I stare at the ground he's sitting on as I make my way across camp to where he is being held as prisoner. I notice the dark scratches in the dirt where he probably tried to escape, the crumpled leaves around the base of the tree, the sickly yellow grass that is matted down near his outstretched legs. He lifts his head up at me and searches my face and stares at me in disbelief. At what? That I could pick myself up from where he pushed me down? That I could hold my head up high and show him he didn't hurt me? Well almost.
Tobias has to help me sit down next to him. Not as close as I would usually sit. Now, it's more like he has a disease and I don't want to be the next victim. I stifle a groan as I maneuver my leg to a comfortable position. With me sitting on Zeke's right side, he won't be able to get a good look at the damage he's caused. But I know he carefully inspects it . His eyes dash around the wound and I expect to see him hang a smug smile across his face but instead I see he looks hurt.
He curls his lips together and softly bites down on them. He closes his eyes and I see a tear slip out of the corner. It falls onto his shirt and he sniffles. He opens up his dark brown eyes again and looks at me. I feel myself stiffen and my breaths grow rugged.
"Tris…. I'm so sorry," he says.
I keep my head held up and don't respond. I just stare at his with my jaw set and my lips tight.
" I didn't mean to hurt you—I didn't know what was going on!"
"Oh save it you piece of crap! Do you actually think that we believe that putting a gash in her leg was an accident?!"
Tobias' voice resonates and Zeke takes in a deep breath.
"I'm telling you, I would never hurt Tris. She's like my sister."
But you did.
"I am so sorry. I wish I knew why I did it but I don't"
"Cause you're insane! Why else would u stab her?!"
They talk like I'm not even there.
"Tobias, I DON'T KNOW!" Zeke yells.
I forgot Zeke knew Tobias' real name too. That's how close they were.
Uriah looks over from the fire pit at us. He glances at Zeke for a moment before turning around. I can't imagine how he feels, they used to live together, they grew up together, now this?
I finally cut through their argument.
"What do you mean you don't know why?" I ask calmly.
Zeke's eyes search into mine, begging for me to listen.
"All I remember is that I went to sleep after we came back to camp. Then next thing I know I wake up, tied to this tree," he says looking back at the base of the palm, "and Tobias telling me I stabbed you."
I remember how he looked. He was sheet white and had a dead stare that hung foreign on his face. He looked like he was sleepwalking. I remember the silver knife in his hand and how he held it so loosely. Like he didn't even know he was holding it.
"Zeke, what's the last you remember before we found you the other day?"
He thinks about it for a moment with his eyebrows in a crease.
"I remember waking up in this, like hospital, I think. And seeing all of these machines I was hooked up to. I don't remember much after that. At the time I thought I was shot or something after the video got released or that I was being treated, but honestly, I don't remember."
I look up at Tobias. I know he's thinking the same as me: someone's messing with Zeke's head.
I reach for his arm and he helps me back up. He's gentle and holds my elbow for support when I've finally gotten to a walking position. I glance over my shoulder at Zeke.
"I believe you," I tell him, "I just need some time."
He nods and lets me go without trying to explain himself further. I watch as his brown eyes return to their blank expression, staring at the caked dirt underneath him. I swing my injured leg outward and limp toward the other side of camp to the path that leads to the falls.
"I need to get cleaned up, all this filth and blood…" I let my words hand loose in the air.
Tobias tries to crack a small smile. "I'll help you," he says.
I feel his tender touch on my elbow as he helps me down to where the pool is. I never realized how bad the terrain was, now that every step seems like I'm getting stabbed over and over again. My wound, turning the bandage a grizzly red, feels like someone took a kitchen knife and stuck it into my leg, turning it round and round like a carousel. The bone feels like it is getting several notches from the kitchen knife and makes me want to cut it off.
I let out another terse breath, trying to mask my pain from Tobias. I don't want him to treat me like I'm a child. I'm 16; I can take care of myself. He stumbles over some up turned roots and in turn pain shoots through me. I grab for his hand and he looks up at me with concern.
"Sorry! Are you okay?" he says.
"Yeah, just dandy," I reply through gritted teeth. I taste my blood and wipe at my lip. I bit through it.
"Shit."
"What is it?" he asks. He sees me spreading the blood onto what's left of my pants that he didn't have to cut away to tend to my wound.
"Bite your lip?"
"Yeah." I let out a heavy sigh of frustration.
"Here."
He bends his elbows and turns at a sideways angle. He reaches down and places my knees over one of his forearms, while cradling my back with the other. He picks me up in a swift motion and begins to walk forward again. Things move much faster without me dragging us down. I forgot how small I am compared to him. I don't have pulsing muscles in my arm. I crane my neck to look at his triceps. Bulging pale green veins run ramped over his tanned skin. I peer down at mine, covered in dirt and desperately needing to be washed, and only see a meager amount of muscle. I look weak compared to him and right now I feel like it too. Hell, I can't even walk for myself.
