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Eighteen

I walk into the dining hall, arms folded over my chest.

I look down at my shirt, seeing the v-neck of the top, rips designed on the side, and I felt the designed rips on the back brush against my bruises.

I tilted my head up, eyes bright. I see Eric, my father, and the other three leaders walking down the stairs with Shane held by two Dauntless guards.

My eyes look over at Eric, and he holds my gaze, only for a few seconds before we both look away.

My eyes look over to Shane who stares angrily at me, eyes filled with malice. At this, my lips quirk into a small smug smirk.

Behind my father is Jeanine Matthews and her assistants, Jack Kang trailing right behind. Behind him... is Marcus Eaton.

I was surprised he'd even show his face, especially with him being under occasional fire from Erudite about how he supposedly abused his son, leading his son to defecting.

I turn away to hear the sound of footfall, seeing Zella. Her eyes are filled with worry, and the former Amity flings her arms around me, and I hug her, laughing gently.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're alright, Li!" She sighs, squeezing me. I wince, rubbing her back.

"I'm okay. Much better." I sigh, as Mason comes into my view. I let go of Zella, and without warning, Mason pulls me into his arms and twirls me around. I laugh, as he spins me in a circle, my feet off the ground.

He eases me down and I pull my arms from around his neck so that they fall by my side. Without warning him this time, I hug him, sighing. He kisses my temple, that of a brotherly gesture, before I pull away, as he sighs. "I'm so glad you're alright, Lian."

"Me too," I mumble, tucking my hair behind my ear. I see Dia and Nikki running over out the corner of my eye, and I turn so that I meet them both in a massive hug.

"Babydoll," Nikki utters, and kisses my head. I laugh, tears welling in my eyes.

"Hey, Nik. You too, Dia." I tell them, wiping my eyes when we pull away. We laugh in unison, and I end up covering my mouth with my hands.

"Did you know about Shane, Nikki?" I question, and she nods, shrugging.

"Yeah, that's probably why I broke his nose, the little weasel." She replies, grinning.

I stare at her, wide-eyed, laughing harder. "Seriously?"

"As a dead man," She replies, and Dia grins at her sister. Zella and Mason laugh, rubbing my shoulders.

"Let's eat, we've got fear landscapes," Mason grins, as I hold my stomach, suppressing another round of giggles.

"Let's do that. I'm famished." I tell them as we sit at a table, walking further away from Shane, Eric, my father, and Jeanine.

"Where did you go last night?" Mason asks, stuffing bread into his mouth.

"I had to stay with Eric," I start, picking up some eggs with a fork and putting them on my mouth.

I chew as they let what I said settle in, and I swallow, as their jaws drop.

"Excuse you?" Dia says abruptly.

I shrug, before raising a brow. "What's so bad about that?"

"It's Eric!" Dia yells.

I shake my head, "He's not a bad guy once you get to know him." I put another piece of my breakfast in my mouth.

"Oh, so you know him now?" Dia questions.

"Not like that, Dia." I start, before a voice from behind me interrupts.

"Not like what, Lian?"

I turn around, my jaw slacking. Out of the past several weeks, I had forgotten about him.

Not Layne, my best friend who turned Amity, but a man who left so often, I rarely got a chance to see him, thus leading to my temporary amnesia.

My heart didn't race in my chest like it usually did, as it should've.

"Elijah?" I question, not used to his tan complexion. I suppose spending months on the Fence did that. He was a patrol captain, so he was out there much longer than Nikki was.

I stand to my feet as he stands there, dropping his bag on the floor. I take in his light brown hair, his blue eyes, his cleanly shaved face, and the light spray of freckles on his face.

I throw my arms around him and hug him, as he hugs me tightly.

"Hey Lilypad." He laughs, and I find a sudden burst of laughter.

Elijah and I weren't blood but we were family. My dad had known his dad, and after both of Elijah's parents passed away, my dad made sure he kept his head screwed on.

I laugh, as he twirls me from side to side, before putting me back on the ground.

"Look at you! All strong and fierce!" He laughs. "Still short, but looking exceptionally well. I'm sure Max is proud."

"Why don't you go ask him?" I tease, smirking slightly.

"I might," He grins wider. "I should let you go, as should I. I'm going to shower, we'll have to catch up at dinner, Lils." Elijah tells me.

I nod, and smile. "Can do. See you later."

He waves to Nikki and Dia, nodding to Mason and Zella, before he disappears into a mass of Dauntless composed in the Pit.

I turn back to Mason and the others, as Zella stands so we can go to our fear landscapes.

"Bye guys," Nikki says.

"See you soon," Dia adds.

We just nod, and head to our respected areas.

I look at our estranged group, frowning. At one time, when we first started, it had been large, but now... I wondered if all of us would live long enough for our final tests, if there would even be ten of us to become official members of Dauntless.

It was times like this that made me miss my mother. She would've known what to do, and I think her death didn't only affect me, but had an effect on my father too.

I knew, that after me being attacked, my father wouldn't let me stay in an apartment with a friend, or even by myself. If anything, I'd probably move back in with him because he was too scared to let me go.

"Lian," Lauren calls from the Fear Landscape room. I walk towards her, and sigh inaudibly when it shuts behind me.

I tilt my head for my injection, and flinch only slightly when it pierces my skin, letting the serum flow in my bloodstream. My eyes become heavy, and I shut them as Lauren lets me know that my simulation would start in thirty seconds.

I open my eyes, my body laying sideways, on my right side. I roll over onto my back, looking around.

I sit up slowly, my legs bound to the couch I was laying on. The floor was slowly catching fire, and I take deep shuttered breaths.

I watch as the flames eat away at the fabric, bit by bit, and I roll onto my side, holding my rope bound wrists over the blazing flames.

The fire eats away at the rope, until I'm able to tug my wrists and it snaps. I sit up, quickly untying my ankles. I climb up onto the top of the couch. Seeing a short distance from the couch to the table, I jump and land on the tabletop.

The distance between the door and the table is longer, but seeing a clear path for me to get to the door, I climb off the table, and drop to my knees.

I crawl low on the floor, to keep as much oxygen as I could savor, my fingers curling around the doorknob.

I'm able to open the door, and I crawl through the small crack and shut the door to the burning room.

My eyes flicker open, and Four and Lauren stand by the computer, nodding.

"Two minutes, Lian. Keep it up." Four calls from the computer. All I can do is smile.