Revolution -Eric Coulter-

Chapter 20

Riley's eyes fluttered open. The sun shining from the open window blinded her. Blinking a few times, she stretched her arms. Slowly, her eyes started to unblur, and she noticed the bed she was in. In an instant, Riley sat up, her heart racing when she noticed this wasn't her room. It was Eric's. The memories from the previous night began to play in her mind, and she glanced beside her. It was empty. Eric was nowhere to be found. There was no way to figure out the time. Eric didn't have a clock. 

Pulling the sheet over her partly exposed body, she searched for her clothes. They weren't anywhere to be found. But on the small table next to the bed were her pants and a shirt that were folded neatly. The shirt was undoubtedly one of his, and that made her smile. Next to them was a red apple, and that only made her smile bigger.

Slipping out from his bed, she quickly dressed herself. If she stayed here too long, people would question where she was. Her eyes found the bandage on her abdomen and winced as she touched it. Al had been one of the three who attacked her. He was her friend. Someone Riley trusted, and he had attempted to kill her.

Trying to push away the thoughts, she opened the door. Riley made sure there was no one around as she slipped out. Luckily the halls on this floor remained empty for most of the day. She tried to hurry back towards the rooms but froze as a familiar face stepped around the corner. It was Al. He had tear stains down his cheeks. But when his eyes found hers, there was a spark of hope. "Riley."

Riley began to back away, her heart racing with fear. "Stay away from me."

"I'm sorry," he continued getting closer. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me," she shouted. "You almost killed me." Al moved closer, "I said get back." The moment he stopped, she took the opportunity to run down a separate hallway. Al had a lot of audacity talking to her after he tried to murder her. And Tris. The one masked assailant said they had killed her. Could that be true? Riley had to find out and sprinted the rest of the way towards the rooms. "Tris?" There were only a few people left in the room. "Tris?"

"Riley," Christina waved her hand. "Where have you been?"

Riley glanced in her direction and noticed Tris sitting in the corner with Will. Relief filled her instantly, and she rushed over to them. "Tris." Riley observed the cut on her face and a bruise. "What happened?"

"Al attacked her," Christina explained. "Wait, what happened to you? Why is your face bruised."

"He attacked you?" It clicked in her mind. Last night they said Four had shown up, and they promised Al a Stiff. They must have attacked Tris first. That's what the fighting was. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," but Tris was far from okay. "I am now."

She sat down across from Tris and next to Will. "Seriously, Riley. What happened to you?"

Riley bit her lip, not wanting to get into the story. If she did, she would have to explain how she got out of it, and that would explain where she had been. "Some guys ran past me last night in masks and shoved me down the stairs as they ran."

"It must have been Al," Will gazed at them. "Right after-" his voice trailed off.

"I can't believe Al would do that," Christina sighed. "That isn't like him."

"Hey," someone from the hallway screamed. "Over here!"

Riley turned to see what was going on and noticed a few people running out of the room. "What's going on?"

The group of four stood up and followed the crowd towards the commotion. The voices grew louder and louder as they made it to the clearing. Riley's eyes caught sight of someone being pulled up from the water. They were clearly dead. "I guess he jumped."