Revolution -Eric Coulter-

Chapter 54

Riley had felt pain before. She had been hit by her father many times. She had been shot twice. Beat up by her friends. She was attacked by Dauntless soldiers. She had been hurt before, but this felt different. When she woke up, she knew something was wrong.

Her body felt wrong. It felt weak and frail. As if the slightest touch would shatter her bones. There was an immense amount of pressure in her skull. Everything inside of her felt wrong. It was as if all of the joy had been sucked out of her and replaced with agony.

It wasn't painful, but it wasn't pleasant either. She just didn't feel like herself.

Suddenly, a hand touches her cheek. She wants to flinch, but she can't. Her body doesn't move. It's as if she's paralyzed. Riley starts to fear she might be. "I'm sorry," a deep voice says. "I never meant for this to happen." Riley feels like she's being pulled to the surface. "I failed you. I let this happen." The person speaking is Tobias. "I'm sorry I did this. I promise I'll make it right."

She feels herself waking up. As Tobias turns to leave, Riley grabs his hands. The older man freezes. He turns to look at her. "You-" her voice is muted. The red-haired girl struggles to open her eyes. "You always make things about you." Tobias can tell her words are lighthearted by the pained smile on her face.

"Oh my god." He moves closer. "Riley, you're awake?"

"No shit."

Tobias laughs at her words. It seemed nothing had changed, but everything happened. There's bruising on her jaw and under her right eye. There's a white bandage halfway wrapped around her head. She's wearing a sports bra because the injury to her chest needed to heal properly. Her body has a few light bruises, but she's still Riley. "I'm so glad you're okay." Tobias would never forgive himself if anything happened to her. "I'm so sorry."

Riley doesn't know what he's apologizing for. There's a tingling in her fingers. It almost burns. Her body doesn't feel like her body. It feels wrong. "What happened?"

"You were right," he begins. "Nita didn't want the memory serum. She wanted the death serum. She wanted to start another war here." Riley processes his words. Maybe it's the trace amount of morphine in her system, but it causes her to laugh. Tobias is shocked. "Why are you laughing?"

"I told you so," she says. "I love being right." Tobias can't help but chuckle. He sits in the open seat beside her. The memories of the incident are merely flashes. She doesn't remember much. There's Peter's face as they speak about reading, then it goes dark. "Is Peter okay?"

"Yes," he confirms. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"I think I was going to meet him." Riley doesn't remember.

The words alarm him. "No, you were going to meet Uriah."

Riley stares at him. "I was?" Why would she go meet Uriah? The two didn't spend that much time together. Tobias had overheard Christina and Peter speaking. The doctor said she could have forgotten things. It wasn't clear how much she had forgotten. "Is he okay?"

Riley knows who Uriah is. The memories are foggy, but all of them are there. "No," Tobias whispers. "No, he's not."

"Who set off the explosion?"

"Reggie."

"Not you?" Tobias shakes his head. "Then why are you apologizing?" He doesn't have a chance to say anything. "How long have I been in here?"

"Five days."

Five days is a long time. With each second that passes, more and more memories return. "What happens next?" There's no point in hiding anything from her. He tells her that Marcus has joined the Allegiant, a group of people rebelling against Evelyn. A war is starting. They have been taking weapons to build their army. Riley can't imagine Johanna carrying a gun, but war changes people. She fears for Maddie, who is still in the city. David has come to the conclusion that Chicago can't be saved, and the experiment needs to start again. He plans to release the memory serum. Everyone in Chicago would forget. Her parents would no longer be her parents.

They were forming a plan to stop them, but it was still in the early stages. Riley knew she had to help. Despite her injuries, she needed to do this. "I want to help."

"No-"

"I wasn't asking." She attempts to sit up in the bed, but pain travels through her entire body. Riley sucks in a sharp breath. Tobias goes to help her, but she swats his hand away. "When will you start listening to me?"

"Never," he responds.

"Is that your Candor answer?"

"Yes."

Riley glares at him. "I want to help."

"I don't care," he mutters. "Riley, I almost lost you. My actions put you here." That isn't true. It wasn't his fault. "I did this to you and Uriah. I need you to stay here where it's safe."

"I don't care," she says. "That city is my home. I want to help protect it." That doesn't convince him. "Please, Tobias. I want to do this."

He thinks about caving but stays strong. "No, you won't be able to keep up."

Riley huffs, "I'm faster than you."

"Not right now." That upsets her. "Riley, you have a TBI."

"A what?"

"A Traumatic Brain injury," he explains. "We weren't sure you were going to wake up at all." The news scares her. They thought she was going to die. Riley doesn't respond for a moment. She is trying to process how close to death she was. Tobias grabs her hand."I'm sorry I did this to you, but I can't let you help."

~~~~~~~~~~~

The doctor's name is Dr. Carson. He's kind, on the older side but has perfect teeth. He shines a light into her eyes. "Your pupils are reacting to the light. That's a good sign." He turns the flashlight off. "And you reacted very well to the other tests."

"But not perfect?"

"No," he says. "Not perfect."

Christina is the only other person in the room. "Well, what does that mean?"

"Riley," he only addresses her. "Your survival in itself is a miracle. The same can not be said about your friend." Uriah no longer had any brain waves. In medical terms, he was brain dead. He would never wake up again. Riley already knew things were not perfect. She felt different. She felt weak. "You have motor difficulties. These are long-term problems." Every word he spoke was like a punch in the face. "Weakness, tremors, the dizziness. They're most likely lifelong problems."

She keeps her eyes on the ground. Truthfully, she was prepared for news like this. She had been given bad news her entire life. No matter how perfect she was, bad things always happened to her. It upset her cause there were people like Marcus, who was rotten inside, but everything fell into place for him. It wasn't fair.

"So," Riley said. "When can I go?"

Dr. Carson glanced at Christina. "Did you not hear me? You're lucky to be alive. You need rest, lots of it."

"I heard you," Riley forced a smile. "But I need to see my friends. Can I go?"

Christina couldn't help but laugh. "I got it, doc. Thank you." Dr. Carson nods and walks out of the room. The moment he leaves, Riley tosses the blanket off of her. The smile on Christina's face falls. "Woah, what are you doing?"

"I already said I need to see our friends." Riley ignores the pain. "I need to help them." She had to help them. It didn't matter if she was injured and her body didn't work the same. She was tired of being seen as weak. Chicago, her home, was in trouble. Riley had to help.

"Riley-"

"Don't lecture me about how I'm lucky to be alive." Riley didn't want to hear it. "Uriah's gone, but I'm not. I will not sit by while my friends go to war. That isn't who I am." Christina stares at her. "I don't care if you agree, but I am doing this." The short girl stands up. Christina grabs a device. It has a needle in the end. "What's this?"

"A serum," Christina explains. "I assumed you'd want to go to the city with Peter, Tobias, and myself. You need this. It will protect you from the serum in case Tris doesn't shut it down and we don't get out in time."

Riley smiles at her. "You knew I'd want to go?"

"Let's say I had a hunch." Her smile grows. "Come on. I don't have all day." Riley takes the device and injects the serum into her arm.