Memories of You

Chapter Twenty-Two - Hide and Seek

You guys are truly amazing. I wouldn't know what I would do without you. Thank you for your reads, votes, follows, and comments. They mean the world to me and I am extremely thankful for them all.

I am also thankful for my amazing beta Depecher. You keep me from ripping my hair out. Thank you for saving me from being bald.

To all my American readers...Happy Thanksgiving!

           

My worst nightmare plays out before my eyes as I see Tris' plane hit the trees, bursting into a giant ball of flames.  I want to round on Al, and take my fear, anxiety, and pain out on him, but having seen the look of horror and surprise on his face when his weapon discharged without him even touching it, I know he's innocent.

"Round up your troops Four.  We need to find her immediately."  I hear Max yell behind me.  I turn around and see him begin unrolling a map of the area on the table, shoving things off in a hurry.  

I nod my head, and begin running over to my men. My eyes quickly find Eric in the chaos on instinct, but he keeps his face neutral.  No emotion.  Nothing.  He runs over to Max without so much as a glance in my direction, and begins pointing to the map.

I had wondered why he suddenly wanted Tris to go higher, but it doesn't make sense if he was trying to hit her.  If he was trying to hit her, wouldn't he want the plane at the same altitude as before or lower?  And then how the hell did he manage to do it when Amar was standing right next to him?  I grit my teeth in frustration.  Sadly for right now it just looks like an accident and I have no one to blame for it but fate. 

My body seems to gain my attention back when I get in front of my men, reminding me that my main concern right now is finding her.  I'll have to figure out what happened later.  I take a depth breath and turn to the direction that I know I saw her chute open for just a moment.  Unfortunately I lost sight of it in the dark when the plane crashed, but at least I know she made it out alive at this point. 

"Gather round!"  I yell.  They get in a tight semicircle around me quickly, but no one says anything, waiting for my instructions.  I take a quick look around making sure everyone is here before I start. 

I notice Al at the back wringing his hands, refusing to look me in the eye, as he shifts from leg to leg.  He's no doubt blaming himself for this, but I highly doubt Al has the capacity or intelligence to pull off something like this.  Besides, why would he?  "Listen up!"  I yell, even though the only sound is their breathing, and Al's slight whimpers.  "We need to find Ms. Prior immediately!  Spread out in groups of two, going in a grid pattern, five miles out and then return!  Radio one of the commanding officers if you find anything!  Is that clear?!"  I yell.

I get a round of, "Yes sir!"  I notice Al simply nods his head, looking around quickly for someone to partner with. 

"Good!  Make sure to have first aid kits with you and flashlights!  Check the map with Max to find out which route to take!  Now go!"  Pointing to the table behind me. 

They hurry over to Max to receive their routes and then take off a group at a time.  I see Amar standing next to Eric, issuing out flash lights and radios for each group telling them which channel to radio if they find anything. 

I can feel the ache to go look for her intensify, my breaths becoming more difficult to control as I watch my men begin to head into the woods.  I should probably find Will before I head in since he has more experience with first aid than anyone else here.  Tris is more than likely going to need some kind of medical attention and I want him prepared for every possibility, though I hope we don't need much of his expertise.