To Begin Again, a Divergent fanfiction by the-3-ravens

Summary:

It has now been six years after the rebellion and a new era has begun. An era where there are no aptitude tests, factions and Jeanine.
And Tobias 'Four' Eaton should be happy yet he finds himself in even more misery before the war had started. Why?
Because it has also been six years since Beatrice 'Tris' Prior left his life without warning.
Then one day, Tobias finds Tris working in a small flower shop in Sector One...

Disclaimer:

I am not Veronica Roth nor am I associated with her. I am only a fan that admires the book and decided to write fanfiction about it,
anything you recognise from the Divergent series and anywhere else does not belong to me.


"The world's not a very comfortable place if you have a nightmare to
- Tommy Lee Jones


Above me the sky is covered with thick clouds that obscure the moonlight giving me no light to guide the way across the narrow and pitch black alleyway. The loss of extra weight on my left wrist tells me I have no watch and my feet is bare against the cold pavement.

Where am I? I ask myself, squinting my eyes to see beyond the dark but it is useless; there is only endless darkness. There is no certain stopping point and, for some strange reason, the muscles in my neck are incapable of twisting around, making it impossible to see what is behind me. Though, I doubt there is anything behind, it is probably dark there too.

Considering my options for a minute, I realise that the only way to move is forward. So, step by step I delve deeper and deeper into the dark, my eyes stay trained ahead looking for signs —any signs. And I count my steps in an attempt to steady my already rocketing heartbeat.

Two-hundred fifty-five, two-hundred fifty-six, two hundred fifty-seven, two hundred fifty-

"Tobias!" A coarse, distinct voice says from somewhere in front of me and I stop my walking; my heart feels like it's going to travel out of my mouth any minute and sweat beads trickle down my forehead.

I know that voice.

"Tobias, where are you?" The voice asks and louder this time. At this, I force my feet to move, and to move quicker. "Tobias! Help!" I hear her cry one more time and I break into a full sprint until I reach her, but I am too late.

There on the cold pavement she lies; barely breathing, almost naked and with red marks on every inch of their exposed skin and I want to look away with disgust because I know what these marks are —I know them all too well, but I can't. I can't because she is the person I love most, instead I look down and there in my hands is a leather belt —the very same leather belt that my father use to strike me with.

I look back and forth between her and the belt—the weapon— in my hands.

What did I do?

Other than the very slow and faint heaving of her chest, she is not moving. I want to shake her awake, to tell her that I am sorry but my head is spinning and I can do nothing but stand there and witness the monstrosity that I've done; I am no different from my father.

Then, amidst the spinning of my sight and the ringing in my ears, I hear her faint voice. I hear Tris's faint voice and I wish I didn't. I wish that the ringing in my ears would be louder and the my sight would keep spinning more and more. Finally, the pitch black devours me but not before letting me hear those four words.

"Tobias, you hurt me."

( - - - - - - - - - )

I jolt awake; my head isn't spinning, my ears aren't ringing and I am not devoured it pitch black. Lying on my bed, my sheets tangled everywhere, I start processing what I had just seen.

"It was only a nightmare, get yourself together." I command myself but my voice falters. It didn't look like a nightmare then...it looked real.

But it wasn't, and that is enough to get me through for the remaining hours before the sun sets.

I do not sleep again.