I hurry down the long, steep, winding path that leads to the Pit, practically having to run to keep up with Tobias. I hold Peanut close to me in the sling, trying not to jostle her too much, especially since she's already not feeling well. Even though each hurried step carries us closer to our destination, it feels like time is moving backward and we'll never reach our friends who were rushed to the infirmary. A little over an hour ago, we got a phone call from Purple-Hair with the news that he and Snake-Tattoo found Will and Tori at the Navy Pier. Unfortunately, the details of exactly what transpired this morning are still a bit sketchy. All we really know is they were both found unconscious, Tori posed on the carrousel for shock value with what appeared to be strangulation marks on her neck and Will sprawled on the ground with a fresh head wound. Until they checked their friends' pulses, they thought the worst. Upon finding them both alive, they first called for medical assistance and transportation back to Dauntless then called Tobias.
Almost immediately upon getting the news that they were found, I called Stella to see if she was available to watch Tyler and Tessa for us so we could get to the infirmary to be there when Will and Tori were brought in but she was already in Erudite on ambassador business. I momentarily contemplated asking Will and Christina's nanny, Fiona, if it was okay to just drop them off with her but I didn't want to subject my kids to someone new today, especially with the way Tyler reacted to Tobias' absence this morning so I decided to call and ask Avery and Callen to cut their lunch short and come back to watch them. She immediately agreed. When Tyler figured out that Tobias was getting ready to leave again, he had another meltdown. Once he calmed down enough to listen we told him that Avery was coming back over to play with him and that placated him. Even though he was not happy at all that his daddy had to leave again, he was over the moon that Avery decided that she would come back over to play. While we were waiting on Avery and Callen, Tobias and I quickly discussed leaving Peanut at home, too, but we didn't think it would be fair to Avery since we still haven't tried to give her a bottle so she got to come with us.
The fact Tori has finally been found and that she and Will have been rushed to the infirmary from the city has started to spread around the compound like wildfire, and several members have tried to stop us on our way to the Pit with questions but Tobias tells them as diplomatically as possible that we don't have any answers and we really need to be on our way. Everyone seems to understand our rushed nature and steps out of our way. When we round the corner from the Pit floor through the double doors into the infirmary's waiting room, I'm quite surprised to see it completely barren. I was expecting a crowd of gawking onlookers and concerned friends waiting for any crumbs of information we saw fit to give. Ignoring infirmary protocol, Tobias opens the door that leads to the examination rooms and goes in search of someone. I hesitate only a moment before I follow after him. It doesn't take us long before we hear familiar voices coming from an open examination room door.
"Tris!" Christina yelps as she jumps up and comes running to me. She throws her arms around me and hugs me tightly before realizing that Peanut is between us. "I'm sorry." She lets go of me, and I really look in her face for the first time. Her pretty brown eyes are rimmed in red, and there are tears streaming down her face.
"She's okay," I say as I put my arm around her waist and lead her back to the chair she just jumped out of. "Have you been given an update on Will's condition?" Tobias pulls a second chair over, and I thank him then sit down next to my best friend and take her hands in mine. I look up and see Purple-Hair, Snake-Tattoo, and a couple other people I've never seen before gathered in the corner. Across the hall, a door swings open, and the typical sounds of a trauma room flood out. I hear beeping, clanging, people talking over one another, and Zander barking orders.
"He's having an MRI and a CT scan right now," she says, her voice unsteady and thick with tears. "I've never been so scared in all my life. First, I didn't know where he was. Then when he was found, he was hurt. I thought I was going to lose him but Dr. Parrish says he should be fine. He just wants to make sure there's no bleeding or swelling on his brain and that there's no skull fracture. Whoever hit him, hit him really hard." Her face twists with a mixture of anguish, heartache, fury, and hatred.
"Do you know what happened?" I ask.
"I think I can answer that," Purple-Hair says, stepping forward and we all look his way. "He regained consciousness on our way here and gave us what details he could remember. He said he got a phone call during breakfast tipping him to Tori's location. Without calling for backup, he jumped the first train to the Navy Pier. When he reached the abandoned Pier, he thought maybe it was a trap because he got a strange feeling like someone was following him." I've had that feeling there, too. Damn Molly. "When he reached the carrousel, he found Tori." Purple-Hair shudders. "He tried to send a mass text with his location and the information about Tori but was struck on the back of the head and knocked unconscious. He doesn't remember anything else until he woke up in the car and even then things were a little hazy."
"What about Tori?" I ask.
"She seems to be holding her own at the moment," he says. "It wasn't a pretty scene. It's something I won't forget."
"Four, maybe you should take Simon into the hallway and get the details," I say. "I'm sure Christina doesn't want to hear this."
"Actually, I do," she says, sounding a little more like herself.
