Lost Virtual Season Three
Episode Nine: "The Life and Death Instincts"
Writers: midnight riot and nycjoc
Credits: at the end of the episode
Rating: PG-13
Special Thanks: to all our faithful readers who have given us such wonderful feedback. On behalf of all the writers we sincerely appreciate it.
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ACT I
SCENE ONE- VARIOUS LOCATIONS ON THE BEACH/JUNGLE/CAVES
The dark gray sky churns overhead, rumbling and flashing with thunder and lightning. The castaways hadn’t expected it to just open up out of nowhere, but when it did, they knew it wasn’t like every other storm.
The wind that rips through the camp is astounding, and it easily explains the sight of destroyed shelters strewn about the beach. The rain pounding into the already-soaked sand shows no sign of letting up, and it’s steady, persistent patter is drowned out by the screams that are carried over by the wind. The ocean water has risen entirely too far up the beach, and it tosses and crashes violently against the shore.
Libby wonders what pissed off Mother Nature so much as she stands near the tree line, taking in the gloom and destruction in front of her. The wind is wreaking havoc on the trees behind her, and she feels rather than hears them shaking and creaking under the weight of it. The shouts of the other survivors reach her ears, but they fade away as she falls deeper into her daze-like state, not believing her eyes.
She feels a tug on her hand and realizes that Hurley is trying to get her to run with him to safety. He is shouting things to her, but she can barely hear him over the ringing in her ears and the roaring of the wind. Relenting, Libby allows him to lead her away into the trees, casting one last look at the beach.
~*~
Claire shoves herself through the moving and fearful bodies of the other survivors, pushing her feet through the wet, thick sand and ignoring the fact that she is soaked to the bone and shivering. She needs to get to what’s left of her shelter, get to Aaron. Failure is not an option right now, because her baby needs her.
Ignoring the shouts of the other survivors that are telling her to get to the hatch with them, Claire doesn’t stop running until a hand clamps strongly over her arm. She turns around to see a determined-looking Ana-Lucia.
“Come on, Claire. We have to get to shelter, now. The storm’s only going to get worse.”
Claire glares at her and tries to wrench her arm out of her grasp. “No, my baby—”
But Ana cuts her off, tugging her arm viciously and dragging her towards the trees. “We have to go!” She tries to break free once more, but Sawyer is suddenly there on her other side, guiding her roughly after the dark-haired woman.
“Lu-Lu doesn’t like takin’ no for an answer, Blondie.”
~*~
Charlie moves through the trees as quickly as the wet, muddy floor of the forest allows. The castaways beside him only have one goal of getting to the hatch or the caves, and they don’t notice as he breaks away from them and hurries off to the side, turning around and shouting over the wind and rain. “Claire! Claire!”
He falters against the wind for a minute, before preparing to shout again. However, an ear-splitting cracking noise erupts through the air, and Charlie turns just in time to see a branch swing through the rain and hurtle itself in his direction. He barely manages to dive out of the way, his torso rolling through the mud and water as he rolls even further away from the other survivors. Groaning, unwilling to get up from his position on the ground, he feels the rain hit his face for a few seconds before opening his eyes and looking up to see John Locke standing over him.
“Wonderful.”
~*~
Michael grips Cindy’s arm tightly as they follow the sound of his son’s voice barely making it to them as it floats in on the wind. He feels her shaking under his touch, and knows that she is scared, that this disaster could very well be the end of their lives on this island. As he thinks about what he, Cindy and Walt have already been through, he promises himself that he will not let this be the end of them.
“Vincent! Vincent! Dad, I can’t find him! I have to find him!” Walt’s voice gets stronger as they finally spot him on the beach, and they both race towards him. Cindy beats him there by about a second and flings her arms around him.
“Don’t you dare run off like that again, Walt,” Cindy shouts in a firm, angry voice. “We need to stay together in this. I can’t lose you now.”
Michael stares at Cindy briefly as her fierce protectiveness and love for his son shines through. He cannot believe he is so lucky to have found a woman like her, a woman that quite possibly loves his son as much as he does. And as he grabs Cindy’s arm again and pulls them both close to him, he can’t help but press a gentle but firm kiss against her lips, startling them both but also warming his cold insides. He makes another promise to himself that he will take of them both, and will make sure they both get out of this alive.
Walt breaking apart from them snaps Michael back to reality, and he feels himself get frustrated again as his son takes off. “Walt,
dammit—” But the sight of a teary-eyed and frightened Sun clutching Walt’s arm makes his anger die in his throat.
“I cannot find Jin.”
~*~
Jack gently but awkwardly bounces the crying Aaron in his arms as he studies the chaos in the hatch around him. Rose kindly holds out her arms for the baby, and Jack gratefully hands him over as he continues his mental head-count.
“People are missing, Jack,” a weepy Kate tells him. “Not everyone made it.”
He looks around at the handful of survivors that have made it to the hatch, and he thinks about the large number that didn’t. Sighing, he turns back to Kate. “I know, Kate.”
“Bernard didn’t make it,” Rose says softly, looking down at a now-hiccupping Aaron. Eko stands stoically behind her.
“We have to trust that he has made it to safety,” he rumbles. People start protesting immediately, shouting at Jack as they realize that their friends and relatives are missing, too.
“We have to do something,” Kate insists, and Jack doesn’t think about the fact that Sawyer is missing, just like Kate doesn’t think about the fact that Ana is missing. This isn’t the time for that.
“I know,” he says wearily, putting his head in his hands and sighing.
~*~
Sawyer leans against the wall of the cave they’re in, watching as Ana-Lucia tries to comfort the sobbing Claire.
“He’s out there somewhere, Ana!” she screams, wrenching her arms away from Ana’s soothing and fluttering hands. “I need to find him! He’s my baby, I can’t just leave him!”
“Look, it’s not safe for any of us to be out there right now,” Ana insists. “We need to stay here. Going out there would be suicide.”
“If something happens to him, Ana—” Claire starts in a low, dangerous voice. But before she can continue with her threat, the sound of someone pounding on the closed barrier in the opening of the caves interrupts, and all three castaways turn to look at it.
