Chapter 23: The Raft Project - Part 2
The raft was nearly finished, its bamboo frame gleaming in the afternoon sun as Michael made final adjustments with obvious pride. His modifications were invisible to casual inspection—exactly as Mac had intended when he'd reinforced the structure under cover of darkness. But Walt's warning echoed louder in Mac's mind with each passing day, a prophetic drumbeat that spoke of disaster approaching on ocean winds.
Mac threw himself into constructing an elaborate beacon system along the beach, ostensibly designed to guide the raft back to shore or signal potential rescuers. Signal fires with complex triggering mechanisms. Reflective panels that could be seen for miles. Smoke generators built from salvaged materials. Emergency flares positioned at strategic intervals.
In reality, he was building the system because he knew the raft would fail and they'd need alternatives when everything went wrong.
His Phase Two construction abilities worked overtime, creating mechanisms that responded to multiple activation methods while remaining simple enough for panicked survivors to operate. Mac's hands moved with supernatural precision, weaving electronics and mechanical systems into elegant solutions that looked like random beach improvements to casual observation.
Kate found him working feverishly on the third day of beacon construction, his energy carrying the manic edge of someone driven by knowledge he couldn't share.
"You're preparing for the raft to fail," Kate said quietly, watching Mac install yet another backup signaling device.
Mac couldn't meet her eyes. "I'm preparing for every possibility."
"That's not what this is." Kate's fugitive instincts read his body language like an open book. "You know something. Something specific about what's going to happen."
Mac's hands stilled against the beacon mechanism. How could he explain that his certainty came from borrowed memories of a television show where these events had already been scripted? That his knowledge was fragmentary and painful but absolute in its conviction that disaster was approaching faster than anyone realized?
"I know the ocean's dangerous," Mac said finally. "And I know that when things go wrong out there, people die if they're not prepared."
Kate studied his face, seeing fear and certainty warring behind his careful neutrality. She'd learned to trust Mac's inexplicable instincts, but this level of preparation suggested knowledge that went beyond normal caution.
"What aren't you telling me?" Kate asked.
Mac forced himself to focus on the beacon construction, his hands working automatically while his mind wrestled with the impossibility of honest explanation.
"That I dream about Walt screaming," Mac said quietly. "And boats burning. And people dying in ways I can't prevent despite all these powers I never asked for."
The admission hung between them like a confession. Kate's expression softened with understanding of the burden Mac carried—not just the weight of impossible abilities, but the responsibility of knowledge that came without the power to change what he knew was coming.
"We'll be ready," Kate said firmly. "Whatever happens, we'll handle it."
Mac wanted to believe her, but his fragmented memories whispered warnings about forces beyond their control and plans that had been in motion long before Flight 815 ever crashed.
That afternoon, Michael gathered the camp to announce the raft crew selections. The anticipation was palpable—everyone knew that four spots meant difficult choices and inevitable disappointment for those left behind.
"Me, Walt, Jin, and Sawyer," Michael announced with the authority of someone who'd built the vessel with his own hands. "We launch at dawn."
Protests erupted immediately. Jack confronted Michael about choosing Sawyer over someone with medical training or technical skills. Others questioned why Jin deserved a spot when his English was limited and his loyalty uncertain.
Mac said nothing, relief flooding through him despite Walt's warning. He hadn't been chosen, which meant he wouldn't be trapped on a doomed vessel when whatever catastrophe Walt had foreseen finally manifested.
But Sawyer's inclusion puzzled him until he caught the con man's eye across the crowd. Sawyer's slight nod confirmed what Mac had suspected—Sawyer had volunteered specifically to protect Walt, understanding Mac's unspoken concerns about the boy's safety.
Their silent partnership was deepening in ways that transcended their surface-level verbal sparring. Two paranoid men who recognized each other's protective instincts and chose cooperation over competition when lives were at stake.
"My raft, my rules," Michael said firmly, shutting down further protests. "We've got enough supplies for four people and a chance to reach shipping lanes before our water runs out. That's the plan."
Jin approached Mac that evening with Sun translating, his expression carrying the weight of impending separation from the woman he loved more than life itself.
"Jin wants you to watch over me while he's gone," Sun said quietly. "He trusts you to keep me safe."
Mac felt honored and troubled in equal measure. Jin's trust was a precious gift, but accepting it meant carrying responsibility for another life when his track record for protecting people remained frustratingly incomplete.
"I'll protect her," Mac promised, meaning every word. "But Jin... be careful on the water. Please."
Jin didn't understand English, but he read Mac's expression with the clarity of someone who'd learned to communicate beyond the barriers of language. Through Sun's translation: "You think something bad will happen?"
Mac chose his words carefully, walking the razor's edge between helpful warning and revealing impossible knowledge.
"The ocean's dangerous. Storms can come from nowhere. Equipment can fail." Mac paused, seeing Jin's growing concern. "Just... whatever happens out there, fight to get back to her. Don't let anything keep you from coming home."
Jin nodded seriously, understanding the deeper meaning behind Mac's carefully neutral words. He squeezed Mac's shoulder with callused hands that carried the strength of honest labor and desperate love, sealing their unspoken agreement.
Sun watched their interaction with growing worry, her hidden understanding of English revealing truths that Jin's limited comprehension couldn't access.
"You really think they're in danger," Sun said after Jin had walked away.
Mac met her eyes, seeing intelligence and perception that reminded him uncomfortably of his own supernatural awareness.
"I think this island doesn't let people leave easily," Mac said. "And I think anyone who tries should be prepared for it to fight back."
"They're sailing into a trap I can see coming but can't prevent," Mac realized with crystalline despair. "Walt warned me not to get on the raft, which means he knows something terrible is waiting out there. But knowing and being able to act on that knowledge are two completely different things. I can build beacons and emergency systems and backup plans, but I can't stop Michael from chasing a rescue that won't come. I can't prevent Jin from following duty and love into danger. And I can't save Walt from whatever fate the island has planned for people who try to escape its influence."
Launch day approached with the inexorable momentum of destiny fulfilling itself. Mac stood on the beach staring at the raft, Walt's drawing folded in his pocket, feeling helpless despite all the powers he'd accumulated.
He could build anything. Heal almost any injury. Move through the world with supernatural skill and knowledge that exceeded normal human limitations.
But he couldn't build a way to change what was coming. And that impotence burned in his chest like acid, reminding him that for all his impossible abilities, he was still just a man caught in currents larger than himself.
The ocean stretched toward the horizon like a vast blue desert, beautiful and merciless and full of secrets that would claim their price before the sun set again.
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