Part 303 : The Lottery

John slowly held up the shoe box as he walked through the groups of people. One by one they took a number and held it in their hands. John walked over to Mia who was sitting with Seth and Shanna. The two friends took numbers and the archer continued down the beach. Sawyer paused for a second, then took a number. Charlie took one for both he and Claire. Then it came time for Ana-Lucia to take a number, but Clay stepped in front of her, and took his number. The Latina cop just rolled her eyes as she took a number. John then held up the box to Locke. The bald man looked at it briefly and then went back to whittling his stick. “No thanks,” he whispered.

“What?” the archer said, confused.

“Jack volunteered to stay and he’s gonna need a tracker. I should stay too.”

“We’ve talked about this, Locke,” John said a little angry, “ We’re all worried you aren’t getting off this Island cause you don’t want to leave.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” the bald man looked at him, “I don’t have anything to go back to.”

“Not yet, but you will,” John said, then looked down the other end of the beach.

Locke turned his head to see what the archer was looking at. Mia looked at them both, then shrugged her shoulder in a silent way of asking what was going on? Locke lowered his head for a moment. Mia had looked to him like a father figure. In truth, she practically became the daughter he never had. John knew this. Locke slowly reached up and took a number. The archer patted him on the arm and continued down the remainder of the beach.


After the few minutes had past, John came back over to the area where Jack was. John took his number then threw the box aside. The doctor looked down at his feet which rested the other box with the other numbers. He looked up at the group who were standing around, waiting for their chance to get off the Island. “There are a few rules that I want you all to know about.” Jack said, “When the numbers are completed, there will be arguments. If you get a number and you want to give up your spot to someone, then do so but it’s your decision. Plus, if Barbara or Claire or Micheal gets a seat, then that would automatically include their children. We are all in agreement?”

The group shook their heads and got ready for the news. Jack shook his head as well, then kneeled down in the sand and open the box. Then he looked up to the group one more time. “When your number is read, walk over to where McKay is and join him.” Jack pointed.

McKay stood at a section of the beach, with his arms crossed. Everybody finally knew what was going to happen. Twenty people were going to get the chance to get off the Island first. The others would come second but that one chance would be worth more than anything they had had before. Jack pulled out the first number and read it aloud. “Four.” He said.

“Holy crap.” Chance said, looking at his number.

Arizona smiled and gently pushed her husband forward. The Texan walked over, gave his number to Jack and walked over to join the Australian. Jack pulled out the next number. “Eight,” he said.

An older woman then came forward holding up her number. Most of the group didn’t know where, just by her name of Lydia. Sawyer knew her cause Cecil mentioned her; it was possible they had a romance before he took his own life. The older woman gave her number to Jack and stood in the special spot, as he drew the third number. “Eighteen.” He said.

“Whoa,” Joscelyn said, looking at her number, “Is this right?”

“Joe, of course it’s right, get over there,” Hurley told her.

“But, but, but but” she stuttered.

Her group of friends understood how she felt. She was always timid and didn’t want to go without anybody else. Jilly smiled as she pushed her toward Jack. The young woman gave her number to the doctor and stood with the others. Jack smirked and then pulled out a the next number. “Twenty one.” He said.

A middle aged man then came up, holding up his number. Not many people knew him either. He was one of the few like Lydia; he stayed in the background, just trying to stay alive. His name was Adam Cofax, a sales man from Sydney who was on his way to a business conference in Los Angeles. He didn’t make any body uncomfortable, just waited like anybody to get rescued. After he gave his number to Jack, the doctor chose another one from the small brown box. “15.” He said.

Mia slowly stood up, holding up her ticket. She walked past John, trying not to cry. The archer gently rubbed her arm as she walked by. Jack quickly picked out the next one. “Sixteen.” He said.

Mandy then got everybody’s attention by holding up Alexander’s hand. “Alexander has got it, Jack..” she said, as the wild boy looked confused.

“Wait a second, “ Clay coughed, “What is the Kid Tarzan doing in the pile?”

“He’s not staying here, Clay.” McKay replied with an angry stare, “We’re his family now.”

Alexander slowly walked away from Mandy to join McKay. He turned around, looking concerned that he would leave her. But she motioned for him to go forward and he did, walking toward the Australian that he could communicate with. Jack drew the next number. “Twenty three.” He said.

“Dude!” Hurley replied, holding up his number.

The large man walked forward, as Charlie patted him on the back. Hurley gave his number to Jack as he joined the others. Joscelyn was jumping up and down, giggling over the fact that her good friend would join her on the boat. Jack then pulled out another number. “Forty two.” He said, holding it up.

“Oh . . .wow.” Mandy replied.

“Yes,” Shannon said, happy for her more over the fact that she was pregnant.

“No . ..wait, Taylor, you should be the one going . . .cause of McKay . .”

“Mandy,” her blonde friend stopped her, “Get on the damn boat.”

