Determinant: One choice will change everything

Chapter 23: Tris - Camouflage

Chapter 23: Tris – Camouflage

When the door finally opens, we find ourselves pointing our guns at Amar. He ignores them completely as he climbs rapidly into the truck.

"Are there uniforms in there?" he asks urgently, gesturing to the storage containers Caleb and I explored earlier.

"Yes," I answer quickly as Caleb leaps to open the right compartment. He hands clothing to Amar, who begins stripping right in front of us. I hastily avert my eyes.

"All of you need to change too!" he commands forcefully. "Then, swap places with one of the others." He gestures outside, and I realize others from our group must be out there. I feel my heart pounding as I wonder which of them are safe...and which aren't. But this clearly isn't the time to ask. I'll find out soon enough.

Caleb begins tossing uniforms to the rest of us, and we all change as quickly as we can. I know there isn't time to worry about who sees me, but despite that, I'm glad when Tobias positions himself between me and Peter to shield me from view.

"What's going on?" Tobias asks Amar, his voice muffled by the shirt over his head.

Amar answers curtly. "NUSA military are everywhere, so we're trying camouflage." He finishes putting his shoes back on and begins rummaging in the compartments for weapons. I debate helping him, but then Caleb starts to provide an inventory of what we found earlier, and I decide I can't wait any longer to see who's outside the truck.

I move to the doorway, looking around as I roll my pant legs up enough times to get my shoes on again. The vehicle is parked at the side of the road, partly hidden by trees. People stand guard at regular intervals around the truck, their backs to us. With relief, I recognize Christina's tall form and Cara's unmistakable posture among them. Uriah and Lauren are nowhere to be seen. I let myself hope they're guarding the front of the vehicle.

Tobias comes up beside me, and without a word, we both leap to the ground. Instinctively, I head for Christina, grabbing her arm as I step beside her. She draws me into a quick hug before racing for the truck, Cara beside her. As they move out of the way, I see Marcus' slender frame and realize that he's posted on Tobias' other side. A shudder runs through me at the sight of my boyfriend standing in his father's shadow.

Marcus' eyes pass over me, a trace of a smile curving his mouth as he sees my shudder. I tense immediately, hardening my expression. It's a bad idea to show weakness around him.

"What happened to your group?" I ask him coldly.

He glances at Tobias, who ignores him, and then back at me before he resumes looking outward. His voice is cool as he answers. "Shortly after we departed, we saw a vehicle like this one driving in Priscilla's direction." I don't know the name; presumably, she was in the SUV.

"We were able to avoid detection," he continues, "but Lauren felt it prudent to warn the other groups. Lisa and I headed after you while she and Uriah went after Priscilla." He purses his lips in distaste. "Judging by the subsequent gunfire, something went wrong, but I have no details on what."

I bite my lip, tension gripping my stomach as I think of Uriah's kind face. Not him, too. Please not him. I find myself shifting just a little toward Tobias, and he leans infinitesimally closer to me so we can draw strength from each other as we wait. The sun shines brightly overhead, hiding the cruelty of this day, and the only sounds are quiet movements from the people around us and the occasional activity of small animals in the trees by the road. The gunfire has stopped, at least for now. I don't know if that's good or bad.

Amar's low voice sounds behind us, making me jump. "Let's go. Everyone – in the truck, now!" He pauses and adds, "Marcus, you'll have to change as we move."