Sing for the loveless, cry for the beloved.

Chapter 21: Violet

"What makes you think you'd get any answers from me?" Zoey smiled at the Captain. There was no other emotion displayed.

"What you say makes me think you're rather reckless." Washington inadvertently stepped back a few steps. He only then did notice that their distance would allow her to attack him with a concealed melee weapon. Luckily, she didn't seem to possess one. "However, I'm not that foolish. Someone who's reckless couldn't have survived on the outside until this day. You're luring me into dropping my guard."

"Is that so?" All she could do was stall until a better solution appeared.

"Yes, indeed. You're quite formidable. The world outside must be harsh if a teenage girl could have grown so much." Washington paid a lot more attention to her hand movements than whether or not she was actually replying. People at gun point can either breakdown or stay calm. Those who stayed calm usually have something up their sleeves. "You cannot possible be alone. There must be accomplices."

"What makes you say that?"

"Perhaps not within the compound, no, that would only raise suspicion." Washington simply spoke aloud his train of thought. "There had to be outside, waiting."

Zoey did not make a comment. She knew the Captain was remarkably sharp, and was watching her very closely. When she allowed herself to be captured the day before, there was no chance she could have hidden a weapon. The guard didn't carry one either, so she was completely unarmed. The others could not possibly offer aid at this time. All of it meant that she had to cooperate for a chance to stay alive. She needed to stay alive.

"Miss Zoey," The Captain kicked away the downed rifle. "Your shoulder is still bleeding, you'd need medical attention soon."

"Distractions tactics won't faze me." It was not a fatal wound. It certainly hurt blisteringly, but this was not the time to care about something like that. Worst case scenario was she would lose her right arm for a few months.

"I agree, however…" He swaps his pistol to the left hand, and approached her. He was in peak physical condition, and Zoey was just shot, there was no way this was an even fight. She tried resisting, but he soon had her against the wall, even with just one hand. The other still held the pistol, with its gun barrel staring down her wound. "This is a private office, you see. I'm allowed to use more direct measures."

"What?" Her confusion was soon answered. She could feel her exposed arm laceration being pushed in by the cold metal. It was like her shoulder bone was being torn apart. She could not help but let out a pained bellow. "Stop!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Zoey, but since you refused to cooperate, I have no choice but to resort to less by-protocol methods." Washington was dead serious, as he continued the act.

"Alright, I'll talk." Zoey had to give up. It was less because she could not take the pain, but more because there was no point in this suffering. She was not stalling for anything, and she had no doubt Washington was capable of doing this until she cracked regardless. "What do you want?"

"Firstly, how did you get here?" The Captain stopped his abuse, but now the gun barrel was to her temple instead. It was still dripping with blood from the open wound. "How many people are with you?"

"We came by boat from the mainland." There were still points where she could lie. "There are three of us."

"As I suspected, you were one of the people on the sailboat." It wasn't a ground-breaking revelation, but it was nevertheless an answer. "Your little stunt a few days back lost me a lot of good men."

"That's your own fault for shooting at us."

"Where are the rest of your group?"

"I don't know." Zoey could no longer feel her right arm. "They are probably waiting for me, but I don't know exactly where."

"Good." Washington had basically all that he needed. There was no longer use for a prisoner. "I'm sorry, but it's time for me to end this."

"Alright." Knowing that her time had ran out, she delivered a kick at his abdomen. It did no damage, as he was fully expecting the retaliation. However, in defending himself, Washington let Zoey out of his grip. She wasted no time running away. The door behind her opened inwards, so going outside was not possible.

Instead, she ran forward. There was a lot of equipment on the captain's desk she could use, not to mention a defensible position. She could not fight him in her condition, nor even if she was in top shape.

There was a switch.

There was board of console in front of her.

"You cannot get away, Ms. Zoey." The Captain was expectedly calm. Even if he wasn't he'd still have to appear so. Weakness is a sign of losing. "This room is enclosed. I have the weapon and the door. You have no chance."

"For once, I agree." Zoey smiled. It was a fine run. "That rough job of yours probably made my broke my shoulders permanently. I'm also just a teenage girl, while you the captain of Seal Team 7."

"What are you getting at?" She was becoming a bit too comfortable about this, and it was making him think.

"Well, I'm simply accepting the end." The blood loss was becoming rather severe, and Zoey was forced to limp. Her head was getting lighter. "However, can you at least answer my last question?"

"If you were this agreeable from the start, maybe you wouldn't have needed to die." Zoey was already putting her hands up in the air. Washington was not going to let the gun down, but he knew how to judge a situation. "Very well. What is your question?"

