Inferno

Chapter 26: Taking Control

Hello! Long time no see, huh?

Long chapter here--figured you deserved it after the wait. I have big plans for the next chapter ;)

Enjoy!

~Caruscus

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Marcus Eaton doesn't have any siblings.

Evelyn Eaton didn't have any siblings.

In that gray little house, Tobias and Crystal Eaton knew no family except for the mother who abandoned them, the father who betrayed them, and each other.

When holiday breaks would end and the kids would come back to school, stories would be shared of visiting relatives and how much fun they had. Crystal was always jealous of that, though being in Abnegation, she could only smile and nod.

Sometimes at night she would wonder if things would be different had her father or mother had any siblings. Would her mother have died so young? Would her father still be a raging alcoholic? These are questions she would never have answered.

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Numb was a feeling I thought you got in the dead of winter when you weren't wearing enough clothing, or when you go to the doctors and they prepare to give you a shot, so they numb the area around it.

I never thought I would feel it after killing a person.

I stare down at the body on the floor. Blood pools around the once golden hair, now staining it and making it a rusty color. Jeanine's arms are bent uncomfortably at her sides, hands facing up and fingers curled towards her palm. The middle of her back has a dark circle on it, steadily letting out more of that precious liquid.

I feel nothing.

The gun falls from my hands, clattering onto the floor noisily. I step over it and the body, heading towards the infirmary doors when the fly open.

Tobias bursts out, looking ready to fight. He eyes me up and down. "I heard a gunshot."

I say nothing, simply stepping to the side and giving him a full view of what I have done.

He seems shocked at first, looking between me and Jeanine. His stance relaxes and he lets out a sigh, holding the door open for me. "Come on," he says softly, putting a guiding hand on my shoulder.

I walk in through the doors in front of him, hearing him shut and lock it behind us. The lobby of the infirmary is, in short, a huge mess.

There are tables and chairs upturned everywhere. Tools and computers are broken and their pieces are splattered all over the floor. There aren't that many people in here currently, just the occasional Erudite and Dauntless guard. I don't hold my breath. I know that once people from Abnegation return this place will be filled to the brim.

"Through here," Tobias instructs quietly, nudging me in the direction of the room on the left. We go through the door, walking down the hall. He stops at a door on the right and we step inside. A male around Andrew's age is examining Tris on a bed. Her jacket is off and laying beside her. Her shoulder is covered in her blood, running down her arm in little rivulets. She looks pale. Tobias walks over to her and takes her hand on her good arm in his own. She smiles uncomfortable at me.