DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. All rights to Veronica Roth.

Chapter 37
The Flu?

Third Person Point of View

15-year-old Phoenix walked against the wall of her high school. This was an unusual look for the red hair, dark eyed girl as she is one of the jumpy Dauntless that wants to sit on the lockers and create a ruckus alongside her brother's group of friends with her own. But today she walked behind her friends, her brother hardly noticing her disappearance because he knew how off she could get at times. He made a loud whoop somewhere in the hallway and something came crashing down along with it but she thought nothing of it, her head was spinning after her last class, algebra.

Why do they need all of those subjects if they're going to be done with school in less then a year anyways? It was useless to Phoenix, all of it. She knew that she was going to be Dauntless. Both her and her brother Damien were going to fight to be the top Dauntless of their year.

"DAMIEN YOU IDIOT!" 13 year old Piper cried out in both agony and pure hatred. When Phoenix managed to make the seen out through her hazy mind she saw Piper clutching her hand as Damien apologized immensely.

"Aww Pipes please don't tell Chris! She'd kill me, tell my mom and then have her kill me as well."

"Sure Damien, but what do I tell them! That you broke my fucking hand!" Intense language for a girl her age, thought Phoenix.

"Just say you slammed it in the locker." He said coolly.

"But YOU slammed it in the locker." Piper snapped back. "Whatever just help me get to the nurse, it's starting to bleed." Damien obliged, taking Piper by her shoulders and calling out the Candor that made unwelcoming comments.

Phoenix knew that Piper would make up some lie to convince her mom that it wasn't Damien, especially since they were best friends. The three teens have been buddies for as long as they could remember and they were all shoe ins for Dauntless by the time their year came.

"Phoenix!" A girl with jet-black hair called, running up to a swaying Phoenix. "The office wants to talk to you, apparently your mom's been calling.

"Can you tell them that I'm fine?" Phoenix managed to croak out as she placed her back to the wall and shut her eyes.

"You don't look to good."

"I didn't ask you Jackie!" Phoenix snapped back, her body beginning to shake.

"You need to head home, you look like you're getting a fever." Jackie commented, forgetting about what Phoenix screamed at her.

"I'm fine," Phoenix whispered almost to herself. Her hand fell to the left side of her hip, damn cramps have been bothering her all day. Not happy with a fast coming fever, she was also getting her monthly visit soon.

"I'm going to get Damien. Stay here." Jackie demands, running through the crowd and giving the finger to angry Candor kids.

Phoenix suddenly felt all the noise around her disappear, all of the people staring and pointing her direction hardly made it past her fogged vision. It wasn't until 4 legs stopped in front of her did she focus on the two faces looming over her. The girl was holding a blood soaked towel over her broken left hand while the boy furrowed his eyebrows and knelt to her side. How'd she even get to the floor? Did she just slip down the wall suddenly?

"Phoe." Piper whispered, her good hand falling on the forehead of her best friend. "Damien she's burning up, we need to get her home!"

"How? We have to jump on a train and everything, I can't carry her on and off."

"Damien she's sick! Get your priorities straight. I'd better see you and her outside by the time I have our backpacks." With that Piper stood up and ran to the other end of the hallway.

"Phoe, what's wrong?" Damien finally asks.

"I'm sick you idiot." She says through the pain in her throat.

"Well I got that part, but is this like every other time or-?"

"I don't know." She says before he can finish the sentence.

"We should get you home I guess. Mom and dad will understand." Damien said, trying to believe it himself. "Come on." He helped his sister back to her feet and looped her arm over his shoulders. She clenched her teeth at the cramps on her sides but kept walking ignoring the stares.

"Party to hard Dauntless?" An Erudite smart-ass asked with a snicker.

"Shut it," Damien said loud enough for the guy to hear. He knew Phoenix was irritable and whoozy, she did not need anymore screaming.

By the time they were outside Phoenix was shivering like crazy even though her skin was boiling hot.

"PIPER!" Damien called, getting the attention of their friend. Piper began to run towards them, stopping as soon as Phoenix doubled over and vomited just inches for her and Damien feet. Piper stepped around the mess and pulled back Phoenix's short curls, snapping a black hair tie around it. "She needs to see your mom." Damien says urgently as they walked forward.

"Okay, I'll climb on, open the doors, and help pull her into the cart. Sounds good?"

"Just fine, now hurry." Damien began to move faster, Phoenix's feet hardly being able to move at his pace.

Piper climbed onto the train and grabbed the arm of Phoenix as Damien nearly threw her in.

Once all three of them were on Phoenix began to cry lightly. She never cried. Not when she broke her arm or cut her leg with such severity that she needed nearly 22 stitches. But loth and behold, she was crying now because of a stupid fever.

"Hey, it's okay. We're going to get you to my mom." Piper whispered, tucking a loose curl behind her friend's ear and wiping the tears away with her thumbs.

"Uh Pipes, it's your dad." Damien said with pure fear as he handed the buzzing phone off to Piper.

"Hello?" Piper said without a hint of worry.

"Piper Willow Blagrove why the hell did you leave school?!" Will cried into the phone. "You know better then to do that! What if you got hurt or lost or something! What will your mother say when she hears about this! You know she is already busy as it is with work and what not. How dare you be so disobedient-"

"Dad! Phoenix got sick; Damien and I are taking her home. Can you go and find Four and Tris? We are taking her to mom right away." Piper was never one to interrupt, especially her own dad who she respected more then anyone else.

