I don't know if time moves slower or my mind works faster but I realize I'm not terribly far up the path but a fall even from this height would be extremely dangerous, maybe even fatal depending on how I land. I turn my body back toward the path as I fall and reach my hands out, grasping for anything. They catch the path, and I slam hard into the stone wall. Relief washes over me but then I start sliding backward, and I realize I'm going to fall anyway. I dig my fingers into the stone walkway as hard as I can, desperately trying to stop myself and soon find a fissure near the edge of the path that halts my descent. I try to pull myself up but something must have wrenched in my shoulders when I caught myself with my fingertips because pain shoots through my arms. I don't know how long I can hang here like this.
I can barely hear the panicked screams coming from the floor of the Pit over the hammering of my heart in my ears. All I can think of is Tobias, my Tobias, and not wanting to leave him. Just then hands grasp my wrists and pull me up to the safety of the narrow path. I try to stand but my right ankle won't hold me, and I slide down the stone wall to sit down, adrenaline still coursing through my veins. I look up into my savior's face, and I can't hide my shock. He looks like an older version of Caleb, except with various tattoos scattered over his exposed skin, multiple facial and ear piercings, and dyed neon green highlights in dark brown hair.
"Are you alright, Tris?" he asks softly. I momentarily wonder how this familiar-looking stranger knows my name before remembering all Dauntless members know their leaders' names. My heart is still racing, and I just stare into his pale green eyes. Maybe I'm going into shock. "I think I need to get you to the infirmary."
He gently picks me up, cradling my back and my knees with his muscular arms. I bite my lip to keep from crying out from the pain radiating up and down my body when he moves me. He quickly maneuvers us through the crowd of worried Dauntless members down to the infirmary. He bursts through the closed double doors and everyone seems to turn to stone when they see me in his arms. Suddenly, chaos erupts around me. A nurse is shouting for a wheelchair, another is calling out for a doctor, someone else is asking what happened. I finally find my voice and ask someone, anyone, to please get Four for me.
A striking looking, statuesque nurse with black scrubs, long curly purple hair, and a painful looking stud in her bottom lip brings a wheelchair, and my hero gently places me in it and steps out of the way. The nurse wheels me toward a private room where she helps me get undressed and into a sadistic-looking hospital gown. I argue with her, telling her I would rather stay in my clothes but she just continues undressing me like I never spoke. I sigh heavily trying to get my point across but it doesn't do any good. Finally, I'm in the gown sitting on the bed with a blanket I practically had to beg for across my lap. Apparently, most Dauntless members don't mind partial nudity, but I'm not one of them.
When the nurse turns to leave the room, I ask her to please get the name of the man who brought me in but he's gone when she goes back into the waiting room. I sit staring at the stark white walls waiting on the technician to do x-rays of my hands, shoulders, and right ankle when I hear Tobias in the waiting room. Someone must have told him he can't see me yet because I hear him roar that he is the leader of Dauntless, and he'll go any damn where he pleases.
The nurse who helped me get into this ridiculous gown pops her head into the room with a smirk on her face and asks, "Is that your boyfriend out there making a ruckus?" I nod to her.
"I really would like to see him, please. If you could bring him back here, I would appreciate it. If you don't, I'm sure he'll just cause a lot of trouble for all of you."
"Sure honey. I'll go get him for you." A moment later she arrives at my door with Tobias in toe. "Four, you can wait here," she says motioning to an uncomfortable looking black metal folding chair in the corner of the room. "I'm going to take Tris for her x-rays now. Can you behave if I leave you alone in here?" He slowly clenches both hands into fists and looks at her like he is going to attack at any moment.
"Can we have a moment please?" I ask. She seems totally unaware that I'm saving her life right now.
"Okay. One minute. I'll be outside waiting to take you for your x-rays." When the nurse leaves the room, he rushes to my side. His hands hover over my body, not quite touching me.
