Just taking a breather [open]

[Hurley Reyes]

Hurley sat in the sand a short distance away from where the metal carcass of the fuselage sat, still smoldering. Everything was so surreal... just a few hours ago he'd been rushing through the lobby of the airport, and his only goal was making it onto the plane in time so as not to miss his mom's birthday. Now, he'd have given half his fortune not to have been on his plane. No, take that back. He'd have given his entire fortune.

The sun was mercilessly hot, and Hugo could feel his T-shirt sticking to his skin, damp with sweat... and quite possibly other fluids which he'd rather not think about. Or look at. The scene in front of him was difficult to look at, to put it mildly. Planecrashes didn't exactly make ideal backdrops. The chunks of metal strewn across the beach were still smoldering, some still even flaming. Most of the passengers had moved away from the immediate wreckage, seeking to get themselves away from the fumes and the sharp, jagged wreckage. But there were still bodies here and there among the pieces of metal, the disembodied seat cushions and lost suitcases. And they were still there because they didn't have the option of moving. Because they couldn't move. Because they were dea-

Don't think about it, Hurley chided himself silently, averting his gaze to the side so that he was no longer looking directly at the bodies, the people who hadn't survived the crash. He lifted his arm and wiped his forearm across his forehead, to remove any sweat droplets that threatened to drift lower into his eyes. He felt tired, and particularly sore. After all, being thrown to the ground after an explosion and subsequent fireball came your way wasn't exactly a smooth movement. It seemed like all he'd done today was one running chain of excercise, in some form or another. Not that he minded--he just wished he could have eased into it a little more. Lowering his gaze, Hurley closed his eyes for a moment to block out the brightness of the sun. Judging from that brightness, it was probably a little after noon. Lunchtime. With that revelation, his stomach seemed to realize he hadn't eaten breakfast that morning, and made it's discomfort known with a familiar gurgling, churning sound. "Crap." was all he could say in response, with a heavy sigh.

[Charlie Pace]

Squinting from the sun, Charlie breathed heavily while his arms hung limply as his sides. Smoke was still flying everywhere along with flames here and there. Not to mention the dead bodies. It was surely quite a sight. Although it was a sight that no one would want to remember every night before they went to sleep, which was probably going to happen to almost everyone for a while. Charlie tried to shake the thought out of his mind. After all, they were going to get rescued soon, right?

Wiping sweat from his forehead, Charlie glanced around to find a spot to lay down. He had been helping people get to safety for the past hour. Biting his lower lip, there was a particular lonely figure sitting down not too far away. If they were stranded on an island, one might as well try to get to know people. Charlie slowly walked over to the man. He didn't seem in too good shape. Furrowing his brows, Charlie couldn't help but stare at the man the closer he got to him. He seemed to be in as much as a shock as everyone else. The poor lad.

"Who would've imagined, right?" Charlie bluntly said. Thinking about why the crash happened was the one thing he didn't want to think about. If the plane crashed already, then it crashed and there was nothing they could do about it now. "You alright?" He asked him noticing that the word crap erupted from him. Without asking, Charlie fell into the sand next to person. A heavy sigh followed shortly after once Charlie noticed that there was quite a view of the crash from where they were sitting.

[Hurley Reyes]

"Who would've imagined, right?"

"Huh?" Hurley's head bobbed upward to find the source of the words, and quickly landed on a man standing in front of him. The guy looked to be about his same age. He had messy dirty-blonde hair, and a distinctive clothing style that was far different from Hugo's own (but then again, it was harder to find clothing at his size anyway). The man was quite a bit shorter than himself, but Hurley didn't bother standing to really check. He simply didn't have the energy. "Oh," he replied after a moment. "Yeah."

The other man came to rest in the sand next to him, and Hurley glanced at him sideways. He knew he ought to be a bit more friendly to this person, but he couldn't help it. This was the biggest trauma Hurley had been through since the decking accident. Of course, this time he knew it wasn't his fault. He wasn't stupid enough to claim his weight crashed the plane. But all the same, shock seemed to be setting in after the adrenaline of the initial aftermath of the crash, and he didn't quite know how to deal with it. Before, he'd always had doctors... and even nagging family members. "Sorry I'm not exactly... chipper," Hurley said after a moment. "It's been, uh, kinda a bad day.