"When Tony and I walked up on that scene, my heart dropped. I've never in my life experienced anything like it, and I hope to God that I never do again. Since the Ferris wheel and the carrousel have been refurbished I've never seen the Navy Pier deserted like it was today. We even tried the Crystal Gardens building, and it was locked with no signs of life. First, we saw Will lying face down on the gravel path, bleeding from what looked to be a severe head wound. There was a bloody rock next to his body." Christina gasps when she hears her beloved was struck with a rock. He is lucky to be alive. "While I felt for a pulse, Tony bagged the rock as evidence. Thankfully, Will's pulse was strong. Something caught my eye and that's when we found Tori. She was … posed … in a way I will not repeat. The perpetrators obviously wanted to humiliate her and shock whomever found her. At first glance, I honestly thought she was dead. She suffered while she was missing. Her body was covered with bruises and abrasions and what appeared to be ligature marks were found on her neck, wrists, and ankles." What the hell did they do to her?
"Did you search the area for any other evidence?" Tobias asks.
"There was a note that I bagged and gave to Zander to run DNA and fingerprints. Obviously, he won't get to it for a while. I waited with Will and Tori while Tony swept the perimeter, checking for any other evidence but he didn't find any."
"What did the note say?" I ask and he pauses. This mess really has him acting out of character. I didn't think anything bothered him or his equally intimidating colleague but Snake-Tattoo looks just as shaken.
"Four down…" he says.
"Four down?" Tobias spits then he mutters a string of profanity so low that I think maybe I imagined it. My heart starts hammering in my chest, and I clutch Christina's hands even tighter but she doesn't even seem to notice. "He was right."
"Who was right?" Christina asks.
"Edward," he says. "He warned us that Molly had a plan and that it started with our friends. That's why I warned all of you to watch your backs the night Tori went missing. That psycho bitch holds us responsible for Peter's death and is trying to make us pay by going after our friends."
"She's not going to make it, is she?" I softly say. "She was given the serum. They killed her."
"We don't know that, Tris," Tobias says.
"But we do," I say. "The note. Four down."
"But Sam wasn't our friend," he says. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not dismissing her death but she meant nothing to us so the number four is off."
"Is it?" I ask. "Simon, where was the note found?"
"It was sticking out of Will's pocket," he says. I think until this point we all assumed it was with Tori but now the number makes perfect sense.
"One: Harrison," I say holding up a finger and then a second. "Two: Frankie." I lift a third finger. "Three: Tori." I lift a final finger and they all tremble as does my voice. "Four: Will. I don't think Sam was accounted for in the note because her death wasn't part of Molly's plan. Molly thinks she killed Tori and Will." Silence falls upon the room like a blanket of freshly fallen snow. No one says anything, knowing that my assumption is probably correct.
Peanut starts whining so I free my hands from Christina's and check on my baby girl. After putting her in a fresh diaper, I sling a light weight blanket over my shoulder and put her to my breast. I'm immediately comforted by her suckling. I need a little normalcy in the midst of all the chaos. I sit on one of the two beds away from everyone as she nurses, watching people come and go from the large room. Purple-Hair, Snake-Tattoo, and their cohorts leave, and some of our friends start trickling in. Uriah takes the chair I vacated and wraps his arm around Christina's shoulders. I hadn't noticed before but they have become really good friends since they partnered up for initiation. I watch as Tobias makes a couple phone calls. He comes my way when he feels my gaze.
"How's Peanut doing?" he asks as I hold her against my shoulder, softly patting her back to get her to burp.
"She's still warm," I say. "I can't believe we walked out of the house and forgot her medicine. I should go to the pharmacy and get her another bottle."
"I'll do it," he says. "I need a few minutes to clear my head. Hopefully, there will be word on Will and Tori soon." I expect him to head toward the door but he lingers.
"What is it?" I whisper, fear welling up inside.
"I don't know," he says. "Something about this entire situation doesn't feel right." He sits down beside me and runs his hand over Peanut's head then leans down and whispers in her ear, "Daddy loves you, Peanut." She turns her head and looks at him then gives a little smirk. "Beautiful." He suddenly puts both hands on either side of my face and places his mouth on mine. When our lips start moving together, everything else in the room fades away leaving only our synchronized mouths and our perfectly timed, racing hearts. Before he pulls away, he kisses my temple, lingering a bit. "I love you."
"I love you, too," I breathlessly say. "Hurry back."
"I will," he says. He gets up and just before he exits the room, he frustratingly runs his hand through his hair. He's obviously very upset. I should go with him but I have to continue nursing our daughter besides he just asked for a couple minutes alone so I will respect his wishes. I put Peanut to my other breast and try to relax into the uncomfortable mattress. I fix my eyes on the door across the hallway, wondering what's happening on the other side. Is Will back from his MRI? Is he really going to be okay? Is Tori still hanging in there? Is it possible I'm wrong and they didn't give her the serum? Is Zander learning anything helpful that can lead to the arrest of their assailants?
