INSURGENT: Tobias

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Tris and I run until we reach Lynn and Shauna. We stop abruptly at the sight before us. My heartbeat pounds in my ears; whether it's from all the running or the bloody scene in front of me, I'm not sure.

Shauna lies on the ground, facedown, with blood pooling around her. She doesn't look conscious.

"It's my fault," Lynn mumbles through a mess of tears. "I shouldn't have shot him. I shouldn't have..."

Her voice trails off as she sinks further into herself. I crouch by Shauna and touch two fingers to her neck, waiting for a pulse. Weak heartbeats pulse lightly against my fingers and I nod to the others.

"We've got to get out of here," I say, taking charge of the situation. "Lynn. Look at me. I'm going to carry her, and it's going to hurt her a lot, but it's our only option."

Lynn nods once and blinks a few times, as if to steady herself and regain her composure. With all of the confirmation I need, I move myself back down to Shauna and put my hands under her arms, lifting her from the ground. She moans grimly in her unconsciousness. Tris rushes over then, attempting to help me right Shauna over my shoulder.

I stand then, grunting against the added weight. Shauna isn't heavy, but her lifeless weight presses sharply against my shoulder. Once I get my bearings, we all make our way back to the Merciless mart. Lynn leads in front of me, a gun ready in her hands, while Tris walks backward behind me, a weapon unsurprisingly absent from her hands. I grit my teeth.

"Hey!" I focus my eyes on the figure running toward us. Uriah. "Zeke had to help them get Jack... oh no." Uriah's voice drops out then as his eyes travel to the lifeless form over my shoulder. "Oh no. Shauna?"

"Now's not the time," I spit through clenched teeth. Neither Lynn nor Tris say anything. "Run back to the Merciless Mart and get a doctor."

Uriah stares, open mouthed, and doesn't move.

"Uriah! Go, now!" I yell sharply, my voice echoing off the empty buildings around us. Finally, Uriah turns and runs toward the Merciless Mart.

We're not that far from the Merciless Mart, but with Shauna's added weight on my shoulder, the steps I take feel like they take me nowhere. I grunt against Shauna's weight and push through. Lynn breathes heavily in front of me and Tris, she is as quiet as ever. I wonder what could possibly be going on in her head after the stunt she just pulled.

The steps of the Merciless Mart come into view. Uriah stands at the top of them with Cara and an older Erudite man whom I assume is the doctor. The three of them don't say anything when we reach them, but they spread out a sheet for Shauna. Carefully, I lay her onto it, positioning her on her stomach so that the doctor will have a clear view of her wound.

As soon as I straighten myself, the doctor goes to work, cutting at Shauna's shirt and exposing the bullet wound. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tris hastily looking away.

She faces me now, her eyes flickering between me and the floor. I told myself that I was going to wait until my breathing evened out and we were well out of earshot to have this conversation, but looking at Tris, I can't help the words that come out of my mouth.

"I'm not going to pretend to know what's going on with you," I say, my nostrils flaring out of frustration. "But if you senselessly risk your life again—"

"I'm not senselessly risking my life. I am trying to make sacrifices, like my parents would have, like—"

"You are not your parents. You are a sixteen-year-old girl—"