Uriah and Marlene ended up on Tobias's team, while Lynn was on Eric's team with me.
We've decided to take a more defensive approach to things, staying to stand guard of our flag and waiting for the opposing team to come to us instead of actively seeking them out and taking them down.
I was paired with Molly to guard our flag where it's hidden on the top floor of an old building and was currently crouched down behind a wall that had a small crack I could peer through so that I could see if anyone was approaching.
"Drew hates your guts," Molly speaks out of nowhere and I mourn the several long minutes of silence I had.
"Uh, thanks...I guess." I reply, keeping my eyes peeled for members of Tobias's team.
"That came out wrong," She says, "What I was trying to say is that Peter and I disagree. We think you're pretty cool."
I frown, wondering where this was coming from.
"You should join us for dinner."
"Sure," I say mostly to be polite. There wasn't a chance I was going to leave my friends for them. Even if it was for just one night.
"They're here!" A voice yells from downstairs and I immediately snap my focus back to the task at hand.
Peering through the crack once again, I immediately spot Uriah and Marlene exchanging shots with people from my team. Judging by the wide grin on Uriah's face he seems to be having the time of his life.
I shift my gaze to spot my brother in all of the chaos...exchanging shots with none other than Eric. I'm not sure what the history between those two was, but they were going to end up getting along with each other if I had it my way.
"We've got incoming!" Molly yells.
I quickly whip around, hurrying to look down past the railing of the stairs to see Tris already at the bottom of the stairwell with Christina close behind her.
"I'll try to slow them down. Hide the flag!" Molly informs, disappearing down the stairs before I got the chance to reply.
I bolted to the balcony to retrieve our flag before any of them could get their hands on it.
Not seeing anywhere else I could hide it, I stuffed it in the first place that came to mind- the front of my jacket.
Pulling my zipper right up to my chin to secure it, I make a run for the second stairway at the other end of the room, only to be thrown back into a window before I could even make it there.
Pain spreads through my side as I land on the ground shielding my head from the glass that was still raining down on me. If it wasn't for the metal grills on the window, I would probably be lying on the ground five storeys below.
I ignore the stinging pain as glass shards dug into my palm as I felt around for my gun. Finally, my fingers wrap around the metal handle and I point it at my attacker and fire without hesitation.
"Fuck!" A masculine voice curses and I get a proper look at my attacker's face for the first time.
Drew pulls the dart from his chest and tosses it to the side. Though it was obvious he was still in pain, the murderous rage in his expression overpowers that and he charges toward me.
I pick myself off the ground, rushing to the stairs so I could make my escape.
A large hand wraps around my ankle and pulls my feet from under me before I could make it. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth as my chin crashes into the ground along with the rest of me.
I continue to crawl towards the stairs in hopes I could shake him off when a searing pain spreads across my back and my brain, though foggy with panic, eventually comprehends that I'd just probably been shot by a dart.
When Drew flips me over and wraps his hands around my neck in a bruising grip, I realise that Drew doesn't even have the flag in mind. If the vengeful look in his eyes is anything to go by, he's probably so set on getting revenge he's blinded to everything else.
"I've been waiting for this, you little bitch." He spat, his fingers tightening around my neck until I'm starting to see black spots in my vision.
I lash out, punching and clawing at his face, and though I manage to get a few good hits in, drawing blood across his cheek with my nails, he still doesn't budge.
My lungs burn from the lack of oxygen and desperately gasp for air, though all my efforts seem futile at this point.
In my peripheral vision, I'm vaguely aware of someone standing by the railing, and as I turn to look, I realise that it was Christina.
She startles when she sees that I've noticed her, then hurried down the stairs, leaving me feeling defeated and helpless.
Just as I start to feel a little lightheaded, Drew goes flying back into the wall behind him and I gasp as sweet air starts to fill my lungs again.
"Stay down, asshole." Lynn stands above Drew with her gun aimed at his head.
I coughed and then winced at how raw my throat was feeling.
"You alright, Nessie?" Uriah rushed to my side and helps me to my feet.
"I'm fine," I choked out, still breathless from my encounter. "Thank you. Both of you." I said, hoping it relayed how utterly grateful I am.
"What are friends for, right?" Uriah tries to joke, though I can see from the tightness in the corner of his eyes that he was concerned. "Let's go."
"Dick," Lynn curses at Drew, glaring at him so hard I'm surprised the guy hasn't dropped dead from how deadly it was.
Before we go, Lynn leaves a parting gift for Drew in the form of a Stim dart right to the crotch, leaving him yelling in agony.
Uriah supports me as we leave as if he's afraid I might topple over anytime. But aside from the throbbing in my chin, my bruised neck and the stinging cuts in my hand, I feel better than I had expected myself to.
"Holy shit! What happened?" Marlene exclaims when we make it to the bottom of the stairs so loudly that the battle around us stops and everyone turns to stare.