"Are you alright? That's quite a bump there," he says motioning to my forehead. I don't even remember hitting my head. "What happened?" I relay the story of the kids on the path and losing my balance, of falling and my rescuer. He simultaneously seems thankful this unknown man was there to save me and upset with himself that he wasn't. The nurse comes back into the room and makes Tobias sit down in the chair then helps me into the wheelchair and wheels me away. I look over my shoulder as I exit the room to tell him I'll be right back but he isn't looking my way, and I see agony visible in his face, making my heart constrict.
The nurse takes me to another sterile-looking room with a large, clunky machine hanging from the ceiling and a metal table below it. She helps me out of the wheelchair and on to the examination table. A guy who looks no older than 12 years old with a bald head and various tattoos covering his skull walks into the room wearing black red-flame-covered scrubs, and I assume he's the technician. He introduces himself then puts a lead apron on me to protect me from the x‑rays. He puts me in several different acrobatic positions and takes numerous views of both my hands and my right ankle. He takes the lead apron off my chest, takes views of both my shoulders, and thanks me for my cooperation then has the nurse wheel me back to my room. She helps me back into bed like I'm some kind of invalid, and I grumble under my breath the whole time.
"You're not a very good patient now are you, Tris?" she says as she leaves the room. Tobias snickers at her comment, and I glower at him. He scoots his chair close to the bed making loud metal scraping sounds that hurt my ears and reaches for my hand but stops himself after glancing at them. I managed to rip several fingernails from their beds when I dug my fingers into the stone pathway.
"This isn't exactly what I had in mind for tonight," he softly says, cupping my cheek with his hand. I can't help myself and reach my hand up and cover his with mine. I try to ignore the spasm that goes through it but he sees the pain in my eyes and gently moves my arm back to my side.
"What did you have in mind for tonight, Four?" I ask. I doubt anyone is eavesdropping but in case, I use his public name.
"Well, I was going to ask you what you really did all day. I was prepared to seduce it out of you," he says smiling.
"Truth by seduction, that's a novel idea." I laugh then wince. Everything seems to hurt right now. "That wouldn't have been necessary though. I was prepared to tell you the truth the minute we got home. I just couldn't say anything in front of everyone." I look around and add in a whisper, "I'm not sure I should say anything here either."
"We'll talk about that later. Have they given you any pain medication, Tris?" he asks, sounding more like Four again. I shake my head, and he immediately gets up from his chair and leaves the room. I sigh. He's going to make a scene again, and I'm already being given too much attention for my liking. Soon he comes back into the room with a different nurse. She is a pleasant-appearing short woman with obviously premature gray hair. She looks totally out of place in Dauntless, except for her black scrubs and a small red heart tattoo on the inside of her right wrist. I believe she's the most normal-looking Dauntless I've ever seen.
"Four here tells me you're needing some pain medication. Can you tell me exactly where it hurts, Tris?" she asks. I take a deep breath and try to register exactly where the pain is.
"My right ankle, both my shoulders, my left hand worse than my right hand, and my left shin, which I don't remember hurting before," I say to her. "I also have a headache." She lifts the blanket that's draped over me to keep passersby from seeing my naked lower extremities to examine my left leg. She tells me the visual inspection is normal. Then she proceeds with the physical examination. First she has me move the hip, leg, knee, and ankle this way and that, always asking if anything hurt. Nothing did. Finally she gently puts her hands on my shin and lightly pushes in, asking if it hurts. I must have explained exactly where the pain was because with the first palpation, I nearly jump out of bed. Discomfort shoots from my shin down into my foot. She gives me a compassionate smile then returns the blanket to its original resting position.
"On a scale of 1-10, how bad is your overall pain, Tris? It's best to give an honest answer right now, don't try to minimize the pain just because we're in Dauntless." I don't want to sound like a coward but the pain is getting worse by the second.