"When I was talking to the lieutenant standing guard, he told me this base was situated here to await orders from the higher-ups. You must have contact with the military still. What are they saying?"

"Why would you want to know?"

"Because my group and I had a run in with a military base ourselves a few months back." At this point, she could feel herself grasping for air. "From what we gathered, they had no access to government communications line. I want to know if the situation out there was getting better."

"I see. So my worries are correct." These words were of deep concern, with a slight hint of guilt. "This is exactly why we didn't want people from elsewhere."

"What?"

"We have had no channels contact since the beginning of our settlement." Zoey could only stare at him in disbelief. "No mails, no faxes, no emergency signals, not even a good old-fashioned drifting soldier body."

"Then why were the soldiers stationed here not informed of this?"

"What do you think?" He seemed to be losing patience. "What would they do if they knew? There'd be chaos amongst the ranks and riots in the streets!"

"So you decided to lie?" Zoey seemed to finally have found a grasp. "Literally abusing your commanding position because you think your soldiers can't do any better?"

"You take it as you will, Ms. Zoey. These men wouldn't have gotten far if it weren't for me, and they won't get anywhere further without." Washington appeared to be having none of this. He had wasted enough time. If he didn't come out soon people will start questioning why he's so late. "I've made my choice. It's time for you to live with yours."

"That involves the killing of an innocent American citizen?"

"Sure," He raised his gun once again. "Don't worry. There'll be no fuss."

"I'm sure."

Washington narrowed his eyes.

There came a knock at the door.

"Captain." Someone was knocking at the office door. Washington cursed at the wind. "It's Commander Bailey."

"I'm sorry Lieutenant, but I'm a bit busy right now." What the Captain was fearing the most right then was Zoey screaming for help. However, the girl was not fretting. She just stood there, left arm leaning against the desk as support. Her gaze was staring right down to his soul, but there wasn't even a visible scowl. "Whatever it is, you'd have to report it later."

"I'm sorry we can't do that, Captain."

"We?"

Captain Washington was starting to hear the mass of footsteps approaching his position. It was firm and uniformed, just like he had trained them to be. However, he had no idea what was happening.

"Excuse the sudden intrusion, Captain, but you must open this door." Another knock, this time more eager. "If you do not comply, we'd have to break it down."

"You!" Washington held his gun more firmly than ever, and approached the grasping teenage girl. "What did you do?"

She didn't answer. She did, however, display a smirk.

"Sir!" The ruckus outside the door was getting more intense.

"Do not come in, Commander!" Washington was practically screaming his head off. Whatever composure he once possessed was lost. "That's an order."

"I'm afraid I can't do that sir."

Not soon after, the force of half a dozen full-grown marines had the door on the ground. The Captain was standing there, in the middle of the room, eyes wide open in shock.

"What is the meaning of this?" He bellowed. "You're violating a direct command from your superior."

"Sorry, Captain, but we heard." The soldiers, and all of those now have moved to stand behind them, were present. From here, one could see the entire yard devoid of movement. All attention was focused on this one central point. "We've heard everything."

"How?"

"The microphone's been on all this time, Captain." It was finally time for Zoey to speak. She was so glad she took up production in high school. "You've just broadcasted your confession to the entirety of Seal Team 7."

"You…" Washington looked like he was about to lose it.

"Drop the gun, Captain." His threat on Zoey no longer meant a thing. Surrounded by soldiers of his own battalion, Washington was helpless. He refused to give up the pistol, instead slowly moved to the other end of the room.

Zoey, in contrast, simply dragged her feet past him, towards the soldiers. They weren't on her side, but at least she could count on them under the circumstances.

"You can't do this, soldiers." Washington had his back against the desk. His left hand was no longer waving the pistol. "This is treason! I order you to stand down."

"They have no faith in you now, Captain." Zoey spoke with the most disconcerting voice possible. "You said it yourself. You didn't trust them to make their own decisions."

"Drop the gun, Captain." Screeched one of the soldiers. He seemed ready to blow someone's head off if not carefully handled. Washington was forced to disarm. Zoey quickly took the opportunity to grab it for herself. There was no protest.

"Listen to your soldiers." Zoey tagged the gun by her right hand. It was for her own tribute purpose, since that arm was no longer usable. "If I were them I'd demand you be relieved of command."

"I agree." Said one of the soldiers.

