A/N: Here's the update promised to you long ago. I apologize for the lack of updates, there are an infinite amount of excuses I can give you for this, but instead I will just give you the chapter. It's short and a bit of a filler but more action is to come—when I get the chance to write it. I can't make any more promises as to when I will update next, but will try not to keep you guys waiting such a long time.
Love you all!
~B
Chapter Nine
I have trouble deciphering feverous dreams from reality as I float in and out of consciousness. I see visions of myself being thrown into the marsh in the dead of winter, floating in the icy water, lips blue; being trapped in the dauntless dormitory as fire incinerates my surroundings, flames licking at my exposed skin; Eric grinning at me maliciously as he tears away the barrier of clothing that separates us, and forces me onto a mattress. Each nightmare lasts a little longer than the previous one. I try to fight my way out but I feel paralyzed, the darkness has swallowed me.
Then I hear it— A familiar sound that stirs my insides as I search the darkness with my blind eyes. The sound becomes louder and clearer and the darkness begins to fade.
"Tris, I need you to wake up." I see a blurry outline of a face and I squint at the dull ache in my eyes they adjust to the light. I struggle to lift my hand to touch the face in front of me, feeling soft warm skin against my palm.
"Tobias?" I whisper. The figure turns from me and toward my other side, guiding my hand back down to rest on my stomach. The room seemed to be covered in dense white fog.
"She must've hit her head when she fell," Peter's voice responds.
"That would explain the bruising," something cool and wet is placed on my forehead and I feel some of the excess water race down my temples and pool behind my ears. "Her body is in shock, she will need some time to recover. Victims of worse abuse have been in my care— I can only try to nurse her body back to health but ultimately, whether or not she will recover and continue living, is up to her." The fog disappears and my surroundings become clearer. The owner of the familiar voice hoovers in front of me, a petite woman with dark eyes and a hooked nose, Evelyn.
I remove the cool rag from my forehead and attempt to sit up.
"Careful! Evelyn just stitched you up." Peter appears at my side within a second and gently pushes my shoulders back down. A surge of anger rises within me and something inside me snaps.
"Don't you dare touch me! This is all because of you!" I hiss at him and wriggle free of his grip. I grab a first his shirt with a trembling hand. "I was supposed to die back there." Hot tears make their way forward and the lump in my throat returns to haunt me.
"Peter, I think it would be better for you to leave us," Evelyn says, prying my hand from Peter's shirt. She once again places the cool cloth on my forehead
"But—" Peter begins.
"Now." She responds sternly. Peter's jaw tenses slightly, but he backs away from my vision toward the exit.
"Find me when you're ready to put that anger to good use and fight back," Peter calls before I hear a door shut.
Evelyn hesitantly perched at the end of the bed looking wearier than ever. The silence in the room was deafening and I bite my tongue to keep from spewing out the questions that I longed to be answered. I needed to know if Tobias was safe.
"He's not here," Evelyn says softly. She clears her throat and continues. "He went beyond the city wall a week ago to look for more supplies. I'm not sure if or when he'll be back."
"Beyond the wall? Nothing exists beyond it. It's a wasteland," I retaliate but I hardly trust the information I learned in school.
"We have much to discuss, Tris. Everything has changed and the carefully constructed lies we've believed to be the truth are finally revealing themselves."