Chapter 1: Christina

I wake to the sound of a door squeaking open. Sighing, I roll over to the other side of the bed. Soft light shines on the wall from outside, but there's a figure blocking the rest of my view.

It's a teenage girl—Marlene. She's wearing her black sweatshirt paired with baggy black pants. She stands over my bed, staring down at me. I've gotten more familiar with her over the past few days, but we're definitely not this familiar. Why she's waking me up at this hour, I have no clue.

My mind is still heavy with sleep. Whatever it is, Marlene would have to wait until morning. Yesterday was exhausting enough already, and all I want to do is sleep. But before I can wave her off, she opens her mouth. Her voice is flat. "I have a message for the Divergent."

Wait, What?

Without another word, Marlene turns and heads for the door. Two other figures emerge out of the darkness, joining her.

I sit up, confused. What exactly is going on here?

My legs swing over the edge of the bed, and I stumble over to the door. After rubbing my eyes a few times, I blink and squint at the direction Marlene had gone. It's not long before I spot her, walking across the glass floor of the Pire. Upon a better look, I recognize the two others marching behind her. One is Hector, Lynn's little brother. The other is a little girl, probably only seven or eight years old. I think someone called her Kee.

I frown. What are those three up to?

Part of me dismisses it as some kind of Dauntless prank they are probably brainstorming about. This really isn't the time for such things, but I wouldn't put it past them. But the other part of me feels a spike of curiosity. I knew, I just knew Cara's Erudite inquisitiveness would rub off me at some point.

I start to lose sight of them, and I guide my feet toward them without thinking. The ground scrapes at my toes, and I'm walking so fast, I almost trip a few times. They lead me to the Pit, past the chasm, and up the paths.

By the time they reach the door to the main stairway, my mind is more alert. I force the door back open before it drags shut and look up.

None of them say a word to one another as they walk up the stairs, or even look to see where they are going. They move in a straight line, each one marching behind the other in perfect unison.

What the hell…

"Hey!" I shout, cupping my hands around my mouth. They don't respond. I stand dumbfounded as they ascend further up the staircase. And then all my thoughts screech to a grinding halt. Wait a minute…wait.

Now that I think about it, there was something about Marlene that didn't sit right with me. She wasn't smiling, like usual. In fact, she had no expression at all. Her eyes didn't look right either, although it might've been too dark to tell for sure.

And her voice…it wasn't anywhere near the playful, jovial tone I had come to know over these last few days. It didn't sound like her at all.

It was almost like listening to a stranger. It was almost like…like…

Oh shit.

Shit.

"Marlene!" I scream. "Hector!" But they keep going.

"Damn it!" I force the door wide open and tear through the Pire, my arms pumping wildly. I try and shout for help, but the roar of the river is too loud. I was there, I was right there with Lauren and Zeke, but I was too slow to wake up to realize what was happening.

It's clearly a simulation, but it looks like it's just those three. My mind is too panicked to try and figure out why. All I can think about is getting help, now. The Dauntless-born initiate dorms are too far away now. If I try to make it all the way back there, it might be too late.

I run around uselessly for a minute or two, trying to figure out where the Dauntless members decided to crash for the night. Our faction had only arrived back to the compound a few hours ago, so everything's all scrambled up.

I finally spot the hallway that leads to our old Transfer initiate dorms, and my heart leaps inside my chest. I burst in as quick as I can. Tris is the only one there, sleeping on her side in one of the beds.

I've spent days trying to avoid her. My heart still hasn't forgiven her…for what she had done to Will.

But I need to put all that on hold for now. Lives are at stake.

I cross the room in two strides and I shake her as hard as I can. "Tris! Get up!"

Thankfully, waking her doesn't take long at all. Her eyes open immediately, and she doesn't resist when I drag her out of bed. Despite my feelings towards her, I have to admit she's always been good that way. Always willing to follow me, always trusting me. I swallow a lump in my throat at the thought.

"What happened?" she asks. "What's going on?"

"Shut up and run!"

Marlene, Hector, and Kee are probably too high up now—there's no way Tris and I can catch up to them if we take the stairs. But maybe we can beat them by elevator, if we hurry. I don't really know if they're heading for the roof or not—it's just guesswork on my part—but my gut is sure of it. There's no other reason why the Erudite would have them climb all those stairs. I don't even want to think of what could happen up there.

I slam my palm into the elevator button and slip in before the doors are fully open, dragging Tris behind me. After pressing the button for the top floor, I try and explain all I can. She seems relatively calm about it, but her eyes look a little haunted, like she's remembering something. The doors open, and I lead down the hallway to the door marked ROOF ACCESS. "Christina," she says slowly. "why are we going to the roof?"

I don't bother answering. We don't have time for questions. That, and the thought of what we might find makes me want to throw up. We charge up the stairs, and I'm so out of breath, but I have to keep going, just keep going.

