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"None of my concern!" I hear footsteps squeak above h the mesh From what I can see, Jack has the collar of Max’s shirt wrapped around his fist

"Release uards to fire"

I frown If Jeanine is speaking through Max, she had to be able to see hirabbed I lean forward to look at the buildings on the other side of the bridge Onstands at the edge That must be where she is

I start to climb backward, toward the e, toward the staircase that will lead me to Wacker Drive Tobias follows me immediately, and Shauna taps Lynn on the shoulder But Lynn is doing so about Jeanine I failed to notice that Lynn took out her gun and started to clie Shauna’s s herself forward, grabbing the lip of the bridge, and shoves her arasps, his hand clapping over his chest, and stumbles back When he pulls his hand away, it is dark with blood

I don’t bother to climb anymore I drop into the s sink into thenoises as I pull the until I reach the concrete Guns fire and bullets stick in the ainst the wall under the bridge so they can’t aim at me

Tobias presses into the wall behind me, so close to me that his chin floats over ainstme

I can run back to Candor headquarters, and to temporary safety Or I can find Jeanine in what is probably the most vulnerable state she will ever be in

It’s not even a choice

"Come on!" I say I sprint up the stairs, the others on e, our Dauntless shoot at the Dauntless traitors Jack is safe, bent over with a Dauntless are and don’t look behind me I can already hear Tobias’s footsteps He is the only one who can keep up with hts And then I hear unshots I weave as I run, to make it more difficult for the Dauntless traitors to hitI as are nuround beneath me But before I reach the doors, I see ht I swerve and folloith ures run down the alley One is blond One is tall And one is Peter

I stumble, and alun, and behind me, Tobias lifts his own, and we stand just yards away from each other, at a standstill Behind him, the blond woman--Jeanine, probably--and the tall Dauntless traitor turn the corner Though I don’t have a weapon, and I don’t have a plan, I want to run after them, and maybe I would if Tobias did not clamp his hand over my shoulder and hold me in place

"You traitor," I say to Peter "I knew it I knew it"

A screauished and female

"Sounds like your friends need you," Peter says with the flash of a sun steady "So you have a choice You can let us go, and help the to follow us"

I al to do

"I hope you die," I say

I back up into Tobias, who backs up with me, until we reach the end of the alley, and then turn and run

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

SHAUNA LIES ON the ground, facedown, blood pooling on her shirt Lynn crouches at her side Staring Doing nothing

"It’s my fault," Lynn mumbles "I shouldn’t have shot him I shouldn’t have"

I stare at the patch of blood A bullet hit her in the back I can’t tell if she’s breathing or not Tobias places two fingers on the side of her neck, and nods

"We’ve got to get out of here," he says "Lynn Look atto hurt her a lot, but it’s our only option"

Lynn nods Tobias crouches next to Shauna and puts his hands under her arms He lifts her, and she moans I rush forward to help hihtens, and I cough to relieve the pressure

Tobias stands with a grunt of effort, and together alk toward the Merciless Mart--Lynn in front, with her gun, and me in the back I walk backward to watch behind us, but I don’t see anyone I think the Dauntless traitors retreated But I have to ing toward us "Zeke had to help theet Jackoh no" He stops "Oh no Shauna?"

"Now’s not the time," says Tobias sharply "Run back to the Merciless Mart and get a doctor"

But Uriah just stares

"Uriah! Go, now!" The shout rings with nothing on the street to soften the sound of it Uriah finally turns and sprints in the direction of the Merciless Mart

It’s only half a runts and Lynn’s uneven breathing and the knowledge that Shauna is bleeding to death, it feels endless I watch thewith each labored breath, and I don’t hear our footsteps; I hear only my heartbeat When we finally reach the doors, I feel like I s

Uriah, an Erudite man with a comb-over, and Cara meet us just inside the entrance They set up a sheet for Shauna to lie on Tobias lowers her onto it, and the doctor gets to work i the shirt away from Shauna’s back I turn away I don’t want to see the bullet wound

Tobias stands in front of me, his face red with exertion I want hiain, like he did after the last attack, but he doesn’t, and I know better than to initiate it

"I’ on with you," he says "But if you senselessly risk your life again--"

"I a to make sacrifices, like my parents would have, like--"

"You are not your parents You are a sixteen-year-old girl--"

I grit my teeth "How dare you--"

"--who doesn’t understand that the value of a sacrifice lies in its necessity, not in throwing your life away! And if you do that again, you and I are done"