Chapter One: A New Day
She first became aware of the cold floor underneath her, as consciousness slowly returned. Her head was swimming, her stomach sick, her body aching and weak. She remembered everything as soon as she woke. Michael's betrayal of leading them to the Others, the dock, Henry Gale, Michael taking off with his son, and Walt yelling something at Kate, something she hadn't heard, but knew he had said "Violet." Everything was still a blur to her, but she knew wherever she was, she had been taken by the Others.
Kate slowly forced herself up into a sitting position, feeling a small pinch on the inside of her elbow, and she sighed angrily to herself when she saw a cottonball taped there. Why the hell would they want my blood? She thought bitterly to herself as she rubbed her eyes, trying to force the dizziness away. That was when she realized, she wasn't alone.
The man hovering over her was a familiar face, only he was missing the beard she had last seen him with on the dock. It was the man who held her at gunpoint the night she had gone up the mountain to demand Violet back. He looked much younger without the disguise.
"Sleep well?" The man asked with raised eyebrows, and a bit of a smirk on his face. Kate only glared at him as she forced herself to stand. She staggered only a little, but the man had noticed.
"Easy Kate, you were drugged, remember?" He asked. Kate only stared at him with threatening eyes. Truth be told, she didn't remember the exact moment when they had drugged her, but she knew it was before they left the dock, because that was the last thing she remembered.
"Where's Violet?" Kate asked, as she swallowed hard. Her throat was parched, she was thirsty, but she refused to appear weak. The man only sighed and stared at her.
"Now you know I can't tell you that." He replied. "But don't worry, she's fine. She's having a good time." He almost laughed at the latter response, as he said it with a sarcastic tone. Kate shook her head.
"You son of a -"
"Easy, easy." The man raised his hand, as well as his voice, but only slightly. "Why don't you take a shower, Kate? It'll make you feel better." Kate looked around and at that moment, realized they were in what appeared to be a locker room of some sort, with stalls for showers. The man, who finally introduced himself as Thom, handed her a towel. She stared at it for a moment, and then glared at him again.
"I'm not showering in front of you." She spat. Thom laughed as Kate shook from head to toe with the fear that was beginning to overtake her.
"Relax Kate, you ain't my type." He said with a grin, as he turned and left the room, locking the door behind him. Kate stared at the closed door for a moment and turned to stare at the shower stall. Maybe the cool water would make her feel a little better, she was sweating from head to toe. Had Violet been drugged with the same stuff?
As soon as Kate had taken off her clothes and stepped into the shower, she opened her mouth and drank the sprinkling water graciously, coughing from drinking too much. The water was disgusting, but it was cold, and her throat was so dry, she could care less what it tasted like, but even still, she found herself spitting it out once she had enough.
She showered quickly, unsure of what to expect as she wrapped her towel tightly around herself, in case Thom had come back in the room. She realized right away that her clothes were gone. Thom had been in here, she shuddered at the thought.
"Where are my clothes?" She yelled nervously as she looked around. That was when she saw a brand new dress hanging by the lockers, with a sign on it that read 'wear this.' Kate swallowed as she held up the dress. Why did they want her to wear it?
Having no other choice but to put it on, she did, amazed at how precisely it fit her. How could they have possibly known her exact size? It scared her to think about it. Why were they treating her so well? Why did they let her have a shower, and a new dress? What was their plan? Had they treated Violet the same way?
"Finished?" Thom's gruff voice broke the silence as Kate turned and crossed her arms, feeling uncomfortable in the dress under the older man's gazing eyes. Kate was silent.
"He's waiting for you." Thom said simply. Kate narrowed her eyes.
"Who's waiting for me?" She asked. "Where the hell is Violet? And Jack and Sawyer? What have you done with them?" She raised her voice. Thom only shook his head.
"You're almost as stubborn as the kid. I can see where she must have gotten it from." He said. Kate glared at him, angered by his lack of answers. She had no choice but to follow the man who took hold of her arm, and let her out of the room into the bright sunlight.
Violet was asleep. It was early in the morning when Kate had first woken up in the locker room under the eyes of Thom. Violet was sound asleep, plagued by the usual dreams of being rescued, of seeing Walt again, and of being reunited with Kate and Jack at long last. But as her eyes slowly opened, taking in the surroundings of her room, her cell where she had been kept for weeks now, she sighed to herself, telling herself it was only a dream, once again.
She sat up on her bed and stretched, seeing nothing but the white walls surrounding her, the camera watching her from the corner of the room, and the thick glass wall separating her from the room where she had first met Juliet.
Violet sighed, pulling out the book Juliet had left for her the day before. Violet was beginning to build up a collection of novels, ever since the first time Juliet brought her "Carrie" by Stephen King. At first, Violet had hated reading them, but the boredom of being trapped in that room every single day got to her. Until Jack and Kate came to rescue her, she had to do something to keep her occupied.
That is, if they're coming. Violet couldn't help but wonder why Ben had gone to their camp. What was their plan? Did it involve Violet somehow? Why had she been taken in the first place? These questions plagued her day after day, with no answers to satisfy her. Juliet wouldn't answer her, nobody would. She was left to wonder, and hope they were still out there, looking for her, not giving up.
Violet leaned back against her pillows, unable to focus on the words of the book in front of her. She couldn't stop thinking about what had happened the day before. The memories were still so fresh in her mind...
"Violet, don't move." She heard Juliet's voice warn from behind her. Violet stopped breathing as she remained where she was, rooted on the stool, arms still grasping the interior of the air duct she had been trying to escape through. She managed to crane her neck to see Juliet standing at the entrance of the room, aiming a strange device at her. Violet recognized it immediately. It was the device they had used to shot a tranquilizer dart into her neck the night they took her from her camp. Her heart started pounding.
