TORN FLESH

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: DARKENED FATE

BLACK.

It was the very substance Violet felt her heart turning to when she woke. Scrambling from under her covers to try and locate Margo, all she found was a note.

She was careful to pick it up, almost as if she was scared the very thing would be her demise, but she held it in her dainty fingers and read to herself.

Dear Violet,

There are things about this world, things that you have yet to learn, things I hope you never do. Things that I was forced to live through and be a part of, and I hope that by staying at the compound you never have to be like me. But that's where it ends, nothing changes my past, and nothing can end the ever-growing curiosity towards that aspect of my life. I know you'll hate me for leaving you, but in the case that I don't return, you'll need to find someone named Eric Bander.

Violet looked away from the paper for a moment, Margo was gone.

But instead of letting it take her over at that moment, she continued to read.

I know there are questions you need answered, want answered, but I can't be the one to answer those questions. Not yet, not until I have answers to my own questions. Hopefully, I'll be back soon, until then, take care of yourself, for me.

And despite what you may think, I do care for you Violet, I'd go as far as to say I love you.

Love, Margo

Turning the slip of paper over in her hand, Violet felt tears begin to brim in her eyes, Margo had left her at the compound, and even she wasn't sure if she'd return or not.

Violet sunk into the floor of the room holding the note with both of her hands, small droplets of water slipped from her cheeks and down onto the paper slightly smearing the ink.

She couldn't help but feel more alone than ever, even though weeks before she'd been perfectly fine all on her own, without her father, without her mother, and without her brother.

But not having Margo around, it felt wrong, it felt like ghosts were swirling around her head, telling her to chase after the older girl before it was too late.

She couldn't, she would stay at the compound and wait, and if Margo never returned, then she'd have to seek out the man named Eric.

Until then, she would stay in bed- hoping that her body fully recovered- and wait till a doctor told her she was in the clear.

Reading became her new friend.

She'd never had much time for it before, the world having gone to shit and all, but now that she was going to be stuck laying in bed without the company of Margo, then she needed something to keep her distracted.

She started with fiction, and when that became too confusing for her, she delved into nonfiction.

Her curiosity seemed somewhat obsessed with War and Peace.

It was interesting, that much she learned early on. It was an intriguing piece of work that had drawn her in from its first few pages, she wondered if Margo had read the book. Had looked through those same pages and felt the same way.

A small bit of her hoped she had.

The day continued into night, with the only sounds being that of distance conversations and construction going on outside that she hadn't bothered to check out.

It had all blurred together for her.

The only thing she could think about was the book.

It contaminated her thoughts, particularly a single line.

The opposite of war is not peace, it's unselfishness.

That quote stuck with her for the rest of the night, until she fell asleep.

And when she woke the next morning, she would still be thinking about it.

What it meant.

How it applied to her.

How it applied to those around her, those were the questions she wanted answered the most.

So when she woke the next morning to an empty room- and the same book on her bedside table- she couldn't help but think about it again.

That was when she decided to leave the room. It wasn't like she'd be chastised for doing so, after all, it was her room.

For now.

Plus, it wasn't like the nurses had been very attentive to her lately, the last one had come around two mornings prior and since then she hadn't seen a single one walk the halls near her room.

Which seemed to work in her favor now.

She didn't know what she was looking for, not at first. But then she found her way around to a desk and peeked around the computer that was blocking her view- not that the device actually worked.

There sat a woman who was breezing through a long stack of papers, from the looks of it, she seemed to be searching for something specific, something Violet didn't really care about.

"Do you know where I can find Mitch?" the woman slowly looked up at her with a soft frown, a few seconds of silence passed before it seemed she realized Violet wasn't going to disappear.

"Last name?" she questioned her hand still resting atop the stack of papers.

"Rapp, Mitch Rapp."

Letting a sigh fall from her lips, she grabbed the walkie-talkie on her desk and brought it to her mouth, "I need a Mitch Rapp here in 3B."

And with that, the woman went back to her task, meanwhile, Violet sat on a chair out in the hall and gently swung her feet back and forth as she waited for the man to arrive.

If he ever did.

And he did, eventually.

But it took him thirty minutes, and at first, he glanced around, trying to figure out who had requested his presence, then his eyes finally fell to Violet.

He couldn't help but tense at the sight of her, did she too know that Margo was gone? Was she aware that the older blonde had abandoned her?

He had little to no doubt that Margo would return- or so he hoped- but he wondered if the girl knew that she would more than likely come back unscathed.

