[We see everyone on the beach running toward shore, toward the boat.]

CHARLIE: Are we rescued?

REDSHIRT: Saved?

[Jack, Sayid, and Sawyer swim out toward the boat while the folks on the beach yell and look on. Kate looks through binoculars.]

CHARLIE: You see anything?

KATE: No.

CHARLIE: Maybe it's a trap?

HURLEY: What do you mean a trap?

[Jack, Sayid and Sawyer reach the boat and climb aboard. They hear music coming from below deck.]

SAWYER: You hear that? [Jack nods]

[Suddenly shots are fired from below. Then we can hear the trigger being pulled, but no shots being fired.]

VOICE: [from below] Damn it.

[Jack, Sayid and Sawyer kick in the door that leads below with their guns drawn. We see Desmond drunk and disheveled sitting on the floor.]

DESMOND: You. [He laughs]

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

[We see Kate with a group of redshirts around her, asking her questions.]

KATE: Okay, okay, just wait one second, okay. I'll be right back. [She approaches Jack] Everybody needs to know what's going on, Jack. There's a boat...

JACK: Just tell them Desmond's back until I find out the rest, okay.

[Jack exits and approaches Desmond who's sitting near a fire, drinking.]

JACK: So, before you ran off, I guess you just forgot to mention that you still have a sailboat. Why'd you come back?

DESMOND: [laughing] Do you think I did it on purpose? I was sailing for two and half weeks, bearing due West and making 9 knots. I should have been in Fiji in less than a week. But the first piece of land I saw wasn't Fiji, was it? No. No, it was here—this, this island. And you know why? Because this is it. This is all there is left. This ocean and this place here. We are stuck in a bloody snow globe. There's no outside world. There's no escape. So, just go away, huh. Let me drink.

[Sayid approaches and Jack gets ready to leave.]

DESMOND: Are you still pushing it?

JACK: Yeah, we're still pushing it.

[FLASHBACK]

[We see Desmond at a counter talking to a soldier in a prison. The soldier is taking items out of an envelope.]

MASTER SERGEANT: Set of keys; one pocket watch, gold plated; one photograph (the same picture Desmond had in the Hatch); one book, Our Mutual Friend. Why didn't you bring that inside?

DESMOND: To avoid temptation, brother. I've read everything Mr. Charles Dickens has ever written - every wonderful word. Every book except this one. I'm saving it so it will be the last thing I ever read before I die.

MASTER SERGEANT: Nice idea, as long as you know when you're going to die. [He stamps "discharged" on some papers] Lance Corporal Desmond David Hume your sentence is hereby complete and you are now and forever dishonorably discharged from the Royal Scotts Regiment of Her Majesty's Armed Forces. Long live the queen. Enjoy your sodding book.

[We see Desmond exiting the garrison as a limo pulls up. A man, Charles Widmore, rolls down the window.]

WIDMORE: You want a ride?

DESMOND: Not with you.

WIDMORE: Get in the car.

[Desmond gets in and notices boxes on the seat.]

DESMOND: Did you bring me a present?

WIDMORE: Actually, two presents. One of these boxes contains your past, Hume. The other, your future. Go ahead, open it.

[Desmond opens a box and finds it filled with letters which are unopened and addressed to Penelope Widmore, sent by Desmond.]

DESMOND: You're a bastard, you know that?

WIDMORE: The fact that she never received your sentiments is good for her. Good, because as far as she's concerned you've forsaken her. And that's the way it's going to stay.

DESMOND: Is it now?

WIDMORE: Penelope's moved on, Hume. She's getting married. [He opens the other box which is filled with money.] This is for your new life—away from my daughter. The conditions are simple—no contact, no calls, no posts. You just run away, Desmond.

DESMOND: And what makes you think I would just run away?

WIDMORE: Because you're a coward.

[Back on the Island we see Sayid and Jack walking on the beach.]

SAYID: On the way to the funeral I told you that Michael had been compromised by the Others, and then you asked me how we might take advantage of that. I believe fate has given us our answer—the boat.

JACK: The boat?

SAYID: This camp Michael is leading you to across the Island—that is where they will set their trap. While Michael leads you by land, I can approach far more quickly by sea. And I can go ashore undetected.

JACK: Go ashore and do what?

SAYID: Scout them—their numbers and positions, their weapons. Then I'll go to the nearest beach and start a signal fire with these [he holds up some leaves]. They burn with a dark, black smoke. You and your team will come to meet me at the signal and we will go in together.

JACK: We're not even sure if Michael's been turned by them.

SAYID: He has been turned.

JACK: I'll have to tell Kate, and Hurley and Sawyer what we're doing.

SAYID: No. Michael cannot sense we know he is lying. All we have is the element of surprise, Jack. Right now it's only your responsibility to keep it secret.

JACK: Black smoke, huh?

SAYID: This time they will know that we are coming.

[We see Locke enter the Hatch and approach Eko. The timer is at 5:00 minutes.]

EKO: Hello, John. Where have you been?

LOCKE: I've been thinking.

EKO: About what?

LOCKE: That in a minute that computer's going to start beeping, and when it does you're going to let it go. You're going to let it run down to zero, past zero. And you're not going to push the button.

EKO: But I am going to push the button. Why wouldn't I?

LOCKE: Because you don't want to be a slave.

EKO: I am a slave to nothing.

LOCKE: You're a slave to that [pointing to the timer clock], just like I was. So I'm going to tell you again—don't push it.

EKO: Do not tell me what I can do.