Just as Peanut is slowing down, Tobias comes back into the room with the small bottle of medication. He sits down on the bed in front of me, blocking me from view then measures the correct dosage the on-duty nurse said to give her. She starts crying when I pull my nipple from her mouth, and he quickly puts the dropper in her mouth. She smacks her lips together then makes a funny face so I know she swallowed the medication right down. After a little coaxing, she continues to nurse.
"Are you okay?" I quietly ask. When his eyes meet mine, I see something close to desperation in them.
"I'm frightened for our friends. I don't want anyone else to die because of that psycho bitch and her friends but I honestly don't know what to do. I feel lost, Tris. Part of me wants to bypass protocols, interrogations, and truth serum and just send Simon and Tony out to retrieve Molly, Drew, and Lauren so we can execute them all in the middle of the Pit. They've done so much damage in such a short amount of time. Dauntless deserves swift justice." He reaches out and takes my free hand in his, lovingly caressing my palm with his thumb. "That's what Max and the old leaders would have done in a heartbeat, especially if someone was targeting the leaders of this faction. There's a small part of me that thinks their way … the old reckless way would be best."
"But we're not them," I say. "We're trying to make things better." He hangs his head and sighs.
"I know but is anything actually better?" he says.
"You know they are," I say. "Members tell us again and again. We may not be Candor but our faction likes to make its opinions known."
"You're right. I won't allow Molly, Drew, or any other person helping them to change who I am, who we are, or what Dauntless is becoming. Unfortunately, we don't even have enough evidence at the moment to charge her with anything beyond trespassing, which wouldn't even hold her for the night. Plus what do you punish a factionless person with? You can't exactly make someone more factionless." He leans in closer to me and lowers his voice. "I'd like to kill her for what she's done. No one would miss her."
"I thought the exact same thing about Peter many times, and Molly's misguided devotion to that monster is why we're in this mess," I say. I reach out and caress his stubbled jaw and smile sweetly. "You didn't shave this morning. You look good with a little stubble." Electricity flies back and forth between us. I can't imagine how I would be feeling right now if we hadn't made love last night because the slightly irrational, deeply-seated need we feel for each other is alive, powerful, and making itself known right now. He reaches up and covers my hand with his, closes his eyes, and sighs.
"Four, Tris," Zander says as he comes into the room, breaking our spell. Tobias moves my hand to his lips and kisses the palm before turning at the sound of his name. "I have an update for you." He moves his eyes to Christina and says, "For you as well. Would you rather have some privacy?" I look around the room and see that it's practically filled to capacity by our friends.
"No," she says. "I would just have to repeat everything you tell me anyway."
"Very well," he says. He looks at the chart in his hand then looks back at Christina. "Will was moved to a private room and is resting comfortably. He's very lucky that the guards found him when they did and called for immediate medical attention. He's lost a significant amount of blood. The wound on the back of his head took 21 stitches to close. He has some memory loss, double vision, and balance issues. The CT scan confirmed a concussion so I will be keeping him, at a minimum, overnight. I consulted with a specialist from the city hospital on his MRI, and we both concur that there are no signs of bleeding or bruising but there is a small nondisplaced skull fracture and minimal swelling, which must be resolved before he can be discharged. We are treating him with IV fluids, oxygen, and IV medications. The second CT has already shown reduction in the swelling. Do you have any questions for me, Christina?"
"No," she says, shaking her head.
"Marlene will take you to him now." Until Zander mentions Marlene, I don't see her standing beside him.
"Thank you, Dr. Parrish," she says as she quickly gets to her feet. Marlene exits into the hallway and she follows behind her.
"I'm afraid that I can't discuss Tori's condition with all of you," he says. "Four, Tris can you meet me in my office in about five minutes?"
"Of course, we understand," Tobias says. "Can you tell us one thing? Is she still alive?"
"For now," he solemnly says before turning around and exiting the room.
"Why don't you guys go ahead and take off," Tobias says to our friends who still look anxious for answers. "Will needs rest. Until there's more information on Tori, there really isn't anything you can do here."
"Is there anything we can do, Four?" Ciara asks. He gets up off the bed and closes the examination room door.
"There is something that all of you can do," he says, sounding more like Four than I've ever heard him. "Stay out of it. I don't mean to sound harsh but there's a killer out there targeting all of you in this room for one reason and one reason only, you are friends with Tris and me. We almost lost Will today and more than likely we will lose Tori. I refuse to lose anyone else. So no one go anywhere alone. I mean it. If I catch you by yourself, I'll kick your ass, and I don't care who you are. I also would prefer if you stayed inside the compound. Please try to stay safe. We've got to go. Tris?" I get up off the bed and move across the room toward my husband.
