The entire room erupts.

Tris' hands wind around my neck, knocking us backwards. I fall into something hard before suddenly I'm whirled out of the way, the fingers slipping away from my throat as my dress billows out.

Still spinning, I turn back to see Jesse in my place. Tris is recovering from a punch that my knight in shining armour has just delivered to the side of his face.

And then someone else is shoving me up against the wall and I let out a wheezy breath before lifting my hands and slamming them down against the red-haired girl's temples. She stumbles back, momentarily startled. I use the opportunity to wind my hands around her waist, swiftly spinning us around and letting her head clatter into the glass window behind. Her eyes roll back and I let her drop to the ground, knocked out.

Placing my hand against the wall beside me, I struggle to collect my breath before Jesse's friend — Jessica — appears in front of me, her eyes wide and uncertain as she glances between me and the girl on the floor.

"She's just knocked out," I tell her breathlessly. Her eyes switch back and forth before they avert to watch the rest of the room. It's a battleground now, every member of our team fighting the enemy. "We're the resistance," I tell her. My eyes drop to the small kitchen knife in her hand. She's shaking. "All we want is peace."

"It sure doesn't look like it," Jessica snaps back.

I grimace. Wrong choice of words, Kayla.

"Okay... Sorry. All I meant is that we want to stop the corrupt Enforcers." I lift my hand to my face. "The ones who did the likes of this. Who torture people and use their position to destroy anyone who crosses them," I tell her. Jessica's eyes pause on my cheek. "Jesse told us that you aren't like them," I plead with her. "That maybe... you could help us make the North a better place—"

My throat is grabbed from behind and I gasp as I'm yanked backwards. A man I've never seen before sneers into my face before shoving me forwards, straight onto an empty table filled with glasses and plates. 

My body crashes down on top of all of them, and the glass goes flying every which way. I feel some of it penetrate through the thin dress and let out a small cry at the pain that spreads through my abdomen.

My hands splay out across the table, desperately trying to grab onto something — anything — to defend myself, but then he flips me over, stopping me in my tracks and landing a swift punch to the side of my face.

An obscene ringing pounds through my ears as my cheek thumps with pain and I spit out the saliva that's pooled in my mouth. I think some of it may be blood.

Lifting my hands, I try to claw at the man on top of me but he's incessant, his eyes wild and unruly before his hands curl around my neck all over again. I choke at the lack of air, my hands flying instead to his arms and desperately trying to free myself from his hold. 

It's useless.

He's a man on a mission, and as I rain scratches down his arm, he doesn't even flinch.

Black dots dance across my vision. No oxygen is reaching my lungs. My arms flail every which way.

But then he stills on top of me and his eyes widen as the hands fall from my neck before his entire body collapses onto the floor in front of me. 

Jessica is left standing where he was, her breathing unsteady as she holds her hand out to me, helping me off the table. The kitchen knife, still in her hand, is bloody. She's not shaking anymore.

"Thank you," I tell her softly. She nods and I quickly reach under my skirt, tugging one of the neon green bandanas from my holster. Pippa found fifty of them a couple of weeks ago, and it felt like the smart thing to use. "Tie this around your upper arm," I tell Jessica, handing it over. "It'll tell the resistance that you're on our side. They won't attack you."

She just nods, taking the fabric from my hand and staring down at it.

"Kayla!" Carl's voice booms and then he's in front of me, his eyes animalistic as they scan my entire body. His arm winds around my waist. "Are you hurt?"

I shake my head, ignoring the pain in my stomach. "I'm fine."

"I... I didn't think I was going to get over here in time," he chokes out. His eyes narrow, clearly an attempt to hide the raging emotions that are swirling inside them.

"I'm fine," I repeat. He nods, somewhat reluctantly, before turning the other way and letting his hand leave my waist just in time to grab onto an Enforcer heading our way, smashing them against the window instead.

Pippa's over the other side of the room, her pink dress now ripped up to her knees as she screams — a fierce war cry — before plunging a knife into an Enforcer's shoulder. She's flagged on either side by Ryan and Andy, both of them surrounding her in a protective stance. I smile at the sight. She doesn't need their protection, but I'm glad for it all the same.

Meanwhile, Pete sneers at the enemy, moving with such agility and force that I almost forget he's an asshole. Almost.

And then I spot Lyla. Curled up in the corner of the room, her eyes are wide as she watches the scenes unfold around her. I frown. Why is she here if she isn't going to fight? Why would she come here...

"And here I was thinking I'd lost the chance to kill you."

