TITLE: ALL IS NOT LOST
RATING: MATURE, PROBABLY NOT ADULT BUT WHO KNOWS
PAIRING: AU WITH ALIENS, CC
SUMMARY: FOLLOWING AN AIRPLANE CRASH, A GROUP OF SURVIVORS MUST BAND TOGETHER ON A STRANGE DESERTED ISLAND
DISCLAIMER: ROSWELL AND ITS CHARACTERS BELONG TO JASON KATIMS, MELINDA METZ, WB & UPN. SO NOT MINE IN OTHER WORDS. LOST BELONGS TO ABC AND ALSO NOT MINE. THERE IS SOME DIALOGUE USED FROM BOTH SHOWS.
THIS WAS A CHALLENGE THAT I SET AND THEN TOOK MYSELF.
A big thanks to Reamhar, my wonderful Beta. To Fehrbaby for my amazing banner and to Emz80 for her Aussie know how.
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</center>Chapter one - FLOTSAM AND JETSAM
Liz was cold. She lay on her back looking up through the canopy of tall trees surrounding her, watching patches of blue sky and sunlight filter brightly through the leaves. She knew it must be hot but she felt no warmth only cold. Even the gaping wound where the shrapnel was embedded in her stomach gave her no pain. There was just the cold.
She heard rustling in the undergrowth nearby and tried to call for help but her lips couldn’t form the words and the only sound that she made was a weak croak. She turned her head, in the last moment while her vision was blurred and dim she thought she saw a figure looming over her. Then all went black….
“Look at me, you have to look at me,”
Gentle hands were holding her, moving her body. She suddenly felt warm again as her whole body tingled back to life.
“Please look at me.” She opened her eyes finding it surprisingly easy to do so.
There was a man kneeling beside her, he had one hand on her stomach the other was holding her face so that he could see her eyes. He was looking straight at her but Liz felt that he was looking straight through her, almost as if he could see inside her.
“You’re ok now,” he told her breathlessly.
And she was ok. There was no pain, no gaping wound, no shrapnel. She sat up and pressed her hands against her stomach. There wasn’t a mark on it, not so much as a scratch though her blouse was ripped and bloodstained.
Her jaw fell open in shock and she looked up wide-eyed at the man who had healed her of her fatal wound.
“Please don’t tell anyone,” he begged.
Liz nodded dumbly.
“How…what…I…?” She stuttered, trying to rein in her confused thoughts, but the man stood up and looked over his shoulder. As he did she became aware of the sounds. Screaming and crying, loud whirring noises, and the acrid smell of smoke. The stench of burning rubber and metal was mixed with something else. Something less man made. Something flesh.
“I should go,” he told her, already backing away She watched as he broke into a run and vanished amid the trees and bushes.
After a few moments Liz stood up, she expected her legs to be weak and shaky but found that she was as fit and strong as usual. She took a step forward and her foot came into contact with something. She looked down and saw that it was a large, jagged piece of metal. One end was covered in a dark brown stain, her blood.
Her blood.
With shaking hands she picked it up and examined it. This had been buried in her stomach; she had been bleeding to death moments ago. How was it possible that she was now fine? Liz looked in the direction that the man had disappeared. What had he done? And how?
Liz pulled off her shirt and wrapped it around the piece of metal and carefully concealed it under a thick bush until she was happy that it was out of sight. Then she turned and ran towards the screaming. A few feet into the trees she came across a suitcase that was lying on the ground, it had burst open on impact and its contents were strewn across the ground. She grabbed a T-shirt, a few sizes too big for her and pulled it on.
She went through the trees onto a beach. It was one of those paradise beaches seen on postcards. The sand was a powdery white, the water lapping up on it was clear blue. It stretched for miles. And it was the scene of chaos.
The beach was strewn with dead bodies and wounded people too weak to move. Other people dazed and frightened were wandering around the debris from the aeroplane they had all been travelling in.
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SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, 18TH SEPTEMBER 2006, 6.00AM.
“Place your hands against the wall and spread you legs.”
Liz forced herself to smirk, “Why Mr. Daniels, are you propositioning me?” She asked in a terrible imitation of a southern drawl.