Taking a few steps forward, he stopped to the side of Violet and stared down at her through a few pieces of his overgrowing hair, god, she really did remind him of a younger version of Margo.

Or as close as he could imagine.

"You wanted to see me?" he questioned, Violet softly nodded her head as she slipped off the bench, "I need you to take me to see Stan."

The man's face paled at the mention and he fought back a glare, what did she want with Stan? What did she gain from talking to him?

Hell, why did she need to talk to him?

But instead of questioning her, he nodded his head in the opposing direction from which he'd come and began to walk that way- seemingly unbothered enough to check if Violet was following behind him or not.

It wasn't until he went to round the corner that he realized Violet was almost directly behind him. Being mindful of his steps- trying his best to not trip on the girl as she remained as close to him as she could- he continued down the hall and eventually turned left on the next corner.

It would only be two more turns and four halls till they reached Stan.

Mitch tried to put the man out of his mind, he tried to forget all that he'd been forced to endure within the last year, whatever it was that Violet wanted to speak to the man about, he would make sure he found out, he wouldn't leave her vulnerable to his clutches.

Not when he lost his best pupil a few months prior, not when he was desperate to begin fresh with a new one, start with a blank slate.

He'd created a deadly killer that had escaped his clutches using exactly what she'd been taught, and she'd only done it because he'd left loose ends untouched, he'd left his witnesses to roam freely about her, ready to spill all of her unknown secrets to her.

And he wouldn't make that mistake twice.

He knew that if he was to restart with anyone- especially Violet- that he would erase everything linked to her, starting with Margo, and then Mitch. And then the compound.

Stepping up to the door that Mitch had come to identify as Stans, he let out a sigh before bringing his knuckles to the wood twice, they waited there in silence for a few moments before a somewhat disheveled Stan opened the door to peer out at them.

Glaring out at them, he glanced from Mitch to Violet before looking back at Mitch, "what the hell are you doing on my doorstep?"

Shaking his head he narrowed his eyes, "she wanted to talk to you, trust me, I wouldn't be here unless I thought I had to be."

Stan maintained his glare but chuckled before running a hand across his balding head, "if you've come to ask about where Margo went, I can't tell you."

Mitch frowned, what did he know about Margo leaving? Did he know where she was going? It sounded as if he did.

"She didn't come to ask that, but if you know something about her going AWOL then you're obligated under the laws of the compound to say something, you know that Hurley."

The man's glare intensified- which shouldn't have been possible- and he looked down at his socks before forcing the door open to allow them in, it was clear enough that they weren't going away until they got answers, and he'd much rather be criticized on his couch rather than while he was standing, it would be a lot more comfortable.

The two of them entered- Mitch shutting the door behind him before following after Violet to plop down onto a small two-person seat while Stan fell back into his recliner with a soft groan. Sometimes Mitch wondered if the man had a conscience or if he was just a living piece of shit that didn't think of anyone else but himself and the government.

He did believe that the man fought for everyone but those that had considered themselves to be close to him.

Margo.

Victor.

Josh.

Josi.

Eric.

Ronnie, at some point in time, before he'd gone against them.

But that was the problem with Stan, it didn't matter how close to him you were, if your ideas or priorities went against his, you were automatically an enemy, you were someone that needed to be eliminated immediately.

So he couldn't help but wonder why Margo wasn't dead yet. Maybe there was a small bit of him that believed she was the daughter he'd never had, the one he could mold into whatever he wanted, his legacy.

That was what Ronnie had been at some point, the son he'd never had, his legacy. An almost perfect replica of Stan, minus the mental stability.

His third try would be his best, the one that didn't fail him, the one that would turn out exactly the way he wanted.

Margo had been so close to that, but Ronnie, he'd ruined it all, and now, she was off on a pointless mission to try and discover more about her past. Something he'd hoped he had completely eliminated, he knew what all would come of him not erasing every single bit of her.

And now, he was forced to face the repercussions.

"So what is it you wanted to ask me?" Stan questioned as he leaned his head into his hand, Violet cast Mitch a look before she returned her gaze to the older man, "why did Margo kill her brother?"

Mitch's face fell at the mention of the event and he cast a look in Stans direction, the man's face had gone blank as well before his common glare returned and he sat up in his seat, "because, it was for the common good, she did what anyone else would've done."

Violet remained silent for a few moments before she opened her mouth to speak again, "what was the most selfless thing she ever did?"

Stan couldn't help but smile, "train with me, she kept our country far safer than most of our military personnel."

TORN FLESH

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: DARKENED FATE