The Unlucky Ones

[25] - Edward

[Tobias]

That night, I dreamt of endless hallways with unchanging views. And it felt like I walked a thousand miles as I tried to reach the end, and never could. A loud banging at my door wakes me with a start.

" Open up! "

I'm terrified of what is to come in the next moments. Are the Dauntless soldiers coming for me? Coming to arrest me for being a faction traitor? Arrest me for keeping tabs on Max and spying on him? Arrest me for talking to my Factionless mother? Arrest me for my Divergence? All signs point to 'Faction Traitor'. I pull my blankets back, walking to the door. But I realize now that if it was Dauntless soldiers, they wouldn't make this much noise in the hallway. They would just come in and arrest me. And that's Zeke's voice in the hallway. I open the door, sighing.

" Zeke, " I say as I open the door. " What's your problem? It's the middle of the night. "

There's a trail of sweat on his forehead. He's out of breath. He must've run here.

" I... I was working the night in the control room. Something happened to one of the initiates. " He says.

Immediately, my mind goes to her. Bleeding out on the initiate floor. Crying in her own blood, begging for help and no one will help her. And I will. Or at least, I'll want to.

" What? " I ask. " To who? "

He sighs out.

" Walk and talk. " He says.

I nod. I pull on my boots and a jacket to cover my bare chest. I close my door behind me and follow him down the hall.

" Okay, tell me. Who was it? " I ask.

We're walking faster than I'd expected. I'm practically jogging. I've gotta see this.

" The Erudite guy, Blonde. " He says.

I exhale sharply. A sigh of relief. It's not her. Nothing happened to her.

" Will? " I ask, continuing the jog.

If it is Will, Tris is gonna be scared for a while. It's one of her best friends.

" No, the other one. " He says.

I turn my head.

" Edward? " I ask.

He nods.

" Yeah, Edward. He was attacked--Stabbed. " He says.

I nod, sighing out.

" Dead? " I ask.

He shakes his head.

" Alive. Got hit in the eye. " He says.

I stop in my tracks.

" In the eye? " I ask.

He nods, grimacing.

" Who did you tell? " I ask, continuing further.

He follows me.

" The Night Supervisor. He's looking for Eric. " He says.

I scoff.

" Screw Eric, " I say. " They need someone now. "

Zeke clears his throat.

" What about me? " Eric asks.

I turn and look over my shoulder.

" Oh, you're here. " I say.

He nods.

" Heard that an initiate was attacked. I came to see what's going on. " He says.

We walk side-by-side, all three of us.

" He was stabbed. " I say.

Eric groans.

" He was weak enough to get stabbed? " He asks.

I glare.

" He has a knife in his eye, Eric. Doesn't that mean anything to you? " I ask.

He looks dead ahead and I don't notice a reaction. He hums, not saying anything. We reach the transfer dormitories. I let Eric step in first. I set in after him, and Zeke steps in behind me. All of the initiates are standing in a circle near the corner. All except for 3. One is Edward wailing on the ground. The other is Myra sitting at his feet. The third is someone sitting by his head. They hold Edward's head in their lap.

" Lie still, " A voice says.

It's Tris. Edward thrashes again, whimpering.

" I said to lie still. Breathe. " She repeats.

Her hands are collecting blood and her knees are soaked in it. But she doesn't care.

" My eye! " He wails.

I smell something foul. Someone vomited. Someone is crouched in the corner, probably the source of the vomit. I start walking forward. Christina notices me, then Eric, then Zeke.

" Take it out! " He yells. " Get it out, get it out of me, get it out! "

I walk closer. Tris shakes her head, sighing. She carefully holds him. She's so cautious with him. More cautious than I would be if I was holding him.

" No, " She says. " You have to let the doctor take it out. Hear me? Let the doctor take it out. Breathe. Okay? "

She breathes slowly, wanting to calm him down.

" It hurts, " He Sobs.

I reach the edge of the circle and I see the knife. The blood spills from his eye. His hand holds the knife handle between two fingers. Her eyes are kind and she examines him.

" I know it does. " She says. " It will be all right. "

The nurse runs in, dragging a gurney with her. She helps him on, dragging him to the infirmary. Myra follows. Tris lifts her head, looking around the room. She's looking for faces of people who might've done it. Two faces are missing, however. Peter and Drew. Two people who are after her now that Edward is out of the way. She stands, turning. She spots me, nodding quietly. She walks to her bunk, grabbing a new pair of pants and a new shirt. She walks into the restroom. Christina walks in as well. Either to vomit or talk to Tris. I turn around leaving.

" Where are you going? " Zeke asks.

I sigh.

" Edward's in the infirmary now. So I'm going to go see Max. " I say.