Carpe Diem - Part 1

Carpe Diem - Part 1

Hurley sat alone near the entrance of the caves, watching people hurry by. He wondered why everyone suddenly seemed so distant and withdrawn. Hadn’t Jack said not all that long ago that the only way they would survive on the island would be to stick together? Well that was the old days, Hurley guessed, people had obviously changed their opinions on such things since then. The threat of possible others in the jungle and an unknown beast lurking just out of sight had put everyone on edge and Jack’s frequent absences wasn’t helping much. Hurley wondered why he, Kate and Locke hadn’t given up on the hatch yet. Jack himself had said it’d be near impossible to get down there and they had no idea how far it went. Well it’s their problem now, Hurley told himself. He sighed and reached for his headphones. Placing them firmly over his ears, he switched on his personal CD player and let the sound of Damien Rice fill his ears. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the rough walls of the caves. Music always relaxed him.

Hurley awoke with a jerk and was surprised to find it almost pitch black inside the caves. A small smouldering fire was flittering on the edge of death, as if debating whether to stay alight or to plunge the caves into complete darkness. Hurley glanced at it and then looked around the rest of the caves. Everyone was fast asleep. He wondered what had stirred him when he heard it again. Voices, just out of sight. He took off his headphones and walked cautiously out of the caves. Just outside stood Jack, Kate, Locke and Sayid, conversing in fast but quiet tones.

“Hey dudes.”

They all turned sharply at the sound of his voice, dropping whatever conversation they had been having previously.

“Hurley.” Jack’s eyebrows rose slightly as he said Hurley’s name.

Hurley nodded. “So…still working on the hatch?”

Jack glanced at the other three; all shared equally nervous looks, then back at Hurley.

Jack hesitated for a moment before he spoke. “Yeah.”

“Any closer to getting down it?”

Jack shrugged. “Not really.”

Hurley glanced at the foursome and seeing their expressions decided it best to leave.

“Well, see ya then.” He took a step back and gave a quick wave of his hand.

Jack acknowledged this with a quick nod before turning back to Kate, Locke and Sayid. Hurley turned and walked back into the caves. He sat down in his original place and with one final glance towards Jack and the others, rested his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Hurley awoke the next day later than the rest of the caves inhabitants. He sat up to see that there were now only a few people bustling around, most having wondered down to the beach or gone into the jungle to collect some fruit for the others. A quick glance across the caves showed Hurley that about ten people remained. His gaze rested on Charlie, stood by the waterfall filling up bottles. With a slight smile he climbed heavily to his feet. He wasn’t going to sit around for another day with nothing to do. He’d go up to Charlie and see if he wanted to go fishing. That’s take Hurley’s mind off all of the other worried troubling him. He walked swiftly over to Charlie.

“Hey dude.”

“What?” Charlie jumped and turned around, relaxing slightly when he saw who had addressed him. “Oh hey. What’s up?”

“Just wondering if you wanted to go catch some fish.”

Charlie looked away slightly guiltily. “Sorry, can’t.”

Hurley’s face fell. “Oh ok.”

Charlie immediately noticed Hurley’s expression. “I will tomorrow though. It’s just, I’m on Turniphead watch duty.”

Hurley looked confused. “What?”

Charlie gestured across the caves to where Claire was sat holding baby Aaron and cooing at him gently.

Hurley nodded. “Oh right.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“No it’s ok, dude.” Hurley shrugged and wondered back to his seat.

Sitting down, he glanced over at Charlie who had carried three bottles of water over to Claire and was now setting them down and taking Aaron from Claire’s arms. Hurley sighed downheartedly. Now what? He didn’t really want to go fishing alone but there wasn’t much else to do. Looking for any tiny thread of hope he could find, he noticed Shannon sat alone, looking sad and blotchy-eyed, while petting Vincent. Well, no harm in trying he thought and with a deep breath he climbed back to his feet once more.