The Woman from the Plane [Lost Fanfiction]

Chapter 9: Displacement

Valerie woke up in a cage. She was on her back—staring up at the bars of the polar bear enclosure on Hydra island.

"Oh, for the love of fuck, Linus, you predictable asshole," she muttered to herself.

She should have known that he'd pull something like this. She was an idiot for actually believing that he was starting to trust her.

But as irritated as she was with Ben, she wasn't overly concerned. He was making a point—he wasn't going to kill her. He might not believe her story, but she was a puzzle to him. He wouldn't get rid of her until he understood why she was here.

"Audrey?"

It was Kate's voice. Valerie sat up.

"It's Valerie, actually, Kate." She winced, expecting to be berated. "Sorry for lying about that—really."

"Is Wednesday awake?" a voice asked.

Kate nodded. "Yeah, she's alright."

Valerie blinked a few times and rubbed the back of her head. She assessed her situation. She was sharing a cage with Kate. Sawyer was across from them, alone in the other enclosure.

"What the hell is going on, Wednesday? Who is he? Why did he knock you out?"

She looked at them both, wondering if there was any way to explain the situation to them.

"Ben—he's—he's a fucking moron," she told them, rubbing the back of her head.

"Dean?"

"His name is Ben. He's the man in charge. This place—this isn't just some tiny island in the middle of nowhere."

"We figured that out, yeah," Kate interjected harshly.

"It's really hard to get here, and it's even harder to leave," she continued, ignoring Kate's anger. "You're not here accidentally—the plane was supposed to crash here. That's why I was on it."

"What do you mean 'supposed to'?"

She ignored the question. "The people who live here are scared of outsiders—scared of the outside world finding their island. And they have no way of sending you all home. It's just not possible. Maybe a few people but—"

"Why do you keep saying they?" Sawyer asked. "We know you're one of them."

"I'm not. I'm not from here. I was sent here to help him. He really does have a tumor. We wanted to find a way to break the truth to you gently—to convince Jack to operate."

"He's not your husband?" Sawyer exclaimed.

"Who sent you?" Kate said at the same time.

Valerie shook her head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. It doesn't matter anyway." She pulled herself up and started pacing. "I can't believe he dumped me here," she muttered to herself. "That man is impatient and stubborn and so fucking stupid, and nothing at all like—"

She stopped in her tracks.

"Fuck," she said suddenly. "I need to go."

She looked up and found the camera. She flipped her middle finger at it. "Eat shit, Linus," she shouted, and slipped through the bars.

She turned to Kate.

"Before you try to follow me, you should know we're not on the Island—this is a small island just off the coast." She glanced at Sawyer. "I'm sure you won't believe me, but there's nowhere to escape to from here, unless you're comfortable with a long swim, or you've got a boat."