Claire and Sawyer both watch as Ana lifts the barrier with the rope to reveal a drenched Sayid. Sawyer smirks at him.
“Well, praise Allah, Muhammad has arrived.”
~*~
Libby follows Hurley through the wet and slippery jungle. It has now registered that they are trying to reach the hatch, though it looks to her like Hurley might be a bit turned around. She spots Bernard walking with them and tries to remember when it was that he joined them. But the sounds of the storm and dread that her stomach is filled with is clouding her head and messing up her thoughts.
She knows that something bad is going to happen. She can just feel it. She had no idea what, though. She is scared to find out.
Suddenly, she hears Hurley give a shout and realizes that a crazed, frightened-looking Jin has run straight into him. He is babbling in Korean and she has no idea what he is saying; she can only make out, “Sun! SUN!” Libby realizes that his wife must be missing; her heart aches suddenly for him, and the ache joins with the dread to create this awful, pulsing, dark feeling inside of her. She turns away as Hurley and Bernard try to calm Jin down.
“Dude, dude, calm down, okay? We’ll find her, it’ll be okay.” Hurley is not as confident as he is trying to sound, and he hopes the fact that he is shouting over the wind will just make his voice stronger.
Before he can reassure Jin again, a thunderous roaring sound suddenly fills the air, louder than even the deafening wind. The three men instinctively put their hands over their ears, and Hurley hurriedly reaches back to grab for Libby, coming up with…empty air.
His shout of “Libby!” is lost in the wake of the noise, and when it finally dies down, he shouts it again. “LIBBY!”
Because Libby is gone, leaving the trio alone in the jungle, the rain and the wind still pounding relentlessly against them.
SCENE TWO-FLASHBACK TO LAWYER’S OFFICE IN SAN DIEGO
Libby shifted in her stiff leather chair and crossed one leg neatly over the other. Beside her, her sister Julie rolled her eyes and sighed impatiently as the lawyer in front of them once again shuffled his papers in preparation.
“Come on, would you just read it already?” Julie snapped petulantly, and Libby sighed and glared at her sister. “What? He’s just wasting time. I have a meeting in a half an hour.”
Mr. Douglas smiled apologetically at the two sisters. “Thank you both for being here today. I’m sorry to have taken so much time from you, but since you are the only two members of your family that this applies to, it was very important for you to be here.”
Julie snorted. “Yeah, Mom says thanks for that, Aunt Beth,” she said towards the ceiling, and Libby glared at her again.
Mr. Douglas went on as though he hadn’t heard her. “As you both know, you’re here for the reading of the last will and testament of Ms. Elizabeth Collins, and—” He trailed off as Julie’s heated glare met his face, and he cleared his throat and continued nervously. “Uh, well, alright, I’ll just skip to the relevant paragraphs, here. ‘To my eldest niece, Julie, I bequeath—” He paused and cleared his throat nervously again, as though dreading what was to come. “—‘the ownership of my beloved dog, Henry. I trust that she, as a avid animal lover, will take good care of him.’” Julie’s face reddened in rage, and she opened and closed her mouth, but no sound came out. Libby noted that she seemed too angry for words.
Mr. Douglas continued quickly before she could burst out with something. “—‘And to my youngest niece, Elizabeth, I leave all of my worldly possessions, as well as all of my accounts, investments, and other assets, totaling in—” He gulped once more, looking up as Julie burst from her seat. “—‘115 million dollars. You were always my favorite, Elizabeth, and I hope this will allow you to follow those dreams like you should.’” The lawyer looked up from the paper and jumped as Julie picked up the lamp from his desk and flung it at the wall.
“This is insane!” she screamed. “I get the—the freaking dog and she gets all the cash? That’s ridiculous!”
“Julie, I—” Libby started, but Julie cut her off.
“Don’t. Don’t apologize or try and smooth this over. I’m sick of you. You’re not sorry about this. Now you get to go off to your stupid shrink school like you wanted while I stay stuck in my crappy two-room apartment and my 30 grand a year job. Just go to hell, Elizabeth. And make sure you take your meds, hon. Wouldn’t want to lose all your money in one of your episodes. I’m not gonna be around to take care of you anymore.”
Libby stared at her sister in shock as she slammed out of the office. Slightly dazed, she turned back to the lawyer.
“Um—you should probably bill me for the lamp.”
SCENE THREE- UNKNOWN LOCATION IN JUNGLE
Libby struggles to make out what the whispers that are surrounding her are saying. Through the fog of her brain, she realizes that Hurley, Jin, and Bernard are gone, but she can’t bring herself to wonder where. She moves as though she’s underwater, slowly and sluggishly, and she wants to know what hell is wrong with her.
Suddenly, something registers. “You always were my favorite, Elizabeth…” Libby’s eyes widen and she whips around, calling out in a shaky voice, “Aunt Beth? Are—are you there?”
The wind and rain is whirling around her, and she is shivering as she wanders further through the trees. She has no idea where she is, where she’s going, or why she’s going there; she just wanders and listens to the whispers. She remembers vaguely that they are not to be followed, but she finds herself just not caring.
In flashes, through the rain, Libby sees Aunt Beth, but she knows it’s her mind playing tricks on her, knows this can’t be possible. Her head is weary with the weight of this storm, and she is just under stress. That’s all.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows that something else is going on, but she refuses to deal with it just yet…until that something else is suddenly standing right in front of her.
Libby lets out a scream, and just like that, her daze lifts. “No!” she shouts, backing away from her Aunt Beth and trying not to slip on the wet ground. “No, you can’t be—you—you’re dead!”
Aunt Beth smiles grimly. “You always were my favorite, Elizabeth…” Her smile suddenly looks twisted. “But that doesn’t mean that you’re good enough…”
She doesn’t even want to know what her aunt is talking about; she just starts backing away. “Look, this isn’t real,” she says, more to herself than Aunt Beth. “It’s a hallucination, caused by stress—a—and—and—”
“Repression, Elizabeth?” her aunt finishes, and Libby glares at her.
“Do—do not call me Elizabeth,” she says firmly. She stares at her aunt for another minute, silently willing her to disappear, then shakes her head and starts tearing in the other direction, yelling out, “Hurley!”