"I would say right now it's a 6 but not that long ago it was a 5," I say. The nurse jots some notes down on the chart then leaves the room. Once she's gone, Tobias moves close to me. He tells me about his boring day watching the surveillance of the list names while absentmindedly running his fingers through my hair. About 10 minutes later the nurse comes back into the room with the wheelchair. I groan. This cannot be a good sign.
"We need to do some additional tests, Tris, before any pain medication can be administered," she says. I knew the wheelchair was a bad sign. I cross my arms over my chest pouting and Tobias chuckles. "The doctor has ordered a brain MRI since you're now complaining of a headache and a left leg x-ray because of the acute pain in your left shin. Also the doctor and radiologist consulted on your shoulder x-rays and need an MRI to rule out the presence of a tear in your left shoulder. Your right ankle has a severe sprain, but it's not broken. You do, however, have three hairline fractures in your left hand." She helps me sit up on the side of the bed then maneuvers the wheelchair so all I have to do is stand up, turn, and sit back down. That wasn't nearly as bad as it was earlier. I like this nurse much better.
She first takes me back to the x-ray room where the technician takes several views of my left leg. Then I'm whisked off to another procedure room where an MRI machine is located. The same technician administers the MRIs. First, he asks if I have any metal located anywhere on my body as body piercing is the norm here in my chosen faction. I tell him no after feeling my ears to confirm I'm not wearing earrings today. He makes me lie down on the narrow table and tells me to keep my eyes shut throughout the tests. The table slides me into the machine, and he tells me to stay very still. Loud banging noises start and stop indicating the machine is running and the various images are being captured. I disobey once and open my eyes and immediately wish I hadn't. The top of the machine is mere inches away from my face. Although I'm not claustrophobic, I don't like it, and I notice my heart rate rise. There's no way Tobias could do an MRI conscious. Once the tests are done, I'm wheeled to the bathroom after letting the nurse know I really needed to go then she takes me back to my room. This time Tobias is not waiting for me and disappointment spreads through me.
I lay in the hospital bed trying to ignore the throbbing pain when Tobias lightly knocks on the doorframe and says, "Are you up for a couple visitors? There are some people in the waiting room who want to see you."
"Is Christina out there?" I ask. He smiles at me and nods. I wonder if she gave Will her news yet. "I'd like to see her." He turns and disappears for a bit before returning with Christina at his side. She looks like she's been crying. Telling Will must not have gone very well.
"Four, can you leave us alone for a few minutes?" I say to him.
"Okay. I'll tell the nurse to let me know when your test results are in so I can be with you when they're delivered. I'll be in the waiting room if you need me." He lightly kisses the top of my head then walks out the door.
"Oh, Tris," Christina says. "I was so scared when I saw you hanging from that ledge. I thought you were going to fall." A few tears escape and slide down her cheeks. She was crying about me, not Will.
"I'm fine, Christina. Well mostly. I have a sprained ankle, which is what caused me to fall in the first place. I also have some hairline fractures in my left hand. They're checking my shoulders, left leg, and head as we speak. I just want to get out of this ridiculous hospital gown and go home. This is not the night I envisioned with Four."
"I know. Pacing in the infirmary's waiting room all night isn't exactly how I thought I would spend tonight either."
"Have you told him?" I ask, not sure I should bring up the delicate subject or not.
"I was getting ready to when he saw you go over the side. I've never seen such panic on his face as I did in that moment. He loves you as much as I do." She leans in and hugs me without thinking, and I whimper in pain. She pulls back with a horrified look on her face. "Oh God, Tris. I am so sorry."
"Don't worry about it. They still haven't given me anything for the pain. I think the infirmary is actually a torture chamber. Get beat up in initiation by a transfer twice your size, and they drug you up for days. Almost fall to your death in the Pit, and they let you lie here and suffer." I recognize I'm getting grumpy and sigh. "I'm sorry, Christina. I'm not in the best mood right now. Maybe you and Will should go and talk. I'm okay, I swear."