[Eko starts entering the Numbers. Locke grabs his stick and tries to smash the computer but Eko stops him and they struggle.]

LOCKE: You cannot push that button.

[Eko knocks Locke to the ground, pushes the button and starts leading Locke out of the Hatch.]

LOCKE: No, it's not real. We're only puppets—puppets on strings. As long as we push it, we'll never be free.

EKO: [pushing him out of the Hatch] Well, you're free now, John. Do not come back.

LOCKE: No.

[We see Jack give Michael a gun. He tries to give one to Hurley.]

HURLEY: No way. I'm not even going to kill someone.

SAWYER: Ain't that the point?

HURLEY: I thought the point was to get Walt back.

[Jack hands Kate a gun. She looks pensive.]

JACK: What's the matter?

KATE: All that stuff we found in the medical station—costumes, make-up, fake beards—what if these people just want us to think they're hillbillies?

MICHAEL: Listen, I was there. I saw them. They are hillbillies. They live in huts; they eat fish; they're probably more scared than we are. And they have no idea we're on our way.

SAWYER: Alright, enough jibber-jabber, let's roll.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK ]

[We see Sayid approach Desmond on the beach.]

SAYID: I need your boat.

DESMOND: I wouldn't waste your time. There's nothing out there, pal.

SAYID: I'm not going out there. I need to get to the North shore of the Island, and quickly.

DESMOND: Going to see the hostiles, are you?

SAYID: What?

DESMOND: You know what, ignorance is bliss. The boat's all yours, brother, for all the good it'll do you.

SAYID: I don't know how to sail.

DESMOND: Then I suggest you find someone who does.

[FLASHBACK]

[We see Desmond at a coffee bar counter.]

DESMOND: Just give me which ever one has the most caffeine in it, brother. [he opens his wallet] Damn, um, I'm sorry. I've just arrived and I spent all my American money on a taxi.

LIBBY: [putting money on the counter] I've got it.

DESMOND: That's not necessary.

LIBBY: It's just 4 bucks.

DESMOND: I don't suppose you have 42,000 more of those do you?

LIBBY: Depends on what it's for.

DESMOND: I was joking.

LIBBY: No you weren't.

[We see Libby and Desmond sitting with each other. Libby is looking at a brochure for a sailing race. There's a picture of Widmore on the brochure.]

LIBBY: So, a sailing race around the world?

DESMOND: I have 8 months to get into the best shape of my life. I'll tell you what, miss, I'm going to win.

LIBBY: And what do you get if you do?

DESMOND: What really matters is who I win it for. [he pushes the brochure toward her]

LIBBY: [looking at the brochure] Charles Widmore.

DESMOND: He tried to buy me off. And when I didn't take his money, he took away the only thing in the world that I ever truly cared about.

LIBBY: Who is she?

DESMOND: His daughter. I was unsuitable on several levels.

LIBBY: And what' the 42 grand for?

DESMOND: It's a wee bit complicated. As of yet, I don't actually have a boat. [Libby looks sad] Sorry, did I say something wrong?

LIBBY: I have a boat. It was my husband's but he got sick. He wanted to sail the Mediterranean—he never—he passed away about a month ago.

DESMOND: I'm sorry.

LIBBY: I want you to have it.

DESMOND: I can't take your boat, miss.

LIBBY: But you have to. He'd want you to.

DESMOND: What was your husband's name?

LIBBY: David.

DESMOND: And what did he name his boat?

LIBBY: Elizabeth. He named it after me.

DESMOND: Then I thank you, Elizabeth. And I shall win this race for love.

[Back on the beach, we see Jin approach Sun and Sayid.]

JIN: [Speaks in Korean.]

SUN: [to Sayid] Would you excuse us, please?

SAYID: I'll be at the shore.

SUN: [Subtitle: Sayid wants you to sail the boat to the other side of the Island. To help Michael.]

JIN: [Subtitle: No. I won't leave you. Not now. ]

SUN: [Subtitle: You won't leave, Jin, because I'm coming with you.]

[We see Michael, Sawyer, Jack, Hurley and Kate walking through the jungle. Sawyer sees a doll and starts to reach for it, but Kate stops him.]

KATE: Don't even think about it. It's a trap—a net. Rousseau's got them all over the Island.

SAWYER: How the hell would you know that?

KATE: I tripped one with Jack. We ended up—never mind. [Sawyer chuckles] What?

SAWYER: When the Doc told me you all got caught in a net I thought he meant, uh—something else.

KATE: Since when did you and Jack start talking about me?

[They hear some rustling in the bushes. A big bird swoops down over them and screeches. Michael tries to shoot, but his gun doesn't fire.]

HURLEY: Did that bird just say my name?

SAWYER: Yeah, it did. Right before it crapped gold.

[We see Michael looking at his gun to see if there's something wrong. Jack notices.]

JACK: Sorry, man. I guess I forgot to load that one. Want to give me the mag?

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

[We see Charlie walking through the jungle. He comes across Locke who is crying.]

CHARLIE: John. [Locke pulls himself together and turns] What happened to your face?

LOCKE: Nothing, I'm fine.

CHARLIE: Hey, uh, if you're feeling a little sorry for yourself you may want to have a drink with your mate from the Hatch. I hear he's a little despondent, as well.

LOCKE: What?

CHARLIE: Oh, that's right; you weren't there for the dramatic arrival at the funeral. I think he's pushed your button too many times, if you ask me.

LOCKE: Desmond?

CHARLIE: Yeah, Desmond. I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about.