And—there’s Aunt Beth, right in front of her again. Libby screams and stops, then shakily demands, “Why are you doing this to me?”
And suddenly, Aunt Beth looks furious. “You know why, Elizabeth…”
“Don’t call me that!”
“Do not make this harder, Elizabeth. Just come with me…”
Aunt Beth holds her hands, and Libby stares at them for a minute, then catches herself actually considering it and backs away. “No!” she says firmly, then turns around and runs again.
Aunt Beth doesn’t follow her this time.
SCENE FOUR- THE HATCH
Kate sees how stressed Jack is; she watches him pacing back and forth near the counter. The din in the hatch has settled down a little, and Aaron has stopped crying, but Jack is still worried, and Kate thinks she knows why.
“You know you’re worried about her,” she says softly to him. “I’m worried about her too.”
Jack shakes his head and glares at her. “Don’t kid yourself, Kate. You’re worried about Sawyer.”
Kate colors and avoids his eyes. “I’m worried about them all. They’re all out there somewhere—we don’t know if they’ve made it to shelter or not. They could be dead. This storm is bad, Jack—”
“Yeah, like I didn’t know that, Kate.”
“But you’re not doing anything!” she shouts, slamming her hand down on the counter. He just continues to pace. “You’re still just thinking about what we should do, and you’re not doing anything. They could be hurt and they could need our help—”
“Sawyer can take care of himself, Kate,” he says lowly, which just makes her angrier.
“Okay, Jack, you really need to get over yourself,” she spits. “This has nothing to do with Sawyer. This has nothing to do with any feelings I don’t or do have for him. There is a storm out there, a deadly monsoon, and God only knows how long it’s going to last, and people are still out there. No matter who they are, and no matter how I feel about them, they need our help, and all you can do is throw my supposed ulterior motives back in my face.”
Jack looks like he wants to respond; he opens and closes his mouth, then just shakes his head and walks off, leaving her fuming. Eko spots her clenched fists and set jaw and tries to reason with her.
“He does not want to take any rash action,” Eko explains. “He is right.”
Kate glares at him. “Yeah, well. He’s not taking any action. And I’m sick of that. They need my help and they’re going to get it.” Not letting Eko try and talk her out of it anymore, she stalks off.
Jack looks down at where Aaron is squirming calmly in the bunk, surrounded by blankets to keep him from crawling or rolling away. He smiles sadly down at him and grabs his small hand, shaking it around a little bit. “You miss your mommy, huh?”
Aaron gurgles in response and Jack feels his stomach clench a little. “Don’t worry, buddy. I’m gonna figure something out and get her back to you, okay?” He lets out another little gurgle and tightens his fingers around Jack’s. Jack swallows thickly and looks Aaron in the eye. “I promise, buddy. Your mom’s gonna be okay.”
SCENE FIVE- THE CAVES
Claire tightens her arms her knees and stares at the opposite wall of the cave through bloodshot, teary eyes. A few feet away, Ana-Lucia, Sayid, and Sawyer debate over what to do.
“We will stay here,” Sayid says firmly, and Ana sighs, casts a glance at Claire, and then nods.
Sawyer, of course, argues. “Goldilocks ain’t gonna stay here long without her kid, boss. And how do we know he ain’t drownin’ in a puddle somewhere?”
Claire gasps and lets out an involuntary sob, and Ana glares at Sawyer. “Way to be sensitive, Cowboy.”
“Jack would not let anything happen to Aaron,” Sayid says, looking over at Claire as though to reassure her. “We have to believe that he has taken responsibility for him.” Sawyer rolls his eyes.
“Jacko has his head so far up his ass—“
“Look, this isn’t an open forum for Jack bashing, Sawyer,” Ana cuts in angrily. “Sayid’s right. No one would just leave that baby unattended, especially not Jack. Aaron’s probably sucking down formula at the hatch right now, I promise you.”
Claire angrily gets to her feet, arms wrapped around herself. “You don’t know that. You wouldn’t even let me get to him—you wouldn’t—you made me leave him. How could you do that?”
Ana looks sad, but still determined. “There wasn’t time, Claire. You would’ve been killed if you’d gone back to the beach. Aaron’s okay. No one would let anything happen to him.” She looks like she’s trying to reassure herself as well as Claire, and the blonde picks up on it.
“You don’t know anything,” she spits angrily. “If I lose my child, I will hold you responsible. I will make you pay. I need to find him, Ana. I need to save him.”
Ana looks guilty, yet resigned. “You can’t. Not now. It isn’t safe.”
“I don’t care!” Claire shrieks, and she descends into sobs again, turning herself away from the three other castaways. Sayid looks at her sympathetically, then walks over and puts a hand on her arm, trying to offer some comfort.
Sawyer looks at Ana. “Wow, so you’re a hard ass on everyone, huh? Even poor little mothers who just wanna protect their child. Of course, you wouldn’t know anything about maternal instincts—”
“And you would?” Ana snaps, clenching her jaw and glaring at Sawyer viciously, before toning it down a bit; she doesn’t want him to see how his comment affects her.
“Nope, can’t say I would, thank God—” A loud creaking sound from the barrier cuts him off, and Sawyer looks over at it disdainfully. “Wonderful. And now we gotta worry about The Great Wall caving in on us. Who built this thing, anyway? Chuckie and Mike? That’s reassuring.”
She doesn’t answer, just smiles a bit, grateful for the change in subject.
SCENE SIX- FLASHBACK TO UCSD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Libby hurried through the mills of students as she checked her watch again. Dammit, still five minutes late to class. She kept focus on her watch, as though staring at it could turn it back a few minutes, and promptly ran right into someone.
All of the folders in that someone’s arms toppled out, and her eyes widened apologetically as she automatically bent down to pick them up. “Oh—I am so sorry!” she exclaimed as the person crouched down next to her. Papers had strewn out of the folders, and she stuffed them back in as neatly as she could.
“It’s okay, really, I wasn’t looking either,” came the deep male voice, and Libby looked up at the blue-eyed stranger smiled apologetically.
