A Dauntless Love

Chapter 28

Liz's POV

No matter how I tried to distract myself I just couldn't fight the feeling in my gut. Something was strange and something was off. The last time I had this feeling an entire faction was slaughtered and Eric came home to the medical wing. I tried to calm myself and tell myself that everything was fine. They were only going to Candor and what's the worst thing that could happen at Candor right? I tried to close my eyes and let the warm water calm me. I put my hands on my belly and gently stroked. The fear did not dissipate and I felt that I only had one choice. I needed to get to Candor. I had to see for myself that everything was fine or this anxiety would kill me. The stress wasn't good for the baby so I needed to go. I got out of the bathtub and drained the water. I quickly dried off and got dressed. I put on my favorite black leather pants and boots. I found a black t-shirt that clung tightly to my rounded belly. It wasn't hard to make my pregnancy obvious now but I just wanted to make sure that it was very obvious. Just on the chance that something was going down at Candor I wanted to make myself look as harmless as possible. Surely no one would harm a pregnant woman even if I was Eric's pregnant woman. I slid some knives into my pockets and boots. I only took one gun and I was hoping I would not need to use it.

I ran quickly through the halls. I was worried someone would stop me but there was no one around to stop me. Every hallway that I ran through was empty. To me it felt like a confirmation of my suspicions. Something was happening at Candor today if most of the Dauntless had cleared out. I ran outside and saw that there was a train coming. I started to run towards it and then remembered the baby. I wasn't sure how safe it was to be jumping on and off trains while I was pregnant. Sometimes when we jumped off the train it was more of a tuck and roll on the ground. That could be very dangerous to the baby if I did that. I glanced around and saw that there were still a few trucks parked in the lot. I hopped into the first truck and was in luck when I found the keys in the ignition. I had only driven a car a handful of times but I decided it was the only way to go. I drove as fast as I could to the Candor compound.

When I got to Candor the commotion all around told me that something had happened. I parked the truck farther away and clung to the shadows and sides of buildings as I came up to the compound. My worst fears had been realized when I saw Dauntless of all variety all around me. There were the people who stuck with Eric and Max. Most of them lay on the ground with the Dauntless defectors from Amity with guns pointed at them. Some of them were dead and most of them were injured. My heart leapt to my throat as I thought about Eric. He was one of the ring leaders so if his people were defeated then he had been defeated. I heard mutters of Four and Tris being on the opposition side and I knew if it came down to Eric and Four there would be no mercy. I couldn't just stand there or sneak through the shadows anymore. I took off running into the building and nobody stopped me. Every member of Dauntless knew who I was but none of them made a move to stop me. Most of them moved out of the way and I couldn't decipher what that meant. I ran towards the main room where I could hear the most commotion. My heart was beating so fast I found it hard to believe it didn't burst right out of my chest. I cradled my belly as I ran as a way of feeling like I was protecting my child. I knew all the stress and running couldn't have been healthy but I couldn't stop now. I rounded the corner and saw the room where everyone was gathered. They were all standing around someone in the middle. I tried to push my way through the Candor that had gathered around. Somehow I knew without even seeing that it was Eric and Four in the middle of that circle. Then I heard his voice. I could hear Eric talking and I was even more frantic to get to him.

Once I pushed through the Candor there was still a line of Dauntless to get through. I called out to Eric but there was too much noise and I heard no response from him. It was like all of a sudden the Dauntless realized I was there and they parted. I got a perfect view of what was going on in the middle of the circle. Eric was on his knees with his hands tied behind his back. Four stood before him with a gun pointed right at Eric's head. It only took my brain a second to process what was going on. This was an execution. Eric had been beaten and in the end found guilty. Four stepped up to him and held the gun against his head.

"Eric!" I yelled with everything I had in me.

I saw his head turn and scan the crowd until his eyes landed on me. The look in his eyes was one that I knew would haunt me for the rest of my life. It was a look of pure love for me. It was also a look of great sorrow for what he was about to lose and what I was about to lose. His eyes were filled with utter anguish as he looked from me to my belly. I pushed past the remaining people in front of me and ran towards Eric. Our eyes were locked on each other's and I was just about to reach him when the gun went off. The room fell silent as Eric's body hit the ground. There was not a sound in the room until the scream. It was a scream so somber and gut wrenching that nobody dared move. The scream was one of pure heartbreak and the sound of a soul forever lost. And then I realized that the scream had come from me.