I shift under everybody's intense gazes. A vicious curse comes from somewhere, followed by the sound of gravel crunching under someone's heavy boot coming towards us.
"How the fuck did this happen?" Eric's enraged voice demands as he stops beside Marlene.
I look up at Eric to see him taking in my injuries with his hands clenched at his side so tightly that his knuckles have turned white like he's trying his best not to touch me when we have such a big audience.
"Drew attacked her," Lynn says before I could answer for myself.
"He's upstairs?" Eric asks, eerily calm even though he was practically vibrating with rage. When Uriah and Lynn nod in reply, he spins on his heel without another word and makes his way up the stairs.
When my gaze lands on Tobias, he seems just as angry as Eric did. He, however, stays where he is as if he's afraid he might end up killing someone if he acts on his anger.
"Get her to the infirmary. Make sure she doesn't leave until they get her thoroughly examined." Tobias orders through gritted teeth before he turns to leave in the opposite direction.
"What do you think Eric's going to do to Drew?" I ask as my friends start to lead me away.
"Don't worry about it," Marlene says, "Whatever it is, he deserves it."
I let out a sigh, letting my friends lead the way back to the compound. I doubt I could catch the train in my current state.
"Thanks again, guys." I repeat, "I don't think I can thank you enough."
"Don't worry about it, Ness." Lynn grunts, "You'll do the same for us."
"Exactly," Uriah agrees with his award-winning smile back in place, twirling his gun between his fingers. "All for one and one for- oh, shit!"
Uriah's gun clatters to the grounds as he clutches his foot in pain, making all of us burst out laughing.
While playing with his gun, he'd accidentally pulled the trigger, sending a stim dart into his feet.
"I told you to be careful with that," Marlene scolds, though it lacks heat to it seeing as to how she's still laughing so much she has tears in her eyes.
"This isn't funny!" He protests but looks like he's trying to fight a smile, himself. Throwing an arm around me and Marlene, he finally lets out a laugh. "Come on, let's just get out of here. I'm beat."
✧
I probably held a record by now. The record being 'Most visits to the infirmary by an initiate'. My hands are so heavily bandaged it looked like I was wearing mittens. I had a huge-ass band-aid on my chin that makes it look like I'd just gotten some kind of chin-job- if that even is a thing- and Marlene has been laying out some turtle-necks for me to try on to hide the finger-shaped bruise that's darkening on my neck.
"I'm pretty sure they'll fit fine, if not maybe a little larger on you," She frowns at my frame, "We haven't been feeding you enough."
I snort at her mother-hen routine, "I'm fine, Marlene."
She narrows her eyes at me but doesn't comment on it anymore, making me laugh.
"I'm serious, I'm fine." I reiterate, "Go grab some dinner."
"We're fine," Uriah waves me off, "We've been given strict instructions."
"Instructions to do what?"
"Watch you," He simply replies.
"Seriously? Are you going to watch everything I do? Even when I fall asleep?" I raise a brow at him.
"No," He grins, "Just until-"
The door swings open just then, cutting Uriah off and Eric fills the doorway, the sight of him making my heart stutter.
"Speak of the devil," Lynn mutters from where she's seated in the corner.
Marlene shoots her a horrified look, "Do you have a death wish?" And I can't help but snicker at her expression.
Eric clears his throat, "If you guys don't mind..." He trails off, gesturing out the door.
That's apparently enough to send my friends scrambling out the door.
"Interesting friends you've got," He comments, his eyes taking in all of my bandages with worried eyes as he closes the gap between us.
"They are a little weird, aren't they?" I agree with a smile, "But they're the best a girl could ask for."
I swing my arms around his neck as soon as he was close enough and reach up to smooth the worried creases between his brows.
"The bandages make it look worse than it is," I reassure, "The doctors say it's nothing serious."
Eric stays silent, reaching up to brush his knuckles against my cheek.
I grip his hand in mine, opening my mouth to tell him that I feel absolutely fine when I notice how his knuckles are busted up.
"What happened?" I frowned, "Did you-"
"He deserved more than just an ass-kicking," Eric confirms my suspicions, before I could say anything else he changes the subject. "I hope you'll be okay with staying with me for a few nights. I already made some arrangements."
"There's no need for so much trouble," I protest, "I could just stay in the dorms."
"There's no way I'm letting you sleep in the same room as Drew after what happened," He says, "Let me do this for you."
Feeling a little choked up at how sweet he's being, I can't even find it in me to resist him.
"You don't have to."
He leans in, pressing his lips to my forehead and mutters. "I'll do anything for you."
My heart squeezes at his words and as I watch him leave in search of one of my friends so they could pick up some clothes for me from my dorms, I realise how utterly screwed I am. Mainly because I think I'm falling for the ruthless leader everyone has been warning away from.