“Yeah, I was just—you know, head in the clouds.” The man chuckled as they both stood up, and accepted the folders she had picked up for him.
“Thank you for helping me. I’m meeting with the chair-person at the Alzheimer’s Research Center, but that’s not for twenty minutes, and if you’d let me, I’d like to thank you properly by buying you coffee.” He flashed her a dazzling smile, and Libby couldn’t help but return it.
She almost forgot about her class until she looked down and saw her Behavioral Psychology book. “Oh, I’d love to, really, but I have class…”
“So, how about later, then?” He smiled again, and right then, she knew she was a goner. “Look, here’s my number. Call me later and we’ll just grab something quick.” He handed her a slip of paper, and she nodded dazedly. Then she caught herself acting like an idiot and smiled.
“O—okay.”
“Good. I’ll talk to you later.” He turned to walk away, before stopping and looking back. “Oh, and my name is David, by the way.”
Libby’s smile widened. “I’m Elizabeth.”
~*~
“Come on, Elizabeth! I have a surprise for you!” Libby giggled as she allowed David to pull her down the sidewalk towards the marina. She had wondered where on earth he was taking her until she realized they had reached a slip, and he was gesturing excitedly at a boat she saw there. Libby’s eyes widened as she spotted the name of the boat.
“Oh, David, you didn’t—”
“I did!” He grinned at her, and she smiled back weakly.
“Hon, you didn’t have to name a boat after me. Whatever happened to just a good old-fashioned tattoo?”
David laughed loudly, hugging her to him and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We’ve always been fairly unconventional, haven’t we? I mean, that’s what I get for dating a shrink, right?”
She giggled back and smiled up at him. “Clinical psychologist, hon. And come on. I wanna check out my namesake.”
David bounced a little and led her quickly onto the boat. Libby gasped as she spotted the beautiful dinner set up on the deck, complete with candles and champagne. “David…”
“Oh come on, I’m not allowed to spoil my girlfriend on our two-year anniversary?”
“You didn’t have to do all this.”
“I wanted to.” He kissed her deeply then, and she closed her eyes and kissed him back with everything in her. When they broke apart, she kept her eyes closed for another second, just breathing him in. When she opened them, he was down on one knee. Libby’s eyes widened.
“Oh!”
“Elizabeth, I love you more than anything. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. I want you to be my wife.” He pulled out a box, and she felt tears sting her eyes. “Will you marry me?”
Blinking back her tears, she pulled him to his feet and allowed him to slip the ring on her finger before wrapping her arms around.
“Yes,” she whispered, and it felt so good.
~*~
“Hey Vinnie, got anything for me?” Libby’s smile was forced and her face was tight as she faced the smarmy private investigator. Vinnie currently had his feet obnoxiously propped up on her desk, and if she didn’t desperately need his information, she would’ve shoved them off.
“Well,” he said, drawing the word out and making her clench her jaw. “I have good news and I have bad news.”
“Just tell me, Vinnie. Did you find out who’s been stealing money from my inheritance?”
“Yup.”
“So tell me, now.”
“Okay, okay, sheesh. Aren’t shrinks supposed to be nice or something?” Off her look, Vinnie nodded nervously. “Okay. Well, I checked out your sister, Julie, like you said. Nothing there. So then I did a little digging, and the genius that I am, I figured it out. Here’s the bad news: it’s your husband.”
Libby’s eyes widened. “What? That’s impossible. I told you, someone’s been stealing from my private inheritance account. He’s obviously taking from our shared account.”
“No, listen, I’m telling you. He’s been transferring your inheritance into some offshore accounts. I’ve got copies of the withdrawal slips and everything.” He handed them over, and she stared at them in disbelief. Then she sighed and put her head in her hand.
“So, what’s the good news, Vinnie?”
“Well, I tailed your husband for you, and I got a few money shots—I’m billing you extra for that, by the way. Turns out, not only is he stealing from you, he’s cheating on you, too!”
Her face colored, and she glared at him. “How is that good news, you bastard?”
“The good news is, he’s cheating on you with your sister. And I’ve got proof. So now, you can divorce him for everything he’s worth—including everything he stole from you.” Vinnie grinned, than leered at her. “And hey, if you’re looking for a rebound guy—”
“Get your feet off my desk and get out, Vinnie!” Libby could’ve hit him, she was so angry. When he didn’t move, she jumped up and swept her arm forward, knocking his feet off and then hurtling the lamp against the wall. He staggered out of the seat.
“Oh, well, you’ve got my card. Later, Libby.” Vinnie left, and Libby stared after him, before sitting back down and sobbing into her hands.
SCENE SEVEN- UNKNOWN LOCATION IN JUNGLE
Libby finally lets out a breath when she sees Hurley, Bernard and Jin. She throws herself into Hurley’s arms and sobs into his chest. “I—Hurley, I got lost—I’ve been seeing things—my aunt—but she’s dead and I didn’t—I couldn’t—”
“Hey, hey,” Hurley says soothingly, holding her close and smoothing down her hair. “You’re okay. Gees, Libby, I was so scared, I didn’t know where you were—don’t run off again, okay? You just disappeared on me, dude.”
“I—I was so scared, and I couldn’t find you and Hurley, she’s dead, Aunt Beth is dead, and I’ve been seeing her and she just won’t go away—I haven’t—I haven’t seen her since I was—not since I was in that—that place and—” She stops speaking coherently then, just crying into his shoulder as he thinks about what she’s just said.
“Libby, hey, what place—” But suddenly, he freezes as he gets a flash of Santa Rosa, and Libby’s there, in a robe, with dark hair. He can see himself nodding to her as he walks by, Dave chatting amicably by his shoulder, and Libby doesn’t acknowledge him—it’s like she’s not even there, even though she is. His eyes widen and he pulls away from Libby to look her in the eye. “Libby, were you—”
Jin interrupts then, speaking to them in broken English and gesturing towards the jungle. “Sun, find Sun, storm—hurt!”
Bernard tries to placate him. “Jin, I’m sure she’s okay. Look, Rose is missing too, but she probably got to the hatch—”
“No! Find her, now!” And suddenly, Jin takes off deeper into the trees, and not wanting to lose him, Jin follows, shouting after him.
