1
Tris sleeps silently next to me, and for that I am thankful. I know when she wakes all there will be is a strange silence and an emptiness inside her no matter how much noise surrounds her or how much we will all try to distract her. At least now she may be able to enjoy some peace before all the events of today really hit her. I know she is strong, but a protective part of me is angry for her, because this will make her more fragile and vulnerable than she has been before. I can't even imagine how she's made it this far without completely breaking down.
I look out the large gap in the side of the train, where the scenery whips past, and I know we are close to the Amity compound, where I hope there is solace and safety for us- if only for a little while.
"Time to go," I say, my low voice rumbling louder than I expected, and it simulates the tone of the train below, the rumbling of the tracks below us in constant chatter. Tris doesn't hear me, and I squat in front of her, placing one hand on the ground in front of me to hold my balance. I place my other hand on her uninjured shoulder.
She opens her eyes quickly, not the fatigued fluttering of her eyelids I suspected. Her bright eyes are scared and large, something dark reflecting against the background which was pure light only days ago. She takes a deep breath and won't let it out for a long time. My eyes look for an explanation, but can't find one that exactly seems to hit what she's thinking about.
"Tris, come on," I say, my eyes still glued to hers. "We have to jump."
I know we are close to the fence because of how long we spent on the train, though I can't quite make out its shadow in the distance. I pull Tris to her feet, both of my hands clasping around one of hers. I lead her over to the door, where the world whizzes by in one black, airy mass.
Peter jumps off first, followed by my father, and Tris's brother. Tris slides her hand into mine and we walk towards the edge. My toes hang off the edge, the border clearly pressing against the soles of my sneakers. The wind flows hard against my chest and I breathe in a long, fresh breath, savoring the feeling. I've always loved the speed that being on a train provides, the slight sense of danger, the relief of noise and movement.
Too soon, we jump off and hit the ground. I hear a long breath coming out of Tris, and I look down to her, biting her lip until the skin is turning so white I can see it in the darkness.
"Okay?" she asks her brother Caleb, her Abnegation side shining through her, even when she has a bullet wound in her shoulder, and her brother is only rubbing his knee from falling on the ground.
He nods, trying to stop the crying that was persistent all the way here. I don't blame him though, if I had lost two family members I actually loved, I would probably have been in the same emotional state. However, I do not know the feeling of that kind of loss, and now that I have Tris, I hope I never will.
I can see the path clearly now, illuminated by the slight moonlight in the ink black sky. We walk over to the path, and the fence is at the end, not very far away at all.
"There are supposed to be Dauntless guards here," my father Marcus says slightly accusingly to me and Tris. "Where are they?"
"They were probably under the simulation," I counter him, "and are now…" I scan my brain but stop quickly because I don't even want to think about all the possibilities. "Who knows where, doing who knows what."
I think about my initiates, my friends back in Dauntless. Where are they? I shake the thought away, focusing on what now needs to be done, and refusing to assume the worst until the evidence presents itself.
I leave Tris' side, walking up to the covered keypad on the fence, thankful I had enough sense to memorize many of the codes all throughout the city. I've always been good with math and computers, so memorization of these codes came easily and quickly, something about myself I am very thankful for, and something totally apart from Marcus, who can't work a single piece of technology.
"Let's hope the Erudite didn't think to change this combination," I say as the numbers I memorized flow across my mind like water, the refreshing feeling of knowing something for sure, just pure facts, a sort of good feeling.
"How did you know that?" Caleb asks, his voice still struggling to emerge through the repercussions sobbing causes to one's voice.
"I worked in the Dauntless control room, monitoring the security system. We only change the codes twice a year," I say.
"How lucky," Caleb says, steadying his voice out some. I give him a tired look- the Erudite aren't the only ones who use their brains.
"Luck has nothing to do with it," I counter him. "I only worked there because I wanted to make sure I could get out." I see Tris shiver and I hope she understands that we are trapped in our society, and that someday we may have to break out if this war continues. Flee to wherever we can get, though I don't know if there's anything even out there. Probably not- just more and more fields.
Our group of misfits makes its way to the Amity compound: Peter who holds his arm like it's his life, with my father setting his hand on his shoulder. This is the only fatherly action I've ever seen out of him- and it's not even directed towards me. However, I feel that my father would be more proud of Peter if he knew him- the vicious manners he has taken up since becoming Dauntless- it makes them more alike than I have realized. Caleb walks in front of us just a bit, but it's clear to see that he's crying, though trying not to make a big show of it. Tris walks next to me, her small posture sagging as she looks at Caleb, though her eyes are dry and her face still registers some form of shock mixed with exhaustion and sadness.
Tris picks up her pace and the two of us move to the front of our group. I walk beside her quietly, making sure my posture does not look weak or vulnerable in any way in front of my father's scrutinizing eyes, as I'm sure he's watching my every move.
We walk for a while and we can see the light reflecting out of Amity. The field sways around out ankles and we walk until the grass shortens out a bit and the Amity compound- all glass and wood and light is revealed before us.
All we have to do now is walk through one of the many orchards to reach the compound. It's not entirely long, but the walking here is a little harder- the soft soil causing the tired muscles in my calves to burn just a bit, but I refuse to show any weakness. The orchard is all up and around- making me feel as though I'm in a forest- one of the things rumored to be outside the fence by a Dauntless guard I overhead talking once. But here in the orchard, the smell of dirt and leaves and pure air blends with the smell of fruit and spice.
