Violet immediately felt stupid. In the rush of trying to get away from Hurley and the others without being questioned, she hadn't grabbed any bottles of water, and she was beginning to feel incredibly dehydrated. She had been tracking the footprints for about an hour, but the sun was beating down on her from between the trees' branches, and she felt ready to collapse.
But she knew she must be catching up to Kate, Sayid and Locke. After all, she had only left about twenty minutes after them. They must be walking a lot faster than I expected. Violet thought, knowing she would have to catch up with them soon. She was beginning to wonder if this was a good idea. After all, she was now a perfect target for the Others. Alone, no weapon, and dehydrating rapidly. She thought back to the days when the Others hadn't existed in their world. Before we knew they were here, running off into the jungle didn't seem as dangerous. She thought to herself. Although, she had known all along she was never really safe, what with polar bears and smoke monsters habitating the jungle. But the new enemy seemed even more dangerous now.
Violet began to walk a little faster.
"She didn't seem too happy to be left behind." Sayid said quietly, as he, Locke, Kate and Rousseau continued on through the jungle. They had found Rousseau earlier, and enlisted her help. She had been hesitant at first, but when Kate made mention of a teenage girl who helped them away from the Others, who's name happened to be Alex, Danielle immediately agreed to tag along.
Kate turned to Sayid.
"What?" She asked, feeling distracted.
"I said, she didn't seem to happy to be left behind. Violet." Sayid repeated. Kate sighed loudly.
"It's for her own good. While we were held captive by the Others, one of them told me that if Jack didn't perform the surgery, they were going to kill Violet. I don't know if they were serious or not, but I'm not going to risk her life, not when she's finally back and safe." She said sternly. Sayid nodded.
"I understand your concern. I am glad you have all returned safely." He replied.
"Except Jack."
"Except Jack."
"Do you see that?" Locke interrupted the conversation when he crouched down low in front of a row of bushes. Kate, Sayid and Danielle quickly followed suit and got down. They followed Locke's line of vision, and saw what he had seen.
A cow.
"What the hell...?" Kate asked, as she squinted her eyes. Locke pressed his finger against his lips, motioning everyone to be quiet. It wasn't just a cow that he had seen. Behind the cow was what appeared to be a farmhouse, with a gigantic satellite dish on top of it.
"A satellite dish. I wonder if it is still in working condition." Sayid said quietly, as he observed his surroundings, but that wasn't the only thing he had noticed. He quickly motioned for everyone to crouch down even lower when they heard bushes rustling behind them. Everyone pulled out their guns and rifles they had carried with them and stood ready to attack. It's the Others. Kate thought to herself, ready to shoot whoever emerged from those bushes, for everything they had done to them.
The rustling became louder and louder, but still, there was no sign of life. Kate was beginning to feel fear consume her, as she gripped her gun even more tight. Finally, the bushes parted, and everyone raised their guns, but were shocked to find Violet coming forward, nearly shrieking when she saw guns. Kate lowered her gun, feeling anger welling up inside of her.
"Violet, what are you doing here?" Sayid whispered as he lowered his rifle. Locke turned away, continuing to observe the farmhouse from the distance.
"I'm here to help rescue Jack." Violet replied, trying desperately to catch her breath. "Where are we?"
"What the hell are you thinking, Violet? You know who's out here now, and you know what they can do! Why would you put yourself at risk like that when you were perfectly safe on the beach?" Kate hissed in a low whisper, but Violet could still sense the extreme anger Kate was feeling right now. Violet could feel her own temper rising.
"We're not safe anywhere, Kate, not even on the beach! Dammit, do you think I could just sit there for God know's how long just hoping you had found Jack and you all were coming back alive? I'm sorry, but I can't do that. And I'm not going back to the beach, so you can just forget about that too Kate. I've come this far, I'm going to rescue Jack with you!" She said, crossing her arms. Kate was about to argue back, but Sayid shushed them.
"We can discuss this later, but right now, I want to see who is in this farmhouse." He said quietly.
"You think someone is actually living here?" Locke asked.
"An Other?" Violet asked quietly.
