Emergent (Divergent: Book Four)

Chapter 13-Tris

I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, ignoring Cara's commands to rest. I was a mess. I felt a little better after throwing up, but not much. My hair was a disaster. My face was pale. My clothes were torn. My entire body ached and I was visibly shaking. I felt like I was going to pass out.

So I tore my eyes away from the mirror and shakily walked to the second twin bed, where I sat down. I stared at the wall while Cara brushed my hair out, then braided it. Caleb stepped out while Cara got me dressed, and came back in with an extra toothbrush. I brushed my teeth quickly and practically threw myself onto the bed, burying myself into it's soft covers and eventually falling into a peaceful sleep.

Caleb

I worried about Tris, but I tried not to show it. But she was alive! I tried to be selfless and be more happy about her being alive than me being the reason she was alive. And I was, but only by a little.

I mean come on! I brought someone back to life! This is probably the biggest scientific development of the century! I thought to myself. I was so excited I was giddy.

Cara and I had pulled up a couple chairs and were sitting there in silence. And then Cara asked the question I had been dreading to hear.

"How did you do it?"

"Do what?" I responded, playing dumb (which was hard to do).

"You know very well what."

I sighed. "I cannot reveal that information."

She leaned back in her chair, folded her arms over her chest, and stared me down. I met her stare confidently, and then started to waver. Eventually, though, I dropped my eyes, losing the battle of the gazes.

When I looked back up, she was smirking. Then she looked at me with big pleading eyes and I felt myself give way.

I told her everything, from when I first started working on bringing Tris back, to when I rescued Cara. She watched me carefully, not moving, not speaking.

When I was finished, she asked something I had been thinking about myself.

"What're you going to do now?"

"I don't know. I need to publish this... I mean, can you imagine-"

"No."

I stared at her, confused. "What do you mean, 'no'?" She shook her head slowly.

"You can't tell anyone."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Think about it, Caleb. Think about what the world would do with this knowledge. The world doesn't exactly accept and embrace knowledge. It abuses it.

"Imagine what would happen if people found out they could bring their loved ones back from the dead. The world would be overcome by chaos. Some people that are dead are dead for a reason. And besides, we still don't know all the side effects."

I hated how much sense she made. She continued to look at me, and I was starting to get uncomfortable under her stare.

I kept my eyes on the floor. When I looked back up, I realized she wasn't staring at me. She was analyzing. Observing.

"You looked exhausted," she said, confirming my suspicion. "How long did you say you've been awake for?

I shifted. "54 hours."

Her eyes widened, but all she said was, "Get some sleep. I'll stay here with them."

I wasn't exactly crazy about the idea of leaving them alone. If I had felt responsible for Tris before, I felt ten times more responsible for her now. I brought her back to life.

But I trusted Cara, so I stood up and left the room. I didn't realize how tired I was. I flopped onto my bed, not bothering to get into pajamas or anything. I did kick off my shoes though. I wasn't even under the covers when my eyelids started to droop and I slipped into darkness.