Libby pulls Hurley closer to her before he can continue his question, and he relents, holding her close and trying to calm her. She closes her eyes for a minute, just leaning into his shoulder, before opening them and spotting Aunt Beth behind them.
She screams and Hurley whirls around, looking over to where Libby’s looking. “Libby? What is it?”
“Go away!” she screams at Aunt Beth, who just smiles at her. “Just leave me alone!”
“You know I can’t do that, Elizabeth. Don’t make this hard…”
“Libby, look, this isn’t real,” Hurley says, eyes wide but tone soothing. “Whatever you’re seeing right now—it’s not real. Just—just hold my hand and it’ll go away. Come on, Libby.”
“I was the good one!” Libby sobs. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“You know that’s not true anymore, Elizabeth…”
“Don’t call me Elizabeth! My name is Libby!”
“Libby! It’s not real, Libby! It’s just your imagination!” Hurley can see that his words aren’t reaching her, and he fails to keep the desperation out of his voice.
“I did what I had to do,” Libby says to her aunt, wishing she could wipe the smile off of her face.
“Elizabeth, Elizabeth…always choosing the hard way. Just come with me, and make this easier…”
“I—I—” And suddenly, Libby is in her daze again; the sounds of the wind and the rain are fading away, as well as the sounds of Hurley voice. Suddenly, she can’t imagine why shouldn’t go with her aunt…her aunt loves her…she was the favorite…
She starts moving forward, arm outstretched, barely aware of doing it. She whispers, “Okay,” before she can stop herself. She can hear Hurley shouting, but it sounds very far away…she can almost forget that they are in the middle of a monsoon when her Aunt Beth is this close, offering to make everything easier…
“Libby, NO!” Hurley shouts as he grabs her arm and pulls her back. And there is that roaring sound again, loud and ear-splitting and tremendous. This time, though, he clamps onto Libby tight and holds her close; he’s not letting her go, not now, not ever.
And there, he should’ve known, the monster is tearing through the trees. Hurley’s afraid as the black engulfs them, but as he feels consciousness starting to fade away, his last coherent thought is that Libby is holding onto him just as tightly as he is to her. And that makes him feel a little better.
END ACT I
Lost Virtual Season 3
Episode Nine-"The Life and Death Instincts"
Act II
SCENE ONE- UNKNOWN LOCATION IN JUNGLE
Charlie is breathing hard, his hand constantly swiping at his face unsuccessfully trying to keep the water out of his eyes. He is unnerved, his thoughts all focused on whether Claire and Aaron are safe. Whether they made it to a dry place. Leaning against the tree is Locke, chest moving rapidly up and down, a slight pained expression on his face. Charlie steps closer to him.
“Think we’re close eh?”
Locke nods. “Yeah. Just a few more steps that way. We’ll be at the hatch.”
“You okay?”
Locke just shakes his head trying to catch his breath. Charlie stares at him a moment before letting his eyes fall downcast. They wait in an uncomfortable silence, Locke measuring Charlie, knowing there is something on his mind.
Finally Charlie glances at him.
“You think Claire’s okay? You think she got to Aaron?”
“I don’t know, Charlie.”
Charlie pushes away from the tree. “Maybe I should go check.” He takes a step forward when Locke’s voice stops him cold.
“That would be a very foolish thing to do.”
Charlie spins around almost slipping on the wet earth. “She may need help. They could be out there hurt. I gotta to help her!
“How? We can barely see to get to the hatch. We have to shout just to speak to each other. If you go wondering off you’re libel to get hurt…”
“I don’t care!” Charlie snaps, flinging his arm and whipping water at Locke’s face. “I need to know if they’re okay.”
“Look, we can just go wondering off in this mess—”
“Fine. I’ll go and you head towards the hatch.”
Locke sighs. “Charlie…”
A piercing scream penetrates the thunderous sound of pouring water and their shouting match.
The men glance at each other, Locke pushing himself slightly off the tree.
“Did you hear that?”
Locke nods. “It came from that direction.” Locke points behind Charlie.
“Think we should check it out?”
Locke just moves like he is going to do so but a sharp pain in his leg sends him tumbling back against the tree. Charlie reaches for him, keeping Locke from bumping too hard into the wood.
“My leg. All the walking in the rain…it’s just too much.”
Charlie looks back and forth at him and the dense forest behind him. He is afraid the scream might have been Claire’s but he can’t just leave Locke either. Finally sighing to himself he faces Locke saying, “Rest up, then. We still need to get you back top the hatch.”
Both men face the direction of the scream minds wondering if something terrible followed in its wake.
SCENE TWO-YET ANOTHER LOCATION IN JUNGLE
The wind is pushing them around like rag dogs just adding to misery of the downpour of rain that has all four drenched to the bone. Michael feels like he is drowning in the rain. A part of him wants to panic but his fear for his son keeps his outward appearance cool and calm. Mike holds Walt’s hand tightly as they race through the monsoon. Every so often Walt calls for Vincent trying once again to get to the dog. Once in a while Walt would try to pull away from his father but Michael grips his hand pretty tightly.
“Walt we’ve been through this. Vincent can take of himself. We have to look out for us.”
“But Dad—”
Mike pulls his son closer, “No, Walt. I know you’re worried but we it’s dangerous and you can get hurt. We need to get to shelter. We don’t know how long this will last, how dangerous our environment will become. I won’t lose you again Walt. So please, for me, just stay calm. Vincent will be fine. Okay?”
Walt nods slowly, his face sad as he shudders from the drenching water that clings to him. Michael pulls him close and they step towards Cindy who is trying to calm Sun.
Sun shakes her head. Like the others she is shaking like a fig, her hair plastered to her head making her seem small and fragile. Cindy pulls Sun close, hoping to reassure her.
“I must find him. I have to,” Sun says. “What if he is hurt. What if—”
“What if he is already at the hatch or maybe the caves. He could be at shelter waiting for you. Sun, there is nothing you can do. We have to protect ourselves. You have to take care of yourself—”and your baby.”
