Part 328: All Good Things . . . .

Hal grunted as his vision tried it’s best to come into focus. He then saw the blurry face of Sayid above him. It sounded like the Iraqi was screaming over a tunnel. “Hal?” he finally said in clear English, “Are you all right?”

“I feel like I was hit by a truck, “ he coughed, “Please tell me it’s dead.”

“Almost.” Sayid turned his head.

“What do you mean almo-“

Hal could not describe what he was seeing in words. It was like something he should have been seeing on a movie; not in real life. Raven was hoping up and down like the true marital artist that he was, flinging every arm and fist into the creature. Fleshmonger swiped at him, taking chucks of his costume out but he was able to dodge the majority of the blows so he wasn’t getting cut. Fleshmonger slammed him across the head and Raven flipped into a cartwheel in mid-air landing on his feet. Then he slammed his fist into the creature in a quick flash of blue. The monster flew back and slammed into a tree, cracking it. By the time he leaned up, Raven was already on top of him.

Fleshmonger grabbed him by the arm and flung him toward the side. Raven grunted as he landed hard on the ground, amid debris of broken wood and cracked coconuts shells. The masked man leaned up in time to grab the monster’s massive jaw before it could bite his face off. Raven gritted his teeth as he held the monster by it’s mouth, feeling his salvia fall on his mask.

Locke then hoisted up his gun, hoping he could get a shot while Fleshmonger is distracted. “No, “ Ecko told him, “Only Raven has a change to beat him.”

“Maybe if we shoot it enough it will be get wounded.”

“We tried that,” Ecko sighed, “Long ago.”

Locke then looked toward his right where Desmond emerged from the bushes with his son in his arms. The young boy was slowly taking deep breaths. “How is he?” Hal limped over.

“I gave him two vials of the medicine.” Desmond said, kneeling, “ His color is starting to come back and he is getting more air into his system.”

Desmond lurched as Raven screamed, being slammed into the ground. Fleshmonger ran toward him but the masked man slammed his boot in it’s face, making it lose a tooth in a bloody spray. Raven then flung up and grabbed it by the throat, wrestling it to the ground. “Can he beat that thing?” Desmond asked.

“One way or another, we shall soon see.” The black man by his side told him.


Eddie held onto the tree next to him with Jack by his side. The war of the titans in front of them raged on, destroying trees and kicking up large amounts dirt. The young hoped his masked friend could defeat him. Jack dabbed the small amount of his blood from his forehead. “You okay, Jack?” he asked.

“Yeah, you?” he smirked.

“I’m okay. I just hope Raven can beat him.”

“I’m sure he can.”

“But why ain’t he done it yet?” Eddie asked, worried.

“Have Faith, Eddie.” Jack patted him on the back,” Raven’s got a few tricks up his sleeve.”

Raven then flew past them, slamming into a tree and cutting it in half. Fleshmonger was on top of him in a moment’s notice. “I hope.” Jack whispered.

“Why didn’t it kill you down in the quarry?” asked the little boy.

“I don’t have a clue,” the doctor pondered, “Maybe it didn’t like to get . . .wet . .”

Jack then quickly turned his head around. He looked back down to the bottom of the hill here the small pile of rocks were among the water hole that he landed in. The doctor could heard Eddie’s voice trying to get his attention but it wasn’t working. More words were flooding into Jack’s brain, from Sayid, Raven and the man on the video tape about the Fleshmonger.

They say the Fleshmonger never attacked them while it rained . . . .

When we got to the cliff, I dropped kicked it over and it plummeted into the water….

Attacks will force the kids to think. If they find the clues, they can find his weakness. . . . .

“Oh, my God!!” Jack said, stumbling down the hill. Eddie watched him, wondering if he lost his mind. The doctor stumbled forward and fell again, rolling down the hill. When he landed, he quickly crawled toward his backpack. The moment he grabbed it, he unzipped it and dumped the contents into the water. Jack winced as he shoved the backpack into the water, praying it was water proof to an extent.

Eddie ran out of the way as Raven collided with another tree. The masked man screamed as he shined his blue eyes again, giving no quarter against his attacker. Ecko quickly got down in front of Eddie, holding up his stick. Raven struggled against the monster who didn’t seem to get tired, as he did neither. Locke looked concerned as Sayid and Hal shared his opinion. It was Desmond who stood up, and cocked back his rifle. If Raven couldn’t beat him, they would have to least hold it off long enough for Eddie and Sebastian to get out of there. Sayid clicked back his pistol, then saw his friend emerge from the hill. “JACK!!” the Iraqi screamed as it seemed clearly that he was heading into the thick of battle.