"What's wrong with her?" Will's voice suddenly asks, unsure if this is her normal cold or something worse.

"She's burning up but shivering like crazy, and she threw up once already. I think it's a fever but I can't be sure."

"Okay, I'll send Tris and Four to the infirmary and meet you kids at the entrance of the compound." There was no goodbye, Will hung up immediately and left Piper dropping the phone down to her side.

Phoenix was about to ask something but her mouth was flooded with vomit before words were possible. She leaned over the train edge and threw up, Piper once again rubbing her back and trying to calm her down.

"I'm sorry." Phoenix said after sitting up and wiping her tear streaked cheeks with the back of her hand.

"It's okay, my dad is going to help us get you to the infirmary, just take deep breaths." Piper coaxed, looking to Damien who was to worried to say anything.

They road on the train for another 5 minutes before standing up and jumping in front of the entrance to the compound. Will came running out just as Phoenix threw up, yet again.

"Oh goodness. Come on sweetie lets get you to your parents." Will said to Phoenix as he picked her up and held her like a baby. Feeling to weak and sick to fight against being helped, Phoenix held onto Will and drowsily attempted to stay awake.

"Did she look like this, this morning?" Will asked Damien as they ran down the stairs.

"No, she was telling our mom how she was feeling sort of sick but that's it." Damien breathed heavily, his body probably reacting to the lack of fluids he's been deprived of. Usually Damien needed to drink a lot but since he was so worried with Phoenix he forgot.

"Alright, Piper, get the door." Will prompted, his daughter running ahead and swinging the door open. They went through a few more hallways and finally made it to the infirmary.

"Phoenix!" Both Tris and Tobias ran to their daughter and instantly noticed her pale ghostly look. Tobias took his daughter in his arms and felt her boiling skin.

"Chris she's here!" Tris called loudly, grabbing her friend's attention from another room. Chris came running out with 3 male doctors pushing a bed behind her.

"Place her here." Chris demanded, moving aside for Tobias who reluctantly placed his daughter down. "Okay let's get her examined, Tris or Four, one of you may join her."

"You go," Tobias says to Tris, walking to Damien's side before she can say otherwise.

"Okay let's go." Chris says, leading the bed to an empty room.

"Let's get some fluids running, get her hooked up to and IV and heart monitor. Tris tell me how she was this morning before sending her to school." Chris placed a thermometer into Phoenix's ear.

"She was complaining about being sick and said something about her period coming. That's about it. There was nothing really different." Tris said, her eyes leaving Chris to look at her daughter.

"106, we need to break this fever. Can we get some cold water and a wash cloth over here?" A doctor handed the cool water a cloth over. Chris drenched the cloth and reined it out, wiping Phoenix's face and then soaking it again.

"I hurts." Phoenix finally cried lightly, Tris looking up from her place at her feet, untying her daughter's boots.

"What hurts honey?" Chris asks, glad to finally get some answers.

"My side! Ow, Chris make it stop!" She pleaded, trying to curl up but only to be straightened by the doctors.

"Which side? This one?" Chris placed her hand on the left side of Phoenix's hip.

"Yes- OW!" Phoenix groaned and began to cry again.

"Okay lets get an immediate ultrasound of her right side, lets focus on her spleen and appendix."

A doctor ushered over the machine Tris recognized from when she was pregnant.

"Tris do you mind helping me to get a gown on her? Gentlemen I ask that you step out for a minute." The men gladly left, sliding the curtain behind them. Tris helped remove her daughter's jacket and top leaving her bra on. A light blue gown was slid on and buttoned in the back.

"Okay let's see what we've got." Chris lifted the side of the gown and squirted the blue liquid near Phoenix's rib cage. "Tris, let the doctors back in," Chris instructed, pressing the monitor on Phoenix's side and looking at the screen. "Uh-oh." She whispered under her breath, moving the monitor higher and not encountering the part she was hoping to find.

"What's the damage?" A young doctor asked behind Chris making her jump a little.

"We may have a bursted appendix on our hands, go set up immediate surgery, I'll perform it but I need assistance. Set up emergency 4 and make sure all of the utensils are sanitized and set properly. We need to move quickly before an infection spreads." The young man ran and began to set everything up, pressing an emergency button and helping to set up the requested room.

"Tris, Phoenix has a bursted appendix. She needs immediate surgery." Chris says urgently, shutting the monitor off and starting to get different tubs through Phoenix's arm.

"Chris please help me!" Phoenix finally sobbed, her breathing becoming heavy from the lack of oxygen she has.

"I will honey but you need to calm down. Deep breathes. I understand that it hurts but it will only hurt more if you continue sobbing." Phoenix did as instructed and went back to light crying, her breathing soon evened out. Tris removed the pants of her daughter and folded it along with the sweater and shirt.

"Okay sweetie, you'll be just fine. Chris is with you in there and she will make sure nothing bad happens. Mommy will be there when you wake up." Tris tried to calm her daughter, kissing her hot forehead profusely before allowing them to roll her into surgery.

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-Valentina