[We see Sayid preparing an inflatable raft with supplies and a gun, to take the sailboat. Jin and Sun approach.]

SAYID: I'm sorry if what I said was confusing, but I asked Jin to come.

SUN: You need someone to translate. And you need at least two people who know how to sail.

SAYID: Desmond managed by himself.

SUN: And look where he ended up.

[We see Claire getting ready to give Aaron an injection.]

DESMOND: [off camera at first] You're wasting your time, sister. I shot myself with that stuff every 9 days for 3 years. [he looks at Aaron] He's lovely. Is the father here on the Island?

CLAIRE: No. Nope, he's been gone a long time. Sort of walked off the moment he got a bit scared by the situation.

DESMOND: Well, maybe he knew he'd be a lousy dad—thought he was doing what was best for you.

CLAIRE: He was doing what was best for him.

[FLASHBACK]

[We see Desmond at the stadium getting ready to run. A car pulls up and Jack gets out and heads to the steps. Another car pulls up and a woman gets out.]

DESMOND: How did you find me?

PENELOPE: The landlord at your flat told me you ran here everyday.

DESMOND: How did you find me?

PENELOPE: I have a lot of money, Desmond. With enough money and determination you can find anyone. Did you read your beloved book—the one you were saving?

DESMOND: Not yet.

PENELOPE: I thought you might have read it while you were away.

DESMOND: I was in prison, not away.

PENELOPE: Why didn't you write to me?

DESMOND: When are you getting married, Pen?

PENELOPE: We haven't set a date yet.

DESMOND: I'll be back in a year.

PENELOPE: What if you were back, right now?

DESMOND: I'm going to win this race, Pen—his race. And in a year, I'll be back.

PENELOPE: Desmond, what are you running from?

DESMOND: I have to get my honor back, and that's what I'm running to.

[Back on the Island, Locke approaches the still drinking Desmond on the beach.]

LOCKE: So what did one snowman say to other snowman?

DESMOND: Smells like carrots.

LOCKE: Hello, Desmond.

DESMOND: Hello yourself, box man.

LOCKE: [reaching for the bottle] Do you mind?

DESMOND: Oh, I insist. So you managed to fix the computer, then, did you?

LOCKE: World's still here, ain't it?

DESMOND: I'm not so sure about that, brother.

LOCKE: Refresh my memory, Desmond. How long did you say that you were down there in the Hatch?

DESMOND: 3 years.

LOCKE: Desmond, what if I told you that for all that—all those years that you and all the men before you were down there pushing that button—what if I told you that it was all for nothing?

DESMOND: I'd ask you how the hell did you know something like that?

LOCKE: I found another hatch—another station on the Island. They called it the Pearl, and I saw a film there—an orientation film. And it said that everything that was happening in our hatch wasn't real—that it was a test—a psychological experiment.

DESMOND: You're lying.

[Locke reaches in his pack and pulls out the Pearl video.]

LOCKE: You want to take a walk? I'll make the popcorn.

DESMOND: You're so sure it's not real, then just stop pushing the button!

LOCKE: Well, I have. Except, unfortunately, someone else decided to start. So you're going to sober up. We're going to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow we're going to find out what happens if that button doesn't get pushed.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

[We see Hurley and Sawyer around a fire.]

SAWYER: DHARMA nutri-bar?

HURLEY: No thanks; I'm not hungry.

SAWYER: You serious?

[Hurley gives him a dirty look.]

[We see Michael by himself, agonizing. Jack approaches.]

JACK: Hey, you alright?

MICHAEL: Yeah, just getting some more firewood. Not feeling too hot.

JACK: You shouldn't be out here alone. I'll give you a hand.

MICHAEL: Hey, thanks for coming out here—risking your neck for my boy.

JACK: Live together, die alone, man.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

[We see Sayid, Jin and Sun on the sailboat. Sun throws up over the side.]

JIN: [Subtitle: I told you not to come. ]

SUN: [Subtitle: It's not seasickness, Jin.]

JIN: [Subtitle: I know. There's something you should see. ]

[He points to the shore, and we see the foot and calf of one leg of what was once a giant statue.]

SAYID: I don't know what is more disquieting—the fact that the rest of the statue is missing, or that it has 4 toes?

[In the Hatch, we see Eko carving another bible verse into his stick. The lights suddenly go out. Eko investigates and finds a fuse is missing from the fuse box. The loudspeaker starts counting down: 8, 7, 6. We see Eko and Desmond in the computer room. Desmond is rubbing two bare wires together causing the blast doors to come down and locking Eko outside the computer room. Eko jams his stick under the blast door just before it goes down, but Locke grabs it.]

EKO: [banging on the door] John!

LOCKE: [to Desmond] Neat trick.

EKO: [banging] John! John! Can you hear me? Open up.

DESMOND: Are you sure about this, brother?

LOCKE: I'm more sure about this than anything in my entire life.

EKO: [banging] John!

DESMOND: Alright then, box man. We wait.

[FLASHBACK]

[We see Desmond on the sailboat in a terrible storm. He goes below deck and wraps his Dickens book in plastic and puts in his coat. He goes back on deck, falls and is knocked out. Next we see him washed up on shore. We see a blurry, jumpy sequence of a man in a yellow environmental suit drag Desmond back to the Hatch. We see that the man is Inman, the CIA operative from Sayid's flashbacks.]

INMAN: Are you him?

DESMOND: What?

INMAN: What did one snowman say to the other?

DESMOND: What are you talking about? Who are you?

INMAN: I'm Inman. Kelvin Inman.