He ignored her remark and pushed her against the wall, roughly forcing her to stand as he had ordered. She spread her legs apart, tossing her hair back and lifting her chin defiantly to show him that she wasn’t affected by the way he was treating her. To show him that she wasn’t afraid of him. Daniels ran his hands over her legs and ankles, her hips and stomach. Liz focused on a spot of peeling paint and ignored the way her skin crawled at his touch.
“Shouldn’t a female officer be doing that?”
Daniels sneered at the airport cop.
“But then how’s he supposed to get his jollies?” Liz mocked. “I’ve been in his care for two days now, so either he thinks he’s really bad at his job and he has to keep checking me to make sure that I haven’t managed to sneak contraband into my bra. Or…”
The cop muttered something under his breath, his eyes darted to the door. Part of him wanted to get somebody else into the room but there was something in Daniels’ face that made him reluctant to leave him alone with the girl. She acted like she wasn’t afraid, that being hunted down and arrested was an everyday occurrence for her but her eyes betrayed her. They swam with fear. Daniels claimed she was a very dangerous criminal, something the cop very much doubted. Not because she was so delicate and petite or because she looked like a teenager or because she was so very pretty. It was because she was so afraid of the man with the ice blue eyes.
The door opened and another man walked in brandishing a sheet of paper. “Here’s your licence to carry weapons on board.”
Daniels pushed Liz into a chair and snapped the paper from his hand. He looked it over, then folded it neatly and put it into the breast pocket of his suit. “Thank you.”
“I will ask you again to reconsider carrying so many weapons on board Agent Daniels. The subject is restrained, she doesn’t look like she could overpower you. It’s against all advice to have that many weapons on board.”
“I need them,” Daniels said coolly.
“I have escaped from his custody before,” Liz explained with a cocky grin.
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“Please help me.”
There was so much screaming, so much noise and pandemonium that Liz didn’t know where to look first. It was too much to take it. She literally didn’t believe that what she was seeing was real. Above all the other voices, she heard one man shout. There was no panic in his voice, he spoke with authority and calm. It was him. Liz took a few steps closer to him, watching as he hurried over to a woman receiving CPR from a young man. He pushed the man away and began administer it himself. She waited to see what he would do, she expected something extraordinary but as far as she could tell he did nothing out of the ordinary. The woman came to, coughing and shaking. He turned back to her original saviour and appeared to issue some instructions.
Then he stood up and looked around. Liz could see that he was mentally assessing the beach to see who needed his help most. His eyes landed on Liz for a moment and he paused. Then a loud scream drew his attention away. He darted towards the source, looking back to gesture for Liz to follow him. She hurried as best she could over the sand.
A pregnant girl, who Liz guessed couldn’t be more that nineteen was on her knees, screaming in agony and fear. She was clutching her swollen abdomen.
“The baby’s coming, it’s coming,” she moaned.
“It’s ok, I’m a doctor. How far along are you?”
“Thirty six weeks,” the girl panted.
The doctor placed his hands on her stomach and waited for a moment. “Are you hurt?”
“I banged my head,” she pushed back her long blonde hair to reveal a nasty cut on her forehead. The doctor put his hand against it and brushed it gently.
“It’s not too bad,” he told her. And indeed when he pulled away, Liz could see that it didn’t look as bad as before. “I don’t think the baby’s coming, these are false contractions. I know this is a lot to ask right now, but you need to calm down. Take a deep breath, good, let it out slowly. And again.”
The girl took a lungful of air and exhaled slowly. She wiped away a stray tear and Liz could see that her hand was trembling.
“What’s your name?”
“Maria,” she answered in a small voice. Tears were now rolling down her face.
“Maria, you’re both going to be fine. I just need you to stay calm and try not to panic. You’re not hurt, the baby’s fine. Nothing’s going to happen to either of you, I promise.” He glanced up at Liz and gave her a small nod. “Can you try and find a bottle of water?”
Liz nodded and looked around, not far away a service trolley was lying on its side. She grabbed a couple of bottles of water and rushed back.
“Thanks,” he took the bottle from her, opened it and handed it to Maria. “Any more contractions?”
She shook her head. “No,”
“Ok, I have to check on a few other people but I’ll be back. Liz is going to stay with you.” He stood up and took Liz's arm, gently guiding her a few steps away from Maria. “Can you take her up the beach a little. She’s very distressed and I’m afraid that it might induce labor. Try and keep her calm and distract her if you can.”
