Chapter 1
Tris
Tobias's hand squeezes mine as we stand still right in front of Abnegation headquarters. Everything is empty—the houses are empty, nobody walks down the cracked streets; there's nothing, absolutely nothing.
"The Abnegation citizens were sent to the Capitol," Tori says behind us, "Because of what happened at the end of the Games, they were all escorted to the Capitol."
I squeeze Tobias's hand harder as Tori continues on saying, "They knew that the Abnegation wouldn't resist. But they still took them. Nobody really cares though or is concerned."
"I bet if the Erudite were taken to the Capitol, everybody would be worried," I say. "But not you." I look at her.
She raises an eyebrow.
"Tori," I release Tobias's hand, "I need to talk to you."
I exchange glances with Tobias before Tori and I walk behind an Abnegation house; that way, Uriah, Finnick, and Tobias won't hear our conversation.
"Is this what I think it's about?" questions Tori, folding her arms across her chest.
I don't know exactly what she's thinking but I still nod.
"How is she still alive?" I ask.
She shakes her head and leaves me clueless. I still stand behind the house though; I need to think straight, to come up with theories or something. I need answers but no one seems to deliver them. Not even Tobias.
Maybe that wasn't Jeanine who Tori stabbed… wait, what am I thinking? Sure, that thing that Tori stabbed was a doll. Of course it was Jeanine! Get your head straight, Tris! Maybe she somehow survived that assault… who am I kidding? That blade clearly went deep into her stomach. I don't know; this is why I need answers fast. I have to know. I have to know.
I walk back over to the group: only five of us are here. I'm not sure if Tori has told Finnick the news or not as he has a normal expression on. I'm not sure how Uriah feels at this moment, and I'm not sure how Tobias feels about me and Uriah's actions in the arena… everything isn't straight right now. I bite my lip as I take Tobias's hand again and we begin to walk to Dauntless headquarters, hopefully nothing is wrong there…
"Wait," Finnick stops as we wait for a train to pass by, "You mean, you guys actually jump onto moving trains and out?"
The four of us nod. "Yeah," Tobias says, "What else did you think?"
Finnick shakes his head and when we see a train coming our way, I let go of Tobias's hand and quickly run towards it, jumping right on it. I get to see the expression on Finnick's face from the view and his jaw is literally on the ground. But he doesn't seem frightened or anything when I quickly hear him shout, "Watch this!"
He positions himself and starts running towards the train; I can see that he's trying to get to the same spot where I jumped and he succeeds when he manages to get his body balanced right next to me.
"Was that hard?" I ask him, giving him a small smile—my arms are folded across my chest.
"No," he says, "That wasn't. But as a reward, can you give me a sugar cube?"
I laugh and watch Tobias, Uriah, and Tori jump on the train at the exact same time. They do it pretty quick as it is the three of them. Uriah gives Finnick a quick high-five but when Finnick tries to give one to Tobias, Tobias looks away and walks over to me. Finnick doesn't look upset though; he looks puzzled but quickly turns to Uriah again and they begin having a random conversation, which I can't hear.
"Does this guy like you?" Tobias whispers into my ear, and suddenly, I look at him wide-eyed.
"No," I shake my head, "Why would he anyway?"
"Well I hope not," he says, "And I know right?"
I punch his arm but it doesn't seem to pain him. But he's right. I'm not pretty or beautiful; I don't care though. All I care about is that I have Tobias, and I don't need anyone else to like me or anything. I have Uriah as a best friend. I have Finnick as a good friend. And I have Tori, somebody I can look up to for any answers or advice. When we make it to Dauntless headquarters, Tobias and I hold on to each other before we jump off together, making a flip as we land on the hard ground. My back doesn't hurt this time, but my legs feel like they're being chopped off or something. I guess I'm not used to jumping off trains anymore—I haven't been here in quite a while anyway.
"Jumping off is easier," says Finnick after he, Tori, and Uriah jump off. They didn't make a flip though; they actually landed on their feet. Except Tori slightly lost her balance and almost fell, but luckily, she didn't.
"Where are we?" questions Finnick as we step closer to the edge of the building.
"We're just outside of the Dauntless compound," explains Tori.
"Outside?" again comments Finnick, looking around and looking lost as we are outside, on top of a building.
"You have to jump off this building," Tobias says, pointing down, "Down there is the compound. That's where you land."
I take a brief glimpse of Finnick's appearance before we have to jump down. He can do it. I think to myself. If Caleb can jump off a building, Finnick can do it. Besides, I have nothing to worry about. Finnick is strong, tall, and athletic. He actually jumped on the train and out with no problems. I'm sure he'll be able to jump off this building and land safely at the bottom. For example, I did it on my first try when I chose Dauntless. I'm small and still did it. There's nothing to worry about.
I decide to volunteer to jump first again. It isn't a problem for me anymore; it's more like a routine or something like that. I stand on the edge, the small edge, and my hands stiffen up. I feel the air blow against my body as I look back and look at the group one last time before I bend my knees and jump.
It isn't a long or frightening fall. Like I said, I'm used to this. My mission succeeds as I land safely on the net and get myself out with no help. I look up and Tobias quickly gets down as well. He kisses me quickly before we both look up and see Finnick falling. He's not screaming or anything but I close my eyes and when I open them again, he's safe on the net. Thank, God.
