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Chapter 17

You die, I die

Tris' POV

"Tris!" Is all I hear before I feel my body being thrown down to the ground as the weight of Tobias' body lands on me. I land hard on my left side trying to avoid falling on my swollen stomach, hoping to spare our unborn son any harm. My knife, fuck, I dropped my knife. I heard it clatter on the floor somewhere, but I don't know where though. I feel the shock run through every inch of my body as I mentally check myself for any injuries. My mind runs a mile a minute, asking the questions that I have no answers to.

Where are my children? Are they safe? Tobias, is he shot? How did this happen? How did Eric and Marcus find us? Why now when I'm so close to giving birth? I feel Tobias' weight suddenly lift from my body. I can't stand, in fact I feel like I can't move. I hear the chaos around me, but I can't seem to think straight. When? How? Did they find us?

"Tris," I hear someone say, but I don't see anyone although I know the voice is close. I would swear the call for me is far across the room. "Tris," I hear again, this time the voice is closer. That voice, that voice. I know that voice. "Tris!" I look up into Marlene's face. Where did she come from? "Are you hurt?" She asks urgently. "Can you move?" She continues to ask me. "I don't think she's hurt… But I think she's in shock," she says, this time looking up at someone who is towards the far wall.

"I'm…I'm alright," I finally say. I need to snap out of this. I need to get up. Tobias, where is Tobias? My kids, where are my kids? I push myself up into a sitting position, looking around. It's then that I notice Zeke and Tobias both have their guns in their hands ready to fire, as they both appear to be looking around the cabin and out the windows. The noise of grunts and flesh hitting against flesh really hard snaps my attention to the far side of the room.

"Where are they?" Zeke calls out.

"Is Marcus and Eric with you?" Tobias calls out.

As Uriah continues to beat Peter. Peter? Was he the one that shot at us? Marlene slowly helps me stand back on my two feet. I stand stiffly at first, but then stretch the soreness out of my body. I watch in pain, as Peter's body falls to the floor and doesn't get back up. Is he?

Uriah takes a deep breath with his hands still in the air, ready to strike again, just in case. Uriah finally puts his hands down, turning and taking a step closer to Marlene. Marlene doesn't hesitate to embrace him, circling her arms around his neck tightly. "The kids are gone," he says.

"I know where they might be, I remember the hide out that you showed them," she says, pulling back enough to look up at him. "I'll get them and keep them safe," she says, as he nods his head. He leans in claiming her lips quickly before she pulls back.

"Shauna, I need you to go too," Zeke says, with a gentle voice. "Please," he says, kissing her lips desperately.

"Tris." Tobias begins, I shake my head no. I'm not leaving without him. "Tris, you need to think about the baby," he says, closing the gap between us and placing a hand on my growing stomach.

"No! Not without you," I say, through my tears. "Why can't we all just go. We can leave now while we still have the chance," I say, desperate for us all to leave.

"No!" Zeke says, in the coldest voice that I have ever heard. I glance at Zeke and then at Uriah, seeing nothing but determination on their faces. The same expression Tobias has now.

"We'll never be safe. They will always be after us. This ends tonight," Tobias says.

We stand back watching as Marlene carefully holds out her gun as she first peeks out of the back door and then signals for Shauna to follow her. They both carefully sneak out of the back door, closing it behind them. A quick movement from my left catches all of our attention as Peter bends his leg up, pulling out a gun from his sock. It all happens so fast, no one has time to react as he stands up and knocks Uriah in the back of the head with the butt of his gun. I stand once again shocked as I watch Uriah's body collapse on the floor with his eyes closed. Zeke and Tobias don't hesitate for one moment as they both try desperately to get the gun from Peter's hands. I glance down at Uriah's unconscious body hoping that he will be okay.

How did we get here? Tobias was right, this will never end. We will never be safe. My eyes land on the gun in my right hand and then I glance back up at the three struggling men. Enough! I feel the adrenaline running through my veins, as the courage within me awakens. Enough is enough!

