The trains wails, and cries, every time it turns. It's as if it knows how much chaos and destruction just happened.
I remember only a few things- my mind is scattered, in so many directions, i have to keep reminding myself what had happened. Tris sleeps, her head, on my shoulder. Caleb is in front, and his eyes are open, looking at me curiously, as if he is looking at a genetic piece of skin under a microscope.
Peter squirms from the pain in his shoulder: He only slept for a few minutes, before groaning awake. Tris shot him in the shoulder: I know only that. I have to ask her why later, but when things cool down.
Marcus is in front glaring at Tris, who presses her face closer to my chest, still asleep. Her eyes are closed shut, and her forehead is tightly creased: a nightmare.
Beyond the train car, in the distance, i see lights of yellow, and bright red. I smell the freshness of apples, and the sweet fragrance of oranges, flowers, and something else, that is unrecognizable, but a sweet sensation of scent nonetheless.
"We're nearing the Amity. We have to jump soon." I announce to everyone on board.
"Jump? you mean off the train!" Caleb asks wide eyed.
"Would you rather stay here, and risk the chance of a few factionless, possibly even some dauntless traitors, to jump aboard? It's probably our best chance to jump now." I reply.
Marcus snaps out of his death glare, and assists Peter up as well. Caleb follows.
I turn to Tris, who is still, frowning in her sleep.
I shake her shoulder that wasn't shot slightly, careful not to jolt her. She wakes up, eyes popping open, and is about to say something. When she realizes where we are, she take a deep breath, and lets it out, trying to calm herself. It doesn't seem to be working.
"Tris, come on." I tell her. "We have to jump."
I help her to her feet, leading her toward the doorway of the train cart. Peter leaps first, Marcus following right beside him. Caleb is unsure of himself, but bends his knees, leaping out anyways.
I offer Tris my hand, and she grips on to it tightly. She doesn't seem willing to leave, but knows she has to. We launch out of the train, me landing as if i was walking casually down the street, but Tris bites her lip- her bullet wound hurts. It still bleeds, and there is a thin thread covered with blood on it. Someone tried to stitch it, but obviously, it got loose.
Tris looks around for her brother, and sees him on the ground, holding his scraped leg. "Okay?" She asks him, genuinely concerned. He nods, and sniffs, fighting tears. The irony- she asks her brother if he is alright about a scraped knee, while she has a bullet wound, left badly treated, on her shoulder.
She is selfless without even realizing it.
I stare at the fence. It is tall, and sturdy. It is meant to be difficult to climb over, and strong enough so you can't break it.
The dauntless who try climbing it, never manage to get across.
"There are supposed to be dauntless guards here." says my abusive, psychotic father. "Where are they?"
I shudder at his voice. I remember though, that to get rid of a fear, it is best to face it head on, so i answer.
"They were probably under the simulation. And are now..." My voice trails off.
What did happen after the attack? I suppose we'll find out soon. Some may have been cowards, and blindly followed the leaders who brainwashed them. Other may have rebelled.
Some may have died.
"Who knows where doing who knows what." I say finishing my sentence.
We walk in silence, the small noises causing us to be at the edge of paranoia, until i see a small, metallic box. A keypad, hidden from others. Dauntless has a similar one, except it is painted black, to blend in. I walk up to it, and flick it open.
I guess factions have some things in commen.
"Let's hope the Erudite didn't think to change this combination." I tell Tris, but the others take it in as well.
The code for this year, was 328685377. If you type it up on a phone, it spells "dauntless."
We're so original, aren't we?
The gate opens, quietly, but in this silence, it is a noticeable 'click''
"How did you know that?" Tris' brother asks, still on the verge of crying, his throat thick with shock.
How did i know? oh yes. I almost forgot.
"I worked in the Dauntless control room, monitoring the security system. We only change the codes twice a year." I say, with a hint of coldness.
"How lucky." say Caleb, still shocked a Dauntless managed to figure something out.
Just because i can easily jump onto trains, and fire a gun, and throw a knife, and other barbaric does not mean I am unable to be an intelligent person as well.
"Luck has nothing to do with it." I say with malice. "I only worked there because i wanted to make sure i could get out."
And by get out i mean protect myself, and make sure i could hack the system, and change the security footage. If i never worked there, I would not have known about the war beforehand, and me and Tris would have been dead by now if i haden't.
Something else hits me in my think skull. Hard.
If Tris had not switched to Dauntless, and if she had passed her abnegation initiation, then not only would i have not met her, she would have been shot by a mindless soldier.
I guess everything does happen for the best...
Or for the worst. We are in a war after all.
Tris walks first, through Peter, clutching his arm, bullet still in his arm, Marcus steadying him, and Caleb, with tears falling through his eyes. Tears of loss.
Loss of parents. Tris lost her parents today. She watched them die in front of her, shot by mindless creatures in black clothes. She watched them die to protect her.
The sadness is clear in her frozen, secluded, but open eyes. But she keeps her chin up, and walks steadily. carefully.
I am afraid this strong, brave, selfless, intelligent, person, is about to reach her breaking point. So I stand next to her, watching her, looking out for her. The girl that I am sure I love. I stand close to her, so she doesn't crumble.
I stand close to her, just in case she breaks.
But I am worried she already has.