BULLETS ⚊ divergent

TWENTY FIVE

To Lilith's luck, the next bush had planted in the shape of the letter L, which allowed her to get extremely close to the guards without having to reveal her presence. Eric had disappeared from her field of vision during the few seconds she'd been watching the duo of Dauntless soldiers, which made her nervous, but she didn't let that stop her as she rushed to the protection of the shrubbery, remaining in a crouched position the whole time. She'd almost made it to a vantage point when a twig snapped under her boots, her eyes widening as she threw herself flat against the sidewalk. Eric's target stopped whistling, and footsteps started echoing towards her location, making her curse to herself. There was no way out without revealing her presence and ruining the whole plan.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped, and the sounds of someone struggling to breathe disrupted the silent atmosphere around the compound. Before she could even think about it, Lilith returned to a crouch and looked over the bush, her eyes widening as she saw Eric behind the man, his arm around his neck in a chokehold. The remaining guard was aiming at him already, and the girl wasted no time in harshly pulling him into her hiding spot, the side of hand delivering two quick blows to his neck, right over the place where his artery was situated. The man was instantly unconscious, and Lilith quickly removed his weapons before exiting the safety of the bushes.

"Now what?" she questioned, dusting off her hands.

"Now it's balanced," Eric replied, as he stored the spare ammunition he'd gotten from the soldier in his belt, "Granger is one of the guards inside, and I made sure he wasn't injected either," his voice died out, and Lilith glanced at him to see him with furrowed eyebrows. It didn't take her long to understand why. As much as Siobhan's death had wrecked her, it would be a million times worse for Granger. She wouldn't want to be in Eric's shoes, having to tell his best friend that he'd killed his girfriend of years. The leader exhaled, putting on the stoic mask she was so used to seeing, "We should go find him."

Nodding her head once, Lilith walked past him, her fingers pressing against the glass door that led to the inside of the building as she pushed it open. None of the four guards that Eric had previously mentioned were in the entrance, and the feeling that something was wrong took over as she stepped inside, eyebrows furrowed as she aimed her pistol at the space in front of her. The door closed softly behind the pair, and Lilith felt Eric's presence behind her as they headed to the door that would bring them to the room above the Pit, where the elevator and the paths down to their underground compound were located. It wasn't until she'd almost reached it that a pained groan echoed from the next area, followed by a harsh shush, and Lilith froze in place, glancing at the leader over her shoulder.

Eric seemed puzzled by the situation, an eyebrow raised in question as he moved past her, gesturing at her to stick close to him. The girl exhaled through her nose, placing her index finger just over the trigger of her pistol as she followed after the leader. A whisper came from the room in front of them but, as much as she had tried, Lilith wasn't able to understand what was being said. Eric pressed himself on the side of the door, nodding towards it as he looked at her, and Lilith understood what she was supposed to do. Her heart thumped against her ribs, quickened by the anxiety she felt, but she didn't let it overwhelm her as she stepped into the open doorway, instantly aiming her pistol at the four people grouped by the elevator. The different colored clothing of two of them made her inspect them with more attention.

After a few seconds, she lowered her weapon, "Granger?"

The blond's head whipped in her direction, his pistol aimed at where she was standing, before he realized who had spoken. His light eyebrows shot up to his forehead, "Lilith?" he didn't sound surprised as he advanced in her direction, immediately pulling her into a hug.