Chapter Five: Negotiations
Violet turned the page once she was finished with it, continuing to read Carrie by Stephen King. Juliet had brought it to her the day before, convinced that Violet was becoming bored with being stuck in this room everyday. Juliet had also tried to tell her it was a reward for her cooperation.
Violet was feeling guilty for that. She hated herself for giving in to the demands of the Others. Juliet had been in here every day for the last week since she had been captured, asking her questions Violet had thus far refused to answer. But yesterday, Juliet had offered her a promise in exchange for the information.
"Violet, if you cooperate with us, I promise you you'll get to see Kate soon." Juliet had told her. Violet was positive these Others couldn't be trusted, but the prospect of seeing Kate, however small, had pushed Violet that extra bit, and she answered their questions. And, for some reason, Juliet seemed sincere. Violet struggled with this everyday. How could somebody who seemed so genuine, be one of them?
Still, Violet couldn't understand why Juliet needed this information. Violet couldn't understand why she wanted to know how healthy Aaron was, or Claire, or why she wanted to know more about Jack, and Kate, and Sawyer, but no one else. At least not yet. Violet had refused to divulge information about where they had found the guns, or where they were being hidden. Violet had a feeling if the Others had that information, they would take away the only weapons Kate, Jack and the rest of the islanders had to defend themselves against the Others.
She hated herself for even touching the book they had given her, but being locked in this room everyday for nearly a week now was getting to her. She needed to do something to pass the time until Jack and Kate found her. They have to find me. They've got to still be looking for me. Oh please don't give up on me. She thought to herself as she stared at the page in front of her, not really reading it anymore. In all honesty, she had barely read a full page thus far. She caught bits and pieces here and there, but for the most part, she spent her days deep in thought. She tried to puzzle out what the Others were up to, or what they wanted with her. She tried to think of a way she could escape, but it didn't seem possible. The only way out was through that door, and it was always locked. The only time it wasn't locked was when Juliet came in, and she kept a pretty good eye on her.
Violet sighed as she read over the same sentence over and over again. There had to be some way she could get past Juliet, but even if she could, she didn't know what or who was beyond that door, or how to get out of whatever this building was. Plus Juliet would be hot on her trail as soon as she saw Violet run.
Violet felt tears coming on - she hated herself for the tears that were becoming a daily routine for her. Everything just felt so hopeless, and she felt so helpless. There was nowhere to go; the only chance she had was to answer their questions in exchange for promises they probably wouldn't keep. She dropped the book and pressed her hands against her eyes in a desperate attempt to block the tears. They hadn't seen her cry yet; she had been able to wait until she was in bed, so her tears would be hidden by the dark, but today, she couldn't wait.
She heard the latch opening on the door and she quickly dried her tears before Juliet saw them, but when Juliet walked inside Violet's room, she caught a glimpse of her wiping her eyes. Violet quickly grapped the book off the floor, as though she had been reading it the whole time.
"What's wrong, Violet?" Juliet asked quietly, as she slowly approached Violet, lowering herself to sit beside her on the floor. Violet felt her insides burning. How could she ask what was wrong? They had taken her away from where she belonged; just taken her, and hurt everybody on the beach so nobody would follow. These people were monsters. Violet swallowed hard.
"Nothing." She lied. She kept staring at the cover of the novel, wanting nothing more than to throw it across the room in anger. Juliet sighed.
"It looks like you're almost done that book already. I couldn't put it down either." Juliet said as she noticed the small piece of paper marking Violet's place. "Looks like I'll have to get you another one pretty soon."
"What do you want?" Violet asked quietly. Juliet stared at her, considering her.
"Violet, I have some more questions I want you-"
"No." Violet said, surprising herself. She looked up at Juliet, who stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not answering any more of your questions." Juliet waited a moment before she went on.
"Why not?" She asked. "They'll let me give you another book if you do."
"I don't care about books." Violet replied. "How do I know you'll keep your promise?"
"Violet," Juliet started, exhaling slowly, "I want you to trust me."
"I want you to let me go!" Violet snapped, slamming the book down on the cement floor. Juliet didn't so much as flinch. She only watched Violet with the same calm expression she always wore.
"Violet, you know I can't do that right now. But when I make a promise, I keep it. You'll see Kate soon." Juliet said simply. Violet longed to see Kate, and as she stared at Juliet, she wondered what Kate would do if she were faced with the same situation. She had a feeling she knew. Violet stood up.
"What are you doing?" Juliet asked calmly. Violet turned and looked down at her.
"I'm not answering any more of your questions until I see Kate." She said simply, as she walked over to her bed and sat down, with her back to Juliet. She wasn't going to offer them valuable information for nothing. She didn't trust them; she didn't trust Juliet, no matter how much Juliet wanted her to. She was probably just saying that. It was probably all part of their plan, whatever that was.
"Alright Violet," Violet heard Juliet standing up, "I can understand that. Give me an hour." Violet turned around and saw Juliet leaving the room. Violet swallowed hard. An hour? What were they going to do? Would they take her back? Or worse, were they going to take Kate? Violet could do nothing as she sat cross-legged on her bed; nothing but wait, and wonder what she had done.