"Juliet, please don't." Violet pleaded, once she was able to find her voice. Juliet only stared at her, her eyes cold, yet sympathetic. It was hard to tell, but she didn't lower her weapon.
"I want you to get down from there right now." Juliet said seriously as Violet complied. She knew she was in for it now; Ben had warned her, and he had been serious. Still, Violet was terrified to find out what consequences Ben was talking about.
Violet waited as Juliet stared at her for a moment, until she finally put her device back in her pocket. Violet breathed out slowly.
"Come here, and sit down for a minute." Juliet said, her voice laced with a cool serenity. Violet wanted nothing more than to stay where she was, afraid of what was going to happen now, but she also feared disobedience. She was already in enough trouble.
She crossed the room to where Juliet was motioning, and Violet hesitantly sat on the bench in front of Juliet, never meeting her piercing blue eyes. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach; what if Ben's consequences meant killing her? She felt like she were going to faint.
Juliet stood there for a moment, and then turned to close the door behind her. Violet watched her, her heart thrashing wildly against her chest. She averted her eyes as Juliet turned and moved toward her, lowering herself to sit on the bench beside her. Strange, she didn't seem angry at all.
"Calm down Violet, I'm not going to hurt you." She said in a quiet whisper. Violet looked up in surprise - why was she whispering?
"W-what?" Violet asked, looking around again for cameras.
"I already told you there were no cameras in this room," Juliet sighed, "So, here's the deal. I'm going to pretend like this never happened, okay? I'm not going to say anything to Ben, or anybody else, but Violet, you have to promise me you won't try this again. Ben is serious when he says there will be consequences. Next time, it might not be me who catches you. Next time, you might not be so lucky that there aren't any cameras watching you." Violet stared at her in incredulously. Juliet looked nervous, as she kept peering back at the closed door. Violet shook her head.
"Why? Why would you do that for me?" She paused. Juliet stared at her and for the first time since Violet had been here, she saw something in Juliet she hadn't seen before. Emotion - Juliet looked like she had tears in her eyes.
"I understand how much you want to leave, Violet. I feel your pain, more than you can understand right now. I know you miss Kate, and Jack, and your life with them. I know you're scared, and I know you want nothing more than to get out of here. I know you think I'm just one of them, but it's complicated, Violet. You just have to trust me - as much as you don't want to do that, I'm asking you to. I don't want to see you hurt, and I know Ben. If he knew you tried to escape again, the consequences really wouldn't be pleasant for you." Juliet paused, staring at Violet with such fierce emotion, "I don't want to see that happen to you."
Violet shuddered at the racing thoughts through her mind. Juliet had been right. If it had been anybody else who had entered the locker room to find Violet trying to escape through the ventilation system, she more than likely would have been shot with that tranquilizer device, and who knew? She could even be dead right now.
But the complication of it all troubled her a great deal. Why would Juliet risk herself like that, just to protect Violet from whatever Ben meant by consequences? What did she have to gain by protecting Violet? Violet wasn't sure, but what she was sure of, was the sense of fear and nervousness she got from Juliet when she told her she would keep the whole thing quiet. Violet couldn't understand, and she couldn't make any sense of it. She wanted nothing more than to be able to talk to Juliet about it, ask her questions that maybe Juliet would only answer if they weren't being watched. Maybe Juliet wasn't as bad as Violet thought. But then she remembered the night on the beach. She had been there, she was sure of it. She had been the one to shoot Violet with the tranquilizer, while Kate watched in horror. She had played an important part in the capture of Violet. Violet was torn and confused, and tried to force herself not to think about it. Juliet wouldn't tell her anything.
The heavy steel door that locked Violet inside her cell suddenly creaked and Violet recognized the sound, looking up to see Juliet entering her room with a tray of food. Violet watched her as Juliet silently placed the tray down on Violet's table. Juliet was quiet when she turned to face Violet. She looked tired, as though she hadn't slept.
"Good morning, Violet." Juliet said quietly as she crossed the room to sit on Violet's bed. Violet only nodded. Juliet noticed Violet's finger marking her place in the book Juliet gave her.
"What do you think of it?" She asked casually as she gestured toward the book. Violet shrugged.
"It's okay, I guess." She replied. She wasn't interested in talking about The Lord of the Flies, what she really wanted to talk about was what had happened the day before. But it was difficult, with the camera rotating through the room. Juliet noticed Violet staring at the camera.
"What's wrong?" She asked the girl. Violet sighed. Unsure of how to ask the question without getting herself, or Juliet into trouble, she grabbed hold of her notebook, and began to scribble down a sentence. Juliet read it as Violet was writing it.
Why did you help me? She wrote. Juliet sighed, staring at the camera, and then back at Violet with those calming blue eyes, and she shook her head. Violet took it to mean Juliet couldn't say anything, but Juliet surprised her when she leaned in a little, and lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper.
"I told you yesterday, Violet. These other people don't care. If they catch you escaping, they won't care that you're just a kid, they will hurt you. That much I'm sure of. I am doing everything in my power to keep you as safe as I can, Violet. Believe it or not, I do not want to see you get hurt." She whispered quietly, sitting up again, and staring at Violet with reassuring eyes. Violet almost smiled, but she didn't. As confused as she still was, Juliet had already placed herself apart from the rest of these people by her concern for Violet's well-being. Violet opened her mouth to ask, but Juliet's glance was enough warning to keep her mouth shut. That was that. There would be no other chance to ask Juliet the questions she wanted to ask. Who she was, why she was risking everything, what her role in this whole operation was. They would all be unanswered, because Juliet couldn't tell her anything. There was nothing Violet could do, but keep the secret of yesterday to herself, and continue to wonder why.