I hold my gun up using both of my hands, making sure the safety is off like Tobias showed me, but keeping my finger off the trigger. "PETER!" I yell out. No longer will I be silent, no longer will I coward down to him or Eric ever again. Peter, Zeke and Tobias all stop suddenly, glancing up at me. Peter is shocked, holding his hands out in front of his body.

"Against the wall," I say, gesturing towards the wall with my gun. I need to get some distance between him and Zeke and Tobias. My mind continues to process each action, not wanting to miss anything. No doubt, we need to search him for more weapons. "Against the wall, I said." I say a little more urgent. I need him to know I won't hesitate to shoot him if I need to. He slowly and roughly moves himself towards the wall, almost tripping on his way. Idiot. He finally has his back against the wall, his hands still in the air. "Will one of you mind searching him, we need to make sure he has no other weapons," I instruct Zeke and Tobias. They finally thaw out of their frozen shocked stance. I guess they didn't think I had it in me.

"All clear," Zeke says, as he pats Peter down. He stands back up joining Tobias and I.

"How are you here?" I ask, wanting to know just how they found us.

"By car," Peter answers, ever the sarcastic jerk.

"Do I look like someone that you should fuck around with right now," I say, firmly. I stiffen my hold on the gun, readying myself to shoot him if I have to. I will get my answers.

"You look like someone knocked you up again, somehow," he says, forever the idiot.

"Answer the fucking question," Tobias says, in the most authoritative voice I have ever heard from him. Truth be told, if we weren't in the position that we are in, it would definitely turn me on. Something about Tobias being all authoritative in bed has always turned me on.

"Because we are smarter than you, "he finally concedes. "Because we followed your friend's sloppy trail. It led us right to you," Peter says, gesturing towards Zeke. I can feel the tension coming from Zeke, as he realizes that they followed him here. He led Marcus and Eric right to us. I know Zeke, if something happened to any of us because he led them to us, he will never forgive himself.

"Where are Marcus and Eric now?" I ask.

"Why would I tell you that. It's not like you are going to shoot me," Peter says so confidently. Too confidently, if you ask me. It only fuels my anger, fuck it.

"I think you might be overestimating my character," I say, readjusting my aim and shooting his arm. I hear the gun go off, followed by the scream he lets out when the bullet makes contact with his upper arm.

"Tris!" Tobias says in shock that I in fact actually shot him.

"No, he needs to answer us," I demand. I'm not fucking around anymore.

"We are right here." We suddenly hear from behind us. When I say behind us, I mean right behind us. I turn in time to see both Marcus and Eric standing directly behind Zeke and Tobias. Tobias gasps, as he stands before his father for the first time in years. Zeke on the hand, fists his hands, ready to respond to Eric at any minute. I feel my body begin to shake in fear, as I realize how pregnant and vulnerable I truly am right now. If I need to fight, I'm not sure how well I can do it in my condition being so physically limited.

"This is where you say, OH SHIT Tris," Peter says, suddenly relaxed despite the pain in his arm from the gunshot wound. The fucker even has a smirk that I would love nothing more than to smack off of his ugly face right now.

"Tobias," Marcus spits out. I can hear the anger just dripping off his voice. No doubt, upset that his own son helped put him in jail for a crime he obviously didn't commit. I wonder if he knows that Evelyn is still very much alive and breathing. But be as it may, that's for Tobias to decide whether or not to tell his father. Although I'm sure Tobias doesn't want anything to do with his mother, I'm also sure he doesn't want to bring down the hell she will have if Marcus was to find out that his wife was still in fact very much alive.