The night air bites at my bare arms and legs. My breath almost steals itself away at the sight of three figures standing on the roof's ledge, facing us. Kee stands on the left, Hector to the right, and Marlene in the middle. Despite the hard winds, they stand firm with their hands behind their backs—almost like they are soldiers standing at attention.

This is insane, too insane. Don't they realize what they're doing? Don't they realize how high up they are? I picture their smiling, laughing faces from the night before. No, they can't die like this. They can't.

I take a cautious step towards them and hold out a hand. "Just come down off the ledge now. Don't do anything stupid. Come on, now…"

"They can't hear you," Tris says from behind me, stepping up. Her typically low voice is even lower now. "Or see you."

My breaths come out in harsh, short bursts. Maybe she's right. They're looking at us, yet they're not looking at us. Marlene had spoken to me, but it wasn't her voice, not really.

But we can't just stand here and do nothing. We've got to get them down. "We should all jump at them at once," I tell Tris. "I'll take Hec, you—"

"We'll risk shoving them off the roof if we do that. Stand by the girl, just in case."

I want to object, but it looks like I don't have much of a choice. Tris is right again, of course, no matter how much I hate it. Biting my lip, I inch carefully toward Kee while Tris stands somewhere between Marlene and Hector.

The light of the moon shines on the single green streak in Kee's long blond hair, which blows in every direction. She stares blankly ahead, like she's bored with it all. Like she isn't standing on top of a seven story building, and could die at any moment.

How can they do it? How can they put a little kid through something this terrible? Do they stop and think about their own kids when they do this kind of stuff? Do they even care?

I can't wrap my head around it. I don't know if I even want to.

After a moment or two of silence, Marlene speaks again. "I have a message for the Divergent." Millions of little shivers run down my spine at how robotic she sounds.

Tris takes a calm step forward, but the look on her face is enough to send my heart to my stomach. It's like she knows what's about to happen next, and she's already preparing herself for it. She looks up at Marlene, almost dazedly.

She's trying to distance herself.

My mouth goes dry.

"This is not a negotiation. It is a warning."

Oh, no. No, please no.

"Every two days until one of you delivers yourself to Erudite Headquarters, this will happen again."

Kee steps back, and I lunge forward. My hands snatch at her clothing, and I grab hold to her wrist. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a body falling through the air and a flash of brown hair.

I choke loudly as I haul Kee's body back onto the rooftop. "Help," Tris says in a weak voice. She's hunched over the rooftop's edge, clinging to Hector with everything she has. I move to help her, trying to forget what I just saw.

As soon as we lay Hector down, the simulation ends. Hector blinks. "Ow. What's going on?"

Kee whimpers from a few feet away, and I go to try and comfort her. "It's okay," I murmur, crouching down to her level and placing a hand on her back. "Everything's going to be alright." But of course it's not.

I look over and see Tris standing by the edge of the roof. She stares at the ground, eyes wide and throat bulging. I feel a hot flash of anger. Why is she looking? We both know what's down there. It's not like staring at the ground will change anything!

But when she turns away, toward us, my anger is quickly snuffed out. Her face is white as a sheet, and her mouth hangs open in a silent scream. She looks like she can barely breathe, and her entire body is shaking like a leaf. She takes a few steps forward; her hands are splayed out as if to say 'Why?'

"Tris," I say, my voice uneven. "Tris, there was nothing you could do. Tris, I'm sorry—Tri…Tris!"

Tris says nothing as she walks across the roof and toward the door that leads back to the elevator. "Tris!" I scream. "Come back! Don't leave me here wi…" I can't trust my voice anymore, and my head drops.

"Where's she going?" Hector asks me. He rubs at his shoulder and winces. His arm is undoubtedly sore from being yanked so harshly. "What happened? What's going on?"

"I... I want my mom," Kee says quietly. Her eyes dart around fearfully as she shivers in the cold.

I sit with my hands pressed against my mouth, eyes shut tight. "Hey," Hector says, concern creeping in his voice. His fingers brush cautiously against my back. "You okay? Why are we on the roof?"

A small, muffled sob escapes me. Swallowing, I drop my hands and open my eyes. "Let's go." Wasting no time, I get to my feet and help Kee stand, taking her hand. She clutches it like a lifeline and presses against me. "Come on, Hec."

Hector stands and glances toward the edge of the roof, still clutching at his arm. "What was she looking at?"

"Let's go." My voice is harsher than I meant it to be. I spin him around and wrap my free arm around his shoulders, pushing him toward the door. Hector's voice lowers considerably. "What's back there?" His eyebrows are furrowed, demanding an answer from me.

Hector fires off question after question all the way down back to the Pire. It isn't until we get back and spread the news when he finally falls silent.

Maybe Tris was telling the truth.

Maybe she really had to kill Will the way she did.

Maybe I misjudged her…so horribly, horribly wrong.

A/N: Something I thought would be cool to try out. I'll update once in a while, maybe a little faster providing how many people would like me to continue! The next few chapters will be focusing on character perspectives on Marlene's death and beyond, including the reaction to Tris' self-sacrifice. I hope you will enjoy the rest! Please let me know what you think!