DESMOND: What, what happened to my boat?

INMAN: I found you washed up on the beach. There was no boat.

[We hear the alarm start to sound. Inman enters the Numbers.]

DESMOND: What was all that about, then?

INMAN: Just saving the world.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

[We see Desmond watching the Orientation Film.]

MARVIN CANDLE: Not long after the experiments began, however, there was an incident. And since that time the following protocol has been observed: every 108 minutes the button must be pushed. From the moment the alarm sounds you will have 4 minutes to enter the code into the microcomputer processor.

[The film reel ends there, and Desmond takes it off the projector.]

INMAN: [donning his environmental suit] How many times are you going to watch that thing?

DESMOND: Why are there missing parts?

INMAN: Radzinsky made some edits.

DESMOND: Who's Radzinsky?

INMAN: He was my partner.

DESMOND: And what happened to him?

INMAN: Just make sure you put that back behind Turn of the Screw when you're done with it.

DESMOND: Why do you wear that suit?

INMAN: So I don't get infected out there. [he grabs an injector and vaccine] Give yourself a shot of this every 9 days. You were out there a while before I found you. Hope it's not too late.

[Back in the Hatch, we hear Eko still banging on the blast door.]

EKO: John!

DESMOND: Who is he, box man—the man out there pounding on the door?

LOCKE: His name is Mr. Eko.

DESMOND: Why does Mr. Eko carry around a stick covered in scripture?

LOCKE: Because he's a priest.

EKO: Open the door, please. John! Can you hear me? Open up.

DESMOND: We locked out a priest?

[We see Eko climb up out of the Hatch door entrance. He sees the quarantine sign and runs toward the beach. We see Charlie playing guitar. Eko approaches.]

EKO: Charlie, do you know how they got the Hatch door open?

CHARLIE: No, but if you hum it, I could probably play it.

EKO: How did they open it—the door that says "quarantine"?

CHARLIE: They blew it up, why?

EKO: Charlie, I need your help.

CHARLIE: Oh, now I'm back in your good graces, Father?

EKO: Charlie, John has locked me out of the Hatch. And I believe he is doing this because he is going to stop pushing that button. And, Charlie, I am absolutely certain that if he is successful, in 90 minutes everyone on this island will die.

CHARLIE: Alright, I'm in. I'm in.

EKO: Thank you. Come, come quickly.

[We see Jack and company walking through the jungle.]

SAWYER: So, these Others, you think they're left over from the DHARMA folk?

MICHAEL: I don't know, man.

SAWYER: My theory, they're aliens. That's why they use the fake beards—their heads are made of pathetic.

HURLEY: Prosthetic, dude.

SAWYER: You can't even spell and now you're correcting me? What do you think, Freckles?

KATE: Just keep moving, we're being followed.

SAWYER: What?

KATE: [stopping to pretend to tie her shoe] Just keep smiling. There's at least two of them across the river. In about 5 seconds I'm going to turn the tables on them. [she pulls her gun out]

SAWYER: Wait a second.

KATE: You in?

[Kate and Sawyer starts shooting. Sawyer hits one and the other one runs.]

KATE: He's getting away!

[Jack and the rest rush to the guy Sawyer shot.]

KATE: He's dead. We have to find the other one.

JACK: No!

KATE: I'm going. Sawyer.

JACK: I said no!

SAWYER: Are you crazy? We let him go they'll know we're coming. He'll...

JACK: It doesn't matter if we catch him now. [Sawyer and Kate stare at him like he's crazy. Jack looks at Michael] They've already been warned.

SAWYER: What do you mean "warned"?

JACK: Why don't you tell them, Michael?

KATE: Jack.

MICHAEL: I don't know what you're talking about.

JACK: Stop lying! Tell them.

MICHAEL: Tell them what?

JACK: [pushing Michael up against a tree] I know what you're doing, Michael! Now tell them the truth. Tell them!

MICHAEL: It was the only way. They gave me a list.

JACK: What list?

MICHAEL: It had your names on it. I had to bring all 4 of you back, or they said I'd never see my son again!

JACK: Who are they?

MICHAEL: It's like I said—they live in a camp with huts. I swear, that's it.

KATE: You let Henry go?

[Michael nods.]

HURLEY: Did you kill them? Ana Lucia and Libby? Did you?

MICHAEL: I had to, man. I, God, I couldn't find any other way. And Libby was a mistake. I, I didn't have time to think.

HURLEY: But if you did have time—you still would have killed her, right?

MICHAEL: I'm sorry. You understand—I am sorry. I'm sorry. I—my son!

HURLEY: I'm going back.

JACK: No, Hurley. Hurley, you can't!

HURLEY: We're all going to get killed and you knew it! You let us come anyway.

JACK: It's too late to go back now, Hurley. We already caught them following us once. If they don't believe that we trust Michael, they'll kill us all. I'm sorry that I didn't say anything. But you have to know that I would never bring you out here if I didn't have a plan.

SAWYER: What plan?

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

[We see Sayid praying on the boat.]

SAYID: [Prays in Arabic.]

[Jin sees something on the shore.]

JIN: Sayid! Here.

[Sayid looks through the binoculars and sees the rock wall with the hole in it.]

SAYID: That's the rock Michael described. We're here.

[We see Charlie and Eko walking in the jungle.]

EKO: Hurry, please.

CHARLIE: Hurley showed me. It's around here somewhere. It's definitely around, uh...

EKO: We're running out of time, Charlie.