When we get close to the buildings, Marcus walks in front of Tris and I and my jaw tenses. "I know where to go," he says. Part of me begs to think this is a trick, but the other part of me knows that he's too smart to risk his reputation in front of even three teenagers who have never met him- though Tris knows the truth.
He walks to the left and we reach one of the buildings. Inside the dark wood building, a chorus of laughter rises and drifts through the open window. It's been so long since I've heard real laughter like that, it takes me a moment to identify the cheerful noise. Leave it to Amity to laugh while the rest of the city is in torment.
We walk to the next building and Marcus opens one of the doors, no key or lock needed. That will one day be a reason Amity will be destroyed, I presume- the lack of locks- how ironic. Our shoes squeak against the wood floors- the dew slowly being transferred from our shoes to the floor- slightly covered with dust and soft dirt.
We walk to an open room, where the representative of Amity is- Johanna Reyes. Her eyes are trained out the open window and I imagine myself there for a moment- the cool air and the way it hits your face and dries your eyes but can still feel good. Johanna has a long scar from her eyebrow down to her lip. I know she is blind in one eye and speaks with a lisp. I wonder how she got a scar like that here in Amity. There is the possibility she wasn't Amity to start with, and she could have been Dauntless, which would more easily explain the scar. But I doubt someone who hasn't been Amity their entire life could end up being the representative.
"Oh, thank Goodness," she says when she sees my father. She comes in to hug him, but settles for resting her hands on his shoulders. An Amity always remembers to be kind about others' customs- and in Abnegation, hugging is extremely rare.
"The other members of your party got here a few hours ago, but they weren't sure if you had made it," she says, talking about another group of Abnegation, I presume. Surely they didn't all die in the attack. She looks over my father's shoulder at me, and then skims the rest of us.
"Oh my," she says, especially in Peter's direction in response to his arm. "I'll send for a doctor. I can grant you all permission to stay the night, but tomorrow, our community must decide together. And"- she looks at Tris and I in particular- "they will likely not be enthusiastic about a Dauntless presence in our compound. I of course ask you to turn over any weapons you might have.
I immediately give over my gun, giving the illusion that we are perfectly willing to give up our weapons. Tris, innocently reaches for her gun without a deceptive though like I have. I reach behind her, grabbing her hand before she can get close enough to show she has a gun tucked in to her pants. I lace our fingers so nothing looks suspicious. She doesn't say a word, though her eyes look slightly alarmed.
"My name is Johanna Reyes," she says, shaking Tris' hand, and then mine- once again considerate for what other people would rather do than how she would normally greet someone.
"This is T-" my father begins, but I cut him short.
"My name is Four," I say sternly, wanting no connection with Marcus, and wanting only Tris to use that name around me. "This is Tris, Caleb, and Peter."
"Welcome to the Amity compound," she says, smiling a nice smile even though it is slightly unsymmetrical from her scar. "Let us take care of you."
For once, I am okay with someone else taking care of me. I'm tired- I can't even imagine how tired Tris is right now. They give her some sort of healing medicine and spreads it along her shoulder. Johanna leads us to a dining hall, where I recognize a few Abnegation, more from their clothes than their faces however. The long wooden tables run across the room in vertical lines. The greet Marcus and Tris and Caleb, many of them not recognizing me. Peter was taken to the infirmary so they will meet him later I suppose, though I'm not incredibly concerned with that.
Tris holds on to my arm like it's her only source of strength. She tries to smile, but there is a flood of sad smiles, people, and tears flowing all around her. An Abnegation woman hands her a mug, steam tumbling out of the top. It is pink and doesn't look like a normal drink.
"Drink this," she tells Tris. She sniffs it a little suspiciously. "It will help you sleep as it helped some of the other sleep. No dreams."
I almost tell Tris to drink it- it sounds exactly like what she needs, but she starts downing the stuff before I can get the words to leave my lips. A little color returns to her cheeks, and some of the darkness in her eyes is replaced by light. Her grip on my arm loosens and I feel her body relaxing against mine as she drinks the last bit, slurping at the cup. I allow an Amity girl to lead her away to a room, and they tell me she can sleep there for the night. I kiss Tris on the top of her head goodnight, though her eyes are already drooping I'm not quite sure if she noticed.
"Can I get some of that?" I ask the woman who gave Tris the drink. I need to be strong the next few days, I know. I need to sleep and I'll never get it if I'm as alert and tense as I am now.
She nods and comes back a minute later with the same pinking liquid in a cup. I smell it, and it smells like berries and the warmth fills up my body. I put my lips to the edge, and don't take a breath until it's all gone. My body recognizes the different medicines- a mixture of painkillers and sleep medications and a slight hint of anti-depressants. There's a hint of alcohol as well, I think, because of the way the drink slightly burns in my throat as it slides down. I feel the muscles that have been tight for hours in my back finally getting some relief as they start to relax.
I don't ask anyone where to go, I just go down the hall Tris went down and slump into one of the open doors to a simple room with a bed in the corner. I shut the door with my foot and it closes hard behind me. I twist a little and land on my back, and the mattress springs a little below me. I pull the pillow down under my head to make it more comfortable and close my eyes. The world dissolves into a gray mass under my eyelids first, and then in my brain. I finally get to the point where I can't really comprehend my own thoughts and drift in to sleep.
Heyy! So many of y'all read Free Four: the full story and asked me to write Insurgent so ta- da! Here is my attempt at the first chapter and I hope I didn't disappoint! Please review!