Caleb arrived ten minutes later, and his pale and scared face suggested that the situation was bad.
Too bad.
- It's all right. - I say trying to think despite the despair - I have a plan.
- And what's the plan, Tris? - Caleb asks anxiously.
I return my eyes to Jeanine.
- Your laboratory. It's the safest place in this building. You go there and will stay there until all this has finished, you understood?
- What? - Jeanine has an almost offended expression - Are you saying I must hide me like a coward and let you take responsibility for my actions? No,Beatrice. No way. There's no way that I'll do it.
I breathe deep, trying to contain my frustration. Why she simply didn't agree and facilitated things?
- Jeanine, listen to me. - I say, like I was trying to explain to a child something hard to understand - Listen to me carefully: their target is you, right? Only you. All we need is to keep them away from you. While they can't find you, everything will be fine.
- Everything will be fine? - she repeats incredulous - Do you think everything will be fine if you die?
- I will not fight them. I'll just try to argue.
- Beatrice ...
- I will not talk to them all. I'll search for some people especially. Tobias. Or Christina. Or both. If they hear me, maybe that can influence something, and then we can have a chance.
- And what will you tell them? "Don't kill her because I love her?" or "She isn't so bad?" Frankly, Beatrice. It has no chance of working. Those people want me dead, and they will do anything for it. If you try to defend myself, they will pass over you.
I close my eyes and sigh. I hate what she's doing. She's simply pouring cold water on all my hopes.
- I need to try. - I reply in a weak and tired whisper - We need to try. And at this point, we don't have many options available. Understand one thing, Jeanine. My intention isn't exactly die for you, but to make we two stay alive. We two. And you will have no chance to survive if you stay here or anywhere nearby.
- What if they kill you? - her voice is a faint whisper. She's trying to keep herself under control, but her lips are trembling.
- They have no reason to kill me. For all purposes, I'm here against my will. I'll be fine, but you will not be if you don't make what I'm saying.
She shakes her head, still refusing to accept.
- Please Jeanine. - I beg her - Please. If you love me, just do it. Go to your laboratory and stay safe. For me.
Jeanine doesn't answer me, but by her expression I understand she surrendered. She'll do what I asked. She'll be safe.
Then she runs towards me and kisses me. A desperate kiss, almost painful.
And I can feel the pain very clearly. My pain and hers, that are now united forming just one. Her lips move on mine with strength and greediness as if this were our last kiss.
I'm fully aware that Caleb is right there behind us, watching everything, but I can't care.
Neither of us says anything, and I understand why. Any word now will take our courage. Both my as hers.
- Stay safe. - she asks, but it sounds more like an order - Promise me you'll be safe no matter what happens.
- I promise.
Then, we move away, and every step I take away from her is a piece of my heart being torn out. I look at my brother and I realize that he has tears in his eyes.
- Keep an eye on her. - I say to Caleb - Make sure that she will even to the laboratory. Watch the door, if necessary.
He looks frightened as hell, but only nods.
I run toward the door with one only goal on my mind: find Tobias and Christina. Find any way to have a chance to save Jeanine.
...
When I arrive the Erudite headquarters, the destruction is absolute.
Chaos is the word that best describes what my eyes see.
There's fire spreading and people running from side to side. The windows are broken, and there is a crowd of Dauntless and Factionless armed.
I walk through the destruction, avoiding the fire and the shards of glass. No one seems to look at me, because they are busy trying to save themselves.
I look for someone familiar between the Dauntless, but I don't recognize any of my friends.
I decide running to the opposite end and to follow my search, but I feel a hand grabbing my arm.
I turn immediately, hating myself for being disarmed.
- Tris? - a Dauntless man stares at me and frowns - You're Tris, the girl who gave herself to Jeanine?
Quickly I pull my arm, freeing me from his grip.
- No. You're wrong. I'm not Tris.
Before he can answer, I'm already running.
I hide behind a table while another window shatters. I hear shots and see computers covered in smoke falling to the ground.
My eyes continue scouring the besieged environment, and suddenly, they stop at a familiar face.
In the first rung of the ladder, I see a dark-haired woman holding a gun. She seems completely oblivious to anything around her. Her expression is focused, determined to reach a goal.
The woman is Tori, and the ladder on which she is gives access to Jeanine's laboratory.
"I thought it would be more … expedient if Jeanine Matthews didn't survive much longer." Tori's voice echoes in my mind through a memory.
Slowly, she begins to rise.
…
The feeling of a hurricane is unleashed in my stomach like a cataclysm.
I have to push many people to get pass. Erudites rushing, Dauntless and Factionless attacking anything in front of them. I push all of them in a few seconds while run to the ladder.
A vague sense of hope spreads through my body. Because it must be a bad joke. That's what it should be, because there is another way that Jeanine going to be attacked in the same place I begged for her to stay.
Gasping, I arrive to the top floor. I don't see Tori anywhere, but I hear.
- My brother's name. - Tori says, her voice gloomy and threatening - I want to hear you say it.
I run to the laboratory door.
No. That should not be. Caleb should be looking after her.
But I also knew Jeanine, and I should have known that she would not allow. Damn.
I enter and see with horror that my fantasies were just that: fantasies. And acting on pure instinct, I run forward, getting between Tori and her goal.
There, everything comes to a halt.
