dimples, james "sawyer" ford

fifty

the morning sun crept through the thick canopy as sawyer, lana, and locke hovered over the two captured men. tension was thick in the air.

sawyer's gaze was locked on the man who had finally broken under pressure, cunningham. he was about to lead them to the others' camp when suddenly, without warning, the other captive, known only as "jones," lunged at cunningham and snapped his neck with a brutal twist.

"what the hell?!" sawyer shouted, his voice sharp with disbelief. he quickly aimed his gun at jones, but it was too late. jones was already on the move, sprinting into the jungle.

locke watched him go, his face unreadable. he had a clean shot, but he lowered his rifle, not taking it.

sawyer's blood boiled as he saw his opportunity slipping away. "what are you doing, john? shoot him!"

locke remained silent, eyes distant, focused on something only he could understand. frustrated, sawyer brought up the stolen gun in his hands and fired at jones, but the shot missed, the man disappearing into the dense trees.

"damn it!" sawyer cursed, glaring at locke. "you just let him go!"

locke's calm, unshakable demeanour made sawyer's anger burn even hotter. "there's a reason for everything," locke said quietly.

sawyer turned to lana, his expression a mix of frustration and desperation. "you believe this crap?"

lana shook her head slightly, but her eyes were on sawyer. "should of let me take the shot, cowboy. i might be better than you after seeing that." she tried to lighten his mood.

sawyer's eyes flickered over her face and she noticed the way his lips turned up the smallest bit as he shook his head. "you ain't funny, carlson."

lana stifled a laugh then motioned with her head to where jones had run off to. "we can't let him get away."

sawyer nodded, and without another word, the three of them set off into the jungle, following jones' trail. the air was thick with the smell of damp earth, and the occasional rustle of leaves indicated the man they were pursuing wasn't far ahead. the chase felt endless, every step crackling underfoot as they moved swiftly through the dense brush.

locke led the way with an eerie confidence, like he knew exactly where he was going, despite sawyer's doubts. "he's leading us somewhere," locke said over his shoulder, his tone cryptic as ever.

"yeah, right into a trap," sawyer muttered under his breath, but he kept going, trusting his instincts to guide him.

eventually, they arrived at the others' camp, hidden deep in the jungle, its presence cloaked by the natural landscape. jones had already blended into the crowd of armed others.

a woman, fierce and authoritative, stood away from the group, holding a gun to daniel faraday and juliet's head. lana nudged sawyer beside her and pointed at the scene.

as the pair began to step through the trees, locke spoke up. "we can't help them."

sawyer clenched his jaw and turned back to the man. "the hell we can."

locke looked at both of them before moving in the opposite direction, towards the big group of others and their camp. lana rolled her eyes as sawyer and her continued with their plan.

the two of them walked behind the woman quietly, and after positioning themselves, sawyer was the first to emerge from the jungle, his gun aimed directly at the woman.

"drop it," sawyer barked, his voice cutting through the tense air. "i won't ask twice."

her eyes flicked toward him, then to lana, who had also stepped out of her cover. she hesitated, but seeing no way out, she slowly lowered her gun. faraday let out a sigh of relief.

"good call," sawyer said, stepping closer. "now, why don't you tell us what the hell is goin' on here?"

before anyone could answer, the familiar sound of a high-pitched ringing filled the air. sawyer's stomach dropped. another time shift.

"not again," lana whispered, her voice filled with both awe and fear.

in an instant, everything shifted. the ground trembled slightly beneath their feet, and when the light faded, the others' camp—the woman in front of them, and all of their captors—vanished. what had been a bustling camp was now nothing more than an empty clearing, surrounded by trees and silence.

sawyer, lana, juliet, and faraday stood alone on the plain where the camp had been moments before. locke stood in the middle of a where the tents had been, looking unfazed as usual and staring out into the distance, as if waiting for some unseen force to guide them again.

sawyer's mind raced. "great. just great," he muttered, lowering his gun to the side. "we keep getting pulled around like we're in some kinda crazy dream."

faraday broke the silence, his voice shaky but determined. "we're running out of time. we have to get to the orchid. it's the only way to stop this."

sawyer glanced at lana, then back to faraday. his frustration simmered just beneath the surface, but he knew they had no other choice but to keep moving. "alright," he said, looking straight at the girl. "let's do this."

the jungle stretched out ahead of them once again, mysterious and unrelenting, as they prepared to face whatever came next.