Natalie Rutherford and the Hatch - Book 2 of the Natalie Rutherford series

Chapter 20

Eko quickly shakes his head and widens his eyes. "Charlie, I need your help."

Charlie rolls his eyes. "Oh, now I'm on your good list."

Eko looks him in the eyes. "Please, Charlie. John locked me out of the hatch. I believe it is because he is going to stop pushing the button. And if he does this, I am one hundred percent positive that it will kill every single person on this island."

I stare at Eko with wide eyes. "He's going to stop pushing the button?!?"

Eko nods. "Yes, he is. That is why I need your help."

I grab Charlie's hand and pull him up. "Come on!"

Charlie reluctantly gets up. We sprint to the hatch after Eko and bang on the door. "OPEN UP!" We scream.

After a long 5 minutes, Eko steps away from the door. "I have another idea."

20 MINUTES LATER

"Are you sure this is where it is, Charlie?"

Charlie nods. "Yes, it's somewhere over... HERE!" He uncovers a blanket to reveal the dynamite. Charlie turns to me. "This'll be dangerous, Natalie. I need you to go back to the camp."

I shake my head in surprise. "What? No way! I'm not leaving you, Charlie. I'm not leaving you."

"Go back, Natalie. I need you to stay safe."

A single tear trickles down my cheek. "I can't leave you, Charlie. I just can't."

Charlie reaches over and pats my back. "Hey. It's okay. Don't be scared for me, I'll be fine. I promise."

I grab his arm firmly. "I am NOT leaving you."

Charlie sighs. "Fine, but we need to hurry. Come on. Be careful, Eko."

I look at them carefully and throw my arms around Charlie. "I love you."

Charlie pats my head and smiles a loving smile. "I love you too."

10 MINUTES LATER

"Um.... Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

I nod. "Eko, you need to think about this. This is a very confined space."

Charlie bangs on the door of the hatch. "JOHN! It's Charlie. Eko's going to blow up the hatch with dynamite. So open up!"

There is no response.

Charlie watches as Eko lights the match. Then, he looks at me. "Run, Natalie. Get out of here."

I shake my head. "Only if you follow me."

Eko puts the lit match on the wire. It starts to burn.

"RUN!" Charlie shouts. I grab his hand and sprint. If he won't move, neither will I. If we're gonna die, we're gonna die together.

Then, a loud and huge explosion sounds. My hearing fails me as the world turns black.

**********

"Wake up."

I grunt. His voice sounds quiet in my ears.

"Natalie, wake up!" He slaps my cheeks. I slowly open my eyes to see Charlie. Blood trickles down from my leg. I stare into Charlie's eyes.

"Charlie..." I mutter, my eyes threatening to close at any minute.

"Natalie." Charlie whispers. He grabs my hand. "It didn't work. We have to find Eko and get out of here."

I gasp. "Eko was... Eko was in the explosion. Oh my God, is he dead?"

Charlie stares into my eyes. "I don't know."

Without thinking, I sprint towards where the explosion was and find Eko laying on the ground. I quickly press my ear to his mouth.

"He's breathing." I say quickly to Charlie. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Suddenly, the beeping stops and the computer repeats over and over. "SYSTEM FAILURE. SYSTEM FAILURE. SYSTEM FAILURE."

Then we see Desmond, rummaging around. "DESMOND! Help us!" I shout. My voice sounds quiet in my ears.

"I'm trying, brother." Desmond replies, grabbing a key from a book. I wince as he brushes past my leg.

"We have to leave him." Charlie says quietly. So quietly I'm surprised I can hear.

"What?" I gasp, staring at Eko. "But, he'll die!"

Charlie sighs. "Locke will take care of him. Right now, my priority is getting you out of here. Come on!"

I grab his hand as we run through the jungle. But then, something happens. Something I can't even describe.

It starts with a super loud buzzing noise in our ears. I instantly cover them, and see Charlie do the same. My head starts to hurt as the sky turns bright, almost purple in color.

And then it stops. As suddenly as it started. I uncover my ears and look over at Charlie. He points up. I gasp as I see something flying through the sky. It lands hard on the beach, where the camp is.

Charlie hesitates only a moment before sprinting towards the camp. I run after him, barely able to keep up, but managing.

"Charlie!" Claire gasps as he comes up. She throws her arms around him, and then me. I smile as I hug her back, kissing Aaron on the forehead as I do so.

THAT NIGHT

Claire and Charlie were sitting down at the campfire together. I decided to give them some privacy, but I climbed a tree so I could see what was going on.

"Nothing really. Natalie refused to leave me, even if it put her life in danger." Charlie was telling Claire.

Claire just smiles, and pushes Charlie's hair out of his face. I watch as they stare at each other.

And that's when their lips crash together.

I practically fall from the tree, because I have to bite my fist in my mouth to keep from screaming with happiness. My grip starts to slip, so I beg myself not to scream as I grab on with my other hand.

#Chair is real.

________________________________

OH MY GOD, IT FINALLY HAPPENED!

I ship Claire and Charlie soooooooooooo much! ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

Thanks so much for reading! It's the end of the story, too!

The next book will be called, "Natalie Rutherford and the Others - Book 3 of the Natalie Rutherford Series

Please read it!

Thanks, and goodbye!

I mean, see you in another life, brother.

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️