First and foremost, a huge thank you to BK2U for editing this chapter.

Second, the next outtake will be up shortly. It's from Four's POV, so if you want to read what he's thinking, head over there.

Finally, I hope everyone has a Happy Holla Days! Enjoy the next few days, and thanks so much for all your awesome words and reviews :)

I don't bother to change.

Tris and I rush to the control room and she slides her card through the scanner, missing completely on her first attempt. "We have to find someone who saw them leave. Either Rylan or Jason or Jeremy," she tells me. I know Jeremy is our last choice, most likely since he and Tris didn't end on very friendly terms. Asking him for help finding Eric and Four probably wouldn't go over well. I nod at Tris, and I hope we find one of Eric's friends working right now.

We're in luck.

I spy Rylan reclined back in one of the office chairs, his feet propped up on the counter in front of him. He's supposed to be watching a row of monitors that are switching between several screens, but I can see that he's watching a patched-in feed of some movie.

"Rylan!" I call out, rushing past the row of people working. A few shoot me dirty looks at the interruption, but I ignore them. "We need your help!"

Rylan turns his head towards us, and he grins when he sees Tris and I approaching him. He kicks his feet down and swivels around to face us. "Everly, Tris. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Where's Eric?" I ask, coming to an abrupt halt behind him. "I need to find him."

Rylan throws me a look of faux innocence. "He's probably in a meeting. I haven't seen him today."

I put my hands on my hips and glare at him, trying to come off as intimidating. "I know he's not in any meeting. And I think you know where he is." I keep my tone serious, and Rylan looks like he's having a hard time keeping his mouth shut.

"I wish I could help, but I seriously haven't seen him." He's staring at me with this innocent expression that wouldn't fool anyone. "I wouldn't worry. Eric's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"Where is he?" I ask him, trying not to grit my teeth. Tris shoots me a look of exasperation and her gaze flicks to the monitors. On the main one, there's an oversized lizard knocking over buildings, and on the ones next to it, there are images of a narrow opening between two run-down buildings.

"Why are you watching sections three and seven? Neither of those are on your roster for this time." Tris narrows her eyes suspiciously, and Rylan looks defensive.

"I'm working on something," he says. He moves to click his mouse over an icon and Tris stops him.

"You're working on watching two typically very low priority areas?" She quirks an eyebrow at him and then her face freezes. "Four."

"No, section four is considered moderately active. It borders between Candor and Erudite and while sometimes there's activity where the train merges.."

"No. Not the section. Four. I just saw him." Tris interrupts him and she shoves his hand out of the way. I watch her click a few icons before the screen enlarges. It zooms in on a dark area, and my eyes grow large at the sight of Four making his way past a row of buildings. I feel a little better when I spot the squad behind him, the heavily-armed Dauntless members making their way after him.

Rylan frowns at us. "Routine maintenance, ladies. Nothing to worry about here." He tries to click his mouse again, but Tris bats his hand away. She bends over, typing something quickly and before long another screen changes.

"There." She points as it zooms out, panning to a wide shot of a crumbling building. "Oh. Is that the middle of the city?"

She takes a step back and turns to me, her hand coming to her mouth. Four is walking towards the doorway, and there's a man half-propped up in the frame, his expression slack. He nods at Four in recognition, and my stomach drops.

The building is familiar.

It houses the same door Colton carried me through.

There isn't too much either of us can do. Eric wasn't joking when he said everyone in Dauntless knew I was supposed to stay put. We make our way down the hallways and I realize I have no way of opening any doors except for Eric's apartment. After coming up with a quick plan to arm ourselves and head out, Tris tries to swipe her keycard to gain access to the armory, but it beeps with a warning sound that means it was declined.

"What on Earth?" She swipes it again, each time earning the same negative sound. "Why isn't this working? I just used this to get into the control room. I've always had access to this room." She tries it one final time before sighing. "It's like someone deactivated it."

I bite my lip, and I'm hesitant to tell her that I can only guess Eric had something to do with it.

"I think Eric did it," I finally suggest, but she shakes her head.

"I don't think it was him. I think it was Jeremy. Max asked him to update the software that controls all the keycards with new security settings. I think he did it to be a dick."

I've never heard her sound so angry. Her eyes flash for a moment before she shakes her head. "I'll be back. I'm gonna get this straightened out."

