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Chapter Text

Chapter 1: The Crash

Final boarding Oceanic 815, Sydney to Los Angeles , The overhead speaker repeated.

Maya stood near the gate waiting in the line to scan her ticket and board the plane. She had a small backpack and roller carry-on for her luggage. 

“Okay, I’m about to get on now… Okay, I’ll call you when the plane lands, love you! Bye.” She pressed the off button on her Nokia and placed it in her backpack. Maya was talking to her dad on the cellphone. She had been in Sydney for an internship that summer, well, winter in Australia, but it ended on the 15th of September. She spent the next week taking a break, sightseeing, and packing everything up before the flight back home on the 22nd. She shipped most of her belongings a few days prior and was traveling with just her small roller bag and a backpack. She was 22 years old and barely 4 months out of university. She was coming back to the States to live at home with her parents for a year and search for a job. The flight to L.A. was a layover before flying into Grand Rapids.

Maya wanted to find another research opportunity like the one she had in Sydney, but her parents lived in Lowell, Michigan just outside of Grand Rapids. There wasn’t much in the way of groundbreaking Nephrology study in her area. She wasn’t a doctor by any means, but she was an excellent scientific research assistant. She hoped the internship would land her access to graduate school grants. In the meantime, though, she supposed she could find an administrative role at a local hospital. 

Maya boarded the plane and found where her seat was located kind of in the middle somewhere. She noted that the plane was pretty full, but still spotted a few empty seats here and there. She lowered the handle on her carry-on and lifted it up to the overhead bin. She got the side in, but it seemed to be stuck from going in all the way. 

“Here, let me help you with that,” a middle eastern man said and reached up to her bag.

Maya smiled at him. “Thanks,” she exhaled and took a step back for him to unhook where the wheels were caught and slid the carry-on in the rest of the way. 

She took her backpack off and slid into her seat. She had a middle seat in the middle section. Great, she thought. The squeeze-iest spot, no window, no aisle, no leg room. She tucked her backpack below her seat after pulling out a book to read.

Maya was a huge fan of historical fiction novels. She brought three books in her backpack, not because she could finish them both on the flight, but because her mood might change and desire a different form of entertainment. Her travel hours for the day were looking up to be just over 24 hours with the layover time, and she didn’t want to be stuck reading one thing. 

The book she currently selected was Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind , but should she get tired of it, she also brought Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities . She had yet to read that one, however, and decided to start with Mitchell’s book because it was familiar and she knew what would happen. It was a sort of habit of hers; repeating books, movies, restaurants, whatever. It was comfortable and she was reluctant to try new things, even though when she does, she usually has a great time of it. The difficulty isn’t in the new thing itself, rather it lies in forcing herself to attempt it in the first place. The third, and final, book she brought was Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises , but that one was considerably shorter than the other two. She figured she could read it on the L.A- Grand Rapids flight and finish it entirely then. 

Maya was about halfway through Gone With the Wind when she decided she needed to stretch a bit. She got up to use the bathroom as an excuse to walk around. The flight still had seven or eight hours to go, and she was not looking forward to the rest of it. When Maya returned to her seat, she decided to try and get some shut-eye. Not necessarily real sleep, but at least to close her eyes and rest from staring at pages for several hours. 

 She was jolted awake some time later by turbulence. A sort of rattling started and a flash of yellow in front of her eyes. She doesn’t remember much that happened, but her ears were ringing and it was sunny.

Maya felt a gritty substance beneath her and realized she was laying in the sand. She had a dull pain in her ankle and sat up to check it. The ringing in her ears slowly became replaced by the sound of a plane engine and people shouting about. Holy shit , she thought suddenly. She looked about frantically at the unmistakable sight of a plane crash on a tropical beach. 

Maya quickly felt her hands through her hair, face, stomach, arms and pulled her knees to her chest. She thanked God that everything seemed to be intact, apart from the pain in her ankle. She felt it with her hands and looked down. There was slight bruising forming, but she didn’t think it was broken. She looked at her hands and realized she had some cuts up towards her wrists, but nothing was major pain or even really bleeding. She couldn’t bring herself to stand up, sitting in the sand in a slight state of shock. The dull pain in her ankle was becoming a bit worse, and she wondered absently if the cuts on her arms were worse than she initially thought too.

She heard a noise coming from her left, but didn’t process it. The sound suddenly spilled out and she realized it was the voice of a man yelling, “Hey! Move! Look out!”

Maya tucked her knees closer to her chest and tried to block out all of the noises. She heard more yelling passing by and a loud noise from another side. 

Suddenly she felt two hands grasp her below the arms and lift her to her feet. She was dragged away by her waist with an arm over someone’s shoulder. She tried to hop along the best she could without stepping on her bad ankle. 

She was set down a ways away from where she had been and she turned to see a man with curly black hair running along towards the wreckage of the plane. She tried to stand, as her senses were becoming more clear, but her ankle was really starting to hurt.

Just then she turned and watched something on the plane explode and saw people frantically run away from the blast. Maya realized that she had been seated right near it, and had the man not dragged her away, she would’ve been hit by the blast. 

—------------------------

Maya stayed in the same spot for a while watching people frantically move about and come to collect themselves as the afternoon ran on. Maya’s ankle was in pain, but she was correct in her initial assumption that it had not been broken. She leaned back and attempted to roll it out a bit, but she found its mobility limited. She managed to stand on it after taking her shoes off, and she walked in the sand across the beach in slow steps, careful not to bend her ankle lest she feel a shooting pain. 

As she made her way across the beach, she saw the curly black haired figure who dragged her away from the wreckage. As he turned, placing wood in a large fire, she realized it was the same middle eastern man who helped her with her carry-on before take-off. She carefully limped over towards the fire, which was steadily growing in size with pieces of wood and sticks he was gathering. 

“Excuse me,” she said. 

The man approached her from around the fire. 

“Are you the one who helped me move away from the wreckage?” She asked.

The man nodded. “Yes. Sayid,” he said, holding his hand out for her to shake.

“Maya,” she smiled briefly to him. “I really can’t thank you enough, really, thank you.”

“It was my pleasure, of course.” He turned then and gestured to the fire. “We are trying to build a signal here, we could use help to get some wood.”

Maya blushed. “Oh, I would love to help, really, but I hurt my ankle, see? I’m sort of having trouble walking on it–”

“Of course,” he said. “Here, come stand here. When we bring the wood, you can help to place it in the flames, like this,” and he showed her how they were stacking the branches vertically like a tipi. 

“Okay,” Maya stood where he indicated and he handed her the last branch he had.

“Hey you,” she heard Sayid say. “What’s your name?”

“Me? Charlie,” a British guy in a hoodie responded from the sand behind her. Maya watched the sun in the distance and realized they had been on the beach for a few hours as it was beginning to darken, the sun having passed below the horizon already. 

“Charlie. We need help with the fire. No one will see it if it isn’t big,” Sayid said, as they began to walk off.

“Okay, I’m on it. What’s your name?”

“Sayid.”

“Sayid, I’m on it, Sayid.” 

Over the next hour as the sky gradually darkened more and more Charlie and Sayid, along with occasionally a few other people, brought wood back from the jungle edge towards their signal fire. Maya stood ready and took the pieces as they brought them so they could go back and get more. They built up a steady fire and it expanded well over some time. Maya noted the circumference of the base had moved her back from her initial spot by several feet. 

When it was fully dark, they decided to stop and rest. Maya sat on the edge of some wreckage with Charlie and Sayid. 

“You’d think they would’ve come by now,” Sayid said whilst looking off ahead of him. 

“What? Who?” Charlie asked.

“Anyone.”

Maya stared at the fire in thought. She didn’t have a watch, but she guessed it had been at least six or seven hours since they crashed. She was exhausted and wanted to sleep, but her mind continued to whir with the gravity of their situation. On top of that, she worried what her parents must be thinking; it must be around the time, or a little after the time, they were supposed to have landed, and they’re expecting her phone call. She wondered if their crash was on the news yet and her parents are distraught wondering if anyone survived. 

Suddenly they heard a low rumbling, growling sound reverberating around them from the jungle. Sayid and Charlie stood up and went towards the edge where people were gathering, wondering what was going on. Maya scanned the tree line and stood up in fear when she saw some shake and move in the dim distance. 

After a while people settled down and went back to tending fires and trying to stay relatively warm while they waited for rescue. Maya didn’t get any sleep. She sat on the edge of the wreckage piece by the fire until sunrise. Sayid offered her and Charlie some food at some point, but Maya declined. 

Maya talked quietly with Sayid while Charlie lay presumably passed out beside them until sunrise. They discussed what they were doing on the plane, how they were both traveling alone, and other random nonsense. There were lags in their conversation, some of which lasted an hour or more, but Maya felt comfortable in the silence next to Sayid, just focusing on the fire and praying for a swift rescue. 

As Maya stared at the dim glimpses of morning, Sayid offered Maya a bag of nuts and a water he had found. This time she accepted, having not had anything to eat since before getting on the plane. 

“They are coming, you know,” Sayid turned to face her, assuring her with a nod.

Maya gave a brief smile. “I know,” she said, and gazed at the first rays of light breaching the eastern horizon.  

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: The First Week, (more or less?)

Maya attempted to ready herself a little better the first morning. She fixed her hair in a braid and cleaned off her arms and legs as best she could in the ocean. Her ankle was feeling much better – just a dull throb at that point. She walked with a limp, but she walked efficiently, and she could tell it must’ve just been some sort of nasty bruise or slight sprain. 

She met a nice Australian girl called Claire. She was pregnant and nearly due, so the two of them weren’t moving incredibly swiftly about the beach. It was a perfect match for Maya’s ankle injury, however, as they began to make their way through some of the wreckage and luggage to see if they could find their belongings. Several other passengers were also milling about doing the same thing. 

“So you said you were in Australia for an internship, yeah?” Claire asked.

“Yeah,” Maya laughed. “The university had a great program for Nephrology research, you know, kidneys. It was pretty interesting, I learned a lot, but I’m not sure I want to go into that.”

Claire bent down towards some bags and brushed away a stray hair out of her eyes. “Well it sounds very interesting. Do you know what you’re going to do now?”

Maya gave an embarrassed smile. “Not really?” she said. “What about you? What do you do?” Maya asked.

“Ehh, this and that,” Claire smiled. Maya didn’t want to push, so she just nodded. “Hey, what’s your sign?” Claire suddenly asked.

“My si– you mean like astrology?”

“Yeah! I’m really into trying to read people, it’s sort of my hobby.”

“Oh,” Maya chuckled. “I’m a Leo, but nobody ever guesses it.”

“Leo, huh? That’s cool! You’re right though, I wouldn’t have guessed. I’m Scorpio by the way.”

“Nice,” Maya smiled and bent down towards a piece of wreckage that was covering some stray bags. 

The girls worked for a few hours, siphoning luggage and other personal items out of the plane wreckage. They pulled anything intact and made a pile of belongings further up the beach. They decided it would help people find their things faster, and a few other passengers joined in and helped. Their little pile was growing steadily, and Maya even saw her own carry-on get placed in it at some point. She didn’t say anything about it, figuring she could get to it later. It was a comfort to know it was there and intact, and it gave her hope that she might find her backpack and be able to do something during rest times because her books were in there. 

It was midmorning before Claire and Maya decided to take a break. The sky rapidly became overcast, and within minutes it was a downpour. Maya and Clair ran to a bit of wreckage that acted as an awning in order to– well not to stay dry, as they were already soaked to the bone, but nonetheless they entered underneath to stay out of the rain. 

“There it is again,” Claire said. 

Maya looked to the jungle and saw the trees moving and making the same scary noise as the previous night. Just as sudden as the rain started, it stopped. Within minutes the sky was clear again, and Maya began to walk along the beach. She shared a plane meal with one of the other passengers– a woman she can’t recall the name of – and then began separating the luggage pile so it could dry out in the sun, and so people could more easily spot their belongings. 

People began joining her, looking through the luggage and sorting items. There were clearly more bags than survivors, and a lot of people needed practical things like clothes, shoes, toiletries, etc. Maya felt a little weird about it, and made sure her own carry-on was a safe distance away, hidden around a tree at the edge of the jungle in order for her to access it when she pleased. She really hoped her backpack had not already been ransacked. She wasn’t sure whether or not she should feel guilty over that – after all, they had just survived a plane crash and people needed to do what needed to be done – but she still thought people should ask around before simply taking things that weren’t theirs. 

Around midday, no more than 2 hours to noon judging by the position of the sun, Maya heard yelling near the wreckage further down the beach. She went to go see what it was and saw a crowd gathered around a fight. Maya got closer and realized it was Sayid and a blond dude fighting in the sand, with a black guy trying to break them up to no avail. Quickly, Jack the doctor rushed over, and both men were able to break up the fight. 

