The Erudite [Divergent]

Chapter 26

"She didn't escape; They let her go. They broke her mentally and then sent her back so she could go on a killing spree and get herself put away. She could be admitted to the mental hospital in this state." Sam figures out.

"And now no one will believe her when she says that Jeanine was behind all this." Robbie concludes.

"Gosh, I will freaking kill them." Nevaeh mutters angrily.

I sit on the ground, dazed, and somehow feeling numb. Numb from everything. Even Nevaeh's voice sounds far away.

The sound of a gun firing gets us going again. But there's no gun in sight. The dauntless have dropped their weapons and are now looking as confused as I feel.

The simulation seems to have stopped. Tris and Four must've did it.

Then I realize where the sound came from.

I've been shot in the stomach, to add to the bullet in my shoulder. To add to all the other pain and torture I've endured these past few days. I start to panic. Suddenly, I don't feel numb anymore and I freak out because there's a possibility I could die.

"Guys.." I croak, falling to the ground.

"Cassie!" Edward catches me just in time.

~~~~~~~
7 hours later

"There you are!" Tris walks into my hospital room and smiles warmly at me. Four stands beside her and he's got a bouquet of daisies. Along with them are Nevaeh and Uriah.

I smile back, despite how much pain I'm in "You guys did it."

"We couldn't have saved so many people without you,Cassie." Four confesses, handing me the flowers. I try to lean up and get them, but it hurts too much, so Edward gets them. Edward's been with me since I got here.

"I'm just glad I got to help." I admit.

Getting shot again might've actually been a good thing. It got me out of whatever trance I was in. I'm back to me, mostly. My body is pretty broken but my mental state is better. The doctors really are amazing. I'm not wanting to kill people, and I'm not done with life anymore, so that's good. I want to help people.

"You did more than just help, Cassie." Uriah answers. "If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have saved so many lives. But you told me and your friends, no matter how dangerous it was. So we were able to help. You weren't the only one fighting, but you were the one who started this. You lead us." He takes a deep breath and I think he's pushing back tears. Yes, Uriah. The brave Uriah. I have made him cry. "When we thought you were dead that pushed us even harder to get the job done. We fought not just to save people, but because we know that's what you wanted."

By the time he's done talking, I've got tears in my eyes and so does everyone else in the room.

"You're the erudite who turned against her faction and fought to save another. You're the nicest and most caring person I've ever met, but you came from the cruelest faction. You were bullied and abused, yet you don't let that define you. How you still have faith in humanity surprises me. You're the erudite who stepped up when you needed to and saved a lot of people. You did that. You're the erudite that did that." Edward announces, looking me in the eyes. I start crying. That was so beautiful, I just-

"I mean, you're beating this and you're smiling again. And even though one of your best friends died, you still-"

"Wait what?" I feel my face go pale and my pulse quickens. Which one of my best friends died?

Immediately after Edward says it, Nevaeh and Uriah smack/punch his arm.

I look around the room, trying to figure out who's missing. Let's see, there's only Four,Tris, Nevaeh, Uriah, and Edward here. There's no telling who's dead. Everyone else was putting the town back together, or so I thought. That's why Uriah, Nevaeh, Tris, and Four are just now getting here.

"Edward," I speak calmly, trying not to freak out. "Who died today?"

He tenses up, getting nervous. "Ask Uriah." He blurts before rushing out of my hospital room. Wimp.

"It's okay, guys. You can tell me." I lie. I know I'll flip out over whoever died. All of my friends mean the world to me. Honestly, I don't know if I could handle hearing who died died. But I need to know. I've got to know who didn't make it out of all this.

They all look at each other like 'I ain't telling her' until they start playing paper rock scissors.

"Seriously?" I snap. "Just tell me."

Vaeh gets pushed forward,but instead of arguing, she sighs and looks down.

"Cassie, " she stammers, probably trying not to cry again. She stops and chokes, finally looking up at me. She starts her sentence again. "Cassie, Will got shot. We don't know by who,but he was under the simulation and I guess one of the people trying to stop the simulation shot him."

I can't stop the tears from running down my face like a water faucet. My best friend Will. My Will. The one who was always there for me will never be there for me again. And I wasn't there to save him. I could save everyone else, but I couldn't get to someone who loved me the most.

"How did he-" I try to get out.

"We don't know." Four tells me, reading my mind.

"We just found him in the alley, a bullet through his chest." Tris quickly says. She seems nervous, but I'm going to ignore it.

All I can think about is Will, and how I'll never see his beautiful green eyes again. Never hear his voice. Never hear his laugh. It's all over, and my Will is gone for good.

I turn in my hospital bed and cry into my pillow. Everyone leaves to give me some alone time. Not too much long later, Edward comes in and gets in the bed with me. He strokes my hair and tries to comfort me. I respond by cuddling up to him and burying my face in his chest. I try to block out the world around me.

My best friend is dead, after all of this, and I wasn't there to save him. I saved so many people, but not him. Not one of the most important people in my life. Will, my only friend from my home faction, is gone. The one who told off and beat up so many of my bullies is gone.

And I'm left here, trying to pick up the pieces from the mess Jeanine's made.