"Marcus," Tobias says, his jaw clenches whether it's from fear or anger, I'm not sure, as the same emotions run through me. And just like that…It's as if all hell breaks loose. Eric takes a swing at Zeke, as Marcus takes his own hit against Tobias. I glance between all four men, my eyes unable to land on just one thing, as I take a step back. I jump at the sudden feel of someone grabbing the back of my neck, keeping me in place, as the scene before me continues. Zeke knees Eric in the stomach at the same time that Marcus tries for another punch. Tobias surprises his father by ducking his head and punching his father in the face. Marcus stumbles back a few feet. For a man that is clearly in his late fifties, he can clearly hold his own as he gains his footing back and takes another swing at Tobias. I glance back at Zeke and Eric who continue beating each other to a pulp. Both are equally bloody and both are equally strong enough to take the other.

"Exciting isn't it?" Peter says, his mouth just inches away from my ear. I place my empty hand on my very swollen stomach, as if to protect my baby from anything that might come. I tighten my grip on the gun that is still in my hand, ready to fire if needed.

My eyes almost pop out of my head as I am forced to watch Eric pick up a statue from one of the side tables. A statue that Uriah once told me was something that his grandfather made before he passed away. Eric smashes the statue against Zeke's face, forcing it almost too violently to the right. Zeke falls to the ground on his knees as his eyes roll back in his head right before he collapses to the floor. Oh my god!

"Zeke!" I can't help the scream that escapes my lips as I watch his body just collapse. I instantly regret my scream, as the scream catches Tobias' attention away from his father for just a moment. But a moment is just enough for Marcus to gain control over his son. It all happens so fast, I barely registered how Marcus got Tobias on his knees and in a headlock. I snap my gun up, pointing it between both Eric and Marcus. Eric watches me like I'm his prey, ready to pounce on me at any minute.

"I think we will take this from you for now," Peter says, letting go of me and easily slipping the gun from my fingers. I gasp, feeling the sudden emptiness of the gun in my hand. I bring my now empty hand up to my swollen stomach, protecting our baby with both of my hands. Please god, no. I am forced to watch defenselessly as Eric bends over and grabs Zeke's gun that he had tucked in his back of his pants.

"Well looks like the little slut has gone off and gotten herself pregnant again. I hope it's yours," Marcus spits out at Tobias. Asshole. "Or did one of your friends do the deed for you? UGH," he continues, "What you're not man enough to do the job yourself?" I see Tobias' jaw clench, trying not to show his father any reaction to his disgusting words. Tobias knows better than to believe any of that shit. "You probably can't even get it up," he says, laughing. "You are the same pathetic little shit that you always were. You good for nothing son of mine… You're worthless," Marcus continues, "ungrateful, little shit that you are." I will never understand how any parent can talk that way to their own child.

The click of a gun too close for comfort draws my attention away from Tobias and his father and back to Eric. Shit, how did he get so close to me. He is now just inches away from me, pointing a gun at my head.

"Well… Well…Tris, we meet again. I told you that we would," he says. I can feel his perverted eyes sliding up and down my body, as the sudden need for a shower overwhelms me. Eric always had many disgusting ways to make me feel used and cheap. "Although I gotta say… This pregnancy will have to go," he says, I feel the sudden need to protect myself and my baby. I won't let him hurt him like he did to my baby in the past, like the night that he pushed me down the stairs. No, not this time. "It's pitiful the kind of man you allow to touch you," he says.

"Yeah, you're one to talk." Comes right out of my mouth. Shit.

"Smart ass like always, I see. Your mouth always did get you in more trouble than you could handle. Although I admit, it did know how to give me good head…" Eric says. I shut my eyes, wishing I could somehow block the images and his words out of my mind…As I fight the sudden urge to throw up.

"Alright, let's be done with this… There are more of them out there. No doubt, they could be causing trouble for us," Marcus points out, getting impatient.

"We will deal with them as soon as possible. Don't get your panties in a bunch, old man," Eric says.

"Old man, my ass," Marcus replies. Tightening his grip on Tobias ever so slightly.

