It's sweaty work; her shirt -- maybe it belongs to that girl, too -- clings to her, and she's starting to wish she hadn't lost the band she'd been using to pull her hair back.
Stopping for a minute, she turns her face skyward and takes a long breath.
When the blonde from the other day -- the woman Sawyer said would've shot her without batting an eye -- shows up next to her, she's more than a little surprised.
The woman holds out one of those hoods she remembers having put over her head when they were first brought here. "I'd like you to put this on and come with me. Please."
"You think I'm going to put a hood over my head because you said please?"
Not a chance.
"No, Kate," she answers in an overly patient tone. "I think you're going to put a hood over your head because the man standing behind me, the one who's burning a hole in my back?" It's Danny behind her, just feet away, but his attention's not on them. "That man is going to kill Sawyer."
She almost flinches; her chest suddenly aches, like her ribcage is too heavy to let her lungs expand.
In the same low patient tone, the woman goes on: "But if you put this on and you come with me, there's something you can do for us that will save his life."
She aims a backward look at Sawyer before she jerks the hood away, but it's Danny she looks at through narrowed eyes before she covers her own head.
A hand takes her by the upper arm.
I'm taking you to see Jack, Kate, she's told, and she can hear the thumping of her own heart under the woman's words. We need him to do a very important operation, and he's been showing reluctance to agree to it. What we need you to do is talk to him and convince him to operate for us.
If she can do that, they won't let Danny touch Sawyer.
It's one foot after the other, and there are no answers for any of her questions: who needs the operation? why does Danny hate Sawyer so much?
They go through one door and then another, and she feels a strange stillness in the air around her.
The hood is removed, and she blinks as her eyes adjust to the dim lighting in the room.
And there's Jack on the other side of a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling window. At first she wonders if he can see her or not, but he immediately walks up to the window and puts both palms on it.
She hesitates, and the woman leaves the room, claiming she's giving them privacy.
Like she believes for a minute that this is private, but she's irresistibly drawn to the window and she hates the unhappy twitch of her mouth as she mirrors Jack in resting her hands on the wall.
"Hey." Jack's studying her like he's not sure whether to believe it's really her at all. "You okay?"
"Yeah." The corner of her mouth still twitches, but she bites the inside of her lip and nods. "You?"
"Yeah, I'm great. Where are they keeping you?"
She lowers her hands. "Outside. In a cage."
He asks about Sawyer, too, and when she says they're being put to work, he gives her a look that's a little incredulous, but he never takes his eyes off her. "Work? On what?"
She almost shrugs. "I don't know what it is, but it's big. We're hauling rocks, and..."
He'll never agree to the surgery they need done, and she's not sure she can convince him. She doesn't want to have to convince him.
They shouldn't be here.
"Hey, did they hurt you?"
That's all it takes, and she has to shut her eyes to try to keep back tears.
He says her name again, says it's going to be all right, but it's not going to be okay. How much longer do they have here? Her eyes are wet when she opens them. "Jack, you have to do it, this thing that they told you. This operation."
She'll never forget the shocked look on his face. He looks up, away from her. "What did they do to you?"
The tears that make it to her cheeks are hot, and she shakes her head.
"What did they do to you?" he demands.
Just 24 hours ago she was asking Sawyer the same thing.
But then everything changes: reality shifts and slides back into place. She's left almost dizzied, surprise keeping her from letting out a choked Jack, and where he was, she now sees the door that'll take her back into the hotel lobby.
no subject
Stopping for a minute, she turns her face skyward and takes a long breath.
When the blonde from the other day -- the woman Sawyer said would've shot her without batting an eye -- shows up next to her, she's more than a little surprised.
The woman holds out one of those hoods she remembers having put over her head when they were first brought here. "I'd like you to put this on and come with me. Please."
"You think I'm going to put a hood over my head because you said please?"
Not a chance.
"No, Kate," she answers in an overly patient tone. "I think you're going to put a hood over your head because the man standing behind me, the one who's burning a hole in my back?" It's Danny behind her, just feet away, but his attention's not on them. "That man is going to kill Sawyer."
She almost flinches; her chest suddenly aches, like her ribcage is too heavy to let her lungs expand.
In the same low patient tone, the woman goes on: "But if you put this on and you come with me, there's something you can do for us that will save his life."
She aims a backward look at Sawyer before she jerks the hood away, but it's Danny she looks at through narrowed eyes before she covers her own head.
A hand takes her by the upper arm.
I'm taking you to see Jack, Kate, she's told, and she can hear the thumping of her own heart under the woman's words. We need him to do a very important operation, and he's been showing reluctance to agree to it. What we need you to do is talk to him and convince him to operate for us.
If she can do that, they won't let Danny touch Sawyer.
It's one foot after the other, and there are no answers for any of her questions: who needs the operation? why does Danny hate Sawyer so much?
They go through one door and then another, and she feels a strange stillness in the air around her.
The hood is removed, and she blinks as her eyes adjust to the dim lighting in the room.
And there's Jack on the other side of a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling window. At first she wonders if he can see her or not, but he immediately walks up to the window and puts both palms on it.
She hesitates, and the woman leaves the room, claiming she's giving them privacy.
Like she believes for a minute that this is private, but she's irresistibly drawn to the window and she hates the unhappy twitch of her mouth as she mirrors Jack in resting her hands on the wall.
"Hey." Jack's studying her like he's not sure whether to believe it's really her at all. "You okay?"
"Yeah." The corner of her mouth still twitches, but she bites the inside of her lip and nods. "You?"
"Yeah, I'm great. Where are they keeping you?"
She lowers her hands. "Outside. In a cage."
He asks about Sawyer, too, and when she says they're being put to work, he gives her a look that's a little incredulous, but he never takes his eyes off her. "Work? On what?"
She almost shrugs. "I don't know what it is, but it's big. We're hauling rocks, and..."
He'll never agree to the surgery they need done, and she's not sure she can convince him. She doesn't want to have to convince him.
They shouldn't be here.
"Hey, did they hurt you?"
That's all it takes, and she has to shut her eyes to try to keep back tears.
He says her name again, says it's going to be all right, but it's not going to be okay. How much longer do they have here? Her eyes are wet when she opens them. "Jack, you have to do it, this thing that they told you. This operation."
She'll never forget the shocked look on his face. He looks up, away from her. "What did they do to you?"
The tears that make it to her cheeks are hot, and she shakes her head.
"What did they do to you?" he demands.
Just 24 hours ago she was asking Sawyer the same thing.
But then everything changes: reality shifts and slides back into place. She's left almost dizzied, surprise keeping her from letting out a choked Jack, and where he was, she now sees the door that'll take her back into the hotel lobby.
Behind her, she hears the sliding door close.