“Sure,” Liz nodded. Easy. He was gone before she could say anything else. Liz turned to Maria and helped her up. On her feet, Maria winced. “Are you ok? Is it the baby?”
The blonde shook her head. “It’s my leg, it’s quiet sore.”
“Lean on me, I’ll help you walk,” Liz told her. She slipped her arms around Maria’s waist and supported her as she walked towards the sand dunes. “Can you make it to the top? It might be more sheltered up there.” And it would block the view of the beach.
Maria nodded and they climbed up until they came to a spot where the tall reeds gave some shade and obscured the crash site a little.
“Here’s good,” Liz suggested.
“Thanks,” Maria panted as she lowered herself carefully to the sand.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m ok,” she nodded, the tremble in her voice was audible. Tears were now flowing down her cheeks.
Liz sat down beside her, and tried to think of something to say to distract Maria, but there was nothing she could think of. What could she think of but the smoking debris and the dead bodies scattered on the beach?
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SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, 18TH SEPTEMBER 2006, 7.15AM.
Liz discovered that the good thing about being accompanied onto an aeroplane by a federal agent while in handcuffs was that you got to avoid the long lines for the security checks. They were simply waved through.
“I can take it from here,” Daniels told the police officer who was walking beside him.
“Ok, have a safe flight.”
“I guess it’s just you and me now sweetheart,” Daniels said in a low voice, hissing the words into her ear. She turned her head away, flipping her long hair into his face. “Let’s see, gate 21, this way.”
He pushed her roughly in the direction they were meant to go, causing her to stumble. He yanked her arm to stop her from falling causing Liz to wince in pain. She noticed the eyes of a group of schoolchildren on her and she looked away in embarrassment.
“Move it,” Daniels commanded.
Liz moved forward slowly, carefully taking in her surroundings, noting the location of obstacles, large groups and most importantly, the exits. She would have only one chance. The school children had left their bags and musical instruments in an untidy heap on the ground. Liz stepped to the left, purposefully walking into a group of excited teenagers.
“Oh my God, it’s Heath Ledger,” she squealed in her best impression of a teenage girl. The excited girls immediately swarmed her and Daniels, clambering over each other to see their heart throb. One of them collided with the agent and caused him to stumble. It was the chance she was waiting for. As Daniel’s reached for the back of a chair to steady himself, he released his hold on Liz's arm. She spun around quickly. He reached for her, but she moved quicker. She pulled back her head and then brought it forward as fast and as hard as she could, smacking him dead straight in the face. He collapsed to the floor in a daze. Liz ignored the ringing in her own head. She put her hand in his pocket and pulled out the set of keys then took off at a dead sprint.
Nobody took much notice of her sprinting through the departure lounge and she moved too quickly for anybody to see that she was wearing handcuffs. She had already mapped out her escape route and knew what way to go to avoid the crowded areas. Her destination was a service door that led to a staff only area. If she could just get through it and find a place to remove the cuffs she might be able to escape completely. Liz reached the door and threw her weight at it but it didn’t open.
“Shit,” she swore under her breath. She looked quickly over her shoulder to see if Daniels was near by, but there was no sign. Realising that she wasn’t going to get through the door without a staff key, Liz looked frantically around for another exit and swore again.
Anywhere else, even a police station and she might have a chance but due to the heightened security restrictions surrounding all air travel, an airport was just about the hardest place to be a fleeing criminal. Every entrance and exit was guarded or locked.
There was still no sign of her captor so she undid her cuffs and dropped them to the floor. She saw a girl get up from her seat and walk away, leaving her coat behind. She hurried forward and grabbed it, slipping it on.
“Over there,” an Australian voice shouted. “Stop.”
Liz kept her head down and prayed that they were talking to somebody else. She quickened her pace, hearing footsteps running behind her. A moment later, the staff door she had tried earlier burst open and two policemen came rushing through it. Another pair quickly joined them. She could hear the voice pointing her out so she made a run for it. She only made it a couple of feet when a pair of strong arms caught her and bundled her to the ground. The stolen coat was pulled off her and her arms were wrenched painfully behind her back. A pair of handcuffs were fastened tightly around her wrist.
She was dragged unceremoniously to her feet to face Daniels who gave her a hateful stare. “Not a smart move Parker.”
“I thought her name was Ortecho?” One of the Australian cops asked.