I pick up my head and stare at his face. Where he once had smooth clean shaven skin, now has a scruffy layer of a small beard. He's grown so much since we've been out here. Although, he probably has always been this way, with the war and other bickering going on, I just never noticed. He sees me staring.
"Enjoying the view?" he says sarcastically.
I smirk. "Maybe…" I press my lips together and smile. For once I am acting like the lovesick girl I am.
We get to the pool with connecting waterfall and he walks over, me in tow, to a shady spot right near the crystal water. In the secluded shady spot, he cautiously puts me down with my back against a tree. The spot is so close to the water that when I stretch out my legs, my ankles skin the cold water. I prop myself up with my elbow and lean to see him go around to the other side of the thick trunk and sit down. He leans over, without turning his head.
"I'm not looking, just here in case you need me." I smile.
"Thanks."
He knows, growing up in Abnegation too, that showing skin isn't something you can just do. Along with that, he knows my fear and respects me as a person and not as anyone's property. This is one of his best qualities.
I take off my top, pulling it swiftly, well somewhat swiftly, over my head. My pants are harder to get off. My wound has made my leg swell up and its harder to slip the jeans off. If I wasn't wearing skin tight pants, that Christina told me to wear, the day the video was released, I might be in a different situation.
Finally getting the clothes off along with my undergarments, I ease myself into the water. The constant flow from the waterfall to the pool to the stream bringing excess water out, leaves me with cold water. It trickles over my calves to above my hip, till finally I am sitting on a slick rock that is under the water, with my chin lying parallel to the surface.
I had cut my hair at Amity, however long ago, but now it has grown out to just slightly shielding my shoulders. I lean my head back gingerly and let the water swirl around my head till it covers my face. Under the water I open my eyes and look straight up at the sky. Through the barrier of the water it moves in every direction and gleams and reflects light everywhere. I pick my head out of the water, and feel the cold liquid run down the side of my face. I wipe away any water from my eyes till I remove the blurry shadows.
Once I can actually see, I notice that skinny strands of crimson flow out from my wound and make the water a small pink cloud. Within the next minutes the current pushes new water to replace it and the cycle starts again. I run my fingers through my hair and over my body, pushing away unwanted dirt.
"What do you think about what Zeke said?" I ask Tobias.
Still looking past the tree like instead of at me he replies, "I don't know." He lets out a sigh.
"I just can't come up with any other explanation of why he would do something like that. Tris, he's my best friend, I just—I can't-."
"Yeah." I tell him. I press my lips together.
"So I'm guessing whoever dumped us here did something to his brain?" I say.
"Yeah I guess so. The only people who can do that though are the Erudite, it just doesn't make sense."
I nod my head, forgetting he's not looking at me, and reply, "yeah."
I get up from the slick rock underneath the water, which I was leaning on, and walk toward the shallower parts of the pool. I push the soles of my feet into the white sand at the bottom of the pool and raise my uninjured leg onto the soft green grass. I collect my dark wet hair to one side and squeeze the moisture out of it. With Tobias still respectfully staring away, I sneak over to the trunk of the tree and grab my clothes. I slip them on quickly, or as quickly as I can, and then walk back around the tree.
He smiles when he sees me and gets up slowly. He opens his arms out once again, and picks me up to carry me back.
"You know, I can walk for myself." I tell him.
"Yeah I know." He says smirking.
I let out a sigh and let him finally walk us over to the camp. Once we are there I see Uriah is standing next to a couple of long green slender trees that are at his feet. I limp over to him and ask him what they are.
"These are the bamboo shoots, for the shelter."
I had forgotten before that we were talking about making this shelter, to house us until we find our way home. I don't know how long it will take us now that we are down two people. I don't tell Uri this though, as if he needs to be reminded. Instead I just bob my head and go over to the make-shift shelter to make up my bed for the night.
As I'm adjusting my body to a comfortable position, with my leg outstretched and arm bent behind my head, I close my eyes. I can feel the cool night air just beginning to settle. The crickets just tuning up for their strum later, the distance falls crashing against adjacent stones, and the wind whispering through the palm fronds above me. Suddenly I feel a soft pressure on my lips. I feel a small smile pressing against my mouth and I gently kiss the intruder of my thoughts. Too soon, though, the lips are off mine and I open my eyes to see Tobias settling in on the other side of me.
"Goodnight Tobias," I whisper into the inches between us.
"Goodnight Tris," he replies.
With that I close my eyes and lose myself to sleep.
Author's Note:
Hello people of the Internet. I hope your lives are going amazing and that you are eating fruit everyday. If you still stick with this story after the horribly long periods of time waiting for the next chapter, then thank you so much. Let me know what you guys thought of the chapter. I absolutely love hearing what you guys think should happen or change. Have an awesome day!
~Razben