The hallway outside of the lab is empty, apart from two dazed guards staring dumbfound at the rifles in their hands. They look up as I emerge, instinctively tightening their grip on the guns at the sight of my blood stained clothes. I limp forward, desperate to round the corner before I can get hounded with another round of questions. Step, step, step. Only my head and right arm feels attached to my body, the rest completely numb with the constant throbbing of pain. Nearly there Tris. I trail my unoccupied fingers against the cool wall, using it to loosen some of the weight. I can hear the faint sound of heavy footsteps, probably from one of the zombie guards behind me.
I carry on, feeling the wall begin to curve away to the left and commanding my body to follow. The footsteps get louder so I crane my head back towards the lab, ready to shout at the guards to stay back only to see them stationed in the same position they were five minutes ago; meaning that the source of the footsteps must be ahead, around the corner. I stop suddenly, resting my back flat against the wall and bringing my free hand into a tight fist. Drawing in a deep breath, I hear the footsteps quicken their pace and lunge outwards just as they reach the bend.
My fist connects. Smacking into the soft flesh of… Caleb? I draw my fist back quickly, watching as my brother doubles over in pain.
"Caleb?!" My voice must have sounded quite hysterical because Caleb is drawing me into a tight hug, causing me to cry out at the sharp sudden pain.
"I thought you were dead." Caleb wheezes through choked back sobs, gently pushing me away from his chest to arm length so he can examine me.
I pause unsure of what to say. I nearly did. I nearly died for you. Because of you. The sight of my brother's tear stained cheeks stops me from lashing out, instead causing my voice to catch in my throat.
"I look like I should be." A poor attempt to lighten the tense atmosphere.
Caleb shakes his head in disbelief, finally noticing that I am bleeding heavily.
"Shit Beatrice."
My mouth falls open in mock surprise at the sound of my brother swearing. "Dad would disapprove." Caleb ignores me, instead taking off his jacket and quickly ripping it into strips. He tilts my head back, swiftly tying one strip around the wound on my neck and knotting it in place. I wince in anticipation as Caleb prepares another strip for my side. Sensing my pain, Caleb gently winds the strip around my hips, careful not to touch me until he begins to tie the knot. I have to close my eyes and grit my teeth to keep from crying out.
"Make sure you keep one hand on each wound, pushing down firmly enough to stop the blood flow." Caleb's forehead is creased in concern. "Come on; let's get you to the infirmary." He goes to wrap an arm around my waist but stops, remembering that I have been shot there so moves his arm up to rest just below my shoulders.
We begin to walk down the hallway again, Caleb's arm gripping me protectively as I stumble to match his pace. I can sense his eyes watching me, hungry for answers that I am not yet ready to give. He was Erudite after all.