My head is pounding, my ears are ringing, and everything hurts. My eyelids feel heavy, so I am not going to try and open them. I hear a beeping coming from my left, and it smells like disinfectant in here, so I must be in the infirmary.

I feel something holding my hand, so I squeeze it.

"Rori," a voice says, sounding relieved. "Can you hear me?"

"It's a little muffled," I croak. "But I can hear you."

"I'll be right back," he says. "I'm getting the doctor."

"I'll be here," I say, my voice sounding nothing like my own. "I need water."

"I'll bring you some."

A door shuts and then reopens not even a minute later.

"Here," the voice says. "Take a drink."

A straw pokes my lip and I take a sip.

"Better," I say, my voice sounding less hoarse than before.

"Do you know your name?" another voice says. "And your age?"

"Rori Irving," I say. "I'm sixteen."

"Good," he says. "Do you now where you are and why you're here?"

"Infirmary. I got attacked."

"Correct," he says. "I need you to try and open your eyes."

My eyes flutter open and I instantly squint because of the bright lights. I blink a few times to get used to the lighting. The doctor scribbles on the clipboard in his hand.

"We put you on the best medication possible," he says. "This medicine will allow you to heal quicker, and it helps with pain."

"Thank you," I say.

"I'm Dr. Everett," he says. "One of the nurses will come back and check on you later."

Dr. Everett walks out of the room without another word. My eyes flick to Eric, who has been standing off to the side since the doctor walked in.

"You can come closer," I tell him. "I won't bite you."

His mouth turns up at the corner before a frown takes over.

"How long have I been in here?"

"Since last night," he says. "Well, this morning technically."

I nod.

"How are you feeling?" he asks.

"I feel okay," I say. "My throat, face, and ribs hurt, though."

"I'm sorry I couldn't get there quicker," he says. He sits in the chair next to my bed and laces his fingers with mine.

"It's okay," I say. "You made it before anything worse happened."

He keeps his eyes on the floor.

"What am I going to do about training?" I say.

"The doctor said you'll be in here for three to five days," he says. "Max and the other leaders have allowed for training to be cancelled this week, so you won't miss anything."

"What's going to happen to Jillian and the others?"

"I wanted to throw them in the chasm," he says. He clenches his jaw and his grip gets tight before he loosens it. "But Max and the others have agreed for you to decide their punishment."

"I don't want them dead," I say. "But they do deserve to get punished."

"The other leaders and I also want to know why you were near the chasm in the first place," he says.

A knock on the door sounds and Eric jumps up, scooting the chair back in the process. He backs up and leans against the wall.

"Come in," I say.

Tera peeks her head in and opens the door before shutting it behind her.

"Hey, Tera."

"Hey, Rori," she says, coming over to my left side. She grabs my hand and eyes Eric warily but he pays her no mind. "How are you feeling?"

"In a little pain," I say, "but it's nothing I can't handle, especially with the help of pain relievers."

"What happened?" she asks. "Who did this to you?"

"Jillian is the only one I know for sure," I say. "But I think Reid was one of the other two."

"It was Reid and Thomas," Eric says.

"Of course," she says. "You beat Reid, so that's probably why he did it. But I don't understand why Thomas was involved. You haven't done anything to him."

"She ranked third," Eric says. "They thought by killing her, or at least injuring her, she'd move down in rank, and they'd move up."

"They're getting punished, right?" she says. Eric nods. "They're going to become Factionless, right?"

"It's up to Rori."

The door opens and Willa, the head nurse, walks in.

"I'm sorry to have to do this," she says, "but Rori needs to rest. You two can come back tomorrow."

***

"Eric, please call the doctor in here," I say. "I can heal and rest in the dorms just as well as I can here."

"You are not going back to the dormitory," he growls. "At least not until you are completely healed."

"Please, Eric," I plead. "I've been in here for two days and it feels like I've been here two years."

"I won't allow you to go back to the dormitory," he says. "But I can make arrangements for you to stay elsewhere."

"Where?"

"If it's all right with Max," he says, a smirk on his face, "you'll be staying with me."

"That is fine by me," I say. "Just get me out of here."

"I will be right back," he says. "I'm going to talk to to Max and then the doctor."

As soon as the door shuts after him, Willa walks in. She slides the cuff on my arm to check my blood pressure.

"He's been in here an awful lot lately," she says, a little smile on her face.

"He's just a friend," I say, hoping my cheeks don't betray me by turning pink.

"Okay." The smile never leaves her face, and I can tell that she doesn't quite believe me, but she doesn't question it. She finishes checking my vitals and leaves the room.

Eric comes back about thirty minutes after Nurse Willa leaves.

"It's all set," Eric says. "You will be staying with me."

"Have I been released?"

He nods. "The doctor is getting your medicine ready."

"Thanks," I say. "Do we need to go get some of my clothes?"

"No, I got a couple outfits." He moves closer and sits in the chair next to my bed. "Besides, you can wear mine if you want."

"Okay, Miss Irving," Dr. Everett says as he walks in. "Willa is going to give you your medicine after she unhooks you. Your body has healed quite a bit, but it still needs time. You need to take it easy for the next few days."

"Yes, sir."

A little while after he leaves, Nurse Willa walks in with a smile on her face. "I bet you are ready to leave."

"Oh, definitely," I say with a grin.

She puts a band-aid on my arm after taking the IV out. "Your clothes were washed and put in the drawer over there. I'll have your meds gathered up by the time you change."

She leaves and I stand up. Eric rushes to my side to make sure I don't fall. I grab my clothes from the drawer and go to the bathroom to change. I put on my other clothes and sigh, happy to have real clothes on.

I walk out of the bathroom and lay my gown on the end of the bed.

"Ready?" Eric asks. I nod.

We walk out the door and to the nurse's station. Nurse Willa is waiting for us when we get there.

"You need to take one in the morning and one before bed," she says. "And don't forget to take it easy."

"I won't," I say with a chuckle.

Eric leads me out of the infirmary with his hand on my back. A lot of people stop and stare at me, but Eric glares at them and they turn away immediately. We start climbing the stairs to get to his apartment and I slow down considerably.

"You okay?" Eric asks, concern written all over his face.

"Yeah, sorry," I say. "My ribs are starting to hurt, and it's making it hard to catch my breath."

He lifts me up effortlessly and continues up the stairs. I rest my head on his chest and listen to the sound of his heart beat.

"Hey, Eric?"

He glances down at me briefly before looking back up. "Yeah?"

"Thank you," I say with a smile.

"You're welcome, Rori Joy."

A/N: Hey, initiates! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, please vote and comment!