CHARLIE: Here it is! Told you. Careful. Careful. Dynamite is very unstable. You don't want to end up like Dr. Arzt.

[We see Charlie and Eko enter the Hatch.]

CHARLIE: Careful. Eko, hey, Eko. Listen, what if we hurt them? Or blow up the computer?

EKO: You can leave now, Charlie.

CHARLIE: John, it's Charlie. Let's work this thing out, John. John! Eko is very upset, John. Just open this door and we can talk about it. John, you should know Eko is going to blow open the blast door.

LOCKE: Blow it open with what?

CHARLIE: With dynamite from the old ship in the jungle.

DESMOND: It would take an atom bomb, brother. Tell him not to bother.

LOCKE: You're sure it'll hold?

DESMOND: Aye, I'm sure.

[FLASHBACK]

[We see Desmond moving a cart under a blast door. Inman pours some detergent into a measuring cup and stirs it with a paint brush.]

DESMOND: Maybe you should do it?

INMAN: Come on, Des, you've seen me do it a hundred times.

[Desmond hits the bare wires together to make the blast doors come down. We hear the loudspeaker counting down: 6, 5, 4; and see the blast door come down on the cart, leaving a big enough space to crawl under.]

DESMOND: How do you even remember where you left off from?

INMAN: Slowly, Des. Very, very slowly. You should have seen Radzinsky do this. He had a photographic memory. I mean, this whole baby was his idea.

DESMOND: Yeah, right, Radzinsky. Radzinsky figured out how to fake a lockdown. Radzinsky created this great invisible map. More and more tales about your former partner. Yet for some reason, you never want to tell me what bloody well happened to him.

[Inman walks over to Desmond and points to a spot on the ceiling.]

INMAN: See that brown stain, there? That's Radzinsky. He put a shotgun in his mouth when I was asleep. The bitch of it was, I only had a 108 minutes to bury the poor bastard.

DESMOND: Well, if you don't want me to go crazy, next time let me go out.

INMAN: Well, you want to go out there with the quarantine and the hostiles?

DESMOND: I haven't been outside for 2 bloody years! Yes, I want to go. I was in the army for God's sake!

INMAN: Oh, right, Her Majesty's Army, correct? Tell me, Desmond, why'd you leave that nice old lady's army? Oh, I remember now. You got kicked out because you couldn't follow orders.

DESMOND: Why did you leave your army, Kelvin, huh?

INMAN: Because men followed my orders. Ah, but then thank God I joined the DHARMA Initiative. Namaste, thank you, and good luck. [he laughs]

DESMOND: Please, Kelvin. Let me go out, huh? Just once.

INMAN: Sorry, Des. You stay here. You push the button. That's an order.

[Back at the Hatch, we see Charlie banging on the blast door.]

CHARLIE: John! Seriously, you're about to be detonated.

[We see Eko rigging the dynamite.]

CHARLIE: [to Eko] Hey, what if John's right. What if it's just some colossal joke? You know, it's just some old computer connected to nothing? Maybe it's just a bunch of wire?

[Eko suddenly pounces on Charlie and shoves him up against a wall. He rips his belt off, and throws it at the magnet wall where it sticks.]

EKO: Is that a joke?

CHARLIE: I'll see myself out.

[Eko goes back to the dynamite. Charlie grabs his belt from the wall.]

EKO: John, this is your last time to end this. Open the door, and I will forgive you.

LOCKE: Forgive me for what?

[Eko gets ready to light the fuse.]

CHARLIE: Hey, hey, Eko. Wait. Just wait a second. I don't think it's a good idea, Eko. [Eko lights the fuse] We're in a very confined area.

[Eko pushes himself up against a wall. Charlie starts running.]

CHARLIE: Oh, bollocks.

[There's a huge explosion and a fire ball that chases Charlie to the end of the hall.]

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

[FLASHBACK]

[We hear the alarm sound and see Desmond wake up.]

DESMOND: Kelvin! Hey, Kelvin.

[Desmond runs to the computer and enters the Numbers. Desmond hears Kelvin singing and sees a bottle of booze on the floor. He opens a grate on the floor and finds Kelvin drunk under the Hatch holding a key dangling from a chain.]

INMAN: I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it.

[Desmond makes his way over to Kelvin who is lying next to a small alcove. We see a lid has been opened to reveal a place to insert the key and a sign that says Caution: System Termination.]

DESMOND: What is this?

INMAN: This is the only other way out, partner.

DESMOND: What are you talking about?

INMAN: Failsafe. Turn this key and this all goes away.

DESMOND: What's behind that wall, Kelvin? Huh? What was the incident?

INMAN: Electromagnetism, geologically unique. The incident—there was a leak. So now the charge builds up and every time we push the button it discharges it before it gets too big.

DESMOND: Why make us do it—push the button? If we, if we can just...

INMAN: [laughing and closing the lid] Here's the real question, Desmundo—do you have the courage to take your finger out of the dam and blow the whole thing up, instead?

[Back in the Hatch.]

DESMOND: I think your friends just blew themselves up, brother.

LOCKE: They're not my friends.

DESMOND: I can't hear anything. Maybe we should open it.

LOCKE: No, no; it's a trick.

DESMOND: A trick? They could be hurt? Is your doctor around?

LOCKE: Our doctor is God knows where. And he sure as hell doesn't care about anything happening down here.

DESMOND: Can I ask you a question, brother?

LOCKE: Absolutely.

DESMOND: Is the reason you're letting that clock there run all the way down to the very last tick—is it because you need to look down the barrel of a gun to find out what you really believe, John?