The doctor grunted as he tracked the leaky backpack by his side. Water spurted from the small nooks it managed to find. Raven saw him coming and as a result, so did Fleshmonger. The monster hissed at Jack and then let up on Raven, running toward. The doctor knew the monster wanted to kill him cause he had finally figured out it’s weakness. The monster lurched toward Jack as the doctor flung the backpack toward it. The water exploded on it’s head just as it struck Jack on the arm.

The doctor flung toward the ground, grunting. After he landed, he massaged his arm; feeling the small scratches the beast managed to make on his neck. Raven ran over to him and helped him up. As the new friends stood up, they looked toward the Fleshmonger.

The beast remained frozen like a statue in mid-attack pose. “What the bloody hell just happened?” asked Desmond.

Jack held his arm and limped toward the monster. It stood there like a wax statue with water dripping off it’s head. The doctor leaned closer, taking a look at it. He then poked his finger into it’s cheek and pushed. It still did not move. Jack sighed one of the biggest sighs he ever had. “It shuts down when it is soaked with water.” He said, sitting on the ground.

“How did you figure that?” gasped Hal.

“It donned on me about the Black and Red Project, “ Jack said, putting a piece of cloth on his neck, “It was just that . . .a project. Fleshmonger was just that, a part of that project. It’s sole purpose was designed to test the kid’s problem solving ability. Sayid gave me the first clue when he said that Andra and Flower remembered the Fleshmonger never attacked in the rain.”

“Yes,” the Middle Easterner whispered.

“Then Raven said that he knocked it over and cliff into the water. He never heard from it again cause it was permanently shut down. It must have washed up on the beach and Goodwin found it. It was able to function when it was dry.”

“The video tape?” Locke smiled.

“Yes, it said Fleshmonger would force the kids to think. NOT FIGHT, think! It was a simple weakness but it was too obvious. That’s why no one got it.”

“Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one, brother.” Desmond congratulated him.

“Now, let’s take care of this problem once and for all.” Locke replied, stepping toward the monster.

Locke then placed his shotgun inside the Fleshmonger’s massive maw. He then turned his head as he pulled the trigger. The black of it’s head exploded open in a spray of blood, skin and bone. As he pulled his shotgun out, it slumped down to the ground fully dead. Raven patted Jack on the back for coming up with the sway to stop him. Locke smiled as well, glad that intelligence saved the day yet again. Eddie walked up to the doctor and smiled at him. “Let’s get you back to your mother,” Jack smiled back.

“Thanks, Jack.” The boy responded.


---------------------------,

Goodwin pecked away at the keyboard, searching for the command prompt to activate the code word he had found buried in the memoirs of Lone Wolf Station. He kept one eye on the screen and one eye on the entrance to the control room. He continued to search through command prompts and pathways and if he didn’t know better, it almost seemed like Argos was fighting him. Then a shadow across the floor caught his attention. He quickly picked up his automatic rifle and pointed it toward the person entering. “It’s me, Bobby.” Jilly said.

“Jilly,” he smiled, placing the weapon down, “I was hoping to talk with you.”

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Searching through the Argos Mainframe, hoping to the find the buried command prompt that holds the secrets to what I need.”

“What . . .secrets?”

“The secret of the Herrenvolk.” He winked at her.

“Okay . ..once you get you, the others are allowing you free passage out of here. Take whatever you want from the computer but Walt and Aaron are staying.”

Goodwin sighed and closed his eyes with a smile. He leaned back slightly in the chair and crossed his arms. “It’s a nice offer, “ he smiled, “But it’s not enough. Walt is a special boy, as is Aaron. My collegue Ethan saw that but he paid the price for his arrogance. He never should have went after him alone.”

“These are their children, Bobby!” Jilly exclaimed, “You just can’t expect them to just . .GIVE them up!”

Goodwin stopped pecking into the keyboard for a few seconds and smirked at her. “I’ll offer you a counterproposal,” he grinned, “I’ll let the children stay on one condition . . .you come with me.”

“Me?” she gasped.

“I’ve always liked you, Jilly. The one thing that would help the children more than a leader among them is a mother figure.”

“Children? What children?”

“My Herrenvolk. Back at my Station.”

“You . ..got more kids here?”

“They have been here since their inception. Some were brought to me by the Liberation, others were taken when the Red and Black tribes were able to give birth to babies.”

“And they have breathed this plant and will become psychos?” Jilly started to weep, “Is that your Herrenvolk, Bobby?”

“We will control them.”

“NO ONE CAN CONTROL THEM!” the deaf woman screamed, “That was the whole point of the test! It was nothing more than a damn experiment!”