“It’s an alias,” Daniels explained. He grabbed her arm roughly and swung her around. Liz had to bite her lip to stop the cry of pain from escaping.
“We’ll accompany you to the plane,” the cop said in a voice that told Daniels he had no choice but accept this time.
Daniels pushed Liz to walk and as they made their way down the gangplank to the plane he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “I hope you enjoyed your little flight because it’s the last taste of freedom you’ll ever have.
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“How are you feeling now?”
Maria blinked slowly and focused her gaze on Liz. “Peachy.”
“Any more contractions?”
“No, they stopped. I’m ok.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Liz asked.
“Wake me up from this nightmare?”
Liz smiled ruefully. “I wish I could. I’m going to back up the beach and see if I can help. You should probably stay here. I… is there anybody…were you with anybody on the plane?”
“No.”
Liz patted the pregnant girl’s arm and stood up. She took a moment to steel her nerves before stepping down to the beach and approaching the crash site. The wreckage of the place was strewn around in a hellish fashion. A lot of it was smouldering or burning. The noise had quietened considerably since she and Maria had left it an hour ago and the chaos of earlier had calmed.
It was apparent why within moments.
The Doctor had taken control of the situation. A dozen bodies lay on the beach, covered with blankets and clothes. Further away from the wreckage a makeshift triage area had been set up where he was calmly but quickly going from one person to another. A number of people were standing around, occasionally jumping up to do something when he gave an order. Nearby, the injured but not critical people were resting on the ground being cared for by the walking wounded. Some people were still wandering around the wreckage in a dazed manner.
As Liz watched a man gave a shout. He was standing close to the amputated wing of the plane. Immediately, two other men joined him. One of them cast away some metal and an upturned seat and Liz saw what it was that had attracted their attention. She could see a pair of legs sticking out from under the wing. The legs of a child.
Liz covered her mouth in horror and rushed forward.
“…too heavy. There’s no way we’re going to be able to lift that,” one of them was saying.
“What if we dig some of the sand away?” the younger man beside him asked.
“Then it would just fall on top of her and crush her further,” the third man said with a shake of his head. He was taller than the two other men by several inches.
“Is she still alive?” Liz couldn’t help blurt out.
The three men looked at her sharply.
“She’s too far under to get a feel of her pulse,” the shorter young man said. “I’m Kyle by the way and this is my dad Jim.”
Liz glanced at the taller man expectantly, he just knelt down to take a closer look at the young girl underneath. “She’s alive. We might be able to get her out. We just need something heavy to place here and here to stop the wing from crushing her. Can you see if you can find something?”
Jim and Kyle hurried away quickly. Liz knelt down beside the unnamed guy. She placed her hand on the girl’s leg, it felt lifeless to the touch. “How can you tell she’s alive?”
The man scowled darkly. “She moved. The guy up there ordering everyone around, he’s a doctor. Tell him what we’ve got here and see if he can come take a look.”
“Oh…ok.” She stood up and ran up the beach.
The doctor saw her running towards him and came to meet her. “Is she ok?”
“I don’t think so, she’s trapped under a wing and….oh, you’re talking about Maria. She’s fine, but there’s a little girl on the beach and she’s being crushed by one of the wings. They want you to come down and take a look.”
“Ok,” the doctor turned around to another man. “Keep pressure on that woman’s wound, and don’t let that man move, his neck is broken. If you need me I’ll be down there.”
He and Liz trotted down the sand together to the spot where the little girl was trapped under the wing. A lot had changed in the short time Liz had been gone. The metal that was crushing her had been propped up and some of the sand around her had already been dug away.
“I guess it wasn’t as bad as we first thought,” Kyle shrugged seeing the look of surprise of Liz's face.
“That’s it. I think we could probably pull her out now,” Jim was saying to the other guy.
“No, wait,” the doctor exclaimed. “It might not be safe to move her yet. Hold on,” he knelt down beside her and reached under the metal as best he could. A moment later he pulled back. “Get her out of there, gently.”
The tall guy nodded, reached in and gently lifted the tiny girl out. Hot tears formed in Liz's eyes as he lay her on the ground. The child was little more than five or six. Her long wispy blonde hair fanned out in the sand around her like a halo adding to her angelic appearance. Her eyes were open and unfocused.
The doctor immediately began to perform CPR.