"I'm glad you are, Tris. Dauntless wouldn't be as fun without you here." She pats my cheek lovingly and turns to walk out of the room.
"Can you do me a favor?" I ask before she can get to the door. She turns and looks at me. "Can you tell Four to send everyone else home? I'm really not up for any more visitors. Tell him to let everyone know I'm sorry and I'll be fine. Then have him come back in here." I'm starting to whine, which even I can't stand.
"You got it, Tris. Feel better." I lie my head back on the pillow trying to envision that I'm at home in my big, soft, warm bed wrapped up in Tobias' strong, loving arms but the thin, lumpy mattress and flat pillow interrupt my fantasy. I groan. If they don't get me out of here soon, I'm not going to be held responsible for my actions. When I open my eyes, Tobias' face is hovering over me. I smile at him.
"Kiss me, Tobias," I whisper. He slowly lowers his lips to my lips keeping his eyes on mine. The kiss starts out slow but the intensity builds until he pulls away breathless. The emotion of the night comes crashing down on me, and tears I didn't know I was holding back start to flow.
"Hey, don't cry," he says wiping away my tears.
"I just want to go home," I say.
"Well I might be able to help you with that," comes a voice from the doorway. A tall good looking man with Dauntless flame tattoos circling his neck and black hair dressed all in black including a black lab coat walks into the room, stethoscope around his neck, and x-ray films in his hand. He walks over to the light board, which is next to my bed and inserts the first x-ray. "I'm Dr. Parrish, Tris. I've been told one of the nurses explained your right ankle is sprained. It is a severe sprain though. You will not be able to put any weight on it for at least a week, possibly longer. We will provide you with some crutches for ambulation.
"You have three hairline fractures in your left hand." He points them out to us on the x‑ray. "The nurse will be putting it in an air splint before you leave. I thought that would be less cumbersome than a plaster cast." He takes the hand x-ray off the light board and slides in one of the left leg films. "You have bruised the tibia in your left leg." He looks at his paperwork for a moment before continuing.
"You have a very mild concussion. Four, I would recommend you stay with her tonight, waking her up every couple of hours just to be on the safe side. If she has any repeated vomiting, confusion, agitation, slurred speech, excessive drowsiness, or you are unable to wake her, you bring her back here immediately.
"As for your shoulders, there are no visible tears on either the x-rays or MRI. That being said, you did do some serious damage to the tendons in both shoulders. It's my opinion as well as that of the radiologist we treat you for tendonitis.
"I am writing you a prescription for pain medication to be taken every six hours as needed, muscle relaxers to be taken twice a day, and anti‑inflammatories to be taken every six hours a needed. Don't skimp on the pain medication, Tris. Your body will heal faster if it isn't in pain. A side effect you can expect from both the pain medication and muscle relaxers is drowsiness. I recommend you don't fight the sleep. That is probably the best thing for you right now. I also recommend you ice your shoulders, hands, right ankle, and left shin to keep inflammation at bay. I will have the nurse come back in and bandage the fingers missing nails and administer your first dose of pain medication. I'm sorry we had to wait to see what kind of injuries we were dealing with, especially when you complained of a headache. Also, Tris, no work this week. Stay home and rest. No sex until I give my okay." My eyes widen and my face instantly goes red. "Come back Friday morning for a checkup. I might keep you off of work next week too. Any questions for me?"
Tobias and I both tell the doctor no and thank him. I'm told once the splint is put on and my first dose of medication is administered I can get dressed and go home. I have Tobias wait in the waiting room while the nurse helps me get dresses. This time I'm thankful for the help. It's tricky getting in and out of clothing with your hand in a splint. The nurse gives me crutches and written instructions of what the doctor told us. I stand up trying to figure out the best way to use the crutches with a broken hand when Tobias walks back into the room. He probably would have let me walk if I hadn't swayed a couple times when the medication kicked in. Tobias eases me into his arms and carries me back to our apartment but I fall asleep before we get there.