Goodwin slowly looked at her and shifted away from the desk. “You’ve seen the film?” he asked.

“Yes, I have.” She admitted.

“I knew there was a reason I liked you, Jilly. You are like me. You are a seeker of knowledge.”

A beeping sound on the computer caught the mad-man’s attention. Jilly slowly walked over to see what he was doing. Goodwin began typing again. “It’s given me access to it’s encrypted files.” He whispered, “Now, all I need to do is to type in the password.”

Jilly looked at the password as he typed it. “Aera?” she whispered.

“A battle cry from Roman Soldiers. It means-“

“It means wind. They shouted it after the command of Forward At The Bayonet.” Jilly told him.

“You see? You are a smart one,” Goodwin typed away on the keyboard, “Do you know what Argos was named after?”

“I don’t think I read that book.” She pointed out.

“It was a city of ancient Greece in the northeast Peloponnesus near the head of the Gulf of Argolis. It was one of the most powerful cities of ancient Greece until the rise of Sparta. But it’s main significance was that it was the opening port to the Greek empire, so Argo saw the world before anybody else.”

“Information storage?” Jilly asked.

“Exactly, Jilly,” Goodwin giggled, “All the information about the Island, Watchman, the Jaeger Units, it’s all here.”

“Some things are best left undiscovered, Bobby.” The deaf woman began to back away from him.

Goodwin then stopped and looked at her. His eyes fell on her shirt which seemed to have a sweat triangle down her cleavage. “Am I making you nervous, Jilly?” he asked.

“Just take what you want and get out.” She hissed.

Goodwin then slowly stood up and walked toward her. Jilly started to pant as he got closer. The crazed man looked at her up and down, then licked his lips. “Thanks, I will.” He whispered.

“Don’t . . .come . . .near me.” She stuttered.

“If you mean that, then why aren’t you backing away faster?”

Goodwin then grabbed her and planted a massive kiss on her. The deaf girl then went limp in his arms. She felt sick, feeling his filthy hands grab one of her breasts. The mad-man buried his tongue into her mouth, taking in her taste. Then he jerked away abruptly as a bullet entered his stomach.

Goodwin slammed into the nearby desk, grabbing onto his belly. The precious blood leaked out between his fingers onto the ground. He looked up to be amazed at finding the smoking gun in the hands of the girl he was just kissing. Jilly wiped her mouth with her sleeve and spit onto the ground. “Jilly . .” he coughed, “But . . .why . . .”

Jilly then pointed the gun at him and clicked the breech back. “We are nothing alike, you VILE THING.” She hissed.

Goodwin’s head jerked like a twig being broken as the bullet entered his forehead and then exited out the back. He slumped down onto the concrete floor and began to convulse. Jilly then walked over and pointed the gun at him; cupping her wrist with her other hand. The deaf girl then proceeded to pull the trigger over and over again. The firing of the gun could have been loud for some but she didn’t hear a single bit of it. By the time Micheal got her attention, she had emptied the entire clip into the body of Goodwin. Jilly blinked through the gun smoke filling the control room. The black man just looked at her, slowly bringing her arms down. “You got him, Jilly.” He told her.

Jilly took one more look at the riddled body of Goodwin and then gave the empty gun to Micheal. “Take this away from me.” She said, walking away.

Micheal watched her as she crossed the living area to Barbara’s arm, crying into her chest. The older woman comforted her after she was forced to do. Charlie slowly walked in and looked at the body of Goodwin. He didn’t feel remorse; he felt relived. Aaron and Walt were finally safe. “Is it over?” Charlie whispered.

“I guess we won’t know that till the others get back.” Micheal replied.

Everybody jolted as the door to the hallway entrance was shoved open rapidly. Hal was the first one in followed by Desmond, carrying his son. “IZZY!!” Desmond screamed.

“Is he hurt?” she cried as she ran to them.

“What happened?” Hal asked, “We heard gunfire.”

“In here, Hal!” Charlie called.

The cop slowly walked into the control room and saw the body of Goodwin. His instincts immediately pointed his eyes toward the bullet holes in the man’s chest. He was immediately and heavily confused. “Did he go psycho on you?” he asked.

“I didn’t shoot him. Jilly did.” The black man pointed.

Hal turned to see Jilly and Barbara holding Eddie as the others had come in. It started to make a little more sense. A person doesn’t fill another person with so many bullets unless they are filled with a rage that can’t be quelled. “Is it over, man?” asked Micheal.

Hal gently pushed his gun into his belt buckle and sighed, rubbing his nose. “I think it finally is.” He replied.