Suddenly a girl yelled, “STOP!” Everyone turned to her. “We found the transceiver, but it’s not working. Can anybody help?” 

There was a brief silence. “Yes,” Sayid nodded, “I might be able to.”

—-------------------------------

Maya wandered up the beach as most of the people she knew were going on a trek up the mountain to try and get a signal for the transceiver. She walked along the sand barefoot, occasionally stepping in the tide and walking along that way when it got too hot. She walked and walked, thinking about the crash and wondering why nobody had come yet. She worried the island really was uninhabited, and the further she walked, the more she realized how big the island really was. She turned around and could no longer see the wreckage of the plane or anybody else. She didn’t care, and kept walking. Eventually, she came to a section of rocky ground that sort of jutted out to the sea. She perched on top of a particularly flat and large boulder, sitting criss-cross-applesauce. 

She stared out at the horizon. The ocean expanded as far as she could see, as did the shoreline on either side of her. She watched the waves beat against the rocks rhythmically and clutched her ankle. It didn’t hurt as much – she could walk basically normally, but she began to cry. She didn’t know why she was crying, really. It could be over the crash, her surviving while countless others didn’t, the sense of abandonment over nobody coming to rescue them yet, the feeling of loneliness she had being stranded on an island without anyone she knew – she didn’t know why, but she didn’t care. 

She sat with her knees drawn up to her chest and sobbed and sobbed. She didn’t care about the tears staining her cheeks or the snot coming out of her nostrils – a mix of spit, snot, and tears were soaking her knees. It was an ugly cry, and everytime it seemed like it would stop, she caught a glimpse of something else in her mind that made her burst with emotion. 

Eventually she stopped crying. It must have been an hour of on-and-off crying. Maya felt stupid and wished she hadn’t, but she couldn’t help it. She heard a sound as she was sniffling and wiping her tears away from her face. She turned and saw a man walking towards her along the rocks. He had dark, close-cropped hair, and wore a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. He wore a kind sort of inviting look on his face, and Maya noted he had some of the darkest eyelashes she had ever seen. He gave a slight smile and waved, with a look of concern direct towards her as well. Maya quickly wiped her face and sat in a more dignified manner. 

“Hey,” he said. “Are you okay?” He asked, concern more clear on his face.

Maya looked back to the sea and nodded.

“I was just taking a walk along the beach,” he said. “Do you mind if I join you?”

Maya shook her head and sniffled quickly before he sat down beside her. 

“I’m Richard, by the way.”

Maya turned her head to him and gave a slight smile. “Maya.”

“Nice to meet you, Maya. Can I ask what you’re doing way out here?”

Maya wiped her nose. “I just… took a walk to get away from everything, you know?” She gave an awkward laugh, “I guess I didn’t care how far I went.”

“To… get away from everything?”

“It’s just all so overwhelming – the crash, the wreckage, you know? All the people who didn’t make it. Nobody coming to rescue us…” Maya shook her head. 

“I see,” Richard said. After a few moments, he placed a hand on Maya’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright,” he gave her a warm smile and Maya gazed into his eyes, lost in them. “Listen,” he said, looking back to the ocean, hands in his lap. “Sun’s going to be setting soon. You should get back before dark.”

Maya gazed out at the sun sinking in the western sky and nodded. “I will,” she said. “Thank you.”

Richard stood up and brushed off his hands from the dusty rock. “It was nice meeting you, Maya.”

Maya turned her head up at him. “You too,” she smiled. She heard him walk away, presumably back up the beach to the crash-site. Maya sat on the rock for a little while longer, then decided it was time to get back. She feared the thing in the jungle that they’d been hearing and wished she had walked back with Richard. She hadn’t seen him before, but with all the hectic running about after the crash, and her and Claire busy sorting the luggage, she didn’t think anything of that particular fact. 

—-------------------------------------

Maya is a girl of a quiet disposition. When she made it back to the crash-site just as it was getting dark, she didn’t inquire to anyone if the transceiver folks made it back yet, or if anyone had seen Richard walk back. Instead, she found a spot by Claire and quietly settled against the back of some metal. Maya was too tired to say much, and she fell asleep in the sand on top of a thin tarp before the moon had even fully come up. 

In the morning, the transceiver group had come back, and Maya gathered around along with a lot of the others. Sayid was setting up groups to deal with the fact that, for now, it seemed as though they were stuck on the island. He mentioned batteries for fixing the transceiver, rationing food, and water collection for when it rains. 

Maya dispersed when the others did, deciding to help gather electronics for their batteries. The sooner they could contact someone, the sooner they could get off this island. 

Maya hadn’t found her backpack yet, but now she had a less selfish reason to go in search of it– her cellphone was in there, and its battery could be used to help. The books would just be a bonus. Maya walked past the fuselage wreckage and saw the blond guy, Sawyer, exiting it. She shivered, thinking about the bodies in there. Then she did a double take, as he stopped near a broken part on the back of the wreck and pulled out a bag that looked remarkably familiar. 

Maya followed him striding by, back to a little spot up the beach. He set the stuff down with a small thud and Maya walked up behind him. He turned his head to glance at her and rolled his eyes. 

“Can I help you, Chiquita?” he asked. 

“Sorry, I just– that’s my bag,” she said, pointing to the small backpack besides his other stuff.

“What, this?” He asked, nodding down to it and giving it a small kick with his foot.

Maya nodded. 

“Prove it.” He said.

Maya’s eyes widened. “Wh-what?” 

“Prove to me it’s your bag, sweetie. Cause I say, finder’s keeper’s, unless you can tell me the contents of this here–”

“Gone with the wind.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve got Gone With the Wind in there. And some other books. That’s why it’s so heavy,” she stated.

Sawyer eyed her suspiciously then bent down and tossed her the bag. She caught it with a slight stumble and let it drop a bit, holding onto it by the strap so as to not touch the ground. “Thank you,” she said, slightly shocked by the whole encounter. 

Sawyer just waved her off and sat down beside the other stuff. Maya walked away, grateful to him for giving her her backpack. She knew he had gained a bit of a reputation for being an asshole – and he was, in fact, an asshole – but the interaction wasn’t so bad. More like a bit of banter before getting bored and moving on. Maya supposed that he wanted people to think he was an asshole, or enjoyed toying with them, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t really her problem, and he hadn’t kept her bag, so there was no ill-will. 

—------------------------------

The next few days blurred together in Maya’s mind. There was a certain mundane-ity about the island, along with a certain uncertainty . It was a very paradoxical feeling, but nonetheless, that’s how they all got along on this, shall we say, “Island Time.” Maya’s ankle was totally healed, and she had her books to pass time, so apart from the being stranded, and having no food , and limited water , and shoddy shelter , everything was splendid. 

Thankfully, when they ran out of food, a man called Mr. Locke suggested hunting the boars to eat. Additionally, there were various fruit trees scattered throughout the jungle a little ways inland, and it was easy for Maya to get to and help bring back to the others A) because she learned the way quickly, and B) because she was adept at climbing the trees to get the fruit. A Korean man also aided in their food supply with fish and various sea-things (which tasted, well fishy), which nevertheless, gave a three-way variety of sustainability in which would enable the passengers to survive. 

Claire organized a bit of sorting through belongings – this time for more personal stuff, like names and information. At first it was for the deceased, so they could have a ceremony when they burned the fuselage, but the information proved later also to be helpful for knowing who was who, and whose stuff was whose, etc, etc. A bit boring to Maya, but she was interested in one name in particular. Unfortunately, she had yet to come across anyone called Richard, and she hadn’t seem him since that day on the rocks. She didn’t mention it to anybody, though, because as the days went on, she wondered more and more whether or not he was a figment of her distraught imagination after crying and running on no sleep that day. 

She passed a lot of down time on the beach reading. Sawyer, she noted, had also taken to reading, and he often would sit down on a seat near to hers. They didn’t speak, apart from the occasional greeting and farewell, and she assumed that he partly did it just to annoy her, but she figured it could be nice when she finishes her books to swap with him. So she would nod and say, “Sawyer,” acknowledging him whenever he sat down, before going back to her pages. 

At the end of the first week on the island, Jack found water and shelter further inland at these caves. Maya decided against moving in them, fearing along with some others that it would make it harder for rescuers to find them. 

She was extremely thankful for their water supply, however, and did her best to provide a supply of fresh fruit for the cave-dwellers ( gosh, that sounds a bit insulty, Maya thought, but there’s really no other name for them ) to take back in return every few days. She could also refill her own water bottle on these trips instead of relying on the tarp saved water they would bring down– that one seemed less than sanitary to Maya. 

—------------------------------

“So, you decided to stay on the beach, too, huh, Chiquita?”

“Maya,” Maya responded, not bothering to look up from her book. She had finished Gone With the Wind a couple days prior, and had waited to start A Tale of Two Cities, so that she didn’t fly through her books too fast. She was only about 20 pages in when Sawyer sat down in another beached plane seat. 

They read for a while that day, as others were packing up to move to the caves. Maya felt a little weird staying while others were leaving, but she believed staying on the beach was their best option for rescue. 

As night fell, Sawyer was still sitting beside her, his book having been sat down in his lap. He stared into the distance, deep in thought. After gathering her book back into her backpack Maya shouldered it and started towards the others who were beginning to join around a fire. She stopped before moving away. “You coming?”

Sawyer looked up at her, eyebrows still knit. He relaxed them, masking his face. “Sure thing, Mia. Best to stay near the fire at night.” He smirked, closing his book with a snap.

She ignored the misnomer and walked towards the others. She heard Sawyer follow. Kate and Sayid sat on one side around the fire, Michael and his son on another. There were a couple other people around as well. Maya took a seat and Sawyer exhaled right beside her a few minutes later. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but her head was on his shoulder when she woke up sometime in the middle of the night. Everyone was fast asleep and Maya silently shifted to rest her head on her backpack instead. 

Sawyer made no indication of the moment in the morning, and neither did Maya. She was glad to have gotten relatively close to someone on the island enough to share a seat by the fire, and was equally glad it was left at that. She knew, by this point, that his behavior was a facade, and he was really just a survivor like the rest of them – a human in need of a little comfort sometimes. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Are there others?

“Hey, you’re Maya, right?”

Maya looked up from her book. She was almost halfway through A Tale of Two Cities . It was Shannon, the tall blond girl, speaking to her. 

“Yeah,” she responded, squinting from the sun. 

“Do you know about this,” she gestured beside her, “Radio tower, triangulation thing? ”

“I know Sayid set something up for… something with that, I guess, yeah.” Maya shrugged.

“Great,” she sighed. “There’s been some issue and my brother went up to the caves to help, but he left me in charge of this antenna thing. 5 o’clock sharp, he said. Do you mind helping me?”

Maya stared up at her. Shannon had seemed like a proud type, kind of snotty, in the impression she gave off to Maya, not having known her. “Of course,” she smiled. Shannon didn’t seem the type to easily ask for help, and it was not like Maya had elsewhere to be, so she agreed. 

At 5, Maya heard a boom.

“But the guys there are such idiots,” Shannon was saying to another girl.

“Hey, Shannon,” Maya called to her. 

“Damn it!” Shannon quickly scrambled over to where Maya stood by the antenna. 

They figured out how to switch it on after the third flare went up. “I guess… we just wait now for them to get back?”

Shannon nodded, and sat back down. Maya gazed towards the jungle. 

—-----------------------------------

The next few days were filled with mishap over Shannon’s inhaler. Sayid, apparently got into it with Sawyer. Maya was on a walk along the beach, a decent ways away from their camp, and saw him walking towards her on her way back. She wondered what he was doing way out there near sunset. Maya was late going back, and Sayid looked to be on his way further.

As they neared each other, she spoke. “What are you doing?”

Sayid sighed and glanced away. “I’m going off on my own for a little while. I can map the shoreline– see what else is on the island. It’s what is best.”

Maya watched him, confused, as he kept walking. “Be careful,” she called before it was too late.

He turned back with a slight smile. “I will,” he said, then turned and continued away. Maya watched him walk for a little bit and then headed back to the campsite. She worried for Sayid going off on his own, but she was sure if anyone of them was capable of trekking the jungle alone, it was him. He seemed resourceful, which at the very least would keep him sustained.

—---------------------------------

About a week after Sayid left, Hurley began asking people their names and their reason for travel. 

“So, Maya?” Hurley said. 

“Yep. Maya Ruíz-Zamarrón.”

“Right on…Reason for travel?”

“I was on my way back home. I had an internship that ended mid-September.”

“Thanks,” he said and began walking away to ask more people.

Maya confusedly watched him. She wondered why they were suddenly asking everybody’s information. 