"You're all fools." They could see the veins ready to burst out of Washington's face. If they didn't have him outnumbered so badly there would've have been blood. "Can't you see you're making a huge mistake? You're letting a random girl you don't even know get in the way of the cohesion of this squad!"

"You've violated our trust, and compromised your authority, the moment you decided to lie to us, Captain."

"It was necessary!"

"Stand down, Captain." One of the soldiers stepped forward. He was the Commander Bailey from before. "As your second in command, I suggest you turn yourself in."

"You won't make it without me." Washington clutched in his hand a remote. It was old and rough, but he held it like life itself. "I'll make sure of that."

The button was pressed.

Sirens rang outside.

Inside, a gunshot was fired.

Zoey dropped the smoking pistol, as the Captain laid flat on his desk, bleeding profusely from the forehead. It was time she shut him off.

"You killed the Captain!" Screamed a concerned marine, but his cry was ignored.

"Never mind him!" Zoey turned to Bailey, who was still in shock from the execution. "You! Tell me, what did he just do?"

Sirens kept on ringing outside.

"He just activated the emergency alarm! It's going to alert every infected within the three connected islands!" Sounds of panic were heard amongst the crowd. "We've cleared most of the surrounding over our stay here, but those numbers were nothing compared to the mainland. We have to get ready!"

"Not this again." She knew this all too well. "You guys settle up the defence, I'm getting reinforcements."

"But your arm!" Anyone who wasn't blind could see how bad it had gotten. Without immediate medical attention it could mean permanent disability.

"Just have to live with it."

Zoey dashed off. She somewhat regretted using yesterday's food as bait.

The pack of soldiers were left without a head, half going into a state of panic, and half trying to rally for a barricade.

Zoey, on the other hand, had only one thing on her mind: finding her group again.

Those guarding the gate, both inside and outside, were too occupied with the defence to notice her. She doubted they would give her a second look. All she hoped for was that she was fast enough to alert her friends before they locked down the perimeter. She could have asked, but with the current state of affairs it didn't seem all that practical.

"Zoey!" She was greeted, or swarmed, by her teammates as soon as she stepped out onto the single road. They seemed to have completely abandoned all caution, as this was an open field. Regardless, she enjoyed seeing them greatly. "What happened? You need to be patched up."

"I'm ok…" She clearly wasn't. "You two, grab all that you can, and follow me into the base."

"Are we working with them now?" Francis hurried.

"Something like that." Zoey wanted to rest for a bit, but there was no time. "Go!"

"Zoey…" Cindy simply stood there. The Witch looked at her friend, bloodied ad exhausted, clutching one limb like it was wasting away. She was scared.

"Cindy, calm down." Zoey, on the other hand, was worried about how their entrance was going to be. It would not be easy to get a Witch through the gate without being shot. "Just stick with me. I'm fine, ok?"

She didn't get an answer. Cindy simply refused to stop looking at the gaping wound in her shoulder.

"We got what we need." Louis came out, carrying the bulk of their weapons, while the biker was carrying the supplies. "You really should get that arm looked after."

"Once we've settled in." She knew they were at great haste. The gate could close at any moment, and she would prefer there to be no wild firing. "Go, I'll be right behind you. Don't run!"

They had no choice but to oblige.

"Cindy…" The light-headedness was starting to return to her. "Would you please… carry me?"

The Witch didn't reply, only nodding furiously. Zoey could feel the burden on her legs subsided as she was lifted off her feet. This wasn't a military carry, or pack strap, but a fully body-in-arm princess one. It wasn't fast nor efficient, but it did quite a bit in helping her feel safe. She didn't really feel like contesting.

Cindy moved after the two men. She wasn't too careful, and slightly bent over Zoey's wounded shoulder, causing a silenced whimper.

"I'm sorry." If anything, Cindy looked like she was about to sat down right there and cry into apologise.

"It's ok, Cindy." Zoey could try to hide her pain, but not her pained expression. "Let's keep following Francis and Louis."

It was not long before they found themselves at the gate. The guards there were the same ones from before, who weren't here during Zoey's escape. They were very surprised, understandably, to see her again.

"What are you doing out here?" They then looked at the rest of the group. "Who are these people?"

"I've authorisation from Lieutenant Bailey!" She didn't, but it was a name that would surely carry some weight. Considering how he was Washington's second-in-command, name dropping might actually do her good. "Take me to him!"

"What about that…" The appearance of a Witch did stifle their focus somewhat. She didn't appear dangerous, however, only concerned.

"She's with me." It was the best command voice Zoey had.