My head snaps to the left. Tris is advancing towards me, a sly grin on his face.

"What... Jesse!" Panic rises inside my chest as I step forward, peering around Tris to see my knight in shining armour on the floor, his eyes closed, blood pouring from the side of his head. "No," I exclaim. "No, no no!"

There's no way that I can get around Tris and get to Jesse.

I sneer at the Enforcer, reaching behind me at the table and gripping onto a piece of broken glass before ruthlessly throwing it towards Tris.

It embeds itself into his shoulder and he groans, stopping in his tracks and lifting his hand to the wound before yanking it out and letting it drop to the floor.

"Carl!" I call out. A brief glance to the side reveals that my other knight is currently wrestling against two others. His eyes dart towards me and I instantly regret distracting him. He's pushed to the floor and I let out a terrified scream at the sight.

"What a treat this will be," Tris exclaims before he closes the gap between us, shoving me backwards. The back of my thighs hit the table and I nearly fall back once more, but this time I'm prepared. I duck my head, escaping his clutches and whirl to the side, out of his way. He laughs.

"You're not killing me, Tris," I sneer at him.

He just cocks an eyebrow before lifting a hand, sending a punch flying my way. I dodge out of the way, stepping forward and attempting to sweep my feet into his, but he winds his arms around my torso. I'm tugged tightly into his chest and a gasp leaves my lips as his mouth lowers to my ear.

"Oh, but I am," he murmurs.

"That's wishful thinking," I snap. My right foot rises before I slam it down on top of his as hard as I can. The stiletto pierces through the fabric and he lets out a hiss. Without waiting another second, I thrust my elbow into his stomach.

He's forced backwards from the action, his arms loosening. I whip out of his grip, spinning on my heel and plunging my right fist into his nose. Blood splatters out of it and I grin as he cries out in pain, his eyes closed, his hands clutching his face.

I throw myself towards Jesse, falling to the floor and gently caressing his cheek, turning his head to face me. 

"Jesse?" I plead, carefully running my hand across the wound. It looks as though the bleeding is slowing already. Thank God. "Jesse!" A quick press against his wrist confirms that he's still alive. "Oh, Jesse, please be okay," I beg. I want to lift his head to my lap, but I'm too scared to move him.

But then his eyelids flicker ever so slightly.

"Jesse?"

His dark black orbs meet mine and I exhale, a sigh of relief. Thank the freaking Heavens.

"You're okay," I tell him, running my hand through the curls on the top of his head and smiling. "You're going to be okay."

"Kayla!" The cry of my name is louder and more panicked than I've ever heard leave Carl's mouth. It roars through the room, a terrified shout that has my heart dropping through my gut. My head whips around and I make eye contact with him.

A shattered yell leaves my lips as someone winds their hands around my hair, pulling me backwards, away from Jesse. The satin material of my dress slides with ease across the tiled floor and my hand springs to my hair, trying to free myself from their clutches as my head screams with agony.

It's over ten feet before they release their grip, roughly shoving me onto the floor. I fall, hands smacking onto the blood soaked ground before I turn over, just in time for Tris to straddle my body. His face is a mess, all broken, bloody and wonky.

"Nice nose," I mock him. He snarls, blood coating his teeth before he slams his own fist into the side of my head. My face snaps to the side and my ears ring. Carl is trying to fight his way free across the room, his eyes pinned on me.

"I never should have let you leave Killmoor," Tris comments. Looking back up at him, I smirk before lifting a hand, winding it around his bowtie and tugging him forward. He's not expecting it, I can tell from the way he falls forward, his eyes wide.

"You should never have left Killmoor," I counter. "How I wish you'd been there that day, to see us take it."

His lip curls. I've gained some space between us by pulling his torso down, and so I quickly lift my right leg, smashing it between his and smirking as his face contorts into one of immense pain.

I shove his body to the ground, rolling over so that I'm on top before grabbing hold of the bow tie and turning it in my hand, tightening it and tightening it, until Tris' eyes bulge, his face turning purple.

"I want names," I hiss down at him. "What's Reece's surname? Is he here tonight?"

A sudden sting erupts through my stomach. I let out a gasp as Tris smirks.

And then Jesse is tugging me off the Enforcer, curling his arm around my middle and pressing his hand aggressively to the blood that's staining my beautiful teal dress. A bloody knife clatters from Tris' hands to the floor as Carl winds his hands around the Enforcers neck with a ruthless snarl.

I wince as pain surges through my gut.

He stabbed me.