"PILOT"
Air Date: 09/22/2004

A man awakes in a jungle. He is bruised and bloody, and doesn't know where he is. A yellow Labrador Retriever watches him from the trees, then suddenly runs off. He forces himself up and winces in pain, leaning against a tree. He checks his jacket pocket and finds a small bottle of vodka. Recognition of where he is begins to float across his face. He winces back the pain and begins to run through the trees, reaching a beautiful beach.

He hears sounds — people screaming. He wanders around a bend and finds what has brought him here — a plane crash, survivors in shock. A man trapped beneath wreckage. A woman not breathing. A pregnant woman screaming for help. He runs to help those he can, and rallies the others to help him. One of these strangers asks his name: "Jack."

After the initial shock of the crash has settled a little, Jack digs through the scattered luggage and finds a sewing kit. He goes off into the woods to check his own injuries, where he meets a young woman. He enlists her help in stitching a laceration on his back closed, and he explains that he is a doctor.

Back at the crash site, the survivors do their best to make themselves comfortable. Sayid introduces himself to Charlie, and gets Charlie to help build a bonfire, for the rescuers to see. Hurley gathers together the food from the plane, and distributes it amongst the survivors. Michael checks on the welfare of his son, Walt. And Jack has returned to the beach with his new friend, Kate. Jack explains to her that if they can find the front of the plane, they may be able to radio for help with a transceiver. Kate says she saw smoke coming from the jungle — and tells Jack if he's going to look for it, she's coming with him. Just as Jack is about to argue, the group hears a sound from inside the trees — a loud, terrifying, monstrous howl that goes on and on. The tops of the trees shake, and eventually whatever is making the sound goes away, leaving the survivors marooned, exhausted — and now terrified.

The next day, Jack and Kate tell the survivors that they are going to look for the rest of the fuselage. Charlie invites himself along for the trip, and the three head off. On the way, Kate realizes that she knows Charlie from somewhere, but can't place him. Charlie gleefully announces that he's the bassist for Drive Shaft, which pleases Kate. As the trio works their way across a valley and re-enters the jungle, the sky darkens, and a rainstorm strikes from out of nowhere. Back at the crash site, everyone rushes for cover as the strange sounds from the jungle begin again.

Jack, Kate and Charlie find the wreckage in the jungle. They see no signs of survivors as they climb up into the fuselage towards the cockpit. After breaking their way in, they find the Pilot still strapped to his seat. As Kate and Jack search for the fuselage, the seemingly-dead Pilot wakes up. After they give him some water, they tell the pilot "at least 48" of the passengers have survived, and it's been sixteen hours since the crash. The Pilot then tells them they lost their radio six hours into the flight, and couldn't be seen by anyone. They turned around to head to Fiji, and by the time they hit turbulence and crashed, they were a thousand miles off-course. The rescuers are looking in the wrong place.

The Pilot shows them where the transceiver is kept, and as he tries to get it to work, and Kate finds Charlie in the bathroom for some reason, the strange sounds are heard again — this time just outside the fuselage. They try to catch a glimpse of whatever is making the sound through the cockpit windows, and when the Pilot crawls out to take a look, he is snatched up by the mysterious force. The fuselage is then knocked to the ground, and Charlie, Jack and Kate try and make a run for it.

The three survivors run for their lives, with whatever-it-is hot on their heels. Charlie falls, and when Jack goes back to help him, Kate finds herself alone in the jungle, terrified. Charlie comes upon her suddenly, and the rain stops just as quickly as it began. They go back looking for Jack, and find him a little ways back, along with the body of the Pilot — hanging from the top of a tree above them. They stand there, wondering what could do something like that.