Tris reappears fifteen minutes later with a dejected look on her face.

"It should be fixed tonight. And Jeremy is conveniently nowhere to be found." She's scowling and I shake my head, annoyed that Jeremy would mess with Tris's security clearances for personal reasons.

"Great. We're pretty much stuck here, aren't we?" I ask her, trying not to sound disappointed. It's not her fault in the slightest. I try to think of another way to get us out of Dauntless. We could always walk out, but we'd be unarmed. And I'm fairly certain we wouldn't get past the end of the compound before someone stopped us. There's also the small fact that I'm not completely sure of the exact route to the building in factionless, nor do I know if it's still heavily guarded.

"Let's go get lunch and maybe we'll think of something then. Maybe they'll be back soon."

Tris sighs and nods. "Alright."

Tris and I eat lunch with Christina, and time moves painfully slowly. I watch the lunch line proceed at a snail's pace. Next to me, Christina is chatting with wild excitement. Not only is my memory back, but she and Rylan have made progress in their relationship, and she's dying for all of us to do something together.

"I hear there's a party coming up in a few weeks. It's supposed to be even better than the New Year's party." She takes a spoonful of her soup and I watch her try to sit still. "Molly said there would be a chocolate fountain."

Tris makes a huffing sound and I share in her frustration. Despite the grim situation Eric and Four are both in, potentially fighting against the factionless while Tris and I are effectively stuck in Dauntless, Christina's attention is still elsewhere.

"It won't matter if Four and Eric don't come back." Tris shifts in her seat and pushes the salad around her plate. "We should go after them. We shouldn't just be sitting here, waiting around." She sounds distressed now, and her eyes find mine. "Don't you want Eric to know that you remember him? Aren't you worried that he won't come back?"

I nod at her. It's not that I want to sit here and wait around for them to return, but I'm not sure what else to do. "Maybe we could try to find Karl? Maybe he would be willing to take us out there?" I didn't see him on any of the monitors in the control room, so there's a slim chance that he's still here.

Tris's eyes light up, but Christina interrupts her. "Wait, Eric doesn't know you have your memory back? And he and Four are gone?" She looks shocked.

"He left before I could tell him," I answer her. "I didn't know he would be heading out to find Evelyn." Her name leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and I shake my head. "I hope he brings her back here. There are a few things I'd like to say to her."

There's a large part of me that wants to see her, if only to tell her I don't think she deserves to have her memory erased. I think she should have to live with what she's done, to deal with the guilt of her actions. But there's a larger part of me that thinks she doesn't feel any guilt. It's the only explanation I can come up with for how she could have found it so easy to leave her son behind.

"I'd like to say a few things to her myself," Tris says lowly. She's stabbing at her lettuce as though it has personally wronged her. "I just feel really useless right now."

"You aren't being useless. Would it really make it any better if the two of you went rushing off to wherever your lovers have gone? They'll both be annoyed that you went after them, and I'll have to hear about how mad they were that you went to save them when they both went to theoretically save you," Christina points out, then grimaces. "Then, I'll have to sit here and eat dessert by myself because you'll all be busy making up with each other."

She rolls her eyes dramatically, and I try to keep a straight face.

"Well…that's partially accurate," I tell Tris. She doesn't look convinced, but she does look less ready to run out the door.

"Fine. But if they aren't back by dinner then we're going to find them," she announces, her expression determined.

The three of us nod, and I try to enjoy the rest of my lunch and not imagine Eric and Four storming through the factionless compound.

By late afternoon I've run out of ways to keep myself entertained.

I've already taken a shower and dried my hair completely, I've changed clothes several times until finally settling on leggings and Eric's hoodie, and I've even attempted to clean up the meticulously clean apartment. It's all useless: I'm only growing more and more antsy.

I force myself to stop moving around aimlessly, and I wind up in front of Eric's bookshelves. They are still fully lined with all kinds of books, and my eyes trace over the titles until I reach the one shelf that's at my eye level. There are several books squeezed in there that seem out of place. It takes me a second to realize they are the books from my training, all neatly lined up. I'd never completely read through all of them, but I can still remember the day he handed them to me. My chest feels tight at the memory of Eric in my room, his eyes fixed on mine. I reach up and my fingers graze over the titles, stopping only when I reach the end.

