The Wrong Kind Of Right
Oct. 17th, 2008 11:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tellshannon815Title: The Wrong Kind of Right
Fandom: Lost
Characters: Walt, Locke.
Spoilers: All the way up through S4
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Written for the first "Ready, Set, Write" prompt over at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
lostsquee. Walt had always been brought up to tell the truth. Yet when he attempts to reclaim a part of his old life when he is twelve, and blow the cover of the Oceanic Six, he ends up wondering if telling the truth can sometimes be the wrong thing to do.
Walt Lloyd was twelve years old when he made his fatal mistake.
The crazy thing about it was, the wrong thing he did was something he'd always been brought up to believe was the right thing to do.
Brian, his stepfather, had drummed it into Walt from an early age that he must always tell the truth. He couldn't remember now exactly how it had started, but he does know it had been a trivial argument. Brian and Susan used to have this china statue of a bird, which Walt had always hated but Brian had always insisted it be kept on display because it had belonged to his mother and was the last thing she ever gave him and Susan. One day, when Brian had upset Walt in whatever way it had been, Walt had yelled at his stepfather that he would break the bird as punishment.
He had no real intention of doing it. But the next morning, when the bird was found smashed into four pieces, nobody believed Walt when he said he hadn't done it. He had no idea how it had happened, even as he'd sat through Brian's long lecture about telling the truth. Eventually, though, he had lied and admitted to doing it, just to get Brian off his back.
He remembered this after he saw all the news reports about the return of the Oceanic Six. Walt couldn't understand any of what was happening, hadn't known why Kate was claiming Aaron was hers, why Sun was saying Jin hadn't survived the crash. And he couldn't understand why no one made contact with him.
Michael had forbidden him ever to speak of the crash, the island, the Others and especially what he had done to get them both off the island. Walt's whole life has become a lie. Even the name he is using now is not his own.
But if he was with them again, he could be himself, reclaim his old life, speak freely once more. Sometimes he thinks about picking up the phone, calling one of them. But he doesn't know what to say.
Walt thought long and hard before writing the letter. There's obviously some reason for the story they're all telling, even if it's a story no one's ever shared with him. He suspects, deep down, that it might be the wrong thing to do. Even though he's been brought up to believe that telling the truth is the right thing.
"Dear Brian," he writes, then wonders what else to say. It had been a lot easier the first time around, when he wrote his message for the bottle.
"I bet you won't believe this when you read it," he plumps for at last. "But it's true. It's me, Walt.
"You were right when you used to say I was the luckiest person you knew. Because I was lucky, to survive the crash of Flight 815. So did lots of other people, more than the six who were on the news. They're all still out there somewhere on an island, probably still waiting to be rescued.
"Dad and I got away after a couple of months. We came back to New York like we were meant to, but Dad's gone again. I don't know where he is now.
"Vincent's still on the island. He's okay, but I bet he's missing you a lot."
He paused, unsure what else to say.
"Well, I'll go now. But I thought I should tell someone the truth about what really happened. I don't want to lie any more."
Walt signed his name, hurriedly stuffed the letter into an envelope and addressed it before he could change his mind.
He'd told the truth. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he had just done something very wrong.
The knock that eventually came to the door was not the one Walt had been expecting. He hadn't been in the TV footage, and Walt had known that he hadn't wanted to leave the island. So he was unable to disguise his shock when he saw John Locke standing at his door.
"Mr. Locke," he began, but Locke raised his finger to his lips.
"My name is Bentham. Jeremy Bentham."
Walt opened his mouth to ask more questions - how did he get off the island? Why was he using a different name? but the look on the older man's face prevented him from asking. Locke reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Walt took it from him and stared at it in shock.
It was his letter to his stepfather.
"How did you get this?" Walt asked, but Locke shook his head.
"You shouldn't have done this, Walt."
"I don't understand," Walt began, but Locke silenced him with a look.
"The story everyone told after they got back, it was for a reason. It was to protect all those who stayed behind on the island. A lot of bad things have been happening since you've been here, and if this letter had fallen into the wrong hands, it could have made things a lot worse."
"What do you mean?" Walt asked. He wasn't sure he liked this new Locke, the one who treated him like a naughty child instead of like an adult as he always had on the island. And he couldn't see how one little letter could possibly cause anything like Locke was implying.
Locke's face softened as he seemed to realise he had upset Walt.
"It's going to be okay. I can fix this. But there's something we all have to do."
Walt relaxed. "What's that?"
"We all have to go back to the island. It's the only way we can save everyone. But you have to be a part of that. it has to be all of us, Walt."
When Walt was twelve, he did the wrong thing.
