Chapter Eight

As Kate and Sayid returned to friendly territory, they began to make their way down the beach. They needed to find Locke, and together, the three of them would capture the enemy’s flag. Sayid assumed Locke would currently be guarding either the flag or the prisoners, awaiting his return and intelligence. But as the pair began to veer to the left to make their way to the edge where the jungle met the beach, Jack came bursting onto the scene, flag clutched tight in his fist, running several feet parallel to Kate and Sayid.

A clearly disgruntled Locke, lacking his usual calm demeanor, came from the jungle behind him and began running across the shore. Then, after him, a third figure emerged: Eko.

Eko had soon outstripped Locke, and he had begun keeping pace with Jack. As Jack approached the returning couple, the doctor veered farther away, and when Sayid looked as though he would run after him, Kate held out an arm to stay him. “He’s mine,” she said and tore quickly after the fleeing doctor.

Sayid was not put off from his mission by Kate’s self-assertion; instead, he ran alongside her, determined to beat her to Jack. Why he felt compelled to wrest the honor from her grasp, he did not know, except that the two had been competing with each other ever since the golf game, and now that they were on the same team, this was his only chance to best her.

To his chagrin, however, Kate was her usual determined self; and that determination lent wings to her feet. In moments, she had her arms bound tight around Jack’s waist. Instead of reacting by struggling, Jack greeted the contact at first with embarrassed awkwardness, and then by surrounding the arms that surrounded him. Kate’s forehead crinkled with puzzlement, and she turned her head enough to see Jack’s slow and weedy smile.

Sayid ran past the pair, shaking his head at Kate, who did not perceived the reason for his reproach. She looked down and realized that Jack was not holding the flag at all. He had handed it off to Eko, who was now fast fleeing Sayid.

“I didn’t know you still cared,” said Jack with as much sarcasm as he was capable of mustering. Kate let go of his waist and ran after Sayid.

Sayid, for his own part, was unsure of his success. Even if he caught up with the man, he didn’t think he was going to be able to restrain Eko long enough to say caught three times. And, as he drew up close behind the Nigerian, he was a bit overwhelmed by the sense of his own smallness. When he had been a solider, the gun had proved a great leveler of men; but here, in this game, against this giant…all the training in the world wasn’t going to eclipse those proportions. He strove, but he failed, and Eko did break free.

By then, Kate and Locke had caught up to them, and, through gasping breaths, Locke commanded, “All three at once. All three hold him at once.”

Kate and Sayid merely nodded, and, at that, the trio was off.

Jack had been left without an escort to the guardhouse, so he remained on the beach to witness the mad dash. An odder trio of musketeers he had never beheld. He put a hand on either side of his waist and squinted his eyes as he peered down the beach. His laughter was quiet. Soon he had to run after them just so he could see how the action played out.

Sayid reached Eko first, but he hesitated to grab him; he looked back towards the others, and Locke was motioning for him to take hold, but Sayid wasn’t about to attempt the capture alone. Humiliation, perhaps even more than sorrow, craves company.

Sayid and Eko continued to run, and by the time Locke did catch up, they were very near the border between the two territories. Kate was a step behind Locke.

Sayid waited for Locke to latch onto one side before he would grab Eko at the other, and Kate surrounded him in back. But somehow, through some magnificent volition, Eko kept moving.

“Capture,” the three shouted in unison. “Capture! Cap--”

But it was too late. Before the third word was out, the Nigerian had stepped over the line with the flag, and the three would-be captors released their grips. Eko had won the game for Jack’s team.

Sayid looked relieved to be free of the awkward display and content to admit failure as long as it meant no further mortification. Kate appeared peeved to have lost, but her amusement at the entire strange situation eclipsed that bitter edge, and she was actually half-laughing. Locke alone hung his head in frustration. He smoothed his fingers across the bald top, as though he had hair to run them through, and he pursed his lips and shook his head. But then he pulled himself up straight and extended his hand to Eko. “Well done,” he said. “Good game. I should have chosen you for my team.”

Eko smiled broadly, and without seeming proud, he merely agreed, “Yes, you should have.”

Jack had by now caught up to them, and he was smirking with a bit of self-satisfaction, almost as if he had been the one to claim victory. Approaching the border Eko had victoriously crossed, Sawyer joined the group. “Looks like we won, doc,” he said to Jack. “Would have been sooner if this anxious filly here hadn’t seen fit to incapacitate me.” He sneered at Kate, who returned a very similar expression. Soon enough, both sneers had morphed into legitimate smiles.

Sayid almost found himself muttering, “What do you see in him?” but of course he did not. He supposed, in some strange way, that what Kate saw was herself.

The rest of the scattered team members soon heard news of the games conclusion, and they now all gathered together on the beach.

Charlie danced a little victory jig for their team, which caused Claire to laugh despite herself. “So, what do the losers have to do for the winners?” the Australian asked, as she reclaimed Aaron from Rose.

“Good question,” said Libby with a smile, surveying the opposing team.

Claire turned to the psychologist. “I would say that the guys should have to take their shirts off, if half the good looking ones weren’t on our team.”

Libby looked amused, and with a twinkle in her eye replied, “We could just select one scapegoat to bear the sins of the entire tribe.”

Two pairs of blue eyes soon rested on Sayid.

“Oh no,” he said. “I have amused you ladies sufficiently today.” He began to walk away from the assembled crowd down the beach and towards his tent.

Sun looked at the laughing faces of Claire, Kate, and Libby. “How did I miss out on that?” she asked.

THE END