A little while later, she went to ‘Casa de Sawyer’ to read. They were reading buddies– it wasn’t weird, she told herself. Sawyer hadn’t been enthusiastic about her book choices, but he agreed to let her read one of his books as long as she didn’t take them anywhere. When she had finished A Tale of Two Cities , she asked him to borrow whatever book he had finished. Watership Down was the title. She was about a quarter of the way through it at that point. It was a bizarre read featuring rabbits, but she was quite enjoying it despite this. 

“So how’s the arm?” she asked Sawyer as she sat down in a seat beside him. She asked it sarcastically, finding it a little amusing, now that it had been a week, that Sayid had almost killed him because he refused to open his mouth. 

“It’s great.” He deadpanned without looking over.

She opened Watership Down and began to read. She wasn’t bothered by another presence and just wanted something to do to pass the time. A little while later, Hurley approached them. 

“Hi, Hurley,” Maya smiled, looking up from her book.

“Hey, Maya.” Hurley moved to sit on the other side of Sawyer. “I’m just gonna lay it out straight,” he said. Sawyer looked over to him through his pair of girly orange sunglasses. 

“Okay, you do that,” Sawyer responded.

“I hear you have the flight manifest, and… I need it and want you to give it to me.” Hurley stated matter-of-factly. 

“That so,” Sawyer smirked and removed the sunglasses. 

“Now, you could do what you normally do when someone asks for something. Tell me to screw off–”

“Screw off?”

“–Or, you could just… give it to me. ‘Cause dude? You could use the points.”

Maya was sitting on the other side of the tent-thing trying not to smirk too hard, listening to the whole conversation. 

“Well gosh,” Sawyer drawled. “You sure know how to butter a man up, Stay-Puft.”

“It’s a gift,” Hurley smirked.

Sawyer chuckled and turned his head. Maya quickly went back to her book, pretending not to pay attention. 

“Manifest is in the brown suitcase,” Sawyer said, shaking his head with a smile. “Take it.”

After Hurley took the manifest and departed, Sawyer turned his attention to Maya. “I could feel you smirkin’ over there, Chiquita. Don’t think I didn’t notice,” he pointed with a cheeky smile. 

Maya stifled another smirk, trying to hide the smile. “Sorry,” she sank lower in her seat and went back to her book. 

“What do you think they need it for?” he asked, seriously.

Maya looked up. She thought for a minute. “I don’t know,” she said. “I thought you might have known – Hurley was asking people for their names and information like ‘reason-for-travel’ earlier.”

Sawyer knit his brows. “Huh,” he said, putting his sunglasses back on and reclining in his seat again. Maya thought for a bit, then returned to reading her book. She was sure they’d hear about it later – word travels fast on the island. 

—------------------------------------

“Who got taken by what?” Sawyer asked Walt. 

They had been walking to get some fruit to bring back. Maya climbs the trees and tosses fruit down to Sawyer who catches them, but they hadn’t gotten to the grove yet. Sometimes they bring the fruit up to the caves, and Sawyer gets his medicine for his arm there at the same time. Other times, they bring the fruit for the beach and Sawyer goes to the caves alone. Walt had come running up towards them. Walt was maybe 10 years old, and Maya was immediately concerned about the fact he was wandering the jungle alone. 

“Charlie and Claire,” Walt said. “They think Ethan took ‘em.” 

“Ethan took ‘em, huh?” Sawyer responded. 

“Yeah.”

Maya was confused. “Why would Ethan take them?”

“And who the hell’s Ethan?” Sawyer added. 

“I don’t know,” Walt shrugged. “He wasn’t on the list thing, the manifest.”

“Ever think he mighta lied about his name?” Sawyer looked up to Walt, having had stopped to dig around his backpack. 

“It’s stupid to lie about your name,” Walt stated. 

“Alrighty, Tattoo,” Sawyer smirked. “Where do you think Ethan came from?”

“Maybe he was already on the island. Before we were,” Walt replied. 

Sawyer chuckled, strapping his backpack back on and standing up. “Got yourself one hell of an imagination, kid.”

Sawyer went on some rambling before Walt interjected. “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask Sayid? He said we’re not alone.” 

Maya’s head snapped to Walt. “Sayid’s back?” Sawyer asked.

Walt just looked at them and walked away. Sawyer stared intensely after. 

He began to walk away, but Maya tapped his arm. 

“Hey, wait,” she said. “I–” She looked around, “I think his story might not be as crazy as it sounds.”

“Oh, what, because Muhammed said so?”

Maya shook her head. “No, listen…” she fiddled with a strap on her own backpack. “I never mentioned this to anyone but, the second day after the crash– I saw someone.”

Sawyer knit his brows. “Saw someone– what do you mean, you saw someone?”

“I walked a ways along the beach– to this place with rocks and stuff, and I was crying. A little before sunset, this man came up to me. I thought he followed from the beach, and he sat with me for a bit, you know– tried to reassure me, I don’t know...” Maya shook her head.

Sawyer was looking at her confused, like waiting for the so-what?

“...Only, when I got back , I never saw him again. And there was nobody named Richard– that’s what he said his name was by the way–  and there was no indication from anyone that someone was missing or anything. I don’t know, I thought I made him up, but what if I didn’t? What if he was already here on the island?”

“You’re tellin’ me you saw somebody far out along the shore? But you never saw them anywhere else, at all?”

“Yeah. It’s just… spooky, is all. And if this whole thing with Ethan is real, then, well, maybe there were other people, and the dude I saw was one of them.”

Sawyer stood in thought. After a few moments, he sniffed and looked about the jungle. “Whelp,” he said. And he walked off in the opposite direction of the grove. 

“Where are you going?” Maya asked, catching up. 

“To the caves– I’m gonna pay our resident Iraqi-torturer-pal a little visit.” He turned his head to Maya with a fierceful look on his face, “And don’t try to stop me. Stay out of my way.”

Maya stood still as he continued on. She hesitated and decided to follow him. They were too far in the jungle for her to feel comfortable alone, and if Sayid was really back, she wanted to see him– hear what he had to say about there being others on the island. She only hoped Sawyer didn’t really get into it with him– she knew she couldn’t break up a fight if she tried. They trekked to the caves in silence.

— 

Outside the caves, Maya and Sawyer had a bit of a minor altercation. 

“You stay out of this!” Sawyer whisper-yelled at her. 

“He’s asleep and probably hurt! What are you gonna do?” Maya whisper-yelled back. 

“It’s none of your business, girl. If you can’t handle it, you shouldn’ta come. I told you to stay out of my way.” He turned and stormed into the caves. 

Maya stood outside. The look in Sawyer’s eyes was wild. She wanted to get help, someone to stop him, but there was no one around and she didn’t know the jungle well enough to go look. She waited for a minute or two and decided to go in. 

Sayid briefly glanced at her, but didn’t make any other indication of her entrance. 

“If it wasn’t your intention to return, then why did you?” She heard Sawyer ask. Maya leaned against the rock, watching the interaction. 

“I was taken prisoner by the frenchwoman.”

“The one that’s been sending out a distress signal for 16 years? She’s alive,” Sawyer asked in disbelief.

“She was on a science expedition. She said they shipwrecked.”

“She alone?” Sawyer asked.

“She said that there are others on this island.”

“Her people?”

“No.” Sayid said. “She believed they had all gotten sick. She murdered her entire team.”

Maya knit her eyebrows in confusion, listening to the conversation. 

“Right,” Sawyer breathed. “And these others, who the hell are they?”

“I don’t know,” Sayid shook his head. “She’s never seen them–”

“–Oh, she’s never seen them, but she knows they’re there,” Sawyer said.

“If you believe her,” Sayid concluded.

“Do you?”

Sayid hesitated. “Maybe…Maybe not. But on my way back, I heard something in the jungle. Surrounding me.”

“Somethin’ like what?”

Sayid sighed and sat up more. “Have you got something to say to me, Sawyer? Or are you going to continue asking me questions you know I don’t have the answers to?”

Maya shoved away from the wall she was leaning up just then and walked over. Sawyer glanced at her and exhaled. “Tide’s comin’ up the beach,” he said. “The plane hull’s almost in the water.” He stood up and strapped his backpack on again. “We kept your signal fire burning.” Then he exited past Maya, shaking his head. 

“Are you okay?” Maya asked. 

Sayid gave her a slight smile. “I will be,” he said. 

Maya nodded and exited the cave. She caught up to Sawyer and it started to rain after a few minutes. They took cover by a tree, but were still getting thoroughly soaked. 

“Do you believe the frenchwoman’s story?” Maya asked over the rain.

Sawyer looked off. “I don’t know,” he said, swatting his hand down. He looked up at the rain and back to the path. He sighed. “When this lets up, I’ll go to the grove.”

Maya nodded.

“But you’re carrying ‘em back for people.”

“Ooooh-kayyy.” Maya glanced up at the rain. She hoped it would stop soon, she was starting to get hungry. 

—---------------------------------

The next few days were filled with a sense of tension amongst the survivors with word reaching them that Claire had been kidnapped and Charlie almost killed. Sayid had come back to the beach, and Maya spent some of her free time talking with him. She wanted to hear more about Danielle Rousseau and what she had to say about the Others on the island. 

One of the days, the tide started to approach further and further up the beach, and Maya scrambled with some of the others to move their belongings out of the water. Maya noticed Charlie sitting in the sand watching them all with a detached expression. She shivered and got back to hauling items up the shore. She couldn’t imagine what was going through his mind, but she winced at the rope marks thinking she would be distraught if it had happened to her. 

The next day Maya spotted Sawyer with a metal briefcase. She sat beside him to read while he struggled to pick the lock. After a few minutes, the pin he was using flew out of his hand and hit Maya in the cheek.

“Ow,” Maya glared at him, rubbing her cheek.

“Son of a bitch.” Sawyer exhaled.

“You’re wasting your time, man,” Michael said as he walked by, hauling some luggage up shore with Walt. “If you pick the lock on a Haliburton, I’ll put you on my back and fly us to L.A.”

“You better find yourself a runway, daddy. ‘Cause there ain’t a lock I can’t pick.” Sawyer went back to working on the case.

“What’s he trying to do?” Hurley came up and asked Michael. 

“Pick the lock on a Haliburton,” Michael answered.

Hurley laughed. “Good luck!” He said sarcastically through laughter. 

Maya handed Sawyer the pin he was using. It had landed in the crack of her book. He took it, shaking his head. 

“The only way you’re gonna open that case is with pure force, man. Impact velocity.” Michael informed.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Sawyer asked. 

“You gotta hit it with something hard, like a sledgehammer. Or the axe.”

Sawyer contemplated the idea.

“Well have fun with that,” Maya joked.

“Yeah, yeah.” Sawyer got up, holding the case. “Just put my book away when you’re done,” and he left.  

Maya returned to the book, which had very few pages remaining. She had been taking a break from hauling luggage up the beach, having done it for the past few hours straight. She would continue to help after she finished the book, which took her about half an hour. 

Later in the day as Maya was helping people continue moving camp up the beach, she saw Jack walk by with Sawyer’s case. There’s an interesting story there, Maya thought.

—---------------------------------

A few days later, Maya was walking along the beach early morning and came across Charlie and Kate. She heard Charlie say something about Claire’s things, and a diary.

“Hey,” Maya said. 

“Hey,” Charlie sat up. “You would hang around Claire, right?”

“Yeah,” Maya looked down. She felt awkward discussing it, considering Claire was kidnapped. “You’re looking for her diary?”

“Yeah, she kept it right here, but it’s gone.”

“What did it look like?” Kate asked.

“It was a blue, little… notebook, thing–”

“Ah, that.” Maya raised her eyebrows. “I actually did happen to see a certain book yesterday by that description… In a pile of other books.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Charlie said. 

“I didn’t know it was Claire’s.” 

“Well, come on, let’s go and get it,” Kate said. 

Maya followed Kate and Charlie up towards the beach camp. They came up to Sawyer’s tent and paused. 

“You know, I could just go inside–” Charlie reached for the tent flap.

“Trick or treat.” Sawyer said. Their heads turned to the right to see him sitting against another tent set up. “So, what are you three sellin’ today?”

“Where’s Claire’s diary?” Charlie asked. “Someone took it from her bag.”

Sawyer chuckled. “Oh, I get it. Somethin’ goes missing, and right away you figure it’s gotta be me that took it.”

“Do you have the diary or not?” Kate asked. 

“You mean this one?” He smirked.

“Give it to me.” Charlie said. 

“Now, I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” Sawyer stood up. “Maybe Miss Claire don’t want you readin’ it.”

“I wasn’t gonna read it,” Charlie replied, angry.

“You’re not curious what she wrote about you?”

Charlie reached for the diary, but Sawyer held it away. “You bastard,” Charlie said. “Did you read it?”

Sawyer held it out and looked at it. “Good literature’s kinda scarce around here.” He glanced at Maya when he said it. She raised an eyebrow.

“He read it,” Charlie turned to us. 

