniffed, “I can only hope, I will be as brave when my time comes.”

“Rose was one of a kind,” Locke replied.

“We’ve all had moments where we’ve doubted our faith,” Jack said, rubbing his hair, “Bernard and Rose were always there to bring us back, cause their faith never wavered. This place . . .has tested us all. Bernard and Rose? They past that test with flying colors.”

“Amen,” Tony agreed.

“Dude, not to insult my fellow strandees but why are we the only ones here?” Hurley mentioned, turning around and looking down the beach.

The small group of friends looked down and saw the bulk of their group standing in a crowd, talking and arguing. They were all pointing their fingers at the boat wading out in the shallows. Jenny was pushing a few people back while Clay was spouting off about being kept in the dark nearly caused them their deaths. Ana-Lucia tried to make him quiet down but there were others who shared his opinion. “They are faced with the first prospect of getting home,” Tony whispered, “it’s natural for them to think of their selves in that sort of situation.”

“I guess they ain’t grown like us, “ Sawyer spit.

“I don’t think this situation is going to get any better.” Locke whispered.

“No, “ Jack quietly said, as he began to walk toward the group, “It won’t.”


Hal sat by himself, sipping on a water bottle, sliced in half to act like a cup. After his massive crying, he felt a lot better. In fact, he felt better than he had in years. Libby had been a godsend; giving him a shoulder to cry on. He loved her; from that moment he knew it. The cop then chuckled, wondering how crazy that sounded. He only knew her for a few weeks. Perhaps he should heed his own advice; just allow himself to accept the magic of the Island. As he sipped on his water, a shadow flooded over his face. Chance stared down on him; hands in his pockets of his worn denim jeans. “You okay?” he asked the cop.

“I am now.” He replied.

Chance shifted over and sat down next to him. He looked at the man with sigh. “You did the right thing, Hal.” He whispered.

“I am not concerned about killing that child-murderer,” Hal muttered, “I just . ..never thought I would get to chance to see Justice happen.”

“Then ,. ..why did you cry so much?”

“I suppose it was because . . .in the end, I knew killing him wouldn’t bring my boy back. The only reason I did it . ..was to keep everybody safe. I finally let go of the pain for the loss of my son.”

Chance shook his head in agreement. The two friends shared a comfortable silence for a while, until Hal spoke up. “That was some good shooting back there,” he mentioned, “Best I had ever seen.”

“Thanks, man.” Chance said, slightly blushing.

“Arizona said you were a Western Gun Slinger champion?”

“Yeah, my daddy taught me the trade, “ Chance twirled his fingers, “Back in Texas, we were apart of Wild West reenactments. If you could twirl a gun in my family, you were considered good breeding material.”

Hal chuckled at the Texan’s joke. “My dad was so happy when I married Arizona,” he smiled, “Probably because she had a name of a southern state. My dad . . .was also drunkard.”

The cop slowly looked at his friend.

“Eight years ago, he and mom were stone drunk,” the man rubbed his chin, “They were doing their William Tell routine. Mom . . .put a beer mug on her head, so Dad could shoot it off. He . . .was do damn drunk . .”

Chance covered his eyes. Hal twisted around to face his friend. “What happened?” he asked him.

“I begged him, not to do it. He said . . .he said it was easier than falling off a tree.” Chance coughed, “I remember . ..I remember mom’s face when the bullet ripped through her head. It was like . . .a pumpkin being smashed by a baseball bat. Dad . . .dad was arrested and he pleaded not-guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He’s been in prison ever since.”

“And you hadn’t picked up a gun since that day?” Hal asked.

“How could I? Knowing what it cost my family. But I never thought, I would have the skill I once had.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, Chance,” Hal patted him on the back, “I am glad your skill hadn’t wavered enough for you to take out those three soldiers.”

“Yeah,” he smiled proud of himself, “At least, I did something good here.”

Before Hal could say anything else, he noticed the large group forming up near the beach area. They were yelling and pointing fingers at the boat wading out in the shallows of the blue ocean. Chance then quickly noticed it too. His own wife was talking and pushing other people as they were arguing. “What the hell do you think they are arguing about?” Chance asked.

“I don’t know,” Hal said, standing up and motioned for the Texan to follow, “But something tells me we should be in on this discussion.”


“HEYYY!!!” Jack screamed, getting everybody to be quiet.

The group stopped their arguing for a second. Everybody was looking at everybody else and giving almost hateful glares. Jack pushed his way into the center of the group. Jenny stood by him as did Dutch. “What’s the problem?” the doctor asked.

