Happy Birthday, Alexandra {Alex}

[Richard Alpert]

It had barely begun to rain when Richard rushed up the steps of the once former Dharma Barracks. However, barely beginning on the Island ment torrential downpour within the first five minutes. As he entered the house through the unlocked door, one quick glance told him that Ben was out. Jacob had been calling on Ben more and more since the Purge. Richard paid no mind to it; leaders got the call, he thought to himself. The Purge...he was reminded then of what day it was. A year ago, all of the remaining Dharma members had been killed. Right on the very spot that he stood. That the young girl in the upstairs far room of Ben's house was sleeping. They all had died...and she hadn't a clue. It was also, Richard reminded himself, Alexandra's birthday.

Birthdays weren't exactly something that Richard remembered anymore. He never remembered Ben's, but then again, the man never reminded him. He always did, however, remember Alex's. The little girl had so flew pleasures other than the beauty of the Island, that he figured bringing her something from the outside world couldn't hurt. One of the first things he had brought her had been a colouring book and crayons. And as he entered the sleeping girls room, he pulled out the two things that he was sure would make the girls day. In one hand, a beautiful, handpainted porcelin doll, to remind her that things around here needed to be watched and cared for...and a sling-shot. To remind her to always be on her guard.

Even though he couldn't remember the last time he had a birthday, or what his birthday actually was, even though he had forgotten the simple things such as that, he remembered that birthdays to little girls, were the happiest days of their lives.

As he moved to sit gently down on the bed that seemed to be five-sizes too big for her, he smiled slightly as he saw her shift. "Happy Birthday, Alexandra."

[Alex Linus]

She was dreaming - she was a Princess, standing in the middle of a clearing. For some reason, the sky was all different shades and hues, almost like a sunset, except it had odd colors like bright green and neon blue. The overall effect was rather pretty. She spotted something in the trees a few feet away and grinned, instantly chasing after it because it looked just as colorful as the sky. She darted through the underbrush, pushing past ferns and tree trunks in her search to find whatever she had seen.

She stumbled out onto the beach, the colors even more flourescent now. The ocean had turned a bright purple, and the sand she stood on was slowly changing to a pink color. Alex wondered why everything was changing colors to much - all the colors were beginning to make her dizzy. With full intentions to return to the clearing, she turned, only to nearly run dead into a wall of flashing smoke.

A frown crossed her face as she tried to pull herself from her dream, the words 'happy birthday Alex' echoing in her mind. Her hands reached up and rubbed her eyes as they flickered open, realizing she was in her own room. Pushing herself up on her elbows, she yawned widely, still slightly sleepy. Her gaze fell on Richard and she sleepily smiled - until she realized what day it was. Then she grinned broadly, snapping fully awake almost instantly, like a machine. "It's my birthday!" She exclaimed excitedly, looking at Richard. "Hello Mister Alpert! Whatcha doing here in my room?"

[Richard Alpert]

It was rare when Richard smiled. Usually, it was to his amusement of the chaos around him, or the irony. Most of the time, smiles usually came in the form of mocking what a normal person would do. Not someone like him. However, when Alex awoke and exclaimed that it was her birthday, Richard found himself smiling at the girl. "I," he started, moving to pull his messenger bag to the front of him to rest on his lap. "have just gotten back. And since I remembered that it was a very special girl's birthday on the Island, I figured it'd be best to give her the presents bright and early."

He reached into bag and pulled out the two items, one a larged wrapped mass, and the other, a simple wrapped Y shape. It wasn't so much a test, perse, as it was just for Richard's curiousity and amusement. "You can have both, but I want you to pick which one you think you'll use more."

[Alex Linus]

Another broad grin spread across her face when Richard spoke. She was nearly bouncing with excitement at the mention of presents. She reached up and combed her fingers through her hair absentmindedly, wincing as they caught on a few tangles.

She watched him pulled out both wrapped presents, a frown briefly crossing her face when he told her to pick which one she woudl use more. How could she possibly know? Looking between the two, she chewed on her thumb as she decided. After a moment, she pointed to the y-shaped package.

"That one."

[Richard Alpert]

The smile only grew as Alex pointed to the sling-shot in balloon-covered wrapping paper. "Good." he told her; at least whether it be amusement or an actual test, she had passed, at least in his eyes. He looked from the sling-shot and doll, to her face. "Open them both and I'll take you outside."

The last thing he needed was for her to start sling-shotting things in the house. However, she was a very bright girl. Alex would be a natural, Richard knew. And having a weapon in the jungle....well, it wouldn't drive off the smoke, but it would stop the other things that lurked.

[Alex Linus]

She carefully unwrapped the larger one first, her eyes growing bright when she carefully unwrapped the fragile doll. She examined it, taking in it's features. It was beautiful, one of the most pretty dolls the young girl had ever seen. Making sure to be careful, she gently set it on the bedspread next to her, making sure it wouldn't fall of the edge of the bed either.

Alex unwrapped the y-shaped passage, the slingshot rolling out into her lap. She picked it up, confused for a brief moment as to what it was. She had seen something like in the few cartoons her father allowed her to watch on Saturday mornings, and knew it was used as a weapon. However, she had no idea how to use it.

"Thanks Mister Alpert!" She grinned, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. She held up the slingshot. "Can you show me how to use it?"

[Richard Alpert]

"Get your clothes on and meet me on the porch."

Richard exited Alex's room silently, watching as the girl could have nearly exploded with excitment. Making his way down the stairs, he exited the house and started searching the ground for small stones. As he found some, he picked them up and pocketed them. As he heard the screen door open, he saw Alex bound out, sling-shot in hand.