Feeling that he'd produced enough of an apology, Hurley turned fully around to look at the stranger. Neither of them were exactly too worse for the wear. A few scrapes and bruises, but nothing like what had happened to other people. He'd heard someone talking earlier, about a guy with a chunk of schrapnel clean through the center of his chest. Right through his guts and everything. The thought of it nearly made Hurley shudder, and he looked down at his own massive stomach as if to reassure himself that there were no lethal metal pieces sticking through it. No, he'd been one of the lucky ones he supposed. After he helped that pregnant girl away from the explosion, he basically crawled away to safety and let others play the hero. He wasn't and he knew it; no sense in pretending.

"What's your name, dude?" He asked the stranger, his chocolate brown eyes fixing themselves upon the newcomer, though they were squinted against the sunlight.

[Charlie Pace]

A small explosion erupted from within the plane engine. It produced quite a few sparks but luckily none of them were dangerous. Charlie couldn't help but stare at the dead bodies laying out on the beach. Those poor souls, they didn't even know what was coming. Along with the other half of the plane, it must've fallen into the ocean somewhere, never to be seen again. Charlie was thankful for being alive even if he didn't feel like it. It took all his energy just to look away from the scene. Small words were uttered from the man sitting beside him, which drew Charlie's attention back to him again.

The man didn't seem very talkative or maybe it was just shock settling in. "No worries mate..." Charlie muttered softly as he got the vibe that he should probably be keeping talking to a minimum. A small chuckle came out of Charlie when the comment about a bad day came up. Charlie could already tell that this man most likely had a sense of humor. That was the first grin on his face since he had gotten on the plane. Charlie's eyes grew wide once he remembered what he was doing on the plane earlier before. Cautiously, Charlie slide his hand against his pant leg and felt a small lump. He sighed softly as he realized that his heroin hadn't fallen out of his pocket.

All Charlie was thinking about now was when rescue was going to come. This crash was just a minor set back. Soon enough they would be on their way to safety or so he thought. If he was by himself right now, Charlie would've punched a tree or something. Life was looking brighter than usual before he had gotten on the plane. Learning the news of his brother was good, and that was all that mattered to get the band back together. Raising his eyebrows, Charlie noticed that the man had spoken again. "Er....Charlie" He replied faintly but was glad that they were talking again. "I hope we get off this bloody island soon" He commented before asking, "And your name?"

[Hurley Reyes]

Hurley's head jerked upwards as a loud hiss emitted from somewhere in the mass of wreckage, followed by a shower of sparks, which burst outward and landed harmlessly on the sand. It might have been from the engine, but he hadn't been paying enough attention to have noticed until the sparks flew through the air, obscuring their source. Hurley could only sit in disbelief at what was happening around him. He could only hope there were no more people in there. He was one of the lucky ones; he could actually see the sparks. His gaze was not fixed, outwards and cold, like so many of the others who'd been on the plane.

Hugo heard the man next to him let out a small chuckle as he said he'd been having a bad day, and for the first time since he'd made it onto the plane on time, he felt a small smile part his lips. Strangely, it felt good to smile after such a serious event; however, it didn't last long. The smile faded from his lips nearly as quickly as it had come, and it was replaced by a mere thin, flat line. He simply didn't have it in him to act too happy for too long at the moment.

"Yeah dude," Hurley agreed, as Charlie wistfully expressed a desire to get out of there. "Me too. I won't take to long. I mean, coast guard will pick us up, or something, right?" He wasn't sure that was quite right, but that's what always seemed to happen on tv shows or movies, and so he assumed it would happen that way too. Anyway, there weren't any unchartered islands left in the world anyway, so they'd know where they landed. Plus, the black box would probably help. "Oh, and, name's Hurley."

