DISCLAIMER: Don't own. All characters belong to someone else.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is for prompt SFC #34. Probably not quite what you wanted, but it's what came out. Also apologies to C. S. Lewis.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Running from the Jabberwocky
By LoriDragus
They were lost. Had been for at least two hours. And it wasn't her fault. The cop was blaming her though. It hadn't been Kate that had taken off after the boar. No, but it had been Kate that had followed the cop blindly into the jungle. It hadn't taken long for Ana Lucia to lose the boar. Or for Kate to decide they were lost. They wouldn't be missed til dark when the hunting parties were due back. And once again she cursed her luck for having paired her with Ana Lucia. And after two hours of listening to the cop gripe she was ready to throttle her.
Ana Lucia was pissed. The supposed tracker had gotten them lost. Kate wouldn't admit it though. Kate just kept saying she wasn't the one that had taken off blindly after the boar. Kate was the one that was supposed to be paying attention to where they were going. But no, she hadn't and now they were lost. And no one would come looking for them til tomorrow. Shit she hated this island.
Kate had finally got her bearings straight. But not before getting them lost even more, then taking them in a circle for over an hour. The last had just pissed Ana Lucia off even more. She was so pissed that she was leading the way now with Kate just giving directions. Kate was lost in her own thoughts and hadn't realized the terrain had changed until she heard Ana yell, then drop out of sight. She ran to where she had last seen the cop. Looking down she saw Ana Lucia standing in the middle of a waist deep stream.
"Shit Kate, why didn't you warn me this thing might be here?"
"Look I didn't know it was here. Are you all right?"
"Yeah, just wet." Ana felt around her body to make sure. When she reached the pack that held some of their survival gear she froze. "Shit, damn."
"What, Ana?"
"The pack's ripped open," pulling out some of the contents and looking at them. "Everything's wet."
"Look, we'll deal with that later. Can you see a way back up here?"
Ana turned and looked around at where she was at. This little stream was in a deep cut. Most of the trees ran right to the edge though. She thought she might be able to climb back out.
"I think I should be able to climb back up. I'm going to move down the stream some."
"OK, just be careful."
Ana looked back at Kate with a confused look on her face. Was that concern she heard coming from Kate?
"Yeah, sure I'll be careful."
Ana began to slowly work her way down the stream. She had been lucky where she had fallen in. It seemed to be one of the deeper spots. She could barely see Kate following along on the ridge.
"You haven't lost me have ya?"
Kate walked toward the edge of the ridge and looked down.
"No, you're making enough noise in the water I can hear you."
"Hey look this water's cold you'd be making noise too."
Kate smiled at the look on Ana's face before she turned back to the stream and started walking again.
Great Ana thought I'm wet, scratched up, and Kate is laughing at me. This was Kate's fault. And I know somehow she planned on me falling in that stream. When I get back up there with Kate, we're going to settle this. I'm so tired of her attitude.
Ana traveled another, thirty yards down the stream before she saw a place she thought she could climb up.
"Hey Kate, I see a tree up ahead. The roots are exposed. Looks like I can climb up from there."
"OK. I think I can see the tree you're talking about."
Ana Lucia was about three yards away when she heard it. A roaring noise that sounded like, well Ana wasn't sure what the noise sounded like. Only it didn't sound good. She stopped to look back down the stream to see if she could see what it was.
"Ana, don't stop," yelled Kate as she ran the rest of the way to the tree.
"What is it?"
"The Sentinel or whatever you want to call the thing that guards part of the Island. Now hurry up."
Ana noticed the fear in Kate's voice. She didn't know what this thing was, but she thought she didn't really want to know. So she ran. Reaching the tree, she began climbing. Halfway up she slipped a little from the moss clinging to the tree.
The noise was getting louder and Ana was getting scared. She slipped again.
"Hurry up, Ana. We need to move."
Kate leaned down trying to reach Ana Lucia. She watched as Ana slipped a second time and held her breath, praying she would make it. That they both would make it out of this alive.
They both could hear trees crashing in the jungle now. Kate was starting to panic.
Reaching over the edge of the drop off Kate yelled to Ana Lucia.
"Come on Ana, grab my hand. We need to go now."
Ana reached up and grabbed Kate's hand. Kate helped to pull her to the top. Ana wanted to rest, but the thing sounded close. Real close. Kate still had her hand, pulling her through the jungle. She didn't let go of Ana's hand til, she was sure that Ana was going to follow her. Ana realized Kate was running them parallel to the stream.
Shit Ana Lucia thought the thing sounded closer. And she couldn't tell which side of the cut it was on. Then to make everything perfect it started to rain. Ana wondered if the rain would slow the thing down. It really didn't sound like it was going to.
Ana was trying to watch where she was running when she saw Kate slip, then she watched as Kate went down hard. Any other time and she realized she would be laughing.
"Come on Kate, get up," yelled Ana as she ran by the woman on the ground.
Ana Lucia risked looking back. She saw Kate was having a hard time getting up. She looked behind Kate, and could see trees moving and falling. Crap, she thought as she turned around and went back for Kate.