There, in their own section, are the wizard books I'd been reading before. My eyes take in the titles, noting he's found the last ones in the series.

I bite my lip; wondering if his chest hurt, just as bad as mine does, when he put them on this shelf.

I count down the minutes until I can expect Tris to be at my door.

There are just eight of them left until it hits four o'clock, and each one seems to be taking longer than the next. I decide that I should probably put shoes on. Heavy boots in case it's still cold outside, or maybe my sneakers in case I want to be faster.

I haven't made up my mind yet on this earth-shattering decision when there is a knock on the door. I decide on the sneakers and make my way to answer it. I'm not surprised to find Tris standing there, chewing on her lip.

"I think we should go now. I tried to call Four and there was no answer. I'm starting to get worried." She hesitates in the doorway for a moment and I wave her in. She glances around quickly, her face hopeful that maybe they've returned and are simply hanging out here.

"I agree. I've just got to put my shoes on and we can go. Have you thought of a way out of here?" I ask her. I hurriedly throw my shoes on and I try to think of what I should bring. I shove my apartment key in my pocket, along with the cell phone Eric had returned to me. "The only thing I can think of is we can go and find Karl and order him to take us to the factionless sector."

Tris shakes her head at me. "Would that work? Will he listen to us?"

I tie my shoes and stand up, smoothing out Eric's hoodie. "Well, technically I'm a leader in training. So I outrank him, right? He won't really be able to ignore my orders."

Tris's eyes light up and she nods.

"Perfect."

"Absolutely not." Karl crosses his arms in front of his chest and he lets out a huff of exasperation. "I've been given strict orders to keep you," he pauses, and throws a fairly menacing glare at Tris, "And you, in Dauntless."

"Well, this is an order, Karl." I keep my spine straight and I stare right into his eyes. He reminds me a lot of Eric in this moment. His feet are planted firmly on the ground, his stance wide and oppressive. He towers over the two of us, and he's got the same look of exasperation that Eric frequently wears.

Karl rolls his eyes. "Everly, I don't care. I mean, I do. I know you outrank me. And trust me, I respect you." He scratches the back of his neck, and he fumbles for a second. "But my orders come from Eric, and he's a lot scarier than you are. And he outranks you." He looks at me pointedly.

"He could be in trouble. Do you really want to be responsible for that?" I glance up at him, and I know I'm not really being fair. There is no doubt that Karl is nothing but an upstanding soldier, and I can see him mentally weighing his options. I know what he's thinking; if this goes poorly, he's the one that let us out.

"Look, I don't know where they went. I've never even been to the factionless compound," he finally says, his gaze falling downwards.

"Do you have access to any of the trucks?" Tris pipes up.

Karl nods, but eyes her warily. "All of them. Why?"

"Get one of the trucks ready. We'll get the directions. Be back in fifteen." She grabs my arm before Karl can protest, and we head back inside through the large entryway.

"Who are we getting directions from?" I ask her. I'm following her up the winding stairs, and before long we're in front of the control room doors.

"I can pull up the video Rylan was watching. It'll give me the exact coordinates of where they went. It's how we send out squads to any areas that need help. We can put out an alert as well if there's anything going on that this shift hasn't picked up." She swipes her keycard, and the reader beeps and flashes green.

"Perfect," I tell her. I can feel the nerves starting up, but this is better than sitting here waiting for Eric.

I can only hope he's alright.

Karl drives slower than I'd like, but I've never driven a truck so I can't complain. It takes far less time for us to make our way into the city like this, and it's only a matter of minutes before the buildings begin to look more and more dilapidated. Karl makes a left at one particularly rotten-looking block of buildings, and he slows the truck down.

"There." He points out of his window and frowns.

I glance out the window and my eyes fall on the heavy-looking door. The building is a dark grey, and I swear I can smell the decay from here.

"Are these all abandoned?" I ask Tris.

She takes a second before answering. "Theoretically, yes. Four told me that the factionless find places that no one else would want to live and they make their homes there. Some of them are more nomadic, but Evelyn's managed to build up quite an empire around herself."

My stomach knots up at the thought of Evelyn.

Tris and I had managed to arm ourselves with knives and a few guns that Karl had on hand. They belong to the fence patrols, but he had snuck out a few extra, even though he hadn't been overly thrilled to hand them over. Tris had rolled her eyes at his reluctance, but he'd silently given in.