“Why did you keep us in the dark about the boat, Jack?” Bob Jones asked.

The group then started arguing again. Jack screamed for them to shut up but no one would hear him. Then he pulled out the gun from behind his belt and fired it into the air. The group then finally became quiet. The doctor looked at all of them, slightly disgusted. “Do any of you even know that Rose and Bernard are dead?” he said, tears beginning to swim in his eyes, “ They died at the hands of those Liberation bastards and all you can say is WHY I DIDN’T TELL YOU ABOUT THAT BOAT????”

Most of the crowd said nothing. A few of them did know but no one wanted to talk about it. Tracey massaged her wounded hand. Taylor gently rested her head on McKay’s arm. Alexander stayed with Mandy as he tried to listen to Jack’s words. The doctor looked at Jenny for a brief second then back to everybody else. “Sixty days ago we started out as strangers,” he said, “Now, through all the crap, all the mysteries and all the junk we’ve all had to face, we were growing closer. Have we come that far only to lose it when our escape is finally here?”

The crowd again said nothing. Jack lowered his head and shifted his position. “I know a lot of you want to get on that boat,” he said, walking through the crowd, “But the truth is not all of us will fit. That boat said it only holds a maximum capacity of twenty people. We are going to push that to twenty four and already, four are spoken for.”

“Who are those four?” Clay gasped.

“McKay for one,” Jack pointed, “Because he can pilot the boat out of there.”

“Well, isn’t that lucky for him?” the billionaire grunted.

“Clay, I swear to God, if another word comes out of that slimy mouth of yours,” Ana-Lucia said, reaching for her gun.

Clay stared her down but Jack got in front of them. “It’s not just luck, Clay,” the doctor countered, “It’s our only hope. He’s the best one to get the boat out of this Island and toward somebody who can let the world know we are here.”

“Who are the other three?” asked Arizona.

“The severely wounded,” Jack said to her, “They are going to need medical attention, more than I can provide. That would be Kate, Seth and Kellye.”

The group was silent for a second with huddled whispers. “If anybody objects to that, say it now, damn it,” Jack grunted to toward them.

“I agree with what Jack says, “ Tony replied, “Those three should be on the boat.”

“I agree too.” Locke pointed out.

“Yes, it should be them.” Sayid countered.

No one else said anything to object. Another survivor named Molly came up to the man who they chose to be their leader. “Jack, that is fine for them,” she whispered, “But who will the other twenty be?”

“I say we vote on it,” Clay grunted.

“And I am sure who your vote will be for,” Charlie hissed at him.

“CLAY, CHARLIE, SHUT UP!!!” Jack grunted, “No, we are not going to vote. We are going to place this into the hands of fate.”

“What do you mean, Jack?” asked Yolanda.

“We are going to have a Lottery. We will count out how many of us are here and then we will place two sets of numbers in two boxes. Each person will draw one name and then that is how we will decide who goes and who stays.”

“And who will handle the drawings?” Hurley asked.

“I will,” Jack mentioned, “Cause no matter what happens, I am staying.”

Sawyer crossed his arms, thinking he had a little more respect for Jack for sticking his nose out for these people. Jenny took a sigh about the prospect of this man staying behind the Island when others were leaving. “For those of you who stay behind, we are not going to stay on this beach, nor are we going to stay in The Outpost.” Jack told them, “We found another place to stay. It has a large metal bunker that can protect us from the weather. Plus other cabins and access to the ocean. We’re going to be okay until the others send people to come back for us.”

The group was still silent. Jack could still see the doubt on their faces. “A long time ago, you trusted me enough to be your leader,” the doctor whispered, “I am asking you to trust me now. You will return home. You will go back to your families and your lives away from this place. I just ask that you trust me enough to give other people that privilege before some. Now . . .are we in agreement?”

The group then started to give a round of approval. Kate sat with Seth on the hillside, where he rested from the bandages wrapped around his chest. The brunette looked to her friend. “I didn’t want to get on that boat like this,” he whispered, “Other people should take my spot.”

“It’s okay, Seth,” Kate said, “I don’t want to get on there like this either but Jack wouldn’t have pointed us out unless we really need to get out of here.”

“I thought you just had a broken collarbone.” Seth pointed out.

“I know,” Kate whispered, “So why would Jack say I was severely wounded?”

“Maybe you should ask him?”

Kate watched the man she cared for walk away from the crowd with a group of people he trust; Jenny, Marita, Tony and Locke. They walked over to get the numbers ready for the impending lottery.