LOCKE: I looked down the barrel of the gun and I believed. I thought it was my destiny to get into this place. And someone died—a kid. Because he was stupid enough to believe that I knew what I was talking about. And the night that he died for nothing, I was sitting right up there, all alone, beating my hand bloody against that stupid door—screaming to the heavens asking what I should do. And then a light went on. I thought it was a sign. But it wasn't a sign. Probably just you going to the bathroom.

[Desmond has a look of recognition on his face, and turns away.]

[We see Sayid sneaking up to the Other's camp from the beach. He sneaks up to one of the shelters and looks inside but no one is there. No one is at the camp at all. He opens the door of the Hatch, but there is just rock wall behind it.]

[We see Jack and company walking through the jungle. Kate sees something.]

KATE: Jack.

[They discover a huge pile of canisters, each with a notebook in it, piled on the ground. We see that the pneumatic tubing runs up out of the ground and has been spitting the canisters out in the middle of the jungle. Kate inspects them.]

HURLEY: What are they?

KATE: It's handwritten. It's all filled, the whole book. They're journal entries.

[Sawyer picks up a piece of paper from on top of the pile and finds Locke's map.]

KATE: [reading from the notebook] 0400: S.R. moves ping-pong table again. 0415: Takes a shower. What is this?

SAWYER: [spotting something in the distance] Hey, Doc, what did you say Sayid's signal's going to be when the coast is clear to hit that beach party?

[We see a column of black smoke.]

KATE: That means he found them, right?

JACK: That's miles from here. [to Michael] Where were you taking us?

MICHAEL: What?

JACK: Sayid said that he'd light the signal so that we could meet him at the shore. Why aren't we going to the beach?

MICHAEL: We are headed to the beach.

JACK: We're nowhere near the beach!

MICHAEL: Look, I had to.

JACK: What?!

[They hear whispers, then Sawyer gets hit in the neck with a dart and falls to the ground convulsing.]

KATE: Sawyer!

JACK: Run! Go, go.

[Kate and Jack start running. Hurley crouches and covers his head. Michael stands there.]

MICHAEL: Wait!

[Kate gets hit with a dart. Jack fires into the bushes and picks Kate up. He gets hit with a dart and falls. We see some Others come to collect them.]

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

[We see Desmond and Locke in the Hatch.]

DESMOND: Tell me about this other hatch you found—this Pearl.

LOCKE: What do you want to know?

DESMOND: Details.

LOCKE: The Pearl is a psychological station full of TV monitors. And two men sat in viewing chairs and filled notebooks with observations on what happens in here. And then they put the notebooks in pneumatic tubes and send them back to their headquarters so they could evaluate us—as an experiment. [Desmond looks concerned, confused] What?

DESMOND: What if you've got it backwards?

LOCKE: Backwards?

DESMOND: What if the experiment wasn't on the two men in here, but on the two men in there? I want to see that tape, John?

LOCKE: No, you can't. There's no way to see it down here.

DESMOND: Well, was there anything else in that station? Was there a computer?

LOCKE: Yeah.

DESMOND: So what did it do?!

LOCKE: Nothing! It didn't do anything. It printed out numbers. Lots and lots of numbers.

DESMOND: What printout, where is it?

LOCKE: Here, reading material for the next 19 minutes. Knock yourself out.

[FLASHBACK]

[We see Desmond shaving.]

INMAN: You've been shaving everyday for the last 3 years. You need to live a little, let go.

DESMOND: I'm never going to let go, brother.

INMAN: [zipping his environmental suit] Oh, that's the spirit. Bye, Des.

DESMOND: Goodbye?

INMAN: Yeah, goodbye. See you in a couple hours.

[Desmond notices a big tear in the leg of the environmental suit. He watches Inman leave, and put the gas mask on. He follows him outside and sees him take off the mask. We see Desmond following Inman along a rock shore. Suddenly Inman is gone. Desmond sees his sailboat in the water.]

INMAN: [from behind Desmond] Well, gosh, I didn't think you had the stones to come after me. I was a spook for 10 years, Des. I know when I'm being followed.

DESMOND: What are you doing with my boat?

INMAN: I'm fixing it.

DESMOND: You were leaving?

INMAN: Well, I mean, not yet. It's still about a week away. You wrecked it pretty good, Des. What do you think? Want to come with me?

DESMOND: Come where? What about the button?

INMAN: Screw the button, man. Who knows if it's even real?

DESMOND: That's not what you said when you were going on and on about dams and electromagnetics and failsafes!

INMAN: Well, I was drunk.

DESMOND: Why did you lie to me?

INMAN: I lied to you because I needed a sucker to save the world after I left.

DESMOND: You crazy old bastard! You stole my life!

INMAN: Oh, come on.

DESMOND: What else did you lie to me about?! What else? Tell me?!

[Desmond has Inman by the collar and they fall to ground. Inman gets up and Desmond rushes him, falling on top of him. Inman hits his head.]

DESMOND: How could you do this to me? Get up.

[Desmond sees blood coming from the back of Inman's head and realizes he's dead.]

DESMOND: Oh my God. Oh my God.

[Desmond grabs the failsafe key from around Inman's neck and runs back to the Hatch. He arrives to hear the loudspeaker repeating: System Failure over and over; the whole hatch is shaking. We see that the hieroglyphs on the timer are all locked in place. Desmond is frantically trying to enter the Numbers, but the screen is filled with System Failure over and over again. We see everything metal in the Hatch flying in the air toward the magnet wall area. Finally, Desmond somehow enters the Numbers and the timer resets. The screen blanks and we see the >: caret.]