"There." I point to the building in the middle, and the door sends a shiver down my spine. It's the same door that I remember being pulled through when Evelyn dragged me out and injected me. Karl parks to the side, and I scan the area as we climb out. There is no sign of any other Dauntless trucks here. A spark of worry works through me, and I wonder if Eric and Four have already left.

"Well, you girls ready?" Karl is standing to the side of me, and he sounds less sure than I'd like him to. I nod at him, and I motion for Tris to follow me.

"You're coming with us?" she asks Karl, looking at him for a moment.

He throws her a dirty look. "No, I thought I'd wait outside."

I pay little attention to them, because I push the heavy door open and walk through without looking back.

The smell is unfortunately familiar.

The scent of damp earth is almost overwhelming, but it's mixed with something else, something I can't quite put my finger on. We walk slowly through the entryway room, and I glance around at the darkly empty space. The hair on the back of my neck stands up and I try not to shiver.

Something is wrong.

The whole area is too quiet.

The last time I was here, the factionless were everywhere. They seemed to occupy every ounce of free space this building offered, settling themselves into every darkened corner they could find. I didn't spend a ton of time on this upper level, but I can vaguely remember making my way through here. I throw my stare towards the long hallway, knowing there's a staircase that leads down below.

I move silently, trying to listen for any little sound.

There is none.

While the majority of the compound does lie several floors beneath the soil, we should still be able to hear at least a faint murmuring coming from below. Like Dauntless, the factionless seem to give off a constant hum. But I don't hear anything aside from the sounds of footsteps as Karl and Tris catch up to me.

"Where do we go?" Tris asks.

"This way," I tell them, keeping my voice low. Karl and Tris follow me until we reach the stairs that lead down to the lower levels, neither one hesitating to follow after me.

We find Four in the middle of the compound.

He's standing alongside one of the patrol squads, and their guns are aimed in our general direction. His eyes widen when he realizes who we are and he motions sharply for them to lower their weapons.

"Stand down!" he barks, and he makes his way over to us. He doesn't look overly happy to see us, and he immediately reaches out for Tris's arm. "What are you doing here?" His eyes land on Karl who looks relieved to see him. "Did you two make Karl bring you here?"

"Where's Eric?" I ignore Four and look around, trying to figure out why Eric isn't with him. The common area is deserted except for Four and the men behind him, but it is just as trashed as the upper level.

Four stares at me for a second, then he looks back to Tris. "Did you see anyone on your way down here?"

Tris shakes her head and I wait impatiently for him to answer my question. He turns his stare back to me, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Fine. I may have ordered Karl to bring us here. Now where's my husband?" I demand, starting to grow nervous. I don't like the idea of Eric wandering off by himself, especially not here.

"He's finishing up here. Everyone was mostly gone when we arrived. We've rounded up the remaining factionless and we're taking them back to Dauntless to be questioned. Eric went with one of the squads to check out a few of the rooms further back. He's convinced that Evelyn's still here."

I chew the side of my cheek.

Of course he is. Of course Eric wouldn't believe that Evelyn had left. It's too easy for her to be gone, slipping just out of his reach.

"Let's get you two back to the trucks. It's not safe here. Karl can walk you back outside." Four is talking quietly and he throws a look to Karl. "Have them head back with the patrol squad. The trucks are out back, just around the building."

"Alright." Karl sounds pleased to be leaving, but I shake my head no.

"I'm going to go find him," I announce. I wonder what Eric thinks of Evelyn's abrupt departure. While I don't know where she could have gone, it certainly suits her cowardly nature. I'm not surprised she didn't stay here, knowing that Eric could come after her.

"No, you'll stay here." Four looks stern now, like he's talking to someone from his class. "I'm not about to answer to Eric when something happens to you."

I step back from him, nearly crashing into Karl. "I'm not leaving this building without him." I cross my arms in front of my chest and I can see the exasperation on Four's face.

"Everly," he pauses, as though he doesn't want to say the next words out loud. "This place is rigged to blow up. You want to be here when that happens?" He stares at me intently.

"I don't. And I don't want Eric in here when it happens, either," I retort.