Hugo was beginning to sink into silence again, when he had a revelation. Of course, why hadn't he thought of it before? "Dude!" Hurley plunged a hand into the pocket of his jeans. It emerged a second later, his cell phone clutched in his fist. "I forgot!" He flipped open the phone, praying it wasn't broken. It seemed to be in good condition. "Ha! Look, it's fine, we'll just call... I don't know, the cops or something, and we'll be fine!"

[Charlie Pace]

Charlie leaned back on the palms of his hands. Tilting his head, he silently watched the many people still crying from the crash and lost loved ones. Unlike those people, Charlie wasn't riding with any family. And for once in his life, he was glad that he was by himself for the flight. Heck, Charlie didn't even have a wife or any kids. The only thing he looked forward to back at home was seeing his brother, Liam. If they even got back home.

Charlie took a quick glance at Hurley and noticed the quick smile he had given. It gave Charlie the satisfaction that he was able to make someone's day a little brighter. "I bloody well hope so" He said breathlessly and carefully lowered his back onto the sand. He then stretched out his body and closed his eyes from the simmering sun. It was nice to just lay there and not think about the crash only for a few minutes. He would have given anything for this day to be over. Charlie jerked his head up and looked at Hugo once he heard the excitement in his voice.

Furrowing his brows, Charlie wasn't quite sure how to react at first. "Why didn't you say something?!" He exclaimed, quickly bringing himself up. Charlie's eyes grew wide from the appearance of the cell phone. "Bloody hell! It is a cell phone!" He blurted out. Charlie's mouth hung open in shock. If they had a cell phone then that meant they could call for help. Then they would be rescued so not all hope was lost now.

"What are you doin' just sitting there?! Call for rescue!" Charlie burst out. A wide grin came across his face as he stood up and started jumping crazily before yelling, "We got a cell phone! A phone! Aha!" Charlie had been so excited by the fact they had a phone, that he had forgotten to see if it was going to work or not. Deserted islands weren't known to have service.

[Hurley Reyes]

"Bloody hell! It is a cell phone!"

Charlie stood uo quickly and started jumping excitedly, and another smile spread across Hurley's face. How could he have forgotten? And he'd even charged it last night, and nearly left it in his hotel room as he ran out the door. He had to go back for the stupid thing, wasting more time that nearly cost his spot on the plane. Not that he would regret that now. Now, he'd probably give anything to have missed it by even a few minutes. Now he would have hugged the attendant for not letting him onto the terminal, rather than having mercy and allowing him passage. But that was beside the point now.

Hurley began to laugh as he too got to his feet. He grinned across at Charlie. "I can't believe I didn't think of it," he repeated, his eyes shining with excitement and hope. Everything was going to be fine now. They'd just call someone, and then the navy or the marines, or the coast guard, or SOMEBODY would come rescue them. He'd make it home in time for mom's birthday, he'd get the hell off this rock and never have to look back. He was so caught up in even finding the phone that for a moment he was too busy laughing and whooping to even open the thing. Finally he calmed down enough to do so.

"Alright, here goes!" He pulled open the top of the phone and held it out in front of him, at chest level. The sunlight glinted off the silver of the phone. It was one of the newer ones, a flip phone, not like the old chunky models that a lot of people still had. Of course, he could afford it--he was a multi, multi millionaire. A frown tilted his lips downward as he stared at the screen for a moment. No... no, it couldn't be. "There's... there's no service." He said, looking crestfallen. He pulled the phone closer to his face, dialing a number, and then pressed the reciever to his ear, listening. A beeping tone and an automated message reinforced his worst nightmare. "It's not working." His frown deepened, and he sat back down on the sand with a thud, feeling utterly heartbroken. It seemed they were going to be here for a while.

[Charlie Pace]

All Charlie could think of was getting off the island now. Even though that was what he had been thinking about earlier. And even if Hurley's phone didn't have batteries, they could still go around and ask people for their cell phone. There had to be at least one other person. That lucky person with the phone was right beside Charlie though. "You're gonna be a hero, Hurley!" He exclaimed with arms outstretched. Some of the survivors around them stared. They must've thought the two of them were crazy or something. Probably the heat, Charlie heard someone say. He didn't care about them though.