“Just give it to us,” Kate said. 

Sawyer opened it and pretended to read. “‘Dear diary, I’m gettin’ really freaked out by that has-been pop star.’” Charlie lunged for the book again. “‘I think he’s stalking me.’”

“Sawyer,” Kate tried to interject.

“‘Diary, the little limey runt just won’t let up,’” Sawyer continued.

Charlie punched Sawyer in his arm injury. “Ow!” Sawyer dropped the book, which Charlie promptly retrieved from the sand. Sawyer punched him suddenly. Maya took a step back.

“You hit like a ponce,” Charlie said.

“Oh yeah?” Sawyer tried to stalk up to him.

“Alright enough,” Kate stood in front of him. “You didn’t really read it did you?”

Maya walked away with Charlie. “Are you okay?” She asked.

He felt his lip. “Yeah… yeah it’s fine,” he replied. “I’m gonna head back to the caves.”

Maya nodded and leaned against a tree. Charlie gave a little nod goodbye and began his way into the jungle. 

—---------------------------------

News of Claire’s return and her amnesia spread quickly. Maya saw Sayid, Charlie, Jack and Locke discussing in a circle on the beach the next morning. She couldn’t tell what they were saying, but she would bet money it had to do with Claire. Charlie stormed away from the group back towards the jungle. 

Maya caught up to Charlie. “Hey, is it true?” She asked. “Is Claire back? Is she okay?”

Charlie nodded. “Yes, she is. But she doesn’t remember anything after the crash.”

Maya’s eyes widened. “Do you think I could come with you? To the caves– I mean, if that’s where you’re headed?”

“Yeah, sure. I think she’s really upset and confused. Maybe you could spark a memory. Or just try to be a bit of support, at least.”

“Of course,” Maya said, and they set off into the jungle. “I mean, I don’t want to overwhelm her, but if there aren’t many people or whatever,”

“You two hit it off before,” Charlie smiled. “I’m sure you can again.”

Maya smiled back, “And I hope the same for you.”

They trekked up the jungle hill and saw Jinn, the Korean man, walking with a net.

“Oi, Jinn.” Charlie called. “Are you heading back to the caves? Annyong,” he said. 

“Annyong,” Jinn replied. Maya gave a polite smile and followed from behind.

“Safety in numbers, right?” Charlie said. “Of course, you have no idea what I’m talking about. How nice it must be to not be involved in the bloody insanity that surrounds us at every turn.”

“Hear, hear.” Maya replied from behind him. 

“It’s quite beautiful really,” Charlie continued, following Jinn closely. “You take care of your wife, everything else is someone else’s problem. No need to be involved in the decision-making process. No tree-shaking behemoths, french transmissions, just sweet bloody ignorance.”

Maya raised her eyebrows giving Charlie a look from behind. It was one thing to say a few lines to the guy, but to ramble at him, who can’t understand anything? Maya thought it a little odd. 

“You don’t know how lucky you are, you know.” Charlie said to Jinn. “Must be nice. You wake up and–”

Jinn raised a finger and paused his walking. Maya stood still and listened. She knit her eyebrows and looked at Charlie and Jinn. They heard suddenly a whooshing noise. It increased in pace and volume, seeming to approach them. 

“What?” Charlie said. 

Suddenly Jinn was knocked to the ground by whatever made the whooshing noise. Maya gasped and bent down to Jinn. She tried lifting him from the shoulder, but he was passed out. She looked at Charlie with fear. 

“Charlie, I want her back.” The man called Ethan approached. Maya stood up, backing away in fear.

“What? I–” Charlie backed away too.

“I want you to bring her back,”

“What did you do to her?” Charlie asked, angry. He picked up a stick and Maya backed up to a tree ready to run if need be. “What did you do?” He yelled and tried to hit Ethan with the stick.

Ethan stopped the blow and grabbed Charlie by the throat and shoved him into a tree. Maya called for Charlie and moved but before she could get very far, Ethan turned to her. “One move, girl, and he dies,” Ethan said. Maya stood frozen, watching as Charlie’s feet left the ground. 

“You bring her here,” Ethan turned again to Charlie. “If you don’t, I’m going to kill one of them. And then if you don’t bring her back before sundown tomorrow, I’ll kill another… and another… and another. One every day. And Charlie? I’ll kill you last.” He let go with a murderous look to Maya, who remained frozen. She glanced at Jinn, hoping Ethan didn’t do anything while he was unconscious. Ethan stalked away and Maya quickly ran to Charlie. 

“Are you okay?!” 

Charlie coughed and held on to his throat where Ethan grabbed him. “We gotta tell the others,” he choked. 

After helping Jinn regain consciousness, they hurried back to the beach. Jinn couldn’t understand what they were saying, and ultimately continued his way to the caves. Although Maya wanted to see Claire, seeing Ethan in the jungle deterred her from wanting to make the trek to the caves. She left Charlie to tell Jack and Locke what happened. Instead, she paced along the beach. Up and down she went, never straying far enough that she couldn’t see the camp or the people. 

Maya thought long and hard about Ethan’s threat. She felt stupid she didn’t do anything to help Charlie. It was just one man, she thought. They could’ve overpowered him, right? But then she remembered that he had bested Jack and Charlie before; and that was two grown men. 

Further, Maya thought about the likelihood of his being alone. More and more she began to believe there were others, like the frenchwoman said to Sayid. Not just because she had (maybe, maybe not) seen a man the day after the crash, but also because how would Ethan have been on the island before. On the other hand, the frenchwoman was alone. Perhaps it was just a lone psycho who wandered the island. 

A little while later, Locke approached Maya on the beach. “Hello,” he said.

“Hi,” Maya gave a polite smile.

“So, I heard from Charlie you were both attacked by Ethan. Jinn too.”

Maya’s smile dropped. She nodded.

“And he’s threatened to kill people one by one until he gets Claire back?”

“That’s what he said,” Maya responded. 

Locke gave a reassuring smile. Or, at least one that was intended to be so. “We’re going to come up with a plan.” He tilted his head towards the camp, waiting for her to walk back with him.

Maya obliged. “I’d like to show you something,” Locke told her. 

Locke took her to a little tent set-up and rummaged in his bag. “I think you should have this,” he said, holding up to her a hunting knife. 

Maya’s eyes snapped to him. “Why?” Maya asked tentatively.

“I don’t know whether or not there are others besides Ethan, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to be unarmed. Especially now he may make you a target.” Locke stood up. “Here,” he held out the knife handle to her.

Maya grasped it and turned it over in her hands. 

“Just keep it on you, and if you ever want to learn how to use it properly, let me know… In the meantime, just remember: stab ‘em with the pointy end,” he shrugged. 

“Thank you,” Maya said.

Locke nodded and set off towards Sayid and Boone, who were setting up some sort of contraption. Maya watched from afar. She decided, for now, to put the knife in one of her cargo pockets. It wouldn’t necessarily be practical in an attack, but then again she didn’t really know how to use it anyways. She figured it might be handy for cutting fruit from trees, but she didn’t say that to Locke of course. Anyways, she was grateful that he gave it to her, and figured should the situation arise, she could attempt to use it to defend herself. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Raft Era

Maya was getting situated for the night, a little more nervous than usual since Ethan’s threat. She had set up a bit of a half tent near a fire that a couple people were tending to. She was preparing to lay down when she spotted Sawyer approaching her tent. 

“Hey,” he said, a bit of a worried look on his face. “I heard about the whole Ethan thing. You okay?”

“M’hm,” Maya nodded. Sawyer didn’t look convinced. “Locke gave me a knife,” Maya said.

Sawyer nodded, taking a seat beside her. “Well,” he said, situating himself against a post. “That’s good.”

Maya sat down and fiddled with the tarp she was using as a ‘mattress.’ After a pause, Sawyer spoke again.

“They’ve got a few people stationed on some sort of lookout. And traps and what-not set up. If Ethan tries to make a move, I’m sure we’ll know.”

“That’s good,” Maya nodded.

“Why don’t you get some sleep. I’m gonna sit here and watch that fire.”

Maya layed down and pulled a blanket over her. She used her backpack as a sort of pillow and curled up. “Thank you,” she said. 

Sawyer bowed his head slightly to her and readjusted his seated position against the post. “It’d be a shame if my readin’ buddy got skewered or somethin.’” He smirked.

Maya rolled her eyes, but couldn’t suppress her smile. She certainly felt more at ease to sleep with Sawyer there to make sure nothing happened. 

—---------------------------------

In the morning, the feeling of unease tormenting Maya didn’t relent. It turned out that somehow Ethan got past everyone and killed a guy. Apparently the perimeter they had set up was useless, as the attack must have come from the water. Maya was deeply disturbed by this development, because it leads to a likelihood that perhaps there was a boat of some sort to bring him there. Either that, or he swam along the shore line, which to Maya seemed unlikely. She didn’t want to think either of those options was likely, however.

Maya didn’t know Steve (or Scott?), but she had seen him around camp. They had sorted luggage together for a few hours in the past. Maya paled at his body they carried by in a tarp. She thought she might have passed out if she had seen his face. 

The one time she had seen a dead body before was her uncle’s funeral. She was 9, and the image of him laying in the casket has never left her mind. Maya prayed silently as she watched them haul the body; she didn’t do so often, but the stakes were raised and she was desperate for anything. She felt a bit selfish, but suppressed the feeling, as she prayed that she didn’t suffer the same fate as Scott (Steve?). 

—---------------------------------

“Help? Moi?” Sawyer asked. Maya stood beside him eating some fruit. Jack had come up to ask if Sawyer would help them with their Ethan plan.

“Do you know how to handle a gun or not?” Jack asked. 

“Well I know at least one Polar bear who seems to think so,” Sawyer responded. 

Jack handed the gun to Sawyer. Maya watched from the side, Kate crossed her arms. 

“Where’d you get the hardware, hoss?” Sawyer asked, checking out the gun. Jack didn’t respond. 

“I wanna come,” Kate said to Jack. 

Jack shouldered his backpack. “Sorry, we’re out of guns,” he said, shaking his head. “And no one goes out there unarmed.”

“How much ammo you got?” Sawyer called to Jack who began walking away. 

“100 rounds, give or take,” He replied. 

“All 9’s, right?” Sawyer asked. Jack looked confused. Sawyer held up the gun, “9-millimeters– The guns?”

Jack realized, “Yeah. Why?”

“‘Cause if the lady wants to come…” Sawyer turned to his bag and pulled out a gun. Maya’s eyes flicked between the three people before her. “Lifted this off the Marshal, back in the old days.” Sawyer smirked. “You remember him, don’t ya? Surly guy, kind of square jaw? Carried a sig-9?”

“Yeah, I remember you shot him,” Jack said. “And missed.”

“Yeah, well…bygones.” Sawyer replied. “And hell, five guns are better’n four.” He handed the spare gun to Kate. 

Maya nodded, observing the tension between Jack and Kate, and Jack and Sawyer. “Well,” Maya broke the silent stare-down. “Good luck,” she said. 

Jack nodded to her and walked away. 

Later, Maya watched Sayid, Locke, Jack, Sawyer, and Kate standing around with Claire. Apparently they were attempting to lure Ethan to her, using her as a bit of bait. Maya was worried over the whole ordeal, but also highly relieved. There was no way , she thought, that Ethan could get away now they had 5 guns against him. 

—---------------------------------

“What?!” Maya exclaimed. “This is turning into some… Lord of the Flies type shit.”

“Yeah,” Kate exhaled. She had just finished explaining to Maya how the whole Claire-bait thing went. Apparently Jack had subdued Ethan, but Charlie grabbed a gun and shot him several times in the chest. “Let’s just hope we don’t start shooting each other,” Kate said. 

Later, Maya helped a girl called Lori make a tent. She was in her 30s, Australian, and on her way on vacation with her friend (who apparently didn’t survive the crash). Maya had chatted with her when they moved camp up the beach, and after the whole Ethan ordeal, Lori had asked if she wanted to share a tent with her. Maya guessed the Ethan thing had freaked Lori out too, and was glad to have the opportunity to not have to sleep alone regularly (Sawyer’s occasional company aside). Maya hoped that they would make swell roommates until rescue came; though, as it had officially been a month on the island, hope of rescue was fading rapidly in Maya. 

The next day, Maya and Lori got some fruit together. They brought it back to the beach and Maya learned of a boar attacking Sawyer. He packed a bag and left to attempt to track it in the jungle. It was rather amusing to see him go on a mission into the jungle to exact revenge. Maya just hoped he would actually succeed and bring back some boar meat, as they hadn’t had any for a while. 

“I’m gonna go after him,” Kate said. 

“That’s a good idea,” Maya laughed. “Maybe with you, he’ll actually be able to get the boar.”

“I’ll see ya,” Kate smiled, nodded to Maya and Lori, picked up a bag, and followed the direction Sawyer went. 

