Chapter Seven

They crept closer and Violet was pleased with her new friends stealth. They were practically silent as they made their way towards the four guards stationed at the gate. When they were close enough he leapt forward and slit the closest guards throat. She gracefully charged into action, slamming her machete into the side of anothers head. The third guard met a knife to the windpipe and Violet squared up to take care of the fourth.

She froze midswing as she stared into all too familiar brown eyes. It couldn't possibly be. But it was. It was him, staring wide eyed, frozen in terror. Her Liam. She shook her head trying to clear it but nothing changed.

Her partner hissed her name. She stood stock still. He moved forward to take care of the problem himself and Violet was finally able to blink. She stared at the corpse on the ground. Shaggy blond hair, blue eyes staring up at her lifelessly. Not Liam. She shuddered and slipped into the camp after her new partner.

She had no time to calm her racing mind as they headed towards where the civilians were kept. She sent a silent prayer of thank to the heavens when she saw that it was unguarded. Apparently, the Purists weren't concerned about unarmed civilians causing trouble. That was a decision they would regret. Four down, twenty something more to go. Her eyes narrowed and she looked behind her to see Hayley crouched. The young woman looked almost like a hunter again, as she cocked her head to the side.

Her partner rushed ahead, getting the others ready to go and Violet stood uneasily, keeping watch. She wasn't sure how long they had until the guards out front were discovered. She started to feel panicky. They weren't going to get all these people out in time. Hayley seemed to share this opinion, as she began to grumble to herself, looking behind them anxiously.

She was, of course, entirely correct. She heard shouting and knew the guards had been found. She didn't notice when her mind went quiet. Her body started to move as if an invisible hand moved her strings. She snapped orders to the people she had armed. These people were getting out of here, and they would kill anyone who stood in their way.

She drew her machete and waited for the first wave of Purists to find her and Hayley. She cut an impressive figure, a thin beautiful woman, hair whipping in the wind brandishing a blade as thick as her arm. She was vaguely aware of the people scrambling behind her, unaware that a few had formed a haphazard defensive line behind her.

A group of three purists stumbled upon them and Violet was amazed to see them go down before she could blink. She turned her head to see a rather grim teenage boy standing next to her with her pistol in hand. A few civilians scrambled forward to relieve the corpses of their weapons. Suddenly the odds didn't seem so poor.

With a loud whoop she raised her machete in the air. The small rag tag group of armed people behind her answered her with a combined roar. She looked behind her to see their numbers had grown. She charged forward with another yell and took off in search of more Purists.

It didn't take them long to find the Purists. Violet quickly scanned the area and noted with surprise that the whole camp appeared to be on fire. The Purists were running around madly, disorganized and scared. Violet watched in amazement as a hunter lept from behind a burning building and pounced on the closest Purist. His screams were cut short as the hunter ripped out his throat, shrieking its triumph.

"There are specials everywhere!" A woman behind Violet gasped. She was correct. Violet cursed noisily. This wasn't going to help. Hayley looked curious, as if she were listening to the screams of the infected.

"Stay sharp! Everything and anyone wants to kill you tonight" A man barked behind her. They continued their run across the camp, dispersing any Purists they came across. Violet briefly observed a very tall, very familiar shadow behind a building, right before the building started to glow and flicker.

Violet turned to the civilians behind her and looked for a leader. A tall black man stepped forward and inquired with an impressive baritone "How can we help you ma'am?" Hayley let out a strange cry, and it was returned, echoing all around them. The civilians looked a little uneasy, but said nothing.

Violet was surprised, but shook it off. "Start leading your group out. It's important you stay together! If you separate the specials will pick you off. There's five or six purists left at best. They're no match for you but we don't need unnecessary death. I need your help specifically in locating my daughter. She has blond hair and blue eyes. She growls." She explained.

The man broke into a small smile. "My wife has been caring for her since she first arrived. You did all this to get her back?"

Violet nodded grimly. He raised his eyebrows and smiled again. "Good heavens above girl. That baby is a lucky girl."

He quickly disappeared into the night and the rest of the civilians followed suit, save for a teenage girl she had failed to notice earlier. She just stared at her. She ignored her for a while, then sighed irritably.

"What's your story kid?" She asked.

"My name is Evie. I'm nineteen. My family is all dead. They died while we were still in Texas. I was hoping I could tag along with you and your daughter. I don't really have anywhere else to go. I don't want to be alone anymore." The girl admitted, hanging her head.