“Is there anything we can do?” Liz asked.
He shook his head and continued pressing on her chest. After a minute it became apparent that he wasn’t going to be able to save her. He looked up and met Liz's gaze. She could see the anguish and conflict in his eyes. He could save the girl in the same way that he had saved Liz but at what cost to himself? Almost imperceptibly, she shook her head. Don’t do it, she pleaded silently, there are too many people watching and Daniels is around here somewhere
The doctor hung his head and stopped pumping the girl’s chest. “She’s gone. I’m so sorry.”
Liz knelt down in front of him and took his hand. “It’s not your fault. She couldn’t have survived.”
“You did everything you could,” Jim said, placing his hand on the doctor’s shoulder. Liz saw the pain in his eyes and knew what he was thinking, that he hadn’t done everything.
“You did everything you could,” she repeated to him softly. From the triage area came a cry for the doctor. He rose to his feet to leave but stopped and turned back to Liz.
“Are you alright?”
She nodded. “I’m fine.”
He gave her the smallest of smiles before leaving. She looked down at the tiny body. “What do we do with her?”
The tall guy scooped her up gently as though she was really only asleep and he didn’t want to wake her. “I’ll put her with the rest of the bodies.”
“We’ll keep looking, there still might be others that we haven’t found yet,” Jim said.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” the guy said, he turned and stumbled, almost falling to the ground. Liz and Jim rushed to catch him.
“You ok son?”
“Guerin,”
“What?”
“It’s Guerin, not son.” He shook off their hands and continued on. Jim wiped his brow and went to help his son looking for other survivors trapped under the wreckage. Liz stood alone on the sand wondering what to do. She felt useless but didn’t know how to help. All around her so many people were hurt or dying and she was fine, barely a scratch on her. And it was all thanks to the mysterious doctor.
He paused at what he was doing to take off his jacket and run his hands through his hair. Liz grabbed a bottle lying in the sand and jogged over to him. “Here,”
“Thanks,” he took it from her gratefully and gulped half of it down.
“You did the right thing, you know?” She told him.
The doctor shook his head. “It feels like I didn’t.”
“You had a choice to make and I know it was an awful choice but you had to make it. She had been crushed by an aeroplane, I don’t think she was alive when they pulled her out anyway. There was really nothing that could have saved her. Not here, probably not anywhere.”
“I could have saved her.” He said hoarsely.
“And all these other people, could you save them?”
He shook his head regretfully. “Not all of them. There’s too many.”
Liz gently turned him to face the people behind him. “Look, you are saving their lives. Without you, they wouldn’t have a chance. By the time help gets here, most of them would be dead if you weren’t here. And it’s not because you have a magic power, it’s because you have the knowledge and the ability as a doctor.”
He said nothing for a moment but closed his eyes and tried to gather his inner strength. “Thank you.”
“Is there anything I can do here? I don’t have a medical degree but I know first aid and I studied biology at college.”
“I think Alex might need help over there,” he told her pointing to the place where the walking wounded were sitting.
She left him to tend to the critically injured and went to find Alex. A tall, lanky guy who looked like a teenager but was probably about her own age met her. There was something vaguely familiar about him.
“Hey there,” he greeted, almost cheerfully. “How are you doing?”
“I’m ok, the Doctor said that you guys might need some help over here. I’m Liz.”
“Great, mostly everyone here is ok. Broken legs or arms, bleeding, hysterical, that kind of thing. I got clothes from a couple of cases and I’m going to use them to make bandages and slings.”
“I’ll help,” Liz offered.
Together and with the help of a couple of other people, Liz and Alex tended to the injured as best they could. Some people were dispatched to find small sticks to make splints and crutches. Others were given the task of cleaning wounds. Liz gave one woman the job of going through suitcases to find anything that would be useful for them. She was told to look out for sewing kits and superglue especially.
“I don’t think it’s too bad,” Liz told a young woman a little later as she cleaned off a cut on her thigh. “It probably needs stitches but as we don’t have any thread I’m going to use superglue.”
“On my leg?” The woman asked in horror. “I don’t think so. You might not understand this because your legs are so short but these legs are my fortune and I am not going to allow you to superglue it together. No way.”
“Alright, if you’d prefer to leave it open and pray that it doesn’t go septic, then it’s your call,” Liz stood up to show that she was done but the blonde reached out, grabbed her hand and pulled her back down again.