"Alright," he told her, and held out his hand for the sling-shot. Taking it, he bent down to his knees to be on her level. "Hold it in your hand, like this." he curled his fingers around the bottom half, and placed the stone in the small valley between the sling shot. "Pull it back...find your target--" Richard noticed a bird flying towards the trees. He pulled back, and fired, watching as the stone hit the bird, and fell flat to the Island floor. "And shoot."

[Alex Linus]

When Richard left the room, Alex leapt up and began to pull on her clothes. She set her doll on her nightstand and grabbed the slingshot, quickly bouncing down the stairs and out the front door.

Alex watched carefully as he showed her how to use it. Her gaze followed the bird all the way to the ground, a small smirk spread out across her face. "All right." She murmured, taking the slingshot and repeating Richard's actions. She saw another bird perched in a tree not far away. She pulled the rock back and let it fly. There was a loud 'crack' as the rock hit the tree instead of the bird. Startled, the bird instantly flew off. A frown fell on her face.

"Darn it."

[Richard Alpert]

As he heard the sharp crack of the rock hitting off the tree instead of the bird, Richard watched as the bird flew off, and then looked down at Alex as he saw her frown. All of the birds in the surrounding area had been startled away, and he figured that there had to at least be some better birds in the jungle slightly.

He reached down, taking the small girl's hand. "Let's find you something. And that was a good shot, you jsut need to aim a little bit higher. But that was very, very good."

As they entered the jungle, deep enough so Richard could hear the sounds of birds overhead. He looked up silently, towards a treebranch. He pointed to a flock of birds that were resting on the branch. "There."

[Alex Linus]

She nodded at Richard as he took her hand. Alex skipped along at his side as they headed into the jungle, her new slingshot clutched tightly in her hand. Her face brightened when she saw more birds.

Alex aimed with her slingshot again, carefully choosing which bird she wanted to aim at. She picked up a rock off the ground and placed it in the valley of the slingshot. Aiming once more, she pulled back and let it go.

She hit her target that time, the bird falling off the branch and to the ground below. She grinned broadly, jumping up and down. "I did it! Did you see that Mister Alpert?! I did it!"

[Richard Alpert]

Richard smiled slightly as he watched the rock connect with the bird, and then slightly wider as she jumped up and down with happiness. "I saw, Alex. That's very good. That's very--"

But then, a sound made him stop. He turned, looking towards where it had came from, and saw nothing. However, nothing in the jungle meant SO much. "Come on, we need to get back to the house." he told her, knowing what lurked in the darkness. The Black Cloud had came with the Dharma people, and had once attacked the Hostiles. Even though Ben had assured him that the cloud knew now, knew the difference...Richard was still not trusting of the technology that flittered and skittered through the jungle.

Then, as if to confirm Richard's thoughts, the black cloud slithered out, and then grew in size, as if ready to strike. Richard pulled Alex up into his arms, and broke off in a run towards the once Dharma homes. He knew the black smoke didn't care about him. He had been in the jungle alone for years...but Alex. It wanted Alex. Seeing the tall reeds of a jungle tree, Richard skidded through the wet mud, sliding into the tree.

[Alex Linus]

"M'Kay." She said when he mentioned going back to the houses. "Maybe I can show Daddy my new presents." Alex laughed, fully unaware of the noise.

Then, she stopped when the monster appeared. The same one that had been in her dream. Her eyes widened and she let out a horrifying scream, quickly burying her face in Richard's chest when he picked her up into his arms.

After a moment, she dared to look up and peek, to see if it was following them. Of course it was - she just wanted it to go away. Trembling, she clung to Richard fearfully as they skidded into the tree.

[Richard Alpert]

He could almost feel her heart pounding even though it was securely in her ribcage. As she clenched onto him, Richard's eyes scanned between the reeds, seeing the black smoke almost staring back at him. "It's okay," he whispered, feeling her shake against him. He felt the wetness of tears on his shoulder, and he brought a hand up, pressing it against her head as he watched the smoke fade, leaving the wet green of the Island. The rain started, first coming down in small droplets, but as Richard looked up to the sky, big fat drops hit his face. "Okay. It's okay. It's gone, we're going out now, alright?"

He'd let Ben know about the Smoke, how it had attacked once again. Dharma and their petty, silly experiments. He felt her still shake in his arms, and he stood inside the tree. "We've got to get back to your house."

[Alex Linus]

She kept her eyes tightly shut, her face buried in Richard's chest. She didn't like the monster, and didn't want it to get her. She was afriad it would end up eating her. She didn't want to leave the safety of the tree, but knew they would be even safer in her house. She nodded, but didn't move to let go of Richard.

"Lets just get home." She whispered, looking up at Richard, slight tears still coming from her eyes. Alex was afriad of the monster coming back, but at least she had Richard to protect her.

[Richard Alpert]

As he slowly stepped out of the tree, the rain soaked his clothes, making them cling to him almost for dear life. Another thing that was clinging to him for dear life, was Alex. He wrapped both of his arms around her, holding her close. He didn't even mind that her arms were locked in a near death-grip around his neck. As they moved quickly through the jungle, Richard saw the groups of houses that once belonged to the Dharma people.

As they came upon the house, Richard moved, opening the door with one hand, and pushing it open. "Ben?" he called, however, silence filled the house. He was probably still at the Swan or one of the other stations. He squatted slightly to place Alex on the ground, however, he still felt her arms locked around his neck. "It's okay, let go."