The first bit is basically a flashback, just so that you are not confused :P
I breathed. My lungs were on fire. I turned to look at Peter. Shock crossed his face. Four was dead. Nobody could ever believe it.
The sirens around us were still blaring. Somehow they started to get louder and that is what woke me up. I darted up to my feet and stares at Peter. If we don't get out of here now, I thought, there would be too much waste of life for one day.
"Go!" He suddenly yelled at me. I felt paralyzed. He had to hit me to bring me back to reality. Do it, I thought. Slap me across the face. Shove me against a wall. Peter simply grabbed my shoulders and shook me as hard as he could. I was pretty sure I bit my tongue. But the pain of that could never compare to the pain of losing Tobias.
He grabbed my arm rougher than I anticipated and started dragging me to the nearest exit. I couldn't even take a look at where I was going, which made me trip over my own feet a few times. We ran and ran and ran until I felt the fresh air of the new morning in my lungs. Caleb was on the floor in the distance, probably catching his breath. Christina, Cara, Nita and Matthew were still running from the building. It was going to explode. Matthew activated the self-destruction mode since the rest of our plans failed. Everybody got out except from David and Four.
When we finally stopped, Peter released me and at the impact, I dropped to my knees. He never left though. He stayed by my side when we heard the explosion. The red lights reflected onto the glass in front of me. I didn't need to turn around to know there was fire everywhere. I breathed in the fumes, gripping the grass beneath me. Funnily enough, I did not hear from Peter a year after these events. I didn't love him at the time, but I knew that there was something there. If not love, then friendship.
During my time alone in the compound, I got very bored, so I decided to wander. Peter has left for the mission with a few other soldiers. I have no idea where Christina is (although she is probably flirting with somebody), so I am left to wander on my own. The corridors seem more empty now. There weren't even that many soldiers leaving for the mission but it seems like most of them left.
There is a door labeled 'Janitor's closet' when I turn right down another corridor. We don't have janitors. Why would we need janitors in a war zone? Curiously, I push the door open and see a perfectly good couch. I push it further, revealing the bright light coming from a TV screen. And when the door is all the way open, I see Nick standing near the electronic device, pressing some buttons at the back of it. Quickly, I grab the handle and try to close the door before he notices me but it is too late.
"Tris, hey," he calls. I don't feel like talking to him. Nevertheless, I step into the mysterious room and fake a smile.
"Hey," I greet, "What's all this?"
"My little hideout," he chuckles, stepping away from the TV and crossing over to me with his hands in his pockets, "I don't spend a lot of time at home, so... got a few things to entertain myself here," he gestures behind him. It is at the moment when he is glancing behind him, do I notice suspicious radio objects near the television screen, "Come in, please."
The door clicks shut behind me as I walk over to the couch. Hesitantly, I take a seat. Nick smiles at me before resuming his task of 'fixing his radio'. I squint at the back of the room where it is too dark to see anything. "Why is it so dark in here?"
"I prefer it that way," Nick answers, picking up a screwdriver and jabbing a cable with it. I raise an eyebrow. "You nervous?"
"About what?" I want to lean back against the back of the couch, but the environment is too eerie to allow me to relax.
"Peter," he says, "The over-night mission, I mean." He looks at me with curiosity. I simply shrug my shoulders.
"He'll be okay, I know it," I mumble. I pick up the tips of my hair and start twirling the strands around my fingers. He will be okay.
"Yeah, of course, just don't worry about things like that. It's his job." I nod to myself, making no effort to be polite and look at him. I am exhausted. It feels like it is nearly midnight. If I go to sleep, I may have a nightmare. Being in this nightmare is better. At least I can control what happens.
"Do you want a drink?" I immediately shake my head. Poisoned wine? No, thank you. "Are you sure?" I shake my head again. There is the sound of a tool being put down before I feel Nick sit next to me on the couch. "Talk to me, what's wrong?"
"I'm just tired," I use up the last fraction of my energy to look up at him. Finally, I lean back on the couch, softening the expression on his face.
"Go to sleep, you're safe here," he confirms. I don't believe that.
"No, I'd rather not," a chuckle surfaces from my mouth. His ripped jeans are loose. I blink heavily as I try to understand why he would take off his uniform. I didn't think they were allowed to do that in the safe house.
"Go on," he insists, brushing a strand of hair from my face, "When you wake up, Peter will be here. You don't have to stay awake. It will get boring."
Suddenly, I feel brave.
"Do you have any sleeping pills?" I ask. Nick smirks in response and stands up, going for the drawer in the cupboard on the wall, "They stop me from dreaming." I add.
"Yeah, I understand," I swallow the pills with some tap water. He isn't smart enough to add serum to tap water right? To be honest, I am too tired to care.
He takes out a blanket out of nowhere and covers me in it as I fully lay down on the couch. My eyelids are too heavy. The last thing I remember before falling asleep is Nick's black silhouette towering over my body.
SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH
There is a sting in my vain where my arm bends. I open my eyes just enough to see the black ceiling. A drug overtakes my body. It flushes through my bloodstream, evicting a moan from my mouth. "Shh," I hear. My mind becomes foggy. I am still tired.
This is a new feeling. Somebody's hand is holding my wrist in place as they try to inject me with something. That is what I feel. There is no other way to describe it. A needle in my vain, pushing a chemical round and round my body, taking me to a new place. Is this a dream? I turn my head to the right and see a man kneeling by my side. He looks like Nick. I can't be sure. The chemical makes my vision blur. But it feels so good. I feel so relaxed and free and spacey. If I could just lift my head, I am sure I would be able to hover.
"You're okay, go back to sleep," he whispers. I moan quietly, trying to reach out and touch the man's face, but he seems so far away.
"This is a dream, right?" I laugh forcefully, my mind floating somewhere else.
"Right... just relax now," the voice definitely belongs to Nick. I don't get the point in this. Is this a simulation? A dream? If so, where is the monster? Where is the pain? Why am I not being hurt?
Before I lose consciousness, a sudden bang sounds in my head. It is as if everything falls into place. As if I suddenly know everything. The monster... he is right here... and the feeling, the feeling... it cannot be good. And this is not a dream. I am so positive it is not a dream.
My eyes close and my mind dims into the dark night. What was I just thinking? I can't remember. I can't remember.
These sort of chapters are in order to get you thinking. I am not supposed to be answering all your questions. It will all hopefully fall into place towards the end ;)