Chapter 37 - So Badly
— Third Person
"Explosives were set off in the Pire. No one was in the Pire at the time, or the control room located right next to it, but there was people below." Amar runs alongside Zeke while speaking. Both are in the same squad, and both got separated by their squad.
"How do you know there's not more explosives?" Zeke comments.
"We don't."
The two move in silence, their feet the only sound through the halls.
The fighting has commenced since the explosion went off, many outsiders taken into custody, many escapees.
"I'm counting up people I've seen in my head," Zeke comments, slightly breathless from the exertion of his feet.
"George is injured."
"Lynn was back in the training room, along with Chris getting stitched up. I saw Four our fighting, for some odd reason, and I haven't seen him since."
"He was moved to Erudite. I saw him in the infirmary with George."
"And Tris?" Zeke asks.
"That's what I'm worried about." They turn the corner to the location below the Pire, the Pire that no longer existed.
"Holy shit."
"Mother of god."
Glass was everywhere, along with rocks and chunks of cement from the foundation of the Pire."
"Tris!" Amar basically screams, running into the rubble in a panic.
"Well, no chance of not being noticed now." Zeke mumbles, moving to his left to search for people.
"Hey," Zeke sees a hand. "Ohhh god, Amar!"
The morbid picture would never leave the backs of either man's eyes for the rest of their lives.
Amar gasps, a hand flying over his mouth.
Bending down by the body, his fingers find the person's neck.
Shaking his head, he stands up.
"Ian's dead." Amar says barely above a whisper.
"We have to find others. Maybe it's not too late for them." Zeke suddenly rushes.
"She was part of his squad." Amar says in a rush.
"Tris!" Now Zeke is screaming.
She hears them.
Barely.
Suddenly, someone stands up in the rubble, the sound of rocks moving as the person makes their way to their feet.
He stands, many yards away from Amar before making a wobbly run for it.
Amar recognizes him.
He knows who he is.
Out of instinct, he whips out his gun and shoots him in the leg, slowing the man until he collapses.
"That's Derrick." He comments to Zeke, but Zeke is paying no attention.
Amar makes a mental note to keep an eye on Derrick, but suspects he will not move much from injury and the new bullet to his leg.
"Two more dead." Zeke comments, pointing to two mounds of rubble. "Both have hands too big to be Tris's. Both have branding of New York though."
"Yeah, but so does she," Amar snarks referencing the branding. He's filled with fear.
He doesn't want to be the one to find his best friend's fiancée dead in a pile of rubble.
Amar moves towards a huge jagged slab of cement that fell on an angle. It is propped up by a huge chunk of rock.
That little space. He mentally remarks. That huge rock manages to miss her, and then that same rock manages to protect her from a huge slab of foundation smushing her whole body.
If she is in that little space between the two.
I'll be damned.
When she collapsed, she was still holding the staff that she fought with.
The rock held down half of the staff, pushing the staff into her lower abdomen.
"Zeke! You have to help me!" Amar spots a lock of blonde hair from the small space between the two objects.
I'll be damned. He mentally things.
Reaching under, he feels warm flesh.
"Tris! Tris, it's me! Amar! Please, say something."
In the warm flesh he found, he felt a strong pulse.
"I'll be damned," He comments verbally now.
"We have to move this slab. We have to get her out!" Amar cries, physical tears of relief spilling over his eyes.
"Tris," Zeke gasps.
"Help," she finds her voice, raspy and barely sounding.
The men count to three and lift the slab, panicking when it begins to crumble in their hands.
The pole pressing into her groin is visible to the men now, along with Tris's face.
The rock missed her completely.
"Okay, you're okay. How are we gonna get her out?" Zeke comments, speaking his thoughts.
"Clear the rocks in this direction," Zeke complies his thoughts, shoving rubble with his feet near the open end of the pole not under the rock. "I'm going to lift this the best I can, and you're going to slide her out. It doesn't look like she's bleeding, but you're going to move fast and get her to the infirmary. I'll take care of him," he motions to Derrick still slumped on the ground alive. "You'll be faster than me getting her there," he motions to his leg that was slashed by a blade earlier and is bleeding through the cloth tied around his thigh.
They both clear the rock and get into place.
"On my count," Zeke counts and on three an animalistic sound comes from him as he raises the pole slightly.
Tris gasps as Amar slides her across the ground under the pole and swiftly into his arms.
Zeke releases the pole the second she is out, a swift snapping noise comes from it as the pressure from the rock pushes it back to the ground.
Amar is already halfway across the rubble, Tris pressing her face into his chest and gripping his shirt as Zeke stands to stretch, eying Derrick from across the room. He is pleased that he did not move from the area where he collapsed.
"How the hell did she get so lucky," he reflects over the situation of both massive objects missing her completely.
He takes the cuffs from his pocket and walks towards Derrick, wincing from his thigh and stumbling on the uneven rubble.
Reaching the man, he is pleased to see he is still alive.
"Over my dead body, you're going to suffer." Zeke spits cuffing the man. Dried mixed with fresh blood shows from Derricks mouth as he smiles at Zeke. "Disgusting prick."
"Up." Zeke demands, Derrick groaning deeply in pain as Zeke takes the alternative and yanks him upwards.
He keeps a firm grasp on his knife in one hand, ready to kill the man if he acts out, the other hand is firmly on his arm, guiding him to the main building. Taking his radio, he requests backup and describes his destination.
"She's a strong one," Derrick's voice slurs as if he is drunk. "She'll be okay, she always is. Use to joke and call her a cat back in the day, as if the girl has nine lives, and then some."
Zeke's anger overtakes him. He shoves Derrick into the wall, holding the knife to his throat. He presses down just enough to draw some blood.
"She'll never forgive you if you kill me. I'm the only one who remembers the things she doesn't." He chokes.
"Zeke!" A male voice calls, his reinforcements arriving.
"You found him?"
"And I want to kill him."
The men take hold of Derrick, allowing Zeke to release his grip on the man.
"I want to kill him, so badly." He spits to himself.