Sun shakes her head, “But—I cannot leave him out there. He would not leave me.” She knows that in her heart despite what had happened between them.
Michael comes closer to both women. “We have to go. It’s not good for us to just stand here. We need to find shelter. Sun, Jin will be all right. But we won’t be if we stay out here roaming around in this storm.”
Sun starts to speak when a loud roar bursts through the sound of heavy wind and rain. All four freeze, hearts pounding, eyes wide. The force of the sound is followed by the wind kicking up and pushing them back. All four cluster closer together in an instant hug. Moments later Michael’s face turns to steel.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” He moves Cindy in front of him, who takes Sun’s hand. Sun grabs onto Walt and Michael brings up the rear, gripping his son’s other hand. They move with an urgency away from the awful sound, hoping that they will find shelter soon now that yet another threat has presented itself. No one needs convincing. Sun only glances back once as they disappear further into woods, saying a silent prayer that Jin would return to her safely.
SCENE THREE- FLASHBACK TO LIBBY AND DAVID’S SAN DIEGO APARTMENT
The blood was everywhere. The splatter pattern was reflective of the anger, the frenzy of the perpetuator. Libby glared down at her now dying husband with mad contempt. What she found surprising was that she didn’t feel breathless from her efforts. She was just still. The bat was slick with blood and she could hear the whimpering of her sister in the corner. Libby didn’t remember when she snapped. She didn’t remember when exactly she knew that she would raise her bat and take out all her rage, her hatred towards this man that had tormented her mind, stole so much from her.
Earlier, she invited her sister and husband to a Sunday brunch. She told David that she needed to tell him something so he needed to be there. He pretended to graciously give up a day of impressing his boss. Today, she hadn’t taken her medicine. She didn’t need the fog of those drugs clouding her mind. No, she wanted to have clarity, the likes of which she’d never had before. It was her blind trust in this man that led to this anyway. Her trust in him as he did everything possible to make her fall in love with him, so that he and that bitch she called her sister could steal from her. And he had succeeded, of course. Libby loved him. She loved him so much that the pain of his betrayal was so much worse. Just looking at him across that table made her rage. Yet a small part of her hoped that it wasn’t true. A small part of her wanted him to repent and beg her for forgiveness if it was true.
She let them finish their meals. She remembers thinking that it was their last meal. The thought making her cackle like a crazed witch. David stared at her warily; her sister’s smile was of ice. Libby felt herself about to explode so she excused herself quickly, teeth gritted against the weight of all of this. She walked to her bedroom, mind racing. Did they make love on her bed? Was there anything more to their relationship than just conning her out of her money? Did he love her? The mere thought made her go the closet and grab the bat. A signed bat from her David’s favorite player. She got it for him not too long after he got her the boat.
Libby always loved irony.
She walked slowly and quietly out of the room. The sight of the two of them there, sipping wine and gazing contentedly over at each other was enough to make her snap; enraged, she swung the bat until it hit the wall, cracking the plaster and sending the white powder of it to the floor. She ignored it and studied their startled faces. David slid from his barstool and started walking slowly and cautiously over to his wife.
“Elizabeth, what’s the matter darling?” Though he was hesitant, Libby could see that he thought he still had the upper hand in this.
“I want to know how long you thought I would be played for a fool, David.”
He softened his eyes and reached out a soothing hand to her. “Elizabeth. Did you forget your medication?”
That did it. His patronizing, condescending voice of false concern. She swung the bat so fast that David had no time to react. David fell back hard to the ground. In the back of her mind she heard her sister scream but she didn’t care. She swung the bat repeatedly and as she swung she let him know everything.
“I know about the money David. I know about you and that slut you call my sister. I know about everything. I know that our whole relationship was just to steal my money from me. And I know that I fell for it. Does that make you happy, David? Does it make you proud to know that I loved you? ” She swung again, hitting him hard in the back and surprising a smile at the satisfying sound it made..
David raised his hand. “Lizzie, please.” His voice was muffled; he was barely conscious now.
“Please? Are you serious? You think you can beg me now? Well, you can’t. It’s too late, David. It’s done.” Something at that moment disappeared inside of Libby. She didn’t have any mercy. Any love she’d ever had for David disappeared, consumed by her fury and—yes, her disease. Any regret for her actions vanished, and now—now, it was over.
“Guess I should’ve taken my meds, huh, hon?” Libby let out an inhuman laugh, something so deep and evil she couldn’t believe it had actually came from her. But she had no regrets. Not anymore.
She stepped over him, not giving him another look, and approached her cowering sister.
“Time’s up, Julie.”
“No! No, no! Wait! He made me do it! I had to! He threatened to kill me!”
“You said you weren’t taking care of me anymore.” Libby raised the bat. “Now I finally believe you.”
“Elizabeth!” Julie screamed. “Elizabeth, please. Believe me, I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I was angry. But I’m your sister; I’ll take care of you now, I promise. I’ll always take care of you. We’ll take care of each other, always. Please, you need to trust me.”
And suddenly, Julie was speaking in a calming voice so unlike her usual one. She was soothing and convincing, slowly moving from her corner and desperately trying to get through to her sister. And just like that, the darkness in Libby that had spread so quickly lifted, and she felt a sob move through her body as she dropped the bat.
“I—I thought he loved.”
“I know, sweetie. I know. I’m so sorry.” She allowed her sister to fit her arms around her as she felt her heart break in half.
~*~
Libby stood on the boat watching the body sink to the bottom of the ocean. After the body disappeared, she walked back to a small table on the deck and poured herself another glass of champagne, sipping them slowly as she smiled for the first time in months.
Beside her, Julie eyed her worriedly, but made no comment, just patted her hand lightly. “I’m going to take care of you, Elizabeth. I promise.”
“I know.”
“We need to get rid of this boat. And we should get out of San Diego.”
Libby squeezed her eyes shut as she thought back to that day at the marina; the best day of her life. She nodded once and opened them again, forcing all thoughts of that day to the back of her mind.
“I know.”