The soldiers remained unsure for a moment, but followed through anyway, leaving one guard outside. The five of them raced back towards the old Captain's office. The gathering had cleared out by that point, and were scattering for a defensive position. Zoey also noticed the sirens stopped ringing during her second entrance, but she doubted it would've been enough.

"Captain!" It seemed Bailey was promoted on a military emergency. "This woman told me she your authority, sir!"

"Who are these people?" Bailey already seemed like he aged five years in fifteen minutes. He was constantly looking over his shoulders, and the corpse of the old Captain was only slightly moved and shoved to the side.

"They are with my group. We were the people on the boat you tried to sink." This part of the conversation between Zoey and Washington weren't broadcasted. "Turns out your superior officer just wanted to continue withholding the truth from you."

"I see, you have my apologies." Bailey sighed. He was not part of the operation, but he knew for a fact Washington commanded it, under the guise of possible infection spreading and the likes. "Leave us, Officer, back to your post."

"Sir." A salute, and the guard was gone.

"There was a siren before." Francis finally had the chance to speak his mind. "What was that?"

"It was set off as an effort to overwhelm our position with infected." Bailey crept a look at the corpse of his old Captain. "There were… struggle within our ranks."

"It seems you figured out how to stop the alarm." Zoey commented. She was still being held within the arms of the Witch. "But I have a feeling it's already too late."

"It means there won't be any more of them than those we've alerted so far." Bailey massaged his temple, trying his best to concentrate. "But it'd be hard to know exactly how many of them there would be. This island itself is cleaned of infected, but the outlying ones certainly are not."

"Alright, then we ready the defence." Ordered Zoey. Subsequently, Louis and Francis laid out the firearms and support they managed to gather out onto the office floor.

"I thought you said were out for ourselves?" Said the biker.

"This is the best chance we have." Zoey paused for a moment to wince at the pain. "This fort, with the soldier's support and supplies, is the best defensive position you can find in this country right now. If we let this place fall, we won't get another chance."

"Alright." Louis was fully on board. Reluctant, Francis was as well.

"Alright, hand me a gun." The teenage girl reached out of her carrier's grasp.

"No!" The cry from Cindy was loud and unexpected. Only then did Bailey realised who the fourth member of Zoey's team was. He immediately had his gun up, but was immediately halted by the rifles Francis and Louis had at him.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Captain was awfully confused. "What is that?"

"She's with us, Captain. She poses no threat to you." Zoey glared at him. "Do not lay a hand on her."

"…Fine." Bailey settled his firearm, and the other men did the same. He had no idea what was going on, but at this point he had bigger problems to worry about, and the Witch in front of him didn't appear dangerous. "I won't do anything, but you better keep it out of sight. Some of my men have been quite on edge, and are trigger-happy."

"Her name is Cindy, Captain." Zoey's tone was stern and unforgiving. She said it even though she knew it would not get the attention it deserved. However, only then did she remembered Cindy's protest earlier. "What's wrong, Cindy?"

"You are not going out there fighting like this." It was the first time anyone had seen the Witch sound so forceful. "You are hurt, and you need help."

"I can't just leave these people out here when I go heal up!" Zoey was trying to wriggle her way out of the hold, but her strength was no match for her carrier. "Let me go, Cindy."

"Please." No matter what she did, Cindy just didn't want to let her go. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her left shoulder.

"Look, Zoey." It was Louis'. "We know you want to fight, but anyone can tell you won't be much of one in your condition. Just let us take care of it. Go find us once you're feeling better."

"Yeah, you're no use to anyone if you're dead." Francis chimed in, half-smiling. "It's about time we take care of you for once. Well not us, but Cindy will. We'll be out here fighting in your stead."

"…alright," Zoey was compelled to agree. Her situation was helpless, and she knew it. There was no use fighting it any longer. "Captain, where's the nearest medical room?"

"Downstairs, five rooms to the left."

"Thank you."

Cindy took no time wasting before carrying her friend off to get proper treatment.

This left only the three men in the office.

"You all seem capable." Said the Captain. "And you're all fighting, right?"

"You can count on it, captain man." Francis picked up his favourite shotgun and began loading it. "We'll give 'em what for."

"We're working together now, but our people aren't your people." Louis was also preparing for battle. If his hearing was right, there was already a horde coming their way, based on the growling noises from a distance. "When it comes down to it, you're not a priority."

Bailey sighed, and kept silence. He would do his best, but his hopes would be not to get killed on the first day of promotion. There should be a situation report very soon, but he had to talk to his men first.

He flipped the switch on the console, and turned on the broadcast.