“Septic?”
“I’m sure that help is on the way and we’ll be rescued very soon, but it may be some time and there are other people in worse conditions than you who’ll have to be seen to first. So if you want to wait, I’m sure that it’ll be ok if it’s left open until tomorrow.”
The blonde bit her lip nervously. “Will the glue make it scar worse?”
“It’s probably better than stitching for preventing scars,” Liz assured her kindly.
“Ok,” the blonde lay back dramatically and waited for Liz to do her stuff.
Liz worked quickly and within minutes she was finished. She stood up and gathered her things. “Keep some pressure on it for a while to make sure it sets and don’t get it wet for about 24 hours.”
The blonde pulled her sunglasses over her eyes and lay down.
“You’re welcome,” Liz chimed sarcastically and moved on to the next patient.
After another hour had passed there was not much else she could do so Liz walked back up the beach to find Maria. She carried a bread roll and a piece of fruit that somebody had been passing around. She found Maria standing at the water’s edge, letting the water wash over her feet.
“How are you feeling now?”
“I’m fine. I mean I’m totally wigging out but I’m not about to go into labor right now,” Maria smiled. “Is it….really bad…there?”
Liz nodded, she could feel hot tears forming in her eyes but she forced them back. “Yeah, it was. The doctor and a couple of other guys have it pretty much under control…as best they can given the situation.”
“Do you think I’d be allowed to go back up there with you? I’m kind of getting lonely here all by myself and it’s really creepy. The whole time I was here I could have sworn that I was being watched,” Maria laughed and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “I’m probably being paranoid. My boyfriend used to say….”
Liz waited but Maria didn’t continue. She just looked out at the horizon. “The sun’s going down now.”
“I think it should be ok if you come back up the beach. If it’s too much let me know and we’ll come back down here together,” Liz offered.
“I’m ok you know. I’m not going to break just because I’m pregnant.”
“I know,” Liz smiled. She took the blonde’s hand and gave her a little pull to free her from the wet sand.
When the wreckage came into view Maria paused and shook her head. “I can’t believe that this happened and so many people survived.”
Liz thought of the little girl and the line of bodies she had seen Jim and Michael pull from under the wreckage. It was a lot but then, considering that the plane had fallen from the sky, it really wasn’t. “Yeah, we were really lucky…I mean….it could have been a lot worse.”
They made their way up to where most people were gathered, eating whatever food had been recovered from the wreckage. Everyone was facing the water, their eyes eagerly scanning the horizon for any sign of the help that was surely coming. Jim and Kyle were building campfires.
“It’s been four hours now. They’ll be here soon,” Alex was telling an elderly lady. He looked up and saw the two girls and approached them. “Hey, you’re pregnant.”
Maria looked down at her stomach and then back up at Alex. “I was wondering what that was.”
“No, I mean, are you alright? I didn’t see you around here earlier. Do you need to see the doctor?”
“I’m ok, I was up the beach. The doctor sent me away because he was afraid I was going to freak out and give birth there and then,” Maria said with a shrug.
“I didn’t think that. I just didn’t want you to be further distressed,” The doctor said with a grin as he joined them. “How are you feeling now?”
“I’m fine. No more contractions. It’s kicking as normal.”
“Good.”
“Actually, um…I need to pee,” Maria said, her face turning an interesting shade of pink.
Alex stepped forward and took her arm. “We’ve divided the forest up into the men’s and ladies area. Come with me and I’ll show you.”
“Thanks for all your help,” The doctor said to Liz as soon as they were alone.
“I didn’t really do much,” Liz shrugged.
“Alex said that you took complete control here and did most of the bandaging and gluing. That was a good idea by the way,” he smiled.
Liz scuffed the sand with her feet. “I read about it once. How’s everyone…?” She flapped her hand in the direction of the area where he had been tending the worst cases. She noticed, for the first time that the number was greatly reduced.
“Not great, there were some that there was nothing I could do for them and they…they died. There are others that need help urgently. If it doesn’t come in the next hour…then…we… just pray it comes soon.” He nodded to Liz and walked away.
“Doctor,” Liz called out and ran after him. “I just wanted to say, thank you for saving my life earlier.”
“You’re welcome.”
“How-”
“Please don’t ask me how because I can’t tell you.”