SCENE FOUR- THE JUNGLE
Libby lies on the ground, trying to catch her breath. Around her and the unconscious for of Hurley, the rain pelts the ground and a gust of wind blows debris over her. Libby’s aunt and the monster are nowhere to be found. Libby jerks once, gasping for air. When she open her eyes she fully expects to see Aunt Beth reaching for her but all she sees is the drenched rain forest. She takes stock that she is still alive when her thoughts turn to Hurley. Getting up, she crawls over to him touching his face. She strokes his cheek before letting it slid down to his shoulders. She shakes him gently.
“Hurley. Hurley wake up.”
Hurley’s eyes squeezes together before opening. “You’re still here,” he says groggily.
She nods, tears forming in her eyes, “Yes, I’m still here.” She looks up to see that her aunt has reappeared sneering at her.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she whispers.
The two women glare at each other before Libby breaks eye contact. She smiles down at Hurley.
“Let me help you up.”
They stand and Hurley pulls her close, kissing the top of her head. They head off in each others arm, Libby never looking back.
As they walk, Hurley tries to reassure Libby. “This island makes us see some freaky things, I’m telling ya,” he says. “And with this storm coming through, just picking up all those ghosts and dumping them right in front of us. Don’t be too worried about it, Libby.”
As he speaks, he looks up and sees Dave for a second, but shakes his head and looks back at Libby. “I’ll make sure the ghosts stay away from you. Promise.”
Libby stops hugging him close, smiling against his chest, “I know.” She glances up at him, their eyes communicating feelings that they have yet to confess.
Hurley swallows. “Let’s get out of this rain.”
Libby nods.
SCENE FIVE- THE CAVES
Ana has been watching Claire for the past hour. She is worried about the girl who is staring out towards the cave entrance faintly rocking herself. Ana understands the woman’s pain. Sighing she walks over to Claire squatting.
“Hey, you okay?”
Claire turns her face further away from Ana.
“Claire. I wasn’t trying to keep you from Aaron. We needed to get to safety and I know that no one would leave him out there alone. If you would have raced out there, you could have gotten hurt or lost and then what would happen after this god-forsaken rain stops fallen. We needed to get to safety. You needed to get to safety. Claire…”
By this time Claire’s face literally is now towards the wall to her right. Ana reaches out to touch Claire’s shoulder but she stops closing her hand before standing and walking away. As she walks she hears arguing in a different part of the caves. She walks over to that part of the tunnel to find Sawyer and Sayid at each other’s throat.
“…how long the storm is gonna last. I ain’t gonna stay in this cave-in waiting to happen.”
“That’s exactly what you will do. If you go out there no one will follow—”
“I don’t care. I’m not staying here waiting for someone to pick us up!”
“We are waiting here because it is the safest thing to do. Think Sawyer. If you go running out of these caves, Claire will follow. It is too dangerous for both of you.”
“That’s not my problem, Sayid. I’m gone. The rain ain’t so bad as before so I’m heading to more solid foundation.”
Sayid places his arm in Sawyer’s way.
“Move it out the way or I’ll break it off,” Sawyer growled.
“Sawyer, calm down.”
“You calm down and move out of my way.” Sawyer steps forward and Sayid blocks his path. Annoyed Sawyer swings at him. Sayid moves back, the blow just grazing his chin. He grabs Sawyer, pushing him back and Sawyer digs in his heels. The two men begin throwing wet punches, pushing each other. Sayid manages to get a punch in Sawyer’s stomach. He groans but rears up, hitting Sayid in the chest and making him stumble back into another part of the cave.
Both men grab each other locked in a tight embrace of wills. Both have an arm around the other’s neck and are bent over swinging wild punches into their opponent. By the time Ana gets there the men have stumbled to the ground and are rolling around trying to get control over one another.
Ana shakes her head in disgust before whistling sharply. Sayid pushes off of Sawyer as Sawyer takes another wild swing at him.
“Hey, what the hell is wrong with you two?” Ana says feeling like someone’s mother standing there with her hands firmly place on her hips.
The men just glare at each other without comment. Ana took note of the dirty streaks tinged slightly with blood on both their faces.
“Fine. It’s over. To your corners, children. As if we don’t have enough problems, I now have to baby-sit grown men acting like two year olds.”
“Next time stay out my way,” starts Sawyer.
“You need to act like you have more brains than air in your skull Sawyer.”
The men start arguing again and Ana shouts at them to shut up.
Meanwhile, Claire stares out towards the cave entrance with a determined glint in her eye.
SCENE SIX- FLASHBACK TO COFFEE SHOP IN LA
“Is that him?” asks Libby.
Julie nods. “Yeah. I know about him from work. The boss wanted to get rid of him. Something about his daughter.”
Libby glared at her sister, “You better be right.”
Julie dared to roll her eyes. “Just hurry up already.”
Libby approached the man overhearing his order. When she heard his claim of being short on American currency she made her move.
“I’ve got it.” Libby placed the money on the counter.
The man, who we see is Desmond, started to reject her offer. “That’s not necessary.”
Libby smiled at him. “It’s just four bucks.”
He turned away, “Yeah. I don’t suppose you have 42,000 more of those do you?”
They walked away from the counter approached a table. “I don’t know. Depends on what it’s for.”
He chuckled. “I was just joking.”
Libby gave him a measured look. “No you weren’t.”
They find a table and Desmond held the chair for her and Libby took a seat. After he sat, he dug into his bag and pulled out a brochure for a sailing race. He showed it to Libby who pretended to be interested in it. There was also a picture of her sister’s company Widmore on the front.
“So, a sailing race around the world?”
Desmond nodded. “Yeah. I have eight months to get into the best shape of my life. I’ll tell you what, Miss I’m going to win.”
Libby glanced at him. “And what do you get if you do?”
Desmond’s face turned cool. “What really matters is who I win it for.” He turned over the brochure and pointed at the picture.
Libby read the name. “Charles Widmore?”
“He tried to buy me off. And when I didn’t take his money, he took away the only thing in the world that I ever truly cared about.”
So this is what Julie was going on about, Libby thinks. Then she asks, “Who is she?”
Desmond took the brochure. Grimly he says, “His daughter. I was…unsuitable on several levels.”
“And what’s the 42 grand for?”