"I'm going to miss you Walt." She said, as she pulled away. Walt sighed, angrily wiping his tears away.
"Please come Violet." He said, knowing it was a lost cause, but he had to try one more time. Violet shook her head, sniffling a little.
"I can't, Walt. I'm sorry." She replied. Walt looked away, trying to hide his tears, but Violet already knew this was killing him as much as it was killing her.
"Then promise to be careful. The Others are coming." He said. Violet breathed out.
"Whatever Jack's plan is, I'm sure we'll be okay." She replied, still crying. Both Violet and Walt looked down and saw Jin, Sawyer and Michael jumping up on the raft, as Michael waved up to Walt. They were ready to go.
Walt turned to Violet once more, and handed her Vincent's leash.
"Bye Violet." He whispered as he forced the tears away. Violet wasn't that brave as she held Vincent's leash tightly.
"Bye Walt." She said as they stared at each other for a moment before Walt forced himself to turn away. Violet's tears wouldn't stop as she watched Walt walk toward the raft, and jumping on, still crying. Violet continued to cry as the crowd of people on the beach worked as a team to push the raft into the water. Only a few pushes did the trick, and the raft was in the water, floating and working. Michael, Jin and Sawyer all cheered, joining the cheers of the people on the beach as their hard work had finally paid off.
Violet watched with tears streaming down her face as she stared at Walt, who was staring right back at her, both children with tears in their eyes. This was actually happening. There was nothing left to do, but continue to watch the raft, that was growing smaller and smaller as it drifted further and further from the island. Violet sank to the ground, crying to herself as Vincent edged closer and nudged her with his cold nose. Walt was gone. She cried, knowing she would never see him again.
Violet jumped suddenly, as the strangest feeling overcame her. A feeling she couldn't describe with words. It was similar to the time she knew Boone was going to die. Walt had these feelings often, and they usually meant something. He had tried to convince her she wasn't safe on the island anymore, but she had ignored him, and now the Others had her.
This feeling was about Walt; that much she was sure about. It was a feeling of nearness, but also fear - similar to the fear she felt herself. She almost felt as though she could reach out to him, and he would be there.
She shook her head, and blinked away a tear. It's only because I'm scared, and I miss him. She tried to tell herself, but still, she couldn't help herself.
Suddenly, a familiar sound brought her back to reality. Violet looked through the glass wall, and saw Juliet entering the room beyond the glass, wheeling a television set in front of her. Violet puckered her brow, as she approached the glass slowly. Juliet sighed as she stared at Violet through the glass.
"This was done about half an hour ago. One of our guys videotaped them from the bushes." Juliet said simply as she held up a videocassette. Violet felt her stomach clench, as Juliet slid the tape into the VCR, and pressed play. Violet waited. As the picture came into focus, it was everything Violet could do to keep herself from crying. Jack and Kate were standing by Kate's tent, talking.
"Kate, you have to stop blaming yourself for what happened." Jack said, as he watched Kate fingering a small gold bracelet that Violet recognized immediately. She smiled to herself. She found it.
"Jack, I broke a promise to her. I promised I would keep her safe from the Others, and now they have her. That's reason enough to blame myself." Kate replied. Violet shook her head, was Kate really blaming herself for what had happened? But it wasn't her fault.
"They showed up without any warning. How could you have known they were coming for Violet?" Jack asked.
"Violet told me about Walt's bad feeling that she wasn't safe. She told me he'd been right before. I should have listened to her, but I guess I didn't really believe that was possible." Kate replied, as her eyes filled up with tears. Violet didn't even notice when Juliet bent down to press stop on the VCR. Violet stared at the blank TV screen, fighting the tears down. Juliet was silent for a long while, just watching Violet's blank expression.
"I told you earlier you can trust me," She finally said, "I do my best to keep my promises." Violet sighed and looked at Juliet.
"Now, you told me you wouldn't answer any more questions unless you saw Kate, and I went beyond that. You got to see Kate and Jack. So now, I'd like you to answer my questions." Juliet grabbed a stool and sat down. Violet sighed.
"From what I understand of this video, Walt had a 'feeling' you weren't safe. Kate said he's had feelings before, and that they've been right. Is that true Violet? I know you and Walt were close." Juliet said. Violet looked up and stared at Juliet. That feeling was still gnawing away at her inside, and then she thought she knew what it was. It felt...right. There was no other way to describe it.
"Walt," Violet said quietly, "He's here, isn't he?" It made no sense. He was on the raft, sailing far away from this island with his dad, Jin and Sawyer. There was no way he could be here, but why did she feel like he was?
Juliet stared at her in surprise.
"What makes you think he's here, Violet?" She asked, standing up, getting closer. She was staring at Violet, who looked away.
"Violet, answer me please." Juliet said. "Why would you think Walt is here?" Violet shook her head, feeling confused.
"It's nothing...it's just a...feeling." It didn't make any sense to her either. She lowered herself on the ground to sit down. Juliet resumed her spot on the stool.
"He's not here. You know as well as I do he's sailing far away from this island on a raft with his father." She said quietly. Violet knew this to be truth, but no matter how many times she tried to convince herself this was the case, that feeling still ached inside of her. Walt was scared, and he was close. Whether it made sense or not, that was what she felt.