2007
Hurley moved branches out of his way as he walked nonchalantly through the jungle. Ben, soaked from the ocean, chased after him.
“Wait, Hugo,” Ben called out, but Hurley did not stop or respond. Ben confusedly, shouted “Hugo!? Hey! What’s wrong??”
Out of frustration, Hurley could not decide where to go or what to do. He turned to Ben and replied, “Just go away and leave me alone for a while, dude.”
“Why? What did I do?” Ben asked.
Hurley shook his head and sighed, “You disappeared on me, man! You didn’t tell me what you were up to. I am the top guy now. I kinda need to know all the plans and stuff.”
Ben, with the look of extreme disappointment on his face, stared back at him. “Oh, I’m sorry. Here I am thinking that I was doing the right thing by getting the boat for Desmond. It was the least I could do for him considering what I put him through.”
Hurley took a couple of steps toward Ben and tried to keep his own disappointment from showing. “It’s not what you did, Ben. Yes. I agree. It was the right thing to do, but c’mon man … can you just clue me in next time? Please?”
Ben sulked. His head yielded the glare Hurley was giving him and nodded as he replied, “Sure…and I’m sorry, Hugo.”
“Yeah, me too,” Hurley answered with another sigh as he turned to walk away.
“What do you want me to do??” Ben asked.
“Go dry off in the sun on the beach or somethin’. I just need to be alone for a bit,” Hurley answered as he walked away, farther into the jungle.
Hurley made his way to the caves where he once stayed with the other survivors of the flight 815 crash. Parched from the walk and high noon sun, he went inside to the running spring for a drink. The cave was much cooler and mustier smelling than he had remembered. Hurley cupped his hands under the small waterfall and took a drink, then splashed his face. The cool water was refreshing as Hurley closed his eyes to enjoy it.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash from a rock that dropped behind him. The echo filled the cave for a brief moment. Hurley whipped around only to find nothing there.
“Hello?” he called out, “Ben, is that you??” but there was no response. The sound of the waterfall could only be heard. Hurley slowly looked over at the skeletal bodies, known to him as Adam and Eve, lying in the aperture in the wall where they were laid to rest.
“Did you guys hear that?” The sound of water splashing against stone was the only reply.
Hurley gulped with nervousness.
“C’mon Ben, this isn’t funny, man!” he said as he walked slowly to the opening of the cave. Another sound of rocks moving and falling rang through the cave. Hurley skeptically moved forward, peeking out of the opening to see what was lurking outside. Instantly, a large, brown-feathered bird leaped to the sky, frightened by the site of him. Hurley gasped in shock as he fell to the ground when the bird passed by his head.
Hurley lay face down for a moment in the loose grass and mud, completely embarrassed by what had happened. Realizing this could compromise the integrity of his new role on the island, he sat up. He looked around hoping that Ben had not seen him. At first, Hurley chuckled at himself. The laughter made its way to tears, tears of helplessness.
“Is that any way for a guardian to act?” a familiar voice asked.
Hurley turned to see who spoke and froze in shock. He could not believe his eyes. In the distance, wearing army green pants, hiking boots, a matching green hunting vest over a tan t-shirt, was none other than John Locke. He stared back at Hurley with a coy smile. His left hand was holding the strap of the pack on his back. Stunned motionless, Hurley wondered if what he was looking at was the real John Locke, or had the black smoke returned. He blinked his eyes hard twice to refocus and looked back. Locke smiled in acknowledgement as he lifted his right hand to give a two-fingered salute just above his right eye, and then walked off into the jungle.
When he realized it really could have been Locke, Hurley rushed to get up as quickly as he could. “Wait!” he shouted, “Wait! Locke!” Once to his feet, he ran as fast as he could in the direction Locke had gone. He pushed branches out of his way as he ran, but there was no sign of Locke. Hurley slowed his pace in disappointment. “Locke?!” he cried out again as he moved more of the brush from his path. Again, there was no response to his cries.
Hurley came to a clearing in the middle of the jungle. Out of breath, he sat on a nearby fallen tree log. The sun shined through the forest, lighting up the area as a breeze moved the treetops. Frustrated and thinking that he had lost his mind, Hurley started to whimper. He tried to hold back, but it was no use. The events of the past few days finally had taken its toll. He bowed his head and let the tears fall.
Sounds of someone walking came from behind. Hurley opened his eyes widely and wiped the tears away. He turned his head.
“Now, I thought I asked … is that any way for a guardian to act?”
Hurley’s jaw dropped, “Locke…” he said with a relieving sigh.