Mandy embraced Taylor as the two best friends held each other. The young woman then parted from her friend, wiping her tears away as she joined the others. She stood next to Alexander, as he gently held onto her. McKay rubbed her arm to let her know he would be there for her. But that didn’t stop him from saying a silent prayer that Taylor’s number got picked. Jack waited till everybody was ready and then went to pick the next number. “Thirteen.” He said.

Sun then giggled as she started to talk to her husband in Korean. She was pointing at his paper and he looked confused, but she was happy for him. Jin then slowly walked forward and handed the number to Jack. “Thank . .you.” he whispered.

Jack smiled but he felt a little bad. Too many people had connected on this Island, not to mention the fact that Jin and Sun were already married, like Chance and Arizona. How could they stand being separated from them? Was this lottery going to turn out badly? Jack sighed and picked up another number. “Ten.” He replied.

Hal stood up. He held the number for a few seconds, then turned around and placed it in the hands of his younger surfer friend. “Get on the boat, Dutch,” the cop said.

“What?” he gasped, “No, wait, Hal, you can’t-“

He tried to hand it back but the cop took his hand and closed it into a fist, making him keep the number. “Don’t argue with me, Ian. Get going.” He insisted.

The surfer tried not to get teary eyed but he knew why he was doing it. He knew why he cared for him so much; just because he shared the same name with a dead boy. Dutch then embraced him. “I’ll come back for you.” He promised.

“I know you will, son,” he patted him on the back, “I know you will.”

Clay felt this nobility was going to make him puke. Dutch pat him on the arm and then jogged over to be with the others. Jack took his number and then chose another one. “Thirty three.” He said.

“No way,” Karleigh replied, staring at her piece of paper.

“Don’t argue with fate, Karleigh,” Libby said, kissing on the cheek, “Go join
Dutch.”

“You two are too good to us,” she hugged the therapist before going to join her lover in the small group.

“This lottery is rigged.” Clay hissed under his breath.

“I’m sorry,” Hal grunted, “Did you say something?”

Clay looked up at the cop, then gave no reply; simply looked the other way. Jack was worried this was going to happen; that somebody would get hostile. He only hoped that it wouldn’t get too violent over the choices that the lottery was pulling. “Forty Four,” he said, reading the next number.

Ana-Lucia then slowly stood up and walked over toward the doctor, giving him her number. Clay watched this and had to rub his mouth to suppress his rage. He would be damned if that filthy Latina cop would get a spot and he wouldn’t. The billionaire gently felt of the gun in his belt, feeling that a man can only be pushed too far. He watched as Jack pulled out his next number. “Forty Eight,” he said, as the next number.

Marita held up her number with trembling hands. Tony could heard her change in breathing. The Latina stewardess looked to her boyfriend, gently squeezing his elbow. “I don’t want to leave you.” She whispered.

“The drawing is not over, baby doll,” The blind doctor kissed her, “Go join the others, please.”

Marita covered her mouth as she walked over to McKay and the others. Mia gently reached out and took her hand. They waited while Jack chose the next number. “Fifty one,” Jack said.

Jenny sighed and closed her eyes, standing up. She proceeded to walk over to her ex-brother-in-law and hand him the number. Jack smiled up at her, happy she was escaping the Island. “Jack, I . . “ she said.

“It’s okay, mei-mei,” he replied, “I’m happy with this.”

Jenny walked over to join her friends in the small group that was slowly getting bigger. Jack reached in for another number. Five more to go. He picked up the piece of paper and held it up to read it. “Forty Six.” He said.

John crumbled his paper, hitting Tony on arm as he walked past him. Tony took a deep sigh. His girlfriend and his two best friends were on the boat party. He was half glad that they were getting the chance to leave but he was sad that he may not go with them. The blind doctor hoped the hand of fate would be by his side when the time came. Jack pulled out another number and read it aloud. “Twenty four.” He said.

Sayid held up his number. He looked to Shannon as the blonde just smiled at him. The Iraqi then looked up Andra, who got a little teary eyed at the thought of him leaving. The Middle Easterner then looked toward to the young blonde standing next to his girlfriend. Taylor then realized he was looking at her. The Iraqi then held the number toward her. “Go be with your friends,” he smiled in a whisper.

“Sayid, are you sure?” Taylor said, taking the number.

Sayid then put his arm around Shannon and Andra, bringing them close. “I would rather stay with them and leave the rescue to others.” He smiled, proud of his decision, “Besides, I made them both promises and leaving on this boat, would break that.”

“Go, Taylor,” Shannon smiled.

Taylor smiled as she kissed Sayid on the cheek. Then she walked over to the small group. Mandy was trying to keep from screaming in delight. The blonde Californian walked up to McKay and embraced him. The bald outback guide nearly broke down in tears of joy; happy he was not going to leave without her. Jack then took out the next number and held it up. “Twenty five.” He said, seeing the number in succession.

“That’s us, dad,” Walt said, looking at the number in father’s hand.

