Revolution -Eric Coulter-

Chapter 36

Riley sat across from Tris, but they weren't speaking. Both were too caught up in their own thoughts to talk about anything. She couldn't stop thinking about what Tobias said about their mother. Evelyn had put Riley in a situation she should never have been in, and that infuriated her.

Riley was growing tired of being used as a pawn in other people's games. No one ever treated her as an equal, only as an object they could use when needed. She was starting to reach her breaking point. 

There was also a constant pain in her side due to the bullet wound. Resting wasn't an option when her life was on the line, along with her friends. Tobias was making calls for both of them. Riley agreed with his choices but felt hurt that he never consulted with her beforehand. On top of that, Tris had killed Will, and the worst part was, she never told Riley. 

Christina seemed to be the only person who saw her for who she was, Riley Eaton. Not the Divergent or the daughter of Evelyn and Marcus. Just Riley, her friend. "Help," a voice screamed. "Someone help!"

Riley and Tris reacted almost immediately. "Christina!" Hearing her friend's name, Riley began pushing through the growing crowd.

"Please help!" Nobody was sure what was going on, but Riley managed to push through the people and get to the front.

"Up there," a boy screamed. "On the ledge."

Everyone looked up to see three people standing close to the edge. "The traitor Tris Prior must surrender to Eruridte, or more deaths will follow every day," the three of them said. They started repeating the statement like a chant.

Riley glanced at Tris, a look of fear on her face. "Go!" Riley didn't need to be told twice and took off for the ledge. Jumping up, she grabbed onto a metal pipe and pulled herself over the gate. There was a stabbing pain in her side, and she felt her stitches rip open. 

But Riley ignored the pain, and it faded as adrenaline coursed through her system. She climbed the side of the ledge at an alarmingly fast speed. The only clue she had that the three were still alive was from their chant. Tori was feet behind her, but she was slower than Riley. Having followed after her seconds later.

Tris was between the two on the opposite wall, and Riley looked up. She climbed the ladder quickly seeing how close they were to the edge. Using her last bit of strength, she threw herself over the top. Stumbling to her feet, she darted towards the closest person. It was a young boy named Hector. Riley grabbed onto his shirt and yanked him backward. Tris reached out for Christina as she stepped over the ledge but managed to catch her just in time.

Tori wasn't as lucky. Her fingers were inches away from the girl in the middle. But it was inches too short. The girl fell off the side, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Riley hadn't realized she was holding Hector tightly until he began to wake up. "What's going on," he asked slowly.

"Tris," it was Christina. Tori rushed over to her, helping pull the girl up. Riley let go of Hector, feeling a bit hesitant. Part of her feared he would get up and try to walk over the side once more.

"Christina." Riley scrambled away from the boy and crawled towards her friend. "Are you okay?" Christina grabbed onto her, shaking with fear. Riley put a hand on the back of her head, trying to soothe her as best she could. "It's okay. You're safe now."

~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm getting really tired of restitching this," Bonnie stared up at her. "If you rip this again, I'm going to be pissed."

"Yeah," Riley brushed her off.

"Hey, I'm serious." Bonnie pushed up from her crouched position. "This is a serious injury." But Riley was too busy staring at Tris to listen. "Hey." Bonnie snapped her fingers in front of her face. "You leave me no choice. I'm telling Evelyn to give you mandatory bed rest." Riley huffed in annoyance. "Maybe you'll listen to her."

"I won't."

Bonnie slammed her hand on the table. "Then listen to me," Tobias walked up behind her, having heard them talking. "Bed rest, no acceptions."

Luckily Evelyn spoke up, allowing Riley and her brother's potential argument to fizzle out. "We removed this from the body of the suicide." Evelyn held up the small silver bead. It had wires dangling from it.

"Marlene," a girl named Lynn spoke. "She had a name. It was Marlene."

"I'm sorry," Evelyn spoke. "Marlene." Riley stared at the object.

"The device is a very sophisticated sim serum injector," Tori explained to the group. "In the head it has a radio transmitter."

Uriah spoke next, "how do we get them out?"

"I'm not sure," Tori's tone was dull. "This tech was designed to protect itself." She grabbed a pencil. Riley stood up, ignoring Bonnie as she glared at her. With the pencil in one hand, Tori moved the bullet closer. It wrapped itself around the object. "This tendril wraps around the nearest major artery. Try to remove it, and it kills the host."

Everyone began to panic, and Riley couldn't blame them. She hadn't been shot with one because Brian had found her. He knew she was Divergent. There was no need to waste ammo on her. "What do we do?"

"We need to find a way to neutralize the disks before anything else," Tobias spoke up.

"Or," Edgar walked into the middle of the crowd. "We do the logical thing. We hand her over." Tris shifted as people began staring at her. "Nobody knows about this alliance. That advantage needs to be protected." Riley glanced at Tobias, not liking where Edgar was going with his idea. "Handing her over now could buy us some time."

All of Factionless seemed to agree, but Riley knew there was no way she was handing over Tris. Not after knowing how badly they wanted her. Tobias pushed off the table, "I think it's a good idea." He approached Edgard, "but you'll have to go through me."

"Me too," Christina spoke up.

"And me," Riley raised her hand.

"All of us," the other Dauntless spoke up on her behalf. They weren't going to let one of theirs be taken without a fight.

As the crowd grew louder Tris made a move. She tried to slip away quietly, but Edgar noticed her. "Hey!" Riley watched him closely. "I'm not the one with a bomb in my arm!" The entire group was divided about the situation, and Tris walked away without saying a word. Tobias was quick to chase after her, leaving Riley standing in front of an angry group of Factionless.

The girl went to walk away and find her brother, but Bonnie grabbed her arm. "Absolutely not," the woman snapped. "Bed rest, now."

"Bonnie," Riley spoke harshly. "I need to-"

"You need to rest," Bonnie spoke lowly. "I don't know what's about to happen, but you'll need your strength." Riley stared at her, "I may be the only person on your side right now. Rest, now."

"I got her," Evelyn came to Riley's side. "Don't worry. I can take it from here."