—---------------------------------

The next few days were mundane for Maya. The only interesting thing she had going on was playing fetch with Vincent and Walt on the beach. Her reading had pretty much fizzled out. She figured she would have the urge to reread the books eventually, but at the moment, having freshly finished them all, she had no desire. She didn’t forget Locke’s offer at teaching her how to use the knife he gave her, but she hadn’t seen enough of him around to ask. Anyways, the knife was handy in her routine fruit-pickings, if not anything else.

Claire finally ‘met’ Maya; that was something sort of interesting. It was only ‘sort of’ interesting because, a) a lot of their conversations had already been had, but Maya didn’t want to say anything and make Claire feel weird, and b) Claire still camped in the caves, and so Maya hardly saw much of her anyways. It was nice, however, to walk along the beach with her sometimes. Despite her repeated conversation topics due to Claire’s amnesia, she enjoyed her company. 

When the raft got burned, Maya wasn’t overly concerned. There was no way in hell she would ever try to take something like that out onto the open water with storms and waves and lack of provisions and such anyways. She did feel bad for Walt’s dad, Michael, however, because he clearly had his heart set on the idea of escaping the island on the raft. The part of the raft getting burned that did concern her was the question of who would do it– Locke was right, it was increasingly obvious, there were other people on the island. There had to be. Right?

It was nice to see the rebuilding effort going on. Maya even pitched in to help find some new building supplies for their second raft. Though, in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but feel concerned about the small chance of their being found out in the open water on a primitive raft if nobody had even come to rescue them on the fixed island location. A small part of her wondered if she was just helping them on to their deaths.

—---------------------------------

“You wanna hit that a little harder?” Sawyer asked, annoyed at Michael, pounding away at part of the raft. Sawyer and Maya had been reading that day. Maya finally decided it was time for a Gone With the Wind reread, as it had been over a month since she finished it. 

“I’m sorry,” Michael stopped, annoyed. “Is my building a raft to get us rescued bothering you?”

“At the moment? Yeah,” Sawyer responded. 

“Why aren’t you helping?” Walt asked. 

“I am helpin,’ short round. Keepin’ watch for arsonists.”

“Walt’s got a point,” Michael said. “You could pitch in, seeing as how you’ve already bought yourself your ticket.”

Suddenly a bunch of bamboo trunks tumbled and Jin and Michael started yelling at each other. Maya closed her book and stood up. Sawyer did the same, shaking his head.

“I’m gonna go see if I can read in peace elsewhere,” Sawyer said.

“I think I’m done reading for the day,” Maya squinted across the beach. “I’ll see you around.”

Sawyer gave a nod and walked away. Maya decided to go for a walk along the beach. Apparently Sayid, Charlie, and Jack were out in the jungle, looking for the frenchwoman, Rousseau. Maya figured if she saw any suitable bamboo, she would haul some over for the raft people. She also knew the likelihood of any being on the shoreline were slim, but she could use it as an excuse if need be. After seeing Michael’s technical ability, and hearing about the plan to get batteries for a real signal, she was feeling more confident about the raft idea. She hoped the raft-goers would make it off the island and send for rescue for everybody else. Maya even had the hope spur in her of being rescued within the next month. It was almost November; perhaps she could be home for Christmas. 

—---------------------------------

It turned out, Sawyer’s worse-than-usual irritability was due to his needing glasses. Maya refrained from commenting on it, simply glad that he was calmer and they could read in their free time over the next few days. Luckily, Hurley made a comment about the glasses for her; for everyone. Maya laughed along with Kate. The misshapen glasses were fused with two pairs as the only prescription that worked was broken. 

—---------------------------------

Claire had her baby a few days later. During her labor, apparently Jack was also tending to a severely injured Boone. When news spread of Boone’s death, Maya was devastated for Shannon. She couldn’t imagine having to hear about a loved one passing away in such a horrible manner. 

In the morning, Claire presented her baby on the beach. People gathered around. Maya couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her little baby boy, bundled up in her arms. She felt it was a sign of hope; like, new beginnings. 

Just then, they saw Shannon and Sayid coming back along the beach. Maya realized Shannon had no clue of the events of the night. She did not envy Jack, who walked up to them to break the news.

Maya decided to attend Boone’s funeral service they set up. She had refrained from going to Scott’s, but she felt it right this time, in order to show Shannon some support. They had become sort of like friends since she had asked Maya for help with the transceiver thing over a month prior, and she knew despite her arguing with Boone, she cared about him deeply. 

Locke showed up to their funeral service and explained what really happened with Boone. Maya could feel the tension seething from Jack in particular. It didn’t surprise her when he attacked Locke, but she still flinched when he did. People ran to separate them and Maya realized how gaunt Jack looked. He had been up all night caring for Boone and Claire, and it was clearly affecting him both physically and mentally. 

—---------------------------------

Maya watched Charlie and Hurley with Claire’s baby at a distance along the beach. She could hear Hurley suddenly burst into song and shout it at the crying baby in Charlie’s arms. Maya knit her eyebrows and shook her head, before biting into her piece of fruit again. Who is she to judge? Maybe they were starting a singing contest, a little beach-side karaoke. She walked the other direction and hoped they hadn’t caught her staring at the strange interaction. 

Later in the day, Maya helped Sawyer haul some pieces from the plane– big metal sheets– to the raft. She didn’t have anything better to do, and offered her services, even though she had no interest in the raft personally. Charlie was standing nearby with Claire’s baby when they approached. Maya set her metal sheet down in the sand.

“Hey, Chucky,” Sawyer said as he passed. “Wanna keep that kid quiet? Baby Huey’s like nails on a chalkboard.” Sawyer threw his metal sheet on the sand beside Maya’s. Maya’s eyes flicked up when Sawyer finished speaking. The crying had suddenly stopped, and she turned to Charlie and the baby.

“Oh, there you go,” Charlie said to the baby, then to Sawyer, “You happy now?” But the crying began again.

Maya glanced between them. Sawyer looked annoyed at the resumed crying. “I was. If you’re gonna play nursemaid at least do the damn job,” he said, exasperated. 

Maya noted the baby ceased crying again. She suddenly smiled and looked back to Charlie, who caught on too. 

“Hey, hey say something else,” Charlie said to him. The baby was crying again. “Just say something. Say anything.”

Sawyer stopped walking in front of him. “Okay, fine. I liked that thing a lot better inside than I like it outside,” he pointed to the baby. The baby had stopped crying again.

Maya raised her eyebrows. “Aw, Sawyer.” she said, still smiling.

Charlie chased after Sawyer who had walked away. “What?” Sawyer turned around, squinting. Charlie ran after him with the baby, Sawyer made an attempt to get away. 

Maya caught up with them and Sawyer stopped. “What is going on?” he said. 

“Come on, he likes the sound of your voice!” Maya said.

Sawyer thought about it for a moment. “So you two are tellin’ me, that this thing will shut up when it hears me talking?”

“Well, I didn’t put it that way, but…”

“Basically, yeah,” Charlie said. 

A little bit later it started to rain, so the three of them, plus the baby, huddled under a tent-shelter. Sawyer pulled a magazine and began to read from it. The baby went quiet for the first time in what seemed like ages.

“The low rumble breaks the crisp fall air as a flash of red streaks down the maple-dappled Vermont highway.” Charlie nodded at Sawyer to continue, so he did. “The 32-valve v8 engine purrs as the transmission clicks down a gear, and the vehicle unleashes all 400 horses and 350 pound feet of rear-wheel torque.” 

Maya waved at Claire who had just approached the entrance to the tent. “Keep going, keep going,” Charlie said, as the baby began to fuss again when Sawyer stopped.

“Charlie,” Claire began, but Charlie shushed her and beckoned her into their tent. 

“Beneath the hood, the 4.4 liter power plant features a fully-integrated supercharger made into a 6-speed transmission, with a manual sequential shift feature,” Sawyer continued.

Charlie told him to keep going, and he did to demonstrate to Claire the seemingly angel-like quality of Sawyer’s voice that had such a soothing effect on her child. Maya shook her head with a smile, still hardly believing it herself. Later on, Sawyer switched to reading from one of his books, and Maya, Claire, and Charlie could listen to a story instead of a sports-car magazine. After a while, she was able to immerse herself in the story, and found his voice steady and soothing, just like the baby, she figured. It gave her a bit of a giggle in her mind, that idea. But for the rest of the evening, she could forget about the troubles of their lives on the island. 

—---------------------------------

The next day, some main posts on the raft were going up. Maya marveled at how fast it seemed to all come together, and now it was really happening. This guy came up yelling, saying they couldn’t launch for 3 or 4 months if they wanted to live. The drama piqued Maya’s interest, and she hung a little closer to be able to hear. 

She heard Sawyer call back to the guy, “Come on. Even a weatherman on T.V. don’t know what’s gonna  happen. And why are we listening to Arzt?”

“Because I’m a doctor, and you’re a hillbilly,” Arzt replied. 

“You’re a damn high-school science teacher,” Sawyer countered. 

“Hey, Sawyer,” Jack tried to ease tension. “Just let the man talk.”

Arzt continued. “It’s been raining every afternoon! That means that we are on the cusp of monsoon season. Monsoon season is bad! Now, the trade winds are blowing north right now,” he held up a stick with a plastic bag on it to demonstrate. “Shipping lanes are North, so North is exactly where you wanna be.”

“What’s that mean?” Michael asked. Maya had crept a little closer to hear even better. Kate and Charlie and Sun were approaching as well.

“That means when the monsoon season hits, the trade winds are going to shift to the South. The raft goes with the wind.”

Maya’s eyes widened in understanding. Arzt continued, “Can anybody tell me what is the only piece of land that’s South of us?”

“Antarctica,” Jack said.

“That’s right, Jack. Antarctica,” Arzt concluded. 

“So when do we have to leave?” Michael asked. 

Arzt shrugged and looked about. “Yesterday.”

Maya raised her eyebrows and looked about. Everyone was quiet, contemplating what that meant for their hope at rescue or escape from the island, and their raft time-line. 

Michael decided then that they would finish the raft and set-off tomorrow. Maya was wary of speeding things up if they weren’t ready to set off. She knew he really wanted to get off the island– they all did, after all– but she figured that they were taking many risks. She still looked at the raft and saw a one-way ticket to a watery grave. She feared for their lives, but she didn’t say anything. It wasn’t like they would listen, and maybe if they did set out while the winds were still heading north, they did have a chance. A small part of her did indeed have hope that they could find rescue and then lead the rescuers back to the island to save the rest of them. 

Maya was helping Sawyer make last minute arrangements with the raft, as he’d be setting out the next day. She was sad that he was going, and scared for him too. Sawyer seemed to notice. 

“Hey,” he said to her. “Don’t worry about me. Worry about my books. You’re gonna need to look after them until we come back and rescue y’all, alright? I can’t bring ‘em all.” He looked at her with a pointed look.

Maya smirked. “Alright,” He seemed satisfied, and took a swig of his water bottle. 

Just then, Michael came by hauling a piece of metal towards the raft. Sawyer raised a hand, swallowing his water hurriedly and going after Michael. “Yo, chief,” he called. “Dumb question here, we’re sailin’ out on the ocean, right?” 

Michael turned to him, “Do you mind?”

“Sulu over here’s packin’ a suitcase full of salted fish!” Sawyer gestured over to Jin. 

“Yeah?” Michael turned to him.

“We can’t catch fish?” Sawyer asked. 

“Do you know anything about surviving at sea?” Michael asked him. Maya didn’t mean to be eavesdropping but she could still hear everything they were saying from where she had been standing at the tree nearby. “Sailing, navigating, steering a raft?

“Do you?” Sawyer asked.

“Doesn’t matter what I know, I built it! Maybe you are the wrong guy to go on the raft,” Michael said.

Sawyer’s expression turned dark. “You gonna vote me off, Mickey?” Sawyer tilted his head, but Michael stood his ground. “And who the hell’s gonna take my place?” Sawyer asked. 

Michael straightened. “Maybe someone who actually knows how to sail, huh? Maybe someone like Kate.”

Sawyer scoffed, expression darker than ever. “Right,” he said, eyes ablaze. Sawyer turned and marched away. Maya looked away before Michael could catch her watching. This was not going to be pretty, if Michael really did say Kate could come on the raft instead of Sawyer , Maya thought. 

A little while later Maya saw Walt running towards her. She stood up, concerned. 

“Maya! It’s my dad! Something’s wrong with him, he told me to go and find Jack!”

“Okay, okay I think I last saw him this way, let’s go and find him okay?”

Walt nodded, and they scurried off across the beach towards the treeline. They quickly found Kate and Sun.

“Help! I need help. It’s my dad.”

“What’s the matter?” Kate asked.

“His stomach is really bad.”

