The Woman from the Plane [Lost Fanfiction]

Chapter 20: No Way Out but Through

Ben awoke with a gasp, flat on his back in the desert. He had a flash of déjà-vu and, for a moment, was surprised to see Valerie lying next to him.

"I fucking hate doing that," she groaned.

"Are you alright?"

"Probably." She rolled over and vomited. "It was worse last time."

He stood up and pulled the parka off, then doubled over to vomit into the sand. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"There you go," she muttered, semi-encouragingly.

Ben could hear hoofbeats. Two Bedouin riders were approaching from a distance.

"We've got visitors," he informed Valerie.

She pulled herself up and threw off her own coat. "Do you want to start with diplomacy, or should we just apologize after the fact?" she asked, squinting at him.

"I'll try to talk to them," he suggested.

She raised an eyebrow.

"They'll get closer to us if they're trying to hear me," he explained, and she tilted her head in tacit agreement.

She stood close behind him as they approached.

He glanced over his shoulder at her. The thin straps of her tank top left her bandages readily visible. He reached into his pocket and slid the wedding band back onto his finger.

"Help," he asked, waving them down. They were both well-armed, and they seemed suspicious.

"English?" he asked.

The men spoke quickly to each other in Arabic. Ben could follow some of it, but their regional accent made it a bit difficult. From what he gathered, they were confused at how he and Valerie had arrived without leaving any tracks in the sand.

"I can explain," he offered. He tried again in Arabic.

"Parlez-vous Français, mes amis?" Valerie asked.

The men didn't respond.

"Please—my wife needs help," he cried out, quickly falling back into their old lie. He gestured at the wound under Valerie's collarbone. "She needs a doctor. Doctor!"

Both men dismounted, approaching the pair. Ben kept his hands in the air as one of the men patted him down. The other man leered at Valerie's chest, but he didn't touch her.

Ben felt the man find the baton in his pocket. He pulled it out of Ben's pants and showed it to his partner, unsure of what it was.

Ben smiled innocently at the man. He glanced over his shoulder locked eyes with Val for a moment. She nodded almost imperceptibly.

He snatched the baton from the man's hand and extended it, immediately landing a blow to his would-be captor's head. The man crumpled to the ground, unconscious. He turned to help Valerie.

Her man was on his back. She'd already slung his weapon over her shoulder.

Ben tried to hide how startled he was.

"What?"

"One of these days, you're going to explain to me why you're so good at that."

"You taught me," she answered. "Obviously."

"I'm not that good," he noted.

"Not yet," she replied. "We had a lot of time to practice. And we needed to make sure we could protect the Island, if it ever came to that."