Ordinary Acts of Bravery [A Divergent Fanfic]

Chapter 57 - Erudite's invasion

I was sobbing when tightening my own embrace on him. Eric exhaled deeply and buried his face in the crock of my neck. His slow breathing worried me but I wouldn't let him go, not right away. I didn't move before Eric pulled away, slowly retracting and forcing me to let go of him as well. He then turned to Valentine and shifted closer.

Eric grabbed the chair and turned it towards him as he made sure Val was still breathing before he guided his head forward. It still hung lifelessly but he was alive.

Eric exhaled in relief, then pulled Val's shirt away from his shoulder, showing me the disk like object embedded in his skin. "You should have one as well." Eric said and turned to me. I blinked at him while he shifted my own shirt away. The very same silver disk was embedded in my own shoulder.

"Ow—" I winched when Eric ran his fingers over the sore spot. I even recoiled and held a hand over the disk. "That hurt." I frowned but Eric laugher didn't make my frown last very long. "I hate you-" I exaggerated and rolled my eyes before I hit his shoulder playfully.

Eric's reaction was entirely exaggerated as well as he clutched the area I had hit and playfully fell to the ground. Once again I rolled my eyes but crawled closer to him. "What does this mean?" I asked and gestured to the disk in my shoulder. There was a strange silence while I examined it but when a hand joined mine, fingers gently brushing over it, my eyes snapped back up.

Eric was still lying on the ground, but a more serious expression had moved over his face. With a small grunt he pushed himself up onto an elbow. "It's to single out the divergents—shit." Eric's eyes went wide with realization and he pushed himself up completely. "Max is here—fuck!" Eric was on his feet within seconds and grabbed my hands, yanking me with him in a matter of seconds.

However in the same moment, someone opened the door to the room. I stood frozen, unsure what to do or how to act but Eric didn't. He threw himself at the door, slamming it shut before it could open completely. There were multiple voices outside but the only voice I heard was Eric's when he yelled at me. "Octavia! The chair—now!" He pointed but I had already jumped into action.

The moment the chair had passed to Eric, he jammed it underneath the handle at a crooked angle, keeping the people from entering the room. There was multiple thuds, screams and loud efforts to open the door but nothing worked. I watched in awe as Eric slowly moved back, one arm extended as if he wanted to protect me. I stepped in behind him and grabbed a fistful of his shirt.

We stayed like this until the attempts faded, then Valentine suddenly stirred. The low groan of discomfort that left him, made me yelp in surprise. Eric laughed and I groaned at him before quickly turning to help Valentine recover. He blinked furiously at me while I released him from his binds. He rubbed his obviously sore wrists and looked at me through squinted eyes. "Welcome back sleepyhead." Eric groaned and appeared behind me.

Val merely groaned in reply and scrubbed his face to fully emerged from his previous state. "What happened?" He managed to rasp before he lowered his hands. "Where's Sebastian—fucking hell—what happened to your face Eric?" Valentine gasped and pushed himself up to his feet when noticing the state of Eric. The sheer horror made me turn back to look at him.

Eric was truly not looking well. He was pale as a sheet and swaying slightly. I acted before he could fall and wrapped my arm around his waist, allowing him to rest an arm around my shoulders. The stupid man only playfully chuckled at me and placed a finger beneath my chin, tilting my head upward before claiming my lips. I melted into the gesture and kissed him back with longing.

"I love you—" Eric gasped and embraced me again. It was unlike him and not the time but I didn't have the heart to push him away. I took my time, savoring what I could. It wasn't until glass shattered behind us. The small glass square in the middle of the door had finally given in. A few bullets flew over our heads the same second Eric forced me down. Within seconds we all scrambled away from the line of sight.