"I am not sure. I am going to go and find out." Sayid replied.
"You're taking the gun, right?" Kate asked.
"No, I am leaving it here. You and John must cover me from behind. I want whoever is here to believe we are coming in peace. I don't want this to become messy." Sayid answered, as he lowered his rifle to the ground and quietly began to make his way out of the bushes and slowly toward the house. Violet shook her head.
"This is a stupid idea. If the Others are there-"
"We don't know they are Others, Violet." Locke whispered, as he watched Sayid approaching the house. Violet was about to say something, but Kate motioned for her to be quiet, and pulled her down lower into the bushes. For there in front of them was an older man in a workman uniform, exiting the farmhouse quickly, holding a rifle. Everything happened so quickly. Violet had barely gotten a good look at the man when his gun went off and Sayid went down, clutching his shoulder tightly and groaning incomprehensibly. In the flash of an eye, Kate and Locke ran forward with their guns pointed at the man. Violet wasn't sure if she should stay in the bushes or follow them. She noticed that Rousseau had mysteriously vanished as well. Not wanting to stay alone in the bushes, Violet rushed forward, keeping herself behind Kate and Locke, knowing better than to go anywhere else. Kate gave Violet a sideways glance, which Violet knew meant that Kate was far from happy about Violet's presence, but was too busy keeping this man under her watchful eye.
"Stay where you are!" Kate ordered in a loud voice as she raised her gun at the man, who put up his hands, looking far from scared.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Locke asked, as Kate made her way over to Sayid, stepping sideways, never lowering her gun.
"My name is Mikhail Bakunin. I am the last living member of the Dharma Initiative." The man said in a thick Russian accent. Violet's heart skipped a beat. From what she knew about the Initiative, based on what she had learned from her time with the Others, the people working on the island for Dharma were all killed by the Others. How could this man be a member of the Dharma Initiative? Locke seemed to be wondering the same thing. But before he could say anything, he looked at Sayid and Kate.
"I have first aid training. Please, friend, let me remove the bullet from his shoulder. I did not mean to shoot him. I thought he was somebody else." Mikhail said, spreading his arms wide, seemingly harmless now. But he just shot Sayid. Violet thought to herself, staying behind Locke, as she watched Sayid forcing himself to sit up.
Both Locke and Kate were ready to refuse the man's offer, but Sayid forced himself to his feet, leaning heavily on Kate.
"Let him remove the bullet." He said weakly. Locke and Kate seemed shocked by this, but knew Sayid well enough to know he must have a plan.
"Come inside, then. I have a first aid kit in the kitchen." Mikhail said, motioning toward his house, arms still raised. Locke pushed him through the doors, still holding his gun, as Kate helped Sayid inside. Violet followed nervously, partially wishing she were still at the beach.
They soon found themselves sitting on a sofa as Mikhail began disinfecting Sayid's gunshot wound. Locke brought his gun with him, beginning to scope the place out. Kate held her gun with her at all times, never letting her eyes leave Mikhail Bakunin.
"So," Sayid started, forcing himself to ignore the pain. "How did you manage to be the last living member of the Dharma Initiative?" Violet leaned forward, interested to see if there were any flaws in his story, as Violet already knew how the Dharma Initiative died off.
"I've been living in this farmhouse, or what the Dharma Initiative called the Flame station for eleven years now, and I used to be a part of the Dharma Initiative. They were all good people, but they couldn't coexist with the island's original inhabitants. The Hostiles." Mikhail said as he pulled the bullet from Sayid's shoulder, causing him to wince in pain. Violet looked away. She knew Mikhail was referring to the Others when he said Hostiles, Juliet had told her that much.
"The Initiative tried to start a war with the Hostiles, one in which they lost. I chose not to participate, and I was the only member who survived the Purge. The Hostiles told me I was free to stay in the valley, as long as I never left. If I ever try to leave, they will kill me. So I have been here for eleven years." Mikhail said quietly. Violet grabbed a hold of the couch with her fingers, catching Mikhail's mistake. He was lying and she knew it.