Micheal looked at the number, then to his son and then to Yolanda. His little family just looked at him, almost sharing a personal joke. Walt didn’t want to go on the boat and quiet frankly, Micheal wasn’t going to put his son through that again. The black man stood up and walked through the group, passing by Sayid. “You really think I am going to let you show ME up?” he chuckled.

Sayid smiled as he watched Micheal walk through the crowd. The black man stopped at the Korean female he called friend. Sun looked at him with wild eyes. The architect handed her the paper with the number. “I think it’s time you and your husband took a cruise.” He smiled.

“Micheal,” she gasped, taking the number.

“It’s better this way. I don’t think you could stand watching him leave again.”

“I couldn’t,” she said, getting teary eyed.

“All the more reason for you join him, Sun,” Micheal said, hugging her.

Sun kissed him on the cheek and then parted from him, joining her son. Jin smiled at the black man that was once his enemy but then became his good friend. The two men just shared respectable gazes; for them, it was enough. Sun embraced her husband, happy that they would be taking this journey together. Jack then picked up the next number. “Twenty.” He replied.

Sawyer scoffed at number and crumbled it up. The redneck walked up to the doctor and tossed the number at him. Jack just grinned at him. “Glad I am not going on the trip.” He mentioned.

“Shut up,” the southern man playfully kicked him in the side, nearly knocking him over.

Jack then picked up the next number. “Thirty four.” He said.

“ME!!” Shanna leaped as she ran forward.

Kate smirked as she watched the redhead give Jack her number. The brunette then looked over toward Seth, who was laying down and smiling. “Thank God,” he grinned, happy that he wasn’t leaving both his sisters behind.

Jack then reached into the box. “This is the last one,” he said, “After that, no other numbers are going to be drawn and that’s final.”

The group waited patiently as Jack pulled the number out of the box. He picked it up, un-rolled it and read it aloud. “Forty five.” He said.

“OH MY GOD!!!” Marita said, “THAT’S TONY’S NUMBER!!”

The blind man was shocked that he made the list. Locke walked over and looked at his hand. “Yes, it says forty five.” The bald man said, patting him on the back. Tony turned and shook his hand, as he walked over toward his friends. Marita immediately embraced him, while John and McKay patted him on the back. Jack then stood up, picking up the numbers and the box with him. He then turned around and tossed the box into the fire; igniting it immediately. He turned to see the remainder of the group. Most were happy but others were upset. “This is the twenty that will make the effort to send people back for us,” Jack told them, “ The rest of us will leave this beach and make camp at another part of the Island. Make preparations for our journey and for the people on the boat, start loading whatever supplies you will need.”

The group began to disperse. The group that was heading to the boat was congradulating everybody else. A few of the others were walking back toward their small camp sites, picking up their belongings for the journey to whatever locale Jack said they would be safe in. Lydia mentioned that was she was too old to go on the trip and preferred to be rescued by the Marines or something. She then gave up her spot to Arizona, seeing no reason why the husband and wife should be separated. The young southern brunette woman hugged the old woman, nearly crying to tears.

Jack then walked over to the group of wounded. Seth was in and out of consciousness. Kate rested against a palm tree, started to sweat more. Jack gently picked up Kellye’s wrist and looked at his watch, checking her pulse while she slept. “Jack?” Kate asked.

“How you feeling, Kate?” he replied.

“The pain . . is . .coming back.” She grunted.

“Hang in there. I’ll give you some more morphine.”

“Tracey . . should take my spot . .”Kate whispered, “She was . . shot.”

“I already bandaged up Tracey,” Jack walking over to her, “The hand had a thin layer of membrane and skin. She’ll heal quickly. You need medical attention more than her.”

“Why? It’s just a broken . . .collarbone.”

Jack pulled out a vial of morphine and a clean needle. He slowly began to pull some into the needle. “It is . ..just a broken collarbone, right, Jack?” she said, a slow tear coming from her eye.

“It’s not the collar bone I am worried about, Kate, “ he said, tying a turnikit around her arm, “ It’s the way I had to reset it. I rest it like they might have done during World War 2. If I had the proper equipment, I would go in and reset it with instruments. The fact that I reset it the way I had to . . .I am worried, that some marrow may have leaked into your bloodstream.”

“What will . .that do?” she asked.

“You’ll get a fever then . .it will be difficult to breathe cause the marrow will be blocking your heart valve and if you don’t get the proper surgery . ..you’ll die.”

Kate winced as he injected the morphine into her. She wiped away her tears. Jack leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “I will ask Tony to keep to checking on you,” he whispered, “Don’t be upset, Kate. If you make it past two days without a fever then you are fine. But if you do have one-“

“I’ll need medical attention.” She finished, finally understanding.

She leaned forward and embraced Jack, crying into his shirt. He felt onto her, stroking her curly black hair. She thought he was doing it just to help her get off the Island but as it turned out, he was doing it to save her life.

She had no idea how she could ever repay his kindness.