Icarus

One

45 days.

45 days since Ren's plane had crashed on an Island.

45 days since they had become stranded.

45 days since her sister and unborn niece had died with the front of the plane.

Those 45 days had changed her more than she'd have liked to admit.

Before the crash, the stupid reckless things that she did had been for fun, now they were for survival.  That tended to change a person.

She relied more on other people too.

She'd never been one to get attached easily, much less let other's in.  That was before it had become necessary for survival though.  That was before she'd lived with these people for 45 days.

Out of everyone, she'd say she was closest with Libby.  After all, the woman had pulled her out of the sand and saved her life.

Bernard was probably second closest though.  His wife had been in the front of the plane, and like Ren, he'd been in the bathroom when the plane had crashed.

It was Bernard who had faith that the front of the plane was on the Island, and that their loved one's were alive.  When he'd asked her what she thought, she'd joke,

"You've got enough faith for the two of us."

And leave the subject alone.

She was close with the other survivors too. For all the time she'd spent off the island avoiding getting attached, she clung like a tick to her new friends.

Ana Lucia, for example, was gorgeous. And though Ren may have had a teeny-tiny bit of a crush on her, she wasn't stupid. She knew she was too young for her, even if Ana had liked girls. Besides, she was pretty sure that Ana and Goodwin had had something going on back before the latter had died. Before he'd betrayed them.

Eko was another person she considered a close friend. A good man, she'd decided, long before he'd spoken. He was a priest, she'd discovered that early on. Maybe the fact that he wouldn't speak had been what had driven her to give her confession. She wasn't religious, not by any means. Not anymore, at least. But she'd felt almost compelled to in the moment, something she chalked up to lack of sleep.

Cindy was lovable, Ren had discovered. A sweet woman, with maternal instincts. She was well aware that she was the youngest on the island, and by default, she would be considered the baby until the day she died- or was left alone. She didn't entertain that last thought for long, though it did haunt her some nights, when everyone else was asleep.

Other thoughts plagued her too. She'd be lying if she said she'd never considered 'falling' off of a cliff. Or wandering into the ocean, 'unaware' of the riptide. Maybe then she'd feel peace. She had no delusions about reuniting with Claire, even in the afterlife- if there was such a thing. Maybe in the next life, she could only hope.

At night, the grief became painful. Eko was the only one who'd seen it. At the time, he hadn't said anything. But his eyes had softened and he'd placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She lost count of how many tears she'd cried over her sister and Claire's unborn child. Certainly more than was healthy considering their prior lack of water.

She couldn't help it though. She was younger than Claire. She knew one day she'd outlive her sister, but not so soon. 

Her 19th birthday had been hard. Two weeks after the crash, her first birthday without her sister. That night, They had stolen more survivors.

Ren feared that they would never be rescued. Much less that all of them would survive to be rescued. Not that she'd ever mention it to anyone.

Now though, she was near the bunker, hacking open a coconut with a sharp rock when Libby appeared with Cindy.  She figured they were back early from fishing.  The only problem with that was the duo had not brought back fish like they should have.  

Instead they carried an unconscious Korean man with a single broken handcuff on his wrist.

"Who's he?"  Ren shot to her feet, coconut on the ground and rock in hand.

"We found him on the beach, washed up on shore."  Libby panted, trying to regain her breath.

"Do you know where Ana is?"  Cindy asked, an almost foreign urgency in the laid back woman's voice.

"I'm here."  Ana spoke up, "Why do you- who the hell is this?"

"We found him washed up on the shore so we brought him to you." 

Ana didn't hesitate in ordering Ren to tie the man up.  She quickly complied, she'd do anything Ana asked, and the woman knew that- though she may not have understood why.

Within a few minutes, the man woke and began to struggle.  

Eko removed the blindfold, asking,

"Who are you?  Where are you from?"

The man replied in what sounded like Korean- not that it was too surprising.

"I don't suppose anyone here speaks Korean?"  Ana asked sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact,"  Ren spoke up, "I don't."

Ana scowled, but otherwise didn't say anything.  After 45 days, everyone knew that humor was her chosen coping mechanism.

"Let's take care of our guest then."  Ana decided.

Two thoughts battled in her brain.  

One was be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test.  The lyrics from one of her favorite movies growing up, Beauty and the Beast.

The other was,

Take care of our guest is a funny way of saying kill him.

"He doesn't even speak English."  Bernard protested immediately.

"Bernie,"  Ren said, already hating the words coming out of her mouth, "He's one of Them, if we don't do this then he'll escape and tell them where we are and I don't want to- I can't loose anymore of you to Them."

"Ren, we found him in the water." 

"He has a broken hand cuff on his wrist."  Ana pointed out.

"I'm not sure that he's a threat."  Eko informed them.

Ren didn't trust their prisoner, but she did trust Eko.  More-so than she trusted herself. And although she'd sided with Ana, she didn't truly want to kill the man.

She nodded and dropped her rock to the floor.  Anna might have joined her in listening to Eko, had their prisoner not broken free and ran.

"He's running!"  Anna shouted, running after him.

"No shit!"  Ren retorted, catching the spear that Eko tossed to her.

When they caught up with the prisoner, he'd reunited with two other men.  Most likely other members of Them.

"Others!"  Their prisoner shouted to two other men.

That's all they let him say.  Eko quickly knocked the three out, and Ren sighed, knowing that she would have to drag at least one of them.

She and Libby were tasked with dragging the blonde one.  

He and the others woke up partway through and began to struggle, making it increasingly harder for them.

By the time they made it to the pit, she took the net from Libby and tossed the man in.  

"Ren!"  Libby hissed as she heard the thump of the blonde man hitting the ground.

"Oops."  

A/N:  Guess who's back bitches!