[Back in the Hatch, Desmond is looking over the print out from the Pearl station.]

LOCKE: What are you doing?

DESMOND: When did you come here?

LOCKE: What?

DESMOND: The Island—when did you come here? How long ago?

LOCKE: 60-65 days.

DESMOND: The date—what was the date?

LOCKE: September 22nd.

[We see numbers on the printout: 922044:16, followed by System Failure printed over and over.]

LOCKE: It was September 22nd.

DESMOND: I think I crashed your plane.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

[We see the Others leading Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley down a long pier, making them kneel when they near the end. Michael is walking freely. Their hoods are taken off, and we see they are gagged.]

SAWYER: [through the gag] Son-of-bitch...

[Pickett knees him in the stomach.]

MR. FRIENDLY: Everybody just calm down.

KATE: [through the gag, to Mr. Friendly] It's fake. I know that your beard is fake.

MR. FRIENDLY: Sorry, missy, I didn't get you.

MS. KLUGH: She says she's knows your beard's fake, Tom.

MR. FRIENDLY: [removing the beard] Well, thanks for pointing that out, Kate. I can't tell you how much this thing itches. And thanks for telling them my name, Bea.

[We see the boat that we saw in Exodus arrive at the pier. Henry Gale gets out and is obviously the one in charge. He strides up to Jack.]

GALE: Hello again. [to Mr. Friendly] Where's your beard?

MR. FRIENDLY: I think they know.

GALE: [to Michael] Alight, let's take care of business, shall we?

[We see Charlie regaining consciousness in the Hatch. The sound is muddy with a ringing tone to simulate Charlie's hearing loss from the blast. He gets up and finds Eko lying unconscious and bloody on the ground a little ways away.]

CHARLIE: Eko? Eko! It's Charlie. Wake up.

[We see Locke and Desmond in the computer room.]

DESMOND: We need to push the button.

LOCKE: No, we don't!

DESMOND: Do you not hear me, brother? I crashed your bloody plane?

LOCKE: How did you manage to do that?

DESMOND: On that day, those numbers turned to hieroglyphics. And when the last one came down this whole started to shake. And that screen? That screen filled up with "system failure," [pointing to the printout] System Failure. And I know what they are. 92204—September the 22nd, 2004, the day your planed crashed. It's real! It's all bloody real! Now, push the damn button!

LOCKE: I know what I saw! It's a lie; it's not real! None of it is real!

DESMOND: You don't want to push the button? Then I will.

LOCKE: No!

[Locke grabs the computer and smashes it on the floor. Desmond looks horrified. There's about 3 minutes on the timer.]

DESMOND: You killed us. You killed us all.

LOCKE: No. I just saved us all.

[Desmond opens the blast doors. And starts going through the bookcase.]

CHARLIE: Hey, Eko, wake up. [to Desmond] Hey, can I get some help? Can you help me?

DESMOND: I'm trying, brother.

[Desmond finds his copy of Our Mutual Friend.]

[FLASHBACK]

[We see Desmond in the Hatch, holding a gun. He's finishes off a bottle of booze, and opens the Dickens book. A letter slips out. We hear a VO of Penelope reading the letter.]

PENELOPE: Dearest Des, I am writing this letter to you as you leave for prison. And I've hidden in the one place you would turn to in a moment of great desperation. I know you go away with the weight of what happened on your shoulders. And I know the only person who can ever take it off is you. Please don't give up, Des. Because all we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. And you have her. I will wait for you. Always. I love you, Pen.

[Desmond sobs and throws the bottle.]

DESMOND: It's all gone. It's all gone!

[He starts pulling all the books out of the bookshelf and throwing them. Suddenly, he hears banging and hears something which turns out to be Locke from the night Boone died.]

LOCKE: [from outside] I've done everything you wanted me to do? Why did you do this? Why?

[Desmond turns the light on in the Hatch. He laughs.]

[Back in the Hatch Desmond opens his Dickens book and finds the failsafe key. We see the timer at 29 seconds. Desmond rushes to open the grate and get to the failsafe.]

DESMOND: 3 days before you came down here, before we met, I heard a banging on the Hatch door, shouting. But it was you, John, wasn't it? You said there isn't any purpose—there's no such thing as fate. But you saved my life, brother, so that I could save yours.

LOCKE: No, no, no, none of this is real! Nothing is going to happen. We're going to be okay.

[We see 5 seconds left on the timer.]

DESMOND: I've got to go. And you've got to get as far away from here as possible.

LOCKE: Go where? Stop!

DESMOND: I'm going to blow the dam, John. [the timer starts flipping to the hieroglyphs] I'm sorry for whatever happened that made you stop believing. But it's all real. Now I've got to go and make it all go away.

LOCKE: Wait, Desmond.

DESMOND: I'll see you in another life, brother.

[We see the last hieroglyph lock in place. The loudspeaker starts announcing System Failure over and over. Everything starts shaking. We see Charlie trying to help Eko.]

CHARLIE: Eko! Eko! Wake up. Can you move? Okay, come on.

[Knives and forks start flying toward the magnet wall, with Charlie and Eko in their path. Everything metal in the place starts flying toward the magnet wall. Charlie helps Eko walk. Desmond makes it to the failsafe mechanism.]

CHARLIE: Eko, on your feet.

EKO: Charlie.

CHARLIE: No.

[Eko pushes Charlie away and knocks him to the ground. Eko heads back toward the computer room. The washing machine comes barreling toward Charlie as he rolls out of the way.]