Kate turned to Sun. “Take him back to Michael, I’ll go get Jack.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Sun said to Walt. Walt looked at Maya.

“I’ll go with Kate, you stay with Sun and try to help your dad relax, okay?”

Walt nodded. “Okay.”

Maya ran to Kate to catch up. “I saw Jack leave with Sayid earlier,” Maya called.

“Jack!” Kate yelled through the trees. “Stay close,” she turned her head to Maya, who nodded, and they kept running through the jungle. They both called out for Jack. 

They ran deeper for a few minutes, calling Jack’s name. In the distance, they heard a reply, “Yeah! Over here,” it sounded like Jack.

Maya emerged from some trees, and Kate behind her. They saw Jack with Locke and Sayid, approaching them. “It’s Michael,” Kate said. “Something’s wrong.”

“Walt said his stomach is really bad, he came running past yelling for help.”

They all turned and headed back towards the beach. 

When they got back, Maya left Jack and the others. She didn’t want to crowd in on Michael, but she said she’d be on hand if anybody needed anything. Jack nodded and told her thanks.

Maya walked along the beach for a ways with Sayid. She hadn’t seen him in a while, but he had come up beside her on her walk. After a brief greeting they walked in silence. Maya didn’t know what to say, but he seemed content in just walking and watching nature. 

After a ways down, Sayid turned to her. “We should probably head back.”

Maya looked back and could just barely make out the camp. She nodded. 

“Don’t want to be going too far from everybody else,” he said. 

“You’re right,” Maya exhaled in a slight laugh. “Thanks. For walking with me, I mean. I can get lost in thought and not realize how far I’ve gone.”

Sayid smiled, “Yes, I have noticed that about you.”

On their walk back, Maya asked, “So what were you up to with Jack and Locke this morning?”

Sayid turned his head to stare out ahead of them, eyebrows furrowed. “I had hoped Jack would be able to help me with something. Now, I’m not so sure. And I don’t trust Locke,” he said. 

Maya thought about what he said. He clearly didn’t want to say exactly what he needed help with, and she didn’t want to push. “He is certainly an interesting character,” Maya said.

Sayid nodded. When they got back to the campsite area, Sayid bid her a good day. “And don’t wander too far along the beach, Maya. We still don’t know who all is out there.”

Maya nodded, “I’ll remember.”

Sayid nodded too and walked away. Maya noticed that Shannon had been avoiding him, but she didn’t want to bring it up. She felt bad, however, and hoped that they could work through whatever was going on. Shannon clearly had feelings for Sayid, and he for her, but Boone’s death made everything difficult. Maya shook her head and told herself not to get so concerned in other people’s business. 

—---------------------------------

As Maya headed back towards the raft to see how they were coming along, she saw Michael and Sawyer having a bit of an altercation. As she approached, she heard Sawyer yell, “I poisoned you cause I’m a criminal?” Then Jin suddenly stepped in and pushed Sawyer away from Michael. 

Maya came up behind the raft and stood near the back side, watching Sawyer call to Kate. “Hey Sweetcheeks!” he called. Maya watched him grab Kate’s arm and bring her over to where Michel stood and where Maya was nearing the tree. 

“Tell him who the criminal is!” Sawyer said, as Kate told him to let go.

Charlie came up beside Maya and called, “All right, leave her alone, man!”

“Tell him!” Sawyer dragged Kate’s arm closer and pointed to Michael. Michael and Kate looked at each other. 

Suddenly Sawyer grabbed Kate’s backpack off of her, and Maya grimaced, her eyebrows raised. Yikes , was all she thought. 

“Give that back!” Kate called.

“Leave her alone!” Michael said, as Sawyer opened the bag. Kate lunged for the bag, but Sawyer turned away, determined. He emptied the contents out on the sand before she could stop him. Maya watched him snatch the passport away before Kate could stop him. 

“Mhm,” Sawyer said. “Look!” He held up the passport. Maya observed the confused looks of the others, knowing she held the same. “Look at this,” Sawyer said, opening the little booklet.

“Sawyer, please,” Kate said, reaching for it still. 

Sawyer shook his head with a laugh of disbelief. “Y’all remember Joanna, don’t ya? Huh?” He held up the passport, gave it to Michael. “The woman who drowned? Now what’s Kate doing with poor Joanna’s I.D.? Could it be she’d do just about anything to get on that raft so she can get herself rescued, run off with a new identity before half the reporters in the world descend on this damn island? She might even poison the captain himself–”

“Shut up!” Kate interrupted Sawyer’s rant. Maya watched the interaction, glad not to be a part of it all. 

Sawyer turned towards Kate with a glare. “She don’t care about nothin’ or nobody but herself.”

Kate looked about ready to burst into tears. Sawyer continued, “You wanna tell us why you need to run so bad? You wanna tell us the truth?”

Everybody stood around in silence. All Maya could hear were the waves on the beach, but she could feel the tension around the group like electricity.

“Yes,” Kate said to everybody. “I was on the plane…with the marshall. Yes, I was wanted, and caught, and being transported back. No matter what I say about what happened, about what I supposedly did…I’m going to jail. But I didn’t poison you,” she turned to Michael, and he stepped backwards. 

Then he approached her, holding out the passport. “Here,” he said. She took the passport back, and Michael walked away. 

Maya watched everybody disperse, some not exactly looking at Kate the same way. Personally, Maya couldn’t really care less whether Kate was the marshall’s prisoner or not. She had given no indication of being unstable or a threat to any of them, in fact, very much the opposite. If they could all get along with a former Iraqi torturer, she figured the same goes for a wanted fugitive. They didn’t even know what she did. Maya shrugged and leaned against the tree. After everybody else had walked away, Maya approached Kate in the sand. 

Maya bent down in front of where Kate was kneeled by her emptied backpack. She grimaced, and handed Kate some of her things, “Sorry about that,” Maya said. She collected some of the fruit and other items and helped Kate put them back in the bag. 

Kate didn’t say anything, but stared down at a little silver airplane. Maya handed it to her, and Kate took it in her hand. Maya helped collect the other items into Kate’s bag and stood up, walking away. She turned back and saw Kate still holding the airplane and staring at it as she held it in her lap. Maya thought she still looked close to breaking down in tears, and decided it best to leave her be. She was never good with comforting people who were crying. 

—---------------------------------

The next morning, Maya woke up to yelling. She and Lori emerged from their tent and saw a woman with wild hair and a rifle approaching. Maya quickly gathered over to where others were watching. 

Sayid rushed over. “Calm down everyone, it’s alright.” Maya figured it must be the Frenchwoman. She watched as she stared over at Claire and her baby. Maya narrowed her eyes.

“Danielle?” Sayid asked, “What are you doing here?”

“The others are coming,” She said to him. 

Everybody gathered around, and Danielle told her story. “Our ship went aground on this island 16 years ago. There were six of us. My team– six. At that time… I was already seven months pregnant. I delivered the infant myself. The baby and I were together for only one week, when I saw black smoke. A pillar of black smoke, 5 kilometers inland. That night, they came.”

Maya listened intently to Danielle’s story, quickly becoming rather frightened herself. 

Danielle continued. “They came, and took her. Alex. They took my baby. And now, they’re coming again. They’re coming for all of you.”

“Who’s coming?” Jack stepped forward.

“The others,” Danielle said. “You have only three choices. Run. Hide. Or die.”

Maya thought about what Danielle had said. She did believe, of course, that there were others. Besides Ethan. But she wasn’t sure about the part about the black smoke. She remembered the first night on the island, hearing strange noises and seeing trees shake in the distance. That certainly was something , but Maya hadn’t seen anything. And then there was the man she met when she had wandered way out along the beach the second day on the island. Richard, that was his name. More and more, it was beginning to seem unlikely that she had made him up. He certainly hadn’t been on the plane with them, like Ethan hadn’t. But he had been nice to her, even encouraged her to get back to the camp. Maya shook her head. These mysteries would have to be unraveled later– though, sooner rather than later, she hoped.

A little while later, Jack was gathering as many people around as he could to help finish the raft. He said it was imperative they launch today, and they needed help laying the rails to get the boat into the water. Maya came up to offer help. Jack directed her to Michael.

Maya and a bunch of others were gathered around the raft. “Okay, that’s good,” Michael said, “Just get it under there.” They were using posts to lift and push the raft onto the rails and into the water. Others were pulling on ropes to help from the front side. 

“One, two, three! Lift!” Michael called out. “Push!” Maya could hear Michael calling. “Use the lever!” After a few moments of straining, he called out, “Down! Good, good.” They took a pause, and repeated the process. They lifted and moved the raft a foot or two, and then down again. Suddenly it all moved forward with a lurch, but then there was a snap.

“Aw! I can’t believe this! I can’t believe it.” Michael exclaimed, glaring at Sawyer.

“What are you lookin’ at me for?” Sawyer responded. “It’s not my fault.”

“You missed the lever!” Michael said.

“Just because you couldn’t keep the raft on straight–”

“I couldn’t keep the boat going straight? Now everybody–”

“Dad!” Walt suddenly called out. “Look!”

Maya’s stomach dropped at the sight. It was a single column of black smoke rising up like from a chimney in the distance. Some sort of foreboding signal– the one Danielle Rousseau had mentioned. She put a hand over her mouth, eyes wide.

A little while later a group was gathering around Jack. 

“Look, I know you’re all scared, and I know that everybody has a lot of questions. All I can tell you right now is that we do have a plan. We’ve got to go into the jungle and get some supplies. We’ll be back in a few hours. In the meantime, do everything you can to help Michael get that raft on the water. And after that, go to the caves. We’ll be back as soon as we can. I promise.”

Maya knit her eyebrows. She had heard Hurley talking about their plan to get dynamite and blow open some hatch they had found. It seemed like a crazy stupid idea, but she was tired of the raft. She was itching to do something before the others came and did something first. The raft was basically done, but she didn’t really care whether they set out that day or not, she knew it could be weeks before they were even rescued, let alone weeks more for their rescuers to find the island they were trapped on; and that was all if they even survived the raft trip. 

If the others were coming, she needed to be concerned about their lives right then . She decided to find Locke or Sayid and ask if she could come with them. At the very least, it would mean extra hands to help with whatever they needed to do. 

“Hey, where you headed off to, Moreno?”

“I’m going to see about Jack’s plan into the jungle.”

“What, you wanna go with?”

“Yeah,” Maya continued walking. She didn’t wanna stop and tell Sawyer that she thought the raft was a suicide trip.

“Hey,” He caught up to her. “It’s dangerous in there. What about the others?” He said, concerned.

“We’re going in a group. Besides, if Rousseau was right, the others are coming here to the beach. This way, we have a chance at keeping everybody safe.”

Maya turned to walk away. “You still got that knife?” Sawyer called.

Maya turned back. “Yeah,”

“Good.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Don’t hesitate to use it, kay?”

Maya nodded. “Okay. You go and get us rescued, huh?” 

Sawyer smiled, and nodded to her. “I’ll make sure they find this place.”

She gave a slight smile then turned and headed off to the jungle group. She tried not to think about the fact that may be the last time she ever saw Sawyer again. Or Walt, Michael, and Jin. She did hope they made it. She just hoped the winds stayed in their favor and that a ship happened to pass by them. 

Maya found Locke on the beach. She asked if she might come with to the dynamite and the hatch. “You’re sure you wanna come with?” He asked. “We’ll miss the boat launch.”

Maya nodded. “If you’ll have me.”

Locke gazed at her. “Alright then. Come on, we’re headed out soon.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: The Black Rock

Maya followed Locke along the beach. She had a backpack with her with water, her knife, some fruit, and some strips of cloth in case anybody got hurt and needed a bandage. She didn’t know what else she would need, but figured it would be fine. Apparently Rousseau had said there was dynamite at the ‘black rock,’ so she left room in case they needed her to help carry any. She didn’t really know how big dynamite was. She assumed it wasn’t exactly like in the movies, where they labeled a giant box of red explosives and lit a string out from it.

Charlie came up to them suddenly with a bottle that was going on the raft. Maya agreed it was a good idea, and quickly wrote a message. Locke had just walked away. Maya wrote her parents number and address to call, and said:

Dear Mom and Dad. I’m okay, I survived the crash. I love you both, and I hope that this finds you so you know I’m okay. 

She kept it short and avoided any morbid topics. She handed her note to Charlie to put in the bottle, and walked away. She saw Walt and smiled. “Go and rescue us, kid,” Maya said to him. 

Walt smiled back. “I will.”

“Alright, let’s go,” Jack called. Maya walked over to the group and headed off. They walked along the shoreline pretty far out. They made it to rocky edges with moss and water from the sea that splashed over. They passed jagged breakaways along a cliff, and the terrain just kept getting less friendly the further they went. 

