Stay Away | Eric Coulter [1]

forty-four

NESSA

I startle awake at the sound of people rustling about around me. Blinking to let my eyes adjust to the dark, I shot up in my bed and look around to see everyone else moving robotically and completely in sync like soldiers marching in a parade as they get dressed.

Remembering Eric's words, I quickly get to my feet, copying their movements as I get dressed as well.

"Hey, what's..." I hear a voice ask and I peer over my shoulder to see Tris gazing around in confusion.

I ramp down the urge to relay Eric's warning to her. As much as I liked Tris, I just didn't know her well enough to trust her.

To my relief, she figures it out quickly on her own and I turn my focus on the rest of my surroundings.

I followed as the others start to file out of the room, heading straight to the Pit where we joined others who were already lined up in the centre of the room.

My heart pounds in my chest and my eyes dart around in search of my brother or Eric.

Finally, my eyes find Eric's familiar figure and I feel my heart calming down a notch. Still, I keep an eye out for my brother, hoping he's safe.

It's eerily quiet as I observe the people in front of me arm themselves with guns and I do the same when it's my turn, careful to keep my movements precise and exactly like the others.

"They can hear and see us, they just don't process it the same way." I hear Max explains, "Commands come through the transmitters."

"What's going on?" I almost jerk back at the loud voice that cuts through the silence, "What are we doing?"

I watch as he approaches a couple of people, shaking them slightly and asking the same questions over again.

The man stumbles right past, jostling me back and I almost fall on my ass.

"Divergent," Max states in a bored tone.

He tries to get some answers from the person in front of me and when that fails, he turns to me, seizing me by the shoulders and giving me a firm shake.

I gasp as panic floods my chest. I wanted to help him, but at the same time, I knew I'll be digging my own grave if I did.

My eyes widen and my breathing starts to pick up and the man seems to catch onto the fact that unlike everyone else, I was very much aware of everything that's going on.

"What are we supposed to be doing?" He asks me, "What's going on?"

I clench my hands at my sides to keep them from shaking when I hear heavy foot-falls approaching me- or rather, the guy who still has me by my shoulders.

"Hey, everything's fine." Eric's voice grows louder as he draws closer to me, "There's nothing to worry about."

Thinking he's finally gotten the help he needs, the man releases me and turns to face Eric instead.

My breath hitches my throat as I spot the gun he has clutched in his hand and I raise my eyes to meet his.

His icy blues bore into mine and his hand freezes for a second as he raises the gun as if he's having second thoughts about harming the man.

Eric glances over his shoulder at Max. Then, his eyes flick back to meet mine again, his brows pinched together in confliction.

When Eric makes no move to instruct the guy, he frowns before turning to me once again and grabbing me by my elbow once again.

"Please, just tell me-"

I jump slightly at the loud bang that sounds and I could feel the wet splatter of blood against my face as the man's limp body falls to the ground. Blowing out a harsh breath to calm myself down, I resist the urge to reach up and wipe the blood off my face.

Eric must've picked up on my distress and he brushes his hand against mine as he passes me, hooking our pinkies together for a split second in a small gesture of comfort before he turns back to Max.

Taking a deep breath, I move to step over the man's limp body with guilt niggling at my chest. Forcing my gaze forward and avoiding looking down at him, I continue forward with the weight of Eric's gaze burning into my side.

Instinctively, my eyes find him once again and they soften as they meet mine.

"Something wrong?" Max asks.

Eric spins around to face him and shrugs casually, "No, we should be good to go."

Max nods, seemingly satisfied. "Let's load them up."

✧

Packed to the brim with people, the train feels stuffy, making it hard to breathe.

I struggle to keep as still as possible while I kept my breathing steady.

My eyes dart from side to side as I try to keep track of what was going on.

No one seems to be doing anything but still, I can't seem to bring myself to relax even just for a minute.

Peering out the windows from the corner of my eye, I take note of the passing view, trying to make out any key landscape that could let me know where we're headed.

I watch as trees fly by, making way for a large field and I frown at what I see next; the wall. The one that Tobias and I used to sneak off to when we were kids.

A bad feeling pools in my chest when the train starts to pull to a halt and the door opens to let us out at the place I used to reluctantly call my home.