A/N: From this chapter on there will most likely be spoilers for the books so just beware
Four
Everything that happened after I got Ellie back to Dauntless was a blur. The Factionless jumped off the train after they threw Ellie out and I wanted nothing more than to beat them into a coma, but Ellie needed me. I ignored the pain in my ribs and face when I jumped out of the train to Ellie and when I found her, I was scared. She was on her back unconscious, a purple bruise forming on the side of her face and blood running down her forehead. I kneeled down next to her and pressed my fingers to the side of her neck and when I felt the thump, thump of a heart beat underneath my fingertips, I let out a relieved breath. I was afraid to move her though because even though on the outside there didn't seem to be too much damage, I knew she had to have internal damage. Being thrown out of a moving train onto the hard ground and walking away unharmed would be a miracle, but I had to be cautious. I didn't want to hurt any more than she probably was.
I managed to carry Ellie down to the next train stop that wasn't far from where she landed in the grass, but I was running as fast as my feet could carry me. I was carrying her bridal style and despite the throbbing pain in the side of my face and sharp pain in my ribs, I ignored the pain with the help of my adrenaline. I knew that if Ellie did have internal injuries she had a limited window of time before it was too late to fix what was wrong. She needed a doctor and fast. Since we were going from Erudite back to Dauntless, we were on the grassy side rather than in the city itself so I didn't have the luxury of getting her help anywhere else. The thought of losing Ellie was painful enough, but to tell Eric that? I couldn't even begin to imagine.
When I reached the train stop my legs were burning, my heart was going a mile a minute, I was panting, but I refused to slow down. Ellie was still unconscious and I could feel her heart beat from where my hand was, but I didn't want to waste any time. A man from Amity was working at the stop and saw me coming. He had something in his hands that he set down when he first caught glimpse of me. The train was stopped on the tracks in front of him and I knew we were only about five minutes from Dauntless now. The train stop was pretty basic. All it was was a small, one room building with some basic controls inside and a gas pump next to it used to refuel the train when needed.
"I need you to get ahold of someone from Dauntless!" I called out through hard breaths as I got closer.
"What happened?" he asked me when he saw Ellie in my arms. When he looked at me, he looked at the side of my face rather than meeting my eyes. I guesses I had a bruise forming on my face.
I took a few deep breaths as I finally reached him. He looked to be in his early thirties and had his blonde hair pulled back into a short ponytail. He wore orange pants with a yellow top and red scarf around his neck. "She's hurt." I told him. "I need you to get ahold of Dauntless and tell them to have medics ready by the time I get there."
"Okay, okay. Get on I'll get you out of here."
I carefully got into the train and laid Ellie down on the floor gently. I sat down next to her and caught my breath as the train began to move. I thought about what happened and how it didn't make sense. The Factionless knew who I was through my mother and would never try something like this. They had their own way of doing their things and living life, plus I'm sure Ellie noticed as well as me that the ones on the train weren't really Factionless. They were too well fed and even though they were dressed in rags and had some dirt on their face, anyone could put ratty clothes on and smear dirt on their face. True people who are Factionless are underweight and have what could be an inch of dirt and grime on their skin. This wasn't a random attack on Ellie and I, this was something else.
When the train pulled up in front of Dauntless, I saw three people standing at the doors with a gurney ready to go. I mentally thanked the Amity man from the train stop as we pulled up. The second the train came to a halt, the doctors wheeled the gurney over and asked what happened.
"We were attacked on the train. She was thrown out." I told them as two of the three stepped up to pick her up. They carefully carried her and laid her on the gurney, strapping her in before wheeling her back inside. I followed behind and remembered that Candace and Lori worked in the infirmary. They couldn't see Ellie like this. Then again when I heard the terms "collapsed lung", "broken ribs", "internal bleeding", and "possible brain swelling", I thought of Eric back in Erudite. He had no idea about what had happened. He needed to know. More importantly he had to be here with her.
The doctors wheeled her into the infirmary and I was told that I couldn't go past the patient beds. They wheeled her back to the x-rays and examination stations where they had all sort of machines to look for damage under the skin. I watched as Ellie disappeared from sight and I was left standing in front of a bed panting as sweat an down my face. I saw Lori and Candace appear from another door and their eyes instantly found me. When they saw the door close to where they took Ellie, they came rushing over.
"What's going on?" Lori forced out.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. How did I tell them their best friend was thrown out of a train?
"What happened!" Candace demanded, her tone demanding an answer.
"We were coming back from Erudite…" I managed to get out. "And we were attacked by a few Factionless…Ellie was thrown out of the train."