But when he was sixteen, he returned to the island, and he was able to help make it right.
Fandom: Lost
Characters: Walt, Locke.
Spoilers: All the way up through S4
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Written for the first "Ready, Set, Write" prompt over at
lostsquee. Walt had always been brought up to tell the truth. Yet when he attempts to reclaim a part of his old life when he is twelve, and blow the cover of the Oceanic Six, he ends up wondering if telling the truth can sometimes be the wrong thing to do.Walt Lloyd was twelve years old when he made his fatal mistake.
The crazy thing about it was, the wrong thing he did was something he'd always been brought up to believe was the right thing to do.
Brian, his stepfather, had drummed it into Walt from an early age that he must always tell the truth. He couldn't remember now exactly how it had started, but he does know it had been a trivial argument. Brian and Susan used to have this china statue of a bird, which Walt had always hated but Brian had always insisted it be kept on display because it had belonged to his mother and was the last thing she ever gave him and Susan. One day, when Brian had upset Walt in whatever way it had been, Walt had yelled at his stepfather that he would break the bird as punishment.
He had no real intention of doing it. But the next morning, when the bird was found smashed into four pieces, nobody believed Walt when he said he hadn't done it. He had no idea how it had happened, even as he'd sat through Brian's long lecture about telling the truth. Eventually, though, he had lied and admitted to doing it, just to get Brian off his back.
He remembered this after he saw all the news reports about the return of the Oceanic Six. Walt couldn't understand any of what was happening, hadn't known why Kate was claiming Aaron was hers, why Sun was saying Jin hadn't survived the crash. And he couldn't understand why no one made contact with him.
Michael had forbidden him ever to speak of the crash, the island, the Others and especially what he had done to get them both off the island. Walt's whole life has become a lie. Even the name he is using now is not his own.
But if he was with them again, he could be himself, reclaim his old life, speak freely once more. Sometimes he thinks about picking up the phone, calling one of them. But he doesn't know what to say.
Walt thought long and hard before writing the letter. There's obviously some reason for the story they're all telling, even if it's a story no one's ever shared with him. He suspects, deep down, that it might be the wrong thing to do. Even though he's been brought up to believe that telling the truth is the right thing.
"Dear Brian," he writes, then wonders what else to say. It had been a lot easier the first time around, when he wrote his message for the bottle.
"I bet you won't believe this when you read it," he plumps for at last. "But it's true. It's me, Walt.
"You were right when you used to say I was the luckiest person you knew. Because I was lucky, to survive the crash of Flight 815. So did lots of other people, more than the six who were on the news. They're all still out there somewhere on an island, probably still waiting to be rescued.
"Dad and I got away after a couple of months. We came back to New York like we were meant to, but Dad's gone again. I don't know where he is now.
"Vincent's still on the island. He's okay, but I bet he's missing you a lot."
He paused, unsure what else to say.
"Well, I'll go now. But I thought I should tell someone the truth about what really happened. I don't want to lie any more."
Walt signed his name, hurriedly stuffed the letter into an envelope and addressed it before he could change his mind.
He'd told the truth. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he had just done something very wrong.
The knock that eventually came to the door was not the one Walt had been expecting. He hadn't been in the TV footage, and Walt had known that he hadn't wanted to leave the island. So he was unable to disguise his shock when he saw John Locke standing at his door.
"Mr. Locke," he began, but Locke raised his finger to his lips.
"My name is Bentham. Jeremy Bentham."
Walt opened his mouth to ask more questions - how did he get off the island? Why was he using a different name? but the look on the older man's face prevented him from asking. Locke reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Walt took it from him and stared at it in shock.
It was his letter to his stepfather.
"How did you get this?" Walt asked, but Locke shook his head.
"You shouldn't have done this, Walt."
"I don't understand," Walt began, but Locke silenced him with a look.
"The story everyone told after they got back, it was for a reason. It was to protect all those who stayed behind on the island. A lot of bad things have been happening since you've been here, and if this letter had fallen into the wrong hands, it could have made things a lot worse."
"What do you mean?" Walt asked. He wasn't sure he liked this new Locke, the one who treated him like a naughty child instead of like an adult as he always had on the island. And he couldn't see how one little letter could possibly cause anything like Locke was implying.
Locke's face softened as he seemed to realise he had upset Walt.
"It's going to be okay. I can fix this. But there's something we all have to do."
Walt relaxed. "What's that?"
"We all have to go back to the island. It's the only way we can save everyone. But you have to be a part of that. it has to be all of us, Walt."
When Walt was twelve, he did the wrong thing.
But when he was sixteen, he returned to the island, and he was able to help make it right.