Violet looked her over. Tall and lanky, she had a mop of brown hair on her head, with bangs she had to keep flipping out of her blue eyes. Violet was reminded of a thin sheepdog. She wasn't much in the way of physique, but she stood at her full height and didn't stumble over her words. She couldn't very well leave the girl all alone.

"You're more than welcome to tag along Evie. My name's Violet. You'll meet Estelle soon. Just keep up and do your share of the work." She gave the beaming girl a stern look. "Because if you mess around, I will leave you behind." Evie nodded with wide eyes.

The man Violet had spoken to earlier arrived quickly, a beautiful woman in tow. Violet didn't care about the woman though. In her arms, rested Violets world. She swooped in closer and barely contained herself from snatching Estelle up and running off into the night. Instead, she very gingerly scooped the chubby girl into her arms. She was rewarded with a happy sigh and a small head resting against her cheek. The flood of happiness and warmth that hit Violet didn't even faze her. She just rolled with it.

She reluctantly handed Estelle to Evie, and they made their way through the camp. The civilians had successfully eliminated their captors, and were containing a group of seven that hadn't been killed. The infected had disappeared into the night. Hayley hadn't made another sound, but was looking around curiously.

Violet scanned the group for Vincent and a lump formed in her throat when she didn't see him. She watched as Marie's father and the gentleman whose wife had cared for Estelle took control of the situation, organizing the survivors and helping guide the children to safety. She heard one man exclaim happily that the only buildings that hadn't been damaged contained the food, water and weapons. She smirked into the woods. She couldn't see the tall man responsible for the fires but she had no doubt that it had been him.

These people were safe now. She motioned to Evie, and they made their way back towards the cabin. She would need to scavenge for more baby supplies but for now, having the baby with her was enough. They were halfway to the cabin when Ryder caught up with them. Vincent was a few paces behind and was struggling with something hung around his neck. Something large.

Violet stopped cold when she realized Vincent was carrying a person over his shoulders awkwardly. She moved closer and let out a soft sob. Vincent just looked at her passively. She blinked a few times before she continued on their march to the cabin.

They arrived soon enough and Violet did a quick walk through of the cabin before relieving Evie of the baby and took her up to the bedroom they had all shared. She lay the sleeping baby down and headed to the door. But she hesitated at the doorway. She lingered there, until Evie came up looking for her.

"Violet?"'The girl questioned softly. "Ryder set me up in the room down the hall. He put that, um, dude on the couch."

Violet forced a smile and said "Good, thank you. Lets rest up for the night and talk more in the morning."

Evie nodded and bounced away. Violet was surprised to see that Ryder had chosen Anna's room for her. She and Anna were about the same size, maybe Anna's belongings could be utilized. She watched as the young man stood in his doorway, watching the young woman. He caught her eyes and gave her a soft smile. She returned it.

Violet padded softly down the stairs, to stare at the man on the couch. Save for the bandage around his neck, he looked just as she remembered. She reached out and placed her hand on his cheek. Just a ghost of a whisper of her fingers brushing him, but it was enough. Liam was here. Liam was alive.

Vincent moved into the light, and she noticed immediately that his sweatshirt and jeans were singed. It looked like he had moved through one of the burning buildings. She looked down at Liam and realized that he was also looking a little singed.

"Vincent-" She croaked out. She threw her arms around the newly healed man. "Thank you." He gave her a slow nod. He made his way back to Kaydens old room to be with Hayley.

Violet carefully navigated the stairs, avoiding the spots that would creak. As she got to the landing she turned to go to her room and collided with Ryder. He looked down with a small smile and wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened, then melted into his embrace, letting a tear slip. He held her for a moment before releasing her and returning to his room. Violet followed suit. She slipped into bed, completely exhausted but so happy. The soft even breathing of the young girl next to her lulled her into a peaceful sleep.

Downstairs, in Kaydens old room, Vincent removed Hayley's hood. She covered the side of her face and tried pull away from him. He held her against him and stroked her hair. He laid a very careful kiss to her temple and she whimpered.

"Brennan." She said, a soft smile gracing her lips. He pulled her hand away from her face. "No." She whined.

"Love you." He grunted out. She looked surprised to hear him speak. "Love you Lee." He repeated, more sure of himself.

"Love you Bren." She said, she flinched away from his gaze. He tilted her chin up and kissed the angry scars that covered the right side of her face. She sighed, sounding relieved.

"Love you Lee. Beautiful." He whispered. She clung to him and nuzzled his chest.

"Tired Bren." She whispered. He nodded and they lay down. She didn't pull her hood up.