Both of Lori and Candace's faces instantly fell and tears formed in their eyes. "Is she…" Lori said. I shook my head. "She's hurt though…but she's alive."
"I have to get the others." Lori said as she ran out of the room, tears falling down her cheeks.
A few moments passed before Candace stepped forward and pushed me. "Why didn't you do anything!" she yelled. "You couldn't have stopped them?!" Any other time I would have yelled back or snapped, but I just told her best friend was thrown out a train and I only had a busted up face. She pushed me again and I caught her wrists out of reflex and then the girl just broke down. I was never good at comfort, but I carefully wrapped my arms around the girl as she cried. She clutched onto me as she sobbed over her friend who I honestly didn't know would be alright.
OOOOO
I ended up in the waiting room with Lori, Candace, Nina, Ben, Max and Zeke about ten minutes later. I wanted to get some sort of news on Ellie before I called Eric. We only left Erudite about a half an hour so I knew he and the other leaders were most likely still there and would be for a while yet. I tried to think of what to tell him and how. Zeke said he'd call Eric if I wanted him to, but I had to do it. I was the one with her on the train and I couldn't get to her in time.
After waiting for another ten minutes, a doctor finally came out with news. Everyone got to their feet when the door opened. He didn't look like your average Dauntless. He didn't have any piecing and none of his tattoos were visible. His hair was a light blonde color it was short all around, but he had longer bangs.
"Is she alright?" Zeke asked.
"She's pretty beat up." The doctor told us. "She has three broken ribs, a concussion, a collapsed lung, a fractured wrist, and some nasty bruising. There was minor internal bleeding, but that's being taken care of now."
"Is she going to be alright?" Nina asked.
"We'll see how she is in the first twenty four hours. She hasn't woken up yet which isn't uncommon, but if there is brain activity and reflexive responses so we might see her awake soon."
Everyone let out a breath of relief. Knowing she was alright for now took a weight off my shoulders. The doctor disappeared and Ellie's group of friends all hugged one another. Zeke sat back and ran his hands through his hair. He looked at me and scratched the back of my neck.
"You have to call him." He told me.
"I know." I breathed out. "I'll be back in five minutes."
I walked over to the phone on the other side of the room and picked it up off the receiver. I dialed the number and brought it up to my ear. It rang twice before someone picked up.
"Hello?" a female's voice said.
"I need to speak with the Dauntless leader, Eric." I told her. "It's an emergency."
"Let me put you through to the conference room."
A few moments later, I was greeted with Eric's voice. "Hello?"
"Eric…"I said, my voice still sad.
"Four?"
"Yeah."
"Why are you calling me right now?"
"It's Ellie…"
There was a pause for a moment. Something told me he knew something was wrong from the tone of my voice. "What about her?" he asked me, his voice shaking slightly.
"We were on the train and the Factionless came after us…she's hurt bad, but she's alive."
There was another pause. "Eric?"
"I'll be there in a half an hour."
The call ended after that.
Everyone waited in the waiting room until Elli woke up. She was still asleep, but I was hoping not for much longer. So when the doctor came out after another long ten minutes, he had a smile on his face. "She's conscious." He said. "She's asking for you, Four. Everyone else will have to go in one at a time so she isn't overwhelmed."
Everyone let out another breath of relief at the news of her being awake. I looked at the group of people before following the doctor back into the infirmary. They put Ellie in a private room and when I walked in, I found her in a regular hospital bed hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV. She had a breathing tube in her nose and was dressed in a black hospital gown. There was a blanket covering her from the waist down and she was lying flat on her back, but when she heard the door open she turned her head to look at me.
"Hey." She croaked.
The doctor left to give us privacy and I walked over and sat next to her bed. "I am so sorry." I said. "I-"
"This isn't your fault…don't apologize…just don't please." Her words were spaced out as she took in some breaths.
I reached over and put my hand on top of hers. Thankfully the hand that was fractured was on the other side of her. "You feel okay?"
"Hell no. Everything hurts, but there is something I need to tell you before anyone else comes in."
"We can do that later."
"Four I-"
"Is there anything I can get you?"
"Listen it's about-"
"Ice chips, water…"
"Tobias."
I froze at the sound of my name. I looked at her in shock and her eyes were closed as she took in some more breaths. Once she got some air in her lungs, she opened her eyes again. How did she know my name? It's been so long since I've heard it…from anyone.
"How do you know my name?" I questioned, my tone even.
"I know you came from Abnegation… and last year a leader's son transferred…it's pretty straightforward…"
I had no words. How'd she know I was Abnegation?
"Look Erudite and Dauntless…they're working together to overthrow Abnegation…something about a system that you can control people from that are injected with a serum with transmitters in it…I don't how after that…and I don't know when…but you have to tell someone."
