Emergent (Divergent: Book Four)

Chapter 9-Caleb

Tris was really back! Same clothes, same attitude, with hair that looked just like it did in Abnegation. My sister is alive! And right now she's stuck under a dead man... that she killed. "Caleb!" She called. "A little help!" I looked to an injured Tobias, who nodded slightly. I ran over to Tris and looked at the knife so close to her face, which was twisted with pain and effort. The heavy man was sprawled on top of her, unmoving. I was surprised at how happy that made me.

It took all of my strength and the little she had left to get David off of her. I grunted with the effort, she groaned with the pain. It can't hurt that bad, I thought. Then I realized why she was in so much pain. When we finally got David off of her, Tobias snickering at what he said was me being 'pathetic', I saw the wound on Tris's shoulder, the blood slightly touching David's blood which had dripped down her collarbone. I didn't know about this, as I was too concentrated bandaging Tobias's wounds to pay much attention to the fight.

I was about to help Tris up when she gasped. "David said he set a bomb!" She exclaimed. I had forgotten about this in all the excitement. Tris looked me straight in the eye. "I don't know when it will go off. You have to help Tobias and get out of here." At this, Tobias gave Tris a hard stare. "I won't leave you. Not again." I started trying to help Tobias up. I grew up with Tris, so I know there is no point arguing with her. But Tobias said otherwise. He woudn't budge.

"Tobias, I'm coming with you! You're more injured than I am. Caleb will help you out, and I promise I'll keep up." With my help, Tobias finally got up. So did Tris, also with my help. I knew this was going to be slow work, but we had to try.

Tris tucked the gun into the waist of her pants and put her shirt over it; then put the knife in her boot. We exited my lab; Four leaning on me, but not so much that I couldn't walk, Tris followed behind with her hand on the wall to lean on as she went. I spotted the door and we slowly made our way to it. Four kept checking over his shoulder to make sure Tris was still with us.

We were so close. Step by step, we trudged on. 20 feet. Tris stumbled but caught herself on a wall. 15 feet. Four was losing blood fast. We needed to get the bullet out; get some proper help. 10 feet. Tris was losing blood fast, too, just not as much as Four. 5 feet. The bomb was going to go off any second. Who knew how powerful it was? We need to get as far from here as fast as we can. 2 feet. I cast one last look at the lab that meant so much to me, about to go up in flames. As I did this, I saw a flicker of movement in one of the offices.

"Caleb, come on!" I heard Four scream. I blinked. I hadn't realized I'd stopped moving. I ignored him, trying to get a better look at that flicker of movement. I gasped, realizing what it was. Tris turned around and saw it, too. Unlike me, who was paralyzed, she smacked me in the side of the face. Not too hard, but enough to bring me back to reality. "I'll get her, get Tobias out, now!" Four started shaking his head, but before he could say anything, I grabbed Tris's wrist and squeezed. "No," I started. I knew what I was going to do. "My turn to be the hero." And with that, I pushed Tobias as hard as I could out the door. He went tumbling down the steps, caught off gaurd, and I didn't feel the slightest bit bad about it. I grabbed Tris's hand in mine.

"Don't leave him again," I said. Her confusion was replaced with a look of determination. She stood on her tiptoes and pecked me on the cheek softly. "Don't die." She ran out the door and down the steps. Given her balance, adrenaline rushed through her body, like it always did in situations like these. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her pull Four as far as she could get him down the road. I broke off at a run, thinkng only of the ficker in the office, the girl at her desk, oblivious to her surroundings. Of Cara.

She was pretty far, all the way across the room, but I ran as fast as I could. I had to make it. I had to. I busted through the doors of Cara's office. She looked up from her computer, surprised. "What are you-" She started, but I cut her off. "No time to explain; there's a bomb and we need to get out. Now." I grabbed her wrist and yanked her out of her rolly chair. "Wait!" She screamed. She opened one of her drawers and pulled out something metal. She dropped the shiny object into her pocket and grabbed my hand.

To my surprise, she was faster than I had given her credit for and immediately took the lead. We reached the door, and then the bomb went off.