EKO: John!

LOCKE: I was wrong.

[We see Desmond cross himself and insert the key. We hear Penelope as a VO, reading again.]

PENELOPE: All we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. And you have her. I will wait for you. Always. I love you.

DESMOND: [turning the key] I love you, Penny.

[The screen fades to white.]

[We see Gale and everyone on the pier. The ground shakes, there's a bright light and a strange sound, and everyone covers their ears. We see Sayid, Sun and Jin on the boat, covering their ears. We see the people on the beach reacting the same way. The light and sound fade. We see an object falling from the sky. Bernard moves Claire to safety, right before the Hatch door with the quarantine stencil almost falls on them.]

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

[We see people cleaning up the food "pantry" at the beach. Charlie arrives out of the jungle.]

BERNARD: Charlie, are you okay?

CHARLIE: It's hard to tell exactly. But, my ears, you know?

BERNARD: Where's Locke—Eko?

CHARLIE: They're not back yet?

[Charlie sees Claire and smiles.]

[We see Gale and Michael at the pier.]

GALE: I'm not happy about the arrangement that was made with you Michael, but we got more than we bargained for when Walt joined us, so I suppose this is what's best. And you let me go, set me free—you lived up to your word. We live up to our word, too. Do you know how to drive a boat?

MICHAEL: Yeah, I can drive a boat.

GALE: Good, then you're going to take this boat and follow a compass bearing of 325, and if you do that exactly, you and your son will find rescue.

MICHAEL: That's it? I follow the bearing and me and my son get rescued?

GALE: Yes.

MICHAEL: How do you know I won't tell people about where I was?

GALE: Maybe you will, maybe you won't. But it won't matter. Once you leave, you'll never be able to get back here. And my hunch is you won't say a word to anybody because if you do, people will find out what you did to get your son back.

MICHAEL: My friends—I was promised you wouldn't hurt them.

GALE: A deal's a deal.

MICHAEL: Who are you people?

GALE: We're the good guys, Michael. Alright, she's all yours.

MICHAEL: What? What, am I stupid? Where's my son?

GALE: Walt's inside.

[Michael runs to the boat.]

GALE: Bon voyage, Michael.

MICHAEL: Walt!

WALT: Dad! Dad!

MICHAEL: Come here, come here [they hug]. You okay?

WALT: Yeah.

MICHAEL: You sure? Okay, I've got you now. It's going to be okay now. We're going home, Walt. We are going home.

[Gale motions to Ms. Klugh and she removes Hurley's gag.]

MS. KLUGH: Hugo, you can go back to your camp.

HURLEY: What?

MS. KLUGH: Go back. Your job is to tell the rest of your people they can never come here.

HURLEY: But what about my friends?

GALE: Your friends are coming home with us.

MS. KLUGH: Go.

[Hurley looks to Jack who nods for him to leave. Michael takes off in the boat and the hoods are put back on Sawyer, Jack, and Kate.]

[We see Charlie and Claire sitting by a fire at the beach.]

CLAIRE: What happened out there, Charlie?

CHARLIE: You want to hear the part about me nearly being killed by the flaming fireball—or the flying fork?

CLAIRE: I want you to be serious.

CHARLIE: Nothing happened.

CLAIRE: Well, something happened. I mean that noise, and the sky turned that weird violet color.

CHARLIE: Did it?

[Claire turns away exasperated and Charlie smiles. Claire examines a wound on Charlie's arm.]

CHARLIE: Ow, ow.

[Claire kisses him.]

[The scene suddenly switches to a landscape of snowy peaks in blizzard conditions. The camera pulls back to reveal that it's a shot through a window. We see the inside of a fairly small shelter filled with equipment and laundry hanging from lines. One man is getting coffee while another man waits at a chess board. Man #1 kicks something.]

MAN #1: Quem quebrou isso, hein?

MAN #2: Não se preocupe. Tá quebrado. Destruí sua defesa. Essa será sua última vez que verá "o" torre. [Subtitled from Portuguese: I crush your defense and that is the last you shall see of your rook. ]

MAN #1: Parte do plano, meu amigo. Tudo parte do plano. [Subtitle: All part of the plan, my friend.]

MAN #2: Ah, então seu plano deve ser perder. Agora, por favor. [Subtitle: Ah. Then your plan must be to lose. Please. Your move.]

[Man #1 looks over a piece of equipment. We can see a screen that says Electromagnetic Anomaly Detected.]

MAN #2: O quê? [Subtitle: What? ]

MAN #1: Há quanto tempo tá fazendo isto? [Subtitle: How long has it been doing that? ]

[Man #2 goes over to the equipment and hurriedly looks through a book.]

MAN #1: É isso, não é? A gente não percebeu de novo. Eles vão matar a gente! [Subtitle: That's it, isn't it? We missed it again... ]

MAN #2: Fica quieto! Nós não o perdemos! [Subtitle: We didn't miss it! ]

[An alarm starts beeping and Man #2 goes to a computer screen.]

MAN #1: Fala! Fala de novo que não é um alarme falso. Fala, fala de novo. Fala que eu... [Subtitle: So it's not a false alarm this time?! ]

MAN #2: Cala a boca e chama ajuda! [Subtitle: Just shut up and call! ]

[We see a bedroom nightstand and hear the phone on it ringing.]

PENELOPE: Hello.

MAN #1: Ms. Widmore?

PENELOPE: Yes.

MAN #1: It's us. I think we found it.