Dauntless High School

Chapter 25

FOUR

I am the last one to arrive to the hospital the next day, other than Al, whom no one has heard from. The sun was already rising when I left the hospital early this morning, and I slept restlessly until early in the afternoon.

We are not in the main waiting room like we were yesterday. This time we are in a special waiting room that is outside the Intensive Care Unit, where Uriah has been admitted. I sit down next to Shauna, and she fills me in about what's going on. "Hana is taking us back one at a time to see him. She warned us not to be alarmed that he doesn't look like himself."

"What does that mean?" I mutter. Shauna shrugs. "Has anyone gone in to see him yet?"

"Marlene's in there now. She's the first."

I wonder if that's a good idea, with how upset Marlene was last night. "Marlene has taken this really hard, hasn't she? It's strange seeing her like that. She's always so happy."

Shauna nods. "She's usually cheerful but she cares deeply about people. She just wants everyone to be happy. She's... you know, she's the kind of person who wears her heart on her sleeve. And we've all been friends with Tris and Uriah for a long time."

I nod. "Has anyone gone in to see Tris?"

Shauna shakes her head. "We thought we'd take turns seeing Uriah first then go down to visit her after. I don't know what kind of shape she's in. Might be better not to have too many people in there at a time."

Marlene appears in the doorway with swollen, red-rimmed eyes but she isn't crying now. Her eyes almost look dead, she looks like she is in shock. Lynn jumps up and pulls her into a hug. Then I see a woman waiting in the doorway who must be Mrs. Pedrad. Christina gets up and leaves with her.

I sit patiently in the waiting room, letting everyone else go ahead of me. I don't know Uriah as well as the rest of them do, so it only seems right. I can tell that all the girls have been crying when, one-by-one, they come back from seeing Uriah. Even Lynn's eyes are red and her cheeks tear-stained. In pairs they leave to visit Tris before heading home, and slowly the group in the ICU waiting room dwindles until I am the only one left.

Shauna was the last to go in, other than me. "Do you want me to wait for you?" she asks when she comes back.

"No, it's okay. Lynn is probably waiting on you," I say. I'm not even sure if I am going to visit with Tris today. I probably shouldn't. I have barely talked to her since I tried to kiss her last week.

Shauna leaves and I feel nervous as I go to meet Mrs. Pedrad where she waits for me. "Hi, Mrs. Pedrad," I say with my hands stuffed in my pockets. "I'm Four."

With a smile that doesn't reach her tired, bloodshot eyes she nods and says, "Hello, Four. Thanks for coming. Zeke has told me a lot about you. And please, call me Hana."

I walk beside her through the double doors. About twenty ICU rooms encircle the big nurses' station in the center of a lobby, and people in scrubs bustle around. Hana doesn't react when a loud alarm sounds and a bunch of people go running to a room off to the right; she simply leads me to the left.

"I need to run home and take a shower, I was traveling all night and haven't had the chance," Hana tells me. She looks at me hopefully. "Would you mind keeping Zeke company?"

"Sure, of course," I answer.

Curtains are partially closed, halfway covering the glass wall that faces from Uriah's room to the nurse's station. As we go through the door I notice Zeke sitting on the bench in front of the window, rubbing his eyes like he just woke up.