Tris POV
Everything seems to happen so fast. Christina has pulled me into a hug and seems to forget that I was shot three times. I wince and groan slightly. Tobias steps in and pulls her off of me. I flash him a grateful smile. He smiles back.
"I feel like shit," I groan, "how long have I been out?" Tobias raises his eyebrows at me and gives me an exasperated look. The lights are still too bright for my eyes and I put my arm over my head. Tobias takes my other hand in his and I discover how cold I am. The cold metal table is digging into my back and I shift a little. Tobias doesn't answer me for a while and I look over at him.
He stares at me and I stare back, remembering the Ferris wheel, the rocks at the bottom of the pit, the night before I left for Erudite, the night I betrayed him, the night before our plan took place. I feel my cheeks burst with heat and I know I must be blushing. He smiles at me. Just then, the door behind Tobias slams open and people rush in. I tighten my grip on Tobias's hand and attempt to sit up. My ribs and chest ache and I give up on my attempt and collapse against the table. Faces blur around with me and my breath comes faster in my chest. There is a ringing in my ears and I force myself to keep my eyes open and not curl into a ball. I don't know where this fear comes from. I feel Tonias squeeze my hand reassuringly and I immediately feel safer.
The people huddle around me and I begin to recognize them. Cara, Will's sister, peers down at me with plain astonishment and curiosity on her face, a purely Erudite reaction. Zeke grins stupidly at me and pats me, a little roughly, on the shoulder. I scan the room for Uriah before I remember. I feel a weight in my stomach, like I swallowed a brick. Their mother appears behind him, hesitant and not wanting to intrude. Shauna hobbles in on stiff legs that the Bureau helped had helped her start walking on again, a huge smile plastered on her face. Peter stands slightly off to the side and keeps any emotion hidden behind a face of stone. I begin to relax knowing that these people are familiar.
And then I spot someone else. He lingers by the door, staring at his shoes and fiddling with his long sleeves. I recognize that curly brown hair and sharp nose.
"Caleb..."
YOU ARE READING
Astringent
FanfictionTris, after saving her brother and keeping her whole city from being wiped of their memories, was shot and killed by David, the head of the Bureau. But when Tris wakes up a couple of days after she should have been dead, everything about her seems p...