"We don't want to see anything happen to any of you because a crazy girl has a vendetta against us. It would kill us," I say. "You all remember Molly and Drew from last year." They nod. "Keep an eye out for them. They're dangerous."
Tobias looks down at me then adds, "And Lauren Jones. She's helping them." Everyone starts talking at once and Uriah whistles loudly, effectively cutting everyone off. "Thanks. That information doesn't leave this room but you need to know who to be leery of. Now we really need to talk with Dr. Parrish." We walk into the hallway and we hear the room explode with activity. "Was I too harsh?"
"You're scared," I say. "They understand." Peanut starts whining so I take her out of the sling and put her against my chest. First she stretches her little legs then her arms and promptly falls back to sleep. "She's tired of the sling."
"Do you want me to take her?" he asks.
"I'm good right now," I say. "I'll let you know when my arms get too tired."
"Okay," he says as he knocks on Zander's doorframe, letting him know we're here.
"Sit down," he says after we walk into his office and close the door behind us. He runs both hands through his hair much like Tobias is prone to do when he's frustrated.
"What can you tell us about Tori's condition?" I ask.
"The preliminary test results confirm that Tori was given the same serum that killed Sam, Harrison, and Frankie. She's alive but her vitals are all over the place at the moment, and her heart rate and blood pressure are both dangerously high. I hate to say it but I'm not optimistic about her prognosis."
"What about her other injuries?" Tobias asks.
"She has defensive wounds on her hands and forearms. I imagine that during her captivity she was tied to a chair because she has ligature marks on her wrists and ankles. She struggled violently with someone causing her four cracked ribs, a bruised kidney, several contusions, and multiple abrasions. I'm certain that whomever she tangled with looks just as bad as she does."
"What about her neck?"
"Injection mark, redness, irritation, swelling just like the other victims," he says. "I've taken several DNA samples from her body and had then messengered to Caleb."
"I know you don't like talking in percentages but does she have any chance at all of pulling through?" I ask. I expect an immediate answer and am surprised when he furrows his brows and hesitates. "Zander?"
"Is there a possibility that she's… Divergent?" he finally asks.
"Divergent? Tori?" I squeal, causing Peanut to jump. Thank God we closed the door behind us. We don't need anyone overhearing this conversation. I pat her back and gently bounce to get her to calm down. I look over at Tobias, and he has a confused look on his face. "Why would you ask that?"
"Based on the previous cases, she shouldn't still be alive," he says. "I compared her test results with Sam, Harrison, and Frankie's and the levels are all identical so I've been searching for any differences and then I thought of you, Tris."
"Me?"
"You are the only person I've ever known to survive death serum," he says. "You did that because you're Divergent. So is there any way she's Divergent?"
"I haven't noticed anything about her but … her brother was Divergent," I say. Tori? Divergent? Maybe that's why she helped me during initiation. Maybe it wasn't just about her brother. Now I know why Zander didn't want to talk about this in front of others. If she's Divergent, we have to do everything in our power to protect her secret.
"From what I've seen in my time in Dauntless, Tori has always been protective of the Divergent," Tobias says. "It's one of the reasons she always volunteers to administer the aptitude test. I guess it wouldn't be a stretch if she's one herself." I shift Peanut in my arms then press my lips to her forehead for a kiss and realize that she feels warmer than she did earlier. "Let me take her, love."
"I think she's getting worse," I say, worry causing my head to throb. Tobias carefully takes her out of my arms and presses his lips to her forehead then frowns.
"I think you're right," he says.
"Is Miss Teagan not feeling well?" Zander asks.
"She had a slight fever this morning but she almost seems warmer now," I say. I tell him about my conversation with the on-duty nurse and the amount of medication we've given her. "She told me to bring her to the infirmary if her fever didn't break." He gets out from behind his desk and puts his stethoscope in his ears and listens to Peanut's chest and lungs. He then takes her temperature and looks in her ears.
"Well, it looks like she's got an ear infection but we caught it early," he says. My poor girl. I guess it's a good thing we brought her with us. I reach over and caress her head. "I'll give her a prescription for an antibiotic. Are Tyler or Tessa exhibiting any symptoms?"
"I don't think so," I say then look at Tobias. "What do you think?"
"Tyler took a long nap this morning then was especially cranky but he didn't complain about not feeling well," he says. Zander hands me the prescription just as his office phone and cellphone both start ringing at the same time.
"Sorry," he says as he answers his desk phone as he takes the cell out of his lab coat. He jumps out of his seat as he hangs up and heads toward the door. "Tori woke up."