Divergent fanfiction
Eric/OC
No spoilers. No warnings. I dare you to read.
Part 7
Cloth dabbing away at his split lip. It pinched. He hated when it pinched, and gripped the edge of the table hard. It hurt to breathe, so he tried to make as small movements, take as small breaths as he possibly could.
“There,” her grey eyes were lit with wonder, as she pulled back, taking him in. She pressed an icepack against his cheek, to keep the swelling down. She instructed him to keep it there. Eric was reluctant to release the table – after all, grasping it was the only thing to keep his hands from shaking. Rather clumsily, he let go, and pressed his palm to the icepack, letting it numb him. She pushed bright blonde hair away from her face, and nodded, bracing herself.
“This might hurt,” light fingertips against his ribs, like blades – he hissed through clenched teeth and grasped the table again. The icepack burst as it fell to the floor, cubes rattling nervously, as they found their freedom to be a warm room and certain death.
“It’s alright,” her eyes dug into his, reassuring him. “Your ribs are bruised, you’ll be alright.” She lifted her hand to his face, and he froze, his eyes wide with anticipation – only to close, as she hesitantly ran them through his hair.
Sometimes he wondered if he got himself in trouble, only so he could experience this motherly warmth…
The scent of the medic-station burned into his nose. Clean. Sanitation. Pulling him back into consciousness.
“You stupid bastard,” a voice whispered. Familiar. It cut through the voices of the doctors trying to assess his injuries and letting the people in the room know he was coming to.
“No,” Eric moaned and attempted to fight the hands that were keeping him down. “Get off me,” his throat was dry. He tried to open his eyes – but couldn’t make out anything except bright light.
“Lie still, we’re trying to get the bullet out,” someone informed.
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” another spoke in a low voice.
“Come on, calm down.” her voice. Soothing. She could not possibly be here for this, not whilst he...
“You stupid bastard!” Louder now, accompanied by the sound of glass shattering.
“No!” Eric shouted, feeling how the single protest ripped through his throat. His body began shaking, he lost control – one of the things he hated the most.
“Give him more sedative, now!”
It was all silent around him. His eyes fluttered, and the first thing he saw once they were open, was a small familiar figure slumped in a chair, watching him. He didn’t know what he was expecting, to be fair, but that was certainly not it.
“What are you doing here?” his voice came out hoarse, making him sound more vulnerable than he liked. But his attempt didn’t fly past her.
An angry look crossed her face, and she was about to tell him off, when they heard raised voices, approaching from the hallway.
“What good will it do?” Zeke appeared in the doorway, trying to block someone off, that could only be -
“Move Zeke! We’ve done this tango before. It eases my mind to know I haven’t killed him, alright? It’s the only way I’ll get through practise without taking a fucking blow – “ but she stopped once she had peered past the tall dark skinned guy.
“You’re awake,” she whispered. It was like a kid seeing something extraordinary for the first time. Not knowing whether to be terrified or overjoyed.
“Yes, he’s awake. No thanks to you,” Amy hissed – storming straight towards her. Eric’s head snapped towards the girl with the red streaked hair and thick black lines around her eyes, making her seem more on edge and more frightening than she ever could be. Her pinchy lips delivering words spitefully.
“Hey,” Zeke was about to protest, but had no such luck.
The sudden movement made a sharp pain shoot through him, and he groaned. Eric’s sound of distress earned him a worried glance from Kizzy, catching her off guard just as Amy landed her a massive slap across the cheek and continued down the hall, disappearing.
Kizzy took it like a statue, the only thing changing was her skin turning angrily red.
“Want me to go after her?” Zeke questioned. Kizzy didn’t answer. She moved past Zeke, who had lowered his arms to let Amy pass, silently stepping into the room.
“Okay, I’ll leave you to it then.” His voice indicated how this clearly was a bad idea. Zeke leaned against the doorframe, his back to them, like an obedient guard dog.
“You look like shit,” Eric exclaimed and finally managed to sit up. His entire body was aching, and he noticed the massive bandage around his chest. He tried to feel it, and hissed.
