Ordinary Acts of Bravery [A Divergent Fanfic]

Chapter 57 - Erudite's invasion

"Be strong, but not rude. Be kind, but not weak. Be humble, but not timid. Be proud, but not arrogant."

Minutes after I had left the other leaders, I burst through the doors to the room where Valentine and Eric had been placed earlier. It was only seconds before a small group of armed men turned around the opposite corner of the same hallway I had just left.

My heart was in my throat, breathing labored and coming in short bursts as I threw myself up against the closing door to make it close faster, accidentally slamming it shut behind me. I was still clutching the gun that had been passed to me when we found the small group of dauntless that somehow had avoided the intruders. It rested heavily in my hands when I realized something was wrong.

Eric was still slumped in his chair, head lowered and forehead almost touching his knees. Val was the opposite way, head hanging over the back of the chair. His eyes were closed but he was breathing, that much I managed to see before a hooded figure stepped into the light. His gun was already raised and aimed at me. I barely had enough time to grasp my own gun before his weapon was fired.

I felt a pain I had never felt before pierce my right shoulder. The force sent me back against the door I had just lent up against seconds earlier. I slammed against it, the back of my head took some of the force, blackening my eyes before I slid to the ground where my conscious quickly slipped, making everything go dark.

When I came to again, I heard grunts, then something that sounded like fists connecting with skin. I blinked, eyes heavy as I tried to get a clear line of sight through the curtain of hair that had fallen around my face. The cold cement floor centered me, pulled me out of my haze and allowed me to pull myself out of the darkness.

"—You—fucking—traitor!" An unknown voice grunted, and for each pause there was a new hit. He stood right in front of Eric who was the recipient of all those hits. When he grabbed Eric by his collar, yanking him closer, but Eric only smiled. Eric wasn't faced easily, though he didn't look good anymore.

His face was colored in a variety of colors, multiple bruises and dried blood accompanied the colors. I blinked a few tears away and stretched to reach the gun I had brought with me. It was lying on the ground, not even an arms length from me.

The moment my fingers closed around the handle, I flipped around to my stomach, raised up onto my elbows and grasped the gun with both hands. Within seconds I had aimed my gun directly at the unknown person. He had a hand raised, clearly intending to inflict another punch, but I didn't let him. I squeezed the trigger, shooting the unknown man in the back before he could execute the hit. He cried out in pain as a red spot began emerging on his back, staining his clothes before he slowly dropped to his knees.

It was then I shot a second time, he jerked forwards, the force sending him face first into the floor next to Eric's chair. Eric chuckled in relief as I pushed myself up, leaped onto my feet, ignoring my body's protest and sprinted to him. I had tossed the gun aside in the process, only to pull out a knife instead. The bonds around Eric's wrists snapped with one cut and allowed him to embrace me. I cried out in relief as he pushed away from the chair, guiding us both to the ground.