“We’ve got to keep moving,” Rousseau said, when they had taken a break on the stones. They made their way into the jungle and passed a running stream and waterfall. Maya would’ve found the hike very serene and beautiful if it weren’t for the situation. 

“The dark territory,” Jack repeated after Rousseau when they reached a marker she had presumably made with a cloth and stick.

Maya had forgotten that particular detail. She wondered what kind of things Rousseau had seen to make her call it the dark territory. She hoped that it was just simply because she hadn’t explored it very much, and therefore the territory was ‘dark’ to her. 

“The Black Rock is not far,” Rousseau said. Maya wondered what it looked like. Plenty of rocks are black. Was it big? If so, how big? Perhaps it had some sort of pattern or shape to it. 

“This is where it all began,” Rousseau said. “Where my team got infected. Where Montand lost his arm.” Maya stared at her with wide eyes. Well shit , she thought. “We must move quickly,” Rousseau instructed. 

“You know what?” Arzt said. “I’m going back.” 

Maya had had a similar thought, but there was no way in hell she was about to trek back alone. She also wasn’t about to leave the group and do it with the science teacher, either, so she stayed put and said nothing. 

“Hey,” Jack grabbed his shoulder. “I thought you wanted to help.”

“Yeah” Arzt replied, “I wanted to help. That was before Montand lost his frickin’ arm.”

“What about the dynamite?” Jack said. 

Arzt looked down, then directly to Jack. “Just be very careful with it.” He nodded, then turned away again, presumably to head back the way they came. 

Maya heard thunder rumble in the distance and the group glanced around at each other before continuing on. It started to downpour as they went into the ‘dark territory,’; despite the canopy coverage being very thick, they were quickly becoming soaked. Rousseau led them deeper and the group heard noises around them. Maya thought it sounded faintly like monkeys yelping but from very far away. 

“Did you hear that?” Kate asked over the rain.

Maya listened harder, and it began to sound more like whooping or dog barking– she really couldn’t quite place the sound. 

Suddenly Arzt appeared out of the trees. “Run! RUN!” He shouted. The strange noises were him panting and wheezing. Suddenly a larger sound could be heard– massive roaring, droning sort of sound from the distance behind him. Maya was scared shitless. As Arzt passed, she planned to run too but Locke put his arm out.

“What are you–” Hurley asked him.

“Just be still,” Locke said. Maya stared at him, wide-eyed and frightful. The others were gone, it was just her, Locke, and Hurley still standing there. The roaring sound was getting closer, and Maya thought she saw some of the trees move. 

“Dude, we gotta book,” Hurley said. Maya looked at him, nodding frantically. Locke still had his hand held up in a stop motion. 

“Wait,” Locke said. They paused. The rain was letting up, and the giant roaring sounded like it was moving away, as if by footsteps. “It’s headed the other way.”

Maya swallowed, breathing hard. She glanced up at Hurley and Locke, still scared out of her mind, but she listened and the noise was faint, she could hardly hear it anymore. Locke began to walk in the direction the rest of their group had ran, so Maya followed. Hurley caught up behind her. 

They approached Rousseau, and Kate and Jack followed behind her. Maya could tell they were all shaken up as well.

“Uh,” Hurley came up beside her. “Where’s Arnst?”

“That’s Arzt, you idiot,” Arzt said, quickly emerging from the trees and joining their little circle.

“Dude, I thought you were dead.” Hurley said.

“Can we just please go get the dynamite, please?” Arzt asked. Maya glanced around, still terrified of the noises they heard. The group continued on, Rousseau leading the way. 

After a little ways more Rousseau stopped and Maya almost bumped into her. “Why are we stopping?” Locke asked. 

“Because we are here,” she said, and gestured in front of her. Maya looked out. “This is the Black Rock,” Rousseau finished.

Maya gazed out at a slight clearing in the jungle. A giant wreck of an old sailing ship was perched in front of them. The ship was tangled up in all sorts of jungle matter, overgrown from decades, maybe even centuries, of lying vacant in the elements. Maya thought it resembled one of those old pirate ships you see in movies. They were pretty high up; it must have been some storm to get it stuck way up this far on the island. 

They slowly approached and Maya stared up at the ship in awe. She didn’t know exactly what she was expecting when Rousseau said ‘black rock,’ but it was certainly far from this. The closer they got, the bigger the ship seemed. Maya wondered how they would get up inside of it to even reach the dynamite. By the looks of the ship, it was at least from the 1800s. Maya didn’t know enough about ships to know exactly when, but the thing looked old .

“How exactly does something like… this happen?” Hurley asked.

“Are you on the same island as I am?” Rousseau responded.

Maya did think extremely strange things were happening here. She felt scared and confused. 

“Well I guess that explains it,” Hurley said. Jack and the others started moving towards the ship.

“Hold on. Hold on, wait. Whoa. Hold it, wait. What are we a couple a miles inland? A tsunami probably swept it here, huh? Right?” Arzt rambled. 

Maya watched Rousseau begin to walk back into the jungle. “Hey. Hey,” Jack called after her. “Hey where you going?”

“Explosives are in the haul of the ship,” She responded, and kept walking away.

“Rousseau, wait,” Jack called, following her. 

She stopped and turned around to face him. “I did what you asked. You need dynamite. You don’t need me.” Then she turned and headed into the jungle. Maya watched her leave. 

“Let her go, Jack,” Locke called. 

“Who’s gonna lead us back?” Jack asked. Maya hadn’t thought about that. 

“I’ll lead us back,” Locke responded. Maya hoped he did know the way. She certainly didn’t.

“Damn it,” Maya heard Jack say from behind her. “You heard her,” he said a little louder. “Explosives are in the hold. Let’s go.”

“Whoa whoa, hold on. Hold on,” Arzt said. “I came here to tell you how to handle dynamite, not explore some ghost ship.” He pointed up to the Black Rock. 

Maya looked between them. She wasn’t scared of the ship itself, just of its position and the noises in the jungle. Jack was right, they needed to get those explosives and go. 

“All right, fine just, stay out here,” Jack cut off Arzt. 

“Uh…I’m gonna stay out here and hang with Arnst,” Hurley said. 

Maya walked past him, ready to board the ‘ghost’ ship, as Arzt so wonderfully put it. She was fascinated by it, and not only for the dynamite in the hold, but for whatever else might be inside. She thought of old maps and treasure chests, and if not those, then at least some sort of artifacts that could point to when the ship landed and where it came from.

There was a gaping hole in the side of the ship, Maya hadn’t seen before. Locke went in first, then Jack followed. Kate went next, and Maya ducked inside after. It was dark, but there were plenty of holes letting light inside to catch glimpses of ropes and chains. Maya realized they were probably prisoner or slave chains, holding people at the bottom of the ship.

“Shit!” Maya exclaimed in a whisper. “Ugh,”

She had stepped on a skeleton leg. She passed her eyes along and noticed several people still chained to the walls of the ship, all crumbley and skeletal, but clearly those of humans. She took a step back, with a sickening crunch. She felt like she was going to be sick. Why she hadn’t thought of the fact that there might still be people on board is beyond her. Of course there would be, it’s not like whatever storm wrecked the ship just let everybody off to have a nice day. 

“Slaves,” Locke said. Maya scanned the room, noting the positions of the chained skeletons all around. She offered a quick prayer for God to save their souls, and followed Jack through the ship. Suddenly there was a loud clang and he turned, shining his flashlight at Locke who had knocked some metal thing over. Maya sighed and ran a hand through her hair. 

“This ship must have been en route to a mining colony,” Locke said. “Probably set off from the Eastern coast of Africa. Mozambique.” He fiddled with some of the chains. Maya stared down at them, thinking what a horrible fate to be subjected to.

Jack opened a creaky door and shined a light inside. Maya turned to watch him head inside, and she followed suit. There were old boxes everywhere, and more chains and ropes hanging from the ceiling. Spares, by the look of them. She lifted one of the crates and found small metal trays in a circle. She picked one up and looked closer. She suspected they might have been candle holders, but she wasn’t entirely sure. 

“Jack, Maya, John,” Kate said. “Over here,” Maya turned around and watched her rush over to the far end of the room. The three of them followed her. 

They came up to wooden crates with a faintly-labeled, in white, EXPLOSIVES . Maya peered over her shoulder. “That’ll be it,” she said with a head tilt. 

Kate went and grabbed a long mining axe. “You know what?” she said, “I can probably get it open if I just–”

“No, no, no,” Jack ran over and grabbed her arm. “We should take it outside,” he said. 

“Why? We don’t even know if this–”

“We’re not prying open a crate that says explosives on the side of it with a pick-axe, Kate.” Jack told her. 

“I agree with Jack,” Locke said. 

“I second that.” Maya added. “We don’t want to accidentally set anything off in a wooden ship that might have gunpowder laying about too.”

Locke nodded. “We take it outside, open it there.” 

“Okay,” Kate dropped the pick-axe and went to lift the crate. 

“I got it,” Jack said. “Mind showing us the way?” He handed Kate the flash light. She shined it back through the ship, and Maya held the creaking door open for Jack and Locke to hold the crate of explosives through. Soon enough, they were crawling back out the hole in the side of the haul and into the grassy clearing. 

Maya stood outside and watched as Locke and Jack carefully exited the ship, holding the crate. She heard yelling from Arzt behind her. 

“What the hell are you people doing?!” he shouted. “Wait, wait, stop! Stop right where you are!” He came up pointing to Jack and Locke. “Alright, I want you to put that down carefully. Put it down carefully.” Jack and Locke moved to lower the crate. “Put it– gently! Gently!” Arzt yelled.

Maya stepped back and watched. Maybe the explosives were really dangerous even without having to light a match near them. 

“Damn it! Carefully. Gently.” Arzt continued. Locke and Jack lowered the crate all the way down. Hurley had stood up and joined near them. 

“Gently,” Arzt repeated. Jack glanced up at him, clearly annoyed. “Alright now get outta there. Get away from it,” Arzt gestured at them to step away from the crate. “Come on, get out. Move away from it.”

Maya walked over to where Hurley stood behind Arzt and watched at a distance. 

“What the hell–” Jack began.

Arzt shushed him. “Be quiet.” Arzt sighed and walked over to the crate. “Do any of you have any idea what happens to dynamite in 90-plus degree heat?” He pulled out a pocket knife and bent down near the crate.

Maya looked around at the others, confused. They didn’t know either.

“Huh? Do ya know?” Arzt continued, while sliding the knife in the edge of the crate lid. “Any of you?” They all looked at each other, shook their heads, etc. 

Arzt lifted the crate lid up. “It sweats nitroglycerin,” he said, putting the lid carefully to the side. Jack started walking to the crate to see inside. “Whoa, hey, what are ya doin? Did I ask you to come closer?” Arzt held his hand up, exasperated. Jack retreated and Arzt carefully tested his hands down, seemingly psyching himself up, before reaching into the crate for one of the sticks. “Dynamite,” he said, “is nitroglycerin stabilized by clay.” Arzt slowly lifted one of the sticks out of the crate. 

He swallowed and continued talking, holding a gooey looking dynamite stick out. “Nitroglycerin is the most dangerous and unstable explosive known to man.”

Maya blanched and took another slight step in the grass backwards, behind the others a bit. She swallowed, and watched him carry it with wide-eyes. There’s no way she was putting some of those in her backpack if he was treating one singular one so gingerly. 

“Hey, Kate, give me your shirt,” Arzt called to Kate, still holding the boom-stick. Kate raised her eyebrows. “Now, princess, give me your shirt,” Arzt said again. “I need to wrap the dynamite.”

Kate took off her backpack and outer shirt, which she had on unbuttoned over a tank top. “Just throw it to me, right here,” Arzt said. “Be careful. Come on, hurry up.” Kate tossed it to him and he caught it with one hand. “Okay, good. Now back up, back up,” he gestured to the group. Maya had backed up even more and was getting anxious.

“Just back up,” Arzt said. He stood up and held the dynamite in one hand, the shirt in the other, “Get out of my way,” he said, walking over towards them. Maya turned and walked further away. “Any of you ever hear about the guy who invented nitroglycerin?” Arzt asked, kneeling down again with the dynamite, and dipping the shirt in a puddle of muddy water. “Probably not,” he said, as he soaked the shirt nice and good in the water puddle, “because he blew his frickin face off.” 

Maya stood back even further. Whelp , she thought, I really shouldn’t have come on this little trek, because I am not offering my services in transporting that dynamite back through the jungle. She could tell by the way Arzt was treating the situation that he knew it to be extremely volatile, and she didn’t think it was worth her life. 