The patrol squad behind him is watching us intently, waiting to see who will win out here. For a moment, it's a standoff. Neither Four nor I back down, we simply glare at each other until Tris pulls on Four's arm. Her distraction is enough for me to decide that I'll find Eric myself if need be.

"Four, we can't just leave Eric here. Send Karl and Everly and I'll stay with you. Or, you and I can go with them." She glances at me and I nod. That plan sounds better than sitting in a truck and waiting to see if Eric returns.

"We aren't leaving Eric here. I'll radio for him that she's here and he'll head out. There's no reason for her to be traipsing around when everyone needs to be above ground." Four sounds exasperated. "Are you both forgetting that Eric is the one who arranged for us to come here? He can handle himself."

"I'll go with her," Karl announces. He steps beside me, and I feel a sudden rush of affection for him. "Give us five minutes. You tell us where Eric went, we'll go take a look, and then meet you above ground."

Four doesn't look convinced. He stays quiet for a moment before Tris shoves his arm a bit.

"We're wasting time," she says softly, and he finally nods.

"Fine," he says flatly. "Meet us at the trucks in five minutes."

Precious time has gone by and I've reached a whole new level of panic.

Most of the rooms are empty, and the place looks deserted, as though everyone left in a big hurry. There are articles of clothing strewn around, broken furniture, and shards of glass that glitter as we walk through them, but not a soul in sight. The strange smell is still here, stronger and almost metallic.

"I don't think they're here," Karl tells me. We've made our way through the furthest rooms in the building, and we've found nothing except darkness. I frown at him.

"I think we should go back," Karl says firmly, and as much as I don't want to admit it, I'm starting to get a bad feeling, as though something terrible is about to happen. I silently hope that I'm wrong, and I try to shake it off. We walk quickly, looping back around until we're almost back to where we found Four.

"Do you think Eric left?" I stop in the middle of the common area, near the tables where Landon and I had sat while he filled me in on what was going on. I can still picture him, sitting there talking, while the factionless milled around us. My eyes flick to the side of the room and land on a dark doorway. I realize it leads to the office that Evelyn seemed to conduct all her business in.

"I think so. I feel like we would have run into him and his squad by now." Karl is glancing around, staring up at the empty spaces that seemed to be carved out of the walls.

"Give me a minute," I throw out. I'm halfway to the door before Karl yells my name. I open the heavy wooden door slowly, and it takes a second for my eyes to adjust to her dark office. It's nothing like the leaders' offices in Dauntless. It's smaller and cramped with mismatched furniture. There's an overturned bookshelf and a broken lamp. I rifle through the papers on the desk, most of them crumpled and full of scribbles.

I sigh, finding nothing of any importance.

After far too much staring at her desk, I turn to make my way back out. I blink at the empty room, and when I reach the tables I realize we've been down here for much longer than five minutes.

I find Karl standing beside the staircase with a funny look on his face. "What's wrong?" I glance towards the level above us, wondering what Karl's staring at.

"Thought I heard something up there."

"Eric," I tell him, and he nods.

I take off towards the stairs. It has to be Eric, and the sooner we find him the sooner we can get out of here. I near the top of the stairs, ignoring the creeping feeling that's making its way up my spine. I can't see anyone around me, but I can hear the thud of a heavy footstep in the distance.

Karl comes to a halt beside me. "You see him?"

I shake my head, disappointment washing over me. There's nothing here except an empty hallway and a few rotten doors. "Maybe he went through there." I point at one of the doors, but I freeze when I see someone walking towards us. They walk slowly, with lethal intent.

I don't see who it is until he steps out of the shadow, his eyes fixed on me.

"So, I finally get the chance to fight you." Colton's words float over me and my whole body lurches to a stop. I hadn't forgotten what he sounds like, but I had forgotten how nasty his tone is. I turn slowly, until I'm staring at him face to face.

He's watching me carefully, and I can tell that this time he will kill me if he gets the chance.

"Fuck," Karl hisses. I can feel him tense beside me, preparing to fight. He reaches for me, his hand on my arm as he attempts to shove me behind him.

"I was disappointed that I had to bring you back here alive." Colton's eyes flash at me, and up close he looks slightly maddened, as though he's been worn down into nothing more than a mindless drone for Evelyn. "Good thing there's no one here to insist you stay alive this time."

