Fault lines

Chapter 1: The Long con

Chapter 1: The Long con

Disclaimer- This is not my story i take it from Someone alese

Credit -Myren The Nostalgic

It takes two people to make a lie work: the person who tells it, and the one who believes it.

Jodi Picoult, Vanishing Acts

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ACT ONE

Chapter One: The Long Con

"Now what?" Miles whispered urgently into Juliet's ear.

"We wait for James." She peered through the blinds, and spotted him walking towards a house with Horace. She tracked him with her eyes, trying to interpret his body language. He was straight as an arrow, but not stiff. Richard remained seated on the bench.

"How long is that gonna take?" Miles responded, clearly annoyed.

Juliet pursed her lips. "I don't know, Miles."

She felt him groan as he began to pace behind her. But her eyes never left the house. Soon, she saw Horace emerge once more, only this time, he was carrying the dead man over his shoulder.

Where was James?

There seemed to be an exchange, and Horace handed the man off to Richard. Richard's eyes flicked to the house where she was watching, and she flinched. He didn't seem to see her. Once Richard was gone, Horace returned back inside to let them know it was safe to come out.

Juliet debated searching for James, but thought better of it. In truth, she was tired, sore, and filthy, and just wanted to be alone. She knew this compound well, and her feet seemed to know where to take her, even if her mind didn't.

The dock was quiet at this time of night. Despite the lack of danger, most people still chose to stay in their homes, so the air was still as she strode across the lawn. She sat down cross-legged on the worn wooden planks, exhaling heavily as she got comfortable.

Juliet suddenly felt weary. The adrenaline was wearing off and as it receded like the tide, her muscles felt heavy and limp and her mind felt sluggish with exhaustion. She looked out over the water, watching it glisten in the pale moonlight, and though she should have felt worry, confusion, and even panic at their predicament, she truly didn't have the energy to even care.

She was only brooding for a few minutes before clomping footsteps on the dock alerted her to someone's approach. She didn't have to look to know it was James. His uneven footsteps signaled his swagger, and Juliet couldn't help but crack a grin and shake her head. She wondered if he knew he was even doing it.

"I bought us two weeks. Horace said we can wait for the next sub. Any luck, Locke'll be back by then," he called out to her. His voice sounded proud, but even his relief couldn't hide his exhaustion. He sat down on a crate next to her, and she wondered why he'd even bothered looking for her. How had he even found her?

"And then what?"

"What do you mean, 'Then what?'"

She turned to look at him, wondering if he had thought this through. "Locke said he was leaving to save us. The flashes have stopped. They're over. No more bloody noses. We're already saved. That sub behind you brought me here. I've been trying to get off of this island for more than three years, and now I've got my chance. I'm going to leave." She thought she saw a flash of disappointment on his face, but she supposed it also could have been a trick of the light. Surely, he didn't care one way or the other what she did. Why would he?

He sighed, and looked out over the water. "You do realize it's 1974 - that whatever it is you think you're going back to... it don't exist yet." She stiffened. They knew it was the seventies, but now they knew for sure. It was actually, somehow, 1974. Somewhere out there, she was only four years old.