Arzt continued his tale, while carefully laying the wet shirt over the stick of dynamite after standing up. “His lab assistant came into the room, saw that his mentor had detonated it, and he said, ‘huh, I guess this stuff does work.’” Arzst finished wrapping the shirt around the dynamite stick. He exhaled when he was finished, apparently satisfied with his job of it. “Alright,” he said, “Alright, we’re not gonna take any more of this stuff than we need,” he gestured to the crate behind him, “because nitroglycerin is extremely temperamental. So we just–”

Suddenly there was a loud BANG and a flash of light. The blast blew them back a bit and they fell over. Maya screamed as bits of flesh, twigs, and leaves fell down on them from the explosion. 

“Dude,” Hurley said. Maya sat up and brushed everything off of her. The look on her face was one of sheer and utter terror, mouth agape, and staring at the spot where Arzt had been a second ago. She covered a hand over her mouth, stifling a sob.

“Holy shit,” She cried out. Locke stood up and offered her a hand to help her to her feet. She took it, but she couldn’t look away from the spot that Arzt had just been standing moments ago. 

Hurley sat down on a log, also staring at the spot. “You okay?” Kate asked him.

“That was messed up,” he replied. Maya was shaking, just staring at the spot where they watched Arzt explode. She just kept playing it over and over in her mind, she couldn’t help it. One second he was there, and the next, bits of him were scattered about the clearing. She’d never witnessed anything so horrible– the plane crash she had been unconscious– and she didn’t know how to deal with what she had just seen. “He just…exploded…in front of us.” Hurley continued. “He was just trying to help…This is because I came.”

Maya knit her eyebrows at his remark. It temporarily pulled her out of her shocked state, and she looked at Kate. “What?” Kate said to him. Maya shook her head, confused. Of course it wasn’t his fault, it wasn’t really any of their faults…right?

“I’m…kind of bad luck,” Hurley said. 

“Hey,” Kate said. “It was an accident.”

“An accident,” Hurley repeated. “Yeah.”

Maya went back to staring at the spot where Arzst had been standing. She couldn’t help it. It was just stuck in her mind. It was so disturbing, words could hardly begin to describe it. Maya was absently aware of Jack and Locke digging around near the crate and the explosion wreckage, but she couldn’t focus on it. She just sat there staring into the middle-distance in the general spot that Arzt had stood. She was shaking, but didn’t notice. She just stared and stared. Maya tried to swallow, but she couldn’t. She gave up on trying, and just… stared at the spot. 

“It’s not smart to keep ‘em together. I think we should split ‘em up,” Locke was saying. Maya didn’t know what he was talking about. All she could do was stare at the spot. 

Hurley stood up and went over to them. Maya knit her brows again and stood up too, following him. She tore her eyes away from the spot and focused on the group.

“What about you?” Jack asked as Hurley approached. “Wanna carry some dynamite too?” Hurley didn’t respond. “What?” Jack asked.

“You got some… Arzt on you,” Hurley pointed. Maya turned right back around without a word and stared up at the trees behind the ship. She needed her mind off of what just happened, and she certainly wasn’t about to volunteer to carry some dynamite. If it were up to her, they would leave and forget about it, but it wasn’t up to her, and it seemed as though her crash-mates had death wishes. The thought of bits of Arzt on Jack made her want to puke.

Maya glanced over a little bit later to see Jack helping Kate put a backpack on. Maya turned away. She squinted up at the trees, wondering what sort of stupid idea they had to transport the dynamite back through the jungle that blew up Arzt who barely moved it two feet from a crate. When they headed back, she would be keeping her distance from them, should they suffer the same fate as Arzt. 

Maya approached the others when it seemed they were about ready to go, but she hung back near Hurley, away from John and Kate who were carrying the dynamite. 

“Sun sets in 90 minutes, give or take,” John said. “We wanna get back to the hatch, we’re gonna have to hustle.”

“Okay, this is how we do this,” Jack said. “I’ll lead, Kate, you’re right behind me. Then Hurley, Maya. And John, you bring up the rear.”

Maya was less than thrilled about being sandwiched between the two explosive carriers, but she also knew it was smarter than having the explosives next to each other and blowing both up unnecessarily. She just hoped she could keep the line a little bit spread out so that if John went off, it didn’t get her too. She didn’t care how selfish that was, she didn’t wanna die. 

“If you start to see me heading the wrong way–” Jack continued to John.

“We should stagger our formation,” John interrupted. “Keep a safe distance from each other.” Maya was grateful for John’s words.

Jack nodded. “Alright, we stagger. If anyone hears anything or sees anything–”

“Like the ‘security system’ that eats people?” Hurley asked. Maya supposed he meant the thing that made the roaring sounds when they were in the jungle earlier.

Jack nodded, “Yeah, like that.” He turned to Kate and John. “You two take your packs off, you put ‘em down, and you run, you got it?”

“Got it,” Kate nodded.

John exhaled, “Yes, sir.”

“Okay,” Jack nodded. “Let’s do this.”

Maya watched Jack set off, then Kate, and then Hurley. She waited for him to be a little ways off and then she followed. She glanced behind herself at John, who was keeping a safe distance behind her. She turned forward and kept going, glad she was out of blast range. 

They trekked slowly. Slower than before, careful of their temperamental cargo. They passed a running stream and Maya recognized the scenery, so she knew they were at least headed back in the right direction. Maya held her breath as Kate crossed over some of the jagged rocks over the stream.

“So, dude,” Hurley said as they were crossing it near where it flowed over a slight waterfall. “What do you think’s inside that hatch thing?”

“What do you think’s inside it?” Locke called from behind Maya. 

“Stacks of T.V. dinners from the 50s or something? And T.V.s, with cable, some cell phones. Clean socks. Soap. And twinkies, you know for dessert, after the T.V. dinners. Twinkies keep for like 8,000 years, man.”

At some point Hurley had fallen behind and was now bringing up the rear. Maya was stationed in between Kate and John at this point, and was well-aware. She couldn’t focus on the conversation taking place behind her. 

They came to a steep hill, and Maya watched Jack then Kate begin to descend down it. Suddenly they heard a screeching sort of sound, and a bird flew up off a branch and away.

“Whoever named this place ‘dark territory’... genius,” Hurley said. 

They continued on, carefully making their way down the hill. When they safely reached the bottom, they heard a strange buzzing and shrieky sound. Maya looked through the trees and caught a glimpse of, well, something. She snapped her head towards Kate, who was looking in the same direction. Jack seemed to have seen it too. 

“Yeah. I saw it,” Kate said to them. “We gotta get outta here.”

Kate and Jack suddenly ran and Maya cringed away. She was more concerned about the explosives in Kate’s backpack. Hurley ran after them, and so Maya began too. 

The shrieky noise sounded again, and a faint rumbling. They turned around, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. Suddenly, the dirt erupted in a giant swell and the roaring-droning noise they heard on their way to the Black Rock sounded close by. The ‘security system,’ that Hurley had mentioned. 

Jack lost his backpack, and Maya ran after him. Kate and Hurley were already running ahead. She turned around and saw John had taken his off too, but was going towards the sound. “John!” She called for him, but kept running towards the others. She didn’t wait to see if he was following. 

“Locke! What are you doing?” Jack yelled after him.

Jack ran past Maya in the other direction, towards Locke, but Maya continued away from the terrifying roaring noise. She heard a clicking and rattling of it, and another roaring sound that sounded closer. She continued to run, not bothering to look back for Jack and Locke. Stupid is on them for running towards it.

Maya suddenly ran into Kate, who had stopped. She quickly backed away and stood near Hurley. “Jack?!” Kate was calling, going towards the direction Maya had come. The roaring sound felt like it was all around them and it was getting louder. 

Maya ran to stop Kate and they stumbled on Jack and Locke. Locke was halfway in the ground and Jack holding him up, preventing him from being pulled below.

Kate ran back to grab Jack’s bag, which apparently was actually the one with the dynamite. Maya ran forward to help Jack hold onto Locke. She tried to pull, but he was beginning to slip.

“Don’t do this Kate!” Locke yelled when she came back with the dynamite. 

“Throw it in!” Jack yelled at her as Locke was slipping. 

“Come on!” Maya yelled as the roaring was getting louder and Locke was slipping past. 

“NOW, Kate!” Jack yelled. Kate chucked the dynamite into the hole and Maya braced herself, turning her face away to the side.

Maya saw a gust of black smoke rise out of the trees in front of them, and the roaring-droning sound emerging out of it. She watched in disbelief as it dissipated, along with the noise. She didn’t know what to make of what she saw, but whatever it was it was not normal. She shook her head and frantically looked around, wondering what that thing was.

She helped haul Locke out of the hole in the ground. They were all gasping for breath.

“What the hell was that?” Maya asked, not really expecting any of them to have an answer.

Jack looked out around where the smoke had risen out of and disappeared, shaking his head. “No idea,” he said, panting.

Later that night, they made torches in order to see their way in the dark. Maya would never have agreed to come if she thought they would still be way out in the jungle at nightfall, but here they were. She was glad she was travelling in a group, though, because if there were just two or three of them, she would feel highly unsafe. 

Eventually, they made it to the clearing where John and Boone had dug up the hatch. Locke carefully removed his backpack and set it down. Maya kept her distance from the explosives. 

“Hugo,” Locke called. “Take these extra sticks back a couple hundred yards.” Presumably he meant Hurley. 

“Me?” Hurley asked, looking around. “Oh. Okay,” he said warily. “Got it.”

Maya stepped a good distance away as Jack handed him the backpack. 

“Can I have a flashlight?” Hurley asked. “Cause, uh, the torch around the dynamite thing not making a whole lotta sense to me.” Jack traded him the flashlight for his torch.

“Kate, you run the fuse,” Locke handed it to Kate. “Jack and I will rig the charges.”

Maya watched from the treeline. She wasn’t getting near, and Locke seemed to know that. Maya was glad he didn’t question why she had come along if she wasn’t going to help. She just couldn’t bring herself to offer any help after seeing how quickly it was over for Arzt. Despite her best efforts, she still couldn’t get it out of her head. The sound of him raining down on them after the boom played on repeat in her mind, and was enough to drive her to the brink of having a breakdown. They certainly didn’t want someone in her unstable state handling the unstable dynamite, anyways.

Maya noticed the way the torchlight flickered amongst them. The trees seemed to move and shift, she couldn’t see just where they began. She tried to focus on Jack and Locke carefully placing the dynamite and running the wire through it, but the sound of the smoke thing that had almost dragged Locke down into the earth was still ringing in her ears. She focused intently on their wiring the explosives in order to ignore the foreboding feeling she got from the dark jungle around them. 

When Jack and Locke finished, Maya watched them approach Kate, who had pulled the fuse line a ways away. 

“I’ll light it,” Locke said to them. “You take cover. There’ll be enough burn time for me to clear.”

Jack called out to Hurley. Maya took her torch and prepared to retreat further away from the hatch they were about to blow. 

“Wait! Just a sec, coming!” Hurley called.

Maya walked past Kate and Jack and ventured deeper into the trees than them. They ducked behind one, and Maya took her spot a few trees behind theirs. She made sure to continue watching their torchlight, but she didn’t want to risk being anywhere near the blast. 

“Are we ready?” Locke called.

“Wait a sec, wait a sec,” Maya faintly heard Hurley respond. “I’m here,” he said, walking by with a flashlight, which he dropped as he passed the hatch. 

Maya turned back to the other side of the tree and waited for Locke to say they were going. She would cover her ears and close her eyes when that happened. For now, she sat with her torch and stared out at the dark jungle. 

“Stop!” Hurley suddenly yelled. Maya peered from around her tree. “Stop! We can’t do this!” Hurley came stumbling over to Locke. “Stop! Wait! Stop! We can’t do this! Stop it!” He was running towards Locke at that point. 

“Stop it! We can’t!” Hurley called again. Maya watched Jack and Kate stand up, confused. “Stop! Don’t light it! We can’t do this!” Hurley continued running towards them. Locke had flicked on a lighter. “Stop! What are you– we gotta stop it! The numbers are bad! Stop it!” Maya watched a spark near Locke and realized he lit it. She ignored Hurley’s protests, and sunk down behind her tree again. She stabbed her torch into the ground beside her, covered her ears with her hands, and closed her eyes.

Maya heard the boom despite covering her ears. She felt it in the earth too, everything shook slightly. Maya opened her eyes and removed her hands from her ears. She slowly stood up and peered around her tree. She grabbed her torch and caught up with the others who were moving towards the hatch. Maya was curious what would be inside.

Kate handed Locke her torch and he lowered it towards the hatch so they could all see. Maya moved closer to the group, standing beside Kate, ready to see the broken door and hopefully find out what is inside the hatch.

Maya watched Jack and Locke jump down onto it. She looked down at their feet and saw the door rattled off its hinges. Jack and Locke lifted it up and removed it, placing it off to the side. Maya leaned in closer to see. It was too dark to tell, but it looked like it went really far down. 

—-----------------

[~end of season 1 in the show~], in case anyone would like to know