"Where is everyone?" I ask him, noting the way he looks sickeningly thrilled at the sight of me.

Colton grins. "Are you disappointed that they weren't here to welcome you back?" He approaches us in one long stride, effectively backing us towards the opening of the staircase. He eyes Karl and we both realize he's going to attack.

Karl's grip is now painful, and I can tell he's trying to stay calm. I feel him reach for his gun, but he's too slow and Colton is too prepared. With one powerful shove, Karl is tumbling backwards down the stairs, letting out a sharp groan when he reaches the bottom.

"Karl!" I yell his name, but I can't help him. Colton has stepped down onto the first step, positioning himself right below me and blocking me from going after Karl. He looks up at me with a stare full of malice, as though he will take great joy in my imminent death.

I take a step back from him, and I reach one hand into the pocket of Eric's hoodie. I don't need to kill him, not just yet. I want answers from him, and I just need to hurt him enough that he'll stay down.

He grins at me, something feral and dark, as he slowly steps towards me.

Maybe I do need to kill him.

"Where's Evelyn? I ask him. My fingers grip the handle of the knife and I take another deliberate step away from him.

Colton laughs, and it sounds painful in my ear. "Doesn't matter. Who's gonna save you this time, little girl? Your big bad husband know where you are?"

I swallow, trying to stall. I wonder if he knows Eric is here with the other Dauntless. He must not have seen him, or else he wouldn't be questioning me. "He does," I throw out casually, and Colton rolls his eyes.

"He must like them stupid."

He lunges for me, one hand reaching for my throat, but I'm ready. He's surprised when instead of my throat, his hand hits the blade of my knife, neatly slicing his palm open. He lets out a pained yelp, and stumbles back for a second before I pounce on him.

I hit his face easily, pleased when I hear his jaw make a cracking sound, and even more pleased when he staggers backwards. He's off-balance and I lunge again, this time hitting him as hard as I can in the side, hoping he'll fall backwards down the stairs. I can hear Karl stumbling to get up, groaning my name.

Colton doesn't slow down. "Well, that was stupid." He looks right at me, his eyes wild.

I should have stabbed him.

He recovers fairly quickly. He pulls himself to his full height and dives for me. I feel his hands grasp at my arms, and the next thing I know he has knocked me down, pinning me beneath his heavy weight. His fist slams into my ribs and I gasp, trying to curl myself inwards in some sort of defense. The pain bursts through me, and he digs his knees into my thighs.

"Stupid little bitch. You sent him here, you know. You sent that pierced idiot in here, not knowing that it's gonna blow sky high in a few minutes. You shoulda left well enough alone." He pushes harder, and I can't breathe now. I manage to wriggle one arm free, and I try to slide it towards my waist. There's a gun in my waistband, but Colton is making it hard to move. "Evelyn will take great joy in both of your deaths."

"Fuck you," I say tightly, and I try to wriggle free from him. I can still hear Karl, and I know I just need to stall for a moment until he's here.

"She's gone," Colton hisses. "You drove her out of her home. You're no better than him."

I know he's talking about Eric, and I struggle to keep my mouth shut. My fingers graze the metal of the gun and I try to shift slightly. I manage to gain an inch of space, kneeing him hard.

"She's a monster," I finally gasp when I pull the gun free, "Just like you."

I close my eyes as I pull the trigger.

I push Colton off of me.

I never thought that I would hurt anyone this way, that I would be the one to end their life as though I had the authority to do so. But this is different. Colton would have murdered me without a second thought. He's already hurt me enough, and he would only continue to hurt others had I let him go.

I stand up shakily, wiping my hands on my leggings when I hear someone say my name.

"Everly."

I turn to find Eric standing there, his eyes large and angry. "What happened?" He snarls the words as he walks over to me, Karl trailing behind him. Karl looks a little woozy, and he's rubbing the side of his head as he follows him towards me.

Karl's eyes fall to Colton's body and then back to me, grimacing. "Sorry, Everly."

"I thought I told you to stay in Dauntless." Eric's voice sounds livid, and he narrows his eyes at the sight before him. He comes to an abrupt halt a few feet away from me, his whole body tensed up.