Locke smiled calmly as he put one leg on the log close to where Hurley was sitting and replied, “Hello, Hugo”.
Very concerned, Hurley asked, “Is it really you?”
“I’m sure you’re able to tell the difference between a dead person like me versus say, an imposter, Hugo.” Locke answered with a comforting tone.
“Dude! It is you!!” Hurley shouted with glee. Then sudden confusion came over him and asked, “Why are you here?”
“Because, Hugo, you have work to do,” Locke responded.
Locke straddled the log and took some guava out of his backpack. He then took out a hunting knife and proceeded to peel the fruit.
“I know what you are gonna say, dude,” Hurley started, “that I am not cut out for this. Protecting the island is important and I don’t have the experience needed to do it.”
“On the contrary,” Locke chuckled, “You are the only right person for this job and precisely what this island needs right now.”
Hurley smiled, “Thanks, but I’m not too sure.”
“That’s why I’m here, Hugo. To help you realize that,” Locke advised.
“How? I don’t know anything about survival. I always sat back and let everyone else do that,” Hurley claimed.
“What you need is a few things, Hugo… like confidence. But first, you need to eat.” Locke handed Hurley a perfectly peeled guava. “Here. I certainly don’t need it,” Locke smiled.
Hurley bit into the freshly picked fruit. It tasted perfectly ripe. The juices practically exploded in his mouth, instantly soothing him. Locke smiled with admiration, and then looked in the distance.
“Now, what I am about to tell you is very important. It may not be easy for you to hear, but you must, and there is not much time,” Locke warned. “You have a gift, but you already know that. Not only can you see people who have died, you also know how to take care of people,” Locke continued, “You need to start a community, and keep them safe. The rest of the survival parts will come a lot easier than you realize.”
“How do I do that?” Hurley asked, chewing on a piece of guava.
“There are people here already to start you off,” Locke answered, “More people will come in time. Watch them.”
“You mean Rose and Bernard?” Hurley swallowed.
“To start. You need to go to the temple,” John advised, “There you will find more of what you need.”
“How can I keep them safe? I nearly ran scared after seeing you.” Hurley admitted.
Locke chuckled, “If you feel you don’t have the strength within you my friend, then you can always rely on the technology around you.” Locke leaned forward to talk more seriously. “You must keep them, as well as this island, safe, Hugo.”
Hurley gulped in anticipation of what was going to be said next.
“Good cannot exist without the presence of evil. It’s all about balance,” Locke continued, “Once the scale starts to tip, then the opposing side compensates to keep that balance. People will come and try to take the island from you. There will be times of hard decisions. Sacrifices will need to be made to protect this sacred place. You will have to live with the decisions you make the rest of your … possibly very, very long life here.”
Hurley stared at Locke and muttered, “Great.”
The late afternoon sun peered through the trees. Locke looked up and closed his eyes. “I don’t have long, Hugo.”
“What? Why?” Hurley asked.
“I am not the only one here, but you know that,” Locke advised, “I am not with them, and unfortunately my time here is very limited.”
“Dude, you just got here. Please don’t dump all this information on me then take off,” Hurley pleaded.
“I am just passing through to check in on you before I move on. I’m sorry, Hugo. I don’t make the rules,” Locke responded.
“Wait…” Hurley paused, “I do.”
Locke smiled, “There you go, you are finally starting to get it.” He stood up from straddling the log. “This island is every bit of special, as you are. It is the source, the light that is in all of us. You are partners. If you listen, it will tell you what it needs. If you give the island what it needs, it will give back to you. Watch, listen, and learn.”
Hurley looked up at Locke, “Dude… do you mean what I think you mean?”
Locke put his hand on Hurley’s shoulder. “You better get a move on.”
“Should I go get Ben and bring him too?” Hurley asked, more accepting of his challenge.
“Ben needs to be watched also, Hugo. Anyone can take redemption upon him or her, but for someone like him … well let’s just say I would be surprised,” Locke recommended.
“I know he killed you so you have some resentment towards him. I have to have faith in him. I need his help,” Hurley claimed as he stood up.
“No, Hugo, I have no resentment. Rest assured that when he took my life he had a small amount of enjoyment in it. He did think he was doing everything for the island, however misguided it was.” Locke seemed to get visibly frustrated. “When I died I was left with the feeling of uncertainty. I didn’t know what the purpose was. The burning question of ‘Why’ filled my soul,” Locke explained, “It took some time to realize what that purpose was.”
Hurley waited a moment, then asked, “What, dude?”
Locke looked at Hurley and smiled, “My destiny in that life was to die … not to bring you all back here … but to watch over you.”
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