"Come on Kate. We are not going to be eaten by some Alice in Wonderland monster."
Kate reached for Ana Lucia as she slid to a stop beside her. She let Ana pull her up. She noticed that her ankle was sore, but could take weight. Kate got her footing and both of them took off again.
The rain was starting to come down harder. Neither woman could see very far ahead, yet they could still hear the crashing behind them.
Kate felt like they had been running forever. Her mind was just focused on her breathing and the noise behind her. Then it hit her. The noise was gone. All she was hearing was Ana Lucia running and breathing hard. And the thumping of her own heart in her ears.
Next thing she knew they were out of the jungle and on the beach. They both ran another five yards or so before collapsing. And the rain had finally decided to stop.
Kate looked over at Ana Lucia, watching as the cop took great gulps of air into her lungs. Kate saw that she also looked like she was shivering.
"Hey," Kate said while still trying to get more air into her own lungs. "Are you OK?"
"Fine," replied Ana Lucia around a gasp for more air. "Though next time I want a different partner."
"What, why?"
"I want someone who's not going to get me killed at every turn."
"What I'm not the idiot that took off after that boar without waiting for help."
"And you're the tracker. Doesn't that mean you're supposed to be able to get us back to camp?"
Kate just stared at Ana Lucia. She didn't want to have a fight with Ana. She was tired of them fighting.
"Look. I need to see where we are at," said Kate getting up from the sand. "You just stay here and I'll be back."
"Look Kate, I'm not just going to sit here and wait for you."
"Just do it. I need to get a point of reference and you can't help me."
Kate turned and walked toward the water. She really couldn't believe that Ana Lucia still wanted to fight. And right now all she wanted to do was be alone. To sort through the feelings she had as the two of them were running through the jungle. To analysis why she had been afraid when she thought Ana Lucia wasn't going to get out of the stream in time. She walked toward the edge of the water as the sun began to set.
Ana Lucia watched as Kate walked toward the water's edge turning before she reached it, then walking up the beach. She knew Kate wasn't trying to figure out where they were at or where the camp was. She couldn't believe the woman was trying to ditch her on the beach. Now she was really mad. Why couldn't Kate admit she was wrong and that she had screwed up. And that she had almost got both of them killed. Then she remembered seeing Kate slip and fall. God I almost lost her then. Damn, why do I feel so cold?
After about an hour Kate came back to where Ana Lucia was waiting. She could see Ana had tried to make a fire. Tried being the operative word. As Kate sat down across from Ana Lucia, she could see that the cop was still blaming her for their predicament. She noticed that Ana's clothes still looked to be wet. And that the woman was starting to shiver more. She thought it might have something to do with the cop falling into the stream. She was sure Ana blamed her for that too. Kate didn't see how she could since Ana was the one that insisted on being in the lead. And how was Kate supposed to know that the ridge was soft or that there was a ridge. Any way Ana should have noticed she was leading them after all.
So here they were, at the edge of the jungle on the beach glaring at one another.
"You know you really should take some of those wet clothes off," said Kate.
"I really don't need your advice."
"Apparently. You seem to be doing a great job on your own."
Ana glared at Kate and growled.
Kate couldn't believe it. She had growled.
"I don't understand why you find it so hard to take my advice."
"Why would I want to listen to you?"
"Cause I happen to know what I'm doing." Kate got up and walked toward the water.
Ana couldn't believe it. She had just got up and walked away from her again. Ana wasn't finished with their conversation. So she got up and walked quickly after Kate. Catching up to her, she grabbed Kate by the arm and spun her around.
"Listen you don't just . . . "she never finished as Kate slapped her. "Why you bitch."
Kate tried to break from Ana Lucia's grasp as Ana tightened her hold and slapped Kate back. Kate brought her knee up. Ana moved out of the way and managed to push Kate to the ground.
"Let go of me Ana Lucia," said Kate as she struggled beneath Ana to get loose.
"No. You fucking slapped me. No one does that. And I am so tired of your attitude."
"My attitude. What about yours? Just cause you're a cop or ex-cop doesn't make you better than the rest of us."
"I never said it did." Shit she thought. Kate's a lot stronger than she thought, as Kate almost got loose.
"You didn't have to. It's the way you act."
"I'm trying to help keep you people alive."
"We know that Ana, but you could show a bit more compassion."
"Why, so that when I fail and someone dies I can cry with everyone else?"
Kate stopped struggling. She looked up into dark eyes lost in the pain of failing one too many times.
"You can't expect to save us all," said Kate in a soft voice.
"I know that," said Ana loosening her hold of Kate.
Looking deep into Ana's eyes, Kate willed her not to look away.
"Saving us without feeling isn't right Ana."
Ana stared back. She wasn't sure what was happening. She didn't care, she was tired of fighting and running.
"I don't want to hurt any more Kate."