“Ok,” Liz nodded in understanding.
He turned again, but paused. “I’m Max.”
“Thank you Max,” Liz smiled and shook his hand.
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OCEANIC FLIGHT 285, SEPTEMBER 18TH, 3 HOURS INTO FLIGHT.
Aeroplane seats are notoriously uncomfortable. It’s worse when you’re handcuffed to the table and couldn’t lean back.
“Did you know that backs of seats on aeroplanes are set at the same angle as chairs used for torture?” Daniels asked as he adjusted the back of his own seat to recline it.
Liz closed her eyes and willed herself to ignore him.
“You’re being so quiet Elizabeth, no smart remarks to make?” He looked at her and raised his eyebrow. Liz turned her head away from him. “It might be easier if you talk now Parker.”
The plane lurched suddenly and then shuddered. Liz gripped the edge of the table.
“If you want to spare yourself a lot of trouble you should go ahead and tell me everything that you know now,” Daniels went on.
The plane shuddered again and the seatbelt sign came on.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some slight turbulence. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Thank you.”
“We already know a lot of it, we know about Dupont.”
“What?” Liz gasped in shock. Her stomach heaved and it was nothing to do with the way the plane was now shaking.
“Oh, you didn’t know that?” Daniel’s sneered. He leaned back and closed his eyes. “Yes, we know all about your accomplice. It’s amazing what people will tell you when –”
He never finished as the plane suddenly dropped several hundred feet and shook violently. The overheard compartment shot open and a briefcase dropped out onto of Daniels’ head. He slumped unconscious into his seat. Liz saw the opportunity and tried to reach his keys but they were too far away.
A member of the cabin crew saw what happened and was running towards them when the plane gave another massive shudder and she went flying backwards with a scream. At that moment all the masks dropped from overhead. The place shook again and it caused Daniels to shift in his seat, bring his pocket within Liz's reach. She fished the keys out and undid the cuffs. She pulled the mask down to her face and took a deep breath of air. As she struggled to pull the mask over Daniel’s head the plane made a terrifying noise and the back of it broke apart. Liz had one final moment to scream and then all went black.
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“It’s been six hours, where are they?”
It was dark now, as dark as Liz had ever seen. She had grown up in the desert and had spent many nights sleeping under the stars far from town. She had spent months travelling through Australia, camping out most nights but none of that compared to the total darkness of where they were now. There wasn’t a light anywhere except from the magnificent stars above.
Several campfires were burning and Jim had created torches. Most of the people were gathered around the fires in small groups. There was little conversation. Everybody was watching the water and the sky, waiting for some sign of rescue.
Liz grabbed a torch and headed to the trees.
“Where are you going?”
Liz jumped at the sound of the voice and whirled around to find Guerin watching her.
“I have to pee.”
“Careful shortie, don’t let the boogeymen catch you,” He grinned.
“I won’t,” Liz told him sharply. She turned on her heal and pushed past the leaves and grass. It took a few wrong turns but she soon found the place where she had landed six hours earlier. She held up the torch to make sure that nobody else was around, happy that she was alone she stuck it in the ground.
She found the bush where she had hidden the piece of metal that had been stuck in her body. In the dim light it shimmered. Liz frowned and brought it closer to the torch. It looked like silver fingerprints. She put it on the ground and lifted up the hem of her shirt. Sure enough, there was a silver handprint on her stomach.
“Oh my God,” She gasped.
“Ughhhhh….”
She jumped up and whipped around. “Hello?” Liz picked up the torch and shone it at the trees but could see nothing. Then she heard the moan again, fainter this time.
With her heart beating furiously in her chest, Liz moved slowly in its direction. She soon found the source of the sound. A pair of legs was sticking out from under a tree. She hurried forward and pulled away the branches that were covering the man.
“Daniels,”
“H…hel…he..lp….me,” He gasped, a small drop of blood bubbled from his mouth.
Liz hesitated for a moment and then covered his nose and mouth with her hand. He struggled for a moment but he was too weak to fight her off and quickly his hands fell away. Liz waited a full two minutes until she was sure that he was dead. Then she stood up, threw the branches back on top of him and walked away from his body. She stopped only to pick up the metal shrapnel which she hurled into the forest with all her strength. Then she made her way back to the beach.
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This is so well written and intriguing, such a shame that it won't continue.