I stare at his back as he leaves, rooted to the spot. All I want to do is hold onto him even if my heart feels like it's being cut by glass. Everything feels so rushed, almost forced, but we're Dauntless; energy embodied with no room for consideration. We all burn out too quickly for that.
Heading towards my office, I wonder if that was a good place to leave things. I think it was; I know he wanted more but I don't think I had anything left to give right now. I walk into the office and close the door behind me, before I realize something is amiss. Then I'm grabbed from behind. I don't know who it is or what they want, but I immediately try my best to fight. But my opponent seems to be a male and both bigger and stronger. I try to bite the cloth that's being used to silence me, but it's no use. I don't even know who I'm dealing with; they haven't bothered to say a word. I struggle, but end up tightly bound in the end with no means of escape; at least none that I'm flexible enough to pull off. Once I can no longer move, I'm placed in my chair and finally see my attackers face: it's Ian.
"I need you to listen to me when I say how truly sorry I am about this," he says, pleading with his eyes, "But I'm doing this for my family. My brother's factionless and if they have you, we can end this. No more fighting, no more dying, no more pain. We can negotiate and all of this ends." Boy, I sure know how to pick them. But as much as I'm trying, I can't get mad. Would I have done the same thing if someone I loved were on the other side? It feels like everything wrong with my life right now can be blamed on the factionless, but some of them probably hate me the same way. How many blame me, as a leader for children they'll never see again; for lives that were derailed by a failed test.
"I'm going to give you a serum. You'll temporarily be hypnotized. From what I've been told, even if you're Divergent, this will work. I'm just going to use it, so I can walk out of here with you. I won't do anything else."
That's at least…reassuring. I hadn't started to think of what it could mean to be captured behind enemy lines. But there's nothing I can do about it now. I'm officially Ian's prisoner and what he says goes. I feel a pinch in my neck as I'm jabbed by a needle. Then, it's as if my limbs are numb. I try to see if I can fight it but the most I can do right now is twitch my fingers on my own.
"Okay, Audrey, I'm going to untie you and you're going to walk with me to the infirmary."
My restraints are loosened I try to will myself to get up and run, but all my body does is stand up and go beside Ian. I start to become enraged; what's the use of having Divergence if there are serums it doesn't work on? We leave the room and start walking down the hallway. It's empty around this time of day with very few people passing through. As we're walking, Ian keeps glancing towards me, guilt shining through his face.
"I really am sorry about this," he says, "This isn't how I envisioned everything playing out. But I'm a doctor; I swore an oath to preserve life." I can't give him any expression, but I try to relay my disbelief through my eyes.
"Okay, you're right, that's a bullshit excuse," he says with a sigh, "I'm doing this because I put a price on my brother and a price on you and I chose my brother; I chose my family. Is that really so wrong?" His eyes are pleading again. I'm looking at him less severely, but I'm still upset. I can understand wanting to support your family, but he's also betraying his new family: the Dauntless. But I can't help but understand his position; this is the option that should save the most factionless lives.
"And I'm sorry for everything that happened to you." My eyes immediately dart to his face in rage. He does not get to go there; not while I'm a captive audience to his self-serving apologies!
"It's just…I didn't join until later, ok? I didn't know all that was going to happen, but…I'm still sorry. I know I don't have a right to say that but I am." My patience is thinning out and I need him to stop talking. I need him to stop reminding me of everything that is wrong right now. Thankfully, we're finally in the infirmary. Some of the beds are taken up by the wounded but most seem to be in a morphine-induced slumber right now. The only conscious person seems to be Marlene. I try to grab her attention with my eyes, something, anything! But the stupid serum still seems to be working. Ian leads me over to a hospital bed and orders me to lie down and I comply. Then he walks over to Marlene and I can do nothing but watch.
"Marlene, you can take a break, I've got it from here," he says with his usual casual smile.
"Sure! But why's Audrey here? Is she okay?" I watch her eyes look me over with concern and I'm willing her to read my mind and tell that it's not okay.
"No, not really. She had a bit of a break. I've got her sedated and I'm going to see if she can get some rest here." Marlene's face fills with worry and she flits right over to my bedside. She's so close and I still can't tell her a damn thing.
"Oh, Audrey, I'm sorry! Rest and I'll be back soon; I'll even send over Coraline. Hang in there." She kisses my forehead, the heads out of the infirmary turning towards the dining hall. My last hope of escape leaves with her.
"Stand up again and follow me; we're leaving through the morgue." We head to a section of the infirmary I've never been to. It's colder and metal lockers line the wall. Then, we reach a door with an exit sign. Next to it is a gurney with a body bag on top.
"The crematorium and morgue are two different buildings thankfully. Climb onto the gurney and into this bag." My body does as he says, neatly tucking itself into the bag. I lie back and wonder what exactly he's planning to do.
"I'm going to put you to sleep now," he says while filling a syringe from a vial, "I don't need any accidental movement while I'm getting you out and over to the drop spot. Can't have you figuring out where the base is either. Now, close your eyes." My eyes shut and I feel one final pinch before everything fades away.
A/N: Oh my God, first new chapter upload in like a year! Well, I finally have time to dedicate to my writing again. Updates won't ever be as fast as they were, but I'm trying. Anyway, I'm amazed that this story is almost done and then I'll get started on the sequel From the Ashes. However, I think I'll write at least half of that story before uploading anything. I don't like sporadic updates; they make me feel bad. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this latest development!