“Karma is a bitch, huh? Bruised ribs, they say.” she stopped right in front of him, and crossed her arms. He noticed her bandaged hands, and remember how she had screamed when she caught the blade between them. Kizzy continued to inform him of his injuries; the cut in his shoulder wasn’t too deep, but the one to his side had been bad. Luckily vital organ’s hadn’t been struck. Then there was the bullet he had taken in his thigh... How it all had made him lose a lot of blood… He only listened halfway – taking in all of her instead;
She had stitches just below her hairline, a black eye, a busted lip, now that burning cheek from the slap too. She looked like the artist’s guide to colour bruise. Hadn’t she always, though?
“What happened to you?” he frowned at her, wondering if the Factionless had come back for them.
“Lack of attention,” she admitted and nodded thoughtfully and pursed her lips. “In training,” she added.
“...It’s the only way I’ll get through practise without taking a fucking blow,” he repeated her words silently, more to himself than her.
“Heard that, did you?” she shifted weight, before she dumped down on the bed next to him.
“Yeah,” he murmured, struggling not to groan again. Zeke had stiffened by the door, but he still had his back turned. Eric lowered his voice and rubbed the back of his neck, a movement which caused a lot of agony; his muscles were still sore.
“How long have I been out?” his voice was low, his eyes sharp as they set on her.
“Two days,” she said with a shrug.
“When we got back here, who was in here with us?” he questioned. She frowned. Eric felt a chill go down his spine, and swallowed hard. Memories of shattered glass and angry voices… Ghosts.
“The doctor, nurses – me, until they knocked you out... Amy obviously showed up at one point,” she arched an eyebrow and glanced at the now empty chair.
“That’s it? You knew everyone in here?” Eric pushed further.
“Yeah, well – I know their names, Dauntless isn’t that big a,”
Eric nodded and cut her off. Memories of what happened ever since he caught her by the ferris wheel mixed together in a massive blur, his mind still a bit foggy. Then he remembered the sound of the door dragging, her slaps and voice screaming his name, she ran away though, she...
Eric furrowed his brows, “You saved me.” he sounded surprised. Burying his eyes in hers.
“Yeah. Now we’re even,” she gently pushed him back onto the bed, placing another pillow under his head. “Get some rest, I’ll tell them to bring you something to eat before we head off to training. Feel better soon.”
Kizzy tapped Zeke’s shoulder gently as she headed out, Zeke allowed himself one last glance into the room, a mixture of disapproval and concern playing on his face.
Eric released a loud, frustrated, huff and glared up at the ceiling. His IV itched – he ripped it out. Awake, he wouldn’t need it, he figured. He ran a hand across his head, realising he must have hit it pretty bad as they jumped off the train, for those particular memories of his past to return to him. He wondered how much he had said, how much they had figured out, knew… And he hated himself for having to be rescued, for being dependent on someone else to live… People always found a way to take advantage of that, was his lesson. He hated her.
As most nights in Dauntless, people hung out in the pit, got drunk, caught up, got reckless... She had escaped the company of Zeke, who seemed to be keeping his watchful eyes at her at every turn ever since she had returned with Eric… When she thought no one was watching, she snuck out, and went down to the bottom of the Chasm. The waterfall killed out the voices from above, but failed to drown the chaos in her head.
“Thought I saw you head this way,” a soft voice said. She rose too quickly and nearly slipped off the moist rock. Four reached out for her hand – but not nearly quick enough, and she fell backwards into the water. It was churning, threatening to drag her into oblivion, when she felt his fingers close around her arm and pull her up.
“Eric was faster,” she gasped as she broke surface, her tone almost accusing. Kizzy spat and squeezed her hair in her hands – a shudder went through her. It was definitely a brutal wake up call.
“What?” Four frowned. She lifted her eyebrows and shook her head.
“Nothing,” she searched into his eyes. There was a determined look there that confused her.
“What’s up?” she asked, and glanced past his shoulder to see if he had company – but there was no one.
“Look, when I suggested that you’d talk to Eric to help get through that last part in your fear landscape,” he began. Kizzy crossed her arms over her chest. “Suggested?” she repeated irritatedly. Four continued as if she hadn’t uttered a word; “I just think it’s enough now. You did what you set out to do. You conquered your fear. Good for you.”
“Conquered my fear?” she said, her tone dropping with disbelief. “What exactly are you implying, Four?”
He blinked, knowing that this was a situation to proceed with caution…
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Author’s note
Sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoyed this one, it sure is getting tricky to write, as I’m dead set on revealing “ghosts” and “memories”.
Feel free to leave any kind of feedback, good or bad, it’s always much appreciated! And if you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading!