“It’s a wee bit complicated. As of yet, I don’t actually have a boat.” He noticed the pained expression on Libby’s face. “Sorry, did I say something wrong?”
Libby closed her eyes briefly before speaking. “I have a boat. It was my husband’s but—but he got sick. He wanted to sail the Mediterranean—he never—” She took a deep, shuddering breath, wishing that 90% percent of these feelings weren’t real. “He passed away about a month ago.”
Desmond covered her hand with his. “I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “Thank you. It was hard.” Then she smiled up at him. “Why don’t you take the boat? I want you to have it.”
“No. I can’t take your boat, Miss.”
“But you have to. He’d want you to have it. I know.”
“What’s your husband’s name?”
“David,” Libby said, trying to keep her voice steady.
“What did he name the boat?”
She fought to keep from tearing up at the memory as she answered. “Elizabeth. He named it after me.”
Desmond squeezed her hand. “Then I thank you, Elizabeth. And I shall win this race for love.”
Libby didn’t blanch at the irony; she kept a straight face and was proud of herself.
~*~
She stood at the desk, signing the necessary paperwork. The pretty nurse behind the counter smiled at her. “Welcome to Santa Rosa, Libby. We’ll take good care of you here.”
She knew it was for the best; it had nothing to do with what Julie had been convincing her of. Libby needed to be taken care of, and she needed someone besides her sister to do it. She knew that now.
As she finished signing away her freedom, she noticed a heavyset man with a gentle smile walking by. She caught his eye and smiled back at him. He seemed kind of drugged and before it could really register that she was smiling at him, she too was being lead away by orderlies.
SCENE SEVEN- THE HATCH
Libby and Hurley finally make it to the original hatch entrance found by Locke and Boone. The rain has beaten on them so much that they are practically walking blind. They barely see the entranceway which is covered with huge branches and leaves, like some sort of protection against the elements. Hurley knew that the work was down by the practical Sayid. They fall to their knees moving the branches away and Hurley helps Libby down. Then he lowers himself, trying at the same time to move the branches as best he could over the entrance.
Inside the hatch the others greet them. Rose ushers them in, giving them blankets.
“There’s tea prepared in the kitchen.” She says. Then she notices Jack hovering by them. “Come get some when your through.”
“Thanks Rose,” says Hurley. Rose smiles at him but doesn’t go off too far. She too wants to hear the answer to Jack’s question.
“Did you see anyone else?”
“No man. We were with Jin…” Hurley hesitates glancing at Rose. “We were with Jin and Bernard but Jin took off looking for his wife and Bernard followed him. We haven’t seen them since.”
Rose shakes her head sadly before moving on. Jack touches Hurley’s shoulder, nodding before leaving himself. There still isn't anything he can do about the others until the storm passes but at least two more are at the hatch safe.
Jack walks through the hatch until he spots Eko. He glances around noticing that Kate is missing.
“Eko. Have you seen Kate?”
“The last I saw of her, she had went off in that direction. I couldn’t stop her.” He point towards the hatch door.
“What?” Jack shakes his head. “Thanks.” He runs to the door to find Kate trying to wrench the door open. Jack’s eyes widen.
“Kate! No!”
He makes a grab at her to stop her.
~*~
Hurley and Libby have found a nice private corner to settle. They have several blankets wrapped around them and Libby is curled close to Hurley. He is beaming. He has never been so happy in his life. If someone had told him that he would be this close to Libby, in fact any girl he would have laughed them off. Now in his arms is a beautiful woman who he cares for deeply.
Libby shifts, glancing up at Hurley. She notices his smile.
“What?”
“I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“Me, too.” She smiles back at him.
In that moment, seeing her beautiful eyes and smile, Hurley knows he has to tell her.
“I love you, Libby.”
He watches her face for her reaction. At first she is shocked; then her face turns pained until finally an expression of sadness settles over it. Hurley instantly regrets speaking.
Libby gently pushes away from him. She shakes her head as the tears form in her eyes.
“Hurley. I…you can’t love me. You can’t…”
“Why?”
She looks way trying to think of a good way to say it but then realizes that there isn’t a good way. She faces him, looking him in the eye.
“Because—because I’m a murderer.”
Hurley’s eyes widen, but before he can say anything, there’s two shouts and a huge rush of water as Jack and Kate are thrown back into main room by the force of the flood. Hurley instantly tries to protect Libby as the water rushes toward them, momentarily pressing them against the wall. As the water level rises, there are shouts and screams. Libby faintly hears someone shouting about Aaron.
Jack and Kate are on the floor trying to regain their ability to stand. As the water comes Jack looks around and slowly shakes his head.
SCENE EIGHT- THE CAVES
Ana can’t believe her luck. The two idiots are still arguing and fighting. She has now positioned herself between them and every so often has to duck down to avoid getting hit herself. Finally she pushes hard off both of them and just as Sawyer comes back, she grabs him around the waist and hauls him away.
“Let me go. He needs to learn when to mind his business.”
Sayid doesn’t move just standing in his neutral spot. “You need to calm down Sawyer. This is not the time.”
“I’ll tell you what time it is,” Sawyer snaps.
“Just shut it,” Ana says cutting him off. “Sayid, go check on Claire. I got this.”
As soon as Sayid starts to leave she starts yelling at Sawyer. “What is wrong with you? This isn’t the time to see whose is bigger,” she shouts. “I swear, you have no self-control!”
He smirks. “And you love it.”
She looks like she wants to slap him. “You know…”
A piercing scream echoes through the cave followed by a loud rush of when giving the impression that a tornado just passed through. Sayid had yet to fully leave the area, starts running. Ana and Sawyer follow him, quickly. The sight before them is causing them all to gasp. The barrier in front of the cave has collapse and water is rushing in. Ana glances around as the water rises past her ankles.
“Oh my God,” she whispers. “Claire! Claire!”
The three of them look around but it is Ana who notices Claire pushed up against one of the cave walls. Ana slowly approaches her, sloshing through the water. Squatting down, she touches Claire’s arm causing the girl to fall on her back. It is then that Ana notices a piece of the barrier protruding through Claire’s shoulder.
LOST