Juliet had told her the Purge was started by the Others. In fact, Ben had been the one who had been a big part of it. He had killed his own father in that Purge, who had been a part of the Dharma Initiative as well. The Others had gassed the whole community, leaving no survivors, according to Juliet.
So unless Juliet had lied to her, Mikhail was far from telling the truth. She kept her mouth shut, sensing that Sayid had a plan, the way he was asking so many questions.
"What is the Flame used for?" He asked.
"Communication with the outside world. That is what the Satellite is for." Mikhail replied as he placed a piece of gauze bandage on Sayid's wound.
"If you can communicate with the outside world, then why hasn't help come for you?" Sayid wanted to know.
"None of it works anymore. It stopped working after the Purge. I suppose the Hostiles wanted to keep what they had done a secret." Mikhail replied, leaning back against his seat.
Violet's heart was racing. Had Sayid figured out that Mikhail was lying? What was Kate thinking? Where the hell was Locke?
Mikhail stood finally and smiled.
"I shall get you all a fresh glass of iced tea, yes?" He asked. Sayid nodded with a smile as Mikhail exited the living room. Once Mikhail was out of earshot, Kate leaned over Violet toward Sayid.
"There's something wrong with this picture, Sayid. Why would the Others leave him here with all this equipment, even if it doesn't work? It seems too much of a risk, he could easily fix it." She said in a low whisper.
"I know, he is lying." Sayid answered, leaning in to make sure Mikhail could not overhear their conversation. "I do not believe he is part of the Dharma Initiative. I think he is one of them. The Others." Violet's heart skipped a beat. One of the Others? Did he know who she was, like the rest of the Others did? What if he was sent here to bring her back? Or worse, to kill her. She swallowed hard, trying to act brave.
"He is not alone either." Sayid added, causing both Kate and Violet to stare at him wide-eyed.
"What do you mean he's not alone?" Violet asked, looking around cautiously. "There's only four of us, and only two of you have guns." She knew Locke had a gun, but God only knew where he had vanished to.
"The horse outside had a saddle on it, but it is not meant for a man his size. Someone else is here." Sayid replied, motioning them all to continue the charade as Mikhail returned with three glasses of iced tea.
"Thank you Mikhail." Sayid said as he took a glass of iced tea and began to drink.
"It's amazing to have something ice cold." Kate added, as she grabbed her glass. Violet didn't trust it, just like she didn't trust Mikhail. He was one of them, and they were enemies. They had dragged her away from her camp, drugged her, kept her prisoner for weeks, threatened her, hurt her and took Walt away from her. Now they had Jack. She didn't trust a single one of them.
Except for Juliet, even though she knew she wasn't supposed to.
The four of them sat in silence, an awkward silence, and Violet immediately had a bad feeling. She didn't like the way Mikhail was staring at Sayid. She gripped the end of the couch. Finally Mikhail spoke again, with a quiet voice.
"Why do we all sit here, pretending like everything is alright, when we all know it has moved on to the next level?" He asked suddenly. Violet's stomach sank. He knew they were on to him. She shifted a little closer to Kate instinctively.
Everything happened in the flash of an eye. Mikhail shot forward at Sayid, and the two of them fell over the coffee table, spilling iced tea everywhere! Violet and Kate jumped off the couch, as the two men threw punches and rolled around. Violet stared wide-eyed, as Mikhail seemed ready to kill! Violet barely noticed Kate running off suddenly, but wanting to help Sayid, Violet ran over to the couch to grab Sayid's rifle, but as she turned her back, Mikhail had shoved Sayid down in enough time to run after Violet.
"Violet!" He shouted. Violet turned in just enough time to see Mikhail's hand coming at her.
"Violet, honey wake up." Violet heard a faint voice saying as she felt herself regaining consciousness. She forced her eyes open to see Kate beside her, holding a wet cloth over Violet's head. Violet could see stains of blood on the cloth already. Violet exhaled.
"What happened?" She asked, straining her eyes to focus on what she could.
"When you went to grab the gun, Mikhail knocked you out. One of his rings cut your forehead. You've been out for about five minutes." Kate replied, not looking happy.