The silence is deep, sinister, menacing. Jeanine is against the wall, her eyes frightened despite the cold mask. I'm ahead of her, with my arms protectively outstretched, blocking the way of all and everything that can reach her.
In the laboratory door, Tori is standing, pointing the gun towards us. Her face is fierce like a wild animal. Tears roll from her eyes and her hands are shaking.
My breath is panting and I can feel the adrenaline running through my veins. But isn't an adrenaline the good kind, that I used to feel when i ran behind a moving train, or when I went down in the zipline.
That is an adrenaline that someone feels while fighting for life.
Separate her from Jeanine. I think with determination Don't let her touch Jeanine.
Outside, I know that chaos is complete and absolute, but I can't care. Because all my efforts are centered on keeping her alive.
My eyes focus in the gun pointed in my direction. Instinctively, I take a step back, getting nearer to Jeanine.
- Tris, please get out of here. - Jeanine's voice sounds behind me - You promised me you would keep yourself safe. Let her do what she wants to do. Get out of here now.
I ignore her completely.
- Tori. - I breathe deeply and take another step back - Tori please don't do that.
Tori looks at me, my arms outstretched, the panic in my face, Jeanine against the wall.
- Tris. - she shakes her head ruefully - I didn't think you was a traitor.
- You don't understand. - I say, still calm - I know it's hard to understand, but you need to listen to me.
Tori doesn't hesitates even for a second. Instead, she pulls the trigger of the gun, pointing to a space where my arms don't reach, a space where Jeanine is unprotected. I take a step aside, covering the hole.
My eyes get stuck to her, fierce and desperate, and I think she reads the message they convey.
She looks from me to Jeanine, confused at first, but then the understanding reaches her.
- Oh! - Tori's eyes widen - So that's it. You ... You two have a case.
- Put the gun down, Tori. Please.
- I'm sickened. You, of all people ... But I don't care if you're sick enough to have romantic feelings for a psycho. None of this makes any difference. Now get out of the way. I don't want to hurt you.
- It's not just my feelings, Tori. - my voice is weak and shaky - It's a lot more than that. Listen to me. She knows something very important. Something that explains everything, that will change everything. You still don't understand, and I also didn't understand before. But now I know, and I just need you to let me explain ...
The gun fires, and I hear a yell.
In the same second, my eyes look for Jeanine. She's fallen against the wall with her hands on the injured leg. She was shot.
In a surge of adrenaline, I throw myself against Tori with all my strength. I grab her arms and try to wrest the gun from her hand. Similarly, she resists, pushing my arms, moving away the gun from my reach. After a while, my arms are weak and sore. I will not be able to. It will be a matter of seconds before she beat me.
I look at the gun and suddenly I have an idea.
I grab her fist harder, and Tori cries out in pain. Then I push her hand - the hand that is holding the gun - against her own head. The heavy lead gun crashes into her forehead, making a horrible crack. The blood flows, red and abundant, and Tori falls unconscious into the ground along with the gun.
Jeanine continues fallen against the wall, also trembling and breathing heavily. Her eyes are wide and she's pale.
Seeing her, I feel all my strength returning. A wave of insane energy flows through my body and I reach her in three steps.
- It's okay. - I whisper, hugging her - Nobody will hurt you. Ended.
- It's not over yet, but I think it is a good start.
I look at her leg and shudder. The wound is deep and sheds a lot of blood. She tries to hide it, but I have also got shot before and I know, by the way she's pale, that pain is so strong that she can hardly breathe.
All I want is take Jeanine and run away from all this chaos, but I know that's not possible. We are in the midst of a war, and no one escapes running from a war.
- We need to take care of it. - I say looking at the open wound in her leg - We need to find a way out of here. I can find my brother and...
Before completing my sentence, I feel someone approaching.
My body automatically prepares for the fight, but it's paralyzed when I see the person at the door.
Tobias.
- Tris?
I feel a piece of the world fall apart.
Tobias is incredulous, and I remember all the times he was on my side. He was my best friend, and now I would disappoint him forever.
- Tobias ... You need to get out of here now.
He looks at Tori fallen on the ground, then at me hugging Jeanine, protecting her. Jeanine returns the look in the coldest way she can through the pain.
- Tris ... What do you ...?
- Tori is fine. Take her out of here, but go away. You need to leave now.
- Tell me that's not true ... Tell me I'm understanding it all wrong. Did you do that to save Jeanine?
- Tobias ... please.
Tobias's expression is a mixture of anger and disappointment. A deep and painful disappointment.
- You has nothing to do with it. - Jeanine says, grimacing in pain and holding her injured leg - Leave her alone.
Tobias didn't even looks at her. He seems not to notice Jeanine there. His eyes are only for me.
- I'm preventing them to kill her. I know very well that she hasn't done good things, and that all that's going is her fault. But I love her anyway.
- What?
- I will not explain it now, but all I want is prevent her from being killed. I will not let them kill her.
- But she will die, whether you want it or not.
And Tori regains consciousness. She takes the gun that had fallen beside her and shoots.
The horrible isn't the noise of the shot. It's the silence that follows.
And more horrible still is the bloodcurdling scream that escapes from my throat.
Jeanine releases a horrible sound - a gurgling, screaming, dying sound - and her eyes turn into glass.