Emergent

Chapter 13

(Noah's POV)

I wait for Tessa to return from the restroom, my nerves are so intense that my hands slightly shake, and I have to put them in my pockets to avoid anyone from noticing. I fidget with a simple metal ring in my pocket, not an engagement ring, but a promise ring to symbolize that one day, I will propose to her.

Five minutes pass, ten more drag on slowly, and soon everyone begins to wonder where Tessa is. "Maybe she fell in?" Uriah states with a shaky laugh, Christina just rolls her eyes, smirking, and elbows him lightly.

Four grows tense, Tris holds onto his arm with a thin line plastered on her lips.

Tris moves towards the small building, but Four puts an arm out to hold her back, and instead he walks forward.

The air displays a silence so thick that you could cut it as Four makes his way slowly inside.

"Natalia!" We hear him yell from the inside, an echo rings out, it is the only response to his cry. He checks the bathroom, he looks in every room that the building holds, and finds nothing.

She is gone.

Four walks out, his muscles are tight and show through his dark shirt. He stops suddenly, twenty feet away from Tris and just stares at her. Everyone around stares at their feet, but Tris looks directly into his hurt eyes.

A silent understanding falls among us, and I feel tears brim my eyes. Tris runs to Four and breaks down into tears in his arms.

I sink slowly to my knees and allow my brown hair to fall in my eyes as I stare at the dusty ground. I let my tears slowly fall to the ground, creating spots of water on an otherwise dry earth. My breaths shake, and my entire body grows cold, despite to the overwhelming heat of the the sun.

Everyone else stands still in shock, even Keri. Emily, Jason, and Lynn, begin to silently cry.

My sadness is soon replaced by something else, something that expands and bubbles inside my very soul like lava. Anger. I look up to the heavens and scream, blankly and to no one in particular I yell out, "Why!" Eventually, it become a more of a blatant scream of insanity.

I rush back into one of the trucks and cry in the seat, waiting for the others to get in and begin driving around in hopes of finding Tessa.
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It's been four hours since she has been gone. We see nothing but empty plot after empty plot as we drive farther and farther away from Chicago.

"She wouldn't have gone back." Argued Christina. So we trudged forward instead of turning around.

It's hard to look out of a window with tears in your eyes, it's even harder when the window is a distorted brown from layers of dirt. It didn't matter though, the only object that I want to see is Tessa.

"We'll find her Noah, don't worry." I feel a cold hand on my shoulder and turn briefly to find Emily's face in a contorted excuse for a smile. The pain shows on everyone's faces, Four has refused to even speak since my sweet Tessa was discovered missing.

This was going to be a long and lonely ride I decided. My lips were dry and cracked from lack of moisture and lack of use, but quietly I whispered to the air, "When I find you, I'll never let you go again."

The words seemed to give me hope as I fiddled with the small velvet box in my pocket.

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Hi guys! Once again super sorry for lack of updates, I've been sick and school has been absorbing like 99% of my time (the other 1% being sleep). But I promise that from here on out I will update ASAP! Please comment and vote! :-D