"How do you know this?" I questioned at the sudden news. If they wanted to Erudite and dauntless could overthrow Abnegation, but did she know for sure?
"My mother told me...she told me they were developing the serum…and the Factionless on the train…I think they were from Erudite that Jeanine sent because she knew I knew something…"
No words came out of my mouth at all the new information I was being given. Before I could string any words together, the heart monitor began to beep faster and faster and I looked at it, seeing numbers getting lower. Ellie's eyes closed again and the beeps were getting faster. I stood up just as a doctor and nurse came running in. I backed away from the bed as I watched them look at the machines and examine her body and eyes.
"Her blood pressure is dropping there must be more internal bleeding." The doctor said. "We have to get her into surgery." They raised the bars on the bed and wheeled her out of the room after unhooking her from the IV and machines. Then they rushed out of the room and over to the surgery room.
Eric
After telling the other Dauntless leaders about Ellie, they allowed me to leave before the meeting concluded. I wanted to get out right away, but I didn't get out of Erudite for ten minutes after my phone call. After that thoughI got to the compound as fast as I could, but the train could only go so fast. The entire ride I was consumed by my own thoughts of what happened and if Ellie was alright. Four said she was alive, but hurt badly. What happened between the time they left and the time they got on the train? And how did Ellie even get hurt? Four said they were attacked, but by who? And with what? The thoughts wouldn't leave my head as I took rode the train afraid to see what kind of condition the girl I loved was in.
When I finally got back to Dauntless, I ran as fast as I could to the infirmary. People watched me as I sprinted towards the infirmary, probably wondering why I was in such a rush. Well I knew why I was in a rush. My girlfriend was hospitalized. When I finally reached the infirmary, I ran through the doors into the waiting room to find both Four and Zeke sitting next to one another with their heads in their hands. They both looked up when I came in. Zeke had a sad look on his face and Four wouldn't meet my eyes.
"Where is she?" I asked walking in, my voice shaking. "Where's Ellie?"
Four and Zeke looked at one another before Four dropped his head again. My heart began pounding and beads of sweat formed at the top of my forehead. Zeke stood up and approached me, his eyes on the ground until he was right in front of me.
"Her spleen ruptured…" he told me, his voice quiet and uneven. "They didn't see it on the ultrasound and there was internal bleeding they didn't see right away. They took her into surgery, but she…she didn't make it…"
The second the words hit my ears, I froze to the ground. I couldn't move my arms or legs or any part of my body for that matter. I could hear my heart beat in my eardrums and tears began to fill my eyes. No. Ellie couldn't be dead, she couldn't be. I was just with her an hour ago and she was fine. She isn't dead, she couldn't be.
"You're lying." I said to Zeke, my breathing becoming heavier. "She's not dead, she can't be."
"Eric…I'm sorry…" Zeke replied. "She's gone."
They way Zeke had his shoulders slumped and how his eyes showed nothing but pure sadness in them made me realize he wasn't lying. I looked at Four who still had his head in his hands, refusing to look at me. I shook my head as I finally found the ability to move again. A tear fell from my eye and down my cheek when my legs just went out from under me. I fell onto the ground, sitting up and putting my hands on the back of my head. How could she be gone? How could everything change as fast as it did? Just this morning I was on the train with her wrapped in my arms and my lips pressed to her hair. Just last night I fell asleep with her cuddled up next to me with her head on my chest. Just last week we had our first official date that was perfect in every way. It was as if just yesterday I was pulling her off the net asking her for her name. The more I thought about it the more tears came out of my eyes as I thought of life without her. No more going to bed and waking up with her. No more eating lunch in the apartment when she's too tired to go to the cafeteria after working the night shift. No more of her contagious laugh that made me smile. No more lunches with her and her friends. No more nights of showing her how much I love her in the most physical way possible. No more hearing her say "I Love You" and me saying it back to her. No more her. There was no more Ellie. And there was no more of us. She was gone. Just like that my Ellie was gone and I am left crying on the floor of a waiting room.
Ellie was gone
OOOOO
Just so everyone is clear: Ellie was planned to die the entire time. It was the whole point of the story. Her death made Eric the Eric we read in the books. Even though I knew she was dead from the start I still teared up writing this chapter. I loved writing the Ellie/Eric relationship and this story is still not over so hang tight. There will be a few really short chapters and then two epilogues. Yes two. You will see why soon. If you could leave me a review for this chapter to leave your thoughts I would really, really appreciate it. I want to know what you think on this one. This is the first time I have killed a character and kept her dead so I NEED feedback. Thanks everyone!