"Now where were we…Oh yes, we were just about to have some fun," Eric says, something in his voice sends shivers down my spine. I know whatever it is he has planned is nothing good. I silently pray that somehow we all make it out alive. "Peter!" Eric demands.

"You got it cuz..." Peter shoves my gun back into my hands. I tremble in anticipation of what is to come.

"Shoot him!" Eric demands, although he doesn't say Tobias' name… I have a feeling he means my husband. I hold the gun between my hands up in the air, but not pointing it towards anything in particular, as tears run down my face. I can't do this. I feel the end of the gun Eric is holding against my temple, pressing hard into my skull. "What are you stupid all of a sudden? I said shoot him!" Eric spits out. I shake my head, no. I can't. I can't shoot him, it would be like shooting myself.

"No," I say, barely above a whisper.

"Tris," Tobias chokes out. "Tris, do it. I love you," he says, giving me the permission that he thinks I need. I watch his adam's apple jump up and down, nervously. But I don't need it, for a world without Tobias, isn't a world worth living. The gun continues to shake in my hand. His eyes look thoughtful, while begging me to do it. I'm not sure if it's because I love him, but I am sure what he would do if our positions were reversed ... I am sure that nothing is worth killing him for. But I know, I know what the right thing to do is. I let the gun fall from my hands to the floor. Holding both of my hands up in the air as Tobias calls out my name in despair. I remember my father used to say that "there is power in self sacrifice."

I stand there as I hear the bullet click into the chamber. I close my eyes as I wait, wait for the bullet to hit me. I wonder if it will hurt, if there will be a light that will take me, or will I suddenly wake up in another world. Will my mother and father be there to welcome me with open arms. I continue to stand still and wait. I can't help the thoughts that continue to flood my mind... Can I be forgiven for all that I have done to get here. I don't know, I don't know, please.

"Hey pansycake!" Are the two words from someone I never thought I would be more pleased to hear from Uriah. My eyes snap open, turning towards Uriah who is jumping on Eric's back and reaching over to stab Eric in the front of his chest and right into his heart. Eric screams out in pain, grabbing a hold of the knife, as he tightens the grip he has on the gun, making the gun go off.

The sudden pain spreads from my shoulder and throughout my body as I hit the floor at the same time my ex does. I gasp in pain, trying to keep calm.

"Tris," Uriah says, coming to my side. I try with all my might to stay conscious as I watch Tobias take his father by surprise and flip him over on the floor. I watch as my beloved husband loses control of himself and beats his father again and again.

"To-Tobias," I say, my voice sounding weaker than I have ever heard it before, but somehow he hears me. It is as if bringing him back to earth as his eyes meet mine and he stops dead cold. He no longer has the will to fight or beat his father anymore. He slowly stands straighter, making his way over to me.

"Tris," Tobias says weakly, as he drops to his knees beside me. "Love, stay with me," he says, applying pressure to my wound. "Uriah…" He calls out, looking up.

"I'm already on it," he says. "Yeah, I need an ambulance…" I hear Uriah say.

"Tris! Tris Love, keep your eyes open. Stay awake," he says with pain and concern in his voice. He places his other hand that isn't pushing up against my wound on my swollen stomach. I can feel our son moving, kicking where his father's hand lays protectively on him. He's okay, we're okay, I think to myself. I try to say the words to Tobias, to help sooth his worry, but I can't, I'm too tired, too overwhelmed with the pain. I force my eyes to stay open, to focus them on Tobias' handsome face. He has tears in his eyes. The sight pains me to see it. I feel my eyes get heavier, finding it harder and harder to fight. The last thing I see before giving into the darkness are the flashing lights and the sounds of my two babies crying for me.

A/N

What an intense chapter. Let me know what you think. Will Tris and the baby be alright? What about the showdown between Marcus and Eric? Comment below. Not much longer now.

See you all next week!

Revised by: FDFobsessed

Like always happy reading and please stay safe and healthy,

Trini