A wide grin covered Charlie's face as he eagerly waited for Hurley to dial. He bent down and scooted next to Hurley, looking at the phone's screen from Hugo's shoulder. Charlie licked his lips but then made a disgusted face. They tasted dry and salty from the ocean. Boy was he thirsty for water. That wasn't what mattered at the moment though. Once he got home he could drink all the water he wanted.

"There's... there's no service."

At those very words, Charlie's mouth dropped. "Wh-what? That can't be!" He rambled. Their worst nightmare had happened. No service on the darn island. Charlie fell to his knees in disbelief. The news was just sinking in. No service, how could that be? Their last hope had failed them and now all they could do was wait. Charlie pounded the ground in anger before stopping to look at Hurley's disappointment. "Ahh....We should've known it wouldn't work" He said softly as his gaze fell to the ground.

[Hurley Reyes]

Hurley almost laughed when Charlie proclaimed loudly that he was going to be a hero for getting them all rescued. Hurley wasn't hero material. He never had been, and he was well away of it. After all, he had spent several months is a psychiatric ward. On the most elementary level, he was unstable at best. He was a follower; he allowed other people to plot the course, and then he simply followed along and hoped things went for the best. Here, Charlie's statement made him feel terrible, rather than its desired effect. It wasn't Charlie's fault, of course. Hurley liked him for his confidence and his energy. It was just depressing because it was such a big let-down. To think all your problems were going to be solved, and then, such disappointment...

Charlie looked simply horrified. His mouth dropped open in surprise, or terror, Hurley couldn't exactly distinguish the difference between the two emotions at the moment. They very well could have been one and the same. He let out a cry of disbelief, and Hurley's heart went out to him. This was terrible. He'd just given his new friend hope that they were going to be rescued, and then blown it. Well, okay, that wasn't quite being fair to himself. After all, it wasn't his fault his cell phone didn't get service on a stinking island in the middle of the ocean. But he couldn't help but feel responsible for Charlie's disappointment. He shouldn't have riled him up so much. But that was Hurley, it was who he was.

"Sorry dude," he said apologetically, looking thoroughly cresftallen. The light that had been in his eyes a moment before had utterly died, leaving his irises with a dullness worse than what had been there previously. "Yeah, I shoulda known," he repeated distantly, before turning to face Charlie once more. "I didn't mean to, you know, get your hopes up. I just thought..." he trailed off, because it was fully obvious what he thought. That it was going to work, and they were going to be rescued. Poor, naive Hugo Reyes. He sank back into the sand and stared at the ground. "So how long do you think before they, you know, rescue us?"

[Charlie Pace]

Charlie sighed heavily as he stared blankly at the sand. Maybe he had over reacted. He took a quick glance at Hurley, and suddenly Charlie felt a bit bad. He knew he should've chosen his words more wisely. It was wasn't all Hugo's fault. Charlie was just dumb enough to believe that there could be service on a deserted island out in the middle of no where. Heck, no one even knew where they landed. And worst of all, no one knew where the captain landed. It was somewhere on the island, but that would probably take a few days to figure out. Who knew what dangers layed inside the jungle. For one thing, it was certainly big.

Charlie was glad that Hurley was talking more than before now, even if it wasn't the best news to be heard. "No no Hurley, it wasn't your fault" He said determinedly. In Charlie's mind, it truly wasn't and he wanted Hugo to know that. It seemed like rescue wasn't going to be coming by the end of the day. But how long would it take? Not long hopefully. Charlie looked away from the sand and gazed behind them. The jungle and mountains layed there. "Maybe....maybe if we get high enough, we could get a signal" Charlie said faintly.

"Oh well, just an idea" He said with a soft grin. Still feeling guilty for Hurley's change in mood, Charlie decided to keep his mind away from what had just happened. He stood up and brushed the grass and sand off himself. "C'mon let's go find something to do" He suggested, squinting at Hurley. He then offered Hugo his hand in motivation to get up. Although nothing was for sure that Charlie could help Hugo stand.

ooc: if you want, you can start a new thread somewhere else as your next post