"I wanted to come find you. I thought you were in trouble." I look up at him, waiting for him to move, but he doesn't. He stands there, his hands tightening into fists. I realize he's furious, despite the fact that I've managed to stay alive. His eyes are dark and hard, and his mouth is pressed together so tightly that his lips are a thin line. "Eric," I pause, trying to slow my breathing down. I feel wild, scarily unlike myself. "I killed him."

Eric doesn't say anything. His eyes flick over to Colton's lifeless body then back to me. He rubs his hand over his face. "Why didn't you listen to me?" he demands.

I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.

"Do you realize how unwise it was for you to come here? He could have killed you." Eric spits the words at me, and I stare at him, dumbfounded. His chest heaves with his short, sharp breaths, "You got lucky, Everly." He takes a step towards me, and for the first time ever since I've known him, I find myself taking a step back from him. I'm not afraid of Eric, but I am afraid that he's really truly mad at me.

His eyes widen when he realizes I'm not walking towards him, but rather away. He stops short and swallows heavily. My hands are a bit shaky now, and I avert my stare from his shocked grey eyes.

"I'm sorry," I tell him quietly, and I can feel my eyes start to burn. I will myself not to cry, not right now. I'm proud of what I've done. I came after Eric to make sure he was alright, I handled Colton by myself, and now I will get us out of here. Eric can be mad that I didn't listen to him, but he can be mad about that later.

Eric exhales sharply, his face flashing with frustration. He stands immobile, as though he's afraid I'll bolt from him or shrink back if he takes one more step.

"We were supposed to meet Four outside, but we ran into Colton," I tell him. I sound sniffly, probably from the fact that everything is starting to hit me as the adrenaline surge from earlier fades.

Karl is standing to the side of us with a grim expression on his face. I can tell this is more than he was expecting to find here; more action than he'd thought he would experience so soon.

Eric looks at me strangely, and he suddenly glances around the room, his stare falling to the corner of the room. "Four and I figured out it's wired to explode. She would have killed them all without any of them being the wiser." I can tell he's upset; his jaw is tight and he looks ready to snap.

I nod. "I hate her."

Eric stares at me, then nods wordlessly.

I move my stare away from him, and I wipe at my eyes. I'm not crying, but I could be. He takes a slow step forward, his eyes watching me carefully, and I reach for his hand. My eyes blur when he grasps mine tightly, the feel of his palm familiar against mine.

"Let's go," he tells us, pulling me along with him. Karl follows behind, his whole being on alert for any other surprises. Eric pulls me through the factionless compound, through the winding maze of hallways. I can smell the scent of something in the air, something almost mechanical, and it only worsens when we near the doors.

"Run." Eric shoves me forwards as something beeps and I stumble a bit as I make my way out the door. He's a mere second behind me, and I see the spark of the explosion before I hear it. It's bright, yellow and red and orange, and I run faster, blindly reaching back for Eric. We make it to the empty street before I trip, and Eric half-catches me. He doesn't stop until we are a good distance away, and I watch as the building seems to light up from the inside out, its floors letting out a wail as the flames slowly climb up the building.

"Shit," Karl announces, coming to a halt beside us. "You guys weren't joking."

I tighten my hold on Eric, thinking that if we had been just seconds later we might not be standing here.

"I told you." Eric's hands reach for my head, and he places one on each side, roughly jerking me to him. "I told you that you were never going outside again." He says the words violently, and I nod at him before his mouth is on mine. He kisses me furiously, desperately, as though he may never have the chance again. I reach up, throwing my arms around him and pressing myself as close to him as possible. One of his hands moves to the back of my hair, his grip tangling into it so tightly it's painful, but I don't care.

"I know you did. And I promised not to," I mumble the words against his mouth, "I won't, never again."

He stops kissing me for a second. He's breathing heavily, his whole body against mine. "I'm sorry you had to kill him." He's looking in my eyes now and I nod, still feeling like I could cry at any moment.

"I'm sorry," I tell him. I loosen one hand to wipe at my eyes. "I can't stop shaking."

Eric nods and his expression darkens. "I know. It'll pass." He rests his forehead against mine and when he talks, his voice is low and rough. "Don't do that to me again."

I can faintly hear Four and Tris, somewhere in the distance. They're yelling our names, but neither of us move, unwilling to let go of one another.

I rise up on my toes, letting my hands find the side of his face, and I kiss him until my hands stop shaking.