♘ Be Brave ♘

LXXX

Ugh. I can't believe I hugged him. Cassandra. Just think of Cassandra. I picture her smiling, laughing, running. Happy. Healthy. I get back to the infirmary, and they're all still there. "Everything is fine. You'll still be an initiate. All you need to worry about now is getting better."

Cassandra raises an eyebrow, but doesn't question me. "Come on, let's get Robin so we can take the next train to Amity." When we exit the examination room, Robin barely looks up from her desk. "Uh, we're ready to go to Amity." Robin nods.

"Took you long enough. I can't wait on you hand and foot, you know." I flinch. "My apologies, ma'am." She wordlessly motions for us to follow her after typing something into her computer. Seconds later, I hear a robotic voice saying "PERMISSION GRANTED", and we head out of the compound. Once we arrive at the tracks, we jump onto the nearest car.

I hug Cassandra close to me while we wait for the train to go past the Amity compound, and Lauren sits in Zeke's lap next to us. I don't like the way Robin is looking at me, but I decide to ignore her.

Soon enough, we're at the Amity headquarters, and Johanna steps out of the greenhouse that serves as the compound's headquarters. "Cassandra, I heard what happened. Are you alright?"

I can tell she's trying to remain calm, but fear is written all over her face. "I'm fine, mom. Just need Irene to take a look at me is all." Johanna glances at us. "Very well. Follow me." We enter the greenhouse, and follow her down a long hallway, then make a right.

Johanna knocks on one of the doors, and a woman calls out, "Come in." Johanna opens the door and motions for us to go inside. "Cassandra? Oh!" A short, middle-aged lady runs to hug her, and I assume this is Irene. "Oh, sweetheart, we've missed you!" Cassandra smiles. "I've missed you too." Irene looks at us over Cassandra's shoulder. "Who are they?"

Cassandra pulls away to introduce us. "These are my friends, Zeke, Lauren, and... Four." Cassandra's stutter gives me away, and Irene smiles. "Nice to meet-" Irene rushes forward and smothers me in a hug before I can finish speaking. "Oh, and that's Robin. She-" Irene pulls away, and her eyes narrow momentarily. "I know who she is."

I glance at Cassandra. That wasn't very Amity of Irene. "Nice to see you again, Roberta." Robin stiffens. "Likewise." Irene smiles, way too enthusiastically, even for an Amity. "So. You're the Dauntless nurse now, I presume?" Robin coughs. "Physician. But, yes, I work for the Dauntless compound now." Irene chuckles. "How... exciting. Well. What's the problem, sweetheart?" Cassandra hesitates, and I take her hand.

"Robin... Robin thinks the leukemia came back." Irene's eyes widen. "Oh, dear. Let me run a blood test, okay?" Cassandra nods. "If you really have to." Irene laughs. "Oh, you'll be fine. This won't take more than a few minutes. The Erudite have given me new equipment that's ten times faster than what I used to have, so, there's nothing to worry about. You'll be out of here in no time. Have a seat."

I walk Cassandra over to a chair on the side of the room, and hold her hand as Irene preps the syringe. "Relax. It's just like getting a tattoo." Cassandra smirks. "Well, that's comforting." I laugh. "Oh, speaking of which, do you want me to remove your bandages?" Cassandra nods.

"I forgot about them... after all that's happened." I let go of her hand and carefully peel off the bandages on her neck and wrist. "Oh, you got tattoos? Let me see!" Irene leans over to look at Cassandra's tattoos. "Wow! See, if you're brave enough to get those, you won't even feel the syringe. I promise."

Cassandra looks away as the needle enters her skin, and the test is over in seconds. Irene types something into her computer, and smiles. "Well, the sample is being scanned right now. All we can do is wait." If she's trying to sound optimistic, she's failing catastrophically.

About fifteen minutes later, the computer beeps, and Irene scrolls down the screen. The color seems to drain from her face as she turns to look at us. "I'm so sorry," she whispers, "but the leukemia is no longer in remission."