Nothing Without You | Eric Coulter [2]

prologue

My heart aches in my chest. Scratch that. It feels like it's been ripped out and shredded into pieces right in front of my very eyes.

Still, I push on with blurry eyes and a tear-stained face because that's what I'd promised Eric. I will find a way out here if only so I could find him once I do.

The sound of my heavy breathing echoes through the tunnels as I will my legs to keep going, ignoring the throbbing pain from my wound.

I'm not sure how long I've been walking, but eventually, I spot a light at the end of the tunnel and exhale sharply, feeling like I'm about to burst into tears again when a figure darts out of nowhere and into my path.

I immediately raise my gun with trembling hands, aiming it at the intruder.

"Woah!" The familiar voice yells, holding his hands up in surrender. "Nessie, it's me."

I blink a couple of times to clear my vision, "Uriah?"

He nods, his brows furrowing in concern. "Holy shit, Nessie. What happened to you?"

My eyes well with tears once again as I recount everything that happened to him.

"We have to get him, Uriah," I tell him, gripping onto his arms hurriedly and turning to go back. "We have to help Eric."

"Nessie, I'm sorry." Uriah says apologetically, "I don't think that's possible."

"We can try!" Desperation claws at my chest, "Please, Uriah. We have to try! They'll kill him for helping me!"

"Ness..." He grows sombre, his eyes begging me to understand, "If I thought we had a chance I'll be a hundred percent behind you. But we can't. We'll be outnumbered and you're already injured."

I feel the tears as they trickle down my cheek and Uriah pulls me into a tight comforting hug.

"We'll find him," He promises, "We just need to get some help first."

"You're right," I agree reluctantly as much as I hate to, "We were on our way to Candor when the guards caught up with us. And Eric, he..."

I swallow the lump that forms in my throat and Uriah doesn't ask for more details, simply draping one of my arms around his neck and helping me along as we start to move again.

My mind keeps wandering back to Eric as we cover the distance to the end of the tunnel.

As if sensing that I'm in need of a distraction, Uriah turns to me and says, "So, you're..." Divergent. There's not much clarification needed, I knew what he was getting at.

"So are you," I reply and he nudges me playfully.

"Well, now that we know each other's deepest secrets, I guess you're stuck with me."

Despite the circumstances, I manage to crack a small smile. But then Eric pops into the forefront of my mind once again and I peer over my shoulder down the darkened tunnel, itching to go back in search for him.

Uriah squeezes my hand, "We'll get him." He reassures.

His words hang between us as we keep moving in silence.

We take a little longer than we probably should've with my limp, but eventually, we approach the tall grey building that is the Candor Headquarters.

It's quiet outside and so we inch forward, pushing open the large set doors that tower before us and letting ourselves in.

I watch as people dressed in their black and white get up going about their days, totally oblivious to the chaos ensuing in Abnegation.

Blood from the soaked-through jacket tied around my thigh starts to drip onto the pristine white tile I was standing over. It doesn't take very long before we start attracting everybody's attention.

Gasps fill the room as people start to stop and stare, their eye filling with terror as they take in our dishevelled appearances.

"Don't move!" A guard appears, pointing his gun at us and soon, Uriah and I find ourselves surrounded by more that join him.

"We're not here to hurt anyone," Uriah raises his hands in surrender, "Look, my friend's injured. She needs medical attention. Please, help us."

The guards make no move to lower their weapons until a smartly dressed man with high cheekbones and slicked-back hair steps forward.

"Stand down," He orders, continuing when they do. "I'm Jack Kang, leadership here at Candor. It's a shame that we're meeting under such circumstances." He tucks his hands behind his back, his eyes darting down to my wound, "Please escort the young lady to the infirmary and make sure she gets the help she needs. As for you, young man," He says turning to Uriah, "I'd like to have a word with you about your situation if you don't mind."

Uriah's grip tightens around me and he frowns at me, looking hesitant to leave me alone in this foreign place.

I glance at Jack Kang, considering the fact he's Candor, he wouldn't be lying to us about his intentions...right?

My eyes study him for a moment and when they raise to meet his, he gives me a small nod as if to assure me that we'll be safe here.

Deciding that he seems nice enough, I turn to Uriah and nod, "Go, I'll be fine."

Uriah looks reluctant but moves to follow Mr Kang when he leads him out of the room.

"This way, Miss." One of the guards says and I limp after him.

They bring me to the infirmary, where a sweet older lady tends to me.

Just like they've promised, they patch and bandage me up, and also gave me some medicine for my pain.

When that's done, they lead me back to the entrance, where I see a crowd starting to form by the door.

"Nessie!" Uriah spots me before I do him, waving his hand to get my attention.

I make my way over to join him and ask, "What's going on?"

"The others are here," He says.

I raise on my toes, ignoring the dull pain in my thigh to peer over the wall of people in front of me to see a sea of Dauntless members- most of them looking a little dazed and a whole lot confused- and quickly spot Lynn and Marlene in the crowd.

After a little more searching, I spot Zeke and even Shauna but find no sign of Tobias.

"Excuse me," I mutter before shoving through the crowd with Uriah following closely behind me.

We meet up with Zeke and the rest of my friends as we emerge in the front. Marlene reaches us first, before turning to hug Uriah.

"Have you seen my brother?" I ask Zeke when I pull into a hug him.

He pulls away with a heavy frown and shakes his head.

I feel my heart sink to my stomach. My expression must say it all and Zeke pulls me into another tight hug.

"He's the toughest guy I know, Ness. We'll find him."

I exhale sharply. Right now, I'm missing two of the most important people in my life and I sure as hell hope we can find them. Otherwise...I'm not sure what I'll do.