dimples, james "sawyer" ford

fourty eight

sawyer paced back and forth, trying to keep his cool as rose and bernard continued to panic beside him. their voices were frantic, overlapping in their panic as they explained what they had seen—how the camp had simply vanished. everything was gone.

"everything just disappeared!" rose insisted, her voice shaking. "it's like nothing was ever here."

bernard nodded, his face pale. "we don't know what's happening."

sawyer gritted his teeth, frustration bubbling to the surface. it had been one strange event after another, and now the camp was gone too? he clenched his fists, about to snap, when a soft touch on his arm brought him back.

lana stood next to him, her eyes calm, her hand gently resting on his bicep. she didn't say anything, just looked at him with that steady, grounding gaze that always had a way of settling him.

sawyer exhaled slowly, letting the tension drain from his shoulders. he gave lana a small nod, acknowledging her presence. he'd been protective of her ever since they made it back to the island, keeping her close as they moved through the chaos.

"alright, let's all just take a breath," sawyer said, his voice more even now as he turned to rose and bernard. "we'll figure this out. first, we gotta head to the hatch."

bernard frowned. "the hatch? what good is that gonna do?"

sawyer didn't have all the answers, but it was better than standing around panicking. "it's better than staying here with our thumbs up our—" he caught himself, glancing at lana, who couldn't help a smile, and then back at bernard. "just trust me, alright?"

with lana by his side, sawyer led the group through the dense jungle toward the swan station, his irritation simmering just beneath the surface. every crack of a branch, every rustle in the bushes put him on edge. the island felt different, like it was alive in a way that was beyond even its usual strange behaviour.

as they moved, daniel faraday lingered behind the group, scribbling notes in his journal, muttering to himself about "time displacement" and "temporal loops." it was starting to grate on sawyer's nerves.

when they finally reached the swan station, sawyer couldn't hold back any longer. he stormed over to daniel, his patience wearing thin. "alright, faraday," he barked. "what the hell's goin' on with these flashes of light? and don't give me any more of your science mumbo jumbo—give me a real answer."

daniel, startled by sawyer's sudden aggression, fumbled with his journal. "i... i already told you, it's... it's difficult to explain."

sawyer glared at him, his jaw tight. "i don't care how difficult it is. start explainin' or i'll start explainin' with my fists."

with one swift motion, sawyer grabbed daniel by the collar and yanked him forward, raising his hand. before daniel could react, sawyer slapped him, the sound echoing in the jungle.

lana winced at the hard contact of the blonde's hand against daniel's skin. "now talk," sawyer growled.

daniel winced, rubbing his cheek. "look, i know this is confusing. the flashes of light... they're related to the island's unique properties. we're experiencing... shifts in time. it's why the camp is gone. we're... not in the same time we were before."

sawyer raised an eyebrow, still skeptical. "shifts in time? you expect me to believe that?"

daniel nodded, his eyes wide with sincerity. "yes. and... and we can't change the past. we can't interfere."

sawyer crossed his arms, eyeing the swan station ahead of them. "so what, you're sayin' we can't warn 'em? can't tell 'em not to get on the damn helicopter?"

daniel shook his head, looking pained. "no. even if we tried, it wouldn't work. the past... it has a way of course-correcting. no matter what we do, the same things will happen."

sawyer clenched his jaw, hating the helplessness of the situation. "so what? we're just supposed to sit here and let all this crazy stuff keep happenin'?"

"i'm trying to figure it out," daniel replied. "but we need to be careful. if we do anything too drastic, we could cause... even more damage."

sawyer didn't like it, not one bit. but there was something in daniel's tone that told him this wasn't just some wild theory. there was weight behind his words, and sawyer couldn't shake the feeling that whatever was happening, it was way beyond his control.

lana stepped forward, standing beside sawyer. "so what do we do now?"

daniel looked at her, his expression grim. "we need to find the next point in time where we can stabilise. and in the meantime, we stick together. it's the only way we're going to survive this."

ignoring daniel's comments, sawyer stormed toward the swan's back door. he pounded on the metal surface with both fists, shouting into the jungle, "it's the ghost of christmas future! open up!" his voice echoed in the eerie stillness, but there was no answer. sawyer kicked the door in frustration, slamming his fists against it until they throbbed.

eventually, he gave up, his anger spent for the moment. he turned back toward daniel and the others, bitterness etched on his face. "too many people i care about just blew up on your damn boat."

the weight of those words hung in the air, the grief that sawyer had been holding in starting to show. as the group began to move back to the beach, he angrily asked for the red shirt off frogurt's back and stormed ahead, his back stiff with rage.

lana called after him, trying to catch up. "james! wait!"

sawyer slowed slightly, enough for lana to reach him. her hand touched his shoulder, a soft anchor to his turbulent emotions. he glanced at her, his eyes still dark with anger but softening as they locked onto hers.

"don't let this tear you apart," she said softly.

sawyer let out a low sigh, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment longer before turning back toward the jungle. he wrapped an arm protectively around her as they continued their walk, the silence of the jungle interrupted only by the sound of their footsteps and the occasional flash of light illuminating the path ahead.

lana could see how much he was hurting, and as they walked, she leaned closer, whispering, "you're not here alone, james."

sawyer didn't say anything, but the weight of her words settled over him like a balm. he gave a small nod, tightening his arm around her. they were far from figuring everything out, but at least they had each other. in the midst of chaos, that was all that mattered.