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The air left Lilith's lungs faster than she could process it.
Normally, she wouldn't put it past Peter to joke about something like that. He enjoyed tormenting other people, and he didn't have to be a genius to know that Lilith and Eric cared about eachother. But the urgency in his eyes and the pure fear that flooded them for a few instants told the girl that he wasn't lying, that time.
The rest of the world seemed to disappear as she pushed herself forwards, her hand landing briefly on Peter's arm as she shoved him out of the way. He didn't protest as he retreated back into the group, and Lilith's fingers shook as she wrapped her hands around the edge of the crate in front of her, dark brown eyes searching the bottom floor. It took her a few seconds to be able to see anything at all, but there he was. His back was turned to her as he looked around the stables, with Johanna watching him anxiously from the doorway. As she watched him walk from one side of the building to the other, trying to find them hidden somewhere, all doubts evaporated from her mind. Everything about him was familiar, from the way he carried himself to the tattoos peeking from under his collar.
It was Eric.
A part of her felt relieved that he hadn't died, and that he was standing in good health just a few feet away from her. But, as her gaze landed on the blue fabric stitched on the sleeve of his uniform, showing his allegiance to the Erudite, anger was quick to emerge. He had told her that everything he had done for his birth faction had turned out to be a mistake, and that, despite wanting better for Dauntless, his ideals didn't align with Jeanine's. Yet there he was, a pistol in his hands as he hunted them down. Lilith clenched her jaw. Had it all been planned? Had it all been a lie?
A hand gripped her shoulder, nearly making her jump.
"Lilith," Reyna's voice was gentle, "We have to go."
She chewed on her lower lip, her eyes staying on Eric for a moment longer, before she nodded, "Okay."
"We should be able to get outside through the window," Four nodded towards the window he'd been hiding by, and Lilith noticed that he'd already opened it. The male looked through the group, "Once outside, we should split up. There's quite a few of us, so it will be more troublesome for them if we run in different directions."
"Every man for himself," Peter replied, slightly raising an eyebrow.
"It's strategy, Peter," Granger explained, as they all approached the window as quietly as possible, "We can reunite once they're not on our asses anymore. It's gonna be just fine."
The former Candor nodded his head, his chin quivering, "Okay, yeah," his voice cracked, and Lilith looked at him just in time to see how his features hardened with resolve. Too late, she realized what decision he had just made, and her hand barely grazed the sleeve of his shirt as he retreated back into the open, "Hey, they're up here!"