She didn't know why she did it. Maybe it was the look in Ana Lucia's eyes. Or the fact they were lost. Or even the hurt in Ana's voice. All of it or none of it. Whatever it was it didn't matter. She wanted to do this. She raised up and kissed Ana Lucia. At first Ana didn't respond. Then without warning she did, deepening the kiss and pushing Kate back down to the sand. Ana stopped and raised herself back up to look down at Kate.
"Kate, why?"
"Shush, don't ask," said Kate as she pulled her hands from Ana's grasp and used them to pull Ana back down to her.
Ana stopped thinking. She didn't care anymore. At least not at this moment. All she wanted right now was to feel. Even if it lasted just one night.
Kate moved her hands down Ana's body. Ana's clothes were still damp and her skin felt a bit clammy . As they continued to kiss and move against each other Kate felt Ana's temperature rise. She slid her hands under Ana's shirt and pushed up. Ana broke their kiss for a moment to finish pulling her shirt off. Kate leaned up and whispered in Ana's ear.
"I want to feel your skin on mine," said Kate as she removed her own shirt.
Ana just watched as Kate took her shirt off. Seeing Kate in the moonlight quickened her heart rate. She was afraid Kate was going to change her mind. So she sat in the sand and quickly removed her boots and jeans. She was surprised when Kate followed her lead and removed her shorts and shoes.
They spread their clothes on the sand and laid back down together.
"Kate, we don't."
"Shush, no talking."
Kate kissed her again and Ana forgot all about what she was going to say as Kate's hands began to move over her body.
The only sounds heard from the beach were from the waves gently breaking against the rocks. The only eyes that witnessed the two women on the beach belonged to the denizens of the jungle. And soon even they gave up watching.
Slowly coming awake she noticed the arms holding her tightly against a warm body. She turned over in the arms holding her. A slow smile crept to her face.
"Well you feel much warmer this morning," said Kate.
"It's your fault," replied Ana looking into the eyes before her.
"My fault," says Kate as she moves her arms around Ana Lucia.
"Yes," said Ana smiling at her.
"So, you ready to get up yet?" asked Kate.
"Nah., I'm happy were I'm at," replied Ana as she pulled Kate closer.
Kate snuggled back into Ana's arms and drifted off to sleep once more.
Kate came awake quickly at the urgency in Ana's voice.
"Wake up Kate. I think our rescue party's here."
Kate's eyes shot open as Hurley walked into view.
"Oh, um sorry Kate, Ana Lucia. I'll tell the others to hang back a minute."
As Hurley walked back toward the others they could now hear, they both started laughing.
"Do you think the big guy could have turned any redder?"
"Yes," said Kate as she watched Ana finish getting dressed. "If he had found us here completely naked."
Ana helped Kate up off the sand so she could finish getting dressed. As Kate pulled her shorts on, they heard the others coming. Ana pulled Kate to her.
"Thank you."
"For what."
"Just thank you," said Ana kissing Kate quickly.
As Jack came into sight, he called out to them.
"I see you two managed not to kill each other."
"Oh no Jack," said Kate as she walked by him. "A little death maybe. But no killing."
Ana just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Jack just looked at both women as if they had lost their minds.
The trek back to the main camp was uneventful. Hurley kept looking at the two women as if he was trying to work something out. Jack was just stunned that the two didn't seem to be trying to kill each other. True they weren't hugging and kissing. But they weren't screaming and yelling either.
After getting back to the beach camp they all went their separate ways. Before breaking away Kate pulled Ana Lucia to the side.
"You want to come by later, have something to eat?"
"You really want me to?"
"Yeah, I do."
"OK then. I'll see you in a bit."
Ana turned to head toward her lean to.
Neither woman noticed the eyes watching them from the trees.
Sawyer watched the two women talk then part company. He couldn't help but notice Ana Lucia brush her hand along Kate's arm. Moving out of the jungle Sawyer went in search of Hurley. Sawyer knew the big guy would never be able to keep his mouth shut if he knew anything about Kate and Ana Lucia.
Ana heard the two of them long before she saw them. Actually she was surprised that Jack hadn't shown up to pull them apart. Walking into view, Ana called out.
"Hey Kate every thing OK."
Kate turned to look at Ana and smiled. She was happy it was Ana Lucia and not Jack.
"Yeah, Sawyer was just leaving," turning back to Sawyer. "Right."
"Sure babe. Anything you say."
Sawyer started walking away, stopping when he reached Ana Lucia.
"Say how did the two of you stay warm last night. Jack said your fire making kit got wet. Oh and I heard Hurley telling Charlie that the two of you had to get dressed when he found you."
"You're a pig Sawyer," said Kate from behind him. She had walked toward him when he had stopped to talk to Ana.
"Well what can I say. I am what I am."
"Just go," said Ana.
"So Ana Lucia," said Sawyer as he stared straight at her. "Can I watch the next time you two decide to keep each other warm?"
SLAP! SLAP!
Everyone on the beach heard the sound and turned toward it.
Shit thought Sawyer. They both slapped me. That hurt. As he went to say something else, Ana stopped him.
"Next time it won't be a slap. I will kick the shit out of you."
Ana turned and took Kate's hand as they walked off down the beach.
The End