"Here, let me give you a hand," says Tobias as he approaches Finnick. Finnick doesn't hesitate but let Tobias help him off the net—I still remember when I was the first jumper, when he helped me off the net as well.
"Welcome to Dauntless." I still remember those same words that he welcomed me with. Maybe we can do the same for Finnick.
Tori and Uriah manage to get down with us shortly afterwards, and we move on forward to the Pit. The compound is quiet and seems empty—maybe it is; I mean our world isn't functioning the way it was supposed to. I suppose this is my entire fault. My aptitude test results weren't how they were supposed to be. I was only supposed to be part of one faction; one virtue I was supposed to value. Maybe I was meant for only Dauntless; maybe Abnegation. Maybe I was even supposed to be for Erudite only. I begin to wonder what this world would be like if I had chosen either Abnegation or Erudite. Maybe our society wouldn't be going through this.
"Here," says Tobias, tossing each of us a gun. I look at Finnick and he looks puzzled as he holds his—he looks at it in great disbelief; full shock. I guess he's never held a gun before.
"What's wrong?" Tori questions Finnick's expression.
"Nothing," Finnick says, positioning his gun the correct way. "What are we going to do with these?"
"They're for protection," says Tobias, "What? You've never used a gun before?"
"Maybe Finnick doesn't need protection," Uriah comments, "Maybe he's good with his hands."
"We all need a gun," Tori says, "The Erudite are roaming everywhere, along with peacekeepers."
I bite my lip as I look around the Pit. I still remember when this was full of Dauntless initiates; when it was full of Dauntless leaders, and Dauntless traitors. If only the Abnegation were sent to the Capitol, then where are the Dauntless at? Perhaps they're guarding the whole city with the peacekeepers or something. Maybe they're guarding the fence to make sure no one leaves. I'm not sure.
"We have to go," I say, gathering bullets.
Before we can take another step, that's when Tori stops us, especially me.
"Wait," she says, "I have to talk to you, Tris."
I look into her small eyes and that's when I know that something serious is awaiting to get out of her mouth. She's hiding something and is trying to put it into words. It suddenly feels like the hovercraft all over again, when Tobias told me that Jeanine still lives. Is that what she's trying to explain to me? Is she trying to explain to me how she's alive? Because with my own eyes, I saw Tori sticking that blade into her stomach. Why didn't Tori tell me that Jeanine wasn't dead anyway? Tobias is the one who told me, which makes me wonder if Tori even knew that. I start to wonder if Tori is the main one who's in danger, because she is the one who killed or in this case, almost killed Jeanine. Jeanine is probably seeking revenge on her now.
I blink a couple of times before I follow Tori to the hall, leaving Tobias, Uriah, and Finnick behind. I wonder how those three will interact with each other while we're gone—I know Uriah and Finnick already get along, but what about Tobias? I just noticed that he hasn't been all that satisfied with Finnick's presence.
"Listen," Tori says really quietly as we each the other end of the hall. Do we really need to discuss in a long distance from the rest of the group? "Do you know where Katniss Everdeen is from?"
I nod. "Yeah, everyone knows where she's from."
"Exactly, and you know how I told you that they were heading to District Thirteen?"
I begin to wonder again why they're heading there. Like Katniss said, District 13 doesn't even exist anymore. It's destroyed, it's gone; the Capitol got rid of it a long time ago. But why are they heading there instead of District 12? Or why couldn't we just all landed in the same place?
"Yes," I simply reply a few seconds later, fully clueless of where this conversation is going.
"Well, this is a secret between the two of us. Tobias doesn't know about this, and obviously neither Uriah nor Finnick," Tori says, "But this won't stay a secret forever. Almost everyone in Panem already knows this."
"What are you talking about?" I impatiently ask.
She sighs, kind of like Tobias did but takes a deep breath, looks down, and then back at me right in the eye before she finally says, "District Twelve has been destroyed."
NOTES: Ladies and Gents!;) Emergent is finally here! I know it's only a day after but since you guys wanted it already, I decided to publish it today. So, this chapter's pretty slow but since they each got a gun, something's about to happen;) So I hope I get to see my fans from Convergent (which is the first installment in this series; this is the sequel, so if you're reading this, please read Convergent) I hope you guys enjoyed this and please, please review:) Thank you so much!
Diamondgirl3: Thank you so much for reading Convergent! Hope you're liking this one so far!:D
Dauntlessjay: Here's Emergent! I hope you liked this chapter and hope to hear from you again:)
Juliet's Shadow: Finally decided to publish this! I hope this chapter was good-Finnick jumping off and on the train;) Finnickman! Finman! Percy Finnick!;) Well, I hope you enjoyed this and thank you so much!:D
Raina4Ever: We may have reached the end for Convergent but this is just the beginning for Emergent!:D I hope this chapter was good for you and you're looking forward for the next ones! Thank you so much!:)
Guest: Thanks!:) I'm glad you liked Convergent; I hope you'll like this one just as much!
krikanalo: Thank you so much! I hope this one is just as good for you:)