"What about Sayid? Is he okay?" Violet asked, trying to sit up, but Kate pushed her back down.
"He's fine. I knocked Mikhail out with a chair and he's still unconscious. We tied him up. Locke's going to guard him while Sayid and I go down the trapdoor we found to see what we can find. I want you to stay up here with Locke and keep this on your head." Kate said as she took hold of Violet's hand and lifted it up to the cloth for Violet to hold.
"I feel fine, Kate, I want to come too. Don't make me stay up here with one of the Others." She said, forcing herself to sit up, dropping the cloth on the ground.
"Violet, he's unconscious. Sayid thinks someone else is here. They probably aren't unconscious. You're safer up here." Kate said, standing up from the couch.
"I feel safer with you, Kate. Please." Violet asked quietly, knowing she shouldn't have followed in the first place, but now wanting to be involved.
Kate sighed, staring at Violet, considering her, wanting nothing more than to force Violet to stay here with Locke, whom she knew Violet would be safe with. But after everything Kate herself had been through, and knowing how strongly that was driving her to want to rescue Jack, she knew how Violet was feeling. In fact, Violet had been through so much worse with the Others, and for a longer period of time. How could she say no? Still, Kate didn't like it.
"Okay, but you have to stay close to Sayid and I at all times! Got it?" Kate asked, standing up suddenly. Violet's eyes widened. Kate was serious, she was letting her come. Violet didn't know whether to smile or sit there, dumbfounded.
Violet didn't say anything, she only got up with a bit of a stumble, and followed Kate. She immediately saw Mikhail tied up on the ground, seemingly unconscious, and Sayid opening up a trapdoor right beside the Other. Violet peered down into darkness and swallowed. Now she wasn't so sure, but she didn't want to tell Kate that.
"I have found a flashlight, but there is only one. We have to stick together." Sayid said as he turned the flashlight on. "I will go down first. When I give the signal, you will know it is safe to follow." He crouched down on the ground and carefully lowered himself into the small hole in the ground, climbing down the small ladder provided. It was so dark, Violet couldn't even tell how deep it was. As she waited, she heard a voice behind her.
"How's your head?" It was Locke, holding his gun and staring at Mikhail every couple of minutes. Violet shrugged.
"It's been better." She said. Locke laughed.
"Be careful down there okay?" He asked, walking away to keep a better eye on their prisoner. Violet nodded, as Kate gave her sideways glance. Violet wasn't really sure how to interpret it, but she knew Kate was considering changing her mind about letting her go down the trapdoor.
"I'll be fine, Kate, stop worrying." Violet said quietly, patiently waiting for Sayid to give the word. Kate smiled to herself.
"I'll stop worrying when you stop being so damn stubborn and listening to all of us." She said with a bit of a laugh. Violet couldn't help but smile. Kate was right, and she couldn't deny it.
"It's clear, let's go." Sayid called up suddenly. Kate motioned for Violet to go first, and Violet carefully felt for the first rung of the ladder, and began lowering herself down. It wasn't very far down, and soon she felt Sayid's hands on her waist, helping her down the last few rungs and then she felt her feet on the hard floor. As Sayid turned to help Kate down, Violet took in her surroundings. They were in a basement of sorts, with shelves upon shelves of paperwork and boxes. It almost seemed like this room was primarily used for storage. She wondered why it was so important to be here.
Kate was soon joining the two of them, and they began searching the room. Kate and Sayid had their guns held high, checking every corner and making sure there was nobody else around. Violet followed them, wondering what else was in this room.
Violet turned her head quickly when she thought she heard a noise, but saw nothing. She looked up to Sayid and Kate, who seemingly did not hear what Violet had just heard. She ignored the thought, thinking it had just been Locke upstairs, but she soon learned that was far from true.
As Kate and Sayid moved on ahead, Violet passed an open door, and in the flash of an eye, she felt a hand covering her mouth, and a tight hand grabbing her arm, pulling her into the room. She tried to scream, but it was too late.
Kate and Sayid hadn't heard a thing.